It's a natty little euphemism, isn't it? Of a certain age. A flow of words so undergirded by conventional politesse that it's entirely possible a woman coined it herself. Vague enough to be gentle enough. But the ambiguity cuts both ways. You can't describe what you don't even take the time to notice. And as any woman past the age of none of your business will attest, the first horseman is invisibility.Woman of a Certain Age does what oth...

Suddenly we remember, triggered by a familiar smell, the taste of a cookie, the touch of soft skin. Flash, and we are back in the past. Memories. They are elusive, mysterious, with a mind of their own. If only we could harness them and turn them into memoir.Now you can. In the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth, you can jot down a memory to be later expanded upon or used in sequence with others. Flash Memoir: Writing Prompts to Get You Flashing will guide you in constructi...

"How would you like to go to paradise?" asks Louise Keller's father, a Baptist minister who has accepted a position as a missionary on the small island of Panay. Fourteen-year-old Louise, a writer of poetry who chafes at small-town life, is eager for the change. But the new experiences Louise has dreamed of soon turn nightmarish: when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the war, which had seemed so far away, rapidly threatens their island existence.This unusual first novel is based on ...

Writing is a journey. Every time we sit down to begin a piece or write the first chapter or the first line we are venturing into uncharted territory. 365 Affirmations for the Writer is about listening to those who have gone before us and letting them guide us with their insight, their own trials. By reading what others have said, we can survey the path before us, count the cost, and plunge ahead.Jane Hertenstein is the author of numerous short stories and flash. Her work has been i...

Many of us are looking to write memories—either in the form of literary memoir or simply to record family history. This how-to book looks at memoir in small, bite-size pieces, helping the writer to isolate or freeze-frame a moment and then distill it onto paper.Jane Hertenstein is the author of close to 70 published stories, a combination of fiction, creative non-fiction, and blurred genre both micro and macro. In addition she has published a YA novel, Beyond Paradise and a non-fic...

Tens of thousands of homeless people walk the streets, forgotten, yet each with their own story to tell. Marie James, a 69-year-old bag lady, and a frequent guest at an inner-city mission in Chicago, sat with Jane Hertenstein through the summer of 1995 and recorded this shocking and moving story of life filled with sorrow, loss, mental instability, and hope. Her memoir will break one's heart, yet encourage and inspire. -- "Harrowing inside view of homelessness", -- Publishers Weekly, Augus...

Anthology of poetry, art, and short stories from 23 contributors across the globe.

Fifteen-year-old Hanna Berkenski journeys from her family's tiny apartment in the Warsaw Ghetto through an awful night spent in a cattle-car with her mother and sister to the welcoming orchestra at Auschwitz where she was to be a violinist for three years.As the train arrives at Auschwitz, flowers, sunshine and music feel like warm welcomes to her. She's been told she'll be spending the next few weeks in a "work camp" until her family can be reunited and relocated. Even the snowfla...

Rachael Keogh was catapulted into the public consciousness when a shocking image of her needle-ravaged arms – skin burnt from injecting heroin into her wasted veins – made front pages around the country. Desperate for help, she made a public appeal to secure one of just 27 detox beds in Ireland so that she could reclaim her life from the drugs that had consumed it. What followed was an extraordinary story of grit and determination as she embarked on her recovery journey. Dying to Survive i...

This is book two of the seven book series collection The Bruises from my Mother's Love. Read how Lunye' Williams take matters into her own hands by escaping her mother's torture chamber and look for love in the dangerous streets of Chicago. This series will take you to places in her life that will not only have you in tears, but she will inspire you with her courageous effort to save herself from a life of misery. Not only will she inspire you, she will also take you on an emotional joyrid...

Jane had a pretty good life. She was a single mother, and she worked hard for her three kids, who meant the world to her. One autumn evening she met someone she believed to be the man of her dreamsthe only thing missing in her nearly perfect life. He was handsome, gentle, quiet, and kind.Eleven months later, they bought a home and were married. Jane was so happy. Soon, however, her daughter, Michelle, began to change; she became distant and withdrawn. Something was wrong, but Jane ...

From the author of international bestsellers A Circle of Children and Lovey comes an inspiring true story of a gifted teacher’s determination to understand the ‘rotten’ city kid everyone has given up on.Sitting quiet and withdrawn at a battered school desk, Luke had the looks of a shy angel – and a past that special needs teacher Mary MacCracken could barely believe.Already Luke had been picked up 24 times by the police. He’d set over a dozen major fires, and had a staggeri...