HARK - A Christmas Collection

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THANKS 

 

HARK

 A Christmas Collection
by
Justin Bog

Hark's six literary holiday tales are not for kids - they are for discerning adults contemplating more than sugarplum sweetness.

Within Hark: A Christmas Collection, a retired police officer faces another Christmas Eve while bitter recollections haunt his every turn, a lonely businesswoman plans to seduce Santa Claus one Christmas Eve, a widow grows anxious searching for a misplaced present she intended to send to her ungrateful sister, a stubborn and brave woman can't keep the images of her past - these ghosts - from haunting the life she chooses to live; while attending a Christmas party in Sun Valley, Idaho a bookstore clerk and his partner are taught a lesson most un-holiday-like, and, in the final story, a couple portrays Mr. and Mrs. Claus in their small island town's holiday festivities and face a grim diagnosis together.
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 Paperback: 208 pages,  Publisher: Justin Bog; 2 edition (November 4, 2016),  Language: English,   ISBN-10: 098547517X,    ISBN-13: 978-0985475178

AUTHOR
Justin Bog is a member of the ITW: International Thriller Writers.

Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and raised in Granville, Ohio by two artists and teachers who met in graduate art school, Justin pursued his own creative path at the University of Michigan. He then received an MFA from Bowling Green State University in Fiction.

Justin moves every twelve years, with three chapters completed. The Michigan years helped a younger Justin see life, all yearnings, as a possibility, while the Sun Valley, Idaho chapter taught Justin to dig deeper, see life as an intricate and rich source for new stories to tell, and now, living in Anacortes, Washington, Justin feels at home. The water is his muse and many of his current tales are set in this island area. Justin lives on Fidalgo Island with his mate of almost 30 years and his long coat German shepherd, Kipling, and his two barn cats, Ajax The Gray and Eartha Kitt’n. R.I.P. Zippy!

MY THOUGHTS
 This isn't your usual book of Christmas stories.   No sugar coating and everything's good stories.   Just plain everyday life stories around the Christmas season.   Christmas can bring back bad memories each year and this happened in the first story about a police officer.  The author gives a lesson to go with each story and the lesson is that you can't change the past, live for now and hope tomorrow will be better.  The author gives the reader a bit of Christmas romance with Santa in a romantic-comedy story.   You may get a flutter of warmth when you read "Bracelet".  It goes with the Christmas story of The Gift of the Magi.  The author puts his little turn on the story. We have a longer story about what adults instill upon children early on.  It does tend to put that person at a slight disadvantage in life.  It can be over come, but not always.
 There are blessings and good things even in a disadvantaged life. Sometimes you must look for them. I especially liked "Snow Globe" about a Christmas party, let's say an elegant party, with a diversity of guests.   Parties, especially Christmas Parties should be happy but this party is filled with stress.   It was going half way OK until.....   What would happen if a tragedy was learned right before Christmas?  What would two people do? How would they handle it?  You may be surprised. The author presents the depth of each story.  Doesn't add too much sugar, just the basics.  Grab a copy of HARK and delve into the lives of some  ordinary, everyday people at Christmas time.  You may be surprised and then again, you may relate.  The characters the author presented are you and me, believe it or not!  Stories just like life don't always have happy endings.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, Justin Bog and Word Slinger Publicity and voluntarily decided to review it.

I would give this book 5 STARS. 

goodreads review
AMAZON REVIEW