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My Last Day
My Last Day, by Michael J. Nohe, is an intimate, spiritually minded novel about Robert Sanctus, a brilliant and wealthy Wall Street trader who learns at thirty-four that he has only months to live. Determined to avoid a painful decline, Rob plans to end his life on his own terms after one final day in New York City. He records the experience in a candid journal filled with sharp observations, restless questions, and the gallows humor of a man trying to remain himself while facing the one problem he can’t outthink. Framed by a foreword and afterword from his accountant, the book reads like a personal document left behind by someone who needs to understand what happened before anyone else can.
Rob’s journey unfolds through a series of encounters that gradually pull him out of his private despair. A confrontation with a desperate young man becomes an opportunity for a second chance. A visit to a neighborhood bar uncovers an astonishing family connection. A mysterious conversation in a vanished church challenges Rob’s certainty about faith, control, and death. Later, his meeting with a homeless mother and her son gives his wealth a new and urgent purpose. Nohe builds the story around these human exchanges, letting each one widen Rob’s view of what a single day can hold and how quickly one compassionate decision can travel into other lives.
The book’s strongest quality is Rob’s voice. He’s intelligent, opinionated, funny, generous, skeptical, and sometimes frustratingly eager to wander down a side road. His digressions about finance, baseball, coffee, music, New York, and Rocky Road ice cream make the journal feel lived-in rather than polished into something distant. Beneath the humor is a serious meditation on mortality, suicide, regret, providence, and the difference between earning a fortune and putting it to meaningful use. The conversational style keeps those ideas accessible, while the recurring emphasis on second chances gives the story its emotional shape.
My Last Day is ultimately a story about a man who thinks he’s preparing to leave the world and discovers that he still has time to change it. Rob’s final acts connect families, restore hope, create a lasting refuge, and transform the legacy he’ll leave behind. The result is warm, reflective, and deeply sincere, with an ending that earns its emotion by showing how kindness becomes larger when it’s passed from one person to the next. My Last Day reminds us that a life’s true measure isn’t how long it lasts, but how much hope it leaves behind.
Pages: 114 | ASIN : B0FGJX5FTT
Freedom
Have You Heard This One Before is a lively mix of short stories that swing between mystery, humor, horror, sentiment, and quiet reflection. What was the inspiration for this collection of short stories?
There were many stories and topics I wanted to write about, but they didn’t merit the length of a novel. I enjoy the short story format, but realize that most published collections are centered on a theme or genre. I didn’t want to write under restrictions on my work, e.g., that it should be all horror stories. On the other hand, I understood that the appeal of a book with multiple genres would be difficult to market. Hopefully, there are readers out there who are open to fun, imaginative, funny, frightening tales, all in one collection.
What is it you enjoy about writing short stories over longer novel formats?
I love the opportunity to explore various types of stories. When people comment on my work as an author, I often tell them I’m more of a storyteller than an author. It’s fun to see if you can engage readers quickly and provide a quick read that entertains and, possibly, even makes a longer impression. You won’t find me writing romance novels anytime in the future, but I have written a romantic short story for this book. Some other tales are not substantive enough for a novel, but they are still worth exploring. Summing up the short stories’ appeal in one word, I’d say freedom.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in putting together this collection of stories?
Placement. What should come first? Should “The Loop Two” come right after “The Loop?” Where do I put my description of a romantic encounter? What do I end with? I also wanted to make sure the more whimsical stories didn’t feel out of place. The final order of the chapters involved a lot of thought. And to make it even more difficult, I kept coming up with new story ideas.
Do you have a favorite story in the book, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
I have several that could qualify as favorites: “The Loop” and “The Loop Part Two,” “Drive,” “Hippity, Hoppity, Bang” (laugh out loud funny), and “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone.” But my absolute favorite is “A Haunted Diary.” Many readers might find it too sentimental, but I believe the themes of kindness and returning home to relatives who have passed are universal. The final paragraph (spoiler alert) is one of my two favorites in the book (“Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” is the other).
Dear Diary – November 15, 2019, Friday
This will be my last entry. About three weeks of journaling, just like Mae, oddly enough. I’m heading to the hospital in an hour, and I won’t be coming home. I said goodbye to Mae. I’m sure she heard me, just as I’m sure she’s gone from the house and is saying hello to Josh right now. I’m going to hide this diary somewhere it won’t be found, until it’s needed. Then, it can reveal itself. As I reread this entry, I should make one change. I won’t be coming back to this house again, but I will be going home. And Josh will be waiting to meet me there.
All of my books include examples of the importance of kindness, even in the face of difficulty. “A Haunting Diary” is no exception.
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A lighthouse that holds a spirit and his memory. A diary and haunting that links the past and present. A drive down a road that stretches longer than an ocean of dreams. Snowflakes drifting softly over a horrified snowbird in Orlando. A love story that snares two workaholics, and a horror that brings out a laugh and tears from our protagonist.
From tender to terrifying, whimsical to wicked, these stories linger long after the last page turns. Romance, regret, mystery, laughter, fear—and at least one tragedy involving the Easter Bunny!
Every story is a surprise.
Every surprise is unforgettable.
Find your favorite twist in “Have You Heard This One Before.”
