Showing results by author "Lisa Henry" in All Categories

Writers shortlisted for the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize read their shortlisted stories Collected here are the six best stories chosen by the judging panel of the Guardian 4th Estate BAME short story prize 2017. In them you’ll encounter a range of characters: an Indian soldier...

Danny Hall is terminally single. That's not surprising, given that he lives in the tiny township of Goose Run, Virginia, and the only other gay guys he knows live with him in his grandma's house and are like brothers to him. It probably also doesn't help his dating prospects that he works at a gas station. When a series of petty disputes with his awful neighbor escalates into a legal matter, Danny calls in a lawyer. But when Miller Clarke turns up on his doorstep, Danny finds himself chasing more than just legal advice.

Brady Garrett is back in space, this time as an unwilling member of a team of humans seeking to study the alien Faceless and their technology. It's not the first time Brady's life has been in the hands of the Faceless leader Kai-Ren, and if there's one thing Brady hates it's being reminded exactly how powerless he is. Although dealing with the enigmatic Faceless might actually be easier than trying to figure out where he stands with the other humans on board, particularly when one of them is his boyfriend's ex.

Brady Garrett is back on Earth. He's living with his partner Cam and they're raising his sister Lucy together. Life is better than some feral reffo from Kopa has any right to hope, and Brady knows it. He's even grateful for it, most of the time. He loves Cam, even though he's afraid that he's not good enough for him, and he's still having nightmares about the alien Faceless. Cameron Rushton loved being a pilot once, and he still feels the pull of the starlight. He's building a life with Brady now, and with Lucy. Life is good, even if it's not without its complications.

Matt Landers and Jacob Mercer have been ride or die best friends forever. But now, on the cusp of adulthood, it's all about to change. When summer is over, Jacob is going away to college and Matt will be stuck in Cape Charles, Virginia. Before that happens, they've got a plan for one more epic adventure—a road trip all the way across the country to California.

Brady Garrett needs to go home. He's a conscripted recruit on Defender Three, one of a network of stations designed to protect the Earth from alien attack. He's also angry, homesick, and afraid. If he doesn't get home he'll lose his family, but there's no way back except in a body bag. Cameron Rushton needs a heartbeat. Four years ago Cam was taken by the Faceless - the alien race that almost destroyed Earth.

Aramin Decourcey - Min to his few friends - might be the best thief in Amberwich, and he might have a secret that helps him survive the cutthroat world of aristocratic families and their powerful magic users, but he does have one weakness: his affection for his adopted nephew, Harry. When the formidable Sabadine family curses Harry, Min must accept a suicide mission to save his life: retrieve Kazimir Stone, a low-level Sabadine hedgewitch who refuses to come home after completing his apprenticeship...and who is in Anhaga.

Briar Pendelton is new to Lassiter, and he's determined to get into Alpha Tau. Even if that means lying about already having passed his LSAT and doing stupid pledge stunts like dressing as a sorority girl. Besides, he's always looked killer in a skirt. Casey Hill has been pledge master of Alpha Tau for two years. Keeping a bunch of pledges in line is a bit like herding cats, but Casey's got it down to a fine art. When Briar sashays into their fraternity with eyeliner, attitude, and legs for miles, Casey is thrown for a loop.

Dalton Beauregard has a plan. It involves acing all his exams, making the Dean's List every year he's at Lassiter College, and going to med school and becoming a doctor. Marty O'Brien has a plan, too. His is to improve his life by emulating those around him. He's going to need a study plan, a tutor, and... a boyfriend?

Leo Fisher is the outward picture of respectability, just like his parents raised him to be. But when he inherits a crumbling terrace house from his great-uncle, he also inherits a tenant who turns his world upside down. Tristan is brazen, gorgeous, experienced and utterly fabulous. He's everything Leo is not—so why is Leo drawn to him? Leo has always made the right choices—the sensible choices—yet here he is, hooking up with his tenant, who's a rent boy.

To supplement his income while he's completing his degree, Harry Townsend hires himself out as a terrible date—he'll horrify parents and family members in all sorts of ways. But when it comes to actual relationships—and sex—Harry doesn't get the appeal. He doesn't get the same tingly feelings everyone else seems to when they meet someone. And he’s fine with that.

College is meant to be a new chapter in Tanner North's life, except he's still stuck in the shadow of his older brother, Colt. Not only is Tanner going to Lassiter like Colt did, but he's also pledging to Kappa Beta Rho because Colt was the chapter president there. Whatever. Tanner's not interested in getting involved in the dumb frat rivalry that Kappa Beta Rho has going on with Alpha Tau. He's just going to keep his head down and his grades up until he graduates. It's a solid plan, right up until Tanner realizes that Charlie is a member of Alpha Tau.

One thing he's not is a jerk. So when a shy guy at a wedding gives Archer his number, Archer is impressed by his courage in putting himself out there. What starts as a courtesy call to the guy turns into friendship. Eli is awesome, and Archer can't understand why he's single. With the help of his fraternity brothers at Alpha Tau, Archer comes up with the perfect project for the semester: Get Eli Fuller the perfect boyfriend or die trying.

After his last boyfriend turned out to be a cheat, Liam Connelly has no interest in dating again, but his parents are determined to see him paired off. When they come to visit, he hires Ambrose to act as his boyfriend. If Ambrose can be a bad boyfriend, he can be a tolerable one too, right? But Ambrose plays the part too well and scores an invitation to spend the Easter weekend with the Connolly family at their winery, and Liam finds himself developing real affection for his fake boyfriend.