Is my skin too dark for this job? Do I have the right smile for this gig? Am I the right height for this show? Is my hair too coarse for that hat?   My body, my eyes Imperfection I despise These questions, these lies I’m all caught in compromise   Should I change up this stanza? Don’t bring attention to the art, fool Wait, am I a boy caught in beauty? No, you’re a girl caught in brawn   The voices from my pen speak Many of them care what you think Both friends and foes, I seek I hope I have what it takes not to sink    Do they see my pretty insecurities? Should I ask them what’s my worth? My insides brought outside for auction I want to hold my breath, but can I?   My cab to tomorrow has arrived I’m not sure I can pay the fare On life, I don’t think I’ve thrived But do you really even care?

 

  Purchase here: https:// https://marsandpanbooks.com/store/the-lovers-universe                                                                              The Lovers Trilogy Book 1 Summary: Lovable loner Casey Isaac thinks romance isn’t for him. Not since extraordinary events left him with supernormal powers and a great deal of trauma. But when Oscar Kenzari looks at him, he can’t help but change his mind. As Divinators, Casey and Oscar have used their psychic powers to defend humanity from sentient, extradimensional storms for one hundred years. But a storm more powerful than any before is brewing. MaalenKun , prince of the maelstrom, conqueror of countless realities, plans to turn the tables by infecting Casey’s mind. MaalenKun is not the only...

  Nick Perere reads his poem, “Sonnet No. 47,” for the Louisiana Words Tour 2025 at George's Place in Baton Rouge, LA.

Sam Harty reads her poem, "Scream on Paper," for the Louisiana Words Tour at George's Place in BatonRouge, LA.

Purchase here:  https:// marsandpanbooks.com/store/p/ the-st-charles-bible Summary Sixteen-year-old Ree Osterberg is drawn into the fading grandeur—and dark secrets—of his grandmother Margarethe’s ancestral home on New Orleans’ famous St. Charles Avenue. According to family legend, Emperor Napoleon himself entrusted her ancestors with a priceless treasure hidden somewhere within Maison de l’Ange. And only Margarethe’s tyrannical father Henri Delacoeur II knows where. When the cruel patriarch dies under mysterious circumstances while celebrating his hundredth birthday, Ree believes the worst of the Delacoeur legacy has finally ended. But Henri’s final act is one last cruelty: he leaves Margarethe nothing, willing the crumbling mansion she has lived in for forty years to a rival niece. With eviction looming, Ree vows to help the grandmother who has proven his only ally in his struggles to understand his own emerging identity as a young gay man in a world that feels increasingly hosti...