– 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—writing, reading, journaling and hoarding office supplies. Janice is fueled by the love and support of her family and most anything chocolate. When ...
Jan 08, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 Magazine , Teacher’s Helper , and five previous PSPP anthologies. Beginning 13 years ago, she created Senior Stretch, a program for Senior Citizens...
Jan 04, 2025•7 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast - 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...
Jan 01, 2025•8 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 creative non-fiction account of his mother’s experiences during the 1930s living on a rubber plantation in Sumatra, a story she only shared with him i...
Dec 28, 2024•8 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast 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 more of and offer more often when we can. —Happy Holidays from “6-minute Stories” podcast and the Personal Story Publishing Project. “Thirteen Candles i...
Dec 25, 2024•8 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast 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 and offer more often when we can. —Happy Holidays from “6-minute Stories” podcast and the Personal Story Publishing Project. “The Bus Children” – She l...
Dec 25, 2024•8 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 were published in the IWN anthology’s recent two books. Currently, she is writing a novel inspired by the life of her grandmother and mother....
Dec 21, 2024•8 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 being written and edited as “Boy Mom of Five,” “Dating Escapades” over 38 years, and “Growing up in a Crowd” of 12 siblings. Her annual Christmas writ...
Dec 18, 2024•8 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 Moonshine Review . Evelyn lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina....
Dec 14, 2024•8 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast – “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 allows likes to reflect on his life and write stories about his adventures. Several of those stories have been shared through The Personal Publi...
Dec 11, 2024•8 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast – “ 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, Pilates, and belly dancing. Her prose has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the Personal Story Publishing Project, Inwoo...
Dec 07, 2024•8 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast – The siren song of the unknown called. “On the seventh of March 1833 I left my native town with a heart rejoicing.” Growing up in the South means hearing and sharing stories. Ginny Foard learned a lot that way and keeps on trying to find out more about it all. The air is thick with good stories. She lives in a little post office box on Sullivans Island, South Carolina.
Dec 04, 2024•8 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast – “I know what is coming.” The dying process is a crucible of tension. Thomas Gery, a common man with uncommon experiences lives in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army with duty in Vietnam. As a social worker he helped children, youth, and adults in a variety of practice venues and situations throughout a work life of 40 years. Married with two adult children and two grandchildren, he is currently writing his life’s story to provide answers to questions his kids will ne...
Nov 30, 2024•9 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 Davidson with her veterinarian husband, a cat who can open doors, and a sweet chihuahua who has played Bru...
Nov 27, 2024•8 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast — 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 and light sci-fi. Nick is currently shopping his debut novel, “Midnight Springs,” to literary agents. “Midnight Springs” is the first in a planne...
Nov 23, 2024•8 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast – I had to continue this risky addiction to their conversations. Ignorance would have been more intolerable than knowing. Eloise Currie lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has kept a journal for thirty years and uses it as source material for short stories and nonfiction. She lived in Bath, North Carolina, for several years where she was a member of the Pamlico Writers Group and Riverwalk Writers Group. She is currently a member of the River Writers Group. She enjoys editing and has edit...
Nov 20, 2024•8 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast – I can’t remember who suggested that we go skinny dipping that night. I imagined a veritable walk of shame back to Lily’s house. Jena Reger lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she is a graduate student at Duke University. She belongs to a local writing group and has been working on a variety of projects for the past few years--from flash fiction to a novel. Her work has appeared in the online literary magazine Swamp Biscuits and Tea and the anthology, Coming of Age in...
Nov 16, 2024•8 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast – Darlin’, that’s a championship team. As I regard his 60-something stride, the scream fighting to escape my throat dissolves into a plan. Annette L. Brown is a mother, wife, and retired teacher, who lives on an almond farm in Central California where she enjoys spending time with family and friends. She is grateful for the support of The Taste Life Twice Writers and The Light Makers’ Society and for simply having time to write. Annette has pieces reflecting her love of nature, family, bea...
Nov 13, 2024•9 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast – I had a dream fueled by hope but mostly idealistic naïveté With the firmly resounding hammer blow with my pickaxe came a thunderbolt moment of clarity born of every slight, every wound, I had until then ever known. David Lusk is a retired, self-employed consulting arborist/psychologist/writer living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has previously written several articles for The Winston-Salem Journal and the trade publication, Tree Care Industry Magazine . He lives purpos...
Nov 09, 2024•8 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast — Oh, what the hell—go be one of the guys! My panicky gut sent up red flares! Arlene Mandell is an artist living in Linville, North Carolina, proudly celebrating her 10th 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,” “I...
Nov 06, 2024•8 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast – I became daring in the dark. My grip froze. I gulped the moist night air and licked my lips. Mary Clements Fisher celebrates her current mother/grandmother, sweetheart, student, and writer status in Cupertino, California. Two writers’ groups Taste Life Twice and Daughters through the Decades support her mad, muddled, and magical moments of writing. She’s published in Quail Belle Magazine, Adanna Journal, Passager Journal, The Weekly Avocet, Prometheus Dreaming Journal, The Closed E...
Nov 02, 2024•8 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast – “Don’t panic. Keep your feet up.” It bucks and dips, pitches and plunges while cold water slams you every few seconds. A retired English professor, Kenneth Chamlee still enjoys teaching workshops on humor in poetry, writing in personae, and the remarkable connections between poetry and painting and photography. His poetic biography of 19th-century American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt, The Best Material for the Artist in the World (Stephen F. Austin State University Pre...
Oct 30, 2024•8 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast – 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. Still, more recently, his interest has turned to writing in English and subjects related to his experiences interacting with the two cultures. S...
Oct 26, 2024•8 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast – W e were trying out young adulthood, but there were rules. What I recall is moonlight through a picture window until we heard his door open, Marshall’s deep, slow Tennessee twang. Caroline Kane Kenna lives in Huntersville, North Carolina. A newspaper reporter before the internet. Stay at home Mom to three boys, trailing spouse for a corporate husband. Her family moved to Huntersville in 2005. Her writing has placed in Charlotte Writers Club contests. Poems published in Above the Fold and...
Oct 23, 2024•8 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast – 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 numerous literary journals and will soon appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels and Messages from Heaven. Her books include Ten Thousand ...
Oct 19, 2024•8 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast – I began to pass little crosses made of sticks and string. It was fully dark outside now, a blackness unrelieved by any shaft of human-created light. Suzanne Adams has been an actor, director, teacher, and archenemy of Mountain Pine Beetles in the Rockies. She didn’t take writing semi-seriously until moving to Charlotte, in this “writingest state.” Her stories have won a few prizes in literary contests and have been published in Litmosphere, Main Street Rag, Memoirs Ink, and Minerva Risin...
Oct 16, 2024•8 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast – We had our audience! Fierce when necessary, and sometimes maybe just a little bit witchy 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 fortune to practice his craft for most of the last four decades and has seen his work appear nationally and in several countries on three continents. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with his beloved feral, hippie-chick w...
Oct 12, 2024•8 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast – “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 created 92 one-hour lectures on biblical history for presentation to elders, sponsored by the non-profit Florida-based Shepherd Centers organizati...
Oct 09, 2024•8 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast – What was I doing here? I’d been a fool to come. Too much of the past haunted the rooms. Bruce Spang, former Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine, is the author of two novels, The Deception of the Thrush and Those Close Beside Me. His most recent collection of poems, All You’ll Derive: A Caregiver’s Journey , was just published. He is the poetry and fiction editor of the Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine. He teaches courses in fiction and poetry at Great Smokies Writing Program at Univers...
Oct 05, 2024•8 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast The Bottle Rocket War by Richard L. Davis, Elk Grove, CA – firecrackers on a stick, launched from tequila bottles! We had no Francis Scott Key to record our glory and legacy. Richard (“Rick”) Davis is a retired Air Force colonel with an extensive professional writing history, including some non-fiction material published over the past 40 years. To transition to fiction, he studied with Amherst Writers & Artists and published his first novella in 2014. “The Bottle Rocket War” marks his...
Oct 02, 2024•8 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 
