6-minute Stories

Lisa Watts is a nonprofit communications manager living in Greensboro, North Carolina. She conceived and edited Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio (Ohio University Press, 2006), an anthology of essays and poems by 20 prominent writers. She is working on her own essay collection about her two-month bike trip up the East Coast.  

This bonus episode story appears on the editorial pages of the Winston-Salem Journal and the Greensboro News & Record on Horace’s 100th birthday, December 7. You can see the accompanying pictures in the “Author’s Talk” for this episode by visiting “6-minute Stories” at RandellJones.com/6minutestories . You can also link from there to hear Horace tell in his own voice about some of his World War II experiences and find there an email address to send Horace your own Happy Birthday wishes.

Janet K. Baxter lives in Kings Mountain, North Carolina and is a member of the Charlotte Writer’s Club and Scribblers, a memoir critique group. Her stories, “Horse Whispering for the Average Woman,” “Southern Blues,” “A Frank Lesson,” “Cappie, The Boomerang Horse,” “An Angel’s Smile,” “Morgan: Our Escape Artist,” and “One Soul Alone” appeared in previous anthologies published by the Personal Story Publishing Project. Retired, Janet enjoys thread painting, writing, trail riding, and all the joys from her ‘mini-estate:’ www.mountaingaitacres.com.

David Inserra lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with his wife Ellen Titus and their dog, Mindy. David’s most recent work appears in the PSPP release, ‘Lost & Found.’ He is a member of the Island Writers Network and works at the local Unitarian Church. David’s first novel, a speculative thriller titled ‘In Your Own Backyard,’ is currently being queried to agents. He is also a musician who has written over 400 songs, most being about his wife. Visit davidinserra.weebly.com.

Randell Jones is an award-winning history writer about the pioneer and Revolutionary War eras. Since 2007, he has served as an invited member of the Road Scholars Speakers Bureau of the North Carolina Humanities Council. He created the Personal Story Publishing Project and the companion podcast, “6-minute Stories” to encourage writers. In 2020, he launched BecomingAmerica250.com to promote history appreciation during the coming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, writing, speaking, and publishing as Daniel Boone Footsteps.

Jill Amber Chafin is a personal finance writer for the LendingTree, a dance and circus arts teacher, and a mother to two wild redheads in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She wrote her first story at age five and has written countless stories since then. This is Jill’s fourth story with the Personal Story Publishing Project. Her novel Shaken has been accepted for publication with Vine Leaves Press. Follow her for book release details and upcoming writing workshops @jillamberchafin .

Lisa Williams Kline is the author of two 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. Her stories and essays have appeared in Literary Mama, Skirt, Sasee, Carolina Woman, moonShine review, The Press 53 Awards Anthology, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, and Idol Talk, among others. She is also the author of ten novels and a novella for young readers. 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.

Janice Luckey, who lives in Mooresville, North Carolina, remembers when writing became a rhythm of her life. She scribbled a romance novel in a 3-ring binder in junior high school sparking a life-long love of all things writerly—writing, reading, journaling and hoarding office supplies. Janice is fueled by the love and support of her family and most anything chocolate. When not writing, she can be found making memories with her husband and four granddaughters or roaming the aisles of libraries, bookstores, and Staples.

Cindy Stonebraker Reed is a Founding Director and Board Secretary for Mission: POW-MIA, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit based in Virginia, founded to connect and serve the families of our nations POW/MIA’s and to help end the uncertainty faced by generations of America’s POW/MIA Families.

Cindy is the daughter of Lt. Col. Kenneth Stonebraker, who remains missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.  She has been published in several newspaper columns and magazines articles. She resides in Newland, North Carolina.

Jane Satchell McAllister's writings draw inspiration from the wide variety of people and places she encounters, from her home base in Davie County, North Carolina, to rich adventures across our country and abroad. She has co-authored two Images of America books through Arcadia Publishing and served for nine years as director of the county public library. Her current writing project is compiling stories based on decades of travel, both fiction and nonfiction, almost as much fun as the trips themselves.