Nineteen authors from around the world were given
six weeks or less to produce “a story involving a mother somehow.” The result
is a gorgeously eclectic collection of tales that will make you laugh, cry, and
truly appreciate the “mad courage” of motherhood.
Laura Chapman, Francine LaSala, Nikki Mahood, Heather McCoubrey, and Karen E. Martin each present unique takes
on impending motherhood, while Sheryn MacMunn, kc wilder, and Julie Valerie portray the end of the
journey. Samantha Stroh Bailey, Louise Wise, and Maria Schulz show the pride and peril of
dealing with teenage daughters, while Elke Feuer, Diana Shafter Gliedman, and Donna Valenti demonstrate that a mother’s
work is never done, even under the craziest of circumstances. Regina-Cash Clark, Wendy Janes, and Monique McDonell explore
the impact on lives in which mothers go “missing,” while Carey Heywood and Jen Tucker warm your heart and tear it
out, respectively.
Samantha Stroh Bailey - “Hide and Seek” * Regina
Cash-Clark - “Autumn's Eyes” * Laura Chapman - “Oh Baby” * Elke Feuer - “The
Sacrifice” * Diana Gliedman - “Love in the Time of Cannibals” * Carey Heywood -
“A Poem for Mommy” * Wendy Janes - “Verity” * Francine LaSala - “Monkey Bread”
* Sheryn MacMunn - “Last Words” * Nikki Mahood - “This Year's Love” * Karen E.
Martin - “Two Thousand Steps” * Heather McCoubrey - “Emily's Promise” * Monique
McDonell - “A Tale of Two Mothers” * Maria Schulz - “Like a Boomerang” * Jen
Tucker - “Heartstrings” * Donna Valenti - “In the Nick of Time” * Julie Valerie
- “LLL” * k.c. wilder - “Lady in Red” * Louise Wise - “Becky's Mum”
ABOUT
THE EDITORS
Francine
LaSala and Samantha Stroh Bailey have more than 40 years of editorial
experience between them. Francine is a novelist, ghostwriter, and book
publishing veteran who's edited New York Times bestselling
fiction and nonfiction. Samantha is a former grammar and writing instructor,
including at the University of Toronto, and a prolific journalist. She has a
Master of Education and has edited countless manuscripts for clients all over
the world. They have also "team-edited" numerous works of fiction,
each lending their singular editorial strengths to create perfect and polished
prose for their clients. The author of Finding Lucas, Samantha (http://perfectpencommunications.com/) is based in Toronto, while Francine (francinelasalaproductions.wordpress.com), author of Rita
Hayworth's Shoes
and The
Girl, the Gold Tooth and Everything, is based in New York.
THE
STORIES
Claire's teenage daughter, Emily, goes missing on a
birthday cruise, and Claire can only fear the worst from the lately rebellious
teen...
June's abandonment of three of four of her children,
told in alternating points of view between June, and her oldest daughter,
Edwina.
Rocker Tuck and new wife Autumn return from
Chapman's "Ten Drummers Drumming" (Merry & Bright), now with a baby on
the way.
The Sacrifice - Elke Feuer
Melissa learns there isn't anything she won't do to
protect her children from the abuse and neglect of her alcoholic husband Roger...
Love in the Time of Cannibals - Diana Shafter
Gliedman
Could a zombie apocalypse finally give rudderless
Jessica the direction she needs--and the connection she craves? It will if her
mother has anything to say about it.
A Poem for Mommy - Carey Heywood
In helping his young daughter craft a poem for
Mother's Day, a father beautifully recounts the story of the romance with her
mother that led to them becoming a family.
After an accident means she'll no longer be able to
live on her own, septuagenarian Susan may need to divulge a secret she's been
keeping from Verity all her life.
Monkey Bread - Francine LaSala
Amy and Deck (Rita Hayworth's Shoes) learn more about
having babies than they ever wanted to know at a madcap family dinner celebrating
President's Day.
The bond shared between Ruth (Finding Out) and her mother, Eliza, is
revealed, from the time of Ruth's childhood before the War to the death of
Eliza.
This Year's Love - Nikki Mahood
Fallon and Abner are married, mortgaged, and
expecting a baby any minute in this fun, heartfelt mini-sequel to Fallen.
Two Thousand Steps - Karen E. Martin
With the unsolicited help of a fairy friend from
their childhood, two grown sisters - one with kids, one without - each get to
walk a mile in the other's shoes...
Emily's Promise - Heather
McCoubrey
Even though pregnant Emily's life is shattered by
Jason's infidelity the night before her wedding, she's determined to give her
baby the best life possible.
A Tale of Two Mothers - Monique McDonell
How do you deal with the mother who abandoned you
when she shows up out of the blue - and what does it mean for the woman who
raised you? Chloe's about to find out.
Like a Boomerang - Maria Schulz
Tess has been stressing out her
mother, Charlotte, since the day she was born. But when disaster strikes during
a campus Halloween party, it could prove the worst stress yet…
Heartstrings - Jen Tucker
Young widow Vicki's no stranger to loss--and guilt,
as another mother's loss helped her daughter live. Will meeting up help them
the two mothers heal? Or make matters worse?
In the Nick of Time - Donna Valenti
Iris may be dead but her insistence on looking after
her children is far from buried. Will her husband Nick get it together? Or will
Iris have to move Heaven and Earth to make him?
In this hilarious yet heartwarming story, words of
wisdom from the game of Scrabble unite a daughter with her aging mother, a
former Scrabble champion whose mental faculties are quickly fading.
Lady in Red - k.c. wilder
Her dying "Gran" is the only mother she's
ever known. But only when Gran is gone does a woman discover the woman her
grandmother really was, and the secrets she hid.
Becky's Mum - Louise Wise
Straight-A student Becky's being pulled off the
straight-and-narrow by her derelict boyfriend Darren. Will her mother's wisdom
sink in before it's too late?
Thank you so much for sharing our anthology and for helping The Guthy Jackson Charitable Foundation!
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