Loving Cinnamon
By Carolyn Davenport, 2,700 words. Cinnamon loved him too, even if it was in an unconventional way. As she considered the situation closely, leaving her behind might be more difficult for Steve to do than splitting up with his wife. After all it was Cinnamon who had been in his life the longest. She was [...]
Full StorySome Birds of a Feather…
By Carolyn Davenport, 1,000 words. “Every goodbye ain’t gone,” at least that’s what Ellery’s mother, Alma, used to say when she was a little girl. She was referring to her belief that the soul lived on, long after burial. Alma had an interesting way of speaking. A lot of it could be attributed to growing [...]
Full StoryThe Horror of the Empress
By Paul Dayton, 2,300 words May 29, 1914, 1:20 A.M. Captain Kendall couldn’t sleep. It was bad enough that this was his first trip down the St. Lawrence on his new command, but thoughts of his murdered wife and the horrendous image of her death flittered through his mind. He tried to put the blame [...]
Full StoryAnd Now Payments To Authors Is Growing
Yes, it has been a while since I put up something new here. But that is because there wasn’t much to report other than readers are slowly finding out about our hive of great short stories here, and are coming growing numbers.
Full StoryJuran the Gigolo (R+18)
By Simon Turnbull, 7,900 words Juran hurried down the gangplank of the river ship and stopped dead, shocked. The stench was incredible. It was like the stink of unwashed men and rotting food and fishing boats and sewers and gods knew what else all combined and magnified a hundredfold. He would have stood there gasping [...]
Full StoryIrony
“Tomorrow. Make sure you’re ready.” Dieter looked at the Chief Quadrant Corrections Officer Rand with resignation, and Officer Rand didn’t miss the look. “Freeman, it’s the first day jitters. I’ve seen this many times before, but you’ll get used to it. However, you should know that it’s far worse for you if you mess up. [...]
Full StoryThe Rag Doll Man
By Patrick Whittaker 2,500 words Damn Jordan. There he goes again, whining and wailing like all the world’s pains were in him and him alone. Why will he not be quiet? I’ve told him. I’ve said, “Look, Jordan. You haven’t got it half as bad as you think. You’re not in pain. You’re not dying [...]
Full Story9 Authors, 26 Short Stories, 2 Novellas and Growing
It has only been three short weeks since Kwik Reads was launched, and already the stable of authors and number of short stories is growing at a fast clip. Already something like 50,000 words of shorts stories and novellas have been published through the site. Nine authors have been published with more showing interest every [...]
Full StoryThe Neighbor
by Andrew Oberg 1,000 words Buy all 20 of the “Randolph’s One Bedroom” shorts from drugstorebooks.com! Available in paperback form and as a Kindle ebook. “Mother fucking asshole! Braawk, mother fucking asshole!” Randolph sighed as he closed his apartment door behind him and took off his coat and boots. ‘What a welcome home,’ he thought, [...]
Full StoryThe Message
by Andrew Oberg 1,010 words Buy all 20 of the “Randolph’s One Bedroom” shorts from drugstorebooks.com! Available in paperback form and as a Kindle ebook. The first thing Randolph would always do when returning home to his one bedroom apartment, even before greeting his parrot Stan, would be to glance at his answering machine to [...]
Full StoryBuntle’s
by Andrew Oberg 1,200 words Buy all 20 of the “Randolph’s One Bedroom” shorts from drugstorebooks.com! Available in paperback form and as a Kindle ebook. Randolph had most Tuesday’s off, and he usually put these to good use by stocking up on his weekly groceries. His local supermarket, Buntle’s, was only a few blocks from [...]
Full StoryCaught in the Rain
By Joanne Ellis 1,200 words The overcast sky and grey storm clouds mirror my mood. If I didn’t have to meet with my editor today I probably would have stayed in bed, where the warmth surrounded me and my melancholy kept me company. I check the time and realise I’m going to be late and [...]
Full StoryDead Astronauts
By Patrick Whittaker 3,300 words It was Sunday morning, Ed Morgan’s favourite time of the week. Free of the tyranny of the alarm clock, he drifted on gentle currents in those restful waters that lie between sleep and wakefulness. Mary, his wife, brought him a cup of tea. Ed reluctantly sat up and took the [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode One: A Heart to Mend (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 1900 words “Suz, honey, wake up. Our first guests came early.” Marge sighed to herself. This interminable grief had to stop sometime. All her daughter did was sleep, and eat, and sleep some more. She’d gone from stately to near pudgy in the space of a month. Marge threw the drapes open, [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Two: No-no Mistletoe (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 2,200 words Susan took a deep breath and glided down the aisle, a vision in grape velvet, grasping a bouquet of white flowers, the smell of pine redolent in the small chapel. The bride, Hannah, looked resplendent in off-white satin and gauze with a beaded train trailing half the length of the [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Three: Heartbreak Hotel (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 2,100 words Susan felt awash in tension. The ‘tweener riding students weren’t talking to her, the barn staff grimaced and stomped around in a snit, and Jess bellyached that she might as well find another place to live ’cause … well, because she and Ian fucked like bunnies every chance they got. [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Four: Breeders Cup (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 2,600 words Manuel Velasquez exited the hospital room. The buzz and beeps and chatter of machines keeping his best friend alive bit like sharks, ripping huge chunks out of his heart. Antonio lay hooked up to life support, in an induced coma, because of him and his fucking bad decision to take [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Five: Meet ‘n Greet (R+18)
By Diane Nelson 1,500 words Susan unfolded herself from the back of the vehicle. The lodge had sent a minivan to pick them up at the regional airport at Riverton. It had been an interminable ride, through stark, forbidding country, wild and unbelievably beautiful. She inhaled the fragrance of pine, the air scrubbed clean by [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Six: Mountains to Climb (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 2,600 words Manny finished fitting the saddles to a succession of well-trained, reliable Quarter horses. He found a couple who seemed to suit both the ladies and their tack. The B-girls were happy enough with the two mustang crosses – at fifteen-two-hands, on the small side from what they were used to, [...]
Full StoryFinish Line, Episode Seven: Annie and Grey Ghost (R18+)
By Diane Nelson 1,900 words Manny thought he was alone, the ladies fishing or messing around back at the camp. Annie quietly munched grass by the pool as he sputtered and tried to shake himself dry. Irritated, with himself and everything about the day, he figured he had enough of squiring that clutch of females [...]
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