Content: love

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Kiel Thrice-Loved faces tragedy and pain . . . In this world "Magic" is referred to using variations of "Harmony" and "Loves" are Elemental "Magic." This is not a stand-alone short story. This is part 2 of a long short story or "novelette."

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Finding a fat acorn.

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This is meant to be one short piece of flash fiction comprised of 7 short flash pieces that stand on their own as individual stories. It's an experiment I decided to try and I'm very interested to know if you think that it's effective. What would you change in terms of how these stories are presented, the order they are presented, and the 7 themes that create the story. Also, do you feel that each flash piece presents a stand-on-its-own story while also playing into the larger story well? Any feedback is welcome. Thanks.

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Become what you detest most (meant in humour. Maybe).

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This piece looks at the two-sided coins of sorrow, beauty and love; one side of the coin, blessing, the other side, burden.

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My journey into the world of writing how one person inspired and lit the fire but also snuffed the flame. Finding my voice Listening harder, watching closer, feeling textures emotionally reaching hope thanksgiving for help on site. Comparing work and seeing if improving. Open and honest opinions as am taking this seriously and honestly due to a reviewer and his courage to point out the flaws.

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Struck by a bout of autobiography. Is there a market for this sappy stuff? If so, please give directions. Thanks.

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Here is my entry to This I believe for Ellie's challenge. I am looking for any feedback especially about the title (stumped on this one) and I'm not quite sure about the adage at the end. Is that how it goes?

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This is the story of a little boy who refused to give up on his father. In a journey of hope that sweeps across five wars, two continents, and seven generations, one man has 320 days to see his life through a child's eyes - and change history.

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One of the writing I did for the college's fiction magazine about The Polar Bear searching for The Northern lights when it went missing from the arctic. I would like people to look at the grammatical error and meaning in this story, for I would like to if my message was being carried well to the readers or not.

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Summary: When his puppy died at the hand of 'Death', Hunz leaves his home in search of someone who could mend his wounded heart. A/N: This is my rough revision thus far.The story was intended for young adult and 10+ audience. I'm still looking for one to two more reviews on story and grammar before I can make another revision. Thank you for your help. I'm really appreciate it. Nasp Semeku, Frolicing under the moon.

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My first novel attempt. This is about a woman transformed into a werewolf against her will. Tess has to find her way in a world where none of the rules are clear to her. She makes mistkes that risk both her and her younger sister's life. One of her mistakes takes the form of a rogue werewolf who she accidently entices into a mating dance. Plus, those that transformed her seek her for capture and study. She'll have to learn to embrace her animal or be destroyed by it. At this point, I just want to know if the story is compelling. Do the characters work? Do you want to read more?

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Is this generic? I am exploring religion and trying to figure out what I think. This is one of the darker ones.

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Is the verb tense right? This is about when something happens that you don't expect that changes everything and it is so much better because it is unexpected.

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Luca’s Lament is a novel about two lifelong buddies, Tim O’Neill and Luca DiAngelo. For the most part, the story plays itself out in the Bronx’s Belmont neighborhood, also known as Little Italy. There, they first meet on the streets as young teens in the early decade of the Sixties - two very different personalities from two very different families. “La Famiglia”, too, is an essential element in the story. For Luca, it is the tie that binds, and for Tim, supports and assists, in both men’s attempts to achieve their versions of the American Dream. Yes, the Mob is alive and well in the plot, but not central to what most concerns the story - the meaning of friendship and loyalty, and sometimes, its heavy price. There is humor and laughter, as well, and of course, there is a woman, Alicia Almeida, an immigrant from Brazil. The syncopated beat and rhythm of her life sambas across the path of both men, intriguing the one and overwhelming the other. She arrives on our shores in search of her American Dream, much like those earlier generations who tramped through the corridors of Ellis Island. Unlike them, the flavors of Alicia's American Dream differ greatly, though the struggles and uncertainties of a new immigrant in a new world are much the same. Enjoy - R A Keen

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Hi there and thanks for reading my story. This is my first post so...deep breathe, here I go. I started this a couple of years ago and recently have resurrected it. It starts in a regression and I am not sure that is working out. It may be a bit confusing. But you will read for yourself. It is a story of a young couple facing a loss and how they handled it. It is incomplete and was started as a short story but is turning in to a novel. This is chapter 1. I welcome all well intentioned advice. Thanks!

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19-year-old Eva has a boyfriend back home in Oregon, but what American girl can resist a Scottish accent? Romancing an Edinburgh barkeep while working abroad, she knows she's taking risks. What she doesn't expect is the third guy entering the picture: a sarcastic fellow traveler who discovers her secret and becomes her unlikely confidante. Meanwhile her best friend scares herself witless ghost-hunting in Edinburgh's medieval streets, and Eva's boyfriend gets it into his head to come visit without advance warning. It will be a miracle if Eva can leave Scotland with all her relationships, and her sanity, intact.

Types of feedback? Any! I'm still tinkering with this story, but hope to get it posted this year and shape it into the type of Young Adult novel that adults enjoy too.

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I went to a workshop, and meet this young woman. She is from Puerto Rice and has not yet master English Writing skills. As I was sitting in the workshop feeling out of place I began to wonder where I belonged. Then we were given an assignment to write an outline for our essays. I noticed right away the young woman seemed to be having difficulty getting started. Something that seems so natural to me as a writer is rather difficult for her. I asked if I could help, and she said yes, please. I asked her a few questions to help her get started then about 1/2 way through the outline she suddenly took off and ran with the assignment. The workshop was on service learning. When I walked in the door I had no idea what I was up for. By the end I had received much more than I had given.

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A poem of someone who tries to show their love in in hidden gestures.

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Here's another experiment in form. I hope you like it.

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This is a true story of one of my many experiences of God's Angels. This is about an 8week old little baby girl I was caring for who died of SIDS in my care. I was with her when the Angels came to take her home. On feedback: I have many stories like this one or similar in nature, I would like to compile them, please help me with my descriptiveness or lack of, etc., any help is greatly appreciated. this is a VERY rough draft.

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Sam Tabor is a bright child with a promising future, but when her alcoholic mother gets a new boyfriend, her world starts to fall apart piece by piece. Sam hits the streets and stumbles into The Mercury Diner, where she’s told by a kind waitress to seek out a man by the name of Bruno, who can be found in The Jungle. After years in The Jungle, Bruno’s business partner calls in a debt. Sam’s world crumbles again, but a man with multiple identities intercedes on her behalf, and believes the young girl will be safeguarded in a maximum security prison. Out of jail, Sam is offered a safe place to live, but is she really freed from her past, and danger?

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Stanza three--is the last line workable? Is it too much alliteration? This is a play on the idea of the Tinman.

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REVISED--This is about how love is the social lubricant of a relationship...and how you want what you want and you can't change that.

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Something wrote forty years ago and tucked in a bible. It is crude as just wanted to release pain and disappointment once again at unreturned love. I am not going to edit it or change it's form as this was who I was then and to change it would lose something of me!

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Barry faces his truth.

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This is just an observation of a picture of my son,his wife and my grandson. Her gaze is hypnotic and you just want to know what she is thinking. Just want feedback on how it reads, is it clear, am I doing any better with punctuation!!!

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Bronte a fiercely independent woman who, in her early thirties, is unsure that the life she has lead up until now is one that is built upon truth. Through a series of events and the continuous unfolding of a lifelong mystery she comes to learn things about herself, her family and love that she was never inclined to delve into before. I'm looking for all type of feedback. If you think it I'd love to hear it!

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Oh no! Another romance novel from a lady that can't finish the first one she started. This is my NaNo project and I will admit right now that it's raw and has no editing. I'm going with the flow and writing it before editing, or I'm afraid I'll get too hard on myself and abandon it. All crit toward what I need to edit will be very much appreciated. Allison Crawford is a waitress living the simple life, always pushing her dreams to the side. When a tradgedy throws Lane Bishop into her life, nothing will ever be the same.

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This is a completed story. A Gypsy Among Gypsies is the story of my nomadic adolescence, living by my wits in the age of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. While American youth were growing their hair, experimenting with psychotropic drugs and protesting the Vietnam War, I was running for my life to Alaska, hoping to outdistance my troubled past and vanquish the demons in my head. I knew my past was dark, but I did not know it all. The storyline is a progressive quest for adventure, self-discovery, and enlightenment with more twists and turns than a Texas sidewinder: from a six-month cruise in the Caribbean to a county jail in California; from a cabin in the Sierra Nevada to a remote river camp in the Trinity Mountains; from the Aleutian Islands to Hawaii. Wrapped in a riddle with psychological and paranormal overtones, the story embodies the adolescent spirit of romance, rebellion and idealism, and celebrates the contention that given even less than half a chance, life not only endures...it prevails.

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This flash fiction pieced uses a list format, specifically a pseudo-outline to tell a story. Does this format work for you?

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Apologies to an ethereal angel. I couldn't help myself.

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This is something I need to do since I can not say the words to the persons face. It a very, serious poem.

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This is a story about a couple searching for the love that once existed in their marriage. They travel to India in hopes of rekindling something.

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A poem of wondering...about one's self.

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my story begins in thracia 44AD during the thracian/roman wars. it describes early thracian life focusing om the thracian leader Hermious and his family. Future chapters will make a connection with the present day via a school teacher called Olivia. it follows her on a journey of discovery to bulgaria were she understands the meaning behind the gold bracelet she wears. she falls in love with a bulgarian archeologist and together they discover both her past and her possible future.

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I said I'd take a break and just review, but I couldn't help it. I was experimenting, playing around with this form. It's that common rut that a person in love (lust?) falls into-- everyone but you can see what a loser your lover is, and can't figure why you don't leave the jerk already. A little addiction, perhaps? I was having a conversation with a friend who was telling me about his latest crush, and I just got to thinking about all the people, and all the relationship woes of unevenly matched pairs.

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This work is an attempt to explore the emotions and questions that arise from human tragedy. It raises the questions, but not the answers. While the questions raised are specific to a situation, similar questions are eventually asked by all. //God is defined in the broadest sense--and I hope it causes thoughtful introspection only. There is also a bit of "Eastern Philosophy" in this, as we are all affected by our experiences--and I spent 19 years in Japan and four of my seven children were born there.// A thought to consider; either God loves us all(regardless of our specific religion) or he loves none of us.

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Just a little something for spring...

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Some thoughts on loss.

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Words and intimacy...what a combination

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Just thinkin' bout my baby one night.

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I was listening to John Coltrane's immortal disc "A Love Supreme", and decided to add a poetic twist. During the time of this record, Coltrane was going through a spiritual awakening...this is my take on it.

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The daughter of an old, wealthy family, Estelle, is forced by them to marry a man of her social standing, but not before the man she really loves has given her his fraternity pin (in 1908). Years later after her death, Estelle's daughter Diana finds the pin and its owner's letters. She makes contact with the daughter of the pin's donor, and they become friends, both realising that although their respective parents had long marriages, they were both unhappy. The pin, after three generations, winds up with the grandson of the man who first gave it.

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Buck Zephyr adventures. Buck is a Marine who lost his leg in Afghanistan. He is crude, manly and loves himself. The story is about how he falls in love and changes. The beginning has to be crude to see the change.

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This is just a loving message to a hurting heart. It can be a message to many who too have experience this heartache. I have taken the liberty to grow quiet and try to put myself in the beautiful spirit of the one called Raven. It is a responsibility I don't take lightly but if I go deep enough, try to change places and hear the messages is painful yet beautiful as in Cool Breeze Blowing. The remaining partner is this love story said it was exacting like hearing from his beloved.

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Had some leftovers from another piece and decided to put them to good use.

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A Light hearted 2008 look at a traumatic period in the seventy's.

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A young girl finds comfort from Grandmother on the lost of her cat. ( To any readers, I have tried to get this poem to publish in the correct form over 20 times and it won't do it. So as much as it shows that the sentances do not indent and it all runs together I stll want your feed back) I have tried to edit and will not let me.

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This is a work about the person who loved me the most as a child.. who taught me the most and provided a safe haven where I could be a child. It is full of small simplistic acts that made me whole.

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Making love with words...

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Once again i am not sure where to put this. it is a love story..it is the truth A true love story that we all would hope to experience. I know both parties and dearly loved them both. They taught me what love should be and I have never experienced. We lost one of my heroes to ALS not so long ago. I wrote this as a tribute to this beautiful man. I tried to climb into his soul and tell him what he wanted to say to those he left behind. especially his partner. I only pray I did him juctice.

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I don't know really... playing with thoughts and words

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Can I describe it in deeper strokes? Let me know if this is too bland, too broad.

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Remembering a happy moment in the past.

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This work is from the novel, Corporate Samurai "love begets hate, trust begets betrayal, lust leads to death". It attempts to convey the emotions and thoughts, in song form, of a woman Samurai to the one true love of her life--who is also a Samurai. This song is written at a time when she suspects their relationship will not be sustainable, as her lover comes from a much inferior heritage than her own--something her family will not accept.

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no....not a PICTO!!! just an ordinary poem on a highly original subject that no one has ever thought to write about before! ha!

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When the agony of heartbreak festers and just won't go away. Please let me know if you see the lines broken up differently. Thank you.

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A boxer makes his comeback to the ring. A man makes his comeback to his life. EDIT 2/1: As noted, this is probably the final edit of this. I'm actually thinking of making this into a novella or even a novel, and I'm curious as to what you all think. I made some changes, made the voice a little more consistent (I think) and I added in a few different phrases that may be more metaphorical, and I'm curious if they work. Also, I changed the ending a bit, and I'm also interested in seeing if that works too. So yeah, any more feedback is great.

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Doing a mindless chore, my brain starts wandering.

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Just some thoughts I was having.

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This piece is only an attempt to explore some of the continuing, unanswerable questions that face mankind. The stated answers are only intended to cause the reader to think. Obviously these questions have faced mankind since conscience thought became possible.

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Chapter one of The Sayonara Heart introduces Ken Hamrick, a carrier of the Sayonara Heart, to the beginning of the end of his life, guided by the actions of his Sayonara Heart. In chapter one, he deals with a crushing realization he is all alone with the death of his mother during his senior year of high school. He spends the rest of his life trying to escape from being all alone, only to be cut off by the unknown actions of his heart. It is a ficticious story based on many of the experiences of the author through his 22 yers of U S Naval service. I think the major request I have on review of this chapter is would the reader be encouraged to want to read subsequent chapters. However, I will accept ALL reviews and critiques with an open mind.

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This is my first attempt at a novel and I am certainly open to any criticism. The novel begins in January 1924 a little less than 60 years after the Civil war and five years before the Great Depression. The main character is getting married today. She describes her home, her life to this date in some of her mannerisms and dialog because she is expecting to take on a totally new life after the wedding vows. She breaks Southern Tradition is sort of a feminist. There is an element of super natural in each chapter. It is so subtle until it may not be apparent until much later in the book.

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The truth shall only be written in these pages, for my heart cannot utter injustice.

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This suicide poem of a Samurai is an attempt to underscore the cultural differences between western culture and eastern culture. The west is largely Christian. In Japan Christians amount to less than 3%. The culture is largely agnostic--Buddhism and Shintoism are the primary 'religions' although they are more philosophies than religions.//Imagine not believing in a supreme being and contemplating the end of your life as an absolute ending, by your own hand?//This poem is the creation of the author's imagination and is not at all authentic. I'm not Japanese but I've lived in Japan for nineteen years over a thirty five year period from the mid fifties to the late eighties. I graduated from a Japanese grade school in 1964.//The Japanese have a deep sense of honor. They are particularly sensitive to anything that reflects negatively on themselves, their family or their company. Most suicides in Japan are over issues of honor.//Personally, I'll never forget receiving a hand delivered wedding invitation on Monday, only to have it have it retrieved the following Monday, because the father of the bride opposed the marriage, and executed his wife, son and daughter with a Samurai sword, and then took his own life. The groom was the President of a large Japanese distribution company.//This poem, and many other cultural differences and nuances, are what inspired me to write the novel Corporate Samurai.

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Thank you.

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With his parents recently dead from a car accident, Shaw has become lost in life. Unsure of where to go he finds solace in the letters from his Aunt. An Aunt he has never met and before it's all over, an Aunt he'll wish he had never met. He goes to live with her in a small village located in the back woods of Florida, and it turns out that this particular village is run by a cult, of which his aunt is a member of, and the cult is run by a particularly evil man by the name of Pastor Brown. Any comments at all would be much appreciated as this is my first crack at a novel. Thank you.

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I wrote this the night my husband's father asked us to take him off the ventilator. We could not do anything legally. My husband's step-mother had power of attorney and over rode Daddy's advanced directive. This may not rhyme, but putting into prose was the only way I knew how to tell the story. Please understand that she made him suffer. He had been bed ridden for 3 years. He was never negative about his situation,but she didn't care for him. At the end it was about keeping him alive long enough to get his last Social Security check. She kept him on Dopamine, and morphine, until he drowned in his own fluids. I know this probably does not flow that well, but I hope you will read this for the meaning not the grammer or punctuation and ect...Thank for all of the feedback.

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This is the sequel to The Chandler Mirror. It follows book one almost to the day it left off. If you haven't read the first book, you may be confused by who these people are and what's going on. However, I'm trying to incorparate as much detail as I can in the early chapters here.

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This is a drabble entry. I wanted to convey what Thanksgiving can mean.

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Ok guys and gals, this is my first attempt to write an on going story. I hope that I have followed some advice given from past pieces on the formating. All feedback is appriciated. Just please remember that this is a new thing for me.

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Self explanatory

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My next-door neighbors' dog died recently, and while she wasn't MY dog, per se, I spent a lot of time with her and loved her very much. I wrote this piece for her.

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In all its beauty lies magic, or is it something more sinister than darkness? Is it evil? When a strange stone, which was buried 137 years ago in Washington, Missouri, surfaces in Jason Hollister’s hands, everything changes. McKenzie Topelo Jason’s friend from childhood vanishes, and a strange imposture suddenly appears out of nowhere claiming to be her, but Jason isn’t fooled, he knows the stone is responsible and he’s determined to find a way to become a prisoner of the same stone, to save McKenzie and bring her home. This is the begining of another book. All comments are welcomed. Thanks, L.A.Thunder :)

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This is my first serious attempt at a novel. The theme is roughly about how art can save your life. Since it will be ever evolving, I can't sum it up entirely, but the main character is a man, and it chronicles his life, as he watches a devastation happen to his artist mother, through the joys and sorrows of marriage and fatherhood, and so much more set from the 60's to present time.

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I have edited this piece to include some helpful comments from reviewers. This is solely my opinion. I do not pretend to be an expert in religions. I do however have some experience in teaching CCD and in raising seven children. My hope is that this work may cause reflection and discussion. Assuming one accepts God exists, then there can only be one.

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When three childhood friends grow up together, in Clearwater Florida, they realize they share more then being best of friends. They share a serial killer whose on the lose. When they find out their the next victims on his list, there friendship teaches them the meaning of life, and what it means to fight to stay alive, not only for themselves, but for each other. For Jennifer, Gail and Liz, life has always been fun. The three of them have always done what they wanted, without giving much thought to anything else. Being so much alike, yet different, the three of them shared everything, from growing pains, to broken hearts, graduation, to college and finally their own independence. Now as the serial killer closes in, he leaves clues behind, for the three of them, and suddenly they find themselves at odds with one another, pointing their finger at anyone and everyone, including the three new men in their life. When they’re forced to face the demons from their past, they learn to trust one another all over again, as it becomes evident that their only hope of survival is to stick together and keep their eyes open, and Don’t Blink.

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An old flame arrives as a surprise guest on a woman's 50th birthday party.

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“Six children are about to embark on a journey of a lifetime, and what they learn about their heritage, will be so powerful it’ll change their life forever.” This book is best described as: THE LORD OF THE RINGS, meets, STAND BY ME, meets, THE WIZARD OF OZ. In CULVER’S TREASURE, all six children share one common bond, which is their mother’s have been best friends since birth, so the six of them have always had each other, but never asked why, until now. CULVER'S TREASURE has already been critiqued, and edited by a professional editing company. I also passed out the first three chapter's of the book to the general public for feedback. I'm always looking for feedback on everything I write because it helps me become a stronger writer. Please let me know if you think the beginning of the book is catchy, and if you like it and why, or if you don't care for it, and why.

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Ever imagine what a poet dreams?

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Somewhere between last night and this morning love lay in shambles beneath our feet.

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A grocery shopper notices a charming older man who whistles while selecting soups and she developes a crush on him.

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Just one musing over love.

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This is a story about my mother who died two years ago. I had a difficult time writing this and Whatta spent a great deal of time helping me improve it. Thank you, Mitch.

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Reflections of steppin out and takin in the sights and sounds of the jazz scene.

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The Guardian of Eden is the story of a teenager, Garrett, and his twelve year old sister, Eden. After years of abuse from their mother and her boyfriends they finally achieve what seems like a happy life. Their mother has married a good man, Garrett has a beautiful girlfriend, and both he and his sister attend a prestigious private school. But tragedy lurks beneath the surface as Garrett discovers that the abuse to his little sister goes beyond what he ever imagined. His overwhelming love for his sister and desire to protect her lead him to commit a murder that could destroy them all.

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When Lina, a thirty-two-year-old nurse, takes a live-in job in a Seattle retirement home, her life acquires two disturbing twists: she learns that ghosts have haunted the old house since a manslaughter-suicide in the 1930s; and she finds herself falling for her mysterious twenty-something coworker Ren, who seems to know more about the strange house than he is telling. Genre note: I've recently switched the genre from "romance" to "literary fiction," but really it's a mix of those and "paranormal" and a few others--just plain old "commercial fiction" would probably be the best label. Thanks to those who have commented with the suggestions!

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This is the first draft of The Erstwhile Hearts Guild Chapter 3. This story is coming to me sort of haphazardly,(hence no Chapter 2 yet) but I take it with me everywhere. Any feedback is helpful. Thank you in advance

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There's nothing quite like waking up on a Sunday morning with love by your side.

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Redemption, Arkansas is a small country town where things aren't always what they seem and the people never are...

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This is a story about the relationship between tragedy and necessity, and the changes we make to keep breathing.

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This is a poem about past loves, frustrations, and finally meeting The One.

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Chris began to question the wisdom of this trip. The familiar crunching sound of tires on the gravel driveway gave away her surprise arrival. She had planned to arrive undetected, take a look around at her former life, and if necessary, leave undetected. As she pulled up to the once-white, house with the slanted front porch and broken screen door, she was at once joyfully nostalgic and severely repulsed. Before Chris could turn off the engine and step out onto the gravel and oil driveway, Ma was already waving from the window in the big bedroom upstairs. Chris shook her head when she notice Ma wearing the same faded red, pansy-printed house dress she was wearing exactly one year before on Easter Sunday and likely every other Sunday for the last thirty years or more. The hem of this dress must have been re-sewn by Ma’s plump hands a hundred times or more and the buttons were a mere rumor, replaced by multi-colored diaper pins. Even without seeing it now, Chris could describe each frayed piece of the fabric, not only because she seen it in her mind whenever she pictured Ma, but because she’d spent so much time as a child, hiding from the world on underneath it. They met inside the house, at the bottom of the stairs and greeted one another the way they always had. No “I love you,” or “good to see you.” No touching moment and definitely no embracing, just right to the business at hand – avoidance. “Lawd chile, I ain’t know who dat was pullin’ in my driveway all fast.” Ma said, barely stopping at the foot of the staircase. “Uhn, uhn, uhn. What you doin’ wit’ ya hair now?” “All that money, - cant you pay somebody to do something with that hair?” Chris sighed. “It’s called the natural look Ma, and I did pay somebody to do this.” Uhn, we’ll you done thrown dat money away. Look like a natural mess to me. I’ put a pressin comb on it fo’ ya fo’ free.” Ma laughed. “Lawd have mercy, now I got to go upstairs an’ put some clean sheets on dat bed. Go on out back and say somethin’ to Dad.” Chris walked through the old house, through the dog’s room on the back porch and out into the back yard where Dad sat atop his ancient, red, riding mower, mowing and drinking what was almost surely corn liquor, wrapped in a brown paper bag. “Hey there, Lil Bit, what you doin’ here? Dad slurred. “You done drove all the way from New York City to help me cut all this grass.” All morning, Chris sat in the kitchen with Ma snapping peas, peeling potatoes and soaking greens. “You listen here girl, now I ain’t gonna have none of that mess you pull last year at my Easter table, you hear me?” Ma warned. “What’s past is past.” “Now, ya Mama an’ them comin.’” “Again, Ma, she is not my Mama” Chris said. “Well, she carried ya ‘round in her fo’ nine mont’s di’nt she?” Ma exclaimed. Chris started, “Ma, but she never did nothing for me….” At this, Chris was immediately shocked by her improper language, and how easily it came back to her. “She my daughter, and yo’ mama, an’ this is my house and I say she’ comin’ here to have Easter dinner wit’ us, now you just keep ya mouth shut if ya aint got nothing nice to say, hear.” ‘Ma, if she brings him again, I can’t sit at the table and act like everything is ok.” Chris explained. Ma fidgeted. “Don’t you say it.” Suddenly, Chris felt possessed. “What, Ma, that he raped me and my Mama was too high to do anything?” Ma looked around for something to hold on to and settled on a bag of flour on the. Ma said, “Don’t ya talk with dat nasty mouth in my house girl, now, I jus’ ain’t gon’ have it.” Brushing flour off her dress, Ma quietly demanded, “Now make yourself useful and go set the table.”

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It's my wife's birthday. Happy birthday, honey.

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How death or distance is no barrier for some to love. Kate Bush prancing around the foggy moors in red chiffon to the sound of her 'Wuthering Heights' on Youtube inspired me.

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This love letter is from a woman Samurai to her life's only love. She is forced by tradition and 'bushido', (the Samurai's code of honor), to obey her brother's demand that she end this relationship, with an inferior Samurai, forever. Her purpose in this letter is to confirm her undying love and devotion for her lover, while appealing to his sense of honor to understand she has no choice but to comply. This poem is part of the novel Corporate Samurai, which attempts, in part, to provide some insight into the eastern way of thinking.

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Well, I made some changes and edited this piece up a bit, and I actually submitted it to the New Yorker. Love it if they'd publish it, but who knows. Let me know what you think!

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An amalgamation of a few things I wrote, all relating to romance and/or love. As of right now the story is mostly complete, but there may be another chapter or two to come.

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Thinking about the plight of soldiers in battle and how that must feel. I have shamefully neglected to do that very deeply until now and am indebted to the person who has inspired it of me.

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Cupid's arrow strikes a young lad (the author)in this hilarious true story. Only Cupid's aim is a tad off! This is the honest to God true story of what happened to me the moment I realized what GIRLS were! Everything that happens in this story really happened to me on a warm summer day in 1975!

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This is something I wrote right after reading Robert Hass' "Privilege of Being." The idea of angels looking down from heaven and watching 2 people having sex made me think of sadder or a less elevated account of a sexual encounter. I really couldn't think of a title for this because it seemed so experiential that a title would place it in some category I didn't want it to be in. This is the first work I have ever felt brave enough to publish anywhere so please be honest about whether it is worth reading or not.

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Wakeful hours tending to a fire of the belly. If you wait out the night, the day will surely come.

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...ok, admittedly not a perfect ring but this is supposedly a PICTO of that band-of-gold worn third finger left hand......

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Love requires

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Remembering first love, first kiss. Just a loosening up, trying to get into writing.

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When a shy, black, ballerina from a poor neighborhood is thrust into the affluent yet equally dangerous world of the prestigious Bridgeton academy, she is forced to overcome her insecurities in order to defeat the three most ruthless and vindictive girls in the school. I have an agent for this book and I'm on my final edit before he submits it to a publisher. Any help is welcome. Even chapter jumpers are welcome if you comment on grammar, especially commas and verb tense, and whether the overall writing style hooks you. Also, if chapter jumpers could comment specifically on what I can do to make it more engaging, that would be greatly appreciated. Please note: You never find out the main character's name. Not until book three anyway.

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Love comes in many shapes and forms, one day it came in the form of a little black and white cat. Today is the 4th anniversary of the death of KERA, my little fel