Dancing in the Rain; Stories to Shelter the Soul, 2023. ISBN: 978-1-7361780-6-5

Dancing in the Rain is an anthology of five stories.

Each story in Dancing in the Rain features an experience of cleansing rain that renews the soul. Candace West writes ‘McDonald’s Farm’. Eleanor Bertin writes ‘Who Sends the Rain?’. Angela D. Meyer writes ‘Rekindling Her Dream’. Deb Elkink writes ‘Clanging Symbols’, and Sara Davison writes ‘The Poppy’.

Each of the stories in Dancing in the Rain could be a separate book, and the e-book took me longer than expected to read through. I had been expecting shorter novellas. The authors are a group of writers who have published several anthologies together in the past.

Five writers, Five unique styles

Each author has her own distinct writing style. Although all the stories feature rain as a cleansing, renewing experience, there isn’t a lot of further commonality. Settings range from Vancouver Canada to places in the States, to Japan. Writing styles range from light and easy to follow to relatively heavy and more serious. Forgiveness, hope, and second chances are threads that link the stories.

As a Canadian writer myself, I was interested in the fact that there are Canadian authors and settings included in the anthology. I was already Facebook friends with Deb Elkink. Her story particularly stood out to me because it is based in Japan in the 1970s and is centered around cross-cultural experiences. As a traveler, ESL instructor and international homestay host, I could relate to the interesting differences in cultural thinking and symbolism. Whereas that story occurs in Japan, the others are all in North America.

Anthologies provide an opportunity to get to know new authors. I found each story appealing in its own unique way.

To see more information or to order, click on this link: https://amzn.to/43rCdNY. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

To read more reviews on Goodreads click here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5607578317