Holly Starley's Rolling Desk

Holly Starley's Rolling Desk

Home
Podcast
Notes
Work 1:1 with me
Caravan Writers Collective
Archive
About

Stories on the Kindness of Strangers

Grizzly
Guest author rebecca hooper: "I remember his hands well... I could see them holding the steering wheel so loosely I was not sure there was any contact…
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
rebecca hooper
Finding Jesus
Guest author Paulette Bodeman: "My car jerks violently. I can’t hold the lane. The front wheels pull me to the shoulder."
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Paulette Bodeman
A Mechanic by Any Other Name
A six-character story--three mechanics, two women, and a van called Vincent van Go
 • 
Holly Starley
Spelling Kindness
Guest author, Kaitlyn Ramsay: "Having a flat tire on a scooter means only half of the tires are functional. This makes for a most uncomfortable…
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Kaitlyn Ramsay
No Room in the Forest: A Holiday Tale
A writer pulls into the woods. Finds three fishermen, a man cradling a chubby accordion next to a woman with a knowing smile, and nowhere to lay her…
 • 
Holly Starley
Thank You, Jesus
A guest post on the kindness of strangers by Tom Fish: "Not that day, not at Toronto Pearson."
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Tom Fish
Travel Is a Topo Map
aka, Waiting for the Gringa: The moment my “weightlessness” dawns on me, time goes haywire. I pull up my pants and do the only thing I can. Run.
 • 
Holly Starley
Cabbagetown and the Coco Cola House
Guest post by Duwan Dunn: "Bertha has lived in Cabbagetown for a long time, long before it was sane for any African American to do so. ... At first I…
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Duwan Dunn
The Night Vigil
Guest author, Marya Hornbacher: "So sometimes you’re jerry-rigging a box cutter when a tall, slender boy walks over and says, Ma’am, I seen you…
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Marya Hornbacher
In the Eye of Disaster, the Future
A guest post by Todd Weir: "I grew up knowing to watch the sky and discern its changes. I was 12 years old, waiting for a ride home from baseball…
 • 
Holly Starley
 and 
Todd Weir
The Tao of Poo
A manager who smiles with his mouth ushers me into a parallel universe that hides in plain sight at many highway gas stations across the US.
 • 
Holly Starley
A Door by Any Other Color
High on the faraway pinions tickling my nostrils, I barely even felt the jolt of contact. So, when I turned to youthful eyes watery with remorse, I…
 • 
Holly Starley
© 2025 Holly Starley
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture