Gabrielle transcends time and space, taking the reader on a journey to Poland, France, Holland and Israel as she searches for her identity. Fifty years after several romatic attachments, at a wedding reception, Gabrielle is certain that one of the men sitting at her table is one of her former lovers. Having loved and lost three times, Gabrielle is philosophical and wonders: Can an old flame be reignited?Polish born GABRIELLE, orphaned after her mother dies in a Nazi concentration c...

Detective Sergeant Richard Williams' oldest friend and reliable snitch, Connor McBride, is gunned down in front of him, and with his dying breath, begs Richard to "Look after Penny. She's all I've got. You're all she has left."Penny, nearly fourteen and Connor's adopted daughter, comes complete with all manner of teen anxieties and a potty mouth. Until the night Connor was gunned down, Richard was unaware of Penny's existence. He and Connor had a "Don't ask, don't tell" agreement co...

April, 1914. English Guards Officer, Captain Harry Haig-Mallory, meets the beautiful, young American heiress Athena Fenhagen at the St. George's Day ball at the British Embassy in Washington. The attraction is immediate. Three days later they become engaged. At Athena's insistence, the wedding is scheduled for August in the village church in Cornwall.The outbreak of the First World War intervenes. The wedding is postponed, Harry's regiment sets off for France as part of the British...

This collection of short stories showcases author Michael Joll's versatility as a writer. From the very short – Father, Son and Holy Ghost and The Wedding Dress – to near-novella length – Frenchie – they cover a wide range of plots, characters and places.The author weaves his backgrounds and plots with imagination, creating memorable characters in relatable, realistic situations. Of the twenty stories, three in Canada and four in Britain. Of the thirteen ...

A viola player in Depression-era San Francisco is surprised by the hidden talent of a panhandler he encounters. In Barbados, a middle-aged voyeur confronts the object of his desires. A woman in Delhi plots revenge on her abusive husband. A German army corporal in WW2 has to decide between conflicting evils. In an isolated cabin in British Columbia a woman is subjected to a violent home invasion by her ex-convict husband. A veteran Winnipeg detective solves a string of arsons and a trail of...

Director Steven Spielberg is more of an auteur than given recognition for. "The Films of Steven Spielberg" highlights the maturation of a filmmaker with movies that reflect the director's own life, fascinations, and obsessions. Spielberg’s upbringing and foray into the 1970s Hollywood business structure show us the origin of themes that are consistently present in Spielberg’s films such as fatherhood, World War II and his collaboration with composer John Williams. Although mainstream cinem...

In 2019, the parish archives of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Wilmette were carefully studied to preserve the legacy of Father William Netstraeter a major civic leader who's life perfectly embodies the American dream. William Netstraeter (1843 - 1924) was born and raised in Westphalia, Germany before emigrating to the United States to complete his studies for the priesthood. At the age of 30, he agreed to be pastor of the distraught St. Joseph's Parish, located in a rural German communit...

The germ of the idea to produce an anthology of the work of the Brampton Writers Guild came early in 2020. It had been at least fifteen years since we had last produced an anthology; time enough for our members to have written some memorable stories.To encourage entries, as President of the Guild along with Ken Puddicombe, owner and publisher of MiddleRoadPublishers, we decided to start the ball rolling by running a contest for members only. We retained two outside judges to review...

Where the hell is my life going, and what am I supposed to do when I get there? No matter where we start from, we all strive to answer these questions. This story anthology delves into souls young and old determined to break free of societal rules and family constraints, connect with fellow life travelers, and search for a place in this wonderfully wide and terrifying world. Cross-border collaboration: Five authors, Canadians Nancy Kay Clark, Phyllis Humby and Michael Joll, and Americans S...