Committed: A Short Story

Robert loves Layla more than anything, although she never returned his feelings. When she commits suicide, the tragedy is all that the teen can think about. Robert is convinced that Layla's previous boyfriend was the reason for her death, and is determined to punish him. A short but moving tale of unrequited love, revenge, and a commitment that lasts beyond the grave.Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream.On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she’s just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him. Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana’s world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she’s been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all.It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.
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Indian Summer

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author and literary critic. He wrote his first novel, Their Wedding Journey, in 1871, but his literary reputation really took off with the realist novel A Modern Instance, published in 1882, which describes the decay of a marriage. His 1885 novel The Rise of Silas Lapham is perhaps his best known, describing the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur in the paint business. His social views were also strongly reflected in the novels Annie Kilburn (1888) and A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890). While known primarily as a novelist, his short story "Editha" (1905) - included in the collection Between the Dark and the Daylight (1907) - appears in many anthologies of American literature. Howells also wrote plays, criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Ibsen, Zola, Verga, and, especially, Tolstoy, which helped establish their reputations in the United States. He also wrote critically in support of many American writers. It is perhaps in this role that he had his greatest influence.
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Three John Silence Stories

Algernon Blackwood was a British writer who wrote all kinds of short stories, but he is best known for his prodigious output of ghost stories, and the way he modernized that subgenre of horror.
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The Old Die Rich

It\'s the kind of news item you read at least a dozen times a year, wonder about briefly, and then promptly forget about. The real story is the one that an actor turned sleuth is able to uncover - to his peril! The story is a unique combination of mystery and time travel by one of the giants in the field of sci-fi. An actor and a policeman investigate when a number of elderly people are found dead of starvation. The strange things is they all had large bank accounts and a great deal of money in their pockets. The investigation is complicated by the appearance of a beautiful but evil woman who tries to thwart their efforts to find the truth. A clever and creative tale.
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The Kennedy Coup

With a new, never-published photo. The 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy sees key facts fading from memory. In a world enthralled by instant communication and immediate conclusions, the simplest solutions are embraced. Questions of “Why” the assassination happened are forgotten. This recalls that the proof of any conspiracy lies in what happens after the coup.The 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy finds key facts fading from memory. As with most historical events, time has a way of dimming the stark realities of that day. In a world enthralled by instant communication and immediate conclusions, the simplest solutions are embraced. The broader questions of “Why” the assassination happened are overshadowed by the facile analysis of “Whodunit” and “How ”.It remembers that the proof of any conspiracy lies in what happens after the coup.
Views: 266

Gym Class

Jose, Zoe, Tanya, and Corben are four friends struggling in gym class. They don't mind until they get their mid-term report cards, all full of C's, D's, and F's. Jose doesn't mind his F, but he's sick of being out of shape. Tired of being left behind at his family's yearly hiking trip, he's determined to get in shape, and also pass gym class.Jose comes up with a plan... will they pass gym class?Jose, Zoe, Tanya, and Corben are four friends struggling in gym class. They don’t mind it so much until they get their mid-term report cards—all full of C’s, D’s, and F’s! Jose doesn’t mind his F so much, but he’s sick and tired of being out of shape. Tired of being left behind at his family’s yearly hiking trip, he’s determined to get in shape, and also pass gym class.Jose comes up with a plan to help the group reach their personal fitness goals while raising their grades at the same time. To pass the class, they have to finish a mile-run in under an hour. Will they be able to reach their goals AND pass the class?This short story is less than 2,000 words—a quick, entertaining read :-)
Views: 266

The Butterfly Effect

A father watches his daughters lovingly care for a squirmy gang of caterpillars. When they morph into butterflies, the girls witness the true meaning of life... unfortunately. A short story by Scott Semegran.Jazz, Season One, Episode ThreeInjuries from the fight with the organ binder forced Jazz to use the Not Now Stone. Now the clock’s ticking. She has less than twenty-four hours to get out of Clowntown and back to her office to scrub the stone in her pickle jar of Soul-lution or she’ll suffer every injury the stone ever healed four-fold. The good news is that she only has seven more block to go to reach the hover-rail, the bad news is that a gang of clowns lays between her and that train. Hoping to avoid a pointless fight, Jazz takes refuge in the one building the Clowns haven’t vandalized, she’s going to discover that there’s a very good reason the goblin gangs left this house alone. Even if she manages to overcome the house’s horrid occupant, she still have to face the clowns, and time, for her, is quickly running out.
Views: 266

Bellefleur

Belle Fleur by Joyce Carol Oates has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.
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Glory of the Amazons

Bagwar's Run is the largest, filthiest, most dangerous city in the world. The council of gangs has as much influence over goings on as the lord mayor. The meanest, dirtiest, spittingest gang in the Run is The Wizards. Enter Glory, fresh from the frigid north. She finds herself at the head of The Amazons, an all-woman gang, and consequently right in The Wizards' sights. A Bagwar's Run short story.Bagwar's Run is the largest, filthiest, most dangerous city in the world. The gangs control the streets, and the Wizards sit at the head of the council of gangs. These mean tempered mages are the roughest, dirtiest, belchingest, spittingest spell-casters around. Their iron horses fly through the streets, causing the cobbles to shake with the rumble of thunder. They're a contrary, sexist bunch with tight control of magic in the Run. And they've locked the ladies out.Enter Glory. Only nineteen and fresh from the frigid wastes of Angren, she finds herself in charge of The Amazons, an all-woman gang that's closer to the bottom of the pecking order than the top. It's also in The Wizards cross-hairs. Glory has no time to enjoy her position. The streets are vibrating. The Wizards are coming.The first of the Bagwar's Run short stories.
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Pale Queen's Courtyard

Kamvar, a soldier, has lost his way. Leonine, a thief and sorcerer, has forgotten that he had one to lose. When the daughter of a High Priest finds herself exiled and hunted across the entirety of conquered Ekka, both men will remember who they are, and the country's invaders will learn that memories, unlike temples, are not so easily torn down.Kamvar, a soldier, has lost his way. Leonine, a thief and sorcerer, has forgotten that he had one to lose. When the daughter of a High Priest finds herself exiled and hunted across the entirety of conquered Ekka, both men will remember who they are, and the country's invaders will learn that memories, unlike temples, are not so easily torn down.Pale Queen's Courtyard is the first novel by Canadian author Marcin Wrona, and a finalist in SciFiNow's 2009 War of the Words.
Views: 264

My Last Day

Police chase SHORT STORY - in the future with flying cars.It's police Captain Matt Selznick's last day on the job, and he's going to make sure he ends his career on a high note. Rather than ending with a customary day at the desk, he goes out in the field impersonating a criminal transporter to pick up a bad guy and bring him in for questioning. Sounds simple right? If only it had been.A collection of easy-to-relate-to poems by N. Jaber, reflecting on an array of feelings and life experiences.In this book, readers are taken on an emotional journey that people all over the world experience.
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Witch Hunt

A mute elven archer known only as Killer. Azyrin, a half Winter-orc shaman and his human swordswoman bride, Makha. Drake, the charming rogue. The pixie-goblin, Rahiel, and her mini-unicorn, Bill. These are the Gryphonpike Companions.Arriving in Strongwater Barrow, the Companions find the town riddled with plague and death. Ending the curse and saving the survivors means going into the swamps.A mute elven archer known only as Killer. Azyrin, a half Winter-orc shaman and his human swordswoman bride, Makha. Drake, the charming, swashbuckling rogue. The fireball-slinging pixie-goblin, Rahiel, and her mini-unicorn, Bill. These are the Gryphonpike Companions.Arriving in Strongwater Barrow, the Companions find the town riddled with plague and death. Ending the curse and saving the survivors means going into the swamps where monsters lurk and witches wait. Sounds like exactly their kind of day.This is an adventure fantasy novella.
Views: 264