Short Stories

Awesome Allshorts: Last Days, Lost Ways

Awesome Allshorts: Last Days, Lost Ways
This superbly written short story anthology showcases talented Awesome Indie authors from around the globe. Though from a variety of genres, the stories are all entertaining, contemporary and thought-provoking.   Indulge your taste for good fiction with this short story anthology by authors with bold new voices. Though from diverse genres, the stories share a contemporary and contemplative feel that will linger long after the reader has read the last one. Awesome Allshorts showcases talented authors from around the globe, many whose novels have received multiple honors, including Awesome Indies approved status. Stories selected by Tahlia Newland, Dixiane Hallaj and Richard Bunning.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

 

The Sicilian Defence

The Sicilian Defence
Title: The Sicilian Defence
ASIN: B00LDEM686
Publisher:
Published: June 28, 2014
Stories reflecting Sicily’s power to encompass ideas of Good and Bad, Heaven and Hell, to enmesh them so tightly that, at times, it remains impossible to distinguish the two concepts.   A talented schoolboy struggles with unseen forces that rip his family apart; a hand-written note hidden in a hotel magazine has dire consequences for a relationship; a private detective hired to track a cheating fiancé is faced with a life and death decision… These short stories provide a window on contemporary Sicilian life seen through the lens of the island’s literary history. They reflect Sicily’s power to encompass perfectly the ideas of Good and Bad, Heaven and Hell, to enmesh them so tightly that, at times, it remains impossible to distinguish the two concepts.

Assessed for 

Fifty Egg Timer Stories

Fifty Egg Timer Stories
Title: Fifty Egg Timer Stories
ASIN: B00IBEFIKY
Category:
Published: February 26, 2014
Author's Twitter: @RichardBunning
This is a collection of mixed genre, flash fiction short stories from one author. To be accurate, a few of the stories are flash nonfiction; but that’s chaotic diversity for you. None of the stories runs to more than 1000 words. Some have a classic twist in the ‘tale’ and some don’t. Expect everything from the trivial to the disguised rant. If you would like something to read during breaks in a dedicated chef’s life, then the egg-timer will seem like a bit of a red herring, as none of the stories has anything whatsoever to do with food arts. Well, unless one considers the time it takes to boil an egg to be the yolk of all reading material. However, this is actually the perfect book for the busy everyday cook, executive banker, child maintenance engineer, or candlestick maker, in fact for anybody with a couple of minutes in which to grab a much needed, short dramatic, distraction. No one will like all the stories, even the author wouldn’t want to read some of them everyday, but everyone should find a few to resonate in a ‘that was worth a moment’ sort of way.

Assessed 

Consumed by Love

Consumed by Love
Title: Consumed by Love
ASIN: B00FM5ICMQ
Published: October 2, 2013
Author's Twitter: @PavartiKTyler
Consumed by Love is the story of a couple who must face one partner’s supernatural transformation. This short piece is written in the style of a classic horror story with a dark take on the addictive nature of love. At just over 5,000 words, this fun story is the perfect short diversion from your daily grind. It’s available free at most online sites.

Assessed 

The Silver Collar

The Silver Collar
Title: The Silver Collar
ASIN: B007W97YV0
Categories: ,
Published: April 20, 2012
Author's Twitter: @KatePolicani
Lyneth suffers under a curse, relieved only with a silver collar. Her dangers increase as she matures and life takes a drastic turn. Bought as a child to slave at an inn, Lyneth suffers under a terrible curse. Her frightening transformations can only be stopped when a priest places a silver collar around her neck. The collar stops the change, but makes her ill. Her dangers increase as she matures into a beautiful and desirable woman. When a mysterious nobleman visits the inn, her life changes forever.  

Assessed 

The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories

The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories
Title: The Evolution of Reptilian Handbags and Other Stories
ASIN: B00I3Q9Y6E
Published: 24 Jan. 2014
Author's Twitter: @mlamaga
An unhappy housewife flees with her lover as civilization collapses in a tsunami of trash. A bank teller aids invisible thieves. A welder learns she has the power to kill with a kiss. A hive of women transforms tourists with arcane sexual rites. A Korean War sniper stalks his doppelganger: a children’s television host. Amnesiac goddesses-turned-farmers struggle for survival in war-torn, post-apocalyptic Iowa. By turns emotionally resonant and irreverent, surreal and sexy, these ten stories swirl with unseen currents, blending the fantastic and the mundane to get to the deeper truths of our existence.

Assessed for Awesome Indies

The Sixth Wife

The Sixth Wife
Title: The Sixth Wife
ASIN: B0087TFEWK
Published: May 30, 2012
Author:
Adelia has no one to blame for her heartache. She’d been cautioned, many times and by many people. Everyone except her mother had told her it was folly to marry an elf, citing a host of reasons. Adelia knew their warnings were not unfounded. She knew he was very different from her and her kind, he was much older, and he’d had five other wives before her. She didn’t care. She had chosen her path. The Sixth Wife is a novella of approximately 7,300 words.

Assessed for 

 

Eeek! The Runaway Alien

Eeek! The Runaway Alien
Title: Eeek! The Runaway Alien
ASIN: B007D2XYTC
Publisher:
Published: February 23, 2012
Author:
A boy, an alien and World Cup football. A match made in heaven for soccer fans aged 7-10! Laugh-out-loud funny! Eleven-year-old Charlie Spruit can't believe his luck when he opens his door to an alien one morning. Who is he? Why has he come? Charlie soon discovers that this alien has run away from space to Earth to be with him because he's soccer mad and the World Cup is on...! 'Eeek,' as Charlie decides to call him, takes up secret residence in Charlie's bedroom where he sleeps on the ceiling by night and pores over Charlie's football magazines and stickers by day. All is going surprisingly well until slimy sci-fi mad Sid Spiker, who lives out the back, spots Eeek through his telescope. Sid has his own plans for this alien, which bring surprises that no-one could have imagined...

Assessed for Awesome Indies

 

The Bone Knife

The Bone Knife
Title: The Bone Knife
Author's Twitter: @IntisarKhanani
Rae knows how to look out for family. Born with a deformed foot, she feigns indifference to the pity and insults that come her way. Wary of all things beautiful, Rae instantly distrusts their latest visitor: an appallingly attractive faerie. Further, his presence imperils the secret her sister guards. But when the local townspeople show up demanding his blood, Rae must find a way to protect both her sister’s secret and their guest. Even if that means risking herself.

Assessed