Department of Theatre's Professor Emeritus Richard Scharine announces his March 2026 publication through Atmosphere Press, “The Woman in the Third Floor Front,” which features a collection of stories based on a mixture of true-life events and stories from boyhood. Scharine is also the author of "The Past We Step Into” (2021) that follows an American couple’s lifetime over 12 stories and “Harvest” (2023) which draws inspiration from more of Scharine’s personal experiences over six short stories.
The Woman in the Third Floor Front (2026)
With a title story based on two real-life experiences – the crippling of Scharine’s legs and Southwest Airline's 2022 Christmas shutdown for ten days, Scharine debuts a new collection of stories based on a mixture of true-life events and tales from boyhood. Four of the stories were inspired by actual Utah events, three by crimes, and three by stories from his Wisconsin boyhood. (All are fiction.) The final five are literally "close to home," including the stories of some of the faces in a photo from the one-room grade school Scharine attended, and how his grandchildren have hundreds of half-sisters and brothers—many of which they know.
In "The Woman in the Third Floor Front," discover a writer’s accidental journey to self discovery, a journalist’s spiritual awakening in the wild, and a family’s complex secrets spanning centuries. A captivating exploration of identity, love, and what it means to be human.
Harvest (2023)
From the Wisconsin farms of Scharine's youth to the vivid hallucinations of his own cancer experience, each story is set in a locale that the author knows intimately. Three stories are set in the picturesque landscape of Utah where diverse characters meet unique challenges: a Mormon matron deals with a series of memories, a failing Triple A baseball player faces a questionable future, and a present-day outcast contemplates his fate in front of Topaz, the World War II Japanese internment camp.
“Harvest” is a gripping book of six short stories that takes readers on a journey through time and place, exploring the complexities of growing up in dangerous and unpredictable circumstances.
The Past We Step Into (2021)
A young couple finds themselves hip-deep in sex, social change, the Arts, Civil Rights, politics, warfare, and - ultimately - children, as they negotiate the paths of self-discovery spanning over fifty years and four continents.
In the twelve stories of Richard Scharine's "The Past We Step Into," experience the America we remember, the America we want to forget, and the America we dream of achieving.