I think it is becoming worthwhile for readers to browse through sites such as Lulu.com to see what is being written in the realm of independent publishing. There are some very interesting books being e-Published these days. This is one of them.

Susan Wingate has written an intriguing collection of stories, poems, and essays. As the author notes on the back cover, the selections span an 11-year creative period that mirror changes in her own life, and the short stories in this collection reflect a steadily increasing authorial skill and confidence in storytelling. (I can make some guesses, but it would have been interesting to see the dates of completion for each piece, or to see the order in which they were written). The stories deal, rather darkly, with the human soul in extremis, and are told with many voices - but most often those of the deserted, the damaged, and the doomed. Recurrent themes - loss, betrayal, love, family, and resilience - seem rooted in hard-won experience in the author's life and in her journey as a writer. These are dark stories, but affecting and well worth the reading.

Ms. Wingate's poetry is quite good, and unlike the verse often included in a writer's representative collection such as this, is skillfully composed and often charming, with moods ranging from whimsical to warmly passionate.

The two non-fiction pieces are reminiscent of the autobiographic essays of Shirley Jackson and are among the best works in the collection - each an alternately heartfelt and sardonic view of the writer's life, quirkily amusing with a hint of something darker.

I enjoyed this collection, and would like to see more from Ms. Wingate. I'd recommend her work highly to anyone looking for writing that is different and thought-provoking.

Collections by emerging writers aren't usually this engaging.