A landlord takes a special interest in the new tenant of a Highland croft.

The Weather Man's mouse has to find a wife for the Weather Man, but...............

A hard-working weather man, angry cat and dog and a lazy mouse- says it all...

A memoir piece told in the historical present about a drug fuelled night during the nineteen nineties.

Rosa has devised her own solution for combating poverty on the Ria Formosa, where morals are compromised with a strange take on community salvation. When the Englishman arrives, things begin to alter, but with an ironic twist.

Not one inhabitant of Bois-Bezolles remained unshocked by Frederique’s suicide. As news spread around the village, disbelief became anger at such an outrageous lie. What was the truth?

Paulo is determined to start a book business in the old Portuguese market, but it looks as though the odds are stacked against him. That is, until a stranger arrives in the village.

Stop, Look and Listen is a short collection of flash fiction pieces. It features Escape, a story about a son who wants to keep his parents together for the sake of his father, Mannequin, a creepy tale about a husband and his wife's disappearance, as well as the titular story Stop, Look and Listen, an exploration of life through instructions. The collection also includes other pieces by Akeem Balogun that have appeared in various publications throughout his writing career. Stop, Look and Listen is an enjoyable read that will appeal to all fans of the short story form as well as to any reader who is entertained by writing that is precise, fun and thought-provoking.

Institutionalisation.

Jeremy wonders if he's going mad. Everybody else can see reporter Jill Gibbs on the TV. Why can't he?

Strange goings on at the parish church. Good Friday's not so good.

Sometimes Abel might feel uneasy about a roping if, say, his victim was young and misguided, or an abused female. But mostly he couldn't give a damn. He couldn't afford to. It was a job that had to be done, and done well; a skill; a craft.

"But I've not done Indian," I told Karen. And besides, the boys are not from India." "It's all the same to them," she said, her cheeky blue eyes sparkling with self-confidence. "Just whip up something hot. They'll love it."

It was Cormley Crag's gruesome history that kept the faint-hearted villagers away. All stayed tight-lipped on the subject - except old Norman.

Julie's husband is a drunkard and vicious bully, she is terrified of him, but there comes a turning point....

I am wearing my smartest clothes for my mother’s funeral: grey trousers and white shirt without the tie. She meant to give me cash for shoes...

A girl takes a shortcut through the woods, but soon feels she is being followed.

What if zombies weren't all mindless brain sucking monsters? What if zombies had thoughts? Even memories? What if zombies were much the same as you?

A battle with anorexia, through the eyes and emotions of the sufferer. The story takes a surreal angle on the battle with the condition

Living alone, currently unemployed, behind with the rent and with only sour milk and mouldy cheese left in the fridge, Henry Merriweather tells himself that “It’s just the usual modern male condition.” Mundane matters don’t concern him greatly because he is on a mission to form a union with his dream woman, the Queen of Clubs. From the standard deck of playing cards. A taut, witty and moving urban fantasy.

What the story of St Clare doesn't tell... In this poem, Alwyn Marriage suggests that St Clare (1194-1253) may be a rather more interesting figure than history suggests. Clare Offreduccio (Chiara) was a normal, healthy and enthusiastic teenager until she was swept off her feet by the dashing young Francis, whom she heard preach with passion. Abandoning her previous life to follow him, she devoted herself to a life of chastity and charity. Images of St Clare in art tend to depict her as an icon of humble obedience and purity, but there may well be more to the story than that. While not wishing to diminish Clare's genuine piety and good works at all, this story suggests that Clare's obvious love of St Francis was more full-blooded and passionate than the official stories have suggested, and that ending up in a convent was not quite what Clare had in mind. (Please note: This is a poem, rather than a story)

In 1628, the English physician and anatomist, William Harvey, discovered the circulation of the blood. This story explores whether this great leap in medical knowledge might also be seen as a metaphor for something even more surprising.

Did Jo really kill Simon?

An estranged daughter goes to her father's funeral.

Two sisters try to survive in a post apocalyptic world overrun by the terrifying Evacuators, but the resistance is after them...

Double the rent or half a flat. Your choice.

A tale of a strange and yet compelling woman, an enigma who draws in her 'carriers' to do her bidding. But all is not how it seems as she spreads her poison. But her trail is already of interest.

A story about links and how many you can find. A sort of 'Spot the Difference' in prose.

Twelve workers trapped underground working on a momentous project. But 'God' has other ideas.

When I first saw the beach hut I realised it would probably be more expensive than a two bedroom town house. I pictured the agent’s face; the mocking laughter, shrieking down her phone to colleagues; ‘She thinks she can afford a beach hut!’

A coming of age story about a young boy, his greyhound and first love

A bad day at work gets out of hand.

A woman leaving town decides to have a farewell drink with her ex-partner.

It's only the intrepid who venture into the world of arranged romance. Amelia casts her fate to the winds of change and learns that not all migrating birds make it home safely.

A last ditch attempt by King Louis to defeat the British and take control of Jersey. A fictional tale of the invasion, organised and led by a notorious mercenary and the bravery of a fouteen-year-old boy.

Where the Four Winds Meet is the first novella in a Trilogy. This story reveals the emotional journey through time of one man as he tries to discover how his biological father really died. ‘I’m fifty-two years old and today I saw a picture of my father for the very first time. Can you imagine how that feels?’ Bobby is about to open Pandora’s Box to unlock the secrets of his past – but is he prepared for the turbulent secrets which are about to be revealed about his biological father? ‘You know when I was in Germany? A woman came to me and she said, “‘Your husband’s given me a baby as well.’” How will the two immensely different scenarios, one good, one bad, impact upon the present and especially upon his two sons, a moody wannabe rock star and a ghostbuster who falls for a mental medium? ‘He was a wonderful man you know, your father. Such a lovely brother to have.’ Bobby uncovers what he believes is the truth and resolves to let the past go – until it surfaces once more to haunt him.

This story is about the women's marches in the 1970's.

A wartime evacuee's story

This story is about a pensioner waiting for the Estate Agent to show him around the house he was born in.

A little girl's First Communion day - when temptation arrives in the form of a bag of sweets

Meet, for the first time, David Good, Private Investigator. Plying his trade in 1980s South London, the PI with pliable morals, a taste for blondes and a full-on sense of humour, turns out to be a big softie as he takes up the challenge of sorting out yet another domestic mess. Having discovered that one Alice Jones, a young woman with a well-developed taste for strawberries, has a varied and not entirely honest life, he quickly finds himself wrestling with emotions he’d prefer would go away. As it is, they leave him confused and struggling to work out what he should do with the woman. Join Good on this little jaunt through South London and ask yourself what you would do next.

The search for a lost book changes lives forever.

A Republican soldier returns in spirit to the battle grounds of the Spanish Civil War.

13 Tales of loss and longing.

This story is about proportionality.

Apparently, this story was going to be 'disqualified with merit' from an Earlyworks Press competition...but that was too ridiculous...so they gave it Second Prize! It's on of the stories in Talking To Owls (Pewter Rose Press) and you can hear it read on Vimeo.

Ten Flash Fictions, from 449 to 96 words short. Illicit affairs and railroad crashes, murderous spouses and vengeful neighbours.

Into the labyrinth, two strangers go...

Some people you just shouldn't push.

A mobile phone in the wrong hands, can lead to who knows what messages in the wrong ears...

Ten flash fictions of last words, last actions, and last loves.

On the road, escaping from a confrontation a young man unexpectedly returns home, but when his friend retells the story, does he get it right?

A collection of twenty five flash fictions. Most of these were written during 2016/17 although a handful date from earlier. The Flash Fiction label is a mixed blessing, not least because it doesn’t seem to have settled down yet into any specific meaning. Discussion centres around that word flash. American originators of the term meant the flash of a single white page being turned. Some writers I know feel the story should have some sort of jolt, or flash, at the end: Ta Dah! All except one of the stories here are less than 500 words. Other than that, they are simply short stories, as varied as any other group of stories I might produce, joined perhaps by the one facet I look for in all short stories, however long or short, that they have a narrator who knows why he, she, or it, is telling the story!

Memories around a short-term summer job years ago still linger.

A collection of eight short speculative fictions with a Lake District flavour.

The past isn't necessarily done with.

Morning walks, an irrational fear, and a story of past, lethal transgression revealed.

Sadie is on holiday on the Island of Oriskay with her grandparents. She desperately wants adventure. When she meets a boy called Dorset, together they stumble upon a secret message in an ancient burial chamber. Then, adventure comes Sadie's way. The burial chamber leads to runes and the runes lead to bad guys and the bad guys lead to...well, you can read it to find out if you like. Sadie and the Lost Treasure was inspired by the landscape and heritage of the Orkney Isles, off the north coast of Scotland. The story is intended for readers aged 9-12 but readers older than that may like it too.

Will felt like he was getting closer to understanding what they meant, in a way. He would sit on the grass and look up, watching, listening and letting their truth come to him. If he forced it too much, it would not be the truth. That mattered.

If there is ever an anthology called, "Forgotten Animal Voices Through History" then this story will narrowly miss the cut. Robert Burns gave an empathic, if presumptuous, perspective; time to hear from the mouse himself.

Ditch is a soldier-turned-club owner. His spoken word venue is the place to go in F23. The law don't like it. Ditch doesn't care. Spoken word will prevail.

Young people who find solace in a vintage shop in a town that seems to be developing around them without including them.

A woman is abandoned by her father as a baby but he is never really out of her life.

A young woman discovers something that threatens the family traditions that keep her safe.

Ahead of a visit from her returning sister, a woman considers the effect of her father on their family.

An ambitious artist seeks to reconnect with influential figures from his past.

A rebound relationship fills with complications that are going to hurt.

Silver Surfing classes can have unexpected consequences, as Jean and Sam discover in this story of love and loss.

Propelled thousands of miles away by childhood grief, Trish's search for happiness takes some unusual twists and turns.

Jake escapes his old life only to discover that things may not be what they seem on the idyllic 'Black Isle'.

How will Graciela cope with the spells and the men now Granny is gone? Bring on the Iguanas.... "The alarm snake swayed above her bed. He hissed until Graciela opened her eyes, then spiralled back into the roof. Job done. Graciela could take her time in the mornings now there was no old woman to clean up. She fetched water and washed, lifting her hair away from her neck and spearing it with pins of shell. She struggled into the blue cotton dress and wrapped her shawl around herself, so that nothing could move. The straw hat, big as a planet, waited on the rocking chair. Granny’s voice whispered, Wear the hat, Graciela. Wear it as your crown."

Jodie's surprise family holiday to a Greek island

The mutt from the Dogs' Home becomes a hero.

Ruby meets the neighbours including the rabbit.

The statues from the Minster roof come to life one night!

A story about friendship, loss and seemingly supernatural forces that may or may not be the product of a disturbed mind.

A young girl's ghost friend turns out to be a liar. (A story for readers of 9 years of age or older)

A disabled girl's view on her parents trying to run a small-holding in Norfolk.

Aliens on the Underground...

A fairy tale for adults and older children, in which a tailor meets a very large cat, and tries to sell her some clothes.

A daughter's loyalty to her family is tested.

A fairly tale for adults and older children - Sybil tries to get Amelia to sleep - a long, long sleep.

Keith's obsession with naming things, and with Gerda the newspaper seller outside his office, leads him into danger.

Jael tells what really happened when her husband Heber's old mate Sisera dropped in. Not quite what you read in the Song of Deborah.

Two goddesses meet on a beach.

Lucy wakes on a house she does not recognise, next to a man she doesn't know. It is only when Mrs McCready comes to the door that she begins to understand what has happened, and how long ago...

Hell hath no fury like a mountain underestimated, and on one bleak spring day just about everyone underestimates the Old Woman, with disasterous consequences.

Bill keeps seeing the same woman on his way to and from the train - at least, he thinks she's the same woman...

A flash fiction set on a porch in Illinois

A flash fiction story - someone is hiding in the maize fields, someone who needs help.

Hannah is on her way to the bus stop when she is accosted by a man offering her eternal life. Once she gets over the surprise, her feelings are decidedly mixed

A reunion with an old flame leads Meg into an adventure where she meets with both success and catastrophe.

A visit from a stranger forces a lonely woman to confront the debris of her life.

He was the ultimate superhero, but the age of heroes had dwindled away and it was time to learn the truth from a ghost of the past.

An unexpected twist in the closing frames of an old home movie sends Rose hurtling back to her childhood - a time and a place where no one else's parents were divorcing, and where stepmothers were as exotic as shop-bought cake. Revisiting her memories of glamorous part-time fathers and fortnightly treats, Rose unpicks the unspoken adult acrimony, and the childish confusion: "Each time they were returned to her with their bounty she was tight-lipped and unimpressed, flattening their ebullience to a shapeless guilt, their double bind of love and loyalty teaching them early to suppress their enthusiasm in her company." Dual Carriageway is about parents and children, and how complicated it all is.

The arrival of a young sheep shearer at a farm in New South Wales has a profound effect on the owner, bringing back memories of a pivotal moment from her past. The Gun Shearer was shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award.

How can Maya survive in a world where humans are on the verge of extinction and chumps – genetically-modified chimps – keep people to do their dirty work?

Set during the second world war, Isabel does not understand why everyone seems to be so uptight. The war to her is just an inconvenience. When Edward asks her to write to him at the front, all she can think of is to copy out some of Browning's letters. When Edward credits her with the maturity she does not possess, this changes everything.

Clara is in a box waiting to be found. She listens to the words outside the box and the words in her head as she waits for Jasper. But who is Jasper and will he get to her in time? Why is she in a box and why can she not speak out?

Brian Finnegan hates parties, but tonight the party is for him - and he has to make a speech.

A man, his life and the moon.

A family's new life in Australia is threatened by a bush fire, but this is not the first time the family have had to run from fire. This story won the Eileen Gilmour Creative Writing Competition in 2009

A woman waits for her friend on a station concourse even though she knows she will never arrive. Winner of the 2012 Waterstones' Crime in the City Competition

It's Hallowe'en and the residents of Sexton Way gather for a street party. Both the living and the dead.

I was sitting with Sal in the Strawberry Fields café on Penny Lane. Sal of the orange hair, black leggings and red lipstick. Sal, with the dark voice, who I fancied something rotten. Sal, who scared the shit out of me...

Following an argument with her husband, Cara decides to take a walk in the park. There she meets an elderly man. The two begin to talk. Their conversation reveals startling insights and a troubled situation left to wither in the past.

Agent Reid and Agent Slade work for The Agency, an international organisation responsible for the security of the world's leading nations. The future is in their hands.

Returning home to his Fenland bungalow after a round of golf, widower Harry Smith discovered a hand-written note on his door-mat. It was from Juliet Dejardin, Secretary of the local Garden Club. In the note, she wrote ”Dear Gardener, you are obviously a talented gardener...” and she wondered if he would be prepared to enter his garden in the Village Open Garden Day event. Harry wasn’t a “talented gardener”, or indeed a gardener at all; for that, he employed a local handyman. However, he decided to make contact with Juliet Dejardin. Could that be the start of a romantic friendship? Harry was soon to find out....

Ted Woods awoke, perspiration pouring from his brow. He quickly looked around the bedroom, nothing had changed. The room was as it was before he went to sleep the previous night. It was seven in the morning, too early to get up, so he turned over and went back to sleep. It was then his nightmare began....

When Jake Lewis phoned his wife to tell her he would be late home from the office, he had no idea about the unnerving experience that was to confront him. Having missed the last train out of Euston to Watford, he waited for the first morning train. It was at the Station that he noticed a young girl of about twenty who looked as if she belonged to another age. At her side was a small black haired dog. Where was she going, and why the black haired dog? Jake’s unnerving experience was about to begin...

Continental Army New Windsor Cantonment, Newburgh, New York: Mutiny is in the air during the late stages of the American Revolutionary War. "By the winter of 1782-83, tension had reached a dangerous level. The future of the Republic was in doubt." U.S. Army Field Manual 1, Chapter 1.

Christmas goes terribly awry for a Hessian Colonel in America.

The end is coming. Act accordingly.

A young footman's eyes are opened to the reality of life when he takes up a position working for a glamorous couple. (This e-book also includes the story "What Have You Done To Your Hand, John?")

A Danish painter is driven into exile by his father. But he can never escape the chains of the family's dark secrets.

What is a princess to do with unwanted male attention? Perhaps the dark spirit of the river can help. (This ebook also includes an additional story)

A college drama student finds himself in the lead role of an improvised omnibus production.

Looking for a fresh start, Maison moves to a remote country village. But instead of finding the peace and tranquility she'd hoped for, she discovers something rather more sinister in the shadows of England's green and pleasant land.

If the public don't have the discipline to watch what they put into their mouths then the state is just going to have to do it for them...

There centre stage she stands like the star, she always knew she was and waits silently for her applause now please!

'Nancy liked the idea of listing the qualities she wanted in a man.' 'Desperate times called for desperate measures, so maybe it was time to try internet dating.' Single at twenty five, and without a man in her life, Nancy is persuaded by a friend to try internet dating. She makes a list of all the things she wants in a man for the website, and arranges a date with Neil, who ticks all the boxes. But Neil stands her up because of a family emergency, and Nancy meets Tom, who doesn’t tick any of the boxes,

Dating is different in a dystopian world...

A futuristic tale inspired by the story of Pygmalion.

A mother, recovering on a psychiatric respite ward, recalls her own mother and her 'other mother', and sees vivid glimpses of hope in the past and present

A boy is traumatized by what a haircut reveals.

This is the story of two characters in a small town in Wales who only meet once, with shocking consequences.

A gun fires in the dark, but who is it? And what is she aiming at?

A boy happens upon a furniture-maker in his workshop while waiting for his sister to finish her violin lesson; it's a meeting that will change them both.

“LAPIS LAZULI,” HE SAID. “That my name.” He was not of this world, never from Earth. Not with those eyes, no. --------------------- This is a work of collaboration by Eugen Bacon and E. Don Harpe.

A jaded city commuter and office worker is unexpectedly invited to 'break free' from the herd. His joy is short-lived and he is quickly returned to the treadmill. He will never meet her like again. There will be no repetition - or will there?

A society 'gossip' writer follows up a chance meeting and then witnesses the accidental death of his subject. He determines to honour with the dead man's estranged family the 'Six Degrees of Separation' theory.

A retired soldier and widower visits a war grave and so discovers the identity of his father.

Yasuko works in a brothel in Tokyo. One night she is visited by a new client...

Steve's longing for his own rock band takes him on a journey that gets too close to home for comfort. A story about music, friendship and what happens when you get what you wish for.

A monstrous hybrid has taken over the planet in pursuit of her creator, whom she now holds in her grasp, the last human on Earth.

Margot could have danced, but she bashes away on an old typewriter in her husband's carpet business. Feather's Carpet Empire had never amounted to much, and had her husband listened to her, things could have been very different. But, one day, she hears a voice from the fire escape...

An encounter with someone looking for guidance

A flash fiction story about transition

With fourteen fingers, blue hair and a name that sounds like a sneeze, Mrs Kachunka is no ordinary dinner lady. She has a strange eyeglass that puts people's minds in a spin. Theodora thinks she's great, but Thomas won't have anything to do with her. Mrs Kachunka, however, is not easy to ignore! A junior novel with chapters aimed at 7 - 10 year olds.

An old-fashioned ghost story, stranded by heavy snow, a group of friends at a village pub pass the time telling stories.

“LAPIS LAZULI,” HE SAID. “That my name.” He was not of this world, never from Earth. Not with those eyes, no. --------------------- This is a work of collaboration by Eugen Bacon and E. Don Harpe.

Crippled? Fuck that. Her right foot drags like a dog’s leash. Her right hand has muscle to lift a metal crane. Ivy Freeman is a powerhouse to reckon with. As far as serial killers go.

This is a new adult story about a student called Nicky. She juggles caring responsibility challenges alongside attempting to have a social life.

This is a coming of age tale of Yuliya which raises awareness of child abuse in Eastern Europe. Young Yuliya prays daily for deliverance from her life of servitude to her family. She dreams of going to college and one day marrying Branimir - a gypsy youth. But when her father's debts are due, he arranges for her to be taken by his unsavory associates as payment of those debts. Her mother calls upon Branimir and his family and it is with them that Yuliya's prayers are answered. (Provocative)

In July 2010, this story won first prize in the Unique Writing Publication's 'Love' competition.The non fiction prose tells of family love and the heartache around miscarriage. The tale is hopeful and honest. Family humour has to click in as does the acceptance of support on many levels. A tale of faith.

An account of being, loss, and the sea.

An injured climber shares a gully with a dislodged boulder. Runner-up in the John Muir Trust Wild Writing Competition.

A small boy plays in the falling snow. He tries to understand his broken life. He doesn't cry, but you might. Shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize

Em has fallen for her BMX instructor. When he does the dirty, she turns the tables in spectacular style.

A man struggling to get over his girlfriend leaving, turns to eBay auctions as a source of comfort, what he finds is quite unexpected though.

How do people become the way they are? Old age disguises stories of long ago which the young could never imagine. Why does Mabel especially drink when the black thorn is in bloom?

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Dominic du Mortier and I am a hundred and sixty one years old. No no, stay where you are please. It’s not that I’m unwilling to shake your hand, please don’t think that. It’s really more a case of my being unable. Permit me to explain. I am beyond reach. And behind glass. And a rodent. Nothing special you understand – just a Rattus norvegicus, or a common brown rat to you. Oh yes, and dead. Did I mention that?

See the hand a citizen has to play when he becomes too big for his small town, and, according to the local authorities, stands in the way of progress by his action.

Set in the mid 1960s, Tim Bristow is a teenager who cannot make a decision for himself and always does what his mates want to do. Religion, sex and the idea of the body have their part to play in this tale.

A story about a grudge match that invokes a background of class as competition, strong passions and a sought-after revenge.

Set in Northumberland, the Charlton's, a family of tenant hill farmers, struggle to survive against folk who wield the power to control their land usage.

Jamie Mullen is caught in the middle of the wheeling and dealing among Irish Travellers who have returned home for Christmas.

A Polish mother tries to make friends with other parents by hosting a dinner party. In spite of her planning, the evening does not go as Vik expects.

September 10th 2001 - Chris and Annie are on the final leg of their road trip around the USA. Heading towards New York, the frayed edges of a relationship spawned from post-graduation euphoria are beginning to show as they confront the end of their summer and the swan-song of their youth. Aware that their lives are going to change, they face up to an uncertain future, completely unaware of the global events into which they are about to be propelled.

A forty-something man attends a friends funeral up North, and has a strange encounter with an old lover, and with the local characters...

A poignant story of how a broken piece of porcelain and a biscuit tin crammed with packets of seeds allow a couple to confront the tragedy in their lives.

A young girl goes missing; by nightfall the operation to find her is called off, but one friend cannot rest and what she finds will chill you to the bone...

Betrayal rocks Lynn's marriage, but the other woman is not quite what she expected...

Angel returns to the island she grew up on, searching for answers, trawling through memories of catastrophe. Is her father still alive? What happened to him? Will she find the answers she seeks or open a whole new can of worms?

You could smell them, the people who lived in the underpass. The stench hit you before you were even within 200 yards of them. There must be about fifty there now. More arrived every day.

What do you do when you can't find a mutually convenient date? Wouldn't it be good if you could time travel just a little? Unless it got out of hand of course...

They had always said that when one of them died the other would go to the funeral. nothing would stop them. When her first love dies prematurely she fails to keep her promise. Or does she?

Tom keeps on seeing them. But are they real? What do they want with him?

A future without money ... in which chocolate can be significant.

Charlie Carbunckle, an obsessive pigeon fancier, suffers the loss of one of his birds and the blame falls at the feet of his son Seamus.

The expensive German kitchen drawer opened smoothly to yield a vegetable knife. She tested it on her fingertip: she wanted to, her best friend did it, but she but was sickened by the rapid gush of red . . .

Everyone hits Paul Doe, the teacher's pet. But what happens when you don't?

How do we cope with loss? If we don't cope, can we ever come back? An exploration of grief.

A sinister man gets more than he bargains for when he makes a move on a young woman in a bar.

A handy beginners' guide to invisibility. "First, remove all colour from your wardrobe – especially white; white is eye-catching and stands out in a crowd..."

A duologue between adolescent twins: same life but very different experiences.

The contents of Auntie's beaten-out, oversized handbag contain a closely-guarded secret...

An extraordinary personal encounter on the New York subway.

The manically-depressed iceberg has few friends among the polar bears at the North Atlantic Bar.

Peter's quiet night in is high-jacked by a complete stranger...

It wasn't fair. Sam wanted a puppy so much it hurt. His friend Harry had a chocolate Labrador called Buttons that he walked to school on a red lead. Sam didn't have any pets, not even a goldfish and his Dad didn't live at home with them any more. As he said, it wasn't fair....

If you've ever sat in a doctor's waiting room, wondering how long you are going to have to wait and what you're going to catch whilst you're waiting, then this is the story for you...

The arrival of DS Stephen Forest on her doorstep, takes Grace by surprise. A police investigation into the murder of a local surgeon, and a middle-aged, middle class woman living in rural respectability, seem unlikely to be connected, an impression DS Forest appears to share, at least initially....

Amber didn't like the house. The frontage faced north and two large conifers cast a sterile shadow. The beams were faded, the chimneys pointed to the sky like accusing fingers, and the roofing oppressed the aged dormer windows that sat in their rimless sockets gazing out a shadowed world through leaded frames. Yet she'd never really had a particular reason to dislike it, until that is she saw the woman with the baby at the window and heard its feeble, sickly cry.

Sarah, haunted by an episode with a man in a tower block lift, had an unusual New Year's resolution to make. She needed to set things right. She couldn't risk loosing everything she'd worked so hard to achieve and she could only see one way forward...

Following the death of her husband Nellie makes a return journey to one of their favorite haunts, only to discover it is not the same without him.

A small time shop keeper brings his crooked ways to a provincial town, introducing his customers to boozing gambling and sex.

Daisy unwittingly stumbles on the preparations for a terrorist attack and this leads to her finding out far more than she needs to about the relationship between her mom and the leader of the bombers.

A macabre and dark psychological thriller, ‘The Shadows’ tells the story of Jack, a young and disturbed mobster, living in a hellish world where he is fighting to find answers, fighting to find out what happened in a past that he dare not speak of. With rivals wanting him dead, and his grip on reality ever weakening, Jack must seek to save his life and save his mind before he descends into madness or is buried in his grave. “This is not a normal time, and this is not a normal place . . .”

In December 1900, three lighthouse keepers on a remote Scottish island - battered by Atlantic storms and the intense emotions of confinement - disappear without trace, leaving an enduring mystery in this most mysterious of places.

Life and all its daily pleasures, hopes, frustrations - and poetry - as the years pass in a small New York state community.

Someone has been vandalising the road signs around the village of Shilbottle.

The closeness between her brilliant, beautiful mother and her talented, intelligent daughter re-enforces a woman's sense of her own inferiority. Add to this her lifelong horror of bats, and things go from bad to worse.

A Midwestern farmer comes to terms with his daughter's weight problem.

A grandmother ponders the way her grand-daughter is learning to assess the world. This story owes a debt to Tove Jansson.

When Ellie Smith went in search of her real family she did not expect to acquire a whole village.

‘Jane will not be joining us this evening.’ The guests looked up in surprise as Professor William Montecute entered alone though the double doors.

Jasper Brown is an average bloke, with an average life. All this is about to change when he meets Poppy Winters.

A collection of almost true stories concerning the doings, nefarious and otherwise, of the unique people of Erris, where the next parish west is America and where nothing is quite as one might expect.

Was he making up the numbers at dinner, or was he really there for her?

Minsky wasn't used to doing runs. He was getting too old for anything these days but when the boss said run he was only too happy, whatever the consequences.

He was supposed to be the one who finds the criminal. Instead he becomes a victim but learns a lesson.

What is the price of fame?

Will this be his last bounty? Gilman must decide after capturing an outlaw who claims he is not the man. Before he can decide what to do, another bounty hunter turns up unexpectedly.

Did Zack still love Greta? Had too much water passed under the bridge. He'd only know if he saw her again...

This is the story a day in the life of eleven-year-old Sara. Like thousands of other children in southern Africa, she’s an orphan, and she’s looking after her younger brothers and sisters. A kindly nun, Sister Constance, is due to visit the family today – but she’s late, and Sara is getting worried. Will she come? What if she doesn’t? Why hasn’t she come? What will the children do if Sister Constance doesn’t turn up?

Anna Maria is an opera singer who, following an accident, has forgotten how to sing. She starts to find her voice again in the most unlikely place and with the most unlikely people, in a place of sanctuary where the strangest character of all is a young boy whom only she can see.

London in the eighteenth century is no place to raise a child alone, without money or a place to live. Lili knows that the only hope her son has of living a better life is to take him to the Foundling Hospital where he might, if he's lucky, find a place in Mr Handel's famous choir. ('Mr H's Angels' was shortlisted for the Cinnamon Short Story Prize in 2014)

Helena a professional assassin, was angry and impatient to be back in London. This latest job - all the meticulous planning wasted for no reward, someone was going to pay.

A story about Derek, Stockhausen, electronic music, and the ducks in Acton Park.

A Soviet composer is trying to write the perfect Socialist Realist symphony, before a knock on the door.

George Tiller can't bring himself to open the box of his wife's belongings, neither can he compose himself to pray - but what he can do is perform a miracle...

March 2015 marked the opening of the first annual KalliKids Short Story Competition. With help from KalliKids' ambassador and best-selling author, Joanna Rees, we set "Shine" as the theme and gave entrants the freedom to adapt "Shine" to whatever it meant to them, with a limit to each story of 500 words. We received over 500 entries from children throughout the UK, and were delighted to read such a creative mix of short stories with themes ranging from singing competitions to doomsday thrillers. We were captivated from start to finish. The 12 stories included in this book are the winners and runners-up from each age category, a real achievement for these truly talented young authors. Thank you and well done to all the children who took part, and the schools that helped to make this competition so special.

Memories of her disappeared little brother won't let Nadine go.

Dan has persuaded Amanda to accompany him on a cruise of the Faro Islands, to see the eclipse. But are they being followed? In this chilling tale, we find Dan must make hard decisions, in order to safeguard his marriage.

During her anniversary holiday in Egypt, Judy decides that one honeymoon is one too many, and it's time for a change.

The best promises are very hard to keep.

‘Beyond Her Scream’ is the story of a mother-daughter relationship strained by the effects of FGM. It is set against a background of cross-cultural differences and contrasting worldviews. It contains some graphic descriptions which may not be suitable for younger readers.

Aine is a wet nurse on a big estate in 19th century Ireland and her life is in danger unless she can escape. But how can she leave the child? And where is she to get the money to go to America.

Ellie works in a mortuary and lives on the premises. And then she falls in love with someone her employers consider totally unsuitable.

Kate is a jazz singer, living happily with her musician husband. That is, until Maggi comes to stay.

Henry Swail went missing years ago in peculiar circumstances. No one knows why he left or where he is now. Officially, he’s presumed dead. But who is this strange man asking about him?

Ursula has taken a job as an intern, working for a world famous artist in Tuscany. But he has a beautiful wife. Soon Ursula is locked in a triangular relationship and she dreams of mythical beasts emerging from the pine forests.

Hear the tale of how the camel came to get its hump, told by a mother antelope to her young son. "Once upon a time, a beautiful antelope was strolling through the Sahara desert with her young son. They were extremely hot, so decided to seek shelter from the sun beneath a rather large palm tree. In the distance, surrounding a cluster of cactus trees, were a group of large biscuit coloured animals with man-made seats strapped to their backs. The son watched as they munched on the spiky leaves, while the men that were with them chatted among themselves. It was the first time that the young calf had ever seen such a sight..."

Set during Ireland's ill-famed Celtic Tiger era. A job must be done, a contract must be honoured...

The story is about urban alienation and redemption and focuses on a despondent young woman whose life changes following a freak zoological event.

Providence is a collection of three short memoirs. The stories reveal a mother haunted by the loss of her family. Her child becomes a woman, shaped by the loss of her ancestors, deepened by the compassion for the suffering she witnessed and the resilience that grew from it.

From a gently insidious dystopian future, a woman looks back on her life and the true love she knows she missed out on. Finally, she remains undismayed, confident that the human span isn't everything.

Back in the early 1970's, three ten-year old friends go up town to cause trouble.

A story about the plight of the many children working in the fireworks factories of India. It is important that the voices of such people are heard through literature.

A woman visits her daughter who has a job that she doesn't approve of, one that brings all her fears to the fore.

Bella takes a bus ride and struggles with her feelings when someone sits beside her.

They had a rented cottage with a rowing boat all to themselves in the north of Scotland but the first trip out on the loch had to be weathered in more ways than one.

A young boy experiences something out of bounds which has more than one reason to be kept secret

Much has been written about the effects of the millennium bug...I was responsible for saving my crew from this dreadful disease...

A Ship's doctor's trials and tribulations.

Students take gap years between A levels and university - I took mine when my wife left me for the milkman...

My first impression of the cruise liner was of a great white block of flats...

Jeff had betrayed Sandra in the worst possible way and now he wants to come back!

As Carol looked back on that terrible time she soon discovered that she was not alone.

A grieving woman looking back on happy times and in the process discovers something which she never knew which finally gives her the peace she desperately needs.

We had been so happy Phil and I but now something seemed to be tearing us apart - it was more than I could take, I had to do something about it and soon!

I walked away alone. Tears sprung quickly but not unexpectedly to my eyes - I realised I was now alone!

I looked out over the restless sea my mind fighting through a haze of confusion. Was this the same view I shared with Jeff for all those years? We had been so happy in this place never suspecting that such evil lurked close by!

The triangular craft hovered unnoticed over the wooded area the lights necessary for navigation still unseen by those below.

Do you believe in fate or that things happen for a reason? No? Well neither did I until one day.....

A Fan Fic based on The Red Queen from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice In Wonderland'; The Red Queen has forever had a reputation for being heartless, yet is that truly what she is? Does she not perhaps care for the people who have grown to loathe her?

A young couple are taken on a life-changing journey. A story based on real events.

A young woman tries to escape her stifling and superstitious community.

Set in Edinburgh's 'Sick Kids' Hospital, this heart-warming seasonal tale tells of a cleaner's interest in the Ebola crisis during the festive season in 2014, a seemingly lonely young girl, and the connections his kindness enables. ‘I held the tip of the pen against the window. Jeez, I’d not drawn a thing since primary school. It was a bit squint but you could tell it was a star. The expression on her face didn’t change but I saw a wee click in her eyes. I started on a Christmas tree.’ A story written as part of Linda Cracknell’s writer’s residency at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children, illustrated by Cate James. All author’s royalties go to the Sick Kids Friends Foundation http://www.edinburghsickkids.org/ Scottish Charity No. SC020862.

An old woman trapped by floods.

A young man follows a young woman out of a tube station.

A soldier home on leave sees things he cannot quite believe and finds his wife in a strange, compromising position. "The Boathouse Café had an air about it that suggested sea and sand. If it had been inland patrons would have drank their coffee, eaten their scones and felt nostalgic for the beach without knowing why. It was the décor, Phillip decided. Crisp white walls, low beams, driftwood picture frames, and a candy striped canopy over the ice-cream booth outside. He ordered a fried egg and sausage bap but the assistant with a tattoo on her boney arm, written in a script he couldn’t decipher, informed him that it was after eleven o’clock. They didn’t serve breakfast after eleven, but since when had fried egg and sausage become solely breakfast food? Had he been away that long? If he decided to take the next tour – Middle East, Mosul or Marshhad no doubt – would he come back to find soup sold at lunchtime only or teacakes served only after three in the afternoon? The girl’s lip curled when she spoke to him as if he were the hundredth person to ask for sausage and egg that day. Did she have no respect for a uniform? For all he knew she might have thought his clothes were fancy dress and him, just another case of too much sun to the head. The sun had a lot to answer for in these parts..."

Colin is an estate agent with idiosyncrasies and a hatred of cats - which drives the narrator to despair. "When we met, Colin was thirty-five, an estate agent with a collection of vinyl records that stretched from floor to ceiling and a head of hair like Lee van Cleef. For the first few months we were together Colin adored me. He adored my turned up nose, my wonky smile, the way I read a map upside down. Quirky he called me..."

Taking tea with Marc Bolan in a cafe somewhere in London

What would life be like if Religion was banned...?

When Daniel finds two runaways hiding in his cellar, he is charmed by their youth and innocence. As he soon learns, however, Imogen and Leo are hiding a dark secret. LOVING IMOGEN is a novella of approximately 32,000 words.

A macabre tale inspired by the haunting artwork of Andrew Kinsman.

Theresa and her sister share a red coat and a deep loss. Years pass until one evening, as the rain lashes down, an unexpected visitor arrives at Theresa's door. Memories and secret sorrows seep once more into their silent lives.

A victim of an attempted gang rape wreaks an appropriate revenge.

An elderly woman takes her wheelchair-bound husband on a mysterious journey at dawn - but why? Transit is a tale of the power of life-long love, set against the incomprehensible vastness of the universe.

A flash fiction - a man is ominously pursued. What is he fleeing from? What is following him? Will he manage to escape?

A man walking his dog on a stormy beach hears a cry for help. Or is it?

A mother narrates the sad and peculiar tale of how her young daughter's body gradually disappears from her own eyes - everyone can see her daughter, except the daughter herself.

Laxmi, a girl from the lowest caste of a village in the remote west of Nepal, is told that she is the unlucky kind. But, resourceful and fiercely protective of her sister and niece, she is determined that low birth will not ruin their lives. All profits from this story go to aid work in Nepal.

A coming of age tale...but what kind of age, and can this boy bear it?

This school story quickly darkens into a battle of wills with disastrous consequences, all played out in the context of the entire planet. Voices interchange: narrator, first-person protagonist and a chillingly unidentifiable presence.

Tasha has just moved into her new house, hoping for friendly neighbours. Instead she is faced with Satanic Snarl.

Morgan is concerned about her mother...

It’s early 1950’s and 4-year-old Ruth is embarking on a new phase of her young life. She’s off to live at the seaside, with her great aunts, Constance, Rose and Pearly Trice. The story covers the next few years of Ruth’s life as she struggles to come to terms with the mystery surrounding her father and the bewildering behaviour of adults.

A multi-generational story, set in a tower block in London, told from the POV of a brick in a wall.

Mr Sproutface and Mr Wibbleton, committed jumper wearers, museum visitors and lovers of minestrone soup, are looking for a way to escape their work in the circus. One afternoon, while sitting in a puddle of spilt breakfast cereal, they decide to follow their dream and bring cheese to the people of Basingstoke. However, the modern world is difficult. Sometimes, one faces problems that cannot be fixed with a list and a damp cloth. Whether it is cheese-dinosaurs, bakers intent on World Domination, missing hamsters or being locked in a trouser museum, non-adventures are never far away. But for every problem, there is a solution. And as long as Mr Sproutface and Mr Wibbleton have their jumpers, a bowl of minestrone soup and each other, they will find a way to keep their dream alive. This story is aimed at children between 7 and 11 but there's plenty for adults to enjoy as well.

A struggling writer's interest in an abandoned car reflects how small his life has become. That is until the car starts to beckon him in the dead of night.

A boxer finds himself taking a beating in the early rounds of a prize-fight, but his opponent isn't the only thing he's fighting. ***Please Note: This story also appears in the collection "Indelible and Other Stories".***

As the city swelters in a heatwave, an unfaithful husband makes his way home to a wife whose eyes are no longer closed. ***Please Note: This story is also available in the collection "Indelible and Other Stories".***

Fleeing an abusive relationship, a young woman returns to her hometown and her bereaved mother. ***Please Note: This story is also available in the collection "Indelible and Other Stories".***

After a sealing a deal that is going to save his year, a salesman finds his good run continues during a boozy card game with colleagues. But the hangover is coming...

Twelve stories for anyone who's ever been burned. Errant husbands, doomed newlyweds, bruised boxers, abandoned wives, damaged former-soldiers and, of course, the ghosts of the ones that got away - these are just a few of the protagonists that feature in a collection of stories and vignettes that explore the dark side of love. Ranging from the visceral to the tender, each deals with what can happen when the light of its promise gives way to the dark of its night. How it can injure, corrode and corrupt. What it does to us and what it can make us do. ***Please Note: Three stories from this collection - "Glass Jaw", "Itch/Scratch" and "Hocus Pocus" are also available separately on this site.*** The following extract is from the story "Needs":

Some things are better left unfound. After weeks working offshore and away from his wife, a man waits to be reunited with her in a hired cottage. However, she's running late and into the void of her absence comes a feeling that something is wrong, and a persistent chill that won't just leave him be.

A married woman sits in a hotel bar on the verge of starting an affair. The rest should be simple.

A boat trip on the fens with the ghost of Conrad.

A young boy wanders through a crumbling wasteland looking for his sister.

When feisty 35-year-old Jane decides to confront Fear 37 she soon finds herself adrift in a sea of chaos. In a rundown hotel in Dawson Creek, Canada, to achieve her goal she must contend with crazed middle-aged bikers, drunk oil workers and a hippy called Ralf. Will she survive to face Fear 38?

Choosing when to die can be a tricky business for all concerned.

When global disaster strikes everyone's faith is tested

In the near future, telling the truth is no simple matter. The Truth Tank - ultimate confessional or portal to hell?

A one night stand in a seedy hotel leads to an unexpected encounter and stretched boundaries. Would you meet Mr Husband?

The darker side of creative writing circles...

The partition doors. The other side scored with a frenzy of deep, narrow lines. Like the scratches of lunatic hypodermics. The message. That insane message.

A couple of runaway teenagers create a secret world... in a suburban cinema.

There you are, minding your own business, trying to get this jigsaw started and there's a knock at the door. Who is this strange woman? Actually, she does look a little familiar, and she seems to know who you are. But you have to be careful. Don't trust anyone. Even the inanimate objects are out to get you...

Sometimes you just can't see the big picture. It's all too confusing and you need to put a bit of distance between yourself and what you're trying to see. I could see you, but things still weren't really clear.

Helen is someone who takes hosting Christmas very seriously. Everything is planned to the last detail. But things don't always go the we plan them to.

Gary is a wannabe film maker who is on the verge of losing his girlfriend. He is drinking in "last chance saloon" unless he can get the famous horror film actor Illych Krotowsky to be in his film, but is the man still alive?

Little did Mark know that a walk along the dockside would take him back to the bad old days in more ways than one. This is a tale of loneliness and retribution.

Have you ever attended one of those popular ghost hunting events? You might think twice after reading this little tale of paranormal retribution, especially if you are a councillor.

Have you ever wanted to change the past? Sarah did and what's more she found herself in the privileged position to do so. Will it turn out to her satisfaction, though?

Poor Keith, nothing was too good for his special valentine.

When you were a child were you told to be good or the bogeyman would come and get you? Susan was, and it left a great impact on her life. Now she has to clear her dead mother's house and face up to her childhood fear. This story shared Third Prize at the Ingrid Pitt Queen of Horror Festival, Hastings, in 2012.

A chance meeting between John Lennon and Philip Larkin in a motorway service station cafe in 1966.

Danny P. Grunch had no sense of rhythm and about as much melodic movement in his body as a school of barnacles stuck to the bottom of an upturned boat. He thought he could dance - he couldn't - until he went to Africa and met a Witch Doctor...

Lenny Waterman thought he could throw his voice. He couldn't - as a Ventriloquist he would have given Archie Andrews palpitations - and then he met with a mysterious old Romany lady who gave him a gift that would change his life forever...

Benny Green is worried - passengers are vanishing from his taxi cab and the Police are getting interested. Where are they vanishing to? Benny is desperate to find out...

A woman and her young daughter are invited for morning tea at a the home of her ex-husband and his new wife. A story about the distance between how people want things to be and how they really are.

From between the pages of the very last book I picked up, fell a sheet of paper. Stained manila with ragged edge where it had been ripped from a journal. The network of creases, suggestive of the roads and railways on a map, showed that once torn from its source it had been crumpled and perhaps thrown across the room.

A woman finds escape from her tortured life in a mysterious flight of fancy.

A man has an encounter with his doppleganger and sees himself in a different light. Their meeting has a knock on effect for not only him but his wife too. His wife begins to warm to this stranger to devestating effect.

Consuela exacts a unique revenge on her philandering husband Arturo - inspired by a true story!

A collection of three disturbingly dark flashes of fiction, Insomnia, In The End and LOL.

A chance meeting in person develops over an email conversation.

When Naz opens an old bottle he finds on the beach, he gets the shock of his life: out comes Azrael, the Djinn, who has been trapped inside for thousands of years by a magic spell. The spell can only be broken, and Azrael set free for ever, by smashing the seemingly unbreakable bottle. Azrael demands Naz's help to do it. The two set out on a hilarious quest which includes a steamroller, a purple toad, a snooty girl and a troupe of Boy Scouts. All the while, Naz tries to stop Azrael causing too much mayhem, and it isn't long before he wishes he'd never met the Djin at all. Naz and the Djinn is a fun-filled read which offers a modern twist to a traditional tale and will delight readers from 7-11.

Nobody knew exactly when or why the war started. Some people thought it was Fred's earrings, but it went back a long way before that.

For nearly all her life, Marion has dreamed of the North Woods and eating maple syrup, snow-frozen into Jack Wax, but an innocent trip turns into an obsession.

'A brief study of bitter pride, it's a remarkable example of economical writing, painstaking in its attention to detail.' Nicholas Royle, Time Out

A story of role models, betrayal and journals - from A to Z

It's 'Take Your Father To School Day' and some fathers are better at it than others.

A story for everyone who has wondered how to organise their book shelves...

Everyone knows it will happen. But who do we blame? Ourselves? Each other? Me? You? Them?