The Little Book of Poems

Thank you for the review @drsawzall. I included a photo of the book's cover and inscription once it was released from the contest, and I have to agree with you--it looks pretty mundane, a little dated, and frankly not all that interesting. But it's what's inside the cover (and inside us) that gives it significance, as Alberto told Carlos.

Thanks for the recommendation, @Bill W. I'm glad you enjoyed the stories.

You're right @raven1, it was a "unique" story for me, and it was a stretch as much as it was fun to write. I'm so glad I bit the bullet and entered it into the SA contest because it forced me to meet a deadline and venture into unfamiliar writing territory.

I am grateful for your review, @chris191070. It was a bit rushed, just as the deadline loomed, but it was fun to write and to read the comments and reviews. I have another short story in the works -- totally different from this one (in fact, more typical of my "style" of writing). I hope you'll check it out,too.

Wow! Thanks, @Dan South, for the enthusiastic recommendation. I have to say, I was so wrapped up in holding the story together that I entirely missed the sinister aspect. I think I just saw the book as a harmless inanimate object, although I realize it "chose" at least one of its owners. I wonder where it's headed next--I say that, holding the actual inscribed volume in my shaking hands!

Thanks for the encouraging words @Gary L. For a "short" story, the word count falls about in the middle of the pack, although it was one of the longest in the Secret Author contest. I'm grateful that you and many others persisted in reading and enjoyed the four themes built around the little book.

Thank you for the review. It was quite a stretch for me to write this, but I'm glad with how it turned out. I'm sure it would have been even better if I hadn't written it in the last week of the contest, which meant that my faithful beta reader didn't add her always helpful touch!

Thank you for your review, @Mikiesboy! Re your aside (I love how some readers saw evil in this little book) - I didn't see it that way, either.

I considered the book to be an inanimate object that was invested with significance by its owner, just as a poem is only ink on paper until someone reads it and gives it meaning. In fact, that's exactly how I regard the little book, which is on the desk in front me at this moment. To anyone else, it's just a book, and not even a particularly interesting one since few people like poetry (or even physical books) these days, but to me it was the inspiration for the story I wrote.

I guess the scene where the book "chose" Alice planted the idea that it had agency. When I wrote that, I intended that Alice randomly picked the book because she was in love and desperate, so she gullibly believed anything that the bookseller or Mrs Flowery said. As soon as I wrote that, I realized I was channeling Harry Potter!

I love how we writers learn about our stories and their impact on readers here at GA. If I sold a book in a bookstore, I would never know anything about what the reader thinks or infers from it. Here, thanks to the generosity of commenters and reviewers, I get an insight that is unique and wonderful. Thank you to all who commented and reviewed!