What do you think?
Rate this book
Acquainted With Butterflies: A Collection of Short Stories, Personal Essays & Poetry
“Engaging, poignant, the stories cup your heart in their metaphorical hands and don’t let go. Suspenseful, creative, it’s everything one wants to be and feel in an afternoon.”
A.K. Lawrence
Whether it’s a boarding school with a mysterious disappearance, a long car ride on a sunny afternoon, or Southern Lit told with a sly wink and a smile, each story and poem is a journey of self-discovery and reading purely for the joy.
Editor, wife, mother, homeschool teacher and author, J.C. Wing has spent her life traveling, learning, teaching, experiencing, and doing what authors do best—writing stories and poetry from her unique perspective.
A.K. Lawrence
Whether it’s a boarding school with a mysterious disappearance, a long car ride on a sunny afternoon, or Southern Lit told with a sly wink and a smile, each story and poem is a journey of self-discovery and reading purely for the joy.
Editor, wife, mother, homeschool teacher and author, J.C. Wing has spent her life traveling, learning, teaching, experiencing, and doing what authors do best—writing stories and poetry from her unique perspective.
148 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 23, 2018
4 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
J.C. Wing
32 books222 followersJ.C. Wing is a bestselling, multi-genre indie author. She likes to pen family dramas, romantic comedies, thrillers, YA and the occasional limerick. She has written more than twenty novels, including The Color of Thunder, The Gannon Family Series ("The Skye Books"), the Goddess of Tornado Alley Series and the Whisper Creek Mysteries Series. She is the author of Acquainted with Butterflies, a collection of short stories, personal essays and poetry, and she is a contributing author of the Grey’s Harbor Series.
J.C. publishes under Black Cat Press, her own imprint. Her writing companions are Tara, the golden retriever of absolute happiness and Calvin and Cayenne, the cats of chaos.
J.C. publishes under Black Cat Press, her own imprint. Her writing companions are Tara, the golden retriever of absolute happiness and Calvin and Cayenne, the cats of chaos.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 2, 2018
Book 26 of my Goodreads Challenge
I absolutely fell in love with the book cover, a beautiful butterfly that stretched over the front and back once the book was opened out.
The book consists of a collection of short stories, personal essays and poetry some of which I absolutely loved. ‘Cold Feet’ was a great read something unique I had not come across before a tale of a wedding from different points of view.
I loved the poem:-
‘The Color of the Ocean’
The rays of sun, so warm and bright
a shiny ribbon of gold.
The water caresses the wet sand below
and the waves tell tales untold.
There is probably something here for everyone a light read that can be picked up and read in small snippets. From the funny short story ‘Letters to the Couch’ to stories full of suspense and horror such as ‘The Surprise Getaway’.
For me the personal essays were not really my thing, perhaps a little too intimate. But many did bring back memories of songs that were mentioned throughout. The author’s only real link with her father was their great love of music.
Worth checking out but to find out more visit JC’s blog spot http://jcwingandthegoddess.blogspot.com/
I absolutely fell in love with the book cover, a beautiful butterfly that stretched over the front and back once the book was opened out.
The book consists of a collection of short stories, personal essays and poetry some of which I absolutely loved. ‘Cold Feet’ was a great read something unique I had not come across before a tale of a wedding from different points of view.
I loved the poem:-
‘The Color of the Ocean’
The rays of sun, so warm and bright
a shiny ribbon of gold.
The water caresses the wet sand below
and the waves tell tales untold.
There is probably something here for everyone a light read that can be picked up and read in small snippets. From the funny short story ‘Letters to the Couch’ to stories full of suspense and horror such as ‘The Surprise Getaway’.
For me the personal essays were not really my thing, perhaps a little too intimate. But many did bring back memories of songs that were mentioned throughout. The author’s only real link with her father was their great love of music.
Worth checking out but to find out more visit JC’s blog spot http://jcwingandthegoddess.blogspot.com/
May 6, 2018
I was already a fan of J.C. Wing's writing and reading Acquainted With Butterflies made me feel like I had just spent an afternoon talking with her over coffee. The short stories, and poetry are as good as I expected and the personal insights only added to the admiration I have for her.
J.C. Wing you keep writing and I promise I will keep reading.
J.C. Wing you keep writing and I promise I will keep reading.
December 22, 2018
I was lucky to read this in advance of its release, and I am so thankful to be given this gift of an incredible collection of stories, essays and poetry. Having read much of Ms. Wing's writings over many many years, I can tell you that this collection is a superb illustration of her incredible range and talent. The personal essays are poignant and powerful and I wonder at her courage to be able to share them. I spent years in the vicinity of some of the places she describes and not only do I see them in the descriptions, I recall the experience of being there - having driven and run up Bradburn repeatedly myself, I am taken back to the environment of over arching trees and quaint and unique houses that make it such a wonderful place to have grown up. This beauty and love and nature are artfully juxtaposed with the raw emotion and coming to terms with the "not beautiful" experiences had in these environs.
And while a sort of reckoning of the past takes place, this collection demonstrates Ms. Wing's joyful and wonderful sense of humor as well. I love her version of Frankenstein - it's not all roses, and her "monster," while sheltering her from real dangers and abuse, the monster under the bed is playful and touching. And the letter to the couch, with its very specific details is relatable as we all have this kind of love/hate relationship with some of the inanimate objects that make up our environment.
While the short stories are complete in the form in which they appear in this collection, I beg Ms. Wing to expand An Artist at Work, Return to Blue River and Cold Feet. An Artist at Work and Surprise Getaway seem to me to be where Ms. Wing really stretches herself - the suspense and wry humor in both stories leave you with a sense of "gotcha".
Ms. Wing is intimate with her fictional characters, and we, as readers are the beneficiaries of this intimacy. She is honest and uncompromising in the bravery she demonstrates in sharing personal stories and we are recipients of this precious gift as her readers.
And while a sort of reckoning of the past takes place, this collection demonstrates Ms. Wing's joyful and wonderful sense of humor as well. I love her version of Frankenstein - it's not all roses, and her "monster," while sheltering her from real dangers and abuse, the monster under the bed is playful and touching. And the letter to the couch, with its very specific details is relatable as we all have this kind of love/hate relationship with some of the inanimate objects that make up our environment.
While the short stories are complete in the form in which they appear in this collection, I beg Ms. Wing to expand An Artist at Work, Return to Blue River and Cold Feet. An Artist at Work and Surprise Getaway seem to me to be where Ms. Wing really stretches herself - the suspense and wry humor in both stories leave you with a sense of "gotcha".
Ms. Wing is intimate with her fictional characters, and we, as readers are the beneficiaries of this intimacy. She is honest and uncompromising in the bravery she demonstrates in sharing personal stories and we are recipients of this precious gift as her readers.
May 8, 2018
What a raw, vulnerable, and emotional read! I don't think I've ever connected with an author so intimately as with this mix of poetry, short stories and personal essays. It truly showcases her range and writing abilities as she goes from second-chance love, to humor, to criminal thriller. She is exceptionally gifted and conveys things so beautifully. I felt everything while reading this and would love to see her expand a couple of them into novels in the future. I was already a fan of hers, but this has completely blown me away and I highly recommend it.
December 30, 2018
I really enjoyed reading Acquainted with Butterflies. A glimpse of the author's personal feelings and thoughts through mostly short stories and a few poems. The stories range from funny to sad to scary to reflective to happy. Although I usually read novels, this was an easy read and since the stories were short it was easy to read for just a few minutes at a time. Highly recommended!
June 14, 2018
A great glimpse into the head of our favorite author.
November 14, 2018
I have read collections of short stories and collections of poetry before and usually enjoyed them, since they more often contain works by well-known and favourite writers of mine. Admittedly they were less likely to be contemporary writers of my own and more recent generations but the main attraction for me was being able to dip in and out, looking for, and often finding, snippets of experiences and emotions with which I could identify. So when I came to read J.C. Wing’s book it was with a mixture of pleasure and trepidation. I have read and enjoyed everything that I have read from this gifted author who conveys things so clearly; events, characters and their innermost feelings and fears. But the problem for me was that “Butterflies” also contained autobiographical and personal recollections from J.C. and I’m not all that keen on that kind of writing any more. This was mainly because so often the reader usually discovers in a biography, or even a memoir type of book, that your idol had feet of clay and you wind up not liking them very much. I feared that might happen here.
As usual with a J.C. Wing book I came to the end of it thinking, “Well that was well worth the time spent reading it!” In fact there were many stories and poems that I will go back to and read again. In particular I liked: the surprise twist in Cold Feet and in The Old Switcheroo; the humour of Letters to the Couch; and the poems, Reflections and I Know, which were full of pathos and sharp observation. However, much to my surprise, I found three of J.C.’s essays about her relationship with her father incredibly moving because of her bravery and candour. Some Things Just Are; The Gift of Music; and My Dad and Elvis Presley felt somehow polemical to me, which reminded me of one of my most favourite of authors, George Orwell in how he writes in The Road to Wigan Pier and Burmese Days for example. His writing is so clear and, at first sight, coldly clinical but then the underlying passion comes through as one ponders his words later. That same sense of awareness comes through with Wing’s intimate recollections.
J.C. Wing is a most talented writer and must carry on writing so that the rest of the world may eventually discover her. I would love to see her apply her talent to some of the big issues in the world, such as climate change, population growth, pollution of the Earth and misguided politics for a start. This is a most thought provoking collection and I shall return to it again and again, I’ve no doubt; highly recommended.
As usual with a J.C. Wing book I came to the end of it thinking, “Well that was well worth the time spent reading it!” In fact there were many stories and poems that I will go back to and read again. In particular I liked: the surprise twist in Cold Feet and in The Old Switcheroo; the humour of Letters to the Couch; and the poems, Reflections and I Know, which were full of pathos and sharp observation. However, much to my surprise, I found three of J.C.’s essays about her relationship with her father incredibly moving because of her bravery and candour. Some Things Just Are; The Gift of Music; and My Dad and Elvis Presley felt somehow polemical to me, which reminded me of one of my most favourite of authors, George Orwell in how he writes in The Road to Wigan Pier and Burmese Days for example. His writing is so clear and, at first sight, coldly clinical but then the underlying passion comes through as one ponders his words later. That same sense of awareness comes through with Wing’s intimate recollections.
J.C. Wing is a most talented writer and must carry on writing so that the rest of the world may eventually discover her. I would love to see her apply her talent to some of the big issues in the world, such as climate change, population growth, pollution of the Earth and misguided politics for a start. This is a most thought provoking collection and I shall return to it again and again, I’ve no doubt; highly recommended.
April 26, 2020
Perfect Light Read
Acquainted With Butterflies by J. C. Wing is a lovely collection of short stories and poetry. Some of the stories are humorous, some are autobiographical, some are sad. I particularly liked the Time Traveling Taxi and the Nutcracker and the Cheeseball. This is a perfect light read showcasing a talented author.
Acquainted With Butterflies by J. C. Wing is a lovely collection of short stories and poetry. Some of the stories are humorous, some are autobiographical, some are sad. I particularly liked the Time Traveling Taxi and the Nutcracker and the Cheeseball. This is a perfect light read showcasing a talented author.
September 7, 2019
Moving mix!
A wonderful mix of poetry and intimate stories! A relaxing read for stressed individuals like me! I’m very grateful for the heartfelt writing!
A wonderful mix of poetry and intimate stories! A relaxing read for stressed individuals like me! I’m very grateful for the heartfelt writing!
August 3, 2018
A very personal collection of stories, essays & poems. Easy reading. My personal favourite was 'A Surprise Getaway'
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews