Showing results by author "Short Story Press" in All Categories

Mary is a gas-station attendant with an epileptic son who can barely make ends meet, when she makes them meet at all. She has dreams of a forbidden love but can’t focus on those dreams when she can’t even buy her son’s medicine. She has a real knack for staying calm under pressure and steadfastly does what she needs to, in order to keep food on their table and a roof over their heads.

In a future time, well after all the countries of the world have engaged in a global nuclear event, a select few have survived The Great War and reorganized civilization within a sealed Bubble. In this day and time, there are only a handful of people remaining who ever lived and breathed outside the Bubble; most habitants were born within its sealed plexi-interior. The Bubble is a monarchy with one ruler, Arch Sedric. He has commissioned an intimidating army of police called the SAC, or Security Advisor Cadre. 

When Riley Jensen hears that Len Wilkins, a family friend who also employs her father as a farm hand, has been found dead with his eyes burned out of his head, her latent but innate heroism emerges. When news of several deaths of the same nature as that of Len Wilkins’ travels throughout Silverton, Riley becomes gripped with concern and fear for her grandfather Murray, who is a stubborn, leather-tough old man living alone in the countryside, miles outside of Silverton. 

Never Been on Broadway is a romantic short story about the reality of fame and about how far away from reality the famous can be. The story follows the first day of Evelyn Alford’s first ever trip to New York City. The allure of Broadway, the millions who come each year seeking fame but the few who truly understand the luck and the randomness involved. Never Been on Broadway goes behind the closed dressing rooms doors and shows the true fears and attitudes of today’s stars living in a 24 hour social media world.

All the ideas portrayed in the story of Peter are to help the world today find the most out of the life they live. To realize they can give themselves if they feel that they don’t have enough and there is someone who needs it more than you know. It indicates to not wallow in sadness, even if it is all you have. It shows to take action and do good as this will be the best thing to heal you from your darkness. Stay bright!

Mermaids, mermen, treacherous villagers, and a Nix: these are some of the exciting things in store for you with the latest Natashiah Jansen story entitled Pearl Port Singer. You’ll be taken on a dive into the magical world of merpeople...If you love humorous stories, you will love Pearl Port Singer. 

After his mother goes deaf, a young boy must navigate through the many difficulties of his childhood. The boy witnesses his Mom deal with loss, his father becoming distant, his older brother living a life of his own. The protagonist feels alone, powerless, voiceless. At the same time, the boy tries to impress the girl of his dreams at school, leading him into a troublesome situation. He must make choices which could affect him for the rest of his life. Through it all, he must figure out how to endure and grow, how to become the man of the house.

Our protagonist, Victoria, is a successful businesswoman. She has a history of mental illness, but that's behind her now, despite what her distant husband might say. What starts out as a normal day at the office is turned upside down by the appearance of a mysterious figure that only Victoria can see. It soon becomes clear that this being, whatever it is, is following her. As Victoria tries to make the creature go away, her demons begin to creep up on her again.

Her father left them when she was just five. Now in her early 20's Lucy knew better than to concentrate on her academics alone. She did every menial job she could lay her hands upon so as to support herself and (hopefully) relieve the burden on her mother...She was glad when her friend, Julia, introduced her to freelancing on Upwork. She gets hooked up again with a client for whom she previously wrote a romance novel...It wasn't long before Lucy discovered she had fallen into the hands of an organized network of human traffickers.

Blindness never stops a friendship; is not just about a friendship, but also other powerful themes. The story centers around a girl named Katherine, 15 years of age. Recently blind in a car accident which killed her mother. Now is in the care of her estranged aunt, who is hiding secrets. Katherine tries her best to make a relationship with Morgan, only it is clear that the woman is hiding secrets. Each section is a riveting experience building up to an on-edge confrontation. It’s up to you to picture the events. Blind Girl Meets a Ghost will not be a disappointing listen.

"A Winters Morning" takes a close look at a young woman who is dealing with the residual affects of her abusive husband.  

Ten years ago, Ellie Stephenson married her husband, George, because if she hadn’t, her father would have disowned her and taken away her $18 million trust fund, along with excommunicating her from her father. George knew Ellie did not love him and never would but gave her the best life he could. The stipulations regarding the money expire on Ellie and George’s 10th wedding anniversary.

Sometimes we have no control over what life brings us. This is completely true for Marie, who had her dreams set on a life of prosperity and propriety. She finds that life isn’t as simple as she has been taught to think, and when she finds herself torn between a life of love and a life of convenience, she finds that decisions aren’t so simple, either. Her dreams have always been pinned upon the life she would have if she were to marry Leroy Bouche, but when another man enters into the picture, things aren’t always so certain.

A young and beautiful woman, Sharon Latham, ducks into a storefront to escape the weather and witnesses a crime. She has placed herself in the path of a dangerous murderer. She is overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation and fears the murderer may come for her next. Her only chance is a young and inexperienced detective named David Granger. This is his first homicide case in which he is flying solo.

Thomas Alexander was a proud man. He loved his high school sweetheart with all his heart and wanted to give her everything her heart desired. Being from a wealthy family, he knew he could do that, but his pride wouldn’t let him support her with his family money. He had to make his own fortune before he could make her his wife. He started learning all he could about the oil business and invested in a few oil wells. It took two years of hard work. It was a long time for her to wait for him, but he was sure that it would all be worth it. 

"Inside Melting House" is a creepy and suspenseful story that will draw into its mystery. It introduces you to sympathetic characters over two generations who, even in the short space of the story, you come to sympathize with and understand.

The Black Sapphire was a concept that Ruth toyed with for a few years. She studied dialect to help enhance one of the main characters, "Mattie." In the story, an unsolved crime shows its ugly face when Detective Adam Reynoir starts investigating. Mattie, the home's housekeeper, and her son, Jarell, decide that they are going to continue staying in the home, even after the dismembering murders have been cleaned up. As the story unfolds, Mattie takes Detective Reynoir on a tour of the home, trying to get him to understand in her way that the murders were no accident.

“Dead People’s Letters” is a story that should appeal to fans of ghosts and zombies as well as fans of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic works. It not only places the undead in the middle of 19th-century Russia, but also makes them the central characters of the story and also good friends with one another. 

Anya and her sister, Dawn, grew up with their parents teaching them how to use magic. Unbeknownst to her sister, Anya is a nephadin, the offspring of an angel and a demon. Anya, being the more powerful of the two, is envied and secretly hated by Dawn. In young adulthood, their rivalry comes to a head when they both fall in love with Seth, the prince. Anya’s accident in the woods brings the prince right to their door and into their hearts. 

Kingdom Come is the most successful amusement park in the country, and every Halloween, the park turns into a haunted event with hundreds of actors to scare guests silly.