Down By The Creek
Down By The Creek – Ripples and Reflections is a collection of stories and poems for readers of all ages and walks of life. Author Paul Stansbury invites you to share in the amusing exploits of some young boys as they learn life lessons along the banks of their creek. These are the Ripples, adventures in fishing, pranking and romance, influenced by his own experiences growing up in Kentucky along Fern Creek. Accompanying each story, are the Reflections, Paul’s poems, in which he looks back on the meanings of his own experiences down by the creek.
INVERSION
INVERSION - NOT YOUR ORDINARY STORIES, is all about speculative fiction. From my viewpoint, this form of fiction places us in a world where the Laws, those regularly occurring or apparently inevitable phenomenon that govern what happens to us, operate differently than what we would expect. In the speculative fiction world, the rules as we know them do not always apply. Or could it be the rules as we thought we knew them?
Speculative fiction aims to explore our world as it would be altered by posing the question What if? The most appealing and freeing aspect of speculative fiction is that, like the worlds it creates, it is not bound by the traditional genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. In fact it is not bound by any genre. It is free to adventure anywhere it likes as long as anywhere is a creation of imagination and speculation.
INVERSION means turning upside down or inside out; reversal of a normal order or relation. What better title for a collection of speculative fiction stories? When you ask What if?, the result is not your ordinary story.
Some of these stories have been previously published, either in print or on line. They have been identified throughout. I wish to express my appreciation to those editors who were willing to publish my work and encourage the reader to visit these other publications.
INVERSION II
Inversion II - Creatures, Fairies, and Haints, Oh My!, is my second volume of speculative fiction stories.
In my realm of INVERSION, creatures are fictional or imaginary beings which are, as you would imagine, a bit out of the ordinary. For the most part, they are unsavory beings and best avoided. Next come the fairies: imaginary beings of supernatural powers. Usually seen in human form, they can be clever, playful, but can also prove mischievous given the right circumstances. And as for haints, those of you from the South may be familiar with the word. Haints are manifestations attributed to something beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature - spirits and spooks so to speak. If you want to understand haints, read my first story in this collection, “Haint Blue”.
As with Inversion - Not Your Ordinary Stories, some of these stories presented herein have been previously published, either in print or on line.
Down By The Creek
Down By The Creek – Ripples and Reflections is a collection of stories and poems for readers of all ages and walks of life. Author Paul Stansbury invites you to share in the amusing exploits of some young boys as they learn life lessons along the banks of their creek. These are the Ripples, adventures in fishing, pranking and romance, influenced by his own experiences growing up in Kentucky along Fern Creek. Accompanying each story, are the Reflections, Paul’s poems, in which he looks back on the meanings of his own experiences down by the creek.
INVERSION
Inversion II - Creatures, Fairies, and Haints, Oh My! is the second volume of Author Paul Stansbury’s Inversion Series. In these stories, you will again experience a world where the rules as you know them do not always apply. There you will find the creatures are, as you would imagine, a bit out of the ordinary. For the most part, they are unsavory beings and best avoided. You will also find fairies: imaginary beings of supernatural powers. Usually seen in human form, they can be clever, playful, but can also prove mischievous given the right circumstances. And as for haints, those of you from the South may be familiar with the word. Haints are manifestations attributed to something beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature - spirits and spooks so to speak.
INVERSION II
Inversion II - Creatures, Fairies, and Haints, Oh My!, is my second volume of speculative fiction stories.
In my realm of INVERSION, creatures are fictional or imaginary beings which are, as you would imagine, a bit out of the ordinary. For the most part, they are unsavory beings and best avoided. Next come the fairies: imaginary beings of supernatural powers. Usually seen in human form, they can be clever, playful, but can also prove mischievous given the right circumstances. And as for haints, those of you from the South may be familiar with the word. Haints are manifestations attributed to something beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature - spirits and spooks so to speak. If you want to understand haints, read my first story in this collection, “Haint Blue”.
As with Inversion - Not Your Ordinary Stories, some of these stories presented herein have been previously published, either in print or online.
BY GEORGE
BY GEORGE is a delightful and heartwarming collection of childhood anecdotes and remembrances for readers of all ages and walks of life. After retiring, George Herbert Stansbury, Jr. penned his adventures as a young boy growing up in the heartland of America at the turn of the 20th century. They were part of his ongoing correspondence primarily with his older brother Paul Wood Stanbury. Along with excerpts from his letters, these recollections offer a unique perspective of what life was like for an adolescent boy growing up in Franklin, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio.
MIGRANT TIMES
Author George Boursaw relates an engaging collection of his childhood experiences and memories of "the camps" - temporary villages where the migrant workers came to work on the family farm near traverse City, Michigan. There, they lived in tents, cooked on kerosene stoves and lit the tents with kerosene lamps. He also shares some other life experiences and musings since then offering his unique perspectives.
INVERSION III
Inversion III - The Lighter Shades of Greys is the third volume of Author Paul Stansbury’s Inversion Series. In these stories, you will again experience a world where the rules as you know them do not always apply. As you might guess from the title of this volume, the stories deal in some fashion with beings from other worlds. There may be one or two characters you will encounter whose origins may be in question, but take it from me, they are not from this neck of the woods. If you are looking for creepy alien abduction yarns, these stories are not for you. Nor will you find cataclysmic invasions of vicious, flesh eating space monsters on the menu. As the subtitle for this volume indicates, these stories are on the lighter side perhaps even humorous. The beings you will encounter here are most certainly of a kinder, gentler variety, although not too sweet.
OUR UNIVERSES
In July and August of 2019, The Boyle County Public Library offered a writing workshop as part the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives’ decidedly outer-space, sci-fi flavored theme, “A Universe of Stories”. The Library’s stated purpose was to encourage the participants to write fiction, create their own universes in their stories, help them polish their writing, and at the end of it all, seek publication for the whole group. The result was this collection of original stories entitled “Our Universes”. These stories are presented as they were originally written, with as little editorial interference as possible. Only the most obvious and readily recognizable typographic errors have been corrected. Vernacular and syntax have been preserved.
MEMORIES WORTH REMEMBERING
In October and November of 2018, The Boyle County Public Library offered a writing workshop entitled Memories Worth Remembering. The purpose of the workshop was to provide writers the opportunity to learn how to write a short recollection (500-2000 words) about a life experience. These recollections are presented as they were originally written, with as little editorial interference as possible. Only the most obvious and readily recognizable typographic errors have been corrected. Vernacular and syntax have been preserved. After all, these were not created as a literary work. Rather, they are the authors’ fond reminiscences shared with you the reader. As such, they deserve to be presented in their original form.
MEMORIES WORTH REMEMBERING II
In January of 2020, The Boyle County Public Library offered a writing workshop entitled Memories Worth Remembering II. This workshop was a follow-up to the Library's successful Memories Worth Remembering workshop offered in 2018. The purpose of the workshop was to provide writers the opportunity to learn how to write a short recollection (500-2000 words) about a life experience. These recollections are presented as they were originally written, with as little editorial interference as possible. Only the most obvious and readily recognizable typographic errors have been corrected. Vernacular and syntax have been preserved. After all, these were not created as a literary work. Rather, they are the authors’ fond reminiscences shared with you the reader. As such, they deserve to be presented in their original form.
MEMORIES WORTH REMEMBERING III
In December of 2021, The Boyle County Public Library offered a writing workshop entitled Memories Worth Remembering III. The purpose of the workshop was to provide writers the opportunity to learn how to write a short recollection (500-2000 words) about a life experience. These recollections are presented as they were originally written, with as little editorial interference as possible. Only the most obvious and readily recognizable typographic errors have been corrected. Vernacular and syntax have been preserved. After all, these were not created as a literary work. Rather, they are the authors’ fond reminiscences shared with you the reader. As such, they deserve to be presented in their original form.
Letters from Mabel
Letters from Mabel is a reflection of the heart and soul of Ruth Rogers. She has used her talent and love for people to inspire our church family, especially in her dedication to the children she faithfully teaches.
Inversion IV
Inversion IV is speculative fiction for the inquisitive mind. In the fourth voulume of his Inversion Series, Author Paul Stansbury invites you to exxperience again a world where the rules as you know them do not always apply. Inversion means turning upside down or inside out: reversal of a normal order or relation. What beter title for a collection of speculative fiction stories? When you ask "What if?" the result is not your ordinary story.
Short Fiction Potpourri
In the summer of 2022, The Boyle County Public Library offered a fiction writing workshop. The goal of the workshops was to encourage participants to write fiction, creating their own unique stories (500-2000 words), help them polish their writing, and at the end of it all, seek publication for the whole collection. Not only did the participants write some excellent pieces, but they ended up publishing them in a book entitled Short Fiction Potpourri. It was a rewarding experience for all involved.
Beginnings
In the fall of 2022, members of the Boyle County High School Creative Writing Club began a writing project. Beginnings represents their collective efforts. Titling the book Beginnings was both logical and inspiring as this is the first publication experience for the students. What you will read in these pages represents a beautiful beginning for each one of them.
MEMORIES WORTH REMEMBERING IV
In April of 2023, The Boyle County Public Library offered a writing workshop entitled Memories Worth Remembering IV. The purpose of the workshop was to provide writers the opportunity to learn how to write a short recollection (500-2000 words) about a life experience. These recollections are presented as they were originally written, with as little editorial interference as possible. Only the most obvious and readily recognizable typographic errors have been corrected. Vernacular and syntax have been preserved. After all, these were not created as a literary work. Rather, they are the authors’ fond reminiscences shared with you the reader. As such, they deserve to be presented in their original form.
Potpourri 2- Every Flavor of Story
From spaceships to sporks, Potpourri 2 – Every Flavor of Story, has a little bit of everything for the reader. This collection of short fiction is the result of the collaborative effort of 10 writers from central Kentucky who participated in a Summer Fiction Writing Workshop conducted in 2023. The workshop was sponsored by The Boyle County Public Library with the goal to encourage participants to write fiction, creating their own unique stories, help them polish their writing, and at the end of it all, publish the collection. It was a success all around.