until something utterly unfamiliar suddenly lands in your back yard.Susan is the epitome of the happy housewife, contentedly conducting her daily ritual of cleaning her home and keeping everything just as it should be. Wrapped up in her own little world within those familiar walls, she hardly notices the altogether different arrival in her own back yard. She may ignore the sudden shaking beneath her slippered feet, she might even neglect to spot the conspicuous sight itself—but she can't evade the stench. Something's wrong. Very wrong. And Susan's incapable of determining just what to do about the uninvited eyesore in her back yard. Turning to her best friend for help with the impromptu emergency threatening to shake up her very existence and happy home, Susan combines efforts with neighbor Trisha to decipher the composition and meaning of the frightfully large and utterly unpleasant new arrival. But are these two women really capable of realizing the gift of new awareness they've just been given by an unseen entity? Or will they continue to fail to see the world that exists out there? What a difference a day makes... unless you choose to ignore it. Start Reading Now...What are you waiting for? Unexpected surprises, urban fantasy, unveiled mysteries, a touch of humor, a dab of "new weird", and so much more await you.

    Mostly those kind of folks ain’t worth knowing." Nolan Parker rides into Mustang City looking for grazing land of his own. With money in his pocket, he’s in town to buy a ranch.Then he saves a boy's dog from a killer. Now he finds himself embroiled in the beginnings of a range war, battling the hired gunmen of a ruthless rancher. He must make a decision. Stay and fight, or cut and run. Because of a Dog, is a drama of honor, love, hate, and death—a stirring tale of the old west that will keep you engrossed to the very end.

    In the centerpiece story, an eighteenth-century Eno Indian tells of the fiery fate of his adopted father, English explorer John Lawson. In the surrounding stories, the age-old conflicts between newcomer and old-timer play out as twenty-first century retirees, carnies, runaways, heartbroken women, and farmers stumble into new lives and new insights in Ambler County, North Carolina. "Hudson's prose is pure as birdsong," says novelist Doris Betts. "These fine stories of change and discovery are a field guide to the human species in transition."

    A private investigator, a police lieutenant, and a man wearing a Bugs Bunny mask walk into a bar...Unfortunately, it's no joke when Bugsy rigs the barrel of a twelve-gauge pump to the back of the bartender's neck.Together for the first time in this explosive tale of greed, betrayal, and blood-soaked terror (not really, but it's a fast-paced and funny mystery-thriller), Florida PI Nicholas Colt (Crosscut, Key Death) and Chicago cop Jacqueline Daniels (Whiskey Sour, Shaken) team up to stop the robber before another shotgun shell gets RACKED.

    West, Calvin Winslow is an unhappily married man who takes a late night exit and finds a hellish back road. This story is just one of the dark tales featured in West's critically-acclaimed collection, WHAT PRICE GORY. Midnight Snack is part of the Single Shot Short Story series which adds exclusive story notes and bonus content that you can only find in the Single Shot Story Series. What people have said about the collection, WHAT PRICE GORY?: "A Horror Library MUST HAVE... Deliciously Good Story Telling!"-Heather Omen, DIGITAL MACABRE "Terry M. West understands horror. He understands gory. And he handles them with the delicate touch of a master of the genre and a true wordsmith..."-Author, Charie D. LaMarr "5 STARS! Fear and extreme twists and an examination of human capacity rest within these tales, just waiting to be devoured..."-Vitina Molgaard, Horror Novel Reviews "5 STARS! One Hell of a collection!"-Dale Herring, Geekdom of Gore “What Price Gory is one of the damned finest collections of short stories I have ever had the privilege to read..."-Michael Donner, aka Captain Creeper of Creepercast.com

    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

    Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

    William Gay is well known for his fiction but he is also widely published with his essays, mostly dealing with music, and his memoirs. This is the first collection that includes his nonfiction prose. The elegant use of language that his readers have come to expect is as evident in his collected prose as it is in his novels.

    But her pleasure dies when she opens the box to find a dozen dead roses. And when the black roses keep coming, Jude begins to fear the only kiss she's going to get for Valentine's Day is the kiss of death....

    Four stories. Each one set in the enchanting world of the South. These are the kinds of stories your grandmother told you from a front porch swing. Ice Melts in Spring by Linda W. Yezak When Kerry Graham's boss forces her to return to the Gulf of Mexico where her husband drowned years ago, she feels only spring's chill and not the warmth of the Texas sun. Can the joy of a reclusive author and the compassion of a shrimp-boat preacher thaw Kerry's frigid heart? Lillie Beth in Summer by Eva Marie Everson With the untimely death of his wife, Dr. James Gillespie believes God has abandoned him. He also believes he's never met anyone like the young widow Lillie Beth, whose beloved Granny lies dying at home, and who sees a God who sweeps hope through a farmhouse window. Can a young woman whose husband died in Vietnam restore a faith that is all but dead. Through an Autumn Window by Claire Fullerton Because her larger than life mother Daphne Goodwyn is dead, forty-year-old Cate returns to Memphis with one thought in mind: something always goes wrong at a Southern funeral. But surrounded by the well-mannered society that raised her, the nostalgic rites of a three-day, autumn mourning bring the unexpected gift of the end of sibling rivalry. A Magnolia Blooms in Winter by Ane Mulligan With Broadway stardom within her reach, Morgan James returns home in winter to help an old friend. Maybe it s just nostalgia, but when she sees him again, an old flame rekindles. When she s called back to NYC to take the lead in a new musical, will fame be worth losing the man she loves?

    For when Makani touches others, their darkest thoughts and secret deeds are revealed to her. But her exile from the world at large comes to an end when she meets a “gifted” man with a talent of his own—a talent guided by a twisted soul. In a war of wills, only one will survive.“Final Hour”Makani saves a stranger from an accident in the park and experiences a most disturbing vision. With her friend Pogo, her dog Bob, and mere traces of information to guide her, Makani must track down two mysterious sisters—one of them innocent, one not.“Troubled Times”A friend reveals that he is under attack from a man with supernatural talents—a malevolent man with the power to manipulate time. The power was meant for good—to save humanity—but it was usurped by this man of insatiable greed and lust. Makani must use her gift, yet again, not only to save her friend, but the world as well. Has Makani finally met her match? Can her good heart stand up to such evil? Someone’s time is up and only time will tell whose time that is.

     The town of San Adrian has been taken over by an outlaw, a wife-murderer, and violent man who won't succumb to Jacob's usual methods. He must protect the sheriff's widow, the townspeople, and himself all while unmasking this despicable character. If you love traditional westerns, with noble men fighting for what's right, you're going to love Jacob Payne. This novella is 15,000 words and can be read in one sitting!

    THIS IS A 3,000 WORD SHORT STORY EQUIVALENT TO 18 PAGES.Genre: FantasyA Minneapolis reporter is sent to Georgia to write a tongue-in-cheek article about mermaids, but instead finds herself enchanted by the mysterious man who rescues her.

    

    The only catch is that she has to look after a pet dog in exchange for board.She soon finds herself trying to juggle auditions, the demise of a long-term relationship and a blossoming fling, all whist hiding a sinister secret concealed within her suitcase.