For this episode, we are featuring the work of yet another living master: award winning playwright and novelist J. California Cooper .  After gaining notoriety as a playwright, Cooper turned her attention to novels and short stories; she has since published 13 books, including A Piece of Mine, Homemade Love, which was awarded the 1989 American Book Award; Some Soul to Keep, In Search of Satisfaction, and her latest, Life is Short but Wide, published in 2009. Cooper is known for her witty, conversational style that draws readers into the world of her characters, with her stories often centering on women dealing with vicissitudes of life as told by a folksy narrator. This podcast features Cher Jey reading excerpts of "The Lost and the Found", from Cooper's short story collection "The Future has a Past".