The Summer Solstice rolled in gently this morning while many of you were just waking up, and others perhaps just laying down to rest. Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, signifying the beginning of the summer. Its arrival has long been cause for celebration amongst many countries and cultures, and across countless centuries.

Every submission receives much care and contemplation, not unlike a young boy handpicking a special bouquet of bright white summer daisies for his mama. The final submissions chosen for this edition of the Mused are incredibly diverse; and definably cause for celebration, and I hope you take pleasure in each one presented here.

I believe life is a journey based on destiny, or a predestined path. We may have little control over our destiny at times, other than to hold on tightly as the wild roller coaster twists, turns, and winds us into places we may never have anticipated. This is never as true as in the non-fiction writing of Carrie Lee Grinstead’s 6 Weeks in Florida and in the fiction story of A Timeless Adoration by Lori Bernard.

As you enjoy the warm summer breezes, do not forget to stop and smell our beautiful summer roses, and peek at Brandii Lacey’s Sunlight Blooms and Kim Kenney’s Pink Rose. Although I encourage everyone to step out into the sunshine, be CAREFUL where you step and watch out for our littlest friends. Mark Berkery catches them completely by surprise, as evidenced by the wide-eyed bright green cover model titled Oops, and his tiny adorable Robber Fly. Inquiring minds want to know where Mark finds these amusing critters.

Let us celebrate the incredible interview Lisa Shea had with Mary Travers (of Peter Paul and Mary) what an incredible woman to grace the pages of our Literary Review. In addition, there is the play The Horn of Vengeance by Robert F. Bradford, and Tissue Paper Hearts by Natasha Louise Boukouris is just one of twenty incredible poetry submissions Mused receives incredible submissions from all over the world, so if you have been debating whether to submit your work to Mused, I urge you to take a leap of faith and send in your creativity. Mused is currently accepting submissions for the Fall Equinox Mused Literary Review, which will publish in September 2009.

Today however I along with the Mused Editorial Team celebrate you, our readership. We wish to thank you for sharing part of your summer with Mused, for without you, our readers, there would be no celebrating our Summer Solstice Issue.

Erika Lyn Smith
Mused’s Senior Non-Fiction Editor