A collection of contemporary short stories involving families, friends, and distant relations. It is the hazards of daily life that test the soul. Nobility, bravery, decency, kindness, and mercy are the shafts of light that pierce the darkness of the human experience. All the drama and excitement of a novel experience in compact short stories, contemporary lives moving through dark trials to light and hope.
Genre: FICTION / Short Stories (single author)As of May 23, 2023
#1,149,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#16,153 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
#20,285 in Short Stories (Books)
Books are available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover versions.
It Might Have Been
A wrong number. Not a scam. Just some innocent woman looking for her sister Pearl. Jason assured her that he wasn’t Pearl, hit the end button, and slid the phone across his desk. He dropped his head onto his hand and tried to concentrate.
Inventory. Yay!
Even mental sarcasm fell flat. He should be pumped. The holidays approached with days off for leisure time, sleeping in, parties with assorted junk food, and perhaps a chance to head out to the park for a little fun and games. The image of a woman clad in a tight winter sweater and black leggings danced in front of his eyes. Heat licked his body.
The phone chimed. Jason tapped his fingers. Answer? Not answer? Hardly a life or death decision. He tapped the green button and slapped the phone against his ear. “Dad?”
“Jas?”
Carol? Cold water doused the flames. Oh heck, anybody but his stepmother. He’d rather have root canal. Not that she wasn’t a perfectly nice person. It’s just that with a root canal, you know what you’re getting into. With Carol, Russian roulette seemed tame. Besides, he hated it when anyone shortened his name. What? Two syllables asking too much? Ja-son. Oh, forget it.
“Hey, Carol. What’s up?”
“Jas, I don’t want to take up your time, so I won’t beat around the proverbial bush, but your dad’s not doing too well. He’s really struggling, and I just want to give you a heads up before you come visit.”
Very subtle. Okay. It had been a while. A few weeks. Jason rolled his eyes over to the wall calendar—the one his wife had bought for him. Landscapes with hymns scrolled over the top. Oh yeah. Something safe that would keep his mind on celestial matters. Instead of other things.
Pine trees and a little manger scene. Hmmm…that time already?
| Language | Status |
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Silvia Ricevuti
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Author review: Silvia Ricevuti did an outstanding job translating my collection of short stories into Italian. She not only checked with me to make sure that the language matched with the meaning, but she carefully formatted the book so that it looked neat and professional. Silvia is easy to work with and holds to high standards. |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Norberta Silva
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Author review: Norberta does excellent work. Not only did she translate the work very well, but she formatted the manuscript perfectly, and she even added footnotes to help the reader understand unfamiliar terms. She is very professional, and I highly recommend her work. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Cristina López
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Author review: Cristina did a fantastic job, even formatting the work so that it looked great and was ready for publication the day I received it. |
