Category: Featured

Every Other Thursday

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Vrenios

I we meet, and I dash across the room at his knock to open and feel the heat of his body engulf me like a blaze in my own galaxy. He runs his rough tongue over my salty skin all of its parts, sunburnt and scarred, and I crackle and Read more

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Vrenios

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Vrenios’ poetry has appeared in Clementine, Silver Birch Press, Kentucky Review, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable and Silkworm, in forthcoming issues of Edison Literary Review, Crack the Spine, Poeming Pidgeon and Unsplendid. She co-wrote the book Party Line under the name Elizabeth Kirkpatrick. She has studied with Judith Harris, Gloria Boyer, Hailey Leithauser, Sue Ellen Thompson and Alexandra Van de Kamp. Elizabeth is a professor emerita from American University in Washington DC, having chaired the vocal and music departments. Vrenios’ solo recitals throughout the United States, South America, Scandinavia, Japan and Europe have been acclaimed, and as the artistic director of the Redwoods Opera Workshop in Mendocino, California, and the Crittenden Opera Workshop in Washington D.C. and Boston, she has influenced and trained students across the country. She is a member of the international Who’s Who of Musicians, and is the past National President of the National Opera Association.

Living the Lie of Domestic Tranquility

Jessica Abrams

In retrospect I realize that my not having a boyfriend for all those years had given me a deep sense of failure. Not just failure, but a feeling of being flawed in some basic human way. I knew I was attractive, but nonetheless felt un-womanly, like I was lacking a Read more

Jessica Abrams

Like her character Louise Bice in KNOCKING ON DOORS (www.knocking-on-doors.com) Jessica Abrams is a writer-slash-actress-slash-dog-walker-slash-contributor-to-an-obscure-dance-blog (although truth be told, ExploreDance.com is neither obscure nor a blog). Also like Louise, she had a stint working for the government as a field interviewer, an experience that proved to be creatively fruitful, inspiring IN TRAINING, the stories published here, and KNOCKING ON DOORS, the web series she wrote, directed and stars in. Her plays have had productions and readings in various Los Angeles venues, with “The Laughing Cow” receiving Pick of The Week by LA Weekly. She is thrilled to be a part of this amazing network of talented women.

Catholic Girls

Dori Owen

They showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away But they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done… —Billy Joel, “Only the Good Die Young” My parents might have had a better Read more

Dori Owen

Dori Owen is a storyteller, writing from small town Arizona, after living a few decades in California as an LA Wild Child, with a brief stop in Reno. She settled into grownup life as a project manager, collecting an MBA and a few husbands along the way. She is a shown artist and her favorite pastime is upcycling old furniture and decor she finds from thrift stores. She lives with the cat who came to visit but stayed. The love of her life is her grown son who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her essays and poems have been published in RAW&UNFILTERED VOL I, StigmaFighters Vol 2, and Love Notes From Humanity. Her blogs have been featured on The Lithium Chronicles, Open Thought Vortex, Sudden Denouement, and The Mighty.

I Saw a Schizophrenic Struggling, and I Did Nothing to Help Him

Allie Burke

I have a local hang out spot that I frequent more than a few times a week, which is located across the street from a county hospital which includes a mental health ward. Between that and the homeless people who to occupy the small South Bay town, there are some Read more

Allie Burke

Allie Burke is a bestselling author, magazine editor, and mental health advocate. She lives in Los Angeles.

Lalochezia: Emotional Relief Gained by Swearing

Shanna DeMott

The phone won’t stop ringing. First, it was a call from the dentist. Then my daughter’s doctor confirming her appointment on Monday. Then work. Then work again. I’m on deadline and trying to get the software to stop crashing every time I try to save one of my edits. The Read more

Shanna DeMott

Shanna Sabet-DeMott is a freelance writer living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her husband George DeMott, sings Italian arias in the shower, and Pop-Opera around the world. She has an 11-year old daughter who has survived 3 brain surgeries, and who has shown her Mama the meaning of bravery at every turn. She is a lover of telling stories about food and life on her blogs, eatingoutvegas.com and stumblingbeauty.com.

My Escape from Genoa, the City of Sin

Jessica Abrams

I filed the train statement away and after the show that night—at four-thirty in the morning—loaded my suitcases into the van with everyone else’s and then nodded off as we sped toward this alleged city of sin. We arrived just as the sun was coming up over the hills; and Read more

Jessica Abrams

Like her character Louise Bice in KNOCKING ON DOORS (www.knocking-on-doors.com) Jessica Abrams is a writer-slash-actress-slash-dog-walker-slash-contributor-to-an-obscure-dance-blog (although truth be told, ExploreDance.com is neither obscure nor a blog). Also like Louise, she had a stint working for the government as a field interviewer, an experience that proved to be creatively fruitful, inspiring IN TRAINING, the stories published here, and KNOCKING ON DOORS, the web series she wrote, directed and stars in. Her plays have had productions and readings in various Los Angeles venues, with “The Laughing Cow” receiving Pick of The Week by LA Weekly. She is thrilled to be a part of this amazing network of talented women.

Get Help, Move On

Suzy Favor Hamilton

“Get help, move on,” the words on Twitter from the editor of a fairly well known running publication. A friend pointed it out to me several weeks after it was written. I get words of hate and ignorance sent to me fairly often, so ordinarily, no big deal. I’ve developed Read more

Suzy Favor Hamilton

Author, of "Fast Girl – A Life Spent Running From Madness" a New York Times Best Seller. The book follows Suzy’s path from child phenomenon runner to Olympian, and then her struggles with life after running and an eventual year in Las Vegas as a high-end escort. After Suzy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, her entire life makes sense and recovery to a life of contentment begins. Suzy is also a Public Speaker. Her topics vary, ranging from her experience with bipolar disorder, the avoiding the pitfalls of running, eating disorders & body image issues, and the motivational angle of rising from rock bottom. Her athletic career is remarkable: U.S. Olympian - 3 U.S. National Championships - 7 Former U.S. Record Holder at 1000m Former U.S. Indoor Record Holder at 800m Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist, ‘98 Fifth at 2002 World Cross-Country Championships - Best ever finish by U.S. Woman at World XC Championships (short course) 5 sub-4’s, including 5 of the 9 fastest times ever run by an American Only American Woman to ever have the fastest seasonal 1500m time in the world USA Track & Field Distance Runner of the Year, ‘00 Suzy has been featured in national ads for Nike, Reebok, Pert Plus Shampoo, Nordic Track, Clairol, Oakley, Kikkoman Foods, and Viactiv. She has been featured in magazines such as People, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, Harper’s Bazaar, Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated & Outside Magazine and was featured on ABC’s 20/20 in September 2015. Her interests include running, of course, yoga, barre, cycling artwork, riding roller coasters and traveling. Suzy is married to Mark Hamilton and the couple has a 10-year-old daughter, Kylie.