The preeminent short fiction series since 1915, The Best American Short Stories is the only volume that annually offers the finest works chosen by a distinguished best-selling author.Hermit's story / Rick Bass --Sun, the moon, the stars / Junot Diaz --Mrs. Dutta writes a letter / Chitra Divakaruni --Kansas / Stephen Dobyns --Tumblers / Nathan Englander --Piano tuner / Tim Gautreaux --Uncharted heart / Melissa Hardy --The 5:22 / George Harrar --Islands / A. Hemon --Best girlfriend you never had / Pam Houston --In the kindergarten / Ha Jin --Marry the one who gets there first / Heidi Julavits --Live life king-sized / Hester Kaplan --Africans / Sheila Kohler --Interpreter of maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri --Real estate / Lorrie Moore --Save the reaper / Alice Munro --Bunchgrass edge of the world / Annie Proulx --Robbers of Karnataka / James Spencer --Good shopkeeper / Samrat Upadhyay --Rest of her life / Steve Yarbrough

    In these previously unpublished gems, Vonnegut’s originality infuses a unique landscape of factories, trailers, and bars—and characters who pit their dreams and fears against a cruel and sometimes comically indifferent world.Here are stories of men and machines, art and artifice, and how ideals of fortune, fame, and love take curious twists in ordinary lives. An ambitious builder of roads, commanding an army of bulldozers, graders, and asphalt spreaders, fritters away his free time with miniature trains—until the women in his life crash his fantasy land. Trapped in a stenography pool, a young dreamer receives a call from a robber on the run, who presents her with a strange proposition. A crusty newspaperman is forced onto a committee to judge Christmas displays—a job that leads him to a suspiciously ostentatious ex-con and then a miracle. A hog farmer’s widow receives cryptic, unsolicited letters from a man in Schenectady about “the indefinable sweet aches of the spirit.” But what will she find when she goes to meet him in the flesh?These beautifully rendered works are a testament to Vonnegut’s unique blend of observation and imagination. Like a present left behind by a departed loved one, While Mortals Sleep bestows upon us a shimmering Kurt Vonnegut gift: a poignant reflection of our world as it is and as it could be.

    Blending the miraculous with the macabre, and leavened by a mischievous gallows humor, these bewitching tales are like nothing being written in Russia-or anywhere else in the world-today.

     Step into Singleton's world and you'll see why he is earning a reputation as one of the funniest, wisest, and most surprising Southern writers of his generation--and why he was named one of the "new writers you need to know" by Book Magazine.

    

     Two years limited edition eBook. Get it while you can. Step into our twisted minds for six horrifying tales. Seeing Red, by J.L.Clayton All her life, Challis has been bullied by the people around her, and now the thin string holding her sanity intact has snapped...The only thing she sees is crimson. They say revenge is best served cold, but Challis will take hers: hot, sticky and red! Come along for one horrific ride as author J.L.Clayton takes a forsaken girl and turns her into a heartless killer. Seeing Red has never looked so frightening. Twisted Insanity, by R.L. Weeks Author R. L. Weeks brings you Twisted Insanity. It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. Jacob has been locked up for ten years, waiting for his chance to take his revenge on Gale, his ex-wife. After persuading the mental health team that he has recovered, he goes on a killing stint. Gale is about to find out the extent of his twisted insanity. Truth or Dare, by K.L. Humphreys Taken to a psychotic man's playground, Becca only hopes her husband can get help to save her, before she ends up like the others.The Missing Persons Unit team know that unless they stop a madman and find missing Becca, they will be finding body parts in the forest. Author KL Humphreys will have you looking over your shoulder wondering what is really going on in the minds of those you call family. Hell House, by Becca Moree A walk through the Hell House leaves Erin questioning if visiting the Carnival of Darkness was a good idea after all. The sounds pouring from the mouths of the actors in each room were just a little too good.A little too...real. Step into a world of unthinkable torture as author Becca Moree takes one innocent college student on a Halloween outing she will never forget. Poison Pen, by R.B.Wood Upset the author at your own peril. A young down-on-his-luck author makes a demonic deal to remove a few obstacles from his writing career and stardom. White Wedding: Reckoning, by Steven Evans Jen's best friend, Jess, is an emotional train wreck. Too weak and afraid of her abusive father and now forced to marry a man she doesn't love, Jess' life is spiraling out of control. Jen desperately wants to help her friend but... What's a doll to do? Steve Evans brings a wickedly sweet twist to a tale of friendship in "White Wedding: Reckoning".

    An enthralling read!’- Shraddha Sahi, Author of Anamika Khanna Falls in Love & The Case of the Counterfeit CurrencyEvery human wears a mask. Behind the cheerful facade lies faith, hope, trust, love, despair, confidence, insecurity, et al. Everyone has a story. A DINK couple finding Work From Home a challenge... The Couple who wasn’t one... A rigid person who deviates from a lifelong habit... Two people who remain in touch for 35 years, without talking... A daughter who has sacrificed her dreams for her mother… A fictional potpourri of extraordinary narratives of ordinary people who have more to their everyday lives beneath the surface, these stories reflect myriad hues of human behaviour.From the author of the suspense thriller ‘The Lost Identity’ comes an anthology that touches the human heart. ‘The story is so well crafted that it keeps the reader intrigued from start to end, eager to know what happens next!’ - Review for Smita’s First Book ‘The Lost Identity’

    The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verità' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd . . .

    Rendered in the American vernacular with vivid imagery and a wry, dark sense of humor, these thwarted and sometimes violent lives jump off the page at the reader with inexorable force. A father pumps his son full of steroids so he can vicariously relive his days as a perpetual runner-up body builder. A psychotic rural recluse comes upon two siblings committing incest and feels compelled to take action. Donald Ray Pollock presents his characters and the sordid goings-on with a stern intelligence, a bracing absence of value judgments, and a refreshingly dark sense of bottom-dog humor.With an artistic instinct honed on the works of Flannery O' Connor and Harry Crews, Pollock offers a powerful work of fiction in the classic American vein. Knockemstiff is a genuine entry into the literature of place.

    The eight short stories of this collection have a dual theme: Ireland - its people, its personality - and woman - woman betrayed, or sacrificed, innocence involuntarily lost, happiness stolen or mislaid..

    Dane Carter assumed his murdered twin's identity to find his killer. Angel Morris was his main suspect - a woman his twin had betrayed. Now Dane could destroy her trust again. By falling in love with her...Wanton (PI & Men to the Rescue #2)Passion had clouded P.I. Celia Carter's judgment once. Never again. Now she took on dangerous undercover assignments to deal with her guilt. But P.I. Alec Sharpe was determined to reawaken Celia's sexuality...before she got herself killed.©1999 Lori Foster; (P)2009 HarlequinUncovered (Men of Courage #3)After a blaze on his block results in an overturned Dumpster, firefighter Harris Black finds a shoebox filled with striking nudes and a handwritten note admitting to the woman’s love for…him? Who is the enigmatic woman in the photos, and how does she know him so well? His next door neighbor and best friend, P.I. Clair Caldwell, is the perfect person to help him solve the mystery. Except that Clair is already more involved than he ever could have guessed…

    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

    A short collection of fantasy stories to tickle your funny bone.MY GUARDIAN IDIOT A woman is saddled with a bumbling angel sent to protect her. SEXUAL HEALINGA therapist with a unique strategy for healing her patients.GENIE SCHOOL DROPOUTAn antiques dealer inherits a genie who seems to be hard of hearing.STEPHEN KING KILLS HIS DARLINGSA funeral director receives on odd request from a famous horror author. CUPID’S ARROWThe son of Venus has a plan for his over-worked mother.

     The White Tiger Shifter Series is full of magic and dangers as women with magical abilities pair up with white tiger shifter guardians. The code of mystics and the Order of Guardians forbids romantic entanglements, but nature doesn’t follow their rules. As different pairs risk their lives to protect loved ones, each other, and a nation, romance is almost inevitable. Book 1 – Callie’s Guardian Book 2 – Iris’s Guardian Book 3 – Alexis’s Guardian Book 4 – Freya’s Guardian With over 30k per story, you will be rooting for the characters to overcome the danger to find their HEA. AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a stand alone paranormal romance with an HEA. This ebook contains mature themes and language, intended for 18+ readers only.

    Despite the direst of circumstances, the spirit of the lost child refuses to leave her ill-equipped young mother's side.For as long as she is needed―through troubled pregnancies, through poverty, through spousal abuse and agonizing betrayals―Cieli Mae, the determined spirit child, narrates their journey. Serving as a safe place and sounding board for Vidalia's innermost thoughts and confusions, lending a strength to her momma's emerging voice, Cieli Mae provides her own special brand of comfort and encouragement, all the while honoring the restrictions imposed by her otherworldly status.Vidalia finds further support in such unlikely townsfolk and relations as Doc Feldman, Gamma Gert and her Wild Women of God, and, most particularly, in Ruby Pearl Banks, the kind, courageous church lady, who has suffered her own share of heartache in their small Southern town of yesteryear's prejudices and presumptions.My Sweet Vidalia is wise and witty, outstanding for its use of vibrant, poetic language and understated Southern dialect, as well as Mantella's clear-eyed observations of race relations as human relations, a cast of unforgettable characters, an in-depth exploration of the ties that bind, and its creative perspective. My Sweet Vidalia is a rare, wonderful, and complex look at hope, strength, the unparalleled power of unconditional love, and a young mother's refusal to give up.