As a Goddess, interruptions go with the job description. Hence setting clear expectations early on that this Goddess would not manifest for every stubbed toe or missing ox.But this petitioner? Very insistent....

Ninety-six-year-old Tilly's great grandchildren insist she try something new to keep her brain active. The cute little virtual game Hero's Journey seems harmless enough. And Tilly quite enjoys catching...

Apparently, not believing in reincarnation means… well, nothing, actually. Whether you believe or not, you still have to do it.Of course, no one can stop you cheating a little along the way… Though it...

A simple star? Dead easy to make. Only two pieces of paper, less than twenty steps… Yep. Literally anyone can make a star. Nothing can go wrong.…Right?A pair of cheeky micro stories about the perils of...

Adopting a new identity before the internet? A cinch. Piece of cake. Barely meant moving towns.But these days? A much trickier proposition. One that takes planning. Careful planning.And not, say, ending...

Necromancy: shady, illegal, and totally ruining Detective Andi Kierzan's Saturday night as she attempts to interview the latest in a string of risen-corpses. A risen corpse who remembers his own name,...

Adopting a new identity before the internet? A cinch. Piece of cake. Barely meant moving towns.But these days? A much trickier proposition. One that takes planning. Careful planning.And not, say, ending...

She lives in a rowhouse between rehabilitated crack addicts, sex offenders, and pensioners raising grandkids—and she does jobs. At odd hours, odd jobs that mean a little bit of safety here, one less predator...

Hades searches the plague-cursed city for the mortal woman he loves. Sorrow feels different for an immortal, but still he mourns the woman whom, tomorrow, he loses.He thinks to lose her to marriage.He...

A dangerous journey, a tenuous plan, an impenetrable dungeon of treasure: only abject desperation could drive Trae and Kinni to do something so likely to end in disaster.But the prize at the end of this...

Horace Jones just wants a quiet life. But those pages lying there on the coffee table? They may spell disaster, the final spark to light the burning pyre of his privacy.A quirky, humorous story for everyone...

Meet Meredith Kriesmas, forensic accountant who sharpens numbers the way killers sharpen knives—Chicago's very own Grim Reaper of the business world. Whole divisions close in her wake, and her clients...

Jack and Rob have the witness to their crime all tied up. Literally.They just didn't expect her to the suggest that they murder her.Still.It provides a logical solution to their problem… Right?A twisty,...

Jazrin just wants to go home. But the persistent sales woman insists: she sells dream vacations for all budgets.Perfect vacations.Dream vacations that take absolutely no time at all.All she needs? One...

Habitat? Earth. Not Prima, where the poor wind up. Not Stellar, the moon base where the wealthy and well-educated dwell. Just… Earth.Identity? Slot 37B-12D5. Housewife.Purpose? Nothing. Beyond merely...

Moira's platoon died taking over the Kanfir ships that threaten home. But Moira? Stuck on the last ship. The one headed for the sun.She needs to reroute it—and fast—but the ship only takes orders from...

Leg bleeding, out of breath, stripped of wand and magic—oh, and hanging from the edge of the castle's upper ramparts.A vaguely-familiar princess arrives, someone he recognises from magic classes but never...

Meet Skeleton, usually from the pond, currently hiding out in the town library trying to 3D print a body. Humans tend not to take skeleton rights seriously otherwise, see.And this skeleton needs to defend...

The last thing Agent Sam Rose—probationary Agent Sam Rose—wants? More work on the weekend. Especially a dead-clone case that warrants an exaggerated littering fine at most. She needs a murder case to...

An assistant who reminds her of a Viking crossed with an over-enthusiastic puppy, and cases to work without a boss micro-managing — or plotting to murder — her: Everything Agent Sam Rose ever wanted.But...

Safely ensconced in the past, away from the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation — away from Dr Emir's parallel reality machine — the biggest worry in Sam Rose's life right now? The heat of an Australian...

Dreams-Come-True Coordinator at the Merriton Pediatric Hospital: an emotional job at the best of times. But with Christmas fast approaching, Andrea needs help even more desperately than usual.In particular,...

In retrospect, telling the prince that death surpasses marriage to him? Maybe a trifle theatrical…Now she stands at the edge of an ocean-side cliff in boggy, new-spring mud and a crown of ivy, hoping...

Vivid blue skies. White sand. Emerald green water turned dark by sea grass: the perfect family holiday destination.Except for the two stunningly handsome men drawing curious glances under the bridge,...

Esana just wants a private place to avoid the hubbub of the annual company party. What she finds? An assassination attempt on the son of the biggest of bosses.If anyone else finds out, her reputation—and...

Running out of time to perfect the Dance that determines his future career and success, Dallon practices for hours on end. His sister Dasha watches and supports him—but longs to choose a Dance for herself...

"If we value the freedom of mind and soul, … then it's our plain duty to escape" – Ursula K. Le Guin Nine short stories: nine teeny-tiny escape hatches from reality. A chance to run away from worries,...

Warm snow falling at Christmas in Florida? Don't touch it. Definitely don't lick it.But for Yalana, totally worth the risk to her life for a chance to hunt down what she seeks.Of course, in a dystopian...

Grantupoemoeunanii's job in Hell? Quite heavenly, actually. And by all accounts, today looks set for more of the same: well-ordered paperwork, tidy schedules…Until an unusual co-worker appears, with a...

Matron Rus, stern but kindly head of the orphanage, is vexed. A child is gone. Justice missed roll call—again—and this time, she can't find hide or hair of him on the orphanage grounds.She desperately...