About the Book: The famous novelist Orhan Pamuk has said – “I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.” StoryMirror has been instrumental in changing the lives of people by providing a unique platform for writers and readers alike. Storytelling or reading stories – transitions one into another realm, to explore various shades of human emotions. Each story teaches us something, makes us ponder and provides an opportunity for some soulful reflection. In this hectic and monotonous life, a storybook can help us dream, make us believe in fairies, keep us lively, give us hope and some stories can even give us the courage to deal with our day-to-day problems. It is rightly said by George Saunders, “When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.” It is a difficult task to choose a handful of stories from the plethora of interesting content on StoryMirror but the very best stories have been selected and brought to you by the means of this book. They are a result of the hard work and determination of promising writers. The writers have questioned their imagination and desire for writing and presented to us their most imaginative, engrossing, fascinating and gripping creations. This collection of short stories will provide an opportunity for the readers to access the best stories and also bear ample evidence to the vast corpus of work on the StoryMirror website. We hope it touches your heart and soul. Hope you have a great reading experience!

There comes a time in life when we find ourselves in the desert place of burning questions. Why? Why me? But even as we shake our fist heavenward, the heart whispers another question. Who? Who are you, God? It is a question of relationship, a question we all murmur in the hardest places. Against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Lynne Hartke asks her own hard questions as cancer arrives like a thief with one goal: to take it all. Hair. The contents of a stomach. A marriage. A life. As her days become a blur of doctors' appointments, treatments, and surgeries, she wrestles with a tumble of tangled emotions, a shaken faith, and self-doubt. Cancer is now not only threatening her own life, but, in a surprising twist, the lives of both her parents as well. Through her raw, lyrical words, Hartke invites fellow sojourners to discover that in life's hardest places, they are not alone in their fear, they are not foolish to hope, and they are never forgotten by a loving, pursuing God. Never.

“In recent times, we’ve received many veiled threats; but this one has legs.” —Dave Mackrell:MI5 This one, Fatima Khan, manages to retard the efforts of the CIA, and confuse the combined resources of MI5 and MI6. There’s an international conspiracy in play but the secret can’t get out; or can it? The aviation industry is in turmoil, and the U.S. president is off his game. He just shanked his drive into a water hazard on the fourth hole. How many heroes can you fit into one story? Defined by their individual talents, they serve it up to the villains in this contemporary thriller, involving murder, espionage, and perfidious political power-plays. Fast-paced, fascinating, and imaginative...Readers’ Favorite The shameless spy novel you didn’t know you were missing...Indies Today

In the heart of Lusaka, where the jacaranda trees paint the skyline with hues of purple, Mari, a young woman from the USA, discovers a city that breathes with the rhythm of resilience and love. Visiting her grandparents, Mari's journey takes an unexpected turn when she meets Hayden, a local architect, at the airport. Their chance encounter blooms into a love story that unfolds beneath the sprawling branches of a jacaranda tree in a vibrant courtyard—a space that becomes a witness to the evolving tapestry of their lives. As Mari navigates her role in building an orphanage, Hayden becomes more than an architect; he becomes a partner in dreams and a steadfast presence in her journey. "Under the Lusaka Sky" is a tale of love that transcends borders, a celebration of a city that nurtures dreams, and a testament to the enduring power of community. Join Mari and Hayden as they discover the enchantment of Lusaka, where every jacaranda bloom echoes the heartbeat of a love that knows no bounds. An Exquisite Tale of Love, Resilience, and the Magic of Lusaka Discover the allure of Lusaka and the transformative power of love beneath the jacaranda tree.

Exploring the lifeworlds of Halima, Omar and Mohamed, three middle-aged Somalis living in Melbourne, Australia, the author discusses the interrelated meanings of emplacement and displacement as experienced in people’s everyday lives. Through their experiences of displacement and placemaking, Being-Here examines the figure of the refugee as a metaphor for societal alienation and estrangement, and moves anthropological theory towards a new understanding of the crucial existential links between Sein (Being) and Da (Here).

Social media and digital technologies are transforming what and how we read. Books and Social Media considers the way in which readers and writers come together in digital communities to discover and create new works of fiction. This new way of engaging with fiction stretches the boundaries of what has been considered a book in the past by moving beyond the physical or even digitally bound object to the consideration of content, containers, and the ability to share. Using empirical data and up-to-date research methods, Miriam Johnson introduces the ways in which digitally social platforms give rise to a new type of citizen author who chooses to sidestep the industry’s gatekeepers and share their works directly with interested readers on social platforms. Gender and genre, especially, play a key role in developing the communities in which these authors write. The use of surveys, interviews, and data mining brings to the fore issues of gender, genre, community, and power, which highlight the push and pull between these writers and the industry. Questioning what we always thought we knew about what makes a book and traditional publishing channels, this book will be of interest to anyone studying or researching publishing, book history, print cultures, and digital and contemporary literatures.