All I Ever Wanted

By Jen Selinsky

"All I Ever Wanted" is a book containing eight short stories which are all written in stanza form. The stories focus on youth, as its central characters are young people making their way through life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jen Selinsky
• Release date: Nov 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370933020

Jen Selinsky

Jen Selinsky was born in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2003, she earned her bachelor's degree in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. In 2004, she earned her master's degree in library science from the same school. Jen has worked as a professional librarian for over twelve years. She has published more than 170 books, most of which contain poetry. Her work can be found on the following sites: Lulu, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Barnes & Noble/Nook, Smashwords, and Pen It! Publications. She has also been featured in publications such as: The Courier Journal, Explorer Magazine, Liphar Magazine, and Indiana Libraries. Jen lives in Sellersburg, IN with her husband.

Book preview

All I Ever Wanted

Jen Selinsky

These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Jen Selinsky

All rights reserved by the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover Art Copyright © 2014 by Jen Selinsky

ISBN: 9781370933020

*Not every story included in this book is dated in chronological order.  This is not an oversight on my part. Rather, I have made some changes and substitutions.

-J.L.S.

Joshua the Brave

There was a brave knight, named

Joshua, who wanted to ride out to

Meet his lady fair.

Melinda was her name, and she

Lived in the castle of her father—

The good King Archibald.

Being a knight, Joshua swore himself

To the brotherhood, and

Chastity was part of his vow.

Joshua, however, did not care

Care about any of this because

The only thing that seemed to mean

Anything to him was the fair

And beautiful Melinda.

Joshua was ready to give

Everything up in order to

Even catch a glimpse of

Melinda, whose beauty

Had inspired many

Verses and songs.

And while Joshua admired

Melinda’s beauty, he also

Wanted to get to know her better.

He hoped that she would come

To love him in turn and that the

Two of them would marry.

That was a very lofty goal

For a knight such as he,

Especially considering

The fact that the object

Of his affection did not

Even know his name.

As far as he knew, she

Did not even know that

He existed.

The thought, alone,

Made Joshua feel sad, to

Say the least, and the

Fact that he was only

One knight out of

Two dozen made

Him feel like a

Number. But he was

Determined to change

All that!

So he set out to the field

Where she sometimes

Sat during the day,

Knowing, or at least

Hoping, that she would

Be there.

Joshua did

Not have to travel far,

However, to see

Her sitting on her

Favorite bench, with

A book in her hand.

Now it is time to make

My move, Joshua thought

As he approached

The fair Melinda.

As soon as he got

Close to her, however,

Part of him lost his nerve.

Joshua

Had pictured

Himself in this situation

Before, but he had not

Actually thought about

What he would do

Until now.

Melinda, as though

By sheer instinct

Put down the book in

Her lap and turned

Her head.

Joshua, not quite

Ready to face her,

Quickly turned and

Ducked behind a tree.

Must have been the wind,

Melinda thought before

Returning to her book.

Joshua, thinking that he

Had finally come to his senses,

Tried to come out from

Behind the tree without

Her noticing.

It was only after two

Steps that he made a

Noise by stepping