Short Story Church

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions.

Whilst faith can be practiced anywhere religious faith is usually at a church or temple. The stories in this volume are centered both in houses of worship and with those with a strong association to its calling. Of course, short story authors have a determined belief in their undoubted talents to make us look at this subject from different angles. In this volume they take us on literary journeys that are revealing and challenging yet always entertaining.

What do church ladies really think? Composed and often so quiet as to be thought invisible, church ladies have secret powers to change the world. What are those special powers? They love well. They give well. They can often cook! And they play an essential role in a great rescue operation for mankind. For although they appear to have Ninja warrior strengths (and can be invisible!), they are helpers to the only Superhero who ever really saved the world and mankind. They know His name and will tell you. And they can show you what it's like to brought to life and empowered to love instead of ...

Five dirty stories of house wives trying to earn some extra cash... anyway they can! Turned Into the Neighborhood Escort I'm so bored at home! My husband makes plenty of money so I'm not forced to work, but I need to do something! I've started up a little business making home cooked meals for my neighbors and that's fun and all, but I need something a bit more... wild. I've been teasing these three college boys for awhile now. Whenever I go over to their house I can feel their lusty eyes all over my body. I'm a married woman, but if they wanted me... would I let them? Graduation Present ...

When a church lady falls in love, she falls hard. Sometimes she lands on her knees. Miss Budge does as she moves quietly and powerfully through her daily life in Old Cloverdale, where F. Scott Fitzgerald once courted Zelda, and two miles away Nat King Cole was born. Fitzgerald wrote about love. Nat Cole sang about love, and Mildred Budge knows those words. She can sing along with Nat and has. But Miss Budge lives love too—is always in love. The world wants a certain kind of love. Miss Budge offers a different kind—one that is so rare, so foreign as to be misunderstood…. But make no ...

From the UK best-selling author of Abbot's Keep comes a new dimension in terror. Spanning four decades, the dark history of Church Farm House is explored within four interlinking horror stories. Welcome to the nightmare... Benedict Ashforth is the author of the UK best-selling Kindle ghost story, Abbot's Keep.

New York Times number-one best-selling author Jeffrey Archer is a master of the short-story form, creating classic tales beloved by his fans. Now the award-winning writer presents 20 of his most popular and fêted short stories in The Short, the Long and the Tall.

This lovely collection will make little ballerinas dance for joy! Inside, they’ll find eight of the most beautiful ballet stories, including Swan Lake, Coppélia, The Firebird, and of course, that perennial holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. It’s the perfect way to prepare a child for seeing a performance - or to keep the magic going afterward.

A Christmas Home for Hannah-Briggs Blackwood is stuck between a rock and a hard place. While ranching is in his blood, and he loves it, he has to meet one requirement to take over the BW Ranch: get married and produce at least one grandchild within five years of his mother's death. When Hannah Gallagher's mother dies giving birth to her, her no-good father leaves her with her mother's parents. They didn't have much, but they loved each other. . Reluctantly, she agrees, but she does everything she can to make sure the groom-to-be won't pick her. After all, who would choose a barely educated ...

Andrew Sullivan, “one of the most influential journalists of the last three decades” (The New York Times) and founding editor of The Daily Dish presents a collection of 60 his most iconic and powerful essays of social and political commentary from The New Republic, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, New York magazine, and more.

Pamela is a newly retired teacher with time on her hands. She’s finding it hard to muster enthusiasm for what’s ahead: exhausting postdivorce dating rituals and an uneasy relationship with her emotionally stunted, live-at-home son. But for Pamela, there’s a surprise in store that could challenge the status quo and, against all expectations, make life interesting again.

"Candy-Coated Words Have Led to Sleepless Nights": "Tiffany's marriage is built on a foundation of sweetly spun lies since the day they uttered 'I do.' Overwhelmed by sorrow yet paralyzed by fear, Tiffany witnesses her world unraveling. The truth she concealed has been uncovered, and her husband now holds the fragments of her deception. In the wake of one little white lie, Tiffany confronts the haunting question: Can the cost of that seemingly harmless untruth shatter everything she holds dear?"

My name is Charity and I auction myself to the highest bidder. Yes, I am an escort. And no, I don't keep any of the money I earn. All of that money goes, coincidentally, to local charities. I never started doing this because of the money, but it is a fun way of keeping a personal score for myself. The real reason I started doing this was due to boredom with my puritanical husband. I like things dirty, I like to be roughed up, and if he can't perform those things for me, well, there are plenty of other people willing to pay for that kind of pleasure.

Kynan McGrath has joined The Jameson Group, a security organization handling everything from covert military operations to providing protection for high-profile celebrity clients. As second-in-command, Kynan has the authority to accept or decline missions. When a stunningly beautiful pop princess walks through the doors, Kynan knows he’ll do anything to get closer to her. Joslyn Meyers is on the brink of super stardom, but with fame comes a level of attention she was never prepared for. She’s even less prepared for the gorgeous, tattooed, British bodyguard hired to keep her safe.

The banker and the barista… Amanda Allred’s getting tired of being in the closet for her dull, boring banking job. She’s frustrated with the whole boys’ club atmosphere there and the ‘good ol’ boy’ mentality that goes along with it. Salt Lake is thriving culturally and she wants to be a part of it all; openly and freely in the Utah she’s always loved. But, banking pays the bills and then some. She fears there are just not a lot of opportunities out there professionally for a woman in such a male centric, Mormon culture. Rebecca Musser is finally living the life she once only...

These tales open a portal into the spirit of the season, when time slows down and magic starts to happen. From trees with mysterious powers to a tinsel baby that talks, philosophical fairies to flying dogs, a haunted house to a disappearing train, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas, perfect for listening to by the fire with loved ones or while traveling home for the holidays.

This is a mini-sequel to The Other Son, a little gift for all those listeners who have been begging to know what happens next. Alice has been lying to herself for years, holding fast to the belief that the needs of her family far outweigh her own. But her outwardly successful marriage hides dark secrets, and for much of her life, the children were the only reason she stuck around.

Bizarre occultists try to use a legendary monster to enact their revenge and only a hard-drinking gunslinger can stop them! Its Hell on Wheels meets Jaws! Blessed by a holy man, hard-drinking gunslinger Porter Rockwell was promised that if he never cut his hair he would not be harmed by bullet nor blade . . . But what if monsters strike with tooth and claw? Or occult spiritualists send hexes his way? Well this time just might be Port’s last ride . . . Either way it’s gonna be a helluva fight! You don't want to miss this ride thru the old west. Filled with action, suspense and a good ...

When her mother dies, her father raises her alone in this 15th century tale of love and greed. Katheryn wants to marry for love but when her father mysteriously dies, she is forced to marry the viceroy to save her heritage. Now, how will the viceroy win her favor and still keep his secret? Enjoy this expanded outtake from the Mystery Along the Danube about life and marriage in the fifteenth century. Updated 4/29/23

As well as Lisa, we meet Hester, Julia, Helen, Caroline and a host of other devastating girls, falling in and out of love, finding and losing (and often finding again sometimes in the most unexpected places) the men of their dreams. Lisa & Co is a sparkling collection of love stories that are both moving and funny and could have been written only by the unique Jilly Cooper.