I’ve always been a sucker for great characters. Plot is important, but the story crumbles under the weight of it if there are no strong characters to carry the plot along. Fortunately, these three authors have composed stories with powerful, moving, astonishingly human characters, people who could be your neighbor or that guy you bumped into at the grocery store. These stories remind us that everyone is someone. Everyone has a story, probably not so different from yours, and maybe those thoughts you have, the ones you don’t tell anyone about because you think they’re “weird,” are more normal than you think.

In his flash fiction pieces, Len Kuntz delivers five intense snapshots of people dealing with difficult situations. A woman reflecting on her unstable husband in “Intended,” a teenager taking his future into his own hands in “Sunshine Pawn,” and three other stories that express the depths of the human soul.

Jonnell Liebl’s short story “Sequoia” is almost a stream-of-consciousness, a reflection on love and details and the correlation between the two. This story is about real life; it doesn’t always have a storybook ending.

In her story “Half Unimpressed,” Britt Saunders brings us into the life of Milimili, a girl who is searching for understanding of herself and her feelings. Her thoughts are fascinating, creative, and sometimes just a little bit insane—a great mixture for a compelling character.