You know it well:  That time halfway through every semester when the obligations pile up, when your to-do lists just aren’t enough to get everything done.  You go into survival mode, purging from your schedule everything but those assignments due tomorrow.  And time for writing is often the first thing to go.  Even if you can squeeze in the time, you’re just too tired—maybe tomorrow.

This is a student saga all too familiar, and one that needs careful management.  Writing, after all,…

n the early 1900s many immigrant men were recruited to work on the sugar cane plantations in Hawaii on temporary visas. Rather than intermarry, a match making organization sent pictures of these men home to recruit willing women to be their wives, and to help on the plantations. These were…

153 Days

153 days

Tangled in the sheets

Eyes locked, hearts pounding

Loving in a thousand beats

153 days

Walking hand in hand

Laughing, sharing

Sharinging a lifetime of plans

153 days

That’s how long it’s been

Vanished in an instant

Left here with my…

The "Swamp Romp" a Cajun-Zydeco festival at the Fraze Pavilion was an exciting new musical experience. I love festivals.…

It is of great importance to beware of “power pirates” in your life. Power pirates move about in the general public, often without notice, and can crop up anywhere or anytime. The havoc they create can be slow and steady, or it can spread quickly with might…like a wildfire that is almost…

OUT NOW!

SOHO BY SPOTLIGHT by CHRISSIE BENTLEY 

In London in the 1960s, pornography was a man’s world.

Stag movies and blue films were viewed by men, written by men, directed by men and filmed by men. If they hadn’t needed actresses to play a part on camera, they would probably have been made by men as well.

And then a woman came along, and changed that world completely.

This is her story.

The mid-1960s were the golden age of truly underground erotic…

When I was eight years old, I walked into a rest stop bathroom somewhere between Florida and Georgia. In that bathroom, my entire future was colored.

My parents had made it a policy that where there were public restrooms involved, there were also pairs. My mother, Bren,  would watch out for my younger sister, Vered; my father, Scott, would go with my brother, Lior; and my elder sister, Jessie, and I would go together. However, I had what my parents liked to call an iron bladder in…

Today's quote is from psycho-oncologist Rachel Naomi Remen:

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/07/thought-for-day_31.html

My name is Chaya, and these are my tales.

They are random, they are sporadic, but they are mine, and they are true. These tales are of my growing up, first nomadic, then collective, then alone, always fearful. Of becoming who I am for myself, and in spite of myself. Of being me.

All names have been changed to protect privacies.

Enjoy the ride.

Watching John each day I am reminded of all of the gifts from God I take for granted and don't even realize I'm taken them for granted. The most obvious being a heart that pumps blood to all of my organs and throughout my body allowing me to do ordinary things like walk up the stairs, talk without getting winded, laugh out loud, and sleep without waking up constantly. Each time my heart beats my God needs to be praised.

Then I was running the…

It takes one person to save another's life. Listen. Pick up the phone. Show them that they are loved.

You Make Me Feel Less Alone

His hands are smooth,  

uncalloused,

as they touch my skin.

At the beginning of each

of my phalanges

lay thick calluses.

My thumbs,

and sometimes index fingers,

are torn up

and bleed from picking.

I can’t stop.

I’ve tried so many…

“The English word 'music' comes from the Latin 'musica' and the Greek 'mousike', meaning an art presided over by the Muses. The Muses are nine sister Goddesses in Greek mythology directing song and poetry and the arts and sciences.” – Grace Notes Music Studio

Music has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. With three much older brothers, I listened to artists like Sarah McLachlan, The Police, Enya, The Doors, Lou Reed, and Cindi Lauper well…

I first met Ella through the mom bloggers club.  Her willingness to help provide free books to young readers touched me hugely.  I was so impressed with her good samaritan ways I wanted to find out as much as possible about her.  My intent is to help Ella  get some exposure so parents can find out about  what services she makes available.  I proudly present to you today, Ella Johnson.

Can you tell the readers about yourself?

I was born in England. I…

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I hate novels! I’d never read one.” Probably not because the term “novel” is an umbrella term, clumping together Agatha Christie mysteries with Ender’s Game science fiction with Jodi Picoult “chick lit.” But I’ve bet you’ve heard this phrase before, “I hate comic books! I’d never read one.”

Marvel superhero comic books, Vertigo Fable tales based on myth and fairy tale, and Japanese manga romance are all comic books. Doesn’t this…