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Category:
Young Adult/Teen
An imaginative collection of short stories written for young adult readers, but suitable for readers of all ages!
Two talented authors.
Twelve short stories.
One amazing collection.
Authors Miriam L. Jacobs and Susan E. Henry have joined forces to create Short Shorts, a collection of short stories with something for everyone. The collection takes the reader for a ride through suspense ("Tangled Net"), science fiction ("Eternity Rising"), romantic fantasy ("A Walk in the Park"), and a timeless love story ("Pure Love").
Jacobs and Henry have woven tales that depict vivid snapshots of family life, friendships, and the stuff of pure imagination, featuring unforgettable characters and commonplace scenes viewed from the authors' uncommon perspectives. Each author lends her own voice to the collection, but the stories blend easily to create a lovely mural of life.
Excerpt
From "A Walk in the Park" by Susan E. Henry:
It was so cold that night. Below freezing. But the man who was, and still is, the most alluring man I’ve ever seen seemed completely impermeable to it. I remember being puzzled by him as I watched him saunter along the pathway through the park. I had never witnessed such nonchalance in another person. He was completely unafraid and uninterested in his surroundings. That’s what I thought, anyway. He truly was unafraid, but uninterested? Well, get comfortable, and I’ll tell you about it.
You see, the park was my home then. It’s a long story – how I became homeless. But that’s not what you’re interested in, and it’s not what I want to tell you. I had a small make-shift tent between two large evergreen shrubs. That was my shelter and my bed. Just a couple of ratty old blankets on the ground and a plastic tarp secured to the shrubs with clothespins. I guess I had been living there for about a month when I saw him for the first time.
I couldn’t stop staring – he was so…magnetic. That’s the only way I can describe it. He was of average height and weight, and his features were masculine, regular and proportionate. There really wasn’t anything tremendously remarkable about his features by themselves. But they seemed to be arranged so perfectly, in such total harmony, that he was undeniably and irresistibly beautiful. The sight of him excited me…physically excited me. It was more than that, though. I could feel him – his…his presence, his being, his very soul, drawing me to him. It wasn’t a request; it was a command. My body was being commanded to approach his. It was the strangest sensation, especially since we didn’t even make eye contact. I stared as he strolled through the park, and he never looked my way. I resisted the overwhelming urge to move toward him; I remained there in my little tent. Once he was out of sight, that strange calling to me also passed, which was a great relief.
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