Back in early 2017 I wrote a short story to one of Sue Vincent’s #writephoto prompts called “Embers”.  I later added four more parts to the story, posting each on line as it was completed.  No, not my first serial story nor my last.  In fact, I have written two 25,000 word novellas based solely on Sue’s prompts and am in the middle of a novel that is mostly based on them.  When I finished the story, I immediately did a second and third draft off line.  You see, I really liked the story.

When the idea of a new book of short stories came up, not only did I think the story Embers needed to be in it, I thought that it would make a great title.  You know, each story is an ember on its own, but together they make a fire.

At the time I was also thinking about using Foreword to my non-novel works.  My thought immediately went back to a comment on the third installation on the story by D. Wallace Peach.  It wasn’t the greatest comment I ever received, or even the best one from Diana, but it was an acknowledgment that my story was bringing across what I wanted.  It was one of those times where, for whatever reason, a comment became part of the story for me. Continue reading →