Sunday, April 8, 2012

Leaping into a short story collection...


What a whirlwind few days this has been! Not only was my first eBook published, I did all of the formatting and ensured the TOC was functional.

It only took a 3 hour, 45 minute and 20 second conversation (read: hold time) with MicroSoft to get it done. But hey, who's counting??

Leaping Out On Faith... is now available as a Kindle book and can be downloaded to any PC as well.

Leaping... is a collection of four short stories whose main characters are all women. Each story features a different woman and how she handles the challenge that Life throws her way. As you read each story, the women are more mature and their Life challenges significantly increase.

These stories were written over a span of almost 18 years. The first story, The Green Years, is the oldest. This story began as "Martin's Friend" and over the course of writing workshops, critics from fellow writers, the story evolved into the current version.

Chambray Curtains Blowing in the Wind is my all-time favorite short story. Sally has had a troubled childhood filled with abuse and violence. She responded the only way she knew how and now retribution is seeking her out. How will she handle it?

Knocking at the Door is very different. This story is of a much more mature woman than the two previous ones. This woman has had heartache in the past, pain and is now very reticent in venturing to love again. But she's swept off her feet by a mysterious man in the museum, Stephen Sumagaysay. You've got to read how this one ends!

All God's Men is by far the most controversial and contemplative piece of the quartet. Salera is in her second trimester and she's desperately in love with her child's father. Yet, she's surrounded herself with her spiritual teacher and her friends and family to help her do the right thing for herself and the baby which may take her away from the child's father! There's no violence. This is a story of differing religious beliefs and how people respond to things that are unfamiliar to them.

I love these stories. I worked hard on them to make them polished, fresh and available to readers to ponder over them and discuss them.

Until next time -- Happy Reading!

4 comments:

  1. Hello! First, let me say that I laughed at your reference to the nightmarish experience of creating a functioning TOC. :) I've been there, done that...redone it, and done it yet again.

    Congratulations on publishing your work. That's great! I'm a big fan of short stories and yours sound interesting. I'll check them out.

    All the best to you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Scarlett! I hereby declare us TOC Black Belts of the Highest Order. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can say whatever I wanna say on the blog!!!!! LOL (inside joke, literally, inside the office joking)!!! I love this woman, such a tremendous drive and passion. I know this book will do extremely well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's right, Unknown!! You say whatcha wanna!! LOL! Thank you for your love & support!

    ReplyDelete