Laura Jones writes a mean vignette. 

As a reader, I always discover (or get to know better) a vivid, living person on the other end of her words—so vivid, in fact, that I can seldom tell how much is truth and how much is fiction.  Her first person narrators leap off the page, bare their souls, and tell you more in a page than you might think possible.  Their conversations are always so rich with detail and subtle subtext.  Anger, longing, self-doubt, introspection, and eccentricity—these are Laura’s recurring themes, and she paints them with breathtaking realism.

As a writer, I don’t think I have ever finished one of her vignettes without learning something about this craft.  And that is a rare gift.

These vignettes will not be for everyone.  They don’t always have much of a story arc, and the sense of person can often be very intense.  But if you like beautiful, personal, honest writing—or if you are a writer yourself, and want to learn more about your craft—check them out.  You won’t be sorry.

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Laura Jones ability to write short stories and vignettes fills me with not a little bit of envy!  Mostly I admire the skill and I love scrolling through my LiveJournal Friends’ list to find a snapshot of story.  I’m never sure when I’m reading pure story and when I’m getting a cleverly disguised blog entry.  Are her characters just characters?  [more . . .]

It’s hard to write a long descent review about a collection of vignettes (each different in their own way), so let me just say this:

Ljones writes short stories which may be true or false, but it doesn’t really matter.  Every word, every action, encapsulates a certain emotion or feeling that [more . . .]