The Mooneating Newborn

The heroes of these stories are people lost in time and space, who try to understand the reality around them, to discern the layers of the outside world and peel them off. With new and unusual perspectives, philosophical consultations, often anti-utopian narratives and a mystic, ritualistic style, the author seeks to penetrate the depths of life, going beyond accepted conventions in his depiction of the world as well as the things and people it contains. The recurring protagonist is a person who constantly feels fragmented, a twin of love, someone who hides his thinking and the diseased word that others want to extract from his mind. Each sensory organ requires a personal approach after perceiving something from the outside world. Everything has its twin in a person's head, even love, and sometimes it is necessary to write about them so that they look for other places to live... There are micro-transitions from one story to the next, allowing the text to breathe.

The Image of God

Three men whose paths cross in the dark, who have come face to face with death, all have a journey in the history of religions. Will the questions of Doctor Adam, who sometimes compares prophets to bad politicians and to a philosopher, enlighten us? Will he help us find God or is there really a God to console our souls? Here is a story that will shake the reader with its questions.

What does the old testament say? “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’”

Then, if he created mankind similarly, do homosexuals, those born blind or disabled, those with mental disabilities, those who turned into monsters by starting wars and slaughtering people also reflect the image of God? Who are we really? Who is God?

First, we need to free God to save humanity. Perhaps, we will have to say goodbye to God while reading the story of the Cat of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople.

If you are ready to question your birthplace, the system, the beliefs of your family and what they taught you, then these five short stories that take place in Syria, Istanbul, and the USA were written for you.

The Chimera Prophecies and Other Short Stories

When Sarah receives dreams of an apocalyptic world, she is met by the Chimera god Lycia to help her fulfill her destiny. Sarah is approached by a secret organization that believes she is the girl from an ancient prophecy. It predicts that Sarah is the key to saving the world from a cult leader who plans to unleash the god of chaos and destruction on Earth. Struggling to deal with dreams and her teenage life, Sarah begins to doubt herself and her sanity. With guidance from Lycia and encouragement from her mother, Sarah gains the strength and confidence she needs in order to save the world from annihilation.

In “The Starlight Hour” a young thief named Leona is offered an opportunity to pursue her dreams of being an artist, she is faced with a tough decision. Should she leave behind her community or stay and find a new purpose in life. After an attempt to gain money to fund her new opportunity, Leona ends up escaping a car chase from the police. After reflecting on her actions, Leona finds a new dream and learns the value of the people that are important to her life.

Seven other short stories accompany “The Chimera Prophecies”. All center around the themes of self-discovery, personal purpose in life, and the emotional journey of what it means to be human.

The Bookkeeper

The Bookkeeper presents a gripping trilogy of short stories, each emerging from the shadows to serve as a stark warning for the intrepid reader.

In ‘The Exchange,’ we delve into the life of a hitman longing to leave his lethal career behind. Yet, as he teeters on the brink of retirement, his path crosses with an aspiring investigative journalist—a young college student who inadvertently entangles him back into the perilous world he seeks to escape.

‘Tserof’ unfolds the eerie tale of a brother and sister embarking on what should have been a typical camping trip with their parents. However, their weekend getaway takes a sinister turn, as the familiar turns frighteningly strange and increasingly creepy.

Concluding the collection is ‘Thanksgiving,’ a story that takes a futuristic twist on one of the world’s most traditional holidays. This 21st-century science fiction narrative offers a unique reinterpretation that’s sure to captivate.

The Big Rip

The universe is ending, ripping itself apart at the seams. It started almost imperceptibly, a few stars missing from the night sky. Gradually, it increased until entire galaxies had been swallowed whole. As for the people living there, well... There isn’t much they can do to stop it... is there?

The Adventurous Life

This novel uses a surprisingly strange setting in which guests’ life experiences are examined through remembered tales. Using appropriate humor interspersed throughout the novella, the author describes living as a series of adventures. Despite the ups and downs, life is a wonderful gift for which to be grateful and appreciated.

Tales from the Great Marsh

Inspired by the author’s childhood experience in the deep countryside of his native country, the Republic of the Congo, Tales from the Great Marsh represents a collection of short stories which illustrate a complex picture of life in a contemporary African society still rooted in its traditional beliefs and practices.

Through short fictional stories, the author explores the complexity of social, cultural as well as religious, and spiritual experiences of a Bantu rural society when confronted with the challenges posed by specific existential situations such as death and modern politics, as well as the challenges posed by the encounter with the otherness.

These fictional stories which marry myth and reality, are deployed towards producing knowledge that takes into account the surviving cultural aspects of old African societies formerly considered minor in studies of the continent’s past and present.

Tails from the Grooming Table

What does a day in the life of a dog groomer look like? Why is it so expensive to get your dog’s haircut? Does the groomer know she has makeup running down her face? Wait, is that makeup, or is that something that came out the backside of the dog? Is she just going to leave it there while she drinks her coffee? What is the most common dog name? What is the name heard around the store through the loudspeaker that no one will ever forget? What happens if a dog tries to bite? Do I have to have an appointment? Does my groomer actually care about my dog?

I’m your dog groomer. I have to stand on top of the table to work on big dogs. I have to carry your new puppy like a human baby and rock him back and forth to work on his paws and nails. My workday does not just include bathing and haircutting your precious pup. I wish it did.

I get pooped on, peed on, and all manner of bodily fluids have been on my person, yet I still prefer to work with animals over people. And yes, I really do care about your dog.

Stories with Sole

A woman on the subway clutches a pair of ballet slippers as tears run silently down her face.

An older man sits alone on his darkened porch every night, buffing his pair of blue suede shoes.

If you could walk in someone else’s shoes, what would you learn?

Stories with Sole is a compilation of micro-fiction stories that showcase human resiliency. Through poignant stories, writer and storyteller Kelly Maurica weaves tales of love, loss, heartache, joy, and acceptance, highlighting life’s complexities and illuminating hope. These soulful vignettes represent the promise that even though life is difficult, the human spirit perseveres and endures personal crisis with a courageous heart and an open soul.

Everybody has a story.

Every shoe has a sole.

Walk with us.

Stories - Volume I

This collection of stories is about the tension between our desire to belong to one another and how we affect one another in intimate and passing ways alike. It’s about journeying, both internally and externally, and are written to reflect real life experiences set out as metaphysical statements or curiosities.

Some Things I Think I Said

Steve Waltman is the rare triple-threat writer (short stories, poetry, humor) who has broken through with his compilation, Some Things I Think I Said. If you choose to travel with Waltman, he will take you on an uneven road that will lift you up, bring you down, and force you to question yourself and those around you.

His various styles of writing will grab a hold of your heart and keep you reading, wondering what the hell is next. Waltman's writing is simply a reaction to the world around him and you. Some people get hives, he writes.

Some Things I Think I Said is quick, powerful and may leave you exhausted. But, it will be a good kind of tired.

Sitting on a Park Bench

Robi and Vic, two old friends, are sitting on a park bench on a misty fall evening, munching nuts and reminiscing. The smell of jasmine in the chilly fall air suddenly reminds Robi of their university days, many moons ago. A floodgate of memories of this time of their lives, when ‘life held promise and powers felt indefatigable,’ opens up. Who was the mysterious creature they had seen in the Gymkhana late night after the concert of ‘87? Who ratted them out after they crashed into the social event illegally held on university premises one evening? What started the infamous mess wars that drove such a rift through campus? The past becomes the present and the two compatriots go through their own remembrance of things past, while the sinister syndicate and the feared disciplinary committee loom over every encounter.