Dear readers and authors, 

After a long hiatus (almost two months and a half), a new issue of Scarlet Leaf Review is live. 
It is a longer issue because of the number of submissions that were accepted for the months or February and March and for a moment there, I didn’t think I could do it in due time, honestly. 

As always, Weebly seems to have a problem with our magazine and I post something, and yet, something else appears!!!
And, if I skipped over some errors – like a big photo, a garbled category, don’t take it personally, just let me know. 
 
I’d like to offer a huge thank you to the authors who have contributed to this issue as well as to the authors featured in the past issues. Although no new material was posted, the numbers of hits kept being high.

As I stated in January, because of you, the site had 1,673,798 hits between January 15, 2016 and January 15, 2018. The month between January 14 and February 15 saw 97,843 hits, February 15 to April 14 inclusively, 158,268. As result, we are very close to 2,000,000 hits (only 1,929,902 right now – but I am confident we’ll get there in April).


On April 21st, the print issue of the review will go live as well. If you click on the MacGloud widget on the home page, you are directed there.
We are thinking on issuing a new print version Scarlet Leaf Review’s Treasure Chest, with two versions – Poems and Stories, which will feature only 3 poets, respectively 3 writers per issue. Who is interested, please, contact me, and I will outline the possible advantages and conditions.

​
Don’t forget, if you hover with your mouse over FEB-MAR-APR 2018, you find the drop-down menu, showing poems, short-stories and nonfiction. If you want to read the work of a specific author, click on the author’s name, on the right hand of the page under categories.
 
Have fun! Take your time and read them all!


Thank you again,
 
Roxana Nastase 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Due to personal and unavoidable reasons, the February issue of Scarlet Leaf Review will be late this month. It might appear only at the end of the month.

I apologize for the delay but it is unavoidable. ​

I will announce on Facebook when the issue is live. 

​R. Nastase

Dear Readers and Authors,
 
On January 15, 2016, the first issue of the Scarlet Leaf Review saw the light of the Internet. Two years later, it's reached 1,673,798 hits. We have had the chance and  the joy of reading and publishing authors of all nationalities, ages, genres and ideas. 

It's been an interesting period and we have grown a lot and of course, learnt a lot. As last year, this year opened our eyes to new genres in the literature world . We have published emerging authors and enjoyed the poems or stories of seasoned ones. 

Together, we will be able to do much more. We are proud because here, at Scarlet Leaf Review, a slice of literary history is being written, with the help and contribution of so many talented people. We thank you all for helping us in our purpose.

We want to thank all of you, both authors and readers - you have made this year, as well as the last year  exciting and memorable. 

We have decided to issue the regular edition on Jan 15 2018 (I am sure you guessed - I made an error, of course) and the Anniversary Edition will start with Jan 16th. 

Don't forget - every day, up to the end of the month of January, at least one piece (either poem or story) will be posted in the Anniversary Edition.

Let's also not forget that Jan 15 is the anniversary of the great poet Mihai Eminescu, the misunderstood genius, whose poems are so compelling that people all over the world started studyingt Romanian just to be able to read his poems in original. We published some of his poems in the first issue of this magazine, however, we will republish one of them - Evening Star - as it is one of his most famous poems. 

And we have chosen one poem of one of the contemporary and talented poets we have come across. His imagery will have made Mihai Eminescu proud. 

Ken Allan Dronsfield is a disabled veteran and poet who has been nominated for 2 Best of the Net and 3 Pushcart Prize Awards for Poetry. His poems have been published world-wide in various publications throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. He has been published in The Burningword Journal, Belle Reve Journal, SETU Magazine, Blue Heron, The Literary Hatchet, The Stray Branch, Now/Then Manchester Magazine UK, Bewildering Stories, Scarlet Leaf Review, EMBOSS Magazine, and many more. Ken loves thunderstorms, walking in the woods at night, and spending time with his cats Willa, Hemi and Turbo. His 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 two poetry anthologies, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze and Dandelion in a Vase of Roses also available at Amazon.com.
So, first, please, enjoy KEN ALLAN DRONSFIELD's poem:

                        

Occupy the Present

Whatever forces upon the season, 
perhaps tis you that are the reason, 
for the man of shadowed pallor whom 
limps down the narrow back lane.
With help of a burled cane, or
such unequivocal refrain within
the wispy glow of twilight's dawn
I bare silent witness to the spark.
As the gauntlet was dropped on
the old dirt floor, I clenched it with
wrinkled hands in horror and saw
the light echo in a brackish dull sky.
Blink once for yes; twice for no.
thrice to answer within a shallow
tear as your ears woefully bleed a 
silent, muffled step is unheard as 
a cicada flutters in a stellar haze.
Waltz to the symphony of a super
nova's sonnet, emblazoned insanity 
while perched there up on the rim of a 
disobedient black hole whilst I listlessly 
grasped the absence, spending a lifetime 
seeking all who occupy the present.


​

And now, Mihai Eminescu: 

Mihai Eminescu (Romanian pronunciation: [miˈhaj emiˈnesku] ( listen); born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul ("The Time"), the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918).[2] His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna to study when he was 19. The poet's manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on 25 January 1902.[3] Notable works include Luceafărul (The Vesper/The Evening Star/The Lucifer/The Daystar), Odă în metru antic (Ode in Ancient Meter), and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects.
​
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihai_Eminescu

                                                    EVENING STAR
 
There was, as in the fairy tales,
As ne'er in the time's raid,
There was, of famous royal blood
A most beautiful maid. 
 
She was her parents' only child,
Bright like the sun at noon,
Like the Virgin midst the saints
And among stars the moon. 
 
From the deep shadow of the vaults
Her step now she directs
Toward a window; at its nook
Bright Evening-star expects. 
 
She looks as in the distant seas
He rises, darts his rays
And leads the blackish, loaded ships
On the wet, moving, ways. 
 
To look at him every night
Her soul her instincts spur;
And as he looks at her for weeks
He falls in love with her. 
 
And as on her elbows she leans
Her temple and her whim
She feels in her heart and soul that
She falls in love with him. 
 
And ev'ry night his stormy flames
More stormily renew
When in the shadow of the castle
She shows to his bright view. 
 
* *
 
And to her room with her slow steps
He bears his steps and aims
Weaving out of his sparkles cold
A toil of shaking flames. 
 
And when she throws upon her bed
Her tired limbs and reposes,
He glides his light along her hands
And her sweet eyelash closes. 
 
And from the mirror on her shape
A beam has spread and burns,
On her big eyes that beat though closed
And on her face that turns. 
 
Her smiles view him; the mirror shows
Him trembling in the nook
For he is plunging in her dream
So that their souls may hook. 
 
She speaks with him in sleep and sighs
While her heart's swelled veins drum:
-"O sweet Lord of my fairy nights,
Why comest thou not? Come!
 
Descend to me, mild Evening-star
Thou canst glide on a beam,
Enter my dwelling and my mind
And over my life gleam!"
 
And he listens and trembles and
Still more for her love craves
And as quick as the lightning he
Plunges into the waves. 
 
The water in that very spot
Moves rolling many rings
And out of the unknown, dark, depth
A superb young man springs. 
 
As on a threshold o'er the sill
His hasty steps he leads,
Holds in his hand a staff with, at
Its top, a crown of reeds!
 
A young Voivode he seems to be
With soft and golden hair;
A blue shroud binds in a knot on
His naked shoulder fair. 
 
The shade of his face is of wax
And thou canst see throughout -
A handsome dead man with live eyes
That throw their sparkles out. 
 
-"From my sphere hardly I come to
Follow thy call and thee,
The heaven is my father and
My mother is the sea. 
 
So that I could come to thy room
And look at thee from near
With my light reborn from waves my
Fate toward thee I steer. 
 
O come, my treasure wonderful
And thy world leave aside;
For I am Evening-star up from
And thou wouldst be my bride. 
 
In my palace of coral I'll
Take thee for evermore
And the entire world of the sea
Will kneel before thy door. "
 
-"O thou art beautiful as but
In dreams an angel shows,
The way though thou hast oped for me
For me's for ever close. 
 
Thy port and mien and speech are strange
Life thy gleams don't impart,
For I'm alive and thou art dead
And thy eyes chill my heart. "
 
* *
 
Days have past since: but Evening-star
Comes up againd and stays
Just as before, spreading o'er her
His clear, translucent rays. 
 
In sleep she would remember him
And, as before, her whole
Wish for the Master of the waves
Is clinching now her soul. 
 
-"Descend to me, mild Evening-star
Thou canst glide on a beam,
Enter my dwelling and my mind
And over my life gleam!"
 
He hears: and from the dire despair
Of such an woeful weird
He dies, and the heavens revolve
Where he has disappeared. 
 
Soon in the air flames ruddy spread,
The world in their grip hold;
A superb form the spasms of the
Chaotic valleys mold. 
 
On his locks of black hair he bears
His crown a fierce fire frames;
He floats as he really comes
Swimming in the sun's flames. 
 
His black shroud lets develop out
His arms marbly and hale;
He pensively and sadly brings
His face awfully pale. 
 
But his big wonderful eyes' gleam,
Chimerically deep,
Shows two unsatiated spasms
That but into dark peep. 
 
-"From my sphere hardly I come to
Follow thy voice, thy sight;
The bright sun is my father and
My mother is the night. 
 
O come, my treasure wonderful
And thy world leave aside
For I am Evening-star from up
And thou wouldst be my bride. 
 
O come, and upon thy blond hair
Crowns of stars I shall crowd,
And more that all of them, up there,
Thou wild look fair and proud. "
 
-"O thou art beautiful as but
In dreams a demon shows,
The way though hast oped for me
For me's for ever close. 
 
The depths of my breast ache from the
Desire of thy fierce love
My heavy, big eyes also ache
When into them thine shove". 
 
-"But how wouldst thou that I come down?
Know this - for, do I lie? -:
I am immortal, while thou art
One of those that must die!"
 
-"I hate big words, nor do I know
How to begin my plea;
And although thy discourse is clear
I don't understand thee. 
 
But if thou wantest my flamed love
And that would not be sham,
Come down on this temporal earth,
Be mortal as I am!"
 
-"I'd lose my immortality
For but one kiss of thine!
Well, I will show thee how much too
For thy fierce love I pine!
 
Yes, I shall be reborn from sin,
Receive another creed:
From that endlessness to which I
Am tied, I shall be freed!"
 
And out he went, he went, went out,
Loving a human fay,
He plucked himself off from the sky,
Went for many a day. 
 
* *
 
Meanwhile, the house-boy, Catalin,
Sly, and who often jests
When he's filling with wine the cups
Of the banqueting guests;
 
A page that carries step by step
The trail of the Queen's gown,
A wandering bastard, but bold
Like no one in the town;
 
His little cheek - a peony
That under the sun stews;
Watchful, just like a thief, he sneaks
In Catalina's views. 
 
-"How beautiful she grew" - thinks he -
"A flower just to pluck!
Now, Catalin, but now it is
Thy chance to try thy luck!"
 
And by the way, hurriedly, he
Corners that human fay:
-"What's with thee, Catalin? Let me
Alone and go thy way!"
 
-"No! I want thee to stay away
From thoughts that have no fun. 
I want to see thee only laugh,
Give me a kiss, just one!"
 
-"I don't know what it is about
And, believe me, retire!
But for one Evening-star up from
I've kept my strong desire!"
 
-"If thou dost not know I could show
Thee all about love's balm!
Only, don't give way to thy ire
And listen and be calm. 
 
So as the hunter throws the net
That many birds would harm,
When I'll stretch my left arm to thee,
Enlace me with thy arm. 
 
Under my eyes keep thine and don't
Let them move on their wheels
And if I lift thee by the waist
Thou must lift on thy heels. 
 
When I bend down my face, to hold
Thine up must be thy strife;
So, to each other we could throw
Sweet, eager, looks for life. 
 
And so that thou have about love
A knowledge true and plain,
When I stoop to kiss thee, thou must
Kiss me too and again. "
 
With much bewilderment her mind
The little boy's word fills,
And shyly and nicely now she
Wills not, and now she wills. 
 
And slowly she tells him:- "Since thy
Childhood I've known thy wit,
And as thou art and glib and small
My temper thou wouldst fit. 
 
But Evening-star sprung from the calm
Of the oblivion,
Though, gives horizon limitless
To the sea lone and dun. 
 
And secretly, I close my eyes
For my eyelash tears dim
When the waves of the sea go on
Travelling toward him. 
 
He shines with love unspeakable
So that my pains he'd leach,
But higher and higher soars, so
That his hand I'd ne'er reach. 
 
Sadly thrusts from the worlds which from
My soul his cold ray bar. . . 
I shall love him for ever and
For ever he'll rove far. 
 
Like the unmeasured steppes my days
Are deaf and wild, therefore,
But my nights spread a holy charm
I understand no more!"
 
-"Thou art a child! Let's go! Through new
Lands our own fate let's frame!
Soon they shall have lost our trace and
Forgot even our name!
 
We shall be both wise, glad and whole
As my judgement infers
And thou wouldst not long for thy kin
Nor yearn for Evening-stars!"
 
* *
 
Then Evening-star went out.  His wings
Grow, into heavens dash,
And on his way millenniums
Flee in less than a flash. 
 
Below, a depth of stars; above,
The heaven stars begem, -
He seems an endless lightning that
Is wandering through them. 
 
And from the Chaos' vales he sees
How in an immense ring
Round him, as in the World's first day,
Lights from their sources spring;
 
How, springing, they hem him like an
Ocean that swimming nears. . . 
He flees carried by his desire
Until he disappears. 
 
For that region is boundless and
Searching regards avoids
And Time strive vainly there to come
To life from the dark voids. 
 
'Tis nought.  'Tis, though, thirst that sips him
And which he cannot shun,
'Tis depth unknown, comparable
To blind oblivion. 
 
-"From that dark, choking, endlessness
Into which I am furled,
Father, undo me, and for e'er
Be praised in the whole world!
 
Ask anything for this new fate
For with mine I am through:
O hear my prayer, O my Lord, for
Thou gives life and death too. 
 
Take back my endlessness, the fires
That my being devour
And in return give me a chance
To love but for an hour!
 
I've come from Chaos; I'd return
To that my former nest. . . 
And as I have been brought to life
From rest, I crave for rest!"
 
-"Hyperion, that comest from
The depths with the world's swarm,
Do not ask signs and miracles
That have no name nor form. 
 
Thou wantest to count among men,
Take their resemblance vain;
But would now the whole mankind die
Men will be born again. 
 
But they are building on the wind
Ideals void and blind;
When human waves run into graves
New waves spring from behind. 
 
Fate's persecutions, lucky stars,
They only are to own;
Here we know neither time nor space,
Death we have never known. 
 
From the eternal yesterday
Drinks what to-day will drain
And if a sun dies on the sky
A sun quickens again. 
 
Risen as for ever, death though
Follows them like a thorn
For all are born only to die
And die to be reborn. 
 
But thou remainest wheresoe'er
Thou wouldst set down or flee. 
Thou art of the prime form and an
Eternal prodigy. 
 
Thou wilt now hear the wondrous voice
At whose bewitched singing
Mounts woody get skipping to skies
Into sea Island sinking!
 
Perhaps thou wilt more: show in deeds
Thy sense of justice, might,
Out of the earth's lumps make an empire
And settle on its height!
 
I can give thee millions of vessels
And hosts; thou, bear thy breath
O'er all the lands, o'er all the oceans:
I cannot give thee death. 
 
For whom thou wantest then to die?
Just go and see what's worth
All that is waiting there for thee
On that wandering earth!"
 
* *
 
His first dominion on the sky
Hyperion restores
And like in his first day, his light
All o'er again he pours. 
 
For it is evening and the night
Her duty never waives. 
Now the moon rises quietly
And shaking from the waves,
 
And upon the paths of the groves
Her sparkles again drone. . . 
Under the row of linden-trees
Two youths sit all alone. 
 
-"O darling, let my blessed ear feel
How thy heart's pulses beat,
Under the ray of thy eyes clear
And unspeakably sweet. 
 
With the charms of their cold light pierce
My thought's faery glades,
Pour an eternal quietness
On my passion's dark shades. 
 
And there, above, remain to stop
Thy woe's violet stream,
For thou art my first source of love
And also my last dream!"
 
Hyperion beholds how love
Their eyes equally charms:
Scarcely his arm touches her neck,
She takes him in her arms. 
 
The silvery blooms spread their smells
And their soft cascade strokes
The tops of the heads of both youths
With long and golden locks. 
 
And all bewitched by love, she lifts
Her eyes toward the fires
Of the witnessing Evening-star
And trusts him her desires:
 
-"Descend to me, mild Evening-star
Thou canst glide on a beam,
Enter my forest and my mind
And o'er my good luck gleam!"
 
As he did it once, into woods,
On hills, his rays he urges,
Guiding throughout so many wilds
The gleaming, moving, surges. 
 
But he falls not as he did once
From his height into swells:
-"What matters thee, clod of dust, if
'Tis me or some one else?
 
You live in your sphere's narrowness
And luck rules over you -
But in my steady world I feel
Eternal, cold and true!"
-----------------
Poezii
Romanian Voice

Dear readers and authors, 
 
January issue of Scarlet Leaf Review (on line issue) is live. 
I didn’t think I could do it, honestly
Weebly seems to have a problem with our magazine and I can’t understand why if I post something, something else appears!!!
As always, if I skipped over some errors – like a big photo, a garbled category, don’t take it personally, just let me know. 
 
I’d like to offer a huge thank you to the authors who have contributed to this issue as well as to the authors featured in the past issues. Because of you, the site has already had 1,673,798 hits since January 15, 2016, with 81,630 between December 15, 2017 and January 15, 2018. 
 
Thank you again. 
 
Don’t forget, if you hover with your mouse over JAN 2018, you will find the drop-down menu, showing poems, short-stories and nonfiction. If you want to read the work of a specific author, click on the author’s name, on the right hand of the page under categories.
 
We announced that we will limit the works featured, however, it didn’t work out that way. This is a big issue, you will see. That is why, if the format didn’t want to cooperate, I left it as it was. By the way, dear authors, PDF does not format well. That is why I ask for word doc. I had to work over an hour on a PDF tonight, and it still needs work. But I also start work at 8 am in the morning so…
 
There will be a second post – it is January 15th, so stay tuned.
 
Have fun! Take your time and read them all!


Roxana Nastase
Editor in Chief
​
​

Dear readers and authors, 
 
December issue of Scarlet Leaf Review (on line issue) is live. 
I can finally breathe! It took about twenty-eight hours of work but… It is here.
Weebly didn’t like me at all this time – if you see a big photo, for instance, just ignore. The site kept changing everything. Of course, if there’s any error – for instance a different title than the title you chose – let me know. I caught a few like this but my sight is just a bit blurry right now and I might have missed a few. Just three more hours, and I have been working for 24 uninterrupted hours, so some mistakes might appear.  
 
As always, a huge thank you goes to all the authors who have contributed to this issue as well as the authors featured in the past issues. Because of you, the site has already had 1,592,438 hits since January 15, 2016, with 85,627 between November 15 and December 15, 2017.
 
Thank you again. 
 
Don’t forget, if you hover with your mouse over DEC 2017, you find the drop-down menu, showing poems, short-stories and nonfiction. If you want to read the work of a specific author, click on the author’s name, on the right hand of the page under categories.
 
Have fun! Take your time and read them all!

And now, news especially for authors.
We will have to make some changes because the work volume is getting bigger.
From now on, the on-line issue will appear the first Sunday after the 15th, if 15th is after the middle of the week, or before 15, if the 15th is Monday or Tuesday. I might survive if I have a day when I can sleep after I format the review. Usually, I finish around four and have to start work at 8 am.
 
We will also try to limit the works featured at 15 for poems, 15 for short-stories and 5 for non-fiction, per issue. And, if your format is very stubborn (there have been a few today), I apologize but I cannot rewrite every piece. I don’t have enough time, no matter how much I’d like to do it.
 

Roxana Nastase
Editor in Chief
​

Dear readers and authors,
 
November issue of Scarlet Leaf Review (on line issue) is live.
 
I want to thank all the authors who have contributed to this issue as well as the authors featured in the past issues. Because of you, the site has already had 1,506,811 hits since January 15, 2016, with 130,976 between October 15 and November 14, 2015. Every month brings more hits and makes us proud.
 
Thank you again.
 
Don’t forget, if you hover with your mouse over NOV 2017, you find the drop-down menu, showing poems, short-stories and nonfiction. If you want to read the work of a specific author, click on the author’s name, on the right hand of the page under categories.
 
Have fun! Take your time and read them all!
 
Roxana Nastase
Editor in Chief
​

 
                                  Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
 
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

Anders M. Svenning is the name I put on my books. The middle initial stands for Mikael. It is a Scandinavian name and I would give you three dollars if you could email me a more Scandinavian name at Asvenning400@gmail.com, direct money order or Paypal. It’s up to you. In any case, I was born in Manhattan and was moved to Palm City, FL in 2001, with fervency. That is not to say it was a disagreeable move. The Floridian air was asphyxiating and the New Yorker, Anders M. Svenning, started taking on a bit of the Floridian wanton, which seems to be the evident everywhere I turn in this sub-tropic climate; but who is to make complaints when the climate really is an incubator for deviant ideas and creativity, which is a desirable attribute in the publishing industry today, and I don’t speak ill of either deviation or fervency. That Florida has accepted me into its virile bosom—I’m going to be honest with you—has left me rather divalent and with permanence.
 
Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective?

The poet who has inspired me most—and there are many poets, from whom I take influence, and from whom I take inspiration—has got to be John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost and Comus, a masque, among other works. His works always seemed to me to have, not only in their content but also in their semantic outplay and severity, a whimsical affectation, which always seems to make itself prevalent in my own works.
 
Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?

I have written many stories. A few of them have been published. Three books, that is thrice books, have been published under the name Anders M. Svenning, which is my legal name. I don’t want to jiggle the facts. The three books, in the order they have been published are as follows, and each of them can be found at amazon.com. Search, under books, Anders M. Svenning, and you will find Nonpareil (Tule Fog Press), which is a horror short story collection; 50 States Poetry (Pansophic Press), which is a collection of fifty-one daffy poems; and my latest release, Verdant Grounds, Subtle Boundaries (Adelaide Books), which is a collection of literary short stories, of a seeming and thematic constituency—many of the characters in Verdant Grounds, Subtle Boundaries undergo changes as results of dream sequences.
 
Q: What are you working on at the minute?  What’s it about? 

I am working on a novella, titled Otus in Betulaceae. The novella is to be a part of a book called Téssera Istoríes, which means Four Stories, translated to English. The novella is a story, which takes the reader through three time periods—2017, 1923, and 1453—in the times of the Constantinople unrest. The title of the book, Téssera Istoríes, is Greek in its fundaments. The four stories to be included in the book are “We Are Inmate #881129,” which regards a Greek individual, his travels to the Albanian border and the subsequent occurrences, which take place in New York City, some years afterward; Otus in Betulaceae, which I have described, and which considers the Constantinople evacuations; “The Everest Prognosis,” which incorporates a bank robber, who makes sex with bank employees to gain access to the funds; and “The Sick and Final Ballad of Damselfly,” which exhibits a life of a damselfly in the context of Man. The last two stories of the four may become novellas. I have yet to apprehend the fullness of those two stories.
 
Q: How do you market your books, if you do the marketing yourself?

The Cold Stone Creamery and a car wash, called CarPro, in Stuart, FL and Palm City, FL, respectively, had a visitor, who was I, a couple of weeks ago; and I was successful in setting up in those venues book signings, which are to take place at peak hours, Friday and Saturday evening for the ice cream shop and a Saturday afternoon for the car wash joint. I aim to sell and sign a hundred copies in both venues, all taken into consideration.
 
Q: How successful has your quest for reviews been so far?

Reviews are a pursuit of which I have grown, in the recent months, quite wary. A reviewer may well read your book and find themselves reading the same words as the next reader, but they are letting register this or that for whatever reason, and the context of the story and the mysteriousness of the story is voided by a conceited, or if not conceited, cynical hand, which writes a review, the rating of which may not be a universal perspective. I tend to stay away from reviewers. A good word makes itself prevalent of its own accord. One need not search for literary encouragement.
 
Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future?

There is to be a generator. The generator will take feed. The generator is to recapitulate the imports; and then a story becomes manifest, much like madlibs. This may not happen for forty years.
​

​The spiritualist in me was absolutely delighted when I came across Vatsala’s collection of poems, in the Depth of the River.  In this collection, we can see clearly the poet trying to balance her mundane side with her spiritual one.  Of course, armed with a pure and enlightened soul, it is her spirituality which emerges as the mightiest.  We see her total control over life and its illusory aspects when she writes,                                           “O Mind, selfish, lusty impulsive!
                                         Now, you’re burning in the flames
                                          of Craving’s fire,
                                          Madly, you shout
                                         “Life is meant solely for sensual pleasure”
 
More, she is at peace with her mortal self, which she accepts and love even if she has battled with health issues like Vitiligo, as her very title for that poem is, “Living confidently with Vitiligo.”  Spiritual love, or divine love, then becomes her soothing agent, her therapy.
 
I can fully relate to the deep poems as I do, like her, cling to the love of God.  Reading these, I felt like I did see beyond the clear waters of the river, that I did dare to dive in its waters with Vatsala and admire their depths.  More, I cannot help but appreciate the purity with which she is imbibed of, as I read, “Being Myself.”
 
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves poetry but I am sure anyone who remains awakened in spirituality or anyone who is curious about this topic would love and enjoy the many verses therein.  Reading such transports us on the river of life, on a little boat on which we have been given a seat but which has no captain to steer it.  Life is such, causing us to bear with it, accept it, and of course to reflect about it and to swirl with its mystical side.
 

 
Celeste Mohammed – White Envelope - https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories2/category/celeste-mohammed    - July 15 2017
 
Ken Allan Dronsfield - Print September 2017 – Scarlet Leaf Review September Issue 3/2017 - CONCRETE WILLOWS SWAY
Page: 25

Heath Brougher -Print edition of Scarlet Leaf Review – August 2017 Issue 3 – A Letter to Mirrorism
Page 55
 
Robin Wyatt Dunn
https://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems10/category/robin-wyatt-dunn   - first poem
March 20 2017
 
William Quincy Belle - https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories5/category/william-quincy-belle    The Radio Show
Feb 15 2017
 
Charles Hayes - https://www.scarletleafreview.com/non-fiction3/category/charles-hayes   - Henry’s or Before Leaving Appalachia
 May 15 2017       

Dear Readers and Dear Authors,

​
The September issue of the Scarlet Leaf Review is live!
You don’t know how much relief I feel writing these words. I had a twinge of doubt now and then during the last two days.
Leaving my doubts aside, I have to say that I am proud of all the pieces featured in this issue. I am sure you will find every single one of them interesting, touching, thrilling…
I am also proud to say that between January 15 2016 and now, there have been 1,260,776 hits on the site and between Aug 29 and now, 98,556 hits.
As always, I have to thank the authors who have been featured in the magazine. They are vital to the existence of the review.
Without too much ado, here you are: issue September 2017.
Don’t forget, if you hover with your mouse over Sept 2017, you find the drop-down menu, showing poems, short-stories and nonfiction. If you want to read the work of a specific author, click on the author’s name, on the right hand of the page under categories.
 
Have fun!
 
Roxana Nastase
 

Lewis J. Beilman III lives in Hamden, Connecticut, with his family, dog, and two cats.  He writes fiction in his spare time.  His stories have appeared in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, ArLiJo, Reed Magazine, and other literary publications.  In 2009, he won first prize in the Fred R. Shaw Poetry Contest.
Outside of writing, Lewis enjoys reading, playing soccer, and volunteering in his community.  He has a law degree from the University of Maine Law School and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Sacred Heart University—but he is first and foremost a writer.
You can find out more about Lewis at www.lewisbeilman.com and on Twitter and Instagram @LJBeilman3.

​Set in New York City, Fourth of July is a dark tale of privilege run amok. Ogden Goodman is a wealthy lawyer who, harried one evening by boredom, hires a homeless man to perform for his family. The success of that evening's performance leads Ogden--and others in his circle--to engage a variety of characters in a host of increasingly outrageous and disturbing activities. Lewis J. Beilman III crafts this satire with skill and humor and creates a world that seems, at the same time, both absurd and all too real.

“[Lewis] Beilman casts the satirist’s stink eye on the gilded lives of the bored and wealthy. Fourth of July is a clever, absurdist tale for the Opposite World where we all dwell now.”
Debra Dean, author of The Madonnas of Leningrad

“Grounded in scene and propelled forward by a satirically dark portrayal of white privilege, Fourth of July boldly depicts the bigotry, racism, and sheer absurdity that still plague contemporary American life. Refusing to offer easy answers or feel-good resolutions, this daring novella forces us to confront issues of class, race, and culture through a seemingly hyperbolic lens that at times can feel all too real. Anchored by self-assured prose, Lewis Beilman skillfully balances an incrementally disturbing plot and cast of central characters with a touch of humor, all of it leading to a powerfully unsettling conclusion. In today’s social and political context, Fourth of July is sure to linger long after it has been read.”
                                    Dariel Suarez, author of In the Land of Tropical Martyrs

Dear Readers and Authors, 

After a long struggle, the print issue of the magazine is LIVE!

I want to express my gratitude to you all because both the first and the second issue of the magazine have had an amazing success. A heartfelt thank you should go to the authors because they have made it possible. Without them, Scarlet Leaf Review wouldn’t exist. I know I have said it many times so far, but I can't stress enough how important is their contribution.

I know this third issue of the print magazine is a little late (all right, all right, a little more), yet, that was inevitable.

What I can do is to promise that something like that never happens again (if force majeure doesn’t intrude upon us…).

The first fall issue will not be printed before the 21st of September, and we aim for the same date from now on, as I’d like to offer a feasible and fixed time frame. As result, all issues will be out on the 21st.

With the August issue, as you can see, the number of pages has increased. Now, it is 96. We have received many valuable submissions and we cannot turn them down just to keep the number of pages and the price low. Hopefully, this will not be a deterrent for our readers.

It is very difficult to determine exactly how many pieces we can approve for a given month because of poems and their structure. With prose it is easy. We can calculate the number of words per page. That doesn't happen with poetry and poetry is dear to our heart. As result,  submissions will be accepted for a season from now on, for instance fall. Thus, we can have two issues during that season with 48 or 60 pages, and the last issue of the season will include everything that didn't go through.

Without further ado, I give you the third issue of Scarlet Leaf Review. I know you’ve been waiting… I know I have. 

Oh, I almost forgot the link: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1342436
​

Editor in Chief,
         Roxana Nastase  ​

Heath Brougher is the poetry editor of Five 2 One Magazine. He has published two chapbooks, "A Curmudgeon Is Born" (Yellow Chair Press) and "Digging for Fire" (Stay Weird and Keep Publishing Co.). He is a Best of the Net Nominee and was the judge of Into the Void's 2016 Poetry Competition. His work has appeared in both print and online journals in 12 countries and has also been translated into Albanian. ​

Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review!
 
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
 I was born and raised in York, PA. My mom was pregnant with me during the Three Mile Island crisis which was only a 45-minute drive away from where she lived. I went to the most horrible middle/high school in the world with a bunch of snobs who put me through a daily grind of humiliation and ridicule because I would not "conform" and sell out my Individuality like they did. I've been writing my entire life but didn't begin to submit my work for publication until 3 years ago (at the age of 34) so I've got a ton of notebooks filled up and 59 books written that all need typed up and edited. I've already copied up more than a thousand of them and it's barely made a dent in the plethora of notebooks, so I've got a lot of catching up to do.
Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school?
 Most definitely. As I said, I went to the snobbiest school in the state and had to deal with these scumbags on a daily basis. It was torture from 6th-12th grade. Writing was a great solace for me back then and remains a great solace to 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?
 English was always my favorite class. The one good thing about the horribly stuck-up school that I went to was that from grades 8th-12th my English teachers were amazing and it was always their classes I looked forward to the most. I was one of the few moronic American kids who actually went to school to learn things. I also had some really great history teachers along the way as well. I excelled at history because of my dad, who has a masters degree in history and pretty much shoved it down my throat as long as I can remember. Even as a little kid he'd tell me about certain events or make me watch certain documentaries and movies, which, of course I didn't like at the time because I was a kid and just wanted to play, but it came in really handy once I got to middle/high school and aced every history test I took. I'm still very grateful for it.
 
Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career?
 To have fun and help people along the way. My goal is to bring down the elitist journals which judge who and what they accept by a person's bio instead of the actual work itself. I recently spoke to a poet who has been in this lit world for 40 years and they told me they had worked for journals which would just throw out a submission without reading it if the bio wasn't good enough. I read blind at both of the journals I worked for and the contest I judged and the anthology I edited. I'm the co-editor of Into the Void Magazine which won the 2017 Saboteur Award after only 4 issues. How'd we do it ? By reading blind! I want to see a day where all journals read blind and the voices which should be heard get the proper chance. I want to level the playing field of this lit world.
 
 
Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?
 As far as books, Alien Buddha Press recently published my newest, titled "About Consciousness." I'd like to thank Red Focks for accepting it and putting in all the amazing artwork that goes along with some of the poems. My. other books include "A Curmudgeon is Born," "Digging for Fire," and "Your Noisy Eyes," all of which were published in 2016. Also, the Issue 5 of Into the Void Magazine was recently released and I'm extremely happy and proud to say that it's our best one yet! We didn't think we could possibly top Issue 4 but we did!
 
Q: Where can we buy or see them?
All but one of my books are available on Amazon.com as well as Yellow Chair Review's website, Stay Weird and Keep Writing's Website, and Alien Buddha Press' website.
 
Q: What are you working on at the minute?  What’s it about?
I currently have 17 different books I'm trying to get typed up and edited but my main focus is on the most important book I've written or put together so far which is titled "To Burn in Torturous Algorithms" which introduces a style of writing I've been developing as far back as age 17 which I call Spiralism. That is the book I need to find the perfect home for. 
  
Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems?
 There was never a decision. I've just been writing ever since I learned how to I guess.
  
Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I began a 12-year hermitage years ago, which I am just coming out of, during which I removed all mirrors from my apartment just so I could mirror only my own thoughts and not be influenced by the insanity of society. During that seclusion, I came across many original thoughts and had many great Epiphanies. The only way I think I've really evolved as far as outside influence is, now having read the works of Felino Soriano, Heller Levinson, and Alan Britt, which may occasionally have a subconscious effect on my writing.
 
Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing?
 Submissions. I've grown so tired of reading submission guidelines and putting submissions together that I've just been focusing more on the books I'm working on. I just counted and I've sent out a total of 59 submission so far, this year. I used to try to get one out every day. 
  
Q: What book/s are you reading at present?
 I'm currently buried under 18 different books I told people I'd write reviews for. I feel bad that it's taking so long to get them finished because I have all of these other obligations to juggle.
 
 
Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?
That's what I need to start doing. Two of the books I've published were thrown together in one night.
 
 
Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about?
Well, with my first book "A Curmudgeon is Born" I actually came across the perfect cover before I was even done putting the book together. Thankfully Dianne Borsenik stepped in and saved the day by getting me the artist's phone number so I could call and ask permission to use the image. Another cover was done by Bree Bodnar, and with my latest book I was given a chance to pick from a plethora of different images thanks to Red Focks, who is a great poet and artist.
 
Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?
 I've never self-published anything of my books. I've always submitted to the presses. I do have two books I was thinking about self-publishing because they're just so "out there" that I can't foresee a press ever accepting one of them.
 
Q: Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
 Get out there and read. It's a great way to meet new people and get your work noticed. I've done several readings in Great Britain and a bunch of different U.S. cities.
 
Q: Did you do a press release, Goodreads book launch or anything else to promote your work and did it work?
I haven't yet but I'm planning a full-on assault of promotion once "To Burn in Torturous Algorithms" is accepted. Or, rather, IF it is ever accepted. I told myself I'd submit it for a year and a half and if they're no takers then I'll just self-publish it. It's the most important book I've put together so far and if I self-published it I wouldn't have to hold back on certain aspects of Spiralism which I've had to eliminate in order to make this first book more palatable to editors.
 
Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying?
 "Insist on yourself. Never imitate."  Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

Everything works fine now. 

​Enjoy!

IT SEEMS THAT WEEBLY HAS TECHNICAL ISSUES. WHEN YOU CLICK ON CATEGORIES YOU GET TO BLANK PAGES. 

I AM WITH THEM RIGHT NOW TO SOLVE THIS MATTER!!!

Dear Readers and Authors, 

With four days delay, the August issue is finally live.

Three weird accidents and several Internet interruptions led to this delay but... better later than never. 

The good news is that during the period July 15th and August 18th, there have been 128,343 visits on the site, which shows the quality of the literary works featured in this magazine. 

Without too much ado, I will give you AUGUST ISSUE.

Don't forget, if you hover with your mouse over Aug 2017, a drop-down menu will appear and you can choose to read poems, short-stories, non-fiction or a play.

If you glance on the right of the page, you will find categories. Under categories, you will see the names of the authors and you can click on a specific name to read that author's creation(s).

Well, let's the game begins. Have fun and leave comments (they mean a lot for an author).  

Have a nice journey in an interesting literary world!

​SLR Staff

David Perlmutter is a freelance writer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is the author of America Toons In: A History of Television Animation (McFarland and Co.),  The Singular Adventures Of Jefferson Ball (Chupa Cabra House), The Pups (Booklocker.com), Certain Private Conversations and Other Stories (Aurora Publishing)  Orthicon; or, the History of a Bad Idea (Linkville Press, forthcoming), and The Encyclopedia of American Animated Cartoon Series (Rowman and Littlefield, forthcoming.) He can be reached on Facebook at David Perlmutter-Writer, Twitter at @DKPLJW1, and Tumblr at The Musings of David Perlmutter (yesdavidperlmutterfan).
  

Honey and Health - they go hand in hand. 
The book brings in the foreground the multiple benefits of honey. The nature' s gold stands out because of its multiple therapeutic characteristics, in particular the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial features. These properties play a significant role in preventing aging and averting and treating degenerative, as well as chronic conditions, such as cardio-vascular and pulmonary diseases. By regular consumption, honey also boosts the immune system, so that it helps in preventing and treating infections. Overall, honey consumption reduces fatigue and is one of the most effective energizers in nature. 
The book represents a guide with numerous recipes for many conditions, also briefly and simply depicted. The authors never tired to warn about the importance of precisely following the recipes, and kept advising that the treatment should be applied under medical supervision.
We hope you will appreciate the information presented and will take advantage of the nature's gold benefits shortly. ​

Robin Wyatt Dunn lives in a state of desperation engineered by late capitalism, within which his mind is a mere subset of a much larger hallucination wherein men are machines, machines are men, and the world and everything in it are mere dreams whose eddies and currents poets can channel briefly but cannot control. Perhaps it goes without saying that he lives in Los Angeles.

                                             LITERATURE IS THE ATOMIC BOMB

​
   Literature is the atomic bomb, launched every day, and devastating cities and empires across the earth. It cannot be stopped.
 
   Like the bomb, literature-people find they have very little room to negotiate:  this power backs us into a corner, and we, frothing at the mouth, can only point to our pen.
 
   Still, North Korea and Iran aren't stupid:  they know literature (and the atomic bomb) is the only thing that will save them in this dog eat dog world, and since I am fortunate to be a nuclear scientist, I give my knowledge away freely (or sometimes for five bucks) to the world, in the hopes that we will all become more heavily armed with dangerous weapons, and so that, if not my children (I have none), then at least some fortunate brat somewhere will coalesce his mighty and small brain around a deserving comeuppance:  even if he be fired and enslaved like me, forced to work for his daily bread by uncaring tyrants, who rob, cheat and humiliate him, even if this unlucky brat has all manners of horrors visited upon him, I will have provided him with the red button, which, like the gadget in Will Smith's eager little Hollywood thumb, can wipe not only individual minds but whole continents clean, denuding them of hypocrisy, lies, and fear.
 
   I sell the brave stuff; like whiskey, brewed at a reasonable rate, and like Jack Daniels, "each day we make it we'll make it the best we can."
 

​“Remarriages” is for the outcast and the disappointed. Dark poems riding wildly through the mind of an angry man who both loves and hates the world. The words reveal a bitter struggle to reconcile with the horrors and the violence inherent in the world.
Dunn’s poetry is psychological and raw, with a delicate balance between light and darkness.
Dunn’s poems are valiant in expressing the darkness many fear, yet others embrace. Some of his poems nudge the reader to take time to examine the bizarre existence we call life.
                                                                                                               Roxana Nastase

​Sunsborne pitches darkly into another world. Often the world and characters is hazy, but ''Sunsborne'' is a true picture of the reality, conflict and tensions. 
In the midst of a conflict torn situation there is love. Robin Wyatt Dunn presents an uncanny story of past and present, darkness and light. His way with language and its thick opacity create a stunning impact on the mind. 
If you are looking for ''meanings'', leave it. If you are looking for legerdemain stunts, leave it. But if you are looking for a fabulous world, in mythic settings, here it is, in the manner that only Dunn can achieve - credulity climaxing into incredible and fascinating story. 

                                                                                                                      Ananya S Guha
                                                                                                                      Shillong, INDIA.

Welcome to Scarlet Leaf Review! 
 
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. 
 
My name is FETHI SASSI. I m a poet from Tunisia in the north of Africa; born 
in 1962 in Nabeul; very attached to learning and writing. I have four Arabic  
poetry books; and some others translated … coming soon.  
 
Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? 
 
Really; I was a child with a great interest in studying, always in the first rank 
with a great interest in books and reading. At the same time, I collected the best 
expressions to make wonderful texts that’s why I ‘m going with great love to the  
prose poetry where the pictures are the most important. On the other hand, I was  
had a scientific reasoning and love for mathematics and this world of writing. They were very organized and fulfilling.
 
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 like English and German languages … only because English is one of the keys which I can use to open most of the closed doors.   
Because of my translations I stepped worldwide and I am near readers from everywhere. 
 
 
 Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? 
 
I have a lot of ambition but the most important is to bestow my poetic voice all over the world; I would like to cry for all and whisper:   we all are brothers and we need love… and nothing more than love. Another ambition is to translate for the Arabic library the work of many poets and know the poetry all over and the different ways of fulfilment.
  
Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? 
 
Before, I was interested in the poets of the pre-Islamic era, to build and have a strong and a correct writing with the desert meaning first to love and fly. But in the secondary school, my purpose was on the poet full of dreams and desire, Nizar Kabani . His poetry has taught me how to love   and how to respect a woman. And this beauty, the woman, can be everything: motherland, life and so on. But it was not lonely. I have been inspired by several creators as Saadi, Darwish, Ounsi, Maghout and many others.
 
Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far  

When I was twelve years old, I began to write my first poems. I was learning how to walk on the whiteness but I always felt that I was describing to the world how I felt, and how I saw all things. In 2008 I ‘ve decided to present my writing to the club of literary creators of Sousse and decided finally to publish my first book on 2010 (seeds of love) and in 2013 I dream …and  I sign on birds my last words. In 2016, I published A sky for a strange bird  and in 2017 As a lone rose … on a chair together with my first translated book  with Scarlet House  in Canada - And you are the entire poem. 
 
Q: Where can we buy or see them?
 
I would like to put all my Arabic poem books on Amazon site to begin advertising my poems to the entire world but I do not find the help to do it. (I would like to find a person that can seriously help me to put them in all the sellers sites). 
 
Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre? 
  
My books are a ticket to the heaven of love. They are a cup of wine with the smell of  passion, a little journey on the waves with a breeze of happiness … a wonderful 
butterfly flying on the edge of every heart. 
 
Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems? 

When I was twelve, I tried writing for the first time. It was a challenge to be  
different from others. In the darkness of my room, when all the world is asleep,  
some deep whispers come to my mind as an inspiration for a coming prophet. 
But surely there is in my heart a sadness never been slept for one day … this pain 
Is only the ink of my writing that told …where here you are?? What do you do  in this empty world lonely as a story never to be told. Too many questions but no  
answers , and surely the poetry is no more that a question but with no answer . 
 
Q: What makes you write? What’s the force behind taking your pen (or your keyboard) and put verses down? 
 
Pain is my direction. Happiness never led to creation; only the sadness full of  
questions takes you far to the philosophic way of being; it is the force and the  
power made especially for all writers to give the real meaning and explain issues.But surely the method of writing is different from one to another; one take his pen to make this creation and other his brush to draw as  
Socrates [said] to" Videros" in "The Conversations "  
Do you know "Videros "  What makes the writing marvelous  
It is that is resembles painting tremendously? 
and so on; too much method but the main purpose is the search for the absent 
 answers. 
 
 
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 mad of writing; I try to write non stop to take the real breath for Life. When inspiration comes with all devils to dance on whiteness; take it by hand and fly with to the far sky. But I feel the night would be the time more efficient to create a wonderful words. 
 
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  feelings offer me usually the prayers of writing 
 
Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? 
Step by step is the long travel of writing. Every book is really a step; is a part of  
my experience. 
 
 
Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? 
 
The first moment of birth .. the moment when one discovers the world after a big silence in The  memory. This moment is a cesarean birth that separates life and death’ it is the fugitive moment coming with a full  inspiration . 
 
Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? 
 
In this way, there are no easy things; everything has a special role to play until
we finally have the book  in our hands . 
 
 
 
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 have never stopped reading since my childhood. Reading was and is my passion; 
  And right now I  like to Be with some special authors as Sarkon Bolss ; Saadi  
Youssef; Ouns Hadj  Bessem Hajjar  and so on … I usually read the  excellent magic realist Marquez; and Gualliano … 
Generally, paper book is the best way to read and to smell  the perfect paper  
perfume. But if the book is only in ebook I  can read it as I do now . 
 
Q: What book/s are you reading at present? 
 
At present, I’m passionate by the short stories of the great Sarcon Bolss . 
 
Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? 
 
I work with a group of proofreaders in English and Arabic; they control all my  
work to keep my texts with no mistakes; I never do a perfect work  alone . It must  
be some professional touches on the final texts.  
But now I need only someone to help me to put my books on the international  
great book sellers as Amazon and Create Space and so on.  
 
Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit? 
 
Yes, indeed ; every work has to take a good period to go back to the publication . 
I keep all my books on my desk to complete all the details needed to be in the final 
State to the way of publication. 
This period is important for the decision of last touches. Surely so many things  
can be changed; it is in fact the last decision .  
 
Q: Who edited your last book and how did you select him/her? 
 
My last book is And You Are the Entire Poem. This poetry book is translated. It has been recently published in Canada by Scarlet Leaf House. I was invited by madame Roxana Nastase to work together on a translated short poems book . We have been in fact good friends for a good while . 
 
Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about? 
 
In general I select my book covers with the meaning that leads the book ; to be  
in a direct relation . And about my last book  I have a deep friendship with the  
fresh painter Pascal Chove; he has given me with great love a wonderful image 
to put it on my cover book ; and I  think that  I will choose some others only  
because our common and mutual view on poetry and art . 
 
Q: Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process? 
 
Yes, of course; with no doubt. The book cover is really an important part of 
the buying process; due to the fact that the cover is the first picture that  
meets the reader and generally it can help readers to buy .
 
Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around ? 
 
Self-publishing get some advantages and in the same way some disadvantages 
But it is a method between some others to keep the book in the library for readers . 
But the writer must see the possible way to the reader and get to work with it . 
 
 
 Q: Would you or do you use a PR agency? 
 
No ; I do not use public relation ; really what I use to do is only the power of my  
texts  , and the beauty of my poem  .  
 
  
Q: What are your views on social media for marketing? Which social network worked best for you? Any tips on what to do and what not to do  ? 
 
All social media has a huge impact on the marketing. 
 I use Facebook due to the great number of users. But on the other hand I use 
contacts with hotmail, yahoo; gmail ; and others . 
 
Q: Did you get interviewed by local press/radio for your book launch? 
 
Yes ; in fact from time to time I was interviewed about my first book  and now no  
more ; because in Tunisia from a long time culture was not for culture but for  
friends and personal purpose .  
 
Q: Is there any marketing technique you used that had an immediate impact on your sales figures? 
 
The main problem that has all Arabic writers is an efficient strategy for selling  
books , we have unfortunately only the first state of the book production and no  
more especially in Tunisia ; no distribution . That’s why we go to the FACEBOOK  
and TWITER and so on to find the way to make our books known . 
 
 
Q: What do you think of “trailers” for books? 
 
They are very important for the marketing of the book  , for a big number of sale  
To give the writer a great chance to be read from all and everywhere . 
 
Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying ? 
 
I feel really motivated by two words they are only my little boat in this big life sea  
Love and work ; I cannot live without .It is my travel ticket in this difficult  
poetry experience . And woman gives me this travel . 
 
 
Q: What is your favorite quote? 
 
The great Nietzsche " Without music , life would be a mistake " . 
 
 Q: Where can you see yourself in 5 years-time? 
 
I feel that I will fly all over the world and my poetry will go further than I. Our real  
wings are our poetry books and no more. 
 
   
Q: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why ? 
 
My father is the great personality in my mind, the only man on this earth who spent his life with one purpose in mind our happiness and success . 
 
  
Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future? 
 
The publishing is getting more and more difficult with time. I’m in the way to  
discover the self-publishing. This is a way quick and efficient to the readers . 
 
Q: How can readers discover more about you and your work ? 
 
I hope for all  readers will contact me on my face book accounts and my blog too ,  
And I will answer all questions and enquiries. 
 
 
Blog     :    https://sassifathi62.wixsite.com/mysite-2 
 
Facebook   :   ttps://www.facebook.com/fethi.sassi.54 
                     https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005592222927 
 
Twitter    :  https://twitter.com/lapoesiepourtoi 
 
Lnkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sassi-fethi-28b834b4/ 
 
Amazon Author Page :  https://www.createspace.com/pub/member.dashboard.do 
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4570266-fethi-sassi 
 
Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.) 
 
Goodreads  :  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4570266-fethi-sassi 
 
 
 
 
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. 
 
 

Who said that romance is dead? 
Fethi Sassi brings you peerless lyrical verses reminding of another century, singing love, eternal questions, joy and loneliness. They will warm your soul and make you feel as if you were part of an endless time.
If you look for that indefinite feeling that only love and reflection could bring, then this is the book for you. 

ASCENT OF HER DESIRE 

She was travelling by night 
in the twilight jubbah; 
crying behind the cloud ascent of her 
desire asking....: 
who took away her harlot night?

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