Cappuccino

Happy Monday

September 5, 2016

Happy Monday

Today in the U.S.A., is Labor Day, marking the last unofficial day of summer in my country. It’s starting out as a beautiful day. It’s six o’clock in the morning, the sun is just rising, and there’s dew damping everything not covered. A low fog clings to the ground, trying desperately to hang on to life as the rising sun burns off its moisture. It’s a losing battle and eventually, the sun will win.

Cappuccino
Cappuccino my way

It’s wonderful to watch it happen. Life is all around me. Birds have been awake for a while now and later, the insects of the field will being to chirp, giving way to frogs croaking towards the end of the day. I love watching it all happen.

I’m drinking my morning coffee right now, savoring its delicate flavors as sip after sip washes over my tongue on its way to the back of my throat and eventually down. Speaking of coffee, be sure to check out my Twitter poll regarding Cappuccino and vote your preference. I could drink it anytime and I have. However, I surprised to find out that there is a cultural preference as to when it is acceptable to drink it and when not to. Go check it out and see how others are voting.

Well, enough ramblings. I have to get back to enjoying the morning before it slips away. In the meantime, have a wonderful day.

Summer in the City

Summer in the City

September 3, 2016

Summer in the City

Do you remember the song ‘Summer in the City‘ by the Lovin’ Spoonful? Every time I hear it, memories of a time long ago flood my mind. But, let me step back a moment.

Summer in the CityI was just poking around my computer, checking out sales on my books, checking my social feeds and I was just about to move on to working my second draft of ‘Lucky Bitch‘ when this song came on the radio.

Ah, the radio. Well actually, it’s my satellite music feed that I get through my computer but so what. The concept is the same. Anyway, if you recall the song, it has a distinctive opening note. Actually a chord played on the organ.

summer-in-the-cityInstantly, I was transported back to a time when I was a youngling. The song was released in July 1966 and I was ten years old. By this time, I had my own transistor radio. Remember those? The size of a pack of cigarettes and it ran on one 9-volt battery. That radio lived in my shirt pocket for many years, playing my favorite tunes on AM radio. I could be simply be walking around the outside of my house or playing with my friends and family as my parents watched from a distance. I felt warm and safe. And I had my tunes.

hot girls in the summer2‘Summer in the City‘ is one of those songs I can never get enough of. Today, with the advent of auto repeat, I turn on that feature and lose maybe a half hour of time to my revelry. While I listen to the song, I lose myself in a world of imagination, peace and love, and endless summers without a care in the world.

hot girls in the summer1Later in life, I came to associate the song with the coming of summer when girls appeared, walking around in short shorts, skimpy tank tops and sandals. I couldn’t wait for my first sighting of boobs barely contained behind tank tops and legs that seemed to stretch forever. Hearing the song, my heart would race, imaging sweat beading up on the faces of these lovelies. Eventually, I found my own lovely lady and would kiss those sweet droplets away.

hot_girls_you_meet_on_the_streets_640_48To this day, this song elicits joy in my heart and smiles on my face. No matter what time of year I hear it, I find peace and love in my soul.

What about you? Do you share the same feelings? Different ones perhaps? For different songs? hot girls in the summer 4I must tell you, that for me, songs bring out emotions and feelings that I either hate, love or somewhere in between. I can only assume, having no other frame of reference, that everyone shares the same.

This is Richard Verry, writing to you while listening to ‘Summer in the City’, once again set on endless repeat. Peace and love everyone.

Ramblings and such

September 3, 2016

Ramblings and such

We’ve just closed out the month of August and the unofficial end to summer is this weekend. At least in the northern hemisphere. Those down under are about to move from winter to spring. As far as I’m concerned, all good times of years.

I have mixed feelings about the month of August 2016. It’s been one of the hottest on record. Not that I am complaining but it would have been nice to have had a bit more rain. Though, the south-west U.S. could use it more. I just wish I could have enjoyed the warm (hot) weather more. It just wasn’t to be.

Why? Well, as you may recall, I suffered a severe concussion in mid July. (See my post ‘I saw Stars‘.) Since then, I’ve been out of work much of the time, while I deal with the after effects. They include a constant headache ranging from 1 – 6 on the pain scale. I’ve also had to deal with a diminished ability to formulate several sentences together into a cognitive thought. When I write, I often fat fingered my typing or misspell words that I know how to spell. Then there are the times when I can’t think of the word I want to say, even though it is sitting right there on the tip of my tongue. I still have trouble maintaining my balance when standing still.

All of this sucks. I am so tired of the headache. My love tells me that she’d rather deal with the pain of childbirth rather than have the headache I have had for the past seven weeks. I can get irritable, and I’m restless — anxious to get back to a normal life. Most certainly, my quality of life has diminished. All I can do is follow my doctor’s instructions and continue to rest.

“Hey Doc, do you know what it’s like for a writer to deal with growing headaches simply because he’s writing?” Let me tell you all, it sucks. Guess how long it took me to write these short paragraphs. Too long, I tell you. Almost an hour. F*&K.

41943863 - black diagram on pc screen. financial data on background.On a good note, I was looking at my sales figures for the month of August. Pretty decent. Amazon alone posted nearly 300 copies of my books, mostly in the Her Client trilogy. That’s 9.7 books per day. My other outlets also showed good sales figures. I guess word is getting around. Not bad for a new author, considering I published my very first book June 2015. Who knows what will happen in the next couple of years. So …

THANK YOU for reading my stories. It means a lot to me.

Next on my agenda, I plan on posting about my novellas. I haven’t quite figured out what I am going to write about but since they are selling well, I’m thinking you may be interested in how I came to write them, plus I may write about my character development, and so forth.

Until next time, have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you soon. Feel free to write me by clicking on the comment button. I look forward to reading them.

What's for Dinner?

What’s for Dinner?

September 2, 2016

What’s for Dinner?

Without a doubt, after you read ‘The Taste of Honey’, you will know where your next meal comes from. Discover how the human race survives. Envision genuinely enjoying an office meeting. Appreciate & enjoy community sanctioned recreational sex.

What's for Dinner?
The Taste of Honey

Find out what others are saying about this book. Read the reviews on Amazon and on this site. For example, this is what one reader recently wrote, giving the book four stars.

Once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. I don’t typically read sci-fi but this author keeps you reading from one steamy chapter to the next. I like reading a book where I can follow the storyline easily and this is one of those books. Perhaps another Stephen King in the making?

Do you agree with the review? Write your own. I would love to read it.

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories-4

September 1, 2016

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part Four)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 4.

Q: Speaking of the Doctor. Does he have a name?

A: Of course he does. His name is Doctor.

Q: But that is a title or function of what he does. That’s not a name.

A: In Mona’s society, they are the same. He is the Doctor and his name is Doctor.

Q: Interesting. Fair enough. Tell me about the ‘BLOODLINE’. Can you elaborate on that?

Interview Snippets on Mona's Stories-4A: The ‘BLOODLINE’ is still a work in progress. I haven’t yet worked out all of the details related to them. Right now, they are an unknown to Mona and her supporters. They have a personal agenda that seems contrary to the society Mona lives in. They have been working on this agenda for at least three generations and frankly, she’s scared.

Q: So, she has no idea of what their endgame is?

A: No, she doesn’t. And neither do I? The ‘BLOODLINE’ was an invention developed in my second book in the series, ‘Broken Steele’ to explain tainted meat and the widespread the effects it had on a significant portion of the society.

Q: So, are the ‘BLOODLINE’ a villain?

A: Could be. I don’t know at this point. But they are a good source for conflict in Mona’s society. For tens of generations, Mona’s community has lived in peace and harmony, everyone knowing their place and everyone contributing to support the whole. Mona was born to a time when this harmony is about to falter, where stress and conflict are being felt for the first time in centuries.

Q: Are you saying that the ‘BLOODLINE’ could be the good guys?

A: Again, they could be. They don’t have to be the power-hungry, arrogant subculture that most of our books and movies assume. They could be advancing their own agenda in attempt to reverse the need to consume their own to stay alive. It remains to be seen as I work out the next couple of books.

Q: So, there are more books in the future?

A: Yes, I have outlines for at least two more books as well as a possible sixth book.

Q: I look forward to reading them.

A: Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy them.

Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Mona's Societies DNA

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories-3

August 31, 2016

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part Three)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 3.

Q: Do you really believe that once we survive an extinction event, our very nature will be radically changed?

A: Yes, I do.

Q: I am a woman. Am I livestock in your books? A food source for others to consume?

A: I hope not, after all you are a beautiful woman. However, in the society that I have dreamed up, yes you are. In fact, so am I. Everyone is destined to become food and nourishment for others. From the moment of your birth, you will know without a shadow of a doubt, that one day, others will consume your flesh, produce products to stay warm, enjoy life, and fertilize crops with what’s left.

Interview Snippets on Mona's Stories-3Q: That’s a particularly horrific view of the future.

A: It is, isn’t it. I’m not saying that it will happen. I’m just speculating of what could happen. It probably won’t but it is not impossible. Nature has a way of reorganizing beings to deal with environmental conditions. In Mona’s world, nature is still trying to find a way to circumvent the constraints that man of the past imposed upon it. It may take tens of thousands or even millions of years to settle down. One thing I know, without a shadow of a doubt, nature will always find a way. Biology is a wonderful thing.

Q: So, what’s next for Mona and her society?

A: I’m still writing her story. The one thing about Mona, she is determined to find an alternate food source. She hates the idea of sending off her human stock to the conversion processing to be turned into steaks, roasts, etc. just so that others can live another day. In ‘Lucky Bitch’ she actively stopped the practice within her own household until she found out that her family was slowly starving to death, despite the fact that they were expecting to feed their household. Finding an ally in the Doctor, together they are trying. They may not solve the problem in their lifetime but that won’t stop Mona from trying. She has suburb investigative skills and working with a scientist like the Doctor, there is a chance that something will come out of it.

Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Mona's Societies DNA

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories 2

August 30, 2016

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part Two)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 2.

Q: Are you an activist, passionate about stopping the practice of genetically modifying organisms?

Interview Snippets on Mona's Stories-2A: I’m not an activist. In fact, I’m not an activist about anything. I just write stories based upon my passions. If anything, I subscribe to facts science reveals. Take for example, obesity rates in the U.S. My country has been modifying our food sources for nearly a century in order to increase profits. In the 1940’s, obesity was a rarity. Today, it is the norm.

Check the statistics. For example, in the 1950’s,
the widespread use of corn syrup was added to our food supply as a cheaper way to produce food. Compare the graphs of the introduction of corn syrup to the obesity rates in this country. You will find a near perfect duplication of the charts, separated by only a decade. For every change in the production of our food supply, an exact change in the obesity rate occurs a decade later. 70 years later, corn syrup is now a staple in our diets. I try to avoid it but it is virtually impossible.

Q: How does that relate to the premise in your books?

A: To me, human arrogance is the relate. We presume to know better than what Mother Nature and millions of years of natural selection has produced. I believe we are digging a hole that the human race will find difficult to get out of. It may not happen in our lifetime or our children’s lifetime but I believe it is coming. We ourselves are going to cause a massive extinction event. Assuming our species survives, will be radically changed forever.

Q: And that is what ‘The Taste of Honey’ and the follow-up books speculate.

A: Yes, exactly. I don’t wish it to happen to anyone but I do feel powerless to prevent it. I believe an extinction event is inevitable and we will have caused it. How our extinction manifests itself is the question. All I know is, and I am firm in my belief, we will be causing our own extinction.

Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Mona's Societies DNA

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories-1

August 29, 2016

Interview Snippets on Mona’s Stories

(Part One)

What follows is the continuation of an interview I conducted with one of my readers. I captured their notes and turned it into this update to my blog. This is Interview Mona’s Stories part 1.

Q: Richard, as you talk about the Mona Bendarova books, it seems to me that you are passionate about them. Are you?

A: Yes, I am. I’ve been dreaming up this society for years now. I have picked at it, revised it, poked holes in it, reworked it, revised it and re-examined it for a very long time. I tend to compare Mona’s culture to the world I see around me in my everyday life. Even in my sleep, my dreams compare the two. Frankly, it scares me. This really could happen.

Take, for example, my new book ‘Lucky Bitch’. In this story, Mona, the submissive property of Charles, breaks through the glass ceiling to become the Mistress of her own estate. As Master and Mistress, she is no one’s property. She is her own person, responsible to no one but her house and all it contains. She is eager to do well and break the cycle developed hundreds of years before her time. A cycle developed due the arrogance of her ancestors.

Q: By ancestors, you mean us, people living today?

A: Yes, I do. The society Mona lives in is a direct result of what we are doing to our planet today. People talk about global warming. Some believe it, just as I do. Those that do not are fools.

Interview Snippets on Mona's StoriesI think we should be just as concerned with what our food-producing industry is doing to ever increase profit. They are playing with the genomes of every living organism on the planet. Grafting plants are one thing. Mother Nature will either integrate the graft or it won’t. However, we are splicing genes at the genetic level, extracting one gene sequence and replacing it with another.

They believe they know what they are doing. But really? Do they?

How many mistakes have been made that the public are not aware of? Take for example the news surfacing over the past couple of years. Deadly substances such as Anthrax, plague, and Ebola are accidentally transported from high secure facilities around the world in unsecured and vulnerable containers.

In my mind, it’s not a matter of if something goes wrong but rather when. What will we do when a wildfire genetic maelström is released upon the planet. Will we be powerless to undo its damage?

Q: And?

A: And when it happens, all life on this planet will be affected. My stories of Mona’s culture is simply one possible result of the extinction event that we are building towards all on our own.

Care to Comment?

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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Interview

What’s on Tap-2

August 28, 2016

What’s on Tap 2

Yesterday, Saturday, did in fact turn out fantastic. Except for my ongoing, continuous headache, I couldn’t be more pleased. I am trusting that today will be more of the same, regardless of the weather, sun and heat. Whatever it turns out to be, I’m ready for a glorious day. Perhaps I’ll go see a movie?

InterviewOver the past month, I have been posting portions of an interview I gave several months back. Frankly, I was happy to transcribe portions into my blog. It not only helps my readers to more fully understand the basis of the books I write but it’s been helping me get back into sync with these stories. I have many more planned and I need ways to keep them fresh in my mind.

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting a number of smaller snippets from the interview. Generally, they are short answers to individual questions that move from topic to topic. I hope you enjoy them. Look forward to them starting Monday.

As always, I look forward to your comments. Please feel free to write me and let me know what you think. I always enjoy reading them.

Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

Please accept my apologies for the repeat post. Circumstances beyond my control screwed up the first post.

Empty swimsuit bra floating in pool

Go Topless Sunday

August 28, 2016

Go Topless Sunday

Yesterday, I read somewhere that today is ‘Go Topless Day‘. So, I wrote a quick note to spread awareness. In honor of the ‘Topfree Seven‘ here in New York and all the topless communities around the world, I ask that you support and appreciate all those that support this fine endeavor.

For those of you who have not heard of the ‘Topfree Seven’, let me fill you in. Some years ago, in protest of laws requiring women to cover their chests, seven women protested around the state by going topless. Over time, new legislation was passed in New York that decriminalized toplessness in none profit making establishments. Within a week, I saw my first topless woman, riding her bike along one of the streets I just happened to be driving on. I didn’t stare. I didn’t gawk. I simply appreciated the view and kept right on driving. That was my first and only sighting. Why? I wish I knew. Our predilection to cover up God’s gift to mankind is astonishing. In this age where violence against another is move acceptable that the sight of a bare chest is unbelievable. I will never understand why.

Go topless today. You have my undying appreciation.