Contributors - Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review Magazine

<%@ Language=VBScript %> Contributors - Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review Magazine

MUSED

BellaOnline Literary Review

Winter 2010
Volume 4, Issue 4

Contributors

	George W. Baker George and his wife Susan live close to their children and grandchildren in central Illinois. He writes multi-character and multi-transitional rhymes, political rants, sketches, monologues, original music in a mixture of rhyme and free-verse, rhyming-rambles, war poems, multi-voice performance poetry, seasonal poems, and performs his poetry on-stage locally. Audio sample, The Virtuoso: http://www.esnips.com/doc/267819d6-8e76-4309-89d4-db95a30d8e2a/The-Virtuoso---Completed2

	Francine L. Baldwin-Billingslea Francine L. Billingslea is a mother, a grandmother, a breast cancer survivor, and a second-time-around newlywed who has recently found a passion for writing. In the last three years she has won a short story contest and has been published in over twelve anthologies and a magazine. Francine has authored an inspirational memoir titled "Through it all." A portion of the proceeds are donated to breast cancer research. She loves traveling, writing, and spending quality time with her loved ones.

	Clem M. Bascar Clem M. Bascar is a columnist in the Zamboanga Today and Zamboaga Peninsula Journal. He has won First Place, National Poetry Contest jointly sponsored by the PRAMA Foundation, Inc. and the United Nations Information Center in the Philippines (2002). He lives in the Phillipines with his wife, and has three children.

	Sara Basrai Sara Basrai comes from London, but now lives in New York City with her husband, two young children and shelter cat, Nory. She started writing in 2007 when she moved to the USA and hasn´t stopped since. Living abroad has inspired her. Her short stories and poems appear in various print and online publications.

	Mark Berkery Mark was born to itinerant Irish parents which set the scene for a restless life. Like the Gypsy he couldn´t accept the moribund values of a soulless society, what passed for important or posed as spiritual. The resulting roller-coaster of experience and inner conflict eventually gave way to a love of the simple sense of nature that he now lives - the best he can - as a form of meditation. And expresses his ongoing exploration of nature´s spiritual value through his writing and pictures at www.beingmark.com.

	Joaquin Carvel Joaquin Carvel is a Southern California native & resident. His work has appeared most recently in The Smoking Poet, Deuce Coupe, and The Vocabula Review. He enjoys the ocean, wind through an open car window, and writing about himself in the third person. You can find more of his poems at lyricsandmaladies.blogspot.com.

	Christine Catalano Christine is an English major who slipped into publishing by tapping into her artistic muse. She worked as a graphic artist for many years before deciding to try her hand at crafting with words. She still loves to make people think, feel, and wonder.

	Ashton Christie Ashton, 48 lives just south of Austin, in a town where one gets into serious trouble when they snitch their Dad´s cameras. Passions include the Blues, BBQ ~ cooking it and eating it ~ and photography. The photobug took hold of Ashton early in life from the time she was given that Kodak Instamatic and her love for photography has grown from that moment. Ashton loves to travel, whether it´s the US or just exploring the back roads of Texas....looking for BBQ joints and photo opportunities.

	Joanne Cucinello Joanne Cucinello is a poet and writer, who to date has published three books of poetry and an illustrated Children´s Fairytale. Her works include lyric essays and free form poetry, often visionary and insightful. Joanne is a member of the Academy of American Poets and the Society of Children´s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has been published in "Shadows Ink Selected Poems 2008" and “A Splash of Verse 2008" with an Award of Excellence. Site:http://icthebridge-moonspirit.blogspot.com/.

	Anne Dailey Anne Dailey is a retired English teacher who has resumed writing poetry after a hiatus of many years. She is a native Tarheel who loves North Carolina deeply and feels its red clay nurturing her roots. She loves her husband, teaching, Scottie dogs, poetry, growing plants and shiraz ... not all equally. She is planning travel adventures which she will use to fertilize her subconscious.

	Stacey Dye Stacey has a love for words. She is moved by music, inspirational quotes and poetry! Having written everything from journals to ad copy, it wasn’t until 4 years ago that she began to pursue the art of poetry. Her primary focus is the human condition. Stacey lives with her husband Dennis and critters Izzy and Elly. Credits include Camroc Press Review, Touch: The Journal of Healing, Dew on the Kudzu, The Shine Journal, Ribbons and previous issues of Mused. www.stace-onawhim.blogspot.com.

	Yinka Ekundayo Yinka Ekundayo, British born to Nigerian parents currently resides in the UK, a poet and writer this is her first published poem.

	Erwin Fernandez Erwin Fernandez is a Licensed English Teacher in the Philippines. He teaches mostly English, Speech, and Literature subjects. He worked in the call center industry before discovering he was meant to be a teacher. His most precious treasures in the world are his daughter and wife. He is a member of several online writing forums but his home is Wild Poetry Forum (wildpoetryforum.com).

	Genevieve Fitzgerald Genevieve Fitzgerald, originally from New York, now lives in Raleigh, NC. She has a graduate degree in English and is the mother of three children. She is the editor of the annual Sertoma Writers´ and the Meredith College Solstice anthologies, and has poetry and fiction published in Carolina Woman, Fried Fiction, Rivets, Western North Carolina Woman, The Prose-Poem Project, Poets for Living Waters and Third Wednesday. Other of her works can be found at http://stores.lulu.com/gefitzg.

	Teresa Ann Frazee Teresa Ann Frazee has been an artist for over 20 years. She has presented juried, invitational and solo exhibitions in galleries, museums, and other venues with countless awards and honors. Additionally, she has always pursued her other love, writing. Inside her world of make believe she creates what she knows to be true. To view Teresa’s paintings please go to www.frazeefinearts.com (Teresa’s Gallery).

	Brigitte Goetze Brigitte Goetze, biologist, goat farmer, and writer lives in the foothills of Oregon´s Coast Range. She has been published by Oregon Humanities, Quiet Mountain Essays, Outward Link, Four and Twenty, Poets for Living Waters, Calyx, Women Artists Datebook 2011 and others.

	Elizabeth Grant In addition to her poetry, Elizabeth Caldwell Grant is currently working on a children’s book titled Motorhome Adventures, and a hands-on workbook for honoring loss to move forward with life titled, Funerals for Every Occasion. You can check out her blog at http://funerals4everyoccasion.blogspot.com/.

	KJ Hannah Greenberg KJ Hannah Greenberg gave up all manner of academic hoopla to chase a hibernaculum of imaginary hedgehogs and to raise children. After almost two decades of belly dancing, home birthing, herbal medicine making and occasional basket weaving, she dusted off her keyboard and began to churn out smoothies, vegetable soup, and more creative work than might be considered proper for a middle-aged woman. Published in Parenting Express, Poetica Magazine, Poetry Super Highway, and The Mother Magazine.

	Lisa Hodges Lisa is a New Zealander who now lives in Western Canada and it is there that she took up an interest in writing, under the guidance of an online friend who is a published poet. Not only was he instrumental in helping Lisa & her family make the decision to move halfway across the world, he also evidently saw that she had an affinity with words....or as he put it, she suffered from verbal diarrhea and needed an outlet in order to put them all into a legible context!

	Leslie E. Hoffman Leslie Hoffman is a writer, freelance editor of fiction and non-fiction, Editor of PatchworkPath.com, Co-founder of LaudablyTarnished.com: A Poetry Workshop, and landscape photographer--"Hacienda Bridge" featured on The Oprah Show in 2002. Leslie´s poems, short stories, and articles have been published in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and on the Web. More of Leslie´s writing and photography can be viewed at: http://lesliehoffman.blogspot.com.

	Jessica Housand-Weaver Jessica is a freelance and contract writer. She has been published in national literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and online magazines, while managing her professional writing career. She is also an artist, photographer, computer techie, mother, and master dreamer. You can access her web page including a full bio, publication credits, and news/updates at http://www.jessicahousand-weaver.com/.

	Jackie Joice Jackie Joice is the author of the poems entitled Death Is Tailgating, No Detours, No Shortcuts and Root Woman (For Sunshine), the fiction entitled Sketches and the non-fictions entitled Exploring Tidepools With Girlfriends, Lizard Medicine and The Smell of Success.

	Kim Kenney Kim Kenney is a professional writer and curator. Her hobbies include cooking, practicing yoga, cross stitching, going to car shows and dabbling in photography. Kim´s fiction, non-fiction and photography have appeared in past issues of Mused. She is the Museums Editor at BellaOnline. Her photo of her kitten "KitKat" was taken on the day she came home, when she was just 10 weeks old. "Fairy Door" captures an enchanted doorway at Kim´s favorite place on earth -- Mackinac Island!

	Kat Kiddles Katherine Pisana is a writer and educator. Her work spans across many genres ranging from academic and business writing to short story and philosophic reflection. Managing Editor of Virtually Scholastic and The Uncustomary Book Review, as well as staff writer for literary and photography magazines, she transforms her voices to suit an audience broad in scope and rich in substance. Also working as an educational consultant, she specializes in the development of online and distance learning programs.

	Gregory A. Kompes Las Vegas Psychic Intuitive Gregory A. Kompes is a bestselling author, teacher, speaker, and coach. Founder of Your Psychic Journey, scribe for The Three Sisters, and co-founder of the Patchwork Path Book series, Gregory holds a BA in English literature from Columbia University, NY, and an MS Ed. from California State University, East Bay. Visit him online at www.YourPsychicJourney.com.

	Melissa Lamkin Melissa is a folklorist, artist and occasional storyteller who currently lives and works in China. She is overly ambitious with language learning and has a passion for capturing the changing face of modern Asia with whatever tool she has to hand - be it film, paint or pen. She lives with a bossy Standard Poodle named Sushi, and a formerly-stray cat named Garbage.

	Mallory Alexa Leonard Mallory writes both poetry and plays, knowing very well that she will never make a living from them no matter how much she might wish she could. Her poetry has been published in the Lee Review, the Blue Route, and WritingRaw. Her plays have been produced in two festivals. She is currently the editor of the Lee Review, and, in addition to writing, she enjoys drinking tea and cooking vegetarian food.

	Karen Levy Karen Levy is an American-Israeli writer who came of age in two languages. Excerpts of her memoir My Father´s Gardens appear in George Mason University´s literary journal "So to Speak" as well as in "The Blue Moon Literary & Art Review." Levy teaches writing at CSUS and enjoys traveling between the two countries she calls home.

	Stephanie Arwen Lynch Arwen also writes paranormal romance as Marilu Mann. She is the current president of the American Tarot Association. Writing since she was old enough to realize verbs and nouns created word pictures, Arwen uses poetry as a creative opener when she is stuck. As Marilu Mann, she is celebrating her seventh release, "Sex And Trouble." Visit Marilu at http://www.greatmta.com Seek joy, y´all.

	Coral Kelly McCree Coral Kelly McCree graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia with a BS in Biomedical Science and a minor in English. She has published nonfiction in the The Prism Literary Magazine of Lynchburg College and a research piece in the Journal of Microbiological Methods. Coral works as a Home Healthcare Clinical Sales Liaison in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and is currently working on her first memoir.

	Ida Mickle Ida Mickle lives on the island of Kauai. Having grown up near the beach she has always had an intense love of the ocean and natural environment. She knew that she loved art from a very early age, using the ocean, animals, and nature as her favorite subjects. She has worked in many mediums over the years. Today Ida´s favorite medium is oils which she uses to capture the colors and vibrancy of her beautiful island surroundings. Her favorite subjects are seascapes, landscapes, and botanicals.

	Pravin Nair Pravin Nair is an avid blogger and poet who has got his debut collection of poems "Beyond" published. A brand researcher by profession, he is into writing poems, short stories and anything that ups his ante.Apart from writing, he enjoys chess, music, vodka, books and interacting with people. You could pay him a visit at his blog ´A verse case scenario´ at www.versepoems.com.

	Ben Nardolilli Benjamin Nardolilli is a twenty five year old writer currently living in Montclair, New Jersey. His work has appeared previously in Nurit Magazine, Penman Lounge, Word Slaw, The Eloquent Atheist, Houston Literary Review, Black Words On White Paper Magazine, Canopic Jar, Lachryma: Modern Songs of Lament, and Clutching At Straws. He also maintains a blog at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com.

	Heather Parker Heather Parker lives in the Lakes with several pets and a husband. She was recently awarded the Benjamin Franklin House/Daily Telegraph Literary Prize. Her stories appear in many popular magazines and her novel, Middlewitch, was published last year with a sequel due soon. Stories also appear in anthologies including Out of Line Peace and Justice, Hoi Polloi 111 Literary Journal, Bridge House Publishing Anthology and the worthy 50 Stories for Pakistan. http://www.heatherparker.co.uk.

	Lynn Pinkerton Lynn Pinkerton is a freelance writer who knew in the fifth grade that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Sidetracked by careers in social services and special events marketing, Lynn eventually reclaimed her childhood aspiration, joined a writing group and began publishing. In addition to other publications, her work has recently appeared in The Path and The Porch Swing anthologies, New Southerner and The Shine Journal. She lives in Houston, Texas.

	Ingela Richardson Ingela Richardson lives with her daughter at the coast where gale force winds blow the whales past their window. When she is not doing homework, she herds cats and dogs and burns the dinner. She is an ex-teacher, ex-journalist and current freelance writer. You are welcome to visit her blogsite at www.storywishes.blogspot.com and make a story wish. This site is suitable for all humans, including grannies!

	Maury Schulman Maury Schulman is passionate about nature photography and is outside with his camera whenever he isn´t teaching 7th grade science. A housefire displaced him from Fairbanks, Alaska and he landed in Tucson, Arizona (from one extreme to another). He lives with his wife Sherry, but has unleashed his children on the rest of the world in Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon.

	Donna Sciandra Donna has always been adventurous and loved to travel. She spent two years in Jamaica (as a teacher trainer in Kingston) and five years in the Solomon Islands on Guadalcanal (as a Community Developer in a rain forest living in a leaf house) with the Peace Corps. Donna is now a retired elementary school teacher who is enjoying her “free” time traveling and photographing North America.

	Bob See Bob See has been actively interested in photography for many years. He enjoys taking images of air shows, wildlife, and landscapes. The camera used for all photos in this issue of Mused was a Canon 40D. Bob can be reached at his golfing site at http://enjoyma.com/golf/.

	Lisa Shea Born in Maryland, Lisa Shea has been contentedly nestled in the rolling hills and mossy forests of Massachusetts for the past fifteen years. She is drawn to the ocean and cherishes quiet evenings as the orange glow of sunset glistens across wooden docks. Lisa relishes the challenge of conveying meaning and memorable characters in a measured bounding of time and space. Her stories, poems, and images celebrate natural beauty and serenity. Enjoy thousands of her photos at http://www.lisashea.com.

	Bhavika Sicka Bhavika Sicka is pursuing a Bachelor´s Degree in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, India. She is passionate about literature, and writes because she loves to. In addition to writing, she is an ardent lover of music. When she isn´t busy with her college assignments and her rock band, she enjoys blogging.

	Jessica F. Smith Jessica Smith is a born traveler, and has spent the last several years exploring life in various countries throughout three continents. Every experience- be it fun, exciting, strange or somber- inspires her to continue writing. Currently the BellaOnline Poetry Editor, she adores poetry of all forms, with a particular fondness for e. e. cummings. At the moment she lives in Shanghai, China, where she works as Managing Editor for a quarterly magazine. Read her blog at http://antiscian.wordpress.com.

	Robert Spiegel Robert Spiegel is a journalist who also writes poetry and fiction. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, from Rolling Stone to True Confessions.

	Sandra Staas Sandra grew up in Scotland, then later moved to Spain where she resided for many years. She taught Spanish as adjunct faculty for several years in Pennsylvania. She has been published in New Hope International,two Sandberg-Livesay Anthologies, Innisfree, Powder Room Graffiti, Mused Literary Journal, Boomer Cafe, and other small magazines. One of her short stories will be published soon at The Weeder´s Digest. She blogs at www.sandrastaas.blogspot.com.

	Charity C. Tran Charity C. Tran is a Los Angeles native who frequents public transit, arts, and culture. A graduate of USC´s Master of Professional Writing Program, she has published in Mused, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, and the national journal Main Street News. She recently gained Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train´s Short Fiction Award. In addition to writing stories, Ms. Tran is a singer/songwriter and by day, a web manager. For more information, visit http://www.charitytran.com.

	Leslie Tribolet Leslie Tribolet lives on Kauai with her husband and animals. She studied at Santa Barbara Art Institute back in the 70’s concentrating on pencil portraits. She was introduced to the Genesis Heat Set Paints in 2007 and loved them because they are dried with heat, which speeds up the process of portrait painting. She has always been drawn to faces, so she decided to try her hand at painting them with Genesis with some good results. She hopes you enjoy what she does whether faces or fruit.

	Helen I. Turner Helen Turner is a pastel painter from the small tropical island of Kauai in the deep blue Pacific. She is a signature member of the Pastel Artists of Hawaii, and also a member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, and her work is collected by visitors and locals alike. Helen´s work encompasses the landscapes of Hawaii, the people enjoying it, and anything she finds a challenge to her medium. You can find her work on line at www.helenturner.com.

	Pat Tyrer Pat Tyrer is a writer, feminist, wife, mother, and Associate Professor of English at West Texas A&M University where she teaches American Literature, Film Studies, and Creative Writing. Born in Iowa, she lived in Illinois and California before permanently relocating to Texas. She is an amateur bird watcher and watercolorist, and in her quiet time does needlework. She has published in The Southern Literary Journal, The Houston Literary Review, and Quiet Mountain Feminist Essays among others.

	John Tzikas John Tzikas is a Toronto based poet and lyricist. By day he is a mild mannered salesperson. He studied History at the University of Guelph Canada and Bachelor´s of Education at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Canada. His work has appeared in Ditch Magazine, Quills, Long Story Short, MidWest Literary Magazine, P&W and Word Catalyst to name a few. John performs readings in coffee houses when they are available. In his spare time he cooks, works out daily and of course he writes poetry.

	Holly Van Leuven Holly Van Leuven resides in Boston, MA. She is pursuing a B.F.A. at Emerson College. In addition to literary fiction, Holly writes creative non-fiction and (formal) poetry. At the age of 18, she received her first international publishing credit when the Eclectic Muse published two of her sonnets in the Christmas 2009 issue. She is currently organizing a literary trip to Europe. To learn more about her zany adventures or her affinity for Charles Dickens, please email.

	Jane Butkin Wagner Jane Butkin Wagner has lived in Houston for over thirty years. She also occasionally lives in Oslo where her new husband currently works. Jane´s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Pearl, Spillway, Red Wheelbarrow, Owen Wister Review, Jewish Women´s Literary Annual, and Rattle. Under the name Jane Butkin Roth, Jane edited an anthology of poetry on divorce, We Used To Be Wives: Divorce Unveiled Through Poetry, published in 2002 by Fithian Press.

	Ann Waller Making her first ocean voyage at the age of five, Ann is an inveterate traveler. Her wanderlust has taken her to various parts of the U.S., Canada, both coasts of Mexico, the islands of the Caribbean, England, France, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Monaco, Croatia, Montenegro, China, Hong Kong, and Ukraine. She has a particular fondness for Italy and has returned at least a dozen times to explore the country from the tip of the Alps to the southern shores of Sicily.

	KJ Ward KJ Ward is a Celtic artist interested in the art that donned the life of England’s kings and queens, including the details in the elaborate clothing. KJ prefers acrylics, gouache and ink along with using 23k gold and copper leaf. Her passion for the genre of ancient manuscripts of Ireland ignited a "symbolic fire" for learning the traditional ways of the illuminators and scribes. This along with the love of Jesus as her savior is reflected in her work. View her work at www.CelticVine.com.

	Tammy Winand Tammy Winand was born and raised in York, PA. Her interest in an artistic career developed during junior high school with a passion for writing and has since turned to focus on visual arts. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in several literary magazines. Since 1989 she has focused on travel photography, ethnic~inspired jewelry, acrylic landscape and abstract paintings, and mixed media work. Tammy´s major influences are religious history and man´s interaction with nature.

	Changming Yuan Changming Yuan, author of Chansons of a Chinaman (2009) and Politics and Poetics (2009), is a two-time Pushcart nominee who grew up in a remote village and published several books before emigrating out of China. Currently Yuan works in Vancouver and has had poetry appearing in Barrow Street, dotdotdash, Best Canadian Poetry, London Magazine, Poetry Salzburg Review, Southern Ocean Review and more than 300 other literary publications worldwide.

	Jody Zolli Jody Zolli has enjoyed writing poetry since she was seven. Poetry runs in the family, though, as both her mother and grandmother wrote poetry, and had a knack for doggerel verse. Jody has enjoyed being a technical writer for twenty five years, and feels it is the perfect marriage between creative writing and engineering.

Jaguarita Jaguarita, which means little Jaguar is the pen name for budding writer, Teresa Maijala. She writes poetry, and short stories from her home in the Texas Hill country. Teresa is also an Acupuncturist and radio producer in the deliciously eccentric city of Austin.

Ann McDermott Ann McDermott loves where she lives, the Sonoran Desert. That is her inspiration for the fables she writes and shares. She believes strongly that myth and fable have the power to heal the human psyche and connect people to the environment at levels beyond the conscious mind. That connection is what saves us and our world.

Carl Palmer Carl Palmer is the author of the poem Waiting.

Beth Weiner Beth Weiner and Reid Gilmore are both biologists who do woodturning as a hobby. They work together on segmented projects in addition to turning individual pieces. They have been woodturning for about eight years. Reid was born and raised in New Mexico and that has influenced the design of the two bowls presented here. More of their work can be seen at www.moonhillwoodart.com.

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