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Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After: 26 Short Stories
Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After is a vibrant and varied collection of tales from writers who between them have had hundreds of short stories published in women’s magazines in the UK and around the world! Contributors have also won or been placed in dozens of competitions, published novels and written non-fiction for many UK magazines.As the title suggests, the twenty-six stories encompass the dizzying heights of happiness, the heartbreaking depths of sadness, and every emotion in between. Within the pages of this book you’ll meet a housewife with a surprising secret, a beekeeper with a problem and an undertaker with something unusual on his mind. You’ll also encounter angels, ghosts, aliens and many other intriguing characters. And, in the end, you may just find the path to happy ever after.
- GenresFiction
186 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2011
About the author
Deborah Carr
34 books26 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Social psychology, aging, gender, and family are the interests of sociologist Deborah Carr. She teaches sociology and social psychology. She is co-director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral training program at Rutgers’ Institute for Health.
She authored, co-authored and editited a number of books on Sociology.
Social psychology, aging, gender, and family are the interests of sociologist Deborah Carr. She teaches sociology and social psychology. She is co-director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral training program at Rutgers’ Institute for Health.
She authored, co-authored and editited a number of books on Sociology.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2011
It's rare that I happen upon an anthology where I've loved each and every short story. Well, I'm pleased to say 'Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After' is the welcome exception! Helen Hunt's wonderful story 'A Single Strand of Spaghetti' drew me in, and I didn't stop until I'd made my way through the collection, detailing everything from a hellish blind date to a hair-raising tale of premonition. Well crafted and beautifully written, each story is a gem. Featuring well-known novelists and previously published writers, I highly recommend this collection.
December 12, 2011
Lots of lovely stories that will make you laugh, cry and give your self a big hug. really good book that you can nip in and out of and not lose track or jist of the stories x
November 22, 2011
The Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After website says 'The idea for this book came from the successful 'A Story A Fortnight' writing group which brought the writers involved together in a project that has inspired and supported them in their short story writing.'
As a reader, I found plenty of inspiration on these pages … along with intrigue and tantalising glimpses that made me ponder. In fact every story in this anthology gave me pause for thought and at the end of each one, I had to take time to reflect back over what I had read and absorb the intention of the masterfully crafted tale.
I haven’t read short stories since I was much younger, preferring to lose myself in a longer journey. Now I’m wondering what I’m missing out on!
These twenty-six stories had me thinking about life … how we interact with others and what it is that is really important in life.
I enjoyed them all but particularly staying in my mind is Hive Talking by Leigh Forbes (being patient may change the goal for the better!); Dinner in Paradise by Cally Taylor (there is more than one way to interpret a dream); The Changing World of Michael O’Sullivan by Kathleen McGurl (the choices we make are not always the right ones!); The Woman in White by Jill Steeples (very poignant) and The Girl in the Yellow Dress by Bernadette James (you never know what ripples your actions may cause at some point in the future). I enjoyed the tension and resolution in Going Backwards by Debs Carr and the quirkiness of From Tesco’s With Love by Sally Quilford.
The beauty of short stories is that you can dip in and out and you don’t have to read them in the order they are presented. You can read them on short journeys, in-between chores, when you’re waiting … Being an organised person I have to admit reading each page in turn and being so engrossed that I even read at the dinner table and late at night! For me, Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After is a keeper
As a reader, I found plenty of inspiration on these pages … along with intrigue and tantalising glimpses that made me ponder. In fact every story in this anthology gave me pause for thought and at the end of each one, I had to take time to reflect back over what I had read and absorb the intention of the masterfully crafted tale.
I haven’t read short stories since I was much younger, preferring to lose myself in a longer journey. Now I’m wondering what I’m missing out on!
These twenty-six stories had me thinking about life … how we interact with others and what it is that is really important in life.
I enjoyed them all but particularly staying in my mind is Hive Talking by Leigh Forbes (being patient may change the goal for the better!); Dinner in Paradise by Cally Taylor (there is more than one way to interpret a dream); The Changing World of Michael O’Sullivan by Kathleen McGurl (the choices we make are not always the right ones!); The Woman in White by Jill Steeples (very poignant) and The Girl in the Yellow Dress by Bernadette James (you never know what ripples your actions may cause at some point in the future). I enjoyed the tension and resolution in Going Backwards by Debs Carr and the quirkiness of From Tesco’s With Love by Sally Quilford.
The beauty of short stories is that you can dip in and out and you don’t have to read them in the order they are presented. You can read them on short journeys, in-between chores, when you’re waiting … Being an organised person I have to admit reading each page in turn and being so engrossed that I even read at the dinner table and late at night! For me, Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After is a keeper
November 30, 2011
Tears and Laughter and Happy Ever After are a vibrant collection of short stories written by UK writers - Cally Taylor, Bernadette James, Tamsyn Murray, Jill Steeples, Jenny Maltby, Deborah Carr, Karen Clarke, Sally Quilford, Kathleen McGurl, Sarah Dunnakey, Helen Kara, Helen M Hunt and Leigh Forbes.
These ladies above have had hundreds of short stories published in magazines not only in the UK but also around the world!
Twenty six gorgeous short stories covering subjects from the highs of happiness, the depths of heartbreak and sorrow and every single emotion that happens in between.
“And, in the end, you may just find the path to happy ever after.”
This truly is a beautiful collection of shorts stories that really stirred many different emotions within me as I read them. Being short stories it was my intentions to read just a couple at a time and come back to them, however in reality I read them cover to cover (well click of each page as it was via the Kindle!) in just two sittings.
The stories range from Alien Encounters, World War 2 Heroes, a Bee keeper and many more. Each one in their own way are wonderful and a fabulous examples of how even with just a few words you can capture the attention of your reader quickly. I have never really read Short Stories before but this collection really was a pleasure to read (sometimes hard too!) I thought about saying which was my favourite but have decided … not too, if you know me well I am sure you can guess!!
It was a real privilege to read these and I am so grateful to Debs Carr and Jill Steeples for sending me a copy to review. Thank you.
These ladies above have had hundreds of short stories published in magazines not only in the UK but also around the world!
Twenty six gorgeous short stories covering subjects from the highs of happiness, the depths of heartbreak and sorrow and every single emotion that happens in between.
“And, in the end, you may just find the path to happy ever after.”
This truly is a beautiful collection of shorts stories that really stirred many different emotions within me as I read them. Being short stories it was my intentions to read just a couple at a time and come back to them, however in reality I read them cover to cover (well click of each page as it was via the Kindle!) in just two sittings.
The stories range from Alien Encounters, World War 2 Heroes, a Bee keeper and many more. Each one in their own way are wonderful and a fabulous examples of how even with just a few words you can capture the attention of your reader quickly. I have never really read Short Stories before but this collection really was a pleasure to read (sometimes hard too!) I thought about saying which was my favourite but have decided … not too, if you know me well I am sure you can guess!!
It was a real privilege to read these and I am so grateful to Debs Carr and Jill Steeples for sending me a copy to review. Thank you.
November 28, 2011
A delightful collection of 26 short stories, written by 14 different writers, all of whom have had stories published in magazines (among other things). I read it on my Kindle.
Right from the start, I found myself drawn into this book, which featured a variety of heroines - and a few heroes - in a lot of different situations. We meet a guy who seems to have been stood up, a girl who is meeting her internet boyfriend for the first time, a woman taking a beloved child out for the last time, a young lady who bumps into an old flame, a guy who keeps bees, a wife wanting to impress her husband's boss, a woman who keeps getting the wrong end of the stick, a girl who seems to have got stuck in a past generation... and many more. The situations vary from the lightly amusing to the quirkily surreal, with some tense moments and a few places that almost brought a tear to my eye.
Not all the stories were 'happy ever after', but many of them were thought-provoking. I didn't feel that any of the characters were too flat, even if someone were rather caricatured; in a short story (and some of them are very short) it's not easy to create realistic people that the reader cares about.
Great writing, very enjoyable for anyone who likes women's magazines, highly recommended.
Right from the start, I found myself drawn into this book, which featured a variety of heroines - and a few heroes - in a lot of different situations. We meet a guy who seems to have been stood up, a girl who is meeting her internet boyfriend for the first time, a woman taking a beloved child out for the last time, a young lady who bumps into an old flame, a guy who keeps bees, a wife wanting to impress her husband's boss, a woman who keeps getting the wrong end of the stick, a girl who seems to have got stuck in a past generation... and many more. The situations vary from the lightly amusing to the quirkily surreal, with some tense moments and a few places that almost brought a tear to my eye.
Not all the stories were 'happy ever after', but many of them were thought-provoking. I didn't feel that any of the characters were too flat, even if someone were rather caricatured; in a short story (and some of them are very short) it's not easy to create realistic people that the reader cares about.
Great writing, very enjoyable for anyone who likes women's magazines, highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews