Top news! A Life Unpredicted and other stories is now available to buy on Kindle, priced at £1.53 / $2.99. This is my first ever short story collection and I’m so excited I’m jumping up and down 🙂 (Which is making it quite hard to type!) Some of you may have read a couple of the stories right here on the blog, but there are some new ones in the collection too, so please download your copy and leave me a review – early reviews will be really appreciated as this helps me get the book in front of more readers. And please tell your friends, reblog, Tweet, share on Facebook, anything you can do to get the word out. Looking forward to reading your comments, Jo x

“Ten short stories from bestselling author Joanne Phillips. Love, loss, joy, regret and the perils of parenting – all these themes and more are explored, touchingly and bravely, in this collection of short fiction.”

A Life Unpredicted – The key to your future might be hidden in the past … Shortlisted for the Grace Dieu Short Story competition.

No Matter What – A baby’s rattle, betrayal and an ice rink – and a young girl’s loss of innocence.

Parenting Class – “‘You need help,’ Gina had said, ‘and I know just the place.’ Gina was my social worker, and the place was Parenting Class, Tuesday afternoons, free to those desperate enough to need it.”

A Careful Man – Is anyone worth dying for? Janelle struggles to come to terms with her boyfriend’s death, and to make sense of his sacrifice.

Joy – “He was a man who defined himself by his possessions; not so much a collector as someone who drew objects to him like a magnet.”

Touch – “They tell me their darkest secrets. It’s because I touch them. No one touches them anymore, they are too old, too crinkled. Combing, smoothing, stroking. I am their confidant.”

So Many Children – It doesn’t matter where you run to, you can never hide from the choices you make.

Dear Jean – Seen through letters to his estranged wife, a man goes on a journey of emotional discovery.

Gridlocked – Fish Flash Fiction long-listed story of regret and betrayal.

One To Keep – A story for everyone who’s ever made – or broken – a new year’s resolution.