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MIDDLE GROUND: A NOVELLA AND COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES
Title
MIDDLE GROUND: A NOVELLA AND COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES.
Creator
Uttich, Laurie, Rushin, Patrick, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This collection of fiction--a novella and a collection of short stories--focuses on the commonality of the human condition. While we create separations for ourselves by focusing on distinctions such as, religion, class, gender, and race, we are, I believe, spiritual beings sharing a human experience. My work tends to explore these distinctions and our motivations for embracing them. In the novella, Middle Ground, two sisters in alternating narrative voices share the story of their parents'...
Show moreThis collection of fiction--a novella and a collection of short stories--focuses on the commonality of the human condition. While we create separations for ourselves by focusing on distinctions such as, religion, class, gender, and race, we are, I believe, spiritual beings sharing a human experience. My work tends to explore these distinctions and our motivations for embracing them. In the novella, Middle Ground, two sisters in alternating narrative voices share the story of their parents' struggles with separation, sobriety and cancer. Their voices, as distinct as their perspectives, explore the landscape of a family, the borders between forgiveness and acceptance, the self-preserving act of looking beyond imperfections and weaknesses, and the realization that truth is an illusion and flawed love the only certainty. The short story collection consists of eight pieces. Many of these stories explore characters in a state of recovery--a brain tumor operation, a death of a spouse, a shot to the head where a bullet rests and reminds--and plot occurs as these characters attempt to move on. They meet sandhill cranes who cry out in pain for the death of another, lovers who speak in italics, vets who swear that the blasted silence is louder than King Kong screaming in your ear. They sit with shrinks who lie, sleep with poets who stray, compete with incarcerated ex-husbands who were "man enough" to put a gun to a woman's head and pull the trigger. They are nothing--and everything--like all of us, and readers are invited to join the characters beside the mirror of our collective Middle Ground.
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Date Issued
2009
Identifier
CFE0002600, ucf:48261
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002600
THE ROWING COACHES
Title
THE ROWING COACHES.
Creator
O'Grady, Bernard, Leiby, Jeanne, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The Rowing Coaches is about friendship, money, love, loss, and rowing. It chronicles the turning point in the lives of three friends who are professional rowing coaches. The friends are Don Bestos, Bill Maxwell, and Bergman, men who are or were at the very top of their sport, and now question their friendships with each other and where their lives are headed. The story takes place on a weekend in the summer of 2000 at the USRowing Convention in Las Vegas, the big blow-out for everyone in the...
Show moreThe Rowing Coaches is about friendship, money, love, loss, and rowing. It chronicles the turning point in the lives of three friends who are professional rowing coaches. The friends are Don Bestos, Bill Maxwell, and Bergman, men who are or were at the very top of their sport, and now question their friendships with each other and where their lives are headed. The story takes place on a weekend in the summer of 2000 at the USRowing Convention in Las Vegas, the big blow-out for everyone in the sport of rowing. The Rowing Coaches also offers a look at an esoteric and often misunderstood sport. The main character is Don Bestos, a fifty-year-old head coach from Northeastern University. Don is recently divorced and has yet to move on from the failure of his marriage. The memory of his ex-wife Annie causes him physical pain and occasionally haunts him. Don is in crisis and he questions what he has done with his life and whether he can continue with his chosen career. Don's concerns are compounded by his alcoholism. He grapples with his addiction throughout the story. Don also has a peculiar gift; upon touching certain inanimate objects, such as a boat, he can sense if the object has a soul. Don's best friend is Bergman, the obese head coach from the University of Pennsylvania. Bergman's team has been losing for years and he has lost the drive to continue as an elite rowing coach. Bergman is a loyal friend and he watches out for his friends. The one coach who appears to be on the upswing is Billy Maxwell, Don's assistant coach at Northeastern. Billy is a former Olympian and he is considered one of the rising stars in the coaching profession. Billy has been a winner at every level in the sport and he is willing to sacrifice everything to win, even friendship. Other characters include Stacy Kookla, a sociable sales representative for the top rowing boat manufacturer in the country; Andy Carr, the head coach of Yale University; and Missy Krajcik, the fastest female rower in the world.
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Date Issued
2006
Identifier
CFE0001478, ucf:47082
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001478
IN SEARCH OF: STORIES FROM THE ONES LEFT BEHIND
Title
IN SEARCH OF: STORIES FROM THE ONES LEFT BEHIND.
Creator
Velez, Mayra, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
"In Search Of: Stories from the Ones Left Behind" introduces five young women-- June, Leila, Kiss, Marianne, and Alma-- who struggle to impede loved ones from abandoning them. One woman confronts her worst fears when she finds out about her husband's affair with a mutual friend; one comes to terms with her sister's poor lifestyle choices; another copes with her mother's sudden marriage; and yet another figures out that in order to keep her fiancé, she must be willing to...
Show more"In Search Of: Stories from the Ones Left Behind" introduces five young women-- June, Leila, Kiss, Marianne, and Alma-- who struggle to impede loved ones from abandoning them. One woman confronts her worst fears when she finds out about her husband's affair with a mutual friend; one comes to terms with her sister's poor lifestyle choices; another copes with her mother's sudden marriage; and yet another figures out that in order to keep her fiancé, she must be willing to take on responsibilities foreign to her. And then there is the story of Alma, a contemplative but naïve seventeen-year-old girl who commits a serious mistake, an act of prostitution, and when her parents find out, she's left with no choice except to leave her hometown before high school graduation. Alma learns that when it comes to the aftermath of mistakes, women often get a double-dose of pain, plus they run the risk of being removed from the family circle. These stories also touch on other themes: mother-daughter relationships; sibling rivalry and communion; adultery; marriage to foreigners; spirituality; atheism amongst a religious family; dependency; and also how contemporary young women deal with relatively successful careers. But the one common thread running through the heart of these women's stories is how they confront the threat of being pushed aside or deserted by a loved one.
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Date Issued
2007
Identifier
CFE0001841, ucf:47365
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001841
THE THIRD ISLAND
Title
THE THIRD ISLAND.
Creator
Mora, Iris, Rodriguez Milanes, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The Third Island is a novella about a Puerto Rican woman of Spanish descent who faces her biggest fear-death. Death comes in many forms and for Laura Maria De La Esperanza Castel, it comes in the form of a man with whom she thinks she is in love. Vacationing on an island in the Bahamas, novelist Laura Castel finds that the only way to survive is to overcome her fear and reject being controlled by the figure who is trying to take her. She overcomes many obstacles and is taught about self...
Show moreThe Third Island is a novella about a Puerto Rican woman of Spanish descent who faces her biggest fear-death. Death comes in many forms and for Laura Maria De La Esperanza Castel, it comes in the form of a man with whom she thinks she is in love. Vacationing on an island in the Bahamas, novelist Laura Castel finds that the only way to survive is to overcome her fear and reject being controlled by the figure who is trying to take her. She overcomes many obstacles and is taught about self-sufficiency, the history of repression of minorities groups or of the misunderstood, and the importance of protecting those who are not able to protect themselves.
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFH0004801, ucf:45479
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004801
THE MAZE
Title
THE MAZE.
Creator
Vera Tata, Maria, Rodriguez Milanes, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Many cities in Latin American countries are surrounded by slums. The inhabitants of the slums are often victims of corruption, famine and murder. The victims include everyone and especially affect the most vulnerable, women and children. They are the voiceless whose stories are lost and never told. Children who lack adult support have to pull from their inner strength to rise from hostile environments, nevertheless their lives are lived with ardor and immediacy, a way of life that is built...
Show moreMany cities in Latin American countries are surrounded by slums. The inhabitants of the slums are often victims of corruption, famine and murder. The victims include everyone and especially affect the most vulnerable, women and children. They are the voiceless whose stories are lost and never told. Children who lack adult support have to pull from their inner strength to rise from hostile environments, nevertheless their lives are lived with ardor and immediacy, a way of life that is built within a culturally-layered community. It is in those layers that not only pain but marvels can be found. My creative thesis, interconnected stories that are woven into a composite novel, focuses on the lives of children in the slums who are constantly beaten down by the chaotic and violent ambiance. These children are of different ages but of similar circumstances, who rise to the challenge, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFH0004089, ucf:44783
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004089
SAMPHIRE: A NOVELLA
Title
SAMPHIRE: A NOVELLA.
Creator
Casavant, Hillary, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Engulfed by the tumultuous 1960s, seventeen-year-old Katherine Dayes conceals her pregnancy from the conservative seaside community of Samphire, her hometown. The novella traces a year in Katherine's life, from her summer of love through a winter stained by blood and moonlight. Throughout the story, Katherine endures the push and pull of a culture torn between tradition, represented by community leader Margaret Blythe, and modernism, embodied by the free spirit Evelyn Partridge. Inspired by...
Show moreEngulfed by the tumultuous 1960s, seventeen-year-old Katherine Dayes conceals her pregnancy from the conservative seaside community of Samphire, her hometown. The novella traces a year in Katherine's life, from her summer of love through a winter stained by blood and moonlight. Throughout the story, Katherine endures the push and pull of a culture torn between tradition, represented by community leader Margaret Blythe, and modernism, embodied by the free spirit Evelyn Partridge. Inspired by the life of an actual eighteenth-century woman, Samphire explores the complexities of the 1960s feminist movement. Using vivid imagery of natural elements, it examines opposing views of sexuality and cultural criticisms that women have faced throughout history. The character-driven narrative seeks to deconstruct societal views of teen pregnancy, motherhood, women's sexuality, and infanticide by exploring the psyche of a young woman caught between cultural perceptions and her personal reality.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFH0004221, ucf:44912
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004221
LUCIDITY: A NOVELLA
Title
LUCIDITY: A NOVELLA.
Creator
Lancelotta, Rafael, Rodriguez-Milanes, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
"Lucidity" is a novella set in the near future of a man living in a city in the United States as a successful businessman. The novella criticizes the idea of consumerism through Aurora, a character who believes that a drug is being introduced into the water and food supply by the corporate-backed government. Characters find advertising to be almost irresistible, experience strange cravings for things like cheap beer, and are generally preoccupied with the latest products. James Simmons, the...
Show more"Lucidity" is a novella set in the near future of a man living in a city in the United States as a successful businessman. The novella criticizes the idea of consumerism through Aurora, a character who believes that a drug is being introduced into the water and food supply by the corporate-backed government. Characters find advertising to be almost irresistible, experience strange cravings for things like cheap beer, and are generally preoccupied with the latest products. James Simmons, the protagonist of the novella, finds himself in the lap of luxury. He has a job that pays well, a penthouse apartment, a fast car, and women. Even though he has the material riches that society tells him he needs to be happy, he knows that something is missing, something is wrong with the world in which he lives. For reasons unknown to him at the time, James is fired from his job and sets out on a journey to discover why. Over the course of his journey, he is finally able to begin piecing together the nature of deeper questions about himself that he never had a chance to answer.
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Date Issued
2013
Identifier
CFH0004337, ucf:45046
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004337
Stuffmobile
Title
Stuffmobile.
Creator
Greenberg, Ted, Rushin, Patrick, Hubbard, Susan, Neal, Mary, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The leitmotif of Stuffmobile, a modern day Florida-based novella, is that of relational healing: a son with his father, ex-lovers with one another, and, even more challenging perhaps, a son making peace with his dead mother. New beginnings are explored, both as resurrection of long dead feelings and as starting afresh after loss. A husband finds distraction in a covert project after his wife's death, so much so that his preoccupied isolation worries his two adult children. The son comes to...
Show moreThe leitmotif of Stuffmobile, a modern day Florida-based novella, is that of relational healing: a son with his father, ex-lovers with one another, and, even more challenging perhaps, a son making peace with his dead mother. New beginnings are explored, both as resurrection of long dead feelings and as starting afresh after loss. A husband finds distraction in a covert project after his wife's death, so much so that his preoccupied isolation worries his two adult children. The son comes to investigate, and his malfunctioning car leads to the beginnings of reconciliation. The characters here struggle to understand and be understood, to avoid hurting others and avoid being hurt, all while searching for respect and love: just another normal day of the human experience.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004189, ucf:49001
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004189