What fun it has been to collaborate with some amazing authors and be able to present to you this short story anthology, The Jeweler’s Heart. As you can see, this collection also includes some of our lovely friends on this blog–Robin Lee Hatcher, Angela Hunt, and Cara Putman!
In The Jeweler’s Heart, each story centers around a gemstone–all of which are discovered in a collection by a modern-day jeweler who will craft them into a heart. The gem stories begin in 1869 and continue through the decades to the present day. A variety of genres and styles (as various as the gems!) create a stunning whole.
My story, Tears in a Bottle, is set during the heat wave of 1980. I was 13 then, but I remember it well, even if I did have to look up all the statistics! Not only did we have our first 100-degree day on June 7th of that year, but we set a single-day heat record on June 26th and 27th at 113 degrees! We topped 100 for 42 straight days that summer (through the entire month of July) with 69 total days over 100 from June 7th through September 16th. In my story, this heat contrasts with the beautiful coolness of a blue topaz teardrop pendant. It’s a sister story, which I loved writing.
The ebook version will be available September 1, but you can pre-order your copy now! (paperback and audio to follow.)
Do you enjoy short story collections?
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Yes, I do. Sometimes, that is all I have time to read.
Then I hope you’ll check out this book! So many short stories to make up the whole! 🙂
Hooray! Congrats on this release, D’Ann. 🙂
Thanks! I feel like others (waving at you, Angie!) did so much more to make this happen, but it was fun to participate!
Thanks! I had fun participating!
I have read a number of the stories in the collection, although not all of them. It really is a delightful group of stories, and I think readers will love it.
I haven’t read all the stories yet either, but I’m looking forward to doing that soon.
I’m so excited about this collection. Can’t wait to read everybody else’s stories.
Yes! I’m excited for that, too!