Don’t Box Me In

I understand you. The unlucky, the unwanted, the misfits, the downtrodden. The middles, the lower class, the majority. I have been the underdog, the stigma, and the less desirable. I have been locked up, and it the lowest, most terrifying depths of despair. I have been locked up for my Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

Someone Like Me

If you think having a role model and seeing people who are like you when you are growing up is not essential, you are wrong. The power of the media is strong and whatever the message is you receive when you grow up is the one that can either help Read more

Dr. Dannii Cohen

Dannii Cohen is a former stand-up comedian and comedy writer turned author, psychologist, professional counselor, life coach and self-help expert. She is specialized in LGBT issues, anxiety, women’s issues, female empowerment, and bullying. Dannii is an agony aunt for The Gay UK. Her books; When Clouds Hide The Sun, Christopher The Lonely Bear and 50 Things To Know To Have A Better Life, are all on Amazon.

#InStarbucksWhileBlack

Enough. Just enough. Last week’s news of two African American men being arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks for the heinous crime of waiting for friends is bringing race, bias, and #BlackLivesMatter to a sickening new low. If you haven’t heard the story, this is what happened. A zealous Starbucks manager 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.

Political Peace No. 2

Within a country once so proud, respect and morals have fallen to the ground. Wayward children runaround, their lack of respect the new age playground. Once upon a time, sounds like the beginning of a children’s nursery rhyme, so I will spare you of your time, to forget again no Read more

Valerie Vaughn

Valerie Vaughn is a poet, writer, and author. A native of central Pennsylvania, she received her Bachelor's of Arts in History from Mary Baldwin College. She is a contributor to Poets Unlimited, Crossing Genres, and Extra Newsfeed at Medium. Her works appear in narratorINTERNATIONAL Anthologies Volumes 2 and 3, where she is an Editor's Pick Recipient.

The Heart Of Democracy

There’s an ancient Chinese curse that states, “May you live in interesting times” I don’t really know if this saying is ancient, and I am not even certain that it’s Chinese but the past 222 days that President Trump has been in office have made me fully understand why this Read more

Jillian Green DiGiacomo

Jillian Green DiGiacomo an American writer living in America. Sometimes she writes all the time. Sometimes not so much. Her award-winning novel, Codename Cupcake is a hilarious satire about motherhood, espionage, and the PTA. This work has been widely read by every member of her mother’s bridge club. In her free time, she pretends to be very busy so no one asks her to volunteer for anything.

The March on Washington

“Call her.” Bo steers their late model Buick into the dirt driveway with one hand and flicks her Camel out the window with the other hand. “Regina worshiped President Kennedy. She won’t refuse a call today. Someone dies, you want a phone call.” It’s Bo’s week to chauffeur herself and Read more

Sally Bellerose

In her writing, Sally Bellerose loves to mess with rhythm, rhyme, and awkward emotion. Bellerose writes about class, sex, sexuality, gender, illness, absurdity, and lately, growing old. Her novel The Girls Club, Bywater Books, won many awards including an NEA Fellowship. Her poetry has been widely published and is featured in Lady Business, Sibling Rivalry Press. Bellerose’s current project, a book titled Fishwives, features old women behaving badly.

The Weight of Being a Woman

As I sit here six months pregnant, I ponder about my life and what my existence has become. So many women have told me how beautiful the gift of life is, and “just wait until you look at your baby for the first time,” how magical it will be. It’s Read more

Hannah Forkel-Matte

Hannah Forkel-Matte is a writer and legal assistant in Evansville, Indiana. She graduated in 2014, with her Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Southern Indiana. She mainly writes to share her experiences through non-fiction work, but also dabbles in fiction when a solid idea strikes.

7 Things That Will Help You Survive The Trump Era

As I am writing this, we are, as a nation, now well entrenched in the national nightmare and international embarrassment otherwise known as the presidency of Donald Trump. Soon after his election, I began writing down daily reminders of specific actions that I can do to help myself psychologically, spiritually Read more

John Michael Antonio

John Michael Antonio is a freelance writer, photographer, poet and screenwriter. He claims his Midwestern roots while at the same time admitting his incurable and insatiable love and addiction for all things New York City. He has been the husband to his wife, the love of his life, for almost thirty years and is a father of three wonderful children. He is an unapologetic male feminist as well as a passionate lover of fashion, art, movies and music from all eras and genres. An endless dreamer, John Michael is also an avid historian, ex-punk rocker and a legendary Internet surfer who sleeps, on average, about four hours a day. His work has also been featured on The Good Men Project.