There is only one way to turn one book into many, and it is to TRANSLATE.

Yet, the amount of books that never gets a chance to be translated is enormous. It is even more so in the world of Indie Authors and their baby books. If you want to taste how truly dramatic this is, imagine ocean of books, drifting away from the starving hearts of its potential readers.

Imagine Shakespeare, drowned in among those drifting away waters of words.

Imagine Kafka, never crossing the border of Germany.

As a Russian/English speaking person, I’ve read dozens and dozens of books, some of them written by my favorite American/British Indie Authors, that will more likely never be t...

Her bones smelled like petals of roses
Her skin – a transcendent ivory cream
Lips – soaked with moist ocean
Reflected in her bottomless
Endless eyes – a vicious gleam.

Her hair – a delicate work of Gods,
Fingers tracing the remains of nights
Left to remember
And crave,
Meant to be touched
Her bones that would always lie fragile
On destroyed grounds
Of shameless peasants.

In loneliness, I keep my chair,
In it I breathe, in it I pray.
For every other being there,
I leave a note, a word on it. 
For those, who come,
For those who leave,
I offer temporary seat. 
For those who fight,
For those who cheat,
I offer death on blowing wind.
In loneliness, I keep my chair,
In it I live, in it I sleep,
For every guest, 
For every visit,
I shred to piece my scrawny wings. 

Sometimes, people just find each other and a Poem gets born. Just like that, without reason or explanation. Matt Greenwell is not just a great writer with a unique sense of rhythm and humor, he is also a great person and my good friend. This poem 'One Hundredth of a Second' is a product of his incredible dedication to writing, talent, wonderful ability to read between lines and my love for darkness and tragic. He is genuis and without it we would not have this amazing poem written. 

Ladies and Gentelmen! To your attention, I want to present: One Hundredth of a Second.

Trapped in the juncture of today and tomorrow, 
When the minute hand is toiling to mi...

The last thing I ever planned or wanted, for that matter, was to write poems. But occasionally things happened on their own and for past years I've written quite a few dozens of them. Don't get me wrong, most of them are not good at all, but some... 

This 'He forbids smiling, no laughing...' Poem is one short piece from my collection I think you may like.

***

He forbids smiling, no laughing, this can be hard,
In his mind everything is a lack of light.
He scowls, nothing real, this makes him strong,
No pressure, no meaning, he is a thorn.
He never gets warmer, never gets kind,
No sense of humor, he is a bug.
Created by people and spoiled by ...

Okay, my current WIP is not about a world where Death does not exist. What a senseless world it would be where no one dies, right? But the story is close on the tail of ‘what if there was someone who would be able to defeat Death for good and maybe, if lucky enough, to bring all the dead back to life? Would not it be fun to have dead risen from their graves and turned back to their homes and families?

Mmm, and while you're trying to imagine it, here is my little POEM inspired by this 'possible' world.

Don’t call it angel – it has no wings,

It comes and goes as autumn winds.

Don’t call it monster – it has n...

Those who have a natural attraction to reading, are indeed lucky! But not all of us, lucky bookworms, are being productive in our reading. Quite often, this very attraction turns us into blind puppies that can easily consume book after book and yet struggle to form a good understanding of what those books are about.

When time to leave a comment on the book comes, unproductive reader tends to skip it.

What being a productive reader means?

First of all, it means a consistent reading. Of course! But it also means paying attention and being present, while holding a book in your hands. I know on the personal experience, how alluring idea to just dive in a book and eat it like a creamy slice of cake with one bite is. I’ve been there, I&rs...

Everyone has a view at what happiness is. Some, manage to find happiness in mundane things, like taking a stroll outside in the morning, others search happiness beyond things that can be touched, dedicating their daily activities to spiritual practices and self-education.

But what about ultimate happiness – the state of mind that is peaceful and content?

In this easy conversation, I want to share 10 reasons that might be the cause of your yet not found happiness.

Reason #1 Internal Conflict

‘The scariest monsters are those who lurk within our souls.’ by Edgar Alan Poe

I’ve never met a person who did not have some internal conflicts to de...

"Short story is not a sailing ship to take you far in the ocean but a boat to transport you fast on the other side."

Honestly, I had not much of interest in short stories before. I — an experienced bookworm — obviously, preferred full length novels over twelve-page stories. I liked to sail far rather than jump in for a short ride. Till one day, I accidently got The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells in my hands. Unwrapped on a very delicate line between illusion and reality, it was narrated in such exquisite way that I was immediately dragged in, headfirst.

This was the beginning of my journey into the world of short stories.

Doubtless today, I can assure you, that reading short stories is, indeed, one of the greatest ways to delv...

I was born in Russia. How did it happen that almost half of my life I’ve consciously dedicated to learning English, I find rather hard to narrate in few words… But today’s reality is that one of the main things I do for living is working as a freelance translator, using both my passion for English language and my Russian roots to provide the best translations for my clients.

But sometimes, being a translator can be tricky. Mainly, because being a freelance translator means being a negotiator as well. So, before my work as a translator begins, I have to make sure that the ground for the work laying ahead is solid and my collaboration with the client is build right.

As a translator with experience, I’m aware of all the aspects...

When I say the hardest and lowest paying job, what do you imagine? Maybe, a stiff office without conditioner in the middle of a desert, or a hell kitchen with Gordon Ramsay’s doppelganger shouting and throwing fat beef onto heated oily pan right at your side? Whatever it is, I assure you, my version of the hardest and lowest paying job is something else.  

This summer, I decided to change my routine and for some reasons, the idea to change my routine brought me to the idea to sign myself to the most tiring and emotionally draining job of my life. I became the youngest of six women in a farm workers squad.

Each day, we would start our donkeywork at 6 early a.m. and keep working nonstop till afternoon. Under blazing sun, we would carefully gather cucumb...

It’s been always the same, like a badly written story where one human being stands against another. Some use fists to defend their truths, others are sharp at tongue. Each is reluctant to give up.

But does it really matter?

It’s a fact that huge part of people living on this planet struggle to make their lives better. This is understandable. Each has their list of beliefs, deeply engraved on the innate side of their being. But for what I learned, if the life you have today is not yet the life of your dream then surely, the beliefs you’re guarding so much are not simply working for you.

For some reasons, it’s in us to feel like defending ourselves against people’s thoughts, people’s words, people’s actions, in othe...

A few months ago I took a very important decision. I decided to take my first in years, month off writing and use the time to recharge my personal resources. It was not easy, especially the first week. I was anxious and wired to the same thought that I was wasting my time. Each day I seemed to became more doubtful about the whole idea, walking close to the edge to stop it all and return my butt back to work. Writing always meant a lot to me, and taking a whole month off felt like a betrayal.

I heard about the importance of systematic vacation a lot, but as most of the people, I was rather skeptical about it. Those who take lots of vacations will hardly achieve anything in their lives, I thought. Besides, if you love what you’re doing, you have nothing to vacate from, hav...