Manifesting Memories

What does a memory look like? Often it will appear personal and sacred because we have created it ourselves with every sensual focus we brought to our experience. Then, we sprinkle our thoughts and perspectives on it. A memory will reconnect us to the past for a  reimagining, a review, and a reframing. It will end up looking very much like who we are.

I hope the stories on these pages will entice you to return home to your own memories. Will you be stirred by how your memories have shaped you? Do they help reveal to you how unique you are? How have you chosen to be in life because of your memories? Reflecting on our memories may reveal how we truly belong to ourselves and to one another.

Enjoy the journey,

 Darlene

Life is a Story

In Life is a Story, D.A. Bennett takes readers on a captivating journey through a collection of short stories that explore the universal themes of adolescence, adulthood, and the complexities of human relationships.

Set in southern Louisiana during the mediators, the initial stories follow hard-working rural families as they navigate life’s challenges and opportunities. From there, the book ventures into the scandalous and confusing world of 21^st century bourgeoisie, where misunderstandings, heartbreak, and even crime lurk around every corner.

Bennett’s writing is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking, resonating with readers of all ages and backgrounds. With a keen eye for detail and a unique voice, the author expertly weaves together tales that are both poignant and insightful, leaving a lasting impact on the reader’s heart and mind.

As a new and adventurous author, Bennett delivers a formidable read that will captivate and inspire readers from beginning to end. Life is a Story is a must-read for anyone seeking a fresh and unique perspective on the joys and challenges of the human experience.

It Is in You

This captivating collection of short stories features both real and fictitious characters who, like all of us, grapple with life’s challenges. Within these pages, you’ll discover the potential to become better, happier, more balanced, content, humble, and successful individuals. Through her distinctive and compelling prose, Darlene Hawes illustrates how some characters surrender to the giving and receiving of love, while others choose self-destruction. Her transfixing and detailed storytelling highlights the importance of self-awareness and mindfulness in shaping our lives. Interwoven musical reflections remind us that our vibrations resonate with truth: energy does not lie. By knowing ourselves and striving for self-mastery, we can achieve victory. These stories reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary.

Haunt

"As Maru stood gripping the tall, iron fence in the field leading to the forest, she thought of the past again...The memories remained etched in her brain. She groaned softly, irritated."

Once you're haunted, your life will never be the same. The following is a collection of short stories featuring oddballs, including a family man with a penchant for his childhood toys, a mysterious man-but is he really?-whose regular walks become more stressful, a devoted student librarian trying to maintain the sanctity of her cherished place, and a young woman willing to put up with-almost-anything to get her business off the ground. What the characters find out is that anything can haunt you. Tensions rise. Boundaries are pushed. Relationships will be tested. Can the characters reclaim their lives without losing their sanity in the process? These whimsical tales bring the laughs, embrace the weird, raise eyebrows, and hopefully tug at your heart. You don't want to miss it!

Friday's House and Other Stories

Friday’s House and Other Stories offers a captivating glimpse into the practicality of American farm life during the 1930s and 1940s. Through the author’s vivid storytelling, readers are introduced to a cast of eccentric characters who face extraordinary challenges that are sure to uplift and inspire.

Immerse yourself in a world of imagination as you encounter a thunderstorm that drenches you with its power, the honk of a goose that awakens you from slumber, and ponies trotting where they shouldn’t be. You’ll meet a cow and a woman living in a boxcar, a hen residing in a town library, and experience heartwarming moments that will bring tears to your eyes and laughter to your lips.

The book’s language is peppered with subtle surprises, and it offers a glimpse into the harsh realities of life in the Midwest during that era. But it also highlights the determination and perseverance of the people who lived there, as well as the awe-inspiring beauty of the land itself – from its twinkling stars to its majestic owls and butterflies.

Familiar Setting

In this evocative collection, Suárez weaves together ten tales that delve deep into the complexities of family, exposing the raw, often painful underbelly of relationships. These stories navigate the murky waters of familial dysfunction, drawing readers into a whirlwind of nostalgia, unease, and a spectrum of raw emotions.

From mothers weighed down by recklessness, fathers marked by absence, to young girls turning to the shadows to find a way out, and spinsters retreating from society’s judgment into lonely existences – each tale is a poignant exploration of choices, consequences, and the human yearning for connection.

Driving Without Lights and Other Stories

Open any door of a house along a dead-end street on Santa Barbara’s West Side and you’ll find lives full of desire, rage, loss, joy, and chaos. This collection tells their stories including The Opera Singer who practices more than her afternoon scales; the boyhood friends who build A Bridge Between Trees that brings tragedy and triumph; The Japanese Wife who struggles to raise a mentally disabled child at a time when they were shunned and labeled; a black couple who try to find A Better Neighborhood; a stressed-out lawyer riding his own personal Midnight Tornado; The Cabinetmaker trying to reach out to a neglected boy; and four young men Driving Without Lights into their uncertain futures. These 17 tales are written from the points of view of the young and old, the moral and questionable, from white-bread Americans and people of color. These are glimpses into lives both compelling and revealing.

Climbing the Stairs of the City & Other Short Stories

H. Lloyd Weston worked assiduously to create a compilation of short stories, some from real-life experiences, the others from the divine gift of the imagination. Each story is crafted with the author’s emphasis on originality and fluidity of thought and expression, keeping in mind the reader who will embark upon the same journey by finding enjoyment in reading these engaging stories. The author wants the reader to experience the same palpable joy and reward he received in the task of creating them.

His obsession with executing a quality batch of stories came from his love of literature and the coterie of exceptional short story writers whose works he read along the way. Among these are writers such as Anton Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield, D. H. Lawrence, James Baldwin, Eudora Welty, Katherine Ann Porter, Ernest Hemingway, and Leo Tolstoy. The reader is swept away by the gripping power of these stories-tales that are original, imaginative, and adventurous.

It is hoped that the average reader will find things pertinent to their own life experiences within these poignant and suspenseful tales; stories that afford them the chance to escape the humdrum of daily life and the headlines of today’s depressing 24-hour news cycle. It is hoped that these stories will take each reader to a place of wonder and escape to the three different geographic locations within these stories.

Building 8

In the heart of a dystopian metropolis, Building 8 stands as a silent witness to the lives and struggles of its inhabitants. Anthony C. Mazzella’s gripping narrative plunges readers into a world where reality bends and the ordinary collides with the surreal. As the central business district is besieged by chaotic flying machines and destruction reigns, the top floor of Building 8 remains a curious sanctuary of calm. Within its walls, two men go about their business, seemingly oblivious to the mayhem below, embodying the eerie contrast between normalcy and chaos that defines the story.

Mazzella’s vivid imagination and keen insights into human nature drive this thought-provoking tale, weaving together elements of science fiction and psychological thriller. As the characters navigate a landscape of fear, uncertainty, and hidden truths, Building 8 challenges readers to question their perceptions of reality and the thin veneer that separates order from disorder. This novel is a powerful exploration of resilience, human connection, and the mysterious forces that shape our lives, making it a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and those who enjoy a deep dive into the complexities of the human psyche.

Between the Bench

Between the Bench is bold and essential. It’s spicy, yet never crosses the line into obscenity. The message is crystal clear: something extraordinary is happening. Thoughts venture where people rarely tread, embarking on a spectacular journey into another realm.

Included are three bonus escapades, each distinct yet united by a logbook chronicling these extraordinary events and encounters. It’s a journey into a region of sheer madness – yes, madness! The hook? There’s no telling what one might bring back from such an experience. It’s crucial to return and share this revolutionary knowledge.

Craving something as irresistible as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? This book has all the good stuff. So, buckle up and hold on tight! You’re in for a ride. Something poignant is about to break the seal, and it all begins now. Bon Voyage!

Ballsy

In this collection of novellas by Perry Glasser, three very different women find themselves confronting a world of men unable to see them for who they are.

They are pursued, tracked, and fearful, but they are never timid.

When they turn to face their foes, they must rely on their extraordinary courage and will to prevail.

Call it guts, call it bravery – or call it ballsy.

Anoka Stories

Anoka, a little town Northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is central to this collection of short stories. The stories span two centuries of history, including an Indian tribe’s conflict with intruding white settlers, and a civil war veteran’s souvenir that became a family heirloom. All of the stories have elements of truth; all have elements of fiction.