Discover free fiction ebooks from the authors and publishers at Smashwords!
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Hunter's Moon | by Doi Aug. 24, 2010 | 855 words | Read a sample |
| October, the month of summer gifts and winter threats, kindles many passions. In this small upstate NY valley, where life clings to simplicity, the Hunter's Moon signals the Final Harvest. | ||||
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You Know What I Like To Do At Four O'Clock, Ed? | by Stefano Boscutti Aug. 21, 2010 | 5569 words | Read a sample |
| Meet Hollywood's most inglorious bastard. Legendary bad boy movie mogul Don Simpson has just been made the new head of production at Paramount Studios. As he waits for a journalist to arrive for a customary interview, he reflects on his hectic life so far. Can the ferocious Simpson win over the journalist from the L.A. Times? | ||||
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Cow Tipping | by Perry Burchard Aug. 20, 2010 | 5274 words | Read a sample |
| Few good decisions are made when arguing while high. Kyle just wanted to cop a buzz, but instead finds himself in a pasture with his friends. Will he prove his point, or get them all killed? | ||||
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Luck of the Count | by Janice Daugharty Aug. 20, 2010 | 5246 words | Read a sample |
| On a Saturday morning drunk, the Count and his grown son Lucky stumble onto a black woman's shack in the quarters of Cornerville to pilfer for food. When she happens up on them, the Count pulls out his pocket knife and cuts her throat. They go to jail but not for long because the Count's brother King, as usual, gets them out. But the old lady's not done with them. Especially Lucky. | ||||
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Cutting Edge | by Nanette Littlestone Aug. 19, 2010 | 2824 words | Read a sample |
| Karen is happily married to her husband until the night he surprises her with his strange behavior. After the initial shock wears off she finds herself adjusting, and liking it. But something starts to feel wrong. What’s happening to her? Has her behavior changed permanently, for the worse? | ||||
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Today, I Told a Lie (a short story) | by Michael Crane Aug. 17, 2010 | 3313 words | Read a sample |
| Kody is a kid who really doesn't mind playing by himself at Recess, no matter how odd it may look. One of his friends invites him to play softball with him and some of the older kids, although Kody isn't too thrilled with the idea. He thinks the whole thing will end up being a disaster, and unfortunately, he's right. RATING: PG-13 for some crude and strong language. | ||||
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La nouvelle vie d'Anna : première année | by Pauline Sarélot-Le Floc'h Aug. 10, 2010 | 42685 words | Read a sample |
| Anna Camors, adolescente surdouée peu sociable et à la limite de l'échec scolaire, tente sa dernière chance en intégrant le château de Camilia, un lycée-internat pour élèves à intelligence précoce. Elle va vite s'y faire des amis, des ennemis, et se retrouver plongée au coeur d'une mystérieuse affaire de complot... | ||||
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Caring for the Elderly | by Janice Daugharty Aug. 09, 2010 | 2777 words | Read a sample |
| Hun is ninety-some-odd years old and at the mercy of a bitter, controlling black woman hired by the family to keep their beloved relative at home till she dies. When Hun's two grand-nieces show up one fall morning for a visit, the caregiver cranks her meanness up a notch. She gets them told! Hun cries... | ||||
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I Am the Heart | by Adrian Newington Aug. 08, 2010 | 29319 words | Sample 50% |
| Written in a style of literature common to mystical India. This takes the form of a spiritually uplifting dialog between a 'Troubled Mind' and the 'Heart'. The Mind, (which deals with life rationally and analytically), converses with the 'Heart' after it has come forth from its silent abode out of compassion. | ||||
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The Night Walk Men | by Jason McIntyre Aug. 05, 2010 | 8868 words | Read a sample |
| Three-year old Gabriela plays with her twin brother on a train platform. Blind sax man, Braille the Rail, meets with an old, old friend. The earth rumbles beneath them all: the promise of an approaching locomotive. Now, two mysterious strangers, both of them acting in the interest of an otherworldly sense of duty, will decide their fate over a cup of tea. | ||||
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Olfactory | by Matthew Jordan July 31, 2010 | 31345 words | Read a sample |
| Johnny Cocaine is the lead-singer of the famous grunge-rock band, Godless. His celebrity initiates the coping mechanism of hard drugs, which had always just been experiences and study-aids during his education at a Seattle University. Find out if this hard rocker can find happiness and meaning through isolation. | ||||
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Ares | by Destin Joyal July 25, 2010 | 1304 words | Read a sample |
| When the citizens of Ares are forced to evacuate due to the looming threat of invasion, Luna, the sister of a man in charge of the evacuation decides to stay, doubting the need to leave. | ||||
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Life In Pause | by K.E. Rodgers July 18, 2010 | 3726 words | Read a sample |
| The movements of life and the pauses in between are revealed in this short narrative. From the perspective of a single man,neither hero nor villain; he is like us. His story doesn't begin here and even with his last words his story continues beyond the words THE END. But this short blurb is enough for now. In this post-apocalyptic short are the revelations, not of humanity, but of a simple man. | ||||
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The Measure of Gary Mooney | by Jonathan M Barrett July 17, 2010 | 2268 words | Read a sample |
| Miss Davis’s class have been studying measurement all term. Today, they will measure each other’s normal walking speed. But class misfit Gary Mooney has other plans. This playground tale reveals much about social conformity, betrayal and punishment. The Measure of Gary Mooney was awarded third place in the New Zealand 2007 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Competition. | ||||
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Keynote Speaker | by Jonathan M Barrett July 13, 2010 | 2744 words | Read a sample |
| Antoine Maercx is ranked 73rd in the Time Benelux edition list of 'Most important contemporary thinkers’. He arrives in Wellington to make the keynote address at the biennial Australasian Nietzsche Society conference. But from the moment he is picked up at the airport, things do not go to plan for the eminent professor. | ||||
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House Hunting | by Jonathan M Barrett July 12, 2010 | 2905 words | Read a sample |
| When Kim and David go house hunting, they’re hoping for a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity. But is their relationship strong enough to survive the rigours of house hunting in the gentrified suburbs of Wellington? | ||||
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Uses of Agapanthus | by Jonathan M Barrett July 12, 2010 | 3938 words | Read a sample |
| When Brett pays his weekly visit to his mother at her retirement home, he’s annoyed to see a vase of agapanthus – now a weed in their new home – next to her bed. But his protests set off long suppressed memories for her. As Brett’s wife Suzie asks: is Mom confusing or confessing? If you've enjoyed this free short story, please rate it and leave a review. Thanks,Jonathan. | ||||
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Accident Report | by Jonathan M Barrett July 12, 2010 | 2217 words | Read a sample |
| Paul has the unenviable task of investigating the death of a young crop spraying pilot. As he travels from the crash site to a tavern run by an eccentric old flyer, Paul reflects on being a father, and how he became estranged from his son. | ||||
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The Ball | by Jonathan M Barrett July 11, 2010 | 1954 words | Read a sample |
| Every evening, Ted finds reasons to take him away from the horror stories of the six o'clock news. Today he spots what looks like a ball in the garden. Breaking his routine, he steps outside. | ||||
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The writer | by J Joseph Michaels July 08, 2010 | 756 words | Read a sample |
| A little inspirational piece for all of us writers, following a not so typical night we all have gone through. | ||||
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No Bear, No Forest | by Barry Rachin July 08, 2010 | 87793 words | Read a sample |
| Mrs. Chowdhary, who manages the Bay View Motel, named her youngest daughter after Saint Theresa, the Little Flower of Jesus. Unfortunately, Terry has more in common with Attila the Hun than her nineteenth century namesake. No Bear, No Forest is a collection of quirky, short stories about people trying to make a go of it in a decidedly user-unfriendly universe. | ||||
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Everyday Madness - A Mostly True Story | by Matthew Malone July 05, 2010 | 50726 words | Sample 100% |
| Debut novel from acclaimed author Matthew Malone. Free digital version. More details in file. | ||||
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Tramps | by Jose Rodriguez July 05, 2010 | 6812 words | Read a sample |
| A short story about the odd friendship between a street child and a mentally disable young boy. The tramp knows rather well that stomachs growl when there is no food but he discovers that there things in life that sometimes trump the basic needs of life. | ||||
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Kobukariishi | by Tsutomu Ichikawa July 05, 2010 | 103 words | Read a sample |
| This is a short story written in japanese. | ||||
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The Boulevarde | by Danny Khoury July 03, 2010 | 33143 words | Read a sample |
| Set in Sydney Australia, Johnno is from 'the shire' and Albert is from 'Punchbowl', they are alike in some ways yet worlds apart in others. The hospitality is considered over the top and suspicious. There is a large black sports bag which is ambiguous There is a gas leak. However cliche the comment 'it is quiet before a storm' it may prove to be true by the aftermath of sundown. | ||||
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Takeshi Suzuki Goes For A Walk | by Tony Malone July 01, 2010 | 3300 words | Read a sample |
| A short story about the depressing nature of modern life. Follow Takeshi Suzuki as he, well, goes for a walk... | ||||
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Cupcake of Love | by Naomi Kramer June 20, 2010 | 2916 words | Read a sample |
| Kyle doesn't believe in love at first sight... until it happens to him. A cupcake foretold it, and sure enough, he's smitten. But his beloved seems to be stir-crazy, and his new fairy godmother is worse. Did destiny bring them together? Will common sense tear them apart? This is a short story from the Life in a Fairytale collection of shorts, coming soon. | ||||
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Full Circle: Surprise! You're Dead. Now What? | by J.M. DeBord June 20, 2010 | 4634 words | Read a sample |
| In this work of short fiction we learn that death is a continuation of life, not an escape, and for one man that means torment over loss of the daughter he barely knew. Stepping from one prison into another in the afterlife, he desperately tries to find answers for his last life - and to somehow reunite with lost love. Prepare to see life and death in a different light. Inspired by Brian Weiss. | ||||
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Ogólna teoria jesieni [General theory of autumn] | by Tomasz Sobieraj June 07, 2010 | 18905 words | Read a sample |
| Twenty short stories balancing between realism, weird realism and dreamy atmosphere, known from Kafka and Schulz; amazing, poetic book, where beauty of darkness is mixed with the beauty of lightness; it's not a Kafka's plaint - it's a celebration, it's a lust, it's a mystery. | ||||
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The Mormon | by Jon Thorpe June 05, 2010 | 8605 words | Read a sample |
| Three members of a secret organization sit in a Calcutta bar and discuss an ancient codex they have recently purloined from a Tibetan monastery. They know that the key to unlocking the knowledge contained within the codex is a young Mormon who has been spirited away to the Rason-Marinetti Oil Platform to analyze the validity of what just might be Siberian seer stones. | ||||
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To Come Back So Far From Nowhere In Particular | by Jon Thorpe June 05, 2010 | 1744 words | Read a sample |
| Jared Petrarch, a fine young man and an upstanding Christian, dies on the way home from a church dance. This story takes a look at the subtle but profound effects his existence has had on the lives of others. | ||||
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The Sister City Initiative | by Jon Thorpe June 04, 2010 | 4812 words | Read a sample |
| As a man's marriage begins to crumble he becomes increasingly obsessed with the passage of the Sister City Initiative. | ||||
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Never, Ever, Bring This Up Again | by Jon Thorpe June 04, 2010 | 2916 words | Read a sample |
| The American-owned, Liberian-incorporated SCOVAL Corporation attempts to negotiate the release of its employees from their North Korean kidnappers after a deal regarding the repurposing of the Rason-Marinetti Oil Platform goes bad. | ||||
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A Girl Named X. | by Jon Thorpe June 02, 2010 | 45751 words | Read a sample |
| X. is an orphan. She believes her father was killed in combat. Her brilliant mother committed suicide. X. discovers she can phase in and out of reality. She watches time fold in on itself. She passes through multiple dimensions. She seeks refuge in the City of Memory. She discovers a single path. She befriends a talking cat. She receives a message from her dead father and journeys to find him. | ||||
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Sensei of Shambala | by Sensei Publishing house May 17, 2010 | 108821 words | Sample 100% |
| The books of Anastasia Novykh are phenomenous for the fact that every person sees as if in the mirror something of his or her own, purely personal. This book discloses the inner world of a sixteen-year-old girl, who suddenly encounters death face to face. This pushes her to reconsideration of her own life and search of answers to the everlasting questions: “What is the sense of life?" | ||||
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The Bridge of Dreams and Predators: Two Short Novels | by Alex Shishin May 15, 2010 | 26398 words | Read a sample |
| In The Bridge of Dreams, set in Osaka, the homeless and disabled Motoshima Saburo, 58, fights a moral battle with Ken, a young “dating club†scout, who has used The Waif, a pill-popping 17-year-old runaway, for a haywire robbery. In Predators, set in Paris, Rick and Yolanda discover their wealthy and acne-ravaged home stay guest, Masami Ogawa, is a thief. And worse. | ||||
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Restoring Hope | by Ruth Ann Nordin May 14, 2010 | 68492 words | Read a sample |
| In the middle of the night, Woape flees from three male Indians who've tormented her. Gary Milton rescues her, and she follows him home. To secure Gary's protection, she marries him. But the Indians haven't given up their pursuit of her. This historical Native American Romance is rated R. | ||||
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White Pine | by F. J. Mackelroy May 10, 2010 | 1572 words | Sample 50% |
| As his world and plans disintegrate, will the north woods be enough to heal one man’s pain? A short-short story of the future, past, and present. | ||||
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The Jeremy – Snaps Of The Dragon | by Jo S Wun April 29, 2010 | 101737 words | Read a sample |
| A story of an English boy's struggles to fathom life's oddities, such as family, religion, education & sex, on his quest for that elusive thing called 'enlightenment', during the 50s & 60s. Fortunately, help arrives via Mrs Bulging Bosoms, The Professor & Lewd Rude Dude, to name but three of his advisers, who endeavour to guide him in the ways of the world. Unfortunately, they don't always agree. | ||||
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Raisinheart | by Tom Lichtenberg April 28, 2010 | 16640 words | Read a sample |
| Three stories of a lonely youth. Jimmy Kruzel's bad luck is that his worst enemies are always his best friends, or is it the other way around, and that sometimes his darkest hours seem to come right after the dawn. In tales more bitter than sweet, Jimmy finds that you can attract more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, but really, who wants to attract flies anyway? | ||||
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Unordinary Tales | by Lauren Farley April 26, 2010 | 45930 words | Read a sample |
| A compilation of eight short stories regarding Life, Death and the uncertainties of humans. From Blackout's J with psychotic episodes sending her into hours of shock to the Wolfe family in their first couple of hours trying to pull together after the surprise death of the mother figure Julia, these short stories are not your average short tales, they're quite the opposite. | ||||
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The God Of Life(ìƒëª…ì˜ ì‹ ) | by Red Angel April 26, 2010 | 5384 words | Read a sample |
| Kakaotie is a war prisoner. Enemies have maken him flesh god. He's getting sick and tired of living such a dull life. Someday, He meets a boy. And, his life changes... | ||||
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Love Conquers All | by Matthew Montague April 22, 2010 | 2813 words | Read a sample |
| What's a new car cost anyway? "It was after seven already and Mary and I were supposed to take the insurance money down to the car lot and get her a new mini-van. One with a functioning fuel pump this time. Which would be a problem since the insurance money is never enough to buy another car like the one’s been wrecked." | ||||
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Seamus Out | by Matthew Montague April 21, 2010 | 4346 words | Read a sample |
| The two dogs were going round in circles, from dog dish to dog dish, not believing that their dinner was done, and they were driving me crazy which is probably why I just opened the back door and scootched them out with the side of my foot before I realized that Seamus didn't have his chain on... | ||||
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Good boy | by Red Angel April 20, 2010 | 976 words | Read a sample |
| Red was famous for good boy in town. All the villagers loved him. Oneday,Red's friend had a sling and a toy mask. He had a proud of toys. Red was jealous of his friend's toys. He decided to steal and hide toys. | ||||
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The Beekeeper - from the collection: 'Night Flight from Marabar' | by Karen Overman-Edmiston April 19, 2010 | 8534 words | Sample 50% |
| Many years ago, the beekeeper struck a terrible bargain. He could have as much wealth as he wanted and a life as long as he wished. In return, however, he must secure the lease of a thousand souls for one year. Set on the Greek island of Kythera this story captures daily life and culture as it is today and gives insights into human nature as it has been for thousands of years. A haunting story. | ||||
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Pathologies | by William Walsh April 17, 2010 | 10321 words | Read a sample |
| 17 very short stories by the author of Without Wax and Questionstruck and Ampersand, Mass. If you like these stories, check out Ampersand, Mass., a full-length collection of short stories by William Walsh. | ||||
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Top of the HIll | by Nelson E. Martinez April 13, 2010 | 9906 words | Read a sample |
| New York, a battle hardened marine, and his companions survived WW3 and is part of the campaign to bring the nation back together after its fall into anarchy. New Jersey, a fellow marine, is mortally wounded in battle and asks to see his family for one last time. It's not only a race against time, but against dangerous adversaries. Who will come out on top? | ||||
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Paint or be painted | by Jason Watson April 04, 2010 | 12876 words | Read a sample |
| How cool would it be if you got back at those that "did you wrong"? Well, Jim (the main character) sets out to do exactly that, to show that Occam's razor will eventually just slit the throat of those that hide behind it. Using his brains to counter brawn he "paints" his nemeses into a corner of their own making! | ||||
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Vitriol | by Anne de Gandt April 04, 2010 | 13561 words | Sample 20% |
| V.i.t.r.i.o.l. ou la vie comme un roman, dont l'héroïne aurait perdu la clef. Enfance et adolescence ne sont que pages blanches. Un vide qui déstructure jusqu'à l'abîme. Jusqu'à ce que la mémoire déferle et avec elle, le gouffre du mot inceste. Vitriol est un voyage désordonné à travers le temps, la peur et l'espoir. | ||||