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The Other side of the Gates
A terrific collection of stories.
~~Dennis Lehane, Mystic River, Live by Night
Nina Romano has written an absorbing debut collection of stories that are at once energetic, bold, ambitious, and wildly entertaining. The Other Side of the Gates pays attention to the wide world and celebrates and embraces the fragile and complicated lives of her compelling characters, be they conspiring teens or treacherous lovers. Nina can do lyrical and she can do hardboiled. She can do snarky and she can do gracious. The stories are full of honesty, charm, heart, and good humor.
~~John Dufresne, Requiem, Mass; No Regrets; Coyote
In her story collection, Nina Roman takes us on an international and cultural world tour, from 1896 Peking all the way to modern Florida, with stops in Chile, Ireland, Italy, 1950's Brooklyn and Long Island. Wherever the setting, Romano's stories firmly anchor the reader in the vivid world she's created for that snapshot in time. Many beautiful images and turns of phrase, fascinating historical details. These are tales of love in all its guises, joyful or painful, waves of pathos and of wry humor.
~~M K Graff, The Nora Tierney Mysteries
~~Dennis Lehane, Mystic River, Live by Night
Nina Romano has written an absorbing debut collection of stories that are at once energetic, bold, ambitious, and wildly entertaining. The Other Side of the Gates pays attention to the wide world and celebrates and embraces the fragile and complicated lives of her compelling characters, be they conspiring teens or treacherous lovers. Nina can do lyrical and she can do hardboiled. She can do snarky and she can do gracious. The stories are full of honesty, charm, heart, and good humor.
~~John Dufresne, Requiem, Mass; No Regrets; Coyote
In her story collection, Nina Roman takes us on an international and cultural world tour, from 1896 Peking all the way to modern Florida, with stops in Chile, Ireland, Italy, 1950's Brooklyn and Long Island. Wherever the setting, Romano's stories firmly anchor the reader in the vivid world she's created for that snapshot in time. Many beautiful images and turns of phrase, fascinating historical details. These are tales of love in all its guises, joyful or painful, waves of pathos and of wry humor.
~~M K Graff, The Nora Tierney Mysteries
299 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2014
270 people want to read
About the author
Nina Romano
35 books160 followersNina Romano's latest novel, Dark Eyes, a Russian historical thriller, hit #1 in Russian and Soviet Literature E-books on Amazon on 2/13/2023 Pre-order. The print release date was February 24, 2023.
The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley, a Western, Historical Romance is Book 1 in the Darby's Quest series and a stand-alone novel. It covers a great deal of Apache and Native American history and lore in New Mexico, is a well-researched novel, and a semi-finalist in the Laramie Book Awards. It was released October 2021 by Speaking Volumes, LLC.
Romano's Wayfarer Trilogy has been published by Turner Publishing. Book #1 of the Historical Saga: The Secret Language of Women was a Foreword Reviews Indie-Fab Book Award Finalist. The novel won the Independent Publisher 2016 IPPY Gold Medal in the Historical/Romance Book Awards. Book #2 of the series, Lemon Blossoms was a finalist in the Foreword INDIES Reviews Book #3, In America, was a finalist in the 2016 Chanticleer Media's Chatelaine Book Awards for Romance.
Nina Romano earned a B.S. from Ithaca College, an M. A. from Adelphi University and a B. A., and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from FIU. She’s a world traveler and lover of history. She lived in Rome, Italy, for twenty years, and is fluent in Italian and Spanish. She authored a short story collection, The Other Side of the Gates, five poetry collections, and two poetry chapbooks. Her most recent collection, Westward: Guided by Starfalls and Moonbows, was published from LLC Red Dashboard. She co-authored, Writing in a Changing World. Romano has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize.
The Girl Who Loved Cayo Bradley, a Western, Historical Romance is Book 1 in the Darby's Quest series and a stand-alone novel. It covers a great deal of Apache and Native American history and lore in New Mexico, is a well-researched novel, and a semi-finalist in the Laramie Book Awards. It was released October 2021 by Speaking Volumes, LLC.
Romano's Wayfarer Trilogy has been published by Turner Publishing. Book #1 of the Historical Saga: The Secret Language of Women was a Foreword Reviews Indie-Fab Book Award Finalist. The novel won the Independent Publisher 2016 IPPY Gold Medal in the Historical/Romance Book Awards. Book #2 of the series, Lemon Blossoms was a finalist in the Foreword INDIES Reviews Book #3, In America, was a finalist in the 2016 Chanticleer Media's Chatelaine Book Awards for Romance.
Nina Romano earned a B.S. from Ithaca College, an M. A. from Adelphi University and a B. A., and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from FIU. She’s a world traveler and lover of history. She lived in Rome, Italy, for twenty years, and is fluent in Italian and Spanish. She authored a short story collection, The Other Side of the Gates, five poetry collections, and two poetry chapbooks. Her most recent collection, Westward: Guided by Starfalls and Moonbows, was published from LLC Red Dashboard. She co-authored, Writing in a Changing World. Romano has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 7, 2018
Reading this collection of short stories by Nina Romano was like touring the world by train, getting glimpses of fellow passengers and snatches of dialogue that conjure up complex lives while showing us that underneath all our differences, human beings are essentially the same. We love, we long for, and we regret. We also hope. The tone of each story is as varied as the many different countries and cultures she takes us through. I found every one of them thought-provoking and enchanting. Several of them are hilarious. I especially loved Dean-O, Megan’s Shadow, The Thief, and The Summer Palace, which became her award-winning novel, The Secret Language of Women. But every one of the stories are well-conceived and beautifully written. I hope Ms. Romano will write more!
November 27, 2014
My favorite part of a short story collection is variety and Romano provides this in SPADES. Characters, setting, conflict all collide in a book you'll want to devour, but would be better off taking one tale at a time and savoring...
November 13, 2014
Nina Romano's stories have something for everyone. They change location, type, characters in a flash, all the while tugging at your heart strings or pointing out some profound truth
June 14, 2019
A wonderful, eclectic collection of stories that are almost glimpses or snapshots of other lives, other times. The brilliant mind of author Nina Romano, gives us a window into her imagination, where it’s like her muses, other personas, are given free rein to tell their stories, their tales of lives and loves. This is a must read for those who love to use their imaginations and believe in making all things believable.
Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for bringing imagination back to life.
Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for bringing imagination back to life.
December 2, 2014
I am not usually a short story reader--- prefer novels. However, these short stories have changed my mind.
The writer takes us from Brooklyn to Peking and in between. The stories are fast moving and so enjoyable.
I recommend this book to everyone.
The writer takes us from Brooklyn to Peking and in between. The stories are fast moving and so enjoyable.
I recommend this book to everyone.
January 3, 2015
I find myself inside the lives of strong, marvelous heroes and heroins from areas and experiences that are told with an authentic voice that only a skilled writer could create. I loved these stories.
Joan Waldman
Joan Waldman
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews