A valid question for these sorts of trust-based financial exchanges is "Why?" What have I, the author, done to assure you that you won't pay up and receive a shiny dump of a tale, poorly paced and punctuated, defaced by self-indulgence or, worse, thinly veiled spiritual propaganda?

So far, not much. I'd love to think you watched the video and thought, "Wow, it's like the sincerity is radiating from him like warmth from the sun!" (After all, I did wear a necktie and everything.) But a more telling guarantee might be access to my track record. I can't guarantee "Regret, With Math" will illuminate your life with meaning, or even amuse you, but I can offer three resources that indicate it's a good bet.

1) According to Google, I'm a good writer.

If you enter "Greg Stolze" "great writer" as your search terms, you get 544 hits.
If you enter "Greg Stolze" "bad writer" you only get 4 hits.

2) You can read a creepy story I wrote about ghosts.

It's called Ghosts: The Straight Dope. Its tone is pulpy and cynical, in contrast to the drier and straightforward style of "Regret, With Math." On the other hand, I wrote that one over ten years ago and I think my skills have gotten sharper since then.

3) You can hear me read a fantasy story.

Here's my story, The Doom of Swords, as read by me and three people from my writer's group. (I voice the crabby musician.) There are a few production glitches, but I've got a better microphone setup now. More importantly, the tone and focus of the story is different from "Regret, With Math," but I think this shows I can craft a plot and present it.

There they are, then. If you're undecided, get a taste before you commit. If you don't like the freebies then, yeah, you probably won't like "Regret, With Math." But at least I can console myself with an informed rejection.

On the other hand, if you like 'em? You know what to do.

-G.