New Releases by Stephanie Johnson

Humor is the topic of many psychological, social, and cultural studies, but this project examines humor under a new lens. Humor''s unique qualities explored in this study prove that humor is capable of more than just causing laughter; the nature of humor allows it to unveil truths about humanity, both spiritual and physical, through exposing man''s flaws. This quality is especially important to consider when analyzing humor in the context of literature, in which humor also works as an aesthetic element. This study searches several short stories by Eudora Welty and Flannery O''Connor along with Marilynne Robinson''s Gilead to reveal that each author implements in her works the element of humor in her own style, making humor an integral component in her fiction. Considering the unique qualities of humor and recognizing humor as an aesthetic element in the selected works show that these authors use humor as more than a mere literary element; their uses of humor, though they vary in form, work to convey significant themes of redemption throughout their stories. The term redemption defined in this thesis refers to a new and truthful perspective that humor creates for the characters, audience, or both. Since this new perspective ultimately points to spiritual truths about man''s nature, this discovery lends more credit to humor than other scholars have previously offered.

A powerful novel about friendship, guilt and sex and our changing notions of loyalty and culpability. Friends since childhood, Norman and Lyn grow up as next-door neighbours at the turn of the twentieth century. When Lyn is sent to manage a central North Island timber mill at the tender age of fourteen, Norman goes to visit him. There he is forced to confront a mysterious adult truth. Later, in their twenties, the two men commit an act so appalling that it ruptures their friendship for many years. In 1972 the elderly Norman meets a young woman in a pub. Burdened by the memory he must at long last assuage, he presses Bronwyn into becoming his unwilling confessor.

Five miniature dolls come to life in Great Britain during the Second World War. Explores ideas of history, storytelling, and imagination. Suggested level: primary.

When their husbands stop paying attention to them, three best friends take matters into their own hands as they engage in anonymous sexual encounters and passionate one-night stands. Reprint.

A woman who was severely abuse by her father as a child does not realise she has a rebellious altyernative personality, which emerges and threatens to take over her life. It''s alive!

When she marries Kyle Evans, a captain at the local police department, Pier finds her new husband''s controlling ways comforting, until he tries to take over her life. Original.

"The Diner & The Church is a play that has been written in book format for the sole purpose of entertainment for the reader. The diner represents the world and naturally, the church represents the church. The conversations, actions and attitudes of the people in the diner are also displayed in the church. My intentions are to show the church that we (myself included) do not always demonstrate enough of a difference between the world and ourselves."--Amazon.com

It is 1918 and Spanish Flu is epidemic in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Twelve year old Olive is sent with her brothers and grandmother to Taveuni to stay with her childless aunt and uncle on their sugar plantation to escape the disease as her mother lies dying of the flu in their family home. The months that follow hold magic and sorrow for Olive, as she uncovers well kept family secrets and grieves for her dying mother. The Sailmaker''s Daughter is dedicated to the memory of Stephanie Johnson''s grandmother, who was born in Fiji in 1905. Like Olive in the book, her grandmother was one of a large family; her father was the sailmaker in Suva and her mother died of the Spanish Flu at the end of the Great War. The Sailmaker''s Daughter is both a tribute to Stephanie Johnson''s grandmother and a powerful evocation of a mystical paradise lived and lost.

Presents a collection of jokes about all different kinds of sports.

This is a play about Vicky Goodman, a physically challenged women. It spans her life from 8-18 years.