• About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • Log In
  • Read
    • Books
  • Travel
    • Tours
    • Hotels
    • Videos
  • Connect
    • About
    • Submissions
    • Contact

    Sign in


    • Read
      • Books
    • Travel
      • Tours
      • Hotels
      • Videos
    • Connect
      • About
      • Submissions
      • Contact
    Sign in

    Tag: love stories

    Love on the Road: An Anthology of Love and (Wander)Lust

    You are unauthorized to view this page. Username Password Remember Me     Forgot Password

    Amanda February 14, 2014
    0 Comments

    Featured Posts

    • Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash 1
      Literary Traveler’s 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
      • November 28, 2022
    • Mt. Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak, under overcast skies. Photo by: Heidi Lachapelle, circa August 23, 2021 2
      Katahdin: “The Great Mountain” and Six Witty Wanderers
      • November 14, 2022
    • 3
      Chasing the Northern Lights: Driving Iceland’s Ring Road (with Gísli the Outlaw)
      • October 25, 2022
    • 4
      I have seen Sakhalin
      • October 19, 2022
    • 5
      Falling for New Hampshire: Oktoberfest at Purity Spring Resort
      • October 7, 2022

    Recent Posts

    • Mexico City Muse
      • September 14, 2022
    • Into Denali: Not quite following in Chris McCandless’ footsteps
      • August 26, 2022
    • Touring Colombia with the Ghost of Gabo
      • July 5, 2022

    Categories

    • Articles (472)
    • Author (10)
    • Books (125)
    • Cruises (4)
    • Gear (29)
    • Hotels (30)
    • Interviews (5)
    • Movies (14)
    • My Personal Legend (4)
    • Newsletter (1)
    • Recent Articles (6)
    • Reviews (7)
    • Theater (4)
    • Tours (54)
    • Travel (82)
    • TV (3)
    • Uncategorized (54)

    Author

    Francis

    Newsletter Signup

    Sign up to receive emails about upcoming events, site updates, and other news!

    Select list(s) to subscribe to


    By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Literary Traveler, PO Box 1254, West Concord, MA, 01742-2968, http://www.literarytraveler.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

    Our Story….

    At Literary Traveler we help readers explore their literary imagination. Since 1998, Literary Traveler has provided informative and inspiring travel writing featuring writers and the places that they have traveled. We also have featured a wide variety of literary tours, and literary events to help readers find exciting and interesting places to visit. We have offered unique tours with organizations like Classical Pursuits the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the past we have promoted and participated in literary tours and cruises on The Delta Queen and The Queen Mary 2. Please check out our travel videos and travel blogs. 

    If you are interesting in writing for Literary Traveler please see our travel writing guidelines. If you are interested in advertising or listing your tours, please contact us at 1-855-LIT-TRVL, 1-855-548- 8785 or use our contact form to request our updated Media Kit. We also consult with various destination marketing organizations, tour companies and hotels and resorts.

    We use and recommend Boston Corporate Photographer Brian Smith for our still photos and video needs. We also highly recommend Travel Writer Steve Jermanock's Active Travels as a top Boston Travel Agency for planning your next adventures.

    © 2023 - Literary Traveler

    Forum Description

    Love on the RoadBy Amanda Festa
    “My message will make sense to those who are willing to listen…who appreciate contradiction, nuance, and who recognize that in life there is rarely black and white, but only shades of gray” (236). Danusha Goska, “Our Unlikely Fusion”
    Love on the Road: Twelve Tales of Love and Travel is by definition a collection of “love stories,” but many are not love stories in the conventional sense. They are not fairy tales, and the 'happily ever afters' come in many shapes and sizes. The stories included are like love itself -- beautiful, diverse, and unexpected. Thoughtfully edited by Sam Tranum and Lois Kapila, the twelve short stories that make up this anthology are not overly sentimental. They are not full of flowery descriptions, the protagonists do not wear rose-colored glasses as they view their circumstances. And, as in life, the happy ending isn't the main concern. Instead all aspects of experience are given a voice – the beginnings, middles, not-so-happy ends, false starts, non-starts, could-have-beens, should-have-beens, maybe-someday-will-bes. Love on the Road reiterates what most know to be true: Love comes in different forms, and no one form is more or less important than any other. The stories chosen reflect a multitude of perspectives, a variety of ages, cultures, sexual orientations, and views on life and love. It is thoughtfully constructed; the individual stories interwoven to paint a hazy watercolor of longing, acceptance, and above all, the often times unfortunate human need to connect. The winners of the contest, chosen from the twelve by a panel of judges, make up the first three stories of the book and set the tone for the rest in their variety: A Parisian love affair that loses its luster when reality seeps in, the platonic love of a friend helping another confront his past, and the bittersweet tale of a perpetual vagabond who aches for something more and believes he has found it in a whimsical tower. While it didn't win, one stand-out story for me was “Snail Honey” by Travis Dahlke. Told with heart, strategic language, and a sharp wit, it will have you engrossed, despite its brevity, and laughing aloud. An unlikely romance between grifters peddling a modern-day equivalent of snake oil in the form of store-bought honey poured into mason jars and sold at farmers markets as a nutrient-packed super food. Small-time hustler Lawrence falls for the brains of the operation, an intelligent, matter-of-fact woman who may be conning the con man.  And, yet, he still asks his gruff companion, known by the perfectly illustrative moniker Neckbeard, “Do you think she liked me?” (168). After all, even the most worldly confidence man is not exempt from insecurity. And this uncertainty becomes a common thread tying the unique stories together. In Erika Jung’s “Victor and Pamina,” an exchange student studying in Spain finds herself in a quasi-love triangle with her Spanish boyfriend, Victor, and his Swedish ex-girlfriend/current best friend, Pamina.  While Victor and Pamina’s relationship may be platonic in reality, that matters less than how the protagonist perceives it. So, is the story about the love between an exchange student and a local boy, or, as the title may suggest and as it becomes for the protagonist, is it actually the story of Victor and Pamina? The last tale in the anthology gives the book a sense of finality and perhaps a lesson for the rest of us.  In “All That You Forgot to See,” Naima Lynch weaves a story of life without love, as Althea approaches her golden years alone, with only the memory of her best friend Lorraine and an intangible, undefined longing. Regardless, it is unimportant. Hindsight is often only a funhouse mirror perspective to the past. She is unapologetic, and if she has regrets they are interpreted by the reader, likely imploring oneself to see all of the things Althea may have missed. In “The Girl with the Egg-Shaped Face,” Mohita Nagpal reflects that “love on the road is fragile and short-lived," but, as the collection suggests, that doesn’t make it any less important. After all, most love stories are not sweeping tales of life-long passion. Love has many shapes and sizes, a variety of life spans and expectancies that are hardly ever what you think. There is no one-size-fits-all love, and there is no love hierarchy that says any one manifestation is more valuable than any other. In the end, the lesson offered by Love on the Road is an important one: Love now; worry later. In the end, all love is on the road. A journey to be traveled, experiences to be had, mistakes to be made, lessons to be learned, stories to tell. The destination is only the ending, and it’s the least important part. * Literary Traveler GIVEAWAY To win a copy of Love on the Road: Twelve Tales of Love and Travel,  "Like" Literary Traveler on Facebook OR Follow us on Twitter. Then, let us know your favorite love story using the hashtag #LiteraryLove. Whether classic or contemporary, it doesn't matter, we want to hear from you.  The contest will remain open until Friday, February 21 when the winner will be chosen at random from all who participate.  

    Report

    There was a problem reporting this post.

    Harassment or bullying behavior
    Contains mature or sensitive content
    Contains misleading or false information
    Contains abusive or derogatory content
    Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

    Block Member?

    Please confirm you want to block this member.

    You will no longer be able to:

    • See blocked member's posts
    • Mention this member in posts
    • Invite this member to groups
    • Message this member
    • Add this member as a connection

    Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

    Report

    You have already reported this .