Why does your mouth suddenly go dry, your throat tighten, your face get hot, and your knees buckle when you have to address a group of people? The old story goes that more people are afraid of public speaking than they are of death. So people at a funeral would prefer to be the person in the casket than the person delivering the eulogy!

Have you noticed that when you re in a bookstore, and you re reading a book of jokes or meditations or moving little chicken-soup stories or deep thoughts, the first few in the book are very meaningful and funny and enjoyable? But when you buy the book and take it home, most the ones after that are really lame and just seem to be taking up space. So you have to ask yourself, What kind of a dope-jerk-moron am I for dishing out $11 dollars for this piece of crap?

One Bite: Stories for Short Attention Spans, Stolen Moments, and Busy Lives -- John Sheirer's short stories chronicle moments that seem ordinary. A middle-aged man sends his first text message. A simple knee surgery goes in an unexpected direction. An innocently friendly wave invites ridicule. The neighbors' dogs won't stop barking. But, in the hands of a master storyteller such as John Sheirer, these moments become far from ordinary. Sheirer's stories range from "hint" fiction of a few sentences, to "flash" fiction of one to four pages, to a few traditional-length stories. Most of the stories have won awards or been published in print and online literary journals. They are often humorous and occasionally poignant, always showing the trademark wit and wisdom that has made Sheirer's well-received memoirs so popular. Each story from this award-winning writing teacher provides surprise, delight, and an odd take on the world that only sharply written fiction can provide.

"Twice as Bright"
High school basketball coach Phil Novak has a heart attack and dies during a pick-up game--only to discover himself playing for the 1957 Boston Celtics.

"Making Corrections"
Prison teacher Gary Sanderson meets and befriends an innocent-seeming inmate and helps him escape. But the inmate turns out to be not at all what he seemed.

"Something Borrowed"
Valerie and Ken are a happily married teacher and social worker, but they are fed up with being poor. So they devise what seems like a perfect plan--split up, court and marry rich people, take them for a fortune in the divorce, then come back together and live happily-ever-after.

Award-winning teacher and writer John Sheirer wrote these screenplays while working as a movie theater projectionist between "real" jobs. Although these visions never made it to the big screen, readers of this book now have the chance to project them through their own imaginations.

Have you noticed that when you re in a bookstore, and you re reading a book of jokes or meditations or moving little chicken-soup stories or deep thoughts, the first few in the book are very meaningful and funny and enjoyable? But when you buy the book and take it home, most the ones after that are really lame and just seem to be taking up space. So you have to ask yourself, What kind of a dope-jerk-moron am I for dishing out $11 dollars for this piece of crap?

Why does your mouth suddenly go dry, your throat tighten, your face get hot, and your knees buckle when you have to address a group of people? The old story goes that more people are afraid of public speaking than they are of death. So people at a funeral would prefer to be the person in the casket than the person delivering the eulogy!