Showing titles in Anthologies & Short Stories

Lily is 92 and failing in health. Her family told her she was going on a little holiday, and although she finds herself still on her beloved Isle of Wight, to her horror she is now living permanently in a residential home at the mercy of Bridie, the 'horrible' one. To make what is left of her life happier she thinks about years gone by, and once again wonders about the strange disappearance of her 14-year-old sister Violet in 1897.

Can the past heal the future? Ninety-year-old Marvin Hermesch is determined to find out. After sneaking out of the retirement home on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon, Marvin embarks upon a journey. His memory is deteriorating fast, and he's having difficulty recalling the face of his deceased wife, Ruthie. As his short-term memory slips, it awakens memories buried deep from his younger days and vivid nightmares of his youth, including the horrors of World War II.

Viciria is an actual person who lived. She is real and her son, Marcus Nonius Balbus, actually became the first citizen of Herculaneum. Before this wealthy resort city was buried by Vesuvius in AD 79, she was known as The Witch. At title well-earned for sure. But why? What could happen in her life that could change such a gentle creature? Find out in the accompanying short story to Threatened Loyalties also by J F Ridgley.

Set during the 1970s glam rock scene in Hollywood, Wham Glam Thank You Ma'am follows best friends Jemmie and Dara, who will do anything to get into Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco after they hear a rumor that their favorite rock star is going to be making the scene. No tickets, no ride, no I.D. - no problem! Nothing will deter them from meeting their idol.

As wealthy debutante Violet Beauchamp travels across country on Route 66, she finds a small dog hurt on the road. Unwilling to leave the dog, she stops at a small Hopi Indian souvenir stand, where she is advised to go to the Holbrook Wigwam Motel. She is also given an enchanted rock, and told that the next man she sees will be the man she marries. When she meets motel clerk Lee, although handsome and kind, she still believes she is destined to marry a wealthy man in California whom she has never met.

Sir William de Clopton has come to defend the Crusaders' last toe hold in the Holy Land only to find it besieged by a terror so great even his supposed enemies have fled. Now he must face history's greatest marauder, Tamir the Lame, and his army who have laid waste a continent. Sir William's only hope lies with a small band of the Knights of St. John and warriors who serves the sworn enemy of his king. They must hold the port of Smyrna at all costs or they, and thousands of innocents, will die horribly.

Brothel owner Joel Rankin refuses his fiancé's request to close the Bird Cage. As a result, he is punished with an evil spell that changes his life forever. "Pretty Bird" is a western historical short story with romantic elements.

Grandma Mary is an educated, yet financially poor woman. She struggles every day to pay the bills and to put some food on the table. The only one she has in life is her grandson Misha. She works for a wealthy family in Rublevka, yet this doesn't improve her situation. A tragic event will turn her life upside down, completely changing the existence of both Mary and Misha. This is the story about a little boy who had everything and nothing at the same time.

For those of you who want to experience the War Between the States in one sitting, this is the book for you. Brother Against Brother is a collection of six Civil War short stories and two excerpts from both Union and Confederate points of view. This collection gives listeners many different perspectives: drummer boys, brave-hearted soldiers, a prisoner of war, and even a young lady waiting at home for the war to end. Through every word, feel their terror, determination, pain, relief, and joy.

The Quest is a story of the Delaware war chief Killbuck who led raids against the settlers during the French and Indian War. He was a remarkable man who spoke several languages and fought long and hard for his people and his ancestral lands. He eventually aligned himself with the Americans and lost his life while under their protection at Fort Henry. Descendants of this determined chief live today.

Mary: A Tale of Captivity is a short story about Mary Mallow Heavener who was taken captive by an Indian war party in 1758. A blend of fact and fiction, the story describes the massacre at Fort Seybert, Mary's life in an Indian village, and her eventual escape and return home. Mary lived from 1749 to about 1804, married and left numerous descendants. Her mother and four siblings were also captured but only one returned home. The historical fiction novel The Dark Side of the Mountain describes the massacre and the journey of her captured mother Anna Margaretha Mallow, who lost three children during that time.

Margaret Trumown was excited to arrive in New York for the winter holiday after what she had been through in St. Louis. Now after a devastating engagement that ended and ruined her chances of a good marriage, she was with her prominent aunt in a well-to-do part of Manhattan. She expected a good winter get away and to marvel at the lights of the modern city in the year 1901; however, what really happened was more than she ever thought possible.

Elizabeth Sterling loved to view the paintings at the Royal Academy in London, but she was not expecting to catch the eye of one of its most famous painters Aidan Drivatti. He was a sexy and passionate genius, but also a known scoundrel. When he asks Elizabeth to model for him for his next painting, she has a risky decision to make.

Knowing Uncle Sam is about to come knocking, 21-year-old Jimmy Franks saves the government the cost of a stamp and preemptively enlists in the Navy. He loads up on stationery and pens, and with a heavy heart kisses his lovely bride good-bye. Leaving his precious Suzy is the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Pregnant and left alone to deal with their feuding families, Suzy Franks is heartbroken when Jimmy ships out for the Mariana Islands.

When timber baron Reuben Burke finds himself at the seaside Hotel del Coronado - a forced vacation arranged by his siblings - he discovers he's forgotten how to relax. For the last ten years, he's been too caught up in raising his younger brother and sister and building up the family business in Seattle to have time for himself, much less romantic attachments. But a chance encounter on the beach with a young widow from San Diego puts his life on a new course.

Set in Sarajevo in the early 20th century. Yelena finds herself in the midst of failed arranged marriage attempts and fleeing from the love of her Austrian crush. After running all night, she is taken in under the care of a woman she would soon learn to love like a mother.

Noreen McAuliffe's Come Down in the World, a story about a nineteenth-century logging camp, wears a style so seamless and perfectly matched it feels tailor-made. From the first few lines to the quietly explosive finale, the listener is surrounded with instant authenticity that transports us to a time, place, and situation with stakes so high that most of us need a daring writer to imagine them for us.

Le Operette Morali, il libro "più caro dei miei occhi" come lo definì lo stesso Leopardi, sono una raccolta di prose e dialoghi di carattere satirico, fantastico e filosofico, scritte tra il 1824 e il 1832, in cui lo scrittore e poeta tenta di educare un'Umanità incapace di guardare in faccia la realtà e che si culla in vane illusioni. Leopardi si sforza, a volte con spietatezza ed ironia, di "chiarirgli" quale sia il suo destino. Le Operette sono considerate uno dei capolavori della letteratura italiana di tutti i tempi.

Il Casanova di Schnitzler è un uomo rivolto al passato, incapace di affrontare il presente. Giunto alle soglie della vecchiaia...

The misguided governor of Washington Territory is trying to force the Indians onto poor land. William Wyatt tries to help.