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Title: THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS: STORIES.
Creator: Albamonte, Gene, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Natural Order of Things is a collection of unrelated short stories that focuses on the love, despair, happiness and sorrow prevalent in relationships. Another common thread is how the lack of communication between family, friends and lovers can create burdens that, in some cases, are simply too heavy to lift. Some of the stories have a humorous voice while dealing with those burdens. Many others deal with the complexities of those emotions in a more somber tone. These fictional stories...
Show moreThe Natural Order of Things is a collection of unrelated short stories that focuses on the love, despair, happiness and sorrow prevalent in relationships. Another common thread is how the lack of communication between family, friends and lovers can create burdens that, in some cases, are simply too heavy to lift. Some of the stories have a humorous voice while dealing with those burdens. Many others deal with the complexities of those emotions in a more somber tone. These fictional stories are completely unrelated to each other, and yet they all aim to shine a light on life's conflicts – and on the ramifications of how we deal with those conflicts.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002534, ucf:47651
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002534

Title: Renovations and Other Stories.
Creator: Lager, Amanda, Poissant, David, Hubbard, Susan, Rushin, Patrick, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Renovations and Other Stories is a linked collection of ten fiction stories that examines the ways by which women renew or restore themselves. The collection is set in the imaginary city of St. Clair, South Carolina, a town balancing historical accuracy with the sensational tourist industry; Carolinians who trace their ancestries back to the American Revolution with suburban newcomers; and the notion of cherishing the past with moving forward. Many of the characters struggle with identity,...
Show moreRenovations and Other Stories is a linked collection of ten fiction stories that examines the ways by which women renew or restore themselves. The collection is set in the imaginary city of St. Clair, South Carolina, a town balancing historical accuracy with the sensational tourist industry; Carolinians who trace their ancestries back to the American Revolution with suburban newcomers; and the notion of cherishing the past with moving forward. Many of the characters struggle with identity, whether it is regional or feminine individuality. The protagonists must challenge self-image when faced with situations that make them reconsider their places in their marriages, schools, jobs, and in their lives.Relationships among women, especially mother-daughter bonds, are an important motif throughout the collection. These stories cover the lifetimes of two generations of Carolinian women. A baker struggles to break free of her Northern transient upbringing. A history student yearns to escape her past as a victim of bullying to form a new, confident identity while saying goodbye to her estranged mother. Another girl explores the confused social politics of the South which alienate her from a childhood friend. I intend to examine, through fiction, how people come to appreciate one another, often a moment too late, and how sometimes we completely misunderstand ourselves.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004254, ucf:49516
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004254

Title: The Neighborhood (&) Cat Eyes: Stories.
Creator: Barth, Brad, Roney, Lisa, Peynado, Brenda, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Neighborhood (&) Cat Eyes: Stories is a collection of short stories dealing with themes related to isolation, otherness in the modern world, and suburban dread. These two sets of stories deal with different variations on these themes.In the (")Cat Eyes(") collection of stories, isolation becomes a more prominent thread. These four stories each center on a different individuals afflicted with having cat eyes in place of normal human eyes. Through the lenses of childhood, adulthood, and...
Show moreThe Neighborhood (&) Cat Eyes: Stories is a collection of short stories dealing with themes related to isolation, otherness in the modern world, and suburban dread. These two sets of stories deal with different variations on these themes.In the (")Cat Eyes(") collection of stories, isolation becomes a more prominent thread. These four stories each center on a different individuals afflicted with having cat eyes in place of normal human eyes. Through the lenses of childhood, adulthood, and someone not afflicted with the cat eye condition, otherness and isolation are explored. Each individual offers a unique glimpse into the lives of these people and how they exist in a world that seeks to other them, often times through force.In (")The Neighborhood(") collection of stories, the idea of suburban dread comes into full-effect with the inclusion of corpses, skeletons, geysers, and medieval style siege parties. These five stories contrast against the very real lives of the individuals living through these situations. The different families affected by these issues come into contention with the unnamed rules of suburban living as well as their own personal torments made manifest through the oddities that surround them.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0006975, ucf:51653
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006975

Title: Sunset View.
Creator: Armstrong, Danielle, Hubbard, Susan, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Sunset View is a linked collection of short fiction that explores the dynamics of dysfunctional families. Characters in this collection have been affected by the neglect, absence, or death of their family members and friends. They search for recognition and love as they try to find their place in life. Some turn to animals or fleeting relationships to fill this void. Others attempt suicide or simply disappear. The characters are in denial, unsure how to deal with grief, and often make...
Show moreSunset View is a linked collection of short fiction that explores the dynamics of dysfunctional families. Characters in this collection have been affected by the neglect, absence, or death of their family members and friends. They search for recognition and love as they try to find their place in life. Some turn to animals or fleeting relationships to fill this void. Others attempt suicide or simply disappear. The characters are in denial, unsure how to deal with grief, and often make decisions that alienate them from the friends and family they do have. Set in northeast Tennessee and named after a local trailer park, the collection creates a portrait of Candace Annette, a young woman who struggles to come of age and distance herself from the only life she's ever known.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005573, ucf:50237
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005573

Title: "IN THE DROWNING CITY" AND OTHER STORIES.
Creator: Segarra, Malyn, Leiby, Jeanne, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: "In the Drowning City" and Other Stories is a collection of fiction written and revised during Malyn Segarra's graduate studies at the University of Central Florida. Most of the collection examines the transient nature and fragility of identity and shifting roles within the family unit. All focus on a particular span of time, the transition into young adulthood. Each character is faced with an obstacle or event that tests his or her beliefs, integrity and sense of self. As each one...
Show more"In the Drowning City" and Other Stories is a collection of fiction written and revised during Malyn Segarra's graduate studies at the University of Central Florida. Most of the collection examines the transient nature and fragility of identity and shifting roles within the family unit. All focus on a particular span of time, the transition into young adulthood. Each character is faced with an obstacle or event that tests his or her beliefs, integrity and sense of self. As each one struggles to make a unique and permanent impression in the world, he or she must come to terms with the past, in some cases, breaking away from it. Although the characters come from varying backgrounds, the themes that thread the collection are universal. The three stories that serve as the backbone of the collection, "Slashing, Tripping and Other Offensive Plays," "In the Drowning City," and "This Is Just a Modern Love Song" find the protagonists striving to adapt to their newly transformed environments. As the situations they face become more complicated and the resolutions exceedingly compromised, the innocence and certainty associated with childhood is jeopardized.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001870, ucf:47386
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001870

Title: DON'T SEE, DON'T SPEAK: A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES.
Creator: Kalfar, Jaroslav, Neal, Darlin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This short story collection follows diverse characters as they long to find their place in the chaos of modern world. As the trend of postmodern literature traces our failure to understand our lives and discover a larger context, we find that our reality is ever-changing and there is not a single constant to follow. We are disappointed by modern political systems, our lovers, and our own individual capabilities. The issue of belonging means finding a place that, both physically and mentally,...
Show moreThis short story collection follows diverse characters as they long to find their place in the chaos of modern world. As the trend of postmodern literature traces our failure to understand our lives and discover a larger context, we find that our reality is ever-changing and there is not a single constant to follow. We are disappointed by modern political systems, our lovers, and our own individual capabilities. The issue of belonging means finding a place that, both physically and mentally, provides context and meaning for our existence. The five short stories presented here examine social issues, such as immigration, political revolution, and social role of the media. At the same time, the subtleties of personal belonging - love, rejection, fear of the future, crisis of identity - are dissected under a looking glass, brought forward to emphasize the individual human element while the larger themes fade into the background. The main character of "Winter Velvet" speaks from the midst of the Velvet Revolution taking place in Prague, anxiously awaiting the outcome and attempting to understand the impact this revolution will have on his life. The narrator of "Metathesiophobia in Three Parts" possesses the kind of existential fears and anxieties we see in the eyes of American youth as they all face grim futures in a country without direction. "The Stage" explores the moments of terror an immigrant experiences when facing his first deportation scare. "El Pollo Negro" is the story of a Mexican man haunted by a black chicken as he attempts to build a life in America. Finally, "Jeremy Stock Live!" examines the role of morality in American reality TV shows ala Jerry Springer. What is it that fascinates us about pitting tragically flawed people against an audience of judges and a host/executor? In all of these stories the characters experience a longing to hold onto a single place, to find firm ground in the world and allow home, whatever and wherever it is, to pour over them and never let them go.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0004101, ucf:44876
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004101

Title: Red Tide and Other Stories.
Creator: Vazquez, Heather, Peynado, Brenda, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Pugh, William, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Red Tide and Other Stories is a fictional collection of eleven short stories in which characters react to their struggles with loss, frustration, regret, loneliness, and love. Each story presents a strong sense of place and moment, while examining how characters are influenced by these elements. While individual stories present new characters and scenarios, they are connected by elements of water and include aspects of coasts and shorelines in the setting of the real world. The commonality of...
Show moreRed Tide and Other Stories is a fictional collection of eleven short stories in which characters react to their struggles with loss, frustration, regret, loneliness, and love. Each story presents a strong sense of place and moment, while examining how characters are influenced by these elements. While individual stories present new characters and scenarios, they are connected by elements of water and include aspects of coasts and shorelines in the setting of the real world. The commonality of water in the stories works to demonstrate a connectivity between all people and cultures because water is shared and linked between continents without regard to socioeconomics or political boundaries drawn throughout the world. Regardless of these drawn boundaries, we all share grief and disappointment, just as we share water.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007110, ucf:51968
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007110

Title: Assisted Living: Stories.
Creator: Swift, Donovan, Poissant, David, Peynado, Brenda, Milanes, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Assisted Living is a collection of stories that explores themes of parenthood, brotherhood, old and new love, adultery, financial strife, and the many faces of loss. The collection offers different points of view, which allow the reader to experience these themes within varying lives and situations. For example, the eponymous (")Assisted Living(") is from the perspective of a pet-sitter at the brink of losing both her job and husband, while (")Holy Mother(") explores the point of view of a...
Show moreAssisted Living is a collection of stories that explores themes of parenthood, brotherhood, old and new love, adultery, financial strife, and the many faces of loss. The collection offers different points of view, which allow the reader to experience these themes within varying lives and situations. For example, the eponymous (")Assisted Living(") is from the perspective of a pet-sitter at the brink of losing both her job and husband, while (")Holy Mother(") explores the point of view of a wife coming to terms with her affair and the physical injury that has changed her husband. (")The World of Reptiles(") follows a father walking his son through a zoo before they receive his son's cancer test results, while (")Host(") follows two sons who discover their recently deceased mother believed in reincarnation before she died. Other stories explore characters stuck in relationships(-)both familial and romantic(-)that started bright, but curled toward the dark, leaving the characters feeling trapped by the ones they love. The collection as a whole seeks to explore people stuck between selves, people striving to be new and better, while failing and succeeding in ways big and small.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007537, ucf:52625
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007537

Title: Young Thinkers.
Creator: Elgeness, Jaclyn, Neal, Mary, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Rushin, Patrick, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Young Thinkers is a collection of short fiction dealing with what it means to earn wisdom in the twenty-first century. When our phones can remember everything for us, and we're plagued by a sense that everything has already been said and digitally cataloged, insight becomes even more important, particularly to the thoughtful characters explored throughout the collection. The prolonged American adolescence facilitated by the economic crisis, as well as the societal acceptance of marrying and...
Show moreYoung Thinkers is a collection of short fiction dealing with what it means to earn wisdom in the twenty-first century. When our phones can remember everything for us, and we're plagued by a sense that everything has already been said and digitally cataloged, insight becomes even more important, particularly to the thoughtful characters explored throughout the collection. The prolonged American adolescence facilitated by the economic crisis, as well as the societal acceptance of marrying and having children much later in life, creates an atmosphere of intense self-doubt. A young man working at a gas station after college witnesses a high school boy die in a hit and run, and he longs to comfort others at the vigil. Another young man decides he would rather rob houses than return to community college while wondering at ways to extend his lifespan. Young women struggle to feel important and independent, but find themselves assuaging their fears with cigarettes and alcohol. These characters yearn for the insight and experience that would make them decidedly and authoritatively adult.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004106, ucf:49097
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004106

Title: I Thought You Were Someone Else.
Creator: Milazzo, Maria, Roney, Lisa, Neal, Mary, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: I Thought You Were Someone Else deals with violence, family, love, art, and gender. The author examines these issues as well as what makes a creative work fiction or nonfiction by creating a multi-genre collection of seven short fiction stories and five short nonfiction pieces. Fictional stories feature protagonists similar to the author and protagonists who could be considered completely different from the author. Nevertheless, the protagonists in these pieces, whether they are real or...
Show moreI Thought You Were Someone Else deals with violence, family, love, art, and gender. The author examines these issues as well as what makes a creative work fiction or nonfiction by creating a multi-genre collection of seven short fiction stories and five short nonfiction pieces. Fictional stories feature protagonists similar to the author and protagonists who could be considered completely different from the author. Nevertheless, the protagonists in these pieces, whether they are real or fictitious, all experience grand realizations concerning their identity and surroundings. Essentially, they realize they are not who they thought they were. A young boy realizes he likes destruction; another comes to terms with love and romance. A father deals with his homophobia, while another older man examines his life of violence. Young women cope with getting older and struggling to create families. Others realize that their needs will never be met. All stories deal with growth, change, and discovery, thereby allowing the author to unearth details about identity and how it is shaped and evolves.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004139, ucf:49078
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004139

Title: WE WILL MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE.
Creator: Sullivan, Jaclyn, Jensen, Toni, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: We Will Make Your Head Explode is a collection of short fiction stories that explore themes of friendship, family, love, lust, jealousy, loyalty, and disappointment. The characters in these stories are utterly human; they are pushed, pulled, and often fall victim to circumstance. A woman grapples between her love of roadside attractions and her boyfriendÃ‚Â's grief. A son is forced to decide whether or not to honor his motherÃ‚Â's final wishes. A...
Show moreWe Will Make Your Head Explode is a collection of short fiction stories that explore themes of friendship, family, love, lust, jealousy, loyalty, and disappointment. The characters in these stories are utterly human; they are pushed, pulled, and often fall victim to circumstance. A woman grapples between her love of roadside attractions and her boyfriendÃ‚Â's grief. A son is forced to decide whether or not to honor his motherÃ‚Â's final wishes. A college student is blind to her brotherÃ‚Â's evolution beyond their family. A woman discovers new possibilities while stalking graveyards to escape the memory of a man who left her behind. A teenager on the run findsÃ‚Â--and losesÃ‚Â--her first love. As desperately as they struggle to control their situations, their love lives, their families, and their emotions, they are often faced with simply having to come to terms with their realities. These eleven stories are intended to examine the ways people are capable of treating each other, both good and bad, and how people deal with the inevitably of being forced to move beyond what seems permanent, to create new identities, to laugh, and to learn from their mistakes.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003035, ucf:48356
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003035

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

Title: OF SPANISH COWS, WILD BOARS, UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER, AND OTHER ODDITIES.
Creator: Sanchez, Lydia, Jensen, Toni, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this collection of connected stories, the inhabitants of the imaginary Mediterranean village of Marcenac struggle with daily situations that often take allures of a farce, simply because they occur in Marcenac. The stories explore the influence southern France's Roussillon region has on people, the way the proximity of the Spanish border and the Mediterranean shapes the inhabitants of Marcenac's daily lives, and the influence of the climate. Often, the Tramontane, the region's...
Show moreIn this collection of connected stories, the inhabitants of the imaginary Mediterranean village of Marcenac struggle with daily situations that often take allures of a farce, simply because they occur in Marcenac. The stories explore the influence southern France's Roussillon region has on people, the way the proximity of the Spanish border and the Mediterranean shapes the inhabitants of Marcenac's daily lives, and the influence of the climate. Often, the Tramontane, the region's predominant wind, becomes a character. While some of the stories are told from a collective point of view, others reveal the inner thoughts of children and adults, male and female. Because the stories are connected, characters visit different stories and help tell the collective tale of Marcenac. Even though the stories stand on their own, they form cohesion, united by the progression of the seasons and the underlying theme of death. Each story reveals a particularity of the region's weather and culture. Some stories are entertaining and lighthearted. Others are serious. Each invites the reader to share the most intimate thoughts of the characters as they seek solace from various degrees of grief and frustration. Some characters are gauche, naïve, some tender, others bitter, but all are resilient and amicable. The characters' speech and the narrative are often peppered with French, which makes for humorous situations and takes the reader deep within a foreign culture without giving the feeling of an anthropology lesson. As a result, the characters become cultural guides as they ruminate over the past or go about their daily lives. They give the reader a unique insight into the habits and values of the region.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002626, ucf:48211
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002626

Title: THE WHOLE HEADLIGHT-COLORED NIGHT.
Creator: Bryan, Matthew, Jensen, Toni, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This collection of short fiction probes the lives of characters trying to make their home in the flat, unchanging landscape of the small towns that make up central Florida. The largely static environment reflects the rigid patterns of behavior and domesticity the characters find themselves so easily falling into. Seemingly ordinary items--a shotgun, a t-shirt, a paper bag--and the small moments that make up everyday life are imbued with significance as men and women painfully aware of their...
Show moreThis collection of short fiction probes the lives of characters trying to make their home in the flat, unchanging landscape of the small towns that make up central Florida. The largely static environment reflects the rigid patterns of behavior and domesticity the characters find themselves so easily falling into. Seemingly ordinary items--a shotgun, a t-shirt, a paper bag--and the small moments that make up everyday life are imbued with significance as men and women painfully aware of their own ordinariness struggle to hold onto those fragile instances of connection, happiness, or even their own self-constructed sense of identity. The struggle becomes one of opposing forces: as characters yearn to connect to the people, places, and objects around them, they find themselves more and more attracted to the idea of escaping their own lives, even if for just a moment. Stories range from two pages to over twenty and introduce the reader to a diverse population of characters, from an out of work construction worker cum wannabe philosopher to an amateur historian writing a history nobody cares about to the one man who actually did escape--a cockfight organizer who made it big in Georgia before blowing himself up at a gas station. Characters fight over toothbrushes, puzzle out whether a father is just drunk or beautiful, and look for space stations they may or may not be able to see at all. As in life, in these stories, it's the small, quiet moments that come to define who these people are and demonstrate their pursuit of something bigger and more important, even if they don't have any idea what that may be.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002630, ucf:48219
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002630

Title: Trauma.
Creator: Sokolowski, Thomas, Wolff, Jacob, Milanes, Cecilia, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This collection of stories explores the intersection of emotional and physical trauma. In the title story, a rookie EMT relives his brother's death while caring for a young patient who may be permanently paralyzed. (")The Rounds at Blanding(") follows a military policewoman at a National Guard training base who confronts a strangely determined trespasser as well as painful memories of her son's absentee father. Other stories, such as (")Men My Mother Loved,(") (")Watching Mr. Pete,(") and ("...
Show moreThis collection of stories explores the intersection of emotional and physical trauma. In the title story, a rookie EMT relives his brother's death while caring for a young patient who may be permanently paralyzed. (")The Rounds at Blanding(") follows a military policewoman at a National Guard training base who confronts a strangely determined trespasser as well as painful memories of her son's absentee father. Other stories, such as (")Men My Mother Loved,(") (")Watching Mr. Pete,(") and (")Fighting for Faran,(") consider trauma-as-heritage by asking young protagonists to navigate the loss, wounds, and abuse of their parents. In the collection, pain is presented as both stalker and trapper(-)pursuing its prey while also creating the obstacles that threaten their escape.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007533, ucf:52588
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007533

Title: Friday is a Planet: Stories.
Creator: Pinkerton, Allison, Poissant, David, Neal, Mary, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Friday is a Planet: Stories is a collection of short fiction that explores the ways loss can alter family bonds. Characters in these stories have lost daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends. Some characters go to extreme lengths to return to their loved ones(-)one woman hallucinates, another time travels. Others deal with the loss in more conventional ways, through support groups and the emotional outlet of community theatre. What ties these stories together is a sense of post-loss...
Show moreFriday is a Planet: Stories is a collection of short fiction that explores the ways loss can alter family bonds. Characters in these stories have lost daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends. Some characters go to extreme lengths to return to their loved ones(-)one woman hallucinates, another time travels. Others deal with the loss in more conventional ways, through support groups and the emotional outlet of community theatre. What ties these stories together is a sense of post-loss confusion and mystery. The characters are unsure how to move forward, or if they should try. The men and women in these stories struggle with faith as they navigate life after loss. They question who to have faith in. They wonder whether it is ever okay to let faith lapse. While attempting to answer these questions, the characters discover different questions. What are the connections between faith and loss? Faith and hope? Faith and forgiveness?
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005688, ucf:50155
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005688

Title: Land of Flowers.
Creator: Morrison, Michael, Hubbard, Susan, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Roney, Lisa, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Land of Flowers is a collection of short fiction presenting a Florida that stands in counterpoint to the image the state holds in the national consciousness(-)an image of a backward region rife with rednecks, retirees, racists, and religious kooks. In contrast, these stories feature the natives, the tourists, the immigrants, and also the transplants who are drawn to this (")paradise(") with hopes of finding warmth, escape, and a new life that so often fails to materialize. Many of the...
Show moreLand of Flowers is a collection of short fiction presenting a Florida that stands in counterpoint to the image the state holds in the national consciousness(-)an image of a backward region rife with rednecks, retirees, racists, and religious kooks. In contrast, these stories feature the natives, the tourists, the immigrants, and also the transplants who are drawn to this (")paradise(") with hopes of finding warmth, escape, and a new life that so often fails to materialize. Many of the inhabitants of these stories are mired in a state of introspection. In the title piece, an early Spanish explorer contemplates his existence as well as that of God's. In another story, an actor/bartender considers how eking out a living at a luxurious resort has sapped his passion for the theater. In trying to save a family of doves, a father finds a metaphor for his role as protector and provider for his own family. Another story is about an old man dying in the palmetto brush who discovers comfort in a place far from a society that no longer suits him. Space and place are the threads that holds these stories together: place in regard to the topographical Florida, and space in regard to where the main characters are mentally. The true physical landscape of the territory that once extended as far west as New Orleans is depicted in many of the stories(-)a landscape shorn of condos, strip malls, and theme parks, a landscape that defines Florida as wild, open, raw, and primal in the best sense of the word. These stories of people, place, and space work against the stereotypes and toward a deeper understanding of Florida.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005216, ucf:50629
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005216

Title: WIRES AND LIGHT.
Creator: Inguanta, Ashley, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Wires and Light is an experimental story cycle composed of fiction and hybrid pieces, which blend poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction together. The characters in these pieces are propelled by uncertainty and a strong desire to be connected to places, people. If these characters do find the connections they are searching for, most of these joining moments are fleeting. A girl, straight out of high school, misses her wonder boy, befriends a woman nearly a decade older, fists her in the...
Show moreWires and Light is an experimental story cycle composed of fiction and hybrid pieces, which blend poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction together. The characters in these pieces are propelled by uncertainty and a strong desire to be connected to places, people. If these characters do find the connections they are searching for, most of these joining moments are fleeting. A girl, straight out of high school, misses her wonder boy, befriends a woman nearly a decade older, fists her in the desert while California's on fire. A woman who dives horses off the Atlantic City Steel Pier is forced to leave her glamorous, dangerous career, which has been her entire life. The same woman meets a grieving mother years later on a train, wrestles with the idea of loving this woman, tries to understand the wall between them. A boy loses his virginity and has trouble understanding the power of his body. A young girl loses her blue horse, her best friend. Years later the same girl will deal with depression and self-mutilation, and will heal on her own. She will meet a child in a coffee shop and help her heal, too. These characters yearn for love, freedom and wholeness, and although the search is painful, they must learn to find happiness by accepting the presence of pain. These pieces are intended to show how pain affects the body, how wires can bind bodies and light can burn skin, but they don't have to. Wires can be used to collect love, keep it fastened and safe, like a guiding light.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003699, ucf:48830
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003699

Title: STANDING IN THE SHADOWS.
Creator: Haffner, Jason, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: "Standing in the Shadows" is a collection of short-stories that showcases the inner workings of the modern American family. Each of these six stories examines families, in one capacity or another, dealing with ups and downs, love and hatred, sadness and happiness, and everything in between. At the heart of these stories are the relationships between people, some affected by sadness and tragedy, others torn apart by secrets, all trying to cope and exist in a world full of conflict and...
Show more"Standing in the Shadows" is a collection of short-stories that showcases the inner workings of the modern American family. Each of these six stories examines families, in one capacity or another, dealing with ups and downs, love and hatred, sadness and happiness, and everything in between. At the heart of these stories are the relationships between people, some affected by sadness and tragedy, others torn apart by secrets, all trying to cope and exist in a world full of conflict and difficulties. The characters in this selection deal with shortcomings--shortcomings of others and of themselves--while forced to overcome obstacles in order to find truth, meaning, and understanding within their lives. "River Jumping" and "All the Wrong Ways to Say I Love You" involve protagonists trying to come to terms with their current situations in life while attempting to rectify the mistakes of their pasts. "Standing in the Shadows" discusses the secrets that father's keep, and the adverse affect it can have on their children. "Stolen Summer" examines how tragedy can affect the inner workings of family and also the relationship between two friends. The story is an example of how sadness is an all consuming organism that, if not faced head on, can forever alter the futures of those involved. "Pastime" deals with the relationship between fathers and sons and how the love and desire a father has for his son impacts their relationship in negative ways. Finally, "Glass Onion" completes the collection detailing the story of a woman who is so frustrated with her current disposition that she can no longer take it. As the years have passed and routines are formed, Tabby struggles to maintain her identity, her desire for life, and ultimately, her sanity. In each of these stories, families are forced to deal with issues that ultimately define the characters as individuals. Whether it's a lack of communication or they are haunted by the sins of the past, these characters struggle to overcome obstacles that in the end will provide insight into who they are and where they are going.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002036, ucf:47581
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002036

Title: BROKEN OPEN.
Creator: Stannard, Taylor, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: ABSTRACT Broken Open is a collection of short stories, four of which deal with culpability and the unexpected transformations that occur when blame, either unintended or deliberately invoked, is exposed and finally understood. The remaining two stories concern relationships that turn out to be gifts, as well as painful learning experiences. In "Other Living Creatures," one family contends with post traumatic stress disorder as another implodes following the death of a young soldier in Vietnam...
Show moreABSTRACT Broken Open is a collection of short stories, four of which deal with culpability and the unexpected transformations that occur when blame, either unintended or deliberately invoked, is exposed and finally understood. The remaining two stories concern relationships that turn out to be gifts, as well as painful learning experiences. In "Other Living Creatures," one family contends with post traumatic stress disorder as another implodes following the death of a young soldier in Vietnam. "Hunters" deals with the unconscious motivations that leave a father resentful and unable to forge a relationship with his son. In "Bardenbrook," an accidental death is the impetus for blame and, finally, forgiveness. Rage acts as a catalyst in "The Summoning," the story of a lesbian couple's struggle to accept the reality of breast cancer shortly before one of the partners undertakes a transformative journey as her death approaches. The two remaining stories in Broken Open deal with the protagonists finding their voices. In "Sunday Wars," a girl begins to think for herself, and in "Beyond the Parking Lot," a woman comes to terms with the restraints, self-imposed and otherwise, that have held her captive for most of her life. Each character in Broken Open struggles, perseveres, grows and, ultimately, flourishes. Despite sorrow, pain, and unexpected loss, being broken open leads them, as it does us all, if we let it, to the richest places within.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001552, ucf:47135
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001552

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