Last week we debuted a brand new feature here on the Lip Service blog: Just One Thing, where our contributors share just one thing that you wouldn't otherwise know about their featured piece. Maybe it's the inspiration, or where they were when they wrote it, or an edit that changed everything. Whatever it is, it's a behind-the-scenes look at our writers' poems, memoir, and stories.

Today, C.C. Russell shares a glowing glimpse out of a rainy car window and just one thing about "The Ways We've Lear...

Pictured:
1. My laptop, an Acer Chromebook that had the best keyboard in Best Buy on the day my cat broke my old laptop (see number 3, not pictured list below). I learned how to type on a typewriter (I am old) and I am very good at typing (as opposed to writing), but tend to clack my way through keyboards in a few years.
2. Iced green tea.
3. Veggie chili. I subscribe to a very basic reward system when I am writing, which goes something like this: hey you’re actually out of the house and doing it – y...

We're excited to bring you a new author feature here on the Lip Service blog. For a year, our contributors have given you interview question answers of just one word. Now they're giving you just one thing. Just One Thing is a new series where our contributors share one aspect of their piece featured in Split Lip that a reader would not otherwise know. Maybe it's the inspiration, or their process, or something they cut.. Whatever it is, it's a behind-the-scenes look at our writers' poems, memoir, and...

1. I see a lot of good things out this window.

2. Juicy plants only: Crassula ovata (jade) & Sedum morganianum (donkey's tail).

3. These tissues have over 400 reviews?

4. I can’t believe I made this.

5. PREBEN.

6. Have you ever held a hexagonal pen? They’re the best!

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Erin Dorney's book I Am Not Famous Anymore is available for preorder now from Mason Jar Press. Visit www.erindorney.com for more. 

Melissa Ragsly is the author of this month's featured short story.  She gives us "Patti Smith," the kind of short story that makes us want to crank up "Because the NIght" and sing along forever. And here, she gives us the Microsoft Word-approved single best word for:

1)      The way your voice sounds so much better in the shower or car than at karaoke: acoustic-tomfoolery 

2)      Seeing a movie you used to love:  thirst-quenching
3)      Your driver's license photo:...

This month's featured art comes from Lybra Ray. Her use of mixed media and bold approach to color immediately caught our eye. Here she talks about her approach and her artistic process:

What drew you to Split Lip? 

What initially drew me to Split Lip was the logo design. It's colorful but has it's own slick design. I was looking for places accepting submissions and I saw the logo and intuitively felt like you guys get it. What drew me in further was how you guys describe yourselves, "An online literary...