Authorpreneur Dashboard – Carolyn Moncel
Encounters in Paris - A Collection of Short Stories
Literature & Fiction
Life is filled with random encounters and Ellery Roulet, a 35-year-old American PR executive living and working in Paris, has experienced enough of them to last five lifetimes. When betrayal (job loss), loss (death of a parent), mistakes (infidelity), regrets (divorce) and even acceptance, enter Ellery's life at different times, she learns that it is how she chooses to deal with some of life's trickiest situations that shapes her soul. This bittersweet collection of tales shows just how messy and complicated life can be, and that sometimes there just aren't any neat and easy solutions at all
Book Bubbles from Encounters in Paris - A Collection of Short Stories
Living in Paris
Actually, I may be in the minority, but I didn’t always love living in Paris. Over time, I got used to it and it is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places on earth. We left because my husband was transferred to Geneva, Switzerland. Always, I remind people that there is a big difference between visiting Paris and actually living there. It can be a very harsh place to live. Ironically, when I as a young college student, Paris was the one place that I dreamt of visiting the most. Just when I thought I would never get an opportunity to travel there, I met my husband, who happened to be French. So, Paris can be a wonderful place to live, but it depends greatly on where you are in your life cycle and what your expectations happen to be. Looking back, I am glad that we spent five years there. It was truly an unforgettable experience, since it’s so close, I do return when I can.
Railway Confessions - A Collection of Short Stories
Literature & Fiction
Would you ever reveal a dark secret to a complete stranger – even if you knew you’d never meet that person again? This question is at the heart of author, Carolyn Moncel’s latest work, Railway Confessions – A Collection of Short Stories. As passengers traveling aboard a TGV train from Paris to Geneva one summer evening, three couples casually disclose very intimate, truthful details that could potentially transform their lives either for the better or for the worst. In the story, "My Brother's Keeper," a couple must come to terms with the murders that each of them had a hand in committing and their aftermaths; In "A Choice in the Matter," another couple must address the questions of wanted and unwanted pregnancies and the circumstances for which such requests are ever acceptable; and in the last story entitled, “Pretty Prisons,” a last couple must deal with love, infidelity and all of its complexities. Ellery Roulet and Lola Sanchez from 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover return, and along with four others, confront their deepest fears with unexpected results.
Book Bubbles from Railway Confessions - A Collection of Short Stories
On Lola Sanchez from "Brother's Keeper"
Lola’s struggle is an internal one. Although she is a law enforcement officer, begrudgingly she still can identify with the struggles of those who reside in impoverished communities – even when they commit crimes. It’s a part of her life that she would rather kill – both literally and figuratively.
5 Reasons to Leave a Lover - A Novella and Other Short Stories
Literature & Fiction
In 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover, author Carolyn Moncel offers up a fresh batch of stories based on love and loss. As singer/songwriter, Paul Simon so eloquently suggested in a famous song from the 1970s, there are many ways to leave a lover. However, Moncel's characters demonstrate that the reasons for leaving in the first place are quite finite. Encounters in Paris` Ellery and Julien Roulet return, picking up their lives where the short story, "Pandora`s Box Revisited," ends. This time the Roulets are involved in a love triangle, and along with two other couples, must explore how love relationships are affected and splinter due to abuse, ambivalence, deception, cheating and death. This bittersweet collection of tales proves that some breakups are necessary; while others are voluntary; and still others are simply destined and beyond anyone's control.
Book Bubbles from 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover - A Novella and Other Short Stories
Meeting the Mistress
Upon discovering infidelity, it is far easier to pick a really large target to hate than to deal with the actual betrayal itself. Latching on to a single characteristic makes the hate more tangible and the pain digestible. Eventually, the painful questions have to be asked because they force the parties involved to acknowledge that the death of a relationship is a two-sided affair.
