What do you think?
Rate this book
Encore
With her Mum and Dad overseas, sixteen-year-old Annie is left in the care of her happily married sister, Sarah. Alarm bells ring in Sarah's head when she learns of the teenager's infatuation with seasonal worker Keiran, whose good looks, charm and maturity ensure he is never short of attention. How will Annie cope with Keiran's abandonment? This and twenty-four other intriguing tales await readers of 'Encore', authored by award-winning short story writer Margaret Lynette Sharp.
184 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2013
5 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Lynette Sharp
83 books88 followersMy blog: http://margaretlynettesharp.wordpress...
Margaret Lynette Sharp is an award-winning writer, and the author of over eighty titles, including #1 Amazon Best Seller, 'Longbourn Revisited'. Her work was highly commended during the the 2014 Hurstville Discovery Festival of Community Arts, and published by Hurstville Council in an anthology entitled 'Write Out Loud'. In November 2015 she won a Second Prize, again in the short story section of this same competition, and her title, 'More Than a Mere Bagatelle', has been selected for inclusion in another anthology, 'The Art of Writing'.
She spent her early years in an inner city suburb of Sydney, moving with her family to a leafy, outer suburb at the age of ten.
A self-motivated student who loved to seek out information, she matriculated just before her eighteenth birthday. Her enthusiasm for literature led to further studies, with a particular focus on Short Story Writing
Shortly after the death of her elderly mother whom she cared for, Margaret met and later married Ronald Sharp B.E.M., the creator of the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ. She believes that, without doubt, he was her greatest fan and motivator.
Excelling in English himself, Ron had edited much of her early work. He passed away on 21st July, 2021.
Margaret's books have been read and reviewed by readers from Australia, U.S. and India; the vast majority of reviews have been positive.
In addition, she has three blogs on WordPress, which has received many encouraging comments.
Margaret Lynette Sharp is an award-winning writer, and the author of over eighty titles, including #1 Amazon Best Seller, 'Longbourn Revisited'. Her work was highly commended during the the 2014 Hurstville Discovery Festival of Community Arts, and published by Hurstville Council in an anthology entitled 'Write Out Loud'. In November 2015 she won a Second Prize, again in the short story section of this same competition, and her title, 'More Than a Mere Bagatelle', has been selected for inclusion in another anthology, 'The Art of Writing'.
She spent her early years in an inner city suburb of Sydney, moving with her family to a leafy, outer suburb at the age of ten.
A self-motivated student who loved to seek out information, she matriculated just before her eighteenth birthday. Her enthusiasm for literature led to further studies, with a particular focus on Short Story Writing
Shortly after the death of her elderly mother whom she cared for, Margaret met and later married Ronald Sharp B.E.M., the creator of the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ. She believes that, without doubt, he was her greatest fan and motivator.
Excelling in English himself, Ron had edited much of her early work. He passed away on 21st July, 2021.
Margaret's books have been read and reviewed by readers from Australia, U.S. and India; the vast majority of reviews have been positive.
In addition, she has three blogs on WordPress, which has received many encouraging comments.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 20, 2013
At Sixteen: Annie's Story
(the truth, but not at seventeen)
The first story of this elegantly-crafted collection authentically captures the moods, from wistfulness to defiance, from petulance to heartbreak, of a teen in transition, as seen from the perspective of an older sister left to be in loco parentis, who proves actually to be a better parent than the ones who call it in, from Paris. This piece sets the tone for the rest of the volume, a highly readable, page-turning anthology of vignettes, probably Sharp's best to date, that offers characters and outcomes that are always a bit more complicated (and better) than we're led to expect.
A synopsis of a vignette that doesn't spoil the story has to be a brief one, and perhaps a little enigmatic, but these are a few of Encore's other tales of emotional entanglement:
Swansong, as the title suggests, is the tale of one last moment. Most bad prospects don't know what they are. Bradley, at least, cares enough to accept it.
Dear David is a wonderful epistolary tale with three embedded twists on the way to a satisying outcome.
A Time for Decision: A Time for Love is a genuinely warming resolution to an encounter with an utterly loathsome person.
My Love Story is, oddly, about the cue and the impulse to write one, which clearly the author feels with regularity -- and here, her character manages also to bring one into being.
All of these stories are emotionally satisfying, and all of them quick, compelling reads. Highly recommended.
(the truth, but not at seventeen)
The first story of this elegantly-crafted collection authentically captures the moods, from wistfulness to defiance, from petulance to heartbreak, of a teen in transition, as seen from the perspective of an older sister left to be in loco parentis, who proves actually to be a better parent than the ones who call it in, from Paris. This piece sets the tone for the rest of the volume, a highly readable, page-turning anthology of vignettes, probably Sharp's best to date, that offers characters and outcomes that are always a bit more complicated (and better) than we're led to expect.
A synopsis of a vignette that doesn't spoil the story has to be a brief one, and perhaps a little enigmatic, but these are a few of Encore's other tales of emotional entanglement:
Swansong, as the title suggests, is the tale of one last moment. Most bad prospects don't know what they are. Bradley, at least, cares enough to accept it.
Dear David is a wonderful epistolary tale with three embedded twists on the way to a satisying outcome.
A Time for Decision: A Time for Love is a genuinely warming resolution to an encounter with an utterly loathsome person.
My Love Story is, oddly, about the cue and the impulse to write one, which clearly the author feels with regularity -- and here, her character manages also to bring one into being.
All of these stories are emotionally satisfying, and all of them quick, compelling reads. Highly recommended.
March 28, 2013
Encore by Margaret Lynette Sharp is an anthology of short romance stories. They are mostly based in and around Sydney, Australia, with the stories centering around young as well as older people. The variation of theme makes each story different, with most of them having a delightful little twist which more often than not made me smile.
My favourite story was actually the first one, At Sixteen: Annie’s Story.
With sixteen year old Annie living with her sister Sarah, and husband William because their parents are over in Paris, where they have been living and working for the past six months, she feels a little rebellious. Though Sarah feels a little nervous at the responsibility of being in charge of Annie, she feels Annie is a good girl. But when she finds Annie has been keeping company with an older man, she becomes worried. And as things escalate out of control, Sarah needs all her wiles about her to prevent a disaster in Annie’s life. Beautifully crafted with a clever twist at the end…
There are some editing errors which I came across in the book, but they didn’t detract from my enjoyment. It’s a quick, easy read, with light entertainment throughout, one I would recommend to all romance lovers out there.
Thanks to the author for my copy of this book to read and review.
My favourite story was actually the first one, At Sixteen: Annie’s Story.
With sixteen year old Annie living with her sister Sarah, and husband William because their parents are over in Paris, where they have been living and working for the past six months, she feels a little rebellious. Though Sarah feels a little nervous at the responsibility of being in charge of Annie, she feels Annie is a good girl. But when she finds Annie has been keeping company with an older man, she becomes worried. And as things escalate out of control, Sarah needs all her wiles about her to prevent a disaster in Annie’s life. Beautifully crafted with a clever twist at the end…
There are some editing errors which I came across in the book, but they didn’t detract from my enjoyment. It’s a quick, easy read, with light entertainment throughout, one I would recommend to all romance lovers out there.
Thanks to the author for my copy of this book to read and review.
March 4, 2015
Margaret Sharp is an author with a deep understanding of human nature, reflected beautifully in Encore, her collection of short romantic stories.
All sorts of elements play a part in these stories: fate, love, betrayal, family and relationships, just for a start.
On the surface, the short tales are fairly simple, but appearances are deceptive, as the stories show. These stories are glimpses of incidents and happenings which become turning points for the characters. Running behind all the characters, the reader picks up a sense of who these people really are and what their other life is like.
Point-of-view varies between male and female, and the themes of self-doubt, a desire to be loved and unrequited love are well explored.
Ms Sharp has a knack for authentic dialogue which for me was very well displayed in At Sixteen: Annie’s Story.
I think my favourite story was the intriguing, The Locket, which typified the unpredictable nature of life reflected in the stories.
A thoroughly enjoyable collection.
All sorts of elements play a part in these stories: fate, love, betrayal, family and relationships, just for a start.
On the surface, the short tales are fairly simple, but appearances are deceptive, as the stories show. These stories are glimpses of incidents and happenings which become turning points for the characters. Running behind all the characters, the reader picks up a sense of who these people really are and what their other life is like.
Point-of-view varies between male and female, and the themes of self-doubt, a desire to be loved and unrequited love are well explored.
Ms Sharp has a knack for authentic dialogue which for me was very well displayed in At Sixteen: Annie’s Story.
I think my favourite story was the intriguing, The Locket, which typified the unpredictable nature of life reflected in the stories.
A thoroughly enjoyable collection.
November 22, 2013
Encore by Margaret Lynette Sharp is a collection of 25 beautiful short stories. Most of these stories tend to be very short. This very shortness of the short stories makes it difficult to appreciate them for what they are. However, the very length of the reading makes the reader more aware of what moves below the surface. Each story has its own charm and touches you in a different way. I loved reading almost all of these small pieces. These stories are full of rich and sparkling entertainment, fun, satire, amusement, pathos and excitement which follow each other in an endless manner.
The author gets her artistic effects more by a process of exclusion. The characters retain their naiveté of being human and their independent right to independent existence. Moreover, care is taken to exclude any attempt to judge them or to fit them into idealistic patterning (or crusading roles). The irony that laps around the characters is singularly free of social or moral censure. Readers are not invited to measure them against this or other scale of values. While it is the world of commoners and ordinary folk, the characters possess extraordinary qualities. We have Annie, who holds dynamic notions about herself. She fails to achieve her private goals (which are opposed to the norm of her parents and elder sister). But her failure is an essential process of self-exploration leading to self-knowledge. Likewise, the growth of self-knowledge in Monica in The Meaning of Love is very interesting. No wonder she was pained to say with smile, “Anyway, I’m just glad he’s found someone, someone he really loves…And who knows, maybe…” Similarly, in Unfinished Business, Jennifer and Patrick have been shown to pass through a related process.
In many of the stories, Sharp’s women characters stand for change. Gina, the main protagonist in An Encounter at the Fair, is one of the few women in the book who is seen from the inside. While she is fascinated by Justin, it is Scott she chooses. One of the stories (Just the Shot) portrays a clash of interests. This is a clash between a father and his son. All this is concretely realised in terms of interaction of characters. While father wants his son to achieve greater merits in sports than anything else, son’s primary interest lies in painting, drawing and photography. But there isn’t any understanding between them. It must however be said in fairness that son does his best to please his father, getting his ankle injured in the process. This story has been scripted in a beautiful fashion. A clash of interests can also be seen in My Love Story, though in a different perspective.
Here I have merely indicated a few lines of investigation. What appears more clearly when reading these stories is author’s sympathetic interest in the small, unimportant man and woman, or even the child. This is an interest which never loses touch with the larger perspectives of life and is continually refreshed from the sources of gentle irony.
(I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
The author gets her artistic effects more by a process of exclusion. The characters retain their naiveté of being human and their independent right to independent existence. Moreover, care is taken to exclude any attempt to judge them or to fit them into idealistic patterning (or crusading roles). The irony that laps around the characters is singularly free of social or moral censure. Readers are not invited to measure them against this or other scale of values. While it is the world of commoners and ordinary folk, the characters possess extraordinary qualities. We have Annie, who holds dynamic notions about herself. She fails to achieve her private goals (which are opposed to the norm of her parents and elder sister). But her failure is an essential process of self-exploration leading to self-knowledge. Likewise, the growth of self-knowledge in Monica in The Meaning of Love is very interesting. No wonder she was pained to say with smile, “Anyway, I’m just glad he’s found someone, someone he really loves…And who knows, maybe…” Similarly, in Unfinished Business, Jennifer and Patrick have been shown to pass through a related process.
In many of the stories, Sharp’s women characters stand for change. Gina, the main protagonist in An Encounter at the Fair, is one of the few women in the book who is seen from the inside. While she is fascinated by Justin, it is Scott she chooses. One of the stories (Just the Shot) portrays a clash of interests. This is a clash between a father and his son. All this is concretely realised in terms of interaction of characters. While father wants his son to achieve greater merits in sports than anything else, son’s primary interest lies in painting, drawing and photography. But there isn’t any understanding between them. It must however be said in fairness that son does his best to please his father, getting his ankle injured in the process. This story has been scripted in a beautiful fashion. A clash of interests can also be seen in My Love Story, though in a different perspective.
Here I have merely indicated a few lines of investigation. What appears more clearly when reading these stories is author’s sympathetic interest in the small, unimportant man and woman, or even the child. This is an interest which never loses touch with the larger perspectives of life and is continually refreshed from the sources of gentle irony.
(I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review)
May 27, 2014
Encore is a lovely book of 25 short stories by Margaret Lynn Sharp, her sixth self published collection.
Sharp's characters are a mix of ages and genders, whose stories are told in the first and third person. This results in an interesting variety of perspectives on humanity, relationships and romance.
I particularly liked Dear David, written in an epistolary format, about a rekindled romance, Just the Shot, about a grandfathers gift to his grandson, and The Locket, the story of a secret love.
Despite the brevity of each contribution, Sharp is able to inspire emotion in the reader and communicate the action succinctly. More often than not, the stories hold a twist that veers away from the expected. The prose and dialogue is well-crafted, if sometimes a touch too formal.
Like Sharp's previous collections, Encore is a pleasant and easy read.
March 18, 2013
With twenty-five titles to read and digest, there's a variety of themes to explore: although love and romance feature very prominently.
Written from the point of view of characters of both sexes and a wide range of ages, the thread of positivity runs strong throughout.
My favourite tale is probably 'To The Beautiful Brigitte'. It concerns love letters written in French. There is a twist to this tale which, if revealed, would spoil a reader's enjoyment, so I'll say no more.
With today's lifestyles resulting in many time-poor readers, this, along with my other Short Story collections, provides an avenue of literary experience for those who enjoy romantic tales.
Written from the point of view of characters of both sexes and a wide range of ages, the thread of positivity runs strong throughout.
My favourite tale is probably 'To The Beautiful Brigitte'. It concerns love letters written in French. There is a twist to this tale which, if revealed, would spoil a reader's enjoyment, so I'll say no more.
With today's lifestyles resulting in many time-poor readers, this, along with my other Short Story collections, provides an avenue of literary experience for those who enjoy romantic tales.
February 21, 2018
Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman
Encore from Australian author Margaret Lynette Sharp is a collection of twenty-four short stories built around the themes of love, betrayal, loss and redemption. From sixteen year old Annie, in Annie’s Story that details her attraction to and obsession with her fantasy about Keiran, to middle-aged Caroline writing to her sister in Letters to Nanette to explain she has finally found love and is prepared to take a risk to explore the possibilities, Sharp covers the full gamut of relationships both familial and romantic. One of the commonest themes running through these short stories is that of betrayal and how we all handle such things differently. Do we still pine for our lost love and how hard is it to commit to someone when that flame lurks in the background? In A Date to Remember Gary is talked into to taking the wallflower sister of his mate, out on a date. Violet proves to be more than just a wallflower as she opens up and blooms on the date, way beyond Gary’s expectations.
The volume of stories makes this book easy to read as each story can be read in one quick sitting. The topics are issues that we all face and have to deal with on a regular basis. I found Encore a gentle, satisfying read and I’m impressed with Margaret Lynette Sharp’s approach to the conclusion of each tale. There are no unexpected twists or turns, just a subtle, telling thought or message for the reader to take on board. With this many stories, I’m sure each reader will find a few favourites. For me, there were two stories that stood out and impressed me the most. A Date to Remember makes us realise that the popular, pretty, social butterflies are not always the best choices for our long-term relationships. We should look deeper, beyond the surface superficiality and take the time to explore the less adept at socialising and watch them develop and bloom into the beautiful people they always were. The Brave Do Conquer reminds us to not settle for mediocrity, but to follow our bliss and chase our dreams. All in all, a satisfying, little collection of short stories.
Encore from Australian author Margaret Lynette Sharp is a collection of twenty-four short stories built around the themes of love, betrayal, loss and redemption. From sixteen year old Annie, in Annie’s Story that details her attraction to and obsession with her fantasy about Keiran, to middle-aged Caroline writing to her sister in Letters to Nanette to explain she has finally found love and is prepared to take a risk to explore the possibilities, Sharp covers the full gamut of relationships both familial and romantic. One of the commonest themes running through these short stories is that of betrayal and how we all handle such things differently. Do we still pine for our lost love and how hard is it to commit to someone when that flame lurks in the background? In A Date to Remember Gary is talked into to taking the wallflower sister of his mate, out on a date. Violet proves to be more than just a wallflower as she opens up and blooms on the date, way beyond Gary’s expectations.
The volume of stories makes this book easy to read as each story can be read in one quick sitting. The topics are issues that we all face and have to deal with on a regular basis. I found Encore a gentle, satisfying read and I’m impressed with Margaret Lynette Sharp’s approach to the conclusion of each tale. There are no unexpected twists or turns, just a subtle, telling thought or message for the reader to take on board. With this many stories, I’m sure each reader will find a few favourites. For me, there were two stories that stood out and impressed me the most. A Date to Remember makes us realise that the popular, pretty, social butterflies are not always the best choices for our long-term relationships. We should look deeper, beyond the surface superficiality and take the time to explore the less adept at socialising and watch them develop and bloom into the beautiful people they always were. The Brave Do Conquer reminds us to not settle for mediocrity, but to follow our bliss and chase our dreams. All in all, a satisfying, little collection of short stories.
October 5, 2013
Is there such a thing as fate? Years ago my piano teacher told me that she loved paintings that included a forked road. The reason was that when she graduated she had the opportunity to decide whether to become a concert pianist and travel or to get married and raise a family. She chose the latter. Eventually she became a piano teacher, a wife and a mother, but she always wondered how her life would have been had she decided to travel instead. In these short stories, aptly named Encore, Ms Sharp seems to play delightfully with this option. Some characters arrive at a place just in time to change the lives of others. A magical fork appears on the road and changes everything in the life of an individual because he or she turns right or left. This book provides twenty-five stories full of that magic. In some cases, it will make you wonder if the gods are pushing us in one direction or another. Is it fortune, perhaps? There are also the lovely morsels that make for a wonderful reading experience, like: “…these days you need a university degree to sell a milkshake,” or “her thoughts fly to the days of old: where predictability is king; when life lacks sparkle, and knows no true love.” The sort of statement that makes us ponder. Or this other one, among many others, “…as I took her in my arms and kissed her lips, an overwhelming feeling of being guided by the hand of fate: intriguing…” I won’t tell you the rest because I’m not a spoiler but, altogether, it is a pearl of writing. Five stars, Jake Taylor
August 10, 2016
These light, easy to read, snack sized stories cover so many different viewpoints, situations, characters and outcomes, a testament to her talent that they all came out of one authors mind.
My favourites were the stories comprising letters / emails being written.
See my review also at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-revie...
http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews...
http://www.amazon.ca/product-reviews/...
http://www.amazon.com.au/product-revi...
My favourites were the stories comprising letters / emails being written.
See my review also at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-revie...
http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews...
http://www.amazon.ca/product-reviews/...
http://www.amazon.com.au/product-revi...
March 7, 2015
Encore is a unique collection of romantic short stories. Each story deals in relationships past and present and how after some deliberation situations can appear differently than they first seemed. I found these short stories to be an interesting and enjoyable read.
I look forward to reading more entertaining stories from this author.
I look forward to reading more entertaining stories from this author.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews