When I was younger, I used to have this idea that you could write something so perfect, so expressive, that you could hand it to the person you were writing it for and they would know exactly how you felt, and bring them around to your way of thinking. My stepfather called it my Cyrano complex. Maybe Long-Distance Dedications proves I still have that idea. Unlike my more utilitarian writing in college, though (love poems, love plays, and such) Long-Distance Dedications simply says, "I'm thinking about you", "You matter to me", "I miss you", or even "Go fuck yourself", depending on the story and the person.
As the name implies, Long-Distance Dedications is a set of stories dedicated to various people: mostly friends, some ex-girlfriends, and one to someone I don't even really know. I've collected them over the years, (the stories, I mean – not the friends, although I suppose I've collected them, too) and I think now's a good time to “let them out”, so to speak, having just enjoyed my 40th birthday. (Thanks to my parents for making it special.) In a real sense, these stories represent what, and who, is sacred to me.
The characters in this collection represent real people, but they're not meant to be real people. They're idealized versions of the people they represent. "Cari" in the stories is not Cari in "real life", "Joe" is not Joe, "Tavia" is not Tavia, etc. The words in the characters' mouths are mostly mine, (and when they're not mine, they're within dialogue that is 95% invented). The characters are representations of the people they're modeled after. Any fault in them lies in them, and not the people they represent.
In other words, the events in these stories, and the people who populate them, are inspired by, and dedicated to, the people I've known. Any resemblance to actual people, while not accidental, is not exact.
With that, I hope you, and the people I wrote them for, enjoy Long-Distance Dedications.
-- Dave Riggler, 11/6/2011
(Introduction to Long-Distance Dedications)