6-minute Stories

 – Why not? I thought.

The word experienced frightened me, but I trashed these fears.

Evelyn Eickmeyer-Quinones is a caregiver, wife, writer, poet, photographer, and former educator. Her writings can be found in Newsday, The Petigru Review, and Next Avenue. Her award-winning photographs have been published in the Kakalak Poetry Anthology and Moonshine Review. Evelyn lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

 – “Did you get one?”

I quickly put the bead on the target and pulled the trigger.

Joe Brown is a retired building contractor. He lives on a small family farm in the Bethania area of Winston Salem NC. He now has time to do all those projects that a busy work schedule didn't allow. He enjoys his grandchildren and great grandchildren and as time allows likes to reflect on his life and write stories about his adventures. Several of those stories have been shared through The Personal Publishing Project. His prayer is that his family can appreciate the history he has lived.

 – “All clear! Time for math.”

We scrunch into balls like armadillos with our fingers clasped over the back of our necks.

Suzanne Cottrell, a member of the Taste Life Twice Writers and NC Writers’ Network, lives with her husband in rural Granville County, NC. An outdoor enthusiast and retired teacher, she enjoys reading, writing, knitting, hiking, Pilates, and belly dancing. Her prose has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the Personal Story Publishing Project, Inwood Indiana Press, Quillkeepers Press, and Parks and Points. She’s the author of three poetry chapbooks: Gifts of the Seasons, Autumn and Winter; Gifts of the Seasons, Spring and Summer; and Scarred Resilience; and Nature Calls Outside My Window, A Collection of Poems and Stories. www.suzanneswords.com

 – The siren song of the unknown called.

“On the seventh of March 1833 I left my native town with a heart rejoicing.”

Growing up in the South means hearing and sharing stories. Ginny Foard learned a lot that way and keeps on trying to find out more about it all. The air is thick with good stories. She lives in a little post office box on Sullivans Island, South Carolina.

 – “I know what is coming.”

The dying process is a crucible of tension.

Thomas Gery, a common man with uncommon experiences lives in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army with duty in Vietnam. As a social worker he helped children, youth, and adults in a variety of practice venues and situations throughout a work life of 40 years. Married with two adult children and two grandchildren, he is currently writing his life’s story to provide answers to questions his kids will never ask. His earliest published stories have appeared in Personal Story Publishing Project—Lost & Found, Sooner or Later, and Now or Never. 

 – Forty miles to spare

We followed our well-worn route, enjoying the new car smell, feeling like The Jetsons.

Lisa Williams Kline is the author of two award-winning novels for adults, Between the Sky and the Sea and Ladies’ Day, as well as an essay collection entitled The Ruby Mirror and a short story collection entitled Take Me. She lives in Davidson with her veterinarian husband, a cat who can open doors, and a sweet chihuahua who has played Bruiser Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical.

 — You durn fool

Waves of hot lava washed down my throat, past my lungs, and hit my stomach like an acid avalanche.

By day, Nick Sipe works as a mild-mannered IT manager for a Fortune 150 company. By night, he mostly recovers from the workday, but occasionally finds time to write. He enjoys writing Twilight Zone-style short stories, mostly horror and light sci-fi. Nick is currently shopping his debut novel, “Midnight Springs,” to literary agents. “Midnight Springs” is the first in a planned horror-Western series that sends classic monsters (think Frankenstein, Van Helsing, the Wolfman) to the Wild West to tangle with their American counterparts (think witches, the Headless Horseman, the Wendigo). Nick live in Gastonia, North Carolina. He is a member of Charlotte Writers Club.

 –I had to continue this risky addiction to their conversations.

Ignorance would have been more intolerable than knowing.

Eloise Currie lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has kept a journal for thirty years and uses it as source material for short stories and nonfiction. She lived in Bath, North Carolina, for several years where she was a member of the Pamlico Writers Group and Riverwalk Writers Group. She is currently a member of the River Writers Group. She enjoys editing and has edited two books as well as short pieces.

 – I can’t remember who suggested that we go skinny dipping that night.

I imagined a veritable walk of shame back to Lily’s house.

Jena Reger lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she is a graduate student at Duke University. She belongs to a local writing group and has been working on a variety of projects for the past few years--from flash fiction to a novel. Her work has appeared in the online literary magazine Swamp Biscuits and Tea and the anthology, Coming of Age in Florida.

 –Darlin’, that’s a championship team.

As I regard his 60-something stride, the scream fighting to escape my throat dissolves into a plan.

Annette L. Brown is a mother, wife, and retired teacher, who lives on an almond farm in Central California where she enjoys spending time with family and friends. She is grateful for the support of The Taste Life Twice Writers and The Light Makers’ Society and for simply having time to write. Annette has pieces reflecting her love of nature, family, beauty, and humor in several publications including Cathexis Northwest Press, Last Stanza Poetry, Flash Fiction Magazine, Every Day Fiction, and other PSP Project anthologies.