Book picks similar to
The Princess of Valencia by Susan Straight
short-stories
fiction
california
contemporary
Sparks Fly
Nicole Falls - 2017
A simple touch sending currents of electricity flowing through a body. The feeling of coming home. Friends become lovers. Strangers become soulmates. The chemistry ignited when two people are falling in love is undeniable. Over the course of five short stories, follow these couples on journeys of passion and discover what happens when they decide to let sparks fly…
Night Terrors III
Theresa DillonPaul Tremblay - 2014
A wave of sinkholes appears on the anniversary of a rural tragedy, and local residents begin to hear the voices of the dead. A woman encounters a predator from her youth—and a chance to turn the tables. A child’s inner beast takes on a sinister life of its own. An undetectable serial killer raises tensions on a college campus. Experimental physics reveals another world, and it might mean the end of ours. Shrouded in darkness, lurking in the shadows, NIGHT TERRORS III awaits you. The third installment of the chilling Night Terrors anthology series includes stories from Jack Ketchum, Steve Rasnic Tem, Dennis Etchison, Taylor Grant, Eric J. Guignard, Aric Sundquist, Jennifer Brozek, John McNee, Simon McCaffery, Patty Templeton, and many more!
The Swordsman of Tanosa: A Short Tale of the Middle Sea
Duncan M. Hamilton - 2014
5,000 words (16 pages).For Bafion, there is no farther to fall. Once a banneret, officer, and gentleman, he is none of those things now. He is a swordsman who has slipped through the cracks of society and is eking out an existence as a thug for hire.Bafion is presented with the opportunity to reclaim some of what was lost to him, but to do so will mean facing part of his past that he would rather forget.The Swordsman of Tanosa is a swashbuckling fantasy short story set in the same world as the Society of the Sword trilogy.
The Man Who Loved Christmas
Alice Valdal - 2013
Protagonists in the other stories range from a teenage girl to an old woman with the theme of family and love and unseen possibilities in the Christmas season.This collection contains six stories of mysticism, hope and charm, a Christmas gift to readers.
Wrong Turn: A Jack Nightingale Short Story
Stephen Leather - 2017
Long dead serial killers are appearing before adoring fans, but it doesn't take them long to realise that Nightingale is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wrong Turn is a fast-paced supernatural story of 14,000 words. Jack Nightingale appears in the full-length novels Nightfall, Midnight, Nightmare, Nightshade, Lastnight, San Francisco Night and New York Night. He also appears in several short stories including Blood Bath, Cursed, Still Bleeding, Tracks, My Name Is Lydia, The Creeper, The Undead, The Asylum and The Mansion. The Jack Nightingale time line is complex, this story is set after Lastnight. Jack Nightingale has his own website at www.jacknightingale.com
The Frogs
Preeti Shenoy - 2018
The Frogs is an unforgettable read by one of India’s most-loved authors.
Books, Beads and Baubles
Mary J. Hicks - 2014
As a service and convenience for their customers, Bertie set up a 'read-n-return' section in the book area. Customers can check out books for free, and return the books when they've finished reading them. Books are disappearing, but no one is checking them out at the front register as customer are supposed to do. What's happening to the books? As Wanda noted, 'they aren't leaving the store under their own steam that's for sure!' The sisters live in a small town; their customers are good people who help each other, they care for their neighbors and they'd never do harm on purpose. Can the two elderly sisters solve the mystery…?
The Contractors
Lisa Ko - 2020
One in New Jersey, one in the Philippines. Same name: Sandra Guzman. Same job: content moderators for a mega social media website. What transpires between them is a friendship that changes their perceptions of each other’s privilege and challenges the power of the very industry they work for.Lisa Ko’s The Contractors is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women’s empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.
Ace Jones: Mad Fat Adventures in Therapy
Stephanie McAfee - 2013
What’s worse is that every time she leaves the house, she winds up in some kind of altercation. She can’t help but wonder if she’s an idiot magnet, or if she’s the smart-mouth stirring things up. Hoping for a little peace of mind, Ace gives in to the advice of her best friend and goes to see a therapist. But she quickly discovers that the road to nirvana isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. And as Ace goes from one therapeutic misadventure to another, the plus-sized spitfire becomes more determined than ever to find enlightenment—even if it means bending herself into a pretzel to do it.
Swim
Jennifer Weiner - 2006
When she’s not working, she’s swimming—lap after lap at the local indoor pool, in a desperate attempt to wash away the sting of professional failure and heartbreak that she can’t seem to shake. It takes an unexpected client to show her that appearances can be deceiving, and that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is simply dive back in.
Miss Budge In Love
Daphne Simpkins - 2010
A retired public school teacher, Miss Budge embarks on a series of slice-of-life adventures that take readers into the intriguing and authentic lives of Southern church women. "What our readers love about Miss Budge is that they all know her personally. In fact, they all are her in one way or another. Daphne's stories are instantly recognizable to those in a church community, and that's where the real humour and real pathos comes from. Daphne is a keen observer of the strange and wonderful subculture of 'the church lady.'" Brett Alan Dewing The Christian Courier (Canada) "Mildred Budge is a forthright, almost larger than life, woman who challenges every reader's faith walk by being transparent about her own. She reminds us that Jesus loves us the way we are but He loves us too much to leave us as we are." Julie Innes Evangel
Ghost Unbroken
Annie McLeod - 2013
Short StoryHer future is set, her life mapped out, but one unexpected meeting turns her carefully laid plans upside down.
Finding Eden
Tina Newcomb - 2017
As mayor of Eden Falls, a business owner, and the mother of six-year-old Charlie, she doesn’t have time to coddle a self-absorbed author, who’s only in town for the summer.Best-selling author Colton McCreed is in Eden Falls to study small town life for his next murder mystery. As his research draws him into the community, he becomes entwined with the mayor and her cheerful son. Colton’s unhappy childhood left him believing he’s immune to love, but Alex and Charlie have a pull on him he’s never felt before.Impromptu dinner invitations throw Colton and Alex into a world of discovery, shattering her image of Mr. Right and his belief that love is out of reach.If you like clean romance, quirky characters, and a quaint town you won’t want to leave, you'll love Finding Eden.Other Books in the Eden Falls SeriesBeyond EdenA Taste of EdenThe Angel of Eden FallsTouches of EdenStars Over Eden FallsFortunes for EdenSnow and Mistletoe in Eden Falls
If the Fates Allow: A Short Story
Rainbow Rowell - 2021
Maybe a little too easily. She’s always liked people better from afar. But Reagan doesn’t want her grandpa to be alone for Christmas this year—he’s already spent too much time on his own in 2020. So she heads back to her hometown with a dish of holiday Jell-O salad, hoping they can have a little normalcy. Hoping it will be safe…She isn’t expecting to run into the boy next door. Mason is all grown up now. He’s considerate. He’s funny. He doesn’t mind how prickly Reagan is—he maybe even likes it. And it makes Reagan feel like her defenses are falling. She needs her defenses, doesn’t she? In a time when six feet is close enough, how long can they keep their distance?
A Slice of Life
Margaret Lake - 2012
That’s when the name-calling began. Stretch, skinny-minny, boy in girl’s clothes, all because of the slender height that had her towering over even the tallest boys in the class. Now, nearly thirty years later, Grace is head chef of the failing restaurant and still hiding in the kitchen. Like many businesses during the current recession, Coulter’s may have to start laying off employees or even close. But Grace has a plan to save the restaurant and the people she’s known all her life; a plan that will force her to go out into the world and face her fears.