The History of Dear Tales
by Linda Rigsbee
The idea of DEAR TALES was conceived in late 1996 after a disappointing search through the magazine rack of a local supermarket. There appeared to be confusion between the words romance and sex. Western magazines were dominated by contemporary stories or true west articles. Nothing provided a variety and all were saturated with advertising. I left the store empty-handed.
By the time I reached my car, DEAR TALES had reached it's embryonic stage. Over the next few weeks, in the protective womb of my computer, the DNA of its style was formed.
A minimum of three short stories, a poem and an article. Story settings of any place, time period, category or length. Easy to read upbeat stories Family oriented. No sex scenes, offensive language, undue violence or anti-heros. No advertising - no interruptions mid-story requiring the reader to search for page 23. And so, after countless hours of labor, the first issue of DEAR TALES was born. I nurtured the zine as it stumbled through the awkward teen years, welcoming the participation of other authors. It began as a monthly zine, went to is bi-annual and then to an e-zine. Now DEAR TALES is a web site of FREE Online Reads by Linda Rigsbee. As everything does, it will change with the times, but it will always be my baby.
