Showing results for "Girls" in Short Stories

When a peasant girl follows glowing mushrooms into the forbidden forest, she discovers the witch waiting in the cave wears her own face—and the mad queen in the castle does too. In a kingdom gripped by famine, young Carys has always been the wild child her mother couldn't tame. But when mysterious mushrooms begin to glow at her touch and lead her deep into the forest, she stumbles into an impossible truth.

Devil-Girl is a storyteller smaller than a stain and larger than life, a mythic figure roaming the globe. Born into Brooklyn housing projects and the nightmares of her immigrant family, she becomes a runaway in the human marketplace of the streets of New York. Accompanied by her sense of outrage and sense of humor, ghosts of the ancestors, and her prophetic vision, she moves from silence through rage into deep alliance with the marginalized.

The dead spot: a corner drenched in shadow; an earthquake's epicenter; the part of a roller coaster ride where the car rounds the final curve and all force dissipates, leaving those trapped beneath the safety bar feeling sick and hollow. From the beloved author of Frost Bite and Chopping Spree comes this heartbreaking horror collection about girls and women trapped by circumstance, manipulation, and obsession. The book includes a moving introduction by J. A. W. McCarthy (Shirley Jackson Award finalist for Sometimes We're Cruel) and seventeen stories by Sylvaine.

It is 1846, famine is gripping Ireland and nowhere is it crueller than in Mayo on the west coast. Owen FitzDeane of Ballyford Castle is a good landlord, but even he is powerless to save all his tenants. When he comes upon a half-dead girl beside the road, he insists on taking her back to the castle, to see if they can save her. But Eilinora is no ordinary girl and soon superstition and fear begin to swirl around her, while Lord FitzDeane of Ballyford falls deeper under her spell. This is the story which sets in motion the events of Nadine Dorries's brilliant new novel Ruby Flynn.

A vicious group of college upperclassmen prey on the freshman girls in "Why We Keep Exploding"; across the world, something is mutating adolescents into bizarre creatures in "The Turning"; a girl on a night out realizes a bizarre cop is hunting her in "The Long Flesh of the Law"; and in the acclaimed novella "Benny Rose, the Cannibal King", a Halloween prank goes horribly wrong when a murderous ghost steps out of an urban legend and into the real world.

An almost true memory of a young man who has grown up on a small farm. The summer swelters, but the harvest is ready. A young man helps his farming father grapple with the weight of the tasks. The fields are dry and dusty, and the day-to-day struggles loom large. Yet amidst the dust and dirt, he sees Emily. She is radiant and apparently carefree while sunbathing nearby. Seeing her ignites a longing for something more than this life of hard labour. Can he break free from the chains of his reality? Will he find the courage to chase a future filled with hope?

An everyday tragedy brought into stark relief and elevated to high drama by the skilled pen of Maria Krestovskaya, as she focuses her listeners' attention on someone whose life would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Indulge in the forbidden allure of 'Bella' – a captivating tale of desire, darkness, and the risks we take for love. Step into a world of opulence and temptation as Bella unravels the secrets of a wealthy family estate. When her best friend's alluring sister, Taylor, returns, a battle of attraction and longing ensues, pushing them to the brink of a point of no return. Will Bella surrender to her cravings and risk everything for Taylor's forbidden embrace?

This debut collection movingly explores how women and girls are looked at, look at one another and look at themselves, and how living as an object can shape their passions, fears and joys. With a clear eye and dark humour, Danielle Pender considers sex, parenting, grief and class as lenses for the ways in which the world watches women—and how women are always watching back.

My ex's bad decisions got him killed. Now, I'm on the run. Working at a funeral home seemed like a safe way to lay low—until one of the bodies jumped off the table and attacked me. Forced to hit the road again, I end up stranded in Shadow Ridge when my car breaks down. Desperate, I break into what I thought was an empty house, only to come face-to-face with a dangerously handsome werewolf. He’s intense, lethal, and says he wants to help. But with danger closing in from every direction, I can’t decide what’s riskier: the people chasing me… or trusting him with my heart.

My mom told me, “You could have all the success in this world, but if you didn’t help make someone's life better, then you did nothing with your life.” Creating this Coffee Girls book is my way of making my mom's words come true. No one is perfect; we all try to survive. But sometimes, we feel alone and cannot see the light. Tomorrow often becomes too difficult to reach. That's when we discuss our problems with family, friends, and the Coffee Girls. With help from others, people can survive difficult times.

From the author of Little Fish (Amazon First Novel Award Winner, 2019) and A Dream of a Woman comes eleven unique short stories featuring young trans women stumbling through loss, sex, harassment, and love in settings ranging from a rural Mennonite town to a hipster gay bar in Brooklyn. These stories, shiny with whiskey and prairie sunsets, rattling subways and neglected cats, show growing up as a trans girl can be charming, funny, frustrating, or sad, but never will it be predictable.

I wasn’t a good person. Even amnesia couldn’t erase the fact that deep inside, there was a darkness I couldn’t deny. Flashes of strangers—of violence—heighten a mystery impossible to unravel. The man I called my best friend landed an ax in my head trying to save himself. He says I’m dangerous. He may be right.

Kat saw the warning signs that her marriage was on the brink of collapse. The pressure of middle-class existence, an absent sex life, and a husband about to lose his job all spelled disaster. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, she hatched a plan to remind Ethan of their sexier days. First, she convinced him to take her on his next business trip. Second, she mailed a negligee to the lodge where they would be staying. Third, she had to figure out which model Ethan gave the negligee to when he didn't realize it was for her.

It all began when he walked into my work, and I met his dark eyes… Now, I’m his lady and there’s nothing I would change. Growing up in Redwood Ridge, I know the lifestyle. I know the town. I should have known that he was trouble but everything drew me to him. I couldn’t help but want to be around him and desire him. Maddox, the leader of the Redwood Ridge Motorcycle Club, a fierce man who has won over my heart. Having him pursing me is like a dream come true, but it can also be a scary thing.

This short steampunky adventure with a flavour of thirties movie serials was inspired by a Twitter conversation the author had with singer Thea Gilmore in early 2013, and then by her song "Start As We Mean To Go On". As the story progressed, other Thea songs lent their titles easily to the remaining three episodes, and more song titles found their way into the text. The name "Moth Girl' came out of an anagram of Thea's name in fact Ratporchrico's opening phrase in this story is that very anagram.

With rich, pure prose Hoffman charts the progress of Gretel Samuelson from the time she is a young girl already acquainted with betrayal and grief, until she finally leaves home. Gretel's sly, funny, knowing perspective is at the heart of this collection, as she navigates through loyalty and loss with the help of an unforgettable trio of women: her best friend, Jill, her romance-addled cousin Margot, and her mother, Franny, whose spiritual journey affects them all.

What if the star you’ve been wishing on… was you all along? At twenty-seven, Eva feels trapped in a life that doesn’t feel like her own. Endless routines, unspoken expectations, and a quiet ache that something is missing. One night, lost in thought beneath the stars, she imagines herself shining among them… and in her dreams, she does.

Determined to achieve her dreams, Summer packs up and moves to Las Vegas with the promise of earning some quick cash. Little does she know that her new job means flirting with every man who looks her way - but everything changes when she hears that smooth British accent. Harrison’s life is his company. He isn’t looking to add a woman to his hectic schedule, but when a shy cocktail waitress catches his eye, he’s powerless to walk away. Sparks fly, and Summer and Harrison embark on a whirlwind romance that could offer them their happily ever after - if they can accept it.

Promise’s life is turned upside down when she begins to experience something she can't understand. As she faces the weight of hidden trauma, she finds herself trapped between a dark secret and the safety of her family. But when an unexpected ally offers her a way out, Promise must decide if she’s ready to confront her past and reclaim the future she deserves. In this gripping, emotional story, one girl’s fight for survival and a chance to rebuild her fractured relationship with her mother unfolds in a journey of courage, strength, and hope.