<%@ Language=VBScript %> Contributors - Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review Magazine
MUSED
BellaOnline Literary Review
Sword Posta by Lisa Shea

Table of Contents

Contributors
Judith Belben Judith Belben

Judith Belben was born in Boston in 1960. Here her passion for photography began. She has traveled through the country and is inspired by nature, historic resources and architecture. She has accumulated over 30 awards, and juried gallery selections since 2012. Secretary of the Blackstone Valley Art Association, and a member of the Franklin Art Association, WAP, 7HCC and Greater Boston Night Photographers. Her approach to photography is to paint a picture with the camera and keep it real.

Mark Berkerey Mark Berkerey

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. He expresses his ongoing exploration of nature´s spiritual value through his writing and pictures at www.beingmark.com

Virginia Lee Bliss Virginia Lee Bliss

Virginia Lee Bliss lives in Massachusetts and has been writing for eight years. Her special writing interests include poetry, 1930s-40s historical fiction and stories about Scotland and Poland. Her biography and access to her works can be accessed here:http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=23659

Mary J. Breen Mary J. Breen

Mary is the author of two books about women´s health, and her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in national newspapers, essay collections, travel magazines, health journals, and literary magazines. She lives in Peterborough Ontario Canada where, among other things, she teaches memoir writing.

Jeff Burt Jeff Burt

Jeff Burt enjoys miniature plums, freshly sharpened pencils, mint basil, and walking in fields and down trails. He is the author of "Open Every Window, An Advent Inspiration," available on Amazon.

Linda M. Crate Linda M. Crate

Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh, and raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, reviews, and articles have appeared in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. Her novel Amethyst Epiphany is forthcoming from Assent Publishing under their imprint Phantasm Books. To find more of her writing you can follow her on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-M-Crate/129813357119547.

Joanne Cucinello 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. http://icthebridge-moonspirit.blogspot.com/

Ruth Z. Deming Ruth Z. Deming

Ruth Z. Deming, winner of a Leeway Grant for Creative Nonfiction, has been published in Creative Nonfiction, Haggard and Halloo, Ray’s Road Review and other venues. A mental health advocate, she runs New Directions Support Group for people and families affected by depression and bipolar disorder. She lives in Willow Grove, PA, suburban Philadelphia.

Michael Fitzgerald-Clarke Michael Fitzgerald-Clarke

Australian poet Michael Fitzgerald-Clarke has called tropical Townsville home since 2009. The Bulletin, the Townsville mass circulation daily newspaper, has termed him "the Poet Laureate of Townsville." He has many publication credits, but prefers people to know that if he could have just one wish, he would give that wish away.

Deborah Guzzi Deborah Guzzi

Deborah Guzzi is a healing facilitator specializing in Shiatsu and Reiki. She writes for Massage and Aromatherapy Magazines. She travels to expand her knowledge of healing and to seek writing inspiration. She has walked the Great Wall of China, seen Nepal (during the civil war), Japan, Egypt (just before ‘Arab Spring’), Peru, and France during December’s terrorist attacks. Her poetry is published in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, China,and Greece.

R.D. Hartwell R.D. Hartwell

Rick Hartwell is a retired middle school English teacher living in Southern California with his wife of thirty-nine years (poor soul; her, not him), their disabled daughter, one of their sons and his ex-wife and their two children, one great grandchild, and fifteen cats. Yes, fifteen! He believes in the succinct; that less can be more; the least can be the best. When not writing Rick wishes he were still pushing plywood in Coquille, Oregon.

Leslie E. Hoffman Leslie E. Hoffman

Leslie Hoffman is a writer; freelance editor of fiction and non-fiction; a member of Poetry Center San Jose´s "Caesura" Editorial Team, San Jose, CA; and Co-founder of Laudably Tarnished: A Poetry Workshop, Las Vegas, NV. Several of Leslie´s poems have been published in "Mused". Various other poems, short stories, and articles have been published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. More of Leslie´s writing and photography can be viewed at: http://lesliehoffman.blogspot.com.

Erren Geraud Kelly Erren Geraud Kelly

erren geraud kelly´s work have been featured in over 150 publications in print and online in such literary journals as the evanston review, convergence, rain party and disaster society, black heart literary magazine and others. kelly is the author of the "disturbing the peace," from night ballet press and "watching the detective," forthcoming from etched press. erren recieved his b.a. in englsh--creative writing from louisiana state university in baton rouge. he lives in seattle.

Mary McCluskey Mary McCluskey

Mary McCluskey´s fiction has been published in literary journals in the US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong. She has a base in Los Angeles and a home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. She loves both places.

Jen McConnell Jen McConnell

Jen McConnell is a fiction writer and poet. Her debut collection of short stories, "Welcome, Anybody," was published by Press 53 in 2012. Her work has recently appeared in Blue Lotus Review, Olentangy Review, and Oddville Press. Her website is www.jenmcconnell.com

Terry Michelsen Terry Michelsen

Terry Michelsen is a native of Chicago. She and her husband moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Michelsen writes poetry, short fiction, and children´s stories. Her photographs and paintings adorn the covers of her books.

Mark J. Mitchell Mark J. Mitchell

Mark J. Mitchell studied writing at UC Santa Cruz under Raymond Carver, George Hitchcock. His work has appeared in the anthologies Good Poems, American Places, Hunger Enough, Retail Woes and Line Drives. His chapbook, Three Visitors has been published by Negative Capability. Artifacts and Relics, another chapbook, is forthcoming from Folded Word and his novel, Knight Prisoner, will be published in the coming months. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, the filmmaker Joan Juster.

Lucy Gregg Muir Lucy Gregg Muir

Lucy Gregg Muir is a writer and middle school English teacher. When she’s not beating her students with a stick for splitting infinitives, or chasing one daughter out of tattoo emporiums and the other away from absurd My Little Pony videos, she writes.

Toni K. Pacini Toni K. Pacini

Southern Gothic Author. Toni has completed her memoir, Alabama Blue. Ran an Open-Mic. Won honors for submissions to the Federation of Women writer’s comp. Published in Kings River Life Mag & Sanger Herald News & had several pieces published in Mused Magazine. Published in 4-anthologies. Toni returned to college at sixty to acquire a degree in Creative Writing. Member & treasurer of a Las Vegas writer´s group., She works with her group in hosting the yearly Las Vegas Writer´s Conference.

Helen Peppe Helen Peppe

Helen Peppe´s memoir Pigs Can´t Swim was an Indie´s Best Pick and a New England Book Awards finalist. Her images and writing are widely published, including in Practical Horseman, Equus, Dog Fancy, Cats Magazine, and The Goodmen Project. Her creative nonfiction placed first in The Starving Writing, Wordsworth Literary Competition, and finaled in the 2011 Annie Dillard Creative Nonfiction Award and the Maine Literary Awards. Helen lives in Maine with her family, dogs, and horses.

Rich Persoff Rich Persoff

Rich Persoff submitted the work San Jose and Scottish Clearances.

Lucy Robinson Lucy Robinson

Lucy Miller Robinson is a mother who thinks she can write from home and a hippie with a penchant for leather. She lives in San Francisco where she co-founded MakerMamas.org to support mothers who make art. Her fiction explores themes of addiction, materialism, vanity, promiscuity and sexism. She uses poetry to explore the divine sacred feminine. Find her blogging about motherhood, mindfulness and the creative life at LucilleintheSky.com, where it´s okay to have your head in the clouds.

Wayne Scheer Wayne Scheer

Wayne Scheer has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and a Best of the Net. He´s published numerous stories, poems and essays in print and online, including Revealing Moments, a collection of flash stories. http://issuu.com/pearnoir/docs/revealing_moments. His short story, "Zen and the Art of House Painting"ť has been made into a short film. Wayne lives in Atlanta with his wife and can be contacted at wvscheer AT aol.com

Bob See Bob See

Bob See has been actively interested in photography for many years. He enjoys taking images of wildlife and landscapes. Bob can be reached at his golfing site at http://enjoyma.com/golf/.

Lisa Shea Lisa Shea

Born in Maryland, Lisa Shea has been contentedly nestled in the rolling hills and mossy forests of central Massachusetts since 1995. 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

J. Scott Shields J. Scott Shields

Years ago, Scott left the Midwest for the deserts of Arizona. Music, literature, and writing are his passions, and he strives to share his love of the written word with his high school English students each day. Scott’s writing has appeared in the English Journal, Mused, Canyon Echo, and Treoir magazine (a publication of Comhaltas, an international organization that promotes traditional Irish music and culture). He is also a regular contributor to the blog, Writing Is Cake.

Aileen Aileen

Aileen has been writing for several decades, but only recently began to submit items for publication. She enjoys writing poetry, fiction, and non-fiction; her favorite genres are memoirs, science-fiction, and historical fiction. She has three grown children and four grandchildren who often inspire her writing.

Sudha Srivatsan Sudha Srivatsan

Sudha was born and raised in India and has worked in the Middle East and London. Sudha aspires to be known in the space of poetry as someone who weaves magic into language and combines unique design and strong color to her work of art. Her work has appeared in The Commonline Journal, the Germ Magazine, Carcinogenic and due to appear in Indiana Voice Journal, Leaves of Ink and Subterranean Blue and was recently shortlisted for the Mary Charman Smith November 2014 Poetry Competition.

Craig W. Steele Craig W. Steele

Craig W. Steele resides in the countryside of northwestern Pennsylvania, near Lake Erie. When not writing, he’s a professor of biology at Edinboro University. In his quest to become a widely-published unknown poet, his poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies, literary journals and magazines, most recently in The Lyric, Mused: the BellaOnline Literary Review, and Wolf Willow Journal, amongst others, and he continues to write monthly poetry as “The Writer’s Poet” for Extra Innings online.

Phibby Venable Phibby Venable

Phibby Venable´s work has been published in 2River, Poetrybay, Southern Ocean Review, Sow´s Ear, Voices, the Appalachian Journal and various other national & international magazines. Venable has published three chapbooks & four collections of poetry. A book of poetry, The Wind Is My Wine, is due out in September, from Key Publications. Women of the Round Table, a first novel, by All Things That Matter Press, will also be published this year.

Verena Von der Heiden Verena Von der Heiden

Verena von der Heiden grew up in Germany and is now residing in Townsville, Australia. In 2011 she discovered her talent for painting. Her artwork has been presented in several group exhibitions and in 2014, she was awarded a trophy for her artistic development. It wasn’t until recently that Verena found that some of her pieces were not complete unless complimented with a poem. The inspirations for her writing are a result of life experience and observations of public life.

Ann Waller 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.

S. Babin
S. Babin holds a BA in English Literature from the Ohio State University, and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He lives with his family, and works in Columbus, Ohio. His work will be forthcoming in The Wayfarer; Spark: A Creative Anthology; Bop Dead City; Cactus Heart; Star 82 Review; and many more.


Linda M. Barrett
Linda Barrett is a prolific poet, short story writer and an award winner of the Montgomery County Community College Writer´s Contest for three years running. She wrote her first work at eight years old and her second work at the age of 13. She contributes to the Compass, Mad Swirl, Idea Gems, and Night to Dawn magazine. Linda has lived in Abington, Pa. for 51 years in the same house on the same street. This is her first contribution to Mused magazine.


Ilinca Bernea
Ilinca Bernea submitted the work Up in the Air.


Noel Canin
Noel Canin was born and raised in South Africa during the Apartheid era. She has lived in Israel since 1968 and has two children and five grandchildren. She is a translator from Hebrew into English and has also trained as a Hakomi psychotherapist. She has published poetry in various journals in Israel, USA and England and has self-published a first collection of poems - Let the Rain Listen For Me. Noel Canin is currently preparing a new collection of poems for publication in Scotland.


Grace Dion
Having at last escaped the tyranny of the day job, Grace Dion has retired to her birthplace in Eastern Montana, where she writes poems, memoir, and stories for adults and children.


David Edwards
David Edwards was born, and continues to live, in Muncie, Indiana.


Bob Evans
A late-comer to art photography, Bob spent his early career working in engineering. He finds that creating something from nothing gives a tremendous rush. Bob strongly believes in taking the subject ‘as-is’ - no posing, no moving of the subject matter. It is capturing the essential essence of the subject matter that is vital to him. As well as photography, Bob is also a keen sculptor and abstract painter. Visit ArckArts.com or follow on FaceBook.


Lee Evans
Lee Evans was born in Maryland, spent most of his life in that state, and is currently living in Bath, Maine. His poems have appeared in such journals as Four and Twenty, Poetry Porch, The Christendom Review and Anon. He has produced four poetry collections, which are available on Lulu.com.


Linda B. Gamble
Linda Gamble is a retired reading specialist. In the past she has published articles for professional educational journals, but since her retirement has given her creative muse a chance to grow. She has just begun submitting some of her poetry and has been fortunate to have pieces accepted by Edison Literary Review, Camel Saloon, Long Story Short and past issues of Mused. Currently she is also working on a children´s picture book.


Brigitte Goetze
Brigitte Goetze submitted the work Always Open and Sugar and Spice.


KJ Hannah Greenberg
KJ Hannah Greenberg was nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize in Literature. She serves as an Associate Editor at Bewildering Stories. Hannah´s newest books are: The Immediacy of Emotional Kerfuffles,2nd ed. (Bards and Sages Publishing, 2015), Dancing with Hedgehogs, (Fowlpox Press, 2014), Don’t Pet the Sweaty Things, 2nd ed. (Bards and Sages Publishing, 2014), and The Little Temple of My Sleeping Bag (Dancing Girl Press, 2014). Discover her at http://www.kjhannahgreenberg.net/


John Grey
John Grey is an Australian born poet. Recently published in Oyez Review, Rockhurst Review and Spindrift with work upcoming in New Plains Review, Big Muddy Review, Willow Review and Louisiana Literature.


Jane Krayesky
Jane Krayesky submitted the work Sunset at Wallimene's.


Martha Landman
Martha Landman submitted the work An Old Piano.


Stacy Ann Link
Stacy lives with her cats Bill and Ted in the high desert of Southern California. She got her start writing poetry shortly after she moved here. She could see the stars at night, follow the earth´s movement during the seasons by where the sun was rising and setting, and hear the birds. In the open spaces and calm, she could remember people saying pretty much all her life how well she wrote. She decided to start listening.


Catherine McClain
Catherine McClain submitted the work The Mechanics of My Hands.


Ophelia Sikes
Ophelia Sikes finds that the more she travels, the more she realizes how much we are all alike. We have the same needs, dreams, heartaches, despairs, and hopes. She hopes her images share the beauty that lies all around us. Ophelia’s novels are at OpheliaSikes.com.


Carol Smallwood
Carol Smallwood submitted the work Downtown Main Street.


Sandy Kundra Verma
Sandy Kundra Verma submitted the work Traffic.