We came up with this title for an anthology of ten stories from the pages of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine and then had to look up the definition of the word “wringer.”Seems a wringer (easily misspelled as “writer”) used to be an instrument of torture to squeeze stuff. Yup, that fit.So ten writers in ten stories put their characters through wringers in one form or another in these pages, and it turned out honestly, fantastic fun to read.And amazing how all the...

An almost unnaturally poignant love story from the father of “Gonzo” journalism and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson.What makes the romantic short story Screwjack so touching, for all its queerness, is the aching melancholy in its depiction of the modern man's burden: that "we are doomed. Mama has gone off to Real Estate School...and after that maybe even to Law School. We will never see her again."Hunter S. Thompson’s mos...

These short stories are like shots of espresso – best downed in one go and guaranteed to leave the heart racing. Hand-picked by bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, they showcase the best of contemporary crime-writing, from masters of suspense and stars of the future alike. Whether ingenious detective story or hardboiled noir, action-packed thriller or stylish historical mystery, these twenty stand-out stories should form the cornerstone of any crime reader's library.Michael Connell...

More scary stories from a master of psychological horror. This collection has a giant, a time traveler, a bad babysitter, a man who's looking for the fountain of youth, and a bunch of other characters who get the surprise of their lives. You'll see just about all of the Seven Deadly Sins here, and plenty of punishment for the unfortunate sinners. With a style that combines horror and humor, John McDonnell has built an audience of readers who like chills, thrills, and a laugh or two along t...

This is a book that contains true life experiences of every kind imaginable, all kinds of happenings under the sun and then some. Just sit back in your seat and hold on tight for these tales are not just part of my imagination to try get your attention, these indeed, truly did happen. Ghosts have been a large part of my life since childhood. Numerous encounters with all sorts of fascinating things, so much that it would wear out my fingers to put them all in writing. My life has not been l...

What if we could travel back in time to save our heroes from painful deaths? What if we could rewrite history to protect and reward the innocent victims of injustice? In Alfredo Véa’s daring new novel, one man does just that, taking readers on a series of remarkable journeys.Abandoned as a child, brooding and haunted as an adult, Simon Vegas, “the Mexican Flyboy,” toils for years to repair a time machine that fell into his hands in Vietnam. With the help of his friend, eccentric He...

Whether it’s 1950s Hollywood, a scientific experiment, or a yard sale in suburbia, the twenty-two authors represented in this collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of “heartbreaks and half-truths” in their own inimitable style, where only one thing is certain: Behind every broken heart lies a half-truth.And behind every half-truth lies a secret.Featuring stories by Sharon Hart Addy, Paula Gail Benson, James Blakey, Gustavo Bondoni, Susan Daly, B...

[Short Story; 1850 words]Thirteen year old Danny Tompkins is at the end his first week of scout camp, waiting for his family to arrive to pick him up. They are very late. He wins a special award, but they aren't there to see it. At last his dad arrives. On the drive home he learns his mom is much, much sicker than he realized. They are going straight to the hospital.Forty years later, Daniel Tompkins comes across a letter his mom wrote him while he was at camp. Seeing those ...

The second collection in a series, Steve Kenny's Philosophy 101 paints a picture of life as it is seen from inside the mind, and gives a perspective that will, hopefully, widen the reader's own perspective.

After the fires are out, the smoke has cleared, the divorce is over, the widow has stopped wearing black, the sun has risen, the monsters are dead, the world is saved (or destroyed!), the storm has calmed, and the trouble is over……what do you do next?Find out in the first anthology of work by the Pikes Peak Writers. From mystery to romance and science fiction—from heartfelt essays to poetry that moves the soul.We can’t promise only happy endings. Just that moment wh...

DESCRIPTIONHow to talk about sex to a boy must have been on my grandmother's mind one afternoon, years ago, when I was barely ten. Out of nowhere Bubbe, my Jewish grandma, said she had something important to tell me. "Don't let anyone play with your schmekele," she warned, embarrassing me to death. Schmekele is the Yiddish word for penis! She said she was worried I would come to no good like her two sons, my uncles Heshe and Lenny. They were my mother's older brothers, totally screw...

Interludes often focus on events and characters far from the The 33's action-packed front lines.The motto of the Five-By-Five is Narum Regnum, Principium et Finis — The Backbone of the Kingdom, The First and the Last. It's a fitting phrase for this global network of specialists who support The 33, an unlikely team of world-saving misfits.Rags and Skids are Five-Bys. The jaded mechanics work in the basement of the Farmhouse, The 33's strange headqua...