For pilot Ruth Nichols, a soaring rivalry with Amelia Earhart becomes a deep friendship in a short story of the danger and secrets of undaunted women, inspired by true events, by New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict. It’s Ruth’s dream to be the world’s greatest female pilot. It’s Amelia—Lady Lindy herself—who achieves it. At first competitors, Ruth soon recognizes they share a passion for the skies and for supporting trailblazing female pilots everywhere. Together they form an all\-women flying group, the Ninety\-Nines, and over the years their achievements become more groundbreaking, their risks more personal, and their friendship closer than ever, until the day their best\-laid plans come crashing down. Marie Benedict’s Amelia’s Shadow is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

A single mother in segregated Virginia pushes back on societal prejudice and her own family’s judgment in an emotionally powerful short story by New York Times bestselling author Sadeqa Johnson. With a newborn in tow, Bubbles Jones escapes a brutal sanctuary for “wayward girls” to confront the hypocritical shame of her pastor father and the betrayal of a lover. But Bubbles is accompanied by a woman who offers her shelter and a dream. Forging an unpredictable path ahead, Bubbles will not yield and will not hide in her unwavering commitment to make a big life real in a world determined to keep her small. Sadeqa Johnson’s Fallen Grace is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

An inquisitive woman defies expectations to become the mother of forensic science in this absorbing short story by New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon. You will have ninety minutes to solve the murder. A startling declaration by a new Harvard instructor: sixty\-seven\-year\-old Frances Glessner Lee. It’s 1945\. Before her, six wary male students given to assumptions—especially when it comes to women without a formal education—are challenged to solve a real\-life whodunit using Mrs. Lee’s creation, the crime scene diorama. Every detail is accurate. And every detail matters when solving a crime with no survivors… Ariel Lawhon’s Barriers to Entry is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

On a remote island, an unfulfilled young female painter finds a singular kind of inspiration in this cunning short story about identity and empowerment by New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shipstead. June Tremblay is struggling to find herself as a painter when she accepts a summer job as assistant to renowned artist Hiram Lammergeier on his private island off the Maine coast. The reclusive legend has one peculiar rule: under no circumstances is June to create any art of her own. Caught between her need to paint and her desire for Lammergeier, June rebels, and her transgression sets off a chain of retaliation that will shape the rest of her life. Maggie Shipstead’s The June Paintings is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Out of the chaos and uncertainty of war, a shy young bookseller comes into her own in a short story of unexpected love, daring, and empowering courage by New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff. It’s 1943 in London. Paige Miller, an ordinary shopgirl at the fabled department store Selfridges, falls for Danny, an American GI who comes by the books counter at the same time every day. As she slowly lets him into her heart, Paige realizes that Danny is keeping a secret. One that could change the course of the war—and both their lives. Pam Jenoff’s The Forgotten Chapter is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

An enterprising woman in a man’s world. A vision that changed daytime television. A galvanizing short story about ambition and sacrifice in the 1950s by New York Times bestselling author Melanie Benjamin. From a triumph in radio serials to persevering in a burgeoning, male\-dominated television industry, Abby Taylor has a million stories she’s dying to tell. The soap opera is her brainchild. Championed by her mother and sisters, nothing can stop Abby from becoming an aspirational voice for every woman in the country. Her life behind the scenes, however, is just as dramatic as any she could have invented. Stay tuned for an engrossing story of determination, grit, and love. Melanie Benjamin’s Tune In Tomorrow is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

In early twentieth\-century New York City, a young woman torn between two cultures must choose where her loyalties lie in a gripping short story by New York Times bestselling author Asha Lemmie. Abandoned as an infant and raised by protective, if secretive, Italian parents, Carlotta has never quite fit in her own life as the only Black person in her neighborhood. Even when she ventures to Harlem, where jazz, community, and a man’s love await her, she doesn’t feel fully at home. But when the dynamics in her adoptive family shift, and her role grows more tenuous, Carlotta has to decide where she belongs—no matter the threats or the price that must be paid. Asha Lemmie’s Fires to Come is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.