This collection includes five fiction and eight non-fiction works, of varied length: flash fiction, novel excerpt, short story, international essay, humor, memoir vignette, creative non-fiction. The subject matter covers the world, from countries where the author lived: Germany, Malaysia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru. The writing reflects diversity of settings, a style both comic and serious, and carefully edited prose. The thirteen works won multiple first and second place awards in the Soul-Making Keats (SMK) literary competition in San Francisco (now in its 30th year) and also in the NLAPW's 2020 biennial, in which the author won first and second in all five categories that she entered. "Three Artists in Arrested Time" won second overall of three genres in the NLAPW's Vinnie Ream 2019 competition. An excellent book for writers entering literary competitions or writing personal pieces for family as legacy. All thirteen treat the SMK theme from poet John Keats: "Some say the world is a vale of tears, I say it is a place of soul making."