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Bridgewood

Pub date October 28, 2022

ISBN ‎ 978-0999745670

Price $9.99 (USD) Paperback, $0.00 KIndle edition

Author interview

Through rich and complex characterization that rings completely true, Leaming’s latest, a collection of short stories, delves into longing, old memories, loss, regret, poverty, hunger, difficult choices, love, marriage, trust, betrayal, self-discovery among others. In “THE MAN WHO SCREAMS AT NIGHTFALL,” unsettling dreams haunt an old person, whose mental condition and difficult circumstances combine to keep him trapped in a cycle of endless sufferings. Leaming skillfully delves into his characters’ emotions, as he does in the gut-wrenching “ALPHABET CITY,” in which the young protagonist chooses to look the other way after he witnesses a drug-addict teen mother and her young infant living in deplorable conditions. “HAPPY HOUR AT THE PUB MADRID?” is both grim and hilarious at once. Deeply moving and intriguing, “ELLA, LA LOCA,” tells the story of a woman who leaves her successful career and wealth behind to wander the beaches in Marbella, Spain. A young man finds love but is forced to flee the country after he murders a stranger in “AGORA DOGS.”  Leaming’s light hand with dialogue and keen sense of human psychology create a book that highlights weighty issues by putting a compassionate human face on human struggles. Sharp, inventive, and deeply moving: a fine literary collection.