A tidbit of a story acknowledging the coming of age of us all. They are often melancholy times, staying with us as we grow into adulthood and remember — “oh yeah.” We remind ourselves about the summers, the people we met, and the things we learned even though our parents tried to shield us from them. This short story follows Gail on a visit to her grandparents’ country store in the Texas panhandle in the early ’60’s where she meets Audrey. Her summer with Audrey haunts Gail, and she learns about ambiguity, irony, and the ruse of appearances. The time was magical, simple, and complicated at the same time. Families didn’t have the conveniences of technology or the comforts of air conditioning and microwave ovens, but somehow there were other things to delight in: homemade cornbread, a promised soda in the heat of the afternoon, a new book of paper dolls, a little dog who did the same trick each time he was asked, the predictability of a grandfather stirring his pipe. This story of summer is ambiguous also, dark and haunting, but also threaded with childhood memories: the smell of red dirt and Sulphur filled clouds, unrelenting heat, and the bawdy arrogance of a violent storm. Two young girls living in the same summer, but each going a different way when August ends. $0.99 on Kindle.

For four women, the Civil War has sparked a bout of change within them that cannot be ignored; for Delia Hennessey, it has created a passion for life that will not be denied. It is the reason that she convinces three of her closest friends to join her in contacting men across the country who have placed advertisements for mail order brides, hoping to find the ones who would be a part of each young woman’s next great adventure. When she answers the ad of a wealthy landowner in Wyoming, she is positive that she has met the perfect man–but when she arrives, things are not all as they seem. Can Delia survive this abrupt change of events? And if she does, will she be able to satisfy her lonely, aching heart? Free on Kindle.