6-minute Stories

 — whatever enlisted men played, or claimed to play, an instrument

An order came down to me to have the band looking sharp, sounding good, and ready to lead the parade.

In his career as professor and academic administrator, Joel Stegall wrote more than 35 journal articles, book chapters, opinion pieces and other such. None of these gained him widespread acclaim. Since retiring to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he has written a family history tracing his ancestry back to 1735. Though documentation is elusive, he has found considerable evidence that his ancestry began even earlier. Several of his stories, often about his ancestors, have appeared in the Personal Stories Publishing Project. Joel continues to write because he likes to.

 – “Sweetheart, wake up! Santa’s here!”  

“But what I really want, Santa, is a flashlight.”

Annette L. Brown is a personal essayist and creative nonfiction writer who has pieces reflecting her love of nature, family, beauty, and humor in several publications including Flash Fiction Magazine, Every Day Fiction, Bad Day Book (Parenting), and several volumes of the Personal Story Publishing Project. Annette is grateful for the support and friendship of her writing group, the Taste Life Twice Writers. 

 – That was the plan, anyway.

In that moment, we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves and remembered why we came.

After a career spent finding the voices of senior business executives, Alison Rice Bruster is writing a new chapter. She holds a BA in English Literature from Queens University of Charlotte. This is her third story included in a collection from the Personal Story Publishing Project. She is a member of the Charlotte Writers Club, Charlotte Lit, and the North Carolina Writers Network. When they are not out traveling in search of adventure, Alison and her husband Terry live in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

 – My warped resentment started after Dad died.

We endured eye rolls and dagger-filled glares as we saw no other option.

Kym B. Whitecar lives in Indian Trail, North Carolina, where she is a member of the Charlotte Writers Club and Charlotte Lit. When she retired from education, she finally had the time to take a creative writing course, reigniting her passion for storytelling. This is her first published work. Currently, she is harassing her friends, family, and critic group with more narrative nonfiction.

– “I’ll take care of this, Honey.”

Eleanor and I dragged our stocky, dark, wooden desk chairs up to our door to peer over the open transom at the long hall.

Robin majored in English at The College of William and Mary. In “those days,” creative writing was absent from the heady curriculum, although Robin wrote poetry which was published in several lit magazines. After college, she taught high school English in Fairfax, Virginia. Creative writing was included in Robin’s classrooms. Robin has written two memoirs, both published by Pisgah Press, multiple short stories and essays, and, of course, poetry. A third book, a collection of all genres of Robin’s writing, is nearing completion. Robin and her husband live in Asheville, NC. www.robingaiser.com  

 – “If the test was positive, what would I do about it?”

Tipping the scales at four pounds and four ounces, our first granddaughter arrived still shimmering with heaven’s leavings.

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 at the library, bookstores, and Staples.

 – With a friendly smile, he joked, “Akira, you caught a big fish!”

Some nights, my younger brothers and I would huddle around him, pleading for his stories.

Akira Odani lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. He is a member of the Taste Life Twice Writers’ Group and the Florida Writers Association. Born in Tokyo, he graduated from International Christian University and earned his Ph.D. in Chinese History from Brown University. Some of his work has appeared in the pages of FWA anthologies, Kaidankai (Japanese ghost stories), and several versions of the Personal Story Publishing Project. His passion for writing comes from his ambition to understand the mystery of life and the world.

 – Drew and I became “a thing.”

He turned all the girls into giddy puddles of goo.

Anne M. Middleton lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where for over two decades she was the State of North Carolina’s lead appellate attorney in the areas of crimes against children and adult sexual offenses. Since retirement, Anne enjoys writing, performing improv, and exploring spiritual traditions of mysticism and higher consciousness. She is a shamanic practitioner and member of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, a Shamanic Reiki Master, a certified yoga teacher (RYT-500), an avid lucid dreamer and dream yoga practitioner, and a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

 — 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.