My Books For Your Reading Pleasure

My Books For Your Reading Pleasure
Proud Indie Author

Friday, July 31, 2015

Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy


Excerpt from:
 

Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy

by Audrey Austin

Chapter One:
SEVEN DWELL NEAR


“Tell me a story, tell me a story, tell me a story and remember what you said.” Ever since that terrible day of the tragic accident each of the residents who live by my side has a tale to tell. Yes, everyone has a story and each story teller speaks his own truth. What I do find curious is the fact that no two stories are alike. Each is unique in its own way. I am of the opinion that truth is multi-sided and speaks from many hearts.

A very long time ago I heard someone repeat the words of Winston Churchill who is purported to have said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” Yes, indeed, there it is. Truth is multi-sided and it dares to speak from many hearts.

I have been around for a very long time. I existed in this very location even before man decided to give me a name. I guess that makes me old and, that being the case, I confess I am very old. I was here before any person chose this place to build a home. I have always thought I possessed a firm grasp on reality but since the day of the tragedy I am questioning for the first time the meaning and the impact of truth. I have more questions than answers. Is it possible that truth is, indeed, no more than one’s personal perception?

Each individual’s truth, until shared, is locked in a sacred space in one’s memory. Memory does have its share of weakness. It can be faulty. As weeks turn into months memory is often tested. “Tell me a story and remember what you said.”

I find it very interesting that the residents of the seven farms impacted by the tragedy each retain a different personal memory of the accident and its aftermath. Although I am well aware that it would not occur to any ordinary human that an old long-travelled country road could possibly have the capacity to remember, I can assure you that I do. Yes, indeed, I do have a memory. Even though I am very old it remains a good one. I do remember well.

Some thoughts give me reason to smile while other memories I would prefer to forget. I have learned that the more painful memories are the most stubborn; the least likely to be forgotten and the most likely to be remembered. Even when a human believes he has managed to bury a painful memory he has not. That remembrance will pop up like a jack-in-the-box. It will present itself at the most odd and unexpected of times and sometimes even in the form of a recurrent dream.

Of course, I am not a human. I can assure you that I am a no nonsense road; plain, practical and from my very first appearance on earth many generations ago I have made it my focused mission to do my duty and fulfill my purpose as I see fit. I have always taken great pride in my existence and to this very day I do my best to serve those who choose to travel upon my surface.

Unlike humans who are, I have learned, sometimes very superficial creatures, I am not shallow. I don’t blame the travelers for being unable to see beneath my surface. But I assure you I am not just the visible thin layer of gravel you might observe at first glance. I do have substance.

Yes, I am old now. I have been here in this spot in northern Ontario, Canada for many interesting and enduring lifetimes. Although I am a road less travelled I am still in pretty good shape. I expect I’ll be here for a few more generations. I can see no good reason why I should not continue to be here. I have never existed anywhere else on this earth and this is my home.




 
Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy is also available in both Kindle and Paperback formats on all Amazon sites.
 
Check out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy is currently #5 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Canadian > Drama
   
  • #5 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Canadian
  •    
  • #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Canadian
  • Saturday, July 25, 2015

    Chanti's Escape - a short story

    Chanti is a 13 year old girl living in Nawada, South Bihar, India. Her parents introduce Chanti to Sam Saraswati, a Canadian, and within a very short time the marriage takes place. The child bride travels with her new husband to Elliot Lake, Canada where they live with Sam's parents. Life is good for Chanti until Sam's parents are killed in a car crash. Suddenly at the age of 15 Chanti is mistress of the household and expected to take over all the household duties Shirley Saraswati performed. Children are born of the marriage. Chanti's husband becomes more abusive as time passes. Feeling alone and trapped in her situation Chanti dreams of returning to Bihar but it is not until she has reached the age of sixty-eight that she finally makes her decision to leave her husband. Will she succeed in her attempt to escape?



    Chanti's Escape, a short story, is free Sunday, July 26th in the Kindle Store on all Amazon sites.

    If you enjoy this short story, look for it as one of 12 stories contained in short story anthology titled Social Studies, Book Three - Weaving Alice plus Eleven which is available in both Kindle and Paperback formats on all Amazon sites.

    This anthology can also be purchased directly from Createspace.com  where the link is  https://www.createspace.com/4713425


     
    Visit my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

    Tuesday, July 21, 2015

    The Hole In The Wall

    Lucille is worried. The mortgage is due and she doesn't have the money. What leads her into the basement? And is the hole in the wall really an answer to prayer?

    The Hole in The Wall is a short story free for your reading pleasure Wednesday July 22nd on all Amazon sites.

    You will also find this story as part of a 12 story anthology titled Social Studies, Book One -- Dying To Be Popular plus Eleven which is available in both Kindle and Paperback formats on all Amazon sites.

    You will also find Social Studies, Book One -- Dying To Be Popular plus Eleven  in paperback format directly from Createspace.com where the link is  https://www.createspace.com/4712947

    Thanks for checking out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

    Sunday, July 19, 2015

    Memoir

    My current work in progress is an autobiographical memoir.    This is the toughest writing project I have ever started.    The key is being authentic; being real.   The critic who has made himself at home on my shoulder is, too often, in good voice.    I've changed the working title twice already so not sure what the final title will be but right now it is called Now and Then - all them houses.

    The original working title was Orchard 7410 which was the phone number in my childhood home. 

    The second working title was All Them Houses and, because there have been so many of them, it is a challenge to remember all the addresses.   It is much easier to remember some of the stand-out events that took place in each house.    In this writing I am reminded of "Ellen and The Hummingtree".  It was easier to write a fictional memoir than it is to write my own which often reads and feels like a fiction with too many characters to sort out.

    As I work I find myself going back and forth in time -- remembering a time but then wanting to focus on something current.  This is how I came to use the current title Now and Then.

    I am looking at my life realistically , and how blessed I am that it is such a long one.  But I find that I am sometimes persuaded to look at my life philosophically.   If it has one at all, I am not sure what this strange writing style can be named.

    The writing of this memoir is taking a long time.  I started seven months ago and so far I have written about only the first twenty years.   This is going to be a very long book.

    I hope I get it completed before it is my time to fly away.

    Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy

    #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Canadian > Drama
  • #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Canadian
  •  
    Free for your reading pleasure today in the Kindle Store.
     
    Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy is also available in paperback format on all Amazon sites and directly from Createspace.com where the link is  https://www.createspace.com/4463611
     
    Thanks for visiting my author's page http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin
     
     

    Saturday, July 18, 2015

    Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy - free in the Kindle Store Sunday, July 19th

    Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy tells the story of the residents who live in their  homes on a country road in northern Ontario, Canada.

    A snowplow collides with a school bus on Moose Road just prior to Christmas.

    No one is untouched by this tragedy.  No one is aware that further tragedy is yet to come.

    Here is one review of Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy:

    5.0 out of 5 stars Tragic and compelling 7 April 2014
    By Alan Black - Published on Amazon.com
    Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
    Austin has written a not so simple story, weaving the lives of multiple residents on Moose Road around one tragic accident that leaves no one on the road or in the nearby Northern Ontario Canada town untouched. The subplots tug at our desire to comfort some residents of this town with a hug and those same subplots yank at our exasperation switch yelling at us to slap sense into some of these same people. The main story cries for our attention and gets it.

    Austin is able to show us one tragedy from every point of view except the moose. The characters are so real that I wonder what Austin's neighbors thought about having their secret lives dragged into the public view. I started this book just to have something to read in between my own chores. However... to heck with the chores, I finished the book in one sitting.
     
    Moose Road, a Canadian Tragedy is available in both Kindle and Paperback formats for your reading pleasure.
     
    Thanks for checking out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin   and thanks for your positive reviews on Amazon and on Goodreads.
     
     

     

    Friday, July 10, 2015

    Crabapple Court, a novel, is free today in the Kindle Store for your reading pleasure.

    Susie Donnelly is missing. Is it a kidnapping? A murder? Has she run away or is she just a little girl playing hide and seek?

    Without exception the residents of Crabapple Court do not like to draw attention to themselves or to their homes. They do not like publicity nor do they appreciate media attention but this day, whether they like it or not, the Fairmont residents are keeping them under strict scrutiny. Indeed the eyes of the entire country are fixed upon them.

    Crabapple Court is free today in the Kindle store for your reading pleasure.   This novel is also available in paperback from any Amazon site or directly from Createspace.com where the link is https://www.createspace.com/4894247 

    Thanks for checking out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin 

    Tuesday, July 7, 2015

    Passion For Staying Put

    In 2013 one of my short stories titled "Passion For Staying Put" was one of the 12 semi-finalists in the John Kenneth Galbraith Writing Competition.

    I've entered a story again this year; a short story titled "The Linen Cupboard" which I hope will also do well.

    Entering a story in a contest is something like sending a child to his first day in Kindergarten ..... I so much want him to do well out there in the world on his own.

    "Passion For Staying Put" is a short story that, like Daniel, dares to stand alone. It is now available on Amazon in the Kindle Store. 

    It is also found in paperback as one of twelve stories contained in one of my short story anthologies which is titled Social Studies, Book Two - Shattered and Broken,

    Thanks for checking out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

     

    Sunday, July 5, 2015

    WEAVING Alice is free today in the Kindle Store

    WEAVING ALICE is a story about a meeting on earth between personified good and evil. The mystical ending will bring a smile to your face.

    WEAVING ALICE, a short story, is free today in the Kindle Store on all Amazon sites.

    Thanks for visiting my author's page at  http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

    Saturday, July 4, 2015

    "The Book Nook" at the Gallery at the Centre, Elliot Lake

    Some of my books, along with the books of other local authors, are now available for sale in the little "Book Nook" in the Gallery at The Centre in Elliot Lake.

    In the "Book Nook" you will find: 
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
    Visit The Gallery At the Centre, Elliot Lake and check out "The Book Nook".
     
    All my books, including these, are also available in Kindle and Paperback format on all Amazon sites.  Thanks for visiting my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin

    Friday, July 3, 2015

    Enjoy some of my short stories this weekend :-)


    I want to celebrate this weekend by offering two short stories free for your reading pleasure.   The first is Maggie's Trip To Toronto.  The second is  Weaving Alice.



    Maggie's Trip To Toronto  is free for your reading enjoyment in the Kindle Store tomorrow, Saturday, July 4th.\

    Maggie lives her very ordinary life in a very small northern town in Ontario, Canada. She lives in her parents' home and she works at the local variety store. It is not until her father dies that Maggie needs to travel to Toronto on an insurance matter. Upon her arrival in the Toronto office Maggie gets more than she bargained for.






    Weaving Alice is free for your reading please in the Kindle Store this weekend on Sunday, July 5th.

    Imagine if you will a mystical, magical gift of tapestry creation powerful enough to eradicate the evil in our world.   This is the gift that Alice possesses.   Good versus evil told in an attention-holding manner.  I had a lot of pleasure writing this suspenseful story and I hope you will enjoy it; especially the surprise ending.





    Maggie's Trip To Toronto and Weaving Alice  are two of my short stories which dare, like Daniel, to stand alone.

    Weaving Alice is also found in paperback format as part of one of my short story anthologies.  The anthology is titled Social Studies, Book Three - Weaving Alice.  

    All my books are available on all Amazon sites.  Thanks for checking out my author's page at http://www.amazon.com/author/audreyaustin 

    I hope you will enjoy reading these and many more of my short stories.   If you enjoy the reading then I thank you in advance for your positive reviews on Goodreads and on Amazon.

    In Canada we have recently celebrated an amazing Canada Day!  I hope my readers will have a great weekend!  And to my American friends, Happy 4th of July!