Tag: Anthology

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.
The front cover features the title and author name, and a picture of members of a book club sitting around a table.
Front cover of Where Stories Meet. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback edition of the book.

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.

The picture shows a living room with furniture and there is a description of the book.
Front cover of Where Stories Meet. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle edition of the book.

About Marsha Ingrao

Marsha Ingrao is an author, editor, and founder of Story Chat Digest, an interactive literary community where writers and readers connect through short stories, poetry, and thoughtful discussion.

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/

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/

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/).

Stories That Will Capture Your Heart

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote. Well, I read another book that I loved, so this is another one of those. I am reviewing and promoting a wonderful collection of short stories and poems called The Storyteller Speaks: Powerful Stories to Win Your Heart by Annika Perry. I bought the paperback version.

The front cover is in blue and white and features a woman blowing on a dandelion. In the background there are stars on a dark blue sky.
Front cover of The Storyteller Speaks by Annika Perry. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback.

Amazon’s description of the book

It only takes one event to change a life. What is that action, decision, occurrence? Whose life is affected? Changed forever? In this eclectic mix of 21 short stories, flash fiction and poetry the pendulum swings between first love and murder, from soul-destroying grief to reconciliation. The tales veer from the sweet satisfaction of revenge to new beginnings, from heart-breaking miscarriages of justice to heart-warming Christmas misadventure. One common thread binds them all; the belief that there is no such thing as an ordinary life; they’re all extraordinary. Open your hearts and minds as The Storyteller Speaks.

Below is my review of The Storyteller Speaks by Annika Perry Click Here To See My Review On Amazon.

Captivating Stories for the Soul

This is a collection of 21 beautifully written stories as well as a few poems. Some of the stories depict the struggles and disappointments in life, some of them are tragic and sad, and some of them are uplifting and fun, but all of them are captivating stories centered on the unexpected in people’s lives. The author’s ability to portray emotions without using superlatives is remarkable. I could feel for and sympathize with the characters with ease. A few skillfully descriptive words were all that was needed. The author’s background is Swedish and since my background is Swedish many aspects of the stories felt familiar to me.

Many of the stories, perhaps all of them, are based on real events, sometimes taken from the author’s own life. I think the story that stayed with me the most was A Green Cage. It was about a woman who was wrong-fully convicted of murdering her children. The story depicted her emotions both very harrowingly and realistically just by stating the facts about what she felt. Another story that stayed with me was Sofia, a story about a tragedy occurring at the zoo. It depicted the dire consequences of thoughtless teenage antics as well as love and bravery going overboard. People do stupid things that can turn a fun day into death. The first story, Biding her Time, is a beautiful love story, which I believe was about the love story of her grandfather and grandmother. The last story, “The Loss of a Patriarch”, is a beautiful tribute to her late grandfather.

It is a very enjoyable and unforgettable collection of stories that is masterfully written. I loved reading it and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading short stories.

The back cover is in blue and white and features the backside of the head of the woman blowing on a dandelion. Again, with stars on a dark blue background in the background.
Back cover of The Storyteller Speaks by Annika Perry. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the kindle version.

About the Author

Photo of Annika Perry author of The Storyteller Speaks.

Annika Perry is a full-time writer, blogger and book reviewer. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and raised near Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Annika received her BA Honours Degree in German Language and Literature from the University of Leeds.

Her initial employment was as a journalist followed by many years as an agent in the timber trade. She was awarded first prize in Writing Magazine’s Short Story Competition in 2014 and also shortlisted in an Ink Tears Short Fiction Contest. “The Storyteller Speaks”, a collection of short stories, flash fiction and poetry, was her debut book. “Oskar’s Quest”, a beautifully illustrated and enchanting children’s story, is her second published book. Annika Perry lives with her family in a small village in North Essex, England.

Connect with Annika via:

Author Website / Blog:

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Goodreads:

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We All Die What Are Our Lives

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote. This is another one of those. I am reviewing and promoting a great collection of short horror and spooky stories called And the Grave Awaits by Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I bought the kindle version.

  • Paperback –  Published July 5, 2024, ASIN : B0D8BJRCFC, ISBN-13: ISBN-13 : 979-8328600293, 194 pages, Item Weight : 12.5 ounces, Dimensions : 6 x 0.44 x 9 inches, it cost  $10.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle –  Published July 5, 2024, ASIN : B0D7745TZB, 204 pages, it costs $5.99 on US Amazon, it is free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The front cover features red roses in a black vase in front what looks like a gravestone.
Front cover of And the Grave Awaitsby Robbie Eaton Cheadle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback.

Amazon’s description of the book

A collection of short paranormal and dark stories.

Includes the award-winning short story, The Bite.

A group of boys participate in a reality television challenge; to the death.

What does it mean to be a Canary Girl? One young woman is about to find out.

Where is the bride? A beautiful young woman goes missing during a game of hide and seek on her wedding day.

Some stories will make you cry, some will make you gasp, and some will leave you believing in vigilante justice. All will end with a grave.

Below is my review of And the Grave Awaits by Robbie Cheadle Click Here To See My Review On Amazon

16 Fun and hair-raising spooky stories

This is a collection of 16 spooky and creepy stories. Some of them are horror stories, some of them are paranormal stories and some of them are historical fiction depicting dark events in the past. All of them are spellbinding and interesting. There are spider dances, ghosts, séances, human sacrifice, sirens, murders, mass murderers, deadly diseases, icy magical mountains, enraged gods, volcanoes, 500-year-old history, war and poisoning, baby farming, gruesome death, chimney sweep children, and much more. Many of the stories end in death but some of them have happy endings.

The stories are fiction and quite imaginative, but they all have a background in reality whether it is a historical event or some gruesome tradition or myth from the past. At the end of each story the author has an “About” section explaining the background to the story. This ends up being quite educational. At least I learned a lot from reading the About sections, and sometimes I also googled the information to learn more.

I think my favorite story was Glass Mountain. This was a science fiction-like story taking place in the future. A group of young men participate in a reality TV game show. If they succeed in their quest, they will be rich. They are supposed to climb a mysterious and icy mountain called Glass Mountain. The problem is that no one comes back from the climb, and the young men eventually found out why. Another fascinating story was the siren who was raised as a human vegetarian, which is like trying to make your cat a vegetarian. Her father also did not allow her to sing. As you may guess, she grew up.

Above all these 16 stories are very entertaining. I love spooky stories and these stories were thrilling, unique, creative and very well written. I highly recommend this book.

About the Author

Photo of Robbie Cheadle author of And the Grave Awaits.

Award-winning bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fourteen children’s books and two poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie’s blog includes recipes, fondant and cake artwork, poetry, and book reviews. https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Click here to visit is her Goodreads page

Click here to visit her TSL Publications Page

Click here to visit is her Twitter account

Click here to visit is her Facebook account

These are her published books on Amazon