Showing results by narrator "Gail Shalan" in All Categories

Eliya thinks that she’s finally found true love and passion with her charismatic and demanding husband, an aspiring novelist—until he ends their relationship in a Paris café, spurring her suicide attempt. Seeking to heal herself, Eliya is compelled to piece together the jagged shards of her life and history. Eliya’s heart-wrenching journey leads her to a profound and unexpected love, renewed family ties, and a reconciliation with her orphaned mother, Lily.

Danielle Silver is a Philadelphia high school senior at the dawn of the ’90s. Ever since her parents split up, she has known her father was gay, but she never expected to be hit with the bombshell that he is HIV positive. As he sickens, and AIDS starts to claim the lives of his friends, Danielle searches for silver linings while trying to balance paralyzing fear, grief, her social life, and schoolwork—capturing all the feelings as adolescence and some hard facts collide.

Liz Lewis has tried everything to be what people want. But she’s always been labeled different from everyone else in the world of wilderness expeditions—that is, if anyone notices her at all. Her marriage to popular adventure guide Tobin Renner-Lewis is a sinkhole of toxic positivity where she’s the only one saying no. In a mountain resort town built around excitement, introverted Liz gets…spreadsheets. When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party and her last line of communication with Tobin finally snaps, Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life.

Welcome to a very special issue of Weird Tales. This issue celebrates the Bram Stoker Awards, the “Oscars” of the horror trade. They are presented every year by the Horror Writers Association (horror.org), a group founded in 1985 (and incorporated in 1987) by a collective of masters of that genre, including Joe R. Lansdale, Karen Lansdale, Robert McCammon, and Dean Koontz. This issue is packed with short stories, flash fiction, poems, and an essay—all written by past winners of the Bram Stoker Award.

Jellybean is a clumsy dragon. As a matter of fact, all dragons are clumsy. So when Jellybean falls from the sky and lands in front of Emma, a 10-year-old astronaut, naturally a series of calamitous events occur forcing Emma to eventually leave her land and meet more clumsy dragons. However, Emma soon learns to live with Jellybean and experience a whole new and exciting life as well as building her vocabulary!

As a regular volunteer at North Dawkins Elementary, Ellie would never miss the annual Mother's Day breakfast - even if she has to tolerate the likes of Gabrielle Matheson. The rivals aren't exactly sworn enemies, though Ellie still thinks there's only room for one professional organizer in their small Georgia town. But when Gabrielle reports finding a dead body inside the supply closet, the two women form an alliance to teach a killer a lesson in justice....

Air Force wife Ellie Avery knew moving her family south to Georgia would bring new friends, customs, and cuisine. But when she stumbles across two dead bodies - in one grave - while walking her Rottweiler in her new neighborhood, she finds her mint juleps suddenly tasting very sour. Now, with a double mystery brewing and dozens of guests about to arrive in her back yard, Ellie's agenda is once again packed. The only thing she hasn't penciled in is one killer of a party crasher who intends to make this celebration Ellie's last.

Abigail made a sacred vow before her husband passed, a vow she could never, would never, break. But life hasn't been easy without him by her side, and her children grow and change more with every passing day. Sometimes it feels like the world is passing her by, like she'll be lonely forever. Amanda thinks Abigail's husband, as perfect as he may have been, was wrong to ask what he did. She thinks it's time for Abigail to move on, but Amanda has problems of her own to tackle that make it hard to preach. Her business is flailing and her daughters are spinning out of control.

Super organizer Ellie Avery could really use some Christmas cheer when Gabrielle Matheson, a grinchy professional rival, sets up shop in the same small Georgia town. But before the halls are even halfway decked with holly, someone uses Ellie's terrifically tasteless white elephant swap gift as...a murder weapon!

For Ellie Avery, the hardest thing about hosting a reunion of her husband Mitch's extended Southern family is remembering everyone's name. But this summer, the festivities are cut short by news that Mitch's air force squadron commander has been strangled. Then Mitch's look-alike cousin narrowly misses being shot during his daily workout, and Ellie realizes that someone wants to ground Mitch - permanently. Between her kids and her organizing business, she must unravel a perplexing mystery - or Mitch's afternoon jog may be a run for his life.

A novel of wild women, unbreakable friendships, a madcap road trip, and help found in the least likely places. In 1905 Kansas, ex-dancehall girl and outlaw Ruby Calhoun has settled into a (mostly) quiet and (mostly) lawful life. But out of the blue her past comes hustling into town when her ex-dancehall partner, Pip Quinn, shows up with a grim message and dangerous mission: Cullen Wilder, an old enemy with a long memory, is determined to see them six feet under.

Amanda and Abigail Brooks didn’t even want a ranch. They should be pleased the secondary beneficiary is trying to take it away. But now they’ve been in Birch Creek for a while, and they’ve started to put down roots. They won’t give up without a fight—even if the odds of winning are bleak. Donna Ellingson started on the wrong side of things, but she’s eager to rectify past mistakes. But when helping one widow harms the other, none of the choices she’s presented with are clear.

Roan King. The uncrowned king of Barnett University. He's like a freaking celebrity around here. It's totally ridiculous. People, by which I mean grown women, actually stalk him on the internet. And around campus. Apparently, he's God's gift to both football and the ladies (I'm using that term loosely). All he has to do is smile, and girls fall right onto their backs before spreading their legs wide. I've heard that he's already plowed his way through half the female population at Barnett.

Amanda Brooks can’t seem to find a job that suits her. She’s really hoping her new plan is a good one, because she needs something to keep her busy while her boyfriend’s gone.

Organizational whiz Ellie Avery is prepared for everything, including a visit with her quirky in-laws. But a promising week sipping Alabama sweet tea sours when she learns her husband's Grandpa Franklin has passed away - and the police suspect very unnatural causes. Looking for motives among the mourners, Ellie gathers that quite a few relatives stood to profit from Franklin's passing.

In a future where humanity has scattered itself across the stars and Earth itself is now a dimly remembered place of legend, two worlds of near-supernatural strangeness challenge two naive but courageous heroes.

Ellie's sister-in-law, Summer, has planned a four-day destination wedding at a posh private resort on one of Georgia's beautiful barrier islands, but it won't be a vacation for Ellie. Summer has asked her to assist with the last-minute details, which includes preventing two mothers-in-law from killing each other. The ladies are a handful, but the real problems are the ones Ellie and Summer haven't anticipated - like mysterious pranks directed toward the bride.

Amanda Saddler has lived a long and happy life. She's not ready to die or anything melodramatic, but she's long since given up on finding her fairytale ending. But when her adoptive granddaughter Emery picks up a box that was delivered to her doorstep, some new stories from the past come to light. Amanda Saddler may have spent her life pining for her neighbor, Jed Brooks, but that's not the only man she ever knew.

New York, 1977. The sweltering height of the Summer of Sam. The entire city is gripped with fear, but all Nell Sullivan worries about is whether or not she’ll ever make a friend. The self-proclaimed “Plain Jane” does her best to fit in with the girls at work, but Nell’s brother, Barrett, assures her that she’ll never be like them.

Fifteen-year-old Layla Freeman likes to pretend her life is fine. After all, her mother is about to celebrate thirty days sober, and yeah, they’ve moved into a homeless shelter, but it’s only temporary, right? Her mom will get better, and in the meantime, it’s important that no one at school finds out where she’s been living for the past month. Layla has worked hard to build her reputation as a girl who doesn’t care what others think of her, but the truth is she does care—deeply—and she’s tripping over her own lies, especially to her best friend, as she tries to pretend nothing’s wrong.