This book incorporates lessons learned over a quarter of a century of managing, renewing and caring for the gardens of the National Trust; negotiating change with a variety of colourful characters, including former owners, now tenants. It traces the very British way the Trust learned about conserving historic gardens towards an overdue national commitment to leading this unique contribution to European culture.By the time John Sales was appointed in 1971, the National Trust had alr...

Bringing together 34 flash fiction stories from 14 authors, SPARK offers a host of stories to thrill, move, and challenge fans of short-short fiction. A woman physically at war with her mother's legacy inside her own body, a young girl given a vision of a utopic past at the end of the world, a man psychically bonded to the living weapon for which he is the failsafe, a harem of "female" androids newly capable of questioning their subservient status—these are a few of the characters you'll m...

A beautiful story about Art; a living, breathing boy in all respects - who happens to be made of inflatable plastic. POP ART is an exceptional, must-read of a short story.Joe Hill is the New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2, Horns, and Heart-Shaped Box, and the prize-winning story collection 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the co-author, with Stephen King, of In the Tall Grass.

An eclipse is a rare and unusual event, when the world is transformed and the sky becomes a dark eldritch thing. It's a time when anything could happen, when any kind of story just might be true. That sense of the strange and wonderful guides Eclipse: New Science Fiction and Fantasy, the first volume in an exciting new annual anthology series edited by acclaimed anthologist Jonathan Strahan.Set to become a major event on the science fiction and fantasy calendar,Eclipse: New Science ...

Everyone loves their grandma but these three are just a little...different. They have certain skills in war and strategy developed over forty years through military training and discipline. They are the definition of "never judge a book by its cover." They now work as contractors for the extra money. Follow the hapless Clem as he is hired to drive the three on their latest mission of destruction.

The fourth volume of the annual Unidentified Funny Objects series features the theme of dark humor.What happens when you ask some of the genre's masters to interpret this theme? The enclosed twenty-three darkly humorous tales range from black comedy to biting satire to morbid irony and everything in between.Inside this book you'll find Faustian bargains gone awry, time-traveling ghosts, flawed supervillains, talking hamsters, and much more.Featuring stories by:

Forty-six very short science fiction, fantasy and horror stories. Perfect for reading while commuting, standing in line while waiting to renew your driver's licence, waiting for that friend who is always running late for drinks or other situations where you just don't have time to spend on a longer story.  Travel to fantasy worlds, fly with super heroes and tremble in the face of unkind mysteries and horrible horrors.  There are 46 stories. That's about 2 cents pe...

"A heady, infectious celebration."-The New Yorker"Shaughnessy's voice is smart, sexy, self-aware, hip . . . consistently wry, and ever savvy."-Harvard ReviewBrenda Shaughnessy's heartrending third collection explores dark subjects-trauma, childbirth, loss of faith-and stark questions: What is the use of pain and grief? Is there another dimension in which our suffering might be transformed? Can we change ourselves? Yearning for new gods, new worlds, and new...

This story collection "showcases that lighter side of Paul Di Filippo . . . with some memorable moments of brilliant wit and storytelling" (Infinity Plus).With twenty tales, a bold lack of restraint, and amazing stylistic diversity, Di Filippo makes strange bedfellows of a range of characters—from Jayne Mansfield to Pythagoras to Disney "imagineers" to the Virgin Mary—fit together inside a bountiful collection of surprises, humor, and the very, very strange. William...

Quick fiction for readers on the go!Quick fiction for readers on the go! Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction is a tantalizing collection of 88 short-short stories custom-picked for the Bathroom Reader aficionado. We scoured the nation for talented writers and asked them to send us their best quick reads. The result: mysteries, horror, sci-fi, adventure, plenty of laughs--and a few gasps--in these startling short stories. They’re li...

Now with four bonus stories! Is man by nature evil, or stupid, or both? These short-short stories (plus seven bonus stories) let you decide. Great short reading for travel, leisure, or any occasion where you need to conscipuously ignore the person next to you. Short-short stories, humor.

This is a collection of very short stories. Eachone is intended to be read in a single sitting,with the goal of being entertaining, with theoccasional deep thought tossed in. Most of thetime, humor reigns.The stories are so short and enticing, that theyare great, fun, quick reads and page-turners.If this set of stories is successful, there aredozens more ready to be compiled, with anunlimited stash yet to be created.