F.A. Battle has been a professional copywriter for more than 25 years, but personal writing has always been her passion. After a long period of writer’s block, she dusted off her pen long enough to win the grand prize for the 2024 Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Contest. The win inspired her to revisit her love of short stories. “Summer Sister” is a product of that exploration.

“Here I come, slowpoke!” Even though she was behind me, I could tell Tonya was smiling. Grinning in that nice-nasty way she did when she was getting the best of

Search