I’m reading It’s All in the Story: California (an anthology of California short stories) during 2020 – aiming for at least 4 stories per month. There are 24 short stories and so far I’ve liked all that I read. I created this page to make notes on the stories so I can remember them.
Title: It’s All in the Story: California: An Anthology of Short Fiction
Editor: D.P. Lyle
Publisher: Southern California Writers Association
Publication date: October 21, 2017
Pages: 224
Location: Various California locations – mainly Southern California
POV: Varies – there are 24 short stories by different authors
My Source: – I own a Kindle copy
I’m using a random number generator to choose stories and will add notes as I read them. My goal is to read four stories monthly until I’m done, but honestly, the stories I’ve read so far were so good, I’m feeling motivated to read the book faster. We’ll see what happens.
Update: I finished reading the stories in November, added a short description for each story in December, and count this anthology for one of the prompts in the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge. I enjoyed the stories, though a few were too dark for my preferences. Still, a very good anthology. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys fiction about California.
The Premise
California is a fascinating place with many talented authors.
Stories
#1
After the Wave Breaks, by Jo Ellen Pitzer … nice story – Gram’s in the hospital but takes great pleasure in seeing other people smile. Katelyn sees only the negative in life. Takes place in the hospital and on a Southern California beach.
#2
Angel of the Morning, by D.J. Phinney . . . fascinating! A waitress realized her customer is that young man she lost her virginity to many years before, who she hasn’t seen since because he left to go fight in the Korean War. Fullerton is the location.
#3
House at Pooh Corner, by Julie Wells …. Was this fiction? It read like a short memoir. A woman and two children meet with the unexpected on a snowy day in the South Lake Tahoe area.
#4
California Dreamin’, by Casey Pope . . . Life’s not fair! A tiny family, traveling.
#5
Christmas in Santa Ana, by Biff (Harold D.) Baker . . . this story is a hot mess! It will leave you wondering what’s going on. It jumps from one topic to another mercilessly.
#6
Earth Angel, by Maddie Margarita . . . former angel in search of Jack.
#7
Filthy Lucre, by Andrew R. Nixon . . . dorm roommates at CalTech devise a way to make money.
#8
Full Service, by Steven G. Jackson . . . dark, dark, dark. This takes place at an isolated gas station and car repair garage in the Mojave Desert.
#9
I Love California, Except for the Flakes, by Wanda Green . . . sunny California? It’s the place you want to be…
#10
Just for Fun, by Glenda Brown Rynn . . . two brothers, and pranks gone awry.
#11
The Kick the Bucket Tour, by Jo Perry . . . A tale of extreme tragedies, in Los Angeles.
#12
Life Dies and Then You Suck, by Steven G. Jackson . . . a surprising story about William Randolph Hearst.
#13
Magdalena, by Lani Forbes . . . a young woman at the San Juan Capistrano Mission falls in love in 1812.
#14
Solving for X, by Anne Moose . . . the path of true love is rarely easy to tread.
#15
Splash, by D.P. Lyle . . . a female journalist hears a suspicious splash while kayaking near Newport.
#16
Steps, by Phyllis Blake . . . a musician deals with injury, phobia and rejection.
#17
The Inevitable Avocado, by Jeffrey J. Michaels . . . examples of the CA promise at a charity event.
#18
The Quest for Avalon, by Catheryn Hull . . . two wild boys meet and greet in a wild world.
#19
The Unpleasantness in Room 27A, by Dana Hammer . . . story of a sociopathic visitor to Disneyland.
#20
The Untimely Death of Sweet Mims, by David Putnam . . . Gram’s so mad at that dead cat…
#21
Verity’s Truth, by Maddie Margarita …. This is dystopian and futuristic.
#22
You Can Bank on the Breeze, by PJ Colando …. A contemporary story about the financial stress so many people are experiencing these days; there’s a feeling of living on the edge and plenty of tension.
#23
Zolota: Another Gold Rush, by Rose de Guzman . . . an alternative history in which the Russians on the coast at Fort Ross (?) are the ones who discover gold in California.
#24
The Mighty and Me, by Janis Thomas . . . a woman is caught in the undertow while swimming in the Pacific Ocean.
This is an interview with D.P. Lyle, who edited this anthology.
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[…] A fantastic collection of short stories set in California: past, present and future. I made notes on the stories in this book on another page here: An Anthology of California Short Stories. […]
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[…] 3. It’s All in the Story: California – I’m not in any hurry to get through these stories. I’ll read just a few each month. I’m keeping track of the stories on a different blog page – An Anthology of California Short Stories. […]
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[…] 5. It’s All in the Story: California – Short stories. I’m enjoying the reading of them. I will continue to read throughout the month but there’s no hurry. I just want to be done by the end of the year. I’m keeping track of the stories on a different blog page – An Anthology of California Short Stories. […]
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That’s a lot of reading, but the anthology does sound interesting. I’ve been to California a few times. My youngest son and his family live there. But I know little about the state. Enjoy the reading. Have a good week.
Thanks Beverly. The foreword in the book tells how they chose the stories. 64 stories were submitted. There was an editorial committee that had to narrow the submissions to 24. That was all done without revealing the author names. These are really cream of the crop stories. I decided on a California anthology because I’m rekindling my interest in the state, now that I’m back here. I’ve long been fascinated by California history, especially.