HUMOR
The Chronicles of Marr-nia by Karen Cantwell
Four funny and touching short stories featuring soccer mom and movie lover, Barbara Marr who made her debut appearance in the hilarious murder mystery, Take the Monkeys and Run. Also, just for fun, the author has included two BONUS shorts with different themes. All-in-all - a collection sure to entertain.
Dopey Stories by Ted Summerfield
"Dopey Stories" is a collection of 7 short stories to enjoy over a drink or smoking a joint: Bob the Road Painter, Minnie Tushi meets her love in Bald Knob, Bob and the Dickheads, An Ordinary Man, The Dumb Clucks Who Caused All The Trouble, Sal Acious meets Tim Orous, and The Beautiful Ms. Ann Thrope. The stories may make you say "huh?" as they are a little weird, but consider the source.
The Fashion Police by Sibel Hodge
Amber Fox has been making too many mistakes lately and something's got to give...
For starters, Amber accidentally shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. The only one who knows the truth about the incident is Amber, but no one will believe her.
After accepting a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiancé, Brad Beckett, it turns out that Brad thinks they've still got unfinished business and the job description includes sexual favours that come with a price.
When fashion designer, Umberto Fandango, goes missing, Amber becomes embroiled in a complicated case. But Amber's arch-enemy, Chief Inspector Skipper, is also investigating his disappearance, and it's a race against time for Amber to solve the mystery before Skipper does and get her old job back. And just when Amber thinks things can't get any worse, she's being stalked by some crazy mobsters.
Who is Umberto Fandango? Is he dead? And can Amber stay one step ahead and stay alive?
For starters, Amber accidentally shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. The only one who knows the truth about the incident is Amber, but no one will believe her.
After accepting a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiancé, Brad Beckett, it turns out that Brad thinks they've still got unfinished business and the job description includes sexual favours that come with a price.
When fashion designer, Umberto Fandango, goes missing, Amber becomes embroiled in a complicated case. But Amber's arch-enemy, Chief Inspector Skipper, is also investigating his disappearance, and it's a race against time for Amber to solve the mystery before Skipper does and get her old job back. And just when Amber thinks things can't get any worse, she's being stalked by some crazy mobsters.
Who is Umberto Fandango? Is he dead? And can Amber stay one step ahead and stay alive?
Four Years From Home by Larry Enright
Tom Ryan -- firstborn of five children in a large, Irish Catholic family, smart and acerbic, a cheat and a bully -- calls himself the future king of the Ryans. There are other opinions. His mother calls him a holy terror. Mrs. Ioli calls the police on him. His father says that had Trouble been a saint, that would have been Tom's middle name. But his parents, neighbors, peers, and siblings all must bow down before him or suffer the consequences. Just ask the Christmas turkey leftovers he buried in the side yard.
Harry, the youngest Ryan, was the shining star of the family. Bright, sensitive, and caring, he was protected by parental radar, called by God and Grandma Ryan to the priesthood, and was in Tom's eyes, a brown-nosing little punk who had become a threat to his kingdom and the primary target of his search and destroy missions.
Then Harry changed. He abandoned his vocation and quit the church, and when he left for college, he left for good. He never called. He rarely wrote. His picture disappeared from the mantle. It was as if he had ceased to exist and his shining star had been but a passing comet. The enemy had retreated and Tom's war was over.
"Four Years from Home" begins on Christmas 1972 during Harry's senior year at college. The Ryan family has gathered without Harry for another bittersweet holiday celebration. When an unexpected and unwelcome gift arrives, the family demands answers and Tom Ryan, bully cum laude, must make a reluctant journey of discovery and self-discovery into a mystery that can only end in tragedy.
Written by the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, "Four Years from Home" redefines brotherly love in the darkly humorous and often poignant actions of its principal skeptic, Tom Ryan.
Harry, the youngest Ryan, was the shining star of the family. Bright, sensitive, and caring, he was protected by parental radar, called by God and Grandma Ryan to the priesthood, and was in Tom's eyes, a brown-nosing little punk who had become a threat to his kingdom and the primary target of his search and destroy missions.
Then Harry changed. He abandoned his vocation and quit the church, and when he left for college, he left for good. He never called. He rarely wrote. His picture disappeared from the mantle. It was as if he had ceased to exist and his shining star had been but a passing comet. The enemy had retreated and Tom's war was over.
"Four Years from Home" begins on Christmas 1972 during Harry's senior year at college. The Ryan family has gathered without Harry for another bittersweet holiday celebration. When an unexpected and unwelcome gift arrives, the family demands answers and Tom Ryan, bully cum laude, must make a reluctant journey of discovery and self-discovery into a mystery that can only end in tragedy.
Written by the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, "Four Years from Home" redefines brotherly love in the darkly humorous and often poignant actions of its principal skeptic, Tom Ryan.
Is It Just Me or Is Everyone a Little Nuts? by Judi Coltman
"Is It Just Me? or Is Everyone a Little Nuts!" offers a laugh out loud look at parenting, marriage, aging and small town living from an suburban point of view.
Written in short chapters, Coltman retells everyday life events, conversations and stories infused with her skewed sense of humor. These small snippets of life are moments in which anyone can identify and laugh at themselves as well. Middle age can be boring, but Coltman allows the naughty into her life from time to time, like her adult Scout Troop, "Cougar Scouts" Troop 69, or conversations between her middle aged self and her seventeen year old self that will leave you rolling ( and remembering!) A great quick read!!
Written in short chapters, Coltman retells everyday life events, conversations and stories infused with her skewed sense of humor. These small snippets of life are moments in which anyone can identify and laugh at themselves as well. Middle age can be boring, but Coltman allows the naughty into her life from time to time, like her adult Scout Troop, "Cougar Scouts" Troop 69, or conversations between her middle aged self and her seventeen year old self that will leave you rolling ( and remembering!) A great quick read!!
Nothing to Lose by Consuelo Saah Baehr
A novel of insight and great humor, this is a Cinderella story about the triumphant makeover of the body and spirit of April Taylor, a fat girl from Queens with the right mind but the wrong body.
April - 60 lbs. overweight, reeling from a broken marriage wangles a job as a softgoods copywriter in a suburban department store. There she meets Don, the black design manager who is determined to help her. "You're not really breathing," he tells her. "You're holding your breath for the next insult . . . such a waste, such a pretty face." April capitulates and the program begins: the wogging, the jogging, the hip walking and near starvation that will melt her prison of fat.
Nothing to Lose is also about April's fantasy lover, Luis O'Neill. Luis is a half Irish, half Puerto Rican boy from the projects who makes it to Princeton and utilizes his dazzling good looks to become the youngest president in Burdie's history. Set against the backdrop of the outrageous world of advertising and marketing
this is a jubilant and satisfying story of risk-taking and love between two worthy survivors.
April - 60 lbs. overweight, reeling from a broken marriage wangles a job as a softgoods copywriter in a suburban department store. There she meets Don, the black design manager who is determined to help her. "You're not really breathing," he tells her. "You're holding your breath for the next insult . . . such a waste, such a pretty face." April capitulates and the program begins: the wogging, the jogging, the hip walking and near starvation that will melt her prison of fat.
Nothing to Lose is also about April's fantasy lover, Luis O'Neill. Luis is a half Irish, half Puerto Rican boy from the projects who makes it to Princeton and utilizes his dazzling good looks to become the youngest president in Burdie's history. Set against the backdrop of the outrageous world of advertising and marketing
this is a jubilant and satisfying story of risk-taking and love between two worthy survivors.
One Hundred Open Houses by Consuelo Saah Baehr
100 Open Houses is about real estate and life. It’s about the whispers from the soul hole that we barely hear. Rebecca Haas, like all of us, is being tortured to death by the sameness of her life, her thoughts, her weight, the incessant self review of life choices, her indecision, her stalled writing career. Can a change of space really change her life and finally give her the authenticity she needs? Take this trip with Rebecca through all of the open houses and the lives lived in them – is one of them yours?
Spellcheck Nation by Consuelo Saah Baehr
Spellcheck Nation :
Does Spellcheck have a sinister side? Can you engage it's darkness to help you strategize and gain the advantage even though society is screaming that you don't have a chance! Yes. You can. Fiftysomething Holly needs an ally to gain power in a sea of twentysomethings at a high-profile media job. Spellcheck comes through.
What People Pray For:
It's early morning mass. The candles are lit and the priest murmurs the liturgy. After the Offertory and before Communion, comes the spot where the congregation can call out favors they want from God. Does it work? Is a miracle possible? What do they pray for? It's not money.
What I Wore For Loss:
A woman reflects on the downfall of her marriage and thrashes around trying to find a way of getting up. Filled with humor and self-reflection, What I Wore For Loss, is a life affirming love song to the reclaimed middle-aged woman.
The Obesity Study:
OMG who is running these medical investigations? Are they serious? This is too much to bear. It is too gross. It is damaging to the psyche, the ego, the stomach. BUT. It does pay one hundred dollars. Let's do it.
Does Spellcheck have a sinister side? Can you engage it's darkness to help you strategize and gain the advantage even though society is screaming that you don't have a chance! Yes. You can. Fiftysomething Holly needs an ally to gain power in a sea of twentysomethings at a high-profile media job. Spellcheck comes through.
What People Pray For:
It's early morning mass. The candles are lit and the priest murmurs the liturgy. After the Offertory and before Communion, comes the spot where the congregation can call out favors they want from God. Does it work? Is a miracle possible? What do they pray for? It's not money.
What I Wore For Loss:
A woman reflects on the downfall of her marriage and thrashes around trying to find a way of getting up. Filled with humor and self-reflection, What I Wore For Loss, is a life affirming love song to the reclaimed middle-aged woman.
The Obesity Study:
OMG who is running these medical investigations? Are they serious? This is too much to bear. It is too gross. It is damaging to the psyche, the ego, the stomach. BUT. It does pay one hundred dollars. Let's do it.
Take the Monkeys and Run by Karen Cantwell
Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie’s Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.
Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It’s up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?
Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It’s up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?
