Bittersweet and Magic: Short Stories
Some stories are bittersweet.
Some stories are magical.
A Holocaust secret kept for decades.
A young teacher learns to be strong.
A werewolf. An elf. A genie. A marriage.
A Poppa God, a Momma God, a Baby God.
The most beautiful woman in the world battles the Devil.
Things are not always what they seem…
Bittersweet and Magic is a collection of my favorites of the short stories I have written. They include so many of the themes that fascinate me, but one way or another, they’re all about life, magic, and how the two come together at the most unexpected times.
Available now in paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Where the River Bends
1931: a time of social, economic, and racial chaos.
A Mother: with a secret she’s been carrying for years
A Son: powerless to stand up for what he believes in
A Daughter: tormented by demons only she can see
A Family: struggling to remain whole in a world torn apart
A Black woman passing for White —
Where the River Bends: tells of a mother and son fighting to save themselves — and each other — from the destruction that sex, power and racism can cause, set in a turbulent and decisive period of American history.
Until the night of his father’s car crash, David Vandenholm’s life is charmed and his future golden. As his father’s financial duplicity comes to light, he sweats to care for his sister, help support his mother, and maintain his sense of self in an increasingly hostile environment.
However Celeste has a secret as well. When she makes the crucial decision to reveal it, David reacts with anger and blind emotion, triggering a deadly confrontation that claims victims in more ways than one.
Available now in kindle or paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Elissa P. Matthews 