Linda Hudson Hoagland

A collection of short stories that have won awards in journals, literary magazines, and included in anthologies.

People will assume every bad thing Ellen endured was true and every good thing was an embellishment to make her look good.Ellen will not tell you what is true and what is not. She won't tell you whether it's all true or whether it's not. The only way to figure out what's real and what isn't is to know the writer. Ellen doesn't regret anything she has ever done because, at the time she did it, it was necessary. Can you say that? Can you say you've lived your life and have no regrets?All Ellen asks is that you don't judge her until and unless you have traveled in her shoes.

I have felt through the years that even though I didn't get much of an education and that I was raised hard with only the bare necessities being met, I didn't have to turn bad by learning to rob, cheat, and steal to get what I wanted out of life. Instead of following the path to destruction, I worked at making myself a smarter, better person so I could support my family well enough and not consider myself poor. Being poor isn't wrong, it was just that I didn't want to be poor-- not anymore. I have traveled through the years of extreme poverty to a point in my life when I was worth a million plus dollars. That isn't the case right now, but it might be again. Linda Hudson Hoagland, author, has helped me get this story told and I hope you enjoy reading about my life as much as I have enjoyed living it.

Tommy Jones is a mountain man coming out of the West Virginia countryside with a story to tell and he asked me, Linda Hudson Hoagland, to help him tell it. Tommy grew up as a poverty-stricken child, falling in and out of poverty when he was an adult working man. Now, in his declining years, Tommy and Sharon, his wife, are living on Social Security and whatever God sees fit for them to have. Because Tommy was poor, he learned what it was like for others to give him a helping hand when he needed that boost. His goal in life from boyhood to the present day was to give back to those who needed a helping hand. He always looked at it as a hand up in life, not a hand out.

Ghosts and a haunted house are the enticements that pull Emily and her friend, Tim Riley, into the dilemma of being held hostage along with two of the local legal authorities who felt it necessary to search for the teenagers. Lindsay, Ellen, Ryan, Jed, and Marnie look for the truth and the kids.

People will assume every bad thing Ellen endured was true and every good thing was an embellishment to make her look good. Ellen will not tell you what is true and what is not. She won't tell you whether it's all true or whether it's not. The only way to figure out what's real and what isn't is to know the writer. Ellen doesn't regret anything she has ever done because, at the time she did it, it was necessary. Can you say that? Can you say you've lived your life and have no regrets? All Ellen asks is that you don't judge her until and unless you have traveled in her shoes.

Ellen remains na ve and trusting until she allows Bertha, a young mother with three children, move into her home to share expenses. Bertha leads Ellen down the path to a life that is just a step away from prison. Ellen meets new men, even though her husband told her no one would ever want her. Unfortunately, those new men are not what she needs in her life. They teach her things about life that she really doesn't need to know. All Ellen asks is that you don't judge her until and unless you have traveled in her shoes.

Plucky single mom and sleuth extraordinaire, Lindsay Harris, is at it again This time, though, it's a trickier business. She has to find evidence that will clear murder charges led against the parents of her daughter's closest friend. But Harris soon discovers that prying into a friend's business can be downright uncomfortable and dangerous business. Exciting and engaging read for all ages. -

Live a Little is Book #1 of the Ellen Chronicles series. Living a sheltered childhood is not always good. Ellen discovers deceit and pain as she travels through life from being a na ve country girl to acquiring the basic instincts to survive in the big city. Ellen faces not one crossroad, but many, and she does not always choose the correct path. Ellen didn't choose to be fat, but she is. Ellen didn't choose to become pregnant with her first child while unmarried, but it was her fault, and she knows it. All she asks is that you don't judge her until and unless you've traveled in her shoes.