Leslie Keller Books

I've been so busy writing Reunion in the Desert and trying to finish the third book in the Jayne Stanford series that I left this short story hanging. I'm including part Nine with the new installment as a brief review.  You can read the entire series in my blog posts or email me for one complete copy.  Part 9 “I gave up on happily ever after. Maybe I'm not cut out for a relationship. Maybe, I just don't like being committed to one person for longer than two weeks.” Clare kicked off her running shoes at the back door of her grandmother, Mae’s house. She winced when she thought about how much she spent on them but the fabric absorbed manure like a sponge and there was no way they would ever come clean. She figured she may as well throw them out, along with all her plans for this weekend. Hours of chores around the farm had worn her down more than all day client meetings. Mae hummed a tune as she prepared their lunch. Clare knew she had been guilt tripped in

The new book, still tentatively titled No Reservations , is progressing and I hope to have it completed soon. As I write, characters may evolve or change completely. It's not unusual for me to change character names, change their looks or even their sex as I write. Many authors say that the characters drive what happens. I agree in part. Obviously I'm the one who has the final say! For each book, I begin with the setting. Where is the story taking place? Once I've decided on the location I will outline the rest of the plot. In my mind I'll know what the overall premise of the book will be and what I expect to happen. In each of the three books, much of what I planned is changed. Perhaps that is the characters' way of guiding me or it could just be that my mind heads in a direction which I didn't expect. Occasionally, when writing dialog the character says lines which impact the scene and move the story along a different path. In No Reservations I have a new

Here's a snippet of my recently released short story. This was my first venture into writing short story romance and my first time participating in a share series event.  I found it difficult to write a complete story in only a few thousand words.  If time allows, I may try another - if Jayne's third book is finished first! You can read the full short story on Kindle. It's available in EBook only. Reunion in the Desert Whoever first said “It’s a dry heat” was crazy Dani thought as she slid onto the scorching seat of the rental car, careful not to touch any metal surfaces. She wondered why anyone ever thought leather seats were a good idea when the Phoenix temperature could easily hit one hundred and fifteen degrees in summer. Her friends back in New York City complained all summer long about the heat but she knew they’d never been sitting in rush hour without air conditioning when you could fry an egg on the pavement. It had been an especially long four hour

Part nine of the short story installment picks up where we left off.  I'm including part eight in case you don't want to re-read it. Part 8 “I gave up on happily ever after. Maybe I'm not cut out for a relationship. Maybe, I just don't like being committed to one person for longer than two weeks.”             Clare stood in the drive waiting to see if Wyatt would return. Her answer came when the porch light was turned off. She didn’t like to admit when she made a mistake and, in fact, she believed she rarely did. But this time she realized she had gone too far. What did she care where his wife was?   As much as she tried to avoid it, the thought pierced her heart that perhaps Charlotte’s mother had died and now, with his father on the brink himself, her behavior had been selfish and inappropriate.             She couldn’t face Mae and didn’t know how to make things right. She stopped on the side of the road and called Richard, her fiancé. He managed crise

This month’s super short story is about a child who doesn’t want the school year to end. I considered the different ways I could approach this and why being in school is preferred to summer break. I ran through a list of possibilities in my head. Is there abuse in the home? Is the only time the child gets a meal at school? Sadly, that is a problem for many children. Does the child have no siblings for company and as a result will be lonely for the summer?   After considering all the negatives, I decided to focus on a happy reason someone would not want the school year to end.   And so here is my short story, titled, “Reading, Writing and Rithmetic”. = = = = = = =   = = = = = = Three more minutes left before summer break. Jolene bit her lip as she watched the clock tick the seconds down for the end of the day. Her hands clutched the book she had been speed reading. It would need to be turned into the library before she left, and she still had twenty pages to go. Her favorite ch

Part 8 “I gave up on happily ever after. Maybe I'm not cut out for a relationship. Maybe, I just don't like being committed to one person for longer than two weeks.” =================================             Clare stood in the drive waiting to see if Wyatt would return. Her answer came when the porch light was turned off. She didn’t like to admit when she made a mistake and, in fact, she believed she rarely did. But this time she realized she had gone too far. What did she care where his wife was?   As much as she tried to avoid it, the thought pierced her heart that perhaps Charlotte’s mother had died and now, with his father on the brink himself, her behavior had been selfish and inappropriate.             She couldn’t face Mae and didn’t know how to make things right. She stopped on the side of the road and called Richard, her fiancé. He managed crises every day and she felt sure he would advise her but her call went to voice mail. She sent a text and waite