If you love short stories, I have the perfect short story for you! I am beginning a new Segment on Jemsbooks.blog on Short Stories. I will share a little about each of the short stories in 15 different posts.
I published a short story collection, An Angel Among Us, in 2017. It is an eclectic collection of 15 short stories. I dedicated it to my friend, Anne Gillis Benedetto, who passed in January of 2017. The first story titled, An Angel Among us, is especially for her.
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
I was fortunate enough to connect with Anne through social media. She and I were friends in high school and spent time together at our fifth class reunion. That was the last time we saw each other until we connected on FB. I was thrilled to see her there and connected immediately. I followed and enjoyed all her little messages written with her fabulous sense of humor even in tough times.
During her last year of life she shared the agony of losing her beloved husband a year previously and then discovering that she had stage 4 breast cancer. All she wanted to do at this point in her life was to join him. She kept writing back and forth with me and many of her friends to share her last words. Her life was beautiful with her husband and she did not want to go on. She endured great pain and suffering before being taken to her final rest. Thank God. She now resides with HIM and her beloved husband. I miss her terribly and her wonderful smile and kind heart. She always had something nice to say about everyone and quipped with her amazing wit about everything. She put a positive spin on even the negative things in life. God bless you Anne!
If you would like to read this story and her last letters to me please check out, An Angel Among Us. Anne truly was an angel! I shared this story with her in her last months and asked if I could include it in a collection and publish this title dedicated to her. She was thrilled and excited. Unfortunately she did not see the final book published. She died a month or so before I could complete it. At least she saw her story. That brought tears to my eyes then and now to know that she liked it.
Blurb:
A collection of short stories that covers several genres including romance, grief/loss, mystery, suspense, sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal. This book is dedicated to a courageous friend who passed this year. The first story is specially created for her and is the inspiration for the title of this book.
Reviews on Amazon:
March 11, 2017
Author Janice Spina is a prolific and eclectic writer, whose creativity knows no bounds and whose books entertain readers of all age groups. Having had the pleasure of reading many of Author Spina’s earlier works, I looked forward to reading her newest creation and am happy to report that her first-ever short story compilation is ever so gratifying.
“An Angel Among Us” is fabulous. The characters that populate the short stories are from all walks of life, real and well-developed. Their touching stories resonate, as the protagonists confront and face up to life’s many challenges. Loss, regret, love and hope are ingredients you’ll find in abundance in this stirring and heart-string tugging book. Highly recommended!
March 23, 2017
I have read many of Janice Spina’s books and have never been disappointed. She writes with clarity and warmth. She doesn’t shy away from delving into another genre, as is evidenced by this eclectic collection of short stories.
The author’s tribute to her friend is heartwarming and is just the first story in this delightful collection. I recommend An Angel Among Us to everyone, as there are stories from multiple genres that are sure to appeal. This book can be read all at once or story by story. It is perfect for those who don’t have a lot of time but want something to read with their coffee or before bed or whenever they have a few minutes without committing to a full-length book.
An Angel Among Us gets a thumbs up from me.
This book was gifted to me. I was neither paid nor required to give this honest review.
Thank you, readers, for stopping by and for your kind support.
Watch for more short stories’ blurbs shared here from this book.
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Blessings & Hugs!
Janice
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About jjspina
Janice is an multi-award-winning author with 37 books: 18 children's books for PS-Gr 4, 12 middle-grade/preteen, one young adult book, written under Janice Spina, and 5 novels, and a short story collection written under J.E. Spina. She is also a writer of poetry, blogger, avid reader, reviewer and a copy editor. Janice has always loved writing and started very young writing poetry, then stories.
Her books have received 31 Book Awards and a few Finalists in contests.
AWARDS:
6 MOM'S CHOICE AWARDS - SILVER MEDAL - Lamby the Lonely Lamby, Ricky the Rambunctious Raccoon, Louey the Lazy Elephant, Jesse the Precocious Polar Bear, Lucy the Talented Toy Terrier, The First Star
11 PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS - Davey & Derek Junior Detectives, Books 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6. Abby & Holly Series, Books 1-6
READERS' FAVORITE AWARDS - HONORABLE MENTION - Davey & Derek Book 1,
READERS' FAVORITE AWARDS - SILVER MEDAL - Davey & Derek Junior Detectives Series, Book 3
READERS' FAVORITE AWARDS - BRONZE MEDAL - Abby & Holly Book 1
READERS’ FAVORITE AWARDS - HONORABLE MENTION — Abby & Holly Book 2
READERS’ FAVORITE AWARDS - FINALIST - Davey & Derek Book 6
7 PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS - Jerry the Crabby Crayfish, Broose the Moose on the loose, Colby the Courageous Cat, Jeffrey the Jittery Giraffe, Sebastian Meets Marvin the Monkey, Clarence Henry the Hermit Crab, Drystan the Dragon and Friends Series Book 1 (Drystan and Durward Save the Day)
BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD - FINALIST - Davey & Derek Book 6
Authorsdb Cover Contest Silver Medal - Davey & Derek Book 5
FINALISTS:
Authorsdb First Lines Contest, - Hunting Mariah and Mariah's Revenge were Finalists
Red City Review Awards - Finalist - Davey & Derek Book 4
READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS - 5-STAR REVIEW - Davey & Derek Book 4
All Janice's books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, B&N and other online book sites.
One of her sports' poems was published in The Lawrence Eagle Tribune in October of 2008. She is currently working on book 2 of a YA fantasy series. There will be six books in all in this series. She hopes to work on a series of four books in a crime/mystery genre that will be offsprings of her thriller, Hunting Mariah. There are books in the works about an angel and another about a dog for ages 15+.
Her hobbies are crocheting, walking to keep fit, hula hooping, tap dancing, going to the movies with her husband, and spending time with her five grandchildren.
Janice loves to hear from readers and appreciates reviews. Sign up on her blog http://jemsbooks.blog for a copy of her newsletters under Contact Me. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband who is her illustrator and cover creator.
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My mother is a breast cancer survivor, Janice. I will read this book at some point but not just yet. I am still fragile about her illness.
Oh, Robbie, thank God she survived it. I understand fully how you must feel. 💕
It is very hard to watch someone you love suffer through the cancer treatment.
I can’t imagine how that would be. My friend was in Florida when she was dying. She never had treatment – just gave up, so she suffered greatly. Thank God she is now free of pain and suffering no more. God bless you and your mother. Wishing you both good health. 🤗 xx
What a sweet story, Janice! I am definitely checking it out.
Thank you, Amy! 🤗
Beautiful explanation of where your stories came from in this collection. You touched my heart. And great reviews here! I am adding it to my TBR list.
Thank you! 💕