Mother Figures by Amy Barnes

Amy Barnes has a knack for what Jennifer Pieroni has called “smart surprise”. Each of these mother/daughter stories grabs the attention with its first sentence then continues to wrongfoot the reader willfully as it proceeds. The stories are focused, lean, yet packed with unexpected details – stigmata, plastic eyes, industrial bras, a watermelon called Trudy, vulture balloons. Barnes has a voice that is entirely her own. ―Michael Loveday author of Three Men on the Edge From the first sentence of each story in Mother Figures, Amy Barnes entraps us and stuns, taking us into a variety of worlds, strange and surreal—we embark on a journey involving distorted familial relationships, and through these contorted realities, there is a booming thread of truth, mirroring our need for love and friendship. Magically entertaining, Barnes is on the forefront of breaking barriers in the craft of flash fiction. ―Shome Dasgupta author of Mute Mother Figures both elevates and devastates. In twenty-three tiny stories, Amy Barnes explores the oft-searing complexities of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships through a funhouse lens of pop culture, religion and artifact. Each story is a tightly-woven portrait that exposes our most intimate relational fissures with surprising language and a playfulness that punches to the emotional core. ―Sara Hills author of The Evolution of Birds Reading Mother Figures feels like lifting a band-aid: sharp, ugly, and vulnerable, but tender too: and after, relief: you feel as though the new light and air will heal you. ―Meagan Lucas author of Songbirds and Stray Dogs, and editor, Reckon Review In ‘Mother Figures’ Amy Barnes explores the subtle complexities of female relationships. Each story, steeped in rich detail and nestled between the real and the surreal, will pull you in and keep hold of you long after you’ve finished reading it. An absolute delight. ―Laura Besley author of The Almost Mothers and 100neHundred

Ambrotypes by Amy Cipolla Barnes

We are all slightly askew,” says one of the characters in this delightful and moving collection of innovative stories that bend, at times, toward allegory. Here's a vintage world of cigarette vending machines, Jazzercise, Sears photography studios, McNally road maps, full-service filling stations, and Green Stamps dish sets, a world where a sister with sugar for shoes who desires an octopus lover, giraffes who give funeral eulogies, a student with a backpack wormhole that houses Einstein, and a woman who places a want ad to see if someone has found her name—all highlight our humanity, its losses and its longings, and in moments, the last times we don’t know are the last times. I loved these stories.” — Jill Talbot, author of The Way We Weren’t: A Memoir “Read this collection slowly. Each of these stories unfolds like a palimpsest of images you'll want to spend time unpacking. At the heart of Barnes' prose are the intricacies of human relationships made technicolor by magic realism and the author's expansive imagination.” — Christopher Allen, author of Other Household Toxins “No one aces the first sentence test quite like Amy Cipolla Barnes. Every story in her whimsical debut begins with a zing. With irresistible openers like: "There’s a beach ball in the apartment toilet," "I knew what I was doing when I swallowed the glass piano," "My great grandmother hung the moon," and "My third baby was born an alligator," how can we not keep reading? These may be AMBROTYPES, but Barnes writes in living, breathing color to bring us captivating, quirky family snapshots that engage faith, myth, fairy tale, and a little magic. For all the absurdist delight, there's no shortage of heartache or truth: "I prayed hard that my plastic Jesus would find my daddy either real pants or a job; It felt like too much to ask for both." Barnes is adept at rendering the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar in these sharply observed slices of life that never fail to snap, crackle, and pop.” — Sara Lippmann, author of Doll Palace “Nothing can really prepare you for the people you'll encounter in Amy Barnes's Ambrotypes: little girls with feet made of sugar; alligator babies; wives who grow feathers; fathers made of origami. These stories are surprising, wholly original, and go down easy -- the perfect reading for our current reality.” — Amy Shearn, award-winning author of Unseen City and The Mermaid of Brooklyn

Impress of the Seventh Surge by Jessica Mae Stover

In an outbreak everyone must make choices. What will yours be? With the definitive American pandemic accounting still pending, it’s trailblazing scifi author Jessica Mae Stover who brings the receipts and then sets them aflame in Impress of the Seventh Surge, a novella about a conscientious pandemic evacuee working to free the next victims of a mysterious virus. Familiar and otherworldly, explosive with originality and utterly unconventional, coated in the residue of rage and the red tinge of fever dreams, Impress of the Seventh Surge is a plunge into near-future social bonds, technology, law, love and fascism; a profound story about justice, psychic AIs, and rising body counts that demolishes the borders between literature and technology. In these electric pages Stover ingeniously devises the next evolution in cyberpunk fiction. With her trademark “deep point-of-view” that pierces the veil between reader and character, impressionistic and startling prose, and the surreality of a video game, every twist of phrase in Seventh Surge is a knifing reminder that Stover’s experimental framing is, in fact, all too real. Impress of the Seventh Surge is an astounding work of gravity and furious speculative fiction — a scifi “what if” that doesn’t ask what would you do? but instead demands to know what you will do.

The Garden of the Golden Children by Ashley Hutchison

We all live somewhere. The children of Somewhere attend a prestigious Academy with a spectacular garden that celebrates its finest pupils. The history of the Academy is rich as chocolate, but things are not as they seem. Experimental and emotional, Ashley Hutchison delivers a somber, enchanting, and dark journey in this must-read literary fantasy.

St. Elmo's Fire by Oliver Theakston

1519, the earliest years of European colonialism. After years of planning, Ferdinand Magellan is finally ready to plunge into the uncharted oceans of the New World in his search for a mythical strait and the untold riches beyond. Joining him is Juan de Morales - a physician desperate to break free from the ghosts of his past. But de Morales' hopes of a new beginning are quickly dashed as he discovers the web of treachery into which he has unwittingly entangled himself. From the windswept tundra of Tierra del Fuego to the searing emptiness of the Pacific Ocean, St. Elmo's Fire is a descent into the madness, mutiny and cruelty of the first circumnavigation of the globe.

String of Stardust by James Margaret Rose

"It is a farce for a wildflower, so meek and common, rooted firmly in the Earth, to fall in love with the Moon..." Despite her status as a noblewoman, Suzette always dreamt of becoming a baker; however, she never had the courage to fly away from her gilded cage. But once an ill-arranged marriage pushes her to the brink, she escapes with the help of her dear friend Hikaru, a mysterious man who lonesomely wanders the Earth. By his side, Suzette discovers a magical world unlike any she believed could exist—and most surprising of all, that this is not the first time she has known Hikaru...nor the first time she has been in love with him. But that life ended long ago. Suzette is an entirely new person, and much has changed in their decades of absence. As much as she wishes to recreate the idyllic life of her new memories, there may be no choice but to also recreate its tragedy. Note: Contains mature content that may not be suitable for younger readers.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair by Ryan Rae Harbuck

Her story has (not) defined her. From where she sat, her perspective of the world was both quite ordinary and rivetingly extraordinary—from a paralyzing car accident in her teens to traveling overseas on a journey of self-reflection to becoming a mom. Throughout everything she experienced, she fervently believed in following her given path. She wanted to trust its trajectory. She wanted to be sure. Her story is not about a chair. Her story is about her strengths and how they rose out of her instinctive vulnerabilities. Her story is about her struggles and how they became her victories. Her story is about being willing to hold it all, for herself and the whole of her world. Everyone has a chair. That thing you are bound to or unwillingly defines you. An element that makes you different from the rest. One that you have little choice in the matter. What’s YOUR chair?

L Extreme by JL Civi

A Love Extreme is the greatest double debut album you've probably never heard -- but really should! B is for Benji, an aspiring musician with a bad case of writer’s block and a love story he’s not allowed to tell (but does anyways). C is for Count, Benji’s roommate who wants to help him get his groove back. D is for DJ, C’s love interest who may or may not be D as in dead. E is for Evilon. (He’s the villain, if that wasn’t clear from his name…) F is for Frank, the strong silent neighbor down the hall. G is for genre, a difficult concept to apply here. Is it a) Comedy? b) Romance? c) Fairy Tale? d) Magical Realism? e) Faux Biography? f) Infomercial? g) Album-oriented Fan Fiction? Let’s go with… H) All of the above! IJK are letters we’re skipping in this very absurd blurb. L is for…well, nobody really knows what L stands for. That’s part of the mystery that makes her extreme. M is for Mmmmmm, the title of a dreamy chapter near the midpoint. N is for Narrator. That’s me, your guide on this journey. Oh boy! Presenting Quarkle's ramshackle story the universe values with Xtreme youthful zest. (That rounds out our alphabet, but only scratches the surface of our wild tale.) L EXTREME: An original novel by JL Civi, based on the songs of Benji Hughes A novel based on an album is a book with a killer soundtrack.

Lady, in Waiting by Karen Heenan

She survived exile. He survived a death sentence. Can they survive marriage? Margaery Preston is newly married to a man she barely knows. Proposing to Robin Lewis may have been impulsive, but she wants their marriage to work - she just doesn't know how to be married, and it seems her husband hasn't a clue, either. Treated like a child by everyone from her husband to the queen, lost in the unfamiliar world of the Elizabethan court, Margaery will have to learn quickly or lose any chance at the life she wants. Can a marriage for all the wrong reasons make it to happily ever after?

A Wider World by Karen Heenan

Memories are all he has... now they could save his life. Returning to England after almost five years in exile, Robin Lewis is arrested and charged with heresy by the dying Queen Mary. Over a days-long journey to the Tower of London, Robin spins a tale for his captor, revisiting his life under three Tudor monarchs and wondering how he will be judged—not just by the queen, but by the God he stopped serving long ago. When every moment counts, will the journey—and Robin's stories—last long enough for him to be saved by Mary's heir, the young Queen Elizabeth?

Am I Alone? John K by Stephanie Vlahos

John K hurtles to Mars. He is a chance hero - the first person to travel to Mars. Alone. in a space capsule, lonely in his reflections, yet he finds love. He contemplates Earth - a failing planet with a collapsing ecology. The beautiful green and blue which is fast disappearing. What does the future hold for John K. and all those he has left behind.

Pulsus Cordis Mei-The Pulse of my Heart (Omnia Vincit Amor Book 3) by Maxime Jaz

For when you breathe, I am your air. For when your heart beats, I am its pulse. For when you are far away, look at our star. When events out of their control split the family apart, Marius, Kyle, and Claudia are challenged beyond belief. In the desperate race for power, their enemies will stop at nothing to ensure they destroy Marius and those he loves. Kyle and Claudia have to navigate treacherous waters in Rome to deal with their adversaries, and separate allies from foes, whereas Marius has his own struggles to deal with, far from his loved ones. As an unexpected and shattering blow leaves them reeling, Kyle has to be stronger than ever before to keep them from sinking into despair. Will their enemies finally shatter the small family, or will their love prevail, and conquer all?

Avis Aurea-The Golden Bird (Omnia Vincit Amor Book 2) by Maxime Jaz

From the ashes of suffering, a new strength can be born. From embracing one’s demons, a new life can be found. Back in Rome after his perilous adventures, Marius makes a shocking discovery about his past. But life must go on. Not only does his child need raising, but he must also resume his duties amidst the plotting of Rome’s elite. To add to that, his love for Kyle burns even brighter, melting the walls behind which so many painful memories are trapped. And as feelings bubble to the surface more and more, Marius and Kyle’s love is revealed without hindrance, slowly and sensually, even though shadows of Kyle’s past come back to haunt him, and the people involved in his suffering are thorns in their emerging love. That, and the fact, Marius also brings home a new wife, Claudia. And as Claudia takes her place within the family, unexpected emotions emerge between them all, lacing themselves into Marius and Kyle’s world, resulting in unexpected bliss. Until shattering news about their enemies leaves all of them grappling for air, facing decisions none of them want to make... caught in the race for power. Will their love surmount the many painful obstacles put in their path? Or will their enemies drive a wedge, an unbridgeable chasm between them all? Are Marius, Kyle, and Claudia nothing more than victims of the cruel world they live in?

Donum-The-Gift (Omnia Vincit Amor Book 1) by Maxime Jaz

Coming home with his legion, Commander Marius receives an unexpected gift when he stops at a countryside noble’s estate for a celebration party. That gift is Kyle, a young Celt, captured by the Romans years ago, and used for pleasure by his callous owner. Marius quickly takes Kyle to Rome, utterly clueless about what to do with him. To Marius’ dismay, the young Celt is terrified, even after having escaped his cruel owner. In truth, Kyle doesn’t know what to expect from Marius, either. Despite all odds, including Marius’ flaming temper and unpredictable nature, and Kyle’s haunting past affecting his every waking moment, love blooms between the two men who find themselves up against the scheming nobles of Rome, and Marius’ inevitable duties to his ambitious father, and conniving family. As they begin to fall deeper and deeper in love, even greater obstacles block their path, leading to some desperate decisions. Can Marius’ and Kyle’s love survive despite the odds against them? Or will the might of Rome grind them into oblivion? For in a life of freedom, one can be trapped without relief. For in a life of servitude, one can find unexpected freedom.

Two Ways to Sunday by Tom Starita

Chris Marcum was a man who had everything. The perfect wife, the perfect job, and the perfect life. He was also sure his belief in God did not depend on those successes. So when an angel appeared to him on his deathbed with a challenge to prove the depths of his faith, Chris immediately accepted. Relive your life, with no recollection. This time however, without the breaks. What happens when instead of going right, you go left? What if there are no happy endings? How much can a man endure before he hits his breaking point? And what happens then?

Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

One stormy May night, just as Tom Olsen is about to leave with his Native American friends to visit his grandfather's grave deep in Washington State's Olympic Peninsula wilderness, he answers a knock at his door to find an abandoned thirteen year old girl. The girl announces her name is Sarah Cooley and that Tom is her grandfather. She tells Tom he lives at the end of the earth. All she sees is dripping forest, tall trees, rain and wind. Astonished, all Tom sees is trouble. He knows he should cancel the trip and deal with Sarah, but when his friends suggest bringing Sarah along, Tom reluctantly agrees, hoping a backpacking trip might teach Sarah some sorely needed lessons about character, responsibility and grit. All too soon, Tom and his friends have reason to wonder - are they taking Sarah Cooley on this journey, or is she taking them? Adventure, scientific inquiry, a tinge of mystery, and a hint of the unexplainable infuse this meticulously-imagined tale. In a story matching the breathtaking scope of its Pacific Northwest and North Pacific setting, Sheldon's tale startles, yet challenges us to think.

Coloring Life by Vicki Alexander

Looking at Julie, you would think she has it all. Beauty, a big house, and a successful husband, but everything is not as it seems. Julie's lifelong search for love and acceptance has led her on a journey of self-destruction. What started as a little girl's dream to live behind a picket fence has become the beginning of her undoing. "She steps out of her car; her long, lean legs precede her. Her dark hair is perfectly coiffed, and her designer sunglasses hide her bloodshot eyes. She waves at her neighbors while unstrapping her children from the backseat. Leading them by the hands, she whispers to herself, God, I hate them. "

Good Brave People by Nicholas Trahdal

Whenever acclaimed author Jasper Augustine needs to get inspired for his next book, he goes traveling. That’s what he seeks when he books a flight to San Sebastián for a month in the summer—just a little inspiration. In Spain’s Basque Country, what Jasper discovers is a life-changing exploration of culture, food, drink, human connection, and love that causes him to question the meaning of the word “home”. The culinary and cultural descriptions in Good Brave People will leave you ready to travel.

Alice's Adventures under Water by Lenny de Rooy

If you enjoyed Lewis Carroll’s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there”, this is the book for you! Finally, there is a third story in the ‘Alice’ series – written in Carroll’s familiar style, but packed with a great number of completely new puns, poems, and satire! This time, Alice explores an under-water world, in which she meets new characters who again make her wonder about their strange logic and behaviour. The story can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who have never read Carroll’s tales. However, the more familiar you are with them, the more references you will recognise in this exceptionally clever story…

Wish List by Amanda Pampuro

If Amazon could talk, what would it say about you? Wish List follows woman's life told through things she bought online, as told by the shopping algorithm that sold them to her. ARgurl16 first logs onto Hermes as a teenager and the platform continues to watch over her throughout her life as she transitions from broke college student to single woman looking for love, and eventually into motherhood. Hermes is data-hungry and obsessive, as it struggles to understand its own identity alongside the wants of its millions of users so that it can suggest buying the very best earplugs and coffee mugs. This concise novella is The Death of Ivan Ilyich for the reader with a guilty pleasure for Buzzfeed listicles. Readers haunted by Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle or Niccolò Machiavelli will enjoy this slice of life.

Iep Jāltok by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

As the seas rise, the fight intensifies to save the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands from being devoured by the waters around them. At the same time, activists are raising their poetic voices against decades of colonialism, environmental destruction, and social injustice. Marshallese poet and activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s writing highlights the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing, and the impending threats of climate change. Bearing witness at the front lines of various activist movements inspires her work and has propelled her poetry onto international stages, where she has performed in front of audiences ranging from elementary school students to more than a hundred world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit. The poet connects us to Marshallese daily life and tradition, likening her poetry to a basket and its essential materials. Her cultural roots and her family provides the thick fiber, the structure of the basket. Her diasporic upbringing is the material which wraps around the fiber, an essential layer to the structure of her experiences. And her passion for justice and change, the passion which brings her to the front lines of activist movements—is the stitching that binds these two experiences together. Iep Jāltok will make history as the first published book of poetry written by a Marshallese author, and it ushers in an important new voice for justice.

The Church of Wrestling by Emily Thomas Mani

Eleven-year-old Jenny Arsenault is an undefeated wrestler, thanks in part to the guiding principle her father has taught her—Strike First. But she’s eager to try another principle. At the 1992 Canada East Championship, she defies Strike First and loses the gold. It’s not the only loss that day. Her mother also dies, launching her father into an intercontinental search for the answer to an impossible question: How do you strike first at death? A bold, inventive novella with unforgettable characters, The Church of Wrestling shows grief and obsession are full-contact sports, and family ties—even when seemingly broken—bind more tightly than a half nelson.

Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias

Enforcer and drug dealer Fernando has seen better days. On his way home from work, some heavily tattoed gangsters throw him in the back of a car and take him to an abandoned house, where they saw off his friend’s head and feed the kid’s fingers to ... something. Their message is clear: this is their territory now. But Fernando isn’t put down that easily. Using the assisance of a Santerian priestess, an insane Puerto Rican pop sensation, a very human dog, and a Russian hitman, he’ll build the courage (and firepower) he’ll teed to fight a gangbanger who’s a bit more than human.

Toadstones by Eric Williams

Sixteen stories from the Bowels of Hell. You can’t chear death, but death can still cheat you. Gods are real. Monters too. Like sheepoids, creepoids, and landlords. Take the ghost bus to a showing of a haunted film; it really is to die for. Keep your distance from the uncanny residents of a picturesque wasteland. If you forget your wallet at some sketchy jobsite in the middle of nowhere, just leave it. Some things are better lost. Stepped in the history of Time, Earth, and B-Movies, Eric Williams creates worlds where nothing is what it seems, and be you graverobber, podcaster, or small-town veterinarian, there are no magic charms to protect you. A collection where Weird is the norm, where the unreal is all too real, Toadstones is a reminder that we don’t know everything, actually.

Pretty Damned Things by Holly Wade Matter

Fortune is an itinerant musician without a past who braids memories into her hair. Maud is a sheltered small-town girl and an unwitting heir to the notorious McBride family magic. The two young women meet when Fortune is commissioned to bring Maud to a rich man whose grandson she cursed. United by their love of music and their hunger for the road, Fortune and Maud form a friendship ... one that is threatened not only by Fortune’s mission but by their mutual desire for a man called Lightning.

Mary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke

A young woman born in the wrong reality. A destiny that will lead her into the past. And a love so enduring it reaches across time - and existence itself - to bring her home. A gripping tale of best friends and romance, sorcery and survival, at the dawn of the Roaring 20s. Courtney is a lonely undergrad at secluded Braddock College in 2004, working a drowsy summer job in the Archives. Assigned to a new project, she becomes haunted by a college yearbook from the 1920s - filled with familiar faces and memories of times she never experienced. A chance encounter with a mysterious girl named Sadie - dressed in long-outdated clothes - alters her reality. But if you were never meant to be born, that reality can expel you like an infection - or kill you outright. While Courtney struggles against forces she cannot comprehend, a psychopathic stalker smells blood and closes in for the kill. Sadie, now in 1921, races against the clock to save her friend, joined by some remarkable allies - an American combat sorceress and veteran of World War I, an enigmatic professor who specializes in piercing the veil between realities, and two young women who insist they’re Courtney’s oldest friends - one of them even claiming to be her truest love. Time is running out for Courtney, and a terrifying wilderness - haunted by the dead from centuries past - may hold the key to her salvation. But none who enter have ever returned... Cassandra Yorke's groundbreaking debut brings Magical Realism home to the Midwest in an explosive new style, blending Midwestern Gothic and historical fiction with a warm lesbian love story to create a riveting, deeply immersive epic you won't be able to put down. It's the world of Boardwalk Empire and Gatsby, with an urgent, immersive narrative about what it means to belong, what it means to be hated, what it means to be loved, and ultimately what it means to come home.

Be A Good Girl by Aella Ray

Marionette Jackson has Borderline Personality Disorder. She just doesn’t know it yet. Marionette clings to her secret in order to survive the unforgiving world of loss, drugs and manipulation. Between handsome stalkers and her unbelievably perfect twin sister, she’ll do whatever it takes to be strong. Drawn to her dark teacher with ties to her past and desperate to escape the cruelty of her mother, can Marionette find stable ground to create a meaningful life for herself in? Can she discover who she is meant to be underneath all the parts she plays for everyone else? Will she ever get out of herself alive? In the first book of its kind, Aella Ray’s debut series is exactly what the world of mental health needs. Be A Good Girl, and it’s companion book, Yes Daddy, illustrate the mind behind this misunderstood disorder and provide a trailblazing perspective that could change the world of mental health as we know it.

The Muse by Amy Ellis

In Georgian London, Elizabeth spends her precious free time painting watercolour flowers at the kitchen table. Art is not only an escape from the monotony of chores but a way to find a suitable husband who can give her security and a stable future. That was all she ever wanted until she met John, a talented painter with connections and patrons, who offered to take her on as a student and model for his new works. Being given the freedom to paint what she likes, Elizabeth is quickly seduced by John’s world: art, beautiful women, wealthy patrons, and the opportunity to earn her own money by becoming London’s premiere erotic portrait artist. But her newfound freedom comes at a cost and when her business is picked up in London’s scandal papers, there’s no way to go back to the stable life she once craved. This novel-in-verse is a scandalous and seductive love story of a young woman thrust into the indulgent world of art, sex, and money.

A Particular Friendship by Paul Van Der Spiegel

Tom Morton is a gay Catholic parish priest in a northern English town. Tom's closeted life is turned upside down when the man he fell in love with comes back into his life. Caught between duty and desire, Tom finds himself confronting the powerful Bishop, Derek Worrell—a dark figure from Tom's past, and the man who has pledged to rid the Church of its troublesome gay clergy.

Buildings Without Murders by Dan Gutstein

When the Civil Illumination Authority of an overbuilt American city solicits bids for a lucrative contract, the ensuing competitive efforts of one multinational corporation eventually unleash a morbid act of violence—one that affects a number of lives orbiting each other, including feisty redhead, LaRousse. A young woman who charges ahead, provokes, and yields to tenderness, LaRousse negotiates the intellectual and physical spaces between her stormy father, Wiry Strength, her activist romantic partner, Vermont Values, and her dopey street-kid chums, Docile and Pockets. The world of Buildings Without Murders subscribes, in part, to James Lovelock’s “Gaia hypothesis,” in that the earth is a living organism, and is trying to decipher how it might repair itself. Phenomena abound, including the ghost rockets, GPS pins, jazz holograms, and loose lightning. En route to turning eighteen, LaRousse encounters the beguiling phenomenon of the God Booth Project, and her trips to this novelty attraction reverse a lifelong assumption in life-changing fashion.

Bit Flip by Mike Trigg

Fortysomething tech executive Sam Hughes came to Silicon Valley to "make the world a better place." He's just not sure he's doing that anymore--and when an onstage meltdown sends him into a professional tailspin, he suddenly sees the culture of the Bay Area's tech bubble in a new, far more cynical light. Just as he's wondering if his start-up career and marriage might both be over, an inadvertent discovery pulls Sam back into his former company, where he begins to unravel the insidious schemes of the founder and venture investors that led to his ouster. Driven by his desire for redemption, he discovers a conspiracy of fraud, blackmail, and manipulation that leads to tragic outcomes--threatening to destroy not only the company but Sam's moral compass as well. Entangled in a web of complicity, how far will he go to achieve his dreams of entrepreneurial success and personal wealth? Bit Flip is a corporate thriller that delivers an authentic insider's view of the corrupting influences of greed, entitlement, and vanity in technology start-ups.

Drummond: Learning to find himself in the music by Patrick R. F. Blakley

Drummond, a thirteen-year-old C student in middle school, is steered into joining the high school’s marching band. He’s far from ready, and his friends help him make several attempts to learn new instruments to try and fit in better. With a little unexpected guidance from the drummers and their instructor, he realizes how well he already fits in. He discovers who he is inside. Homelife deteriorates behind him and pushes him forward into the arms of his new family, the marching band.

Abolish the Rose by Alanna Irving

"Surely I have better things to do with my time." Camille Addison resents the hand life has dealt her. Enrolling in an evening class to distract herself from memories of frustration, she finds herself instead turning to face the tumult of relationships, loss and love that has led her to where she is. Abolish the Rose, by Alanna Irving, takes us on a journey through the past in search of meaning in the present. Through a vivid catalogue of heart-warming and harrowing life experiences, we are drawn to question, along with Camille - how much control do we have over the path our lives take? Would we change the past if we had the chance? What is a life well lived?

DREAMer by Emily Gallo

Kate and Lawrence drive through the desert on their way home from vacation and find a young girl sitting by the side of the road. Who is she? Where is she from and where is she going? Why is she there? When and how did she get there? What can they do to help? The girl won't speak, but that doesn't deter them from embarking on a journey through central and southern California to find the answers.

Kill the Messenger by Kim Idynne

Marco Russo embarks on a new relationship with his twin brother, Jacob, after a near-fatal accident leaves Jacob with verbal disinhibition: an inability to assess his thoughts before speaking them aloud. His remarks often spark anger in the people around him and cause endless embarrassment for Marco, who has taken on the role of Jacob's guardian and coach—a role that is further complicated when one of his co-workers falls head over heels for Jacob. With Jacob's latest job seeming to be a good fit for him, and with new relationships budding, the future seems to hold a hope for happiness—but that hope is shaken when one of Jacob's thoughtless disclosures leads to a series of shocking events.

I Am Not Brad Pitt and Other Stories by Ross Dreiblatt

I AM NOT BRAD PITT is the first of three riotously absurd tales in Ross Dreiblatt’s debut short-story collection sending up America’s sometimes-fatal celebrity obsessions. “I Am Not Brad Pitt” opens in a prison cell in which Mr. Pitt’s clone-like doppelganger, Tobey Crawford, remorsefully recounts the sequence of unlikely events that resulted in his wrongful conviction for murder. The second story, “Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself,” considers the possibility that Keith Richards (along with, for good measure, Dolly Parton) is, indeed, a vampire. Nobel-Prize laureate Bob Dylan, the story’s vampire-killer, is equipped with more than just a harmonica and tambourine. The final work in the collection, “Keeping Compliant With The Kardashians,” examines whether Kardashian family members are, in fact, aliens from another galaxy and what precisely is their interest on Earth. Each of the stories are told with engaging humor, and each pokes fun more at American culture than they do, generally, of the celebrities themselves.

Pretend to read this book to avoid talking to strangers by Cassie Bailey

Description ‘Pretend to read this book to avoid talking to strangers’ is the new e-book by Cassie Bailey. Six short stories explore love, loneliness, and the human search for connection. ABOUT THIS BOOK: We all seek to belong somewhere. But what does it mean to really feel that sense of belonging? To feel truly connected – to our Earth, and to each other? Wires doesn’t mind being alone when the world ends, but she’d rather be with the girl she loves. Sharon connects with others through her daydreams, even when she can’t talk to them in person. Kelly and Adam seek connection through their art, but is it at the expense of their relationship? And somewhere, deep at the bottom of the ocean, a woman speaks to the sea and stars, as they help her remember where she belongs. Each tale was written at a different point in the author’s 20s, and the scattered but reflective story structures explore the inner workings of her neurodiverse brain. At times humorous, other times devastating, this debut collection fuses poignant poetry and open dialogue. ‘Pretend to read…’ will leave you thinking a little deeper about how the human mind experiences and searches for connection. 24,968 words ADVANCED READER REVIEW: ‘From the moment I began reading dizzy & wires, I was awed by Cassie’s ability to turn her heartfelt thoughts into poetry. Her neurodiverse brain is an absolute gift and the magic, depth, and originality she produces within these pages is a thing to behold. Raw, vulnerable, at times quirky and at other times thought-provoking, these short stories are the kind you’ll want to come back to again and again and you’ll keep discovering fresh delights you missed the first time around.’

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August

SFFOasis SPSFC 2022 SPSFC Winner Indie Recs Indie

A dying universe. When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilizations, a sea of lifeless gray planets and their ruins. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last civilization left in the universe, and whatever came for the others will come for them next. A search for answers. Scout is an Archivist tasked with scouring the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals—anything left behind that might be useful to the Home worlds and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago. A past unraveled. Blyreena was once a friend, a soul mate, and a respected leader of her people, the Stelhari. At the end of her world, she was the last one left. She survived to give one last message, one final hope to the future: instructions on how to save the universe. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes. With the fate of everything at stake, Scout must overcome the dangers of the Stelhari’s ruined civilization while following Blyreena’s leads to collect its artifacts. If Scout can’t deliver these groundbreaking discoveries back to the Archivists, Home might not only be the last civilization to exist, but the last to finally fall.

Oxford Girls; Michaelmas ~ Alex by P.D. Kuch

Alexandra's ordinary teenage life is about to change – dramatically. Unaware of her altered DNA, Alex and her family are of interest to unethical scientists. Her parents' plane crash is just the onset of disturbing discoveries. When it becomes apparent that it wasn't an accident, Alex needs to figure out who's behind it or share a grim fate of a lab rat. The first part of this exciting adventure thriller presents the world's different faces: from beautiful to ugly, from frightening to comforting. Besides the stormy drama, the book is about friendship, intimacy and growing up – a heartening story mixed with educational, funny and even steamy threads. Full of action and with a great dose of humor, the story races to a surprising and gripping twist.

The Enlightened Spaniel - The Cat with One Life Left by Gary Heads

This is the story of two springer spaniels and their unrelenting quest towards enlightenment. Supported by their trusted companion The Bookshelf, and guided by an unwavering belief in the teachings of the Buddha, they undertake to discover the truth surrounding the reincarnation of the Buddha’s dog. The story takes an unusual twist when a mysterious cat arrives. The cat, Amara, believes he has used eight of his nine lives and is suffering from anxiety and uneasiness. He has travelled from afar to find Half-Sister in the hope that she will teach him to live in the present moment and therefore enjoy his final life on planet Earth. However, it soon becomes apparent that all is not as it seems, and that Amara holds a secret that Half-Sister must unravel if the truth is to be revealed. The Enlightened Spaniel – The Cat with One Life Left is a charming story that winds its way down a path filled with ancient wisdom, humour, and compassion for all living beings.

What Happened to Coco by VB Furlong

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When a girl disappears, long-buried secrets resurface… Coco is missing. Her room’s a mess, and her phone is left behind in her dorm at Lainsbury Hall School Ella, Coco’s childhood best friend, is desperate for her to return, although she knows that if she ever sees Coco again, there’ll be a lot of explaining to do. Bea knows that her new group of friends attracts drama, and she thinks she has the last shred of common sense between them all. Only, if that was true, she would leave Genevieve, her toxic ex, well alone. Conrad is confident that Coco will return safe and well. Only, the way his secrets are unravelling, he’s worried he won’t be when this is all over. Harrison and Coco are the perfect couple. Everyone knows that. But looks can be misleading. Even the smartest boy in school can make a terrible mistake. In order to navigate the web of secrets and lies that Coco leaves behind, her circle of friends needs to unravel a few of their own. But the question remains: What happened to Coco?

If I Lie in a Combat Zone by Will Tinkham

Ordered to inspect a suspected Viet Cong tunnel in November of 1968, Private Walt Whitman von Funck crawls inside and falls in love. And rips a hole in his foot. IF I LIE IN A COMBAT ZONE finds Zow spending eight months nursing him back to health, while her brother and grandfather conduct midnight raids and accumulate prisoners, including a general. During his convalescence, Walt and Zow wed; theirs is a love story that defies race, religion and military red tape. Upon his return to Chu Lai Air Base with his pregnant wife and six prisoners, Stars and Stripes declares Walt a hero. Awards follow. And plans for a Medal of Honor ceremony with President Nixon. Till a U.S. Army doctor declares the foot wound to be self-inflicted. Hailed, then jailed—repeatedly—Walt becomes a favorite of the anti-war crowd and a thorn in Nixon's side. Walt accepts offers to speak on college campuses. Protests involving gunfire and bombings become routine. It's almost as if they are targeting him.

Paper Castles by B. Fox

Foreclosures are hitting record highs; unemployment is skyrocketing, and the economy is in shambles. Equally broke and futureless, 28–year–old James Brooke, a graduate architect, coffee-addict, and self–described average nobody has returned to his small hometown in West Ohio. Torn between his fanciful dreams and the need to pay off bills, he struggles to find his own identity while facing a harder–than–ever reality. But living under his father’s rooftop while keeping his head in the clouds soon turns out to be a bad combination, and the mounting student debt forces him to settle for any job he can find. That’s when he stumbles across a new coffee shop, a wayward girl with a talent for storytelling, and his own unresolved past. This unexpected set of things could help him figure out what his place in the world is—if that place even exists. Paper Castles is a story about the search for meaning in times when everything seems meaningless.

Asphalt Chasers by Bree Hall

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Ellie and her mom were going to leave their small-town Kansas life behind and hit the road, trek over the black asphalt of Route 66, and head north when they reached the Pacific. They were going to experience all of the zany roadside attractions along the way. They were going to surf every break between Santa Monica and Rockaway Beach. Ellie promised they would climb into her mom’s ’87 VW and do all of those things. She promised. But it was too late. Ellie’s mom was already dying of cancer when she made Ellie promise and she died before their journey could even begin. Now, five months later, Ellie is haunted by the promise she made. But she is determined to get to the Oregon Coast on the route they planned, even though she’ll have to do it on her own, even though her dad forbid it. She will do anything to ensure the promise be fulfilled.Ellie isn’t the only setting out on the road.Enter Luke, the tall, handsome, basketball stud who runs in Ellie's crew. He's had a crush on Ellie since he moved to tiny Wheat Hill in the ninth grade, but when he finally gets the guts to try and tell her how he feels, she's already started her journey. Luke quickly enlists the help of his and Ellie's three kooky friends and they all hit the highway in the hopes of catching up to Ellie. Will Ellie fulfill her promise? Will Luke tell her how he feels? Or will they just keep chasing the asphalt of the road into oblivion, never reaching its end?

The Cary Grant Sanatorium and Playhouse by Will Tinkham

THE CARY GRANT SANATORIUM AND PLAYHOUSE is a screwball drama involving disgraced Hollywood starlet, Donna Darling, and two-time German Army deserter, Séamus von Funck. They meet in 1942 at an idyllic Ohio home for unwed mothers—or a Nazi abortion slaughterhouse, depending on whom you talk to. Their love endures despite the efforts of a power-hungry congressman, an overzealous religious tabloid, and Donna's Hollywood past—yes, including Cary Grant. They prevail despite Séamus being a suspected Nazi spy and America's first prisoner of the second World War—and also the first to escape. Donna returns to her chosen profession, nursing, and Séamus completes his medical training under an alias while still on the lam. Despite their early struggles, the couple raises three fine children: Frederick Douglass von Funck, Clara Barton von Funck and Walt Whitman von Funck. The family thrives until their bi-racial, eldest child runs smack into the civil rights turmoil of the 1960s.

The Rain Dancer by Alan Scott

People often take for granted the small things in life, like being able to shower and get dressed without having to convince their mind and body to get out of bed. For many, that isn’t a daily struggle. When the alarm clock rings, they turn it off, roll out of bed, and start their day. For those diagnosed and labelled with conditions such as dyslexia, however, that struggle is crippling. Branded, lazy, stupid, cheats, the world convinces millions of people every day that they are unworthy of love and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Labelled with a learning difficulty that makes him feel inferior, 50-year-old Alan starts to reflect on his life and the world around him. Whilst working a typical 9-5 office job, he explores the facets of the world that many overlook, including an inside look at motherhood, prescription drug abuse, and roles in the workplace. From how dress code is enforced more on women than men, the unfulfillment that comes with abusing sex, alcohol, and food, to the importance and acceptance of sexuality, every bullet of truth comes to a startling realization: the world does not view everyone equally. As Alan digs deeper into his memories, regrets of the past blend with momentary victories to cast light on topics that many choose to avoid or overlook. Addiction to social media. The overwhelming noise coming from TV, songs, and news. The robotic movements of people he passes by on the street, and how taboo it is to look at nature or each other. What society classes as success. Based partly on the real-world struggles of dyslexia and the problems associated with it, The Rain Dancer takes an in-depth look at the pain and emotions caused by everyday interactions. Depression, societal expectations, and the niceties of human interactions, Alan Scott paints a vivid picture of the morals and ethics that govern life.

The Adventures of Hank Fenn by Will Tinkham

For Hank, Sam never became Mark Twain. As a riverboat pilot, Sam saved young Hank from the crushing paddlewheels as the boy stowed away on the City of Memphis. Sam returned Hank to Minnesota when news reached downriver that Hank's mother was on trial for killing the father Hank had run away from. Years later, in a barber's chair prior to his mother's funeral, Hank reads a frog story that's awful close to a tall tale Sam once told. The magazine claims it's written by a fellow named Mark Twain. THE ADVENTURES OF HANK FENN (Americana #4) sends Hank searching the West—and then the East—for Mr. Twain. All along he and Sam exchange letters and make plans that never seem to get them together—Twain always on the road or abroad. Hank does find hatred and brutality while railroading and mining throughout this new frontier. He finds Calamity Jane in a Wyoming mining camp and Custer breaking treaties. He finds the Emperor of these United States. Ultimately Hank finds love, boys to raise and gold to unearth on a Black Hills mountaintop.

The Miracles by Will Tinkham

Brinda Miracle (not her real name) steals out of Redding, Connecticut in the spring of 1911 in charge of an orphan train. Though an accredited nurse and teacher, Brinda is fleeing trumped-up allegations stemming from the crib death of a baby in her care as a nanny. An orphan herself, Brinda arrives at an orphaned orphanage in St. Paul, Minnesota with three children still in her care: Nicholas, twelve, with special needs and special talents—most notably those of a pickpocket; Maxine, eight, with seemingly no need for anyone and no discernible talent; and Zane, six, whose amber eyes instill fear in those who fail to look deeper. The Miracles (Americana #7) is a historical crime satire set in a gangster haven that welcomed criminals into St. Paul as long as they didn't commit crimes in St. Paul. The novel follows the four orphans as they are welcomed into a neighborhood featuring Nina Clifford's fashionable whorehouse on one side and the Bucket of Blood Saloon down the block. Brinda and the children grow into their own niches to survive amid Prohibition Era corruption while dabbling in a little bootlegging of their own through the early years of the Great Depression.

The First Stain by Various

The world isn’t black and white. Why should our stories be? There is often a moment when we discover the world is nothing like the fairy tales we grew up with. It’s grittier, darker, more complex. Perception isn’t always reality. Sometimes there’s another layer, another angle that demands acknowledgement. Each tale within The First Stain peels back those preconceived layers to expose the cracks in our not-so-perfect world. The First Stain showcases stories with a twist—from haunted visions to heartbreaking omens; vigilante justice to survival amidst metaphysical hellscapes. Enter a fantastical world where karma is Law—merciless and unforgiving. Discover the addiction of memory, and the regrets secreted therein. Within The First Stain, fears become nightmares. Nightmares become reality, and sometimes, the worst that could happen, comes to pass. These thirteen short stories by new and published authors delve into the themes of death, justice, family, redemption, and ugly truths bound in beautiful lies.

More Time: A Brief Anthology of Indie Author Short Fiction by R. Tim Morris (editor)

We might have made better decisions if we'd only had more time. Maybe more time would have been all we needed to love them right. More time could have fixed our mistakes. More time might have only made things worse. More time could have meant a bigger love, but eventually, it might have proven to be a lesser one. And even when the measure of time itself is altogether powerless, love will inevitably find us and leave us in so many more ways. In this short fiction anthology, a global collection of rising talents explore the connection between love and time. Their stories will take us from cancer wards to small town bakeries. From retirement communities, to parkade rooftops, to paranormal phone booths. Love will bloom beneath meteor showers, endure through the magic of mythical creatures, and elude us within the veils of memory. These twelve tales touch on the supernatural, the psychological, and secrets just beneath the surface, teasing our vulnerabilities. Eventually, love may end up being defined by nothing more than a pair of men's slippers, a pilfered hoodie, or a body on the sidewalk. And in all of these stories, one question could be asked: What if we had More Time? Featuring stories by Eloise Archer, Ioanna Arka, Emma Deshpande, Zev Good, R.Tim Morris, Natalie Pinter, Justine Rosenberg, Chet Sandberg, Abby Simpson, Isana Skeete, Lior Torenberg, and Perry Wolfecastle.