Meet Laura Mercurio Ebohon!

“Writing (therapeutical ladder to the sky), reading, traveling, exploring, captivating images, observing the mysteries-miracles of life, attempting verses…”




My first poetry book: Italian – English poetry “Se guardo dentro – If I look inside” is out now



I feel the essence of my writing could be described as: ”sliding” into myself trying to find the “real me” keeping at the same time my eyes wide open on the world and its wonders.



I think this life is a passage through stormy and sunny places leading us to the light I have been searching since I was a little girl. I would like to learn more and share more through my verses.



I cannot really tell you the what or the how but I am sure that you will see in some of my verses the intricate maze of my journey and you will recognize the when and the why I felt my inner spiritual journey had to be explored even more to finally find the communion between mind, body and soul… Always looking for peace.



Find out more about Laura and her book of poetry here: http://iamlauramercurio.com/2010/06/03/se-guardo-dentro-if-i-look-inside/

Meet Mikki Sadil!

I am Mikki Sadil, a wife, mother and grandmother. I live on the Central Coast of California with my husband, Welsh Corgi puppy, Siamese/Himalayan cat, an African Grey parrot and a Blue and Gold Macaw. I have been writing all my life, but only started publishing in the last couple of years. I write for Middle Grade and Young Adults, mostly contemporary fiction along with a bit of fantasy and my newest novel, which is historical fiction. I don’t write much poetry, but when I do, it is usually very personal, and because of that, I’ve never been willing to try to publish it until now.

Meet PJ Kaiser!

P.J. is a former information technology professional turned stay-at-home mom/aspiring writer. She and her husband live in Hoboken, New Jersey and have two young children. She can be found on Twitter @doublelattemama and her fiction can be found at http://www.inspiredbyreallife.com.

Meet Estrella Azul!

Estrella Azul is a young emerging writer, passionate about reading, floral art and photography, with an artistic personality and a soulful outlook on life. To read more of her creative writing, her thoughts and daily happenings, visit Life’s a stage – WebBlog

Meet Rebecca Besser!

Rebecca Besser lives in Ohio with her husband and little man. She's a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature, a member of Write-On Writers and the Ohio Poetry Association. Her writing has appeared in the Coshocton Tribune, Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports & Spidersilk, joyful!, Soft Whispers, Illuminata, Common Threads, and she has multiple stories in anthologies by Living Dead Press, where she is now an editor. Her website: http://www.rebeccabesser.com/

Meet Anne Tyler Lord!

Anne Tyler Lord writes several genres of fiction. Anne is writing a romantic suspense novel, R-Evolutionary Nights, started during the 2009 NaNoWriMo, which she won. She is currently writing serial flash fiction on her blog and is featured on the serial fiction website The Penny Dreadful. She also writes poetry and short stories. Anne writes a regular feature on her blog, The Writer’s Life, that discusses the wild and wacky life of being a writer and what inspires creativity. When not writing, she spends most of her days playing with her twins and parenting her cats. She is a psychotherapist who enjoys working with children and families. She also writes non-fiction self-help about parenting and educating gifted children and presents at conferences. Anne lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and boy/girl twins. You can visit her website at Don’t Fence Me In and follow Anne on Twitter @AnneTylerLord

Meet Carrie Clevenger!

Carrie Clevenger (also known as Carrie Cleaver) worships Maynard and dreams of cephalopods on trains and other oddities in Austin, Texas.

She doesn’t have to write the next great novel, but intends to leave a bloody print on her way down.

The hub of her evil network can be found here: http://www.carrieclevenger.com/ or on Twitter as @carrieclevenger

Meet Mike Berger!

Author of two books of short stories. Three humor pieces have won awards. Writing poetry for less than a year. Work has or will appear in twenty five journals. These include AIM, Still Crazy, First Edition, Stray Branch, and Mid West Quarterly, Evergreen and Krax.

Meet Rosalyn H. Marhatta

Computer geek. Wrote plays; writes poetry now. Loves to play with words. MA playwriting and MS in instructional technology. Learning, always learning. Completely starstruck. Bones tv show "superfan" so designated by Hart Hanson's (creator of Bones) assistant Josh. Poetry's in me and overflowing. Follow me on twitter @Poetic_Line.

Meet Deanna Schrayer!

Deanna Schrayer is a fiction and creative nonfiction freelance writer. She contributes to the column My Two Cents for BIN, found at: http://badideanews.com. Deanna resides in southwest Virginia with her husband, two sons, and too many animals. She is currently working on her first memoir cookbook, and just started a new blog site, Deanna’s Happy Accidents http://deannashappyaccidents.wordpress.com/ to showcase some of her recipes and the stories behind them. Visit her nonfiction blog at: http://writingwonder.wordpress.com/ and her fiction blog at: http://theothersideofdeanna.wordpress.com/ . Tweet Deanna at @deannaschrayer, or email her at: deanna_ms@hotmail.com .

Meet Cynthia Schuerr!

Cynthia A. Schuerr, born and raised in the Midwest, has been a lover of books and of writing for many years. She began writing short stories for her grandchildren to enjoy. Recently published in the “12 Days 2009 Anthology”, edited by Jim Wisneski, you will also find her contributions of poems and short stories at http://www.softwhisp.blogspot.com/. She is a writer for http://www.examiner.com/x-37326-Kenosha-County-Grandparenting-Examiner in the family/parenting section and is currently working on two separate novels in her spare time. Her blog http://www.theheartofwriting.blogspot.com/, is where you can find bits and pieces of what defines her.

The Archangel of Downward Spiral

by

Maria Kelly

Clenching the bed sheets in his fists, and releasing a moan from his lips that only he (and one other) could hear, Jack Ridley pushed the thorny brambles and branches out of his way, twisting a serpentine path through the cumbersome forest. Eventually, the trees thinned and he emerged from the thicket into a clearing. The grass was brown here, the blades brittle and curling. The sky was granite gray and, although the prospect of rain looked promising, not a drop seemed forthcoming. The heat was oppressive. Ridley's clothes clung to his sweaty body. He pushed a wet strand of gray hair out of his eyes. Ridley sighed and thought: I'm tired. Just as he perceived his weariness, he spied in the distance a convenient and comfortable-looking bench. He wobbled over and plopped down on it. He leaned back, lifted his head and gazed into the unimpressive sky. A rustling sound startled him, and jerking his head toward the forest, he saw her. The child glided onto the lawn. Her hair was deepest copper. She had an upturned nose and the tips of her ears were pointed, almost pixieish. She wore a crisp, white cotton dress; no wrinkles or stains marred its perfection. Wings sprouted from her back. The wings themselves were marred. They were dingy and torn in places. They appeared to be made of some sort of fabric. Ridley thought of children playing angels in Christmas pageants, but as he stared at the things, he thought he saw them move. "You're Jonathan Ridley," she said, glancing at him from a short distance. "Everyone calls me..." "Jack," she said. "I know." She ambled over and sat next to him, taking his hand. She looked at him with chestnut eyes. "My name's really Zipporah, but everyone calls me Mehitabel." Jack groaned, rubbing a sudden tender spot on his inner arm. "They're giving you another shot," said Mehitabel. Jack stopped massaging his arm and looked around. "Where am I?" "One of the In-Between Places." Mehitabel's gaze drifted across the lawn. “You've been wandering the In-Between Places for days." Ridley stirred restlessly and stared at Mehitabel, feeling agitated. "What am I doin' here?" He might've asked this question a hundred times before, but he couldn't remember. "Waiting," she replied. "Deciding." She saw his face become angry. Large, wet tears began dropping from her eyes as distant thunder sounded beyond the trees. He softened and squeezed her hand lightly. "Don't cry, Mehitabel. I'm just bone-tired. Those woods were hard to get through." "They always are," Mehitabel said mysteriously. "What did I do to deserve this?" he asked. As soon as the question left his lips, there came to him a recollection so terrible that he pulled away. He slid off the bench and onto the lawn, sobbing. "Oh, God!" "You killed some people," said Mehitabel. And the way she spoke them, the words were like freshly honed knives, sharp and eviscerating. "A man you worked for paid you to kill." Tears continued to drip from her dark amber eyes, and where they fell, the grass became a vibrant green and tiny violets bloomed. Jack stood. He looked at Mehitabel, and she ceased crying. "You want to know the choice?" she asked. A feeling of déjà vu crept over him and he looked around anxiously. "Please don't run away again." "I've been running away?" Mehitabel nodded. "Through the In-Between Places. There's not many left. As we go down, we get closer." "Down?" Jack glanced back at the forest behind them, then toward the path ahead. He didn't discern any slant to the landscape. "We're traveling Downward." Again, Jack felt a stomach-lurching rush of familiarity. "You've told me this before." "Several times," Mehitabel said. "Each time you get afraid or angry and run away. Into another In-Between Place." A breeze began blowing. It carried on its breath a whisper of screams. Mehitabel turned suddenly in its direction and trembled. "What's that?" Jack asked. He shrank from the sound and stumbled forward, flopping onto the bench. He buried his face in his hands. "Where you're going," she said. Jack looked up. She was crying again. A shuffling sounded in the bushes. Mehitabel sprang up and raced toward the spot; then stopped, her face alarmed. "He's not yours yet!" She began chewing her fingernails, nervously. Although she seemed frightened, Jack sensed she was also quite angry. "What's the choice?" Jack asked. "You won't run?" "I hope not," Jack said, shivering in the shrieking wind. "You must accept punishment, some of which has already been paid. Then you move Upward." "Heaven?" "No. First, you go to the waiting place. There you begin making atonement." "Purgatory," whispered Jack. "What's it like?" "I'm not allowed to tell. Repentance must be based on trust." "Would you follow me on ahead?" Mehitabel twisted her hands. "I can't go much further. My power wanes the closer we get." "You're an angel." When Mehitabel didn't answer, Jack continued. "Can you return with me?" "Until we reach the place you call Purgatory. There I leave you." "Why?" "I guard the Downward Way. Seek the wanderers and make the offer on behalf of the One Who Waits." "You live here?" "Always." Her huge brown eyes were sad. Jack frowned. "I know what's gonna happen. I'm gonna be tormented by those people I killed." Mehitabel pointed in the direction the wind emanated from, the terrible cries echoing still. "You'll choose that?" Jack suddenly doubled over, heaving with the effort to breathe. "Your agony!" Mehitabel gasped, eyes wide. "Choose! Quickly!" Jack hung his head, squeezed his eyes tightly shut and cried out: "I'm sorry! I accept whatever is due." In a dark hospital room, a monitor wailed as it flat-lined. A man named Jack Ridley breathed his last. His eyes opened on a sunny glade carpeted with violets and he smiled. He heard a rustling of wings and, looking up, saw the flitting shape of a sparrow on the wing.

BIO: I live in Pinellas Park, Florida, with a calico cat named Missy, who goes by the nicknames BratCat or Queen of the Universe, depending on her current mood. She is currently skulking about the house in a fury because she wants her own Facebook page.

Meet V.J. Maddox

I'm 26 years old and happily divorced.

I am an avid hobby collector, among those are writing and photography.

I am currently living in Florida on a farm with my horse. Sometimes I think without my Appaloosa, Ace - I would have been dragged off by men in white coats years ago!

I wholeheartedly agree that, "No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle." - Winston Churchill.

Meet Maria Kelly!

Hello! My name is Maria Kelly. I am a 44 year-old writer of speculative fiction. I live in Pinellas Park, Florida, with a tyrannical calico cat named Missy, who goes by the nickname BratCat. Occasionally, she removes the manacles from my hands so I can write. I am currently in the process of publishing a serial fantasy on my blog for children ages 10 and up called “The Reluctant Prince.” I mainly write adult fiction, however. I read about “Soft Whispers” in the weekly e-newsletter from Duotrope’s Digest. I visited your website and found myself very interested in what you are doing there. Sincerely; Maria Kelly mkelly703@gmail.com http://identifiedflyinglenticulars.blogspot.com/

Meet Nishi!

Nishida C. is a poet, writer, thinker and recluse. She loves anything to do with art, literature and science, especially astronomy. She is interested in writing science fiction and fantasy, especially for children, and hopes to see a few well-worn novels written by her on a library shelf one day. Her short story "The Moonfairy, the Angel and the Puca" is part of the anthology "12 Days of Christmas" published by Jim Wisneski. She is currently writing her first novel, a fantasy fairytale and is also working on a set of short literary fiction pieces. You can follow her on twitter at @CafeNirvana. http://twitter.com/CafeNirvana

Meet Duane Locke!

Duane Locke lives hermetically by ancient oak, an underground stream, and an osprey’s nest in rural Lakeland, Florida. He has as of January 2010, 6,512 different poems published in print magazines, American Poetry Review, Nation ,etc. and e zines, Counter Example Poetics, Pen Himalaya (Nepal) And 21 books of poems. His three latest books, 2009, are Yang Chu’s Poems (376 pp.) Crossing Chaos, Canada( order from publisher or Amazon); Voices from a Grave (40 pp.) erbacce, England (order from erbacce), and Soliloquies from a High Wall Hidden Cemetery (37 pp.) Differentia Press, California (Free download, www.differentiapress.com) . His first book published is 2010 is 53 paged A Marble Nude Pualine Borghese with a Marble Apple in her Marble Hand, Scars press, http://scars.tv. Has interviews in Counter Example Poetics, Eviscerator Heaven, Pen Himalaya, Ann Arbor Review, and Bitter Oleander. For more information click “Duane Locke” on Google Search, over 500,000 entries. Is in Who’s Who in America (Marquis). He is also a painter and photographer. An account of his painting is in Gary Monroe’s Extraordinary Interpretations ( U of FL press). His sur-photos are scattered throughout the internet, and he has done many book covers. Has a Ph. D, specializing in English Metaphysical Poetry (Donne to Marvel). His interest are philosophy (PostModern, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger), Insects, butterflies, birds, Opera, Mahler, and Viennese music.

Meet Michelle Dennis Evans!

Michelle writes to inspire, take people on a journey and escape their world she is married to an incredibly hot man, with four delightful children.

Michelle won NaNoWriMo in 2009, is published in the 12 Days of Christmas by Jim Wisneski and enjoys sharing her faith, family, fiction and homeschooling journey at www.michelledevans.blogspot.com and @michelledevans on twitter.

Meet Angie Capozello!

Angie Capozello is an aspiring writer and poet, with far too many hobbies (gardening, blacksmithing, archery...) She has been working as a web design and marketing professional for 15 years. You can find her serial Flash Fiction stories, and articles on the business of writing, at http://techtigger.wordpress.com. You can also follow her on twitter at @techtigger.