6-minute Stories

 – “Do you have any questions?”

If we lost this car, at least a new one would arrive in two days.

Kristen T. Bryson lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this is her first writing submission for publication. She was encouraged by a family friend to share her story. She has been inspired by her father-in-law's commitment to writing his memoirs and an extensive compilation of letters to his grandchildren, and she hopes to continue the family legacy of writing stories that preserve her family's history.

 — “I cleaned it up, Mommy.”

One small ocean of apple juice had been swabbed over the entire kitchen floor.

Dawn McCormack, a former Spanish teacher, resides in Plainfield, Connecticut. She has been writing for many years. Short story credits include Columbus Single Scene and The Storyteller. While she is currently working on a middle-grade book, she has also had considerable success with her poetry in several publications including, The Avocet (nature), Exit 13 (travel), The Lyric (general), and Illumen (speculative). For speculative writing, she frequently draws upon her dreams.

 – “Can we keep one?” 

Mitzi barked, poked her nose through the fence, and sniffed her wooers. 

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

 – Nothing would deter us from enjoying our well-earned evening out.

Ash-gray script swirled across the textured buff pages like hazy clouds crossing the sky at dusk.

Marcia J. Wick is a blind, grey-haired grandmother, retired from a professional writing career. She writes freelance if it pays, for fun if not. Her work has appeared in the Motherwell blog, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Modern Dog Magazine, Guide Dogs for the Blind Alumni News, and Magnets and Ladders. Her essays reflect on parenting, caregiving, living with a disability, and adventures with her guide dog. When not reading or writing, Marcia volunteers, advocates for guide dogs and public transit, and enjoys the outdoors with family and friends. Contact her at [email protected].

 – “I drove your car off a mountain.”

No mercy was given to two mostly broke kids trying to start two new careers and a new marriage.

Lorraine Martin Bennett is a print, web and broadcast journalist from Murphy, North Carolina, who graduated with her high school journalism medal and received a scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill. Her reporting career includes the Atlanta Journal, Los Angeles Times, and, in retirement, the Clay County Progress. She worked as assignment editor, news writer, copy editor, producer, and editorial manager before ending her career at CNN International. Her two published novels, Cat on a Black Moon, and Darla, are available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble and other websites. A third novel is in the works.

 – I felt the comfort of a giant hug, surrounded by these beautiful mountains.

My heart is heavy for what others are going through.

Beth Bixby Davis was born in Northern New York and moved to the Asheville area of North Carolina in the mid-1960’s where she reared her family, raised Arabian horses and had a 30-year career in nursing.  Enjoying a hobby of writing, she recently published a second book of short stories, essays and poetry, called Patchwork Collection Volume II. Her creative nonfiction work has appeared in previous PSPP collections as well as on the podcast “6-minute Stories.” In a writing class through Olli at UNC-Asheville, she contributed two fictional pieces which were published in Stories to Go. She belongs to Talespinners Writers Group.

 – “Let’s do it ourselves.”

I punched button after button, painstakingly input the titles of programs using that archaic alphabetical system and ended up in some endless inescapable loop.

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.

 – “I can do that.”  

The words “stress,” “pressure,” “anxiety” appear on page after page.

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, Now or Never, Foolhardy. 

 – “You’ve got to do something about this,” they jibed him.  

Of course, later they told their kids that they loved us all. Usually they added, “despite the headaches you caused us.”

Ginny’s parents had storytelling in their bones. Will’s hands reenacted stories, swooping up high or spinning across the table with an ice cream spoon while he added sound effects from an array of odd noises he’d been finetuning since his childhood. Kat read aloud from a thick storybook of Irish or English classics, with appropriate accents and engaging expressions. Except! She would often ask Ginny to pick out a book and then read it to her, while Kat stood ironing clothes from the large laundry basket. Ginny loved it all. She lives in a little post office box on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina.

 — I respected the officer and assumed he would also respect me.

This was not just the assassination of the President; it was the death of hopes and dreams.

Since retiring to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Joel Stegall has completed a family history dating from the early Colonial Era. Longer (and more interesting) than any scholarly work he ever wrote, he was pleased to find in his bloodline literary ability, ingenuity, inventiveness, devotion to duty, self-sacrifice and uncommon love. At the same time, he was taken aback to discover insanity, murder, suicide and cattle rustling.