Showing results by publisher "audible originals" in Anthologies & Short Stories

An artificial intelligence laments the fact that all it does all day is make coffee. It schemes to find fulfillment in life and lands on a clever solution. (Spoiler alert: It turns out everyone does have a book in them!)

Fairy Godmothers aren’t just for the young! A solitary, middle-aged woman’s self-appointed Fairy Godmother leaves her a strange and sulfurous inheritance. In this mysterious and off-beat speculative fiction short story, KJ Zimring shows why she is a master of the super-short listen. Her work has delighted fans of Asimov’s, Analog, Hitchcock, and Daily Science Fiction.

In this short tale for fans of Cinderella and Bridgerton, Pearl’s ball gown may carry the whiff of mothballs, but her dance card for the duke’s ball is full…until she loses a shoe. In her enthusiasm, Pearl’s foot slides out of her too-big damask slipper in the middle of a dance and gets kicked around the ballroom to the amusement of the sophisticated guests. What is a spirited but clumsy heroine to do? Can her composure and good humor save her social dignity?

A ghost decides to help the shy young woman living in her former house. Kyra dreams of becoming an artist, and she flourishes under the guidance of her ghostly mentor. This short, supernatural tale will appeal to fans of friendly ghost stories and family reconciliation.

A man arrives home from an international flight to find that the airline has delivered his lost luggage. Wonderful, except he never lost his luggage in the first place. The story is told through his increasingly maddening call to customer service as he tries to figure out how, and why, the airline created a perfect replica of his suitcase and possessions.

Four generations of settler women on a distant world have different perspectives on the return to a natural life after decades in sealed domes. With a final image inspired by the author’s real-life (on Earth!) family history, this short, multi-generational tale explores the tension between the ties to the past and the promises of adventure inherited by each new generation.

A robot returns from a deep space mission and struggles to find someone who cares about its findings after two centuries. Society has changed, but surely someone still cares about science?

A crotchety nightwatchman in a whaling museum contemplates Neptune the stuffed sea lion, originally owned by P.T. Barnum. In his admiration for the kingly animal, he studies ventriloquism to give Neptune a voice. When a field trip comes through the museum, he has an unexpectedly meaningful exchange with a precocious, like-minded child...and Neptune.

The first superhero in a world that doesn't otherwise have them is roundly mocked for his costume and attitude, so decides to strike terror in the hearts of the city by becoming a super-villain, only to discover that there are other people out there who have powers—including his ancient but still sprightly grandmother, who lived through the German occupation of Greece in WWII.

Fairies steal a careless young man's diamond ring before he can propose; he must trick them into returning it before the engagement dinner that night. This short fantasy tale will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and P.G. Wodehouse.

It takes some gumption to claim to be the best tea shop in the city of Kansar, where five ancient roads meet and everyone is selling something. But Yala’s shop has been in her family for three generations and is famed for its brews among warriors and wizards alike. When the Imperial Spell Company claims a monopoly on all magic in Kansar, Yala tries to convince a company henchman that her teas are nothing but ordinary leaves and water.

In this quirky ghost story, a woman endures jury duty by observing the many characters in the room, including a TV crew filming a paranormal presence in the courthouse, a service-dog-in-training, and a man with a "ghost box," a radio to try to communicate with the beyond. As humorous chaos ensues, our protagonist unexpectedly needs to confront the truth about the secret crush she’s been harboring.

Polly lets her elderly neighbor Edith wander in and out of her yard, unlike other people on the block who shoo Edith along. Over the winter, Edith’s children move her into assisted living, and when spring comes, Polly’s yard explodes in a profusion of flowers—the surprise fruits of Edith’s labors.

Tino has known true love…and lost it. To find love again, he turns to a dating app that spans the multiverse. What could go wrong? In this off-beat speculative fiction tale, Tino navigates not just bad dates but also bad timelines, all in the search for Ms. Right.

Emily does not like change—she spends each day working as a children’s librarian and every evening watching television with her cat, Miss Marple. She maintains her house exactly the way it was before her father died. But one day, a mysterious theft at the library pushes Emily out of her routine, forcing her to question if she really is better off all alone.

A well-meaning dad frets because his fifth-grade daughter dresses as Dracula for the first day of school in this funny short tale. Haunted by his own memories of childhood insecurity, he nervously awaits the call from school.

For fans of Charles Yu and Matt Haig, this short tale features a grandfather who claims not merely to have been abducted by aliens when he was a young man, but to have fallen in love in the process. His grandson (the story's narrator) is the only person who believes him. My Grandfather’s Ship is a quirky examination of how the passions (real or imagined) of our elders can inspire us.

A 300-year-old tree has plenty to do: repairing the damage to her bark from people who have carved their initials, drinking from her roots, and, lately, tolerating two lonely bookworms who visit separately. Playing matchmaker might solve everyone’s problems. Rebecca Sky is an award-winning writer best known for the Love Curse series with more than 20 million reads online; most recently her work can be found in the Every Body Shines body-positivity anthology with Bloomsbury.

Robots aux angoisses existentielles, mission polaire schizophrène, ruches humaines, plantes envoûtantes et laboratoires de viande de synthèse, plongez dans l'univers futuriste de Wild Whispers, où la Nature a décidé de reprendre le contrôle. Quand les arbres ne seront plus que des monceaux de poussière, et quand l'air aura l'odeur et le goût de la suie : qu'allons-nous devenir ? Nous n'avons pas la réponse à cette question. Peut-être simplement parce qu'elle ne peut pas venir de nous...

Robots aux angoisses existentielles, mission polaire schizophrène, ruches humaines, plantes envoûtantes et laboratoires de viande de synthèse, plongez dans l'univers futuriste de Wild Whispers, où la Nature a décidé de reprendre le contrôle. Quand les arbres ne seront plus que des monceaux de poussière, et quand l'air aura l'odeur et le goût de la suie : qu'allons-nous devenir ? Nous n'avons pas la réponse à cette question. Peut-être simplement parce qu'elle ne peut pas venir de nous...