Showing results for "life-" in Anthologies & Short Stories

Dave has been wandering through life for a long time. His day job bores him, and he never seems to be able to meet his family's expectations. The only escape he's ever had is his love of MMORPGs. But when he becomes the subject of a test without even knowing it, he's transported into a game-world called Eloria with no escape.

James's great adventure begins with a simple thing — a rustic cabin in the countryside. Charmed by the prospect, he decides to leave his stressful city life behind and move into the woods. But country living isn't boring. There's a quaint town nearby with kind folks who still help each other out. Maybe the bubbly blonde storekeeper has a job or two for James? And let's not forget the magical legacy waiting for James, tracing back through the history of his family.

Ethan's got a cushy job and an empty apartment to prove he's mastered monotony. But a mysterious talisman sends him tumbling into a whole new world—quite literally. He says goodbye to spreadsheets and hello to becoming the first-ever human Goblin King. Rivals? The ex-King’s ticked-off offspring are itching to overthrow him. Duels? They’re on his calendar next to ‘avoid rebellion.’ Wives? He’s required to have at least two.

My life definitely wasn’t going according to plan, but that all changed the moment I died unexpectedly. Now I’ve been reborn into the fantasy metropolis of Dragonmont City, where I get a second chance to flourish. A twist of fate brings me into contact with Paulina, the proud but troubled owner of Goblin Girl Maid Service. Together with her slightly crazy best friend Kennedi, these two insanely beautiful goblin girls are trying to get their struggling business off the ground. But the competition, in the form of bearded dwarf ladies with a serious attitude problem, has never been stiffer.

This bundle includes books seven, eight, and nine in the Nine Lives Magic Mysteries: Stray Spells, Mystic Meow, and Catnip Charms. Mystic Meow: It’s the dog days of summer and Winterspell is going through town psychics faster than a werewolf sheds its fur after a full moon. Catnip Charms: Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something … cursed? Catnip Charms: Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something … cursed?

I’ve always wanted to conquer the Big 5 dungeons ever since one of them took the life of my father nearly fifteen years ago. Nobody ever said the Path of Progression was easy, but my burning desire to dive can’t be quenched. I just never thought I’d be prohibited from getting a diving license just because I tried to help a bratty blonde girl get hers. Soon, we’re joined by a lovely brunette bookworm, and we start diving the dungeon on our own terms.

I thought I’d left my past behind for good. But when my older brother gets killed in a car accident, I’ve got to come back to take over his car-tuning business. But things are not like I remember. There’s something weird going on in Santo Domingo, something that seems connected to the city’s underground street racing scene. There’s the orange-haired mechanic at the tuning shop with the FOXGRRL license plate. There’s the strange black cat hanging around my house, and the dreams I’ve been having about a racer girl with cat ears and a tail.

One minute I’m in a tree, pointing my camera at a tiger, the next I’m on my back in a medieval fantasy world, while a skittish blonde hovers over me, hoping I’m not dead. I’ve never felt more alive.

The beachside town of Oyster Cove had everything a man could want—endless white sand beaches, plentiful summer activities, and of course, more beautiful women than you could shake a tail at. I came to Oyster Cove to enjoy a leisurely summer of surf and sun, but I find out pretty quickly that there’s more to this town than meets the eye. My next door neighbor has eyes that are very similar to a cat’s, and I could have sworn the gorgeous waitress at my favorite food spot has scales on her legs.

Victor Wolfe has roamed his country for twelve years now. Ever since leaving his tiny village to escape to a life that felt worthwhile, he has been traveling the lands, fighting battles, plundering old tombs, and bedding fierce adventuresses. It's been quite the life. But that all changes when he has an intimate encounter with a monster girl, a dryad who opens his eyes to the possibilities of pleasure that only monster girls can provide. Now he is headed north, towards the famed Hinterlands.

In this striking and bleak, yet luminous debut collection, Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award, uses the trappings of the Gothic and the uncanny to investigate a distinctly American landscape: The loneliest and darkest corners of contemporary life. Ballingrud’s stories are love stories. They’re also monster stories. Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires or werewolves.

After the death of a grandfather he never knew, Caleb Holdstock inherits a mysterious mansion. The place needs a lot of work if its to be liveable, but the truly strange thing about it is what's in the basement. A doorway drawn in chalk. It seems harmless at first, until a midnight encounter with a silver-haired elf proves that this doorway is, in fact, the entrance to another world. With knowledge of a magical world beyond Earth, Caleb's life will never be the same again. And the best thing about it? He can travel back and forth freely.

The day after Hugo gains access to magic, his train explodes. Unknown magic flings him back in time, and he narrowly avoids death this time. While he is trying to unravel the mystery of this unexpected second chance, life goes on. His new gifts lead him to the magic academy. At the school, he will face off against noble students that don’t want him to be there, teachers that expect him to already know everything, and literal monsters that want to kill him. To survive and thrive he will need weapons, friends, and a healthy danger sense.

Chad Stone's life took a dramatic turn when he was laid off from his job and forced to move back in with his parents. But little did he know, his struggles were just the beginning of a culinary adventure unlike any other. After finding solace in a popular MMORPG, Chad suddenly finds himself transported to a strange new world where players of the game are mysteriously vanishing. With the guidance of a purple kangaroo named Fozzy, Chad learns that he has been ranked a powerful S-class barbarian in this new world.

The Gods are very busy, as you can imagine, but none more so than Death. Able to travel in time and space at will, his job is to deliver every living soul to the afterlife upon their death. Luckily for us, he is a compassionate deity that spends most of his time helping others come to terms with their own life and death. This book is a few of his more memorable tales of those he brought to the afterlife. A poignant collection of stories of life, love, loss, and more.

In a realm where demons and elves coexist, Adam Harris finds himself in a bewildering situation, devoid of control over his own body. Shackled hands and menacing spears poised for attack, his panic prompts a desperate question: "What's happening here?" A mysterious, otherworldly girl, cloaked in a mystical aura, reacts to his plea. Her eyes ablaze with fiery intensity, she commands his surrender. "Submit, demon!" In that moment, an unfamiliar warmth surges within him, and a glance behind reveals the emergence of ebony wings.

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery will take the classic tropes of tales of witchcraft and infuse them with fresh, feminist perspective and present-day concerns - even if they're set in the past. These witches might be monstrous, or they might be heroes, depending on their own definitions. Even the kind hostess with the candy cottage thought of herself as the hero of her own story. After all, a woman's gotta eat.

A short story six-pack! Six tales of life, death, and the road less traveled. Includes "As the Crow Flies", "Max Velocity", "Fortunate Brave", "Offerings", "The Devil Wears Combat Boots", and "The Truth According to Margot Williams".

Return to the world of Queen of All Fae with four sweet and spicy stories! In spring, Ember tells Hadrian some exciting news that will change their lives forever. In summer, Seline and Vanth finally celebrate their mating with a well-earned vacation. In autumn, Aurelia tried to bring a mortal tradition to the realms at the equinox festival with Aspen and Evie. In winter, all of the characters come together to celebrate solstice and the newest addition to the family.