Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Anthologies & Short Stories

Brian Dalrymple returns home after three weeks of pursuing the retreating Germans at the end of World War I. His hometown considers him a hero, and gives him a hero’s welcome. After basking in his quickly disappearing notoriety, he goes looking for job. Seems all those wonderful offers have gone away, and Brian takes a job as a stock clerk in Mr. Macy’s wholesale grocery. It doesn’t take Brian long to find that advancement is going to be difficult, and he is stuck in a no-win job with few prospects.

In Gold Rush-era California, Jim Smiley, a minor who loves to gamble and will bet on anything, obtains a frog. Sniley spends three months training this talented amphibian athlete to become a champion jumper. Smiley finds his mark in the form of a stranger who comes to town and shows an interest in the frog, and would love to bet but if he could find his own frog. "No problem, you hold my frog and I'll go find a frog for you." When hustler meets hustler, the results can be interesting. You might say Smiley didn't know his frog was loaded.

Here, a collection of 15 short stories by Ambrose Bierce. Bierce's participation in the Battle of Shiloh forever shaped his writing and his life. The short stories in this audiobook, although fiction, are - for the most part - based on some fact. They stand as a testament to the horror of the American Civil War.

We have all experienced it. A scene, a smell, a sound, or a song will carry us back to another time, another place, and to memories pleasant or unpleasant. For Private Grayrock of the Federal Army in the fall of 1861, the trigger is a mockingbird.

“The Man from the Nose” is a short story from the civilian section of Ambrose Bierce’s In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. Like the other tales from this collection, “The Man from the Nose” features a protagonist who is in the prime of his life, when a sudden event shatters his hopes and dreams. As with the rest of the Bierce's stories, the questions and characters presented in “The Man from the Nose” will remain on your mind long after you have stopped listening.

A child stumbles across something in the snow. A wealthy man prepares for his retirement. What clever or cruel twist will this small masterpiece by Ambrose Bierce reveal?

Originally published in 1892 in Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, "A Lady from Redhorse" is Ambrose Bierce at his best. Mary Jane Dement, daughter of Calamity Jim, grew up in the gold mines where Jim hit it big, and Mary Jane is a millionaire with few prospects for true romance. In her letters to her friend Irene, we learn how love can happen.

Killed at Resaca, is a short story of the American Civil War by Ambrose Bierce. Bierce is a master of the surprise ending. This short story of bravery and betrayal is no exception. Ambrose Bierce was a veteran of the American Civil War, and like many veterans, anger simmers just below the surface. In this short story Bierce’s simmering anger comes out in a surprising way at the end of the story.

Given "The Suitable Surroundings", can a person be scared to death? The answer is yes, according to Ambrose Bierce: Skepticism must occasionally apologize to truth. Once again Ambrose Bierce weaves a tale that, even under present-day conditions, is indeed frightening.

Unspeakable rituals are performed by an occult group residing in the Red Hook region of New York City in this haunting short story by H P Lovecraft, and told by Mike Vendetti.

Forbidden love in name baronial estate. An evil man dies with an evil smile upon his face believing his evil secret is going with him to the grave. And there it remains until the lovers creep into the crypt shortly after the stroke of midnight. An erie tale certain to creep you out and keep you in suspense.

This short story first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1920, and later became part of Flappers and Philosophers. Fitzgerald was the master of exposing the underbelly of the aristocracy and the pompous, and here, Horace the prodigy falls in love with Monica the dancer. Horace puts his lofty goals on hold to pursue a more lucrative career as an acrobat, while Monica writes a book.

This short story by Stephen Crane and narrated by Glenn Hascall portrays a veteran of the Civil War accompanied by his grandson in a grocery store where the veteran admits that yes he was frightened when in battle. The grandson is disappointed that his grandfather would admit he was frightened, but of course the grandson could not - nor can anyone who has not witnessed it - fully appreciate the horror of that field. But later on the grandfather demonstrates that although he feels fear he is a hero.

A gentleman enjoying the morning over the River Seine waves to a steamer, and the nightmare begins. He believes he may be going insane, but then he begins to feel there is an entity that he cannot see invading his mind and his home. The entity is perhaps an invader from another world. Guy de Maupassant's tale of classic horror will enthrall you.

An opportunity to right a wrong that had been done, but at what cost.

We meet Evelyn as she is dumping a "male" friend who, in today's world, would be considered her lover. He probably was, but in 1920, they just did not say that in polite literature. Meet the bowl. It was a wedding gift to Evelyn from another suitor she dumped when she married Mr. Porter. As you might guess Evelyn is a beautiful yet rather shallow person. The male friend was about to leave but, unfortunately, Mr. Porter is walking up the drive. Evelyn hides her friend in the closet, but when he decides to leave he bumps into the bowl and it gives off a resounding alarm.

This short story remains an enigma, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once again takes on the aristocracy. The heroine, Ardita, beautiful, rich, and spoiled rotten lounges on her uncle's yacht until she is carried away by an offshore pirate, Curtis Carlyle. Carlyle tells her of his upbringing as poor white trash in a Tennessee town, and his rise to become a successful musician - but one who has never been able to dance with the aristocracy. Until that is, the beautiful, spoiled-rotten Ardita falls in love with him, as much as she is capable of falling in love with anyone other than herself, on the deserted tropical island.

Lois, a beautiful 19-year-old young woman travels to Baltimore to meet Harold, her love interest, as they consider a breakup. We never meet Harold; instead, the short story becomes more about Catholicism and the priesthood, as Lois first spends an afternoon with Keith, her 36-year-old brother, a seminarian in a Jesuit monastery. Lois and Keith have not seen one another for 16 years, so it is an extremely interesting reunion.

Bill Driscoll and Sam (we never learn his last name), a pair of turn-of-the-20th-century con men embark on quite an adventure. The pair need $2,000.00 to pull off a fraudulent town-lot scam in Western Illinois. They decide to kidnap the only son of a prominent Alabama citizen in the small town of Summit. They should've known when they grabbed their target, who was at the time throwing stones at a kitten, that it would be best to leave him alone. Particularly after he beans Bill with a brick. The situation does not improve with time. O Henry, famous for his humor, plays on words, and plot twists makes this a highly amusing short story.

While the title "His New Mittens" doesn't sound like an inspired title, acclaimed author Stephen Crane wrote this classic to help everyone understand - or identify - with the brain of boyhood. The early experiences of anger, pain, shame, and love most of us experienced as children, and escorted us into puberty, that we look back upon as adults.