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

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.

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.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado is the sometimes-humorous tale of one man’s decision to begin an adventure on the other side of the “world”, when that world is 1,000 miles away.

Jennifer McCain has dealt with more than her fair share of mishaps over time. Her wife’s ex, institutionalized for attempted murder, seems to be the ultimate culprit yet is unable to perform the crimes that she has been accused of. Her health has failed her miserably, but Jenny has insisted that Casey is out to get her still. But if Casey is locked away, how can Jenny even think it would be her?

Cora and Lewis, two youths with seemingly nothing in common, come together in spite of their peers. Unlikely friends fall in love, and four years later, their life together seems perfect: Lewis has a high-paying job, the two share a luxury apartment in the city, and Lewis is ready to ask Cora to marry him. But what happens when Cora disappears without a word? How does Lewis react when he sees her lurking in the doorway at one of his conferences?

Jack has recently graduated from high school with his best friend Lilac. They go back a long ways, but they never imagine they will be working at the same grocery store during the same shift. Guise Markets is not Jack’s ideal choice for a job, but there is more to the store than it seems. What might have been a typical boring job proves more exciting than Jack has bargained for. The other night employees reported seeing strange things, objects falling off the shelves. It is even rumored that the company’s founder may have died in the store.

This story includes a universal theme that, though expressed through events that occur in the future, is still highly applicable to the world of today. Listeners will be able to view the events of the short story as a warning of the future that will come to be if the illustrated morals are not observed.

Everyone it seems wonders, at some point in their lives, what will happen when they eventually stand before the “Pearly Gates”. One man seems stuck somewhere between, in a groundhog effect, approaching and reapproaching the gates in a repeatedly futile attempt to attain a bottle of whiteout.

On the Way to New York is the story of a workplace romance that takes more than seven years to develop. Ella is an ambitious, advertising executive vying for a promotion to an office in New York City, effectively escaping Cleveland, Ohio. Only one man stands in the way of her realizing her dreams.

Jillian lives with a trusted and dependable friend, Charlie. They have a unique friendship and a comfortable living arrangement they both enjoy. Jillian, although happy with the arrangement, feels that one day it will end. She wants a typical life with a husband and family and does not see that as something Charlie desires for his future.

“Why You” is about two seniors. One has a rough and troubled home life. The other has a strong close knit family. Collin takes charge after his girlfriend Cleo disappears for a short time. He looks for her at work and school. He goes to her home and there discovers the root of Cleo's life problems. Not knowing what to do, Collin talks to his parents about the situation and finds they are his best allies to help Cleo break away from a horrible mother and make a life of her own.

Getting Micky Dolenz is a funny, touching, heartwarming story that will appeal equally to young adults, pop-culture lovers, and Monkees fans of all ages. Peppered with humor and full of heart, this is the tale of Julie Desmond - or, as she likes to call herself, Julie Desmond Dolenz, a 13-year-old living in the psychedelic '60s who is absolutely ape over drummer Micky Dolenz of the sensational made-for-TV band The Monkees.

Randall cannot remember a day in the last 10 years he has not spent beside his canine friend, Eduardo the Magnificento, or Ed. Ever since Rand found the pup nestled against a hot-water pipe, the two have been inseparable, spending countless hours together wandering through the woods on adventures, some make-believe and some real. But now, Ed's gone missing, and Rand takes it upon himself to seek out his four-legged friend. Unfortunately, the hunter loses his friend's tracks among those of a much more sinister type: ogres.

“When Love Leaves” by Elizabeth Owens is a story many people can relate to: What do you do when love leaves, and you are left heartbroken and alone? Cassie is a divorced woman who had gone through years of abuse from a man she once loved dearly. When the abuse leads to a life shattering loss, she realizes she must escape the cruelty and try to make a life of her own. Leading a successful life as a social worker and making changes in children’s lives gives Cassie a feeling of contentment and satisfaction.

Sense and Super-Abilities is a pastiche of the settings, style, and sort of characters usually associated with Jane Austen and Superlatives subjects, superhuman characters similar to modern comic book heroes. Though it combines two previously existing elements, it is an original story and not a mash-up. Sense and Super-Abilities is the tale of one girl’s coming of age, and how she learns to do what is right, even if it is not what comes easily.

John is thrown into a world where he has no idea what is going on. First he’s chased by zombies and they aren’t real. He is then thrust into the world of fantasy. For a boy who plays Dungeons and Dragons it’s just like an adventure that he and his friends have played before. However, this time around he’s not a boy, and it’s all real. He can tell by the broken nose he gets the first few hours he is in that other world. But how did he get there, and where can he find a way back to his own world?

One of the most miserable and lonely places in the world is in a prison cell. One of the hardest decisions is figuring out exactly what path you will take once released from prison. This is vital because essentially the release date is the first day of the rest of your new life. The main character must make this decision but has to use his heart to guide him.

Archer, a hunting dog bred solely to devote his abilities to catch his prey at any cost, is taken on the strangest hunt he’s ever experienced. Hagar, his master, is set on catching the elusive legendary creature, the unicorn. Once caught, Hagar plans to cut off her horn and use its magic for his own purposes. Archer gives chase and corners the beast in a cavern, and unforeseen danger gives way to a cave in, leaving both creatures alone together.

“Anacrusis” is a unique work of fiction exploring the topics of musicality, anarchic hand, and the supernatural. This work allows the listener to take a seat behind the wheel of a professional musician as his burgeoning career swirls disastrously and inexplicably off course.