We are so excited to share this issue with you. We thank all of the contributors who made this possible. We do want to issue trigger warnings for sexual assault, eating disorders, addiction, suicide, and self-harm. Your mental health is our top priority. Please read at your own discretion. Here is Issue Three!
Lynne Schmidt (she/her) is a mental health professional in Maine whose memoir, The Right to Live: A Memoir of Abortion was a Maine Nonfiction Award Winner and a PNWA finalist. Her work has appeared in Soft Cartel, Royal Rose, RESIST/RECLAIM, Pussy Magic, Neon Mariposa, Sixty-Four Best Poets of 2018, 2018 Emerging Poets, Frost Meadow Review, and others. Lynne is the founder of AbortionChat. She has been and continues to be a featured poet at events throughout Maine. When given the choice, she prefers the company of her three dogs and one cat to humans.
Francisca Matos just graduated from college in Lisbon, Portugal and is moving to London in September to pursue a Masters in Creative Writing.
Greg Rudolph is a poet, essayist, and appreciator of punk music from Des Moines, Iowa. Greg’s published works include his poetry compilation ‘Someone Used to Live Here, Long Ago’.
Christian J. Collier is a 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow. He is an accomplished artist, public speaker, and educator who has shared the stage with members of HBO’s Def Poetry cast, Rock& Roll Hall of Fame members The Impressions, and Grammy-nominee Minton Sparks. Some of his works have been featured on The Guardian, and published in such publications as The American Journal of Poetry, TAYO Literary Magazine, The Seven Hills Review, and Apogee Journal, to name a few.
Melodie Jones is twenty-three-year-old Ball State University graduate. She majored in English Education and minored in Creative Writing. She has been writing for ten years. Melodie currently has a poetry series on Channillo titled “Poetry: Free Therapy”. She can be found on Twitter @Miss_MJones. Her author website is https://missmelj05.wixsite.com/mjones-author
Spencer Merced is a queer, transgender writer. As such, their work in poetry and fiction seeks to shed light on stories less told and empower those in marginalized communities.
Susanna Arbuz, 24 years-old, chronically ill, disabled writer and mental health advocate from Brazil. Susanna has recently entered the remission state of bipolar disorder for the first time in 17 years, as well as “graduated” from a 3-year anorexia nervosa treatment, after a 9-year struggle. She also lives with OCD and skin-picking disorder. She has been working on a mental health memoir since late 2018. Twitter: @dandeliontinctu
Mj Bain is a Kent based amateur photographer. This photo was taken as part of a voluntary photo shoot for lgbtqi people with the intent of raising self-esteem and to explore mental health.
Day Sibley is an English major at Nevada State and a self-taught photographer. They used to intern for Red Rock Review at CSN, and when she’s not studying, you can find her exercising, spreading awareness on social justice, editing Dream Noir — or pulling all-nighters because that is what people from Las Vegas tend to do.
Taylor Gianfrancisco is an unpublished writer who lives with Schizoaffective Disorder in Orlando, Florida. She works as an editorial assistant at two literary magazines, JuxtaProse and Helen. Her Twitter handle is @shefruits; her Instagram handle is @tayleurmarie.
Laura Izabela is a writer and a poet, passing through life like the wind.
Turning 40 this year gave Nicola Allen the nudge she needed to get started as a freelance writer. Despite working in a number of comm based roles, these have never given her the freedom to write about the things she loves and to share her voice. Her first short story will be published in an anthology about Leicester later this year. You can follow her on Twitter @nicola_allen
Ana Lorenza Jimenez is a poet, freelance writer, and visual artist who was born and raised in Las Vegas. She draws her work from personal experience and is particularly passionate about being a voice for those suffering with mental health issues.Ana, herself, was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2015. Ana currently has her Associates Degree in World Languages and will receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing in the Fall of 2020. She currently works as a reader and writer for Helen Literary Magazine.
December Lace is a former professional wrestler and pinup model from Chicago. She has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Molotov Cocktail, Vamp Cat, The Cabinet of Heed, Kissing Dynamite, Mookychick, Dark Marrow, and Rhythm & Bones YANYR Anthology, among others as well as the forthcoming Riggwelter Press and Coffin Bell. She loves Batman, burlesque, cats, and horror movies. She can be found on Twitter @TheMissDecember.
Ariel Kurtz is a performer, writer and activist. She is passionate about taking away the stigma about mental health and making mental health resources accessible. She believes in making art that is responsible and important. Her poem Without A Dad has been seen in Unread Magazine and her poem Beautiful has been published in The Student Connection. Please feel free to visit her website www.ArielKurtz.com for more information or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @ArielKurtz13.
Sarah A. Etlinger is an English professor who resides in Milwaukee, WI, with her family. A Pushcart nominee, she is the author of two chapbooks, Never One for Promises (Kelsay Books, Dec 2018) and the forthcoming Little Human Things (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, Fall 2019). Her work can be found in places like Neologism Poetry journal, the Amethyst Review, Cliterature, and many others. Look for her at sarahetlinger.com and on Twitter at @drsaephd.
Richaundra Thursday is a nonbinary (cassgender) aromantic asexual living in South King County, Washington. They teach 8th grade Social Studies and English/Language Arts during the day and spend their free time reading everything they can, cooking, playing video games and spending arguably too much time on Twitter. They have been published in Blossomry, Silverblade, Eye to the Telescope, Star*Line, The First Line, The Poet’s Haven, Vulture Bones, and Luna Station Quarterly. While they have most often published speculative poetry, they also write short stories, flash fiction and found poetry.
Royal Rose 
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