Urban Short Stories

Just because Jenny was born without a head doesn't mean she isn't still annoying to her older brother, and just because the Man of the Future's carefully planned extramarital affair ends in alien abduction and network fame doesn't mean he can't still pine for his absent wife. Romping through the fantastic with big-hearted ease, these stories cut to the core of what it means to navigate family, faith, and longing.

Gordon Lightcap and his partner, Moira Donatelli, have created an organization to rid the world of a rising threat. But to better understand that threat they must look back into the horrific events leading up to their current predicament. Join them as they search for the answers through 10 short stories of flesh-devouring madness. Learn about the very first incident and others to discover an even more dangerous foe who is ready to surface.

Quiet As They Come is a beautiful and at times brutal portrait of a people caught between two cultures. Set in San Francisco from the 1980s to the present day, this debut collection explores the lives of several families of Vietnamese immigrants as they struggle to adjust to life in their new country, often haunted by the memories and customs of their old lives in Vietnam. While some are able to survive and assimilate, others are crushed by the promise of the "American Dream."

Plötzlich kriecht eine Hand blitzschnell von der Seite in den Hosenladen seiner Lederhose und greift zu. "Das fühlt sich aber gut an!" flüstert eine Stimme in sein Ohr. Er zuckt zusammen wie eine Katze, die man am Schwanz packt. "Bist du verrückt?" flüstert er zurück und kneift die Beine zusammen. Als ob das etwas nützte. Eben saß doch noch die Eva von der Maske neben ihm.

Aguanten la respiración y sean testigos de los prodigios más sorprendentes: conozcan al increíble hombre que se comunica con un fantasma escribiendo mensajes en la puerta del servicio de un bar, a la extraordinaria gata enamorada de su vecino, al vendedor de enciclopedias que acaba suplantando al hijo de una de sus clientes, a la fabulosa niña que recibe cartas de su muñeca perdida, al asombroso hombre que se desdobla con cada decisión que toma, y toda una troupe de criaturas maravillosas.

Connor McKnight, former acolyte of film, Zen, and Japanese literature, is not unaware that these avocations are wildly different tfrom his present occupation (fledgling celebrity journalist). Meanwhile, his longtime girlfriend, the fashion model Philomena, seems curiously remote, and soon decamps for the West Coast.

Bevor Charles Dickens mit "Oliver Twist" berühmt wurde, schrieb er Kurzgeschichten. 1836 veröffentlichte er die "Londoner Skizzen". Es sind Beobachtungen, Fantasien und Fiktionen, in denen Dickens das alltägliche Leben humorvoll beschreibt und gleichzeitig die sozialen Missstände im England des 19. Jahrhunderts kritisiert. Sie alle zeigen das London, das er so gut kannte, im Guten wie im Schlechten – seine Straßen, Theater, Gasthäuser, Pfandhäuser und Gefängnisse. Mit seiner eindringlichen Stimme erweckt Tom Vogt Dickens’ Alltagsszenen zum Leben.

Twisty scares with heart. Ghosts, sea monsters, and a rest home for troublesome witches all feature in this collection of paranormal stories set in Wellington, New Zealand. By turns spooky and laugh-out-loud funny, these tales stew with malevolence and mischief. Climb aboard the ghost bus for a wild ride of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and humor, and hop off a little more in love with Aotearoa's capital city.

Imagine coming home to find a farewell note, an empty refrigerator, a disconnect notice from the electric company, and an eviction letter giving you 30 days to vacate the premises - all without a job to fall back on. Well, that's what happened to Africa Evans, a shy, insecure woman without a backup plan. From one bad choice to another, Africa leans on love as an escape from her dilemma. But for this girl from da hood, tough love may prove detrimental to her well-being.

Whether they are undeniably heroes and heroines or bloodthirsty monsters (or something in between), the undead are a lively lot. This anthology offers some of the best short fiction ever written by the "blood sisters" who know them best: stories you can really sink your teeth into.

Akira's plans are simple: write wedding invitations, bake Christmas cookies, and eat red meat. (The last surprises her, too.) But when Rose, the ghost who haunts her house, asks for a favor, Akira can't say no. Although she's faced danger before, even death, a toddler who doesn't like peanut-butter-and-jelly might be her worst nightmare.

Three uncommon tales of the common man. Two technicians of an unutterable trade. A home for the elderly whose secrets must remain underground. And a meat factory where homogeneity hides all evils.

Are you a fan of the upside-down worlds of the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Black Mirror? How about Stephen King or Neil Gaiman? Then spend some time reading these 26 twisty, turny stories that cross genres and blur the lines between reality and fantasy. In "Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six", a timid bank clerk working in the Arizona frontier encounters a strange man and an even stranger gun. In "Captain Coffee", a caffeine-powered superhero comes to the rescue...and many more fun ways to spend a few minutes of your day.

Las palabras son lo que comunican y la historia que cuentan. O las historias, mejor dicho, pues tienen una en el diccionario y como parte del idioma, y otra como parte de la vida de quien las usa. Y quizá ésta sea la más interesante: ¿cómo empezamos a usar una palabra?, ¿por qué elegimos ésa y no otra para nuestro vocabulario? Las respuestas nunca son sencillas. No es un compendio de palabras domingueras, sino de breves ensayos donde la autora comparte cómo las más distinguidas compañeras, las palabras, llegaron a ampliar su mundo, como pueden ampliar el nuestro.

Utah can be a weird place, but do you really know just how weird it can be? Find out with this collection of strange tales set in the Beehive State. We're not going to say they're true...but they're true.

This collection of stories by science-fiction and mystery author Gary Alan Ruse explores fantasy realms and the dark side of human - and nonhuman - nature with thrills and chills, and, in some cases, a touch of humor.

Welcome to the horrific and poetic world of Sam Stone, where angels are stalking the undead and a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf. Terror and lust go hand in hand in the disturbing world of the Toymaker, and the haunting Siren's call draws the hapless further into a waking nightmare. Here are 14 chilling short stories from the Queen of Vampire fiction. This collection includes a bonus story, "Walking the Dead", which does not appear in the printed edition.

These twenty two tales of horror will transport you into the world of darkness and fear, a dim, shadowy netherworld just beyond the veil, just past the threshold, just after midnight.

Karlie Houston hasn't seen a raise in forever, but the payday loan office she manages is raking in the cash. So why not get what she's rightfully owed by masterminding a heist? Once her lover Sidney's boys hit all the company's locations at one time, there's a fortune to split. But suddenly bodies start dropping - and Karlie better devise the perfect plan to survive.

Visit a world where a wild-land firefighter must use his mysterious powers to save his crew from a roaring inferno. Follow an eco-tourist's frantic efforts to escape an African quarantine zone ravaged by a deadly virus. Meet a gumshoe journalist as she tracks down a figure that'sable to predict the future with terrifying accuracy. And tune into Texas station KRAP (don't touch that dial, there's KRAP on it!) as a pair of down-home country deejays try their damnedest to stop a murder...while they're still on the air.