Rosy knows there's something special out there for her, she can feel it every time she looks up at the stars. But what is it? Where is it? She can hardly wait and decides to listen to that little voice inside her telling her to go out and find that something special, something great!

Gabriella I can't stand him. Jamal Holmes. My best friend's cousin. So what he may be able to help me finally make the move to get my business off the ground. He's a pompous jerk and judgmental to boot. At least, those are the very excuses I tell myself to avoid his help at all costs. Now, if I could just get my silly body to stop reacting every time he's near. If I could manage to control my erotic thoughts whenever he opens his mouth or tosses one of those goofy grins my way, everything would be just fine. Only if he didn't look so damn good in everything he puts on... JamalI can't stand her. Gabriella, Gabby for short. She's brash, snarky and seems to have it out for me. A damn she-devil. I don't give a damn how great her legs look in the tight jeans and leggings she wears. Or, how appealing her mid-section appears in the halter tops she frequently dons. Nor do I care that her smooth, brown skin always looks good enough to taste. She's a pain in the ass. At least, I thought she was until I started getting to know her. The real Gabby, and not the defensive, sarcastic, she-devil she initially hid behind to put up a wall between us. Slowly, I start to realize I get under her skin just as much as she gets under mine. And once we finally begin to break those walls down, we are both surprised by what's underneath. Neither of our attitudes, or our pasts that come back into our lives can come between what's inevitably ... Something Special.

The money jar that Rosa, Mama, and Grandma filled with their coins will be emptied to buy Rosa whatever she wants for her birthday. But what can Rosa choose that special enough-unless it's a gift they can all enjoy!

Inside Mummy's tummy is a Special Something. What, wonders her little girl could it be? It wriggles and kicks. Could it be a hippopotamus, or a dinosaur, or a cheeky monkey that will tease her when she's trying her best to be good in the car?

Every Friday is 'special day' in Charlie's class at school, when everybody takes in something special to show the rest of the class. Charlie can never find anything special enough to take, until one day he has to look after his baby sister.

This story was first published in Winter's Tales No. 3 in 1957. It was also published in 1959 in Japan in an English language textbook with Japanese annotations.

Something Special, Something Rare presents outstanding short fiction by Australia’s finest female writers. These are tales of love, secrets, doubt and torment, the everyday and the extraordinary. A sleepy town is gripped by delusory grief after the movie being filmed there wraps and leaves. A lingering heartbreak is replayed on Facebook. An ordinary family walks a shaky line between hopelessness and redemption. Brilliant, shocking and profound, these tales will leave you reeling in ways that only a great short story can. Kate Grenville * Mandy Sayer * Penni Russon * Favel Parrett * Tegan Bennett Daylight * Sonya Hartnett * Isabelle Li * Gillian Essex * Brenda Walker * Gillian Mears * Fiona MacFarlane * Joan London * Karen Hitchcock * Charlotte Wood * Tara June Winch * Cate Kennedy * Alice Pung * Anna Krien * Delia Falconer * Rebekah Clarkson ‘This collection is a fantastic line-up of some of Australia’s best writers who simply happen to be women ... the themes explored are as wide-ranging and eclectic as the writers.’ —Sunday Age ‘All the stories here justify that use of “out-standing” in the collection’s subtitle. If pushed to choose one standout, for me it is Favel Parrett’s ‘Lebanon’, which in its three pages manages to convey more emotion than some stories do in 300 ... This beautiful meditation on loss and belonging evokes the Australian tyranny of distance and is a fine example what the short-story form can achieve.’ —The Australian ‘Perfect fodder for a Sunday arvo on the couch, these charming, funny, touching short stories from well-known Australian female writers are what winter was made for.’ —Cosmopolitan ‘A wonderful selection ... the strength of the collection is that it doesn’t define the Australian woman writer as a particular situation and includes writers from various social and cultural backgrounds.’ —Artshub

Ronnie, Relney, and Renee have been friends throughout the years, and have shared their lives with one another. They are like sisters that fight and makeup but their love is always withstanding. They find the bittersweet success of life through careers that rise, loves that die, and the challenge of keeping it all together. They face decisions of loving their men or having a career because no one can have them both. As they face their challenges they do it together and their bond of love for one another grows.

The distinctive new crowdsourced publishing imprint Swoon Reads proudly presents its first published novel—an irresistibly sweet romance between two college students told from 14 different viewpoints. The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. You'll be rooting for Gabe and Lea too, in Sandy Hall's quirky, completely original novel A Little Something Different, chosen by readers, writes, and publishers, to be the debut titles for the new Swoon Reads imprint!

Life is messy. Life is hard. Life can still be beautiful. While writing Something Good, I was able to reflect on the days when I spent a lot of time praying to have God remove me from my trials. Now I am grateful for those challenges that have helped me better come to know God. I would love to share my experiences with you. Something Good is a collection of stories that address some of the hardships that I have faced and how I began to heal after I allowed myself to feel once again. I wrote this book as an alternative to using substances to fix what felt broken inside of me. I struggle with addiction, mental illness, type 1 diabetes, and grief, among myriad other challenges that you and I might have in common. The details of my experiences might look differently than yours, and that is okay because the fact that we are all suffering to some degree sets us on common ground. I believe that hardships are the ties that bind humanity and point our focus back toward God. I hope that you can find something good to encourage you while reading this book because you, my friend, are not alone in your trials. Much love, AO