Free Reads

When it comes to writing short stories, the format allows me freedom to play with different voices and genres so here you will find a mix of contemporary short stories, some historical short stories and the occasional ghost story... they are yours to download for free. 

If you enjoy my writing, don't forget you can join my READER'S GROUP and be the first to read new short stories!

The Grey Lady

A ghostly tale...
​The Grey Lady is only seen when the last male heir of the Compton-Barrs will die a violent death...But the Compton-Barrs have left Livingstone Hall. There are no male heirs... or are there?
(First appeared in THE HAUNTINGS OF LIVINGSTONE HALL 2017)

A Person of No Consequence

A short regency romance... 
​February 1815:  Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the 'ton'. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for.
For Hannah,  Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband.  Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way…

LOST! 

A parent's worse nightmare - A lost child on 'The Prom"
A dark cloud covers Mt. Oberon and the wind blows in from the south... young Brad Cooper has gone missing on a family walk on the Lilly Pilly Gully track. Will he be found in time or will the Australian bush once more claim a life - just as it did eighteen months previously?

THE PROMISE

A short story of the American Civil War...
The American Civil War has wrought a terrible toll on both the north and south.
Bady wounded at Fredricksburg, Ben has come home at last and someone is waiting for him, someone who has a promise to keep…

NOT JUST A MOUSE

A sweet short story... 
Hunca Munca stared up curiously at the strange man, her small black eyes unblinking and curiously intelligent. The vet saw a nondescript brown mouse with no redeeming features apart from a curious white mark half way up her tail…
But to Edward, she was not just a mouse… she was his friend.

STORM IN A TEACUP

How can the 'evil' stepmother compete with the perfect, but absent parent?
In desperation, Liz has agreed to do the one thing she has never done in her life - take her stepchildren camping.  Nothing can possibly go wrong... 

And two short contemporary romances written as Alli Stewart... 

LOVE ABOVE THE SNOWLINE

A short contemporary romance...
She hates snow… he’s a champion skier.
He dumped her by text…
She’s taken a job on the ski fields…
How is Elaine Swift going to deal with a chance encounter with the glamorous champion skier from her past?

ROMANCE AND THE SINGLE GIRL

​A short contemporary romance...
Sarah dreams of meeting a dashing man who will woo her with flowers, champagne and walks along sunset beaches… and Tony is perfect in every way…
But is there more to romance than flowers?