Sins City Stories

By Eva Goldsby

Who are they: the inhabitants of the Big City? Strong individuals, pursuing their careers in the place of big hopes, naive dreamers wishing to find their happiness and contentedness, or just small working ants that are purposelessly wandering between their job locations, supermarkets, and concrete buildings in the nets of the big city, which is hungrily waiting for them as a spider waits for his victim. Millionaires and waitresses, politicians and babysitters, dancers and managers—they have something in common: the City.

What Readers Say

"Sins City Stories will fulfil your desire for drama set in the city of sin - at least, it did for me. Money, relationships and showbiz abound in these stories - and what could be more perfect for the setting? Some of these people's lives end tragically, and some end happily ever after. But you'll never know who's who until you read the book. It may say something about this seedy town as to how each of these people's lives is affected by it. One thing's for sure - it's entertaining as can be, and you won't quit until the end. "
— Sam G

"All too quickly I found myself immersed into this uniquely absorbing and authentic book. Eva Goldsby draws readers into a bunch of little stories and characters studies that are a part of a larger whole, weaving a tale of emotions, drama, love, romance, pain, hope , dramas and more."
—Unknown

"There is lots of drama in this book which i LOVED and because of this i finished reading the book."
— Tucker Mark

"Wow, the write is fabulous! You don't find this kind of writing that often. I loved the mood she so perfectly set in each of the stories. Nostalgia, emotion, tragedy, all of it blended together to share a snippet of who these characters were. Honestly, I was dazzled by her writing and I definitely recommend this book. Especially if you are into artsy films and pieces that leave you wanting to know a little bit more. She gives us a snapshot and then let's the mood linger, while we wonder what else colors outside of the lines."
—E. S. Bryant

"Ah no! I'm so disappointed to see this is the only book from this author, I enjoyed it a lot, one of the best I've read in this genre and gave me a perfect Sunday afternoon snuggled up on the couch with a glass of wine. Hope to see more soon!"
—Ingrid

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eva Goldsby
• Release date: Feb 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370415151

Eva Goldsby

E.Goldsby is an author and a journalist. She holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature. Her short stories were published in Centum Press(USA) and Short Fiction Break(USA).

Book preview

SINS CITY STORIES

A SHORT STORY COLLECTION

EVA GOLDSBY

Who are they: the inhabitants of the Big City? Strong individuals, pursuing their careers in the place of big hopes, naive dreamers wishing to find their happiness and contentedness, or just small working ants that are purposelessly wandering between their job locations, supermarkets, and concrete buildings in the nets of the big city, which is hungrily waiting for them as a spider waits for his victim. Millionaires and waitresses, politicians and babysitters, dancers and managers—they have something in common: the City.

What Readers Say

Sins City Stories will fulfil your desire for drama set in the city of sin - at least, it did for me. Money, relationships and showbiz abound in these stories - and what could be more perfect for the setting? Some of these people's lives end tragically, and some end happily ever after. But you'll never know who's who until you read the book. It may say something about this seedy town as to how each of these people's lives is affected by it. One thing's for sure - it's entertaining as can be, and you won't quit until the end.

— Sam G

All too quickly I found myself immersed into this uniquely absorbing and authentic book. Eva Goldsby draws readers into a bunch of little stories and characters studies that are a part of a larger whole, weaving a tale of emotions, drama, love, romance, pain, hope , dramas and more.

—Unknown

There is lots of drama in this book which i LOVED and because of this i finished reading the book.

— Tucker Mark

Wow, the write is fabulous! You don't find this kind of writing that often. I loved the mood she so perfectly set in each of the stories. Nostalgia, emotion, tragedy, all of it blended together to share a snippet of who these characters were. Honestly, I was dazzled by her writing and I definitely recommend this book. Especially if you are into artsy films and pieces that leave you wanting to know a little bit more. She gives us a snapshot and then let's the mood linger, while we wonder what else colors outside of the lines.

Ah no! I'm so disappointed to see this is the only book from this author, I enjoyed it a lot, one of the best I've read in this genre and gave me a perfect Sunday afternoon snuggled up on the couch with a glass of wine. Hope to see more soon!

—Ingrid

Contents

Julia’s Song

Sad Eyes Espresso

Spring in the City or an Au- Pair and a Millionaire?

Julia’s Song

...beauty is power

the same way money is power

the same way a gun is power.

Chuck Palahniuk

Ink black darkness made it almost impossible to see anything inside the old, abandoned opera house. Suddenly, the darkness was interrupted by a light coming from the hand lamp of a young woman entering the building.

Julia? Are you there? The carnival is over. Everyone is looking for you.

Silence.

Julia? The woman rushed to the orchestra pit. Julia’s body, breathless and bleeding, lay behind a large, black piano. The young woman approached carefully, stepping over the Swarovski crystal-studded train of Julia’s gown.

Oh, Julia, no! the woman shouted, checking for a pulse and finding none. Who did this to you? What will happen to your twins? Your husband? But there was no answer.

The woman carefully closed Julia’s eyes and made a firm promise. I will find whoever did this to you and make them pay.

She yelled for help, still holding her cousin's hand.

Julia. A name of careful deliberation and passive consideration. The kind of name that was treated with the same care as everything else in her life. Something written down and stuffed into a vast fruit basket enjoyed by Julia’s mother to celebrate her birth. A name chosen deliberately by the man who would become her father, a man who, by her thirteenth birthday, had abandoned his family to court his mistress, whisking himself away to whatever country he chose.

Julia’s mother was a proud woman. It’s why, when all was said and done, she left with nothing but her pride in tow, hoping that he would come back after learning the error of his ways—maybe even change his attitude again. Julia’s father had left her with two children as quickly as he could. It was holding out this whole time that led to her father quickly finding his new passion in life, discarding his old wife by giving her an apartment to live in while happily forgetting about his family’s existence.

Yes, pride was not much to live on, after all. She was living in a small, decrepit home that once belonged to her parents in the middle of nowhere while she worked two jobs, with extra jobs on the side, to make ends meet. Odd jobs occasionally came her way: washing laundry, sewing clothes, cleaning homes, making deliveries. Still, there were times when it wasn't enough to put food on their table, and Julia’ mother soon had many wrinkles on her face from sleepless nights and constant stress. As far back as Julia could remember, her early childhood had her and her sister, Stephanie, in rags and tattered pieces of oily cloth.

Julia tried to question her mother about the life they led, confronting her in the late evenings when her mother finally relaxed after a more-than-tiring day. She did what she could to get the truth from her. Why did her mother not do more to secure their future? Why would she not willingly give up the lives they led just to preserve her pride?

But Mother, how can we live like this? Julia shouted as her mother—irate and saddened by her daughter’s words—she knocked over