6-minute Stories

 – Oh, the lagging path between words and actions!

For me, the motion of the bike was just the right pace.

Emily Rosen, 97, lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where for over 20 years and until her 95th birthday, she instructed classes in memoir writing, publishing two anthologies of stories from her classes, and the book, Who Am I? For two decades until the local weekly newspaper folded in 2021, she wrote her column, “Everything's Coming Up Rosen.” Her travel and feature articles have appeared nationwide. She has worked as a copy writer, travel writer, columnist, elementary and community college teacher, mental health counselor, and owner of the now defunct “singing telegram” company, Witty Ditty. Until January 2024, her poetry languished in the pages of a fat notebook. But some of it was recently released in Lingering Over a Long Life: Selected Poems from My Journey (available on Amazon.com.) Visit her at EmilyRosen424.com.

- fighting for respect

Randell Jones lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the author of several award-winning history books, including In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone, and two videos. Since 2007, he has served as an invited member of the Road Scholars Speakers Bureau of the North Carolina Humanities Council. He writes, speaks, and publishes as Daniel Boone Footsteps at www.DanielBooneFootsteps.com or www.RandellJones.com.

 – revenge of the 6-year-old

A wronged child welcomes home the prodigal parents with a flood of retribution.

As an author, Tonya is moved by the effect humor and narratives have on readers. She is enthusiastic about crafting stories with beguiling characters, adding dashes of humor, and engaging dialogue that leaves her fingerprint on each page. She is published in anthologies, e-magazines, local press, and literary magazines. She is a member of Poets and Writers. Her books include Old Mountain Cassie: The Three Lessons, A Secret Gift, Baubles to Die For, and Red, White, and Boom. She writes under the pen name Tonya Penrose. Find her at www.tonyawrites.com.

 – Never was the real answer. I left disappointed and broken-hearted.

Mother started me on an adventure and took me into a mystery.

Martha Rowe Vaughn lives in Mount Airy, North Carolina and is a member of a local writers group that has been meeting for over 15 years. During that time, she has published two books: Grandma’s Trunk (non-fiction) and Crossroads (fiction). An interest in genealogy and family history prompted her to write both books. She graduated from The University of Kentucky with a degree in horticulture and owned and operated a tree nursery for 22 years. In retirement, she volunteers her horticulture knowledge and skill to local non-profit organizations.

 – “I could have died happily in Florence.”

“I’ll mind the kids. You take the trip. I’ve seen all the world I need to see.”

A published news journalist and a practiced lawyer, Cherie Cox calls North Carolina home. Awards include the Charlotte Writers’ Club first place in poetry. Published short stories, essays, professional legal articles and poetry vary her credentials. These include Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies, Kakalak, and The Christmas Wreath. She enjoys people who give their best effort. The Hickory Daily Record and the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office enriched her life. Many individuals inspire her respect for the written word.

– “I have your back.”

She knows by my face not to ask why.

Barbara Reese Yager is a writer who draws inspiration from life on her farm with dogs and horses and her love for her family and friends. She was a winner of the Charlotte Writers Ruth Moose Fiction contest. Barbara’s work appeared in an anthology of non-fiction, Sooner or Later by the Personal Story Publishing Project, Daniel Boone Footsteps Publisher. She holds a BS in Human Development from Penn State and a MS in Leadership from Duquesne University. She is a member of the Charlotte Writers Club and Charlotte Lit. Tales of her life can be found at waggintailfarm.com.

 – Her incantations were rhythmic and hypnotic.

“If you don’t care, I don’t care.”

Award-winning author Bob Amason is a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and college professor. A Florida Writer’s Association member, Bob writes under his pen name, Frank A. Mason. His Journeyman Chronicles series of American Revolutionary War novels are Amazon.com bestsellers. Journeyman: Heart of Tempered Steel won the 2023 Florida Writer’s Association Gold Royal Palm Literary Award, Florida’s most prestigious writing prize. Bob’s writing has been published in four anthologies, academic journals, and books. He lives in Florida with his overachieving wife, a professor who is the author of a series of children’s books.

 – He wore torment like a red velvet cape.

A familiar sense of frustration and self-deprecation crept upon me, strengthening the loneliness of grief.

Edith Gettes has worked as a violinist, teacher, and psychiatrist, as well as mother of four daughters. She has lectured about learning, trauma, and motherhood at several international conferences. In addition to writing for musical and medical journals, her story “Banana Bread” appeared in the Personal Story Publishing Project’s fall 2023 publication, Sooner or Later. Edith currently lives, works, plays, and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is a member of the Flatiron Writers Room and NC Writers Network.

 – Technicolor visions rapidly appeared out of the haze.

I didn’t look back or cry. I disappeared into the forest.

Ginny Grulke lives in Lexington, Kentucky, where she has discovered a community of like-minded writers through the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. She has been writing non-fiction for her family and friends to enjoy. Her stories revolve around a life with horses, aging, and widowhood, as well as her rural childhood in a large Pennsylvania Dutch family. A few colorful relatives and horses have been inspirations for her stories. She enjoys taking common place situations and looking deeper to find an understanding of people and the animals they keep.

 – Quiet, please. This is a sacred space.

What if authorities in Ecuador allowed Basilica-like crowds to swarm the Galapagos?

Kenneth Chamlee’s work has appeared in five previous Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies. His latest collections are If Not These Things (Kelsay Books, 2022) and The Best Material for the Artist in the World, a poetic biography of 19th-century American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2023). Ken lives in Mills River, North Carolina, and is an active member of the North Carolina Poetry Society and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Learn more at www.kennethchamlee.com.