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Beautiful: and other short stories
Thirteen delightful short stories to enjoy with your coffee, but watch out for the twists.
Beautiful:
She spent her whole life thinking she was plain.
The Good Friend: Would you want a friend like Sabrina?
The New Office Assistant:
Everybody wanted her, but who would get her?
The Good Samaritan:
Be careful. People aren't always what they seem.
On The Wings Of Love:
Dilys had won her dream wedding - but was there a catch?
Minnie-Mae's Disruptive Night:
Just what was Minnie-Mae up to in there?
I, Spy:
Was Teresa cut out for the job?
Sophie's Reward:
Whatever had come over Papa? A Regency tale.
Team Player:
Would Melissa miss the opportunity of a lifetime?
Take Me To Your Leader:
Where exactly had Kluktuk landed?
Swimming With Dolphins:
Would CeeCee's dream ever come true?
Happy Birthday:
Her husband had plans to surprise her - but could he ever please her?
Flick's Big Announcement:
Just why were Flick's friends avoiding her?
Beautiful:
She spent her whole life thinking she was plain.
The Good Friend: Would you want a friend like Sabrina?
The New Office Assistant:
Everybody wanted her, but who would get her?
The Good Samaritan:
Be careful. People aren't always what they seem.
On The Wings Of Love:
Dilys had won her dream wedding - but was there a catch?
Minnie-Mae's Disruptive Night:
Just what was Minnie-Mae up to in there?
I, Spy:
Was Teresa cut out for the job?
Sophie's Reward:
Whatever had come over Papa? A Regency tale.
Team Player:
Would Melissa miss the opportunity of a lifetime?
Take Me To Your Leader:
Where exactly had Kluktuk landed?
Swimming With Dolphins:
Would CeeCee's dream ever come true?
Happy Birthday:
Her husband had plans to surprise her - but could he ever please her?
Flick's Big Announcement:
Just why were Flick's friends avoiding her?
- GenresShort Stories
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2014
About the author
Loretta Livingstone
16 books98 followersI'm a British author and live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills in England with my husband and cat.
I have suffered from M.E. for many years, which has put something of a kick in my gallop - to put it mildly.
I've always loved reading, and it has kept me going through the dark days of my illness, when I was unable to do much else. I read several different genres, but I have a particular love of medieval history novels. I am fairly picky though. There are only a handful of writers from that genre whom I really enjoy, Sharon Penman being my favourite. Luckily for me her books are huge, meaty tomes which, as well as providing excellent value for money, keep me glued to them for days.
Happily, I am now just about well enough to indulge my new-found love of writing, although It takes a lot out of me to complete each book. I pay a price in exhaustion and pain - but I love to write, so I shall keep going as long as I am able. Most of my books have a feel-good quality about them and would class as flinch-free fiction. I like to feel I have left my readers with smiles on their faces. I started with poetry, then short stories, but I have now graduated to historical fiction with a dash of time travel. I have several more books to finish in the Out of Time series. After that, I'll wait to see what happens next.
Out of Time
Loretta Livingstone
I have suffered from M.E. for many years, which has put something of a kick in my gallop - to put it mildly.
I've always loved reading, and it has kept me going through the dark days of my illness, when I was unable to do much else. I read several different genres, but I have a particular love of medieval history novels. I am fairly picky though. There are only a handful of writers from that genre whom I really enjoy, Sharon Penman being my favourite. Luckily for me her books are huge, meaty tomes which, as well as providing excellent value for money, keep me glued to them for days.
Happily, I am now just about well enough to indulge my new-found love of writing, although It takes a lot out of me to complete each book. I pay a price in exhaustion and pain - but I love to write, so I shall keep going as long as I am able. Most of my books have a feel-good quality about them and would class as flinch-free fiction. I like to feel I have left my readers with smiles on their faces. I started with poetry, then short stories, but I have now graduated to historical fiction with a dash of time travel. I have several more books to finish in the Out of Time series. After that, I'll wait to see what happens next.
Out of Time
Loretta Livingstone
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 26, 2014
Each of the short stories are completely and imaginatively different, with great little twists to the endings (my favourite being for Swimming with Dolphins).
The teaser at the end, for the authors upcoming 2015 book 'Out of Time', has certainly piqued my interest and I look forward to reading it.
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...
http://www.amazon.in/product-reviews/...
The teaser at the end, for the authors upcoming 2015 book 'Out of Time', has certainly piqued my interest and I look forward to reading it.
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...
http://www.amazon.in/product-reviews/...
December 11, 2014
Beautiful: and other stories is a collection of fascinating stories that each have a surprise ending reminiscent of O'Henry. The author has written in her own unique style creating stories that grip the reader from the beginning and surprise the reader at the end. The stories were fun and enjoyable to read and well written.
The only negative thing about them is when I finished the book and realized there were no more, I was left wanting for more. Loretta is a talented storyteller who innately knows how to please her reader with intriguing stories that keep the reader engaged and give the reader an "ah ha" moment at the end. I look forward to reading more from this creative author.
The only negative thing about them is when I finished the book and realized there were no more, I was left wanting for more. Loretta is a talented storyteller who innately knows how to please her reader with intriguing stories that keep the reader engaged and give the reader an "ah ha" moment at the end. I look forward to reading more from this creative author.
October 27, 2014
I love reading short stories and this was a fantastic read.
A collection of stories that are so uplifting and jolly.
In, 'A GOOD FRIEND', I could identify with having known someone like Sabrina thankfully I've not been on the receiving end of the dirt she dished out.
MINNIE-MAE'S DISRUPTIVE NIGHT- I absolutely loved and found myself strangely giggling at the names that had the same letter for the first and surname so it really heightened the story and was a right old jolly read. But more than that the feel of the story came across as [I hope this does not offend the author in any way] watching 'Desperate housewives'. This one out of all the stories was my favourite and I would have loved to have read even more of this one.
SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS- Was lovely, the family trying to do the right thing but, unfortunately... [you'll have to buy it to find out!]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Was my second favourite. Great ending, didn't see it coming and my jaw dropped.
FLICK'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT- Was perfectly described. You could tell what the ending would be, but the description of thoughts, group gossip was accurately described and I could imagine sitting in the restaurant watching it unfold and even have taken place in such conversations! [of mistaking scenarios]
Honestly this was a well put together flow of stories, only tiny, tiny gripe was I liked the alien story [TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER] seemed misplaced among the collection but in no way a bad story.
Looking forward to reading more collections. No pressure!
A collection of stories that are so uplifting and jolly.
In, 'A GOOD FRIEND', I could identify with having known someone like Sabrina thankfully I've not been on the receiving end of the dirt she dished out.
MINNIE-MAE'S DISRUPTIVE NIGHT- I absolutely loved and found myself strangely giggling at the names that had the same letter for the first and surname so it really heightened the story and was a right old jolly read. But more than that the feel of the story came across as [I hope this does not offend the author in any way] watching 'Desperate housewives'. This one out of all the stories was my favourite and I would have loved to have read even more of this one.
SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS- Was lovely, the family trying to do the right thing but, unfortunately... [you'll have to buy it to find out!]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Was my second favourite. Great ending, didn't see it coming and my jaw dropped.
FLICK'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT- Was perfectly described. You could tell what the ending would be, but the description of thoughts, group gossip was accurately described and I could imagine sitting in the restaurant watching it unfold and even have taken place in such conversations! [of mistaking scenarios]
Honestly this was a well put together flow of stories, only tiny, tiny gripe was I liked the alien story [TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER] seemed misplaced among the collection but in no way a bad story.
Looking forward to reading more collections. No pressure!
November 8, 2014
This collection of short stories is fantastic! It runs the gamut of funny, serious, spiritual - and they ALL have a twist, which is, of course, my favorite part. Some like The Good Friend are so easy to relate to. We all know somebody like this girl. Others like Swimming with Dolphins reignites that passion we've all had about something in our lives. But the absolute BEST story of all is the title story, Beautiful. That story alone is worth the price of the whole book. It's incredibly moving and, yes, beautiful. In my opinion, some of Ms. Livingstone's best work. All the rest of the stories in this book are just a bonus. Read it. You'll be glad you did!
Read
August 19, 2015I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The ebook is out now, the paperback will be out in a few weeks.
March 16, 2015
A collection of stories, some of which will make you laugh, some cry but there's something for everyone in this collection.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews