On the Road to Exile and Other Short Stories

This book contains seven of the most unusual short stories ever written.

In On the Road to Exile, a woman travels a thousand miles on her donkey, returning to the family she left a year earlier to find the only thing that has changed is her.

In The Accidental Transvestite, a man wants only to get in his ex-girlfriend’s pants but once he has them on, he soon realizes he would do anything to get them off.

In How Much Further to Insanity?, a woman boards a train that takes her to the edge of madness, confronted by the strangest circumstances that begin with the insults of an Amish passenger and ends with the deprivations of a simeopath.

In She Fell to Sleep, a man ruminates over the question of whether his girlfriend fell asleep or faked it.

In Six Kittens, Six Victims, a man and his two children stand outside a grocery store, trying to find homes for their kittens.

In This is Your Life, a man’s perfect life turns complicated when his girlfriend finds him sharing a joint with two fatties, who were at his house due to unexplainable reasons.

In Ode to a Shitonion, a man wakes from a coma and recalls the circumstances that led to him being charged with “...exhibiting a flagrant disregard for the sanctity of life while satisfying unnatural sexual impulses...” and the brief courtroom drama that follows.

One Heart

Vivian believed she had found love with Donovan, her partner with whom she renovated and shared a home, envisioning a future together. However, her dreams are shattered when Donovan abruptly ends their relationship. Refusing to drown in sorrow, Vivian sets out to find a new beginning and inadvertently stumbles upon a real estate office that would change her life forever.

There, she meets Andre, an irresistibly charming and strikingly handsome man who captures her attention like no one ever has. Andre is not just any real estate agent; he is one-half of the dynamic duo behind the popular home improvement show, House2Home. Just when Vivian thinks her luck couldn’t get any better, she encounters Sean, Andre’s equally captivating twin brother, adding an unexpected twist to her new venture.

To her astonishment, Vivian discovers she’s been selected to appear on their show. The twins are not only interested in transforming her living space but also, it seems, in winning her heart. As Vivian navigates this unexpected turn of events, she finds herself in a thrilling predicament: caught between two desires, each as alluring as the other.

Ooops!

Excited to own a brand-new pair of white sneakers, Turtle wondered if he should be careful with them. Will he able to run fast? Will he be able to jump high? Will his friends like them? Turtle just wants to test out and show his friends how special his new sneakers are!

Squirrel is busy climbing a tree, Rabbit is hopping around the carrot patch, Bee is buzzing through the garden, and Firefly is glowing his twinkling light.

Will Turtle get a chance to use his new sneakers? Will they be as good as he imagines them to be?

Opelika Opiate

“Opiate” – to induce sleep; to stupefy; to hijack the brain and change its normal function.

Opelika, Alabama – where cars, men, and race collide to unhinge the life of a young woman. Piecing it back together will require figuring out the role she played, and who she really is – or wants to be.  

Ordained to Die

They are coming! Run!

The governors now rule the territories, finalizing and strategizing as they have been preparing for eons against an immortal enemy. Panacia seeks to strengthen its power and makes deals. Janacia seeks peace and prepares in fear of what is to come. Yet, as hostility steadily grows between the powerful continents, the secret to saving it all might lie in the hands of one desert tribe-woman kidnapped from her home by the king in the mountains. Will she make it out alive?

Ordinary Kate

Kate, an ordinary woman, finds her world turned upside down when she becomes a widow and loses the comfortable life she’s always known. Suddenly, she’s faced with questions she never imagined: Did her husband have a second wife? Where did the money in his account come from? Is it hers? And who stole her identity?

As Kate searches for answers, she is befriended by a handsome US Customs Officer and an unorthodox neighbor. Her adventure takes unexpected twists and turns, leading her to a final choice that challenges her honor and integrity.

Orphan's Bond

Thirteen-year-old John Robert O’Neill, better known as Robbie, is a precocious young man with an old soul. Robbie, the younger of two brothers, delights in his special relationship with his grandfather, for whom he is named. Henry, seven years older than Robbie, is completely opposite in demeanor and manner from his younger brother.

The tension between Robbie and Henry is palpable when they first encounter each other in the hospital corridor, where they await news of their grandfather’s stroke.

Indeed, the untimely stroke and resulting loss of speech occur the night before Robbie was to come over after school to learn of a secret Grandpa had never shared with anyone in the family.

Grandpa’s struggle to communicate since the stroke leaves Robbie with few clues and harrowing choices. The puzzle pieces come together with unanticipated twists and turns. Robbie discovers a brother he never quite knew before. Grandpa learns to forgive himself and others. That which is genuinely to be treasured is revealed, not in its price, but its unbreakable bond.

Our Forgotten Cultures

In the 1980s, Sasi finds herself playing the role of involuntary trailblazer, as the first Nepali woman to immigrate to her small community in Eastern Canada.

There is no guidebook on how to navigate life, identity, and motherhood in this strange new place. Nor is she prepared for the triple whammy of racism, sexism, and ageism that confronts her as she seeks to gain a footing in the workplace and society.

Weaving together personal recollections with those of family members, Sasi takes the reader on a journey that is strikingly honest, emotional, and ultimately hopeful.

Our Goose Story

Follow along on an epic adventure with Sierra and Benson. Together they must save four eggs from being squished by a tractor!

What kind of eggs are they and how will they save them?

A delightful story to read with your children which emphasises the importance of treating animals and nature with kindness and compassion.

Our Stock Is Rising

I spent the early years researching the topic. The goal was to teach them as I learned, and to stay one step ahead of my classes. I took them to see the experts at Key Bank and the Wright State University School of Business. As time went on, the experts came to us. The late Ellis Rowe (former VP, Mars, Inc.), and Theo Killion (former CEO, Zales) flew in from Jacksonville and Chicago respectively, just to share a few of their valuable hours for what they both found to be an invaluable experience.

This book is written by a teacher, for teachers. Unlike other books of its kind, this one’s not written by an expert in the field of investment financing. Quite frankly, I saw in this project, such a sense of urgency, that the need for it to be delivered by experts (whenever they became available), was outweighed by the need for it to be delivered in the here and now.

Our Stock Is Rising is a metaphor that speaks not just to the disenfranchised, but to all the little kids in all the neighborhoods outside New York’s famed Financial District. It says that we are not always too young. And that the things we are allowed to be challenged by in our youth, won’t be the things that deny us a place at the table, as adults.

Out of a Dream

Jessica Benjamin, an accomplished family lawyer from Toronto, Canada, embarks on a dream cruise to the Mediterranean with her best friend, Pat. Fate intervenes when an accident brings the charming Spanish hero, Carlos De La Garcia, into her life. With Pat under the care of Carlos’ capable young employee, Jess continues her journey by land, despite a cast on her leg.

Captivated by his ‘little sleeping beauty,’ as he affectionately called her during her coma, Carlos enlists the help of Pat and his sister Kia to persuade Jess to extend her stay. As they explore the sights aboard his yacht, their connection deepens into a passionate and loving relationship, leaving them both uncertain about the future.

Complications arise as others on both sides pursue their own romantic interests, threatening to tear the couple apart. Amidst questionable circumstances and the looming prospect of Jess’s return to Canada, their newfound love is put to the ultimate test. Will their bond be strong enough to withstand the challenges that lie ahead, or will their romance be cut short by the very forces that brought them together?

Out of Bounds

Out of Bounds features Montreal women of different ages and cultural backgrounds facing a range of contemporary challenges and adventures at home and in other countries. Indigenous individuals, immigrant women, aging women, victims of domestic violence, addicts, and Holocaust survivors face making difficult choices at dramatic turning points in their lives. The stories are linked partly through one character who appears at key stages of her life, starting when she is sixteen and finishing when she is a retired anthropology professor and meets a fascinating but mysterious man she knew when she was a young reporter. She plays a role in the lives of several women featured in the book.

One of the women, who starts as an accountant and ends up helping poor women in Mexico start small businesses, has a rambling Montreal house where she welcomes women needing a safe place to escape to while making life-changing decisions. Settings include Montreal, Vancouver, and New York, as well as Portugal, Mexico, Antigua, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and rural India.