Happiness Not Guaranteed: A Collection of Short Stories

By Raymond Dovich

A collection of five haunting and imaginative tales, Happiness Not Guaranteed explores the fragile threads of human longing, our hunger for freedom, love, survival, and meaning, even when the universe offers no promises in return. Blending speculative fiction, mystery, romance, and timeless folklore, these stories remind us that happiness is never guaranteed, but always worth pursuing.

Thrice Bourne
A detective cursed with reliving each day three times uses his strange gift to solve crimes, until the loop itself begins to unravel, forcing him into a battle not for justice, but for his very existence.
(Genre: supernatural mystery, psychological thriller)

Gleann Folaidh
Eighteenth-century settlers stumble upon a hidden valley untouched by time. Their dream of peace curdles into unease as strange forces awaken, challenging their beliefs about freedom, safety, and the price of paradise.
(Genre: fantasy, gothic mystery)

Kidnapper's Paradox
A man driven by grief dares to manipulate time itself to fix the moment that destroyed him. But as science bends under the weight of love and obsession, he discovers that saving the past may demand a sacrifice greater than he ever imagined.
(Genre: sci-fi drama, time travel paradox)

The Stone Lovers
In a small village, two forbidden lovers defy family, tradition, and fate itself for a chance at happiness. Their love, shadowed by magic and tragedy, becomes a tale carved into stone, a reminder of how beauty endures even in loss.
(Genre: dark romance, mythic tragedy)

Shift Change
In a dystopian future where half the population sleeps while the other half lives, one man begins to question whether survival without freedom is worth the cost. His search for connection in a world built on forgetting forces him to confront the meaning of being truly awake.
(Genre: dystopian sci-fi, existential drama)

Together, these stories weave a tapestry of yearning and defiance, where every choice is heavy, every risk is dangerous, and every dream carries a price.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FPWS4BY1
• ISBN13: 9798263592745
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"