I have written these short stories over a period of forty-two years. The writing relaxes me. They are entertainments. I have made a living as an actor for over fifty-seven years. Earned a Masters degree in English Literature from Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles; a Bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the University of Wisconsin; and two honorary PHD's, one from Emerson College in Boston, and another from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, citing my achievements in the Humanities and the Performing Arts. Publishing is a brand new endeavor. Following the guidelines has been amusing, sometimes perplexing. My life as an actor has been a life of rejection with occasional acceptances, just enough to constitute a minor but substantial career. I have no fear. From here to the end, it's all fun. The "subjects" of the stories vary widely from one another. They are fantasies that explore complex humans in their complex emotional entanglements and physical situations. Each story takes place in a matter of hours, in one day. As Edgar Allen Poe advises in his astute literary criticism, a short story should be a compact tale told briefly and intensely, and convey one aura, make one solid impression that resonates during and following its reading. I subscribe to those criteria. Or, to be more honest, that's how these stories turned out. My conscious mind did not set out with Mr. Poe's guide lines. My subconscious ruled. And afterward, I realized what I had done . . . . or tried to do. The quality of these stories is a matter of individual determination. Everyone is right in his reaction to a written fiction. The entertainment value is personal, a subjective reaction, surely, sometimes followed by an analysis that results in additional pleasure to the reader, or a re-evaluation that reduces his approval.

The stories don't mind. I am pleased to have them published.

Sincerely, DANIEL J. TRAVANTI