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 … Three authors with a sharp and wicked sense of observation: Jeffrey Archer, Roald Dahl, Joyce Carol Oates; four wickedly good stories – Black Water, A Good Eye, Nunc Dimittis, Death of an Old … Continue reading ON THE TRAGEDIES OF CIVILIZATION

Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a Canadian-born author residing in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada with his wife and many bears that rifle through his garbage.  His work can be found both in print and online in such places as: Evergreen Review, The New York Quarterly, Impspired Magazine, GloMag, Red Fez, and The Oklahoma Review.  Wondering Why Stained Glass Doesn’t Just Clean Up Its Act All these people saying the world has gone crazy all the time, I figure it’s just catching up, pissing in the ice tray with raised flag pole leg, pressing the blood-flush pink back into fingernail puller absentia, wondering why stained … Continue reading Ryan Quinn Flanagan

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

Ken Gosse generally writes light poetry using simple language, meter, and rhyme in verses filled with whimsy and humor. First published in The First Literary Review–East in 2016, his poetry is also online with Academy of the Heart and Mind, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Home Planet News, Impspired, and others. He is also in print anthologies from Pure Slush, The Coil, Truth Serum Press, Peking Cat, and others. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, he and his wife have lived in Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Germany, Virginia, and now in Mesa, Arizona over twenty years with two or more rescue dogs and cats … Continue reading Ken Gosse

Peter Witt is a retired university professor who took up writing poetry in his senior years.  His work has appeared on several online platforms and in a published volume (Poems in the Breeze, Lulu.com). Peter also researches and writes family history (Edith’s War: Writings of a Red Cross Worker and Lifelong Champion of Social Justice, Texas A&M University Press).  Morning Prayer in Minor Key Wisps of sun paint tree tops, brush pastel shades of yellows and orange on silent parade of passing clouds, as backyard mockingbird sings a stolen song that begs my love to rise, pry open her eyes, greet … Continue reading Peter Witt

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. Symbols, Solitude & Solace “Come on, gimme a break, is everything symbolic? Can’t … Continue reading Neal Crook

Fred Miller is a California writer. Over ninety of his stories and poems have appeared in publications around the world over the past ten years. Many may be found on his blog: https://pookah1943.wordpress.com                                              Winter Promise                                        Silent flakes drift down in a stately pavane, a white blanket curdling across the floor of the alley where I sit. On the other side of the avenue where streetlamps form angelic halos, poor chilled souls in line at the mission patiently wait to be stripped of any remaining vestiges of dignity. I hear the soft strains of the hymns of salvation and … Continue reading Fred Miller

John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many literary journals, online and in print, since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online. THE WORLD IS JUST FLOWERS “The world is just flowers In dirt,” Says me, the great philosopher After six beers becomes seven And forty hours worked in three Days falls down on me. “The flowers are just waiting For the sun to set them on fire,” Says me, the expounding poet After eight beers are gone And the music plays Against the backdrop of little sleep. Now here I sit in my glorious anonymity As I watch … Continue reading John Tustin

Keith E. Sparks Jr. has been writing from a young age. He has had his work published in various literary journals and magazines and has been nominated for the Pushcart Poetry Prize. More recently he has published various solo collections of poetry that are available through Amazon and other venues. Keith is the creator of Open Skies Quarterly, a digital and print publication dedicated to poetic voices. Keith resides in West Virginia with his wife and three children whom are the epicenter of his existence. Time And Tide Part One: Between Shadow There, in a corner where time has found … Continue reading Keith E. Sparks Jr

Rp Verlaine lives in New York City. He has an MFA in creative writing from City College. He taught in New York Public schools for many years. His first volume of poetry- Damaged by Dames& Drinking was published in 2017 and another – Femme Fatales Movie Starlets & Rockers in 2018. A set of three e-books titled Lies From The Autobiography vol 1-3 were published from 2018 to 2020.  His newest book, Imagined Another Morning Unlike Others There are unkind mornings you awaken with head too heavy for your hands. And prospects grim as a dead end street advertising for … Continue reading RP Verlaine