Anthologies
by Coastal Dunes California Writers Club
Each is a compilation of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry pieces covering a variety of genres. Written by members of the a Coastal Dunes Branch of the California Writers Club. A description of Carole Wagener's contributions are below.
SPLASH
Be prepared to laugh and cry in “Gilbert’s Dating Adventures.” Widower Gilbert Murray thinks he needs a woman in his life. Online, he meets Eleanor, a charming lady from New Zealand. A picnic, a bottle of sparkling wine, and a midsummer’s afternoon dream almost turn disastrous when Gilbert dreams of his deceased wife, Jenny, but he discovers that grieving is what he truly needs.
SHIFTING SANDS
In 1967, Carole and her father attend “The Ice Bowl” in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and find that their mutual love of football thaws out their frozen relationship in “Running to Win.”
In “My Grandmother’s/Grandfather’s Ten Commandments,” Carole remembers her grandparents teaching her how to live a simple life while growing up in the Midwest.
A Japanese exchange student, Ayaka, and Carole bond in “A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity” as they go in search of Brad Pitt’s home in Nipomo, California.
Carole’s poems, “A Sister’s Love” and “Ode to a Monarch,” will bring the reader back to the love of family and nature.
“Never Hide Again”
After a five year recovery from breast cancer, Carole attends an “Enhancement Retreat” and discovers “picture journaling.” Weekly sessions at home lead to a release of fear and to her love of writing.
“A Mother’s Love”
A disobedient son and a distraught mother collide on a stormy day. Can a grown son forgive his mother for that what occurred that “fateful day at the West Alaska Lake?”
A selection of Carole’s poems entitled, “Buzz,” “To My Sister, Jeannie,” and “Santa’s Brownie” are good for a few laughs.
ACROSS A DISTANT SHORE
“Rosie and the Rockfish” Widower Gilbert, a retired minister, discovers red-headed Rosie through an online dating service and meets her at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Rosie sets Gil’s head spinning by saying, “Maybe I was a rockfish in a prior lifetime?”
“Going Live: S.T.E.P.C.O. Infocommercial” Madeline’s first taping of an infocommercial for her amazing cleaning product, “Sure to Eliminate Pee Cat Odor,” turns humorously disastrous when she expresses her views on what’s happening in the world. “Oui, oui, there’s got to be a better way…”
TURNING TIDES
What’s the connection between a seventy-year old grandmother and the story, "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland"? Find out as you accompany Grandma Carole to Australia in "Adventures Down Under" for a nine week stay in Melbourne to visit her family. By overcoming her fears, she learns that taking risks, even if it means falling down an unknown rabbit hole, can lead to an extraordinary adventure. After returning home, she happily realizes that her life has changed for the better.