RANGING OVER TIME AND PLACE, this new collection of stories reflects people and events throughout the unforgettable land of the author's roots.

Many are based on actual happenings and some are historical. A soldier writes to his girlfriend and his mother during World War I. A massacre takes the lives of four innocent men in a village during World War II. An elderly woman recalls her life as a staffete, helping partisans during that war.

Some are in the not so distant past. Thousands of desperate Albanians commandeer a ship in an ill-fated attempt to seek refuge in Italy. Frances Mayes' best-selling "Under the Tuscan Sun" reverberates in Cortona, where it takes place.

Some could be ripped from today's newspapers. The coronavirus pandemic causes panic for a young family from America. A tour guide loses his job because of it. Women march for their rights.

And there's at least one just for fun. Shakespeare could not have imagined what happens to two star-crossed lovers.

Enjoy!