Cinco De Mayo is a fun holiday usually ... and who's to say this one won't be. But first for me is a Nuclear Stress Test at 10 a.m. on May 5. YIKES! Well, I'm sure all will be well and I'll pass with flying colors. Afterwards a Midori Margharita will be in order, I can assure you of that! And some tasty chips and salsa.

This month is a very critical one for me in some ways and a fun one in others. Fun first, of course, my middle sister and brother-in-law will be visiting from California, the first time since I've moved into my new home in Arizona. So, I'm looking forward to seeing them and to show off my cozy space.

Last month Ali and Martin came from Dorset UK, as well as their daughter Amy, and we had a wonderful 6 days of siteseeing here. I stay at their B&B when I travel to Weymouth, love that seaside town! And I'm wanting to go there in the worst way these days. Maybe later this year. I'm missing my usual dose of the UK. I always come away from there with new ideas for stories, as most of you know who have read my books, it's an inspiring environment. Paris runs a close second. If you haven't listened to my radio show on Wednesdays (see below), you can go there and hear Ali and Martin. They read with me when they were on my short story segment.

This month I'll have published "Bits & Pieces of Me", it's in the final proof stage as we speak. You can read about it as you scroll down. And I'll be editing and publishing "The Chipping Away of America" by June Cain Miller, due for release on June 26. At that time we'll be having a release party in Santa Monica and I'm truly looking forward to seeing old friends and familiar faces, it's been a long time since I've spent any time in that neck of the woods. My own "Write it Right" is in the works, Book One of the series. I'll be doing a workshop using it as my reference in October at the WOW Writers' Conference in Scottsdale. So if you're a writer and want to learn how to write it right, punctuate it right, this is the book and the workshop for you.

HOME ON THE RANGE ... I had hoped to begin the landscaping in my back garden this month, but will have to put it off till June. A bit late to get started, but then, SO? I'll be doing a rock garden with flowering plants indigenous to the Arizona desert and climate. And will add touches and creativity of my own, garden adornments and art. Must have some water effects, too. Maybe a pond, or a fountain. No pool because it's too much of a bother and there's so much care involved in the maintenance of it. I'm not a pool person anyway. My son lives a block away, he has one, that's close enough.

This year I'm spending more time writing and publishing than getting out there to booksignings and conferences, but next year I'll get back on the trail and will be available for appearances. So, let me know if you'd like to schedule me in 2009.

Have a happy May!

THE TRAIN TO MOSCOW
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
A SILVER LINING
JUST A DREAM
MAMA'S DIARIES
LOVE IS JUST A WORD
BROTHERS
VIAGRA DIALOGUES
ZARA'S SECRET
MOHAN, INDIAN BOY
CAFE DUSTEYSKY

Above is the list of titles in this book. I'm thrilled with how it all came together, for I can tell you right now, I'm hooked on writing short stories. Yes, there are bits and pieces of me in these stories, rightfully so. You see, it all comes from me, some from my imaginations, some from my experiences, some true, some not. And as always, it's your guess. That's the fun of it for me.

"The Train to Moscow" was inspired by an actual train I took from St. Petersburg to Moscow. It could have happened just as I described, oh yes. I think I need to take that ride again.

In "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", the plight of the homeless was stirring me up again. It's a short-short story and was initially the result of a writing exercise - using a list of ten words to write a story and writing it quickly. Of course I expounded a little, it's longer than the original paragraph.

"A Silver Lining" was my contribution to the anthology by the Amazon Shorts writers - mentioned below. It had to fall within the guidelines of the Window on the World theme. I truly enjoyed writing this one. It was a challenge. Just love those challenges.

"Just a Dream" is one that Amazon Shorts published last year. And I love it, I hope you do, too. It's okay to love my own stories.

Okay, "Mama's Diaries." I've received so many emails asking for more of this story. I had put an excerpt up on one of my blogs and boy did I get a response. And yes, I do love this story, too. So now you can at last enjoy the rest of it. I'm thinking of expanding this one into a novel.

"Three Little Words": a woman's take on the three simple words - I Love You - and whether or not they mean anything other than just that. Are they committing words or not?

"Brothers" is the story of two babies - one who escaped death, one who didn't. I will say that this one is all too familiar. Just as in my last collection when I wrote "Oh Yes, I remember", this one is also dear to my heart.

And then comes "Viagra Dialogues." Quite a contrast! I had to wait till both my parents went to the after-life to write this one. It is double-X-rated. Yep, I do have it in me, folks ... a warped sense of humor.

"Zara's Secret" is next and is a story of a American woman in Paris making some wrong choices, and then again, maybe not. But as always in forbidden love there is a price to pay.

AND lastly . . . "Mohan, Indian Boy." A real departure for me having a charming little boy as my main character. I was sitting in a mall waiting for my son who was being fitted with eyeglasses one day not so long ago, when an Apache family entered the corridor. Just watching them, the two parents with their son who was the spitten image of both of them, was all it took for me to feel the beginning of a story. And it has been a delight writing it. Arizona has a few Apache reservations and the terrain and environment all around was inspiring for this story. It's set near Sedona in a past era - with all the beautiful, spritual surroundings in the red-rock foothills.

"CAFE DUSTYEFSKY" is a stageplay with music based on my Santa Monica piano bar days. My partner Don Dominguez wrote the music and lyrics, I wrote the book. It's a fun story, although not without it's tragedy. And it's full of romance and drama. Four characters, all singers, all wanting love and happiness - a slice of real life.

Two new anthologies of short stories are about to be released which include new stories I've written. So you want to be sure and check those out.

One of the books is by 20 authors who are published and have written for the Amazon.com Shorts Program. The book title is "THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE WINDOW" and is in its final edit.

The other anthology is by 25 members of the Wizards of Words Organization, bookcover shown here.

To puchase CLICK HERE.

"Till death do us part" is not Jerold Singer's pledge, it is his mantra.

Shellie Singer escapes to Paris from L.A. fleeing an abusive marriage to follow her dream of becoming a famous Jazz singer. Adrian van Allman, a gentle young man from Switzerland striving to become a successful artist, falls in love with her at first sight.

Shellie also meets Rachel O'Neill in Paris, an American writer who lives in Cornwall. Rachel's lover, flying over South America on a field trip for Cornwall's Eden Project, crashes into the Amazon Jungle.
Back in L.A., Shellie's friend Janet Corrigan - a savvy, blond and brassy Barbie doll with brains - who harbored Shellie and made it possible for her to live on a Parisian houseboat near the Eiffel Tower, is accosted by Shellie's husband. Janet shoots him in self defense. But that does not stop Jerold Singer. He escapes police custody, leaving the hospital more determined than ever to find his runaway wife.

The story is about Shellie, Rachel, and Janet - all three wanting romance, all three wary, afraid to trust, and not sure if they even want to try. All three in Paris with life decisions to make.

Amazon Shorts is a relatively new program designed by Amazon who is publishing single short stories by published authors. You'll find never before published short stories by some of your favorite best-selling authors as well as by newcomers, like me.

So, off you go to Amazon.com and click on the "32 Categories" link, then the "Amazon Shorts" link where you'll type in my name or the title of my short. Or just click on the link below.

Okay, so you're asking, "What's NEVER AGAIN about?" Well, on the day that Buck Owens (country music icon and owner of the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield) passed, I was reading about him that day in Bakersfield at "RUSSO'S BOOKSTORE" where I was having a booksigning. I was reminded of the good times I spent at the Palace seeing Buck perform and all the musicians he presented. During that era I was having a difficult time breaking away from a past love, and that day as I was reminded of Buck, those memories flooded my mind. I wrote this piece as a reminder to me, and to give hope to others, and as a remembrance of a great music venue.