B. Lynne Zika was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. By the time high school was finished with her, she’d attended 27 schools, driven (truly) not by defects of character but by her family’s continuous moving. Her father, Yewell C. Lybrand, Jr., was a writer and poet and among the founding staff (headed by Hermann Oberth and Werner Von Braun) of the innovative but short-lived Space Magazine. Before his death (at 36), he bequeathed her this advice: Make every word count.             Zika’s poetry, essays, and photographs have appeared online and in numerous literary and consumer publications, including The Rye Whiskey Review, … Continue reading B. Lynne Zika

An author, journalist, and a father, Kushal Poddar, editor of ‘Words Surfacing’, authored eight books, the latest being ‘Postmarked Quarantine’. His works have been translated into eleven languages. Lineage “Here I go. All my fallacies and verity. All I can forgive. All that makes me a sword and fire.” My father murmurs as he seeds, lowers the possibility in a hole he made. He whooshes the birds, sways like a spring laden scarecrow. And I grow. I Used To Dislike Eventide  Sun sets the honey hive on fire. This is still earth, here, a little more ornate, a shade of … Continue reading Kushal Poddar

Taylor Dibbert is a widely published writer and journalist. He’s author of the Peace Corps memoir “Fiesta of Sunset.” The Hope of Forever Watching “Marriage Story” on Netflix, He likes Adam Driver, He’s always liked Scarlett Johansson, The failed marriage and divorce thing, He doesn’t like, But now he knows, That when you, Fall in love, And get married, Everything remains on the table, Each new day, Unknown terrain, There are no guarantees, There are no sure things, There is only, The here, And the now, And the possibility, The brave hope, Of forever. Continue reading Taylor Dibbert

Amber Natalie Kennedy is a poet and fiction writer from Oxfordshire, England. She has a master’s degree in Creative Writing and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, both from Durham University. She has attended and led a number of different writing groups. She is also the Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Spellbinder quarterly literary and art magazine. Amber’s poems have been published in Better Than Starbucks, Write Now Lit, the Ice Lolly Review and Idle Ink. ENDLESS ODYSSEYS Whispers wage war on waking seconds: concealed conchiglie clusters within. Puppets praise promise of perfection, thriving not writhing, wrapped in motions. Whispers fixate … Continue reading Amber Natalie Kennedy

Checca Aird (She/her) grew up in Southern Africa before returning home to London. While most of her time is spent at her day job as an analyst, she makes time each morning, and most nights, for her first love – writing. Checca is also passionate about travel and researching houses she could never buy, blaming her nomadic upbringing for her insatiable wanderlust. @FrankieSRivers             I Am the Second Mrs Roberts I am the second Mrs Roberts. A hand-me-down my bosses dress-up as a gift. My real name was so common at my secondary school in the Huhudi township, I was … Continue reading Checca Aird

Sushma R.Doshi completed her graduation in History from Loreto College, Kolkata. She went on to acquire a Master’s Degree, MPhil and PhD in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She dabbles in writing fiction and poetry. Her short stories have been published by Contemporary Literary Review India, Writefluence, Culture Cult Magazine and Press, Indian Periodical amongst others. She is a homemaker and currently lives in India. I’ve Learnt to Dance  I simply cannot dance. It’s one of my limitations. It’s an issue out here. Every party ends up with everyone dancing to Bollywood hits and I feel out … Continue reading Sushma R. Doshi

David is a poet, playwright, lyricist and short story writer from the North West of England. He is a member of the international poetry study group Worldly Worders. He has been published in a number of magazines both on-line and in print. In 2016 his poem ‘Home Straight’ featured at the Fermoy International Festival. The stage play ‘Intervention’ was produced for World Peace Day. The main influences on his writing include; Ted Hughes, Ann Sexton, W. D. Snodgrass, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, James Baldwin, Pablo Neruda and his favourite poet Philip Larkin. His poetry has been published in … Continue reading David Ratcliffe

Johanne Lee, proud Mancunian mother of 3, poet and author of 6 childrens picture books and two collections of poetry .Womans Journey and the newly released Under the lavender moon, as part of the Open Skies Spotlight series .All books raise for various charities . She can be found as Johanne Lee Author on Fb and instagram  The Culling I can’t speak for the dandelions close as they are to the herbs. Slumbering, idle of noticing the weed puller counting out his blurb… One snail, two slugs, three for the butterflies, and four for the bugs, five for the dandelions. … Continue reading Johanne Lee

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality and writes hoping to find an audience for her musings. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud ‘War Poetry for Today’ competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. Her poetry has appeared in many publications including: Apogee, Firewords, Capsule Stories, Light Journal and So It Goes. Eggshells Make a hole in the … Continue reading Lynn White

I am Joan Mach, a retired librarian from Teaneck, N.J.  My husband teaches Creative Writing at the Senior Center and I am the teacher’s  pet.    We have been married 50+ years, and he is officially eligible for sainthood for putting up with me. Purim Sex, revenge, power grabs and lots of booze.  No, this isn’t a James Bond movie, it’s Purim.  My favorite Jewish holiday enjoins you to “get so drunk that you do not know the name of Haman (the villain)  from the name of Mordechai (the hero)”.  The special foods include three-cornered cookies known as Hamantaschen.   You are … Continue reading Joan Mach