Exploring Love Through Short Stories: Featuring Nancy Christie’s "The Language of Love and Other Stories"
- Kaecey McCormick
- Feb 12
- 5 min read
Greetings, writers!
I’ve always been drawn to short stories—the way they can capture an entire world, a moment, or an emotional truth in just a few pages. There’s something magical about the art of brevity and the way a well-crafted story lingers long after you’ve closed the book.
As I’ve been working on my own poetry collection exploring themes of loss and relationships, I’ve found myself reflecting on how these small moments build a larger narrative about our lives.
That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce you to Nancy Christie’s The Language of Love and Other Stories. This collection dives into the complexities of love in all its forms: the exhilarating beginnings, the quiet middles, and even the unexpected ends.
Each story is a unique exploration of the bonds that connect us—parent to child, partner to partner, friend to friend.
To give you a taste of what’s inside, I’m excited to share an excerpt:
Excerpt from The Language of Love and Other Stories
“Come on! You’ll like it! It’s fun!”
In the five years we had been together, I had heard those words from Tally’s mouth more times than I cared to count, and each time, I had learned the hard way that her version of fun wasn’t at all like mine. Like when she convinced me that bungee-jumping from the top of a renovated roller-coaster would be fun and so I agreed—only to find out that vomiting while hanging upside down is not on my top ten list of activities I want to repeat.
Then there was the couples cooking classes—“Learn how to make famous Italian specialties while enjoying vino from the different regions”—that she promised would be an unforgettable experience. And I have to admit she was right. It is hard to forget the result of an incredibly sharp de-boning knife coming in contact with the tender skin of your palm that ended up as a two-inch long wound, which, according to the ER doctor as he merrily stitched away “just missed taking off your pinkie! You’ll have a cool scar though!”
The last one—an eight-hour bike ride followed by a relaxing night in a Victorian inn—should have been as romantic as the brochure had promised. But what Tally hadn’t taken into account (and how could she, given the difference in our physiology?) was the consequence of having a majority of my weight divvied up between my shoulders and my butt for that length of time.
By the time we reached our room, I could barely move my head, thanks to a pinched nerve in my neck, while my “manhood” was feeling the effects of reduced blood flow and refused to rise to the occasion, so to speak.
So I gave her “It’s fun!” statement about as much credence as I would if it was uttered by an IRS agent proposing to review my last ten years’ worth of returns, and just considered what I knew about the activity itself.
Bingo: a simple game played by mostly senior citizens that didn’t involve anything more energetic than marking paper squares with colored daubers—an activity that couldn’t possibly be life-threatening, unless winning a round brought on a heart attack.
The worst I could get was a paper cut, I reasoned, and besides, Tally looked so cute standing there all excited, wearing her special “I am a Bingo Baby!” sweatshirt and holding her little red and white checked bingo bag filled with markers and God knows what else. And she had even made my favorite supper: lasagna with meat sauce and lots of hot peppers. How could I refuse such a simple request?
Besides, it was the only thing Tally did for fun that didn’t include me, and was, in fact, something she had been playing since she was old enough to know her letters and numbers, thanks to her Gramma Billie who was a bingo fanatic. (How much of a bingo fanatic was brought home to me when they buried her with her special dauber—a fluorescent purple one—and held her wake not at a restaurant but at her favorite bingo hall.)
Considering that Tally not only sat through every NFL game every year and kept me well supplied with nachos and beer while I watched the tackles, touchdowns, and two-point conversions on my far from adequate (in my opinion) 30-inch-screen television, I figured I owed it to her.
The bottom line was that I loved Tally and wanted to make her happy. And because of that, and keeping in mind that she had cut up all those hot peppers with her tender little fingers, I was willing to give it a shot—especially when, right before we left, she showed me the new nightgown she had bought at Lovely Ladies’ Lingerie: black and lacy with ribbon ties.
What thirty-year-old male can resist the promise of sexual favors in return for just playing a simple game for an hour or two?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Christie is the award-winning author of two novels, Reinventing Rita and Finding Fran (both from BookBaby)—the first two books in her Midlife Moxie Novel Series.
She is also the author of four short story collections—The Language of Love and Other Stories, Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories and Peripheral Visions and Other Stories (all from Unsolicited Press), two books for writers—Rut-Busting Book for Authors and Rut-Busting Book for Writers (both from BookBaby), and the inspirational book, The Gifts of Change (Atria/Beyond Words). Forthcoming books include Moving Maggie, the third in her Midlife Moxie Novel Series that is scheduled for release in 2025.
Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous print and online publications, with several earning contest placement.
The host of the Living the Writing Life podcast and the founder of the annual “Midlife Moxie” Day and “Celebrate Short Fiction” Day, Nancy teaches writing workshops at conferences, libraries, and schools. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the Florida Writers Association (FWA) and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA).
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Language of Love and Other Stories is about all types of love relationships: the ones that exist between parent and child as well as between generations, the bonds that grow between new lovers as well as those that exist between long-settled couples.
The 20-story collection explores all the stages of love: the tenuous yet exciting beginning, the calmer, more mundane phases, the uncertain periods, and finally the ending—sometimes anticipated, other times devastatingly unexpected.
It’s about whom one loves, how one loves, and what one does when the love is reciprocated, rejected or over.
PUBLISHER: Unsolicited Press
ASIN: B0DG333HWN
ISBN-13: 978-1-963115-28-4
Print Length: 208 pages
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon. Don't forget to add it to your GoodReads reading list!
VISIT THE BOOK TOUR!
Nancy Christie’s The Language of Love and Other Stories is on a blog tour, with stops featuring author interviews, book reviews, and more excerpts. Be sure to check out the other stops to learn even more about this incredible collection.
Have you read The Language of Love and Other Stories? I want to know what you think! Fill me in by leaving a comment or by sending me a message!
Happy reading and happy writing!
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