Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Mary Shelley, Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë. These are among the best female authors of all time! They've been around for centuries. We've read them in school.  We know their names. But.....raise your hand if you're here to learn about modern female authors! Hell yeah, me too!

The dictionary definition of the word "modern" states: relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past; it's present-day, contemporary, present-time, present, current, twenty-first-century, recent.

Okay, so not your granny's favorite author. Not a classic female author. Not the best female author of the 19th century or even the 20th century. This is the 21st century, y'all. Bust out your library card or let's face it, just whip out your credit card to buy it off of Amazon. Ok, let's start reading some modern female authors!

If you want to read something career, business, or success related...

Kate White is a bestselling author, professional speaker, & former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan.  She's magazine royalty! This modern female author is your go-to for career advice. The Gutsy Girl Handbook: Your Manifesto for Success has knowledge nuggets, strategies, & tips for women who want to make their own rules, advance their careers, & get the opportunities they deserve. It's a modern take on White's book from 1995, Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do.

If you're struggling with your identity or world view...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an award-winning author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun,  & Americanah. Half of a Yellow Sun is inspired by experiences of her parents during the Nigeria-Biafra war, while Americanah revolves around the realities of balancing the delicate mixture of a Nigerian & American life - the perfect read for anyone struggling with their identity, no matter where you live. As a Persian-American, this topic always resonates with me!

If you want to read something funny, satirical, or light-hearted...

Sarah Cooper's satirical book How to Be Successful without Hurting Men's Feelings aims to poke fun at business strategies for females. The book shares how women can succeed in their careers without harming the fragile male ego in the meantime. It's a great read if you're feeling especially bitter at your workplace. Sarah Cooper is hilarious.

If your mom died...

Read The Dead Moms Club: A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses by Kate Spencer. Someone asked me, "Is it sad? Or like supportive??" Of course, it isn't the most cheery of topics, but Spencer writes in a quippy, sassy, frank, & overall empowering way! Someone somewhere might benefit from this modern female author; I know it helped me.

One of my friends said, "Last time you talked about this book, I bought it. Not very far through it yet, but this year will be 10 years since my mom passed. I thought that it was an appropriate read this year! Thank you."

There are many modern female authors to choose from. Just take a moment to stop scrolling or watch someone's story to read, to live, to think for yourself. We absorb technology all day; when was the last time you absorbed the words of a book?

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click &/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or my social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click &/or purchase. It's at no additional cost to you. Learn more about my disclosure. :]

She exhaled listlessly

& her spirit escaped.

Her body called it quits

& thus, her soul reshaped.

She began a new life

in the pale, grey moonlight.

This was a special time,

it was Halloween night.

She opened her blue eyes

Do you know what she saw?

She looked at her still self;

it was her last hurrah.

Her name was Athena,

like the goddess of war.

She dusted herself off

& arose from the floor.

Her body just lay there,

but her soul was alive.

That's when she decided

it was her time to thrive.

So she floated away

& explored somewhere new.

That's not really something

she would normally do.

Quiet & heartbroken,

cheerless, sad, & somber,

Timid & powerless,

too frightened to wander.

Fearful of everything,

she was not at all brave.

However, that all changed

when she sprung from the grave.

You're probably asking:

"Why on earth should I care?"

The reason is plain but

it may give you a scare.

She would like you to know

that life is not easy.

There are troubles to have;

it won't all be breezy.

Life is quite difficult

until the day you die.

Then you take your last breath

& mutter a goodbye.

Your body soon decays

& you become a ghost.

You'll meet with the others

& you'll all raise a toast:

Cheers to life & to death,

to the haunting we'll do,

to spooking the children,

& always yelling "BOO!" 

To tricking & treating,

to pumpkins & to pranks, 

to stealing some candy

with no need to say thanks.

To goblins & spiders,

& to the webs they weave.

Because of all of this

our souls shall never leave.

That's why it's so spooky.

No one will hear you scream.

After all, don't you know?

Tonight is Halloween.

Tonight is Halloween

A poem by Carmen Varner

++++++

Wishing you a happy Halloween. Have fun & stay safe!

Did you enjoy this poem? Feel free to share it! What are your plans today? :]

Look, I don't want to see you

in any kind of vision.

You're haunting, taunting my mind

treating it like a prison.

Well, let me tell you something

you probably ought to know.

You executed me once,

Truth is you softened the blow.

I dream about it often:

I'm flying high in the air,

escaping from what kills me,

but you greet me with despair.

Seems it's inevitable

that you'd stir up a terror.

Karma will get you, I know.

Call it trial & error.

I admit there's no denying

You may have won the first fight

That was then, this is now &

darkness always falls to light.

I am illuminated

by the ghost of the prior.

Consider me as a sun

Burning noble ball of fire.

I shall triumph past darkness,

shining like the brightest star.

My journey doesn't stop here

I'll continue to go far.

Bid adieu to all evil,

the wicked & the corrupt.

This is a revolution;

The intent is to disrupt

you from your malignant plot.

One sip from the holy grail

& it acknowledges that

the good will always prevail.

A poem by Carmen Varner

+++++++++

Try. Try. Try. Until one day you DO. This poem is for those of us who have a vision & want to achieve it. This poem is for those of us who have no idea where they are or where they're going. This poem is for those of us who are trying every single day regardless of everything that sets us back. You can do it. We can do it. Nobody knows how far you've come.

I wondered wholeheartedly

as the whiskey wooed my wounds.

I wandered within my wisdom

while the warmth of the world

washed away my worries

& the wind whispered wordlessly.

Why wish upon the stars

when I can walk among them?

Why wait for the earth to be woven

when I can weave it myself?

Why worry about worthless wars

when I am waging them within my wellbeing?

I am wingless but still worthy;

I am wild but still working,

willfully but not woefully.

Wherever I will whimsy,

I wondered wholeheartedly.

By Carmen Varner

Wingless is about the internal struggle we have within us. We wage a war upon ourselves by constantly criticizing our bodies, underestimating our power, doubting our self-worth. But we are everything & more. Why wish upon the stars when I can walk among them? Don't idolize others, when you are the star. We are stars, we are worth it. Why wait for the earth to be woven when I can weave it myself? We don't have to wait for our futures because we create it every day. We don't need others to do work for us when we are more than capable of doing it ourselves. Why worry about worthless wars when I am waging them within my wellbeing? All these thoughts & problems rise from our own minds. Change your attitude & stop the war against yourself.

& our bodies turned to dust, 

I thought about life's purpose 

& what will happen to us.

I pondered about my past.

I wondered about yours too.

Will we accomplish our dreams,

everything we wanted to?

We are dreamers, my dearest.

We've got our heads in the sky,

but I like us like that, love.

We can make it if we try.

So if we end up falling

we can land high on a cloud.

Let's do our best & do it hard.

Then we can always be proud.

He asked her to tell him a secret, something she had never revealed to another soul. Natalie pondered this question for a while. After all, everything that goes on in one's mind is technically a secret, since nobody quite knows what's going on in there. She wracked her brain and then she thought of it.

"First I was perplexed, blissfully unaware or perhaps unawarely blissful," she began. "I had an unparalleled trust for humanity, the universe."

Natalie looked at Johnnie. His eyebrows furrowed in a look of confusion.

"A stranger offered me candy," Natalie explained. "I was going to say yes. Hell yes! I was a kid; I wanted candy," she continued.

"But the older girl next to me declined for the both of us. I am thankful for that moment now," she looked down at her hands, which were clasped together in her lap. Natalie looked at Johnnie again. He peered directly into her eyes. Did he see farther than just her face? Did he see into her mind? Her soul? Or was she just tripping?

"And what's more important is that nobody but the three participants of that occurrence knew. I've never told anyone that. So there you go," Natalie said without looking up. She hoped that was a sufficient enough secret, because she didn't trust him enough to tell him more.

I can't believe life goes by so fast.
Each day is shorter than the last.
The evening air turns into the brisk morning breeze
then morphs into the warm noon wind through the trees.
Flowers bud, bloom and blossom in the spring.
Then there's always that summer fling.
The leaves change color and begin to fall
And after that winter concludes it all.
Technically, April 10th I turn 22
but to me, today is nothing new.
The sun is shining and my mood is sweet.
To be alive and well is the ultimate treat.
Thank you for your well wishes and support.
But it's super nice out, so I must cut this short.

:]

A day like this

by Carmen Varner

It's a day like this

 that makes me want to stay inside. 

The rain pours 

and the skies are grey.

I wouldn't want to leave the house anyway.

I wish I could stay in bed, 

under the covers, 

warm and sheltered from the tears of the atmosphere.

It's a day like this

I feel more confused about my existence than ever.

It's so perplexing how the weather

and our moods

can be so easily swayed.

It's a day like this

I'm reminded of how small I am.

Nothing revolves around me;

I revolve around the sun.

And when I feel down,

I realize the skies don't lie.

They're up there,

up so high.

It's a day like this

I understand I must journey on,

even if heaven cries.

The world won't stop for me,

so I must continue my adventure regardless.

It was a Monday evening. The night air was cool, yet it was stuffy in the small living room where four twenty-somethings gathered together for a chill evening. The group consisted of two men and two women. Some had been friends for years, while some had met only a week prior. However, at this exact moment in time, they were close.

The four reclined in various parts of the room. The apartment belonged to Charles 'Kirby' Tierney and his two roommates. Kirby's roommates didn't respond well to company and remained hidden in their rooms. Kirby sat on the dirty brown couch in his living room next to Olivia Burlingame. Olivia browsed the television, constantly clicking the remote. She smacked her gum loudly and sighed as she went from channel to channel.

Jamaal Amoros sat on a small black beanbag near Kirby's feet and slowly sipped on a beer. Flora Franco leaned against the white wall with a tie dye pillow behind her back. Kirby met Flora his freshman year in philosophy class. Olivia was Flora's roommate and Jamaal was a friend of a friend who happened to be was crashing on Kirby's couch for the time being.

 "So what'd you do this weekend?," Flora asked Kirby and Jamaal. "Any girls this time?," she inquired.

"Yeah, we were hanging out with girls," Kirby said.

"I know, but you're "hanging out" with me and Olivia," she said, adding air quotes to emphasize her point.

"You're always like 'did you get it in?'" Kirby joked, imitating Flora. The four of them laughed.

"Sorry I'm intrigued," Flora said, kicking Kirby's shin. "You always have the coolest stories. If I had a cool story, I would tell you too."

Kirby seemed amused and thought about his weekend.

"We went to a warehouse party in LA on Friday," Kirby responded. "We skated all day. There was all the beer you could drink. Everyone was sipping beers and cruising on their boards. I drank so many I couldn't even skate, which is saying something," he said. "So I went to my buddy's car to chill, but ended up passing out in his car. I woke up like three hours later back home. Then, get this," he paused.

Olivia stopped flipping through the channels at this point and left it on Hey Arnold! Jamaal got up from his seat and went to the fridge to get another beer.

"Want one?," Jamaal asked nobody in particular.

"Yeah," Flora and Kirby said in unison. Jamaal returned with four beers in hand, two for himself.

"So what happened?," Flora probed.

"I hung out with my ex. She gave me like a 30-rack of beer for my birthday," he said.

"Seriously?" Olivia asked. "I'd never buy a gift for an ex."

Kirby gave Olivia a weird look.

"Even for someone as magnificent as yourself," she added hastily. She wasn't trying to be mean.

"The same girlfriend that you all of a sudden stopped talking to you? Let me get this straight. She wasn't pissed at you, but instead buys you beer? Interesting," Flora said, squinting her eyes in a train of thought.

"Anyway," Kirby began. "So I took it, told her thanks and bounced the hell out of there. We drank it all that night," he said pointing to Jamaal. "So pretty much, I had a ton of beer that day, beginning at the skate park. It resulted in a massive two-day hangover. It hurt my head to breathe. I swear it was like blasting a foghorn in my ear. My brain was pounding. Me and Jamaal just vegged out on the couch all weekend. Worst hangover of the year," he said.

"But it's only March!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Friday was totally worth it," Kirby said. And with that it was evident he was done retelling his story.

Nevermore

by Carmen Varner

"Honey," she told me. "That's no fun.

Take a seat in the hot, hot sun."

I told her yes and went outside,

where there's no place for me to hide.

My feelings for you just won't go.

It seems that time has made them grow.

I wonder why, I wonder when,

you'll say you want me back again.

"A great day to write, isn't it?

At least life has no speed limit,"

a guy told me as he walked by.

I nodded and tried not to cry,

tears of sadness or tears of joy.

All of this is about one boy.

I told myself to stop this shame.

Nevermore will I say his name.

Lonely, lonely, alone, alone.

By now, this fact should be well known.

your melody is mellifluous

delightful, delectable, delicious

too sugary, it's ridiculous

like april's diamond, pretty precious

skin of satin, lotioned luxurious

drivin me wild, borderline vicious

by Carmen Varner