6-minute Stories

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.

Richard (“Rick”) Davis is a retired Air Force colonel with an extensive professional writing history, including some non-fiction material published over the past 40 years. To transition to fiction, he studied with Amherst Writers & Artists and published his first novella in 2014. He has two book-length manuscripts pending. “Two Minutes and Eighteen Seconds” marks his second offering to PSPP, which earlier accepted his submission for Lost & Found (spring 2023). He lives in Elk Grove, California, with his Himalayan cat, Phoebe, and memories of his wife, Myra.

Raven Chiong earned her Master of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Florida. A lifelong student, life coach, and educator, she qualified for the first-ever Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials in 1984 and paid it forward with her 19-year cross country coaching career. After her competitive running and coaching career, she ran her pen across the pages of this life. Raven was the author of Ode to the Still, Small Voice—A Memoir of Listening. She was a proud mother to four rescue dogs.

Forty-one writers share their personal stories of experiences and decisions hinged on a moment in time. Now or never is a turning point, a hope, an admonition, an intersection of paths ahead to take, to avoid, or to create. Now and Never are also states of being—living in the present, accepting what is or dealing with the roadblock, the closed door, the helping hand no longer extended. With decisions made and consequences encountered, for better or worse, we each move ahead balancing out our nows and nevers. 

Through 41 short stories, you share in the personal experiences of writers—both new voices and seasoned storytellers. They skillfully share and reflect on life episodes, offering lessons learned, cautions for consideration, and encouragements for the journeys of others. Through these stories we glean a glimpse into the experiences of these writers. We consider how time comes into play in their lives and in ours—stories about courage and regrets, about facing danger as well as desires, about choosing and continuing on.

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.

Arlene Mandell is an artist living in Linville, North Carolina, proudly celebrating her 10th year at Carlton Gallery in Banner Elk. (carltongallery.com/arlene-mandell). A native New Yorker, relocating to the Blue Ridge Mountains with Captain Dan ignited a passion to write. Her “6-minute Stories” podcasts include: “Eye of the Dolphin,” “Artist Borne,” “Gobsmacked in the Gulfstream,” “Renegade Daughter,” “It Started with a Typo,” “Shopping for the Homeless,” “Thirteen Candles in the Dark,” “The Promise of Romance,” “At Five & Ninety-Five, Mother Was a Star,” and “In the Heart of Trauma.”

The luck of the Irish brought Gail Tyson to Knoxville, Tennessee, in fall 2021, where she belongs to the Knoxville Writers Guild and the Pre-Pulitzer Critique Group. In 2020 Shanti Arts published her chapbook, The Vermeer Tales. Current and upcoming work appears in Rockvale Review, Still: the Journal, Psaltery & Lyre, and Thimble Literary Magazine. Gail serves as president of the board of Knoxville’s Flying Anvil Theatre, where she paints sets and avoids giving curtain talks.

Akira Odani lives in the ancient city of St. Augustine, Florida. He belongs to Taste Life Twice Writers and the Florida Writers Association. Born in Tokyo, he had written extensively for the Japanese media. Still, more recently, his interest has turned to writing in English and subjects related to his experiences interacting with the two cultures. Some of his work has appeared in the pages of FWA anthologies, The Weekly Avocet, PSPP, Twists and Turns, and Lost & Found. He stays active, meditating, swimming, and playing pickleball.

Visit RandellJones.com/6minutestories to learn more about this story.

Randell Jones is an award-winning writer about the pioneer and Revolutionary War eras and North Carolina history. During 25 years, he has written 150+ history-based guest columns for the Winston-Salem Journal. In 2017, he created the Personal Story Publishing Project and in 2019, the companion podcast, “6-minute Stories” to encourage other writers. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Visit RandellJones.com and BecomingAmerica250.com.