Couples swayed and embraced to the beat as the singer’s vocals soared above a group of confused teenagers and twenty-something’s.

An elegantly crafted novel, “The Reluctant First Lady” clearly documents author Venita Ellick as an exceptionally accomplished writer able to skillfully weave memorable characters into a riveting story line from beginning to end. As engaging...

Christopher was wearing a suit and adorned make-up. As long as I had known him, he never wore a suit or make-up. The look of him defenseless to his appearance saddened me.

The dusty library air is electric with secrets/ almost palpable in the thick quiet that bounces between/ Cal and those books and me

less is more”.

That’s the complete lack of it. If any one of those mass-genocidal idiots had faith, they wouldn’t have the insane need to prove it to others.”

The past is always with us. It echoes through every living moment, giving it depth and meaning beyond itself. Sometimes the past is so powerful, those echoes threaten to overwhelm the present.

I guess what’s most important is that we chose to live with our hearts open and to let our experiences show us the way towards our brightest days.

I waited for her to nod before pacing while I bit my lip. That hurt, so I switched to biting my finger nail.

What were we, but kids with apartments and jobs anyway?

I was just trying to demonstrate to the students of Rowland University that Rowland University was not infinite. It had taken me a long time to figure out what the problem was, but one day...

Eventually, that feeling fades, but there is always the memory of those days. When you’re young, everything is butterflies. What I mean is—it’s all new. I guess he was telling you to still believe, to...

I do what I do because I am who I am. Don’t make me over.

Society gets by from the help of its citizens.

[novan]: bassists are very good with their fingers[novan]: and some of us sing backup vocals, so that means we’re good with our mouths too…(~ IM chat with Novan Chang, 18, bassist)

Perhaps forgiveness wasn’t a singular event, but a progression, or better, a dance that took some figuring before you could perform the steps.

I just want to know—are you rooting for me? Are you hoping I pull this off?”Cath’s eyes settled on his, tentatively, like they’d fly away if he moved.She nodded her head.The right side of his...

It’s funny how books can change you. You open up a book and one minute you are who you’ve always been, then you read some random passage and you become someone else.

There have been times I have thought some dreams should never be dreamt, but I would hate a world where that was true.

Character isn’t something you talk about; it’s something you show through your actions-through your every day habits.

She felt the cold blast from the sterile air conditioning on her bare arms and thighs, as she ambled down the center of the shopping complex’s ground floor.The scene was a swirl of candy bright...

It’s more like a dusty trail, roughly cut out through the underbrush. Most people don’t even notice it. It doesn’t look like a path at all, so they walk right by. Others see it, but...

Talk to me. Say something, anything,” he pleaded quietly as if he was trying to tame a wild animal.”There’s nothing to say.”He looked up and lowered his eyebrows on his eyes. “Why did you kiss...

character isn’t something you talk about; it’s something you show through your actions—through your every day habits.

Gold Coast” was a neighborhood that stretched five blocks along the lake in a sliver of land just south of Lincoln Park and north of River North. The streets were like fine necklaces and strung...

There are moments in our lives that define the people we will become in the future, like a symptom before an ailment, or the catalyst before the cure.

Somebody who screwed up a lot.

All writers are manipulative liars.” Jack O. Savage, The Poet

My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger” – Billy Connolly

All our good and bad memories—they were like our B-side diaries. They were like those songs on old dusty punk albums that no one listened to anymore.

Law school was over at last!

In times such as these, life often begs us to seek answers when in reality there are only questions available.

A future as lonely as the surface of the moon and still just the sight of him feels like a homecoming, like a song I used to know but forgot.

Somewhere, a rattlesnake strike makes the dance begin. Three hawks float in the light blue sky overhead. Crows caw and the sweet seduction of lavender fills my head. And she waltzes through my thoughts.

If a woman chooses to support her husband and become First Lady, I believe she must do so with the understanding that the public expects the full-meal deal.

There exists an oasis where inspiration bursts forth like black gold from the fertile loam and every odd bellbird chirps a melody worth remembering. There’s no bloody map or nautical chart that can deliver you...

After all, she knows how painful it can be not to follow your heart and she knows about the obstacles and about loyalty and duty and about the countless kinds of love. If only Eve...

Dream-start with dream. Start tonight-become who you want-dream big!” He became animated at this point, “No money needed for dreams. Dreams are free.

I’m going to turn my life around. Make a complete three sixty.””Don’t you mean one eighty?” he corrected. “If you do that, you’ll end up right back where you started.””Maybe. But at least I’ll have...

The way contemporary literature is emerging, soon we can expect “Item poetry” in novels.

People vote for whom they believe will be the best president and representative for our country. The First Lady is not on the ballot.

…We were pulling into the next station, when the woman suddenly got to her feet and made a move to squeeze past me. As her knees made contact with mine, she turned towards me. Her...

It feels like the city is telling secrets down here, privy only to those who think to listen.

Popularity is like a girl in class that you can’t ignore. She give you eyes when no one looks then turns to her friends and laughs some more.

She might have been there for you in the aftermath, but I was there when everything came crashing down.

Books are keys that open many doors — James Rollins

A writer looks at an issue and asks, ‘What if this were to occur? Or what if that was thrown into the mix? What would that look like?

She had been lying there, facedown in the water long before the tide had turned at 3.04 that morning. Her eyes were staring into the river, her blonde hair first fanning out, then drawing back...

His heart cracked open and flooded all the space around it.

That night, he laid in his bed thinking about all the possibilities. They came like waves in his mind. At first they came slow, then gradually built up speed, cresting into full on dreams, until...