Stay Tuned!

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting my first Barbara Marr short story, “Taming the Hulk.”

Soccer mom and aspiring movie reviewer, Barbara Marr made her first appearance in my novel Monkeys in My Trees which was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Contest for 2009. Since that time, I have revised and renamed the original novel.

So while I seek representation and publication for the newest version now titled, Take the Monkeys and Run, I have started writing a series of Barbara Marr short stories.

Please join me this week, while I post the first story in three separate parts – one each day.

In “Taming the Hulk,” a frazzled Barbara deals with the stress of parenting in the modern age.

Here’s a preview:

Mothers can relate to The Incredible Hulk.

We all have those gentle Bruce Banner moments where our lives and children are calm, enriching and fulfilling. Birds sing on our shoulder while we bake cookies and our well-mannered kids sip lemonade on the front porch. Life is good.

On the flip side are the moments that initiate the Hulk sequence. Kids fight over the remote control while the dog relieves himself on the new carpet. Simultaneously, the brutal rainstorm outside reveals more holes in the already-leaky-roof and little Johnny’s teacher is calling to ask why he hasn’t turned in any homework for two months. Mothers lose control during those darker moments and the thrashing green monster is unleashed. It’s not a pretty sight, but it happens to the best of us. In fact, if any mother ever tells you she’s never had a Hulk moment – she’s lying.

My name is Barbara Marr and I am a mother who understands the Hulk phenomenon. I have been known to Hulk-out. But one frustrating day, not too long ago, I stumbled upon an unlikely antidote: cheese balls.
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If you want to find out more about how cheese balls saved Barbara’s life, tune in tomorrow for all of “Taming the Hulk” Part 1.