Articles written by Jess Howe

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About me - Jess Howe

I write sf, fantasy and (a little bit) horror. Want to go to space and solve murder mysteries, or live in a world where dwarves make each other from stone? Yes, that's me. I also love poetry - of various kinds! ...and, I draw.

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Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Suicide: 1 of 146

"Why did you do it?" I asked the ghost. He was just standing there in my new apartment.I did not need this. My husband committed suicide five years before, and I was still getting over that. He'd died because he couldn't live with himself after that kid died.It's a bitch being empathic, having ESP, being psychic, whatever the... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Should one's faith influence a citizen's vote?: 2 of 126
No, but dammit it does! How many times have we seen the classic "family values" platform? People going to the "Bible Belt", using their "down home, good Christian values" to try and get a win? I'm personally tired of it. I am not alone, either: Evangelical Christians are now questioning what they've been hearing, as opposed t... More..
Food & Drink > Coffee How coffee is grown and processed: 1 of 36
Coffee begins the day for many of us, so now let's see how it started. It was cultivated from the Ethiopian plant Coffea arabica and became so much more over time. It's even had central placing in movies like "Out of Africa", where Meryl Streep's character grows it in Kenya. According to the National Coffee Association, the c... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Sorrow: 7 of 167
In the brilliant sorrow of the nightI am blinded by the neonA thousand lights blaze in the squareJust none for me. I feel the rush of the crowdI hear the sound of ebullienceBut the jumping, throbbing massesDo not touch me. I lit my own little candle for youIn the chapel four nights agoAnd the lights of tonight's New YearsAr... More..
Health & Fitness > Homeopathy Sure fire ways to get rid of indigestion: 1 of 16
There are some very simple ways to act quickly on indigestion. Eradicate the problem completely, and you will no longer need to take all those products that say they'll help when it's really a fifty-fifty chance. It's true that everyone's stomach and gastrointestinal tract are different. Some of the suggestions made here will... More..
Creative Writing > Songs Songs: Friday night: 3 of 43
Some Friday nightWe'll meet 'neath the city starsIn the park where we first kissed- I miss that.I hold that memory dearAs I walk the laughing streetsListening to kids coming out of bars- Where'd it go?Every Friday nightI go to that bench in the parkThe spot where we first made out- I wait for you.Some Friday nightWhen you've ... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: The ocean: 13 of 184
The WallThere is an old grey seawallOn the east New England shoreIt has stood there foreverAnd will forevermore.Its stones were once uncrumbledUntarnished by seaweedBut oe'r years it has been humbledAnd its ruts are full of reedsThe wind whistles through the chinks in itAnd howls among the cracksThe ocean beats a tune on itTh... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: My first love: 5 of 66
Vilner had killed her for the last time, he was sure of it. "Hah! Die!" he cried pounding on the console, and Linn laughed on the other end. She curtseyed as the computer-animated illusion disappeared, and she was back in her jumper again, blunt-cut dark hair framing a heart-shaped face. "Why does the love of my life have... More..
Hobbies & Games > Hobbies & Games (Other) The art of story telling: 1 of 12
When I was a kid, Dad would tell me a story each morning as we waited for the school bus. This tale was often a series, that would not be started up again till next morn. That was how I came to look forward to those bleak dawn mornings (or at least partly did).Now, as a grownup, I am a storyteller myself: I tell tales to frie... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips Getting over yourself: Making the transition from thinking to writing: 6 of 70
You need to work at stories to get them better, and in order to do that you need to stop thinking so much about things and just write. Maybe for the next few years all you'll be able to write is garbage. It even happens to well-known writers from time to time. You can't get past this phase, however, if you don't just simply s... More..