Short Story Press Presents Love Doesn't Exist


Book Description

Short Story Press Presents Love Doesn't Exist by Aivan Antonio If you are a person who see failing not as a negative thing but a learning experience, this story will resonate with you. “Love Doesn’t Exist” is a story about an 18-year old boy named Bruno who experiences a lot of embarrassment and faces a lot of his internal demons only to achieve one of life’s greatest joys – searching for that eternal love. After suffering from a devastating rejection from Maria, Bruno decides to do whatever it takes to find the girl of his dreams. He found a book that he believes will cure his awkwardness with girls. Discovering the book gave Bruno the urge and confidence to interact with women. He approaches girls in his school. He approaches girls in his community. He approaches girls in whatever place he could think of but every encountered failed. Being an amateur in meeting women, he fails miserably. But all hope is not gone. He is a young man full of determination that even a mountain blocks his way, he will make a hole through it only to achieve his goal in life. Each rejection Bruno faces, gives him a little knowledge in achieving his goal. Do you think he will finally find his true love? Let’s see and find out. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.




Out There


Book Description

A thrilling new voice in fiction injects the absurd into the everyday to present a startling vision of modern life, “[as] if Kafka and Camus and Bradbury were penning episodes of Black Mirror” (Chang-Rae Lee, author of My Year Abroad). “Stories so sharp and ingenious you may cut yourself on them while reading.”—Kelly Link, author of Get In Trouble With a focus on the weird and eerie forces that lurk beneath the surface of ordinary experience, Kate Folk’s debut collection is perfectly pitched to the madness of our current moment. A medical ward for a mysterious bone-melting disorder is the setting of a perilous love triangle. A curtain of void obliterates the globe at a steady pace, forcing Earth’s remaining inhabitants to decide with whom they want to spend eternity. A man fleeing personal scandal enters a codependent relationship with a house that requires a particularly demanding level of care. And in the title story, originally published in The New Yorker, a woman in San Francisco uses dating apps to find a partner despite the threat posed by “blots,” preternaturally handsome artificial men dispatched by Russian hackers to steal data. Meanwhile, in a poignant companion piece, a woman and a blot forge a genuine, albeit doomed, connection. Prescient and wildly imaginative, Out There depicts an uncanny landscape that holds a mirror to our subconscious fears and desires. Each story beats with its own fierce heart, and together they herald an exciting new arrival in the tradition of speculative literary fiction.




Back Talk


Book Description

“Beautifully crafted . . . the sentences in these stories are living and seamless, as if Lazarin had run her hand over them until they became smooth and gleaming with the evidence of her touch.” —Carmen Maria Machado, The New York Times Book Review From an award-winning writer, a stunning collection of stories about women’s unexpressed desires and needs, and the unexpected ways they resurface In “Floor Plans,” a woman at the end of her marriage tests her power when she inadvertently befriends the neighbor trying to buy her apartment. In “Appetite,” a sixteen-year old grieving her mother’s death experiences first love and questions how much more heartbreak she and her family can endure. In “Dinosaurs,” a recent widower and a young babysitter help each other navigate how much they have to give—and how much they can take—from the people around them. Through stories that are at once empathetic and unexpected, these women and girls defiantly push the boundaries between selfishness and self-possession. With a fresh voice and bold honesty, Back Talk examines how narrowly our culture allows women to express their desires. “Deceptively quiet but packs a powerful punch . . . The best collection I’ve read in years, from a phenomenal new talent.” —Celeste Ng




Short Story Press Presents A Love In 3D


Book Description

Short Story Press Presents Love In 3D by Valerie Lizotte What happens when you lose all hopes in yourself and in the world? Well, you become vulnerable and that’s what happened to Eddie, only he does not really know what is wrong with him until a meeting that will literally change his world and, in a very real way, his life. One day, as it is his habit, Eddie has stepped in a virtual travel cabin looking for a distraction from his bleak life and on an impulse he has made the journey to the era of 1950’s. An era that is so very different from his universe, somewhere in a not so distant, cold and unfriendly future, that Eddie is immediately fascinated with what he sees, with this much simpler and warmer life. He feels himself becoming alive again. There he also meets Marylyn, a pretty waitress working in a snack bar. She is so different from the women he has been keeping company with that Eddie feels himself attracted to her, attracted to how real and transparent she is. However, his engineer’s mind immediately sees the problem: Marylyn is not real and is the product of sophisticated computer coding. He tries to rationalise his attraction for her, but nothing can convince his heart and that is where the trouble starts. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.




The Story Of An Hour


Book Description

Mrs. Louise Mallard, afflicted with a heart condition, reflects on the death of her husband from the safety of her locked room. Originally published in Vogue magazine, “The Story of an Hour” was retitled as “The Dream of an Hour,” when it was published amid much controversy under its new title a year later in St. Louis Life. “The Story of an Hour” was adapted to film in The Joy That Kills by director Tina Rathbone, which was part of a PBS anthology called American Playhouse. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.




Short Story Press Presents Love's Silver Lining


Book Description

Short Story Press Presents Love's Silver Lining by Jordan Lane Sometimes it is so easy to fall into a routine that you never notice when you are becoming a part of the woodwork. When that change does come, we can either embrace it or discard it. However if we are brave enough to embrace it, we might discover that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Or in Delancy Smith’s case, she discovered that to every dark cloud, there is a Silver Lining. The story is characterized by: • Imagination • Laughter • Sincerity • Wonder and • Hope This short story will surely bring warmth to your heart and a smile to your face. It also reminds us that dreaming is not only for dreamers, and that anything is possible if you are willing to believe it Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.




Why Fish Don't Exist


Book Description

Nineteenth-century scientist David Starr Jordan built one of the most important fish specimen collections ever seen, until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake shattered his life's work.




Short Story Press Presents More Than My Memoir


Book Description

More Than My Bestselling Memoir: Challenges of a Fiction Writer Being Overshadowed by the Success of Her Past Memoir tells the story of a young writer trying to write a second book after her first book was a runaway hit. In this story, young adult, Marge, feels stifled and uninspired as her publishers’ pressure her to find greatness yet again in her next story, but Marge is out of ideas. This is a story detailing the trials and tribulations of a writer. Most of all, it tells the story of a young woman learning that she is more than her memoir and all the gritty moments she lived through. This is a story about: • Life after the limelight and how fleeting popularity can be • Self-reflection and identity • Lots of writer’s block • Making ends meet in hard times • The pressure of expectation • Addiction, depression, and recovery • Being stuck but desperately yearning for movement • Finding inspiration in unusual places • Feeling overshadowed by one’s accomplishments • Trying to survive in the world as a young woman • Learning to love oneself regardless of professional achievement More than My Bestselling Memoir is a story about creation and growth. Most prominently, it is about Marge embracing her reputation and not letting it control her future because while she can’t unwrite her first book, she can write whatever she wants for book two. About the Writer Elise Lashinsky, a creative and idealistic individual, is an avid reader who loves to create worlds of her own, which she has been doing before she could even write. Throughout her childhood and into her adulthood, she has continuously nurtured her love of writing and storytelling throughout her endeavors. She likes to practice writing of all kinds. For Elise, writing is an invaluable craft that helps her illustrate the aspects she loves (and hates) most about the world. She tries to write at least a little every day to develop her skills and relax. Elise also has a profound love of other arts, such as music and ballet, which are other powerful methods of world-building and self-expression. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.




A Swim in a Pond in the Rain


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves—and our world today. LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Time, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Town & Country, The Rumpus, Electric Lit, Thrillist, BookPage • “[A] worship song to writers and readers.”—Oprah Daily For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art—namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?” He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.




Short Story Press Presents Camano Island's Heartbeat


Book Description

In this story, you will experience a wide range of emotions while applying to the consistent theme of maintaining a positive outlook even in times of negativity and disarray. The story takes the reader and main character through a story that exemplifies: ● The relatable occurrence of sadness that all beings have experienced ● The importance of keeping a positive outlook in order to pull yourself out of the depths of sadness ● The implication to not cling or hold on to the past and look towards the future ● The ideology that serving and giving yourself brings happiness ● The power of a relationship and bond between animal and man ● The heavy weight of expectations that comes from friends and family that can keep people from following their dreams ● Beautifies family relationships and the need for understanding as a person who is an introvert and desires to be alone ● The ideology that action is important, and to take action immediately ● The Buddhist ideology of having the option to be running from darkness to brightness or from darkness to more darkness - you decide. ● The concept that all things rise, stay for some time, then pass away indicating there is no need to hate something viewed as negative or even love and attach oneself to something positive ● A story that shows there is happiness where you look for it, and sadness if you desire it. All the ideas portrayed in the story of Peter are to help the world today find the most out of the life they live. To realize they can give themselves if they feel that they don’t have enough and there is someone who needs it more than you know. It indicates to not wallow in sadness, even if it is all you have. It shows to take action and do good as this will be the best thing to heal you from your darkness. Stay bright! Michael Knighton has been writing fiction stories since he was a child. He was a vigorous reader from the age of 6 and it has continued well into his young adulthood today. He graduated high-school and went into factory work moving across the country to Arkansas, US where he worked until he was fired and he moved back across the country to his hometown, Boise, ID. He found work in a call center and bounced around different call centers for 5 years slowly falling into a deeper depression. All the while he was writing more stories and picked up a guitar and began playing music. He began to wonder what story his life was writing and what story he wanted his life to tell. He quit his job and moved to California working on a vegetable farm and from the money he made farming he visited India for two months. In India he met the love of his life and has since moved to Canada to be with her and continue his love for the Earth through developing his company, Regrowth Industries, which involves planting regenerative, ecological gardens on a micro scale to individuals and growing food forests in large plots of lands on a macro scale. He continues to write and believes writing is a healthy expression of oneself while also playing music to calm the mind that he says “sometimes becomes agitated with so many different things to do.” He hopes that people can see his love for the world through his writing and find true happiness in themselves through finding and following their true purpose. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.