Always looking for our next fix.

I recently did an event in Safety Harbor, Florida, a quaint town just north of St. Petersburg, near the homes of two of my children.

The occasion was 3rd Friday, a monthly outdoor mini-festival, when Main Street is blocked off and lined with vendor booths and cafe tables; one of those family-themed nights that feels like summer up north, carefree and precious.

I was stationed at the curb outside Portkey Books, with my little table and my large sign, hoping to meet readers and peddle a few books.

Since my setup was dwarfed in every way by well-lit tents and fragrant food trucks, I tried to get the attention of passers-by with a simple question:

If I noticed someone straining to read my sign, I would step forward and ask, “Are you a reader?”

My son, having never witnessed my sales technique, was surprised by this approach. I can tell a reader when I see one, I explained.

We readers are the ones who linger when we see a small table of books, even if just for a moment, while everyone else strides purposefully toward the next shiny booth. For some, it was as if there was a spotlight above my cramped alcove, not to be ignored. As they turned to look, I knew this was my opportunity to step forward and offer a bookmark, a friendly greeting.

And most—the vast majority—on the receiving end of my inquiry would answer in the affirmative, without asking why I had singled them out, “Yes, I’m a reader.”

My son stood watching, mouth hanging, as I sold book after book, one every ten minutes on average, for three hours. “I was afraid you wouldn’t sell any,” he confessed.

“We’re like addicts,” I said. “We’re always looking for our next fix.”

With this in mind, allow me to offer a few suggestions to satisfy your craving for your next good story.

An audiobook: The Best Short Stories 2024, edited by Amor Towles.

I was drawn to this collection because I am a huge fan of Towles. His novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, is one of my all-time favorites, especially the audiobook version narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith. (I’ve both read and listened to this one, and I highly recommend the audio version for the accents and pronunciations alone.)

In his introduction, Towles observes that readers are more likely than not to approach a short story in a state of innocence, without expectations or preconceptions.

We are, he notes, delightfully in the dark.

When we pick up a novel, we’ve likely read a review, been given a recommendation, or skimmed the back cover. Conversely, we usually don’t know anything about the short story we’re about to read. We don’t know the setting or when the story takes place. We probably don’t know anything about the main character or the point of view. We don’t know if the tone will be humorous or cynical, dark or whimsical. Each of these elements provides a “little jolt of surprise.”

Unlike a lengthy novel, a short story, by definition, relies on a brief encounter or occurrence, a moment in time that produces some change in the character, where each detail is potent on some level, be it an image, a turn of events, or even a word.

When we begin reading a short story, our mind is a blank slate and, if the author is good, one line entices us to continue to the next and then to the next, and when we’re finished, the brevity of the structure is part of what skillfully leaves its mark on our psyche or our soul.

I’m recommending the audio version of this book, too. Some books are better listened to than read, and I think this is one of them. The cast of narrators is superb, especially Edoardo Ballerini, who reads Michele Mari’s The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz. Absolutely splendido!

A podcast: You may know George Saunders has a new novel out, Vigil. He seems to be doing interviews everywhere, which is fine with me because he’s a delight to listen to. His April 2 interview on Wild Card with Rachel Martin is especially good. It solidifies his reputation as a nice guy. (It’s good to know there are a few of them around.)

A poem: I don’t want to end this letter on a dark note, but I feel compelled to share a poem I read this week. I don’t believe in coincidences, and when I pick up a book of poetry, I usually open it at random and read from there.

The fact that you are reading this now is no coincidence.

From the book, Poetry Unbound, 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó Tuama, this is the poem that found me this week:

Of Course She Looked Back by Natalie Diaz
You would have, too.
From that distance the shivering city
fit in the palm of her hand
like she owned it.
She could've blown the whole thing -
market, dance halls, hookah bars -
sent the city and its hundred harems
tumbling across the desert
like a kiss. She had to look back.
When she did she saw
pigeons glinting like debris above
ruined rooftops. Towers swaying.
Women in broken skirts
strewn along burned-out streets
like busted red bells.
The noise was something else -
dogs wept, roosters howled, children
and guitars popped like kernels of corn
feeding the twisting blaze.
She wondered had she unplugged
the coffeepot? The iron?
Was the oven off?
Her husband uttered, Keep going.
Whispered, Stay the course, or
Baby, forget about it. She couldn't.
Now a bursting garden of fire
the city bloomed to flame after flame
like hot fruit in a persimmon orchard.
Someone thirsty asked for water.
Someone scared asked to pray.
Her daughters or the crooked-legged angel,
maybe. Dark thighs of smoke opened
to the sky. She meant to look
away, but the sting in her eyes,
the taste devouring her tongue,
and the neighbors begging her name.

Thank you, as always, for being here. Remember. . .

Life is short. Read fast.

From one lover of the written word to another,

With love,

Jayne

BOTTOM OF THE BREATH, Winner 2025 Best Book Award in Fiction: Women’s Fiction

Coming July 8, 2025! IT’S HERE!! Bottom of the Breath is the story of a woman catapulted from her tranquil life on the Florida panhandle onto a cross-country road trip with her recently estranged husband. She must outrun a hurricane, digest a shocking, decades-old family secret, and come to terms with her own pain-filled past. Laced with mysticism and set among the majesty of Sedona and the Grand Canyon, the novel explores the power of friendship, the importance of forgiveness, and the vital need to create a future that embraces the past.