Darkness, in your embrace I shed all my worldly woes Like the skin of a snake For you, my wounded healer Whisper to me of spells From the bowels of hell. Goodness is long dead To survive the death knell You entreat me to beckon Pettiness, slithering slyness Throbbing deep within, now Spilling on to slippery slopes. Clutch on to the last straws Don a mask and carry on For in life only those thrive Who enjoy the masquerade.
As a life-long student of history, I know every chapter resounds with the story of Heaven and Hell!
Ambition prophesized Madness was not Kingdom in sight But hell it brought Murder, malice Truckloads of lies A slice of heaven Promised delight All for nought Power unchecked A tragedy wrought!
Kings can’t smother Smolders of a revolution For when men burn Sparks reach heaven Ashes color hell A world rebels For those who suffer So history tells
The New Face of Grief is a relevant book because grief is omnipresent in human life. Through the global pandemic, grief is a prevailing emotion. This work aims to help us not to make grief omnipotent in our life.
The author, Katie Rössler, highlights important concepts that we relegate to the background. Grief is not always about death, illness, and separation. Grief abounds in more sub-categories than we realize and accept. For example, a change of location, getting married, or changing jobs may cause grief and it is not just a passing emotion. At the onset, she sets the pace, “The reality, dear reader, is that the journey of grief cannot be rushed.”
The book is full of wisdom, neatly laid down in concise chapters. Initially, I felt the author unnecessarily seemed to justify writing this book because of her personal traumatic experiences. Once you get past that there are real grief stories, too. You find a comprehensive yet deep inquiry into everything within and beyond grief. It touches on ignored topics like humor as a tool to tackle grief, or when grief becomes a family matter.
Last year, I blocked a few people on social media and exited WhatsApp groups due to differences in opinions. Well, not exactly that because different thoughts are enlightening, but due to trolling. Harsh words, bigotry, and bias were the hallmark of these discussions.
Needless to say, even these people must be relieved to have me exit from the group because now no one could challenge their point of view. We all love to believe we are right and our ideology is the best. Fair enough, but then why troll and abuse diverse ideologies. At that point in time, I wrote Trolled into Silence.
Over time, the situation has only worsened. Polarization in almost aspects of life has manifested in crude ways. It is a global phenomenon. Innocent banter and sarcasm is also frowned upon because everyone is oversensitive. Cherry on the top is fear of repercussions of speaking out.
Fear is more potent than any discomfort, rage, sadness, or astonishment you feel in the face of trolling. Fear enlists ultimate silence. Fear paralyzes. There are people who still speak out but sane voices are drowned in a cacophony of sorts. Even the gentlest are tricked into foul discourses and whataboutery.
Each day there is a new debate, and as the arrow next to Trending points up, so do voices and words escalate only to deflate with not an iota of difference in the order of things.
The following lines are an inner voice that urge to continue sharing thoughts and words. However, who is listening? Will it make a difference? Do we have the courage to speak up? I don’t know because the repercussions can be harsh and damning. So, I leave with just words for the brave for I am not practicing what I preach.
Suppress them not Let them ebb and flow Opinions, notions, emotions Break the shackles That bind you to silence With anchored inhibitions; In thoughts, voices, words Our world is made, unmade In never-ending cycles A constant alchemy of change.
Musing under the moonlight Streaming through glass doors I wonder if the Moon beings, too Meditate on our blue-green orb Does it work for them and how As we spin on the axis of flaws? Distant flashes alluring, magical Seeking, finding solace in ignorance Across obscure transcendence Such is the destiny of all born
is a compilation of 20 spooky winning short stories selected from a collection of 97 submissions received from all over the world for the Spookoween contest organized by WriteFluence in September-October 2021. Here’s a spine-chilling book full of stories that won’t let you sleep.
AUTHORS IN THIS BOOK
Aneesha Shewani, Arya Jash, Geeta Nair, Hepi Anesti, John Barber, Mandeep kaur, Niladri Shekhar Mitra, Philip Stenström, Ramya V., Rapti Mukherjee, RC Wallfisch, Ryan de Vas Gunasekera, Sheerin Shahab, Sneha Acharekar, Steve Wade, Thuy Phuong Le, Vaijayanti Panchal, Vandana Nadar, Vandita Shukla and Will Sandkvist
Spookoween is now available for purchase in the paperback format on NotionPress, Amazon.in and Flipkart; and available to download on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
The paperback is also internationally available for purchase on Amazon.com worldwide.
Here’s a glimpse of the book on Kindle:
WriteFluence is an innovative literary community featuring worthy authors and showcasing their…
Its a hatrick! Won the third competition in which I had submitted a horror story! Once again one of the top 3 entries. Privileged to be part of another forthcoming published anthology by WriteFluence. @writefluence
We are extremely pleased to announce the winners of the Spookoween contest.
Mentioned below are all the winning writers and stories that have qualified to be published in our next publication.
Congratulations!
Top 3: Wilbur Watts, Aneesha Shewani and Shanaya A.V.
Our sincere gratitude to all the writers, participants and our respected jury members who made this contest a success!
Congratulations everyone!
All winners will receive an email and a publishing contract from WriteFluence within30 business days. The contract has to be digitally completed with the required information withinfivedays of receipt, failing which the position will be given to the next writer in the shortlist. Our book editing and production process will begin only after all contracts are digitally signed.
A Lie On Her Lips is a compilation of the winning stories from the LGBTQ Romance / Betrayal short story contest organized by WriteFluence in July-August 2021. The book consists of short stories selected from 173 submissions that had been received from all over the world for the contest and the stories are based on the theme of betrayal.
A Lie On Her Lips is now available for purchase in the paperback format on NotionPress, Amazon.in and Flipkart; and available to download on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
In a world without wars The children are not Separated from homes Escaping buried destinies In shell-shocked rubbles Clinging to rickety boats With tattered hopes To be washed ashore Swept into the sand As twisted deadwood To be long forgotten By the ailing world Only to be lamented In the gnawing pain Of those who cared But were powerless To control the bloodlust Of men sans conscience
Screaming into the void Like lunatics caged, gagged Muzzled emotions, numbed Trolled for spoken words Sounds buried in the head Sane voices, now long dead Victim to resounding fear!
How to silence the howls Raging, trapped in the mind Injustice bellows, how to find Respite, refuge from wounds Growing like sepsis, unheeded Gasping for breathe, unheard Mauled into total surrender.
Blue Pen Strokes 