Solstice ... and the symbiosis of storytelling

Well, the solstice has arrived. The northern hemisphere can now look forward to the return of the sun. So, I guess it is time to make my regular (1st) solstice report.

Okay. Not With A Whisper: Producers is up at Amazon. Has been for several days now, but I didn’t want to put out two posts on top of each other. NWAW:P went live 4 days ago, and I have 4 sales. Hard to not feel good about that. Someone, somewhere is reading what I wrote -- or at least intending to.

And that's what it is all about. I believe that for a story to be told, you need both someone to tell the story, and someone to receive it. It becomes a symbiosis. As such, each of us reads a different story, though the words remain the same. For one, the story can have great meaning, for another little or no meaning.

That this occurs -- and the way it occurs -- continues to surprise me. A reader once wrote me that one of my stories had affected his life and a relationship in a certain way. Now, of all the things I expected of the story, this came pretty far down the list. In fact, I didn't see it coming at all. But, together, we created a story that he could use to help himself. I felt both gratified and humbled.

Humbled because although the reader gave me credit, the credit belonged equally to him or even more to him than to me. He took my words and used them to his own benefit. We all do this, I know, and I owe debts to many other authors myself, taking from their words things to help myself.

What anyone may take from NWAW:Producers, I know not. I hope that those who do read enjoy the story. If not, well, they can always return it and get their money back from Amazon ... and perhaps leave a review warning others of like mind away. That's okay. I know that some will find the story wanting, for no author can please everyone.(If you happen to read and enjoy it, consider leaving a review as well -- and maybe even mention it to a friend.)

Anyway, with the returning of the sun I hope that I can return to writing. I still have stories I wish to tell, and until someone else reads them, they can’t achieve their full measure, become true stories.

I wish you all a happy Solstice (Winter up north, Summer down south). May the coming year bring all that we desire – and not necessarily all that we deserve.

Live well, my friends.