The Longest Way to Eat a Melon
A cheeky debut of short fictions exploring the pitfalls and minor triumphs of the creative process.Equal parts melody and malaise, The Longest Way to Eat a Melon charts the activities of a cast of speakers who all grapple in their own ways with what it takes to conjure a self in the midst of discordance. A brain argues with a non-brain about how to remain productive from a place of exhaustion; two supernaturally inclined twins named Han are separated at birth; and an emerging artist paralyzed by possibility considers how best to transform a melon into a breakthrough work of art. Incorporating elements of fable, surrealism, satire, and art and cultural criticism, these stories have a playful peculiarity to them, an interweaving of self-deprecation and curiosity, of woe and hope, of absurdity and humanity. Reader, you will want to savor every bite.
When Imaginations Spark
A brain at rest, random thoughts flickering through its hinterlands, nothing registering, nothing sticking.Then FLASH!A tiny spark in the darkness that begins to burn, growing with every nanosecond, swelling ever larger, impossible to ignore, impossible to push away. It pulls in on itself, condensing, forming, solidifying...A story in its infancy, trying to gather what it needs to survive. Drawing sustenance from the Imagination of the Author. Trying to mature. Trying to become a complete entity. Seeking the light of day, to make its way into the human world.Finding and delighting other imaginations is the goal. To make tingle the fancy of others. To pull minds out of the here and now and send them down the many paths of Elsewhere.Open your mind and allow the stories in this anthology to grab your imagination. Receive the sparks that started them. Receive the thrills, excitement, wonder, and triumph of them.Become one with each of them. Or, just read them one by one and marvel at their power. It's your choice. The authors who help you find that spark are: Dennis McFadden with Pop Goes the Weasel, Terry Sanville author of Somewhere South, Christine Roy with In the Night, Marilee Aufdencamp writer of Clowning Around, Emely Bennett presents Arthur Smythe and Me, Carole Kelly offers Bella Wants a Baby, Tim Pingelton with This Course of Empire, Joseph J. Salerno writes Knight Fall, Lenora Salvucci authors Wildflowers, Dominik Slusarczyk presents Numbers on a Screen, Phillip Lynne pens The Royal Boil, and Evan Slebowitz details A Clash of Dreams.
Throb
Tales of the Heart is a poignant novella composed of interwoven short stories, each narrated by a unique voice. These stories delve into the depths of human experience, revealing life's raw and often painful realities. Through a tapestry of diverse characters, the novella explores themes of love, loss, betrayal, and resilience. Each narrator shares their journey, recounting moments of heartbreak and hardship that have shaped their lives. From the young woman grappling with the aftermath of a broken relationship to the elderly man reflecting on a lifetime of regrets, these stories offer a window into the human soul.
F.I.F.O.
When the Aliens Come for You, They Don't Bring Flowers!Jack Spaulding expected to close a deal-not become an alien breeding experiment.Now he's back on Earth with a very personal problem: something is growing inside him and feeding on his orgasms. His career's in jeopardy, his marriage is unraveling, and his body's become a ticking alien time bomb.F.I.F.O. is a darkly hilarious sci-fi horror romp about cosmic karma, bodily betrayal, and the most unforgettable dinner date in the galaxy.Perfect for fans of Heavy Metal, Chuck Palahniuk, and Carlton Mellick III.Content Warning: Mature themes, alien body horror, graphic sexual content. You've been warned. (But you're probably still going to read it aren't you?)
Hopefully Ever After
"...I made my smile out of hard times and snatched joys. I sanded it down on surviving."Beginnings and endings. Hard-fought nights and hard-won dawns. As we fall, so we rise. These are stories about hope.In these 52 very short pieces of fiction, James Webster goes looking for hope in the dark places of sci-fi and fantasy. What inspires us to keep moving forward when the road ahead seems endless? When today has hurt us deeply, how do we keep our hearts open to tomorrow? Where do we find the power to believe in a better world?Packed with bright beauty, wry laughter and deep longing, these are tales to feed your heart's fire to seek joy even amidst sorrow. Because hope is not something you wait for, it's something you make on purpose.
Hard Hits
HARD HITS, Ian Laver's second collection of short stories follows the publication of two novels CRUCIAL STEP and UNEASY andhis first collection DEADLY SINS. The stories in HARD HITS take the reader on a journey encompassing the diversity of humanity across all strata of society. Characters are compelled to make decisions on the tightrope of life. Weakness and strength, love and hate, darkness and light, are obstacles to be negotiated. We meet good and evil people in situations that test their morality, and their propensity for violence, love, and kindness. Each story is a page turning gem enticing the reader to devour the next.Ian is currently writing his third novel, COMEBACK, featuring rogue Queensland detective Rodney FitzMichael.
The Eighteen Story Gingerbread House
The Eighteen Story Gingerbread House book is an eclectic collection of eighteen unique stories that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Four of the stories involve magic. They are "The Green Genie," "The Magic Seeds," "Merlin's Ring" and "The Time Door."Other stories in the work utilize the literary personification technique where animals are given human qualities. These tales are "The Tadpole and the Caterpillar," "Percy Helps Sparky," "The Story of Bruin," "The Wise Old Owl," "From Fang to Claw," "The Ants and the Bees," "The Shrimp and the Lizard," "The Ram, the Goat and the Deer" and "The Lucky Birds."Three of the tales in The Eighteen Story Gingerbread House have animals interacting with humans. These stories are "Pedro's Wonderful Donkey," "Mrs. Purdy's Parrot," and a new Christmas time presentation titled "Santa's Little Buck."Finally, two stories have humans as the principal characters. "Lu Vang" is a biography on a Laotian-American immigrant becoming a crewleader on a New Jersey blueberry farm, and "Kandu's Great Discovery" shows the daily life and hazards experienced by a ten-year-old prehistoric Cro-Magnon boy.
A Rip Van Winkle of the Kalahari, and Other Tales of South-West Africa
