Animism, Gaia, Mother Nature

Other Famous Quotes and Dirty Minds

October 2, 2017

Quotes that speak to me

Recently I wrote about a reference from Roald Dahl that I found. Fundamentally, it accurately reflects how I feel about my stories. However, finding it, caused me to go out and find other pertinent quotes from authors that I find reflect who I am and how I perceive the world.

One that I particularly like is:

Author, Patrick Dennis“I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind.” ~Patrick Dennis

I’m not sure how much a piece of paper means that much anymore. I always write on my computer or tablet. Rarely do I put anything down on paper anymore. However, the concept remains the same. When I open up my favorite word processor, it presents me a blank white screen, and I start typing.

Dirty Mind

It’s the second part of the quote that really caught my eye. I have a dirty mind, and I make no bones about it. It is whom I am. Anyone who has read any of my books, will know exactly what I am referring to. Of the myriad of images that flow through my head each day, ones that I can’t seem to capture fast enough and put to canvas or paper, almost all are lusty scenes of human nature.

As most people who know me well, I perceive the naked human body, the one mother nature gave us and society seems to want us to cover up, as the most beautiful gifts ever. In fact, as best as I know, only humans can notice the beauty of our bodies. While a few other animals partake in sex for fun, only homo sapiens can recognize beauty in our sacs of flesh and bone.

Gaia

Gaia, Mother NatureThank you, Mother. Mother Nature or Gaia for those of you who read my previous sentence wrong. I am a strong believer in the spirit of the universe. Some would call it God, and others would call it ‘The Force,’ as described in the world of ‘Star Wars.’ No matter what you name it, I believe it pervades our entire universe, existing in everything from the stardust floating in space to living human beings, and who knows what else. This spirit is everywhere, and I see it best described and most abundantly in the beauty of the naked female form. You’re beautiful, and I thank Gaia for the gift you give us, every day.

It is my hope that every day, I honor your gift in my words and deeds.

Thank the Stars

Returning to normalcy, part 2

September 26, 2017

The second return to normalcy

Last time, I wrote about a return to normalcy in my private life. My dear girlfriend, the love of my life, returned home after several weeks traveling along the west coast of the U.S. Not that I would fault her for taking the time with her daughter. I just missed her, and I’m ecstatic that she’s home. But enough of my personal life. My business life is another story.

Thank the StarsSince early September, my business life has been in turmoil. And not just for me, but my teammates as well. The full weight of this storm rested solely on the team leader. Fortunately for him, and the rest of us, our senior leadership and officers recognized that we understood the seriousness of the problem and supported our efforts to resolve it.

We brought in specialists, vendors, and superstars to assist. Do you know what they all said? That they could find nothing wrong, nothing that they could find to cause the problem. In fact, they were all at a loss, considering we configured our equipment in line with what they would do. Frankly, they all said, they didn’t know what was wrong. All they could say was, start replacing equipment, one unit at a time.

So? We did. Everything we did, following all the suggestions of these experts, failed. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars putting together this equipment, after spending almost a year researching and choosing the devices.

Relief came when using a loaner unit from a different manufacturer seemed to solve the problem. The resolution came out of nowhere, and if it weren’t one of our partners offering to loan us a device costing over $100,000, we’d still be fighting this losing battle.

Since Friday, we were crossing our fingers, believing the issue resolved, but worried it would return with a vengeance. So far, my fingers remain crossed, but I’m feeling much better.

Lastly, a huge thank you to my team leader, taking on the responsibility to lead the charge in getting my business life back to normal.

Life is returning to normal. Thank the stars.

morticia addams normal is an illusion

Returning to normalcy

September 20, 2017

Normalcy, Webster’s Dictionary defines it as:
“the state or fact of being normal, a return to normalcy after war.”

Dictionary.com defines it as:
“the quality or condition of being normal, as the general economic, political, and social conditions of a nation; normality:
After months of living in a state of tension, all yearned for a return to normalcy.”

Synonyms for the word include: “normality; ordinariness; uniformity.”

morticia addams normal is an illusionWhy am I starting this article off like this? That’s an excellent question. Unknown to most people, my girlfriend, the love of my life, has been traveling the country for the last three weeks.

I’ve been a bachelor for the entire time, sleeping in an empty and cold bed. Frankly, it sucked. I missed her, and now she’s back. Whoo Hoo!

Now, some of you out there could think that I could live the bachelor life, the single life. You could believe that I looked for opportunities to party, go drinking at bars, even picking up women. I’m sorry to disappoint you. I didn’t.

I will say that my close friends and family kept an eye on me, inviting me to visit, come for dinner, and otherwise make sure I wasn’t lonely. Their efforts, while appreciated, failed. I missed her too much. She is a part of my life that while she was gone, I felt like a fish out of water, a bird with a broken wing. As much as I loved the time to myself, the house felt empty as I walked around.

So, instead, I worked on small projects around the house that I hadn’t yet gotten too. I finished an electrical wiring project that I started just before I suffered my concussion. Now, all I need to complete setting up my studio so that I can set it up are a series of shelving to stack and store my art supplies. Time to go shopping, or building depending which is cheaper, and easier.

Yesterday, she returned, and I took the day off from work so that we could be together and reconnect. What am I going to say? I love the girl.

Honey, my love, I missed you. Don’t you ever do that again. Alright!

Quotes by Roald Dahl

Famous Quotes to Write By

September 11, 2017

Recently, I saw the email signature of one of my co-workers that includes the following quote. She is a career librarian and knowing her; the quote suits her.

(Librarians) “are subversive. You think they’re just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They’re like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn’t mess with them.” ~ Michael Moore, author/filmmaker.

When I first read the quote, all I could think of was rubbing my hands together in a nefarious way and grin an evil smile. However, the quote got me thinking. Perhaps, I should change my author signature. So, I went looking for one. I came up with several, but so far, the one I found that suits me, is:

Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl

“I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as they finish the book.”
~Roald Dahl

That is exactly how I feel. I write my stories for fun. I don’t care if you love or hate them. I write for the joy of it, transferring images from my brain to the blank white screen of my writing program. If a reader doesn’t like the story, they are welcome to their viewpoint. I won’t deny them their right to their opinion.

At first, I deeply cared whenever I read a poor review of one of my books. All of them talked about the story itself, how it was not their cup of tea or some such thing. What they never wrote was that it was poorly written, filled with grammatical errors and the like.

I fretted over the reviews. That is until I realized that all of the reviewers read the entire book. They didn’t just abandon it halfway through. They chose to read it to the end. That tells me they liked the story enough to take it to its conclusion.

Success!

Over the past couple of years, I’ve taken a lot of grief about the subject matter of my stories. They are often gruesome and horrendous. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me, “How do you think of the stuff you write about?” or “Is what you write about, something you did or wish you could do?”

How aberrant do you think I am? Okay, don’t answer that.

What is important is, these are just fictional stories. I get my inspiration from everyday life, and I let my imagination go wild. That’s exactly how my book ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ came to life. I sat in a doctor’s waiting room, watching people being checked in and asked myself “What would happen if that person behind the desk sent the patient’s file off to someone with no rights to have it?” Within minutes, the entire framework of the book appeared in my head. I spent the next six weeks writing the first draft. The rest is history.

Need I say more?

Wistful Look

Labor Day weekend in the United States

September 3, 2017

Good afternoon all. It’s the Sunday before Labor Day here in the United States. For those who don’t know, Labor Day is a holiday celebrating the workers in America. It is always on the first Monday in September. It is also the unofficial end of the summer season.

Wistful Look
Source: portrait-photos.org

Just yesterday, I noticed fall and Halloween decor in the stores. Damn, I commented to myself. My full-time job gives me little time to enjoy the summers. For the last month, I worked my ass off getting ready for next week. It’s not important as to why, but trust me, it was.

On July 31, I was sweating bullets thinking that I couldn’t get all my work done in time. I was distraught that there was just too much to do. Somehow, along with my co-workers, we pulled it off.

When my shift ended on Friday, I was content. What I needed to do had the big [ DONE ] stamp on it with big RED letters. Whew.

So, now, I’m enjoying the time off. I’ve slept in both days, and I plan on doing it again tomorrow. I met with friends on Friday night, had a couple of beers over good food and great conversation. Yesterday, I caught up at home, sweeping the floors, dusting, and well, all of that housekeeping that no one wants to do but we have to do anyway.

I also wrote a scene for my next book, and since I couldn’t stop there, and did some massive editing. By the end of the day, I had written and edited 6,800 words, in a scene that I absolutely love. Chatting about it with my girlfriend, she’s excited and can’t wait to read the final version of the book. I’m excited about this book, and I believe you will be too.

This morning, I wrote another 2,800 words in an initial draft of another scene. It’s unrefined and choppy, but it is just an initial draft. When incorporated into the book, I will flesh it out and use it to draw the reader into the character. Her name is Misty, and her life is about to take a sharp left turn. I’m smiling as I write this.

Later, I am meeting another pair of friends for dinner, which promises to be fun. Tomorrow, I plan on sleeping in again, shake off the hangover from tonight, and write some more. Then, there is my new website design. I like it, but I don’t like it enough. I’m debating about releasing it now and then updating it again, or work on the design more and release it later. I’m leaning towards the former, but we’ll see. My job and my writing are my focus at the moment.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Until next time, Ciao.

Rich

beach walking in a bikini

A nice Sunday afternoon

August 27, 2017

I just asked my girlfriend what I should write about in this iteration of my blog. I hadn’t a clue. Why?

I’m spending the day in the warm sun, sitting on my porch, writing scenes and character bios for my next book. No, I’m not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. It’s too early in the process to tell you that. Who knows, it might never come to pass.

beach walking in a bikiniHowever, writing is what I’m doing, as well as catching up on email, social media, connecting with friends and, of course, day dreaming. I’m feeling better, and while my left over concussion headache is still with me, like a squatter who refuses eviction, I have my creative steam back. Ideas are appearing in my head, creating scene after scene that I want to capture, whether for this new book or another. It’s maddening sometimes, I can’t catch them any faster, so I lose them before I can write them down. Damn! I wish I could type at the speed of light.

Speaking of which my typing sucks at the moment. I think of a sentence I want to type, and after I type it, I find that several words are mistyped, often so badly that even the word processor doesn’t know what to do with them. Fsxk. See what I mean? Fuckk, oh fuck it already.

Frosty beer mugHere in the United States, we are having our unofficial last week of summer. For those that know our holidays, next week we celebrate the holiday known as labor day, a day set aside to honor the workers of the country. Workers who get things done, often at the behest of others. I count myself in their ranks, never reaching the heights of the one percenters.

Not that I care. For the most part, I liked my life, and I am enjoying my current life. The only way it could be better is that I get a movie deal from one of my books, and earn enough to buy that beach house, with an attached pool, and paint and write full-time, all while scanning the young bikini clad lovelies walking along the ocean and enjoying afternoon delights with my girlfriend before retiring to my hammock with a drink in my hand. Okay, that last sentence was wordy. Fuck it and go have another drink.

Cheers,
Rich

The Trafficking Consortium

My take on a book review

August 17, 2017

I received a one-star review on my book ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ the other day. It contained two words “Terrible ending.” I won’t say who it was that wrote the review, it’s not important. What is important is that the reviewer liked the book enough that they read the entire thing. If they read the entire book, how can it deserve only a single star? There had to be some redeeming value to the story.

The Trafficking ConsortiumNow me, if I’m going to give a book a bad review, I’m either going to do one of two things. Abandon the book during the early chapters and move on to another book. There’s plenty of other stories out there. Or if I choose to read the whole thing and decide to write a review, I will be detailed in my evaluation of the book, pointing out specific things that riled me.

I’ve written a couple of bad reviews in the past, but it’s not often. I grew up taught that if I can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I guess that is why I don’t write many bad reviews.

As I pondered the review last night, I realized that the book did just what I wanted. It left the reader with a question or a desire for more. While people reading a book dealing with felonious acts want nice clean endings, I like putting in twists. If they want the details neatly wrapped up, prosecuting the offender, and the victim fleeing their harrowing experience, then they may or may not get their wish.

In my case, as I repeat throughout the book, there is no escape for my heroine. Why should the reader think that she would? Is it because they retain hope that she will find a way to freedom? Well, as my readers of my other books well know, I like leaving a hook at the end. This book is no different.

Though I originally intended to write this as a stand-alone novel, so many people are asking for a sequel, and I’m considering it. The hook I left in the book allows me to do that. Who knows, there may be a trilogy in it. I can envision many scenarios that will allow that to come to pass. There couldn’t be a sequel if I wrote Avril’s story so that she found a way to escape to her old life. What’s the fun in that?

I don’t plan on writing a comment on the site with the review. In my head, I’m dismissing the review. Better to leave well enough alone.

Until next time, have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Snoopy Happy Dance

Time slips by

August 15, 2017

Hello, everyone. I’ve been meaning to write and have gotten bogged down in posting an entry in my blog. Damn, it’s been, what two weeks, since I updated it. Sorry folks.

To catch you up, my regular full-time job that pays the bills interfered with attending to my website, writing, and of course updating my blog. Unlike most careers I’ve worked, the month of August is one of the toughest, most demanding months in the entire calendar. What I actually want to be doing is sitting on a beach, soaking in the sun, drinking a cocktail, read a good book, take a swim in whatever ocean I’m sitting in front of, and of course, writing my next great novel.

Time FliesNot going to happen.

What is going on is that I leave work, spend an hour or more at the gym, and barely have enough energy to eat dinner and spend a little time with my girlfriend, only to fall asleep in the chair in the living room. I’m ready for bed by 8? WTF? Multiply this by 14, and you know what I mean.

On weekends, I’ve been able to recover somewhat through rest, but it takes the entire weekend to do it. However, I try to fit in a couple of hours either with formulating and writing several notes for my next novel or by working on my new website design.

I happy to say, I like the new design, and it’s probably ready for real-time. However, I can’t check the security cert yet, which means I can’t check the online purchase modules. Hopefully, I can work with my hosting provider and work out those details this week. If I can, I’ll be promoting the new site this coming weekend. Look for it.

Snoopy Happy Dance

I’ve also been checking sales, and pages read of my books. I’m pleased to see what’s happening. Thank you to each and every one of you who either purchased outright or read my stuff via Kindle Unlimited. The book release of ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ has jump started the lagging sales of my other books. Even the free copy of ‘Her Client’ didn’t do that, as I had hoped. Sales of my other books have also jumped back on the charts.

Thank you, everyone. You are making the months of July and August a happy time for me. One that I seriously need.

As I wrote the last couple of sentences, I couldn’t help but think of Snoopy (from the Peanuts® cartoon) jumping up and down in joy. You put smiles on my face over these past several stressful days when I needed them the most.

Next on the agenda, seriously begin writing the next great novel. Hopefully, I can get it ready for the winter holidays. Until next time, have a great day and a better tomorrow.

 

Documenting facts and figures.

Writing and other things

July 31, 2017

Yes, I missed writing to all of you over the weekend. However, while I apologize, I’m not sorry. I spent much of it writing, as in writing notes and dialogue for a new book.

The Taste of HoneyThe thing is, I now have three books in development, and I don’t know which one will make it to the publishers first. The first one is ‘Lucky Bitch,’ book 3 in the Mona Bendarova Adventures (MBA). Except for a couple of plot updates, and a definite timeline problem, I’ve almost finished rewriting the second draft of the book. The problem with this one is, I haven’t touched in a few months, as I wanted to finish up ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ (TC). That’s done now, and sales are exploding, so it’s time to move on.

The second book in development is a serial murder who-done-it mystery. I have written a rough outline, defined the characters, and written a few chapters. Well more like scenes and they are very rough. I had the idea during the final stages of TC, and I started writing notes for it over the past several months. I like the idea of completing the story, but I can’t do them all at once.

The Trafficking ConsortiumThe third book is more of a jotting down notes, writing some scenes, and fleshing out the story line. I had not planned on writing this one, but my readers and followers are all asking for a follow-up to ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’ I did end the story with a bit of a hook in case I decided to write a sequel. I’ve got some ideas on how to take Avril’s story. Input from my fan base and readers of the story are welcome to throw me ideas. If you would like to contribute, send me your comments, and I’ll take them into account.

So, as it happened, for more than ten hours on Saturday, I wrote and wrote. Sunday I added a bit more, but nothing like Sat. My girlfriend wasn’t overly happy with spending the bulk of the day with my laptop in front of me. I did try though. I took the laptop with me to the porch, sitting alongside her while I wrote. She still complained to me later in the day and again on Sunday. What’s a guy gotta do? She wants me to write, get better at my craft, and earn what it will take to buy that house on the beach in the tropics. It’s a never-ending battle.

Maybe it’ll stop after I buy that beach house. I’m crossing my fingers.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Addams Family

When family comes to visit

July 18, 2017

My sister just left. Whew, I’m tired. She and her husband arrived last Thursday and departed Saturday afternoon. Everyone had a great time. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. However, I’m still tired. As hosts, I tried to be up early and stay up late until they were ready for bed. So, what was I to do? I stayed up past midnight, ate and drank a bit too much, and talked into the wee hours of the night.

Addams Family
Carolyn Jones (C, sitting) and John Astin (L), with other cast members, during scene from program “The Addams Family.”

I miss my sister. I do. I haven’t seen her for at least two years(?). She lives three hundred plus miles away and until this past weekend, last came to visit me when I first moved to my adopted town back in the late eighties. Since then, I’ve gone to visit her. She has a bunch of kids, and she felt that kind of car ride would be difficult. I understand. So, I visited her as much as I can. I have only one kid, and he’s grown up and moved away. I have no pets to take care of, nor do need to find accommodations for them when I go away, nor deal with the hassles of taking them with me to contend with her pets.

The long and short of it, I’m just glad they came. I miss her.

I even had a chance to chat with her alone, one-on-one. Sometimes, I feel the need to tailor my conversation based upon whether her husband or my girlfriend is around. Even though I know that she is very traditional, she is still open and liberal enough to accept me for whom I am. She accepts me, faults and all. And boy, some say I have many faults.

What? Me? Faults? I kid of course, but that doesn’t change who I am. I like me as I am, and I hate tailoring myself to protect the feelings of others.

So, that is in part, why I haven’t written in a while. I’ve been busy. In the free moments I had, I spent researching how to redesign my website. I found a theme I like, and I’m playing with it to see how it turns out. If not, I’ll move on. Until then, I’m not buying the professional version until I am satisfied. It is going to take some work though. My old theme used page templates that don’t translate very way to other themes. It’s these templates that drive me crazy. They interfere with the SEO (Seach Engine Optimization) routines and are not compatible with the higher end online shopping cart systems. A big PITA (Pain In The ASS). Still, what I’ve accomplished over the past couple of weeks is promising.

Now, on my head issues, cognitive issues are rampant. Do you know how long it took me to remember the word ‘promising’ in the previous paragraph? Way too long, let me tell you. Grrrrr!!!! Periodic chiropractic adjustments seem to work. My headaches live in the one to two range of ten. When they start to grow, doc tells me I’m out of adjustment. Damn, I didn’t know one leg could be shorter than another simply by being out of adjustment. A quick fix and I’m on my way. Even my neurologist is impressed. He’s put me on a decreasing dose of my meds with the intent to hopefully stop within 18 weeks. Knock on wood. Wish me luck.

Oh, I almost forgot. ‘The Trafficking Consortium‘ is now available in paperback from Amazon and Createspace.com. If  you’re one to like a book in your lap rather than on a tablet or smart-phone, then now is your chance to get it at a decent price. Join the hundreds of others that have read the book. As always, I appreciate your honest critique and review posted on the site from where you bought the book. Thx.

Okay, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest news. Until next time, have a great day and a better tomorrow!

p.s. Theme photo is from the original Addam’s Family television series from the 1960’s, a take off of Charles Addam’s cartoons, which I devoured in my youth. By no means, do I want to equate my sister’s visit with the Addam’s. I love both, just differently.

Besides, Morticia Addams is hot!