Featured Author Renae Wrich
February 28, 2026 by Renae Wrich in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured author, Mac and Cheese, mac and cheese in outer space, renae Wrich
A born and raised Minnesotan, Renae Wrich is a lover of hot dishes, lakes, and snuggling up with a good book on a cold winter day. Renae holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and two children (who love macaroni and cheese).
Her second children’s book MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE was published in 2024. You can read more about it here.
More of Renae’s Books
Hover over the cover for buy buttons. Click on the cover for more information.
A Divine Bargain by Neetu
February 26, 2026 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as bargains, deity, gods, idols, Neetu, wares
A Divine Bargain
I see you will haggle over your wares
sell them to me for the price I ask
I know you have many gods
little and large, in stock
so I make my offer
much to your outrage—
how dare I belittle the deity
I hold in my outstretched hand?
So precious I should fall at its feet
not negotiate over its head—
hush, you say, such sacrilege you
cannot tolerate
I must be reasonable, not violate
your sacred space
I stand resolute in your face
my offer is no disgrace to sanctity
only a question of profit, I buy
you sell
as God is my witness
it is truth I speak
perhaps, you the keeper of such value
alone know what it is
the sticker on the figure
is a matter of trade
I retreat, leave the idol on your shelf
but hear you call me back,
pull a wrapper and roll it around
the little figurehead,
for a nickel more than
I offered,
both accept.
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
Chocolate? I’m Listening
February 22, 2026 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as chocolate
Every Valentine’s Day chocolate in all shapes and sizes: loose, bagged, heart-shaped boxes, can be found everywhere. Including in my pantry, in the candy dish, on my plate. Well, you get the picture. I like chocolate. (I indulge year round).
But how did chocolate become associated with Valentine’s Day? And who was Valentine?
While traditions and origin stories may vary, two prevalent tales persist. The first is that of a Catholic priest named, Valentine, who performed wedding ceremonies for soldiers even though Rome had prohibited it. He was subsequently executed around 269 A.D. for defying Emperor Claudius II’s orders. Another relates the story of Bishop Valentine of Terni, who during his imprisonment healed the jailer’s blind daughter. Just before he was martyred, he left the girl a note, “From your Valentine.” In 496 A.D., the Church officially established February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day.
Thereafter, the Saint’s day became associated with love and notes and gifts were exchanged. In the 19th and 20th centuries chocolate became associated with the holiday because it was a symbol of sweetness, indulgence, and sensory pleasure.
Ah, ain’t love grand?!
On the practical side, professional opinions change as to the benefits, or lack thereof, of chocolate.
Dark chocolate in particular is rich in antioxidants and contains iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium among other essential minerals. It improves heart health, brain function, and mood.
And let’s face it. It tastes good. So, what’s not to like about chocolate?
On the down side, chocolate can be high in sugar, saturated fat, and calories. Some of the seeds of the cacao plant, from which chocolate is made, can be contaminated by cadmium and lead from polluted soil.
Therefore, being informed and reading labels is important.
I wonder. Would chocolate have become so popular and associated with love if these two priests had not been martyred?
I suppose that the take away from the story and origin of St. Valentine’s Day is that all things can be enjoyed in moderation. But we should live and love LAVISHLY!
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on March 22nd!
Books Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
Featured Author Renae Wrich
February 14, 2026 by Renae Wrich in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured author, Mac and Cheese, mac and cheese in outer space, renae Wrich
A born and raised Minnesotan, Renae Wrich is a lover of hot dishes, lakes, and snuggling up with a good book on a cold winter day. Renae holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis with her husband and two children (who love macaroni and cheese).
Her second children’s book MAC AND CHEESE IN OUTER SPACE was published in 2024. You can read more about it here.
More of Renae’s Books
Hover over the cover for buy buttons. Click on the cover for more information.
The 2026 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
February 13, 2026 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #TheBWG, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, new release, Seasons Readings, Short Story Award
The Bethlehem Writers 2025 Short Story Award
BWG is seeking stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (tales of science fiction and fantasy, broadly interpreted). The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, forthcoming in 2026.
Winners receive cash awards and offers of publication. (See below for details.)
First Place:
$250 and consideration for publication in our upcoming anthology: Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy or Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Second Place:
$100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Third Place:
$50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
The 2026 guest judge is science-fiction and fantasy author Susan Kaye Quinn.
Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and studied global warming, getting a PhD in environmental engineering along the way, but now she invents cool stuff in books. She’s been writing across multiple genres for 15 years, with her latest works focusing on hopepunk, solarpunk, and the new stories we need to build a more just and sustainable world. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website: SusanKayeQuinn.com. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.
For more information on the 2025 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here. You can also read an interview with Ms. Quinn here.
About BWG
The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), is a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The members are as different from each other as their stories. BWG also publishes quality fiction through their online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and their award-winning A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.
Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. All but the first anthology include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.
Their first anthology, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (2009), won two Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Best Anthology and Best Short Fiction.
Season’s Reading: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales is the latest in A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
Featured Books
THE ALLIANCE
When Leora Ebersole sees the small plane crash in her Old Order Mennonite community, she has no idea it's a foreshadowing of things to come.
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NAMES I CALL MY SISTER
Four stories of sisterhood—the bonds, the wars, the frustrations, the love—seasoned with hot Latin spice!
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