I love books.  I love the smell of bookstores—old and new.   I love the feel of crisp pages that aren’t creased from wear yet or folded over to mark a page.   I feel the same way about newspapers.  There’s something comforting about the smell of ink and getting it on your fingers as you read and flip from section to section.      

Two years ago, when I found Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene, I latched onto it like a dying woman who needed life support.  It gave me writing validation after years of silent efforts. I met talented seasoned writers and was exposed to exciting young writers just starting to realize their gifts.  I saw my words in print, and I got messages telling me that I reached people with my stories.  And what greater gift is there for a writer?

As I was enjoying being a part of Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene, I learned about the business side of putting out the paper.  I didn’t realize how expensive it was to print and distribute our message.  But I hung onto the idea that we could and must continue in our present form to satisfy the readers and our writers.  I was wrong. 

Very recently, Gerald Decker, Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene publisher, and I invested in an online option.  This option can take our paper from a monthly publication to a daily issue, if that’s what we want to do.  It’s colorful, it moves, it has our stories and our mission.   It literally brings us into the 21st century with all of the bells and whistles you could ask for. 

For the writers of Cape Fear Voices, I ask that you be open to the idea of not having a printed, hard copy of our paper at some point in the future, but embracing it online.  It will be different.  It won’t come in the mail once a month.  You won’t be able to pick it up at your local grocery.  You won’t be able to mail it to your relatives to see your work.  But it will be a living, breathing document that can change daily and bring you up-to-date information and stories.  Your family will be able to access your work with a few clicks of their computer mouse.  

We still need your stories, poetry and thoughts.  You will be able to upload your stories to our new website.  It’s as easy as sending an email.  We will take care of actually getting your story published online.  

If you want to be a part of our online adventure, you can start by “liking” Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter. Then just follow the instructions we send on passwords and uploading stories.

The world is evolving into an online mirror.  Join the evolution with Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene.  We are saving printing and distribution costs and can redirect those funds to other programs that will help teens and support our goals.   Send an email to [email protected] and let me know your thoughts.  We can support our print model for a while, if that is the direction you want to take.  But the longer we print, the more money we are spending.