Jim Bates is an award-winning author whose stories and poems have appeared in over three-hundred online and print publications. His collection of short stories Resilience was published by Bridge House Publishing. Short Stuff a collection of flash fiction and drabbles was published by Chapeltown Books. Periodic Stories and Periodic Stories Volume Two was published by Impspired and Something Better a dystopian adventure novella was published by Dark Myth Publications. His short story ‘Aliens' was nominated by The Zodiac Press for the 2020 Pushcart Prize. His story ‘The Maple Leaf' was voted 2021 story of the year for Spillwords. He lives in a small-town west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. All of his work can be found on his blog at www.theviewfromlonglake.wordpress.com.