A Quick Note
As I looked at my cursor blinking in front of an edited personal essay I had completed, I paused. After my fingers had just flown across the keyboard for a good two hours, the first thought that came to mind was, “Should I honestly send this to anthologies and magazines like I planned to?”
What I shared was something that even today as I look at it gets me a little choked up. I reflected back in a time in my life that was hard, was a struggle, was a mind-fuck. What would my family think of me if this got published and they didn’t agree with it? They didn’t think it was a good idea to share. That perhaps they would be embarrassed on my behalf.
Then realized that this wasn’t about them. This was about me. I wrote something because I wanted people to feel the feelings I felt at that point in time in my life. To get an insight to what happened. And I’m glad I did hit the submit button when I did in November 2018 right before the deadline.
This month is about personal essays. Creative non-fiction has always been one of my favorite type of literature to read and write. The contributors to the May edition of the Book Smuggler’s Den are all very brave to have sent me their stories that are close to their heart.
As always, a huge shout out to all of you who submitted!
Inside this Edition
Poetry
Rosemary Summers, By Melinda Jane
Fiction
Reminiscence, By Liv Francis-Pape
Essays
The Yellow Trike, Holly McNeill
Book Review of the Month
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as reviewed by Keegan Greenacre