Reviewed By Daniel D Staats for Readers’ Favorite

Catharine LJ Parks shares nine stories with her readers in A Collection of Short Stories. These stories cover her life from the time she was a young child until the death of her mother. Catharine has a deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which carries her through the various trials found in her stories. She encourages her readers to show love for strangers and those around them. Her experience of helping the blind man cross the street will encourage others to help those in need. Her sharing of her mother’s death will strengthen those who have a loved one at the door of eternity. If you want some humor mixed into a tough situation, you will love the story of JD, his walker, and the bank robber.

Catharine LJ Parks shares each of the nine stories in her book to inspire, encourage and entertain her readers. A Collection of Short Stories is a mixed bag of memories that Catharine decided to share with the world. Some of the memories are sad, as in the death of her mother. However, the sadness is turned into joy as she realizes that her mother went to a much better place. Catharine shares her faith as she explains how to face fear and win. She deals with PTSD in a sympathetic manner that shows how love transcends what seems impossible. Catharine opens her private life to shine a light for others to follow as they face the difficulties of life. Read this book and be inspired as well as encouraged. Along the way, you will find yourself also sharing a laugh or two with Catharine Parks.

For those who fear an early death, do not listen to those voices. It is the enemy terrorizing, and putting crippling fear in you so that you will not rejoice in the Lord or serve him. Learn to take authority if you are a believer in Jesus and cast those thoughts away from you. Jesus had no problem telling Satan to get behind him. We must do the same thing.

A Collection of Short Stories is a stunning collection of ten stories that all are unique but focus on different characters and their very different lives from places all around the world. The collection of short stories are fantastic, and from the first one I was hooked; I was hooked because the readability of the author’s words is flawless, Catharine LJ Parks managed to captivate me with her stunning literature and compel me to read until the very end. Parks is an author whose words have gripped, charmed, and thrilled me thanks to her outstanding talent at writing as well as her craft for writing memorable stories. The story of A Collection of Short Stories is a phenomenal one that all readers will love…. Especially those that adore fiction laced with real-life experiences and stories that are relatable as well as inspirational and moving!

A Collection of Short Stories features ten stories and all of them I believe are based on real-life experiences and feature humor but also poignant themes such as grief and loss. There are many stories laced throughout A Collection of Short Stories, but my personal favorite was one about PTSD. This is a story that really moved me and what was so special about it was that throughout it the story provides advice on how to help those with it and how to guide them back to happiness and health. Another favorite of mine was about religion and how nobody should ever judge another religion, and I thought that was incredible. Because even if you do not believe in the religion, you have to respect that people are entitled to their own opinions and that they should never be judged. Another beautiful story is about one woman’s spiritual journey as she is on her deathbed and that was an extraordinary but emotive story that should be read by everybody.

The stories laced throughout A Collection of Short Stories are not only entertaining but also moving because all of them deal with poignant themes that will move, motivate and inspire readers. As I read the stories, I found that some of them resonated with me and certain experiences within my life. That is the beauty of A Collection of Short Stories because all readers, no matter where you are from in the world will be able to relate to the stories in some way and that is an exquisite quality about this book.

Catharine LJ Parks is an astounding author who is an expert storyteller who knows how to keep her readers entertained with her many different, emotive stories. A quality I love about Park’s literature is her ability to develop phenomenal characters and make them realistic as well as believable. Each character the reader comes across in the novel will spark interest within a reader, whether it be bad or good interest; this is because each character is well developed and different from the last, some readers may like one character, and some may dislike one. That is the beauty of literature and the incredible author’s literature.

Overall A Collection of Short Stories is a stellar read that will move, charm and delight its readers with its many compelling stories that will captivate you from start to finish. That is why I have no choice but to award A Collection of Short Stories a magnificent five stars! Please do have a read of the preview below book lovers as you will not regret it!

Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much, I love discussing wonderful books with all of you so please comment below and let me know your thoughts on A Collection of Short Stories. Do you see yourself reading this book? Do you love the genre? Please let me know your brilliant thoughts below and I will be sure to comment back. Thank you so much again for reading!

Goodbye for now book lovers,

P.S. Here is a preview of the book for all of you lovely readers to enjoy! Please have a read of the preview and if you find that you have loved what you have read then all you need to do is click the Buy on Amazon button and it will take you straight to the book on Amazon U.S.! If you are in the U.K. then below I have attached a link to the book for Amazon U.K..

Below I have attached some links about the author and this wonderful book so if you would like to learn more about the author and the book then please have a browse. Thank you so much again for reading book lovers, I can’t wait to read your thoughts on this book!

Amazon U.S. – Amazon U.K.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collection-Short-Stories-Catharine-Parks-ebook/dp/B01EPTMHJI

https://redheadedbookloverblog.com/2018/07/13/a-collection-of-short-stories-catharine-lj-parks/

Trapped in a nightmare
From which I never wake
Each morning I lay there
My heart about to break

Again my bed is wet
I lay there paralyzed
Never once do I forget
It’s too late to regret

Here comes mother
Calling out my name
Fear strikes like no other
Adding to my shame

Trapped in a nightmare
No one else to blame
Can’t hide anywhere
My disgrace, my shame

Asleep the nightmare begins
They wait till after dark
Skeletons out to win
Their goal to leave their mark

Sleepwalking and dreaming
Of sitting on the toilet
In reality I was screaming
Alone in the dark

Harassed at school daily
I was trapped in a nightmare
That fit so aptly
My soul became ensnared

Years later the memories intact
Remembering the shame
Those were the facts
Was I to blame?

Once I asked her
Why do that to me?
Laziness was her answer
For she could not see

People need to be educated
More sympathetic, and tolerated
Children are our legacy
They deserve love and dignity.

Author Notes:

As an adult I realize it was the enemy attacking my soul, trying to prevent me from reaching my calling in life. If the enemy can make you full of pain and distrust towards other people half his battle is won. We have to recognize how the enemy works, and put on the whole Armour of God to fight his fiery darts.

True life stories should inspire and encourage as well as inform or educate the reader.  All the stories offer valuable lessons such as discovering that God still speaks to his people. These encounter stories show how God uses dreams and prayers to keep peace and bring victory even in a dangerous situation.

There are people in this world that receive signs and warnings in their lives and disregard them. When you read about these signs and warnings inside these stories my hope is that you will identify them as signs in your life and choose the right path. Then you will be better equipped to avoid the pitfalls, and hard knocks that life often throws our way.

2015
Testimonials
 “Pick this book up, you’ll not only fall in love with Catharine’s writing style but you’ll find priceless nuggets of wisdom as you flip through the pages.” – by Orlena Naamah of Virtue Christian Book Award.

We need books for such times as this. There’s a spiritual warfareand we need to be equipped with prayer. Brilliant subject matter on this book. I just bookmarked the Amazon page. – Griffins from the VCBA website.

Let me begin by expressing how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book The School of Hard Knocks: Life Lessons From the School of Hard Knocks(Heaven Sent Signs and Wonders). As a writer, I feel you are very talented. I found your warm and engaging writing style to be very refreshing. I read many books, and other writers whose work is too wordy and confusing often turn me off. I found your writing style to be very clear, easy to read and easy to comprehend. You were able to capture and maintain my interest from the very beginning, until the very end. – reviewed By Lucinda Weeks for Readers’ Favorite