Written in the author's wry and masterful voice, these evocative stories are infused with all the peculiar customs, ironies and humor so special to the South.The twelve stories in this collection include "Red Clay," which won an Edgar Allen Poe Award, in which a local girl from Thermopylae becomes a movie star who moves back to her sleepy North Carolina home town and is tried for murdering her unfaithful husband. Her trial causes the town and one man in particular to look back with longing and nostalgia at this exquisite Southern belle who captivated-and sometimes manipulated-every man she met."Fast Love," the recipient of an O. Henry Award, is the story of a man who chases down his future wife after seeing her jog past. As he gets closer to his quarry, he also gains the courage to stand up for what he wants and to champion what he believes.In "Blue Cadillac," Marie, blonde and beautiful, shares dinner and her love of Elvis with a high-tech sales rep on his way home to Memphis. Along the way and on the road, they have exquisite sex and decide to part, Marie in her blue Cadillac. As he rings the bell at his mother's house, the young man discovers that he has been robbed of his wallet and his whole life on cards.Self-contained masterpieces, each of these short stories has the impact and power of a full-length novel.Stella : red clay --Marie : blue Cadillac --Precious : winners and losers --Charmain : white trash noir --Lucy : maniac loose --Flonnie : the rising of the South and Flonnie Rogers --Patty : love and other crimes --Meredith : fast love --Angie : the power --Mona : Miss mona's bank --Betty : a deer on the lawn --Mattie : invitation to the ball

    Over 60,000 sold in small format. The Clothes They Stood Up In, has sold over 200,000 copies as a small novella and was 14 weeks in the Bestseller lists. It is the painful story of what happens to an elderly couple when their flat is stripped completely bare. The Laying on of Hands, a memorial service for a masseur to the famous that goes horribly wrong. Over 100,000 copies sold as a novella. Like everything Alan Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. And they all have a brilliant and surprising twist; are immensely funny and profoundly moral.

    

    Every culture has believed in ghosts at one time or another: Buddha trained himself to overcome fear by sitting in a haunted cemetry. Spooky tales are not just a contemporary phenomenon – there are several ghosts mentioned in the Old Testament. In the course of a person's lifetime, the chances of encountering a ghost are suprisingly high. Many of the stories within this book originated from the numerous letters and telephone calls Tom Slemen received at Radio Merseyside, where he presented a regular slot on the Billy Butler Show. The tremendous response from listeners is confirmation of a widespread fascination with the paranormal. Take a spine-chilling journey along Liverpool's streets and meet Spring-Heeled Jack, that Harrington Street visions, Bernie with the broken neck, the Grey Lady of Grove Street and many other spooky characters and ghostly encounters!

    As a Family Liaison Officer he is always the bearer of bad news - it is his job to tell the friends and family of victims the fate of their loved ones.But Tom is weighted down by crimes both old and new - haunted by the death of his best friend Dani, whose murder has never been solved.When a rare opportunity emerges for Tom to take the lead in a horrific murder investigation, he is determined to get justice for the victim. A young girl has been found in her own home, cut so badly - and so carefully - that she has bled to death, leaving a deliberate pool of blood in the shape of angel wings....

    A couple of thousand feet in the air, hanging from eagle talons and bleeding out. Just a typical bad day for a rebellious cat. Meet Dascha, a perfect example of contrariness and smarts. This young Russian Blue is not interested in following the family business, at all! But a moment of inattention leads to danger and pain, and she is left with some hard decisions to make. Will she survive mage attacks, wolves, and, worst of all, her instructors?

    Ranging from humor to profound maturity, the works in this volume offer the full spectrum of Soseki's genius. They are among Soseki's best, and brilliantly display his temperament and thought, the richness of his humor, and the sureness of his satirical touch. Ten Nights of Dream comprises a collection of ten short stories of dreams. Couched in a surrealistic atmosphere, they reveal the attitudes of a major writer at a turning point in his career.

    * New Edition. * Includes a new translation of 'Fotikchand'.

    You are a true karmachari. A collection of unforgettable short stories about ordinary people, Karmachari is a mirror held up to society. Set in suburban Mumbai of the 1970s, yet universal, it is peopled by characters we might meet in real life. They come alive under V.P. Kale's sharp but compassionate gaze, and prod us gently towards a world of greater kindness and understanding.

    

    Silky Milky likes to leave the refrigerator to hang out with his friends: Cookie Rookie and the three cereals, Funch, Hunch and Crunch. Read this fun and entertaining bedtime story now!

    The Whitshanks are a family who believe certain myths about themselves. They believe they are happier than other families, and closer to each other, and they believe that Whitshanks have a way of getting what they want. In the winding course of this novel, Tyler shows how these beliefs are true in some ways, but painfully untrue in other ways. This latest work from Anne Tyler is as masterful and absorbing as anything she has written. Her patient character development, her unsentimental portrayal of family life, and her brilliant understanding of the psychology of parents and children all combine to create a memorable and breath-taking novel. Fans of Anne Tyler will not be disappointed, and new readers will no doubt rush to read her extensive back list. This companion also includes the following: • Book Review • Story Setting Analysis • Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel • Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed • Thought Provoking /or Discussion Questions for both Readers & Book Clubs • Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols… • And Much More! This Analysis fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.

    

    Since publishing his first short story "Seventh Test Tube" in Kalkandu magazine in 1968, he has written over 1,500 short novels and over 2,000 short stories. Many of his detective novels feature the recurring characters Vivek and Rubella. He continues to publish at least five novels every month, in the pocket magazines Best Novel, Everest Novel, Great Novel, Crime Novel, and Dhigil Novel, besides short stories published in weekly magazines like Kumudam and Ananda Vikatan. His writing is widely popular in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka.

    After the authorities haul away the remains of the body, Michael finds something that he thinks will change his and his family's life forever. So he makes a choice. But when his family is threatened and his options turn from bad to worse, Michael regrets his immediate choices. But by then it's too late.