A collection of books by Wattpad authors, all available for FREE download. Each book has a new chapter, discover more about the books and their authors. Links provided for easy access.
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Beach Apples is a collection of short stories; contemporary, mystery, and speculative fiction, all with an Australian flavour. From a walk on the beach, to fire-fighting in the Adelaide Hills, and a refugee's story, some tales will put a smile on your face, while others will fire up your imagination.
Featured Stories: The Present, Love at First Sight, Firesticks, Refugee, Radio Waves, Marvellous Matilda and her Motorised Horse, The Clue of the Dancing Robber, and A Werewolf Ate My Teacher.
Excerpt: from Firesticks
Ken pulled off his damp teeshirt, dragged his chair underneath the ceiling fan, and flopped down, wearing only his wet board shorts. He stretched out sandy feet and closed his eyes, the wind from the fan ruffling his auburn hair and temporarily drying the sweat on his forehead. He wished for the hundredth time that he had invested in air conditioning, but it was too late now, in the middle of a heat wave. He doubted there would be any units left in stock anywhere in the city. Even the pedestal fans had sold out two days ago at his local shopping centre.
He'd gone down to the beach for a swim that morning, just after dawn and come home as soon as the temperature reached 37 C. At about 9 am. The water's edge was already lined with people‒many of them elderly‒walking back and forth between the Grange and Henley jetties, with their feet in the water. Others were swimming or merely sitting in the sea to cool down. Occasionally, someone would throw a tennis ball in the water for their dog to chase, creating much splashing and doggy excitement.
By 10 am, it was too hot, even for the beach.
On his way home, he had seen thick clouds of smoke hovering above the city as if there had been an explosion. Graphic evidence, not of an explosion, but of a disaster nevertheless.
Even here at home, he could smell the distinctive scent of burning eucalyptus. Although he was safely inside the house with the windows shut, smoke whispered through air vents and under doors, carried west from the bushfire raging out of control in the hills behind the city. It had been burning since yesterday evening, ignited by one of the hundreds of lightning bolts which had struck the ground all over the state. The sky had been blue black with thunderclouds, crackling with thunder and lightning and maybe a total of two drops of rain had fallen. Dry lightning they called it.
Ken was pretty sure the clothes hoist in their backyard had been struck, but the lightning didn't appear to have done too much damage. The clothes hoist was still in one piece.
In a minute he'd get up and have a cold shower and change, but before that he needed to check if there were any messages from Jerry. He flipped open his phone. Nothing. He tried not to let it worry him, he knew it was unrealistic to expect Jerry to call him today of all days but he couldn't help hoping. Maybe there would be some current news on the TV. He reached for the remote and turned on the 24 Hour news channel.
It was the hottest day so far on record, the thermometer climbing past 46 C. Currently there were fifteen bushfires burning around the state.
Author Bio
After thirty years of working with the unemployed, coping with threats, tears and broken lives (and these were only from fellow staff), Vera Loy decided it was time to make her escape. And what better place to go than the world of regency romance? She started writing her first novel, Regency Masquerade, years ago, but put it aside due to work and family commitments.
A few years ago, she dusted off the foolscap pages stored under her bed, finished the story and turned it into a book. Since then she has had a lot of fun writing short stories for various competitions. Beach Apples is her first anthology.
Vera Loy lives in Adelaide, Australia, with her family and two cats. In her spare time she enjoys fishing and visiting the many local wineries.
