The Spaces In Between: A Writing Journey Anthology

by Tim Yao (Editor), Mary O'Brien Glatz (Editor), Todd Hogan (Editor)

At the time of their initiation, some young Native Americans receive this As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Leap! Dear reader, we set to you a task. Leap into these stories that span the great chasm between what is and what if. What happens between the “what if” questions of life and their myriad possible outcomes, in between the yearnings of desires and the satisfaction of dreams? What happens if we take the leap into the unknown? This question sits at the heart of any good story. Could things go dark? Can mistakes be made? Might happiness be found? Will lessons be learned? This cross-genre collection depicts the arc of story from ordinary time into sometimes strange, sometimes poignant adventures as we explore the spaces in between the common and the fantastical, spaces fraught with challenges, opportunities, and curiosities. Quantum Physics suggests that matter can pass through space and time from point A to point B without touching anything in between and that matter, including people, can exist in two places at the same time or in two timelines in the same place. The trajectories of multiple space-time travels bend, twist, and turn in unexpected ways. So it is with this fifteenth published anthology of short stories, flash fiction, and poems from The Writing Journey, a Chicagoland (and beyond) creative collaborative. The editors organized these diverse tales and delicate poems around four One More Day, Suddenly Sentient, Forever Changed, and Never Returning . One story, Timeless Seasons of Reality , traverses all four themes in an epic four-part saga, but the stories and poems in this anthology do not follow any one thread of reality. Each is as unique as the innumerable layers of the multiverse. One More Day asks, what if you could spend one more day with someone you love, loved, miss, or lost? Could you bear it? Would it make a difference? Desires, wishes, and dreams sometimes come to fruition and sometimes cause unexpected twists of fate. In Suddenly Sentient, curious encounters with things that come alive in unintended ways will leave you wondering. How could this be? Is it even possible? You may laugh or cry at the fate of some of these newly sentient beings. In Forever Changed , we find that something has indeed shifted. Life’s journeys result in unforeseen outcomes, some better, some worse, at times treacherous, at times hilarious, but always engaging. Life goes on, but it will never be the same. Never Returning offers fantasy tales of foreboding, both real and psychological, that will have you imagining scenarios of what is, what could have been, and what might be. Transformed by our choices and actions, we’re lost, found, or stuck in-between. In the end, once we embark on our chosen paths, we find that we can never go home again. We invite you to take the leap into The Spaces In Between and satisfy your imagination in the creative array of “what ifs” offered in this exciting collection of Speculative Fiction short stories, flash fiction, and poems. Thank you for reading. For other anthologies of the Writing Journey.

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2023

About the author

Tim Yao is a founding member of the Writing Journey. In his day job, Tim is Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff for a major telecommunications software company.

His short stories and poems appear in the Journey anthologies: Infinite Monkeys The Letter, Drops of Midnight, The Day Before The End of The World, Stories from Other Worlds, Voices from the Dark, Human, Near Myths, Reasons for Hope, The Love Anthology, Stranded, Masks, Facades, and Reveals, Triple Vision, Denizens of the Deep, The Spaces In Between and Journey to Adventure.