GUEST POST: From Camera Roll to Real Life_ Creative Ways to Use the Photos on Your Phone by Ian Garza

 

Image: Freepik

From Camera Roll to Real Life: Creative Ways to Use the Photos on Your Phone by Ian Garza

It’s easy to let photos pile up on your phone — random screenshots, blurry outtakes, bursts of great memories. But somewhere in that chaos are the images that actually matter. Photos that make you pause, smile, or feel something again. The trick isn’t getting more of them — it’s doing something with them. Turning your camera roll into a source of joy doesn’t require expensive gear or professional skills. All it takes is a little intentionality, and a few ways to bring those digital snapshots into your real, physical world.

Using Photos Without Frames

You don’t need gallery-style frames to show off your favorite phone photos. In fact, the more casual the display, the more accessible it becomes. Wooden clipboards, magnetic strings, bulldog clips, and washi tape walls all offer low-pressure ways to make your photos visible. These methods invite rotation, creativity, and imperfection — a welcome contrast to perfectly curated grid feeds. When your photos live in real space, they invite conversation, spark memories, and slowly evolve. You can change them out with the seasons or let them pile up like pages on a wall.

Creating Wall Displays at Home

For a more permanent and striking impact, turn a wall into a visual narrative. Photo ledges let you overlap prints of different sizes, combining snapshots with artwork, postcards, or notes. Gallery grids, meanwhile, give structure to chaos — a way to show a timeline, tell a story, or anchor a room. These displays transform individual images into part of a greater whole, emphasizing how your memories build on one another. Whether you keep it all black-and-white or lean into bold colors, the end result is a space that reflects your life back to you. It’s not decoration — it’s autobiography.

Making Keepsake Gifts from Photos

If you’ve ever struggled to give a meaningful gift, your phone already holds the answer. DIY keepsakes like photo jars, handmade candles, or wood-transfer blocks take just a few tools and a little time. The result is a gift that’s impossible to replicate and hard to forget. Because when someone receives a memory instead of a product, the emotional value sticks. You’re not just giving an object — you’re showing that a specific moment mattered enough to make physical. That feeling lingers long after the wrapping paper is gone.

GUEST POST: Strategies for Reinvigorating Creativity for Personal and Professional Success by Ian Garza

 

Image by Freepik

Strategies for Reinvigorating Creativity for Personal and Professional Success by Ian Garza

Creativity isn’t a fixed trait — it’s a skill that can be nurtured, refreshed, and applied in ways that expand both personal fulfillment and professional achievement. Yet, many people find themselves stuck in patterns that stifle their creative edge. Breaking free often requires more than “trying harder”; it means redesigning your daily habits, environments, and mental frameworks to invite fresh thinking. The following strategies offer concrete ways to reignite your creative spark.

Routine Reboot

While it’s tempting to power through long stretches of focused work, sustained output without pauses can lead to diminishing returns. Stepping away at strategic moments, even for a few minutes, can reframe how you see a problem. Research shows that quiet breaks fuel creative insight by allowing your brain’s default mode network to activate. This network helps you connect seemingly unrelated ideas — the foundation of creative thought. Consider building short, tech-free pauses into your day: stand by a window, walk without your phone, or sit in silence. These small shifts can help trigger fresh ideas.

Move to Improve

Your body and mind are deeply interconnected, and movement often precedes mental breakthroughs. Physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients that sharpen focus. Studies on cognitive performance show that exercise improves creative performance by enhancing divergent thinking, the ability to generate many solutions to a single problem. Even short bursts of aerobic exercise, like a brisk 10-minute walk, can prime your mind for more innovative thinking. Try pairing movement with reflection: bring a problem with you on a run or jot ideas down during a cooldown.

Career Change as a Creative Catalyst

Sometimes the best way to reignite creative energy is to step completely outside your familiar professional landscape. Moving into a new field requires you to learn different tools, adapt to unfamiliar challenges, and reframe the way you approach problems. For example, choosing to build in-demand computer science skills can introduce you to a dynamic environment where logic, design, and innovation intersect. This kind of career shift doesn’t just enhance technical ability — it forces the mind to think in new patterns and adapt to diverse problem-solving contexts. 

Fresh Perspective

Falling into familiar patterns can make creative thinking feel impossible. That’s why it’s crucial to intentionally disrupt your usual workflow. The practice of experimentation breaks routine thinking by forcing you to explore alternative routes and outcomes. Experimentation doesn’t need to be risky — it can be as simple as changing the order of your tasks, swapping your workspace, or using a different creative medium. By embracing trial and error, you permit yourself to learn from unexpected results, often leading to more original solutions.

Cross-Pollinate Ideas

Many breakthroughs happen when concepts from different fields collide. This is the essence of lateral thinking — a technique that encourages unconventional connections. Reviewing classic lateral thinking examples can inspire you to look beyond obvious answers. Consider exposing yourself to unfamiliar industries, hobbies, or art forms, then asking how their methods could apply to your own challenges. This cross-pollination works because it draws from a wider pool of knowledge, giving you more raw material for creative problem-solving.

Mind-Body Sync

Creativity thrives when the mind is calm but alert — a state that mindfulness practices can cultivate. Research on meditation shows that open monitoring meditation boosts creativity by enhancing the brain’s ability to notice novel patterns without immediate judgment. This form of meditation encourages awareness of thoughts and sensations as they arise, creating mental space for new associations. Just a few minutes each day can help you approach problems with greater openness, reducing the internal resistance that often blocks innovative thinking.

Creative Collaboration

While solo work can be satisfying, group dynamics can multiply creative output — especially in diverse teams. Exposure to different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to richer idea generation. Research underscores that diverse insights spark innovation by combining varied ways of seeing a problem. To leverage this, seek collaborations outside your immediate circle, join multidisciplinary projects, or participate in community brainstorming sessions. The friction of different viewpoints can be the catalyst for truly novel solutions.

Reinvigorating creativity is less about a single breakthrough and more about sustaining a system that supports continuous idea generation. Your routine should include intentional breaks to reset your mental state, movement to energize your brain, experimentation to keep your thinking flexible, cross-disciplinary exposure to expand your idea pool, mindfulness to maintain openness, and collaboration to incorporate diverse perspectives. When these practices are woven together, they create an environment where creative thinking isn’t occasional — it’s habitual.

For more thought-provoking content like this, you can visit the author, Ian Garza, at his website www.bigonbalance.com.

GUEST POST: How to Sell Successfully at Craft and Vendor Shows (Without Burning Out or Going Broke) by Ian Garza

 

How to Sell Successfully at Craft and Vendor Shows 
(Without Burning Out or Going Broke) by Ian Garza

Photo via Pexels

For artists, makers, and solo vendors, craft fairs can be both thrilling and exhausting. You get a real-time pulse on what customers respond to. You also face logistical puzzles, pricing panic, and long days standing on concrete. But when approached with clarity and preparation, these events can become powerful revenue streams — and even better relationship-builders.

Secure Your Booth Early (And Don’t Assume Anything)

The best booth locations often go fast — and not just because of foot traffic. Events vary wildly in what they provide: some offer tents and tables, others give you a plot of grass and hope for the best. If you’re aiming for holiday markets or juried festivals, you’ll need to reserve your booth far in advance. Ask what’s included in the fee, whether there’s electricity, and if you’ll need to supply your own lighting or signage. Then confirm it — twice. Unexpected gaps in expectations can wreck your setup before the first customer even walks by.

Set It Up Like a Business (Because It Is One)

Many artists start with weekend shows and cash-only transactions. But forming a legal business structure early can save headaches later. If you form an LLC, you gain legal protection, a more credible presence, and better access to wholesale partnerships. You can open a business bank account, apply for resale certificates, and keep your art income separate from personal finances. More importantly, it forces you to track what you sell, making tax season far less chaotic. Whether you earn $2,000 or $20,000 a year at fairs, acting like a business now makes growth feel less daunting.

Price for the Market, Not Just the Studio

Pricing art is emotional. Pricing craft is math. A $30 candle may take two hours to pour and cure, but if customers at your event hesitate above $20, your labor equation needs a revisit. Don’t just set prices by hours worked — balance production cost and market value. Consider bundling small items to push your average transaction up or offering add-ons at checkout. A few bucks of flexibility can convert browsers into buyers without eroding your margins.

Design a Booth That Stops People Mid-Stride

No one wants to approach a booth that feels chaotic, dark, or unclear. But a booth that invites curiosity? That’s power. Use contrasting colors to highlight product zones. Create vertical displays so everything isn’t buried flat on a table. Avoid tiny tags — craft a visually compelling booth setup with large, legible signs. It should take two seconds for a passerby to know what you sell and whether it’s for them. If you’re not sure it’s working, watch people’s feet. If they slow down, you’ve got their attention.

Accept Cards (Obviously) and Communicate Value

Customers expect to pay however they want — cash, card, tap, or even Venmo. But it’s not just about accepting payment. It’s about how seamlessly that payment experience feels. Provide multiple payment methods and make it obvious with signage. If something costs $45, tell them what it’s made from, how it’s unique, and what they’re really buying. Price and value aren’t the same thing. Let your display, words, and checkout process work together to make the transaction feel natural.

Don’t Just Sell — Network Like a Pro

Craft fairs aren’t just about customer sales. They’re some of the best places to meet peers, discover collaboration opportunities, and get invited to better-paying events. Don’t hunker down behind your booth. Walk the venue, say hello to other makers, and make note of who’s getting good foot traffic. Research and connect before the event if possible — many vendors follow each other online. The best collaborations don’t always start in the DMs — they start at the booth next door.

Selling at craft shows isn’t just a way to move inventory. It’s a real-time laboratory for learning what your market wants — and a place to build human connections that can’t happen online. When you approach these shows with a professional mindset, smart pricing, and booth presence, you stop being “just another table.” You become a brand people remember.

For more thought-provoking content like this, you can visit the author, Ian Garza, at his website www.bigonbalance.com.

Excerpt: The 8th Grade Killer by Katy Pierce

Images are Amazon affiliate links to the book

CHAPTER ONE

Amber hopped down from a haphazard pile of driftwood and peered off across Lake Michigan, watching the sunset spill its reds and oranges across the dark water.

At her back, Harborside was already tucking itself into bed. There wasn’t much to do in her hometown—it was mostly filled with boring old shops and creeps walking around with big maps, listening to murder podcasts. But Amber did love this beach. The summer wind blowing off the lake was already cooling down the evening, and she was happy she’d remembered to grab her hoodie.

The crowd of swimmers and beach volleyballers was already disappearing behind her as she trudged through sand in the opposite direction, the distant cheers swallowed by the gentle lapping of waves and an occasional bark from her dog, Cooper. Amber giggled at the big, dumb yellow lab. His tail was wagging at an almost dangerous speed as he trotted ahead along the shoreline.

“Cooper,” she called, knowing the cheeky mutt would ignore her. “Cooper, get back here!”

Amber smiled as he barked at a bug crawling toward the water, batting it with his paw before the next distraction drew him away.

“Are you even listening to me?” Jaclyn, Amber’s friend, snapped her attention back to their gossip. “I asked if you saw what Bethany is wearing.”

Mild curiosity grabbed Amber as she picked up the perfect stone to toss into the lake. Meanwhile, Jaclyn huffed in frustration as she struggled over a tree trunk. They had been coming to this beach all their lives, yet Jaclyn still had trouble navigating nature.

Feeling unusually gracious, Amber decided to humor her. “No, what?”

“It’s the sluttiest bikini I’ve ever seen!” Jaclyn threw her arms into the air, her body exploding with the news. She often made comments like that, and Amber picked out a slight twinge of jealousy in her tone.

“Sounds about right for Bethany.” Amber tried to stifle a chuckle, grabbing at Jaclyn’s mouth to bring her volume down. Jaclyn tended to shout her opinions, and while Amber loved her candor, she didn’t want anyone overhearing what they really thought of their mutual friend.

Amber could appreciate a good slutty bikini, but wearing one was an art form and Bethany was no artist. She didn’t understand that deciding when to wear a swimsuit was almost as crucial as the choice of swimsuit itself. For Bethany to wear something like that at Whittler’s Cove, at night, was a bold statement.

“Bethany’s probably still trying to ride Abigail’s brother. I saw them there too.” Jaclyn rolled her eyes at how obvious Bethany was being. She was normally too savvy to do something as stupid as wearing a string bikini in early summer.

“Probably. She’s gone into whore hyperdrive since graduation. Abigail’s brother is pretty hot, though.”

“Oh, is he? I guess so…”

Guest Post: 3 Tips for Increasing Your Exposure as an Artist by Ian Garza

3 Tips for Increasing Your Exposure as an Artist

~ 

Guest Post by Ian Garza of Big On Balance

Getting your work discovered is a life-changing experience, but boosting the visibility of your art can often feel like an uphill battle. Exposure is vital to your future success, whether you're a painter, fashion designer, or crafter. Being proactive, investing in marketing, and expanding your network lets you show more people what you can offer. Follow these tips to boost your profile and attract more clients to your work.

1. Develop a Plan

According to experts, having a clear business plan contributes to your brand's future growth and success. When developing your business plan, it's a good idea to include information about your products or services, target market demographics, and financial needs.

If you are a fashion designer or craft maker, determining how to source materials and whether to sell your work on an e-commerce platform or in a brick-and-mortar store can help you anticipate initial costs. In addition to details regarding your business's finances, your plan should include its operational structure.

There are several options when selecting a business entity, but most artists form either sole proprietorships or LLCs. Each of these offers unique benefits, but the rules and regulations governing them can vary depending on your state, so you should do your research before making a decision. Find out how to start a business with ZenBusiness for the ease they offer.

GUEST POST: The Jackdaw and the Doll by John Biscello (Illustrations by Izumi Yokoyama)

 

"K. leads a double life. Timid office clerk by day, storyteller by night. But not just any storyteller. Transforming into a jackdaw, K. takes secret night-flights around the city, collecting moments of inspiration. Confronted by sickness, and “The Shroud” which has haunted him since childhood, K., joined by his new love, Dora, moves away from home to The City of Birds. It is there that he will meet a young girl, heartbroken over her lost doll, and be given a golden chance to share the healing magic of storytelling.  A fable about love, compassion and creativity, inspired by a story about the writer, Franz Kafka."

IZUMI YOKOYAMA: Izumi Yokoyama is a multi-media artist who lives and works in Taos, New Mexico. Born in Niigata, Japan, in 1980, Yokoyama graduated with an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and moved to the high desert. Yokoyama’s artwork, which has been presented locally and nationally, spotlights apparitional motifs while celebrating the juxtapositions of living and dying. The Japanese culture and desert stories significantly influence her creative process. She works in ink pen drawings, installations, murals, calligraphy, and interactive community projects. 

JOHN BISCELLO: Originally from Brooklyn, NY, novelist, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has called Taos, New Mexico home since 2001. He is the author of three novels: Broken Land, Raking the Dust, and Nocturne Variations; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag; two books of poetry, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street, and an adaptation of classic folk tales, Once Upon a Time: Classic Folktales Reimagined.

  

GUEST POST: How to Always be on the Lookout for New Inspiration by Kelvyn Fernandes

Hi, my name is Kelvyn Fernandes, author of The Many Adventures of Peter and Fi. As a writer of a fantastical journey, filled with peculiar characters and wondrous creatures, I’m often asked where do I get the ideas for my tales. Where do I pull my inspiration from? And the long and short answer is: everywhere at once.

The book I sought to write was based on snippets and extracts from memorable moments throughout my life. It is a compilation of every book I wanted to tell my way. Every movie I felt was missing something more. And every song whose lyrics stoked my imagination. A spark of an idea would start, based on a chance encounter or new set of information. And in my mind it would snowball through my backlog of interactions with the world; picking up bits and pieces to form a full character, a full setting, a full scene.

I take detailed notes on the thoughts that gain the most steam. From there I flesh out the narrative and over-arching plot. As such, I’ve formed a few tenets I try to live life by. These tenets help push me towards new, creative revelations. Therefore–in doing so–I keep my ideas fresh and interesting for the reader. More so, for myself.

It's important to embrace new experiences, even if you’re not interested or think they might suck. It’s almost never a bad idea to try something once. And if your bias is confirmed, a bad experience will likely make a great story.

Break away from your genre. Strong stories are found in strong characters. And strong characters can be found anywhere. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, don’t just look for ideas in other fantasy novels. It’s definitely good to familiarize yourself with fellow fantasy authors–and build on their stories. But sometimes if you’re stuck (anywhere within your writing), it’s refreshing to look somewhere outside your chosen genre.

For example, I read Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams as part of my friends’ book club. It follows a documented and real-life wildlife adventure the author took to see endangered species throughout the world. I wasn’t expecting to get so engrossed in a journal of his trip, but it really opened my eyes to the amazing places that exist in the world.

Most importantly, it gave me ideas for amazing places I could incorporate into my own writer's world.

GUEST POST ~ The Perfect Idiot by Frank Iodice

The Perfect Idiot by Frank Iodice

Title: The Perfect Idiot
Author: Frank Iodice

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: Winter 2019

List Price: TBA 

Publisher: Articoli Liberi

Synopsis: A Perfect Idiot is a poetic, tender novel. Odette is a six years old girl. She is living in a foster home in the south of France when she meets the narrator, a night custodian, and decides he should be her father. To look for him, Odette escapes with the help of an old Argentinian prostitute, Signorina Rosario Rossi, who has quite an original philosophy of life, and her ex-boyfriend, don Vito Palladino, an irreverent parish priest…

Frank Iodice created a series of marginal, eccentic characters trapped in a story full of delicate and yet bitter regrets.  With his sense of humor and his humanity, he was albe to help them find meaning in their unfulfilled lives.

Uno. 

Meli Montreux was always tired every morning she arrived. She gave me the impression that someone hadn't let her sleep. I imagined that a big hairy brute forced her to stay up all night. When she walked in, she sat down placing her chin on the palm of her hand. Her honest face, framed by her short, disheveled hair, didn't show the traces of violence that I found in the other social workers. It couldn't be described like any other face; probably it came very close to what I would call now perfection. Meli often wore long skirts with flowers, and smiled with her lips closed. 

Up there in Sospel we had a big black cat found on the street. That night, he was waiting for the fat from my ham; he stared at me from the sill of a window so low that it could also work as a door if you had long legs. I ate without looking outside and didn't share my ham with the cat. I didn't have the time because, a few days later, I died. 

On the hill across the way, there was the white building where the General lived. He was explaining to the cleaning woman how to wash his balcony, one tile at a time. The cypresses with a few branches out of place swayed, imitating the clouds. A beetle came in and began to beat against the wrong wall. It's going to end up killing itself, I thought. In the meantime, I listed the scenes I had seen in the previous days. 

I very much enjoyed making lists.

Uno. A mother thanks cars while crossing the street: her daughter imitates her and thanks the cars. Another mother doesn't thank the cars: her daughter imitates her and doesn't thank. Heredity of civility.

Due. The hairdresser complains about the stink from the public toilets. There's pee everywhere, she screams, but the pee is perfumed by anise, so that the hairdresser hopes no one has heard her.

Tre. This morning the girls were playing with the cat, which, at least apparently, didn't smile at them. From the back of the garden came the deep chirps of the blackbirds and the pleasant cold of the land. 

I liked the cat, too. Early in the morning, we were the only ones in the garden. We kept each other company while waiting for the others. I felt the calm of the green, old estate. The caretakers arrived at seven in the morning. On the weekend at seven-thirty. 

I was the custodian. I’ve always been a custodian. At night I was the only one to watch over the children. I brought books and sweets with me. I had been reading almost a book a day ever since my own childhood. As for the pastries, the kids and I ate them in secret, at least a couple each. The ones with a lot of cream were the hardest to hide. 

In that place on the edge of Nice, I could imagine the city any way I wanted because I didn't hear its noise. When I left in the morning, after my night shift, I felt my legs heavy and lazy. I had time to see details that, otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed: like the noise the hairdresser made when she placed nail polish in the window (the hairdresser was also the beautician of the town) the little bottles clattered against each other or hit the glass and made the same sound of pebbles on the beach, a liquid pleasing knocking. There was also the girl with the long neck, who left home with a bunch of flowers in her hand. She might have been the daughter of the florist, a woman with the same neck, whose shop was a little down the street, but I enjoyed imagining that she received a fresh bunch every evening, and that the next morning she passed them on to someone else.

‘A child who doesn’t read is a child who doesn’t dream.’

Articoli Liberi is based in the south of France. We are a nonprofit organization born to diffuse free books to schools all over the world. We distribute for free and we use the proceeds from the online sales to print extra copies. The objective is to join as more students as we can and pass down the importance of reading to the new generation.

We are a group of friends, all different from each other, but united by a unique big passion: reading. We believe that a book keeps in its pages the ideas of the person who wrote it, but also those of the person who reads and will speak about it. And for this exchange of ideas, we started exchanging books.

We decided to collaborate with Frank Iodice and publish his amazing novel because (as it was with his ‘Brief Dialogue on Happiness with Pepe Mujica’) it contains all the messages that we ourselves try to leave to the young: the importance of personal freedom; love for reading and for a simple life; rebellion against the modern politics of hate and obsessive competition.

‘A Perfect Idiot’ was originally published in Italian as ‘Un perfetto idiota’, by Edizioni Il Foglio, in February 2017. An excerpt from the first version of this translation project appeared in Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza, in July 2018. Then the author reworked the whole novel and turned it into a new novel, as he himself explained to us:

‘I had to change the structure of every sentence, cutting almost 50 pages in total. Many paragraphs from the original version simply didn’t work in English. So, I adapted my story to an English-speaker readership. And I must admit that I prefer it now. The story goes right where I want it to go’.

The English version will be distributed for free to schools (starting with a conference plan across France, Italy, and the UK–50 copies to each school).

It will be also presented at the Writers Weekend, Augusta University, in March 2019, by the author and Giada Biasetti, one of the professors that collaborated on this wonderful project.

If you want to know more about our future encounters with the students or our nice books, follow us at articoliliberi.blog.

Diffusing books for free has turned out to be our vocation, but we constantly need your support if we want to succeed.

We are proud of the cover art. It was realized by Gary Taxali, an acclaimed, award-winning fine artist and illustrator, known for his retro stylized art in the realm of pop. Gary was glad to participate in our project and offered his terrific artwork wishing us the best with this mission. Find out more about Gary Taxali at garytaxali.com.

Frank Iodice is an Italian freelance journalist and writer. He is the author of numerous novels, like ‘La meccanica dei sentimenti’ (Eretica Edizioni 2018), ‘Matroneum’ (Il Foglio 2018), ‘Un perfetto idiota’ (Il Foglio 2017) and many more. 10.000 copies of his ‘Brief Dialogue on Happiness with Pepe Mujica’ have been distributed for free to French and Italian high schools.

He lives between Paris and Lyon.  His blog is frankiodice.it

GUEST POST: Nocturne Variations by John Biscello

Unsolicited Press 

PRESENTS

Nocturne Variations by John Biscello

Title: Nocturne Variations
Author: John Biscello

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: November 30, 2018 (Available for Pre-Order HERE)

List Price: $18.00 

Publisher: Unsolicited Press

Synopsis: Dystopic Peter Pan meets surrealist noir in this cinemythical tale about love, loss and the illusions of shadow-play.

Los Angeles, December, 1989, is when we first meet the seventeen-year-old Piers, a runaway and a savant puppeteer.  Addicted to Sike, an experimental drug which promises a surrogate return to Childhood, Piers, in an act of revenge, robs a briefcase full of Sike from her dealer and flees L.A., pursued by two hit men.  Hiding out in the Southwestern town of Redline, where she meets and is taken in by a man named Henry Hook, Piers is soon confronted by the buried trauma of her past.

Comprising a jigsaw synthesis of narrative, journal entries, letters, monologues, film footage, poems, photographs, and press clippings; Noturne renders an interior world of fragments and parallels, and casts a tinted light on the neverland between dreaming and waking.

EXCERPT

They were spinning slowly, ever so slowly.

  Do you want to go faster, Piers reached down for the dial. I can make us go faster.

  No, Anya smiled. I like the speed. We’re moving so slow it’s like we’re not moving at all.

  Piers and Anya sat in the Amusement Seats, across from one another.

  Piers drew the cloth to her face, huffed, then passed it to Anya.

  Piers stared at Anya, half her face masked in cloth, an asthmatic bandit in the throes of huffing.

  Piers stared and stared,

  and her vision dissimulated into small birds,

  winging across the painted winter of Anya’s face,

  and into the rabbitpink of her eyes, a dying sun

  or lighted prehistory.

  And then, like a slow-motion dream in reverse,

  Piers found herself earlier in the night:

  Anya, on stage, a glacial Venus, dancing with the other Winter’s Brides,

  dancing to invoke snow, which came in the form of electro audio fuzz.

  Can you hear the snow falling, Piers elated to Trink,

  who nodded—Yea yea I can hear it babygirl, I can hear it.

  The Brides, rejoicing in prayer, intensified the frenzy of their dancing,

  as the snowfalling amped into a blizzard of white noise,

  that raged and raged and then

  Silence.

  A ribbed, cathedral silence,

  freezing the Brides into a penitent tableaux.