Conflict!

Conflict is defined as a struggle or a clash of interest, opinion, or principles. It can be exclusively internal or it may be external with any number of people, groups, or countries involved. When it comes to writing, conflict is the basic ingredient for every good story, the "secret sauce" if you will, that engages the reader and holds them until the very end-and often leaves them wanting more. This key ingredient is the theme for CONFLICT!, the seventh bi-annual anthology offered by the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club.

Thirty-one authors from several branches of the California Writers Club contributed forty-eight short stories, sixteen works of poetry, and one stage play and one screenplay that delve into the complex emotions and actions of people dealing with conflict. The authors range in age from a youthful twenty to one remarkable woman who is over one hundred. The works found in this volume are a combination of painful, tragic, sad, sometimes violent, and uplifting events-both true and fictional. A few are even humorous.

We hope you find the results as creative, engaging and memorable as the authors whose work is proudly presented in CONFLICT!, an anthology of turmoil.