These flash fiction and short stories were inspired in different ways. The flash fiction stories were the result of word prompts provided by a lovely and strange little website called Garden Gnome Publications. Allen Taylor is the editor and he's got quite a good mix of the weird and the strange on his website. I urge you to check it out if you have the time.The short story titled The Name Collector was inspired by an invitation to dinner with fellow church members – a husband and ...

The America her father remembers is nothing compared to the one Janie lives in now. Few things survived the destruction, but witchcraft remains...something the world can do without.

In the sleepy town of Blue Lake, murders don't happen—until Martha Zimmerman's body turns up.Jazz has the kind of face strangers trust, which makes her good at two things: blending in as a seemingly normal Earth resident and extracting information that helps solve crimes. When Detective Slade reluctantly brings her into Blue Lake's first murder case, neither the town nor Slade himself realizes they've just invited an alien to the investigation.As the evidence points to some...

I've been watching over Northridge for centuries. When its founding citizens arrived, seeking escape from persecution, their lives were focused on growing their crops, raising their families and worshiping God.After a few generations however, that changed.Their lips praise God, but their hearts are far from him.Soon, however, the Saints will arise, cast off their apathy and go to war.If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkn...

Breaking up with someone is hard no matter where you're from.Jazz left her home planet in search of a fresh start. Making friends quickly, Jazz put her unique talents to work helping a small town detective discover what happened to a young girl who simply disappeared, leaving nothing behind but her small backpack.With no tips and little clues about what happened to Sarah, Detective Slade grows desperate, enlisting the aid of a young woman he's just met in the hopes of findi...

Before being killed in a car crash Sissy's mother had told her "things aren't always what they seem". Sissy never really understood what her mother meant until she literally stumbled across something that changed how she views herself, the world and her place in it.

Ten bodies. One beach. Zero answers.Janet Shields is a local reporter, not a detective — at least, that's what everyone keeps reminding her. But when another body turns up face-down in the sand at Sunset Cove Beach, it carries the same chilling signature as a past murder everyone was happy to forget.Official reports claim drowning. No trauma. No toxins. Case closed.Except it isn't.Because the killer wasn't working alone. The poison was deliberate. The land t...

He didn't know which was worse...a vengeful ex-wife intent on his demise or snotty-nosed brats intent on getting what they wanted. But one thing was for sure, he never expected it would all end like this.

Carol O'Reilly has been happy living her quiet life, but a lie to her daughter threatens to unravel everything.After fabricating a new boyfriend to fend off endless matchmaking, her daughter's surprise engagement forces Carol's hand. Now she needs to find a man to play the part, and fast.The last thing she expects is to find an unassuming but kind man who's willing to help her with her little charade.As the line between fiction and reality begins to blur, Carol is f...

A lucid and inspiring consideration of the challenges we and our world now face, and a proposal for a way to overcome themCan we human beings agree on a set of values which will allow us to confront the numerous threats that we and our planet face?Or will we continue our disagreements, rivalries, and antipathies, even as we collectively approach what, in the not-impossible extreme, might be extinction?To answer these questions, A. C. Grayling consid...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seeing Red comes a thrilling tale of psychological suspense about a woman haunted by her past and caught in a nightmare that threatens to destroy her future.For Paris Gibson, her popular late-night radio drama is both an escape and her one real contact with the outside world. To her loyal listeners, she is a wise and trusted friend who not only takes their requests but listens to their problems and ...

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!"I wish I'd had these books as a kid. Hilarious!" -- Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants and Dog ManThey may look like Bad Guys, but these wannabe heroes are doing good deeds... whether you like it or not in this New York Times bestselling illustrated series.A MYSTERIOUS DOORWAY! (Sure, it’s in the grossest restaurant in the world, but that doesn’t make it any less mysterious. OK?) Behold! W...