Storytelling Fiction

Three complete stories in one collection! Includes Monkey Trouble, The Zombie Project, and The Great Turkey Heist.

Jake saw something unspeakable when he was nine. An act of violence. Brutal. He doesn't know it, but this trauma will play a key role in shaping him later in life. Now, he's 15. A wimp. He flinches. Always. He seeks the guidance of the biggest bad-ass he knows, his cousin Nick. Nick is a professional burglar and makes Jake his apprentice. Nick teaches Jake his dark philosophy - that there is no right or wrong in the world, just a series of events that happen without meaning. At first this helps Jake, but it also unleashes an aggression in himself he never thought possible....

A comedy of errors when four octogenarian Egyptology docents steal a mummy which has no value to find artifacts they know do not exist and are mistaken for a band of professional art thieves.

The story of a starry-eyed performer who dreams of performing with the Rockettes, F--ker, The Christmas Mouse, is a heart-warming and ludicrous tale of holiday dreams come true.

Such barking, such endless yapping from a dog that usually holds his peace unless he is unduly troubled can only mean one thing. It is our turn to be honored by a visit from Oscar the 'possum. Oscar is what you'd call a shadowy figure. He never does come out where you can see him in broad daylight, like birds and squirrels and other creatures do. I don't know if it's because he doesn't like the looks of us or he thinks we wouldn't like the looks of him. Or maybe he's just too shy to come right up and introduce himself.

A lifetime ago, Richard was alone and adrift. It took his own suicide and a battle for his afterlife to turn things around. When he decided to haunt his own home he learned things worked differently in the phantom world and found himself hauled into court. Ghost Court.

Dominique Wilkins has used actual events to demonstrate the extent of human's rudeness, inconsideration, and downright unkindness toward friends, family, and neighbors. You'll identify with the stories and want to contribute a " The Audacity of You!" tale or two from your own experiences. Indeed, the appeal of The Audacity of You! lies in the fact that we've all been there.

Charlie and Tommy have big plans for Halloween. They hope to get out of taking their little sisters around and go trick-or-treating in Alex's upscale neighborhood instead. There they'll get tons more candy, they'll be on their own, and afterwards they'll get to attend the sleepover at Alex's house. But when Charlie finds out that the entertainment at the party is to consist of the Scariest Horror Movies Ever, he is struck by panic.

Charlie, Tommy, and Hector have high hopes for their soccer team this season until they find out that their new coach isn't all that interested in the fantabulous plays the three friends have worked out together.

After getting unfairly downsized, Tommy meets April, the girl of his dreams, when she accidentally runs his bicycle off the road. They seem made for each other. But when he over-indulges in taking prescription medication for a cycling injury, he comes down with an unusual condition for a man - yeast infection.

What is there for a husband and father of three to do when he suddenly loses his job? Well...he can become a house-dad! Is a man really capable of handling all of the household tasks as well as teaching manners to a three-year-old tyrant? How does it make him feel that his wife brings home the bacon instead of him? How will he and we, his two older children, cope with the snide comments of people that don't respect his decision?

Anchors aweigh for a great parody on cruise holidays! Crabby's best mate, Reg, has foolishly asked for his opinion on cruise holidays. A self-appointed expert, the Old Git lets Reg have it with both propellers: cabin grade and the effect it will have on his bank balance and stomach, perils of the arrivals hall, the curse of the ship's paparazzi, and the upgrade hustlers!

In this musical romantic comedy, with actors, singers, and full orchestra, meet Emily who may or may not be with the right guy. She gets plenty of time to wonder about him as he haunts the pub where she works. Meet Ben, a twenty-something teacher who may one day find the courage to approach the miraculous beauty studying at the back of that pub. And meet Pablo, the handsome and awkward Spaniard, an unlikely hero who puts the pub back in post-puberty-based musical romantic comedies.

"Then Her Wig Fell Off" is a story that I heard and wrote about, in a hair salon - the same one that is pictured on the cover of the book. Inside you will meet the person I call "The Magician" who takes anyone who walks through the door, and not only makes their hair look better, but makes them FEEL better as well. Even if they are old...or have cancer. We're all human, both the beautiful and the not so; those in their prime and those dying. This is a story that lifts the human spirit.

In 2012 Pete Sortwell did something no one had ever done before: He wrote a book based entirely on Amazon product reviews. The book was so successful, he wrote a series. The series was so successful, he spent the next year releasing other projects he'd been working on. Now, for the first time, the stories he wrote while learning his craft are available.

Charlie Bumpers has his heart set on playing the role of the evil Sorcerer in the fourth grade play. He's even got the laugh down pat: Mwa-ha-ha-ha! But his dreams of villainous stardom go up in smoke when he finds out that Mrs. Burke has cast him as the Nice Gnome! Determined to rectify this terrible injustice, Charlie concocts one plan after another, but nothing seems to work. To make matters worse, his dad has assigned chores to all the kids in the family and Charlie's job is walking Ginger, the diggiest, sniffiest, and poopiest dog in the universe.

Stories told in the dark are those nagging stories that won't go away until you bring them to the light. Waiting for Fido, the first in the series, is dark humor with a suburban beat. It is the story of a lovely couple who are ready to retire and sail away. Almost. There is still the nagging problem of what to do with the family pets....

In all my years of reporting on the human condition, this has to be the most bizarre, and (if true) history shattering interviews I've ever conducted. This story is told by Billy "Big Rig", a pseudonymous truck driver I met over sausage gravy and biscuits in the late 1990s when I was driving a truck to make ends meet. We struck up a friendship, although I think I maybe spoke 10 words to him the whole time I knew him. He did most of the talking. And the way he spun a yarn caused me to be transfixed.

Rev. Dr. Steve Burt, the Congregational minister known as The Christmas Story Pastor, has been sharing his emotional holiday stories - modern parables revealing the true meaning of Christmas - for 40 years in print and in read-aloud programs. Millions have heard him read his stories on radio and television, with millions more seeing them in Family Circle or the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

Bodett offers his keen, unforgettable observations of the lives of the people of Homer, Alaska, who "just ended up there, and stayed". Includes stories about Clara's coffee cup, Emmitt Frank, Jenuwine McDoogan, "the expert", "a lucky break", "missing youth", "Doug's stuff", and "the best sauna story so far".