Elephants in the Room launch, November 27th

I'm very much looking forward to the launch of my friend Betty Jane Hegerat's new collection of short fiction, Elephants in the Room, just published by Shadowpaw Press. Join us at Owl's Nest Books on Thursday, Nov. 27th at 7 PM. Betty and I will be chatting about the collection, and she'll read excerpts from some of the stories. There will also be refreshments, and good writer chat! Below is the description from Shadowpaw Press.

Fourteen jewel-like stories unveil the tender chaos of lives unlived and loves unspoken

In Elephants in the Room, Betty Jane Hegerat masterfully uncovers the quiet fractures of ordinary lives—the unspoken regrets, the buried griefs, and the fragile threads of connection that bind families across generations.

From a devoted son’s frantic dash to help his mother glimpse the Queen to a reluctant father’s stunned reunion with the daughter he never knew; from a widow, dressing her mother-in-law for an eternal rest, to a boy’s guilty reckoning with a bully’s untimely death, these unforgettable stories illuminate the elephants in our lives we ignore at our peril.

With tender wit and unflinching insight, Hegerat explores the weight of what we leave unsaid: the ache of lost chances, the solace of small mercies, and the stubborn grit that carries us through. As poignant as a stolen glance, as resonant as a half-forgotten lullaby, the stories in Elephants in the Room whisper the unvarnished secrets of family ties—where regrets loom large, and small acts of grace light the way home.