Strangers at Birth

My mother wasn’t much of one. If you put aside the fact that she abandoned me, in the winter, less than twenty-four hours after I entered the world, then the note she left propped on my thin yellow cotton blanket said it all: Take her. I can’t do this. I Read more

Cate Carlyle

Cate Carlyle is a librarian and the author of two young adult novels and a library reference book. Her short story “The Brothers” was shortlisted in the WFNS Nova Writes competition. Cate lives in Nova Scotia with her partner and supportive first-reader Bruce and their fur baby, Zoey.

The First Time I Saw My Baby Sleeping

The first time I saw my baby sleeping was on Highway 89 halfway between Lake Tahoe and Truckee. His head was slightly tipped back and he was breathing so quietly I had to strain to catch every breath. My view of him was from the front seat of my Jeep 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.

A Hollywood Mystery: I was a Black Market Baby

I learned I was a black market baby when I was 14. There was no legal adoption, and it’s still unclear if money had changed hands. The parents who took possession of me changed my identity and pretended to be my biological parents. The deception was deliberate and deep. It Read more

B. Janine Morison

Janine holds a BA cum laude in History from USC, a Professional Certificate in Feature Film Writing from UCLAx, earned with distinction, and an AA with honors in physical science/geology from Pasadena City College. She wrote a bi-weekly newspaper column called "Cyber Culture" about the Internet and culture. Janine worked in radio as a daily on-air announcer in San Francisco and a stringer for ABC radio, interviewing Major League Baseball players and managers. She has extensive journalism skills and wrote PSA’s and commercials for radio and appeared in an Air France print ad with Gene Kelly. Janine has worked in all areas of film/TV production. Along with her love of film/TV/music, Janine has a passion for science and interviewed Nobel Prize winner, Richard Feynman just prior to his death. Fascinated with technology, Janine worked at NASA/JPL as a computer tech for two unmanned spacecraft missions and a military war games simulation project. Recently, Janine completed a feature film action adventure script, Stormstoppers and developed a documentary about Keith Moon, drummer for “The Who.”

Unborn

Maja’s hair was a black curtain. Like a child, she imagined it protected her as she sat on the train, her hand cupped over her stomach. For the first few months, she had spent most of her time prone on her bed, the pillow damp. She prayed to the Virgin, Read more

Kate Murdoch

Kate exhibited widely as a painter before turning her hand to writing. In between writing historical fiction, she enjoys writing short stories and flash fiction. Her stories have appeared in Eunoia Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, The Flash Fiction Press, Spelk Fiction, Sick Lit Magazine, Ink In Thirds magazine, Visible Ink, Firefly Magazine and Twisted Sister Lit Mag.

The Nature of Love and Understanding

When my daughter, Eden, was in preschool, she had a playdate at our house with a fellow classmate. I vividly remember preparing a snack for them as they sat at a nearby table coloring and talking. At one point, Peyton looked at my daughter and asked her, “Eden, do you Read more

Christine Watkins Davies

Christine Watkins Davies is a writer, wife, mother, and integral life and executive coach. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wife and daughter and a slew of pets. She is an advocate for gay rights and adoption, however, as a raging introvert, she prefers to write about such things instead of screaming at rallies.

I Remember this Feeling

I was nine when they drove away from my foster home. First, my parents. Then, four years later, my grandparents. Finally, it was me in the car, with my new mom, on my way to my new life. I was terrified into stillness. I was ten when a handwritten letter Read more

Renee DeMont

Renee DeMont is a SURVIVOR. She was born into poverty; spent much of her childhood homeless, living on the streets of Los Angeles, and in foster care. Renee learned early on: life is about adapting to adversity. The greatest gift she ever received? No one expected anything from her. By 18, she was ready to experience life on her own terms. First one in her family to attend college. After college, her focus and determination earned her a spot working at Paramount Studios, on the #1 show in television, "Cheers". At 29, Renee gave entrepreneurship a go and began a Biomedical engineering business out of her garage. Twenty years later, that risky venture grew into 8,000 square feet of success. She broke the cycle of poverty that plagued her family for generations. Recently, Renee turned fifty, filed for divorce (he declared WAR), and trudged through a debilitating nervous breakdown. Through therapy and writing, she reclaimed her sanity. Sold her half of the business to the ex, and now she has clarity and choices. Renee is personally and financially independent. With her new found freedom, she chooses to write in a sincere effort to reconcile her past with her present. Hopefully, through this cathartic process, the second half of her life will be led by her soul's desire, rather than by the fears and doubts of her first half. Currently, she lives in South Orange County with her teenage son and daughter, and her high maintenance yet lovable dog, Joe. Soon to be an empty nester, she plans to downsize the big house in the OC bubble, for a bigger life in the real world. Her days are spent gently launching her almost grown children into adulthood, and passionately penning her memoir. In the mean time, you can find her essays on pain, positivity, and empowerment at: onedropofgrace.blogspot.com