In My Opinion

Hi Readers –
The Whys and What of 4 Star Stories

We created 4 Star Stories in 2011 when other publishing venues were closing, and things were looking dark for writers. We felt that short story writers, especially beginning writers, needed platforms where they could present their work. We became one of those platforms. That is the why of 4 Star Stories for writers.

There is also a why of 4 Star Stories for our readers.

At a time when so many publications were closing, the few that remained seemed to be publishing depressing stories filled with “arty” hopelessness. The economy was down; the news reports were gloom and doom. The short stories being published far too much reflected the state of the world. So, readers were moving to other forms of entertainment in droves.

“Phooey!” we thought and asked ourselves, “How are negative stories supposed to draw readers or help them through trying times?”

We remembered that President Franklin Roosevelt, during the Great Depression, called in movie-industry moguls, who had been making movies reflecting the desperate times, and pointed out to them that the nation was going through a psychological depression as well as a fiscal depression. In addition to dark movies, he asked them to make some light-hearted movies to brighten people’s moods. Thus the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, and a bunch of movie comedies and musicals were born.

Considering this concept, the recession we were in, and our goal of attracting readers, we at 4 Star Stories decided to make it our policy to publish fun speculative fiction stories -- stories featuring intelligence, resourcefulness, science, pluck, fantasy, adventurousness, and whimsy. The kind of stories to build daydreams upon; stories to help our readers pull through. So that is what we did, and what we do. That is the what of 4 Star Stories.

These are the whys and what of 4 Star Stories. See if you don’t agree with us.

And this is 4 Star Stories, Summer 2013, Issue #Ten!

Enjoy!

I look forward to seeing you in the Autumn Issue of 4 Star Stories.

The Editors: M. Gray and D. Gray

P.S. We are open for submissions. If you are a serious writer and you have a story you think meets our criteria, send it along to us. We would like to read it.

At 4 Star Stories, we are looking for well-written, original Science Fiction and Fantasy short stories, preferably with an upbeat, positive attitude.

For all da' rules, checkout our Submissions page.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Oh, and writers, remember to self-edit and spell check every story before you send it to us, or to anyone else for that matter. Reading a clean, error-free manuscript makes editors happy, and a happy editor is more likely to publish your story.

Enjoy the Spring 2013 Issue of 4 Star Stories. See you for the Summer 2013 issue, coming in early July, 2013.

Your Editor,

Gray

4 Star Stories is an online speculative fiction magazine that publishes 4 short stories, Science Fiction and Fantasy, 4 times per year. Come and join us each season. Tell your friends about us. Read the stories, look at the art, have some fun. We are. It's important.

Hearing from you is important too. We value your opinions. Click on Contact the Editors to send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

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