Shirl


Book Description

A lonely yowie emerges from the bush to attend the Desperate and Dateless Ball. Mysterious creatures descend from the sky to place a ban on footy. A shark named Bruce turns up in the local swimming pool. A fisherman enjoying a boys' weekend on the Murray River finds perspective where he least expects it. In Shirl, Wayne Marshall takes a range of what-if scenarios to their fabulist and comedic extremes. Superbly inventive and powerful, these fourteen stories skewer contemporary Australian society - particularly the crises of masculinity and national identity - in insightful and yet hilarious ways, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. This astounding collection will make you rethink what it means to be Australian.




In Plain Sight


Book Description

This riveting inside story of the intense search for the Salt Lake City teenager reveals never-before-told details of the largest investigation in Utah state history. The firsthand account of Tom Smart, Elizabeth's uncle and one-time suspect, reveals the details of the flawed police investigation, the media's manipulation of the family, and the eyewitness account of nine-year-old Mary Katherine Smart that went largely ignored by investigators. New research is presented on the family background of disturbed street preacher Brian David Mitchell, who kidnapped Elizabeth as part of a bizarre polygamous plot. Also examined is the critical role of the media, revealing the essential part played by John Walsh and others in facilitating Elizabeth's safe return, and the manipulative influence of Fox News and Bill O'Reilly. Going beyond a mere eyewitness account, the book includes information culled from interviews with more than 150 people involved in the search and investigation, notes from family meetings, and memos from law enforcement officials.




Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All


Book Description

Allan Gurganus's Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All became an instant classic upon its publication. Critics and readers alike fell in love with the voice of ninety-nine-year-old Confederate widow Lucy Marsden, one of the most entertaining and loquacious heroines in American literature. Lucy married at the turn of the twentieth century, when she was fifteen and her husband was fifty. If Colonel William Marsden was a veteran of the "War for Southern Independence," Lucy became a "veteran of the veteran" with a unique perspective on Southern history and Southern manhood. Lucy’s story encompasses everything from the tragic death of a Confederate boy soldier to the feisty narrator's daily battles in the Home--complete with visits from a mohawk-coiffed candy striper. Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All is a marvel of narrative showmanship and proof that brilliant, emotional storytelling remains at the heart of great fiction.




Through My Own Eyes


Book Description

Shirl is a single mother who urges her son's baby-sitter to swat him when he misbehaves. Helena went back to work to get off welfare, then quit to be with her small daughter. Kathy was making good money but got into cocaine and had to give up her two-year-old son during her rehabilitation. Pundits, politicians, and social critics have plenty to say about such women and their behavior. But in this book, for the first time, we hear what these women have to say for themselves. An eye-opening--and heart-rending--account from the front lines of poverty, Through My Own Eyes offers a firsthand look at how single mothers with the slimmest of resources manage from day to day. We witness their struggles to balance work and motherhood and watch as they negotiate a bewildering maze of child-care and social agencies. For three years the authors followed the lives of fourteen women from poor Boston neighborhoods, all of whom had young children and had been receiving welfare intermittently. We learn how these women keep their families on firm footing and try--frequently in vain--to gain ground. We hear how they find child-care and what they expect from it, as well as what the childcare providers have to say about serving low-income families. Holloway and Fuller view these lives in the context of family policy issues touching on the disintegration of inner cities, welfare reform, early childhood and pro-choice poverty programs.




Karma


Book Description

My future, My destiny, My focus, My life. —ENVY As long as I can remember, it seems like the excuses of men get weaker and weaker concerning them doing something wrong in a relationship. What can I say? Shit happens. Are women any different really than men are? What is next after the tables have turned! This is about how dishonesty plays a big part in our lives. For some reasons, some people find it easier to tell a lie than to tell the truth. You decide. It begins. “I wish you would stop bugging me over and over again. I told you that I am not cheating on you! What the fuck do you want from me?” James kept saying over and over as he slammed the door and left again, claiming that he was playing cards with his friends, but I knew that he was going to go sleep with his ex-girlfriend. He knew that I knew, but I guess, to ease the pain, he thought it was necessary to lie about it! What fucking nerve did he have thinking that I didn’t know what was going on? The door slammed and out he went. I sat on the couch and thought to myself, If he wants to play this game with me, then I will be the one with the last laugh, and when I laugh, everybody listens. When he left the house, I started packing and packing and I never looked back. I knew he was going to come to my job looking for me, but I had security get him out of the building at his first sighting. I really didn’t want to see him or hear from him. At that point, I really didn’t care if my co-workers knew or not what was going on with my personal situation as long as everyone knew that he and I were not a couple anymore. As a matter of fact, the ignorance of the people at this particular job probably already knew that he was doing this. After all, he worked over at the next building and they couldn’t help not to see him in his so-called business lunches, which really was his time to sneak away and have sex with someone! One day, for the hell of it, I followed him, and he ended up at some apartment complex. It looked real shady, and I thought to myself, Wow, he really is taking this shit to another level coming down here. He actually stayed in the car and pulled out his cell phone and looked over his shoulder while making the call, and suddenly a tall black woman with a long blond wig showed up and got in his car. He then pulled off, and I pulled off behind the both of them. They pulled up into a cheesy motel, and both of them got out of the car. He walked up to the window, pulled out cash, and got the key! They went into the room, and I was sitting in my car with binoculars and I could see a good view until she got up and closed the curtains. I sat in my car, not really shocked at that point. I was just disappointed in men. Why do men let you down so much? Is flesh that weak that men just lie about the simplest things or the simplest question? “Do you want me? Do you want to be with me? If you don’t just tell me”—this is what the woman normally says, but is her question ever answered? No! Therefore we take things into our own hands. I am definitely going to meet someone and settle down, and when I do meet him, I will know. So long to James and his cheating ass! Let someone else deal with his shit. I sat there until they closed the curtains and knew that I made the right decision to follow him. He wasn’t going to walk over me again. In my opinion, that was when I created my “bitchy” attitude. I was actually called this one day. It didn’t seem to bother me because I wasn’t considering myself a bitch. I just wasn’t going to let someone think that I was going to be that person’s doormat. My heart became dark, and cold. I am not saying that I was bitter, but I definitely didn’t have any love for the men that came into my life. I thought in my mind that they all were the same at one point—spineless, greedy, and selfish. I must say I thought I knew James, but we were formerly introduced ab




The Hero of Downways


Book Description

Once there was a Hero who confronted the dreaded Daggertooth and slew it. Unfortunately he was also slain by it - but the legend persisted. If it could be done once, then another Hero could be raised to do it again. Because the Daggertooth was dangerous to hibernating humanity. All people - all that anyone knew of - lived far underground in tunnels built for safety and hibernation. The Daggertooth was a mass killer - more so even than the hideous Oddlies, the outcasts of the darker tunnels. So this is the story of John-A, the "vatkid" who was trained to be a second Hero. And the story of "trukid" Shirl who taught John-A what to do. And Threesum, the Oddlies' leader, who scoffed at heroes. And the Elders who frowned at all the risky goings-on. This is the story of a mighty strange world and a mighty strange future...




How A Gray Seed Became A Peace Lily


Book Description

This story is my testimony of how, after suffering great personal losses""five family members in two and a half years, including the loss of my spouse of thirty-one years, which was the most devastating loss of all""I was resigned to end my life. My story takes the reader through the darkest moments in dealing with grief and quest for our purpose in life. I wanted to give a raw, honest account of my feelings so I held nothing back. My story will take you through my heartache, pain, and thoughts of suicide with many twists and turns. It also is a story of how God came to me through my grieving process a year and a half after my loss and saved me. Through my testimony, I hope to help others, who have suffered deep, emotional losses, understand that there can be meaning, purpose, and yes, even joy to life with a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.




The Golden Gals' French Adventure


Book Description

Let bestselling author Judy Leigh whisk you off to the beaches and beauty of Brittany. Warmhearted, funny and uplifting. Sixty-nine-year-old Fliss has lived a life! A career running her own successful business, a beautiful home, a wardrobe full of designer clothes – Fliss has everything she ever wanted. So why does she feel so lonely? Sixty-six-year-old Shirl didn’t expect to be looking after a baby again, let alone a grown woman who should know better. But with her daughter Gemma struggling to adapt to motherhood, and her boss Fliss increasingly reliant on Shirl to run her life, Shirl never gets a moment to herself. Fliss might not be great at life’s chores, but she is great at seizing opportunities, so when the chance for a jaunt to France’s beautiful Brittany comes her way, she decides it’s just what she and Shirl need. And as the sun-soaked town of Plouvannec-Sur-Mer begins to work its magic on the women, they realise there’s another way to live. From cake-laden patisseries, to joyous local fetes, from food, views and beaches to die for, to a community quick to embrace them, not to mention some rather fine French men for company, perhaps it’s not too late for Fliss and Shirl to embrace a new adventure and look forwards to a totally different future. The perfect feel-good story from besteller Judy Leigh. A must read for all fans of Maddie Please, Dawn French and Caroline James. Readers love Judy Leigh! ‘Brilliantly funny, emotional and uplifting’ Miranda Dickinson 'Lovely . . . a book that assures that life is far from over at seventy' Cathy Hopkins 'Brimming with warmth, humour and a love of life... a wonderful escapade’ Fiona Gibson 'I loved this book. It's funny, emotional and a book that fills you with determination not to let life pass you by as you get older' Jennifer Bohnet ‘This is another one of Judy’s terrific reads that is more than thoroughly enjoyable. It's more than a story- it's perhaps a message to all of us about “Carpe Diem” and taking hold of life with both hands whilst we can. The characters are wonderful and leap from the page like old friends’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review ‘This was a book I had trouble putting down! Thoroughly enjoyed the twist and turns. Can recommend for a good read’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review ‘I’ve loved every one of the author’s contemporary second chance romances, but I really think I might have found my new favourite. The characters were simply wonderful and soon found their places in my heart, their wealth of life experience and paths to future happiness so very easy to identify with, and the whole story had a warmth and lightness of touch that I found totally adorable’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review




The Saints and Sinners of Okay County


Book Description

In the tradition of Fannie Flagg and Lorna Landvik, The Saints and Sinners of Okay County is a heartfelt and compelling debut novel with an unforgettable heroine. It’s the story of a woman whose ability to see the futures of others leads her right back into her own troubled past. It’s the summer of 1976, and it seems like the entire state of Oklahoma is celebrating America’s bicentennial. But in the small town of Okay, Aletta Honor has much more on her mind than flags and fireworks. She’s pregnant with her fourth child and hasn’t seen her husband, Jimmy, in weeks. Although she can guess where the hound dog has parked his red-white-and-blue van—in front of the local gin mill or outside the home of yet another woman for a little Yankee Doodle Diddle. Discretion is not in the man’s constitution. Flat broke and desperate for some cash, Aletta decides to set up a food stand on the front lawn during the Okay Czech Festival. But when a woman touches her hand in sympathy, Aletta is completely unsettled. She never touches anyone outside her family—if she does, she gets overwhelming visions of their lives and futures. It started when she was a young girl and has scared her ever since. Now Aletta immediately sees the woman in a tragic accident, and gives her a warning that will save her life. When the woman returns the next day to thank her, Aletta figures out how to save her own life. With all the courage she can muster—figuring the townsfolk will most likely think she’s nuts—she puts a sign in the front yard: ALETTA HONOR. PSYCHIC READER. DROP-INS WELCOME. But doing readings for people opens a door she thought she had locked long ago, as memories of a terrible event come flooding back. She may not be able to see into her future, but she realizes she must face the demons in her past if she’s going to make a new life for herself and her kids. First, though, she’ll have to tell a few fortunes. . . . Poignant, touching, and full of the kind of wisdom that can only come straight out of the heartland, Dayna Dunbar’s The Saints and Sinners of Okay County is a wonderful novel of a woman who confronts pain in order to reclaim her belief in herself, lay her past to rest, and bring order back to a life that has veered too far off track.




A Collection of Plays by Mark Frank


Book Description

A Collection of Plays by Mark Frank: Volume II introduces seven new plays by playwright Mark Frank. In the powerful drama No-Code, Matt Mitchell enters the cruel world of nursing homes. In the comedy, Greek Soup, we meet famous tragic characters from Greek literature as they all work together to save their restaurant in Athens, New York, from being shut down by the Health Inspector. In the comedy Just Being Barry White, Gunther Heimleck, has the spirit of Barry White enter his body to sweep the girl of his dreams off her feet. In the drama, The Color of Slumber, Logan must try to escape the dream he is trapped in by the mysterious "her" and fight off the evil Mr. Shroud. In the one-act drama, The War Chest, a young girl falls into her grandfather's war chest and finds herself in Germany, World War II during the Jewish Holocaust. In the one-act comedy, Remember the Audience we find out what happens when the audience creates a play on the spot. In the one-act comedy, Life, Cigarettes and the Great, Great Beyond we join Hitler, Jesus, and Elvis for a smoke and conversation in the great beyond.