If you ever wondered who it is, that keeps Paul and Jodi honest… enter left of stage Dale Challener Roe. Dale is the unassuming, third driving influence behind Chinese Whisperings.  Without Dale Chinese Whisperings may not have made it through to completion last year, so integral did the website become to the success of the project. So it is with great pleasure we welcome Dale back today, as one of the all important ‘middle order’ of The Yang Book.

A lifetime ago Dale got a degree in advertising just as he realized that he wanted to write stories instead of blurbs, and has spent the intervening years as a journeyman computer hack and finding his creative voice.

At various stops along his writing journey, Dale would have said that he wrote science fiction, black comedy, fantasy, contemporary fiction, farce, or short fiction. But he’s now learned enough about himself to say that while he may not stick to any genre, his best writing explores the power and possibilities of creative dialogue.

When asked what he enjoyed most about Chinese Whisperings last year, Dale had this to say:

I’d like to say it was writing my story, but that would be both pedantic and a lie.  The truth is that while I wrote ‘Not Myself’ I was suffering through a particularly nasty bout of headaches.  Jodi and Paul were both very understanding as my headaches worsened and continued through the editing process as well.

Another good answer would be that I enjoyed working with a host of new authors, and learning more about several authors that I have worked with—but didn’t know very well.  But that answer doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Truthfully, what I liked best about CW2009 was watching the storyline unfold.  In theory, each author was handed a story with only a few jumping off points—although what direction the story went then, was wide open.  But even knowing the constraints, I was surprised each time with the direction each author took—including myself.

What prompted Dale to say yes to a second round?

Here I’m going to give what I hope is my first cliche answer:  Everything.

CW2009 was a completely positive experience.  Not only was I invited into a group with some terrific authors, but I was presented with a premise that was both challenging and quite fun.  And while I disagreed with my two editors a few times during the revision process, the disagreement never turned into anything more acrimonious than a discussion with two sides.

I think it says an awful lot that every author from CW2009 wanted to participate again.

Read Dale’s full bio and enjoy more of his writing at Rough Draft.

Tomorrow we bring you a list of some of the finest short story writing available for free, for your reading pleasure.