Mothers, Sons, Beloveds, and Other Strangers – a collection of short stories
Fifteen short stories by novelist Janie Dempsey Watts including "Erice," William Faulkner-William Wisdom finalist. Set in the South, California, and Europe, these stories are populated with a cast of characters facing inner and outer journeys that never go as expected. Why did Sadie's mother run away? Must a teenage girl learn the truth about her daddy the hard way? Can a widow escape loneliness by commiserating? On a train ride in Belgium, should a mother and son trust a postcard salesman they meet? What kind of trouble can a restless wife find in a Rome, Italy laundromat? In these tales, characters discover they do not really know those who are closest, yet a stranger may offer the gift of hope.
"From southern humor to Italian goddesses, from California canyons to the fields of Georgia, Janie Dempsey Watts lets you feel and taste the place, the time. Each woman is on a journey: down a river in a leaking raft, to a funeral home or two, for a midnight horseback ride with her best friend, or a frightening drive with a crazy mother. Her characters are unpredictable and intriguing. I loved traveling along with Janie and these women. Runaway Ruby Yacht made me want a whole book just about Sadie and her mother's story. A thoroughly satisfying book.'—Anne Turley, Amazon Reviewer
About Janie Dempsey Watts (Chattanooga, Tennessee Author)
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but in Janie’s case led to a writing career. After receiving her B.A. in journalism from U. C. Berkeley, she wrote for newspapers and television before turning to fiction. She enjoys creating stories and sees this peculiar occupation as a chance to bring order to a chaotic world, and of course as a good reason to eavesdrop in order to write dialogue.
In addition to her new children’s picture book, Pap Pap Goes to Paris, Janie authored two novels set in the South, Moon Over Taylor's Ridge, nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, and Return to Taylor's Crossing, an Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree and third place winner in the Frank Yerby Literary Competition. She also published a short story collection, Mothers, Sons, Beloveds, and Other Strangers.
After living in California for many years, Janie returned to her native South. She now lives in North Georgia near her family farm and Taylor’s Ridge, a real place featured in her two novels.
