GOD LOVE SEX DEATH -- what did we leave out here? Perhaps, just a few words to introduce each story:

"Tracy and the Ever Encroaching Darkness" gives a look at the prospect of romantic relationship when played against the clock.

"Fiery Serpent" presents dreams of the non-material world.

"Indian Buckeye" is a story of being included by a powerful social set, inadvertently excluded, and then consciously and conscientiously letting go, accepting one's limitations, and finding one's own way.

Unforgettable "The Last Night on the Ghan" reminds us how ephemeral and fleeting our time with others, and our time on this planet is.

"The Pick-a-Rib Cafe" is another powerful story of inclusion and exclusion, in a coming-of-age setting.

An eccentric man's interaction with a goddess for life-and-death stakes: the story of "The Last China Aster."

"The Priests Of Jinggangshan" is a powerful story about what we spend most of our time trying to get: money.

"Talk Radio" is the date-from-hell.

"Hey Jude" recounts a traveler's unlikely interactions with celebrity, and raises issues of guile, and naivete.

"The Kingdom of Staunch" was written when the author was 17; for which he received a suggestion that it should be published, to his astonishment. Yet, this prescient gesture of confidence planted a seed. The story itself is loosely based on a yet future event described in Revelation.

Similarly apocalyptic in nature, "The Black Bat and The White Penguin" is a strange parable written by a flying rodent about a promise God made to us all long ago.

Zombies, clowns, prophets, and prostitutes infuse the pages of absurdist and fiction writer Franco D'Rivera's collection of short stories. In this second and concluding volume, he brings us face to face with elements as odd as they are familiar: fear, loss, love, and gain.

D'Rivera bends the spheres of reality, often with a kind of endearing and deformed sentimentality, in prose as poignant as it is incisive. A man finds himself in love with a world that is terrified of him. A woman in the midst of an uphill struggle for personal freedom is locked in the treacherous nightmare of an entrapping cycle of vice and cruelty. A clown and middle aged prostitute share a charming, yet darkly humorous encounter. It is these sorts of tales D'Rivera exposes and studies in his quest to find the ultimate truth.

This compendium provides an ode to the resilience and the better parts of the human spirit. In a crystalline style that weaves through these resonant tales of friendship, love, beauty, and terror, D'Rivera plunges head-first into the seemingly unlikely, but ultimately true. Open your mind to the possibilities with "In Search of the Bluebird. "

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Earl was so angry he was shaking, which is probably why he made the mistake he did. He tried to hit Chuck in the head. Chuck ducked and Earl tried to hit him again. Chuck kicked him to the most good. Earl bent forward to catch a knee in the face.

Dad ran in yelling for them to stop.

"It's stopped if Earl stays down!" said Chuck.

"What will become of us with brothers fighting?" asked his dad. "Earl's face is ruined! What did you hit him with?"

This story is about a father who becomes the primary caregiver for his son, after a divorce and remarriage. A lot of men go on to raise a new family after a divorce. Edgar won custody so he could include his son in his day to day life, this is his struggle, and this is their story.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FICTION PRIZE 2017

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2018

'Brilliantly inventive and blazingly smart' Garth Greenwell

'Impossible, imperfect, unforgettable' Roxane Gay

'A wild thing ... covered in sequins and scales, blazing with the influence of fabulists from Angela Carter to Kelly Link and Helen Oyeyemi' New York Times

In her provocative debut, Carmen Maria Machado demolishes the borders between magical realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism.

A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the mysterious green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague spreads across the earth. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery about a store's dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted house guest.

A dark, shimmering slice into womanhood, Her Body and Other Parties is wicked and exquisite.

From mystical science fiction to romance and philosophy, the fifteen short stories presented in JOTS: Just Our Thoughts by author Beate Korchak present an eclectic offering.

In this varied collection, accompanied by illustrations, some of the tales possess emotional power, such as "Lady of Stone" in which a woman frozen by grief is brought back to life by a little girl's tenderness. Others, such as the wrenching family narrative, "Survivor: A Glimpse into a Life," presents a portrait of an immigrant who rose above his cruel circumstances. "Be Careful What You Wish For" delves into the world of science fiction as Catherine, on a whim, seeks the advice of a physic and the answers may not be what she is looking for.

Drawing from a diverse range of topics and genres, the stories delivered in JOTS explore depression and grief, present family memories, and examine love and morals.

Enter slightly mad worlds with this astounding collection of stories written by a writer who breaks all the rules of science fiction and refuses to apologize for it.

In "Slightly Mad Scientist," freelance inventor Harold Derby seeks to put the finishing touches on a teleportation machine after trying a series of get-rich schemes meant to fund his looming retirement. His invention works but with unexpected consequences.

In "Wishful Thinking," Frank Rogers, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, investigates a barrage of recent airline accidents and aborted takeoffs. After coming up with no answers, someone presents a new theory that questions everything physics represents.

In "Nightmare Hunters," Laura sleeps in a room with the same presence that haunts her dreams. It steps out of the shadows and gazes down upon her sleeping form, thankful to be released.

Other stories are driven by time traveling con artists, alternate dimensions and everything else unexpected. Journey to the unknown and question everything you thought was true with Slightly Mad Scientists, a collection of forty-seven short stories.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Axel Crochet, peripatetic professor of music history, nurtures a youthful enthusiasm that he passes on to his students. His passion for music is obvious- and his disdain for university politics is evident as his work leads him from college to college.

Abby Fox, a music major at an exclusive women's college where Axel temporarily teaches, commits suicide after her father dies. But after Axel's other students persuade him that Abby would not have taken her own life, Axel begins an investigation that soon implies she may have been murdered. As a visiting scholar at Magnolia University, Axel is unexpectedly embroiled in another case when one of his classmates dies in an accident and he takes possession of her computer-a decision that leads him into a struggle with a computer genius. As a visiting professor at Frangipani University, Axel discovers his life mirrors that of Faust when the death of a stage director draws him into a maelstrom of jealousy and violence in the world's largest school of music.

In this intriguing collection of novellas, Axel Crochet's love of musicology leads him straight into unintended interludes with killers, danger, and intrigue as he attempts to solve a trio of murder investigations.