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  The Goophered Grapevine

  Charles W. Chesnutt

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  The Goophered Grapevine is the first short story from The Conjure Woman, published in The Atlantic in August 1887, told to the narrator by Julius McAdoo, a former enslaved man who lives on the plantation that the narrator, John, and his wife, Annie, visit one day. Set in Patesville, North Carolina, John and Annie moved there for an improvement in his wife's health and to seek other business opportunities. Knowing that the couple wanted to purchase the property, McAdoo advises them not to do so, informing them that when Dugal McAdoo, the previous master, purchased the property, it was very rich in wine production because of its vineyards. To protect his grapes from being stolen, Master McAdoo consulted with a conjure woman, Aunt Peggy, who placed a curse on the vineyard and warned the slaves that whoever stole them, would die within a year. Henry, a new slave, did not know of the curse, and when he ate the grapes, he was cursed to age when the leaves of the vines withered and once the vines died, so did Henry. Suffering the loss of his slaves and his vineyard, Master McAdoo left the vineyard abandoned after the war to the current state in which the couple found it. McAdoo warns the couple against purchasing the property due to it still being cursed, but the narrator buys the vineyard regardless.

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  Conan the Barbarian: The Collection

  Robert E. Howard

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  This Audiobook contains:01. The Phoenix on the Sword Starts at chapter 102. The Scarlet Citadel Starts at chapter 603. The Tower of the Elephant Starts at chapter 1104. Black Colossus Starts at chapter 1405. The Pool Of The Black One Starts at chapter 1806. Rogues in the House Starts at chapter 2107. Queen of the Black Coast Starts at chapter 2408. The Devil in Iron Starts at chapter 2909. The People of the Black Circle  Starts at chapter 3510. A Witch Shall be Born Starts at chapter 4511. Jewels of Gwahlur Starts at chapter 5112. Beyond the Black River Starts at chapter 5513. Shadows in Zamboula Starts at chapter 6314. The Hour of the Dragon Starts at chapter 6715. Red Nails Starts at chapter 8816. Gods of the North Starts at chapter 9517. The Hyborian Age Starts at chapter 96

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  The Best Peace Fiction - A...

  Robert Olen Butler, Phong Nguyen

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  In the first anthology of its kind, Robert Olen Butler and Phong Nguyen assemble an astounding collection of stories that cause listeners to contemplate war, peace, and social justice in a new light. The fourteen stories featured in this volume explore the varied and often unexpected outcomes of violence. The authors explore the tragedies that occur closer to home—not on military battlefields but rather in places that are never meant to be battlefields, like schools and churches. The fiction reveals the violence that renders our most sacred and seemingly safest of places vulnerable. 
   
   
   
  Not a utopian project, this book asks whether literature has a role in furthering the ongoing pursuit of peace and justice for all. While exploring tragedy, these stories also offer hope for healing, illuminating how people can move forward from the moments when their lives change and how they can regain and reshape safe spaces to find solace.

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  A Man and Some Others

  Stephen Crane

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  Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 - June 5, 1900) was an American novelist, poet and journalist. He was born in Newark, NJ. Crane is noted for his early employment of naturalism, a literary style in which characters face realistically portrayed and often bleak circumstances, but Crane added impressionistic imagery and biblical symbolism to the austere realism.

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  The Unknown Masterpiece

  Honoré de Balzac

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  The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac is a profound and visionary novella that explores the consuming nature of artistic genius and the perilous pursuit of perfection. First published in 1831 and later incorporated into La Comédie Humaine, this remarkable work has fascinated readers, writers, and artists for generations with its penetrating insight into creativity, obsession, and the fragile boundary between brilliance and madness.
  
  Set in 17th-century Paris, the story revolves around three painters whose lives intersect in a tense and revealing encounter. The young and ambitious Nicolas Poussin seeks recognition and guidance in the competitive world of art. He is introduced to the renowned yet enigmatic master Frenhofer, a reclusive genius who has spent years working in secret on what he believes will be the ultimate painting—a flawless representation of life itself.
  
  Frenhofer speaks passionately about capturing not merely the outward appearance of his subject, but the very essence of reality. For him, true art transcends imitation; it must embody breath, spirit, and movement. Yet as he tirelessly refines his canvas, layering detail upon detail, his masterpiece remains unseen by the world.
  
  When at last the hidden work is revealed, the outcome is both shocking and tragic. What Frenhofer perceives as perfection appears to others as incomprehensible chaos. The contrast between the artist's vision and external judgment exposes the isolation that often accompanies creative ambition. Balzac raises haunting questions: Is genius always understood? Can the pursuit of absolute perfection destroy the very beauty it seeks to create?
  
  Through concise yet richly philosophical prose, Balzac examines the psychology of creation. He portrays the artist as both visionary and vulnerable, driven by an internal standard that may be unreachable. The novella also explores themes of rivalry, mentorship, and the tension between innovation and tradition in the artistic world.
  
  The Unknown Masterpiece has resonated far beyond its era, influencing modernist and avant-garde thinkers who recognized in Frenhofer's struggle a reflection of their own artistic dilemmas. The story anticipates debates about abstraction, realism, and the limits of representation, making it strikingly ahead of its time.
  
  Intense, reflective, and intellectually compelling, The Unknown Masterpiece stands as one of Balzac's most enduring explorations of the creative spirit. It is a timeless meditation on art, ambition, and the price of striving for the unattainable—a haunting reminder that genius, in its highest form, can be both sublime and solitary.

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  Her Yule His Log - A Steamy...

  C.D. Gorri

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  All snowed in and nowhere to go… 
  Forty year-old Natalie Leonidis booked her stay at Crystal Springs Getaways long before the weather report came in. With her ex getting remarried, the successful author of a popular detective series was just looking for a quiet way to spend the holidays. She wasn’t counting on the travel agent double booking her coveted one bedroom cabin! 
  Bron Beckett needed a break from running his Fortune 500 company. After two failed marriages, he could attest to the fact that women and wealth were not always friends. It was getting harder to know if a woman wanted him or what was in his bank account. Being single during the holidays was the worst. 
  It was like everyone had a cousin or sister for him to meet—but not this year. He had plans to get away from it all. With the latest release from his favorite author and a tumbler of his favorite label, Whiskey Neat, Bron was going to kick back while the yule log crackled in the fireplace. 
  Sounded like a perfect Christmas. But he wasn’t the only one with designs on cabin 1225. His uninvited guest could stay and make the best of it. Or leave and take her chances with the incoming blizzard. 
  One look at her luscious figure and Bron knew exactly what he wanted—to spend Christmas Eve with the curvy Natalie wrapped around him. No reservations. No rules. 
  Just her yule and his log.

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