It is our hope that in this anthology you will find a story to love. We come from as varied backgrounds as we do locations. Hawaii to New York, California to Texas, and Texas to Tennessee; we have come together to share our love of storytelling. The characters within these pages are a wondrous mix as well. A flamboyant Knoxville designer, a 1900s investigative reporter, a neurosurgeon, a coroner, a woman dripping of Russian opulence and Parisian elegance, a detective that has simply had enough, and a Tennessee Police Chief all fill the pages and the imagination in Death of Choice. Come along with us to a Children’s Cemetery, 1920’s London, a daisy fresh diner in L.A., a fog shrouded barn, a small town in Tennessee, a Honolulu beach, and meet a collection of short stories from writers that will give you chills, thrills, and a set of tales you will long remember. Our hope is through these intriguing introductions you will discover an author or two you will want to read more of, and get to know better. Each of the authors in this anthology have many more books for you to enjoy. So find that spot where you love to curl up and read, and enjoy this collection of murder, mayhem and mystery. Micheal Maxwell Editor and Compiler September 2015

    A tough exterior is her claim to fame, and necessary for the life she lives. But even the toughest have been known to let their guard down at Christmastime. Hilarious by nature, Pharo is the perfect match for Des. And though he wasn’t exactly looking, fate doesn’t care about that. When chance encounters with a stranger happen twice in one day, it's too big to be a coincidence and he's smart enough to know it. Join these two on a hilarious, heart-filled, nutmeg scented journey to love in tight spaces!

    A party girl’s addiction gives birth to a monster within. Man’s best friend must fend off a woman’s greatest nightmare…Scare Street is proud to present eleven chilling tales of the supernatural, in one monstrous volume. Horror authors Ron Ripley, David Longhorn, Sara Clancy, and many more unite to bring you a terrifying collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to haunt your dreams. And each one more chilling than the last.Once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Because when these authors sink their teeth into you, it’s already too late.The only way to escape from these nightmares… is to wake up screaming.

    After learning that Tracy has died in a terrible car accident, he is devastated. But after arriving at the restaurant to console his mother, he discovers that Tracy isn’t dead after all – in fact, she is working her shift, and no one else seems to think anything of it. While trying to make sense of the situation, Andrew begins to experience an overwhelming sense of dread: something isn’t right. He needs to decide whether to tell Tracy and risk sounding like a lunatic, or ignore what all his senses are telling him and enjoy what appears to be a second chance.

    But beneath the thin veneer of a successful, happy life trouble has eaten away the once-strong foundation of their relationship. It all comes crashing out in one final, fateful - and shocking - night.

    You think you see a child wondering through the woods. Do you stop? Andy must make that choice. Either option will change his life forever. But with a life like his, maybe change is a good thing.The Girl in the Woods - A Ghost’s Story is the first in a collection of Off-Kilter Tales. It’s a short story about a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time. You decide.

    It begins with the story of Brenda Wagner’s tragic accident at a skating competition that nearly destroys her lifelong love of skating. Left with crushed hopes and a permanent disability, this story highlights Brenda’s journey of courage to find a new purpose in life, her hopes of returning to the ice, her struggles, and her achievements as she trusts God to help her grow. *This is a FREE Preview and not a stand-alone novel* In this first book, Brenda Wagner suffers a devastating accident during an ice skating competition. Her dreams of qualifying for the Olympic skating team are shattered when her doctor tells her she will never skate again, let alone walk like a normal person. Brenda refuses to accept her doctor’s diagnosis and struggles through physical therapy to regain the use of her legs. But progress is slow and Brenda fears she may never walk the same again. Almost a year later, to everyone’s surprise, Brenda has learned to walk by herself. Brenda has high hopes of returning to the ice. But Pamela, her skating coach, is skeptical and tells Brenda that she will coach Brenda only on one condition. That she skate with a partner who can work with her new disabilities. Brenda reluctantly agrees, knowing she has no other choice. But her new career in pairs skating takes on a new twist when she finds out Pamela has chosen her ex-fiancé Scott Nichols as her new partner. Scott Nichols is a skating instructor at the local ice rink. He loves Brenda with all his heart and even proposed to her years ago. But when he left her standing at the altar because of a personal emergency, Brenda never forgave him and broke off their relationship. While Scott still suffers the sting of being scorned by his ex-fiancé, he refuses to give up on love and hopes that Brenda will change her mind someday. To his surprise, Coach Pamela asks him to be Brenda’s new skating partner. Scott rejoices at the opportunity to win back Brenda’s trust and her love. But can he soften Brenda’s hardened heart, or will they only maintain a professional relationship? Other titles in The Colorado Spring Series by Kelsey MacBride -Heart of a Champion : Book 2 of The Colorado Springs Series

    Imagine a drug that flips the valleys and makes them peaks, too. You react now to an event based not on the pleasure or pain that it brings, but solely on the intensity of the emotion created. Pain brings pleasure, grief gives joy, horror renders ecstasy.Now give this drug to a soldier. Tell them to kill. Not in the historically acceptable murder of war, but in a systematic corporate strategy--of xenocide.They will kill. And they will revel in it.Welcome to the world of Scream.Jason Trelayne is a Screamer, a soldier forced to take part in the destruction of entire races. But when Trelayne falls in love with a beautiful Scream Angel, an alien who produces the addictive drug, he sets off a chain of events that pits him and a small group of followers against an empire.An award winning novelette of rebellion, love, and an unlikely hero."A dark and powerful story with a first line that sets the tone for what is to come: 'They stopped beating Trelayne when they saw that he enjoyed it.' (A++)" --Fantasy Book Critic"A visceral work. A true pearl of the fantastic literature. Breath-taking." --Café de Ontem"...the book's most skillfully crafted story...quickly becomes one that holds the reader's attention until the very end." --SpecFicWorld"...remind me of the reasons I love the author's writing: his characterization, attention to detail and recurring themes of love, faith and redemption." --SF Crowsnest Reviews"The story has so many layers that I'm still sorting them out. And like an onion, I'm not sure if I'll ever find the final layer." --Tangent Online"One of those rare ideas that seems at once so perfect and so natural that someone must have come up with it before; but if someone has, I haven't heard about it, and regardless Smith exploits the potential of the idea extraordinarily well here." --Strange Horizons

    The bridge holds many secrets.Two hurting women face each other on this night, destinies merging. Mistakes have been made, people have been hurt, and these two are the victims. After the many years, they are ready to give up, ready to end it all. But one thing keeps them from giving up.The bridge holds many secrets, and the city breeds scum. But together, they can heal and help.This passionate, emotional story about the power of forgiveness takes you far away, to a city you'll always remember and never forget. Follow me to the place where mercy and grace mingle, where love and pain go hand-in-hand. Follow me to the bridge.

    Emma Hawkins is a dedicated doctor in the little town of Crooked Creek, Montana Territory. Casey Latimer is a wounded soldier in search of a new home and a new beginning. When Casey, battered and bruised, quite literally falls at Emma's feet, she is duty-bound to help him. What happens next is something Emma never expected.EMMA OF CROOKED CREEK is the first short story installment of the Crooked Creek series set in post-Civil War Montana.From the AuthorA little background on Crooked Creek . . .Emma of Crooked Creek was originally written for a short story contest, but while writing it, I realized that I had the makings of a new series that I very much wanted to write. Set in post-Civil War Montana Territory, the characters, time period, and setting came alive, and I'm looking forward to adding to this collection over time.Most of the stories in this series will be short stories or novelettes, but there will be at least two full-length novels, one of which will be a Christmas novel, and another an exciting battle-and-romance-filled western adventure.You'll have a chance to meet many characters from this unique Montana town, but for now, I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into Crooked Creek.

    Doreen is no pushover. She might be the First Lady of Brandon View Baptist Church, but like most mothers she wants the best for her children. To Doreen, that means Tara is not good enough for Wynton, and that she will stop at nothing until she kicks Tara as far as she can -- out of Wynton’s life. Jasmine Benton – daughter of real estate tycoon, Karl Benton – knows what it’s like to be ‘listed’ in “Mother’s Black Book”. Her past connection with Wynton created bad blood between Doreen and Jasmine’s mother, which ultimately led to Jasmine being ‘deployed’ to a different city for twelve years. But something tragic occurs that brings Jasmine back to face her past. How will she fare under the ‘new’ rules of the game?Then finally, Marcia Gippings – the blind beauty, who met Doreen’s other son, Brian, on a dating website. Marcia is determined to make her heart’s desires a reality. Brian Lakatos – the man of her dreams – is a dashing gentleman, but when it comes to choosing a wife, Brian is extremely selective. Marcia is blind. Will he choose her, or not? Four women – each desperately want something, but how far will they go before they realize that life is never exactly the way that one imagines?

    For the boy inside the pages . . From Charles: I am often asked about my childhood. How I grew up. Where. What informed me as a writer, man and child of God. Starting with some of my earliest memories, these are stories of that place in me. That kid in me. In here you will find honest admission of my mistakes, failures, successes. Note: these are not fiction and this is not a novel.These stories are as true as I can remember. In these pages, you will hear the beginnings of my voice as a writer, the things that were troubling me — things I didn’t know how to voice out my mouth so they bubbled up and out my fingers. You will also hear my unshakable and childlike faith in a sovereign and good Heavenly Father.I wrote most all of these stories between my sophomore year in high school and my senior year in college so my temptation here and now was to edit them. To make them sound like me today, the writer I’ve become after almost thirty years with this keyboard on my lap. For the record, I have not done that. What you read today, is what I wrote then. (That doesn’t mean they’re sloppy. I’ve cleaned them up a bit.) But, as a result, you hear my early voice. And while it is ripe with mistakes and a wordiness long since edited out of me, there’s also an innocence and purity that I cherish.For those of you looking for my next novel, this is not it. But, it will give you insight into the novels you have read or might read. I’ve entitled them, “River Road,” because I grew up there. Because that hallowed ground along the St. Johns River holds a tender place in my heart. Because the valiant, sweaty kid I knew back then is still running around with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and he holds an absolute faith that fishing is a more noble pursuit than school, that he can play in the NFL, that men don’t die of hiccups, that he can still cat-walk his Schwin Mag Scrambler over sixty nine parking spaces, that swallowing Levi Garrett chewing tobacco won’t hurt him and that girls actually think it’s cool, that throwing tangerines at cars is good training for arm strength, that being a bully to a buddy hurt his heart, that a pellet to the gonads is excruciatingly painful, that when my praying mother hit her knees next to a wrecked car and bleeding man that she towered over the men around her, that forgiveness is the toughest thing that kid will ever offer another and that God can and will kill the devil. Enjoy.

    But while the good Reverend's been busy tending his flock, his family's gone astray. His nineteen-year-old daughter, Rachel, gives new meaning to "baby mama drama." David, the oldest at twenty-seven, has been spiraling into a life of crime ever since his promising football career came to an end. Blessedly, Jonathan, Simon's beloved middle child, is in control of his life and is poised to take his side as associate pastor -- or so everybody thinks. At the heart of the Jackson family is Loretta, the Reverend's wife. She has always been devoted to her husband, but she's beginning to realize that enabling him to give more to the church than to their children was her biggest mistake. As things continue to fall apart and secrets are revealed, will Loretta be able to help her husband reunite their tattered family...before it's too late?

    This version features the original story, as well as a bonus short story, No Valley Low.***Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women don’t court trouble by upending the status quo, but it’s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofie’s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reserved—as if that could bring her mother back—but the nonviolent protests happening across the South bring out her inner agitator.Ivan Friedman has devoted his life to boxing, loving the finesse of a well-delivered punch and the penance of receiving one. His family escaped from Europe before the horrors of WWII, and Ivan decides to help fight injustice in their new country, even if it goes against all his instincts as a fighter.When Ivan and Sofie meet, they realize that their pasts are intertwined and—with the sparks that fly between them—perhaps their futures will be too. With everything in their society lined up against them, will Sofie and Ivan be able to beat the odds? Or will their chance at love be destroyed by the tumultuous times they live in?

    The day after the renowned festival's closing ceremony, Genevieve is invited to visit the newly-refurbished Hotel Paradise. Genevieve knows the hotel well – in fact, her past life there has haunted her for over a decade... Twelve years earlier, two travellers have met in Paris. Genevieve dreams of becoming a famous songwriter, while Paul is determined to be a professional photographer. Full of optimism, they hitch south to the Riviera where they answer an advertisement for live-in help at the Hotel Paradise, located on an island just off the French coast. There the young couple are seduced by the tranquility and magical beauty of the hotel and its setting. But the island has a darker side, with a history of bloodshed that fills Genevieve with foreboding. When a stranger arrives who threatens her future with Paul, Genevieve senses that events are about to spin out of control … Anglo-Irish actress Carol Drinkwater is still well-known for her award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A popular and acclaimed author and film-maker as well, Carol has published twenty books for both the adult and young adult markets. She is currently at work on her twenty-first title. When she purchased a rundown property overlooking the Bay of Cannes in France, she discovered almost seventy 400-year-old olive trees. Along with her French husband, Michel, Carol reclaimed the land and began producing top-quality olive oil. Her series of memoirs recounting their experiences on the farm (The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest and Return to the Olive Farm) have become international bestsellers, and the related travel books,The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, inspired the five-part documentary film series, The Olive Route. Carol's first Kindle Single, The Girl in Room Fourteen, reached the number one position in the Singles charts in both the United States and the UK.