Story Chat Vol Two is Out Now!

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This time last year — more or less — I was promoting the publication of Story Chat Online Literary Conversations: Series of Short Stories and Ruminations. I can’t believe it’s a year ago!

Well… Story Chat Vol II is available now on AMAZON.UK. and AMAZON.COM just in time for Christmas.

The Blurb

Story Chat started as a unique online blogging program for authors and readers. This second book includes a diverse set of original short stories by authors from almost every continent in the world. While most of the stories would fall into the category of drama at all ages from children to older adults, this collection includes sci-fi, comedy, and two non-fiction articles about the writing process. All of the selections are family-friendly, even though the topics are aimed at adult readers.

In this book, you will enjoy realistic fiction, surprise, and open endings. Halloween vampire horror stories might make you laugh and wonder how you could. Traveling to an alternate universe – that happens to be familiar to some of you will keep you entertained. You might find yourself stepping into another universe or two that are so bizarre you don’t know what to do with them.

Characters will bring you to tears as they bravely reach for love or face tragedy you hope no one will have to face. You will laugh at the older couple discussing booking the adventure of a nudist cruise. You will cheer for a mother and her autistic child as they surmount obstacles. One story will remind you of Toy Story or the Velveteen Rabbit. Another is an epic children’s poem with illustrations made of fondant by the talented author and her son.

This book is so much fun. Yet, it can be educational, especially for writers who constantly work to improve their craft. Each story has discussion questions that you can use if you belong to a book club or writing group.

All of us, known as Story Chatters, hope this book will make an impact in your lives.

Marsha Ingrao (Always Write) and Hugh W, Roberts (Hugh’s Views and News) are responsible for starting Story Chat four years ago to get an online chat going about short stories. The success of Story Chat has encouraged the authors to make their stories and chats available in book form so that offline readers can enjoy them too.

Discussing short stories might be an idea you could take to your book club, if you’re involved in one. It would make an interesting change.

This book has a fine collection of stories in multiple genres written by authors from all corners of the world. You’ll find comedy, young drama, poetry, science fiction, mild horror — or not so mild; it depends on how well you sleep at night!

The stories explore themes such as identity, coming of age, fate, perception vs reality, familial obligations, friendships, and self-discovery.

I like to have a book of short stories just to open up now and then for a quick read. Story Chat is just perfect for that, with each story taking just three to five minutes to read.

It’s hard to pick a favourite but I will mention a couple.

One in particular touched my heart; Anxious About Sea Horses by Gary A. Wilson. It’s a story about a man who introduces a young autistic girl to the concept of AAS (Animals Assisted Therapy); in this case, Sea Horse As Therapy, with incredible results. Gary wrote this story in such a gentle way, that it tugged on my heartstrings.

I found The Watcher by Hugh Roberts creepy as hell! Hugh has a knack for drawing his readers in, getting to the point, and ending with a twist.

The Replacement by Amanda Forestwood made my jaw drop. Lucky escape for the main character in this story. The cheek of that guy Max!

For new or budding writers reading this book, there are some interesting sections on the art of writing; How to Write Fantastic Stories That will Impact Readers by Hugh Roberts, Tips on Point of View by Diana Peach, Writing Advice From a Real Character by Vanessa Carlton, and Book Publishing 101 by Colleen M. Chesebro.

If you’re a fan of short stories of mixed genres, you’ll love Story Chat. Here are the links to Amazon.uk and Amazon.com

Story Chat Book One is also available on Amazon.uk and Amazon.com

If you’d like to take part in the Blog Tour for Story Chat Short Stories let me know in the comments!

Would you like to participate in Story Chat 2025? Find more information HERE. Marsha would love to hear from you.

One more thing… will you share this post on your social media platforms, please?

Thank you… Thank you… Thank you!

MORE ABOUT ME, MY BOOKS AND MY CHARACTERS IN THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO!

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58 thoughts on “Story Chat Vol Two is Out Now!”

    • Hi Phil, thanks for stopping by to leave a comment on Gloria’s post. I am proud of all the stories in this book and how well it all turned out.

      Your story is another touching one on my favorite list. It’s one that I can identify with.

      I was in a car accident when I was 17 and had just graduated from high school. I was with friends coming home from a graduation party when we were hit by a drunk driver coming up a hill hitting us head on. I went through the windshield and passed out, woke up hearing someone groaning, not realizing at first it was me. After reading your story, I know what my mother must have been feeling when she got the phone call.

      Thanks for your marvelous contributions to both Story Chat Volume I and II!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

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  3. Gloria thanks for the lovely review! I does seem amazing that a year has passed since you worked so hard to make Volume I display correctly on Kindle. I will never forget all you kindnesses. I’m super proud of this work, too, and I couldn’t agree with you more about the three stories you wrote. I can’t wait to tell the authors about your mention of their stories in particular.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

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  5. What an excellent lift-off for Story Chat Volume 2, Gloria. You’ve done a great job with the post. Thanks so much for mentioning my story. I’m overjoyed that many talented writers submitted a story for this book. I hope it goes on to help many budding writers.

    I’m sharing your post on social media, including on BlueSky, which I just discovered and am enjoying very much. Are you on BlueSky?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks, Hugh.
      I enjoy being part of Story Chat. I didn’t get a story into this Vol, unfortunately. I’ll have it higher up on my priority list next year. 🙏
      I do enjoy your story’s endings! Surprise surprise, Cilla! 😅
      I haven’t heard of BlueSky. I’m intrigued now. I’ll have to go looking.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • I’m so excited to have had you as a part of Story Chat, and I look forward to next year. You are a very talented writer. There is so much to do when you publish a book. I hope yours is doing well. I loved it. You’ve had a lot of promotions for it. 🙂 xxx

        Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks for stopping by Gloria’s great post, Hugh.

      I’ve never heard of Blue Sky either. You are always on the cutting edge of everything blogging and media. I’ll have to check it out. Have you found a lot of authors and bloggers that are on Blue Sky? Is it regional? I’ll check it out. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • BlueSky is a relatively new social media platform, Marsha. It’s already passed the number of users Threads has. I’ll be writing about it in the New Year. It’s like X, but without the trolls and hate that seem to have engulfed X. I’m finding it a breath of fresh air.

        Liked by 2 people

      • I’ll check it out and look forward to your post. I don’t know anything about Threads either. Do they both link up to WP and publish automatically? The only thing I hate about starting with a new social media is all the work that it takes to get readers/followers.

        Like

      • Yes, WordPress includes an automatic link to your posts on BlueSky.

        I joined BlueSky a week and a half ago and already have 140 followers. Like any social media platform, it’s all about the engagement, Marsha.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I agree, Hugh. I started quite a few when I first started blogging. The one of mine that is the most active – a little over 900 followers is my Facebook account. It’s been like a phone book for finding old friends in all the places I’ve lived, and I can keep track of what’s going on in both CA and AZ with friends there as well as my author and blogger friends. I don’t do much with X or Instagram, and almost nothing but recipes on Pinterest, and very, very little on Linked in because I’m not looking for a job. I get job offers all the time from it, though. LOL Lots of scammy job offers through email, too. I should write back to all those people and try to get them to buy a copy of Story Chat! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

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