Greetings, all, and welcome to my seventh

FABULOUS FRIDAY FEATURE

I've decided that now that I've got this fabulous year-long subscription, I should take the opportunity to get the word out about other deviants and their magnificent work! If you've got someone you think should be featured in next Friday's Feature, send me a note with a link to their gallery and I'll take a peek

I'd also love to hear about other features, particularly themed ones. I'll list those in the bottom section to help spread the word! The same goes for contests or news articles!

The concept for this week's feature started out as "fire and ice," but it is also about fire and water, and the power of those two opposing forces: cold and heat. There are a LOT of other features, contests, and fun things in the final section this week. PLEASE take a peak! There's so much fun stuff going on! I hope you enjoy!

Please favorite this journal and pass it on! And if you liked this feature, be sure to check out the one from last week: fav.me/d5kiotl

In addition, I am seeking donations and nominations for my new pay it forward project! I want to be able to donate premium memberships to deserving members, so please check out my journal for info on sending nominations:

Pay-It-Forward ProjectUpdate: Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, I will not be continuing this project. However, I strongly encourage you all to pay it forward yourselves!



Deviants so far who have received premium memberships as part of this project:
:iconkinachuku::iconhillsofmyst::iconcelestialmemories::iconai-sanura::iconsurrealcachinnation:
Thank you sososososo much to namenotrequired for helping me to promote this project!
Greetings! I am posting this to let you all know I have decided I want to try to pay the premium membership love forward, and so I am looking for donations to go toward buying premium memberships for other people You can find the donation box on my front page. PLEASE DONATE! I'll need lots of help - all contributions are appreciated, no matter how small
That's part one, here's part two:
I'm seeking nominations for extra-special deviants, especially those who are really involved in the community, who don't already have a premium membersh



Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~Robert Frost

Visual Art

:thumb334696758: :thumb153338080: :thumb336999753::thumb105334131:

Mature Content

Literature

Like Fire and WaterI wish I could cross the ocean.
I wish that the Atlantic would
Just evaporate and I could
Walk across, kicking the flopping
Fish.
That would take a nuclear holocaust.
I would even build the nukes and
Press the buttons just to be closer
To anywhere that would be, could be
Near.
Near you.
I wish I could cross the fire
I wish that the flames would
Just condense to ice and
I could just dance, inhaling the
Smoke.
That would take ricin rain.
I would even synthesize the toxin and
Poison my own children just to get away,
Escape down a road to anywhere, anywhere
Away.
Away from you.:thumb302906276: Seasons of ChangeFreezing rain brings
cold mornings of spiced tea.
Evanesced into the past, the air
deepens with scented, creeping flora.
Skies brighten with bright sunshine,
and waves of heat abound.
Father Evergreen stretches his arms
under a burnt aubern sky. SalmonSalmon
like dawn light shining
on pale roses
crept across her face
at the silent laughter
chittering like birds
from a distant room.
The sweet, mellow taste left,
replaced by ashen coals
and cold
creeping along her spine
like paresthesia and silver
fish nipping her ankles
leaving no trace. Served ColdHydrogen is the most common element in the known universe. It is everywhere, even fueling the celestial fires of the stars. Oxygen, too, proves abundant.  When two hydrogen atoms collide with an oxygen atom, water forms. This is true even on the metallic planet of Cybertron; and yes, it even crystallizes into ice in the places where the planet is cold enough.
Orbit stabilized. The Autobot flier known as Jetfire finally relaxed at the helm. Though he was the captain of this expedition, he was also the most qualified pilot. None of the other Autobots aboard had the skill to navigate the planet DEX-5’s particularly tricky gravity field. The planet was not only massive, but elliptical. Jetfire was an old pro at navigating gravity wells. He ought to be, having learned his lessons the hard way.
Jetfire had always believed H2O to be rare until he and Starscream first went offworld. A scientific study of a whole new ecosystem in a whole different solar system was the grea ice queenShe takes you by the hips
because she's too hungry
to appreciate the warmth
of your hands.
She transforms you with her fingers,
bending every edge till you're just her
ball, made of glass,
that she shakes once in a while.
She always preferred ice over sunshine.
And I can't stand the sight of her,
she chills me to the bone.
Because she has my whole world
in the palm of her hand
and I fear she might break it.

Community News, Features, and Fun(ny) Things
Last weeks feature was featured! See Love dA Lit and the Community Portal below.

SEVENTH CONTEST: Simple Pleasure... *CLOSED*Greetings, scribes!
Nice to be writing to you again... Guess what it's time for? Our seventh contest ever, of course! I know you're just terribly excited, considering the long wait and all after our last contest, so please try to contain your excitement. Gosh, get a hold of yourself-- I'll tell you what it's about in a second here.
Okay, so gloomy weather is setting in again due to the natural course of things. When the sun goes away it's time to batten down the hatches and get ready for stormy winter-- break out the sweaters, the scarves and the logs. We all start learning to rely on simple pleasures to substitute for sunshine, like a nice cup of coffee in the morning, a cozy pair of mittens, some smelly candles... And that's exactly what I want you to write about.
YOUR MISSION:
I want to read about your favorite simple pleasure at this time of year... Some small little thing that makes you incredibly happy-- whether that's oatmeal in the morning, your favorite breath mi Holiday Card Project 2012
It's back!  With the goal of bringing a little cheer to patients in the hospital during the holiday season, the deviantART Holiday Card Project connects deviants from around the world and applies their tremendous artistic abilities in designing and creating uplifting holiday cards.
In past years, the Project has received more than 5,000 cards sent in by more than 1,000 deviants from 50 different countries/political regions. Cards were then divvied up and distributed in-person by deviantART members to local Los Angeles, CA hospitals, with additional cards given to various hospitals in the U.S. and abroad for hospital staff members to hand out to patients.
The idea behind the Holiday Card Project is simple: do something nice for others. However, if you're looking for even more incentive, every deviant who submits a card will be given a free one-month Premium Membership to deviant Love dA Lit: Issue 102Welcome to the one-hundred second issue of Love dA Lit! Every Sunday this article will aim to promote volunteer opportunities, various resources, prompts, challenges, and workshops, as well as highlighting various contests, and spotlighting a specific group every week. This is by no means a complete list of all the literature going-ons, merely a tool to help you get involved and stay informed.
LITplease's Community Portal

Navigation
Literature Links | Group Spotlight | Workshops, Prompts and Challenges
Literature Contests | Resources | Open Admin Positions
Fantastic Feature Tuesday #19This is a weekly feature of amazing literature that I come by during my
travels across deviantART. this is only a small sample of a vast amount
of wonderful pieces of literature written by absolutely fantastic
writers. Each deviation was carefully selected from a writer's gallery
based on structure, impact and word usage. I will never feature the
same person twice, so check out these wonderful writers now while you can!



Please this news article so that it will be read by more people!
Happy reading! TWG's Featured Deviant of the Month - Nov. 2012 Hello, lovely members! LadyofGaerdon here to continue our series:

Featured Deviant of the Month 

 for
 :icontalentedwritersguild:
 October's Featured Deviant is..........
 
:iconstardivider1plz::iconstardivider3plz:
 
:iconNicSwaner:
 
Nichrysalis 
 
:iconstardivider1plz::iconstardivider3plz:
TalentedWritersGuild is a literature group committed to the encouragement, collection, and archival of high quality prose and poetry works. To find out more about the group, please click here.
 Here at TalentedWritersGuild, we encourage deviants to select only their best pieces of literature for submission. As judges, we look for pieces that simultaneously move us, challenge us, and inspire us as readers; pieces that stimulate us emotionally and intellectually; and the pieces that display true technical skill. When we vote, w Community Portal: November 11thNews
Love dA Lit: Issue 102
If you'd like to have something added/mentioned in this journal or the article please send me a note!
HugQueen
About Love dA Lit
Love dA Lit aims to promote volunteer opportunities, various resources, prompts, challenges, and workshops, as well as highlighting various contests, and spotlighting a specific group every week. This is by no means a complete list of all the literature going-ons, merely a tool to help you get involved and stay informed.
Love dA Lit is published every Sunday, by HugQueen via news article, and the Community portal will be updated in accompaniment with it!
Literature Links!
LadyLincoln will be hosting a chat with LionesseRampant today, November 11th, at 7PM EST
The Ladies of Lit: Listing of LoveliesBelow, you will find a helpful resource of an array of wonderful deviants who have been featured on my Ladies of Lit news article. If you would like to suggest a deviant for an upcoming issue, be sure to note LadyLincoln.
I am in dire need of suggestions, so please read over the list and note me three Literature thumbs of the lady writer of your choice, and a small blurb as to why you feel they merit this honor. Thank you for supporting this project!
Volume I (Updated Retro Edition)
fallenidle
salshep
mode-de-vie
Tobaeus
Jade-Pandora
AGMeade
:thumb332117155: W-W Presents: De-Cliche Your Romance!I had a lot of fun with the Halloween contest Workshop, and I think we got a lot of good critiques in; so, huzzah! But now this train is back on its usual track.
Before we start in on this much-anticipated workshop (most highly-voted in our previous poll), I'm going to put a quick word out about our current status: tromacom, Shuriken95, and I have been running this on our own for the past few months, (with BeccaJS having had her baby ) and we'd love some workshop host volunteers! So if anyone has an idea for a workshop, send it in a note, and we'll try to get you all set up to host.
Okay, so, that PSA outta the way...I'd like to talk to you about:
:iconbigheartplz: :iconcuteheartplz: :iconcupidplz: :iconbigloveplz:LOVE :iconbigloveplz: :iconcupidplz: :iconcuteheartplz: :iconbigheartplz:
Specifically, romantic love. It can be ooey-and-gooey, sweet and innocent, lustful, dangerous, sexy, or even traumatic. It's one of the most universal emotional experi
Lit-Visual Alliance Allied Artwork Feature #6  Hello my admirable Allies! It's time again to showcase more of the excellent Allied Artwork pieces that have been making their way into our 
Featured Folder  over at Lit-Visual-Alliance. 
:iconlit-visual-alliance:
What is the Alliance, you ask?
The Alliance is a project group intended to encourage visual and literary artists to work together. I've felt for some time that the dA Literature Community can at times be somewhat insular - to its detriment. We in the Lit Community are also sometimes prone to griping about the lack of exposure our work receives when compared to that of visual artists. So in the spirit of ^thorns brilliant Complaint Challenge I thought I would try to do something about that. And so the Allian Reasons to Love dA's Lit Community: Part 1Over a month ago I asked "Why do you love dA's Literature Community?" and I received an amazing response, with well over 60 participants! For the sake of length I'll be splitting this article into two parts, with the prize winners at the end of the second article which will be posted tomorrow!
SadisticIceCream and I decided it would be best that all the reasons remain anonymous because it is easier. So without further gushing from me, and in no particular order, here are some
Reasons to Love dA's Literature Community:
I love dA's lit community because it is filled with kind, good-humoured, knowledgeable and supportive people from all over the world, who are passionate about their craft. It seems that dA attracts the most talented amateur writers out there, meaning that there is a lot of wonder Secret Santa Project+Maim Your Protagonist WinnersWith a bit of pushing from you guys, I've decided to stop being such a coward and host my own Secret Santa project.  So, here's the deal:
You have until November 30th to sign up if you'd like to participate.  I will take the names, match you guys up, and get you your partner's name by no later than December 3rd.  You will then have until no later than December 31st to get your "present" sent off to your partner.  Here's the catch about this:  I will allow you to decide whether you'd like to mail the finished product to your partner OR just send it over the net via notes/deviations/etc.  This is completely up to you guys; I don't care how you get it to your partner, just so long as you get it to your partner by the deadline.
If you get paired up with someone and then something comes up, or you don't feel like you're going to be able to complete the project by the deadline, PLEASE let me know so I can figure out an alternate means of gifting.  
I'd like

Journal by GinkgoWerkstatt :fav.me/d2yyjwt



Visual Art
Just up:
Coming Soon: whenever I get around to it - a wendigo


Prose
Short Stories
Just up:
Coming Soon: The Dream-Makers - Part III (Not a chance in hell!)
Not-So-Short Stories
Just up:
Coming Soon:


Poetry:
Just up: I Will Eat Your Heart
Coming soon: Whatever strikes me

100 Poem Project
Current progress: 60/100
journal: azizriandaoxrak.deviantart.com…
blog: 100-poem-project.blogspot.com/
Also note that the terribly sweet SayaStarshine took a look at my list and decided she wanted to do it, too! She is using the same topics as me, and you can find the link to her stuff here.