Secret Author

Benny's parents are sending him to spend the summer with his great-aunt, because they can't afford to pay someone to watch him while they work. Benny is resistant, because he knows it means that he won't be with his friends over summer vacation, but his parents have no choice. The thing is, it doesn't turn out as bad as he fears.

“Benny, Friday is the last day of school for you, so next weekend your dad and I are going to take you to spend the summer with your Great Aunt Millie,” Mom informed me. “But I don’t want to stay with her. She’s really old,” I objected. My guess she was somewhere between 70 and 100-years-old, since she’s my mom’s great aunt, not just her aunt. “She may be old, but she’s in good health, has a lovely house in the country with quite a bit of land, and if I remember correctly ther

Excerpt from the lecture series and book Who Killed Grant, by Professor William H. Seward III, Dean of History, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 9, 1954. Union Retreat Just north of New Market, Virginia — May 15th, 1864 Orders were orders, and if the General needed him to wait for the latest telegraph from Washington, Sergeant Evan Proctor would wait. It was not the first time he had been held back from General Grant’s movements, but this delay felt different. So

“It didn’t explode.” Caden peered into the glass opening of the oven. “That’s a good sign at least.” He opened the door and pulled the sheet tray out with a cautious curiosity. He quickly set it on the counter and studied the results carefully. He had managed to make the wings look amazing. They were the perfect golden brown beneath a glossy honey glaze. Under the bright lights of the kitchen, it could be photographed for any restaurant advertisement. He leaned over the tray

Matthew, a lonely boy from the small town of Figton, befriends a mysterious stranger named Finn during the annual Ivory Fig Ceremony. Their friendship grows over the years as they reunite each summer, helping Matthew cope with personal challenges and the weight of tradition. When Matthew is chosen for a pivotal role in the festival, he discovers secrets about Finn and the town’s magical legacy, forcing him to make important decisions about his future and his place in Figton.

Matthew first noticed the stranger under the fig trees: a boy about his age, hair the soft gold of honey, eyes an odd purplish-brown that made Matthew wonder if he wore colored contacts for the festival. When those eyes met his, Matthew's stomach fluttered. Outsiders flooded Figton every year for the Ivory Fig Ceremony, overtaking most of the main paths. Maybe the boy was just another visitor. Either way, Matthew blamed his quickened pulse on nerves about meeting someone new. “Hi, I’m

When Noah’s partner Julian starts spending an unusual amount of time in the bathroom, well-meaning friends and family fuel his suspicions. What is Julian hiding from him?

"That sounds like he's getting ready to cheat on you." She meant well. Ambrosia, my close friend, sat across from me in my apartment. She'd invited herself for coffee and gossip, but when the topic turned to my partner... I sighed. "I'm not so sure about that," I responded, scratching my scalp. "It's probably just the beginning of IBS." "Listen, Noah," Ambrosia said. "Doing his business in the bathroom once a day is one thing, but disappearing for an hour four, five times a day? J

Life was both hard and peaceful. I kept to myself mostly, but one night changed that. Ever since then, I'm forced to think about what had happened.

The night bustled. I lurked about in a lonely and damp alleyway, comfortably nestled behind two metal bins. The smell was ungodly, as the lids lay strewn about on the ground nearby. Part of me wished I could lift them, but it was a feat I couldn't dare to perform. The task did not interest me in the slightest. Instead, I peered out to the passing hunks of metal and rubber. How annoying. Rolling around at frightening speeds with their blinding circles of light. I recognized their use, but th

I tipped the rest of the whiskey back and let it burn. Hollywood wants you to think the "brooding twenty-something with a glass of dark liquor" aesthetic is all smooth jazz, tailored suits, and smoldering eye contact. In reality? It’s throat-scalding liquid that tastes like battery acid and bad decisions, swallowed strictly to remind your central nervous system that you are still capable of feeling something. I slammed the glass down on the marble counter. Way too loud. Outside th

What if the only Forbidden Knowledge is the truth you deny yourself?

The desert sun didn't set in the territory of Blackwater; it bled out, staining the horizon in bruises of purple and charcoal. Eric Thorne sat by his campfire, his hands trembling, not from the chill that always followed a sunset, but from the weight of the book in his lap. It was bound in leather that felt uncomfortably warm to the touch, pulsing like a slow, sleeping heart. This was the Sanguine Ledger. It was the forbidden knowledge that had cost Eric everything: his brothers-in-arms, hi

Haunted by a cursed book, Eric and his partner Paul battle cosmic horrors on the frontier. They eventually abandon their dark duty, choosing a quiet, enduring life of peace together.

The Lufthansa flight to Berlin had been on time, German efficiency, of course, thought Karl. Smiling, he turned to his fellow student David. “So welcome to the city of my ancestors. Excited?” David grinned, “Naturally. I’m sure you have got everything planned. I can’t wait to get off this plane and start exploring. What’s first on the itinerary?” “Taxi to our luxurious suite in the best 5 star hotel in the whole of Germany,” Karl replied laughing. He paused for effect and went on, “if