Books lead to more books. Read one and you’re reminded of another. New material refers to past releases, either directly or in roundabout ways. Genres cross over, involving similar concepts, tropes, devices. Writers lift, pay tribute, re-imagine, claim as their own and take it a step further in the name of compelling art. Pick up the trail and we end up making extraordinary connections. Welcome to Connection Degree Three … Black Water; Gone Girl; The Bastard Of Istanbul. Three powerful stories on the edge and drama in relationships that don’t pan out the way they’re expected to. Joyce Carol Oates’ … Continue reading ON THE DARK DETOURS ALONG THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

Books lead to more books. Read one and you’re reminded of another. New material refers to past releases, either directly or in roundabout ways. Genres cross over, involving similar concepts, tropes, devices. Writers lift, pay tribute, re-imagine, claim as their own and take it a step further in the name of compelling art. Pick up the trail and we end up making extraordinary connections. Welcome to Connection Degree Three … Daniel Deronda; The Catcher In The Rye; Going Solo. Three absorbing stories of angst that showcase the epic lengths to which people will go in search of something they may … Continue reading ON THE POWER OF DISILLUSIONMENT AND THE LONG WAY HOME

Rp Verlaine lives and writes in New York City. He has an MFA in creative writing from City College and taught English in New York public schools until he retired. His first volume of poetry, Damaged by Dames & Drinking, was published in 2017 and a second collection, Femme Fatales Movie Starlets & Rockers, in 2018. A set of three e books titled, Lies From The Autobiography 1-3 followed in years 2018-2020. Cuts Of Meat Discounted for the amount of less than 3 bucks per lb. Yes, meat truck fresh chicken/ ducks left as upside down necktie thefts of life … Continue reading RP VERLAINE

Steve Carr, from Richmond, Virginia, has had over 560 short stories published internationally in print and online magazines, literary journals, reviews and anthologies since June, 2016. He has had seven collections of his short stories published. His paranormal/horror novel Redbird was released in November, 2019. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize twice. His Twitter is @carrsteven960. His website is https://www.stevecarr960.com/ He is on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/steven.carr.35977 EVERY DAY IS SATURDAY I slowly push aside the curtains and let the white morning sunlight wash over me. The room is flooded with the light, erasing all the shadows that inhabited it during the night. … Continue reading Steve Carr

Swayam Prashant (pen-name of Dr. Prashanta Kumar Sahoo) was born in the undivided Cuttack district, Odisha. He was formerly an Associate Professor of English at Sarupathar College, Assam, India. He has written six books and two booklets. They are : Evaluation of Textbooks in the Teaching of English (based on his Ph.D. thesis); Values in Life (based on a research project on Vedic and Upanishadic writings); Knowledge Tree (miscellaneous prose writings); Haiku from the Garden of My Own (poetry); Live Like a Man (poetry); Premras Amrit (poetry in Assamese); Virgin Land Impregnated (a thematic study of Canadian folk songs); and    … Continue reading Swayam Prashant

After retiring from teaching high school, I relocated from hectic Los Angeles to serene Cambria, California. My life filled with gratitude in a world of chaos is daily inspiration. Involvement in the Cambria Writers Workshop provides me the opportunity to explore my past and present place in the grand scheme of things. The rights and struggles of the GLBT community often take center stage in my writing. I live with my husband, Michael, two cats, Rufus and Angie, as well as our two dogs, Sterling and Anoush. My Carnie/Finding Truth The frantic music of the tilt-a-whirl and smell of deep-fried … Continue reading Neal Crook

James Mulhern’s writing has appeared in literary journals over one hundred and fifty times and has been recognized with many awards. In 2015, Mr. Mulhern was granted a writing fellowship to Oxford University. That same year, a story was longlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize. In 2017, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His novel, Give Them Unquiet Dreams, is a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2019. He was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2021 for his poetry. Recently, two of his novels were Finalists for the United Kingdom’s Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Catherine When Mom and I arrived, you hid the donut behind the picture. You sat in the … Continue reading James Mulhern

Jim lives in a small town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His stories and poems have appeared in over two-hundred online and print publications. His short story “Aliens” has been nominated by The Zodiac Press for the 2021 Pushcart Prize. His collection of short stories Resilience is scheduled to be published in early 2021 by Bridge House Publishing and Short Stuff a collection of his flash fiction and drabbles will be published by Chapeltown books in 2021. In addition, Something Better, a dystopian adventure, will be published by Paper Djinn Press in early 2021. All of his stories can be found on his blog: www.theviewfromlonglake.wordpress.com. … Continue reading Jim Bates

Valerie McLoughlin, fast hurtling towards retirement in 2022, is planning her future again, hoping that writing will feature heavily.  Mother of four grown up children, grandmother to seven, Valerie currently works in DCU. She attended St Patrick’s College as a mature student from 2000 to 2003, studying History and Human Development. With apologies to all those children and grandchildren, she sees those student years as being close to the best three years EVER. Valerie attended one of Tanya Farrelly’s online creative writing workshops during one of the lockdowns and she enjoys reading, cooking, walking and swimming – or, what is … Continue reading Valerie McLoughlin