Winter Reflections

Hi, Readers –

While working on this issue of 4 Star Stories I realized that editing is one of the fun things I get to do. I really enjoy it because I am a fan of reading, especially science fiction and fantasy short stories. I love spending a few spare minutes reading a new story. It is always a gateway to adventure.

But, then I thought, what about other people? Why should they spend their free time reading when there are so many other things they could be doing?

Welllllll…, I answered myself, -- for a lot of reasons:

·         Short stories are short. They only take a few minutes to read. So, reading a short story is no big time-investment.

·         Good short stories only deal with one problem or idea that the writer presents and brings to a creative solution in a short amount of time. So, no big anxiety-investment.

·         Short stories are a great way to find new favorite authors. That’s how I found Greg Bear.

·         Short stories are like mini-vacations. They can take you to anywhere and to any when, and quickly return you to your reality, refreshed and ready to tackle the world.

·         Short stories are adventures: fast adventures that can give you fresh insights and new ways to think about and deal with your reality.

·         Short stories are safe adventures: while they may change your world-view, they won’t get you killed, or even hurt, usually.

·         But, most of all, short stories are fun! They are like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, “You never know what you are going to get.” And, if you don’t like the one you bite into, you can always try a different one.

In Issue 16 of 4StarStories we have for you four new, fun adventures to try, plus a quirky bonus story. Enjoy!

When is a swank dinner party more than a dinner party? When the guest of honor is a noted mentalist, and the head maid is more than she appears to be. Add a large picture mirror, and you have Reflection.

For Court Jester Telton the Fool, laughter is his stock and trade. By his own admission, he is up to any challenge, but this latest one may be his last. Join us in the quest for the ultimate laugh in To Die in Vaspharkan.

A carnival in the middle of the desert at night leads to a strange encounter and a fateful decision in The stickiness of cotton candy.

A Junior-High-schooler who lives in a strange house with even stranger relatives, an impressionable robot and a ghost from the 1960's anti-war movement lead to mayhem, hilarity and ultimate triumph in The Science Project.

Our Bonus Story is a tale of a wanted woman (or not), a love affair (or perhaps not), one (or maybe a lot more) aliens, a man driven to seek honest employment because of the whole thing, and a really good ham and cheese sandwich. Marva Hicks and the Men in White Hats is all that and more.