Is There a Story Here?

by Gary Fearon

At a party this weekend I enjoyed having a conversation with a fellow who has been a postal carrier for thirty years.  At one point in my childhood I had wanted to be a mailman, so I had a fair share of questions that he likewise seemed to enjoy answering.  But the most interesting thing he had to say wasn't related to delivering Amazon packages or avoiding getting bit by dogs.

Years ago when his daughter was very young, he would bring her to the post office on Take Your Daughter to Work Day.  She helped him sort the mail for his route in the appropriate slots, and on one occasion she drew him a picture, which he proudly hung in his cubicle.  That drawing has remained in the same place for years.

His daughter is in her late twenties now, so that picture holds special memories for him.  As you can imagine, he wasn't happy when...

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The Long and the Short of It

by Gary Fearon

At a Southern Writers authors event a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with several novelists about their approaches to writing (you'll read about many of them in upcoming issues of Southern Writers).  When I spoke with one author in particular who writes both novels and short stories, I sought his perspectives on writing for the two different formats...

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