The Tale of Melkorka: A Novella


Octavia Randolph - 2013
     A beautiful slave girl. A missing royal daughter. A carefully wrought revenge.Iceland in the 10th century. There is nothing unusual in a wealthy farmer returning home with a slave girl, even if she is a mute. But she conceals a secret that will echo across the oceans.Based on an episode from the great Icelandic Sagas, The Tale of Melkorka will grip you with an unfolding mystery of loss, triumph, and the rough justice of revenge. Melkorka's world awaits you...

The Western Megapack: 25 Classic Western Stories


Johnston McCulley - 2011
    Howard (famous for Conan the Barbarian), and Clarence E. Mulford (creator of Hopalong Cassidy), and many more!HIS KIND OF HELLION, by Johnston McCulleyTEXAS JOHN ALDEN, by Robert E. HowardTHE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT, by Bret HarteTHIEVES OF BLACK ROCK DESERT, by Bill AnsonTHE RATTLER ROUNDUP, by Lee BondLEFT FER THE BUZZARDS, by Allan R. BosworthHORSESHOES AREN’T ALWAYS LUCKY, by Sam BrantGUN-WHIPPED! by Carmony GoveA 22-GUN RANGER WALKS, by Raymond S. SpearsRANGER STYLE, by J. Allan DunnPLUMB AMUSING, by Jackson ColeNO REPORT, by S. Omar BarkerEL TIRO DI GRACIA, by Colin CameronTHE PHILOSOPHY OF GRAY EACLE, by Wolcott LeClear BeardSIXGUNS TO BOWIE, by Robert J. HoganDESERT JUDGMENT, by E. Hoffmann PriceTHE TRAIL TRAP, by T.W. FordGUN-QUEEN OF THE SPANISH GRANT, by Joseph ChadwickHOPALONG’S HOP, by Clarence E. MulfordDEMONS OF DISASTER, by Johnston McCulleyWAR ON BEAR CREEK, by Robert E. HowardBRAND OF THE RED WARRIOR, by Ike BooneFETCH ME BRANNON’S EARS, by Seven AndertonTHE LUCK OF ROARING CAMP, by Bret HarteINVITATION BY BULLET, by Ernest HaycoxAnd don't forget to check out all the other volumes in the "Megapack" series! Search on "Megapack" in the ebook store to see the complete list...covering adventure stories, military, fantasy, ghost stories, and more!

Bread Alone (Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34)


Sharon Lee - 2021
    Bread is a good start for sustenance.Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port – it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ″Degrees of Separation,″ ″Fortune’s Favors,″ and "Block Party" are reprints. The novelette ″Our Lady of Benevolence″ appears here for the first time.

The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe


Peter Christen Asbjørnsen - 2019
    Over the next two decades the publication of subsequent editions under the title Norske folkeeventyr made the names Asbjørnsen and Moe synonymous with Norwegian storytelling traditions. Tiina Nunnally’s vivid translation of their monumental collection is the first new English translation in more than 150 years—and the first ever to include all sixty original tales.Magic and myth inhabit these pages in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers. The clever and fearless boy Ash Lad often takes center stage as he ingeniously breaks spells and defeats enemies to win half the kingdom. These stories, set in Norway’s majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe—now translated into an English that is as finely tuned to the modern ear as it is true to the original Norwegian.Included here—for the very first time in English—are Asbjørnsen and Moe’s Forewords and Introductions to the early Norwegian editions of the tales. Asbjørnsen gives us an intriguing glimpse into the actual collection process and describes how the stories were initially received, both in Norway and abroad. Equally fascinating are Moe’s views on how central characters might be interpreted and his notes on the regions where each story was originally collected. Nunnally’s informative Translator’s Note places the tales in a biographical, historical, and literary context for the twenty-first century.The Norwegian folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe are timeless stories that will entertain, startle, and enthrall readers of all ages.

Dreams in Black Static: Eight Stories


Ambrose Ibsen - 2020
    After watching it, one of them vanishes...A heart transplant recipient gets much more than he bargained for when he digs into his donor's sinister past...Mourning the death of their son, a young couple is plunged into madness after encountering something otherworldly in the wilderness...DREAMS IN BLACK STATIC is a collection of eight terrifying stories by Ambrose Ibsen, author of The Haunting of Beacon Hill and Asylum. The tales included are:"Me and Mr. Ray" **"Decatur Road" **"Dreams in Black Static" **"Distortional Addict" **"Trim" **"Subterrane Dream" **"Orchard""The Uncanny" **** = Appearing in print for the first time

King Henry Short Pack One (The King Henry Tapes)


Richard Raley - 2015
    Please understand that it contains no ‘new’ material, but instead combines the already published works of “Little King Henry”, “Conquering Hero”, “Friendship is Madness”, “Second Take”, “Griefing”, and “Meet the Bonnies.” The only reason you should purchase King Henry Short Pack One is because you're new to the series, you want this ease-of-use formatting, or because you’re a horrible, horrible, no-good long-time fan and have yet to purchase the shorts separately, in which case lucky you! King Henry Short Pack One is 50% off the price of buying the shorts separately! Now, this preface will be enough to forestall any reviews claiming the author is a horrible, double-dipping %@&!, right? LITTLE KING HENRY Ceinwyn Dale has been all over the world as the Head of Recruiting for the Institution of Elements, finding the brightest mancers along the way. But how exactly did she find out about her most troubling recruit just days before the new school year? How did she find out about King Henry Price? CONQUERING HERO December evaluations are here at the Asylum and for Ultra Class '09 it's the first chance to see where they stand among their peers. FRIENDSHIP IS MADNESS Together, King Henry Price, geomancer, and Tyson Bonnie, electromancer, have created artifacts of amazing magical power. They've watched each other's back while battling the Coyote Nation with flashy lightning bolts and . . . geomancer stuff. They might even admit . . . yeah, they're kind of friends now. But not so long ago they met for the first time . . . and it's all Ceinwyn Dale's fault. SECOND TAKE Most would say that for a fifteen-year-old just starting his second year at the Institution of Elements, Heinrich von Welf has the perfect life. First in his year, from a wealthy and influential family, his future prospects in career and in the heart are unmatched. But he made one rather large mistake in his life: he made King Henry Price his rival. When Heinrich's younger sister Victoria joins him at school as a new student, King Henry is ready and waiting to make Heinrich's life one of constant terror about what the Foul Mouth is planning next. GRIEFING King Henry Price has just endured a horrible loss in his life. He returns to the Asylum adrift, unsure how to process the situation. But one thing is a constant: he's the Foul Mouth, he won't be grieving, he'll be GRIEFING, and it will be up to Ultra Class '09 to bear the brunt of the onslaught MEET THE BONNIES Tyson Bonnie made a mistake. A small mistake, yes, but still a grievous error that will cost him his sanity. His mistake wasn't agreeing to spy on King Henry Price. His mistake wasn't becoming friends with King Henry Price. His mistake wasn't even becoming business partners with King Henry Price. Tyson Bonnie's mistake was accidentally asking King Henry Price to meet his family. What was he thinking!?!? These stories are set in the world of 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 6 - "The Foul Mouth and the Artificial Court" (forthcoming)

The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology, Volume 1


Tao Wong - 2019
    A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with Classes, magic and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong. The System Apocalypse world was first introduced in 'Life in the North' and is a LitRPG science fiction and fantasy post-apocalyptic work that features monsters, science fiction technology, character sheets, supernatural races and ancient myths in one heady, LitRPG brew. Stories and writers featured in this anthology include: Craig Hamilton - "Hunting Monsters" has our protagonist doing what he does best. Finding those who would exploit the System and the people within. Except this time, there are even more complications than normal. Alexis Keane - "Tooth and Claw" is a heart-warming tale of friendship that knows no bounds of race or distance. Ix Phoen - "Rebel Within" tells a tale of hardship in South America, where the monsters are not always the ones outside the walls. Tao Wong – “Debts & Dances” covers the arrival of the System from the perspective of our favorite Truinnar Lord. R.K. Billiau – “Phoenix Rising” covers an unconventional hero, one whose mind is slipping from him before the apocalypse. Will the apocalypse be his salvation? Or doom? L.A. Batt - “Overture to Obliteration” brings us to far-off New Zealand to glimpse the wreckage the System has wrought.

Velocity


B.V. Larson - 2010
    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

Terror in the Shadows: Volume 3


Ron Ripley - 2019
    A dark ritual turns a woman obsessed with supernatural powers against the people who love her most. A possessed TV proves that old B-Movie monsters can still terrify an unsuspecting audience…Scare Street’s roster of authors brings you eleven new tales of supernatural horror, in one blood-chilling volume. This macabre collection of short stories is guaranteed to get your pulse racing, and send shivers down your spine.Each deliciously dark tale will haunt your dreams, and keep you reading long past the witching hour. But wait…What was that noise? Did something move in the shadows?Just keep telling yourself… it’s only a story.

Selected Short Stories


Roald Dahl - 2012
    Whether fictionalizing his dramatic exploits as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II or concocting the ingeniously plotted fables that were dramatized on television as Tales of the Unexpected, Dahl was brilliant at provoking in his readers the overwhelming desire to know what happens next—and at satisfying that desire in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable.In this collection:-A Fine Son-Death of an Old Man-Parson’s Pleasure-Poison-The Hitch-Hiker-The Wish-Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat-Dip in the Pool-The Landlady-Skin-Lamb to the Slaughter-Man from the South-The Way Up to Heavan-The Umbrella Man-Taste-The Swan-William and MaryFilled with devilish plot twists, his tales display a tantalizing blend of macabre humor and the absurdly grotesque. Dahl’s creations amuse and shock us in equal measure, gleefully reminding us of what might lurk beneath the surface of the ordinary.

फाशी बखळ [Phashi Bakhal]


Ratnakar Matkari - 1974
    How did he allow the other person to die? How did he help the other person to hang himself to death? He was terribly upset about this. The moment his eyes saw a rope in any form he used to remember everything.........

Timeless Fairy Tales: Books 10-11: The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Snow White


K.M. Shea - 2021
    

Shifter Overdrive


Scarlett Grove - 2017
    Smoking hot, game warden, Wyatt McCloud isn’t a homicide detective, but that’s exactly what he has to be when a shifter turns up dead in the forest he patrols... Bearly Believing (Bear Wardens #2) An infuriatingly sexy man... When research scientist and ardent environmentalist Summer Madison finds a dead grizzly in the forest, she's certain a nearby copper mine is to blame. Game warden Chance Baker isn't convinced, however. Summer's sure she can make him see reason... if he'll just stop melting her circuits for two seconds! His To Bear (Bear Wardens #3) A grieving grizzly... Bear shifter Brody Oberon is stunned to find his best friend near death, the victim of foul play. Filled with rage, the last thing Brody expects is to meet his fated mate at the hospital. The curvy doctor is everything he's ever wanted... at the worst possible time! Unbearably Stranded (Mystic Harbor #1) In her quest to find the last ingredient to her summoning spell, Vivian meets Laurence, the broody grizzly bear fisherman. Laurence has no interest in helping a witch with her magic, but Vivian convinces him to take her out to a small island out at sea. Caught in a magical storm, Vivian and Laurence are shipwrecked. Coming together to survive in spite of their differences, Laurence and Vivian heat up the cold nights while stranded on the island! Her Two Alphas (Mystic Harbor #2) Curvy Lucy Zimmer is having trouble at the office. Her boss can't seem to keep his hands off. Confused and frightened, Lucy decides to take a day trip to the coast to clear her head. While hiking an unfamiliar trail, she gets lost. Just when she thinks she'll be eaten by wolves, two gorgeous men walk out from between the trees! Cat Scratch Fever (Mystic Harbor #3) After curvy magazine editor Makayla Phillips is run off an icy road, she is caught in the snow storm of the century. With a head wound and a badly sprained ankle, Makayla is lucky that mountain man Ronan Harding found her. They are from worlds so far apart, being together is impossible. Will they meet in the middle or will they lose what they want most? His Lion Blood (Mystic Harbor #4) When curvy hafling vampire, Isabella Amador, saunters into mountain lion shifter Ashton Harding's tattoo shop, he can't get enough of her sexy scent. Unfortunately, there's a taboo against fraternizing with vampires, making Isabella strictly off limits! Dragon Princes Of Endor; Complete Collection; Parts #1 To #4 (Dragon Princes Of Endor #1) After leaving everything behind, Dani Storm takes to the road in an RV. When she steps into a cave, deep in the forest, her life is changed forever. Conyac and Trav are dragon shifter princes with a problem. There are no female dragons left in their world. Without a queen, neither can become king! Bear His Love (Midnight Sun Shifters #1) In the wilds of Alaska, anything is possible. Even happily ever after. Ginger Allen has come to Alaska to scatter her father’s ashes - and follow a treasure map he drew for her on his deathbed. First, though, she has to hire an experienced backcountry guide to take her to her father’s remote property... Bear His Baby (Midnight Sun Shifters #2) Ella May is coming home to Juneau for the first time in a year and a half. With a baby in tow and running for her life, pride is not an option. When Tate’s fated mate left him a year and a half ago, he didn’t believe he’d ever recover. Maybe it had been a mistake to keep the truth from her for so long, but he’d only been trying to protect her! Warrior Witch And Raven (West Coast Witches #1) Everyone has a talent. Mine is death. I'm Olivia Fanning. It's been five years since I got my father killed. My family hates me. And Raven? I can't even think about facing him again! Spirit Moon; Complete Collection; Parts #1 To #3 (Spirit Moon #1) Jane is a recent college grad with a strange gift- she sees things in her dreams. After she wakes up from a dream of her boyfriend cheating, she realises she's in need of a change...

Folktales Of China


Anant Pai - 2010
    Like in every culture, Chinese folktales too have been instrumental in passing on Chinese tradition, beliefs, customs and values from one generation to the next.Chinese folklore consists of fables, legends, mythology tales and historical accounts. Magical creatures, demons, mythical animals, malicious step-mothers and witty and valiant protagonists take you through the common themes of the triumph of cleverness and wisdom.This collection of Chinese folktales includes the well-known tale of the 'Valiant Shu Lang', the woman who dressed herself as a man to join the military, 'The Laughing Monks' who taught the path to a contentted life throguh the only language they knew - laughter, and 'The Great Discovery', the tale of how a phenix led a young couple to a treasure they later discover to be salt.

The Girl Who Married a Lion: And Other Tales from Africa


Alexander McCall Smith - 2004
    He now shares them in this jewel of a book.