Pardon me while I close the door.

A memoir by Marjan Sierhuis

Author: msierhuis@live.ca (page 1 of 9)

A New Review

http://www.bookcommentary.com           Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all well.  I have a new review for my book, The Dog Stays and Other Stories.  I would love for you to read it.

 

Literary Fiction

The Dog Stays and Other Stories

    

Category:Literary Fiction

Author:Marjan Sierhuis

  • Publisher: Iguana Books
  • Publication Date: February 21, 2023
  • Number of Pages: 82
  • ISBN-10: 1771806133
  • ISBN-13: 9781771806138

Marjan Sierhuis’s collection of short stories, The Dog Stays and Other Stories, is a gorgeous treat that captures experiences woven with empathy, humor, and profound insight. Through diverse narratives, Sierhuis explores themes of love, loss, resilience, and relationships, leaving readers captivated and deeply moved. Each story feels like a cookie, and the author’s economy of words and the ability to condense situations into a few paragraphs are remarkable. In “Flame,” readers are transported into the inner conflict of a dragon facing human prejudice. At the same time, “Please Stay” delicately portrays the emotional turmoil of impending loss and the uncertainty of life without a loved one. These stories exemplify Sierhuis’s ability to explore the depths of human emotions sensibly.

Humor intertwines with warmth and insight in tales like “The Masked Bandit” and “The Huntress;” meanwhile, “The Herd Waits” and “Southbound” celebrate the bonds of friendship and connection that endure despite adversity. Sierhuis’s skillful storytelling extends to holiday-themed narratives, such as “Mrs. Claus Needs a Vacation” and “Darby’s Christmas Wish,” which infuse the season’s magic with heartwarming messages of generosity and joy. These stories, along with others like “Crispy Fish and Chips” and ‘A Whirligig,” showcase the author’s versatility in crafting narratives that range from whimsical to deeply poignant.

Throughout the collection, characters come alive with authenticity and depth, drawing readers into their lives and inviting reflection on their experiences. Whether exploring the tender moments of aging together in “Beloved” or the challenges of caregiving in “Cut and Tie,” Sierhuis’s characters resonate with universal truths about the human condition. In The Dog Stays and Other Stories, Marjan Sierhuis is a master storyteller and entertainer, deftly examining human experience with compassion and grace. I enjoyed every short story in this wide selection; any reader will find something to enjoy in these pages.

Reviewed By: Cristina Prescott

Reviewed Date: March 26, 2024

Category: Literary Fiction

Hello

Hi Everyone.

I hope you had a nice holiday.  One of my stories was published today http://www.101words.org  It is titled “The List.”

Please enjoy.

 

Cheers,

 

Marjan

A Book Review

Hello Everyone:

I hope this email finds you well.  I have received another review fromhttp://www.theprairiebookreview.com which I thought you might like to read.

Lighthearted yet profound; a beautiful collection.

Sierhuis’s debut, a collection of short stories, delves into happiness and pain, joy and grief, and life and death. There is a vast cast, including humans, animals, and otherworldly beings, united by longing and desire: they are grieving parents, couples drifting apart, husbands and wives struggling to come to terms with the loss of their other halves; they are children caring for their aging parents and medieval warriors ready for altercations. “Marigold” is a delightful tale of a charming goat who loves to communicate with children. “An Itchy Nose,” is a sarcastic take on pandemic quarantine. A couple tries to recreate a vacation atmosphere at home in “Home Sweet Home” after COVID lockdown upsets their vacation plans. “Santa’s Got Mail,” “ Rudolph,” and “Ho Ho Ho!” are strictly about Christmas whereas “Happy Halloween,” “A Head Start” bring to life the somber tone of Halloween. A debut author spends ten-years writing her book and realizes her difficulties have just begun in “The Writer.”. In “The Note,” a husband suddenly realizes the extent of distance between him and his wife. A grieving husband finds his dead wife’s last note and breaks down in “The Box.”. In “Just Like You,” a woman reminisces about her life-long crush. The collection ends with “The Dog Stays,” a delightful tale about a wife asking for divorce from her husband. While the stories are super short, mostly a paragraph-long, the plots are deviously simple and easy to grasp, making the book a fast-paced, lighthearted read. Sierhuis writes with a keen understanding and an eye for detail, deftly capturing both the mundane and the sublime. A definite winner.

I will let you know when my third book is released for publication.

Stay well.  Stay safe.

Marjan

The Latest Review

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all keeping well.  I just received a review from http://www.featheredquill.com and I wanted to share it with you.

“A unique collection of short stories awaits the reader who opens the pages to author Marjan Sierhuis’ newest book, The Dog Stays: And Other Stories. The Dog Stays opens with “A Blue Baby Hat,” a sweet tale, that’s also a bit of a tear-jerker. We meet James, who is in a hospital room with his wife, whose cold hand he gently caresses. Well-chosen words quickly give the reader a sense of what is going on, and a description of the hospital room brings said reader into the room, as if to eavesdrop on James and his wife. But after this gentle encounter, you better hold on to your seat, because the rest of the book is going to bring you all sorts of fun, crazy, wacky, touching, and even sad tales, that will tug at all your emotions. The collection of tales within this book cover an amazing array of topics, from a dragon trying to break into show business to a child visiting his parent in a care facility where the parent suffers from dementia and doesn’t recognize their child. From funny to sad, to tales that make you go, “huh? I didn’t see that coming,” this book really does have it all. The above-mentioned dragon story, titled “Flame” is one of the longer tales and is definitely one of my favorites. We meet Flame, a dragon who is trying to prove that she can make it on her own, and has managed to get hired as a film extra on a fantasy movie. But then Cedric, the director, tells her that budget cuts are forcing him to fire her and use CGI instead of real dragons. What could go wrong with this scenario? Hint: it’s not what you think. From the silly to the sad, we meet Edward in “The Box,” who has recently lost his wife. Recalling her final words, “Look inside, after I die,” he follows her instructions and removes a small box from her side of the closet. A simple message awaits him, as does a tear for the reader. This story is followed by another teary-eyed tale, “The Summer of 2016,” where a mother in a nursing home asks her child, “Do I know you?” For anyone who has lost a loved one to dementia, this one will sting and yet, tell the reader that they are not alone in the suffering of watching a loved one fade away. The Dog Stays: And Other Stories is a collection of tales that can be read in one sitting, but don’t rush through this book as many of these stories really do ask you to think about what you just read. From silly animals talking to each other, to a mistress with a pistol, to running out of gas far out in the country while trying to buy some farm fresh eggs, you don’t know what to expect from one page to the next. Best described as flash fiction rather than short stories (flash fiction typically runs less than 1,500 words), many of these stories are half a page or less. Although there are no chapters denoting stories with similar themes, there is a bit of an organization to how the stories are placed, with animal stories appearing together, themes of aging grouped together, and so on. While it may seem that such short stories can be easily written, it takes a talented author to create very, very short stories that set the place, characters, and events so well. Author Marjan Sierhuis, who clearly has a love for the shortest of fiction, knows just how to place the words to bring these stories to life. Quill says: The Dog Stays: And Other Stories is a quick read but one that will pull at your emotions on every page. Get ready to laugh, cry, and pause to think about each and every tale the author has crafted.” –Feathered Quill Book Reviews

Keep well.  Talk soon.

Marjan

Literary Titan Book Award

Literary Titan Gold Book Award (2)

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well.

Exciting news.  I received the Literary Titan Book Award for “The Dog Stays and Other Stories.”

My book is now entered into Literary Titan’s Book Award competition.

I continue to work on my third book.  I will keep you  informed.

Take care,

 

Marjan

 

Latest Review

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re keeping well.  I wanted to share the latest review for my book, “The Dog Stays and Other Stories.”  It can be found onhttp://www.literarytitan.com

I am thrilled to find it received a five star rating.

Have a wonderful day.

Marjan

Hello

Hi Everyone:

I hope you are keeping well.  I have some exciting news I would like to share with you.  Yesterday, my book was voted on by readers in the category of anthologies. It is now recommended reading in issue #221 of http://readersdiscovery

I will soon be receiving more reviews. I will keep you posted.

Stay safe.  Stay well.  And keep on writing!

Marjan

 

A review for my latest book

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well.  I wanted you to read a review of my latest book.  I was quite pleased.

I have been busy thinking about the material for my third book.  It remains a work in progress.

I will keep you posted.

All the best,

Marjan

Miss A. Bennett

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2023

In recent years the popularity of the short story has boomed. And it is easy to see why, some readers want their fiction in quick hits, some authors don’t need 500 pages to get a message across. Spurred on by the increased number of writing competitions favouring themselves to shorter bodies of text, authors across the world are seeing new possibilities in creative writing and picking up their short story pens.

The Dog Stays and Other Stories by the Canadian author Marjan Sierhuis is a broad and varied collection of stories, ranging from the semi-humourous “Mrs. Claus”, where an exhausted wife tries to persuade her husband to, for once, take a holiday (vacation) at Christmas, to those such as “Scott’s Mother” that confront the topic of human mortality head on. When it comes to Sierhuis’ writing, it would seem nothing is off the table.

Regardless of content, a contestant pattern emerges throughout in the strength of the author’s writing. Sierhuis’ writing is poetic and crisp, deploying familiar writing approaches time and time again to great effect. “The Summer of 2026” is one of my personal favorites for its clear sense of place, conveyed in only a brief few sentences. You can almost feel the sweat dribbling down your neck as you turn the page. With collections like these it can sometimes feel like the author has just thrown words on a page and barely given the copy a second glance. Quite the reverse, The Dog Stays and Other Stories is anything but a first draft.

An slight advisory to prospective readers is that the contents of this book are made up entirely of flash (or micro) fiction. Flash fiction is anything that comes in at under 500 words, short stories normally vary between 1000 and 5000 words. With that in mind, those looking for a bit more of a yarn to their tales may be disappointed. That said, this is a well written book with stories that remain engaging throughout. From laughter to tears, The Dog Stays and Other Stories is a book you will want to keep picking up.

Hello

Hello Everyone,

My anthology, “The Dog Stays and Other Stories,” continues its availability on http://amazon.ca  http://amazon.com and sites in Europe.  I hope you have a chance to read it.

I continue to do well and am looking forward to “warmer weather.”

I admit I have been somewhat lax in my writing, but I will soon put pen to paper.  After all the stories don’t write by themselves.

So stay well.  Keep safe.  And we will talk again soon.

 

Marjan

 

 

News Alert: The Dog Stays and Other Stories

Amazonhttp://amazon.ca

http://amazon.com

Hello Everyone

I hope you’re all keeping well.  Exciting news.  My book, “The Dog Stays and Other Stories” is now available.

It is a book of very short stories that I wrote over the last few years.  Some will make you cry, some will make you laugh.

You will be entertained that I do promise you.

Keep well, and all the best.

 

Marjan

 

 

 

 

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