Losing Patience [Paperback]

Joyce Faulkner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

Joyce Faulkner's collection, Losing Patience, provides a series of stories that serve to engage, touch, and entertain her readers. From the eerie "One Chittendon Drive" to the humorous and sexy "The Rubber Dome," Losing Patience has something for nearly every reader's tastes. With a keen eye for dialogue and a talent for developing characters that are real enough to leap off the pages, Faulkner delivers prose that is uncommonly exquisite.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Praise for Joyce Faulkner’s stories

"Joyce Faulkner's stories show how often violence finds its origin in sentiment: the dull shadows of our daily lives have sharp edges, which cut deeply." . . . James Sallis, author of the Lew Griffin novels

"Joyce Faulkner writes with pathos and humor, violence and sensitivity. Faulkner's characters are deliciously devilish, shocking and powerful, yet deeply moral. Through her compendium of disparate tales that shock and amuse, Faulkner shares a view of a world in which honesty in relationships is the ultimate truth." . . . Ken Goldberg, author and psychologist

"A good short story sucks you in quickly. Joyce Faulkner creates worlds that absorb you and make you question preconceived notions. At times, her tales remind me of classic episodes of the Twilight Zone." . . . Dominick Miserandino, TheCelebrityCafe.com

"Joyce Faulkner's tales engage, touch, and entertain her readers. With a keen eye for dialogue and a talent for developing characters that are real enough to leap off the page, Faulkner delivers prose that is uncommonly exquisite." . . . Bev Walton-Porter, Editor, Scribe & Quill

About the Author

Joyce Faulkner, author of Losing Patience, lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contact her at [e-mail]. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. Her professional background includes many years in the energy industry first as an engineer, then as the manager of Information Services and finally as director of eCommerce. As both a consultant and a speaker, she focuses on the internet as a business tool. Her writing credits include short stories, novels, feature articles, book reviews and humor. She specializes in using technology to further the goals of writers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Red Engine Press (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974565245
• ISBN-13: 978-0974565248
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,034,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These tales will hold onto your mind..., October 14, 2004

By 

Mindy Lawrence "Writer, editor, publicist" (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Losing Patience (Paperback)

Joyce Faulkner, author of Losing Patience, has produced a powerful collection of short stories that explore themes such as guilt, forgiveness, misguided obedience and retribution. Her psychologically memorable characters sort through complex issues and face difficult decisions.

In "Chance," Faulkner focuses on the various aspects of passion. Chance feels like a second class person all his life. After loving and losing a woman to his own father, he grows increasingly unbalanced. Like an old Twilight Zone episode, this dark tale follows Chance into the depths of madness.

In "Andrew," two Civil War soldiers, Grover and Andrew, carry on a ghostly conversation about life, death and regrets. The old enemies come to terms with what it means to kill and what it means to die.

"Just Hold Me" takes place in 1967. Gary, a returning Vietnam veteran, is unable to make himself go home and face his mother. Having lost his way in the labyrinths of war, he turns to a stranger for solace. Filled with guilt and anger, he struggles to leave the ugly memories behind.

In "Infinity," Faulkner takes on the never-ending circle of violence against women. An eleven year old girl has been violated and meets with a rape crisis counselor who knows first hand what she is going through. "Infinity" delves into the emotional trauma such an event inflicts on victims, families, counselors, police and healthcare workers.

Human sacrifice, religious beliefs and blind obedience are represented in "The Test," a modern retelling of a Biblical story. Abe must choose whether to obey a voice that tells him to murder his beloved newborn child or ignore it. Is he hallucinating or is he hearing from God?

Losing Patience is not without humor. In "The Rubber Dome," Faulkner introduces a woman who has lost her husband. In her grief, she decides to never allow herself to care again -- but as the years pass, her longing for her lost lover becomes ever more intense. Perhaps she can find a man to take the place of her darling husband, if just for the night. Things don't go as planned. Her experience teaches her to laugh at herself and reach out to begin a new life.

The twenty stories that make up Losing Patience are engaging, mind bending and thought provoking. The collection will keep you coming back for another read to see what else the stories say to you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Each story is a great read!, December 9, 2004

By 

Pat Avery "Author, They Came Home: Korean War... - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Losing Patience (Paperback)

Joyce Faulkner writes on multiple levels and I find each level a feast. Losing Patience should be read leisurely and deliciously, and enjoyed like a multi-course dinner.

Take out any one story. Read it at surface level and you'll have an enjoyable read. Ponder it awhile and it will seep through to deeper levels, and you will taste the different flavors of relationships, human emotions and morality.

An underlying theme is the commonality of our emotions and reactions. Not all stories are easy, but all ring true.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Losing Patience, November 19, 2004

By 

Gregory Rudroff "Rudi" (Farmington, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Losing Patience (Paperback)

Joyce Faulkner provides the reader with spellbinding stories of the likes we have seldom seen since Alfred Hitchcock entered this arena. The turn of each page leads to a new and succulent morsel for the mind to devour.