Stories

When the body of Lukas von Keller, a third-year student at Veridien, a prestigious all-boys academy, is found at the bottom of a ravine on March 10th, 1986, life at the quiet elite institution is shaken to the core.

After months of investigation, authorities are ready to rule the death a suicide. Detective Whitlock, however, is not. A chance to solve the case, now a personal nightmare, presents itself when Marius Vassier, a local private eye known for his sharp instincts and impeccable fashion, approaches him with a plan.

An unorthodox plan.

(Full summary inside)

Life is filled with surprises. We are constantly reminded that we are at the mercy of the universe; from the people we meet, to the events that shape us, to the places we find ourselves in. If we are among the lucky ones we will find our place in the world, and someone to share it with, and life will be sweet. But even then, everything is subject to change, and we either roll with the flow, or find ourselves fighting against the tide, because you just never know what might come at you from out of the blue.

Two enemies wake in the ashes of Jerusalem—one a deserter drowning in guilt, the other an amnesiac who remembers only how to kill. Hunted across the desert by a vengeful lord, they must disguise themselves as a Crusader knight and his squire to survive. But in the war-torn port of Jaffa, masks slip. Secrets surface. And a feral German street rat with a talent for trouble forces them to confront an impossible question: in a holy war that devours everything, can two broken boys build a family from the ruins?

Ash is a modern cowboy on a large cattle ranch in Oklahoma. He lives a fairly simple life and has found his place on Nasser Ranch, along with his friends and fellow cowboys (and girl). Things begin to change soon after their new hands arrive. And one of those new hands turns Ash's world upside down.

Cwtch is a Welsh word, translated into English it means a hug, but the meaning is deeper and more profound than a simple hug. When you give someone a cwtch you also give them a safe place and this is what twenty something Londoner Harry gives Welsh farmboy Aled. The story tells how two souls find each other, and recognise one another immediately. It is attraction, but also love at first sight, although true love is never easy.

This story is also published under the title Eighteen Years by E K Stokes.

Noah has spent the last year haunted by one question: what went wrong? Follow him on a relentless quest for answers as buried secrets rise to the surface. Family deceit, betrayal, drama, and unexpected twists await at every turn.

Fresh out of his master’s, openly gay Marc dives into a high-pressure Munich consultancy and straight into the orbit of his cold, closeted boss, Frank. When a “running group” becomes their private ritual, breathless runs, heated glances, and charged locker-room moments ignite a tension neither of them can outrun.

Johnny Day the top surfer in the California surf scene. He is the top surfer until finds there is more to his life then surfing.

Martin is still feeling the effects of an acrimonious divorce and more recently the death of his mother.

He receives an email that could be a scam. It triggers events that upend just about everything Martin believes about himself. His path forward is not going to be smooth. Can he navigate this new life to make friends, find love and reestablish a family?