Short Stories

The Least of Myself

THE LEAST OF MYSELF
THE LEAST OF MYSELF

Returning to a restaurant to use the bathroom, Claire discovers a woman lying face down at the bottom of the stairs. Unconscious? Dead? Claire doesn’t know because she’s frozen in place, overcome, as her empathy fights to assert itself over her trauma response.

The Least of Myself will be a scene somewhere in the middle of the novel, ÉTAÍN’S DAUGHTER. This adult short contemporary fiction is published with Pulp Literature Press in their Spring 2023 Literary Magazine.

Issue 38, Pulp Literature Press
Issue 38, Pulp Literature Press

*

Ghost Story

GHOST STORY
GHOST STORY

When the family is evicted from their dilapidated rental in North Vancouver, Chloé and her older brother, Jasper struggle to overcome poverty and homelessness, not only to survive, but to finish school—with the help of a ghost.

Ghost Story is an adult short contemporary fantasy published with Pulp Literature Press in their Winter 2021 Literary Magazine.

Pulp Literature Press’s Winter 2021 Literary Magazine Launch on YouTube! I read from my short story, GHOST STORY, and chat about my novel, THE UNWICKED WITCH. My allotted 10 minutes is around the 1:09 minute mark, but I encourage you to watch/listen to all the authors.

Issue 29, Pulp Literature Press
Issue 29, Pulp Literature Press

*

Gender Neutral

GENDER NEUTRAL
GENDER NEUTRAL

Heather meets the androgynous Finn in a North Vancouver coffeehouse and is determined to figure out whether the fashion model is male or female. But after a series of dates, she only comes to realize how differently men and women are socialized in our society, and how that’s affected her own assumptions.

Gender Neutral is an adult short contemporary romance published with Literature Undressed Magazine in their February 2022 Romance Edition.

Issue 2, Literature Undressed
Issue 2, Literature Undressed

*

North Vancouver

NORTH VANCOUVER
NORTH VANCOUVER

The year is 1903. While the enticing immigration advertisement depicted a luscious tangle of waist-high ferns and old-growth trees, it hadn’t bothered to mention North Vancouver was still an insignificant hamlet of buildings. Alice Kyteler is horrified. Until meeting the illustrious Colonel Alfred St. George Hamersley, who heats the dripping rainforest to steamy.

The historical fiction, North Vancouver, an adapted version of Chapter Six in THE UNWICKED WITCH, won 3rd place in the North Shore’s 27th Annual 2023 Writing Competition!

North Shore 27th Annual Writing Competition
North Shore 27th Annual Writing Competition

*

Let’s Not Spoil Our Evening

LET’S NOT SPOIL OUR EVENING
LET’S NOT SPOIL OUR EVENING

Due to a series of incidences—several of them Covid triggered—a  retirement-aged couple, living in North Vancouver, loses everything. Only by suffering through their greatest fear, do they finally improve their circumstances.

Let’s Not Spoil Our Evening is an adult short contemporary fiction and currently on submission.

*

Beauty Locked in the Trunk

BEAUTY LOCKED IN THE TRUNK
BEAUTY LOCKED IN THE TRUNK

Washing Thanksgiving dinner from her mom’s mismatched collection of fine bone china plates, Iris thinks intently about her psychology thesis—How the Aesthetic Experience Enhances Individual Identity—refusing to believe that the Border collie beside her is doing something no dog is able to do.

Beauty Locked in the Trunk is an adult short cozy contemporary fantasy and currently on submission.

*

Whispering Gargoyles

Whispering Gargoyles
WHISPERING GARGOYLES

A killer’s on the loose in Whistler, B.C.! Should a group of friends cancel their snowboarding vacation? Not a chance. It took months to align eight different schedules. But will a gargoyle’s whispered advice be enough to keep the group safe?

Whispering Gargoyles is a short adult crime fiction/fantasy and currently on submission.

*

Loves Two True

LOVES TWO TRUE
LOVES TWO TRUE

When Alyssa, a university student, dates two men who are polar opposites, yet equally promising, she questions the validity of the one-true-love ideal as indoctrinated by fairytales, romance novels, and lawful marriage vows.

Loves Two True is a short adult romance and currently being drafted.

*

Julien’s Namesake

JULIEN'S NAMESAKE
JULIEN’S NAMESAKE

Julien’s Namesake, a short fantasy retelling of Julius Caesar’s inaugural venture onto British soil through the lens of Celtic Mythology, is shelved for the time being.

*

The Thirteenth Magic

THE THIRTEENTH MAGIC
THE THIRTEENTH MAGIC

As dusk falls, Tiffany follows a beautiful man and his college friends into one of North Vancouver’s rainforested ravines, but gets lost in the dark. She agrees to a deal with a fairy to get out of the ravine, but gets far more than she bargained for, including meeting-up with the man of her dreams. Or so she thinks.

The Thirteenth Magic, an adult short contemporary fantasy with romantic elements, is shelved for the time being.

*

 slleongwriter@gmail.com

Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Twitter

Sylvia L. Leong, Author
Sylvia Lorianne Leong, Author

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission. Copyright 2020.