| Wednesday's Child: A book of short stories by Marie Hoy |
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| The cover of Wednesday's Child Cover Art and Design by Jonathan Kociuba |
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| Marie Hoy |
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| According to an old poem, Wednesday's child is doomed to be full of woe. This line rings very true for Marie, as she tells 11 poignant stories about relationships with alcoholic and drug addict boyfriends, negative friendships, unrequited love, growing up and learning to accept herself. Excerpt from Wednesday's Child: Threw a beer bottle on the ground to see what would happen. It shattered because I tossed it. Cars whiz down the street. I fumble for my keys. Alex asked me why. Crawling across the floor. My eyes sting. Vomit gathers in my throat. *** I thought it unfair that I was born on a Wednesday. I asked my mother,"are you sure I wasn't born on a Monday?" "No, Marie," she'd answer. "I'm sure it was a Wednesday." My uncle had given me a porcelain figurine for Christmas. On the box were pictures of lovely girls in pretty dresses. My mother read me the poem printed on the box. "Monday's child is fair of face..." She pointed at the picture on the box of a girl in a pretty pink dress holding a mirror. "Tuesday's child is full of grace." She pointed at a picture of a girl in a lavender dress, curtsying with her head bowed. "Wednesday's child is full of woe." My mother stopped the poem there and opened the box. She pulled out a porcelain girl in a blue dress, with squinted, watering eyes, holding a tissue to her face. She wore red shoes and stood on a small patch of grass. I thought she was hideous. "That's me?" I asked. "What a beautiful figurine!" my mother said. "You had better say thank you to your Uncle Pat." *** "Do you ever wonder why, Marie?" Alex asks. He chugs his beer back. "Why terrible things happen and why everything is so hard?" I tear the label off my beer bottle. "Yes," I say."And what do you think?" Alex says. "What do you think the answer is?" I shrug. I roll my beer label between my fingers. "So how do you have faith in God? How can you put all of your belief into a being who lets things like 9/11 and wars and kids getting molested and women getting raped, happen?" I don't feel like talking about this crap," I say. *** Will I make it? Lift up the toilet seat. Puke, cough and spit. Cry, Marie. Like dogs bark and lions roar. Alex blew smoke in my face and asked me if I knew what it meant. Vomit splatters on my new black sweater. *** (story continued in book) Excerpt from The Scorpio: Scott called me at 4 A. M. after the first night I met him at The Fox and the Fiddle. "I want you to love me," he breathed into the phone. "My life is so fucked up and all I want is for you to care about me and help me." After I hung up the phone the first thing I wondered was how drunk he was, and then, how things between a Libra like me and a Scorpio like him could ever work out. *** Libra and Scorpio-- Not an ideal match-- These signs will have difficulty finding a common ground and conversations between the two of them will likely be very limited. *** Scott and I sit in deck chairs in front of his pool. His cat Lucifer darts out of the shadows towards us. "Luce," Scott says. "How's my big guy?" He chugs his beer, takes a long drag of his cigarette and throws the butt in the pool. I turn to look at him. His eyes meet mine and he doesn't look away. Scott once asked me how amazing I thought it was when two people could have a conversation without speaking a word. "Marie," Scott says, breaking the long silence. "Doesn't it suck that I will never like you since I am a misogynist and I hate all women?" I raise my eyebrows and stare deeply into his green eyes. I press my lips firmly together. Lucifer purrs as he rubs his body against my bare legs. *** (story continued in book) |
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| For more information on how to order the book, please e-mail me. |
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| Wednesday's Child is now sold at: Pages Books & Magazines 256 Queen St. West, Toronto (opposite the ChumCity Building) (416) 598-1447 |
| TABLE OF CONTENTS Wednesday's Child The Lacy Black Bra The Party 11:11 Saturday Night Rain Dance The M&M Game The Scorpio The Liar For Myself Whispers and Shouts |
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| ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marie Hoy was born on a Wednesday in 1981, in Mississauga, Ontario. She studies English at University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus. She will graduate with a B.A, Honours in June 2006. She hopes to be an elementary school teacher and a freelance writer. |
| Monday's child is fair of face Tuesday's child is full of grace Wednesday's child is full of woe Thursday's child has far to go Friday's child is loving and giving Saturday's child works hard for a living And the child born on the Sabbath Day Is fair and wise and good and gay (Rachel Sturges) |
