Synopsis "Love and Other Distractions: An Anthology by 14 Hollywood Writers"
Although these stories are written for adults, 100% of the proceeds for this anthology will go to benefit the charity Kids Need to Read. This anthology is all about that crazy little thing called love...and all the odd, impulsive, bizarre and sometimes illegal things people do in its name! With 20 stories, written by 14 Hollywood writers, spanning 7 different genres, it's a literary treasure trove that has something for everyone! FOREWORD by Hugh Howey Contemporary Fantasy / Horror: FULL MOON FEVER by Doug Molitor: A couple will let nothing keep them from their romantic Valentine's dinner, not even death. LOVE VOODOO by Christiana Miller: A blind date turns into a complicated marriage when a young widower puts a voodoo spell on his internet date. LOVE GROWS WHERE MY WEREMARY GOES by Bart Gold: Newlyweds get more than they bargained for when a 'dog bite' turns the woman into a were-creature every full moon. Suspense / Thriller: AN ALEX LUTHECKER VALENTINE by Keith Domingue: Alex Luthecker goes to the ends of the earth to surprise his Valentine with a one-of-a-kind present. Mystery: CUPID IS AS CUPID DOES by Dan Fiorella: A hard-boiled private eye is hired by a love-lorn lady to locate Cupid, who seems to have taken it on the wing. TAKE MY WORD FOR IT AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER by Robert S. Levinson: Two old comics meet to consider a love lost and a promise made. Romance: FRENCH FRIES AND LOVE SONGS by C. David Stephens: Twelve-year-old Raoul Chagny invites eleven-year-old Christine Daaé to a Valentine's Day dinner at a fancy French restaurant in Santa Monica, where each has conspired with Raoul's governess to surprise the other with a French love song. Contemporary Fiction: THE VAGINA DIALOGUES by Shelly Goldstein: Two female friends 'of a certain age' meet for tea on Valentine's Day. One is divorced, living with a man; the other is a widow and gun shy about dating. They talk about men, love, feminism, and how their life has changed since they -- and love -- were young. FOR THE RECORD by Isaac Ho: A young man finds out the hard way that sex and corporate life don't mix. STRING THEORY by Steve Chivers: The story of a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. Each chapter alternates between telling the story from her perspective and from his. Science Fiction: TWO INTO ONE by Ron Fernandez: Valentine's Day at the End of the World WHAT MAKES A MAN by Judith Lutz: Two robots create a human in this provocative post-apocalyptic tale. THE RED BANDIT by Anne Toole: A librarian's quiet night in the state library turns upside down when a man takes her captive, intent on stealing a magical tome, even if he has to burn down the entire library along with her. Humor: VARIOUS ESSAYS by Mark Miller: Mark's humor essays in this anthology are from his upcoming book, 500 Coffee Dates: Dispatches From The Front Lines Of The Online Dating Wars, in which he talks the dating talk after having walked the dating walk through over 500 post-divorce coffee dates. He's endured several lifetimes of first-date jitters, anguish, caffeine and crushing disappointment, all for your amusement and enlightenment. Join him as he shamelessly shares his safari through today's dating jungle. The Charity: Kids Need to Read is a national nonprofit foundation that promotes childhood literacy and addresses the crisis in library funding that currently exists in the United States providing inspiring books to underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged children.
