A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a wicked crack dealer lived in a dingy motel room on a bad stretch of road in the lower part of town. His name was Raymond, but everyone who knew him, or knew of him, called him Rayban. His was a dark soul.

Every night he sat at his window looking down on the street below keeping a close eye on his boys. Young and hungry, they lounged in the driveways of no-tell motels or hung out at the Jack-in-the-Box waiting for customers, glancing up now and then seeking the approval of the dark face in the window. Read more about Saturday Night in the Big City

A Fairy Tale

It had been as hot and humid as only Iowa could be on that awful July day. Tom and Dick had taken the twins, Harry and Lucy, to the pond where the older boys had rigged a tire swing from an old cottonwood tree and took turns swinging out over the pond, dropping in, and swimming back while the younger ones played in the muddy shallows.

Tom had just started swimming back when he heard his brother, Dick, holler, “No, no! Harry! Turn around. It’s too deep there.” Read more about The Corn

The Three Princesses

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there were three princesses named Jennifer, Colleen and Alison. Read more about The Three Princesses

A Song for Huddlestone
A Fairy Tale

by Barbara Stoner

There was once a hard-working student named Calvin who lived in an attic above a grocery store, and he had nothing in the world of his own. There was also a hard-working grocer named Mr. Palmer who lived and worked on the first floor, and he had the whole house for his own. Huddlestone was an old man of the streets, and he had nothing in the world of his own either, not even an attic. But Mr. Palmer was a kindly grocer, and in bad weather allowed Huddlestone to sit inside, guarding the back door to his shop. Read more about A Song for Huddlestone

Pink Chop at the Crossroads
A Fairy Tale
Barbara Stoner Read more about The Crossroads

It seems that every time someone is introduced as a speaker on MSNBC lately we are told that, besides impressive professional credentials, they also have a podcast. But I don’t have time to check them out. I’m busy enough with the four I already follow. Add that to the number of shows I’m streaming, the 1500 piece crossword puzzle I’m working on, and a couple of video games I find challenging and amusing, it’s a wonder I have time to write this paragraph. Still, I feel I should carry on, since these are podcasts that I really like and it would be lots of fun if you did as well. Read more about My Favorite Podcasts

Ever wanted to write a novel? I always did. Know what people told me when I told them that I wanted to write a novel? Nothing. Really. Nothing. Well, my dad did say that he understood Barbara Cartland made a lot of money. Now, Barbara Cartland was a well-known romance writer for Harlequin Books in the 70's, and I had no ambition to follow in her shoes. No, I decided. Making money would not, could not be my prime objective. Sorry, Dad. Read more about How To Write a Novel

Thanks to a Facebook friend of mine, I’m trying out Audible for the first time. I wasn’t certain that I could get into it, just listening. Not fiction, anyway. Read more about Audible

There is very little I watch on a TV set these days, which has me thinking the unthinkable: getting rid of cable or, in my case these days, the dish.

It’s a hard decision for a dedicated TVidiot like myself. Before recording options became available, it was not unknown for me to leave a party so I wouldn't have to miss an episode of whatever. I refuse to call them “my stories” because that might infer afternoon soaps. No, “my stories” included the likes of Dr. Who, Babylon 5, Masterpiece Mystery. You know. The good stuff. Read more about TV or Stream

Wrules for Writers

When you first sit down to write, unless you have been through a rigorous writing regime at an accredited university (nothing against them, but I don’t advise it), you will soon discover a universe of rules, most of which you may have broken in the first paragraph – first page at least. And unless you are a stickler for rules, most of them can be broken. But you need a little practice, a good ear for prose, and an iron constitution for staring down the disapproving looks from your writers’ group. Here are a few. Read more about Wrules for Writers