I *discovered* this writer when I read "My Only Story" which I absolutely loved. I then followed up with "The Secret Language", an entirely different but equally rewarding read. So when I heard about "Ernie's Ark" there was no doubt that I would read it! And it was a joy.

I always enjoy reading books of connected stories and this was one of the best. Wood created a foundation with the first story and proceeded to build on it until she finished constructing a marvelously detailed structure. I loved how each story started anew but then incorporated some character or event from a previous story, creating one of those "a-ha" moments.

Abbott Falls, Maine could have been Anytown, USA and showed Wood's familiarity with this kind of environment and with the effect that a mill, a union, and striking workers can have on the town. The wonderfully developed characters are people we have met before in our lives. Perhaps we did not know all their secrets, but we have known them, I am sure.

This is a book of life, death, love, hate, fear, anger, joy, and most of all, about redemption. I cannot wait for her next!

Mesmerizing

Ernie's Ark is a joy to read and reread. Unforgettable characters and the seasons themselves weave in and out of these nine connected stories. Author Monica Wood clearly knows small-town life, but the stories reach well beyond geographical boundary. A paper-mill strike defines the fictional Maine town, but all of the characters, even the CEO, have a distinct story to tell. A youngest brother, darling of the family, who must choose between crossing the picket line and defying family loyalty. One "heartbreaking eighth-grade girl" and a grieving widower who form an unlikely alliance. A young man reaching for a lifeline that will enable him to break away from the father who has simultaneously controlled and ignored him.

Wood's prose is golden: "A SIMPLE REQUEST FROM A NEIGHBOR GIRL, THE FIRST REQUEST FROM ANY HUMAN BEING SINCE MARIE'S BREATHLESS 'HOLD ME, ERNIE' WHEN HE'D FELT WHAT WAS LEFT OF HER LIFT FROM THE EARTH." And succinct: "WE USED TO BE A CLOSE FAMILY. BARBECUES AND BIRTHDAY PARTIES, LOTS OF BAD JOKES AND BELLY-LAUGHING, EVERYBODY'S KIDS MARCHING IN AND OUT OF ALL THE KITCHEN." And full of discovery: "HE STOOD ALONE FOR THE NEXT FIFTEEN MINUTES WATCHING THE OWL IN THE COLD. AT ONE POINT IT RAISED ITS PONDEROUS WINGS AND LIFTED FROM THE EARTH, DRIFTING DOWN A FEW FEET TO THE WEST. 'STAY, STAY,' HE WHISPERED, WHOLLY BELIEVING HE'D BEEN SUMMONED TO THIS PLACE BY A DEAD MAN TO WITNESS A MARVEL IN HIS STEAD."

Tempered with humor and moments of high suspense, the stories trace the multifaceted paths that lead to forgiveness and redemption. Wood explores the human heart in all its complexity. Throughout the book the ark stands tall, suggesting a myriad of subtleties as varied as the characters themselves.

This work compares very favorably with Richard Russo's Pulitzer-winning EMPIRE FALLS and covers much of the same territory. Like Russo, Wood is intimately and intricately familiar with the people she characterizes so well. Some of these stories could happen anywhere; some only in smalltown Maine. The stories are loosely connected and characters overlap in what in the hands of a lesser writer, might seem a contrived structure, but which here adds a depth of patterning to the already complicated relationships between these entirely lovable, if foible-full creations. You won't find Abbott Falls on any map of Maine, but towns and situations of similar ilk about everywhere, especailly in the smalltown Maine of the human heart.

I've been a fan of Glimmer Train since I received my first issue several years ago. Subsequently, I started a gift basket service and now include Glimmer Train Stories in my gift baskets. Customers absolutely LOVE receiving them! For "people on the go," this collection of short stories is easy to pick up and read when you have just a few minutes. It also can provide hours of reading enjoyment if you have more time to spend.

Glimmer Train consistently delivers on top quality writers. This is a journal that truly cares about its writers, and it shows. The stories are carefully chosen, and are unique, original, witty-- intelligent choices. I get excited when I see Glimmer Train on the stand!

Glimmer Train has fascinating short stories which hold my attention from beginning to the end. The publication itself is quite classy with personal touches, such as photos of each author as a child and personal comments by the authors. Glimmer Train publications are absolutely first class and I highly recommend the publication to anyone who enjoys reading!

I'm so glad I discovered Monica Wood. Her language is gorgeous, her characters compelling, and she oh so delicately describes the pain and joy of human relationships, in a way we can all identify with. I highly recommend Secret Language, and can't wait to read more by this talented author.

Secret Language is a five star book in my opinion! It's about two sisters, Connie and Faith, who grow up in various hotels while traveling around the U.S. with their semi-famous parents. The two girls growup very fast because most of the time they are left alone. By the time Faith is just getting out of high school and Connie is in her senior year, they are left to take care of themselves because of the death of both their parents. They, especially Faith, go through their life stumbling over obstacle after obstacle. It takes Faith a long time to put her past behind her and to start over. There were charaters who were always there to help them through their journey and to let them know that they are special. This never really happened when they were kids. Monica Wood is an excellent writer and I'm excited to read some of her other books.

This was the first novel by Monica Wood, one of my new favorite writers! I first read "My Only Story" and then managed to find "The Secret Language". In between I read her newest book, "Ernie's Ark".

I loved all three books even though they were quite different. All are about families and how they shape us. Part of this theme is that families may be those whom we assemble around us rather than those related by blood.

In "The Secret Language", both Connie and Faith have suffered damage and serious neglect at the hands of their parents, Billy and Delle, traveling actors who were semi-famous but never achieved the fame they sought. These were people who really loved only themselves and the idea of who they were, and their two pretty little girls were part of this image.

The strong coping mechanisms that the sisters developed as children helped them then and continued to help them in adulthood. Unfortunately, the way that Faith coped was to try to avoid feeling too deeply. Despite having married into an outgoing family, the Dohertys, Faith has been walled off for so long that she is unable to connect and always feels like an outsider....they seem overwhelming to her. She seems incapable of allowing Joe to love her, and feels as if she is frozen and incapable of being any other way. Her sister Connie also fears love, but in a different way.

When Isadora appears and wants to be let into their lives, to be an instant sister, she does not realize she will never really be on the inside because there are no shared experiences. She will never see their father, Billy, for the narcissist whom he was, caring only about himself and the image he projected. Like Billy, Isadora is also self-absorbed and a user who will do almost anything to get her way. To say that she is manipulative is an understatement.

I really appreciate the way Wood develops her characters. As a reader, I feel that I know these people: feel their pain, their joy, their sorrow. What a gift!

Monica Wood's stirring "My Only Story" is an elegant, convincing and captivating novel which focuses on the well-intentioned choices regular people make in their quest for family and love. Wood's storytelling talents are so fine and evocative that her powerful treatment of the themes of hope, possibility, obligation and family tends to be submerged. A novel which promises both real insight into the human heart and provokes the reader to introspection and empathy is a work to be cherished. "My Only Story" maintains pace and believability throughout its wrenching narrative.

The author deftly and lovingly introduces a series of characters whose lonely lives reflect fractured families and frustrated dreams. The protagonist, clairvoyant hairdresser Rita Rosario, struggles with her past, one which includes a family at odds with itself and a fruitless, failed marriage which leaves Rita yearning for completion. Living in the distressingly recognizable small town of Ashton, Massachusetts, suffering its own loss of identity through its capitulation to late twentieth-century corporate America, Rita refuses to relinquish her sense of what her community ought be. This steadfast adherence to principle leads to a chance encounter with John Reed, himself a broken, desolate middle-aged man whose life simply has floundered as a consequence of his brother's suicide after having murdered his wife.

The ensuing promising romance between Rita and John inspires both hope and possibility. Readers will discover a deep empathy for John and Rita as they grapple with the intractable chains of duty and responsibility, John with his adorable niece, Aileen, Rita with her fiery, conflicted and bereft sister, Darla. Wood's treatments of Aileen -- smothered by a frightening, controlling love of her mother's sisters' families -- and Darla -- beautiful, rebellious and cult-bound -- are remarkable as is her depiction of Beth, another "sister" whose role develops with extraordinary irony, pride and forgiveness.

"My Only Story" is not simple. The author's deep respect for common people and her commitment to an honest exploration of the texture of love and family, hope and resignation, joy and duty are hallmarks of his important novel. Readers will treasure the depth of humanity permeating this honorable work.

I've been reading Anne Tyler for many years and love her books because she brings ordinary people to life in extraordinary ways. Monica Wood is even better! I fell in love with Rita Rosario from the moment I started chapter one of My Only Story, and I couldn't stop reading until I'd finished the book. She's smart, funny, strong, and vulnerable too. My heart went out to her and to John so many times in the book. I never expected the ending! I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg, or Christina Schwarz.

"Either people shrink with age, or short people live longer," I heard myself say the other day. Where had I heard that? Then I remembered: from Rita Rosario. The main character in Monica Wood's newest novel, Rita is a hairdresser who collects various people's hair snippets, and stores them in a glass jar, creating "a mix of love and betrayals and partings and death." This could also be said of My Only Story -- it's a mixture of love and partings and betrayals, but it is also a romance, a mystery, and a novel about coming to terms with past, making peace with the present, and forgiving and staying connected to the people. And it's a book about Rita, whom I cannot get out of my head. That's the problem with Wood's characters; I couldn't ditch Faith and Connie-- from Wood's other novel, Secret Language-either. Rita's a hairdresser; her shop looks like the sort of place people's mothers "used to take them for their grade-school haircuts." She, however, is no stereotypical Marge of Marge's Clip-n-Curl. Nor does she like it when people try to pigeonhole her based on either her job or appearance-- flashy nails and flouncy dresses. She's read Canterbury Tales, for example. She's also a healer, a Tarot card reader, and a fixer: "People come to me after the fact.... Fix what's broken, that's what I do all day long." Throughout the novel, Rita struggles to fix what is broken and to make the connection between what she thought her life was and what it actually is. Even thought I couldn't put the book down, I'm loathe to recommend this book to other readers. I want to keep Rita for myself. However, My Only Story is the kind of book worth sharing, which is why I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

Another good book in a series of Writer's Digest books that are specific tools for the novelist or short story writer. The author challenges you to focus on details that tell a story rather than boring the reader with tunnel vision. She encourages the use of description in dialogue with specific examples of how you can spice up a conversation just by noticing the things your characters do while they talk. The ultimate show-don't-tell guide.

This is one of my two favourite books in the Writer's Digest series. Monica Wood is a person who writes fiction and it shows. The advice is solid and engaging. She covers all the basics (details, show don't tell, dialogue) while still moving forward into unchartered territories for the more advanced fiction writer. There is also a great chapter at the end of the book titled 'Special Description Problems', which covers techniques for describing animals, the weather, emotions and sounds. It's a solid education--not just in 'descriptive' writing, but good writing in general. A gem. I use it all the time. Do yourself a favour and put it on your wishlist.

I saw this book in the store, and was impressed by both the introduction and the varied topics, that cover the different aspects of writing quite well. Having now finished the book, I'm glad that I bought it.

I always consider books about writing as guidelines, ideas of what you should consider, and not hard rules. Monica Wood has a slightly different idea of what description should be like than I have. The effect of some of her examples on me was different than what she intended. But that's one of the good things about this book. It illustrates its points well enough to let you judge for yourself if you like the style. There are many ideas to consider here, all of them written in clearly and with good examples.

I found this book a good inspiration to go back to an old story of mine, rewrite parts, and add details. Not because I found anything really wrong with my own descriptions, but because it made me think more about my characters, and how small things I encounter in my life can be incorporated into a fantasy story set in another time and place. This shows how a good book about description can cover everything from setting to characters, and inspire you not just where your style is concerned.

BTW, the book I have is an older (1995) hardcover edition.

This Book is a great place to get inspiration for all your short stories and novels alike. You can even use it for nonfiction writing to a certain extent. It has great tips to get you all pumped up and ready to work! The only problem I have with this book is that it doesn't offer much for poets.In fact, other than a short little blurp about the misconception of the "tortered poet", theres nothing to help you with poetry.
But if your fortays include writing novels and short stories, this is the book that can help you out of that hole they call writer's block! But if you specialize in nonfiction or poetry, save your money and go buy a good thesaures.

Some of the ideas are simple. Some make you slap yourself and say "why didn't I think of that?!" Some of the ideas you thought of already but Monica Wood put a new twist on them. The book is full of inspiring flotsam and wonderful tidbits of ideas that will get your brain thinking and maybe even your heart feeling a little more. This handy little treasure shows you that writing is not just about thinking up a great idea, but it is about observing the great ideas that are around you already.

This is a wonderful gift book for the writer in your life. Inside the pages, you'll find photographs-- some cute, some beautiful-- and tidbits of advice about writing and prompts to spark your creativity.

The book has a likable randomness to it; you can open it to any page and just read until you feel like writing again. Some pages have fairly lengthy anecdotes, and others are just a few lines long, with instructions like "Write about a simple board game that turns its players into pie-eyed cutthroats" and "Take two people you know who seem to be opposites in every way. Think about them until you hit on something they have in common. Start writing."

It fulfills the promise of its title: it is, indeed, a handy little dose of inspiration. It's upbeat without being cloying, encouraging without being unrealistic, and full of very do-able exercises.

I recommend this book as a gift because it applies to all writers; all of us have times when the Inspiration Fairy just seems to have flown away, and this book speaks to that. It won't teach you how to be a better writer-- it'll just entice you to set pen to paper again in a friendly coach-ish sort of way.

My only complaint is that my fingerprints show on the glossy colored pages. Is that a stupid complaint? I'm petty like that. But it's still the kind of book that's fun to have around...

As a child I always eagerly awaited our summer vacations at Grandma's cottage in the woods off Lake Michigan. From walks along dusty roads bordered with Queen Anne's Lace- where even the most commonplace item sparked fascinating tidbits of information- to assisting with with her bird banding- so aware of the rapid heartbeat under my fingers as I cradled the small bird so the numbers on its tag could be read- time spent with my Grandma embued me with a sense of wonder for the natural world and the science of its study.

Reading her book these years later bring back that feeling with suprising clarity. The rich visual description in each vignette flows around the drier scientific facts, drawing you in to the world that surrounds that plant, animal or location. Her own love of nature draws you into the details and leaves you with a fascinating snapshot built from history, observations and facts.

Of Woods and Other Things is an ideal book to leave lying around. Though grouped in sections, each vignette stands alone, creating a microcosm of life in a just few pages. I found I actually preferred to just pick it up, randomly flipping through to stumble upon some new find, much as I had on my walks with grandma.