As promised...for your lunch time reading pleasure...

Time is ticking down. Just 11 days before my # newrelease , About Family, A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry, About Life and About Love, are live and available for purchase.

Enjoy an excerpt from About Life:

The Pharmacy

Sarah walked into the corner pharmacy to buy the Sunday newspaper to get her daily horoscope and greeted her life-long friend, Sadie, who was behind the register, "They got you working today," Sarah said.
"You know it. I still have to pay for my prom dress. Stick around, I'm going to go on break." Sadie said and then called out, "Lily, can you come up. I'm going to take my break."
"Sure," Lily called from the back, and added, "Give me a minute."
A gentleman threw the thick Sunday, Tribune up on the counter.
"$1. 25," Sadie said, pressing the buttons that opened the drawer. He gave her exact change, picked up his paper and left.
Sadie proceeded to dump the change lined up on the ledge of the register into the drawer.
Sarah gave Sadie a quizzical look wondering why there was money up on the ledge. Sadie shot Sarah a look that told her not to mention a word. So Sarah quickly changed the subject.
"I haven't even gotten my dress yet," Sarah said with a frowned, "Anyway, it's just junior prom."
"There's still time!" Sadie said, as Lily came up to the register. "Hi Sarah, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks. How are you and the kids doing?"
"We're good. The kids are getting bigger every day," the twenty-year-old, Lily replied, as she got behind the counter and took Sadie's place. "Carlitto, is almost walking, and Juan is starting 1st grade, while Betty starts kindergarten this year."
"That's great," Sarah feigned enthusiasm, as she couldn't imagine having so many children so young.
Sadie and Sarah exited the store onto the busy city streets of Chicago. They had to walk through a bunch of dudes that hung out in front of the store smoking cigarettes. Each dude couldn't resist a catcall while the girls walked by, "You're looking sweet and ripe for the picking," one said,
"You're so fine! Sadie, be mine!"
"No, I'll take that Sarah."
"Are you kidding? She so skinny, I'd crack her in two!"
"If she drank tomato juice she'd look like a thermometer."
The girls did their best to ignore them as they walked the gauntlet of thirty something men, that Sarah assumed were Vietnam vets, down on their luck, like so many vets were after the war. She was compassionate, because her older brother came back from that war forever changed.
Once through the gauntlet, Sarah asked Sadie, "Has Carlos told his wife about his baby with Lily yet?"
"No! Are you kidding, he's a pharmacist. His wife would take him for everything he has. At least he pays for Lily's apartment. He'll never divorce his wife to marry Lily."
"That's too bad. That poor girl, with three kids and no fathers," Sarah said as they entered the gangway of the sprawling three-story building and took out their cigarettes.
"So, what are you doing with the money?" Sarah asked once their cigarettes were lit.
Sadie huffed and gave Sarah an exasperated look and said, "You can't tell anybody."
"Tell anybody what?"
"First swear!"
"Okay, I swear I won't tell anybody." Sarah said with widened eyes.
"People always pay for the newspaper with exact change. So when people pay with exact change, I don't ring it up. I line the quarters up on the ledge and keep track of the amount of money. Then when I have accumulated $10.00, I ring up the next person who comes in and dump the change in the drawer. I keep track of the amount of money until the end of the day. I collect the money I didn't ring up, so the register balances out."
"Wow!" Sarah said surprised. "How much money do you take at the end of the day?"
"$20-$60.00. No big whoop."
Sarah grimaced.
"Why are you so surprised? I am sick of working for this place. Jack is so rich and he treats us like slaves. I've been working for him since I was 12 years old and he pays me $1.75 an hour. Chump change in the grand scheme of things."
End of Excerpt
Book Description:

From the author of, The Electric Series, Carly Compass, has compiled a collection of short stories and poems about life. The Fortune Cookie is a modern day nod to the murder/mystery writer, Agatha Christie. Seven willing participants win an all expense paid trip for a cruise off of the coast of California, but who is the paying for this trip and why? The second story, Mind Over Matter, is an account of the birth experience and how the mind can heal the body. The third installment, The Unexpected Guest, is a tale about religion, neighbors and misunderstandings. The fourth story, Pharmacy, takes the reader into a world of thieves, drugs and money. The fifth story, The Dress Shop, is a tale of suspense and intrigue with dirty cops and wily characters. The sixth story, A loaf of Bread, tells an Iranian immigrant's, coming to America. The seventh story, 25 years of marriage, is a stunning tale of the love and sacrifice of a 25-year marriage. And the final story, Suitcases of Apollonia, is a Bosnian refugee story. This collection of prose and poetry has something for everyone, with a central theme of resiliency. ball gown wedding dresses with sleeves

Stay tuned for a Tuesday Teaser from, About Family, on February 13th, just before publication on February 17th. Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and wish you a pleasant day and a wonderful week.