Featured Writer: Dr. Jennifer Thompson

Poetry

Trevor Abes: Trevor was born in Scarborough, Ontario on May 13, 1988 and lived there for five years before his family moved to Colombia, South America, where he learned Spanish and currently resides. In between Canada and Colombia, he also lived in Tennessee for about fifteen months. Trevor enjoys reading; one of the last books that he has read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. The University of Toronto is probably where he will study next. Golf and tennis are two of his favorite sports to watch on TV. His favorite subject in school is literature, and he hopes to be a published author one of these days. He says "I have had 4 poems published on voicesnet.com and 1 on the previous issue of Sage of Consciousness. I am currently in a relationship with this amazing girl by the name of Viviana; I am blessed to have met her, and I am grateful for each moment I spend with her. I believe writing is a healthy practice for mind and body."

Aamir Aziz: Aamir Aziz is a lecturer in English at the Bahira College in Islamabad Pakistan. He is 21 years old and has more than one dozen poetic works published in international journals.

Micheal Sean Bolton: Micheal received an M.F.A. in Poetry from Arizona State University (ASU) in 1993 and is currently working toward a PhD in Literature, also at ASU. He is attempting to publish a book of poems titled God Junkies, and writing poems for a book to be titled Turning. He has previously published poems and essays in print and online journals including Prism International and Rhetorical Topographies. Micheal is a Teaching Associate at ASU, teaching First Year Composition and undergraduate literature courses. He spends whatever time he has left composing and recording ambient music.

Charmaine Clark: “Now I’m 55, this poem in particular maybe shows the beauty of what I once was, and with the right people supporting me hope to be again. Being a strong willed woman with Friedreich’s Ataxia has not made this life easy, but maybe my fulfilment is waiting around the corner. Only recognition of humanity’s position in the chain of life may bring us to the future. My disability is now so demanding that I’m finding I have to live my life entirely around other people. I have no choice at all in what I want to do, except in writing. This is one of the first steps to attain my dream of becoming a known international writer. As always, the first step is the hardest. My body is rapidly improving thanks to natural medication, my writing is too but not the publication of. This is not only a giant step for humankind, but a really big step for myself. Tas Devil”

Adebe DeRango-Adem: Adebe DeRango-Adem is both a writer and aspiring writer living in Toronto, where she currently studies English at York University. She has been published both online and in print, and is currently working on her novel, Loud Nine. Her influences and heroes are far and wide, from Kerouac to Nabokov, Vonnegut and Plath. She aspires to one day marry and settle in New York City, with short stories for children. She can be reached at: melancholia_@hotmail.com

Carly Duvall: She is 22 years old and lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Carly has been writing poetry for about eight years and is married but doesn't have any children yet. She says "poetry has a very special place in my life and I would not have made it through some difficult times without it. Poetry is a big part of who I am and some day I would like to share it with others by publishing a poetry book."

Ryan Gianelloni: "My name is Ryan Gianelloni and I am 17 years old. Living in Metairie, Louisiana has brought some interesting experiences to my life which have inspired my writings. Every waking day of my life continues to bring something new to challenge me. I enjoy writing all types of stories but mostly take pride in my poetry. My inspiration for that comes from many different places but mostly from the love of my life, my girlfriend."

John Grey: His latest book is "What Else Is There" from Main Street Rag. "I have been published recently in The Arkansas Review, Big Muddy, and Off The Coast."

Eve Hall: Eve Hall, is an author & poet, living in Atlanta, Ga. Her work has been featured in several magazines, including, Purpose, Skyline Publications, and Mature Living. She has published four books and have written over a dozen children's books. One of her goals is to publish all of her children's books. Eve welcomes feedback on her work. Email her at Lilpoet2u@aol.com. Her website and book information can be found at the following address, http://www.penmanpublishing.com/Hall.

Marianne Lavelle-Vincent: Marianne LaValle-Vincent is a native of Syracuse, New York, and is a published poet, writer and humorist. She has won numerous literary contests and has achieved publication in such magazines as “Italiana Americana”, “The Birmingham Review”, “Poetry Motel” “Falling Star”, “3 Cup Morning” and other special publications through SUNY. Her credits and awards also infiltrate the Internet on such web sites as “Real Eight View”, “Ascent”, “Underground Window” “Dance With Words” and “Writers on Line”. Her first collection of poetry entitled “American Lie” is available in bookstores throughout the country. “Coverings” (a chapbook) is now available through Foothills Publishing. Marianne’s second full-length poetry collection “313’s Child” will be available in summer, 2005. Besides poetry, many of her short stories have been published—most recently “Understanding Dad” in Chicken Soup For the Soul—Fathers and Daughters edition. Marianne has been awarded a grant through Hill House Writers in Nashville, TN., and is invited frequently to lecture at local universities and libraries. She also acts as an assistant editor for The Rose & Thorn E-zine as well as assistant Copy Editor and feature writer for Moondance, an on-line literary magazine supporting creative women. A first generation Italian-American, Marianne is an administrative RN who focuses on marketing for a large medical imaging corporation. She still lives in Syracuse with her husband Tim, and 14 year-old daughter, Jess. Her greatest pleasure, after writing, is cooking and entertaining family and friends.

Michael Levy: Michael Levy is the author of six books "What is the Point? "Minds of Blue Souls of Gold" "Enjoy Yourself—It's Later Than You Think" and "Invest with a Genius." His new book is titled: "The Joys of Live Alchemy." The words "Live Alchemy" are an anagram of Michael's name. His web site is ranked number one from 6,000,000 websites when "Inspirational books" are the search words on Google. Web Sites: http://www.pointoflife.com. E-mail: mikmikl@aol. Another new book that contains 165 poems and three essays titled ..."Worry Causes Wrinkles," will be published 1st October 05.

Jewel Martin: Jewel is a poet, and a painter. Her life is lived in the state of Florida where the wind dances and plays in her hair. Many refer to Jewel as an unexplainable enigma; embracing this, she enigmatically makes herself her own. Jewel has published in several literary magazines under various pen names.

Michelle Close Mills: Michelle Close Mills has been a freelance newspaper writer for 18 years. Her work has appeared in the Ft Wayne News Sentinel of Ft Wayne IN, the Edgerton Earth of Edgerton OH, as well as for the Seminole Beacon and Largo Leader of Tampa Bay, FL. Her poetry has been published in the "Poetry Sharings Journal", as well as multiple times in "Autumn Leaves", "Skyline Magazine", and "SpinningS". She has also written for numerous short story and poetry anthologies. Michelle and her family reside in Seminole, Florida.

Suchoon Mo: "I am a former Lieutenant in the Korean Army and a Korean War veteran. Currently, I am a retired academic living in the semi-arid part of Colorado. My poems have appeared in East and West (India), The Surface (UK), Snakeskin (UK), Dissident Editions (UK), America Sings, Riverside Poetry, Religious Humanist, Bitter Oleander, Shampoo, Poetic Voices, Adagio Verse Quarterly, and Above Ground Testing."

Wenona Napolitano: "I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. I was published a lot in high school and college. Then life got in the way. The past year I have returned to my writing and trying to get published. I write about everything and I write everything: poetry, short stories, articles, and greeting cards. My favorite writing genre is erotica. I have had two poems published on justusroux.com 'I Like to Watch' in April and 'Voyeur by the Lake' in May. I have a short story scheduled to appear in October's Playgirl titled 'The Carpet Cleaner.' I also write web content for constant-content.com and associatedcontent.com."

Sarah Osborn: Sarah Osborn lives in Tennessee. She is currently double majoring in English and History at her college. She has had a passion for writing ever since she won a contest in the 7th grade, which won for her school. She has also won a Romace At Heart contest as well as had work featured at Runes Online Magazine. Her mother also inspired her to write after she read her poetry collection when she was little. Other of her interests include reading, writing, drawing, painting, listening to music, soccer, and roleplaying. More information can be found on her at http://www.sashafoxx.bravehost.com.

Devrie Paradowski: Sliding down ice crystals, catching the Aurora with a butterfly net, and painting lava rocks with not-yet invented colors are all activities that Devrie Paradowski has never done while stationed in Keflavik, Iceland. She has, however, forecasted snow showers and black ice during her career as an aviation weather forecaster. She has written articles and poems about the Aurora Borealis, but prefers to write about things she has been able to catch with a metaphorical butterfly net. She is new to the literary world and has only been published by Adagio Verse Quarterly, Meeting of the Minds Journal, and Poetry Renewal Magazine.

Michael Christopher Silver: Michael writes compelling poetry.

Kyle Torke: Kyle Torke publishes poetry and fiction, and his screenplays have won awards. See his first collection of poetry, “Archeology of Bones,” for other great poems!

Patrick Walsh: Patrick Walsh, Bealnablath, Crookstown, Cork, Ireland. 2004—work in Facets, Moonwort Review Surface/online, Aught, Antipatico, PW-Review. Work due in Underground Window, Carillon Magazine, Coffee House-UK. Also published locally in ireland. Worked many years in feedmilling.

Steven Watson: Steven is currently seeking his BA in English. He loves American literature, and hopes to teach it in the future. Traveling when he can, Steven takes compelling photos, and writes poetry.

John White: John is a businessman and father, aged 50, living in Yorkshire, England. His passion for poetry has recently re-awakened and he is reading and writing voraciously. Current passions are Yates, MacNeice, and Auden! He trains NLP in England and works directly with a Toltec teacher. He finds the best poetry an expression of the deeper Self and an exploration of the puzzle of man’s subjective place in, and connection to, a marvelous world.

H. C. Williams: "I received my BA in English at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Currently, I am doing graduate work in poetry at The Florida State University where I also teach Freshman Composition, Honors Composition, and Writing about Insanity. My work has appeared in SP Quill Quarterly Magazine and Magazine, an independent press publication out of New Orleans. I have also read my work at several conferences. In my spare time I enjoy listening to my turntablist boyfriend scratch and meditating to ground myself and cleanse my soul."

Cheryl Wilsey: Cheryl Lynn Wilsey was born and spent her childhood in South Dakota. At a very early age in life, she expressed an innate desire to create and to dictate her own path in life. Later, around the age of eight, she started to receive formal lessons in music. When she entered adolescents she started to write poetry and soon had multiple notebooks full of ideas. During undergraduate study, she continued to pursue training in the visual arts and music. She says “Poetry was a constant through this journey as well because the variety of creative means to expression should not be limited to one particular vein of work”. She graduated from Augustana College with a degree in visual arts and the ability to teach art in K-12 school districts. Currently, she is undertaking graduate study through Saint Mary’s University.

C. F. York: C.F. is currently seeking a publisher for his first novel "The Fifth Tomorrow."

Short Story

Mark Botha: Mark Botha was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the days when apartheid was alive and very much at the order of the day. He went to school in a town named Boksburg and graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University with a Bachelor’s degree. He was then conscripted into the police force where he wrote propaganda for the apartheid government. After four years of compulsory service in the police force, he finally became a journalist. These were days of great social and political upheaval in South Africa and Mark watched, first-hand, as Nelson Mandela walked free and a new country was born—a new nation with its own constitution. Apartheid ended and democracy was established in South Africa by means of peaceful negotiation. It was a great time to be a South African. It was an even better time to be a journalist. It got him writing. The New South Africa is now more than a decade old, but Botha never stopped writing; he has worked as a journalist and editor on numerous publications in the ensuing years and has come up with more manuscripts than he cares to recall (all of them at various stages of completion and all of them currently residing in bottom drawers all over the place). He is, at present, working on what he hopes will be published as a collection of short stories by mid-2006.

J. Boyer: J. Boyer teaches in the creative writing program of Arizona State University

Libby Cudmore: Libby Cudmore was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but raised in Cobleskill,
New York. The daughter of a storyteller mother and an author father, Libby was gifted with an active imagination from the beginning and pursued her love of the written word throughout her childhood. In high school, she attended numerous writing conferences, including the Pen in Hand—of which she is a three-year alumnus—The St. Lawrence International Conference and in 2000, was selected as one of 25 writers in New York State to attend the Silver Bay conference sponsored by the New York State Writer’s Institute. Libby is fresh out of Binghamton University with her bachelors in English/Creative Writing and while there, was named a recipient of the 2004-2005 Andrew Bergman Scholarship for Creative Writing and was President and Founder of the Pen is Mightier Writing Club. In addition, Libby was named as a first-quarter finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest for her short story “Bard’s Song” Libby was the 2004 Author of the Year for Long Story Short and took the grand prize in the Subway Chronicles 2004 essay contest. Libby is the author of The Lazarus Bloom, an e-serial with KeepItComing.net, and her first e-serial, Always the Bride was published in 2004 with AnotherChapter.com. Additional publications include CosmoGirl, Listen, The Binghamton Press, and Sun Bulletin and About Teens. Libby enjoys hearing from her readers and can be contacted at libbycudmore@writing.com. Her website is http://libbycudmore.tripod.com and her blog is located at http://libbycudmore.blogspot.com

John P. Dellova: His childhood was spent alternately in Brooklyn and at a house on Long Island. Ultimately, his family settled at the country house in 1963 after a false start several years earlier. He graduated high school there in 1967 and, after giving college a try, entered the Air Force in September of 1969. His interest in writing became obsessive during the 70s and he wrote several novels and at least twenty short stories while kicking around between New York and Florida. In 1982 he began studying with the Manhattan fiction writer Rosemarie Santini. She filled him with encouragement, saying she was the Gertrude Stein to his Ernest Hemingway. He remembers those two years with love. Rosemarie taught him how to step back and not be an admirer of his own writing. She said if he wanted to write like Hemingway he had to be as choosey as Hemingway was in cutting the fat; 6/7ths of the rough has to go. By 1984, he had ended his studies with Ms Santini to set up a cleaning operation with two friends. The business ate up any time he might have had for writing. He began writing again in 1991. He met his wife Marion during the summer of 1994 and were married in January of 1995. She has been extremely supportive.

Wallace Dorian: Wallace Dorian was born in Waltham, Massachusetts. He began acting at the age of 15 at local theatre companies in and around the Washington, D.C. area. After serving in the U.S. Navy Mr. Dorian decided to pursue acting and moved to New York City where he acted in many Off-Broadway plays. It was at this time that he began work for the CBS Television Network in a technical capacity and soon turned to writing and directing. Although his first love was theatre, Mr. Dorian moved to Los Angeles in 1980 to try his hand in the film industry. Mr. Dorian wrote several original screenplays, plays and three novellas. His first teleplay, “The Stonehenge Incident” about eyewitness UFO sightings was sold for TV. It was based on a Village Voice article by Budd Hopkins. He has worked on a number of feature films, “The Subject Was Roses” with Martin Sheen and Patricia Neal for director Ulu Grosbard, a documentary for famed “Rocky” director John G. Avildsen and “The Anderson Tapes” for director Sydney Lumet starring Sean Connery. More recently, Mr. Dorian's stage play, "Hopi Rain" is being produced in the Los Angeles area for a Winter 2006 premiere as well as a screenplay about struggling actors in Hollywood entitled, "Gingerbread Road." He formed the Vedic Theatre Company in 2002 and has been set to direct a unique stage adaptation of the famed Indian epic, “Mahabharata” in Kansas City, Missouri in the Fall of 2005. He also adapted a screenplay from the thriller novel, “On the Brink of Death” by Sanjay Sonawani in Mumbai, India. Among his screen and stage plays are “Hopi Rain,” “Brainwashed,”“Jump,” “Army Ants,” and “Village of the Dead.”
Email: vedictheatre@aol.com

Zdravka Evtimova: Zdravka lives in Pernik, Bulgaria, with her husband, her two sons and her daughter and works as a literary translator from English into Bulgarian. She speaks and writes English, Russian and German excellently, and she speaks and writes French well. Bulgarian is her native language. In Bulgaria, she has won a number of literary awards including the Gencho Stoev 2004 literary award for a short story by a Balkan Author, the Razvitie Literary Award for best Bulgarian contemporary novel in 2000, Best Bulgarian novel 2003 award of the Union of Bulgarian Writers for her novel “Thursday” etc. Her collection of short stories “Bitter Sky” was published in June 2003 by Skrev Press, UK. Two of her short stories have been broadcast on Radio BBC—London, on 26 February 2004, in the week of East European fiction. Her short story collection “Somebody Else” was published in 2004 by MAG Press, San Diego, California, USA, it was nominated for 2005 Pushcart Prize, USA and won the Best Short Story Collection by an Established Author Award of MAG Press in 2004. Her novel “God of Traitors” was published as an e-book in Books for a Buck publishing, Dallas, Texas, USA. Her short stories have been published in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany ( Leipziger Zeitung, Kurzgeschichten - Munich; in 2000, she won the short story competition of Lege Artis Foundation, Leipzig), in France, India, Argentina, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Macedonia, Nepal (Paradesh magazine), and Serbia.

Bob Fuego: Bob is a frequent writer; he philosophizes often, wondering about the unknown things in life.

Paul Hiebing: Paul is a 24 year-old writer living in the Orlando, Florida area. To support his coffee-fueled writing addiction he works as an engineer. He is originally from Wisconsin and actually does miss the snow.

Dorothee Lang: Dorothee Lang is a German writer and net artist. She is the author of Masala Moments, a travel novel about India, and editor of the BluePrintReview, an online journal of unintended prose and poetry. Her work has recently appeared in CautionaryTale, juked, Mosaic Minds and Pindeldyboz, among others. To see some of her latest pieces, visit her virtual gallery at blueprint21.de.

Matano Lipuka: Kenyan born Matano Lipuka has been an avid fan of creativity since high school and still is. He once belonged to a theatre group run by M.Y.S.A (an N.G.O.) but is now focused on his Engineering job and part time freelance journalism, submitting to the local dailies. His Fictional works can be found at Authorme.com and Tokyo Gumbo magazine. He's currently undertaking a creative writing course hosted by British Council's crossing borders' programme. The URL is www.crossingborders-africanwriting.org. He enjoys relaxing under the palm trees while holding a good book as the soft breeze from the sea washes over his face, with water lapping at his feet. He likes to develop new talent and watch it grow and hopes to develop a reading culture among his people in Kenya and definitely around the world. If you'd wish to contact him please feel free to do so at robamatano@yahoo.com or you can visit his blog at http://www.matanoworks.blogspot.com

M. Marcus A. Lopés: M. Marcus A. Lopés is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he completed his B.A. in French Studies. He currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario. He's currently looking for a publisher for his first novel, and is at work on another manuscript. His non-fiction publication credits include: "On Being Black" (Other Voices, Winter 2003) and "Kaleidoscope" (Melange Magazine, November 2004) and "At Home in this World" (Melange Magazine, June 2005). His writing has also appeared in the Ottawa Sun. His short story, "Malachi & Cole," will appear in the forthcoming edition of Forbidden Fruit. The first exhibit of a collection of his paintings, Unquiet Mind: Meditations of a Writer, will take place in October 2005.

Jewel Martin: Jewel is a poet, and a painter. Her life is lived in the state of Florida where the wind dances and plays in her hair. Many refer to Jewel as an unexplainable enigma; embracing this, she enigmatically makes herself her own. Jewel has published in several literary magazines under various pen names.

Simon Maslin: Simon Maslin is a writer and cynical journalist of the human condition who has published short fiction and poetry in several international electronic publications. He has also released a novel and several other books through his own imprint via www.lulu.com. He plays a mean blues guitar, lives in Southern England and interfaces with the universe largely through his website www.maslinbooks.co.uk.

Elisaveta Mitrokhin: Elisaveta is a graduating student of fine art and creative writing, a painter, a children's book writer and illustrator, and a lover of poetry.

Andre Narbonne: Andre Narbonne is an adjunct professor of literature at the University of Western Ontario. His short stories have placed first and third in the Atlantic Writing Contest and won the James DeMille prize for fiction offered by Dalhousie University.

Sean A. Scapellato: Sean A. Scapellato lives in Charleston, South Carolina with his wife and two children. He is a recovering high school English teacher and is presently trying to publish a novel.

Essays/Creative Non-Fiction and Articles

Aamir Aziz: Aamir Aziz is a lecturer in English at the Bahira College in Islamabad Pakistan. He is 21 years old and has more than one dozen poetic works published in international journals.

Laura Hogg: Laura is a writer and a musician, and is currently trying to become published. Laura has written flash fiction to full-length historical novels.

K. D. Mertz: K.D. Mertz is a stay-at-home mother of two and self-proclaimed "domestic goddess" residing in Chambersburg, PA. She will be starting her junior year at Wilson College in the fall of 2005 in pursuit of a BA in English/Writing concentration and a minor in Mass Communications.
A native of Florida, K.D. often works the memories of her youth into her writing. She is currently working on her first novel based around a summer love as a teen. When not writing, she keeps the creative juices flowing through hand-painted glass and hand-beaded jewelry.

Art and Photography

Brian Ferguson: B L. Ferguson is heavily involved in retirement at this time, having a lifetime of experience to devote to photography he has chosen to devote his sensitivity and vision to this art. Much of his joy comes when the printer spits out an 8 x 10 and he yells “WOW, that’s a great picture,” or when the cat actually pays attention to him. His email is bfery@suscom.net.

Dorothee Lang: Dorothee Lang is a writer and net artist. She lives in an old house with high speed connection in South Germany, where she is editing the BluePrintReview and working on a travel novel. Her prose, poetry and web art have recently appeared in Sunday Herald and Surface, CautionaryTale, and Word Riot, Pedestal, and Pindeldyboz, among others. To see some of her latest pieces, visit her virtual gallery at blueprint21.de. Visit her online literary magazine, BluePrintReview.

Jewel Martin: Jewel is a poet, and a painter. Her life is lived in the state of Florida where the wind dances and plays in her hair. Many refer to Jewel as an unexplainable enigma; embracing this, she enigmatically makes herself her own. Jewel has published in several literary magazines under various pen names.

Brian McNely: Brian J. McNely is a graduate student in English and American literature at the University of Texas, El Paso. He has published poetry and presented extensively on various aspects of literary criticism, most recently at the College English Association and American Comparative Literature Association national conferences. He is currently working on two academic presentations that incorporate his own photography, "The Virgin of El Paso," and "Strip Mall Spirituality."

Don Swartzentruber: Don is an amazing painter. You can purchase and view more of his work at his web gallery, http://www.swartzentruber.com.

Michelle Williams: Michelle is currently seeking her BA in English from the University of Florida and is married to the love of her life, Paul. Michelle writes poetry, short stories, paints, sketches, and takes photographs when she can. She has been published in four literary magazines to date and hopes to continue publishing her work in the future. Her design work and editing work have won top honors in the State of Florida Competition of Community College Publications.

Cheryl Wilsey: Cheryl Lynn Wilsey was born and spent her childhood in South Dakota. At a very early age in life, she expressed an innate desire to create and to dictate her own path in life. Later, around the age of eight, she started to receive formal lessons in music. When she entered adolescents she started to write poetry and soon had multiple notebooks full of ideas. During undergraduate study, she continued to pursue training in the visual arts and music. She says “Poetry was a constant through this journey as well because the variety of creative means to expression should not be limited to one particular vein of work”. She graduated from Augustana College with a degree in visual arts and the ability to teach art in K-12 school districts. Currently, she is undertaking graduate study through Saint Mary’s University.

Margarita Yerastova: Margarita is a gifted artists of many genres, including sketching and painting as well as digital media and design. She also writes compelling poetry. She is currently attending the University of Florida and was published in their 2005 edition of The Mangrove Review. To view more of her works, visit her web page at http://earthanarchy.deviantart.com/

Ivan D. Young: Ivan is an assistant instructor for fourth block at the Dave School, a digital animation and visual effects institution in Orlando Florida, assisting William “Proton” Vaughn. He has assisted on several animation projects through the school that can be seen at http://www.daveschool.com, and has studied the arts for many years.

Please note that all works are protected by their respective copyrights. None of the works contained within this e-zine can be copied, reproduced, or used without the express written consent of the copyright owners (in this case, the authors, writers, poets, photographers, painters, and digital media designers). If you wish to contact a writer or artist to inquire about using and/or purchasing their work, feel free to email the contact information provided in the artist's/writer's biography.