Hi, my name’s John Affleck and I’m the author of “Winning and Losing,” published by Great Jones Street. GJS has asked me to pick a few of my favorite short stories and chat about them with you. I hope you’ll check this feature out, read the stories and discuss them with me. It should be fun.

Here are the rules of the game. I’ll introduce a story, and say a little bit about why I like it, both from a technique and personal standpoint. Then you can read the story — all my picks are relatively short — and you can either stop along the way to read my comments, or you can read through the piece and pick up my comments later. Suit yourself, and — again — please chime in with your own thoughts.