“It began with the quiet shatter of a boy’s heart—but what bloomed in its ruins was a smile no soul was ever meant to witness.”

A raw, firsthand account of feuds, fiddling, moonshining, and survival in a small Alabama town, told by its most colorful chronicler and shaped through careful historical insight.The Ballad of Fiddling Tom Freeman is a riveting portrait of a forgotten America, drawn from the handwritten memoirs of a bootlegger, fiddler, and chronicler of life in Bug Tussle, Alabama, in the first half of the twentieth century. Today, rural voices are often drowned ...

If you have ever wondered what your dog is thinking or how they are feeling, Darla June takes you behind the dog house. In this story, she brings you along on her journey as she remembers it. From the first time she was scared and hungry to the last time she would ever be either of those things. Her innocent interpretation of, what she calls, “humans”, shines a light on the world through the sweet and hopeful eyes of a rescue. I think we can all agree that rescues love their “humans” diffe...

Vonda N. McIntyre preferred to keep her author's biography short and sweet: "Vonda N. McIntyre writes science fiction." While true, this modest claim conceals accomplishments that earned her multiple accolades and an enduring place among the most influential fantasy and science fiction writers of the 20th and 21st centuries.Even more important to the authors of this tribute anthology, McIntyre was a kind and generous supporter of other writers. In Bright Morning, eleven career writ...

When the legal system fails innocent victims, Jake and Thomas are there to right the wrongs and restore balance. Their vengeance is swift and without guilt or consequence. For years, they have acted independently, using their own judgment to decide who lives and who dies. Perhaps fate brings them together or perhaps it’s the arrival of a third killer. This new killer seems to murder for no reason at all. He is driven purely by blood with no rhyme or reason, making him both unpredictable an...

A collection of the year’s best stories selected by celebrated two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn WardIn her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2021, guest editor JesmynWard says that the best fiction offers the reader a “sense of repair.”The stories in this year’s collection accomplish just that, immersing the reader in powerfully imagined worlds and allowing them to bring some of that power into their own lives. From a stirring portrait of Ro...

"The Complete Works of Emile Zola" is an extensive collection that brings together the masterful literary contributions of the renowned French author Emile Zola. This anthology encompasses Zola's notable novels, including "Therese Raquin," "Germinal," "Nana," and the monumental "Rougon-Macquart" cycle.Zola's works are characterized by their meticulous realism, unflinching social commentary, and vivid portrayal of human struggles. In "Therese Raquin," he delves into the dark realms o...