Brief Encounters with Solitary Souls

Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors—Eugene O’Neill

Five short stories. Five people. From Paris to Honolulu. At moments that matter most, each is all alone. But it’s then that she has the clearest vision of herself.At a Paris Café. In early 70s Paris, a naive and eager young man chooses not to go with his buddies on a trip around the country on his summer vacation. He goes it alone in Paris.The Gypsy. A boy recently uprooted to Paris by his parents’ divorce learns some life lessonsfrom an old gypsy he watches through a third-floor apartment window.The Sum of a Young Life. Finding a young woman’s journal at a Berkeley coffeehouse upsets anurbane but blasé young man’s precise routine.In a Few Fast Heartbeats. After her husband’s heart surgery, a middle-aged wife and mother istaking him home, back to the old comforting routine. But her life changes in the blink of an eye.Fragrant Green Mangoes. A young woman loses her beloved Grandma after her most recentvisit. In her grief, she finds the language of love, not in roses, but in fragrant green mangoes.

"Wanda Pile, Amazon Reviewer, says:If you enjoy thoughtful prose that significantly touches the heart, this is definitely one of the best I’ve read.onlinebookclub.org:Attention grabbing and expertly written"
5-star Amazon Review , Online book club review

Megan

“This short story really packed a punch! It gave me goosebumps and stayed on my mind. I can’t wait to

Fireflies

In my frenzy, I ran into something without realizing it. Big hands closed over my shoulders as I gripped the

BELLE

BELLE is a bonus chapter for Lauren Biel’s upcoming novel The Room to the West. It contains a F/F scene.

About the Author

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