The Bat is the second book in The Red Grouse Tales series by Leslie Garland. When a group of friends gathers at the local inn, one of them starts telling stories from their childhood. The narrator, Tom, recalls his summer holidays in school, spent swimming,...

The Wizard of Odd by Patti Sherry-Crews revolves around Miles, an emotionally unstable voice actor with pseudobulbar affect (PBA), who arrives on Todd Island to house-sit at the Todd estate. Miles is tasked with looking after a dog named Tyrone, but the dog's size and...

Unbroken by J.S. Rosen presents a collection of stories woven around the common theme of fractured families. A do-it-yourself dollhouse that never made it to completion bears silent witness to a father struggling with depression. There is the awkward dance of non-verbal gestures between random...

In A Pleasant Fiction, Javier De Lucia delivers a story that explores memory, loss, and the quest for identity through the journey of Calvin “Cal” McShane, revisiting the character from his debut novel. This novelistic memoir is an immersive journey into Calvin’s past and the...

The Night of the Animals by J.J. Pascal follows René at his mother's wake, wading through unresolved issues with his estranged brother, Marcel. René feels overshadowed by Marcel at the ceremony and battles anxiety over the family curse of dying at age 35. As René...

In Locust Hill, Carl Parsons weaves a passionate narrative that follows Cassandra Clark, a popular city girl, as she falls for Jim Russell, a hardworking farmer from the rural community of Locust Hill. Set against the backdrop of agrarian struggles, the story explores themes of...

An Old Soul by M. Kevin Hayden is a gripping narrative centered around Isaac André, a young African American who feels lost in his life in 1996 Chicago. Working at a video rental store, Isaac struggles with feelings of displacement, family responsibilities, and the quest...

Silent Sounds by Anthony P. Mauro Sr. is a nostalgic, coming-of-age novel set in the summer of 1960 in the fictional coastal town of Manhassett Beach. Told primarily through the eyes of six-year-old Westin “Wes” Marino, the story captures the quiet magic of childhood curiosity,...

Two Souls by Maksim Haretski, newly translated by Olya Ianovskaia, is a powerful existential and political novel that vividly captures the turmoil of early 20th-century Belarus. Originally published during the Russian Revolution and long suppressed for its bold critique of Bolshevism, the story follows Ignat...

Capers and Switcheroos by Chip Cater is a collection of original short stories that lean into pivotal moments and shifting environments in the lives of those within them and range in length, tone, and tenor. In Chestnut Street, childhood unfolds amid war games, odd...