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Short Takes: 15 Contemporary Stories

Literature & Fiction

Monica Wood

Contemporary

J.Weston Walch

17 writers. 17 stories. One great state. Original, unusual, classic, tender, amazing...these are the stories of Maine writers. The Way Life Should Be is a compilation of contemporary stories by some of Maine’s best established and up and coming writers. Their stories range in length from 3 pages to 30 pages and capture everything from daily life in Maine to tales of flying babies. Maine, with Portland at its epicenter, has one of the most original and thriving writing scenes in the country. The Way Life Should Be is the must-have book that epitomizes this vibrant creative community.

The Way Life Should Be: Stories by Contemporary Maine Writers

Alex Irvine

Lewis Robinson

Ari Meil

John B. Robinson

David Mizner

Jim Nichols

United States

Warren Machine Co

THE ONE-IN-A-MILLION BOY by Monica Wood is for anyone who loves to laugh, cry, and think about how extraordinary ordinary life can be. Not to be missed by readers who loved THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, ELIZABETH IS MISSING or THE SHOCK OF THE FALL. 'A lovely, quirky novel about misfits across generations' Daily Mail The story of your life never starts at the beginning. Don't they teach you anything at school? So says 104-year-old Ona to the 11-year-old boy who's been sent to help her out every Saturday morning. As he refills the bird feeders and tidies the garden shed, Ona tells him about her long life, from first love to second chances. Soon she's confessing secrets she has kept hidden for decades. One Saturday, he doesn't show up. Ona starts to think he's not so special after all, but then his father Quinn arrives on her doorstep, determined to finish his son's good deed. The boy's mother is not so far behind. Ona is set to discover that even at her age the world can surprise you, and that sometimes sharing a loss is the only way to find yourself again.

The One-in-a-Million Boy: The touching novel of a 104-year-old woman's friendship with a boy you'll never forget.

Headline/Review

1963, Mexico, Maine. The Wood family is much like its close, Catholic, immigrant neighbors, all dependent on a father's wages from the Oxford Paper Company. Until the sudden death of Dad, when Mum and the four closely connected Wood girls are set adrift. Funny and to-the-bone moving, When We Were the Kennedys is the story of how this family saves itself, at first by depending on Father Bob, Mum's youngest brother, a charismatic Catholic priest who feels his new responsibilities deeply. And then, as the nation is shocked by the loss of its handsome Catholic president, the televised grace of Jackie Kennedy―she too a Catholic widow with young children―galvanizes Mum to set off on an unprecedented family road trip to Washington, D.C., to do some rescuing of her own. An indelible story of how family and nation, each shocked by the unimaginable, exchange one identity for another.

When We Were the Kennedys

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

The Pocket Muse is every writer's key to finding writing inspiration when and where they want it. It includes hundreds of thought-provoking prompts, exercises and illustrations that immediately help them to: get started writing; overcome writer's block; develop a writing habit; think more creatively; master style, revision and other elements of the craft. 
The rich variety of exercises will help writers to create entire stories or focus on a single aspect of their writing. It will also encourage them to think about how they write in new and surprising ways. It's truly a unique book, both fun and effective. It will teach, cheer and inspire writers as never before.

Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspirations for Writing

Writer's Digest Books

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Books by Monica Wood