A page detailing the short stories in The House of Gemma: Tales From A Treasury ~ Stories

Contents

1. Setting: The Three Faces of The Ring
2. Gemma – Clarity
3. What It Means to Say Goodbye
4. The Inky Tentacles
5. Magnificence
6. The View from The Hat
7. The Blackest Heart
8. Setting: The Floral Elephant's Crown
9. Bad Snake!
10. The Seehorse
11. Strands: Holding it Together (Part 1)
12. Strands: Reconnect (Part 2)

Setting: The Three Faces of The Ring

Past, present and future. Three women across time, the wearers of the ring - become connected in unexpected ways.

Gemma – Clarity

50-year-old Gemma is looking back not with bitterness, but with clarity. She may have once belonged, as a child star to the world — but now, she’s finding her way back to herself.

What It Means to Say Goodbye

Quiet-eyed Jack, a young man weathered by hardship, finds a measure of peace in photographing the tiny creatures of the woods. But when he meets Zoe — fierce, chaotic, and full of wild edges — his still world is shaken.

The Inky Tentacles

The Kraken was a monster — but also a feeling, a shadow, a living being. The Galleon was a ship — but also a memory, worn down by the weight of duty, and tired of being used. Washed ashore, the ship's likeness is captured in a brooch, glinting with secrets. What became of the Kraken? And more importantly… what became of their love story? A tale of oddity: one who traversed the surface, and one who glided below.

Magnificence

Lou is a fisherman with the temperament of a hermit crab — tough-shelled, prickly, and perfectly content in his self-made solitude. But when something unexpected washes ashore, his hard exterior is challenged… and what he finds may coax him, ever so gently, out of hiding.

The View from The Hat

Perched atop a polystyrene display head – slightly askew – an Art Deco hat-pin lives out her twilight years observing the couple who own her. If they remember her at all.

The Blackest Heart

The murder was years ago and now a cold case. She rose through the ranks — respectable now, hardened by years of secrets and promotions. But the locket? It’s grown darker.

Setting: The Floral Elephant's Crown

The floral elephant, once prized and patted daily with pins, now sits forgotten on a dusty bookshelf. Her fabric has faded, her seams quietly loosened by time — but upon her head still gleams a crown of jewels: a cherished ring, the last the wearer ever removed. No one has asked the elephant what she remembers. But if they did… they might learn more than they wish to know.

Bad Snake!

An overly anxious woman (the sort who checks the weather forecast three times before leaving the house) discovers that her snake-shaped ring has developed… opinions. Sharp ones. Anyone the snake disapproves of gets a nip. But what happens when it bites someone it does like?

The Seehorse

A battered, dirty silver ring bearing the likeness of a seahorse is found by a desperate man. On the verge of losing his home, the Seehorse reveals near-future prophecies — not only helping him save his house and restore a kind of life for himself, but allowing him to serve a greater good.

Strands: Holding it Together (Part 1)

A ghost of a woman drifts through the big house, quietly watching over the family that no longer sees her. She may feel forgotten — but the old dog still notices. Still, she manages to hold herself together with the last meaningful thing she has: a single vintage hair-pin.

Strands: Reconnect (Part 2)

The lost twin hair-pin finds its way back — not by chance, but through a long-lost schoolfriend who reaches out after decades of silence. Once close as sisters, time and life had pulled them apart. Through this joyful reconnection, the woman awakens — and the balance within the house begins to shift. Even a ghost can return to life, if someone remembers her.

About the Author

June 2025 -

Faith McCord writes short stories and novellas in the fantasy, horror and sci-fi genres. Novellas include Red Shoes, and, Hotel Unicus, both available on Amazon as ebooks. She currently has several stories on the go, with The House of Gemma: Tales From A Treasury taking precedence. While writing, she subsists on cups of Lady Earl Grey, and in the constant companionship of her four-legged-friends. She lives with her family and dogs in Norfolk, England, right by the sea.

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Forthcoming, the accompanying short story collection by Faith McCord.