Handpicked by the unread team

A short collection of twenty-one stories

In these pages you will find other worlds, ghostly happenings, uplifting narratives, and absurd circumstances.
Twenty-one short stories, with varying lengths and a variety of themes, genres, styles, and points-of-view.
Easy to read. Hard to forget.

David is very good at persuading people whether it’s as a teenager at a shop checkout, or later as a car salesman. Then there are stocks and shares and financial wheeling dealing as his wealth builds. He can persuade the women in his life, but his relationships may not be real.What is persuasion and what is just good fortune? His morals may leave a lot to be desired but when serious illness strikes he has to reconsider his actions. A tale of greed, insider trading, love, and misfortune, that spans the globe. His persuasive ability brought him success, but at what cost? Whether he is in his N...

To The Survivors is a science/fiction dystopian novel about a catastrophic pandemicAn apocalypse threatens human kind. A highly infectious, lethal, genetic, virus is detected that attacks mankind and mammals. The Government must act, and whilst the authorities struggle to find a cure, they have to plan for the worst. As the disease spreads it is not clear how many will, or will not, survive, nor what the survivors will have to do to live. They will have to cope with their grief and loneliness before they can attempt to rebuild society. They will need to find water, food, shelter, and power and...

In a world where perception often eclipses reality, ‘Dissemblance’ invites you to unravel the tangled web of a family forever altered by the echoes of past events. Set more than a decade after the tumultuous events chronicled in ‘Semblance of Storms’ and ‘Re-Semblance,’ this poignant narrative unfolds through the eyes of Milly, a young girl at that time whose innocence was shattered by the tumult surrounding her.Now a voice that demands to be heard, Milly reflects on the events affecting her family, a complex tapestry interwoven with mental illness, the glittering allure of celebri...

The lies and actions have caught up with him. He’s banished from the beds of his lovers. They tell their own stories now.The ramifications of his actions continue, even while he remains caught up in the activities of the authorities. He faces his legal and personal punishments with self-guilt. He has a new home waiting for him on Emerald Isle. There are new babies and there is a continuing need to hide the parentage of one of them. He is trying to resolve the issues until tragedy strikes once more. Now, he’s fighting for his life and trying to recall his past. His lovers and...

All that is required, by his publishers is to write a fourth book, not like the flop that was his third. His successful first two books bought him fame, some fortune and disputes with his terminally ill father. He wants his son to help with his half-sister. If only her mom, wouldn’t give confusing messages on what she wants; possibly him. A family friend and lawyer will help, as he always has done but there are secrets in his past too.His new book will be a tale of boy meets girl in his usual elaborate and descriptive style. His agent, wants him to produce it soon but he has his own pressure...

In the shadows of betrayal and vengeance, the Russian bear awakens, targeting the architects of operations and their defecting fugitives in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The Russians, driven by a burning desire for revenge after their failures, set their sights on those they believe have wronged them inside and outside Russia. The UK's security services and the architects of the Enez operation find themselves in the crosshairs. The Russians dispatch teams to execute their deadly plans.Amidst the turmoil, Hugh and Michelle continue to hide, far away from the yacht and house that were once the...

Despite the declared end of the pandemic, there are still threats to the UK, particularly from Russia. Friends from across the Atlantic who like to meddle continue to track and follow the shadowy financing team supporting the UK’s security services. They assured the UK they would not, but disparate agencies in the USA have different agendas.Michelle and Hugh Turnbill are now married. They still manage MI5 and MI6's clandestine funds. They occasionally sail around the Greek Islands with the Harper sisters or stay at their new house in Mykonos. They desire a normal life but are aware that caut...

Captain Tom Larring barely escaped alive from a mission in Afghanistan. He now has another task. Effi Miani has been undercover in the Middle east but is needed for the same operation. Together they must find Bravo-One-One, who is the highest priority target for MI6. He is believed to be building a chemical weapon in Northwest Pakistan. A previous MI6 operation has already failed. A leak or a traitor inside MI6 may have destroyed that mission, so extra precautions must be taken otherwise this team will also fail.Tom and Effi need a faultless backstory before embarking on their mission. The ope...

An old MI6 undercover mission to prevent terrorists entering the UK via sex trafficking routes went wrong. The undercover agent is assigned to a new role.A man lost in the shadows manages the hidden finances of the security services but dreams of a better life sailing the Mediterranean. When he runs off he is hunted, but he may have been killed by an organised crime leader. The police are assigned to find him.Two sisters run away to Greece from the sexual abuse of their father. The characters intersect as the hunt commences. Then the security services need to find options to deal with the fall...

The Demise Trilogy is all three books of the series in a single large volumeThis is a complex thriller based on the lead up to and aftermath of the second Iraq war. A conspiracy to cover up the associated activities of parts of the intelligence services. Now available as a complete trilogy.The Demise SeriesAn Agent’s Demise: Part One of the Demise TrilogyIntelligence analysts and agents have gone missing, some may have been killed. The press and the police suspect there is a serial killer on the loose. John Slater was near the latest victim, he is evasive, appears to have no history, and he ...

The conclusion to the Demise trilogy.The conspiracy is over the mistakes and cover up are hidden and buried for good. Both sides of the Atlantic can concentrate on the threats from Islamic Terrorism. That is what they all hope.They want to enlist a hidden black asset in the chase, but there are risks to that approach. Meanwhile the FBI is still investigating what really happened. Is the conspiracy really over? Al Qaeda plan new atrocities and MI6 with Homeland Security will try to stop them. The newly wed Michael Johnson can help but his wife is still recovering from her injuries and she is su...

The Demise operation was shut down the killer allowed to disappear. But the conspirators have not all been caught and the efforts of MI6 and the CIA to cover up the dirty deeds of the security services only results in more deaths and destruction. Slater returns to tidy up, but how can he reconcile his new life with what he is asked to do.What happens to Jess and Michael? Will the newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Hooper really allow the suspected killer to go free?Can the authorities continue to cover up the plot to alter the Iraqi Dossiers on both sides of the Atlantic?Can the killer s...

Intelligence analysts and agents have gone missing, some may have been killed. The press and the police suspect there is a serial killer on the loose. John Slater was near the latest victim, he is evasive, appears to have no history, and he might be the killer. The second Iraq war and the intelligence network may link the victims and so The Metropolitan Police’s Special Branch investigates, with the help or hindrance of the Intelligence Agencies. The mistakes made in creating the dossiers used to support going to war are supposed to stay buried on both sides of the Atlantic, but still a kill...

In 1848 to best friend and roommate graduate form West Point. Follow them perofessionally and personally as they manage to participate in a Federal Army desperately trying to modernize after the Mexican War while at the same time fracturing as the Country heads to Civil War. They marry, have families and live the life of young officers. They even get a plum assignemnt supporting the Delafield Commission in Europe. 

Continue to follow James Tanner, Nathaniel McAllister and Nathaniel's younger brother Andrew as they make major decisions for their families and the Country. Watch as the Civil War consumes their lives both professionally and personally. Finally walk the Antietam Battle field after the battle with Andrew and wonder how this battle's brutqality was made possible. 

God is all‑powerful, able to lift anything, and all‑knowing, able to create what He cannot lift. The answer to this ancient paradox is found here and offers some of the most beautiful logic you may have ever read. The One who created rivers, oceans, forests, mountains, stars, galaxies and universes does not depend on our recognition and is not offended by our non-belief. We are God's first Creation, and in forgetting this, we forgot that God is pure Love. A Love unchanging, patient, compassionate, and incapable of loss. A Love so complete it cannot condemn, cannot create Hell, and cannot r...

There is only one speck of land in the entire world where activities literally take place in the shadow of tomorrow. It is a remote island in the Arctic Circle, beyond the northwestern tip of the Aleutian Island chain, and located just east of the international date line. Beyond the west shore of the Bering Strait, on the other side of the date line, stands the mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula. When the sun sets on a rare clear day, that mountain range, towering in the domain of tomorrow, casts a shadow over the small and remote island of today.With less than thirty working days before ret...

Upper-class Cal has always lived by the rules—until now. For years, he’s been with Lucy, a wild-hearted party girl who’s everything his parents would disapprove of. Then Cassandra enters the picture: cold, prim, and impeccably proper. As Cal’s world tilts between passion and responsibility, he faces a choice that will change his life forever. Will he follow his heart or honour his duty? 

COMING 2026

 Being PA to the formidable Jane Marsden is challenging enough—but becoming her lover? That was a risk James never saw coming. As their professional and personal worlds collide, tensions rise and boundaries blur. Now, at a critical crossroads, James must decide: is it time to walk away... and does he even want to? 

 

 Soaring metaphors that take mundane events to new levels. Lyrical and philosophical poetry with profound meaning, enhancing the reader’s fantasies and feelings.
 

Whereas Mahabharata's Bhagvad-Gita is taken as a philosophical guide, Ramayana's Sundara Kãnda is sought for spiritual solace; many believe that reading it or hearing it recited would remove all hurdles and usher in good tidings! Miracles apart, it's in the nature of this great epic to inculcate fortitude and generate hope in man for it’s a depiction of how Hanuman goes about his errand against all odds.  Besides, it portrays how Seetha, on the verge of self-immolation, overcomes despair to see life in a new light? With rhythm of its verse and the flow of the narrative this sloka-...

Bhagavad-Gita is the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue’ – William von Humboldt.  In this the beauty of the Sanskrit slokas is reflected in the rhythmic flow of the English verse of poetic proportions even as the attendant philosophy of the Gita is captured in contemporary idiom for easy comprehension.         Though it is a matter of consensus that Bhagvad-Gita in the present length of seven hundred slokas has many an interpolation to it, but no meaningful attempt has ever been made to del...

Author Bruce Alan Humphrey creates a fascinating world where medieval mores and cutting-edge technology converge. Winds of Time tells the gripping tale of Tarl Cray, who is on a mission to reunite his homeland. The nation has been divided into intensely territorial sovereignties with intermittent violence and chaos. Barter trade for survival is the only civil exchange between factions. Now, an outside force is threatening to take over the once-great but now battle-weary country. Can Tarl, imbued with the ability to metamorphose into anyone, convince the warlords to reunite and face the impendi...

The Manusmriti, the social doctrine of yore, and the Bhagvad-Gita, the spiritual tome in vogue that lay down the discriminatory dharma (duties) of the four social classes (castes) have been the bugbears of the Hindu backward classes. However, to their chagrin, of late, as the latter is being mindlessly promoted even though the former was constitutionally debunked, they began advocating that it too should be dumped in a dustbin.Ironically, the improbability of their progenitor Krishna, the architect of the Gita, relegating his own ilk to the social margins failed to dawn upon these that Gita su...

The Pilot is a literary fiction. It’s a story about love, hopes, dreams and even illusions. It’s a prose with poetic inspiration, metaphors and allegorical expressions. It’s a fantasy romance as one of its characters is a ghost. However, it is also a spiritual novel that speaks about angels and unexplained communications between Earth and Heaven. There is something mysterious and mystic. The story is a mix of realistic life events and relationships and something mystical as well. The main character of the story is a young lady, Nare, who faces so many troubles and disappointments. She ha...

The sublimity of Muhammad's preaching in Mecca and the severity of his sermons in Medina make Islam a Janus-faced faith that forever bedevils the mind of the Musalmans. This thought-provoking work, besides dissecting the anatomy of Islam, steeped in the Quran, seeks to depict the psyche of the Musalmans, shaped by the proclivities of their prophet, vicissitudes of his life and the attitudes of his detractors, which the mechanism of their umma perpetuates. More to the point, aided by “I’m Ok – You’re Ok”, the path-breaking work of Thomas A. Harris and Roland E Miller’s “...

The Canvas Of My Soul is a colorful dreamscape of insights and emotions. My words linger with the reader. The Canvas Of My Soul is a poetic reporter of the “Human Condition” as I explore the rhythms and patterns of human heart and soul. The Canvas Of My Soul includes lyrical, romantic and philosophical poems. The Hues Of My Palette which is the subtitle of The Canvas Of My Soul is an artistic landscape in lyrical words and deep thoughts.

This is a compendium of the author’s Indian stage and radio plays:"Slighted Souls" is a poignant love story set in rural Telangana, beset with feudal exploitation of the downtrodden dalits. Besides forcing the dalits to toil in the fields as bonded labor without impunity, the land owning doras had no qualms in reducing the womenfolk of this ilk as sex slaves in the gadis, which leads to an armed resistance engulfing a young couple.Men at work on Women at work" is a tragic-comic episode depicting the fallout of sexual harassment at the workplace in the ...

This is a collection of the author’s short stories that deals with women's dilemmas in the Indian social milieu accompanied with unique denouements. While 'Ilaa's Ire' contrasts woman's lot of the day with her eminence in the Vedic Age, '201' Qualms" depicts her predicament, torn between personal loyalty and citizen's responsibility. As "?" addresses woman's marital stress in an alien land, 'Cupid's Clue' is about her acting on rebound in her native place. Even as 'Autumn Love' lets woman discover the marital void in her life, 'A Touchy Affair' makes her amenable to her man's ...

Lured by the pitch - All marriages are made in heaven but some are delayed on earth: We endeavor to hasten them all - Priya goes to Renuka Marriage Bureau.

Scanning the prospects, when she spotted Venu, whom she slighted long ago, she rushes to him to bring about a dramatic encounter.

What brought about Priya’s change of heart to seek her former suitor and how Venu responds to his old flame’s fresh overtures lend suspense to their romance in this eclectic novella.  

The poems in this beautifully bound book are a result of over twenty years of observations. Observations of the world around us and on the telecommunications network. All the hate, love, heroism, disasters, and those who help. Beautiful thoughts as well as the worst of mankind. War, peace, and instances of inability to live in a coexistent world.This book of poems will bring a sense of inspiration to the reader. A sensation of pride or anguish to those who others have seen and felt but most have not. Crying or feeling anger could be emotions generated by the words in these poems. With feelings...

The year is 1946, and the aftermath of war still haunts humanity.In the heart of Paris, Mueller finds Frances; she is pregnant. He finally confesses his love for her, and they prepare for their future together.Germany is now an occupied and devastated country. Many cities have been destroyed by Allied bombing. There is a shortage of food, and the harvest of 1946 doesn’t look promising. The once great nation must now face the daunting task of rebuilding and regaining acceptance on the world stage. But before that can happen, those responsible for the atrocities of the Nazi regime must stand t...

It is Spring 1944, and WW2 still rages.Imprisoned first in Auschwitz, and then Dachau, violin virtuoso Frances Meyer, has now suffered the ultimate abuse of rape, by onetime friend Otto Von Liechtenstein. Full of remorse, Otto swears to get her released from Dachau.When Frances is told of her imminent release, she swears she will keep the promises she made to her friends in Auschwitz and Dachau, and plans the revenge she will take on Otto. But it is Mueller who is waiting for her at the Guardhouse. Frances finds it impossible to leave the past behind, and her mind is full of the horror and atr...

Even as Detective Dhruva was enamored of Kavya, whom he rescues from her kidnapper, Radha, an alleged murderess on the run, gatecrashes into his life.But when Kavya too joins him after her man was poisoned there ensues the tussle of a love triangle, which gets unraveled in a poignant end, but not before a series of murders.So, then who could have poisoned Ranjit the realtor, Shakeel the Inspector, Pravar the criminal and Natya his accomplice?Well the needle of suspicion tilted towards Pravar that was till he perished with his mate, but then who was the one? Could it be Radha under the sca...

War Torn: A Riveting Tale of Love, Sacrifice, and Survival in the Heart of WWIIAmid the horrors of war, can love cross enemy lines and survive the battle within?October 1942. Frances Meyer, a gifted violinist, faces an unthinkable choice: stay in Nazi-occupied France under the menacing gaze of an SS officer obsessed with her or risk everything for freedom. With her ailing Jewish husband, she boards a fragile boat to escape, but fate has other plans. Shipwrecked in the unforgiving Atlantic, her fight for survival lands her in the last place she expected—a German U-boat. Commanded by the enigm...

Fragments of Time: A Haunting Time-Slip Love Story.A young soldier swears it’s 1914. She knows it’s 1964. Both can’t be right—can they?Jen’s world is unravelling. Two years after the devastating loss of her parents and her dreams of becoming a doctor, she’s stuck in an abusive marriage with no way out. Her life feels hopeless.Everything changes when she meets Tommy, a young soldier, at the old regimental church in Hamptonbury, who insists the year is 1914.Drawn to his warmth and integrity, Jen discovers a rare love with Tommy and finds hope and healing in a way she never imagined.S...

It's perilous penning this blurb.It's fine when man is modest about his work.It even affords him the aura of an invisible crown!But what about his work?Were it an art or craft, it is there for all to see.What of a literary work of an unheralded author?Well, lauding the same might raise one's eyebrows.Failing to praise wouldn't make a 'jewel-less crown' either!Why not see, if this is the great Indian novel. This is the story of the rise and fall of an ambitious man, the decline, and the decay of his conniving wife, the trials, and tribulations of their wayward son as well as the grit and g...

In a stream of consciousness mode, this is the self-account of the life and times of a man, who liquidates his immense wealth only to consign it to the flames.

The agony and ecstasy of his life as he makes it big in our materialistic world and the way he loses his soul in the bargain, only to regain it when tragedy strikes him makes one ponder over the meaning of success in life.

What with stories within stories, this philosophical ‘novel of a memoir’, in a stream of consciousness, is a compelling read that is conducive to contemplate about the nature and scope of human relationships.

 

If passing through youth was like crossing the mirage of life for Chandra and Nithya, it proved to be chasing the mirage of love for Sathya and Prema though for plain Vasavi, Chandra's pitiable sibling, it was the end of the road. As life brings Chandra, who suffers from an inferiority complex for his perceived ugliness, and Nithya, who was bogged down being jilted by Vasu, together, they script their fate of fulfillment. But as poetic justice would have it, Sathya, who caused Prema's heartburn, himself was led down the garden path by Kala, doing a Sathya on Sathya. Just not tha...