This collection of short stories set in the Monterey area will appeal to a wide audience, as the tales cover a range of intriguing subjects.  One of the contributors to this collection -- Byron Merritt -- is the grandson of Frank Herbert, the legendary author of Dune, universally considered the greatest science fiction novel ever written.  Byron is my nephew, so from a young age he was immersed in the life and culture of a great writer, just as I was.  This did not, however, mean that the writing craft would come easily to either one of us. 

The writing profession is a difficult one, and only an infinitesimal percentage of its practitioners ever make a living doing it.  The old adage holds especially true for us: "Keep your day job."  After working in the insurance business for a decade, I did not begin to write until I was almost thirty years old.  Then, for years afterward, I followed a career as an insurance agent while producing science fiction stories during every spare moment.  Byron, while working in the medical profession, began to write at around the same age as I did. 

When Byron came to me a few years ago to ask for writing advice, I was pleased to help.  I could see that he had a great deal of natural talent, but I knew that he could not compose stories in a vacuum.  He needed to network with other writers so that he could exchange ideas and get feedback from them.  For years I had been in a writing group, a closely-knit unit of half a dozen members.  This had been an important support group for me, with people I could trust not to steal my story ideas or hurt my delicate psyche. . . writers who genuinely wanted me to succeed, just as I wanted them to do the same.  Based upon this nurturing experience, I recommended that Byron join a writing group himself. 

When he looked around the Monterey area, however, he could not find anything suitable.  So, intending to organize a group himself, Byron ran advertisements in the Monterey Herald and looked on the Internet, where he found local writers, whom he e-mailed.  The response was strong, and for his first meeting in January, 2000, thirty-eight people showed up!  He realized that this was far too many, so he quickly reorganized into ten members -- six men and four women.  With tongues planted firmly in their cheeks, they named themselves Fiction Writers Of the Monterey Peninsula.  It seems that the acronym for this, FWOMP, represents the sound a manuscript makes when it hits the slush pile, that inglorious place in every publishing house where unwanted stories end up. 

In this anthology , Monterey Shorts, none of the stories belong in the slush pile.  It is a marvelous collection of fiction, all set in the beautiful Monterey Bay area.  Byron Merritt composed a science fiction detective story, while his fellow "fwompers" produced yarns that fall into a variety of genres and sub-genres, including literary, historical, fantasy, crime, diving, and life styles, with delightful touches of John Steinbeck, Sam Spade, and Frank Herbert.

Brian Herbert

Seattle, Washington