The History of Dear Tales
by Linda L. Rigsbee
The idea of DEAR TALES was conceived in late 1996 after a dissapointing 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 contemporate 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 akward teen years, welcoming the participation of other authors. Now matured, the zine is bi-annual. As everything does, it will change with the times, but it will always be my baby.
In 2011, Dear Tales morphed again - now as a free showcase for everything shorter than a novella. Primarily, it is short stories, but poems and articles can also be found on this site.
