Author Charles Cantella gives a disclaimer in the prologue that this book is faction—some of it fact and some of it fiction. I would rather believe that the short stories that make up this masterpiece is perhaps more fact-based than he would let on, because more often than not the truth is stranger (and way funnier) than fiction. The reader gets the impression early on that Cantella is an average, down-to-earth guy, just like they are, and they figure out by the third page that they are in for a fun ride. He sure knows how to turn a phrase: They chose that creek not so much for its trout, or its scenery (although both were abundant), but because the creek was relatively shallow and everyone felt that we couldn’t possibly drown there and if we did somehow manage to drown in a creek that was no more than a few feet deep, well then we ...
My favorite stories are the ones that give the author depth and serve as a window of insight into a writer's mind. Within the first few pages, it is important for me to develop a connection with the author, less I will quickly lose interest. I don't mean to sound like some type of literary elitist by any stretch– it's just me being honest. Reading the first chapter in Paul Cañada's new book, The Promise , I felt that connection immediately. Paul tells of his childhood growing up in a military family, having a father in the Air Force, and the moves and re-adjustments that had to be made each time his father received new orders to relocate. I did not grow up in a military family, nor did my family move from place to place, but the relationship between Paul and his dad gripped me from the beginning. For me, this laid the groundwork for what was to come. As his bio states, Paul Cañada is an award-winning writer and photographer with bylines in dozens of magazi...