Bernette Sherman

JACKIE

At forty-something, Jackie is finally starting over after ending it with her noncommittal ex. Her bags are packed, her one-way ticket to the West Coast is booked, and she has less than twenty-four hours before she disappears into a completely new life. Tonight, she is just a ghost passing through a room at the quiet Whispering Pines boutique hotel.
She should be sleeping. She should be focusing on tomorrow.

Instead, she can’t stop thinking about Jamal. He’s the good-looking, linebacker-built maintenance man she met by the courtyard hot-tub last night. The chemistry between them was undeniable.

Now, sitting alone in the dim lamplight of room 302, the quiet gives her temptation space to speak, and it’s loud. All it takes is one call down to the front desk. One clever excuse to ‌bring the maintenance man straight to her door.

She knows she’s leaving tomorrow and nothing more will come of it. Can she finally choose herself? With no regrets?

A spicy (4 pepper), midlife reclamation short-story.

I spent twenty-five years living for everyone else; but after a betrayal we can’t come back from, it’s my turn.

I’ve spent twenty-five years living for everyone else, and the cost has been losing my own identity. After a painful separation, I escape to the lush, serene sanctuary of Azalea Springs, looking for a quiet weekend to clear my head and to figure out what’s next. Instead, I find a vibrant community of people who have traded the isolating hustle of city life for genuine connection and peace.

Between the enchanting atmosphere of Azalea Springs and an unexpected spark with a stranger that reminds me who I am and challenges everything I think I’m supposed to be, I must confront my deepest fears and desires. This newfound freedom brings me to a crossroads: do I risk letting someone else in, or do I stay the course and finish the work of reclaiming the woman I used to be?

A spicy (4 pepper), small-town, midlife reclamation novel.