J.L. Shojosh has 14 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 13 narrators. The most-rated is A Silver Feather.
Silver: A Collection of Short Stories
Summary
Black’s Lonesome Path - Black, like a select few other beings, is a soul reaper, whose sole predilection is to claim human souls. However, his life is turned upside down in a chance encounter with a human woman. Black’s memories of his past human life come flooding back to him. Will he continue to hunt human souls or will he turn against the Authority and now hunt the hunters? This is the tale of the beginnings of Black’s journey as a changed reaper. Highway I-28 - This is tale about how guilt acted as a powerful enough force to transport Mark Rose to a world of beauty, mystery and monsters. Trouble is knowing what or who the true monsters are. As light and dark magic tussle for supremacy, wielded by sorceresses, could there be such a thing as grey magic? Was Mark Rose too far gone along Highway I-28 to ever go back home? Dear Diary - This short story unfolds as journal entries. The journal’s author takes you through his grief stricken teenage life, having lost his girlfriend to the afterlife. The lad uncovers something fascinating about the magical book that he’d found in his attic, but what are the consequences to all this newfound power? Deep Sleep - Delve into the unknown, as you too begin to question the nature of reality. The short story tale is an emotional roller coaster ride, with poignant, yet subtle inferences to notions of technocratic neo-feudal-like societies. Scottie is made to question everything he’s ever known, as he finds that his known reality literally fades into inexistence. What happens to Kathryn? Shells and Shadows - In this modern day fantasy short story, Shojosh paints a world of seers, sprinters, and normals, humans with different or no abilities, who live alongside a world of bountiful creatures, on several of earth’s dimensions. Beneath the façade of your typical coming of age story is an atypical coming together of several mystical forces. Lana and her family are secluded from the rest of Pink Coral, a tiny town that now assumes the worst of the seldom seen and rather odd characters within the Mackenzie compound. But how groundless is the townsfolk’s fear? What evil approaches Pink Coral? The Field - In a tiny kingdom of special humans, beings known as “surfers”, who’ve figured out how to travel across the globe in a matter of seconds, distrust, and division festers. The queen, having lost her daughter to a criminal faction of surfers, now struggles to offer her tiny citizenry the comfort and stability of times past. As member of the strike force, will Luga Milash succeed in saving her loved ones, and avert a war where possible? What happens when a normal human, a “grounder” gets involved in the affairs of surfers, in the tumultuous matters of humans who channel and harness the power of the earth’s electromagnetic field? What the Dead Don’t See - In a military kingdom where the king is selected through a series of challenges and through combat, with 600 competitors in the mix, a human warrior struggles to reach the top of an alien society and claim the throne. With his inclusion in the tournament, the first human in centuries to participate, Marcus comes to uncover a deeper and more sinister plot by the king that could see an end to tradition. Will he be able to survive the vindictive and malicious whiles of the sitting king, as well as triumph over his competitors, while winning over the racist judges? Who claims the throne once all is said and done, Marcus, Braga, or Kamie maybe?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Boy
Summary
A young boy with special abilities to see a world beyond the veil, and a realm teeming with shadow formed beasts, undergoes an emotional roller coaster ride in this coming-of-age short story tale. Will Tommy forever remain haunted by these demons from beyond, or will he somehow find a way to best them?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Two Peas, One Pod
Summary
In this psychological short thriller, an elderly loner, who spends most of his days at home, becomes the subject of a home invasion. A young and unmasked man with a gun soon arrests the elder to a chair, beginning a daylong ordeal that both men will never forget.
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Creased and Folded
Summary
In this short story fiction, you’re entreated to the life of a one dollar bill, Todd. Todd falls for a higher denomination, a bill that’s as sassy as him. However, in a world more uncertain than ours, with his movements constrained by his human carrier, will Todd ever escape his form of slavery, let alone sail off with his new love?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
9 Wildfires
Summary
General Jack Lupis, an intelligence officer, receives a call from a stranger. His son has been kidnapped. To free his son, Jack is instructed to jailbreak eight dangerous and high-ranking war prisoners and thus betray his country. Jack races against the clock to move things along as discretely as possible, but things quickly take a wrong turn during the prisoner exchange.
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Wall Bound: A Short Story
Summary
Dr. Kohms is used to listening to people talk about the pieces in their lives that aren’t playing well together. But does he know his own life as well as he thinks he does? Does anyone truly know what their partners, dependants, or friends are up to? In this short tale, sink into the prison to which Peter Kohms is sequestered, and forced to watch a version of life at home when he isn’t around.
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Red Roses
Summary
Table of contents I - "Like a Dream" A traumatic childhood had turned Michelle into a vessel for nightmares. Now, an odd encounter with a strange man has spurned her world out of whack, leading the young ambitious woman down a rabbit hole like no other. In this hole, Michelle realizes that she has the ability to access another dimension through her dreams. Will she bite? II - "A Loose Bolt" In this reincarnation story, Goovu and Katala’s destined life together is cut short by Transatlantic slave traders, traitors from a couple of villages away. The couple’s home village was ravaged. Five hundred years later, in present-day United States, could there be a chance for the two souls to reunite? After a fateful car accident sends a youth into a coma, the young man begins to remember a past life, which now haunts him to seek out the woman of his actual dreams. III - "Two Peas, One Pod" In this psychological short-thriller, an elderly loner, who spends most of his days at home, becomes the victim of a home invasion. A young and unmasked man with a gun soon ties the elder to a chair, beginning a daylong ordeal that both men will never forget. IV - "Spindled Revenge" Two immortal, magical beings, Peace (Rayzan) and Chaos (Broza), are in constant battle. This time around, though, the embodiment of peace is defeated, and thus has to undergo rebirth, losing his memory in the process. Tucker assumes himself an average if abnormal teenager, who knows little else than the countryside, where he grew up. Tucker’s journey toward rediscovery begins when he loses control of what he believes are minor psychic abilities, as now, some strange dark and magical figure hunts him. V - "Magic, Guns, and Mayhem" Danny is trapped in Leria, an alternate realm, made by sorcerers and for sorcerers. There’s only one problem with this magical world: Four of the five kingdoms have been invaded by an authoritarian regime. Having narrowly escaped Leria and found his way back to his realm, will Daniel risk it all and go back to save an ally that he’d made and left in turmoil? If he was a sorcerer by blood and his mother had never mentioned it to him, could it be that his magical heritage comes from his long-deceased father? What more could he glean about his dad and his family’s history? VI - "Light-Bulb Moments" Based on real-life events, and embellished in the quirkiest manner, this short story explores the moment that a janitor’s rags turn to riches. The inner workings of Alfredo’s mind are brought to bear in the outer world. - as within so without, as above so below. VII - "As Chaos Begins" As an autistic child, Joe had always heard about how special he was. Yet, the world was oblivious to the lad’s ability as a seer, a modern-day prophet. In this short tale, you’re invited to peer into Joseph’s life, as he wades and adjusts himself in a mal-adjusted and ill-fated world. Will the daily vagaries of adolescent life distract the youth from escaping his nightmare, should it prove to be real?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Shrouded
Summary
Aisha, an orphaned youth from the streets of Baghdad during the Middle Ages, seeks to raise herself from the poverty and squalor that surrounds her. Fleeing her unknown past, and her petty life of crime, the young Persian ventures off to Egypt, where she’s approached by a man who claims to belong to a secret sect of assassins. After the convenience of free food and shelter ceded importance to the heaviness of the dark acts being asked of her, Aisha tries to escape The Order of the Hashashin. But Aisha’s story was more intertwined with The Order’s than was initially apparent. Will Aisha gain the freedom and life that she dreams of, and will the truth about her past shed some light and offer liberation, or will it engender more confusion and further entrap her?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
As Chaos Begins
Summary
As an autistic child, Joe had always heard about how special he was. Yet, the world was oblivious to lad’s ability as a seer, a modern day prophet. In this short story tale, you’re invited to peer into Joseph Tiego’s life, as he wades and adjusts himself to a maladjusted and ill-fated world. Will the daily vagaries of adolescent life distract the youth from escaping his nightmare should it prove to be real?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
Spindled Revenge (Short Story)
Summary
Two immortal, magical beings, Peace (Rayzan) and Chaos (Broza), are in constant battle. This time around, though, the embodiment of peace is defeated and thus has to undergo rebirth, losing his memory in the process. Tucker assumes himself an average, if abnormal teenager, who knows little else than the countryside, where he grew up. Tucker’s journey towards rediscovery begins when he loses control of what he believes are minor psychic abilities, as now, some strange dark and magical figure hunts him.
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
The Mind Traveler's Daughter
Summary
Rolana and her father escape a higher dimension in order to free themselves from an oppressive regime. However, no sooner would their new life come to a start, the pair would be separated. The telepathic teen is instantly flung into the deep end, as all alone, she now has to figure out how to live and blend amongst humans. Will Rolana be reunited with her father, or will she take his word, honor his sacrifice, and thus live her life as freely as he’d intended for her?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2021 Joshua Nsangi
The Weird Boy on Third Street
Summary
In this dark, paranormal short story and coming-of-age tale, Scott and his family move into their new home in the middle of summer. On the surface, they are settling into your typical quaint lower-middle-class suburban neighborhood. We follow Scott’s exploration of the place as he battles to make friends, gains acquaintances, and goes on to discover that his new home harbors a dark secret. Can one tell the difference between imagination and actually talking to a non-human entity?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2021 Joshua Nsangi
Three Bleeding Hearts
Summary
Three lives are indefinitely altered on a little girl’s birthday. Two decades later, this small town girl ventures off to the big city to seek higher education and better opportunities. Becky navigates successfully through life in the big city of Brockville, but is soon caught off guard by the baggage that comes with her job. Her family history, and the reason why her father had no pictures of her as a baby, would abruptly and painfully catch up to her. In this short story drama, is anyone who they say that they are? What does it mean to lose a child?
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi
A Silver Feather
Summary
Ever loved and lost? If presented with the chance to get it all back, would you consider it? Zach is a novelist who’d purposefully sequestered himself to a cabin in the lofty pine-filled hills. Yet, not everything is quite what it seems up there, as his revived wife becomes the last of his worries....
©2020 Joshua Nsangi (P)2020 Joshua Nsangi