Most secrets begin with “Don’t Tell,” but members of Rough Writers, a Toastmasters writing club in Long Beach, are telling it all in their 2021 Anthology of short stories. The challenge was simply to develop a character that has a secret, and the authors created a diverse array of stories.
 
The Rough Writers developed intriguing characters, dramatic plots, memorable settings, and multiple surprises based on the theme of a secret. Coping with unwanted realities certainly can alter a life and our authors developed characters changed by unusual circumstances and information. The stories show how the course of a life can be changed forever and be affected by emotional trauma or by jubilation.