Dear friends and family,
I’ve compiled a collection of short stories that I wrote back in 1999-2000. The compilation is available for Kindle on Amazon.com, for $0.99. Check it out and write a review, if you can. There is a sneak peak at the introduction after the jump. Thanks so much.
Chenda
MAKING LOVE BEFORE THE WAR
Introduction
I wanted to publish these stories as a collection because they were written between 1999 and 2000. It was before 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It sounds like a cliche, but it was a simpler time. We had enough freedom and security to protest things like globalization and sweatshop labor. And those issues were considered big problems. It was a time when we could go through the airport terminal without stripping off our clothing. We could even go to the gate to greet our loved ones. Of course, the world was not at peace, but it was nothing like it is now.
These stories were written while I was in college at San Francisco State University. I would describe the political activists at the time, myself include, as the spoiled and privileged. Remember this is around the time that the Battle of Seattle happened. The IMF and World Bank were public enemy number one. We protested the DNC because Bill Clinton supported a trade agreement with China that sent ripples through our economy, and affects us to this day. Remember when The Gap was the big villain because they used sweatshop labor? Now, it’s difficult to find anything that is made in the United States.
This was also during the dot com boom, right before the bubble burst. The rent in San Francisco at the time nearly doubled. And competition to get into a rental was fierce. You had to compete with working professionals who had rental resumes. As a student with a part-time job, it was a miracle that I found housing at all.
Pop culture wise, this was the beginning of Britney Spears’s career, and the battle for the title of Pop Princess with Christina Aguilera was in full swing. Bubble gum pop was making a comeback. Friends was one of the top shows. Daytime TV was still running Jenny Jones and Jerry Springer. There was nothing serious enough going on to pull us away from our distractions.
Recently, I thought about revising these stories to reflect our current cultural climate, but that would be betraying our past. The pop culture references that are found in these pages brings even me back to a simpler time. Even if I’m not considered a literary genius, my hope is that these stories that I can open a window into our past, especially for those of us who miss our lives before the war.
Skillfully written and truly reflective of a simpler time. Chenda has a way with words that evokes emotion and ignites the imagination; it leaves me wanting more.
That’s a great review. Thanks!