My Parallel Universe - Short Stories

Hi Julia,
I am impressed. But I have more to look forward to. I read Driving and Chuck. Very well written and likeable. I'm placing this on my WL with intent. Thank you for uploading your work here.
Cheers!
John B Campbell (Walk to Paradise Garden)

Hi Julia,
Hi, I read driving a thought it was very well written and entertaining. The descriptions of Jude's Perodi smoking, golf loving father with an aversion for housework are excellent. Then, pervy Bruce and the first lesson -- too fast.
I think you repeat the bit about Amy's bandana being removed.
Then the next attempt -- too cautious. Finally success and a few tears. Why not?
John turns out to be a pothead and it's time for a Buick. The fire and a ticket. Life's tough.
I liked the ending.
Sorry, I hadn't time for more, but backed with pleasure and I'll try to come back to it.
Best wishes,
Barry
LITTLE KRISNA AND THE BIHAR BOYS

Julia,
My Parallel Universe is an enchanting collection of short stories. I've backed this Midwest memoir.

03 August 2010
A proficient storyteller displays her wares in My Parallel Universe. In Driving a long suffering narrator regales us with the disadvantages of a controlling father with macho but kindly tendencies ( Croatian -- with an A) bringing to bear unadorned prose, with graphic bitter sweet insight to disillusionment and how the balance can change with the passage of time. BACKED. Robert Davidson. The Tuzla Run.

Jimmy: 'Anarchy filled with self-gratifying impulses', a man who tells his sister not to fall for men like him, though she confesses to be enamoured by 'groomed gentleman bastards'. Still, he wrecks himself further. I have to smile at the mother's suggestion to the drug dealers, 'Let's go down to the police station and report it'. He didn't improve with age, 'Everybody knew Jimmy and everybody hated him, envied him, or feared him'. So, when he turns up dead, the feeling is one of relief. The story ends with a beautiful line and an upbeat note to temper the misery. The only possible nit I saw is that the last word isn't needed here: 'sack that contained the apple inside'. It's remarkable writing, Julia ... backed.

Hi Julia
Your stories are great and really nicely written. You develop Julia as a character quickly and enable the reader to feel empathy with her quickly. It sounds like you have faced some challenges and reading about how you overcame them is highly entertaining.
DP Walker
Five Dares

Impressive...

Julia Rush:

What a roller coaster ride! Some father. What you had to endure to get your driver's license is just unreal. Doesn't sound as though your older sister was much better. Its a wonder you could remain sane throughout all this madness - but then, writing is very therapeutic. Backed for encouragement.

Ida L. (Silent Storm)

Brilliant. Backed
Helen
The Last Dream

After having lived in the Midwest for awhile, your stories ring true to me. You have some punctuation issues, but other than that, this is nicely done. Happy to back this for you.
Please consider taking a look at my book, The Job.
Craig

I am sure my wife would liove this. It is well written and interesting. Happy to back.

Anthony
Aqua Omega

I'm a sucker for short stories as I've a short attention span. Your style of telling a larger story in pieces also really appeals to me. I just came back and peeked again and am really enjoying your work. Backed!

Your first story, Driving, is a jewel. I was really very touched by it. You frame it perfectly, using the history of her driving experiences and the cars she has owned as a parallel touchstone of sorts about her life events and the mutating relationship with her father. You have some wonderful phrases--the cigars as oppressive as the man, her not driving as an affliction she has learned to live with. I love your writing style--it's spare and stark at times, brutally honest with touches of poetry. Really lovely and engaging. I also read I Love Lucy and while I enjoyed it, I sort of kept waiting for a little more to happen. This strikes me as an autobiographical piece (I could be wrong), a slice of life in a certain moment/time, and for this, it is well drawn. But it doesn't have the arc of the first piece, or the impact. I think it would have difficulty standing alone but within a collection it very well may have it's important place. Have you ever read Lydia Davis? Your writing brings her to mind; she definitely is very open with form, long pieces and short. She has a matter-of-fact style like yours. Anyway, I only read these two so I can't speak to how the collection works as a whole but the writing is definitely polished and I really enjoyed both, in different ways.
---Mary
The Qualities of Wood

Charming and well written short stories. Your use of imagery is excellent and the dialogue flows and is realistic. Backed with pleasure.

Andrew Burans
The Reluctant Warrior. The Beginning

I just read Driving. I love it, you have something special there. Looked down at my meatloaf, and your sister suggested you leaving home. Great story.
I will come back but first I want to back your book.

Keep writing,
A zoomer
Going Out in Style

I think this is fab. Ive read Driving and 33rpm so far. I gathered from 'Driving' that you are a year older than me and the talesof someone (true or otherwise) growing up in the 60s,70s and 80s has great appeal to me. Im kind of thinking that alot of this could easily be an American version of my own book.I shall be back to read more. Its well written and you get a full flavour for the characters.

Couple of errors i noticed in 33rpm. para 3' the music make him' - should be 'made' and later on when it speaks of the the Pete Townshend shag, you refer to Keither Moon rather than Keith.

Good luck with this
Tony Shelley
In My Life

I love the way you set up the short stories following the same character in each one. You draw your characters well with small details, such as not wearing underwear, or their relationships with each other, such as Father/Daughter. I loved "You and me, Princess." Really captured their relationship in 4 words of dialogue.
xBeccaX
The Forever Girl

Like your writing style. And short stories are perfect for when you don't have much time to read. Backed with pleasure.

Amy
Love Match

Well done, I like it very much and wish you the best of luck. E.Loraine Royal Blood Chronicles book one

Lovely and well put together. A book a would certainly carry to the check out - backed

Writing short stories is both an art and an exercise in control, and you display both here with incredible panache. Fantastic work, truly very enjoyable and, although I normally prefer lengthy pieces over shorter vignette-esque pieces, this is a book 'd be tempted to buy if I found it in a store.

Great work!
Abi xxx

I read on Solrac's messages that you said you were a Catholic, well I too am a Catholic so I thought that you might appreciate either one of my novels, DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS or MY GENTLEMAN FRIEND. You might like to back them and put them on you book shelf. Thank you!

Dwain-Thomas

You know, I would love to see you write a novel. These short stories suggest that you would be fantastic at it. Each have a perfect combination of description and dialogue, you have a clear voice, and there are so many little touches, intelligent touches that suggest to me that you would be terrific with the fiction novel. I loved that dad smoked the same cigar's as Rhett, and I loved your fina question - 'Why does life have to be so hard to be enjoyed?' Good luck.
Carl
The Time Hunters

MY PARALLEL UNIVERSE:

Julia,

Wonderful stories, so well written, such delightful detail. And with short stories making a comeback, you should have no trouble getting these published. I particularly like the driving one, and found myself smiling and identifying with your character. And how many dads don't we know who are just like he is. You certainly have the gift of story telling, and I wish you all the best in your path to publication.

Best wishes, and backed with pleasure.

Sheila Mary Taylor (Pinpoint)

I like books of short stories because I tend to read in short spurts. This group is well written. Good Characters. Good settings. It's a good read. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

Dear Julia, I was so excited to get your "comment/backing." :) Thanks for sharing about your mom's adages/songs. :) You put a smile on my face. :) Since I have already backed your book, I'm answering here, so your book will move up because you got a "comment" & I'll also put you on my watchlist which I think will also help. In my unedited version ("Tell Me True Love Stories," which you can back also, please) my last chapter tells about my husband's mental problems & his mega diet coke habit that makes his meds not work, so I understand your problem. You're wonderful to write to me. :) Love, Susie :)

Dear Julia, I love that you're telling your story. :) It is a good read because you create interest by having short paragraphs & lots of dialogue which makes me want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next. I'm BACKING/COMMENTING on your book to help advance it. :) PLEASE take a moment to BACK/COMMENT on my TWO Books, ... "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" ... and the UNEDITED version? ... "Tell Me True Love Stories"
Thanks, Susie :)

Father-daughter relationships are as, or more, complicated than mother-daughter ones I think. They're hard. Having enough objectivity to write about it in such an amusing way, yet deliver the personal aspect is not easy; you did it - well.

Catherine (The Golden Thread)

Great read and you have a reader grabber's touch to your writiing. I love this book.

It willl get far

backed

I absolutely love this - every young woman should have a copy of this amongst their other books by the bedside.
BACKED!

LIz
The Cheech Room

These are great stories. Because of the high usage of ‘I’ they come across quiet innocent. Only read a few but they were very appealing – Good luck

'Sweat made his face look like a glazed donut...' was just one of the many little asides which Julie uses, in this case of her driving instructor, which make her endearing because 'quirky'. Through all the tumultuous strains of her driving instruction she is sometimes a mild irritant and yet always likeable as she is able to see her own foibles for what they are.
Her father seems at times over-protective and yet, having a 24 year old daughter myself and who is currently taking driving lessons, I could share with him the fear of losing ones daughter to some drunken driver or lapse of concentration. So perhaps the moral of this story could be that paternal love should not be labelled over-protection.
What leaves the story in my memory is Julie's care for her own father, when he is becoming something of a bumbling man in his 80's, despite all that he may have done to keep her in the goldfish bowl of his protectiveness and the difficulties this posed for Julie, she's still a daughter for him. Backed.
Ray
(A Child from the Wishing Well)

Croation = Croatian

I shall put this on my shelf because the writing is genuinely good and I want to approach it without politics and prejudice. However, after the fifth dose of anti-male bigotry, I had had quite enough.

You’re a talented writer, but I get tired of reading this sort of thing.

Julia, your short stories are sad, gripping, and entertaining. Great work. Certainly publishable.

Happy to back your work.

Joffrey (The Silver Spoon Effect)

Fabulous staff, your explantion of your dad, how he smokes, the jokes he makes, what he smokes, what do you think of you as a driver, teasing you that you can ride a bus, just so real. I am trying to learn how to drive at the moment, any tips? i loved your story and i am backing it.

shah

Julia, I've read all your stories - I want to see a novel from you! You have that rare ability to encapsulate the essence of a character, a situation, in a confined space; I'd love to see you spread your wings and be more expansive as I've enjoyed your writing so much. "The last angry man' - lovely image. The Oprah quote in your second story, buses and limousines, very well chosen and wonderfully applicable to the events. I loved 'keep your clothes on' followed by 'Mom!' - delightfully observed.
Very impressive. I'm happy to back this.
Jared.
Mummy's Boy.

This is a wonderful novel with a quite voice that just seems to becken as the pages turn. C W Shelveld.

I like short stories and I liked these. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll find a publisher.

All the best

George Fripley - (Wurzel of Clutton)

Interesting story. Backed

Dear Julia Rush,

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I skipped to “Walk of Life” to cover less-traveled ground and was rewarded by the description of a Mangolia tree having flowers of “tissues and blotted lipstick.” You then recount tales of her endearing father (would read her anything she wished) and upbraiding school teachers (locked her in a closet). Yikes! Tobacco and candy combined at one counter? You have great, nostalgic descriptions of candy and toy stores. At this point I was thinking I could do with a bit more misery to ramp up the tension, and you flood me with disabled relatives and a poignant girl struggling to help her dying mother. The mother’s story is also full of angst. And I do love the end quote, “Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.”

The only thing I could think of to possibly make this story better would be to disperse some of the misery earlier on, so the tension is more evenly distributed and keeps us in suspense. In other words, jump forward and back in time, which may or may not work. This small matter aside, I enjoyed your story. Bravo! Backed.

Best wishes,
Alan Marling

Hi Julia I read the first story "Driving" and it was really beautiful, I mean that. I loved the parallels you drew between your life and having a car. All through the story, the image of the car or lack of one comes into play and it is a big deal, almost a sign of independence. I liked the end where you, or the narrator I should say, is driving her dad around, the co piiot taking over from the pilot, there was something really sad and yet really sweet in that. Your a really good writer. On my shelf. Helena (A Load of Rubbish)

I saw the word mafia in the tags so I had to check this out...It's a fine collection and not what I was expecting. So well written!
Backed.

Great collection that are easy to dip into.

Happily backed

Melxx
UNICORN

I knew from the first few paragraphs of the first story that I would like this. I like the style and voice you write in.

As noted by Steve below, I'd load each story into a differnet chapter on authonomy to make it easier for your readers.

backed
Lorrii

Julia, I read the driving section and could tatoally relate to it. I liked it and I would read more. Your descriptions are very good particularly the cigar which is amusing in a strange sort of way. This is just a suggestion - the father being quite a dominant character would have not wanted the radio playing in the car whereas she would. If you had said ' such and such' band were playing on the radio, it would have fixed the moment in time and engaged the reader more - just a thought. Good luck.
Mark
Another Day in Paradise

DRIVING is a well-written piece...they way you describe the dad is so effective and well painted...and his cigar (lol); it does have a slight touch of humor to it.
Backed with pleaure.

Emma Philips
The Dark Intruder

I read "Driving." The dad brought back memories... Very well written, shot through with a note of poignancy.
Shelved,
Frank

Dear Julia,

I enjoy the undertone in your writing, the voice resonates with subtle humour .
... John got the car, the house and his parent's support. I got Fiestaware dishes and a disappaproving father. I missed the car ...
Some father's do make them. I thought the car story was rich in drawing a complex relationship, elegant, with no word wasted. Best success,

Pia (Course of Mirrors)

SHELVING because this is a compelling story.

I can use your comments on my book if you have not done so already.

Cheers! JC The Obergemau Key

Julia, I read Driver from your collection. Good emotional story, the ending quite moving. You write with perfect clarity. Nothing murky in that story. I can relate to Jude's driving issues because I grew up in NY and didn't get (or really need) a license until I was twenty-two. Best ot luck. Shelved.
Thomas J. Winton (Beyond Nostalgia)