Customer Reviews

Micaela Morris in Jo's Heaven and Other Stories

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Micaela Morris in Jo's Heaven and Other Stories is a rare treat for those who enjoy their fiction short. Fifteen examples of fine fiction, several are first prize writing competition winners, and all are written by author John Howard Reid. The book covers a wide range of genres from romance to fantasy, thrillers, satire, and even science fiction, and of course Mr. Reid's own brand of quirky humor. Many of the selections feature a spirited character named Micaela Morris, and most are set in Kawbury, Kentucky.

A look at seven of my favorites.

In the title story, Jo's Heaven, we meet recurring heroine Micaela Morris. Micaela always dreamed of making the 117 mile drive to Jo's Heaven. She gazed at the sign post on the walk from school every day and imagined a magical, wondrous place. At eighteen, she made the trek herself in time to grant a dying man's last wish.

Raymond Wright was a poet. Wright and Wrong is set soon after his mother's passing. Raymond may have ended up with the shorter end of his mother's estate but his dealings with his sisters and brother inspired some of his most celebrated poems.

Fan-Fan is a white rabbit as well as a short that won a $500 first prize in the 2002 Southern Cross Literary Competition. She's no ordinary bunny with the run of her home except the computer room, where she enjoys a nibble of the electrical wires.

Changing Times takes the reader to Hedley's Creek, Australia. The parents of the narrator debate the necessity of an electric stove over the ancient wood burner the mother works on every day to cook for the family. This is a charming tale of how simple technology could bring serious change during the time of the Great Depression.

Micaela returns in Grand Illusions for a bit of sleuthing at the Kawbury Country Club when a club member is assaulted and Micaela is among the suspects. The book's largest selection was a contest-winning screenplay before being offered here in story form.

A futuristic departure from the mainly present day set selections is the science fiction piece Simon the Seer. Simon's life is threatened while broadcasting his once enormously popular Prophecies of Tomorrow TV program.

Miss Morris makes her final appearance in the closing story, Singing Fool. Micaela, the former country club official, turned P.I. and celebrity bodyguard, tests her vocal chops in a Gilbert and Sullivan Revival.

Micaela Morris in Jo's Heaven and Other Stories is a perfect coffee break companion. Savour a story a day for three weeks while you enjoy the escape from the grind in these well-crafted, entertaining selections. The collection is strong throughout as the author has a knack for capturing reader interest quickly, holding that interest, and for developing his endearing characters efficiently and with memorable effect. Highly recommended for short fiction enthusiasts.

Reviewed by William Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews

This is a collection of entirely readable short stories from John Howard Reid. The book begins with the title story. Micaela Morris is the protagonist in many of the stories in this collection. As a young woman Micaela ventures into the forbidden territory of Jo's Heaven. As it turns out the heaven is anything but. More curious is the fact that there is no one called Jo. So why would it be called Jo's Heaven? Micaela sets out one afternoon driving through endless scrub hoping to find what exists in Jo's Heaven. Instead all she finds is miles of barren desert and scrubland where she meets an old man with a swollen leg. He has been bitten by a king brown - one of the longest and deadliest snakes found in Australia. The man is his death throes and Micaela has no idea how to help him. The old man just wants her to be by his side as he dies. But can she nerve herself to sit tight and watch a man as he breathes his last?

This book is filled with more such intriguing tales. Wright and Wrong is a great story with a surprise ending while Changing Times is an old time tale bringing back nostalgic memories of a life gone by. Then there is the whimsical Mrs Lacey and Fan Fan the rabbit with a vocabulary of seven words.

Most of the stories in this book are set in the country town of Hedley's Creek in Kawbury, Kentucky. Refreshing and easy to read, some of these stories have won awards and it is easy to tell why.

Book Facts
Paperback Edition
ISBN : 978 1 4303 2476 8
Published by Lulu.com

One of my grandfather's favorite books was a hefty tome entitled "Gleanings from Popular Authors". My number one choice too. Avidly, I pored over its pages on every visit. Although I enjoyed most of the stories, easily my favorite author in this anthology was Mark Twain. I thought his sketches of American life amusing, adventuresome, realistic, yet awesomely augmented by a delightful sense of the absurd. It's true that the authors one assimilates in one's youth play a leading role in the fiction you later develop yourself. So here are stories of a mainly humorous bent, yet firmly grounded in reality. Some of them have even won awards in various writing contests. "Fan-Fan" won the $500 First Prize in the 2002 Southern Cross Literary Competition. "Grand Illusions", printed here in story form, won First Prize for a Screenplay. Many of the stories feature my adventurous but down-to-earth heroine, Micaela Morris. The settings range from rural to urban, although many home in on a small town in Kentucky. Four of the fifteen stories have previously been published, but this is their first appearance in book form. My personal favorite in the collection is a Micaela Morris tale I wrote especially for this book, called "A Singing Fool", in which our plucky heroine makes a droll stab at Gilbert and Sullivan. My second favorite, also featuring the quick-witted Miss Morris in a theatrical setting, is "Grand Illusions" which was published a few years ago as a screenplay. Alas, although few screenplays make their way into print, Hollywood didn't pick this one up, so here it is recast in a normal prose format.