Essay/Memoir by Kit Carlson: "Sometimes the Dead Do Talk"

I am an Episcopal priest and author of the recent "Speaking Our Faith:Equipping the Next Generations to Tell the Old, Old Story" (Church Publishing 2018). I have been published recently in Anglican Theological Review and Section 8 Magazine. I recently attended the Kenyon Writers' Workshop, studying under Afaa M. Weaver.

Essay by Tylyn K. Johnson: "Transcendence of Abstract Expressionism"

A socially-conscious writer from Indianapolis, Tylyn K. Johnson has published a short story in Severance Publications' “Depravity” anthology, and other works of prose and poetry in "Reverberations," a Shortridge High School literary journal sponsored by Butler University. He has also had a winning essay published by the Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy, and other essays published by the NUHA Foundation.

Essay by Tom Sheehan: "Viola's Place or The Shoe in the Wall"

Sheehan, in his 91st year, has published 36 books and multiple works in Rosebud, Literally Stories, Linnet’s Wings,Serving House Journal, Copperfield Review, Literary Orphans, Eastlit, Frontier Tales, Western Online, Literary Yard, Rope & Wire Western Magazine, Indiana Voice Journal, Green Silk Journal, Faith-Hope-and-Fiction, etc. He has received 33 Pushcart nominations and 5 Best of Net nominations with one winner, and other awards. Newest books are Beside the Broken Trail, Between Mountain and River and Catch a Wagon to the Stars with 4 in publishers’ queues, including Jock Poems for Proper Bostonians and Alone with the Good Graces and The Keating Script. He served in the 31st Infantry in Korea 1951-52, and graduated from Boston College 1956. His most recent reading was about the First Iron Works in America for The Saugus Historical Society. He has read for 17 years at Out Loud Open Mic in Melrose, MA.

An Essay by Christopher Woods: "Passage"

Christopher Woods is a writer, teacher and photographer who lives in Houston and in Chappell Hill, Texas. He is the author of a novel, THE DREAM PATCH, a prose collection, UNDER A RIVERBED SKY, and a collection of stage monologues for actors, HEART SPEAK. Gallery - http://christopherwoods.zenfolio.com/

An Essay by Allison Staley: "On Insecurity"

I grew up in Tipp City, OH and was raised in a Christian home with my older sister and younger brother. I graduated from Tippecanoe High School in 2014, and am currently a Middle Childhood Education major at Cedarville University. I look forward to completing my degree soon with my student teaching in Mexico this fall. I enjoy dancing, hiking, and traveling to new places and cultures. One of my joys is being involved with youth ministry and mentoring young students.

An Essay by Angel Grubbs: "What Kind of Freak am I?"

Angel Grubbs resides in the Midwest with her new husband Philip. Together, with their Blue Honda CRV, they embark on philosophical adventures traced through their favorite avenues: Tarbox Cemetery, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and CookOut. Her poetry has appeared in her university’s undergraduate journal Cedarville Review.

An Essay by Charles E.J. Moulton: "One Day, Rock will be Classical Music"

CHARLES E.J. MOULTON has been a stage performer since age eleven. His trilingual, artistic upbringing, as the son of Gun Kronzell and Herbert Moulton, lead to a hundred stage productions, countless cross-over concerts, work as a bandleader and as an acting teacher. He is a regular contributor for Idea Gems, has written for Shadows Express, Cover of Darkness, Vocal Images and Pill Hill Press. He is a tourguide, a big-band-vocalist, a filmmaker, a painter, a voice-over-speaker, a translator, is married and has a daughter. Charles E.J. Moulton's passion is creative versatility. His short story collection, Aphrodite's Curse: 21 Tales of Love and Terror can be purchased by clicking the link. Homepages:http://www.reverbnation.com/charlesejmoulton/

http://moultoniancreativity.weebly.com

A Memoir by Barbara McLaughlin: "Boylston Street"

I am pursuing my masters in Professional Creative writing from the University of Denver and have spent more than thirty years in Indianapolis. I have a children's book published, entitled Reuben Rides the Rails, a Christamore House Guild selected book in 2010. It tells the story of the Reuben Wells Steam Engine housed in the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Likewise, I worked with the Indiana Writers Center on two anthologies: Where Mercy and Truth Meet: Homeless Women of Wheeler Speak; and Finding the Words, stories of war by female veterans. Prior to writing fiction, I traveled the world as a journalist and media relations specialist for U.S. Diving in Indianapolis.

Creative Nonfiction by Bill Vernon: "The Presence Among The Blooms"

Bill Vernon served in the United States Marine Corps, studied English literature, then taught it. Writing is his therapy, along with exercising outdoors and doing international folkdances. Five Star Mysteries published his novel OLD TOWN, and his poems, stories and nonfiction have appeared in many magazines and anthologies.

An Essay by Raymond Greiner: "A Secret Door"

Raymond Greiner's writings include short stories and essays published frequently in various literary journals and magazines: Branches magazine, La Joie Journal, Literary Yard Journal, Nib Magazine, Canary Literary Journal, Bellesprit Magazine, Freedom Journal, Grace Notes Literary Magazine. His latest book "Millie and Ami" is available on Amazon. Raymond lives in a remote area of southern Indiana in a cabin far off a lightly traveled road with his dog Venus.

An Essay by Marlena Fiol, PhD: "Ignorance"

Marlena Fiol, PhD, is a world-renowned author, scholar, speaker, and a spiritual seeker whose writing explores the depths of who we are and what’s possible in our lives. Her most recent essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Under the Sun, The Summerset Review, Barely South Review and The Furious Gazelle, among others. A sampling of her publications on identity and learning are available at marlenafiol.com.

An Essay by Patrick Dobson: “Nicotine’s This Man’s Best Friend”

I am a writer and college professor living in Kansas City, MO.

The University of Nebraska Press published my second travel memoir, Canoeing the Great Plains: A Missouri River Summer on May 1, 2015. My first, Seldom Seen: A Journey into the Great Plains was published in 2009 and won mentions in several contests, including the 2011 Byron Caldwell Smith Book Award from the Hall Center for Humanities at Kansas University, the 2012 High Plains Book Award, and the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award.

Nonfiction by Toti OBrien: "In the Water"

Toti O'Brien is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish Last Name. She was born in Rome then moved to Los Angeles, where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician and professional dancer. Her work has most recently appeared in Fiction South East, NonBinary Review, OVS Magazine, and The Adirondack Review.

Creative Nonfiction by Charles E.J. Moulton: "The Violinist"

CHARLES E.J. MOULTON has been a stage performer since age eleven. His trilingual, artistic upbringing, as the son of Gun Kronzell and Herbert Moulton, lead to a hundred stage productions, countless cross-over concerts, work as a bandleader and as an acting teacher. He is a regular contributor for Idea Gems, has written for Shadows Express, Cover of Darkness, Vocal Images and Pill Hill Press. He is a tourguide, a big-band-vocalist, a filmmaker, a painter, a voice-over-speaker, a translator, is married and has a daughter. Charles E.J. Moulton's passion is creative versatility. His short story collection, Aphrodite's Curse: 21 Tales of Love and Terror can be purchased by clicking the link. Homepages:http://www.reverbnation.com/charlesejmoulton/

http://moultoniancreativity.weebly.com

Book Excerpt: James Breakwell aka:@XplodingUnicorn "Only Dead on the Inside: A Parent's Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse"

James Breakwell is a professional comedy writer and amateur father of four girls, ages seven and under. He is best known for his family humor Twitter account @XplodingUnicorn, which has more than 700,000 follow- ers. The account went viral in April 2016 thanks to a feature article on the front page of Buzzfeed. The resulting attention from media outlets around the world transformed Mr. Breakwell from a niche comedy writer into one of the most famous dads on social media.

CNF/Memoir by Lucia Walton Robinson: "Kind-Hearted Woman"

Born a Hoosier, Lucia Walton Robinson has been writing and editing ever since she learned to read. She also raised a pair of highly literate offspring, taught English in a Gulf coast college for twenty years, and now enjoys retirement near the Carolina coast.                                    

CNF/Essay by Elizabeth Brooks: "Scared by Red"

Elizabeth P. Brooks is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now calls Tampa Bay home. She is deeply concerned about human dignity and the need for social justice. She is outgoing, loves the sound of laughter and the power of the word. She is a performance poet and has had several poems and two non-fiction essays published in Indiana Voice Journal. She is the author of a recently published chapbook ,“You May Applaud Now and other poems” and she is currently working on a novel and many other projects. Elizabeth is a reference librarian at Saint Leo University in Dade City, Fla., and volunteers as an adult literacy tutor in Tampa. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post. Elizabeth writes the column "A Call to Love" for Spirit Fire Review. You can visit Elizabeth at her Facebook page here:  Elizabeth Brooks 

CNF/Essay by Donal Mahoney: "American Innocence, Our Children Now and Then"

Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in various publications, including The Wisconsin Review, The Kansas Quarterly, The South Carolina Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune and Commonweal. Some of his work can be found at http://eyeonlifemag.com/the-poetry-locksmith/donal-mahoney-poet.html#sthash.OSYzpgmQ.dpbs=

Personal Essay by Lois Greene Stone: "Cardboard and Canvas"

Lois Greene Stone, writer and poet, has been syndicated worldwide. Poetry and personal essays have been included in hard & softcover book anthologies.  Collections of her personal items/ photos/ memorabilia are in major museums including twelve different divisions of The Smithsonian.

Personal Essay by Janine Pickett: "Lasting Impressions"

Janine Pickett is Founding Editor of Indiana Voice Journal and Spirit Fire Review. Her work has been published in various online and print journals, and commercial magazines.