INTERVIEW WITH NGOZI OLIVIA OSUOHA Ngozi Olivia Osuoha is a young Nigerian poet/ writer and a graduate of Estate Management. She has some experience in banking and broadcasting. She has published some works abroad in some foreign magazines in Ghana, Liberia, India and Canada, among others. She enjoys writing. Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! Q1: Tell us a little about yourself and your background? Born and bred in my hometown Nkwerre. Raised by great teachers, i have three male and two female siblings. The fourth child but second daughter of my parents. A Nigerian and a Christian. I have been writing for more than fifteen years. My home is about ink. I love, respect and salute teachers, especially the old school ones. Those who heard and had it tough and rough, harnessing heavy heads and handling harzardious hands. I want people to love and admire the teaching profession again. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? Yes. My School years really impacted on my writing carreer. I finished from the Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri, Imo State where i obtained an HND in Estate Management. Then, i was once the vice president for my local government students association, I was once my departmental vice president, I was the vice chairman for Departmental Vice Presidents Association (DEVA) a new body we nearly hatched, I was a poet/presenter at the mass communication studio, polynek fm I anchored the swearing in programme of the Students'Union Government behind my set, I paired with the School Orator Dr. Nnamdi Anumihe at some occasions, I did a pamphlet for the Rector, Engr. O. I. Nwankwo, I interviewed a Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Osuagwu on air, a representive of the then Education Minister, Dr. Igwe Ajah Nwachukwu, at NACOSTE I took the citation for a black American Miss Claudia Remy Thompson who came for ICT training, I presented a lecture on DREAMS at a departmental picnic and crowned the pioneer Miss Estate Management, At the NYSC Orientation Camp, i was the OBS major writer and newscaster, And a few other things. I think my school years really helped me. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? I was not "good" in English. In fact, till now i am not "good". I want to be excellent, i wish to be an amazing polyglot, not just being good at English language. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? I want to be read by everyone. I want to be a household poet/writer. I want to leave a footprint that no one can ever duplicate. Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? As an Anglican, the hymn book ministers to me. I do not know those poets and hymnists but they always inspire me. I understand hymns in a crazily different way. However, the social media has a bunch of great talents. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? The easiest thing about writing is picking up my pen and the hardest is dropping it. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? I do not really read. But i like Chinua Achebe, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, William Shakespeare and others. Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? I proofread my works by myself and edit them, for now. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? Ideas come from everywhere and everything but the primary source is God. I love poetry. I have written countless works like... Letter to my teacher Letter to Mandela Politics, my wayward brother Politics, a tetra-headed dragon Rape a desecrating monster Religion angel lucifer Ink and root Come home beloved Chibok Extravagant epistle to my purple mum Mum my golden dove The stinking holiday Kinsmen July 19th Feeling like a celebrity Africa recounts ................just the few i can recall now. THE TRANSFORMATION TRAIN AND LETTER TO MY UNBORN.....two pieces though unpublished, my longest rhymes so far....358 and 560 verses respectively. A whole lot of unpublished works. Writing is life. Life is writing. Living is a book. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
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My name is Moses Chukwuemeka Daniel, I am from Nigeria, Africa. I'm a teenage poet, I love writing and I sing too. My poems have been published in some online journals and magazines. INTERVIEW WITH MOSES CHUKWUEMEKA DANIEL Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! Q1: Tell us a little about yourself and your background? A: My name is Moses Chukwuemeka Daniel, I am from Ebonyi state Nigeria ( the southern part of Nigeria ) west Africa. I am the fifth child of a family of nine. I was born in the year 1997 in Rivers state Nigeria where my parents and siblings all reside. I started writing two years ago 2014 and i hope my pen never drops. I also sing and sketch too, although i decided to just concentrate on writing and singing for now. Some of my works have been published on foreign sites like Dawuro Africa Ghana, tuck magazine Canada and off course scarletleaf Canada *smiles* Q2: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? A:.I like every writer as i wish to be a genius with the pen, i want to be able to express, like an eagle i want to soar, i want to make mistakes too and then make up for them with hardwork and dedication. I hope to meet the future with cheers and exuberance as i write tenaciously . Q3:What are you working on at the moment? What's it about (if relevant)? A: I'm currently working on a book, my first book, i haven't got a title yet but i think it's leading to one soon, I'm taking it bit by bit because it's my first book, i can't say much about it for now hopefully when it gets older. Q4: when did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and started writing poems? A:.First of all i wasn't borne with poetry, i mean no one was, just like everyone else i grew up loving it, actually i found myself in poetry after high school ( we call it secondary school in Nigeria ) when i met a poet on Facebook then i knew i could not only love literature and stand infront of the book but also be the pen. Q5: what makes you write? What's the force behind taking your pen and put verses down? A: Two things actually, the past and the future, the past in the sense that it had no good stories to tell home about my education, i had some sad experiences that sometimes makes me want to write out my feelings. And the future that is always far but very near, i don't stop wishing and writing even though i know the future is now . Q6: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjunction that offers you inspiration? A: For me i believe everything is an inspiration, everything is worth writing about, words form lines, lines make verses / stanzas and verses/ stanzas produce poetry. So i write A.T.M ( All The Moment) . Q7: How do you think you've evolved creatively? A: Creativity is how much one knows and how much one is willing to know, I'm always working, sharing and exchanging ideas with other writers. Creatively i can't rate myself,I've not gotten there yet. Q8: In your opinion, what's the hardest thing about writing? A: A very crutial question, but i think everything about writing is so difficult and exasperating too, only being clueless is the worst thing about writing. Q9: What about the easiest thing? A: Starting a particular piece. Q10: Do you read much? Who's your favorite authors? A: Yes, but lately I've not being reading like before, My favorite authors are Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Q11: what is your favorite book and why? A: purple hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It's a very education book, an eye opener, the story is about the life of a Nigerian family with a dictatorate father, a very strict man named Eugine, his very tame wife Beatrice. The story revolves around their daughter kambili whom the writer uses to tell the story and her brother Jaja the hero of the story. Q12: where can you see yourself in five(5) years? A: I see myself finishing my university education with distinction . I see a better part of myself, i see myself having my anthology, i see myself exploring my deepest thoughts and inspiration after acquiring more knowledge from school. Q13: What is your favorite quote? A: "Some people are too poor that all they have is money " Q14:which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why? A:Bob Marley He is a great Singer ,his song were so impactful in the society. He sang facts that were acknowledged amongst continents, it excelled because of it's vast influence and knowledge, he was very candid and overall he preached love as the greatest. Q15: what advice would you give to aspiring writers? A: they should be true, they should read avidly, never stop writing, never give up and always follow inspiration whenever it comes. Q16:How can readers discover more about you and your works ? A: I post my works sometimes on Facebook and instagram and I currently have two videos on YouTube; Facebook: Moses Chukwuemeka, instagram: Daniel_Roars. Ken Allan Dronsfield is a published poet who has recently been nominated for The Best of the Net and 2 Pushcart Awards for Poetry in 2016. His poetry has been published world-wide in various publications throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Ken loves thunderstorms, walking in the woods at night, and spending time with his cat Willa. Ken's new book, "The Cellaring", a collection of haunting, paranormal, weird and wonderful poems, has been released and is available through Amazon.com. He is the co-editor of the poetry anthology titled, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze available at Amazon.com. A second anthology, Dandelion in a Vase of Roses will be released around the first of the new year. INTERVIEW WITH KEN ALLAN DRONSFIELD Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I was born in the ‘50s in the Northeast corner of the US. I was brought up in the small town of Hampton New Hampshire, the oldest of 6 kids. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? I believe that ALL experiences, whether school in the ‘60s, work, or play, parental support, all contribute to my writing as a career. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? I was basically ‘invisible’ during my school years. I was pretty shy and didn’t say much. English was a pretty good subject although, at the time, I had NO idea I would decide to fall back upon it and make it a huge part of my life today. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? I want to continue writing poetry and short stories, and strive to keep those reading my work fully entertained and wanting more…..to be recognized by my peers with my recent Nomination for “Best of the Net” Poetry is a dream come true and I look forward to what tomorrow might bring! Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? I would have to say, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, Leonard Cohen, Shakespeare and as writers go it would be Stephen King. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? I am the co editor for the recent anthology, “Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze” available at Amazon.com I have been seeking publication of my Poetry and Short Stories since 13 November 2015 and have thus far had 280 officially published pieces all over the Internet and in Print/Anthology venues. Q: Where can we buy or see them? Amazon.com for the Anthology, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze, priced @ $13.95 Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? (*if relevant) I’m now co-editor on the new Anthology, “Dandelion in a Vase of Rose”, with my dear friend and Editor Michael Lee Johnson. I’m working on my own book titled, “The Cellaring” which will be available through Amazon just before Halloween. Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre? I’ve always enjoyed horror, dark work, paranormal, etc….although I also write many poems on Nature. Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems? I started writing at about 13 years old. I had a guitar, learned to play and decided to write my own lyrics for songs….it blossomed into poetry and after 40 years, I’ve decided to write full time. Q: What makes you write? What’s the force behind taking your pen (or your keyboard) and put verses down? This is a good question, I would say I have a lot to express, something inside gives me the love of the written word that I share it with everyone.The force, I would say, is a blessing. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I write full time. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? My ideas come from experiences in my past, and everything from television, movies, books, conversations with people and, yes, even conversations with myself, my cats or dog…. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? I’ve work very long and hard to branch my creativity from simple rhyming poetry to special formatted free verse work. Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block? Yes, every writer will experience ‘writer’s block’. I use art to help me work through it. I find a picture, and starting from left to right, I write short observations of what I see in the picture, ie: the birds on the branch, snow along the creek, sun behind the pines…..etc….and then I put it all together, fill in areas that need it and work my way out of the block and into a nice poem. Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about? “The Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze”, ‘Dandelion in a Vase of Roses” and my own book, “The Cellaring” covers were made by me and my Digital Art program. Yes, it can make or break the book. The old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is the truth, the potential buyer looks at the cover first….imagination kicks in, and they’re ready to buy the book if that cover ‘catches’ their eye…. Q: How do you relax? I relax by going outside and sitting under the tree with a cold drink. I love walking in the woods at night and find great peace watching Thunderstorms. Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying? My own quote has always been my favorite: “When the Mind has Left; then go Write” written and copyrighted in 2011. Q: What is your favorite quote? “Freedom is being yourself without needing anyone’s permission”. Ken Allan Dronsfield, 2012 Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? Perhaps looking at a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Q: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why? Poe, I would LOVE to meet him and just listen to him talk over a drink. Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? Website: arevnantpoet@wordpress.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kend1 Twitter: @KenKadfield Lnkedin: Ken Allan Dronsfield Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. Rick Hartwell is a retired middle school teacher (remember the hormonally-challenged?) living in Southern California. He believes in the succinct, that the small becomes large; and, like the Transcendentalists and William Blake, that the instant contains eternity. Given his “druthers,” if he’s not writing, Rick would rather still be tailing plywood in a mill in Oregon. He can be reached atrdhartwell@gmail.com. INTERVIEW WITH RICK HARTWELL Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I was in the military for twelve-plus years then left for my wife and I to take care of our disabled daughter; she’s turning forty this year and still lives with us. I then worked in telecommunications for sixteen years, was laid off and went back to school to get my teaching certificate. I then taught 7th and 8th grade language arts and reading for some seventeen-plus years and retired in 2010. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? I was a hood, no doubt about it: white tee-shirt with a pack of Pal Malls rolled up in the sleeve, blue jeans, white socks, and black penny-loafers; it was the early sixties. Never did homework and was an alcoholic. However, I stealthily submitted poetry to one of my English teachers; so much for an image. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? Yes, I was very good at English, but mostly because I was an avid reader, not because I really applied myself. I also had four years of mechanical drafting – way before the use of CAD/CAM – as an elective and loved the challenge of clean lines and detail; can’t reconcile this with writing but oh well. When I finally went back to college, I received a B.A. in English Literature and eventually a M.A. in English. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? I have been associated with the Inland Area Writing Project, University of California, Riverside, since 1999 and support their efforts. Poetry, essays and short stories are my focus. I would love to have some poetry collected and published in book form. Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? Blake, Rimbaud, Thoreau (yes, he was a poet!), Whitman, Ginsberg, Carver (from whom I was fortunate enough to take a class in poetry at California State University, Santa Cruz) – these were all early influences and their eclectic approach undoubtedly influenced me. Perhaps out of favor now, but the Transcendentalists led me to try to describe the minute detail as representative of the larger, universal whole. Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems? I was a typical “hidden poet” in high school, but then lay fallow until after I left the Army. I then returned to journaling and writing in college and particularly when I started teaching; perhaps the hormones floating around middle school prompted a resurgence in my poetry! Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I am an avid journalist, so I guess I’d consider that writing daily. I then extract from my journal to “create” poems. I think I was greatly influenced towards this approach when I did my Master’s thesis on The Wild Not Less Than the Good: Henry David Thoreau as Transcendental Poet. Thoreau was a wonderful journalist and could often “lift” poems and full narrative paragraphs straight from his journal. Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? Revision, revision, revision! I often let a first draft alone for weeks before I come back to it. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? I read perhaps a book a day on average, I admit that this often interferes with writing, except for the journal, and then will take a day out to review the journal. Hard to think of favorite authors without excluding someone that I previously read to excess, but: Henry David Thoreau, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, John Steinbeck, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Wallace Stegner, LeoTolstoy, Kate Chopin, V.S. Naipaul, Yasunari Kawabata, Octavia E. Butler, Edward Abbey, Aldous Huxl;ey, Thornton Wilder, Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell, Albert Camus, Mary Doria Russel, Nikos Kazantzakis, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Ramsey Ullman, Willa Cather, Phillip K. Dick, Pearl S. Buck, and so on; I have often latched onto an author and read their oeuvre to e exhaustion. If you notice any pattern, let me know because I certainly don’t. Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit? Definitely! This is a must for me. Q: What is your favorite book and why? I would have to say Thoreau’s Walden and Emerson’s Collected Essays. I’ve reread both so many times I have lost count. Q: What is your favorite quote? When hate is in the seeds, you can only harvest weeds. Ernst Jünger, The Glass Bees In joined hands there is hope; in a clenched fist, none. Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea An eye for an eye only ends up making the world blind. Mohandas Gandhi, The Mahatma Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! Welcome to our anniversary edition! Between January 1 and January 15, we will have the pleasure to offer you a beautiful literary piece every day. Please, come back every day to see what we have in store for you. On January 15, we will have a special edition and only on 16, we will offer you the regular issue of our literary magazine. We've had a crazy year together. We've been spoiled - many excellent authors chose to share their work with us. We hope 2017 will bring the same: the best. We, the staff of the review, want to thank you all: readers and authors. Have a great 2017 ahead of you! SLR staff END-YEAR REVIEW Dear Readers and Authors, We've had a great year together, haven't we? We've travelled all over the world and enjoyed poems and stories, seen beautiful pieces of art and partaken into interesting opinions! We've laughed or cried but - much more important - we've had a chance to stop and reflect. Between January 15 2016 (our inaugural issue of the magazine) and December 31 2016, there were 438,044 hits (we're missing the data for two weeks, though). We hope that the new year would bring much more. We'd like to present a review of the year. Just click on the images below and you'll have the oportunity to read one of the best pieces featured in our magazine in 2016. By no means, the authors featured here are the only ones who honored our magazine with their work and, please, keep in mind that the order of the photos is random. INTERVIEW WITH INDUNIL MADHUSANKHA Indunil Madhusankha is an internationally published promising young poet from Sri Lanka. He is currently an undergraduate reading for a BSc (Hons) Special Degree in Mathematics in the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo and he takes a great interest in the subjects of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science. In addition to Indunil’s involvement in the field of Physical Sciences, he also pursues a notable literary career. He achieved three gold medals and a silver medal from four All Island English Essay Competitions. Further, he presented several papers related to Education and English Language Studies at several national and international level conferences, and he contributed a few review articles to a couple of peer-reviewed international journals. He has undertaken several research projects pertaining to the areas of ELT, CLIL, and English Literature. Also, he completed the TKT examination and the three specialist modules YL, KAL, and CLIL. Indunil compiled his first collection of poetry entitled, Oasis when he was sixteen and he is currently working on his second collection, Reflections of Life and also on a book titled, A Rare Kind of Beauty, Yet Unexplored: A Selection of Modern Sri Lankan Sinhala Poetry featuring a translation of a set of select Sinhala poems written by some renowned Sri Lankan poets. He also enjoys interviewing fellow poets and practising the art of performance poetry. Moreover, his creative and academic works have been published in many international journals, magazines, websites and anthologies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Africa, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka and some other countries. Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I am a simple person with an ardent passion for learning. I am basically a student of Mathematics and Statistics, and additionally I am involved in studies pertaining to such areas as Education, Psychology, and Language & Literary Studies. During my spare time, I read and work on poetry and several other forms of creative writing. My mother tongue is Sinhala. Also, I read works written in both English and Sinhala, but currently I write only in English. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact on your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? Yes, of course. My school years have certainly had a tremendous impact on my writing career. Those days, I clinched many awards in several national and provincial level English essay competitions and creative writing contests. Also, I had many of my creative compositions published in some local newspapers when I was young. Besides that, during my school days, I used to write in Sinhala too, and even won awards for many such creations. I, therefore, believe that all these achievements have certainly influenced my writing career. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? Actually, I was good in my English since I was ten even though English is not my first language. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? Like every other writer, I also have the dream of publishing my own collection of poetry one day. Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? There is a lot, but to list a few, I have been inspired by such great poets as William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, W.B. Yeats and Wilfred Owen. I also love the works of Sri Lankan English poets like Patrick Fernando, Lakdasa Wikkramasinha, Anne Ranasinghe, Yasmine Gooneratne and Jean Arasanayagam. Apart from that, I highly appreciate the writings of Sri Lankan Sinhala poets such as Kumaratunga Munidasa, Gajaman Nona, Wimal Dissanayake, Parakrama Kodituwakku and Monika Ruwanpathirana. I am marveled at the effective use of language and literary techniques, choice of thematic concerns and the universal appeal in the work of the above writers. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? Basically, I am a poet. But, I occasionally write essays and short stories too. I also like to translate well-known Sri Lankan Sinhala poems into the English language. Further, I have interviewed some of my fellow poets and I am also interested in authoring literary reviews. Moreover, I work on abstracts, research proposals and research papers. Please see the attached documents for a list of my publications and some prominent awards that I have won. Q: Where can we buy or see them? Please refer to the links mentioned at the end for some of my writings. Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? I am currently working as a reader/reviewer for the upcoming anthology, Dandelion in a Vase of Roses edited by the highly acclaimed poet, Michael Lee Johnson. This anthology comes out as a book project by his large Facebook poetry group, Contemporary Poets, Their Works, Current Poetry Projects, News, Links the link for which is given below. https://www.facebook.com/groups/807679459328998/ Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and started writing poems? I decided to become a poet when I was about fourteen years old after reading and being inspired by some stunning literary texts that had been prescribed for my English Literature course. Q: What makes you write? What’s the force behind taking your pen (or your keyboard) and put verses down? In most cases, it is social injustices which drive me to write. In my viewpoint, poetry is a microscope which the writer can use in order to zoom out to a subtler view of the varied social realities. But any scenery, event or situation that influences or inspires me deserves some kind of poetic exploration from my end. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I write part-time and I do not stick to a particular time schedule when it comes to writing. I do write whenever the thoughts come to my mind, be it in a bus, at the lunch table or at a lecture hall. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? I think it is, in most cases, the spur of the moment. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? To be short and sweet, I think that the two clichés, Reading maketh a full man and Try and try, one day you can fly would explain it better. Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? To me, the hardest thing about writing is being adequately motivated. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? Well, the easiest thing about writing is, as I think, proofreading and editing. Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit? No. I try my best to finish things as quickly as possible because I find it irritating when some business remains unfinished for a long time without being attended to. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? With my busy academic schedule and other obligations, presently I do not have a lot of time for reading books. But whenever I get the time, I read Shakespeare, Jane Austen and a lot of other famous writers, both local and foreign. I prefer traditional paperback books. Q: What book are you reading at present? At present, I am reading the novel, Waiting Earth by Punyakante Wijenaike who is a well-known Sri Lankan English author. Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? Usually, I myself proofread and edit my own writings. Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around? Self-publishing sounds nice because the book can be tailored to our own needs but the process is really hectic. On the contrary, if we choose to get published by an editor or some publishing house, we have barely anything to do with the publishing process. That is good because we do not have to undertake any tedious tasks with regard to publishing, but sometimes it seems disadvantageous not to have any control over the process. Q: How do you relax? I read and write poetry in order to experience a sense of relaxation. Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying? The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night. The mind is everything. What you think you become. – Buddha Q: What is your favorite book and why? It is really difficult to choose one when you have a personal library comprised of many enticing books belonging to various genres and cultures. But to name a few, I love Shakespeare’s theatrical masterpiece, Macbeth, Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, Alexander Pope’s mock heroic, The Rape of the Lock, Anita Desai’s novel for children, The Village by the Sea and Martin Wickramasinghe’s novel, Madol Doova. These outstanding literary works have influenced me prodigiously throughout my writing career. Q: What is your favorite quote? This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Chief Seattle – Chief of Suquamish Indians in his letter to the American Government in 1854. Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? Most probably excelling in my postgraduate studies as a doctoral student in the United Kingdom or the United States. Q: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why? I would like to meet William Wordsworth and listen to the wonderful stories of how he derived such spectacular imagery from nature. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? As a beginner, it is quite important that an aspiring writer does an admirable amount of reading. Also, it is necessary to bear in mind that the harder we try, the more we reap. Therefore, try to evolve and improve your creative skill as you go on writing until some editor decides to accept your piece/s. Expert comments and reviews are also of paramount importance. It is thus better if you can get somebody to support you through the initial phase of your writing career. Further, it is vital that you refrain from being disheartened by negative feedback. Just take them as a source of inspiration. Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future? With the burgeoning increase of internet platforms, we are presently witnessing an unprecedented flourishing of creativity on the web. This has hence led to a revolutionary development in the publishing industry. Thanks to the widespread availability of so-called digital platforms, at present, anyone from any part of the globe has the opportunity to showcase his/her literary talents to a massive international readership. So, I am of the belief that with the growing advancements in the sphere of information and communication technology, publishing industry will explore new dimensions and thus will surely thrive in the years to come. Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included? Yes, I would like to take this opportunity to express my genuine gratitude to the team at Scarlet Leaf Review, especially Roxana Nastase, the Editor-in-Chief who has always been very supportive and kind-hearted to the readers and contributors. Also, it is with a true sense of pride and happiness that I grab this moment to honestly thank my parents, brothers, teachers and colleagues for always being there for me in my journey through life. Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indunil.madhusankha Twitter: https://twitter.com/indunilmadhu Google: https://plus.google.com/+IndunilMadhusankha/ Lnkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indunil-madhusankha-31858462 Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AIndunil%20Madhusankha%20Bassa%20Hewayalage Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13561134.Indunil_Madhusankha_Bassa_Hewayalage Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. Gregory T. Janetka is a writer from Chicago who currently lives in the outskirts of San Diego where he is inspired by pretty things. His work has previously been published in Foliate Oak, Flyover County Review, Gambling the Aisle, Deltona Howl and The Flash Fiction Press. He is terribly good at jigsaw puzzles and drinks a great deal of tea. More of his writings can be found at gregorytjanetka.com. INTERVIEW WITH GREGORY T. JANETKA Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago, went to college in D.C. then bounced around between Chicago and Orlando before moving to Alabama and finally San Diego, where I currently reside. Chicago, however, will always be home and consistently finds its way into my work. I began creating stories in my head in order to help me fall asleep when I was very little. Soon after I started writing them down and haven’t stopped since. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? Absolutely. I was lucky to have many great teachers across many disciplines. What stood out to me across all subjects was the storytelling aspect. If the teacher was a good storyteller I’d pay more attention and get more out of the class. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? I loved English in terms of reading and analyzing texts but when it came to all the grammar rules I immediately lost interest. Writing has rules and formulas, of course, but breaking it down to that level seemed like an attempt to kill the magic that words and language inherently possess so I just went with what sounded and felt right and was correct about 95 percent of the time. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? Of course like any writer I’d like to be able to survive by writing fiction alone but realizing how unlikely that is, all I can hope for is the time to always keep writing no matter what else happens in life. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? As far as published work I have had a number of short stories and poems in literary magazines, but have also finished a novel and a novella and am currently seeking representation for both. Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? I have major issues with focus and so am always working on multiple projects. The two main ones at the moment include a short story dealing with the tenuous nature of friendships and the beginnings of a second novel set in early 1900s Chicago. Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre? I suppose what I write usually falls under the general heading of literary fiction. My novel and novella, however, are historical fiction as I find it easier to fictionalize and distance myself from the real life events that inspired them. Also because I know what it’s like to live in my own time period and want to better understand and explore how others have lived in the past. Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence? I’ve always loved writing stories but didn’t seek to do anything with them until a few years ago. Out of a feeling of duty, and because I figured no one would ever want to read my stories, I studied political science in college. I spent time in class, however, filling the margins of my notebooks with story notes and ideas. The desire was always there, lurking. In December 2013, I quit my job in order to travel the country for 80 days and finish my novel and haven’t looked back since. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I’d love to write full-time but without being independently wealthy that’s not an option. I write what I can when I can, usually bits at a time. When you truly love something you’ll always find a way to do it. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? We’re always surrounded by endless ideas but who knows what makes us see some and not others. And what makes us run with one over all the others that we do see. I love that there is mystery to writing. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? I’m not sure I have. Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? An idea comes and I write until everything in my head is down on paper or until my arm literally goes numb and I can’t write any longer. I let that, whatever it may be, sit until I have some distance from it then I go back and see how to possibly structure it and what basic components, if any, it is missing. Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? Finding the time and quiet in which to do it. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? The fact that there is always more to be explored, always more words and language to play with. Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block? I’m not sure I understand the idea of writer’s block. If you’re a writer, you write. What you produce may be junk but everyone writes junk. If one story gets held up or isn’t working you move onto another. Writer’s write. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? To me reading is as nearly as much a tactile as it is a mental experience and so I prefer traditional books, used ones if possible. The feel of the pages, the smell of them, of taking a pencil to them to underline great sentences, to holding in my hand a well worn book that has been read who knows how many times by how many people, of taking that journey that they’ve taken and seeing what they’ve left behind, be it notes or dog-eared pages or coffee stains. Reading is anything but a solitary experience. Q: What book are you reading at present? The Stories of John Cheever and Bleak House Q: How do you relax? I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to. Q: What is your favorite book and why? The Great Gatsby. My high school English teacher Mrs. Smith assigned it for class and to her I will forever be grateful. Those sentences, each a treasure. That’s how I wanted to write. Not to just come up with stories but to be a storyteller. That work led me to the rest of Fitzgerald’s work and to a love of the Lost Generation of the 1920s. Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? Ideally embodying the cliche of living in a small Parisian apartment near the Seine with my love and my cat, drinking copious amounts of tea. In reality all I know is I’ll be scratching out my little stories somewhere. Q: What advice would you give to your younger self? Don’t change anything, just pay close attention as it will all be useful one day. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Have great adventures. And always carry a pen and paper with you. Once an idea is gone it’s gone. Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included? I just want to say thanks to Roxanna and Scarlet Leaf Review for this opportunity! Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? Website: https://gregorytjanetka.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/g.tarsiscis.janetka Twitter: https://twitter.com/greg_janetka Lnkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-t-janetka-5b05ab19 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6084462-gregory-t-janetka Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. INTERVIEW WITH B. CRAIG GRAFTON Author is a retired attorney having practiced for 35 years in Illinois who now lives in Texas and started writing stories about a year and a half ago. Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. Retired attorney. Practiced 1973-2008 in Illinois. Retired and moved to Texas 2011.. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? No. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? Not good at English grammar but wrote clever funny essays that my last English teacher liked and gave me good grades. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? None. I’m too old to have a writing career. I only have one career to look forward to, death the final career. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? Just silly stories for online magazines. Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence? I have never have decided to become a writer. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? Part time three or four stories a month. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? I’m sixty nine. Old people have seen a lot. Thinking back it’s easy to come up with ideas. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? No. At same level as I was in high school. Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? Outline it in my mind and see where it goes from there once I start typing. Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? Forcing myself to start typing. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? Once I get going it’s hard to quit. Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block? No. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? I read fiction, mysteries and contemporary thrillers, non fiction history and biographies, and short story collections of a literary nature. Q: What book/s are you reading at present? A book about the Jewish resistance to the Nazis in Poland during WWII. Q: How do you relax? Read. Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying? “You’ll never learn any younger.” My father’s father used to say that to me when I was little. He would then proceed to learn me about whatever it was that he was just talking about. Even if my old age based on that I try to learn something new every day. Q: What is your favorite quote? The one above. Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? Deceased. Q: What advice would you give to your younger self? There’s no substitute for hard work and honesty. (I made that one up not my grandfather,) Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? My advice would be, “Ask someone else. I’m not qualified to give advice.” Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future? Nowhere I’m too old for a future. Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included? See P.S. below. Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? I have none of these things. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. P.S.----- I know that these answers aren’t much and if you don’t print them I understand. Making up these stories and committing them to paper is something I view as a challenge. Something to do in my old age. I certainly wouldn’t have had the time or even thought of doing so when I was young and in business. It’s a challenge to see if I can do it and get somebody to print them. That’s enough for me. If they ever get beyond the internet it will be sheer luck as I have no idea how to market them and one thing that I’ve learned through the years is that luck has a lot to with the outcome of one’s life. (But then again one can create his own luck by jumping at all opportunities.) Thank you again for printing what I have sent you. I really appreciate it. Good luck with your magazine. I can see that you have all the necessary spirit, desire, drive and ambition to succeed. I’m sure you’ll be successful. B. Craig Grafton Thank you Mr. Grafton, both for your kind words and for your valuable contribution to our magazine. NT Franklin - I write after my real job hoping one day to have it be my real job. When I’m not reading or writing short stories, you might find me fishing or solving crossword puzzles. INTERVIEW WITH NT FRANKLIN Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I am a professional scientist/University Professor. I have decades of experience writing for academic journals, but I am new to writing fiction. I don’t spend enough time fishing or writing fiction. That needs to change. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? Of course! What other response could an academician give? I was a good student, perhaps under challenged at times. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? I liked English, particularly sentenced structure and grammar. My focus was on the sciences, not on English. But reading is some of the best training for writing. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? Career may be too strong of a word. I hope to continue to have people enjoy my prose. Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? I have never read much poetry, but I have read Walt Whitman. I would say less in was writing and more in perspective. I gleaned “be yourself” from Leaves of Grass. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? I have two short stories published right here on The Scarlet Leaf Review (The Hitman, April 2016; Stolen Life, July 2016). I have been experimenting with some Flash Fiction and have had a few published. Q: Where can we buy or see them? My two short stories are available here on The Scarlet Leaf Review! Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? I’m writing a series of middle group (MG) stories about the misadventures of two young teenage boys, “Me and Bart.” The stories are set in the late 1960’s when it was a simpler time with no cell phones and free-range kids. They go on escapades that result in harmless mischief. The stories are intended to entertain. There is no intent to deliver a moral message, just stories about rambunctious young boys. And of course, I’m still writing cozy mysteries. Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre? I don’t have any books, but I am planning to put “Me and Bart” stories into a book. Q: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book? Like everyone else, the best and most popular ones! Q: How much research do you do for your books? So far, my stories settings are very familiar to me, so limited research is needed. I do research details to provide realism in my stories. For instance, how long does it take for a body to bleed out when the femoral artery is cut through. Q: Have you written any other novels/novellas in collaboration with other writers? Why did you do decide to collaborate and did that affect your sales? I have not. Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence? I have always enjoyed creative writing. I needed an outlet to escape from work pressures and just started. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I have no set writing schedule, I write when I have the time, which is not often enough. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? Sometimes my ideas come from past experiences, but much of the time, events that occur trigger an idea. If I see a building being torn down, maybe there is a body in a wall cavity. That sort of thing. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? I don’t think I’ve been writing long enough to have evolved creatively, but I do feel my writing has improved. Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? I do make sketchy notes for ideas, but I let the ideas take me directions as I am writing. Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? Writing in a such a manner your reader sees and feels they are part of the story as they are reading. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? I don’t really know. Like most things, doing it well is not easy. Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block? If I am stumbling on a portion of a story, I put it aside and read something. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? I read short stories; my favorite genre is cozy. I tend to go more for the genre than specific authors. I do a great deal of professional reading and never seem to have enough time to read fiction. Q: What books are you reading at present? I’m reading short stories. The last few books I’ve read were nonfiction. Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? I proofread and edit my own work, but that is not enough. I use the Scribophile site for editing and proofing. There are terrific writers on the site where critiques are exchanged. I’d recommend the site to anyone that wants to improve their writing. Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit? No, edit it as much as I can. It is difficult to edit your own work. As a final procedure, I use the voice-to-text option in Word for my final edit. Then I put it up on the Scribophile site. Q: Who edited your last book and how did you select him/her? My short stories here on The Scarlet Leaf Review were critiques and edited on the Scribophile site. Q: How do you relax? With my family. I like being outdoors. Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying? What’s the worst that can happen? Q: What is your favorite book and why? Sad to say, but it would be an academic text in my field. Q: What is your favorite quote? I have several. Most all the good quotes come from “The Wizard of Oz” or the “Star Wars” series of movies. Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? Hopefully a better writer and possibly expanding my writing genre. Q: What advice would you give to your younger self? Let’s just say that all past experiences contribute to one’s character. Q: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why? Wow, too many (none of them living) to narrow down to one. Q: If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why? Because I’m a biologist, Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Get on a critique site, have a thick skin, and listen to advice on the site. Don’t expect to be a good writer when you start. Plan to get better to hopefully become a good writer. Like education, it is a journey, not a destination. Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future? More electronic publishing and less print; more self-publishing and less traditional publishing. Dear Readers,
As always, at 4 am Eastern Time, on December 15th, a new issue of this magazine will come to life. We were lucky enough that talented poets and writers contributed to this issue so we are confident that they will delight your minds and souls with their poems or stories. Take your time, read everything - it is worth it. We enjoyed every moment. Keep in mind, the order of the published works is always decided by the site - we have no power there... We have already resigned and wait to see what's the order at the same time with you. Don't forget, you can choose from the drop-down menu on the December page if you want to navigate to the page with poems or the one with stories or the page featuring nonfiction. Once on the page, on the right hand, there are categories and under this header, you will find the names of the contributing authors. You can click on the name of the author and that we'll lead you directly to the page where the respective's work is featured. However.... try to read all of them. It's worth the time. You won't be sorry. Thank you, SLR Staff Dear Authors, On January 15th 2017, we’ll have the first anniversary of the magazine. To celebrate it, we decided the following: 1. Every day between Jan 1 and Jan 14, inclusively, we will publish one submission only – either poem or short-story or nonfiction – as editor’s choice. So, if you want to have the chance to be published in one of these days, please, submit specifically for that. The subject title of the email should read: anniversary submission. 2. The normal issue of the magazine in January will be on 16th this time. On 15th, we will have a special edition featuring pieces celebrating cultural leaders – authors, singers, actors etc., who passed away in 2014, 2015 and 2016. One piece will be dedicated to Mihai Eminescu, as the poet is our honorary patron. The pieces may be about such a celebrity or may be fiction – for instance, a story or a poem about a meet and greet (or any other kind of meeting) with the respective celebrity, either as people or ghosts or whatever might cross your mind. If you want to have your submission featured in the Jan 15 special issue, the subject line of your submission email should read: Jan 15 submission. We’ll be waiting for your submissions! SLR Staff Dear Readers, As always, at 4 am Eastern Time, on the 15th of the month, a new issue will come to life. The poets and writers that contributed to this issue are extremely talented and they will delight your minds and souls with their words. Take your time, read everything - it is worth it. Don't forget, you can choose from the drop-down menu the page with poems or stories or nonfiction. Once on the page, on the right hand, there are categories and under this header, you will find the names of the contributing authors. You can click on the name of the author and that we'll lead you directly to the page where the respective's work is featured. However.... try to read all of them. It's worth the time. Thank you, SLR Staff 2016 BOOK RELEASES AUTHORS PUBLISHED IN SCARLET LEAF REVIEW A BIG CONGRATULATION IS IN ORDER The Cellaring: Poems from a Darkling Side of the Shadowed Mind Are you fascinated by fright? Do you take delight in the unexplainable? Does the forbidden entice you? Does evil invite you? Is it fear or infatuation that draws you, like a moth to a flame, towards wicked ways? Make your way down, down, down – deep into the cathartic cellaring. Step into the creeping shadows of the dark side and lose yourself to the unknown. With a lump in your throat and a slow prickling at the nape of your neck, witness the blood-filled horizon of a vermilion moon rising, and with it the stench of bad omen. Be enchanted by rogue fairies and play fool to their devious ways and trickery, as you are dragged deep into the woods of days gone by and whisperings of near-forgotten fable. Take flight upon black as night wings of the raven, an ominous journey towards devilry and destruction. Discover haunted houses, abandoned asylums, the magic of witchcraft and scream out loud at the things that go bump in the night. And if you should come face to face with a clowns killer smile, don’t forget to give yourself a long, hard pinch – the nightmare that awaits you in The Cellaring is all too real. - L.J. Diaz, Author https://www.amazon.com/Cellaring-Poems-Darkling-Side-Shadowed/dp/1945791047/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478618879&sr=1-1 Apple Fruits of an Old Oak: A Collection of Contemporary Short Poems, Micro-Poetry, Haiku & Photography Here are the short poems, micro-poetry and haiku by 31 new and accomplished poets from Canada, USA, Australia, England, Egypt, Bangladesh, and many other countries. In addition, a number of amazing photos have been presented by four amateur and professional photographers from Canada and Iran. https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Fruits-Old-Oak-Contemporary/dp/1539428974/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478617321&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Soodabeh+Saeidni KOREATOWN BY ROBIN WYATT DUNN A Gypsy Daughter poetry chapbook written by Robin Wyatt Dunn. https://www.amazon.com/Koreatown-Robin-Wyatt-Dunn-ebook/dp/B01E7FYJLE/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1478618251&sr=8-19&keywords=robin+wyatt+dunn Of Sound Mind and Someone Else's Body Alan Maitland is a successful businessman on his way up the corporate ladder. Life is good, but life is also full of the unexpected. A scientific experiment goes awry and Alan’s mind is transferred to the body of Hana Toussaint, a high-class escort. Suddenly, he must not only contend with a new identity, but with the eye-opening experience of living as a female: how to walk in high heels without falling; how to put on a bra without dislocating a shoulder; how to deal with makeup without poking out an eye; and how to get along in a society which in many ways is still male-dominated. When Alan discovers that Hana has taken over his body, the two of them must work together to find the scientist who can reverse the experiment and give them back their respective lives. Along the way, they must cope with living as each other and learn what it's like to be a member of the opposite sex. And as their adventure goes on, Alan the woman must figure out his growing feelings for Hana the man. Alan faces the biggest challenge of his life which Hana sums up with one decisive question: “Are you man enough to be a woman?” https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Mind-Someone-Elses-Body/dp/0995161712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478617215&sr=8-1&keywords=william+quincy+belle Black Dove Kindle Edition by Robin Wyatt Dunn (Author), Barbara Sobczyńska (Illustrator) Love and war in the Middle East: Robert is a disillusioned reporter; Rachel an agent for Mossad. Modeled on the Song of Solomon, Black Dove explores the intricate interconnectedness between love and war, violence and friendship, and the complicated relationship between the United States and Israel. When Robert moves to Jerusalem to chase his beloved, he finds that changing addressees changes something within him, and he abandons the role of disinterested observer to aid in the transformation of the Middle East, and the United States. But what he discovers is that Mossad is actually working against a Jewish-only state, and that to aid the Palestinian people they must subvert parts of their own government. Black Dove reveals how the Middle East is a crucible for change around the world, and in the human heart. "A terse , taut read sometimes miserably bleak splintered with moments of dark humour and heightened poetics." -- Saira Viola, author of Jukebox https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MCVCNL8 These Streets Don't Cry For Us Kindle Edition by Adam Brown (Author) Take a journey through the streets within the heart of a compassionate mind. Psychological and raw. You will find darkness as well as light within these pages. Where does the road end? Where does it begin? This book tries to answer these questions, as well as describe what it's like to live between the two junctions. https://www.amazon.com/These-Streets-Dont-Cry-Us-ebook/dp/B01KN0MUTU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478618454&sr=8-2&keywords=streets+don%27t+cry Reel Him In (White, Dark and In Between Book 1) Kindle Edition by Lillian Lee Enjoy the first book of the three-volume hot and steamy series "White, Dark And In Between" which follows the path of Lora Lee and Jake. from first encounter through the evolution of their relationship - from a booty call to something much deeper. Lora Lee's career is doing just fine, although she has to deal with artistic temperaments on a daily basis. Her personal life, however, trends from bland to difficult as she suffers a string of mishap. She's already reached the big forty and doesn't have much to show for it. She begins to believe the universe truly hates her when she repeatedly runs into a rude man who quickly becomes the focus of her dreams and the object of her fantasies during the day. Third time's the charm they say,and indeed, the third time Lora Lee runs into Jake he decides to take matters in his hands and show her that her life can change. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MD0HRCE Perceptions Paperback – June 13, 2016 by Gary Beck Disasters of our time come into immediate focus as they occur. We are shown again and again the catastrophic events of the day. It is the lingering effects that are seen from different viewpoints, and produce a sometimes volatile perception of our world. Gary Beck's ability to capture events seen from unusual angles is on shining display in this brilliant new collection from the author of Dawn in Cities and Songs of a Clerk. https://www.amazon.com/Perceptions-Gary-Beck/dp/1941058493/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1465927899&sr=8-2&keywords=perceptions+by+gary+beck F.D.A. Approved Poetry Paperback – September 26, 2016 by Michael A Marrotti It's a struggle to exist in a pseudo-liberal town, where the proliferation of pessimism entices blood to spilled by the masses. Not enough people are medicated. Fighting oppression through a chemically induced bliss will only take you so far, until the bottle is barren, and desperation kicks in. These poems are about cheating life, eccentricities, and the will to persist when all other options are futile. https://www.amazon.com/F-D-Approved-Poetry-Michael-Marrotti/dp/153907577X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478617190&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+marrotti City, Psychonaut Paperback – November 5, 2016 by Robin Wyatt Dunn A dark comic fable of early 21st Century life, CITY, PSYCHONAUT redefines narrative in an intensely personal dive into the future, and its dreams . . . https://www.amazon.com/City-Psychonaut-Robin-Wyatt-Dunn/dp/0997296895/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1478618167&sr=8-7&keywords=robin+wyatt+dunn Voice of Monarch Butterflies: Middle Eastern Anthology by Ten Poets from Ganges to Nile Kindle Edition by Soodabeh Saeidnia (Editor), Ken Allan Dronsfield (Foreword), Michael Lee Johnson (Preface) To kindle a flame on Middle Eastern contemporary poetry in English that is relatively unknown to the Western readers, Voice of Monarch Butterflies brings together the poems by ten emerging to well-accomplished poets including Soodabeh Saeidnia, Mohammad Forouzani, Debasis Mukhopadhyay, Aimal Zaman, Abu Sufian, Ash Bahget, Anooshka Khazaeie, Ahmad Al-Khatat, Mohamed Samy and Latif Shareef Dhmayd who are originally from different countries like Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, and even farther like Bangladesh and India. The shimmering elements of Middle Eastern poetry and art either flow visibly in their English words or hide behind the modern and fancy lines but finally show off themselves to the reader through the pieces and short poems, which have been selected among the captivating lines of joy, nature, life and love to despair, distress, grief and death. This collection is like a terrace on the hanging gardens of poetry inviting readers to hear the voice of migratory butterflies. https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Monarch-Butterflies-Eastern-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01GWN3EYM/ref=sr_1_2_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478621731&sr=1-2 Street of the Ginkgo Trees: A contemporary Poetry Collection Kindle Edition by Soodabeh Saeidnia In this imaginative collection of poems, Soodabeh Saeidnia creates a path, a road, and a street paved by colorful leaves of delicacy and wonder falling from a Ginkgo tree. A journey through the bending of time and sliding on the space, an expedition to the odd land where she did not know their language. This is a variety pack of her poems winking on the bookcase, sweetening the mouth, and feeding the mind of readers, and establishes her as one of the creative poets of her generation. https://www.amazon.com/Street-Ginkgo-Trees-contemporary-Collection-ebook/dp/B01DRZT2GC/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1478621934&sr=1-2 Why Fi Vol. 1 Kindle Edition by William Quincy Belle Why (sci-) fi? Because it's fun to think about what doesn't (yet) exist. Science fiction or speculative fiction? Short stories speculating about the future when science has figured it all out: outer space, inner space, space ships, teleportation, alternate worlds and alternate realities. The future looks interesting, even exciting, but it’s not without its dangers. https://www.amazon.com/Why-Vol-William-Quincy-Belle-ebook/dp/B01M27ZZED/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1478617215&sr=8-2 Parts per Trillion Paperback – March 7, 2016 by Claudine Nash hese poems, alert and wry, infused with perception and a generous heart, let us know we are in Claudine Nash territory. Navigating the uncertain terrain of loss and healing, Nash explores the interiors of heart and mind with the curiosity of a scientist and a poet’s insistence of honoring the unknown. Parts Per Trillion brims with ghosts and gravity, sea glass and molecules, inviting us to take on a new name and a stranger’s daring, to become “old-school gangsters” tossing careworn concerns off a pier. These poems take signs and portents seriously, deciding that wonder is a necessity as they ask us to break free of certainties and redefine what is plausible and possible. Giving us permission to forget what we know in the name of resilience and hope, this is language that claims the worth of each moment even when the evidence might suggest otherwise. Susan Moorhead, Author of The Night Ghost There are a trillion reasons, spoken and unspoken, to read Claudine Nash’s new collection, Parts per Trillion. There is not one inert moment throughout this entire collection. Nash levitates, drifts and sinks, spins and swirls, stashes and slides. And we are with her all the way, whether we surrender to the absence of necessary words or sleep, or the presence of our individual ghosts; the quarantine of noise, silence, memory and emotion; or the discovery of heartbeats, vapors of sadness and our ability to slip between gaps and crevices into the small but well-ventilated spaces we crave and need. Nash’s collection is sewn from words never spoken, and yet, she is able to gather a trillion transformed words. Climb aboard and glimpse the floating particles, neurons, atoms and an energy that can squeeze a ghost. Sherri Felt Dratfield, Author of Water Vigils and The City Claudine Nash’s poems are moving microcosms in which a keen power of observation and playful imagination fuse with the minutiae of daily life to create deftly wrought lyrics. At its core, Parts per Trillion, asks metaphysical questions. From Permission Slip: “I wish to remain airborne/as long as possible. I grant myself permission to stuff my ears with wind and answer/only to my truest name.” Parts per Trillion is fused with the magic of sound and the grounding temperament of science. This is a collection by an accomplished and sure poet. As Nash instructs, Please listen now, there’s something I’m ready to say. Mary Lou Buschi, Author of The Spell of Coming (or Going) and Awful Baby https://www.amazon.com/Parts-per-Trillion-Claudine-Nash/dp/0692624902/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457918461&sr=8-1&keywords=claudine+nash AND THE WINNERS FOR THE 2016 POEM COMPETITION ARE: FIRST PRIZE: THE POEM: BATTENBURGS AND LEMON DRIZZLERS BY ANGELA MCCABE SECOND PRIZE: THE POEM: POETRY LIES BY TEODORA DUMITRIU THIRD PRIZE: THE POEM: SHAKEN NOT STIRRED BY KEN ALLAN DRONSFIELD HONORABLE MENTION: THE POEM: HOLD THAT THOUGHT BY CLAUDINE NASH Congratulations to everyone! You can read the poems on the Awards page of the review and please, leave your thoughts in comments for the poets. Scarlet Leaf Review Staff Dear Readers,
I will not annoy you too much. Just enjoy the fine literary pieces of this issue. If you hover with your mouse over OCT 2016, you see the drop-down menu: poems, short-stories and non-fiction, so you can choose. Let's say you chose (although, you should try to read everything - take my word: fine pieces, excellent authors, it is worth the time). Now, on the right hand on the page, you see categories and you can choose the name. When you click on that name, you are directed on the page with the author's piece or pieces (why not? - surprises are always good). So.... Have fun! Leave comments (for an author, they're like applauses in a theatre hall). Scarlet Leaf Review Staff PUSHCART NOMINATIONS According to votes: Poems: Irsa Ruçi 105 votes Indunil Madhusankha 81 Short-Stories: Alex Csedrik 85 Rylee Langton 20 Nonfiction: Kim Bailey Deal 37 Bruce Kamei 13 Congratulations to the winners! Congratulations to all of you! In our mind, you are all winners. Scarlet Leaf Review Staff Hello Dear Readers, So….. Exciting news... On October 8th 2016 the world is celebrating indie authors and you know what? It was just about the time! So, there's a totally crazy group of romance writers who have clubbed together. They come in all shapes and varieties. On October 8th they're offering their books free or at least discounted. Here's the event page: https://www.loveindieromance.com/event/ Come follow this awesome event, save the date in your diaries, grab a bargain and get some great romance reads. Psst… You can click on the links above and meet the authors. They’re worth knowing. Scarlet Leaf Review Staff
SHORT LIST FOR PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATION VOTE UNTIL OCT 10, 2016 Note: Names on the list are in alphabetical order Please, vote: * on Scarlet Leaf Review by leaving a comment or * on Facebook on the Scarlet Leaf Review page or on Roxana Nastase’s page * or by sending your vote by email to scarletleafpublishinghouse@gmail.com. WE HAVE TO CHOOSE 2 FOR EACH CATEGORY!!! (TOUGH ONE!) Thank you! Poetry:
Short-Stories:
Non-Fiction:
Courtesy to Robin Wyatt Dunn: Poetry: Don Beukes: Esofo Ygolirt (Trilogy of Rose) – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poemssep2016/category/don-beukes Ken Allan Dronsfield – Balladeer’s Serenade – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems4/category/ken-allan-dronsfield Teodora Dumitriu – The Tree – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems4/category/teodora-dumitriu Robin Wyatt Dunn – Crash out with me – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems4/category/robin-wyatt-dunn Michael Lee Johnson – Harvest Time (V8) – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems4/category/michael-lee-johnson Indunil Madhusanka – An Anthem for a Warlord – March http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems3/indunil-madhusankha-poems Donal Mahoney – A Chance to Say Good-Bye – March http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems3/donal-mahoney-poems Scott Thomas Outlar – Naked Dreams – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems4/category/scott-thomas-outlar Irsa Ruçi – Self to Oneself – May http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems2/irsa-ruci-poems Soodabeth Saeidnia – Apple Fruits of an Old Oak – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poemssep2016/category/soodabeh-saeidnia Neil Slevin – Walking on Your Memory - March http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems3/neil-slevin-poems Short-Stories: Louis Abbey – Between Friends – April http://www.scarletleafreview.com/prose/louis-abbey-between-friends William Quincy Belle – The Game – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/shortstoriessep2016/category/william-quincy-belle Alex Csedrik – P.C.C. – February http://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories--series/alex-csedrik-pcc Milo James Fowler – Where There’s Smoke – March http://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories--series1/milo-james-fowler-where-theres-smoke N.T. Franklin – The Hitman – April http://www.scarletleafreview.com/prose/nt-franklin-the-hitman B. Craig Grafton – The Worst of Times – May http://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories2/b-craig-grafton-the-worst-of-times T.R. Healy – Overseas – May http://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories2/t-r-healy-overseas Norbert Kovacs – The Island Interior – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/shortstoriessep2016/category/norbert-kovacs Rylee Langton – Angel Mary – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/shortstoriessep2016/rylee-langton-angel-mary Michael Marrotti – A Vodka Induced Night of Terror – June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories/category/michael-marrotti Non-Fiction: Kim Bailey Deal – I Took It Back – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/nonfictionsep2016/category/kim-bailey-deal Rick Hartwell – Intuitive Education – May http://www.scarletleafreview.com/essays--reviews/rick-hartwell-intuitive-education Bruce Kamei – The Educational Bow – September http://www.scarletleafreview.com/nonfictionsep2016/category/bruce-kamei Joan Kerr – Libby’s Story – February http://www.scarletleafreview.com/non-fiction/category/joan-kerr Frank Light – October Surprise – January, February, March http://www.scarletleafreview.com/prose1/frank-light-october-surprise (part 1) http://www.scarletleafreview.com/non-fiction/frank-light-october-surprise (part 2) http://www.scarletleafreview.com/non-fiction2/frank-light-october-surprise-part-iii (part 3) S.D. Vincent – In the Historical Closet: The Right Wing Style of Denial - June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/reviews--essays--non-fiction/category/s-d-vincent Juan Zapata – Letter from An Omniscient Racist - June http://www.scarletleafreview.com/reviews--essays--non-fiction/category/juan-zapata |
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