Great Writers Great Stories: Writers from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Great Writers Great Stories is an eclectic collection featuring work from 27 Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. authors. Hats off to editor Ed Faine for presenting work that covers diverse subjects, yet maintains a common thread, making for a smoother read than in many anthologies. While there is a delicate balance of poetic language and subtle imagery, there is also a vivid, often harsh look at reality throughout the collection.A quote from Barbara Westwood Diehl's "Sparrows in Rain" shows this balance well - "Then bottles hit the sidewalk and rain glass into the street. I worry about my car, and hope the patch of impatiens I planted around the tree out front will be all right." The reader simply has no choice. The scene is real, the characters are alive, and so the reader cares about the outcome. She cares about the fragile relationship of mother and daughter in "Marble Sandcastles" by Lalita Noronha, and the protagonist and her sick dog in R.R. Angell's "It Could Be Worse" and indeed, about every character in every story in Great Writers Great Stories.For consistently presenting stories that linger on the reader's mind long after putting the book down, care given to language, and characters and situations worth caring about, not to mention the coffee table quality cover of spring scenes at the U.S. National Arboretum, Great Writers Great Stories deserves 5 stars.