Fiction by Sharon Cairns Mann
SHORT STORY COLLECTION
Rekindle your love for short fiction! Seven taut tales deliver gut-wrenching twists in prose simultaneously lean and lyrical. From the misguided romantic hopes of a cowboy, to the poignant tale of a misfit orphan coming to terms with the unwelcome-but-longed-for grace that settles over her life, this collection of short stories is filled with quirky, flawed, and authentic characters. Themes of isolation, a longing for home, and the need to belong are accentuated by the lonely, wind-swept high-desert setting. This collection includes Mann’s award-winning work that has previously appeared in juried anthologies, as well as new short-fiction. Highly readable, gritty, real, humorous. |
Availability and Ordering Information for Tesserae: a mosaic of story:
Hard Copy: ISBN 978-1-6207-4027-9 Kindle: ISBN 9781620740293 (Available on Amazon.) Nook, Kobo: ISBN 9781620740286 Available wherever books are sold (including independent book sellers, Amazon, B&N) and on Kindle, Nook and Kobo. You can also order directly from the publisher: orders@alacrityhousepublishing.com www.alacrityhousepublishing.com. |
Endorsements for Tesserae: A Mosaic of Story:
Mann skillfully transforms the small moments and raw challenges of individual lives into unexpected explorations of human spirit with surprising resolution. Here are narratives you’ve not quite seen...people you possibly know and maybe have been. Her collection wryly renders American life as wonder, will, and dogged whimsy. Strong and original. Highly recommended.
-- Patricia Raybon, award-winning author of My First White Friend, I Told the Mountain to Move, and Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace.
What I love about Mann’s writing is the way that she surprises me. Not in an “Oh-she’s- good” way. Because she is very good. But in a “Wow-I-didn’t-see-that-coming” way. She writes about a cast of Southwest souls, an intimate peek into troubled lives, and then sends them dancing off into the sunset without a glance back. At me—with suddenly watery eyes, or a smile on my lips, or a sense of mystified satisfaction. Surprised, at Mann’s whimsy, her humanity, her art. Oh, yeah, she’s damn good.
-- Michael Madigan, Author of Double Dare, The GyPSy Line and Colton’s Panics; President, Colorado Authors’ League.
Mann’s collection peeks into varied characters, simmering emotions… unpredictable endings …descriptive and inviting. Readers of her stories will be both enlightened and entertained.
--Catherine O’Neill Thorn, poet, editor, and executive director of Art from Ashes, a nonprofit organization that employs written and spoken word as a transformative process for struggling youth.
Mann skillfully transforms the small moments and raw challenges of individual lives into unexpected explorations of human spirit with surprising resolution. Here are narratives you’ve not quite seen...people you possibly know and maybe have been. Her collection wryly renders American life as wonder, will, and dogged whimsy. Strong and original. Highly recommended.
-- Patricia Raybon, award-winning author of My First White Friend, I Told the Mountain to Move, and Undivided: A Muslim Daughter, Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace.
What I love about Mann’s writing is the way that she surprises me. Not in an “Oh-she’s- good” way. Because she is very good. But in a “Wow-I-didn’t-see-that-coming” way. She writes about a cast of Southwest souls, an intimate peek into troubled lives, and then sends them dancing off into the sunset without a glance back. At me—with suddenly watery eyes, or a smile on my lips, or a sense of mystified satisfaction. Surprised, at Mann’s whimsy, her humanity, her art. Oh, yeah, she’s damn good.
-- Michael Madigan, Author of Double Dare, The GyPSy Line and Colton’s Panics; President, Colorado Authors’ League.
Mann’s collection peeks into varied characters, simmering emotions… unpredictable endings …descriptive and inviting. Readers of her stories will be both enlightened and entertained.
--Catherine O’Neill Thorn, poet, editor, and executive director of Art from Ashes, a nonprofit organization that employs written and spoken word as a transformative process for struggling youth.
Anthology of Short Fiction
Check out Rozlyn: Short Fiction by Women Writers, a newly published anthology of women writers, including Sharon's story "Knife River Flint."
"This is an impressive collection, because it was open globally for entries. I expect this will zoom to prominence in literary world and become a well-respected "go-to" both for future readers and teachers of short fiction."
Available at Rozlyn Press and Amazon.
Check out Rozlyn: Short Fiction by Women Writers, a newly published anthology of women writers, including Sharon's story "Knife River Flint."
"This is an impressive collection, because it was open globally for entries. I expect this will zoom to prominence in literary world and become a well-respected "go-to" both for future readers and teachers of short fiction."
Available at Rozlyn Press and Amazon.
Available in Kindle! The Kindle eBook version of the beloved novel Mother of Exiles was recently released and is now available on Amazon.com (click here).
Step into the harsh, funny, poignant world of Ronia, the prison chaplain who narrates this story, set in a women's correctional facility in southern Colorado. Meet quirky characters like Pyro, Prozac, C.T. and Dinky. Discover with Ronia that one of the inmates might be wrongfully convicted. Experience the inspirational story of Ronia's transformation from rookie to legend in a narrative that combines charm and action in a unique setting.
New review of eBook:
Finished Mother of Exiles by Sharon Cairns Mann and gave it 5 stars for well developed characters,fast paced conversation, and tightly woven plot. Thanks Sharon for an enjoyable read immersed in the life of a women's prison chaplain. Reviewer: Mary Stromer Hanson, 06/15/2014 via Facebook.
Powerful! The blurbs in the ads and on the back cover of the book in no way prepared me for the impact of MOTHER OF EXILES. This is powerful stuff about good and evil, failure and grace, and human frailty. The unlikely heroine, Ronia Sorenson, plunges into the abyss of human misery as a chaplain in a maximum security prison. She is carried by the maelstrom of events, kicking, screaming, and protesting her unworthiness all the way, into ultimately making a difference in her world by taking a stand. In fact, it is her very human fumbling, blundering, and yes, bleeding heart, that in the end wins the day -- and our hearts. I sincerely hope that there are more Ronia Sorenson books in the pipeline; I want to keep her as a friend. Sharon Cairns Mann writes with grit, earthiness, humor, and a combination of affection and curiosity for people and their mixed feelings and motives. She seduces us with the realness of her characters and hooks us with a gripping story. This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Encore! Reviewer: Robert Williams, 02/23/2008.
Read more reviews here!
Step into the harsh, funny, poignant world of Ronia, the prison chaplain who narrates this story, set in a women's correctional facility in southern Colorado. Meet quirky characters like Pyro, Prozac, C.T. and Dinky. Discover with Ronia that one of the inmates might be wrongfully convicted. Experience the inspirational story of Ronia's transformation from rookie to legend in a narrative that combines charm and action in a unique setting.
New review of eBook:
Finished Mother of Exiles by Sharon Cairns Mann and gave it 5 stars for well developed characters,fast paced conversation, and tightly woven plot. Thanks Sharon for an enjoyable read immersed in the life of a women's prison chaplain. Reviewer: Mary Stromer Hanson, 06/15/2014 via Facebook.
Powerful! The blurbs in the ads and on the back cover of the book in no way prepared me for the impact of MOTHER OF EXILES. This is powerful stuff about good and evil, failure and grace, and human frailty. The unlikely heroine, Ronia Sorenson, plunges into the abyss of human misery as a chaplain in a maximum security prison. She is carried by the maelstrom of events, kicking, screaming, and protesting her unworthiness all the way, into ultimately making a difference in her world by taking a stand. In fact, it is her very human fumbling, blundering, and yes, bleeding heart, that in the end wins the day -- and our hearts. I sincerely hope that there are more Ronia Sorenson books in the pipeline; I want to keep her as a friend. Sharon Cairns Mann writes with grit, earthiness, humor, and a combination of affection and curiosity for people and their mixed feelings and motives. She seduces us with the realness of her characters and hooks us with a gripping story. This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Encore! Reviewer: Robert Williams, 02/23/2008.
Read more reviews here!
Mother of Exiles: Sharon's much-loved first novel.
New copies of the original hard copy version of Mother of Exiles are still available on Buy Books on the Web and Amazon, along with other vendors!
Added to the Denver Public Library's Colorado Author's collection!
What is it about? A prison chaplain, a crooked warden, a wrongfully convicted inmate and a town full of odd-ball characters clash in this action-packed story of love and betrayal; suspense and redemption; and a woman s transformation from rookie to legend. This fast-paced charmer will keep you turning the pages. An ideal choice for educated people who want stories that are realistic and entertaining, not sappy or predictable.
Feedback from readers (more reviews available on Buy Books on the Web and Amazon):
Make it a Movie! 02/26/2008 Reviewer: Keith Sampson. I loved this book. Even though it is primarily about a woman's process of maturing in a most difficult situation, it still has the action and drama that Tom Clancy and John Grisham fans really enjoy. In addition, it has the soul-searching philosophical conflicts that we all face in life at one stage or another--the type of conflict that causes the reader to do some healthy introspection. It definitely needs to be made into a movie!Was this review helpful? Reviewer: Keith Sampson, I LOVE this book! , 02/24/2008
I LOVE this book! All I can say is "WOW!" It is SO GOOD! I love Ronia and her fumbling, blundering, and feelings of unworthiness, and how she keeps plodding along anyway. I love the way Sharon writes about people's mixed feelings and motives -- just like we really are! I'm hoping the book's roaring success will induce Sharon to write another Ronia Sorenson book. Reviewer: Anonymous, 02/26/2008
Excellent! I read this in one sitting. I could not put it down. The characters are realistic and full of human emotion, the setting is true to form to this part of Southern Colorado, and the plot is gripping and unpredicatable. I loved this book and will recommend it to my friends and students without hesitation. Reviewer: Teresa England, 03/23/2008
New copies of the original hard copy version of Mother of Exiles are still available on Buy Books on the Web and Amazon, along with other vendors!
Added to the Denver Public Library's Colorado Author's collection!
What is it about? A prison chaplain, a crooked warden, a wrongfully convicted inmate and a town full of odd-ball characters clash in this action-packed story of love and betrayal; suspense and redemption; and a woman s transformation from rookie to legend. This fast-paced charmer will keep you turning the pages. An ideal choice for educated people who want stories that are realistic and entertaining, not sappy or predictable.
Feedback from readers (more reviews available on Buy Books on the Web and Amazon):
Make it a Movie! 02/26/2008 Reviewer: Keith Sampson. I loved this book. Even though it is primarily about a woman's process of maturing in a most difficult situation, it still has the action and drama that Tom Clancy and John Grisham fans really enjoy. In addition, it has the soul-searching philosophical conflicts that we all face in life at one stage or another--the type of conflict that causes the reader to do some healthy introspection. It definitely needs to be made into a movie!Was this review helpful? Reviewer: Keith Sampson, I LOVE this book! , 02/24/2008
I LOVE this book! All I can say is "WOW!" It is SO GOOD! I love Ronia and her fumbling, blundering, and feelings of unworthiness, and how she keeps plodding along anyway. I love the way Sharon writes about people's mixed feelings and motives -- just like we really are! I'm hoping the book's roaring success will induce Sharon to write another Ronia Sorenson book. Reviewer: Anonymous, 02/26/2008
Excellent! I read this in one sitting. I could not put it down. The characters are realistic and full of human emotion, the setting is true to form to this part of Southern Colorado, and the plot is gripping and unpredicatable. I loved this book and will recommend it to my friends and students without hesitation. Reviewer: Teresa England, 03/23/2008
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