A debut short story collection
Kissing
Strangers
Ten women. Ten stories. Empty nests, aging parents, heartbreak, desire — and twists that flip the script. Bold, messy, and entirely unforgettable.
A debut short story collection
Ten women. Ten stories. Empty nests, aging parents, heartbreak, desire — and twists that flip the script. Bold, messy, and entirely unforgettable.
We begin with Lorna — newly divorced and bound for Omaha, where a stranger on a plane shatters the controlled world she's built. From there, the collection moves through Bianca, Tootsie, Louise, and Stephanie, whose obsession with a childhood object keeps her depression at bay — but for how long?
Lourdes, Amy, Joy, and Meg follow. Haunted by her dead husband, Meg's mental health begins to unravel, threatening to destroy the life her daughter has built. And finally, Millicent — whose lifelong friendship with Dotty is tested by a terminal diagnosis, where survival becomes something different than either of them imagined.
These are post-menopausal women living loudly. Read them without judgment. They'll stay with you.
Beautifully written. The author teleports you into the lives of ten different women. I've never read a book that so successfully encapsulates what it feels like to actually be the protagonist — and this book does it ten times.
A gifted storyteller with a genius for humor and crisp, gripping narrative. Judy invites us in for an alluring glimpse into the unique journeys of ten intriguing women. You just might see yourself in any one of them.
This collection had me hooked from the very first page, making it nearly impossible to put down. The author masterfully crafts complex, relatable characters — each brimming with raw emotions and navigating situations ranging from the beautifully mundane to the utterly shocking.
Each story written a bit differently in style, but all have a page-turning clip. The characters had me absorbed from the first sentence. It was my buddy while traveling through California — flying or sipping solo in a hotel bar in San Francisco.
For the love of stories, Judy has been writing since she discovered that Ticonderoga pencils were the bomb of pencils. From a young age, she filled endless pages — some with endings, some left to dangle forever. She told stories, too. Someday, she imagined, she would write from a rooftop garret in Paris while birds landed on the windowsill and she sipped wine.
The closest she got: a French wine with a bird on the label. Still, she kept writing throughout school, through college, and as an advertising copywriter in San Francisco and Portland.
Then she switched gears — teaching middle school writing and guiding young readers as a school librarian.
Telling stories is what she does. It's what she has always loved. And, believe her, this she is not making up.
Portland, Oregon — with husband Dan, dog Penny, and a well-stocked wine rack.
Kissing Strangers is an ideal book club pick — ten self-contained stories make for a rich, flexible discussion. You can read the whole collection or focus on the stories that resonate most with your group.
Judy is available for in-person readings in the Portland area and virtual visits with book clubs anywhere. Reach out to arrange something.
Tell Judy a bit about your group and what you have in mind.