Roberta Writes – Short books and stories by Dave Astor, Charles F. French and Breakfield and Burkey

Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time: The Book Lover’s Guide to Literary Trivia

Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time: The Book Lover’s Guide to Literary Trivia by [Dave Astor]

I am a great lover of classic books and I also enjoy reading biographies of the authors who wrote the classic books I’ve enjoyed. This short book is a selection of sound bytes, providing interesting and often little know facts and insights into the lives, loves, and writing processes of a large number of authors. For me, it was a bit like a box of chocolates with each short chapter being a tantalizing taste of what I could uncover if I wanted to research the various people further. I liked the idea of giving small titbits of information to trigger searches for more detail at the readers discretion, it is very empowering.

The book covers a huge range of writers, many of whom I already knew like Hemingway, Faulkner, Gilman, Huxley, Laurence, Tolkien, and Wells, and others who are new to me. I was delighted to discover all these new classic books and famous authors whose works I will be delving into over the next several years. I will certainly be reverting back to this gem of a book when deciding on my next read.

I recommend this book to lovers of literature who are interested in finding new books and authors.

Amazon US

Dave Astor Amazon Author Page

The Phone Call by Charles F. French

The Phone Call by [Charles F.  French]

This short story tells the tale of a young man, Cathal, who is not coping with the stresses and strains of his job and his life and is using alcohol to give him endurance and help him relax. His behaviour has spiraled out of control and he has already had an accident due to driving under the influence. He is not performing at work and his job is under threat which is making him more stressed and anxious. One evening, on his way home he gets a phone call from a strange number and the voice message is from his father. The complexity is that Cathal’s father is dead.

This short story examines a few themes, despite its brevity, including the lack of concern for employees and their mental health and general well being exhibited by employers who focus only on making money and are ruthless in their behaviour, as well as the genetic predisposition of some people to become alcoholics and follow in the footsteps of alcoholic parents. These messages are packaged in an entertaining paranormal story of a father’s whose love for his son and determination to help him extends beyond the limitations of the grave.

Can Cathal get his life back on track or will a ghostly visitation from his father drive him deeper into the bottle? You’ll have to read this short story to find out.

Amazon US

Charles F. French Amazon Author Page

Hot Chocolate by Breakfield and Burkey

Hot Chocolate by [Charles Breakfield, Rox Burkey]

This is a sweet romantic story about a young couple with one small child who are looking forward to celebrating the Christmas holiday period. The couple are from different cultural backgrounds and appreciate their favourite aspects of their varying Christmas traditions as a family.

Petra and Jacob have developed their own tradition of trying to buy each other the best Christmas present imaginable. Petra is at a loss this year and has wracked her brain for weeks trying to think of something worthwhile to no avail. Life takes an unexpected twist and Petra comes up with the perfect present.

There are some lovely family moments and one or two tenser ones to add some context and spice to the storyline.

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Rox Burkey Amazon Author Page

59 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Short books and stories by Dave Astor, Charles F. French and Breakfield and Burkey

  1. The other way is a visit the used bookstore and pick up an Oxford or Norton Anthology or three, choose an era or locale or go wide with a world/women’s/period lit survey. Not only do you get little known facts you also get historical/cultural context which allows you to not chastise Milton by today’s standards for being a patriarchal jerk AND representative excerpts or complete works. In fine print on thin paper.

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