Guest Posts

The road is black and unsure as the future. Out beyond the headlights looms dark quantum plasma; a world ruled by flux and uncertainty. Trees, road signs, and other cars burst into being, then as suddenly, pop from existence. Hills become open space, and open space, solid walls. Adam shakes his head and watches the LED on the dash clock change from 9:30 to 9:31.  He smiles. Lately his life seemed malleable as the memories of eyewitnesses. Hell. The story’s always been the thing. Just exactly who did or said what, where, when, and how, was subject to whim; fickleRead More →

The first time I learnt about dementia was when my father was struck with it in his late seventies. It was painful watching such an intelligent man fall into this deep abyss of dementia, from which he could never revive. Dementia made him silent. He forgot to speak, to read, to write and to recognize anyone. That was not all. He often confused his wife, with his mother. My mother was in her late sixties then. I cannot understand this association in his brain between my mother and his. I know that sufferers of this disease lose their short termRead More →

When the stream of consciousness technique was first introduced at the turn of the 20th century, it was difficult for many publishers to accept it. Mainly because, such a style endorsed ungrammatical choppy sentences and sentences that had not made much sense. After James Joyce, finished and published Ulysses, it was almost impossible to comprehend it, because of the many spelling and grammar errors in it: mother was spelt as nother and many such errors in punctuations through to the last chapter which concluded in a total mayhem with Milly’s thoughts. It had 5000 errors and many of them were intentional. StreamRead More →

In the darkest hours of a summer’s afternoon, the clouds had gathered in an elegant mass of deep grey. Mugginess hung thick in the atmosphere. Pushpa Pervez, sat curled up on a reclining chair, in the far end corner of her balcony, inhaling an air of a cocktail mix of pungent rain and perfumed gardenias. Looking at a retinue of ants climbing up the balcony wall, and snapping at a minuscule black fly hovering over her upturned nose, she reflected, ‘Well now, finally some rain, long overdue.’ Swamped by these horrid black flies, she realized that she had been stungRead More →

I sat in front of the glaring lights. Bright lights between the mirror, enhanced my reflection of a masked face in white make-up paste. The make-up artist diligently applying colour dust with a small sponge on my dark skin. “You really have very soft skin,” she whispered into my ears with a smile. I smiled back asking, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” “Don’t know,” she said, moving her attention to my eyes now. Eye make-up was the hardest to do. I empathised with her and asked her if her arm was aching. She had it suspendedRead More →

Daddy dad! Oh what am I to do now? Malcolm? No no nothing! He is but a baby No Oh this! This despair. Unbearable pain. The loneliness. But Malcolm is still small. Who? What am I to do? Quiet. Listen! Listen to the music. It is but the music of silence. For life has completely gone out of him. Grey lips, Pale. He is so pale. Frozen like the still snow topped mountain. His body cut out to melt. Pulverise in grave. Eaten away by moths of… days go but nights…Oh how dark is it? How dark is it inRead More →

by Mehreen Ahmed When I started writing The Pacifist, I didn’t realize that it would end up being a historical fiction. I just wanted to write a convincing story about these characters that appear in the book. And I wanted to set it by the ocean. Living in Australia for nearly two decades, one of the natural wonders that has attracted me over the years was the sea. It was not just the beauty of the sea, but I was also quite literally drawn by its rich maritime history that Australia is endowed with. As the book progressed, I feltRead More →

Here are Dave Doolittle’s tips on how to start a business that will have as much chance of getting off the ground as a balloon filled with rocks. 1. Make your product interesting. People will run like prey from predators if something makes them think.  Take books, for example.  Books like 50 Shades of Grey sell like hotcakes while only a handful of people have ever heard of Shillelagh Law.  It’s a crying shame but proves the point.  Come up with something interesting and drive people to the other side of the country. 2. Be honest. People will believe anythingRead More →

Meg Whitman asks,  “Mr. Doolittle, I recently graduated high school, am good at math, and am considering a career in business. Could you recommend a quality business school?” Doolittle responds: Have you ever considered becoming a shepherd? You pretty much lie in a field all day while dogs do all the work, and you can utilize your math skills by tallying ovines to your heart’s content; an activity I imagine will contribute to a good night’s sleep. As for training, I would recommend you major in literature or philosophy, which will not only afford you something to think about duringRead More →

On the crossing of Victoria and Harriet Street, stood a massive block of grey apartment building. Up in the front of each flat, balconies jutted out like open match boxes, creating a blind spot for the incoming traffic. It posed an undeniable threat to the traffic on the road. Notwithstanding, the building had much to offer in the way of charm. It would have looked quite stark, had it not been for the indoor plants and furniture. Some balconies had synthetic black chairs placed around a white table of six. Others had two strong wooden benches to seat eight people abreast.Read More →