Audible Original Stories

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane annihilated between four hundred and six hundred lives in the middle of the Florida Keys, and like all disasters, both exposed long-standing social and economic inequities and reminded us of the bonds that enable us to provide what rescue we can for those we cherish. In this fictional account of the storm, rooted in the record but brought to life with Shepard’s unparalleled command of interpersonal impact, Village of Islands follows a handful of residents of a small beachside town in the moments leading up to, during and after this event.  

Rivals since childhood, Fang and Lian both leave their village in China in search of fortune and adventure. After reuniting in a factory city, when Fang’s grandmother falls ill, they hatch a plan to win the sympathies of an American online. When he replies, Lian secretly masquerades as Fang in a gripping story of friendship, love, and betrayal.  

A talented sculptor and her psychotherapist fall in love, transgressing numerous ethical boundaries. But as their relationship progresses, what began as the patient’s attempt to liberate herself from her past becomes the most abusive relationship of her life - and the most dangerous. 

In this romantic-comedy novella, the sexiest player in the NFL and a small-town librarian prove that when opposites attract, their chemistry can be game changing.

No job, no money, no love - and to make things worse, 27-year-old Charlie has no choice but to leave New York City and move in with his mom in his isolated and conservative hometown of Sunset Springs. Home isn’t a comfortable place for Charlie. One of very few Black residents and the only trans person around town that he knows of, this will be Charlie’s first time back in Sunset Springs since he transitioned. He expects confusion and maybe even hostility. He definitely does not expect Jackson Ford. 

The Reservoir follows an unexceptional man in an exceptional time. We see our present-day pandemic world and New York City through the eyes of a former Wall Street veteran, Ridley, as he, in his enforced quarantined solitude, looks back upon his life. He examines his wins, his failures, the gnawing questions - his career, his divorce, his estranged daughter - and questions what it all means and who he really was. 

Townie is a brief yet dramatic glimpse at a blossoming friendship between two young women in a small college town - Amal, a transplant from LA, and Bridgette, a local 20-something who feels lost in her own life and becomes enamored with her new friend’s confidence. At first, the new relationship is intoxicating, and the two women spend every spare minute getting drunk on cheap liquor, party-hopping, and binging reality TV. But soon, a secret is revealed that shifts the dynamic, and Bridgette makes a choice she can never take back.

This captivating listen begins with fan letters to a beloved young actress, Seraphina, that become increasingly unhinged. As more and more is revealed about the troubled woman behind the fan mail and her connection to the starlet, a story of obsession becomes an expertly plotted tale of wrongdoing and revenge.

Nicole has wanted to own a haunted car her entire teenaged life, and when she finally finds one - a junker of a Chrysler Neon with its own tragic backstory - her best friend, Johnny, has some serious doubts. Would a demon even want to possess a Chrysler Neon? But when the two of them take it for a test drive, Johnny’s doubts begin to fade: The steering wheel burns hot, the car traps Johnny in the back seat, and is Nicole even driving? Or is the car driving itself? They soon find themselves forced to face the potential evil controlling the car, and possibly even themselves. 

It’s summertime in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ian has lost his job, while his wife, Parker, thrives in her e-commerce career. Parker’s days are frenetic and full. When she’s not in Zoom meetings, she’s doom-scrolling about the virus or hanging out on Houseparty with her friends. Meanwhile, Ian claims to spend his days looking for a full-time job, but he’s mostly goofing around on Tik Tok and taking their dog, Hutch, for longer-than-necessary walks. What he really wants is to start a family, but Parker still isn’t ready.

Jim Stenson has been flown to the bohemian island of Formentera for a monthlong gig: writing a screenplay for a famous Spanish director, loosely based on the classic French film Contempt. With his career flagging, Jim is determined to make the most of the opportunity. But the director raises the stakes, pushing Jim to draw inspiration for the script from his strained relationship with his wife Anna.

After the loss of her mother, a woman returns to the San Fernando Valley only to uncover a haunting secret about her childhood friend. A visiting professor at a charming but strange California liberal arts college must face her past in order to protect her son. A sister, lost in the woods, confronts the dangerous truth about her brother, her stepmother, and herself. Rose's dog Wolfie has died, and three seductive women offer to help return him to her. But only if she will pay the price.

More than a hundred years into the future, as the US approaches its 400th anniversary, Tomas, a young graduate student, searches for the real identity of one of the cyborgs that maintained American homes. He has been haunted for years by an audio clip of a cyborg named Felipe and is intent on writing Felipe’s biography. In the clip, Felipe can only recite that he was made in America, but Tomas must find out: Where was the Self-made Man really from?

No-nonsense executive Naomi Reyes can't believe she let her boss manipulate her into babysitting Donovan Taylor, the most insufferable creative director of all time. Worse, she'll be trapped on a private island with him, while a bevy of gorgeous models vie for a coveted chance to grace the cover of M-Class Magazine's inaugural Swimsuit Edition - and, if the office rumors are true, an equally coveted place in Donovan's bed. 

Shelby works as a dog walker in northern California, and she’s just finished up her bi-weekly trip to the park with a husky named Pluto. When she brings him back to his house, she finds his owner - Todd Burke, a well-known local businessman and founder of an organic supplements company - lying on the bathroom floor, dead. A detective arrives on the scene. As she interviews Shelby, the body is inspected by a medical examiner, and more cops search Todd’s home, it becomes clear that the victim’s life was less picture-perfect than his clean-cut persona might lead you to believe.  

Marti Greenwood has just moved into a brand-new home after a bitter divorce from her husband Emery, and while she’s still not quite done with him - of course, some of her most cherished possessions are nowhere to be found once she unpacks her things - a fresh start in a beautiful LA neighborhood is exactly what she needs. But days after her arrival, Marti is attacked in her home. She's found shaken and beaten, and her neighbors who immediately call the police. She never saw the face of her attacker, and so there is little to go on as detectives open an investigation.

Mariana has just arrived at the Academy in Italy, where she will spend the next few months on fellowship. That night, over dinner with the other fellows, she meets Itamar. He is handsome and charismatic, and a known Lothario. Although she is aware that an affair with this man may not end well for her, Mariana finds herself falling for Itamar nonetheless.

The events of Jive take place in a not-too-distant future where things have gone from bad to worse. After the pandemics (and yes, there will be more) came the Bloom, an invasion that arrived in a way that no one could have predicted. It was a genetic invasion, the ancient alien hidden in our DNA “blooming”, an event that killed a third of the world population (that’s over one billion) and mutated a third into something slightly “more” than human. They were a daunting presence - and they were in charge. 

Philip and his girlfriend Beth were seniors in high school when they chose adoption for their son. Now, years later, Beth has moved to Palo Alto - and on with her life - but Philip still lives in town. He works a job he hates so he can be near Olaf, who knows him as “uncle”. On the morning of Olaf’s 14th birthday party, Philip hears his neighbor Zali’s dog, Sinai, barking on the other side of the fence. Philip scales the fence and finds the dog tied to a tree with a belt, hungry and scared.

In a quiet suburb of New Delhi, two next-door neighbors develop a friendship: one, a young woman engaged to be married, and the other, Nadine: a woman in her 60s living with her second husband. We follow these two women through their phone calls and visits together, diving deeper into Nadine's storied past: With her larger-than-life personality and proclivity to defy society's conventions, her insight weighs heavily on her young friend, about to face a major turning point of her own.