Book picks similar to
Imperial Messages by Howard Schwartz


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short-stories
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fiction-america

Gibbsville, Pa: The Classic Stories


John O'Hara - 1974
    The famous Gibbsville stories, more than fifty of theminclude such stunners as "The Doctor's Son," "Imagine Kissing Pete," "Fatimas and Kisses," "The Cellar Domain," and "The Bucket of Blood." Again, O'Hara's Pennsylvania Protectorate, as he called itin reality, the coal region of his hometown, Pottsville, in Schuylkill Countycomes to socially and sexually complicated life. Here are the miners in the company towns, the country club set, the shopkeepers, the bartenders, the barbers, and the collegians. It is a world as varied, vibrant, and complete as Faulkner's Yoknapatawphna County or Thomas Wolfe's Altamount. Presented in this Book-of-the-Month Club Selection are four decades of the best work by the author who Bennett Cerf declared one of America's most underrated writers."

King Henry and the Three Little Trips (The King Henry Tapes)


Richard Raley - 2016
    Telling three interconnected stories taking place on the same day, two weeks after events in "The Foul Mouth and the Mancy Martial Artist" this novel is a can't miss for fans of THE KING HENRY TAPES. Spending equal time with Tyson Bonnie, Eva Reti, and King Henry Price himself, KING HENRY AND THE THREE LITTLE TRIPS shows the fallout from the Days of Supernatural Exhibit in both the personal cost for our characters and the political cost for supernatural organizations worldwide as fear of the Curator spreads to even the Asylum itself. Read as Tyson Bonnie escorts Vicky Welf to the Coyote Nation compound, find out if Eva Reti can survive the anima experiment inflicted upon her, and follow King Henry as he returns to the Asylum seeking Plutarch's help. The queue for the "Foul Mouth and the Pit of No Return" roller-coaster begins here! THE KING HENRY TAPES Book 1 - "The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady" (released) Book 2 - "The Foul Mouth and the Cat Killing Coyotes" (released) Book 3 - "The Foul Mouth and the Troubled Boomworm" (released) Book 4 - "The Foul Mouth and the Headless Hunny" (released) Book 5 - "The Foul Mouth and the Mancy Martial Artist" (released) Book 5.5 - "King Henry and the Three Little Trips" (released) Book 6 - "The Foul Mouth and the Pit of No Return" (forthcoming)

UNEARTHLY


Stephen R. King - 2018
    Sometimes it feels like we are all on a different planet earth. Sometimes we are!

Brahma Rakshas: The Monster Within


Sandiip N. Paatil - 2021
    At 11, he looks big and strong for his age. His kind mother, Geeta is a rural Indian archetype: the overworked, stressed-out, barely-keeping-it- together single mother. His father is in prison for multiple robbery cases. The villagers are cold and overbearing, and his schooldays are made hellish by bullies. If this wasn’t enough, he has nightmares and uncanny callings from the age-old monstrous Peepal tree that lays on his way to school. The legend is a monster called Brahma Rakshas, living under this tree, for years unknown to people, lures kids with the black devil fruits and then makes them wrestle until one dies.And, one stormy night, the legend comes true when Brahma Rakshas meets Sarja. Set in a fictional village of Deogiri; a small haven of human civilization, away from the din of city life, this story is an adventure ride filled with riddles and monster wrestling.

Starting a New Paige


Marilyn Foxworthy - 2020
    Page has certain operant conditioning and vaguely remembered instructionsthat will kick in at certain points as you get to know each other.Here is what you need to know at this point:I am the ‘Old Page’; she is the ‘New Page’.

Amish Neighbors: Stories From The Heart Collection


Tattie Maggard - 2019
    10 Stories of Love, Faith, and Family "Like Amish soup for the soul."From the author of the bestselling Amish romance series Forbidden Amish Love comes Amish Neighbors, a short story romance collection from the heart.Ten stories under one cover.

Through the Brown Mountain Lights: (Brown Mountain Lights Book 1)


C.C. Tillery - 2016
    When their van breaks down outside of Morganton, North Carolina, the group decides to hike up nearby Brown Mountain while they wait for the repairs to be finished. Lizzie’s interest in nature prompts her to go on a walk by herself, hoping to get a glimpse of the legendary Brown Mountain Lights. When she unexpectedly encounters one, she naively reaches out to touch it and is thrown back in time to a place and lifestyle she comes to hate—the Antebellum South. Lizzie is taken in by three sisters who are healers. With them, she is able to put her knowledge as a medical student to good use. She finds a trusted friend in Abbie, the youngest sister, and through a budding romance with the son of a plantation owner is drawn into the dangerous world of the Underground Railroad. With a bloody and violent war looming on the horizon, at a time when women are looked upon as less than equal, Lizzie struggles to accept the differences that surround her every day in this new and challenging world. Wanting nothing more than to return home, she and Abbie continually search for the light Lizzie travelled through, hoping it will take her back to her time. But if she finds it, will she decide to stay or go?

Amish Romance: The Truth (Tessa's Story Book 3)


Brenda Maxfield - 2018
    She prays fervently that he will accept the truth and not reject her, but her prayers aren't answered. Once Levi learns the real facts about Tessa's baby, he disappears. Struggling to live without his presence in her life, Tessa does her best to make a good life for her daughter. She is completely blindsided when her past walks through her shop door. What can Tom Miller possibly want? Why would her baby's father show up at this late date? What he proposes sends her reeling. Now, she is trapped. All chances for true love appear lost. Levi is gone; Tom has resurfaced. Tessa is caught in a no-win situation. "In the tradition of the works of Beverly Lewis, Cindy Woodsmall, and Wanda Brunstetter, Brenda Maxfield continues to bring you gripping Amish tales of love, struggle, and restoration." Enjoy this inspirational Christian romance today!

The Slade House Affair: Clare Montgomery, Private Investigator


Daisy Thurbin - 2016
    In this first book in a new series, Mrs Montgomery is retained by an archaic well heeled family when its patriarch fails to arrive home at the expected hour. As with all of her writing, Thurbin demonstrates that a book need not contain gratuitous violence, graphic sex or coarse language in order to keep the reader entertained. Set in London and the Home Counties, Thurbin's attention to detail and meticulous research, coupled with an interesting conundrum and a sprinking of quirky characters, are bound to please even the most discerning of readers.

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories


H.P. Lovecraft - 2020
    Lovecraft marries creeping horror and colossal fantasy in his gothic tales. These brilliant narratives show humanity confronted with ineffable creatures and grim geographies, as individuals lift the veil to discover hidden realities.This collection brings together 11 of Lovecraft's short stories, including 'Call of the Cthulhu', 'The History of the Necronomicon' and 'Rats in the Walls', where we encounter ancient and cosmic terrors. The mythologies and landscapes in these tales have inspired countless tales and remain true classics of American literature.

The Bear That Fell From The Stars


Keith C. Blackmore - 2011
    On the night he decides to strike, his life, and his world, are forever changed. Alien scientists from across the cosmos, abduct and place Kazaka in deep storage for centuries. When they revive him with the intent to subject him to extraterrestrial evisceration, the ninja escapes. The shadow warrior then begins to hunt his captors, one by one, leading up to a battle that will shake the galaxy.The Bear That Fell From the StarsA different kind of alien terror. NOTE: This is a Novella of approx. 20,000 words, or about 60 pages.Science Fiction Fantasy and not hard SciFi.Some scenes of graphic violence.

Healer


J.K. Swift - 2011
    For all her skills, Deenah is unable to identify the strange forces at work on the injury.To save her master's life, Deenah must join the young Warder for the area, Kaern, and an aging veteran tracker, as they set out on a manhunt into hostile lands.Rating: PG (some violent scenes)7000 words (approx. 21-28 pages)

Big Bad


David Brian - 2014
    Over time he has learned to accept his confinement. After all, it is no more than he deserves given the heinous nature of his previous crimes. However, when a new member of the nursing staff begins taking an interest in Tommy, he learns things previously kept from him: Like why he is being permanently dosed with meds. How, and why, his parents really died. And is it just a coincidence his earlier crimes occurred at the time of a full moon? Nurse Jenny informs Tommy about the true nature of his world: Secret Government cabals, and their plans for a New World Order; the murder of his parents, and facing up to the reality of his life as a werewolf. Then, when she thinks he is ready, she tells him the biggest secret of all: Nurse Jenny has a way out of Broad-lands. But, as is often the case, nothing comes without a price. What is the real motivation for her aiding Tommy's escape? A tale of horror that unfolds beneath the light of a full moon.

Nineteen Ghost Stories of M.R. James to Keep You Up at Night: 3 Volumes


M.R. James - 2009
    R. James is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.According to James, a story must "put the reader into the position of saying to himself: 'If I'm not careful, something of this kind may happen to me!'"

The Best American Sports Writing 2008


William Nack - 2008
    In these pages, you will find the most provocative, compelling, tragic, and triumphant moments in sports from 2007, captured by the knights of the keyboard who make sports come alive for us day after day, week after week, year after year. Here you’ll find Paul Solotaroff’s excellent and uncompromising take on the neglect that a growing number of crippled NFL players continually face from the NFL players’ union. Jeanne Marie Laskas’s “G-L-O-R-Y!” offers a rousing inside look at the pregame rituals of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleaders. A riveting online diary by Wright Thompson reveals a bleak and merciless landscape in China, which that country’s government would rather not have the world see during preparations for the Olympics. Nack finds a place for the fascinating offbeat story as well as the sensational. Alongside Eli Saslow’s captivating article about an obscure seventeenth-century sport, similar to a giant rugby scrum, carried out in the streets of Kirkwall, Scotland, stands Franz Lidz’s “scoop of the year,” a controversial and rare look into the life of George Steinbrenner, baseball’s largest but recently most enigmatic figure. This year’s collection marks another wonderful addition to “one of the most consistently satisfying titles in the Best American series” (Booklist).Contributors include Scott Price, Rick Bragg, Gary Smith, J.R. Moehringer, and others.