Author Charlene Wexler’s Short Story 'The Autograph Book' Published

Jan. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Award-winning author Charlene Wexler’s short story The Autograph Book has been published on the website Booksie.com.

The Autograph Book is about a middle-aged woman cleaning out a closet and finding her grade school autograph book, which brings a flood of memories about absent friends and life’s changes.

"The story is about reflecting on life’s surprises, life’s outcomes, and coming of age," Wexler said. See The Autograph Book is about a middle-aged woman cleaning out a closet and finding her grade school autograph book, which brings a flood of memories about absent friends and life’s changes.

"The story is about reflecting on life’s surprises, life’s outcomes, and coming of age," Wexler said.  

Wexler is known for short fiction and essays that examine life, love, and the tragedy and comedy of the human condition. Whether she is tackling fiction or essays, Wexler writes from the heart.

Native Chicagoan Wexler is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She has worked as a teacher and dental office bookkeeper and as "a wife, mom, and grandmother," she said. In recent years, Wexler’s lifelong passion for writing has led her to write two books, numerous essays, and fiction.

Her work has appeared in several publications, including North Shore Magazine, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry’s Vision magazine, Alpha Omegan magazine, and the Gazette newspaper of Chicago.

On the Web, Char’s work appears on nearly a dozen websites.

Her first novel, Murder on Skid Row, received an Apex Award of Excellence from Communications Concepts in 2010. Wexler’s short story "Abracadabra Magic" received a "Very Highly Commended" rating in the AuthorsDen.com Tom Howard Prose Contest, 2009.

Published as an e-book on Smashwords by Dailey Swan Publishing in November 2012, Milk and Oranges, Wexler’s second book, is a collection of fiction and essays. With a keen eye for detail and a way of looking at the world a bit sideways, Wexler’s writings in Milk and Oranges entertain while they make you think.

For Milk and Oranges, Wexler won a Grand Award in the 2012 Apex Awards competition sponsored by the writing and journalism think tank Communications Concepts of Springfield, VA, and a Bronze Award in the Women’s Issues Category in the eLit Book Awards competition sponsored by the publishing services firm Jenkins Group Inc. of Traverse City, MI.

"I have always used writing as therapy," Wexler said. "Now I have the time and opportunity to pursue it as a career."

Wexler is active with the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity, the Authors Marketing Group, the Chicago Writers Association, Children’s Memorial Hospital philanthropy, Lungevity (an organization that fights lung cancer), the McHenry Bicycle Club, the Museum of Science and Industry, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Richmond IL Book Club, the Jewish United Fund, and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

She and her husband, dentist Dr. Sam Wexler, live in Richmond, IL. Her son, dentist Dr. Mike Wexler, daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters, live in Arizona.

Her advice for other aspiring writers—even grandmothers like herself—is to "follow your dream. You can do it, and it’s never too late."

Wexler is available for writing assignments. E-mail info@charlenewexler.com, or call William S. Bike at ANB Communications at (773) 229-0024. See Char's website at http://www.charlenewexler.com.