The Poetess Reigns is an autobiographical poetic journey ranging from spirituality to raw, authentic, gut wrenching experiences of life's pains, addictions, oppression and transformations. The Poetess Reigns is so much more than a book of poetry; it is an open and honest account of the author's struggles and perseverance through her love of GOD by Faith.

The Ark of Lumijnfroost is a collection of 58 poems-animals of the pen, according to the poet Peer Lumijnfroost. It is a menagerie of verse, in form and theme, and each poem is noteworthy for its accessibility and imagery. Within the Ark you will find politics, nostalgia, life, death, money, spells, a block of ice, a parliament of owls, and even a goggle box or two. Come meet the Lady of Marlborough, Mirabel, Oliver and other characters of life. Come fly over Yellowstone; dance in the park; walk with the giraffes. Life happens in a blink. You don't want to miss the world around you. Open the lid to the Ark, jump in, and enjoy. You deserve it.

Most Christians know the scripture-John 3:16 "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever lasting life." The scripture suggests that God is a loving God and gives only his very best. He did not give a goat, or a lamb or even an angel, but gave his only begotten son. That's the thought that came to me when I read in Ephesians 4:11-"he gave some, apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...." Another thought followed-God actually gave the church, the world, pastors. Pastors are essentially gifts from God. Now, if a gift is truly a great gift, then one will use it and use it and use it up. Now, some would call that "burn out," and that may be so, but what's a gift for if not to be used. Sometimes we forget that we don't belong to ourselves and really have no right to ourselves-'we have been bought with a price', and God should be able to do with us as He pleases. Therefore, it would behoove us to earnestly strive to realize the practical primary principles of pastoring or what I call Pastorology. Ray Phillip Owens, Sr., is an ordained Elder in the Methodist tradition (African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church), and the senior pastor of the "Uncommon" Cameron Grove Church in Broadway, North Carolina, He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Charter Oak State College in New Britain, Connecticut, and the Master of Divinity Degree from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina. He has written numerous articles for his denomination's publications and serves as associate editor and writer of a local Christian publication called "The Shepherd's Voice" in Raeford, North Carolina. He serves as the Chief of Protocol in the Central North Carolina Conference.

"When I was thirty-five and freshly separated and still a stouthearted pilgrim to myself, I took a job on the Gulf Coast swindling people. I sold fake trailer lot deeds to investors with souls more crooked than my own." This is the voice of Richard, the winning and irrepressible narrator of this novel in stories. Here, we follow Richard's chaotic childhood informed by his parents' passionate and rocky marriage, his mother's nervous breakdowns, his traveling salesman father's erratic attempts to earn his mother's love again, and their eventual divorce, through Richard's own trials with the women in his life. Richard is like a traveler or pilgrim, moving from Haw River, North Carolina, to Arkansas to the Texas Gulf Coast and finally back to North Carolina again, as he and his people -- they drink hard, dance in their kitchens, lie and cheat -- struggle with their love and wrestle with their often inharmonious natures. In the end the narrator struggles to straighten out some small piece of his heart's crooked essence. My People's Waltz sadly celebrates the decisions we make to get on with the business of living.

The stories in this collection have appeared in the Atlantic, GQ, Ploughshares, Best American Short Stories, and New Stories from the South: The Year's Best. Here's what Dale Ray Phillips has said of his own work: "Writing a story is a strange act of discovery; generally, I find that what I have uncovered is nothing more than what I have always known. Also -- and I'm embarrassed to admit this -- I love to lie, and fiction offers an acceptable channel for this compulsion."