Where Stories Meet

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers including Leonberger book reviews. However,  sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that are books that I love and want to promote. This time the book is Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet: An Anthology of Short Stories & Poems (Story Chat Series) by Marsha Ingrao, editor, and author, plus 25 more authors. Below I am giving an overview of the two formats for the book (I bought the paperback edition).

• Paperback Edition –  Publisher : Independently published (March 6, 2026), ASIN : B0GRH9CNJP, ISBN-13 : 979-8250922968, 212 pages, Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces, dimensions : 6 x 0.53 x 9 inches, it cost $14.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
• Kindle Edition – Publisher : Always Write Publishing Services (March 6, 2026), ASIN : B0GRKS8QDD, 310 pages. It is currently $5.99 on Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.

Amazon’s Description of Where Stories Meet

Story Chat Digest: Where Stories Meet is an international anthology of short stories and contemporary poetry from writers around the world. Through literary fiction, reflective storytelling, and thoughtful verse, the collection explores mystery, memory, humour, resilience, faith, family, and the quiet complexities of everyday life.

Each story and poem stands on its own, yet together they create a rich tapestry of voices and perspectives that reflect the power of shared storytelling.

Perfect for readers who enjoy literary anthologies, short fiction, and contemporary poetry, Where Stories Meet invites you to linger, reflect, and return to the conversation again and again.

This is my five star review for the book Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet

Stories and Poems of all Kinds

Story Chat Digest Where Stories Meet is a collection of stories and poems written by 26 authors including the editor and author Marsha Ingrao. The stories and the poems cover a lot of different topics including humor, the paranormal, love and romance, lost love, sad stories, fantasy, children stories, and there’s art including paintings of animals and fondant art. It also includes an interesting chapter on flash fiction. What it is, and how to write flash fiction. This chapter could be very helpful to aspiring authors.

Many of the stories are followed by exploratory inquiries and incisive questions for book clubs followed by possible answers to those questions by fictitious book club members. As someone who read the book primarily for entertainment and for the reflections directly stated in the poems and the stories, I did not focus on the book club questions too much. However, I can see how this, perhaps best referred to as a “bonus feature”, could be very helpful for book clubs and literature classes.

To give some examples of what kind stories are in this book. One of the stories is about a young orphan who was sent from foster home to foster home but not having much luck, well at first. This story really pulled on your heartstrings. Another poignant story is about a lost childhood love and the search for it. Another story was an alternative, or rather expanded, version of the Garden of Eden, in which all animals could speak as they do in CS Lewis’ Narnia. It made Eve’s encounter with the talking snake more plausible.

There is also a comical ghost story, a story about a man who could see how close people were to their death, a mysterious twilight zone like story called Springtime in Paris, a poem about a Cape Buffalo called Black Death. There is also a dreamy and comical science fiction story about amazing travel in the future, as well as a fun children’s story about people building a gingerbread church and it featured lots of pictures of fondant art. As you can tell, this book feature stories and poetry of all kinds. This does not make the book unfocused. The book is very well organized. It makes it more entertaining and interesting. I could never guess what the next story was going to be about.

The book is very well written, edited and well put together. It is an entertaining and an easy and enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book.

About Marsha Ingrao

A retired educator, she brings a lifelong love of learning and storytelling to her work. She is the editor of the Story Chat Digest anthology series, international collections that reflect the voices and conversations of a global writing community. Her most recent volume is Where Stories Meet.

She is also the author of Embracing the Power to Live, a reflective, poetic memoir on resilience, faith, and personal growth.

In addition, she has contributed to multiple anthologies and is the author of Images of America: Woodlake, published by Arcadia Publishing.

Through her long-running blog, Always Write, Marsha shares stories, reflections, and creative inspiration while inviting readers to engage, respond, and become part of the storytelling experience.

Website: https://alwayswrite.blog/

Books Page: https://alwayswrite.blog/books-3/

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Below are the websites for some of the other of the authors

Robbie Cheadle https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Grant P. Ferguson https://writingforeternity.com/

Esther Chilton https://estherchilton.co.uk/

Cindy Georgakas https://uniquelyfitblog.com/

Lauren Scott https://baydreamerwrites.com/

Yvette Prior https://priorhouse.wordpress.com/

Darlene Foster https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/

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Below are a few more links provided by the authors

From Grant P. Ferguson: A free copy of The Trellis Method, a step-by-step writing system for fiction (https://writingforeternity.com/writing/).

Grant P. Ferguson: A special report, The Dirty Little Secrets about AI (https://writingforeternity.com/the-dirty-little-secrets-about-ai/).