A book came in the mail last month, but it was not one I had ordered.
It was an anthology of short prose pieces and poems, WELL READ Magazine’s Best of 2023, Volume One. It came for free as a contributor’s copy, because I am in it.
Or rather, ahem, my short story, “Beast of the Moment,” is in it. (Page 171, if you must know.)
I am proud of this story, because it was good enough that editor Mandy Haynes deemed it worth publishing.
It has the three chief virtues of a good story: A beginning, a middle, and an end. (See Poetics vii. 2-3, by Mr. Aristotle, noted Greek philosopher.) It also has an interesting, and humane, subject: an old woman who loves dogs. So, yes, it’s a feel-good story—yet not pollyannish.
“Beast of the Moment” appeared in the June 2023 issue of WELL READ online magazine. If you wish, you can read it for free here.
But it also appears now in print, in this paperback anthology of 2023’s best pieces. I’m honored it is there. On page 171. I’d strongly advise you to acquire a copy, for it has not only my story but 37 other great pieces by a variety of authors. I read my way through it last week and liked what I saw. There were short prose pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, and a good sprinkling of original poems.
One piece that made a strong impression was “A Hard Dog,” by Will Maguire, starting on p. 20. It’s a story about a hard dog, and, well, it’s a hard story about a dog. It deals with the relationships between a forlorn man, his recent girlfriend, a stray dog, and the neighbors. There are points where it’s hard to read and you want to give up on it. But if you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded. Maguire tells a hard story, but he tells it with skill and a certain amount of grace. Dog lover or otherwise, I recommend giving it a try.
The next story up is “Evolution of Love,” by the talented and persistent Rob Grindstaff. It’s a romance for the modern era, and it tells its tale with depth and imagination. I promise you’ll get involved in the developing love between positivistic scientist Steven and the faith-based nurturer Dempsey. And there’s a neat little twist at the end that could be magical realism . . . or something else entirely. Don’t miss it.
There’s a flashy story called “Silver Sequins,” by Joy Ross Davis, that will make you think twice. I call it “flashy” because, for one thing, it’s short enough to qualify as flash fiction. It has that nice quality of flash fiction, the quality of not filling you in on everything—just giving you the drift of it and letting you fill in the blanks. But it’s also flashy because its author’s narrative skills are displayed with brilliance and panache. Yeah, I confess: That’s really what I meant. And, just like the stories mentioned above, it’s about—would you believe?—relationships. A well-wrought story, worth a read.
There are pieces that may be fictional short stories but could be mini-memoirs, sprung directly from life. It’s hard to tell with “Choices,” by Robin Prince Monroe; “Waiting for a Signal,” by Jeffrey Dale Lofton; the sardonic “Obituaries,” by Rebecca Klassen; and “What We Keep, What We Throw Away,” by Phyllis Gobbell. Maybe it doesn’t matter whether they’re fact or fiction. Each of these little gems highlights a facet of life that feels as real and experiential as a dropped memory or a parent’s tear for a wayward child.
I fear that by mentioning certain stories I have slighted others. The truth is, they’re all good, all thought-provoking. And the same can be said for the many poems.
By the way, did I mention that my story “Beast of the Moment,” about an old widow and her long-time canine companion, appears beginning on p. 171?
If you’d like to read them all, the price is certainly right: $15.00 paperback, $5.99 Kindle. Get the anthology here.
Happy reading!
Blessings,
Larry F. Sommers
Your New Favorite Writer
