Neetu Malik: Featured Author
April 1, 2026 by Neetu Malik in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Featured Author of the Month, Neetu Malik, Poet's Day, poetry
Neetu Malik’s poetry is an expression of life’s rhythms and the beat of the human spirit. She draws upon diverse multicultural experiences and observations across three continents in which she has lived. She has contributed to The Australia Times Poetry Magazine, October Hill Magazine, Prachya Review, among others. Her poems have appeared in The Poetic Bond Anthology V and VI published by Willowdown Books, UK, NY Literary Magazine’s Tears Anthology and Poetic Imagination Anthology (Canada).
Her poem, “Soaring Flames”, was awarded First-Place by the NY Literary Magazine (2017). She has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2019 for her poem “Sacred Figs” published by Kallisto Gaia Press in their Ocotillo Review in May, 2018. She had a monthly column, Poet’s Day, here on A Slice of Orange.
Neetu lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
You can find Neetu’s poetry in these volumes.
Hover on the cover for buy links. Click on the cover for more information.
Overturned
March 30, 2026 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic tagged as compassion, Cooking school, Dianna Sinovic, turnovers
Hannah dipped a brush into the egg wash and spread the pale fluid over the turnovers, mentally crossing her fingers. Beside her and across the steel work table from her other students concentrated on their entries. She had to ace this final exam; if she didn’t, her budding pastry career would never rise to reality.
She slid the tray of turnovers into the oven and set her timer. Some students had their trays in the oven ahead of her, but at least five others were still assembling. Their instructor, Bridget, a tall, large-boned woman with a perpetual frown, kept her gaze moving around the commercial kitchen.
“This is no time to dawdle,” the instructor said, addressing the room. “The clock is ticking.”
Indeed. The test required that the turnovers be done to perfection by a specified time. Hannah relaxed slightly; hers were baking. She had nothing more to do until she removed them from the oven and placed them on the cooling rack.
Pastries. Turnovers. Cakes. Pies. She wanted to make them all. Every day. And if she passed this final exam, she could open her own shop, maybe. Someday.
She was pulled out of her daydream by soft sniffles. The student to her right was frantically stuffing her turnovers while sobbing softly. Pamela, slender as a spatula, routinely was the last to complete a class baking assignment.
The other students, all of whom now had their entries in the ovens, chatted in clumps, ignoring Pamela, although a few sidelong glances said they were quite aware of her struggle.
According to the class rules, each student was to work alone. This was not about collaboration but the ability to complete a task within a time frame. It required focus and efficiency. Pamela seemed lacking in the latter, but to her credit, she never asked for help.
To hell with the rules. Hannah washed her hands and stepped up beside Pamela.
“You fill and I’ll crimp,” she said. “You’ll be done ASAP.”
With a small gasp and a look of gratitude, Pamela moved over to allow Hannah to join her. There was a rise in murmurs from the other students, and Hannah felt the instructor’s eyes on her.
“Miss Stevens, you know the class guidelines,” Bridget said. “This is solo work only. Miss Murray must complete the assignment by herself.”
Hannah did not look up, did not stop her work. Within minutes, the batch was prepped, brushed, and in the oven.
“Thank you,” Pamela whispered, her flushed face turning even redder. “I know it’s not allowed, but . . . ” Her eyes teared. “I’m going to flunk anyway. And now you are, too. Why I thought I could do this . . . ”
Hannah hoped her smile was reassuring. “That’s bullshit. You won’t flunk. You’ve turned out some nice pieces.” She searched her memory for something she could call out, but came up blank. Mostly burnt or underdone. Unappetizing. Bitter flavors.
“What’s your plan after the class ends?” Hannah helped wipe down the table and wash the prep tools.
“To open my own shop.” Pamela looked away. Exactly what Hannah dreamed of. “I’ve got the business savvy down. My dad’s a CPA, and I’ve soaked up what he does. Numbers are my happy place. But baking . . . ” Her words trailed off.
Bridget, the instructor, circulated through the kitchen, stopping to inspect each turnover batch as it emerged from the oven, making notes on her black clip board. By the time she made it around to their side of the work table, Hannah’s turnovers sat cooling on a rack. The aroma made Hannah’s stomach rumble. The crusts were perfectly crisp and brown.
Leaning over the table, Bridget surveyed the platter and nodded briefly. Hannah handed her a knife, and the instructor cut one turnover exactly in half, then sliced a sample. Another nod as she chewed and swallowed.
Pamela, meanwhile, removed her batch from the oven.
Scribbling on her assessment sheet, Bridget gave no hint of her judgment. “Under normal circumstances, your work would place at the top of the class,” she said. “But unfortunately, I must give you lower marks for ignoring the rules.”
“That’s not fair,” Pamela said, her voice rising. “Hannah stepped in because she knew I was behind. It was an act of compassion.” She glanced at Hannah. “And I’m grateful. Don’t mark her down for that.”
Bridget gave a half-smile. “I’m afraid compassion has no place in a commercial kitchen. Speed and efficiency are what matter. As well as a superior product, of course. Miss Stevens must learn that if she hopes to succeed.”
Pamela reached in front of Hannah and picked up half of the turnover the instructor had sliced. She took a big bite, chewed and smiled. “Well, this is a ‘superior product’ despite the compassion she showed.”
“With all respect,” Hannah said, “I think there’s room for kindness along with efficiency. A kitchen staff has to feel part of a team, and you get there by practicing empathy. At least, my staff will.”
“You’ve a long way to go, Miss Stevens,” Bridget said. “You’ll learn or go under.”
Hannah fought the urge to argue back. She wouldn’t win. Instead she turned to Pamela.
“I have an idea.” She took a breath and realized she had the attention of the entire class. “What if we partnered? I hate math, so you keep the books, and I do the baking.” She quickly added, “You could help bake if you want.”
Hannah bit into one of Pamela’s turnovers and squelched her reaction to the off-putting flavors. With luck, the shop would keep Pamela too busy with sales to allow time in the kitchen.
It was after Pamela’s squeal of approval, and after class had ended that Hannah opened the handwritten note the instructor had attached to her graduation certificate.
“The test of any person lies in action.” Below it, in red, her grade: an A.
Some of Dianna’s Books
Featured Author: Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
March 29, 2026 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Contests, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Susan Kaye Quinn, The BWG
About Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
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.
Next up for BWG
BWG is working on their ninth anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
In connection with this anthology, they are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2026 Short Story Award.
The contest deadline is April 30, 2025. The theme is Speculative Fiction (tales of science fiction and fantasy, broadly interpreted).
BWG is seeking never-published short stories of 2,500 words or fewer.
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 contest judge is speculative fiction author Susan Kaye Quinn.
About the 2026 Contest Judge
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.
Read BWG’s interview of Susan here.
For more information on the 2026 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
Calling All Book Lovers
March 28, 2026 by Alina K. Field in category Writing
If you live in a part of the country that experienced a horrible and very snowy winter, I hope that spring has come your way and that all that white stuff will soon be melted. Unless of course you loved sitting inside by a warm fire drinking hot chocolate and reading books.
Speaking of books…
Book Lovers Con
This weekend 450 readers and authors have gathered in Las Vegas for Book Lovers Con at the Flamingo Hotel.
As this blog posts, I’m getting ready to sign books at the BLC Bookfest. But as I write this post, the conference hasn’t started.
Do you like book signings? I’m too much of an introvert to not find them challenging. I much prefer hobnobbing casually with readers at the conference social events to sitting behind a table that (in my mind) screams “buy my books”. Authors and readers out there, what do you think?
A New Strategy
For this conference, I’m bringing just a handful of print books for sale, and trying another author friend’s strategy for ebook sales. Three of my series starters are on sale for 99 cents. Interested readers can scan a QR code for purchase–a savings for them, plus no extra print books for them to cart home.
If you’re in or near Las Vegas, join us for the Bookfest from 10 am to 1 pm, and be sure to stop by my table and say hello, no purchase required!
If you can’t make it, you can still take advantage of these deals! (sale runs through April 30th)
Marrying Mr. Gibson
Book One, Sons of the Spy Lord Series
For a chance at true freedom, a spy’s daughter dodges an arranged marriage to an earl’s illegitimate son and seeks the fortune left by her inscrutable father. When her quest draws a villain’s threat, the only person she can trust is the war-weary soldier she doesn’t want to marry—but can’t seem to resist.
Universal Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/MarryingMrGibson
Fated Hearts
Book One, The Macbeth Series
Plagued by memories of war and visions of coming battle, a Scottish Baron meets the daughter he denied was his, and his only true love—the wife he divorced. He soon discovers that the jealous enemy who drove them apart has resurfaced, more treacherous than ever. When his lady and daughter fall into a vengeful trap, can he reach them in time?
Universal Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/FatedHeartsbyAlinaKField
The Duke She Despised
Book One, The Upstart Christmas Brides Series
Hiding her true identity, a young vicar’s widow takes a position as housekeeper in a remote Scottish castle at Christmas for a new duke who years ago sabotaged her chance for happiness. She quickly falls for the duke’s charming but not very competent factor, not knowing that he’s hiding something also—he’s the duke she despised!
Universal Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/TheDukeSheDespised
I’ll let you know in future posts how my plan works out!
Until next time, happy reading!
Image credit (girl reading): Depositphotos.com
And So She Grows Old by Neetu
March 26, 2026 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as aging, bending, blowing wind, Neetu, women
And So She Grows Old
she bends
to the breeze
allows it to twist her bones
shape her arms
to shade and protect
as she tries hard
to lean towards the sun
to draw upon its warmth
and light
where to now
that she is bent
and has swayed
every which way the wind
has blown
rooted in hardened ground
she stands
weathered and stoic
no one asks if it matters
to her or
if she hurts
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
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SEAGROVE SECRETS
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SEASIDE SWEETS
After her ex runs up her credit card, clears her bank account, and gets her fired, Seanna escapes to Seaside, Florida where the men are hot as the Gulf Coast sun…one in particular.
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