Author Charlene Wexler’s has Three Short Stories, Three Poems Published

CHICAGO - July 14, 2014 - PRLog -- Award-winning American author Charlene Wexler has had three short stories and a poem published on British websites this year, and two additional poems published in a recently released anthology.

         “Help,” the story of an older woman being trapped by a fall and her decision whether to fight on or give up, is on the website Moral Short Stories-Ethical Tales at http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/moral_short_stories.htm#Help_By_Charlene_Wexler.

         “Hilltop Winter” features the musings on life of a woman in her seventies stuck inside her home during a severe winter. It appears on the website The Best Short Stories, http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/best_short_stories.htm.

         “Apple Strudel” recalls a woman’s childhood years of baking with her grandmother—so realistically that a reader can almost smell the delicious aroma of the pastries. The story is on the website How Old is Grandma? At http://www.guy-sports.com/months/jokes_grandma.htm.

         The poem “Tyrone Is No More” tells a tale to which every animal lover can relate—a person’s sad feelings after the death of a beloved pet. It can be found on Cat Stories, http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/story_cats.htm.

         In addition, Wexler’s poems “I Need A Book (I Really Do)” and “Your Voice Echoes in My Head” have been published in the book Famous Poets of the Heartland: A Treasury of Beloved Family Poems by Famous Poets Press, PO Box 21, Talent, OR 97540, (541) 897-0267. “I Need A Book” tells of the advantages of print over electronics, while “Your Voice Echoes in My Head” recalls a mother’s admonitions and their effects decades later after they were uttered.

         Guy Thomas of the trio of British website writes, “I read lots of articles and stories, but Charlene is one of only four authors who make me think: ‘I wish I could write as well as that.’”

         “We all have our struggles, whether with the death of a pet, our feelings about a long-dead parent, or with the changes brought about by getting older,” Wexler said. “Whatever a person’s struggles, he or she often is able to better deal with them through relating to my writings.”

         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 more than 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.