Literature Short Stories

From the writer whose name is synonymous with the science of robotics comes five decades of robot visions - 36 landmark stories and essays, plus three rare tales - gathered together in one volume.

No one could understand why Colin and Roy were best friends. Colin was so shy; Roy was so popular. Colin was fascinated by Roy - and Roy was fascinated by death. Then one day, Roy asked his timid friend: “You ever killed anything?” From that moment on, the two were bound together in a game too terrifying to imagine - and too irresistible to stop.

This is your friendly purveyor of smut, Rayna. I’m so glad to be back with another anthology of the best erotic stories of the year. I received so much generous feedback from last year’s anthology, and I’ve integrated a lot of your thoughts into this new volume.

Mr Galliano's famous circus has come to town! Join young Jimmy Brown and his family as they enter a thrilling world of incredible animals, colourful clowns and daring acrobats. Meet cheeky chimps, kindly elephants, fearsome tigers and one very special little dog called Lucky as Jimmy discovers what it takes to become part of Mr Galliano's Circus.

Hiccup and his dragon Toothless are back for more exciting and hilarious adventures! In How to Train Your Viking, Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, remembers one of Hiccup's early adventures, in which he, TOOTHLESS, was the one who saved the day. In The Day of the Dreader, Hiccup, Toothless and the Hairy Hooligans confront the perilous BIG DREADER, who has the Isle of Berk under siege! And in How to Train Your Hogfly, Hiccup must save his father's life, and prevent a new Viking Blood Feud from breaking out...by training an UNTRAINABLE dragon.

Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. Ruthless. Brilliant. Anonymous. Lethal. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. In this second dip into his case files (see 1000 Yards for a further novella), Milton is sent to Italy to investigate the death of a colleague from Group 15.

I don’t agree with many of the words you’ve used, but I will give you this: They do have a way of looking at you sideways that can be unsettling. So begins a letter from Nathaniel, a PhD candidate who’s recently moved from the east coast to Orinda, California. Nathaniel knows that his brother, Brice, who still lives near their mother in Michigan, couldn’t possibly understand the nuances of his and Cate’s new life: their eclectic community, their work in academia, and the liberal, alternative thinking that shapes the way they’ve handled their fertility issues.

New adventures of the iconic sleuth, an icon of detective fiction. Readers, listeners, investigators, and artists have come across Sherlock Holmes and his mythical stories of crime and adventure for generations. Now comes an outstanding anthology of never-before-seen short fiction stories featuring the much-loved powers of deduction and unerring quest for the truth - however improbable it might first appear. The Book of Extraordinary New Sherlock Holmes Stories brings together some of the most renowned American and British crime and thriller authors of today.

Join best-selling authors Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Peggy Ehrhart for a collection of the coziest Christmas capers! Everyone dreams of a picture-perfect small-town Christmas, but when murder is in the cards, some holiday greetings are addressed to kill....

Zacharias is his maternal grandfather’s namesake, though he has never met said grandfather or any other extended family members. He represses questions he has as a way of trying to protect himself and his mother, Dorothée, who is prone to bouts of depression. But he cannot ignore his reality forever and in adolescence, Zacharias begins to commit small acts of rebellion leading to a final act that goes horribly wrong and leads him to exile and a new life where he promises himself never to look back.

Loyal as a wolf - and just as strong and untamed - three solitary heroes are about to meet their perfect partners, in this thrilling collection from a trio of New York Times best-selling authors: Colorado Cowboy by Diana Palmer; The Wolf on Her Doorstep by Kate Pearce; and Rescue: Cowboy Style by Rebecca Zanetti.

Spanning from a mediocre spa in Florida, to New York’s gritty East Village, to death row in Alabama, this collection reveals boundless suspense in small, quiet moments, offering startling twists in the least likely of places. From a powerful response to hateful bullying, to a fight for health care, to a gripping desperation to vote, these stories are equal parts shocking, devastating, and enthralling, revealing the tension pulsing through our everyday lives and affirming that mystery and suspense writing is better than ever before.

In this delightful audio collection, Garrison Keillor reads 14 of his own favorite stories from his many years as a writer for The New Yorker and from two of his best-selling books, Happy To Be Here and We Are Still Married. These selections embody all of the qualities that make Keillor such a beloved storyteller; his effortless blending of humor and poignancy, his keen observations and gentle insights, and his rare ability to bring a sense of truth to every tale he tells.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality.

The snick of a lock. The squeak of door hinges. The creak of a floorboard... Nothing is more mysterious than footsteps in the dark. Are those approaching steps that of friend or enemy? Lover or killer?

In eight years Marlon James will be one of the brightest rising stars in the music industry. Bristol Gray will be his tough, no-nonsense manager. But when they first meet, she's a college student finding her way in the world, and he's an artist determined to make his way in it. From completely different worlds, all the things that should separate them only draw them closer. It's a beautiful beginning, but where will the story end?

From the Hugo Award-winning hosts of the Writing Excuses writing advice show comes a collection of all-new stories of the fantastic, with beautiful illustrations and a behind-the-scenes look at each story’s creation.

The reigning queens of Regency romance return with another delightful Christmas collection of three sparkling holiday romances, as stranded travelers find merriment, mistletoe, and holiday romance awaiting at a quaint country inn.

In this collection of gripping novellas from the top authors of Christian romantic suspense, sins of the past lead to danger in the present. In Dee Henderson's "Missing", a Wyoming sheriff is called to Chicago when his elderly mother goes missing. Paired with a savvy Chicago cop, the two realize her disappearance is no accident, and a race against the clock begins. Dani Pettrey returns to Alaska with "Shadowed", introducing listeners to the parents of her beloved McKenna clan....

Notes from the author: The following is a short story I wrote in the Elantris world back in January of 2006. There were always a few holes in Elantris where I decided not to include viewpoints or sections of explanation in the name of streamlining, particularly at the end. In the back of my mind, I knew what happened. This story talks about one of those holes; it is meant to be heard after you’ve finished the novel and takes place during the events of the climax.