Love has many faces. From the sensual to the reflective, from the whimsical to the worrisome. Sometimes hard and sometimes so easy we feel we could lift off-straight to the clouds-love comes to us as friendships, romances, familial embraces. Love, Etc. explores the mixed experiences of love, in language infused with Barkat's signature sensual touch. Get ready to fall. In love with poems, words, and love.

An Annie Dillard-style writing book that follows the writer's life as much as her philosophy about creativity and writing. Aspiring and accomplished writers will find a place to breathe, in both the memoir-stories and tips that seamlessly address major aspects of creative life-from inspiration to individual voice; from helpful habits, networking and publishing, to reasons we create and write. Says the first chapter, "There are so many things standing in my way this morning, I can hardly begin. Yet I've heard there are rumors of water. Maybe that is enough." And apparently it is. named a Best Book of 2011, Englewood Review of Books and Hearts & Minds Books

Through days and nights of L.L. Barkat's year of daily outdoor solitude comes an irresistible voice calling you to spiritual practice. This 12-week course tells a unique story, but it will also invite you to personal growth. You'll find various options for discovery and participation: free writing, writing response, physical and mental play, and blogging (or alternatives).

Working for a living. That's what the main character does in The Novelist. Secretly, she's a poet who's trying to come to terms with who she really is and whether or not she has what it takes to be a novelist. An intriguing read for aspiring writers, blocked Creatives, or anyone who appreciates wit and wisdom about the literary world. *** Follow copywriter and poet, Laura, as she tries to figure out how to write a novel to meet Megan Willow's challenge: a book by September.

Megan has a thriving tea business and does everything in a big way. To her, the idea of writing a novel in a matter of months is beyond simple. All you need is the will, and "you'll" find the way.

Confused by romantic love and her own place in the writing world, Laura delves into her past, as she tries to bring a novel into the present. To tutor her efforts, she culls wisdom and hope from greats such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Mary Shelley, and medieval story-weaver Murasaki (whose real name has been lost to history, because she was a woman).

Can Laura write a novel by September? She might not even make a cup of tea by midnight. So who's to say.

**** "The Novelist" is a pleasurable escape into the known and unknown world of Laura's inner journey. Barkat's ability to weave poetry into prose makes it impossible not to sink into her beautiful writing. It's one of those rare books you'll finish but leave on the nightstand.

-Darrelyn Saloom, co-author of "My Call to the Ring: A Memoir of A Girl Who Yearns to Box"

Milkweed bursts with silken seed. Crushed almonds scatter like spilled cinnamon. A child clips basil at the tender neck, after a family friend passes away. Love is swallowed in moondust, bared in cherry rose. Across the landscape of human experience, can 'inside' really be disentangled from 'out'?