When Things Happen Together by Jordan Clayden-Lewis

Two travelers on the ultimate Australian road trip. Two numbers that will change their lives forever. Thomas is in need of a change. Being an aspiring artist from London, he hopes a working holiday in sunny Australia will be the muse he’s been waiting for. But it isn’t Australia’s vast landscapes that are his source of inspiration… After a string of unromantic dates, Thomas meets Bruce, a handsome Irish traveler with alluring almond eyes. The more time the pair spend together, however, the more they start seeing the numbers 1122 everywhere. Are the numbers just a coincidence, or is something greater at play? Is Bruce really who he says he is, or is there more to him than he’s letting on? A story about seizing the moment, finding a sense of home, and embracing love when it comes knocking.

The Joy of Fishes by E. H. Lupton

Mara Daniels is a physicist doing cutting-edge research into the nature of reality at the University of Chicago. She’s an astronomer. She’s an amateur student of Chinese philosophy. And she’s still recovering from last summer’s car crash that killed Benjamin Zhu, her fiancé. It’s a slow process; she can walk without a cane now, but she still suffers from migraines, nightmares, and seeing Zhu’s ghost everywhere she goes. The novella The Joy of Fishes follows Mara through the day these threads ― and Mara ― begin to unravel. E.H. Lupton’s magical realism take on the romantic ghost story is filled with wonder at the miracle of times, space, and ghosts. The Joy of Fishes tears down the veil as it explores what it means to live on after great loss and to fall in love with life once again.

Good With His Hands by Brandie Nikole

When the words Quick Fix doesn't only pertain to your household needs... Call Kurbe to get the job done right. Kurbe is a handyman with a niche for pleasing his customers with the best kind of customer service

The Final Say by Brandie Nikole

They said all I’ll ever be is damaged goods.I don’t deserve the joys of life, ’cause I don’t care about the lives of others.Too bad their words don’t hold any merit when it comes to my life.I’m the boss.The only captain of this yacht.I’m the only one with the final say.Accompany Jerome on his journey as he walks his truth and follows his own rules. Nobody better get in his way, or they’ll find just what they’re looking for.Jerome: The Final Say

Fighting For Her Heart by Brandie Nikole

I love my life like it is. Full of amazing adventures and without a monogamous relationship.I've had my heart broken more than once and that's enough for me to know I don't want to do that again.I don't want a man coming all up in my mix trying to make me commit.After all, I'm Shavonne Jordan, a rebel, also known as a LimitlessSpirit! But then he comes along fighting me at every turn, invading places I never invited him to.Leaving his imprint every step of the way trying to win my heart with his suspenders and floggers, ropes, and suits.Making me see life in a way I never imagined I would or could. Will I let him in or will he eventually get fed up with the fight? Follow us on this adventure of love's tug-o-war.Fighting For Her Heart by ella Shavonne's Story

Leza of the Alpha Line by Rachael Balke

For supernatural beings, the island was supposed to be their sanctuary from violent humans. But a violence has found them nonetheless. Leza won't sit idly by while her home is threatened. What lengths would you go to protect your home? Fighting for her family brings her to her destiny.

Dancing in the Trap by James Whelpley

The stationary was tinted pink, pulpy like craft paper and smelled better than anything had a right to. It was blackmail penned in letters so long and smooth they could have hailed a cab. Since leaving the merchant marines, Mickey Fairfax has eked out a living renting dinghies to scuttle around Boston Harbor. When a wealthy man asks him to go to Paris to make a simple hand-off, it sounds like a free vacation. But, when Mickey discovers he's given the money to the wrong woman, he'll tangle with pugilistic gangsters, hophead hotel boys, sultry stage performers, and the French police to figure out who she is. In the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald, comes a hard-boiled hero plunged into in a strange land, trying to do the right thing, even if it's for the wrong reason

Scribbles and Scrawls: A Short Story Collection by Bethany Votaw

Bethany Votaw gives you sixteen short stories featuring the darkness and the monsters surrounding us. Experience the uncomfortable realities lurking beneath the surface. Meet a devil at a coffee shop, discover what the Night Man is really after, and stumble upon strange creatures and events lurking just beneath the surface. If you like supernatural horror, psychological thrills, and mind-bending twists, then you’ll love this debut short story collection by Bethany Votaw. Unlock Scribbles and Scrawls and begin the journey into madness.

The Crescent Moon by E J Doble

The first novella in a new philosophical fiction trilogy by indie author E J Doble In the city of Arbash, nestled on the outskirts of a vast desert, the young girl My'ala walks out among the vineyards overlooking a delicate blue sea. Reaching a gnarled tree atop a small hill, she stumbles upon an old man, nestled among its roots - his name is Artemis the Hermit, and he longs to answer the simple question. What is the meaning of life? As the years pass, and the realities of a difficult life struggling to get by weigh heavy upon her, My'ala finds herself returning to the Hermit by the tree to seek counsel, and to find purpose in a world where she feels so lost. But when an enemy appears from the sea, and her family are torn apart by the spectre of war, it is in the Hermit's teachings that My'ala will find her answers - and how the meaning of life may just save her city from a swift and certain end...

Welcome to Dorley Hall: The Sisters of Dorley Book One by Alyson Greaves

Mark Vogel is like the older brother Stefan Riley never had, until one day he disappears, and Stefan has to adapt to life without him. But, one year later, when he runs into a girl who looks near-identical to Mark, Stefan becomes obsessed. He discovers that other boys have disappeared, too, dozens over the years, most of them students of the Royal College of Saint Almsworth, many of them troubled or unruly before their disappearance. What is happening to these boys? Who are the handful of women on campus who bear a striking resemblance to some of those who went missing? And what is the connection to the mysterious Dorley Hall? Stefan works hard to get into the Royal College for one reason and one reason only: to find out exactly what happened to the women who live at Dorley Hall, and to get it to happen to him, too. A closeted trans girl attempts to infiltrate a secret underground forced feminisation programme.

Jenni’s Boy by Lewis J. Lewin

Jenni’s Boy follows Luke as he grows up, struggling to tell the woman that he has loved since high school how he truly feels. As he fails to communicate with her, other problems take ahold of him in life, and she drifts away, but she is ever present in his mind. His old friends fade away, and even his family members start to go their own paths. He realizes just how important communication is in relationships.

Be by Ellie Lieberman

The consequences of freedom, the sacrifices for what is loved, and the battle for the future... All in the shadow of a castle that looms large over all who preside within the kingdom.

Unburnt by A.M. Weald

A different kind of superhero story... After emerging unscathed from the house fire that killed his father, Ed Stoneman had recurring dreams about rescuing himself as a boy, sitting amongst the flames, unburnt. The dream stopped once he became a firefighter, later earning the nickname of "Dodge" by surviving a lethal flashover fire. Dodge embraced his supernatural imperviousness to the heat of fire by going in when no one should, breaking the rules of rescue because he had to, because he could. With the Wyoming steppe becoming increasingly arid and fires igniting every few days, his 'talent' is needed now more than ever. On his 50th birthday, Dodge dreams of the boy not on fire for the first time in over 30 years. Chalking it up to stress, he thinks nothing of it. With retirement from active fire duty in his near future, he's depressed and aimless. Other than firefighting, what purpose does he have? Twice divorced and childless, believing himself to be infertile in exchange for his superpower of unknown origin, he has no one to confide in but his cat, and he daydreams of walking into a wildfire just to see if he'd finally burn. But when he answers an emergency call about a local house fire, renewed purpose greets him in the flames, making him question everything he once believed.

The Necessity of Rain by Sarah Chorn

It begins with a butterfly in chains. Since the dawn of time, life has been comfortable and predictable. The gods have wrested pockets of Creation from Chaos, formed civilizations, and built entire realities. Now, the nature of Creation is changing and the Divine are losing their divinity. Rosemary, daughter of the God of Creation, can no longer deny this when a strange delegation from Dawnland braves the paths through Chaos and survives. Come to negotiate trade and protection agreements with the Divine of Meadowsweet, it is the butterfly woman who so captivates Rosemary. The weight of her sorrow, the heaviness of her secrets. For the soul is a battleground. Clouds are massing along the horizon, and Rosemary... She must survive the storm.

Scars of Fire by Raina Nightingale

BEFORE SHE CAN FACE THE NIGHTMARE AND SURVIVE, CAMILLA MUST FACE HER OWN FLAWS. Camilla’s goals are simple. Get her brother safe. Rescue her Mom. Destroy the Wizard-King. Even though everyone thinks the last two are impossible, she and Radiance know they can do it. She has already used the power of the Heartfire to do the impossible: free a dragon from undead slavery to the Nightmare. But doing so has changed her, in ways visible and invisible, and some of those changes terrify her. What does it mean to be herself when she is part of the Heartfire? So when Nelexi, a dragon god whose power comes from the Heartfire, appears in her life, all Camilla wants is to get away from her. But her desperate flight from the things she can’t face yet places her brother in danger and brings about an unexpected tragedy, forcing her to confront the ways in which she has violated her own values – or succumb to the Nightmare. Her own guilt could destroy her.

Query by Zilla Novikov

City planner by day, tired climate activist by day off, aspiring writer Zilla Novikov’s query letters quickly devolve into a darkly funny exploration of her own psyche. As the rejections pile up, her novel blurbs and biographies grow increasingly unhinged, while Zilla discovers that the road to bestseller-dom is paved with neoliberal hellscapes.

Inheritances of Hunger by Stella Lei

Over the course of five stories of unsettling, surreal intensity, Lei (who was a teen writer when this collection appeared) paints a harrowing portrait of girlhood and mother-daughter bonds.

Sleight by Kirsten Kaschock

Sisters Lark and Clef have spent their lives honing their bodies for sleight, an interdisciplinary art form that combines elements of dance, architecture, acrobatics, and spoken word. After being estranged for several years, the sisters are reunited by a deceptive and ambitious sleight troupe director named West who needs the sisters' opposing approaches to the form—Lark is tormented and fragile, but a prodigy; Clef is driven to excel, but lacks the spark of artistic genius. When a disturbing mass murder makes national headlines, West seizes on the event as inspiration for his new performance, one that threatens to destroy the very artists performing it. In language that is at once unsettling and hypnotic, Sleight explores ideas of performance, gender, and family to ask, what is the role of art in the face of unthinkable tragedy?

Wreck's Wake by Jof Croxford

Half a world away, beside the newly discovered continent of Southland, dwell the Sentinels, an archipelago of overgrown tropical islands brimming with gold. Amongst their rocky slopes fly the sails of traders, pirates and sealords all, none more feared than those stained threatening black. When Southland convict Wesley King and his family are finally pardoned after three hard years of toil, they delve into the islands’ embrace searching for a fabled treasure long lost. But the quest quickly transforms into a desperate struggle for survival when the Kings become ensnared in the region’s delicate web of piracy and treachery, where blood is repaid with blood, and a mysterious ship has resurfaced four years after it was wrecked.

Backmask by O F Cieri

BACKMASK is written in the style of 60s horror pulp. Inspired by pop music history, BACKMASK is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children's minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking look. His secretary, Valerie Chill, is tasked with finding consultants and funding while he crafts the perfect album. Quickly their project becomes entangled in other, larger machinations, and two teenage pop acts become responsible for international intrigue, brainwashing, and an occult massacre. Taking inspiration from the lives of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, and Timothy Leary, BACKMASK is a speculative look at how hidden messages got into pop music.

Lockdown Laureate by O F Cieri

A 22 tale collection, with 22 illustrations by Soren Häxan. Dark, introspective, grimy, urban, strange. “Like a puddle of blood in a back alley of New York City that whispers to you of what could have been via a static-slathered Bluetooth connection…”

Melancholic Parables by Dale Stromberg

Bellatrix Sakakino has lived many lives. She dampens electricity. She longs for a fruit that went extinct before she was born. She’s radioactive. She’s not above committing a massacre for the sake of a perfect omelet. She crashes through timelines and circumstances, recurring in these flash stories as a tricksterish film director, a pink hedgehog, a simulation of herself, or a child who can only speak in dial-up modem shrieks. Are we the same person we were last year? Or last week? Or last story? Whimsical and dolorous, ironic and absurd, this slippery assortment of stories dances around these questions with ambiguous aplomb.

The Acorn Stories by Duane Simolke

Visit the West Texas town of Acorn! Enjoy the German festival, a high school football game, homemade apple pie from the Turner Street Café, and the cool shade of a hundred-year-old oak tree. Meet dedicated teachers, unusual artists, shrewd business owners, closeted gays, and concerned neighbors. See how lives become intertwined in moments of humor or tragedy. Just be careful, because in Acorn, the sky is always falling! From romantic comedy to razor-sharp satire to moments of quiet reflection, Duane Simolke’s award-winning tales transform a fictional West Texas town into a tapestry of human experiences. “A lush tangle of small-town life branches out in this engrossing collection of short stories.” –Kirkus Reviews “The ability to depict such a wide cross section of humanity, including details of each character’s breadth of knowledge and experience, takes a talented, insightful author, and Duane Simolke is such a writer.” –E. Conley, Betty’s Books

The Outing by Fabian Foley

When nowhere is safe in the world you know, you have to hide... or start making a new one. Robert is eleven when his best friend dies and he learns that if he wants to survive in the world he has to be ‘normal’. He buries his feelings, his awful childhood memories, and his suspicion that he is gay. Even when he falls in love with Johnny, he pretends it isn’t happening, and buries those feelings too, choosing safety in the closet, a career as a lawyer, a wife and kids, and suburban happy ever after… Until Johnny returns needing help, and then disappears, and Robert's façade begins to crack in heartbreaking and dreadful circumstances. Only one other person saw what happened that night, and after being arrested for drunk and disorderly, he disappears. It shares poignant and emotional elements of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Craig Silvey’s trans-coming-of-age novel Honeybee, with the suspense of The Dry by Jane Harper, while drawing on the historical facts leading up to the airing of the dirty linen of the Bjelke-Peterson era with the broadcasting of The Moonlight State-1987 . Trying to keep his secret and himself safe isn’t Robert’s only priority. He wants justice too. But when the police force is corrupt from the top down, justice isn’t merely elusive, it’s an impossibility. Or so it seems when you’re fighting for yourself alone. But other people have been fighting for justice too. If Robert can convince them to help him, together they may set something unstoppable in motion. It will either run down the corrupt police or run over and destroy Robert’s life. Inspired by the true story of a suicide that was reclassified thirty years later as a gay hate-crime murder, The Outing is set in 1980s Queensland, (Australia), where corrupt police and politicians rule together, with an audacious disregard for the law. It shares poignant and emotional elements of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Craig Silvey's trans coming-of-age novel Honeybee, with the suspense of The Dry by Jane Harper, while drawing on the historical facts leading up to the airing of the dirty linen of the Bjelke-Peterson era with the broadcasting of The Moonlight State-1987. Breaking a corrupt system can sometimes break you, and those you love… some, forever

Sweet Baby Mine by Maria Daversa

Set in Paris, Sweet Baby Mine is about the secrets, lies, and mental illnesses that take a toll on two people who once thought they’d found their true love. The tale is brutal, oftentimes heartbreaking, but always hopeful. The message? On the road to self-discovery, you’ll learn that no matter what anyone says, no matter what flawed message you believed about yourself growing up, you are a good person and deserve love.

Death's Pale Flag by Gary Simonds

Brain surgeon and unlikely war hero, Ryan Brenan, has it all. A booming practice, a beautiful home in an idyllic setting, and a happy loving family. Then, the apparitions begin. Subtle at first, but soon there’s no doubt about it, he’s seeing ghosts, spirits, the undead. Of course, he could just be going nuts, cracking under the pressure of his constant exposure to death, mayhem, and tragedy. But, he believes he has proof that the ghosts are very real, and that they are specifically haunting him. We join Ryan as he tends to the sick and injured in his hospitals’ trauma bays, intensive care units, and operating rooms, all the while seeking to understand why he has become a target of the dead. Will he break down? Will he lose all that is precious to him? Will he be drawn to the other side of the great divide? This riveting psychological thriller uniquely blends a detailed peek behind the curtains of modern day neurosurgery with a fantastical journey into the paranormal. Written by a highly experienced neurosurgeon who takes the reader on an immersive journey into the behind the scenes world of the operating room where few people have ever been.

Becoming Bill by Molly Garcia

Big Bill has featured in the first two Adam & Sarah books as a homeless man who helps the police when their case involves those who are rough sleeping and vulnerable. We learned more about Bill’s background in “Bedding Down,” where he’s left waiting on a placement in temporary accommodation. Bill has decided it’s time to accept a place in sheltered housing after being reunited with his daughter and having health problems. This is Bill’s story. From a successful job as an agent to rough sleeping, his addiction to alcohol and losing his wife and daughter, his job, and his home. This book will detail his journey as Bill is about to settle down and start a new chapter in his life.

Motherhood and Other Magical Realms by Raima Larter

Motherhood can be magical, or it can be trouble. Children, if they come along, can grow up, or not, or even go to the moon. The world is not always what it seems, and salvation can happen in unexpected places—like a copy shop. And sometimes, although not always, there’s a ghost in the cellar.

Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida

"Great for fans of Becky Chambers's A Closed and Common Orbit and Daniel Suarez's Daemon." Booklife The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Shadow is a reluctant god with a broken mind and a death wish. He used to be Thomas Astley-Byron, an affluent young screenwriter whose creativity and idealism saved a world from the brink of collapse. Together with Henry Nowak, an AI expert, Tom created heaven on earth by inventing a Jungian simulated reality that helps humans confront their dark sides. The benevolent manipulation platform turned the two unelected leaders into beloved gods, but now everything is failing. The worlds suffer as a sentimental Tom descends into his own personal hell, becoming the embodiment of everything he despises and a shadow of his former self. His journey from an optimistic, joyful Tom to a gloomy Shadow is paved with heartache and sinister interference from emerging technology. Humans and bots fight for his heart, but their aims differ: some want to own it, some to dissect it, and others to end its foolish beat. Estranged from the love of his life—the activist poet Nathan Storm—Tom fails to realize the biggest threat comes from within. None of the sticky stories that steer his life end well. Now, a young goddess—Estelle Ngoie—has been appointed to replace him, and unlike Shadow, Stella takes no prisoners, and her heart bleeds for no one. Who’s pulling on Shadow’s heartstrings? Are their intentions malign or benign? It’s all a matter of perspective, and Shadow has none left. The Series Themes An epic tale spanning across six days—one per book—and forty past decades of life lived across ten worlds and two universes. Weaving sci-fi elements with social commentary and queer romantic suspense, Spiral Worlds explores the nature of consciousness and how it's connected to a not-so-secret ingredient—story. As software consumes the world, intelligence is nothing but the appetizer; the human heart is the main course. There is no black or white in this story about a contrast-making machine.

I Am My Beloveds by Jon Papernick

Ben Seidel wasn't sure how serious they were when he and his wife, Shira, discussed having an open marriage. But when Shira announces that she is going on a date with Liz, any ambiguity evaporates. Suddenly, every day is new terrain for Ben, navigating between keeping things together with Shira and exploring new partners. And when one of those new partners begins to matter to him more than he ever anticipated, he discovers that the complexities of this new life are only just beginning. Bracingly honest, refreshingly sexy, and deeply empathetic, I Am My Beloveds is the work of a superior storyteller, making real a lifestyle that might be as close as your own bedroom door.

Between Before and After by Jessica Stilling

Between Before and After follows Indie film director Sebastian Foster, son of the famous author Regina Foster, as he embarks on a project to turn his mother’s award-winning novels into films. As he works on his third film in the project, a biographical novel that takes place in Paris and deals with the traumatic death of Sebastian’s five-year-old sister, the project and aspects of Sebastian’s personal and private life start to break down. Sebastian is confronted with a man from his past who holds the purse strings as far as funding for his films is concerned. He also learns that his mother has more secrets than he realized and as he dives deeper into this project, he learns that there was so much more to his sister’s tragic death than he realized. As the past starts to unravel before him, Sebastian must confront his issues with his mother and his desperate need to recreate a past that may not have been as idyllic as he remembered.

The Weary God of Ancient Travelers by Jessica Stilling

Who is Lydia Warren? That’s what she’d like to know. An amnesiac, she vaguely remembers arriving in Santorini with this one-armed man she instinctive trusts but cannot recall his name. She guides us through the fog that is her mind, and her odyssey towards understanding that is even further complicated by memories of a life not her own from before she was born.

The Persistence of Vapor by Ralph Clementi

Thomas Marcelli, lead archaeologist at an excavation outside a small town in Jordan, is astonished when his assistant informs him that the local newspaper has just printed a sensationalistic account of their recent find. The article claims that the coprolite that was uncovered the previous day is a holy relic of Jesus. Over the next two days the site becomes overrun by hundreds of curious spectators. Chaos ensues and the coprolite gets stolen. The artifact quickly enters the dark underworld of stolen art and antiquities. Eventually, through a string of murders and deceptions, it is acquired by Michael Steadman, a major dealer of stolen art in the United States. He multiplies his profits substantially by selling counterfeits of "the holy relic of Jesus" that he crudely carved from locally collected rocks. In the meantime the news of the discovery and theft of the coprolite unleashes a flood of conspiracy theories. This misinformation continues to spread despite repeated assertions by the archaeologists that there is no evidence of a connection between the coprolite and Jesus. Then matters worsen. Fraudulent enterprises appear that advertise nonexistent tours to the site where the "the holy relic of Jesus" was found. Religious leaders, deeply troubled by these scams, try to intercede to protect their congregants from being cheated. However, their efforts backfire when the religious leaders become the targets of new conspiracy theories. Set in the U.S. and the Middle East, the novel traces the impact that the coprolite has on the people it touches. The story is part adventure and part intellectual journey and rides on a universal theme that underlies so much of human behavior: facts and logic often take a back seat to a blind hunger for the satisfaction of emotional needs.

The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming, Book One: Theory by Sienna Tristen

“Life is transformation. You change or you die.” Ashamed of his past and overwhelmed by his future, Ronoah Genoveffa Elizzi-denna Pilanovani feels too small for his own name. After a graceless exit from his homeland in the Acharrioni desert, his anxiety has sabotaged every attempt at redemption. Asides from a fiery devotion to his godling, the one piece of home he brought with him, he has nothing. That is, until he meets Reilin. Beguiling, bewildering Reilin, who whisks Ronoah up into a cross-continental pilgrimage to the most sacred place on the planet. The people they encounter on the way—children of the sea, a priestess and her band of storytellers, the lonely ghosts of monsters—are grim and whimsical in equal measure. Each has their part to play in rewriting Ronoah’s personal narrative. One part fantasy travelogue, one part emotional underworld journey, The Heretic’s Guide to Homecoming is a sumptuous, slow-burning story about stories and the way they shape our lives.

Angeline by Angelica Markus and Julianne Snyder

Angeline Moretti is a woman of two different lives. A stunning actress by day and a party girl by night. In the time of the roaring twenties, New York City is hustling and bustling. Angeline has no time to settle down, but for a woman with two lives there are two men who desperately yearn for her heart. The wealthy and charming James Howard, and the speakeasy bad boy Link Cartwell. Be prepared to enter a world of legendary flappers, fabulous parties and dashing gangsters. Once you’ve stumbled into Link’s Wonderland, you can never go back!

Ride Every Stride by Amy Maltman

Jed Carver hopes to put his troubled past behind him. After fleeing across the country, he finds refuge in his new job at a prestigious stable and commits himself to his goal: a spot on the Canadian Equestrian Team. Jed is confident in his riding ability, but the obstacles outside the ring could be his undoing. Will his dark secrets come to light? Can he ride every stride until his dream comes true? Or will his demons unseat him? Jump into this page-turner for the equestrian and non-equestrian alike!

Invention Is a Mother by Rob Brownell

RESPONSIBILITY IS OVERRATED. A recently graduated and happily unemployed engineer, Shaughnessy shirks responsibility whenever possible. He coasts through life, sidestepping every opportunity to follow in his father Walton’s footsteps, until Walton begins to suspect that he has MFD (Mysterious Fatal Disease). The family coerces Shaughnessy to impersonate his father as a senior engineer at Critical Think Inc. There, he is immediately entangled in the development of an irrational consumer product. Pressured to innovate in the face of absurd challenges and fantastical demands, Shaughnessy teeters on the edge between breakthrough and breakdown. In a near future where you are what you wear, can an idling young engineer successfully navigate corporate startup culture, accept his family’s medical crisis, and harness his full creative potential? Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Good Omens will enjoy laugh-out-loud collisions with the limits of reason in Invention Is a Mother.

Mother Figures by Amy Barnes

Amy Barnes has a knack for what Jennifer Pieroni has called “smart surprise”. Each of these mother/daughter stories grabs the attention with its first sentence then continues to wrongfoot the reader willfully as it proceeds. The stories are focused, lean, yet packed with unexpected details – stigmata, plastic eyes, industrial bras, a watermelon called Trudy, vulture balloons. Barnes has a voice that is entirely her own. ―Michael Loveday author of Three Men on the Edge From the first sentence of each story in Mother Figures, Amy Barnes entraps us and stuns, taking us into a variety of worlds, strange and surreal—we embark on a journey involving distorted familial relationships, and through these contorted realities, there is a booming thread of truth, mirroring our need for love and friendship. Magically entertaining, Barnes is on the forefront of breaking barriers in the craft of flash fiction. ―Shome Dasgupta author of Mute Mother Figures both elevates and devastates. In twenty-three tiny stories, Amy Barnes explores the oft-searing complexities of motherhood and mother-daughter relationships through a funhouse lens of pop culture, religion and artifact. Each story is a tightly-woven portrait that exposes our most intimate relational fissures with surprising language and a playfulness that punches to the emotional core. ―Sara Hills author of The Evolution of Birds Reading Mother Figures feels like lifting a band-aid: sharp, ugly, and vulnerable, but tender too: and after, relief: you feel as though the new light and air will heal you. ―Meagan Lucas author of Songbirds and Stray Dogs, and editor, Reckon Review In ‘Mother Figures’ Amy Barnes explores the subtle complexities of female relationships. Each story, steeped in rich detail and nestled between the real and the surreal, will pull you in and keep hold of you long after you’ve finished reading it. An absolute delight. ―Laura Besley author of The Almost Mothers and 100neHundred

Ambrotypes by Amy Cipolla Barnes

We are all slightly askew,” says one of the characters in this delightful and moving collection of innovative stories that bend, at times, toward allegory. Here's a vintage world of cigarette vending machines, Jazzercise, Sears photography studios, McNally road maps, full-service filling stations, and Green Stamps dish sets, a world where a sister with sugar for shoes who desires an octopus lover, giraffes who give funeral eulogies, a student with a backpack wormhole that houses Einstein, and a woman who places a want ad to see if someone has found her name—all highlight our humanity, its losses and its longings, and in moments, the last times we don’t know are the last times. I loved these stories.” — Jill Talbot, author of The Way We Weren’t: A Memoir “Read this collection slowly. Each of these stories unfolds like a palimpsest of images you'll want to spend time unpacking. At the heart of Barnes' prose are the intricacies of human relationships made technicolor by magic realism and the author's expansive imagination.” — Christopher Allen, author of Other Household Toxins “No one aces the first sentence test quite like Amy Cipolla Barnes. Every story in her whimsical debut begins with a zing. With irresistible openers like: "There’s a beach ball in the apartment toilet," "I knew what I was doing when I swallowed the glass piano," "My great grandmother hung the moon," and "My third baby was born an alligator," how can we not keep reading? These may be AMBROTYPES, but Barnes writes in living, breathing color to bring us captivating, quirky family snapshots that engage faith, myth, fairy tale, and a little magic. For all the absurdist delight, there's no shortage of heartache or truth: "I prayed hard that my plastic Jesus would find my daddy either real pants or a job; It felt like too much to ask for both." Barnes is adept at rendering the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar in these sharply observed slices of life that never fail to snap, crackle, and pop.” — Sara Lippmann, author of Doll Palace “Nothing can really prepare you for the people you'll encounter in Amy Barnes's Ambrotypes: little girls with feet made of sugar; alligator babies; wives who grow feathers; fathers made of origami. These stories are surprising, wholly original, and go down easy -- the perfect reading for our current reality.” — Amy Shearn, award-winning author of Unseen City and The Mermaid of Brooklyn

Impress of the Seventh Surge by Jessica Mae Stover

In an outbreak everyone must make choices. What will yours be? With the definitive American pandemic accounting still pending, it’s trailblazing scifi author Jessica Mae Stover who brings the receipts and then sets them aflame in Impress of the Seventh Surge, a novella about a conscientious pandemic evacuee working to free the next victims of a mysterious virus. Familiar and otherworldly, explosive with originality and utterly unconventional, coated in the residue of rage and the red tinge of fever dreams, Impress of the Seventh Surge is a plunge into near-future social bonds, technology, law, love and fascism; a profound story about justice, psychic AIs, and rising body counts that demolishes the borders between literature and technology. In these electric pages Stover ingeniously devises the next evolution in cyberpunk fiction. With her trademark “deep point-of-view” that pierces the veil between reader and character, impressionistic and startling prose, and the surreality of a video game, every twist of phrase in Seventh Surge is a knifing reminder that Stover’s experimental framing is, in fact, all too real. Impress of the Seventh Surge is an astounding work of gravity and furious speculative fiction — a scifi “what if” that doesn’t ask what would you do? but instead demands to know what you will do.

The Garden of the Golden Children by Ashley Hutchison

We all live somewhere. The children of Somewhere attend a prestigious Academy with a spectacular garden that celebrates its finest pupils. The history of the Academy is rich as chocolate, but things are not as they seem. Experimental and emotional, Ashley Hutchison delivers a somber, enchanting, and dark journey in this must-read literary fantasy.

St. Elmo's Fire by Oliver Theakston

1519, the earliest years of European colonialism. After years of planning, Ferdinand Magellan is finally ready to plunge into the uncharted oceans of the New World in his search for a mythical strait and the untold riches beyond. Joining him is Juan de Morales - a physician desperate to break free from the ghosts of his past. But de Morales' hopes of a new beginning are quickly dashed as he discovers the web of treachery into which he has unwittingly entangled himself. From the windswept tundra of Tierra del Fuego to the searing emptiness of the Pacific Ocean, St. Elmo's Fire is a descent into the madness, mutiny and cruelty of the first circumnavigation of the globe.

String of Stardust by James Margaret Rose

"It is a farce for a wildflower, so meek and common, rooted firmly in the Earth, to fall in love with the Moon..." Despite her status as a noblewoman, Suzette always dreamt of becoming a baker; however, she never had the courage to fly away from her gilded cage. But once an ill-arranged marriage pushes her to the brink, she escapes with the help of her dear friend Hikaru, a mysterious man who lonesomely wanders the Earth. By his side, Suzette discovers a magical world unlike any she believed could exist—and most surprising of all, that this is not the first time she has known Hikaru...nor the first time she has been in love with him. But that life ended long ago. Suzette is an entirely new person, and much has changed in their decades of absence. As much as she wishes to recreate the idyllic life of her new memories, there may be no choice but to also recreate its tragedy. Note: Contains mature content that may not be suitable for younger readers.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair by Ryan Rae Harbuck

Her story has (not) defined her. From where she sat, her perspective of the world was both quite ordinary and rivetingly extraordinary—from a paralyzing car accident in her teens to traveling overseas on a journey of self-reflection to becoming a mom. Throughout everything she experienced, she fervently believed in following her given path. She wanted to trust its trajectory. She wanted to be sure. Her story is not about a chair. Her story is about her strengths and how they rose out of her instinctive vulnerabilities. Her story is about her struggles and how they became her victories. Her story is about being willing to hold it all, for herself and the whole of her world. Everyone has a chair. That thing you are bound to or unwillingly defines you. An element that makes you different from the rest. One that you have little choice in the matter. What’s YOUR chair?

L Extreme by JL Civi

A Love Extreme is the greatest double debut album you've probably never heard -- but really should! B is for Benji, an aspiring musician with a bad case of writer’s block and a love story he’s not allowed to tell (but does anyways). C is for Count, Benji’s roommate who wants to help him get his groove back. D is for DJ, C’s love interest who may or may not be D as in dead. E is for Evilon. (He’s the villain, if that wasn’t clear from his name…) F is for Frank, the strong silent neighbor down the hall. G is for genre, a difficult concept to apply here. Is it a) Comedy? b) Romance? c) Fairy Tale? d) Magical Realism? e) Faux Biography? f) Infomercial? g) Album-oriented Fan Fiction? Let’s go with… H) All of the above! IJK are letters we’re skipping in this very absurd blurb. L is for…well, nobody really knows what L stands for. That’s part of the mystery that makes her extreme. M is for Mmmmmm, the title of a dreamy chapter near the midpoint. N is for Narrator. That’s me, your guide on this journey. Oh boy! Presenting Quarkle's ramshackle story the universe values with Xtreme youthful zest. (That rounds out our alphabet, but only scratches the surface of our wild tale.) L EXTREME: An original novel by JL Civi, based on the songs of Benji Hughes A novel based on an album is a book with a killer soundtrack.

Lady, in Waiting by Karen Heenan

She survived exile. He survived a death sentence. Can they survive marriage? Margaery Preston is newly married to a man she barely knows. Proposing to Robin Lewis may have been impulsive, but she wants their marriage to work - she just doesn't know how to be married, and it seems her husband hasn't a clue, either. Treated like a child by everyone from her husband to the queen, lost in the unfamiliar world of the Elizabethan court, Margaery will have to learn quickly or lose any chance at the life she wants. Can a marriage for all the wrong reasons make it to happily ever after?

A Wider World by Karen Heenan

Memories are all he has... now they could save his life. Returning to England after almost five years in exile, Robin Lewis is arrested and charged with heresy by the dying Queen Mary. Over a days-long journey to the Tower of London, Robin spins a tale for his captor, revisiting his life under three Tudor monarchs and wondering how he will be judged—not just by the queen, but by the God he stopped serving long ago. When every moment counts, will the journey—and Robin's stories—last long enough for him to be saved by Mary's heir, the young Queen Elizabeth?

Am I Alone? John K by Stephanie Vlahos

John K hurtles to Mars. He is a chance hero - the first person to travel to Mars. Alone. in a space capsule, lonely in his reflections, yet he finds love. He contemplates Earth - a failing planet with a collapsing ecology. The beautiful green and blue which is fast disappearing. What does the future hold for John K. and all those he has left behind.

Pulsus Cordis Mei-The Pulse of my Heart (Omnia Vincit Amor Book 3) by Maxime Jaz

For when you breathe, I am your air. For when your heart beats, I am its pulse. For when you are far away, look at our star. When events out of their control split the family apart, Marius, Kyle, and Claudia are challenged beyond belief. In the desperate race for power, their enemies will stop at nothing to ensure they destroy Marius and those he loves. Kyle and Claudia have to navigate treacherous waters in Rome to deal with their adversaries, and separate allies from foes, whereas Marius has his own struggles to deal with, far from his loved ones. As an unexpected and shattering blow leaves them reeling, Kyle has to be stronger than ever before to keep them from sinking into despair. Will their enemies finally shatter the small family, or will their love prevail, and conquer all?

Avis Aurea-The Golden Bird (Omnia Vincit Amor Book 2) by Maxime Jaz

From the ashes of suffering, a new strength can be born. From embracing one’s demons, a new life can be found. Back in Rome after his perilous adventures, Marius makes a shocking discovery about his past. But life must go on. Not only does his child need raising, but he must also resume his duties amidst the plotting of Rome’s elite. To add to that, his love for Kyle burns even brighter, melting the walls behind which so many painful memories are trapped. And as feelings bubble to the surface more and more, Marius and Kyle’s love is revealed without hindrance, slowly and sensually, even though shadows of Kyle’s past come back to haunt him, and the people involved in his suffering are thorns in their emerging love. That, and the fact, Marius also brings home a new wife, Claudia. And as Claudia takes her place within the family, unexpected emotions emerge between them all, lacing themselves into Marius and Kyle’s world, resulting in unexpected bliss. Until shattering news about their enemies leaves all of them grappling for air, facing decisions none of them want to make... caught in the race for power. Will their love surmount the many painful obstacles put in their path? Or will their enemies drive a wedge, an unbridgeable chasm between them all? Are Marius, Kyle, and Claudia nothing more than victims of the cruel world they live in?