Just want a short read? Click on the titles to open and/or download PDFs of these FREE short stories. Arranged in descending order of word count.
All for Elvira
He’d got away with two murders, and now he would have it all. The company, and Elvira. Nothing could go wrong… 5032 words.
No, Elvira. I didn’t forget. What a pity you did…
Second Best
Two marriages destroyed, one by tragedy, one by infidelity. Will the survivors have to settle for second best? (First published in The Australian Women’s Weekly, July 1994). 3888 words.
Her total acquaintance with Geoff had lasted a bare three hours, but his face was printed indelibly on her memory.
Overboard
An attempted murder opens up the possibility of a surprising new beginning. 2988 words.
You’ve seen how smooth he is. How can I prove I didn’t just fall? It’ll be my word against his!
Position Vacant
The adorable child turns out to have a sexy — widowed — father. Can this lead somewhere? (First published in RWA’s 2007 Little Gems anthology). 2969 words.
What a pity that we women had this crazy expectation for men to stick around and be part of a family, as well as being sperm carriers.
Neighbours
An attempt at infidelity can lead to new beginnings. 2451 words.
Trevor’s desire diminished, drooped, dangled, departed. He rolled away from her…
Coffee and Conversation
Jenepher’s high-flying sister was always trying to fix her up with the rich suits she knew from her own world. One of these led Jenepher to someone more to her taste. 2378 words.
“The trouble is, you always expect the worst of people,” I said. “If you approached them in a positive manner, they’d be more likely to respond in kind.”
Initiation
What might Australia be like 300 years hence? A young man goes off on his initiation trek to learn about the dreamtime, and the mistakes of the past… (First published in Under Magellanic Clouds, Issue 2). 2310 words.
Before the waters rose to shrink the land, this sea was merely a much smaller salt pan, called Lake Eyre.
Desperate Measures
How can a painfully shy guy get to meet an alluring policewoman? Derek comes up with a brilliant but stupid idea. 2074 words.
She’ll probably remember me as a pompous git. If she remembers me at all…
Falling for Squirt
A pratfall leads to an unexpected meeting of minds (and bodies) between two misfits. (First published in RWA’s 2006 Little Gems anthology). 1121 words.
She was about five-foot-nothing, prickly, eccentric, with no social graces, and the best brain in Med School.
The Last Great Lover
In the finale of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, the statue of the dead father of one of his victims comes to life and casts him down to hell. But, for a man obsessed with seducing women, there could be a worse hell… 1012 words.
He whipped open his robe, looked down, and cried out in horror…
Timelord
Jacko loved three things: his illegal assault rifle, his veteran metal-dash LandRover, and his old Rambo DVDs. So when the chance came to steal a time machine and lord it over the past, he jumped at it. With his weapon, nothing could go wrong … could it? (First published in Under Magellanic Clouds, Issue 4). 950 words.
He dropped to his belly and crawled up, parting the grass to peer down below. A group huddled around a fire at the yawning mouth of a cave in the overhang where it curved off to his left…
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