Short Stories

A pilot and veteran reflects on a surprise gift with profound implications for the meaning of his life, his career, and the ghostly memories of his past combat experiences.

Two strangers awake in a room without any idea how they got there. They come from completely different parts of the world with differing cultures, lifestyles, biases and beliefs. The room is covered entirely in padding and without a door or any windows. The only other things inside the room are: a timer counting down, a rather large, red button, and a message on the floor asking them to decide whether or not to push that button before the timer runs out.

Dave and Billy are fresh out of college with cryptocurrency on their mind. Is cryptocurrency worth it? Well, a time traveler they confront tells them yes. Come along with Dave and Billy from the year 2024 to the year 2089 where cryptocurrency has drastically changed. A time travel short story like no other: The Crypto Time Machine by A.C. Zito

Todd Leidner is a schizophrenic on disability and faced with the fact that him and his dog, Sadie, are now homeless. Finding himself at an RV park not everything is as it seems. Go on a journey with Todd in the RV park commune short story: Jumping in with the Commune by A. C. Zito.

How far will magical women go to save their people and perpetuate their civilization? When killer hornets invade the land of Oksay, an island in the Pacific Ocean, the women of the isle must use wit, perseverance and a bit of magic, to concoct a plan, that rewrites history and re-creates mankind using......yep, bears. Enjoy this fantasy of the rise of a people after having a face to face encounter with destruction.

Ivor Dennidge had chosen his way of life and planned to stick to it. He had found a perfect work/benefits balance which allowed him to live as he saw fit and avoid the slavery of full-time work. He had everything he needed to enjoy life and an abundance of what he valued most; spare time. This is the story of a day which began in much the same way as the previous 2,878 days of Ivor Dennidge’s post-rat-race existence. A short story of about 9000 words from the author of ‘Northern Dole’.

A collection of short stories by Saleem Little, author of Crying for Tears, G.O.D. and Get In, Get Out (Mitanni Publishing)

George, Bill, and Richard all want to be part of the cool kid's club in high school. To do this they decide to go to an old haunted house and see if this will be their way of getting in. But for George, it doesn't go as planned. In the end, George learns something about himself that he didn't think was possible. Check it out in The Ghost Clique by A. C. Zito

2018 Digital Book World Award Winner – Best Book Short Stories 2018 Digital Book World Award Finalist – Best Book Social Issues 2018 IAN Book Of The Year Awards Winner - Outstanding Fiction LGBTQ 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalist – Best Short Story 2018 Global eBook Awards Silver Medal Winner – Fiction – Gay/Lesbian/LGBT category 2018 Montaigne Medal (Eric Hoffer Book Award) Finalist 2017 The Wishing Shelf Book Awards – Red Ribbon Winner 2018 North Street Prize – Semi-Finalist 2018 Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book – Notable ...

Suchard is a wedding-and-baby photographer whose only ambition is to take better portraits. When an old client Rainer comes to him with a commission to film Rainer’s own murder, albeit faked, Suchard is understandably reluctant. However, the fee Rainer offers is impossible to refuse and Suchard finds himself in the pump-room of Rainer’s house, his camera lens protruding through a hole in the wall and a gun in his pocket. By the pool, Rainer’s wife has raised a heavy earthenware mortar over her husband’s head. What could possibly go wrong? This story first appeared in the collection ...

On an uncharted island off the coast of West Africa, a storm of destiny brings warrior King Jahtgo face-to-face with Princess Neeha, leader of a fierce band of female warriors. Their worlds collide in a tale of passion and conflict, leading to an erotic encounter that will alter their lives forever. Set against the vibrant backdrop of 1245, this captivating historical fiction weaves a story of power, desire, and forbidden love. Journey with Jahtgo and Neeha as they navigate the complexities of their cultures, their hearts, and the destiny that will bind them across the seas. This book ...

This is a short story about a girl Shivanshi who belongs to a middle class family and struggles to achieve her dreams by believing in the power of some mantra. The title of the story which is ‘Success Mantra’ delineates the theme very well. The climax of the story starts with a ‘mantra’ which plays a very important role in the story. It will surely catch the readers’ interest to know about that ‘mantra’ which worked magically for Shivanshi to face challenges. Who gave that mantra to her? Can some ‘mantra’ work to achieve success? If some ‘mantra’ can work, how it works...

Geoffrey was out for a first date with a beautiful woman. He was pretty excited, because he usually couldn't get dates with women this attractive. However, the date turned sour when his fortune cookie arrived and he read the message it had for him. Could this be real? It must be a joke? What was going on?

Gerald is worried about his advancing age. To make matters worse, he discovers some ardent love letters in his wife’s underwear drawer. Is she having an affair? Whatever it takes, he is determined to find out.This story appears in Sweet Song of the Siren and Other Stories.

The arc of one man’s life, through love and divorce, via crime and punishment, from Lincolnshire to a cookhouse on a Thai island, told in a diary kept for only one day every five years, Boxing Day. This story first appeared in the collection Mango and Sticky Rice and Other Stories.

Clint needs to sell his car. It's so boring and uninspiring that every time his girlfriend sees him pull up in it, her libido drops right through the floor. He lists it for sale, and someone calls, asking to take a test drive, but when they come back drenched in sweat and scared to death, and literally run as fast as they can to get away from his car, Clint knows something is wrong. What is it? Could his car be haunted?

When Dixon inadvertently offended an unhinged and aggressive kid at school, the boy shows up at his house with his two brothers to get revenge. This kid and his family are into witchcraft. Dixon and his father assumed they were crazy, but are they...

When Frank took a retreat to a remote Scandinavian village in search of peace and quiet to write his novel, he never expected to run into the mysterious and frightening Christmas tradition of the local residents. It's vile and and evil, and goes against everything that he believes. They say it's for his protection, but how could it protect him? And from what? Surely it won't matter if he refuses to participate...

Adrian's friend has a peculiar gift. Every now and then, he stares off into space and his eyes roll up in his head, then he pronounces something prophetic about the future. He's been doing it since middle school, and he's never been wrong. Not once. So, what does Adrian do, when his friend stares into space, rolls his eyes up, and says that this will be Adrian's last Christmas?

Eric inherits the sheet music to an old Christmas carol written by his great-grandfather. When he plays it, he finds that, not only is it a catchy, earworm of a song, but it has remarkable qualities. It's heals people of their maladies. Amazing! He can't believe it...except that the carol also has a dark side...