After his mother goes deaf, a young boy must navigate through the many difficulties of his childhood. The boy witnesses his Mom deal with loss, his father becoming distant, his older brother living a life of his own. The protagonist feels alone, powerless, voiceless. At the same time, the boy tries to impress the girl of his dreams at school, leading him into a troublesome situation. He must make choices which could affect him for the rest of his life. Through it all, he must figure out how to endure and grow, how to become the man of the house. • See how the protagonist deals with the struggling relationship between his mother and father. • How to deal with the struggles of puberty and coming of age. • Impressing your crush at school and the holes this can trap you in. • Navigating through a house filled with tension while also trying to take control. • Understand what it’s like to live with someone who has experienced recent trauma. • Read about the importance of a mother-son relationship and how the bond between parent and child can grow. The story is fictional, but tells true experiences of the author. It is a personal story that speaks to what growing up is really like for many young boys, and how they look to their parents or siblings for guidance. This story tells what can go wrong when that guidance is not there, but also the powerful bond between mother and son. About the Writer Alex Eaker grew up in the cold suburbs of Connecticut. At five years old, his parents got a divorce, putting Alex on an early path towards writing. Ever since, Alex has written about his experience as a son and younger brother, operating between his mother and fathers’ homes while also enduring the universal struggles of adolescence. His stories serve to share his experience, an experience not uncommon in today’s world. He hopes his words can reach the ears of readers who are seeking a voice to connect with, a voice they feel they have a common thread between. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.

Short Story Press Presents Inside Melting House by Matthew Kilpatrick “Inside Melting House” is a creepy and suspenseful story that will draw into its mystery. It introduces you to sympathetic characters over two generations that, even in the short space of the story, you come to sympathize with and understand. When you read it you will experience: • An atmospheric and effective story that elicits curiosity and dread in equal parts • The story as told from the point of view of a complex and sympathetic narrator/main character • Colorful side characters that flesh the story out. • A house with a bizarre past and a mysterious, seemingly unknowable secret • Flashbacks to an earlier time that add a further element of mystery to the story surrounding the house • A climactic, suspenseful finale Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.

Short Story Press Presents Without Decent Restraint by Matthew Kilpatrick “Without Decent Restraint” is a story about the duality of man, both the conflict between the mind and the body, and also how the desire to get what we want can put that very thing in danger. It examines whether or not the things we do, justified to ourselves as being done out of concern for others, can actually have a selfish motive. It explores the horrors that come to the surface when a man is confronted with an unthinking and dangerous version of himself, as well as other elements: • A world ruined by a zombie apocalypse with a mysterious cause • One man’s determined quest to seek out one thing in the midst of the chaos at any cost • The protagonist’s desperation growing when his situation drastically changes • His adaptation to his new situation, and learning the things he is still capable of doing • A taut climax where his love and his strength will be put to the test The stakes in any story such as “Without Decent Restraint” are always high. However, the stakes for the protagonist in this story aren’t just high, they are deeply, painfully personal. He will soon learn that he may be risking it all in order to determine that his family is safe, and that being dead doesn’t stop him from being responsible for their protection when the moment counts. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.

Short Story Press Presents Sandy's Mended Heart by Norah crowley This story follows Sandy, a 19-year-old woman, as she makes the difficult transition from living in an insular religious community to “outside” life in a college town. Sandy struggles with: • Living alone when she has always been surrounded by a close family; • Meeting different types of people when she has always been in a small community; • Making her way with new people who don’t think or act like those at home—she has to figure out how they think and what they actually mean by what they say and how they act; • Meeting men who live and work in environments – a college campus, a military base—that are the total opposites of the community she has known all her life; • Dealing with her need to find love, and hopefully a marriage, in a new world, without the guidelines of her strict community or the oversight of her family; • Falling in love with a man who is so totally different from her father, brothers, cousins and all the men she has known in her life, and in fact is a soldier, someone whom her pacifist religious community would find totally unacceptable; • Finding a church home and a place where she can live with her strong religious convictions even though she does not totally accept the limitations of her original church; • Coping with love and loss, putting lessons of forgiveness into practice, and picking up the pieces of a broken heart without becoming bitter. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.

Short Story Press Presents Salvaged Quietude by Ruth Pettite Psychologically, Logan Pelham seems like a normal guy with a constructive filled life. He is about precision, exact timing and a little obsessive compulsive at times. Although time limits are a part of his life, he seems to be a normal everyday kind of guy. When an old girlfriend from the past comes back into his life he finds that time is not of the essence. She is lost, upset, and mute. And to top it off, she is definitely not the girl she once was. Her loud political ways from college are gone, leaving her a frail and extremely timid woman with extreme mental issues. After contacting the police, Logan is connected with the forensic psychologist. Doctor Morgan Shiles knows the woman well, and agrees to meet with Logan. Seeing the woman in slight distress although Logan has offered her a meal, a shower and clothing, Doctor Shiles insists they discuss her issues back at his office. The halls of the institution are not the only things in this short story that have exceptional twists and turns. Be ready for an outstanding mind warp as you read page by page in “Salvaged Quietude.” You never know what, or who, is next in line to come up missing, dead, or more. This turbulent psychological mind blow is definitely a don’t put down page turner. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.

Short Story Press Presents Of Elegance Revealed by Ana Allen Sometimes we have no control over what life brings us. This is completely true for Marie who had her dreams set on a life of prosperity and propriety. She finds that life isn’t as simple as she has been grown up to think, and when she finds herself torn between a life of love and a life of convenience, she finds that decisions aren’t so simple either. Her dreams have always been pinned upon the life she would have if she were to marry Leroy Bouche; but when another man enters into the picture, things aren’t always so certain. The story, Elegance Revealed is an epic story, set in 19th century New Orleans. In this city, in this time, there is no limit to the opportunity or experiences, which can be found. Here the mix of cultures, the promise of enterprise, and the new freedoms which are to be discovered lead the heart to endless possibilities and a chance of anything that you choose. Find yourself enraptured in the opportunities and choices a young girl must make in this age; particularly, where it comes to matters of the heart, what is expected of her and what she is able to choose for herself. Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.