Urban Short Stories

A Single Round is a collection of short stories from a hard place. Stories of moonshine and shotguns, obsession and transcendence, love and darkness, and the blindness of human desire. Each tale follows a painful path to one ultimate realization: The devil’s deal always ends badly and often with a single round.

Fifteen dark tales by USA Today best-selling author J.R. Rain. "Vampire Nights": Samantha Moon meets someone unexpected on a late-night trip to Denny's, someone who seems to know all her secrets and has all the answers. "Book Burning": Two brothers find themselves on a late-night mission to burn a legendary book of supposed dark powers. "The Silo": The land is dying and crops are failing. The city of Wheatopia is in the middle of the worst drought in recent memory - that is, until a city slicker and his too-thin wife arrive in town.... Plus 12 more!

Rish Outfield presents a dozen stories performed by the author. Includes some bonus flash fiction pieces not available anywhere else!

With the same unforgettable and distinctive prose on display in his other books, Airtight Willie & Me is further evidence that Iceberg Slim was an expert at capturing the language of the streets. Always compelling, sometimes funny, and often bleak, Slim gives us six slices of city life that will leave you thirsting for more.

Upswings, downturns, bubbles, patent trolls and hackers, venture capitalists and start-ups: sometimes the modern world of high-tech companies seems as ruled by the Fates, the Furies and the Muses, as any classical Greek drama. In this collection of intertwined short stories, a Silicon Valley insider imagines the forces of antiquity still active in the 21st century - with apps, databases, and a serious yen for skim-milk lattes. Proceed with caution. Your future depends on what you do next.

We think about it every day, sometimes every hour: money. Who has it. Who doesn't. How you get it. How you don't. Bender uses this very powerful force to pull together a unified collection of stories that deeply explore the ways in which money and the subsequent estimation of value affect the lives of her characters.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it’s tough not to get freaked out when you’re alone and you hear something bump in the night or even hear a voice. The stories below will freak you out so it’s best to read these with someone. Preferably a friend and not a stranger you’ve decided to creep up behind on the street. My house was built in 1904. It is a single family home, wood frame setting on a concrete block foundation. I have been living here for about 12 years. Of all the weird things that my siblings and me have seen or heard in this house this one event is my favorite.

As Kalina prepares for the next stage in her life with a visit to Yale University, a surprise meeting with someone from her past leads to a discovery that would change the vampire world forever.You thought you knew all about Life's Blood and what it can do. You thought you knew what Kalina was. Now in Blue Blood, all that will change as Kalina meets her maker. One of her vampire loves will die, another will be turned, and another will break her heart forever.

Half Life is a triplet of supernatural stories which journey to worlds that linger between life and death. Fear, disappointment, and loneliness permeate these worlds, forcing each character to face up to the dark side of human existence. An original blend of horror, pathos, and humour, these curious stories will cause disquiet, heartache, and a thrilling sting of pleasure.

New York Times best-selling author Marjorie Liu (Monstress) leads you deep into the heart of the tangled woods. In her dark, romantic, and spellbinding short fiction, you will find dangerous magic and even more dangerous women: a body-stealing sorceress, a bone-collecting apprentice-witch, a princess-turned-actress, and a warrior protecting China from her jealous ex. Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Liu's first short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales of love, revenge, and new beginnings.

Thrumming Heart is a spellbinding collection of fantasy, sci-fi detective, and paranormal short stories that will have you on the edge of your seat. Enjoy these tantalizing tales on breaks during your day or before you go to sleep.

Thirteen hundred years ago, the conquering wizard, Nasoj, cast three great spells on the people of Metamor Keep. Fueled by the power of the dark gods, these spells would irrevocably change the castle's defenders in body and soul, rendering them helpless against his advancing armies. Things did not work out as he hoped. The spells were countered, but only partially. They wove together with the castle's own magic, becoming a curse that blanketed the entire valley.

He has taken me away from everything that I know and love. I only have one choice: to do everything he says or my fate will be worse than death. What does he want? He wants to play a game. But I’m not the only one playing. There are others. Prettier, smarter, more charming than I am. But only one of us can be the winner. Only one of us can be his wife.

Un'oscura genia di umanoidi che minaccia la sopravvivenza di tutti gli uomini. Una folle fuga nel microcosmo psichedelico della metropolitana di Londra. Un cagnolino in grado di diventare lo strumento più forte del male assoluto. Il lato in ombra della mente può oltrepassare i limiti della ragione, confondendosi con la realtà e sostituirsi a essa? I racconti di "È solo nella tua mente ed è reale" si muovono in queste atmosfere stranianti e bizzarre, inquietanti e surreali, cercando di rispondere al segreto della psiche con uno sguardo attento e brillante.

A house inches 800 miles to confess its horrible crime. The last resident of a mental institution discovers he's not alone. A middle-schooler performs an experiment to determine how much time we fit in dreams. Boys looking for wonder find more than they're expecting in the Adirondacks with Charles Fort. A detective learns everything he's ever wanted to know...and some things he hasn't. In Will Ludwigsen's short stories of strangeness and mystery, the universe has a way of being weird in just the ways we need it to be.

"The Deep End" by Robert McCammon: Everyone thinks the drowning death of Neil Calder in the local swimming pool was a tragic accident. Only his father knows better. Now, on the last night of summer, Neil returns in search of revenge.

Surface Tension is a unique collection of dark tales which delve deep into the undercurrents of human psychology. Ghosts, heavenly creatures, and magic beings haunt the characters, bringing messages of warning or redemption. They're delightful stories that charm and scare in equal measure.

By the light of day, the world seems pleasant and safe. We tell ourselves we are the top of the life chain, the ultimate evolved species. When the sun sets and menacing eyes open, the lie is over. Our laughable dominance over the earth fades behind the veil of night. Beneath quiet and gloomy skies, rotten fingers claw upward from the cold ground. Coffin lids squeal. The lunatics in dank cells cackle the hymns of hell. Torturous nightmares rage in innocent minds devouring hope and sanity.

Fogwill se dio a conocer como autor de cuentos y relatos breves, terreno en el cual fue un maestro indiscutido de la literatura argentina de la última parte del siglo XX. Sus primeros libros fueron Mis muertos punk, Música japonesa y Pájaros de la cabeza, aparecidos durante principios de la década de los 80. Alfaguara publica ahora, en ediciones aniversario, dos de los títulos en formato facsimilar, reproduciendo las versiones originales y respetando los usos y costumbres editoriales de ese momento inaugural en la trayectoria literaria de Fogwill.

Mason Dixon is a vlogger making hilarious videos about hunting down monsters in the wilds of Missouri. But his vlog is just a ruse to spread disinformation so he can secretly relocate endangered cryptids. Join the team with Mason, his sidekick Emma, and their tech guru Himari as they battle humans and monsters alike to protect these vulnerable creatures. Snarky humor meets full-throttle action in this can’t miss urban fantasy adventure!