Flash Fiction By Belinda Hubert: Paul

In addition to writing fiction and poetry, Belinda Hubert is currently working on a novel, titled Shrink Wrapped and a collection of short stories about life in the Midwest. She works as a clinical psychologist in a private practice in Lowell, Indiana. Belinda is a frequent contributor to Indiana Voice Journal.
http://buelasprairiepractice.blogspot.com/

Fiction By Jim Kjeldsen: The Giant Gila Monster

M.J. Kjeldsen writes under the name Marvin Redblood. He is author of the non-fiction book THE MOUNTAINEERS: A HISTORY and the fiction book A FLASH ON THE RIVER, as well as numerous novels and short stories. He lives with his we-wife and dog in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Fiction By Alex Mantel: An Apologia For Boarding School

Alex grew up in New York City and attended University of Virginia's Young Writer's Workshop. He has been previously published in the Winter Poetry Anthology of Jaded Ibis Press.

Fiction By Sunil Kumar Poudyal: Hardship

Sunil Kumar Poudyal is a poet, writer and journalist from Nepal (Country of Mt. Everest-South Asia).

Hardship

 

It was the middle of the first month of fall drizzling outside with a gentle breeze. The leaves of some trees had slowly started to change their color.  Squirrels were not busy jumping, playing and collecting nuts. They were hiding somewhere. Few birds were seen in the sky. Suddenly an idea clicked in my mind. I wanted to eat meat.

Fiction By Charles E.J. Moulton: Leaf In The Wind

Previously published pieces of mine have been published in Skirmish, Socrates, Aphelion, The Woven Tale Press, Idea Gems, SNM Magazine, TWJ Magazine, Shadows Express, 365 Tomorrows, Shadows Express, Redhead Magazine, Aquarius Atlanta, Vocal Images, Cover of Darkness and CLR India. I am the Chorus Master of a Chorus in Germany, a big band vocalist, an operatic baritone and an exhibited artistic painter.
 

Homepages: http://www.reverbnation.com/charlesejmoulton/ 

http://about.me/cmoulton

Fiction By BB Riefner: A Brush With Reality In The Key Of B-Flat Minor

 B. B. Riefner wrote with chalk on blackboards; then, with a 1918 typewriter on tailgates and picnic tables in South America, Europe and Africa.  Today he and his wife live near Washington D.C. with a canine muse and a computer which must be fed daily.

www.bbriefner.com 

www.travelswiththebear.blogspot.com

Fiction By Barbara Kinsey Sable: He Made Me Laugh

Barbara Kinsey Sable: Retired professor from the University of Colorado, College of Music. I have published many academic articles including a text book: The Vocal Sound, poetry over many years and short stories.

Fiction By Steve Slavin: The Wedding Date

A recovering economics professor, Steve Slavin earns a living writing math and economics books.

 

The Wedding Date       

Diane is one of my best friends. We hang out, talk on the phone, go out to dinner occasionally, but that’s it. So don’t go getting any ideas. Yeah, she’s very attractive, smart, a lot of fun to be with, but we always been and always will be strictly platonic.

#ThanksDave and Happy Retirement David Letterman

"The Kings" A Poem By Blues Guitarist DB Cox In Honor Of BB King

Legendary Blues Guitarist BB King

the kings

there’s a decaying piano

in “the graveyard bar”

that nobody plays

whenever i feel

like i’m starting

to disappear

into the chorus

of gray-faced patrons

mumbling conspiracy claims

into their beer

i wander over

to the keyboard

& bend my ear

toward the strings

INDIANA VOICE JOURNAL MAY 2015 ISSUE #10

Anna Pavlova as a Bacchante,  by John Lavery 1911 PD

 Grit and Grace. I am captivated by the emotional depth, strength, and honesty expressed in the thirty-two features embedded in this issue of Indiana Voice Journal. The stories, poems, and artwork, all created by women, add to the richness with which we can explore our inner lives, our fears, our faith, our connectedness. As storytellers, and as women, we've been given a great gift and an even greater responsibility. To teach, nurture, heal, protect, and love. To touch hearts, to change lives, and to stand united against social and cultural injustices in our societies, circles, families, and tribes.
 

I deeply regret not being able to use every piece submitted for this issue, mostly because of space requirements, but keep singing. Keep submitting. Keep telling your stories...♥

~Janine Pickett, Editor
 

“There’s no greater agony than carrying around an untold story inside yourself.”
— Maya Angelou

FEATURED CONTENT:

POETRY

Prerna Bakshi: Three poems, "A Tale Of Round Rotis "

Elizabeth Brooks: "You may applaud now!"

Cara Losier Chanoine:  Three Poems, “Elegy for Boots”

Kika Dorsey: Three poems, "Yggdrasil"
  
Lubaba Faisal: "The Mirror Play"

Krista Genevieve Farris: Three Poems, "First Grade Secret Santa Gift from a Boy I Might Have Loved"

Allison Grayhurst: Three Poems, "Crystal dark"

Belinda Hubert: Four Poems, "Easy Mom"

Christina Johnson: Three Poems, "The Soul"

Becca Lamarre: Three Poems, "Every Time I Push Through a Door"

Jessica Wiseman Lawrence:  Three Poems, "Lie"

Sylvia McCullough: Three Poems, "The Deer"

Carol Moon: "A Kiss That Surpasses All Understanding"

E.F. Schraeder: Three Poems, "Creative Thought"

Cecilia Soprano: Two Poems, "The Rocking Horse"

Lisa Strohl: "A Secret Love Poem"

Sarah Thursday: Three Poems, "What I Mean When I Say Run"

Rachel Watson: Three Poems, “Dinah’s Dream”

Hiromi Yoshida: Three Poems, "Last Supper in Terre Haute"

FICTION/FLASH 

Judy Beaston:  "Selfies With Willa"

Elizabeth Challinor:  "Seasons" and "A Tale From Inside"

DH Hanni: "Training Day"

Gwendolyn Kiste: "Violet The Baker"

Carolyn Smuts: "Thirty Years Gone"

Carroll Susco: "Jane Seymour (Henry VIII’s wife, not the actress)"

Doni York: "The Sunflower Artist"

A NOVEL EXCERPT

Patty Fischer: A Novel Excerpt  "Insect Politics" 

CREATIVE NONFICTION/ESSAYS

J.C. Elkin:  Memoir "Encore"

Nancy Lane: Essay "My Mother's Crown"

Amanda Noble: CNF "Kasamas"

Michelle Reinhold: CNF "You Hope"

Carol Smallwood: Essay "Old Black and White Films"

Cecilia Soprano: Nonfiction & Visual Art  "Lincoln The Crow"

~Scroll down to browse~

Prerna Bakshi: Three poems, including, "A Tale Of Round Rotis "

Prerna Bakshi is a sociolinguist, research scholar and writer of Indian origin, currently based in Macao. She has contributed essays and articles to a variety of publications including The Hindu, CounterCurrents, Amar Ujala, and Desh Bandhu to name a few. Her poetry has been published in Linden Avenue Literary Journal, Indiana Voice Journal, Red Fez, peer reviewed journals such as Muse India, Postcolonial Text and is forthcoming in Hysteria, Grey Sparrow Journal, and several publications.  

She could be reached at: [email protected] or found on Twitter: @bprerna

Elizabeth Brooks: "You may applaud now!"

Elizabeth Brooks is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. She is a lover of life, family, friends, a good book and lots of laughter. 

Cara Losier Chanoine: Three Poems, Including, “Elegy for Boots”

Cara Losier Chanoine is a poet, fiction writer, and teacher from New England. She is a four-time competitor in the National Poetry Slam, and her first collection of poems was released by Scars Publications in 2013.  You can visit her website at www.carachanoine.wordpress.com.

Kika Dorsey: Three poems, including, "Yggdrasil"

Kika Dorsey grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and now resides in Boulder, Colorado. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals, and her chapbook, Beside Herself, was published by Flutter Press in 2010. Her book, Rust, is coming out next year with Word Tech Editions. 

Follow this link to read a recent poem published in the Dr. T.J. Eckleburg Review, "In Berlin":

http://thedoctortjeckleburgreview.com/product/poetry-in-berlin/

Lubaba Faisal: "The Mirror Play"

I can describe my self as an author by passion, just grabbed my pen and decided to become a writer. I have graduated from engineering faculty but never felt as an engineer sometimes I wonder why did I pick that major. So I decided to turn back the time because it's never too late. That's how I became a writer. My only published work is on my blog but I am currently sending to different magazines.

 https://thatvoicewithinme.wordpress.com/

Krista Genevieve Farris: Three Poems, "First Grade Secret Santa Gift from a Boy I Might Have Loved"

Krista Genevieve Farris grew up a Hoosier, but now lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with her husband and three sons. She has an MA in Anthropology from Indiana University and a BA in English and Anthropology from Albion College.  

Links to her recent writing can be found at her writer’s website https://kristagenevievefarris.wordpress.com/ .

Allison Grayhurst: Three Poems, "Crystal dark"

 

Allison Grayhurst is a member of the League of Canadian Poets. She has over 450 poems published in international journals and anthologies. She has eleven published books of poetry and five collections, as well as six chapbooks and one e-chapbook;  www.allisongrayhurst.com   

Belinda Hubert: Four Poems, "Easy Mom"

In addition to writing fiction and poetry, Belinda Hubert is currently working on a novel, titled Shrink Wrapped and a collection of short stories about life in the Midwest. She works as a clinical psychologist in a private practice in Lowell, Indiana. Belinda is a frequent contributor to Indiana Voice Journal.
http://buelasprairiepractice.blogspot.com/

Christina Johnson: Three Poems, "The Soul"

Christina A. Johnson is an author living and writing in southern New Hampshire. She explores in her poetry themes of identity, alienation, and relationship.

Link to Website:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00JRDFE70

 

Becca Lamarre: Three Poems, "Every Time I Push Through a Door"

Becca Lamarre grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and still grows nostalgic for the town's many railroad crossings and the distinct smell of it's paper mills. She holds a MA in Higher Education and a BS in Psychology from Ball State University and her fascination with human behavior and motivations strongly influences her writing. She currently lives in Chicago with her family where she is working on her first full-length poetry collection. A sample of her work is forthcoming in Poetry Pacific.

Jessica Wiseman Lawrence: Three Poems, "Lie"

Jessica Wiseman Lawrence lives in rural central Virginia. She has had work published in Silver Birch Press, and has poetry currently upcoming in Hermeneutic Chaos Literary Journal and The Activity Report. Her work focuses on relationships, motherhood, poverty, and nature through examinations of a central image or thought. She also has an interest in earth science and biology. 

Sylvia McCullough: Three Poems, "The Deer"

I am recently retired to the Traverse City area after an eclectic career of part time teaching, antiques dealing, and volunteering with the homeless in Phoenix, Arizona.  I have been married to a wonderful man for the past thirty-seven years, am an avid gardener, amateur photographer, great cook, and reader and writer of poetry. 

Carol Moon: "A Kiss That Surpasses All Understanding"

Carol Moon is a librarian and instructor of German at Saint Leo University. In her spare time, she studies creative writing, and hopes to do a doctorate in Poetry some day soon!

E.F. Schraeder: Three Poems, "Creative Thought"

E.F. Schraeder's creative work has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including Voluted Tales, Hoax, Haz Mat Review, Lavender Review, Corvus Magazine, Carnival of the Damned, and others. Author of a poetry chapbook, The Hunger Tree, Schraeder studied the humanities in graduate school and has an interdisciplinary Ph.D.  Find more online at www.efschraeder.com 

 

Cecilia Soprano: Two Poems, "The Rocking Horse"

Cecilia Soprano lives in Westchester County and makes her living as an organic gardener and artist.   Her poems and artwork have been published in La Joie magazine and UC at Santa Barbara among others.  Her artwork is often featured on the covers of Inner Directions magazine.

She is a member of the Greenwich Art Society and the Katonah Museum Art Association.  She has published three small books and has had several one woman art exhibits.  Her love of nature and gardening provides the space for uninterrupted inspiration.  Her intention is to make images and words that describe beauty and uplift the human spirit.   My art is about making the simple sacred and the ordinary extra-ordinary.  

"The reason why we exist is to remember why we exist and to realize our interconnectedness with all things."    WEBSITE:  www.Amichiart.com or CeciliaSoprano.com

Lisa Strohl: "A Secret Love Poem"

Lisa is a new graduate from Purdue University Calumet with a BA in Arts (Spanish International Studies). She is just getting her life started and writing is something she loves to do.

 

www.linkedin.com/in/lisamariestrohl11

Sarah Thursday: Three Poems, "What I Mean When I Say Run"

Sarah Thursday is a advocate of local poetry, runs a Long Beach-focused poetry website called CadenceCollective.net, co-hosts a monthly reading and started Sadie Girl Press. Her first full-length poetry collection, All the Tiny Anchors, is available now. 

Find and follow her on SarahThursday.com, Facebook (FB/SarahThursdaypoet), or Twitter @thursdaypoet.

Rachel Watson: Three Poems, “Dinah’s Dream”

I am a blogger at RachelEWatson.com, and writer of poetry, fiction, and essays; I draw inspiration from my formative years spent in rural mid-Michigan, my evangelical Christian upbringing, and my current life in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I live with my husband and two rowdy cats.

My nonfiction work has been published in Campus Voices: A Student-to-Student Guide to College Living, Feathers & Leaves 2009: A Publication of the Cornerstone University English Society, and The Greenville Daily News in Greenville, Michigan.

Hiromi Yoshida: Three Poems, "Last Supper in Terre Haute"

Hiromi Yoshida is a winner of multiple Indiana University Writers' Conference awards. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Clockwise Cat, Work Literary Magazine, The Rain, Party, & Disaster Society, Borderline, Evergreen Review, Bathtub Gin, Flying Island, and the Matrix anthologies of literary and visual arts.

Judy Beaston: "Selfies With Willa"

Judy Beaston lives in northwest Oregon where the weather and people suit her muse. She enjoys the challenge of flash fiction, weaving layers of experience between and behind the story told.

Her flash stories have appeared at WritersType, WOW-Women on Writing and The Writers' Mill Journal.

Blog - judybnotes.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Challinor: "Seasons" and "A Tale From Inside"

Writing is both a passion and profession for Elizabeth Challinor who works as an anthropologist, with a special interest in Cape Verde. She is also co-editor and writer on an internet site called PopAnth which writes popular anthropology for everyone. You may see her articles here: http://popanth.com/people/elizabeth-p-challinor/



 

DH Hanni: "Training Day"

DH Hanni has been published in online magazines such Hidden Animals, the Copperfield Review, and the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Her work has also appeared in print in LocoThology 2013: Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction anthology and in the upcoming First Contact Café anthology. Currently she resides in South Carolina. You can find DH Hanni at dhhanni.net or on Facebook. 

Gwendolyn Kiste: "Violet The Baker"

Gwendolyn Kiste is a horror and fantasy writer based in Pennsylvania. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous publications including LampLight, Danse Macabre, Electric Spec, 99 Pine Street, and Saturday Night Reader.

Her short fiction story "Tingo" can be found in the April issue of IVJ.

You can find her at www.gwendolynkiste.com and on Twitter (@GwendolynKiste).

Carolyn Smuts: "Thirty Years Gone"

Freelance writer Carolyn Smuts taught history at the college level before fleeing academic life to write fiction. Her work has been featured in SELF, Glamour, Creative Living, Ultimate Motorcycling, and Business Week. Her most recent fiction works were published by Akashic Books, Omnific, and Jitter Press. She lives in Los Angeles.

https://www.facebook.com/writtenandrewritten

http://carolynsmuts.com/

Carroll Susco: "Jane Seymour (Henry VIII’s wife, not the actress)"

Carroll Ann Susco holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Pittsburgh and numerous publications including three essays in The Sun Magazine.  She writes and teaches in Alexandria, VA.  Her chapbook: True Fiction: A Pseudo Autobiographical Chapbook in Three Parts is available at Smashwords.com

You can read more of Carroll's work in the December 2014 and April 2015 issue's of IVJ. 

Doni York: "The Sunflower Artist"

Doni York is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University where she received a B.A. in English and was inducted into International English Honor's Society. Creating stories has been a hobby of hers since childhood and one that she will never outgrow. She plans to attend graduate school and earn her M.A. with a specialization in writing.

Blog link:  https://doniyork.wordpress.com/

Patty Fischer: A Novel Excerpt "Insect Politics"

Writing Makes Me Feel Alive

Eighteen years ago, I found I could write a decent editorial, and short story after taking some writing courses. I expanded my projects to longer pieces of fiction, enjoying the research process as much as putting together characters, scene descriptions, and dialogue. So far I have managed to have two fiction novels published. "Blood And Eggs" a crime/horror published in July 2011. "Sweeten The Pot", a spicy contemporary romance was published in March 2013. The more I write, the greater my passion for writing builds. In the last two years, I have added specific platforms to my passion. On Word Press, I write blogs on issues that I feel outraged about, the link: http://penandstick.wordpress.com

J.C. Elkin: Memoir "Encore"

Founder of the Broadneck Writers’ Workshop in Annapolis, Maryland (www.broadneckwritersworkshop.com), I am the author of World Class: Poems Inspired by the ESL Classroom and other works of prose and poetry appearing in such journals as Kansas City Voices, Kestrel, Ducts, The Delmarva Review, Steam Ticket, and Off the Coast.
Visit Jane's webpage at:
http://www.broadneckwritersworkshop.com/jane-c-elkin.html

 

Nancy Lane: Essay "My Mother's Crown"

Nancy Lane graduated from UCLA and began a career in the computer industry as a programmer. She later worked in the aerospace industry as a software process analyst. Nancy moved from Southern California to the Portland area in 1997. Upon early retirement, Nancy wandered into creative writing. Nancy writes short stories and essays, focusing on good people and positive themes. Her essays and short stories have appeared in the AARP Bulletin and IVJ.

Amanda Noble: CNF "Kasamas"

Amanda Noble has a Ph.D. in sociology and has researched and published numerous academic articles, book chapters and reports. Frustrated by the constraints of scientific writing, she turned her attention to creative non-fiction writing, especially personal essays and memoir. This piece is derived from a chapter in her draft memoir about her life in the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer during the tumultuous 1970s. Her work has appeared in Seven Hills Review. She lives in Davis, California, with her cat, Lucy. She can be reached at 530-756-2260 or by email at [email protected].

Michelle Reinhold: CNF "You Hope"

 Michelle Reinhold writes creative nonfiction and flash fiction; two of her essays and one flash fiction story have been published at Burnside Writers Collective. She believes deeply in the connectivity of writing and its power to link writer and reader through story. Michelle lives in Michigan with her husband, two daughters, and Lucy, her favorite dog in the world.

Carol Smallwood: Essay "Old Black and White Films"

Carol Smallwood's most recent books include Water, Earth, Air, Fire, and Picket Fences (Lamar University Press, 2014); Divining the Prime Meridian (WordTech Communications, 2015); and Writing After Retirement (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014). Carol has founded, supports humane societies.    http://www.pw.org/content/carol_smallwood

Cecilia Soprano: Nonfiction & Visual Art "Lincoln The Crow"

Cecilia Soprano lives in Westchester County and makes her living as an organic gardener and artist.   Her poems and artwork have been published in La Joie magazine and UC at Santa Barbara among others.  Her artwork is often featured on the covers of Inner Directions magazine.

She is a member of the Greenwich Art Society and the Katonah Museum Art Association.  She has published three small books and has had several one woman art exhibits.  Her love of nature and gardening provides the space for uninterrupted inspiration.  Her intention is to make images and words that describe beauty and uplift the human spirit.   My art is about making the simple sacred and the ordinary extra-ordinary.

"The reason why we exist is to remember why we exist and to realize our interconnectedness with all things."    WEBSITE:  www.Amichiart.com or CeciliaSoprano.com

INDIANA VOICE JOURNAL APRIL 2015 ISSUE #9

"RED" BY JUNIOR MCLEAN

HAPPY EASTER/PASSOVER WEEKEND!

Blood. Red. Moon. Eternity. Broken Hearts. Infected Hearts. Alien Hearts. Jesus. Joan Of Arc. Sinners and Saints. Life. Death. Love. Waiting To Die. Already Dead. Ghosts....The blood seems to be crying out from the page in this issue!

A huge thanks to all you talented, poetic artists for the "heart" and dedication you put into your creative work. It truly makes my job a joy! There are thirty wonderful features included this month.

A special thank you to Junior Mclean for the use of his visual artwork "RED" for our cover art this month.

~FEATURED CONTENT~

(QUICK LINKS TO FEATURED WORK)

POETRY

ABRAHAM OGEBE ADONDUWA:  "BROKEN HEART, CAREFREE"

MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN: "GHOSTS, IN THE BEGINNING, GEOMETRY AND ITS PLACE IN A POEM"

JEFF BURT: "BLUE JEANS AS SPIRITUAL UTILITY, COAT, SHOES"

HOLLY DAY: "LOVERMAN,  FALLING, FLYING, TODAY, WAITING TO DIE, THE HORSE"

KEVIN HEATON: "JUBILEE, POLISHED STONES, PAUSING FOR RAINBOWS

MICHAEL LEE JOHNSON: "DEAD GREY WOLF SKINS, IF YOU FIND NO POEM, SCHIZOPHRENIA NIGHT, POSSUM SLIM, POEMS OF SINNERS AND SAINTS"

DANE KARNICK: "PLAYING WITH YESTERDAY, ONE-TRACK MIND, LAST GENERATION"

DONAL MAHONEY: "THE LOVELY  WOMEN OF MY LIFE, WIFE AFTER SHOWERING, WE'LL FEEL BETTER, DEARIE, NOT TO WORRY"

BRANDON MARLON: "COMMANDER OF THE FAITHLESS, A PEOPLE'S PRAYER, MAHDI IN THE HAMMAM"

SIMON PERCHIK: THREE POEMS

RICHARD PERRY: "RUBICON, DICHOTOMY"

SUDHA SRIVATSAN: "THE INCENSED MOON"

LISA MARIE STROHL: "INFECTED HEART"

CHRISTOPHER SUDA: "A YOUNG MAN STRUGGLES ACROSS FIFTY STATES, THE THIRD COMING, AFTER TURNING OLD"

GEORGE ZAMALEA: "BLACK WHITE, THE OLD U.S. 66, THE BLACK COFFEE FROM MRS. D"

CREATIVE NONFICTION/ESSAYS

SCOTT ARCHER JONES: LITERARY ESSAY "THE STREETS OF CROCODILES, THE CINNAMON SHOPS"

CHARLES E.J. MOULTON: HISTORICAL DOCUMENT "THE MRS. MARDORF SAGA"

 MADISON SCRUGGS: "A LETTER TO MYSELF AT 21"

ADREYO SEN: "SOCIAL CONTROL AND THE LIMINAL WOMAN"

SHORT FICTION/FLASH 

ANA DEBORAH F. DO CANTO: FLASH FICTION "NIGHTS"

DIANA CORBITT: "A LONG WEEKEND"

GWENDOLYN KISTE: "TINGO"

ANTHONY LA FLAME:  FLASH "BLUE SUNRISE"

KEN LELAND: "SHE AND I"

DONAL MAHONEY:  FLASH "A GATHERING OF GENERATIONS" 

SHASHANK MANE: "THE ARM REST"

JERRY MULLINS: "GIRLS NIGHT OUT"

RICHARD PERRY: "THE WOMAN ON THE TRAIN"

CARROLL SUSCO: FLASH  "JOAN OF ARC: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY"

MICHELLE VLATKOVIC "FAILING THE RORSCHACH TEST"

VISUAL ART

JUNIOR MCLEAN

~SCROLL DOWN TO BROWSE~