– 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 …

– “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 l…

– “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 hi…

– 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 Int…

– 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, an…

— 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, reloca…

— 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…

– “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 …

– 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 f…

– 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 pas…

– “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 Wri…

– 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. Sh…

– “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 recipien…

– 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 pu…

– “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 activit…

– Who does this? … and as soon as my husband crept in the door, probably hoping for a scintilla of Norman Rockwell’s water colored scene-of-cooing-baby-at-the-hearth-slurping-dimpled-fist while the smell of home cooked fill-in-the-blank danced like fat motes and fairy dust, … A native fish-taco-loving San Diegan, Jo McElroy Senecal spent decades on…

– DIG! DIG! FLY! FLY! I ordered them to come back with a spoon. They didn’t know why, but I was the oldest. Vicki Easterly, a retired disability advocate, lives in Frankfort, Kentucky. Several stories have appeared in prior PSPP anthologies. Her short story, “Hallie Holcomb’s Hollow,” published by the UK Carnegie Press, is based on a composite of h…

– In the cold twilight above the town, he sang it to himself. The aftermath story that emerged from the rumors and boasting was that there was a girl at the center of it. Fascinated with every big and little thing, Jamie Cheshire has long been an avid student of design and structure. Having worked together with giants, he has had the extreme good f…

Great expectations gone awry—by surprise, short-sightedness, and trickery That’s why we have stories to tell. Listen every Wednesday and weekend for new stories from the 12th anthology of the Personal Story Publishing Project. Read all the stories in each book, all available under “Books and Dvds” at RandellJones.com .…

– I was now going somewhere; out of there, for sure. I must have forgotten that gravity is a thing. Jeanne VanBuren lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina--by way of Chesapeake, Pittsburgh, Santa Cruz, and Austin—where she is a local crafter and storyteller. As a member of North Carolina Writers Network, this story is a spark towards more memories …

– Forty miles to spare We followed our well-worn route, enjoying the new car smell, feeling like The Jetsons. 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 David…

– Not what we expected Hell-bound for a summer of adventure in France, we didn’t care. David Collins holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and taught English/Creative Writing for forty years. His work has appeared in numerous journals, reviews, magazines, and newspapers. His first full-length book, Accidental Activists: …

– Should I tell my mother what I decided to do? A 5-year-old, less than one meter tall, I slipped through the turnstile without being noticed. Akira Odani lives in the ancient city of St. Augustine, Florida. He belongs to Taste Life Twice Writers and the Florida Writers Association. Born in Tokyo, he had written extensively for the Japanese media. …

– I had a layover in Elmira, New York—six hours long. Warblers, whistlers, and trillers sang. Joe and Maybe Dave knew when not to talk, too, when beauty itself was the conversation. Maureen Ryan Griffin has loved words and stories since her “Cat in the Hat” days and leads writing workshops and retreats (www.WordPlayNow.com). She’s published in nume…

— You durn fool Waves of hot lava washed down my throat, past my lungs, and hit my stomach like an acid avalanche. By day, Nick Sipe works as a mild-mannered IT manager for a Fortune 150 company. By night, he mostly recovers from the workday, but occasionally finds time to write. He enjoys writing Twilight Zone-style short stories, mostly horror an…

– “Quick! Let's get the oars!”. Traveling fast, the tanker’s bow tossed large white-capped waves. Edward von Koenigseck, relocated from Florida, resides in Ticonderoga NY. Having a 40-year career in Technical Publications, he also published two books (Technical Writing for Private Industry and Island Park, a Memoir, and four short stories. He creat…

– “Do not let it get to the pond. It will eat our fish!” My Ninja Turtle dance began in the pouring rain, my umbrella in one hand and the shovel in the other. Sondra Edwards, wife, mother of two, grandmother of five, children's minister, and music educator, lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina. Now retired, she dabbles in visual arts and…

–He called me scaredy pants. Move, stop, and swing. Over and over. 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, Now or Never. He is a member of the Island Writers Network and works at the local Unitarian Church. David’s first novel, a …

— As I hit the water, I glanced back over my shoulder. Instead, they chose to wade through the calf-deep mud of a marsh toward Parkersburg. After a career teaching mathematics in Iowa, Jim retired to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he loves exploring the beach and writing stories, both fiction and nonfiction. His first novel, Freedom Run …

– “Don’t mind him. He’s just crotchety like that.” You get to have sway in the classroom and fix your students with a beetle-browed visage. Award-winning author Bob Amason is a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and college professor. A Florida Writer’s Association member, Bob writes under his pen name, Frank A. Mason. His Journeyman Chronicle…

– “How long have you been rock climbing?” The professor praised my speech and raved about my clever visual aid. Alison Rice Bruster comes from a long line of women who love the written word. The granddaughter of a librarian, daughter of an English teacher, and sister of a novelist, she was destined to be an avid reader and writer. After a career sp…

– He drove and hollered, and I cowered. He was a thick slab of a man who could freeze an entire restaurant mid-rush with a giant explosive sneeze. Peter Holsapple grew up in Winston-Salem and now lives in Durham, North Carolina. Most of his life, Peter has spent time in the public eye as a songwriter and musician; but since his teenage years, he ha…

– It looked like a go-kart with wings and a parachute. Still flying, but with one wing pointing at the sky and the other within 18 inches of the sunflower field that lined the airstrip. S. G. (Sandy) Benson lives in Warne, North Carolina, where she is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network-West. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines a…

– “Oh, I never leave home without it. There’s danger out there.” A whoosh of cigarette smoke and sour beer odor hit us in the face. Robin Russell Gaiser holds degrees in English literature and psychology and a certificate in therapeutic music. An experienced multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Robin gave guitar and dulcimer lessons and performed wi…

– Lives are lost on the river. The thrill and challenge of charging down that churning river, paddling left and right to skirt dangers and eddies, whetted my appetite for more. 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 a…

– I was taking on challenges, all for my one secret event. I wanted to do something unique before I was too old. Frances Rinaldi lives in Melbourne, Florida, where she has been sharing stories from history, about nature, and personal experiences in schools, organizations, and theater for thirty years. She belonged to Terra Sancta Press editing grou…

– What could possibly go wrong? Surely guardian angels protected them from their foolish ventures. Barbara Houston lives in Matthews, North Carolina. A member of Scribblers, a memoir writing group, she writes stories about her life and family to pass on to her children and grandson. “In Bear Country,” “Music Box Memories,” “Dark Water,” and “Elepha…

– The location and land were doable. I barely looked at the house. With each project, we discovered what we had missed in that quick, one-visit walk-through. 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 …

– “Mama, I don’t want to die down here.” It’s forbidden to touch any bones or skulls lining the walls to balance you. Erika Hoffman is a happy and longtime resident of beautiful North Carolina. She’s a member of three writing clans: North Carolina Writers Network; The Triangle Area Freelancers; and Carteret Writers. During the past 14 years while p…

– Could they have once been scamps? After coffee and cannoli, we part, always promising to get together again soon. 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—writi…

– You can’t imagine! After two quick drinks he turned into one of my fifth-grade students. After teaching 34 years, Phyliss Grady Adcock retired in Morehead City, North Carolina. She was recognized as the first Raychem Educator of the Year and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers for 1996 and 2000. Her writing has appeared in Mailbox Mag…

- Pleased to meet you, sir. If you’re lucky, you get to meet some special people in your life, including a President or two. Randell Jones is the editor and publisher of the Personal Story Publishing Project and producer/host of “6-minute Stories” podcast. He writes and speaks as Daniel Boone Footsteps. also RandellJones.com…

– I was taken aback, dumbstruck. As we rolled through the desolate neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the steward walked by and handed me a ticket with the letter “F” on it. During his career as an industrial engineer, John Rumbold, wrote several technical papers for presentation at conferences. Since retiring, he has spent ten years working on a creati…

This reprise of a story from “Twists and Turns” is not exactly a spirited Christmas story, but it is holiday-”adjacent” (to borrow a wonderful phrase from Nick Sipe in his story in “Foolhardy”). It is a story about good intentions and learning about the lives of others, which is the essence of empathy, we suppose, something we can all use more of a…

This reprise of a story from “Trouble” is not exactly a Hanukkah story, but it is Hanukkah-”adjacent” (to borrow a wonderful phrase from Nick Sipe in his story in “Foolhardy”). It is a story about family and memories and candles, essential elements of that cultural celebration and observance. It is a story about empathy, something we can all use mo…

–The car stopped; my heart pounded. I relaxed my body slightly but kept my hand on the inside door handle. Susan W. Harris lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where she is a member of the Island Writers Network, (IWN). Her mother, a writer, encouraged her to write. Professionally she wrote grants and proposals for nonprofits. Poems and stories we…

– I was now going somewhere; out of there, for sure. I must have forgotten that gravity is a thing. Jeanne VanBuren lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina--by way of Chesapeake, Pittsburgh, Santa Cruz, and Austin—where she is a local crafter and storyteller. As a member of North Carolina Writers Network, this story is a spark towards more memories …

– Why not? I thought. The word experienced frightened me, but I trashed these fears. Evelyn Eickmeyer-Quinones is a caregiver, wife, writer, poet, photographer, and former educator. Her writings can be found in Newsday, The Petigru Review, and Next Avenue. Her award-winning photographs have been published in the Kakalak Poetry Anthology and Moonshi…

– “Did you get one?” I quickly put the bead on the target and pulled the trigger. Joe Brown is a retired building contractor. He lives on a small family farm in the Bethania area of Winston Salem NC. He now has time to do all those projects that a busy work schedule didn't allow. He enjoys his grandchildren and great grandchildren and as time allow…

– “All clear! Time for math.” We scrunch into balls like armadillos with our fingers clasped over the back of our necks. 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, P…