Teachers, SAVE $2 on each copy! Use QA3GK5ZV in Amazon.com checkout. 
9.00/ebook 3.00
 Buy now>

Or download 3 free stories here, each with a FREE Character Study assignment. 
SUBJECTS & THEMES
  • Character studies
  • Descriptive writing
  • Satire of TV
  • Small town sociology
  • Fading days of WWII generation
  • Ethnic heritage
  • Sibling rivalry
  • Postwar America before web
  • Decline of midwest U.S. industry
  • The clash of generations
  • Faith and community
  • Character studies
  • Nuclear war
  • Tension/ comedy of marriage
Tales of Zoalmont & the Melancholy Fringe
In the tradition of writers from Sherwood Anderson and Raymond Carver to James Thurber and Garrison Keillor, these 27 short stories by Mark Morelli give you a wide range of themes and topics to stimulate your classroom and students' mind. Morelli's easy-to-read, off-kilter view of a time takes you to the past that is recent but seems so far away...before cable, the web, cell phones and social media. These character-driven short stories describe a Norman Rockwell world colliding with a 24/7 media age, leaving today's readers on the fringe of an unusual time, culture and place.

Review
“A young girl with her BB gun; a goopy-eyed boy in a dank basement; a muddy, drunk man hiding behind his father’s freshly dug grave: these are just a few of the characters you’ll meet—and become haunted by—in Mark Morelli’s Tales of Zoalmont and the Melanchology Fringe. 

Arranged in the order in which they were written, between 1982 and 1993, these stories reveal much more than a young man earning chops as a fiction writer.

The settings are vivid, conflicts concisely defined, and the themes are eternal: love, death, and the binding power of Italian cooking. Morelli also exhibits a finely tuned ear for dialogue—the stilted stammer of a father delivering “The Talk” to his son; the loaded Morse code of long-married couples; and the plaintive patter of whiskey drinkers.

You will come to know, intimately, the keenly drawn denizens of Zoalmont, and you will carry them with you for a long, long time.”

Kimberly Willardson Editor,
The Vincent Brothers Review
www.vincentbrothersreview.org
Teachers, SAVE $1 on each copy! Use L7SNBXB4 in Amazon.com checkout.
9.99/ebook 3.99  
Buy now>

Or download 3 free essays here, each with FREE classroom assignments. 
SUBJECTS & THEMES
  • Life-changing events
  • What is home?
  • Technology in everyday life
  • Responding to change
  • Symbolism
  • Media spin
  • Language & profanity
  • Relationships with nature
  • Humor & Satire
  • Memoir writing
  • Family roles
  • Poor communication
  • Power of promises
  • The clash of generations
  • Faith and community
  • Journal writing
Value-priced to be affordable to students and teachers.
6.50/ebook 4.99
Buy now>

Or download 4 free essays here.  
SUBJECTS & THEMES
  • Satires & parody
  • Spirituality
  • Pop culture 
  • Self-awareness
  • Parenthood
  • Christmas culture
  • The disappearance of nature
  • Family life
  • Workplace culture
  • Comparing generations
  • Advertising
  • Responsibility
  • Gluttony
  • Slow & fast pace of life
Effwords: Faith, Family, Fatherhood & That Other One
Warm, simple, humorous but provocative  essays, each with questions and prompts to spark discussion, writing and personal discovery on a wide range of topics relevant to students.

Review
“In the eighteen pithy essays comprising Effwords, Mark Morelli deftly explores the power of words and writing. Riffing on small items such as a broken, abandoned umbrella, a plucked autumn leaf, and a stick tossed into a river, Morelli unveils the rich tapestry of adventure and purpose just below the surface of our ordinary lives. He also declares the communicative nature of jazz the perfect model for dinner conversation, and poses questions after each essay, inviting his readers to continue the conversation. All avid readers — writers, both new and seasoned, as well as teachers, students, and book club members — will find themselves delighted to follow Morelli’s lead.”

Kimberly Willardson
Editor, The Vincent Brothers Review
www.vincentbrothersreview.org


Review
Punchy Parables for Meaning Makers

Mark Morelli is a meaning maker with a love of mystery and humor. He must have read Jesus' parables many times since a few of his short tales have that same snap, crackle, and pop of surprise. In his introduction, Morelli admits that he loves words and his mission is to open our eyes to them and "life's biggest, joys, sorrows, and conflicts."

Like all of us, the author deals on a daily basis with the sacred and the profane. It takes a lot of energy. But Morelli is up to the task as demonstrated in the first tale about a broken umbrella.

After each story, there is a section called "The Conversation Continues" where he poses some questions and challenges us to put ourselves in the stories. These are great starters for journaling, social media posts, book clubs, classrooms, and coffee klatches. The best thing aboutEffwords is that the mysteries are given the reverence and respect they deserve!

Book Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality & Practice
Columns from Halfsquare 2005-2008, including "Giftmas" the essay that ended the War on Christmas.
The book is also subtitled "Looking back at what that was all about. Taking a wild guess at what's next." 

This book is for you if . . . you panic at the thought of being hugged by an amusement park mascot. You know that loud leaf blowers may be signs of midlife crisis in men who can't afford Harleys. You wonder what's more plentiful, sand pebbles on all the world's beaches, or ways to spell the name Caitlin. You recognize that the only one excited when you come home from work is the dog. You recognize that inflatable lawn decorations marks the end of America as a great nation. You know that the only way forward is by knowing where you've been, which is the tongue-in-cheek approach to life Mark Morelli writes about in this collection featuring "Giftmas," the essay that all civilized people agree ended the war on Christmas. 

Mark Morelli wrote the column "Rearview" for Halfsquare.com.