A Call to Conversation (22)--:devsammur-amat:

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So, something I've been wondering for a while--does your user name have a story/meaning behind it? Feel comfortable sharing?
My username serves as a somewhat of a silly yet sentimental 
reminder, one that I've recently found myself wondering
whether I still need or not.

In a nutshell, aside from being known as an Assyrian queen, legend
has it that Sammur-amat was born in the desert and raised by doves
and there is just something so very beautiful and special about
that specific bit.

Tell us a little bit about the groups you admin for?
I am an admin for
and

Minimalit is a wonderful group constructed by HaveTales-WillTell focusing on super minimalistliterature: two-word poems, three-word haiku and senryu, and four-word prose. The entire idea is to help writer poets tighten word-usage and perfect beauty in utmost brevity. Everyone should give this group a try!

The Litlove Community was a wonderful group that was spearheaded by the amazing PoetryOD who introduced us to the magical
Review Project. The reason for my use of past-tense is because it was decided last May that the group shall be closed in order to further unify the literature community by desegregating the community and helping to gather more people into fewer groups.

The Written Revolution is a family of fascinating and phenomenal
people, administration and members, who work hard and strive to
strengthen and improve dA's literature community by running one of
the most tight-knit and effective groups to date. As of the moment it is being lead by the big-hearted TheMaidenInBlack

The Elocutionists is another one-of-kind group concept brought to
us by the beautiful mind of lovable CV and talented writer-poet Nichrysalis. This group is all about the spoken word. If you would like to read your work or someone else's work out loud or have your work read by any member of the administration, than the Elocutionists' group is the place to be.

The Shelf-of-Friends is one of those quaint and cozy groups that I consider to be so very precious. Although things have been inactive for some time, the group founder and leader, Kait KaitForest promises a revival to commence sometime soon and so, I advise you too keep your eyes open.  

The Writer's Meow is a fabulous group that hosts and features one
of the widest-ranged literature folders/galleries on dA. It is a
group with a massive following and active administrators and
members and I assure you will not be disappointed should you choose
The Writers Meow as a place to showcase your work.

You were one of the top ten deviants nominated for being The Sweetest Deviant for `LadyLincoln's project--tell us a little about that experience?
UH-MAZING! What can I say? To even be considered in such a humbling 
manner by a number of wonderful deviants is just surreal. To think 
that one of the sweetest, most genuine, and heartfelt persons that 
dA has ever come across-`LadyLincoln would think of me, is 
just such an astounding honor that I am left speechless. I've always believed in doing my best to bring out my
light no matter how dark or grey or static everything around me
becomes.

I am a huge fan of collecting and memorizing precious quotes, and
with regard to kindness three very specific quotes ones to mind:

The first belongs to the selfless, loveliest Mother Teresa who
said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes
are truly endless."
The second quote I want to share with you comes from the greatest of minds- Plato, who believed that one should "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
The third and final quote, emphasizing the power in kindness when blended with literacy, comes from the superb Nelson Mandela with his words, “A good head and good heart are always a formidable
combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen,
then you have something very special.”    

I apologize for the tl;dr. But yeah, in the end I guess it just boils down to how I know what it's like to be living a tough life in a mean world, believe me when I say I do, and I guess that is what makes me truly feel connected to so many lovely people on this site who have become dear friends and sources of inspiration. I am a total tree-hugger and humanitarian and even with the very little time and money that I have, I try my best to help make a difference; I cannot help but sincerely care. I wish I could just gather and curl everyone up into a ball and just go squee, hugging the oxygen out of everyone's lungs, including my own, lol.  

You're currently accepting entries for your contest, Written in the Stars--what is this contest about? Is it open to everyone?
This contest is open to everyone who wants to participate, yes, and 
to expound a bit more on this contest I shall be stealing from my
own journal:

WRITTEN IN THE STARS- A PROSE AND POETRY CONTEST

The Mechanics/ About This Contest:

Almost anyone that has gotten to know me whether on dA or in RL has
most surely confirmed my obsession with the stars and the seas. It
is no secret that I draw most of my inspiration for writing prose
and poetry from both.

I know I'm not the only obsessed with both heavenly bodies and
bodies of water, and so I got to thinking, why not use either as
part of a contest? That idea is what gave birth to this contest,

WRITTEN IN THE STARS.

There will be both a prose and poetry division.
So we'll be having a contest about outer space, but surely there
must be a catch? How else would this be a competition without
challenge and rules and limitations? And so, we move on to

The Challenge:

1. You must write a prose piece and/or poem about your actual
western zodiac sign although,
   You may alternatively use your favorite western zodiac sign;

2. You must include something, anything about the zodiac's constellation;

3. You must include not less than 1 and not more than 3 Latin
phrases in your poem/prose piece and make sure to include the English translation in the artist's comment section below.

The Rules and Limitations:

1. You can enter either poetry or prose division or both, your
choice- you are entitled to 1 entry per division per person. This
means 1 poetry AND/OR 1 prose entry. No entering 2 poetry or 2
prose pieces. Point and/or Prize donors are most welcome to
participate in the contest as well.  

2. Poetry pieces should not have less than 10 lines and no more
than 50 while Prose pieces should not have less than 300 words and
no more than 1800.

3. Please stick to the theme of the contest, staying within the
constraints provided.

4. Kindly link me your entries below this journal entry or via
note. In case of note, remember to include WRITTEN IN THE STARS as
subject title.

5. New pieces only. Also, kindly state the contest name WRITTEN IN
THE STARS and include a link to this journal in the space below
your entry piece/s.  

6. You can start submitting your entries as soon as you see this
journal entry. Contest ends by the 10th of AUGUST so please get
your entries in on or before that date.

7. ARE YOU IN? Then what are you waiting for? SIGN UP BELOW THIS
JOURNAL ENTRY. Have fun and DFTBA

You dabble a little in everything. What do you like about the visual arts? How about the literature arts?
That's the thing about visual art, it's virtually impossible to 
define in words. My room resembles a seriously messed up, cliche, poor painter's studio where you'll find art supplies everywhere. More than half of what I paint or draw I try my hardest to keep to myself.  

Literature arts, as many of you who read this article relate, feels so much like a special secret that we want so badly to spill to the world. I know that's how I feel about my work. I don't just want my work to be read, more than that, I want it to be understood. I don't really have IRL friends who can fully grasp this engrossing greed for words I have and so I just can never say thank you enough to all of you who make dA a safe haven and second home for me, who provide me a chance to grow and find inner peace through having my work read, shared and most importantly critiqued. You guys all make me a better person and for this I am eternally grateful.  

Both painting with colors and with words serve as my release and is a smart alternative to engaging in destructive vices. I recommend art to everyone.