Stepping Stones~ A Short Story By Unoma Nwankwor

“Excuse me, excuse me coming through” I raced through the airport, the announcer had called the final boarding call for my flight. I was about to miss my flight due to all the prayers my family insisted on having which if you ask me where excessive. Missing this flight was not an option I was willing to entertain; I had to get out of this country and fast.

Novel Excerpt - A Deal With the Devil by Myne Whitman

Hello all, hope you had a great Christmas Day. Below is a snippet from an upcoming book, published first by The Naked Convos as the final instalment in their 12 Days of Christmas series. Enjoy and please, feedback as always. Thanks!

Short Story - Two Men at a Party by Uche Peter Umez

The room throbbed with adults – some men dancing with their girls, others leaning intimately against the wall. Flavour was crooning about big arse on the music player.

The air was a purple haze, warm, soothing, though it stank of thick fragrances.

Short Story - Slack by Uche Peter Umez

 Chidera tried to push him away, but Mr. Nnamdi grabbed her by the waist.

‘Sir, you’re hurting me,’ she cried, wishing she’d left the office much earlier.

His grip slackened. ‘I’m sorry. But I’ve fallen for you – ’

Bloody Chunk by Uche Peter Umez

I knew his kind. I also knew he’d come over to my table, so I didn’t look up when he said, ‘May I?’
‘Enjoy,’ I replied, sipping my drink.

‘Hm, Chapman.’

I turned – yet another lusty playboy, though all I could think of was a bloody chunk. ‘I’m not the kind of woman you’d want to have in bed.’

Short Story - Two-timing by Uche Peter Umez

As Chinedu nibbled on my navel, I couldn’t help thinking about his wife.

‘Can you keep a secret?’ I whispered.

Chinedu paused, studied my face, then scoffed. ‘What secret?’

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 8

“Hello, Dara speaking, how may I help you?” I was answering my work phone so I added a little bit of fone to it.
“Hello, Dara speaking, how may I help you?” the person responded mimicking me.
“Tayo, I swear, you need Jesus. What phone are you calling me with?”
“I’m in one of our conference rooms, I have jist for you,” she said.

Short Story - Purity Hotel by Uche Peter Umez

Oluchi sat up when her phone rang.

‘Purity Hotel, Room 4,’ said a female voice, ‘you’ll have to come quickly.’

‘Who are you?’ asked Oluchi.

‘You do want to find out the truth about your husband, right?’

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 7

“What happened? Did you see a ghost?” Tayo asked as she got behind the wheel.
I couldn’t even bring myself to speak, I was angry at myself for unknown reasons but all I knew was that I wasn’t going to get tangled in another Adeosun web. I guess Tayo got the cue because she dropped me off at home and said to call her tonight if I wanted to talk or she would call me in the morning.

Short Story: Late by Uche Peter Umez

Amaka had developed this chafing habit of ignoring Chike each time he asked her a question, as if she saw him as one who had to be tolerated. Chike often tried to stomach it, since she looked mostly frazzled, even at sunrise. His two boys were a storm, he knew. Their tantrums could wreak your mind, their teacher had complained.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 6

The week back at work was brutal; it felt as if I was gone for a year rather than a week with the amount of work I had to catch up on. My only weekend plans involved me not leaving my apartment, a movie marathon and my comfortable college sweatpants. Friday came later than expected but I was still grateful because I hadn’t had any downtime at work since the week began.

Drabble - Unsavoury by Uche Peter Umez

‘How savoury is it?’

Chinelo stopped chewing and turned around to see who had spoken to her.

‘Too much fat,’ the stranger grumbled, scanning the table where the small chops were laid out.

Chinelo stared at the samosa trapped between her fingers and, imagining a speck on her lips, she dabbed it off with a serviette.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 5

A week later, we were back in Dallas, relaxed, happy and not so excited about going back to work. We were at baggage claim waiting for Lola’s luggage when I saw Kola walking towards our direction with his fiancée. I knew what she looked like from stalking her Facebook page numerous times and I was surprised to see her because for the whole year Kola and I dated, she never visited or maybe she did.

Short Story - Hotel Rooms and Showers and Sneaking Around Like In a Cheap Movie

By Sifa Asani Gowon

Hand in his thick, wavy hair, he glared at his reflection in the hotel bathroom and hazel eyes stared back, vacant. Steam from the shower fogged up the mirror and ran down in rivulets, making his image appear as distorted as he felt.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 4

It was about 5pm that evening and I just wanted to get home since I knew that Kola wouldn’t be able to get to me there because my security was on the lookout for him. I got into my car and started driving home, didn’t even stop to buy dinner, indomie was just going to have to do for that night. I quickly scanned the street before I entered my building’s garage space to see if Kola was waiting for me and I didn’t see him or his car.

A Girl Like Me by Uche Peter Umez

CJ has just flopped onto her side, when Ijay says, ‘You won’t marry a girl like me.’

‘What do you mean?’ he asks, surprised.

Leaning over the bed, Ijay rummages through her handbag. ‘Shit,’ she says when she can’t find any cigarettes.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 3

Tuesday morning, it still felt like nothing happened. I got up, got ready for work, made coffee for both of us and we went our separate ways after several kisses and I love yous. I wanted to be angry but I loved this man and I didn’t know what I was going to do about the situation. I knew what Tayo told me, I hadn’t called anyone to confirm or talk about it because I knew Tayo wouldn’t lie to me but I also didn’t want to believe it.

Drabble - To Cheat or Not to Cheat

A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction of exactly one hundred words. "The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space." Read this submission by talented writer and author Uche Umez, and leave a comment.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 2

I was so glad we were taking off and finally on our way to our vacation destination. I had had a stressful year with work and every other nonsense I had allowed into my life. I couldn’t help but think about Kola and everything he put me through that year. I had met Kola at a friend, Tolu’s birthday dinner, about a year and half ago. He was introduced to Tolu through another friend who lived in New York and since Kola was moving to Dallas, Tolu was helping him sort of settle in. We spoke for a bit since we were seated next to each other at the dinner and it was a big table. At the end of the night, he asked for my number and that was the beginning of my romance with him.

[Web Series] Waiting... Episode 1

It was 4:23 pm on a Thursday evening and all I could think about was leaving the office so I could get to the spa as quickly as possible. My friends and I were going on a vacation to Cozumel, Mexico and I couldn’t stop thinking of how much fun we were going to have.