They Do Exist!

How many times have you heard someone say there's nothing good to read? Unfortunately, We hear it way too often from know-it-alls who are sure all the great stories have gone the way of the dinosaurs. And that sends shivers down our backs. Nothing good to read. Good grief, is there a more depressing phrase than that? Well, there might be. Like, "The dog just ate my last pair of underwear" or "Didn't you notice the horrible fungus growing on that last piece of pepperoni before you ate it?" But, we're just talking about reading right now. Sure, the world is filled with stories that never quite achieve "great" status. How sad it is for someone willing to take precious time, to sit down to read, and get...nothing. Nothing, except that horrible empty feeling of an unfulfilled imagination, of expectations dropping like a brick in a pond, of feelings dragged through the muck and mire of a story that just isn't there. Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but you have to admit, reading a story that just doesn't do it for you can be a bit disheartening. Trust us, you won't find any of those in this anthology! Now, what makes a great story? Glad you asked. A great story grabs you by the throat and won't let go, taking you away from the everyday world and giving you new worlds to explore, new situations to experience, and the incredible feeling of being better for having gone. Think back to all the stories you've read in your life. Now, write all the titles down on a sheet of paper along with the author's name and number of pages and.... Just kidding. Try to remember the thrill you felt as a story made your pulse pound, your breathing quicken, your fingers fly as they turned the pages. Try to remember the far off places you visited and the adventures you had while never leaving your seat. Think those memories and feelings are gone forever? Wrong. Great stories are out there, waiting to be discovered and cherished, waiting to take up occupancy in your mind, to remind you again and again that you can leave the real world with all its troubles and worries and cares, even if for just a little while. Enter the Land of Stories and lose yourself in another world; a world where you don't have to search to find great stories, because they're everywhere you look. Forget what the know-it-alls try to tell you. Great stories are not extinct. THEY DO EXIST! Authors: Qing Yang - Dreaming of Danny Karin B. Schlenker - What Could Have Been Catharine Lev - Operation MIckey Mouse Lou Dischler - Hemingway at the Ritz Julia Halprin Jackson - Mother's Day Bill Westhead - Romeo and Sierra's Last Mission Tricia Spencer - Noses, Toes, and Elbows Ryan Bennett - Take This Job and Love It Kristen Tsetsi - But for Gloria John M. Bourne - A Lake in the Park Mia Lazarewicz - What We are Made of Claire Grasse - Nona Phillip Lynne - Down from the Mountain