Bøger udgivet af Writers4higher

Karen Fletcher, alias Mary Elizabeth Kensington, has everything: haughty British-born façade, successful public broadcasting career in Atlanta, beautiful home, and devoted fiancé. Following her breast cancer diagnosis, Karen returns to her southern hometown of Chattahoochee, Florida, to garner support, seek treatment, and unravel the tangled fabrication she has so carefully woven. Karen embarks on the long and often painful journey to claim the rest of her life.

How does one middle-aged woman juggle her roles as wife, mother, coworker, and caretaker and resist the urge to drive, one-way, from town? Hannah Olsen daydreams of such an escape.Hannah belongs to the sandwich generation, one of many women wedged between nurturing children and caring for aging parents. Her elderly mother Mae-who lives nearby in an assisted living facility-is at times profound and funny, or bullish and ill-tempered. Hannah balances her reality with Mae's often demented view, with hilarious and bittersweet results. Though Hannah allows her two siblings to contribute, she shoulders the majority of Mae's care as they negotiate a maze of hospital rooms and rehab units. "Cathead Crazy" is the poignant, amusing, and truthful story of one woman's determined journey through love, loss, and the surprises of mid-life.

When Elizabeth first meets Simon at Westside House, he is angry and scared. She's ten and he's eleven, and like her, Simon is a war orphan. As the revolution tears through New Haven City, the two flee toward the mountains with meager food and a hand-drawn map to an old cabin. Dodging soldiers and gunfire, Elizabeth and Simon make the long, dangerous trek to reach the Emerald Mountains. The first night in the cabin, the hearth bursts into flames and they barely escape. Roused by the fire, a scruffy dwarf pops from a nearby tree hollow. He introduces himself as Taproot, then, after much complaining, decides to help them secure basic food and shelter. He renames them Elsbeth and Sim. Under the mountain man's care, Elsbeth and Sim learn about nature and survival. Taproot shows them how to gather wildwood honey and takes them to a nearby landfill where he teaches the fine art of "dump-diving". They meet Benjamin Pensworthy, an owl that has long been Taproot's ally. After an angry mother bear threatens to maul Elsbeth, Taproot issues an ultimatum. If Elsbeth and Sim wish to remain in the Emerald Mountains permanently, they must change. The hard winter looms, and the old magician fears for their welfare. Taproot uses his powers to shrink them to a size much easier to feed and hide. When they learn of the invading government's plans to destroy the valley to build a military base, Elsbeth and Sim choose to remain with Taproot and Benjamin to protect their new home. "Elsbeth and Sim" follows two children on a classic hero's journey with a twist-one that will forever change their lives.

In the Deep South, the grinding summer heat is enough to make people stupid. Four small town Southern women-each with distinct reasons to consider her life total crap-band together to forge "the easy way out." But life has a way of turning out opposite of misdirected plans. Abby has no husband, no children, no living kin, and a painful family secret. Loiscell is a two-time breast cancer survivor facing recurrence with dwindling faith and courage. Sheila is a meek abused wife hiding behind a religious, volunteer-queen veneer. Estranged from her only child, Caroline "Choo-choo" Ivey desperately misses her late husband. As the relentless summer heat continues, conditions deteriorate for the women. Initially in jest, they propose group suicide: a nice meal, followed by a quick death courtesy of a paid assassin. Choo-choo offers to pay, and Sheila figures a way to enlist her husband to acquire a contact name. Then plans go haywire. The Suicide Supper Club was a finalist in the 2012 Florida Writers Association RPLA contest. The Suicide Supper Club tackles tough subjects-abuse, cancer, aging-but with humor. In the South, humor is as essential as breathing and often filters life's harsh realities.

Fifty winters ago, Elizabeth and Simon fled war-torn New Haven City into the Emerald Mountains, where a dwarf named Taproot used his powers to shrink the two children. These new "one-spirit" beings, Elsbeth and Sim, master that same magic and create others like themselves. They live in underground burrows, dump-dive for supplies, and chat with animals. All, under the watch of Taproot and the regal Pensworthy owls. But Sim The First Father believes rules don't apply. One rash decision leaves him and three clan members wandering the treacherous, icy passes. Can Elsbeth The First Mother dig within to help Sim, herself, and the clan?