Book picks similar to
Betwixt by Evie Gaughan
short-stories
short-story
fiction
ireland
Next Christmas in Girouette (Adventures in Girouette Book 1)
Michael Welch - 2011
This book will appeal to people of all ages—nine to ninety-nine—who want to share a classic, heart-warming literary adventure at Christmastime. Next Christmas in Girouette is the story of a brother and sister—Autry and Oxana Quinn—who find themselves stranded in a Girouette, a virtual ghost town, from Thanksgiving through Christmas when their father is taken seriously ill. Their grandfather, a Marine Captain long retired, plus an eccentric old café proprietress, a Blackfeet Indian horse trader who once served as the town’s mayor, a couple who published the local newspaper and an ancient deaf-mute trapper are the only remaining inhabitants of Girouette. These self-styled, “diehards” all seem to have one thing in common. Thanks to a mysterious event 60 years earlier, they still believe in Santa Claus. Girouette features something for everyone: carefree cowboys who race their horses over snow covered country road, a team of wolves trained to pull a dogsled, a stroll that nearly turns tragic on a buffalo jump, a serialized newspaper story titled “The Adventures of Rocky Mountain Santa,” a desperate attempt to escape from an abandoned copper mine, a night-time journey through the mountains on a frozen river and the miracle that delivers wayfaring strangers to Girouette during a storm on Christmas Eve. The book revels in the solitary beauty of winter in Big Sky Country, the enduring wisdom of the elderly citizens of Girouette, the excitement of frontier history coming to life, the inspiration of a family healing itself and the magic of an old-fashioned western Christmas. Read Next Christmas in Girouette with your family this year, and you’ll want to revisit it for years to come at holiday time.
Prescription: Murder! Volume 2: Authentic Cases From the Files of Alan Hynd
Alan Hynd - 2014
So get ready for another deliciously dark sampling of some of the most fascinating true murder cases of the first half of the 20th Century. These stories, the SECOND of three short collections, are unified by a single theme: they all involve physicians. And not for the autopsy, but as perpetrators or accused perpetrators. You may never see your family care giver again in the same light. Told in the characteristic wry, anecdotal reportorial style that made Alan Hynd famous in his day (two wartime best sellers in 1943, contributions to The Reader's Digest, Colliers, Coronet, The Saturday Evening Post, True, Liberty, The American Mercury and almost every true detective magazine in print) these tales will have you cringing one minute, laughing the next, and gasping in shock a moment later. Truly, no one could make up classics like these. Take for example, the case of the man who used rattlesnakes to speed the demise of a fading relationship, a case where non-barking dogs pointed out a killer, and the Great Swope poison case, where a man's in-laws just couldn't wait for their inheritance. As a bonus, consider "Pretty: Louie Amberg, the Brooklyn, N.Y., psychopath of the 1920s and '30s, as well as an unusual couple in Southern California kept the neighbors up at night --- and gossiping. Pulp non-fiction? Maybe. True crime is always more macabre than any novelist could imagine. So sit back and enjoy these forays into some of the darkest aspects of human nature. (With illustrations)
Gaspar And The Fantastical Hats
David A. Lindsay - 2013
Confronted by danger at every turn, he and his friend, Hubris the Spellbroker, become entangled in a bizarre web of intrigue, politics and outlandish fashion. They soon realise that they are just pawns in a greater game, but who is their real adversary and how can they disentangle themselves without ending up seriously dead?This humorous fantasy novella (28,500 words) is a prequel to the novel, Gaspar The Thief (126,000 words), also by David A. Lindsay.
Max Under the Stars
Theresa Weir - 2010
Follow Max on his lifelong quest to produce the perfect novel. Touching, irreverent, hilarious and sad. Every writer should read this story. Every writer will relate to Max. please note: This is a SHORT STORY consisting of 2,500 words.
The Haunting of Riley Watson: A Haunted House Mystery- Book 0
Alexandria Clarke - 2018
Soon, the ghosts are out in full force, and Lucia is stunned to discover she’s one of only two people who can communicate with them. Can Lucia give the spirits what they want?
Love of a Lifetime
Sally Bayless - 2019
If she can just avoid questions from that cute guy at the newspaper, no one ever needs to find out about her past.Will Hamlin, editor of the local paper, has some serious questions about the mayor’s new secretary. She’s clearly hiding something—something that could be the big story the newspaper desperately needs to stay afloat. But after Will’s initial queries find nothing, he grows less interested in Cara’s past and more interested in winning her heart with slices of pie and stolen kisses.When a crime is uncovered at city hall just as Will unearths Cara’s secret, the repercussions shatter their romance. Can Cara ever escape her past? Can Will finally find a way to save the paper? And can they learn to place their trust in God and open their hearts to the love of a lifetime?
The Tudor Heresy
Samantha Burnell - 2017
Enjoy either as a short read on its own, or as an introduction to the Mystery Trials Series. A gripping Historical Adventure set in 16th Century Tudor England. Elizabeth Tudor needs a hero. Murder, Mystery & Intrigue with a Splash of Romance. Based on actual historical events, an epic tale of a young Tudor nobleman’s courage as he tries to keep his future Queen safe in one of England’s most turbulent eras. If you enjoy Tudor Fiction by Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir then 'A Queens Spy' is perfect for you. A fascinating insight into Tudor England and the life of Elizabeth I before she sets foot on the steps to the throne. The story unfolds in 16th Century Tudor England Richard Fitzwarren is a Tudor nobleman with a dubious past who takes risks for a living. His close friendship with Princess Elizabeth leads to his banishment to France, but when he returns he remains loyal to her. At his side is Jack, his bastard sibling, and their relationship is a troubled one due to a family secret and their opposite personalities. Will he keep the future Queen safe?
Out of Time
Deborah Truscott - 2011
Then her uncle dies, leaving her the family’s Revolutionary-era home and, she believes, an escape from her chaotic marriage. But one afternoon, while searching for a rake, she discovers a man in her garden shed — and a free fall through the centuries. As her life spins wildly out of control, Kathleen finds her heart and in the process, her own place in time.
The United States of Vinland: Four Tales From Norse America: The Landing, Young Ravens and Hidden Blades, Red Winter, and Loki's Rage
Colin Taber - 2018
The beginnings of a glorious saga befitting the Viking age! The Norse settled Greenland in 985AD and reached continental North America not long after - almost five centuries before Columbus - but left. What if they had stayed? Imagine what may have happened, how the world we know might be different… Would the British still have built their great empire? What of the Spanish, Portuguese and French imperial expansions? What about the two catastrophic world wars our timeline has endured? Would there still have been some kind of American Revolution and Civil War? In such an alternate history, might the American Bible Belt celebrate the All-Father Odin, Freya and Thor instead of Jesus Christ? Indeed, what kind of America could have arisen? We begin with The Landing as the Norse arrive on the shores of what we know as Canada’s Labrador. From there we will watch the first of them explore, live, love and in some cases fall. In time they will raise halls and found their first settlements as their colonies spread. They will meet other peoples and face great challenges. Bitter winters will come, but they will be followed by hope-filled springs. And all the while the Norse Gods will look upon the work of their mortal followers as a new civilisation grows. Join me as we explore this amazing alternate history! This boxed set includes: United States of Vinland #1: The Landing A Short Tale From Norse America #1: Young Ravens & Hidden Blades United States of Vinland #2: Red Winter United States of Vinland #3: Loki's Rage Over 1300 pages of Viking exploration and adventure! United States of Vinland #4: Odin's Hall will release in 2019.
Five Days in May
Ninie Hammon - 2011
A big one, a monster F5--a mile wide and eight miles tall. The writhing finger of death hurls across the prairie toward Graham, Oklahoma, one Friday afternoon in May, 1963, on a collision course with the lives of 4 people—each of whom has already planned a personal rendezvous with death in some other form that day. In Jonas Cunningham’s mind, what he’s planning isn’t murder. The handful of little white pills that will free his precious Maggie from the fog of Alzheimer's is a gift, a final act of unconditional love. Jonas’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Joy, isn’t planning “murder” either. She's pregnant and sees only one way to keep from shaming her family. Secrets like that are hard to keep though, in a small town. Joy's father, Rev. Mac MacIntosh has lost his wife and his faith and on Friday, he plans to commit professional suicide—not just leave his church, but abandon his call to ministry. Princess has an appointment with the Reaper on Friday, too, one she’s been staring down for 14 years. At 5 o’clock, the state of Oklahoma will strap her into an electric chair called Sizzlin’ Suzie and turn on the juice. But as the strange, psychic death row inmate meets daily with the minister during the final 5 days of her life, everything in both their lives begins to change. Princess knows—about Mac’s life and family. And sees—the Big Ugly coming to eat up the world. She sees other terrible things, too, and is determined to carry to her grave an incredible secret about the little sister she confessed to beheading a decade ago. When the savage tornado roars with a sound like gravel in a blender into their small prairie town on that May Friday, all 4 of the people who'd penciled in "death" on their calendars actually do confront eternity. But none of them comes to the crossroads of life and death by the path they'd planned or leaves with the result they expected. In the end, the Big Ugly decides who lives and who dies that day.
Apt Pupil
Stephen King - 1982
Good grades, good family, a paper route. But he is about to meet a different kind of teacher: Mr. Dussander. Todd knows all about Dussander's dark past. The torture. The death. The decades-old manhunt Dussander has escaped to this day. Yet Todd doesn't want to turn him in. Todd wants to know more. Much more. He is about to learn the real meaning of power—and the seductive lure of evil.
I Believe You
Jeanne Grunert - 2016
Now he struggles to raise his three sons alone and run the financial empire founded by his outlandish father. One night, a mysterious stranger appears to be watching his home. The next day, $100,000 is missing from his bank account. As David untangles the knot of lies, deception and intrigue surrounding his wife's death, he threatens to shatter his close-knit family forever.
Night Terrors Vol. 1
Scare StreetA.M. Todd - 2020
A new homeowner discovers her property comes with a deadly addition. And dark forces stalk a troop of innocent boy scouts when they spend the night on a haunted aircraft carrier…Scare Street delves into the darkness to bring you a new collection of spine-tingling terror. This diabolical tome is bursting with thirteen sinister stories of supernatural horror, featuring ghastly ghosts, cold-blooded killers, and fiendish visions torn from your worst fears.Just be careful you don’t lose track of time as you meander through this shadowy landscape of dreams and nightmares. Because once the sun sets, something waits for you in the darkness of night.And if it finds you, you may never see daylight again…This bone-chilling supernatural collection contains:1. Cool Air by Peter Cronsberry2. The Presentation by Tarphy W. Horn3. The Homeowner's Guide to Sanity by K. M. McKenzie4. Retrospective: Florne's Ghost by Emil Pellim5. 7734 by Ryan Benson6. Aisle 3 by Rosie O'Carroll7. Pumpkin Patch by C. B. Channell8. The Third Father by A. M. Todd9. Troop 94’s Last Scouting Trip by Karl Melton10. Play It, Win It, Kill It by J. M. White11. Satan's Town by Bob Johnston12. Everything as It Was by Warren Benedetto13. Summer Camp by Ron Ripley
The Girl In Between
Laekan Zea Kemp - 2012
Afflicted with Klein-Levin Syndrome, she suffers episodes of prolonged sleep that steal weeks, and sometimes even months, from her life. But unlike most KLS patients, she doesn’t spend each episode in a catatonic state or wake up with no recollection of the time she’s missed. Instead, Bryn spends half her life in an alternate reality made up of her memories. For Bryn, the past is a place, until one day a boy she’s never met before washes up on the illusory beach of her dreams with no memory of who he is.But the appearance of this strange boy isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Bryn’s symptoms are worsening, her body weakening as she’s plagued by hallucinations even while awake. Her only hope of finding a cure is to undergo experimental treatment created by a German specialist. But when Dr. Banz reveals that he knows more about her strange symptoms than he originally let on, Bryn learns that the boy in her head might actually be the key to understanding what’s happening to her, and worse, that if she doesn’t find out his identity before it’s too late, they both may not survive.