It's happened to anyone who drives: a person honks a horn at you; or maybe someone extends a middle finger in your direction. Your reaction, however, can have enormous consequences.

Just as the road can be a place of unpredictability, the search for love can also yield unexpected results. The unanticipated-and how we deal with it-is central to the provocative stories and poems in "Montage."

In "The Rush Home," a husband speeding to be with his wife causes an accident that forever changes his life. And in a series of stories, two college writers, Jack and Leslie, become best friends. But when Jack tells Leslie that he's smitten with another girl, he has no idea that his confession will result in his best friend revealing a secret of her own.

The poems in "Montage" explore the raw beauty of love and friendship. In "Lina," Alland writes: "She was a flower, taken by the next season.

Her color was vivid beyond any reason.

Her scent was soothing; it could put you to sleep.

Her petals were perfect; you'd want them to keep.

" Open yourself to a glorious "Montage" of stories and poems that will expose life's uncanny unpredictability.

PRAYER TALES is a collection of twelve straight-to-the-heart short stories. The settings, characters and adventures differ radically, but prayer plays an essential role in each. There are plenty of twists, turns and surprises just ahead---because not all prayer is equal --- so the outcomes will vary greatly Let the expeditions begin as we... Share the perplexing trials of an exotic young man, Observe the worshipers of a misshapen rock, Sit in on a bizarre executive placement interview, Join the desperate attempt to flee a dying planet, Sit down to a business luncheon at the Country Club, Cheer for our team in the NCAA football championship, Discover the fate of an ailing pornographer, Sit at a blocked railroad crossing with two frustrated trashmen, Go fishin' with a boy and his special little sister, Learn the life and death decision of a grieving widow, Take a once-in-eternity chance on winning The Prize, and Visit an older couple with grass too long to cut. As you navigate PRAYER TALES, I hope you'll be stirred to pray. As you pray, I hope you'll receive answers long sought. As you receive, I hope you'll welcome the One whose heart uniquely fits your own-the One who hears and answers all your prayers.

In this collection of short stories, six women's tales of despair illuminate the horror and sadness of domestic abuse, rape, teenage pregnancy, childhood neglect, and addictions. Set in the small fictitious community of Maitland Valley near Wingham, Ontario, "The Daughters of Maitland Valley" provides insights into the many issues women deal with in today's society-issues that are not particular about age, race, religion, or financial status.

In the story "What Fruit May Fall," Jessica, who is seven months pregnant, recalls the day she lost her virginity during a rape eighteen years ago. "Dirty Water" tells of a thirty-year-old woman whose mother abandoned the family when she was twelve. She still feels the loss keenly and wishfully imagines that she sees her mother as she goes about her daily life.

Including a variety of poems as well, "The Daughters of Maitland Valley" provides insight into the tragic situations women often face. It seeks to empower women to seek help and guidance to deal with the problems they endure.

Mud Heaven is a collection of short stories. There are stories to make you laugh, to make you cry, to entertain you and to inform you. If you enjoy having a dog around, you are bound to enjoy this collection. If you aren't accustomed to having a dog around, then some of these stories may even mystify you. This book has reading flexibility. The stories are presented to you in the order the author chose; however, they may be read in any order you choose. Go ahead. Pick up the book, open it to any story and start reading. You will be hooked and find yourself needing to read one more and then, one more. All too soon the last story will have been read, leaving you looking for more. Just like good potato chips, you won't be satisfied with one.

Harold MacGrath (1871-1932) was a bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.

Translation of Chana Blankshteyn's stories depicting the tumultuous interwar years in Europe. Fear and Other Stories is a translation from Yiddish to English of the collected stories of Chana Blankshteyn (1860?-1939), a woman who may be almost entirely forgotten now but was widely admired during her long and productive life. The mere existence of these stories is itself a remarkable feat as the collection was published in July 1939, just before the Nazis invaded Poland and two weeks before Blankshteyn's death. Anita Norich's introduction argues that antisemitism is palpable, as is the threat of war and its aftermath. What could it have felt like to live under these conditions? How might a woman who was a feminist, a Jew, and an activist understand the recent past of war and revolution through which she had lived and also confront the horror that was beginning to unfold? The nine stories in this volume take place primarily in Vilna, as well as various parts of Europe. As if presaging what was to come, World War I and Russian civil wars are the backdrops to these stories, as Jews and non-Jews find themselves under German occupation or caught up in the revolutionary fervor that promised them much and took away almost everything. The young women in Blankshteyn's stories insist on their independence, on equality with their lovers, and on meaningful work. Like the men in the stories, they study, work, and yearn for love. The situations in which these characters find themselves may be unfamiliar to a contemporary reader, but their reactions to the turmoil, the frighteningly changing times, and the desire for love and self-expression are deeply resonant with today's audience. The history may be specific, but the emotions are universal. Blankshteyn's stories are both a view of the final gasp of Eastern European Jewish culture and a compelling modern perspective on the broader world. Students and scholars of history and culture, women's literature, and translation studies will wonder how they've gone this long without reading Blankshteyn's work.

Take your senses on a wild ride!!! Feel the terror as Allison slowly drifts "Out To Sea" or the horror as Duke has only"Twenty-Fours Hours" to live. In the story "Touched and Forgiven" Mike experiences Gods touch in a powerful way. Smell the bread rising in "Mutsie's Kitchen" or wonder if Ellen's husband is finally going to leave her. See how satan temps Rosie in "Cursed" or how Amy is rewarded by giving to a mission in "The Blessing." Feel the happiness rising as Dr. Joe realizes that the world is not ending but merely taking "A Short Pause." You will even chuckle a bit when you experience "The 1,234.56 Dollar Winner." So your emotions will have a "jolly good time" as they travel through life's trials and you will enjoy a good short story.

America''s Rite is a compilation of stories bonded around one central figure, with the end result being a cross between Arabian Nights and Aesop''s Fables. However, unlike the linear logic used in Arabic literature, this book uses the circular logic of Western literature to form its moral conclusions. How closely America''s Rite actually comes to hitting the mark will be determined by each reader. In literary terms, America''s Rite is a fiction novel, which uses parables as the foundation for hypothetical solutions to problems inherent in American Society. In actuality, America''s Rite is a blend of real facts, with factious scenarios and characters, intended to stimulate discussions toward resolving internal problems plaguing modern American Society. The concept of this book was stated very nicely by the Nigerian author who wrote, "Writers don''t give prescriptions; they give headaches." America''s Rite portrays: a) the fact America is not a homogeneous society, but a society of many parts in constant conflict, and b) how constant manipulations and revisionist history by the Politically Correct have played no small part in America''s slide towards chaos and mediocrity. Parental discretion should be applied to the reading of America''s Rite. This book uses graphic sex as reader stimulus, and it is the intent of America''s Rite to sell the concept of correcting the problems in American Society to as many Americans as humanly possible. It is unfortunate the use of graphic sex in America''s Rite will limit the availability, provocation, and political discussion from the developing minds of American youth -- because American youth will eventually need to deal with the problems discussed inthis book.

All of my books ask the same question. If things were different, would things be different?

Looking up, he saw something whitish behind the shrine. The daylight was fading, and the shoemaker peered at the thing without being able to make out what it was. "There was no white stone here before. Can it be an ox? It's not like an ox. It has a head like a man, but it's too white; and what could a man be doing there?" He came closer, so that it was clearly visible. To his surprise it really was a man, alive or dead, sitting naked, leaning motionless against the shrine. Terror seized the shoemaker, and he thought, "Some one has killed him, stripped him, and left him there. If I meddle I shall surely get into trouble." Also includes "Three Questions," "The Coffee House of Surat," and "How Much Land Does a Man Need?"

The theme uniting the characters in these stories is ambition--not in terms of extravagant goals, but the simple and basic wants for their lives and those close to them. These elementary concerns deal with love, death, fidelity, fleeting time, the desire to comprehend their journey, a reassessment of their lives, and others of more modest dimensions but no lesser importance. Sometimes they want the nominally impossible, as in the harrowing Elsa, and at others the most mundane, as in the lighter Kickbacks. Sometimes, as in The Pharmacist, there is the shock of learning of the dichotomies that reside within those with whom we share our everyday lives. These stories illustrate the ways in which the characters are thwarted, often the instruments of their own defeats, how they try to compensate for these failures, and how in so doing they learn things about themselves that they might otherwise not get to know--or want to. Although, as in all stories, the intentions are ultimately serious, often traced through veils of loneliness, the interweaving of humor is not precluded.