Monsieur Zola's Funny Valentine & Other Stories

This is my seventh collection of short stories. The stories inside are as down-to-earth, punchy and poignant as in my earlier collections. As is also the case in the earlier collections, almost all the stories are based on real people and incidents in my life. There are two exceptions, which you'll find at the end of the collection."A Disturbance in a Small Town" is a factional account of an actual riot that occurred in my hometown of South Queensferry in 1865. My great-great-grandparents Daniel and Mary McKay, who lived in the town at that time along with many other Irish immigrants, are given central roles in the account. Although "An Act of Kindness" makes references to places I've been and to a little Turkish boy I once met, the story itself falls into the it-might-have-happened category. I hope you enjoy the craic!