— I liked him, he liked me. We needed to find common ground.

Emotions drained, I was, nevertheless, taken with his coolheadedness in the face of danger.

Arlene Mandell is an artist living in Linville, North Carolina, proudly celebrating her 12th 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,” “In the Heart of Trauma,” “The Jig Is Up,” “Getting a Head Start,” and “Rum Punch and Reefers.”

 — Leaving the door ajar, she darted out in her slippers and bathrobe.

Hugging the bag of Oreos, Christie grinned at her mother’s face in the window as she skipped past the door.

Valerie J. Macon, a writer residing in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, finds poetry and prose woven into the fabric of everyday life. With six poetry collections to her name (Shelf Life, Sleeping Rough, A String of Black Pearls, The Shape of Today, Page Turner, and Chasing After the Wind), her work has found expression in a variety of forms from print to podcasts. Currently, she is working on a memoir and is a feature writer for Suburban Living Magazine.

 – “Oh, little sister, that’s enough out of you.”

When a bully grabbed me in grade school, I kneed him and ran all the way home, overkill in this instance, but not unwarranted.

Mary Clements Fisher celebrates her student and writer status in Northern California. Her writing unearths buried mad, muddled, and magical moments. She’s published in Quail Belle Magazine, Adanna Journal, Prometheus Dreaming Journal, The Closed Eye Open, Capsule Stories, They Call Us Magazine, Nailpolish Stories, and several Personal Story Publishing Project books. Join her @maryfisherwrites and https://maryfisherwrites.squarespace.com/

– The change is unnerving.

Lying on a chaise, brain numb and unrefreshed, I am confused by the unexpected difficulties of the day—of what to do next with an empty schedule in this now-unfamiliar place.

Eloise Currie lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is her second piece accepted by the Personal Story Publishing Project. She has kept a journal for thirty years and uses it as material for short stories and nonfiction. She enjoys editing and has edited books as well as short stories.

 – what would my family think about us living two years in central Africa?

It seemed futile to buck these chaotic, insoluble forces buffeting Zaire.

Richard (“Rick”) Davis retired from the Air Force in 1998 and lives in Elk Grove, California. He has 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. “Yeses” marks Rick’s fourth contribution to Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies

 – “How can you give him up? He seems devoted to you.”

As far as I could see, a carpet of brown and black leaves provided perfect Airedale camouflage.

Barbara Reese Yager, a lifelong dog rescuer, writes fiction and nonfiction. She is President of the Charlotte Writers Club and a member of the North Carolina Writers Network and the South Carolina Writers Association. Daniel Boone Press has published her nonfiction work. She lives on a farm with her husband, four horses, five dogs, and a barn cat. Find more at waggintailfarm.com

– The stare-off begins. Puss-faces, Mom called us. A game of chicken, I think.

Seven years older, decibels louder, she always won. 

Anne Anthony tends to carry on conversations with characters inside her head when writing her stories. A few years back, she stopped shushing them, agreed to tell their stories, and they’ve all been happy ever since. She lives and writes in North Carolina. Her recent publications include Bull, Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine, Flash Boulevard, Flash Fiction Magazine, and elsewhere. Her micro-fiction, It’s a Mother Thing, was nominated for Best Microfiction 2024 by Cleaver Magazine. She is a senior editor and art director for the online literary journal, Does It Have Pockets. Find more of Anne’s writing at https://linktr.ee/anchalastudio.

– “Isn’t your dad like a cult leader?”

I was approached by a caramel coyote, slipping out of a convertible Camaro.

Willow Noelle Groskreutz is a creative writer based in Mooresville, North Carolina. In 2023, she self-published Mundane Magic, a collection of Southern-inspired lyric essays about finding wonder in everyday places. Willow is a recipient of the 2025 Artist Support Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council and looks forward to furthering her writing career. 

 – I had a secret power—a newfound ally.

I was a preadolescent boy lost in a, heretofore, unknown love spell magnified by the magical thinking of childhood.

David Lusk is a retired consulting arborist/psychologist/writer living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has previously written several articles for the Winston-Salem Journal and the trade publication, Tree Care Industry Magazine. He lives in a beech tree woodland with his wife Amy, their three adopted rescue shelter dogs, Jessie Girl, Captain Spaghetti Jack, Abbey Road and Maple Tree the cat. He is currently attempting to learn Japanese Sumi ink painting while under the constant, playful supervision of Jessie, Jack and Abbey. Often, he retreats to the Pamlico Sound with the idea of learning to sail but happy to paint or play guitar in view of a marina full of boats and the occasional visit from a bald eagle he named Churchill. 

 – “Jane can’t ever know the truth.”

The tide and wind pushed it ashore as surely as vengeance.

Edward von Koenigseck has a 40-year background in technical publications. He is the author of two books - a college textbook Technical Writing for Private Industry, and a memoir, Island Park, and has also published several short stories. His other activities have been providing 92 different lectures on biblical history for the nonprofit organization Shepherd's Center, and was hired to create the curriculum for and teach two semesters on technical writing for advanced English students at Florida Institute of Technology.