Author: Avellina Balestri

  • The Jeweler’s Apprentice- Chapter 3

    BY E. KAISER WRITES “It’s been some time you’ve been hidden away in the foothill country, but I see you’ve been handling a large job.” Read more

  • An Ikon of St. Seraphim of Sarov Among Birch Trees

    By Lawrence Hall Word Count: 90 Rating: G Summary: A contemplation on the life of a saint. Saint Seraphim among the birch trees, bent In penitential pain – O pray for us A thousand souls depending on your peace And then a thousand more for each, and more   Saint Seraphim among the birch trees, Read more

  • Cutting the Cord: A Game of Thrones Serial – Chapter 4: Sansa’s Hymn

    BY AVELLINA BALESTRI “Tell me, are you the same girl who sang at Blackwater, sang out your heart when the battle was raging?” Read more

  • For Those Who Believe: A Review of “The Song of Bernadette”

    BY AVELLINA BALESTRI Jennifer Jones is impeccably chosen for the part, combining rural innocence with spiritual wisdom in her portrayal of the saint. Read more

  • Ophelia’s Sister Song

    By Deidre Lockyer   Word Count: 216 Rating: PG (References to loss) Summary: A Poem of loss. Last night I dreamt I was a tree A Willow weeping in a cold, silent grove. The Moonlight bathed me in silver, but I felt it not, Numbed by loss to all but my weeping. When you walked Read more

  • Death and the Lion: A Crossover Serial- Chapter 17: Midnight Madness

    By Amanda Pizzolatto (alias Aurora Mandeville) Word Count: 31845 Rating: PG for scary situations Summary: Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, is used to being alone, until one day a girl with auburn hair waltzes into his life… The four boys clambered over the darkened cobblestone streets and dainty iron bridges. Nico had shadow-traveled them Read more

  • Eternally Mine: A Winnie the Pooh Poem

    “Dear, dear, Pooh Bear, do not fear. I will always remember you. You will always be mine.” Read more

  • The Fountain of Faith

    BY CHRISTOPHER WOODS Ninety years ago, a cataclysmic event struck our home planet, Earth, and destroyed nearly all traces of civilization. Read more

  • Burnt: A Harry Potter Serial- Chapter 6: Fighting

    By LastCrazyHorn Word Count: Rating: PG-13 for brief language, violence, and depictions of abuse Summary: A disabled Harry comes to Hogwarts story. Everyone expects him to be like his dad, but how can he be with such a different past? A Slytherin Harry takes on Hogwarts in an unusual way. Harry was headed across the Slytherin Read more

  • The Jeweler’s Apprentice: Chapter 2

    BY E. KAISER WRITES “It’s been some time you’ve been hidden away in the foothill country, but I see you’ve been handling a large job.” Read more

  • At the Feet of the Mother

    BY AVELLINA BALESTRI “Have we become creatures who only see in life the potential for death, or in defenselessness, the desire to cause more suffering?” Read more

  • Not By the Hand of Man: The Women of “Lord of the Rings”

    BY EMERALD If she marries Aragorn, Arwen cannot sail for the Undying Lands with her father when he leaves Middle-Earth. Read more

  • Cutting the Cord: A Game of Thrones Serial – Chapter 3: What Friends Do

    BY AVELLINA BALESTRI “It will no doubt take a bit of getting used to for both of us, but if we agree to trying it out in unison…I believe it might just work out in the end.” Read more

  • An Observation on Gender Identity

    BY M.C. PEHRSON Why has it been acceptable for girls to diverge from society’s norm, but not boys? Read more

  • Death and the Lion: A Crossover Serial- Chapter 16: Secret of the Wing

    By Amanda Pizzolatto (alias Aurora Mandeville) Word Count: 31845 Rating: PG for scary situations Summary: Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, is used to being alone, until one day a girl with auburn hair waltzes into his life… Ida let the kids sleep in her attic for the rest of the night, then, after a Read more

  • A Weary Writer’s Resolution

    I will never write again No more characters No more plot No more conflict No more stories I’m done Read more

  • Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe: A Review

    BY KAI MCWHIRTER Ivanhoe was a runaway success and remains one of Scott’s best loved works, credited with triggering a revival of interest in the Middle Ages. Read more

  • Burnt: A Harry Potter Serial- Chapter 5: Potions

    By LastCrazyHorn Word Count: Rating: PG-13 for brief language, violence, and depictions of abuse Summary: A disabled Harry comes to Hogwarts story. Everyone expects him to be like his dad, but how can he be with such a different past? A Slytherin Harry takes on Hogwarts in an unusual way. At breakfast one morning, he and Read more

  • The Jeweler’s Apprentice: Chapter 1

    BY E. KAISER WRITES “I’m not going to disgrace myself by appearing out of the night like some homeless waif!” Read more

  • The Noblest Sacrifice: A Tale of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

    “If I may, sir, there is a detachment of forty men in the garrison, who are all Christians. They make no secret of their faith, and indeed are glad to talk about it with any who are curious.” Read more