I am a constant reader, a sometimes blogger, and a mild insomniac. I've found OS keeps great company.  In the past I've shared writers who have kept me reading, so here is a new installment from my OS travels.  Get your bookmarks ready for the following writers:

1.  Renatta  Laundry

I love the way Renatta weaves words.  Lyrical magic on a page.  I also enjoy the depth of soul she shares when she writes a line such as:

A quick glance at me and one sees the wooly nature of my kinks; strands interwoven to form locks, the sapodilla sun kissed brown that is my skin, the ample lips and full nose inhabiting my face, all scream African.

 ( from We Are Still Here) 

2.  The Chronicle of Linnnn 

You'll be amazed at the humor, the spunk, the wit, and tenacity that you'll find in Linnnn.    The Boy and I Put a Headlock on Meningitis is a recent post and in my opinion,  one of her most gripping.  Here is a sample:

 It could have been the nightly dinner table exchanges with my doctor father when I was a child about different illnesses he was curing. Or it could have been our beloved Sarah, The Boy’s guardian angel at whom he pointed and called by name as soon as he could speak. I suspect she may have whispered in my ear as I lifted my hand to feel his molten brow. I said:

“Can you make your chin touch your chest?”

3.     John Guzlowski.  This guy's a heavyweight.  A class act who raises the reading and writing bar here on Open Salon.  Read him when you have time to spend.  The depth and intensity on these pages will rob your breath.    From The German-- A Short Story About the War:

 She shrugged and sat in silence, her eyes on his eyes. Then she started speaking slowly. She told him that the fall had been hard so far. Early in October, there was rain and mud, and then the cold started and the mud froze. She liked it when the mud froze. She didn’t like the smell of the mud when it was wet—it was like manure, like living in a toilet. It was better when the muck froze. She could walk outside and not worry about the mud sucking her boots off. Her husband lost a rubber boot once right outside the door. The mud was like a demon, it just sucked the boot right off his foot, like a giant mouth. Her husband never found the boot. Not even in the spring.

4.  My new friend Josh Ford.   Without doubt, I'll go again to his blog.  From Ford's first post, Handicapped Parking.  

 This is time consuming, but eventually I get my thoughts out.  The problem is that my audience can’t always stick around for the end my story...This is just my first blog so that I can see if I can actually connect.  So, if anyone is out there I hope you will have time to read the thoughts I never got to speak. 

5.  Divorce Bard.   The Bard is keeping a daily journal in iambic pentameter.  The kaleidescope he' s sharing is a daily good turn.

 List, Sunday Mar 14, 2010 

The Star Wars Lego book, a tennis ball,
A whistle from Brazil put back together,
The Guinness Book (a woman eight feet tall!),
And daily young obsession with the weather,
Along with Harry Potter, Volume Six,
Will all pack up and go on Tuesday night,
Assuming there's no issue with Her flight.
Some several broken toys I have to fix
Will stay behind, for want of Super Glue,
Along with birthday cards, and works of art,
And quiet mornings, not enough to do,
And sitting down, and wond'ring where to start.
And drumming fingers, with an empty heart.

6. Harry's Ghost. 

An Assassination of Character is fiction at its best.  Get ready for Goupil. 

 Goupil survived the morning onslaught yet again. He sunk into the hotel bed in a room bathed in beloved anonymity, like he had never breathed its air, never existed. No traces, no regrets - a motto to die by. Goupil's unstated goal was to die in an unmarked grave at an unattended funeral. He'd of simply vanished from sight unnoticed just as he had done a thousand times before. 

7.  Linda Shiue.   A smorgasbord blog.  I don't know if I should share Shiue's writing or her recipes.  Shiue captivates with incredible style.  From Secret (Menus) and Lies:

 He came home with a large brown paper bag emanating the seductive fragrances of lemon grass, turmeric and coconut milk.  But he looked agitated.  Before I was able to dig in, he said, "There's something I need to tell you."

8. Michael Reid Rubenstein   I'm on permanent return to biggest mistake 2 "gone an back"   This one slayed my senses.

Odys i’m starved haven’t eaten all day let’s stop for a bite let me take you to lunch” he says “i’ll have a cocktail” they tie dogs to parking meter go inside sit in booth drink several screwdrivers smoke talk Bayli orders steak and fries Odysseus orders bloody mary madonna’s “like a virgin” plays from bar speakers Bayli comments “there’s still innocence about you Odys i can feel it you’re like child full of gullibility wonder how have you managed to survive?

 light photo:  MorgueFile