Local woman authors short story collection

ASHLAND — Jacqueline Simon, an Ashland summer and fall resident for the past 24 years, has authored a debut short story collection, "Leaving Letitia Street." The book received praise from literary critics like New Hampshire's Ernest Hebert and Chicago's Rosellen Brown.

Simon's stories are varied, but united in subject about the kinds of ordinary problems that can affect even the most charmed lives. "Middle-class Americans, even those who seem to have it made, deal almost every day with problems that have nothing to do with income, oppression, gender, race, or politics, yet can derail a life. Let's call it the human condition," said Simon. She specifies that her stories are about families and relationships. "I have nothing against mysteries, thrillers, or sexy reads, but what interests me is character, what people do when the chips are down."

Four of the stories won awards in the late '80s and '90s, ranging from PEN Southwest's Houston Discovery Prize to the shortlist of the National Magazine Award. Simon said her career was beginning to take off when she was derailed by her mother's Alzheimer's. By the time her mother died, 10 years later, Simon wanted only to rest. "I rested too long, and I thought my time for publishing had passed." She returned in the 2010's by hosting a writer's workshop in Meredith with then-Poet Laureate Donald Hall. "He's best known for his poetry, but for me, it's his memoirs and essays that will endure. I asked him to talk about crafting memorable prose," she said. Simon, who taught courses in memoirs and fiction for Rice University's Glasscock Schools, offers a free newsletter for people interested in writing fiction or memoirs themselves, available by visiting  jacquelinesimonwrites.com.