Original Works

by Madeleine Kleppinger

 
 

My Brother’s Mark

Historical Fiction / novel

In the summer of 1969, while most teenagers are trying on flare fit bell bottoms and scanning the radio for rock ‘n’ roll, Pavla Horakova is preparing to flee her country. Everything she knew as home is upended during the occupation that is extinguishing the hope of the Prague Spring. And when the waves of Soviet soldiers continue to crash upon the eastern border of Czechoslovakia, Pavla makes the decision to run. But she isn’t alone.

My Brother’s Mark is one woman’s journey to escape the crushing pain from one selfish act of brutality and live out a selfless sacrifice for loyalty. It’s only when she is asked to return home that commitment to those she loves is fully tested.

The Night Gardener

Romance / short story

Nora has a problem. Her neighbors. Their meddling makes it hard to enjoy gardening, and them. After a medical procedure prevents Nora from getting out in the sunlight, she decides to deal with both her problems under the cover of night.

Nora soon discovers, she is not the only person on her block after dark.

Chimes

Thriller / short story

An obsession with windchimes hangs a young woman up in her journey to heal from a horrific trauma. When she finally takes down the chimes to move on, the noises of her past are right there to haunt her.