"Go for a run." That's what Charlotte Most said to her husband Paul on that ordinary day. And when he did, her life was never the same.

Yet Charlotte remains the same: mother, daughter, friend, interior designer... and, although single... wife.

Until she meets Brian. When she's surprised by his little Tiffany-blue box– and the proposal that goes with it – she is forced to make a decision. But questions begin to consume her. Who will Charlotte be if she's no longer a widow? Does old love prohibit new? Does new love diminish old? How can she marry her one-and-only twice? Heartache and hope propel her through a perilous journey from devoted widow to joyful fiancée.

My Two And Only is a love story about clinging to the past and embracing the present. About memory and the stories we tell ourselves. About identities, inner and outward, and the struggle to make peace between them. Humorous and insightful, poignant and profound,...]]> Mon, 27 Mar 2023 09:25:10 +0300 https://realistic-fiction.library.land/carla-malden/633471-shine_until_tomorrow.html https://realistic-fiction.library.land/carla-malden/633471-shine_until_tomorrow.html

Social misfit Mari Caldwell desperately wants to get on with her life. If only she could get there faster—specifically to Yale—and leave behind all the things that make her anxious: driving a car, crossing bridges, her peers, her parents' divorce. Mari only feels at ease behind the lens of her vintage Leica. Her camera keeps the world—and the people in it—at a safe distance.
When Mari comes across an old scrapbook of her mother's, she discovers her white collar parents were once blue denim hippies. She ends up fighting with her mother and storming out. She pedals her bicycle into a downpour, swerves to avoid an oncoming jeep, and flies smack into a tree. Mari climbs into an abandoned VW van bearing the ghost of a psychedelic paint job, and passes out.
The next morning, Mari wakes up to the sound of music. A young couple wander through the glen like hippie gypsies, playing recorder and tambourine. Mari accepts their offer of a ride into San...]]> Thu, 09 Jan 2020 22:31:50 +0200