TYPORAMA
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“Dianne Beeaff has a keen eye
for specific settings and an uncanny ability to express the unique concerns of
people from a broad spectrum of humanity. On
Tràigh Lar Beach deeply satisfies because its vivid descriptions pulled me into the characters’
experiences and kept me wondering until I reached each of her stories’
unexpected, but not illogical, conclusion.”
―Carol
Sletten, author of Three Strong Western Women and Story of the American West: –Legends of
Arizona
“On
Tràigh Lar Beach is rich in lyrical prose and stunning detail
and takes a poignant look at human connectedness, how unremarkable items are
mirrors of lives an ocean apart, yet link us in the most human way.”
―Susan Haught, award-winning author of A
Promise of Fireflies
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On Tràigh Lar Beach [She Writes Press, October 13, 2020] by Dianne Ebertt Beeaff is an engaging and beautifully crafted short story collection readers of Karen Russell and Curtis Sittenfield will devour. The collection of stories centers around thirteen objects washed up on the shore of Tràigh Lar Beach in Scotland and discovered by Erica Winchat, a young writer overwhelmed by the stress of her first book contract. From there, Erica proceeds to tell the intriguing story of each item’s owner and uncovers a series of dramatic events―from a Chicago widow’s inspiring visit to Quebec City to a shrimper’s daughter facing Tropical Storm Ruby in North Carolina.
Other stories in the collection feature a young child at a folk festival in New Orleans; a CNA working in a hospice in Toronto; a bartender in Boston; a young woman at a yoga retreat in Maine; a waitress dealing with an ex-boyfriend in Miami; a distraught young mother in Prince Edward Island; an aging screen-star in New York City; a retired amateur photographer in Newfoundland; and a diver’s widow in Nova Scotia.
Each protagonist’s name is taken from a specific
wildflower that grows on the machair (the white beach) of Tràigh Lar and each
story is introduced with the author’s own special rendering of the flower.
When Erica finds the thirteenth and final item
on the beach: a concert badge, she also discovers the inspiration for her own
novella Fan Girls, in which the separate stories of four fans of the
Scottish rock band Datha unfold, culminating in their reunion at a concert in
Chicago―a show where a shooting takes place.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dianne Ebertt Beeaff is the award-winning author of five previous books. Her poetry, watercolors, graphite drawings, and magazine articles have been featured throughout the United States and Canada. Dianne and her husband, Dan, reside in Tucson and are the parents of two children.
For more information, please visit www.debeaaff.wordpress.com and connect with her on Facebook @diannebeeaff
On Tràigh Lar Beach is available for pre-order at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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PHOTOS FROM MS. BEEAFF'S TRAVELS:
Sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI had to read through this post a couple of times before I made my mind up about adding it to my list, as I don't generally read many anthologies of short stories.
However, the few snippets you give away about a selection of the stories, is really compelling, so I am going to give it a try.
Thanks for a great feature and I hope that you have some good books lined up for this week :)
Yvonne xx
I don't like short stories, but these do sound good.
DeleteThanks, Yvonne, and I do have a lot of good books lined up. I hope you do too. :)
This sounds wonderful and I love the cover!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cover.
DeleteThe photos from her trip are gorgeous as well.
Thanks for commenting, reeca.
This sounds amazing! I really want to read this now.
ReplyDeleteI hope get to read it.
DeleteENJOY when you do, Bookworm.
Thanks for commenting.