Happy Saturday

Happy Saturday

That’s right. The weekend is here. Two whole days of not having to go to work. Two whole days of skipping the grind that pays the bills and keeps food in my belly and a roof over my head. It’s a beautiful day here in Rochester, NY. Blue sky without a cloud in sight. Moderate temperatures and low humidity, I think I’ll spend the bulk of it out on my patio, soaking it all in.Happy Saturday

So for me, the day is starting off well. I got almost nine full hours of sleep. I can’t remember the last time that happened. Certainly well before my knock on the noggin.  more “Happy Saturday”

Community Games

Community Games

The Olympic Games are here and already, they are half way done. Medals have been given with the winners standing on the podiums to receive their accolades and hear their national anthems. I must admit, I’ve been watching. Swimming, gymnastics, soccer (football), and rugby are just some of the sports I’ve watched.

Community GamesI’m fascinated with the games. They only happen every four years and for most of the sports, it is their only place to shine before the world. Forget basketball, golf and tennis. The athletes who participate in these sports have somewhere to go after the games and earn a living playing their sport.

What about archery, Track and Field, Handball, and Field Hockey? Let’s not forget swimming and gymnastics after all. Where do these athletes go after the games. Is there such a thing as a professional field hockey league? How about a professional archery league, or any of them. Nope. The only way they can make a living and still play in their sport is through endorsements. If you’re lucky enough to someone to sign on and endorse you.

As I was thinking about the Olympic Games, I couldn’t help but compare them to the games that are routinely played at the Community Celebrations in the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Set in a post-apocalyptic world millennia in the future, Mona’s community knows the value of competing in games. The difference of course is the her games are decided not on wins and losses but life and death. Winners live, losers don’t. It’s that simple.

As I think about the games, I can’t help be relate them to the real life gladiatorial games of the roman era or the fictional games brought to life in ‘The Hunger Games’. Contestants fought to win and stay alive. Most failed and died on the field of play. The same is true in Mona’s world. Who would have thought that dance competitions were waged with a noose around one’s neck and the winner is the sole survivor. Many stories in the past have hosted hunting games, where the prey are people. In Mona’s world, they too have a similar hunt, only the prey are released arms bound and naked knowing full well that they will not survive.

Life and Death Community GamesYet, why do they do it? To continue to comparison, in Mona’s world instead of country competing between country, it’s house estates against other house estates. They compete for the honor it will bring their house, where their family lives. They also know that their deaths will not be wasted. Their bodies will be converted to feed their families. It is the way of things in her world and they all accept it as a natural order of things.

Really though? Why do they willingly go off and compete in these games? I’ll tell you. It’s a far better fate than being one of thousands, transported to a conversion procession center that is no different from a slaughterhouse. At least this way, they can use every means possible to win and survive. Afterall, it is possible to win and survive. Just ask Julie in ‘Broken Steele’. She wins her dance competition. Which means, she lives to see tomorrow and feast upon the meat of her competitors. Now that’s a gold medal in of itself.

Imagination leads to creativity

Vivid Imagination

I read this quote on imagination the other day on social media. Though I’m sure I don’t have it exact, word for word, I know that this is the sentiment.

“I don’t subscribe to the stuff I write about. I just have a vivid imagination.”

This statement rings clearly in my psyche. The sentiment allows me to explain to people about the stories I capture in my writings and in my artwork. In short, it describes me in a very succinct way. I believe it fits me to a tee.

When you read the books I write, you feel the anguish my characters feel. Sit inside the minds of the perpetrators as they deliver their punishments to their unwilling victims. Follow along inside the minds of the victims and feel their pain. Identify with the characters and cringe as they do as they suffer their unwanted brutal attacks. Cheer for the sufferer even time they achieve a victory against their attacker.

Imagination 38931463 - open door to another reality, abstract ethereal backgroundsWhile I wrote these stories, that is true, picturing myself as the perpetrator is disturbing to me. Violence against any living being, human or otherwise, I find as abhorrent. I cannot imagine me actually doing the violence I write about. Frankly, it turns my stomach. I can’t imagine myself forcibly raping another person, man or woman. It is unimaginable to view myself as a boxer, fighter, soldier or whatever. I just can’t see it. I don’t consider myself a pacifist, I simply abhor the notion of violence against another.

Why is it then that I enjoy movies that portray acts of violence? Why are my favorite video games fraught with hunting down, attacking and killing other characters? I saw a movie the other day, entitled ‘Vice’ starring Bruce Willis. I had never heard of it before. I never saw trailers or other promotions for it. I simply saw it on my online guide and watched it.

While I enjoyed it, I cursed it at the same time. The premise of the movie was one I have been developing on my own to wrap many of my storylines into a single volume. Shit! So now, I can’t use that one anymore. It would have been perfect. But, I digress.

Garters Thigh High Stockings vectorOther people have trouble seeing the conflict in my mind. Most say, “If I can write it, I must be able to do it.” It’s also been suggested that “If I can write it, I must be a misogynist.” While I understand how people make that leap, I don’t agree with it. I simply have an active imagination which I choose to document.

Besides, not all of my imaginative visions are violent. Many are loving, touching scenes of people who are deeply into each other. Others are sexy, usually graphic scenes of the greatest gift Mother Nature could have given the human race. That, of course, is SEX. In case you haven’t noticed. I love sex. I love the beauty I see in mature adult women’s bodies. It doesn’t matter how old they are, how big or small, or whether they are tall or short. The mature, naked female body, in my opinion, is the best gift God or Mother Nature gave us.

Unfortunately, these other scenes running through my imagination are already being written by thousands of other authors. From what I can tell, they sell well enough. If I want my writings to support my lifestyle, perhaps I should write my own.

Sorry but I don’t want to regurgitate the same thing that others are already doing. I want to write unique stories that no one else is writing. Just as I love seeing women who are different from most, who wear asymmetrical clothing, custom jewelry, interesting piercings, gorgeous tattoos and other adornments that are uncommon and individual, I like the idea of writing fresh stories that are unique and different. 

What I find most fascinating is the more violent the story, the more graphic and brutal it is, the better it sells. WTF? I recognize that either you like the stories or you don’t. There is no middle ground. I’m okay with that. I’m just thankful for the thousands out there that do like and buy the stories.

Whether you believe me or not, I don’t subscribe, support and live this behavior. It is the product of my vivid imagination. Those closest to me, my friends, family, and lover know the truth. In reality, I’m a pussy. Just don’t try to stop me. That’s when my fangs come out.

In the meantime, as long as people buy it, I’ll continue to write it.

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Care to comment? Please do. I always love reading what others have to say.

Do you really know him?

Do you really know him? I have asked myself that question many of times when I was dating, engaged, hearing about my daughter’s’ date(s) and more recently playing a jurist from my couch as I watch Dateline and 48 hours!

The Breakup Upright BookThis topic came back to the forefront of my mind as I read Richard Verry’s new novella, ‘The Breakup’.

Ginny is presented to us as she leaves work and goes home to get ready for a date with Doug. She is hoping and even expecting a marriage proposal. She is so way off as he has other ideas.

He engages her and surprises her with his detail of brutality. His desire to add her to his “trophies” scares her enough to beg for her life and the reader begins to question his lack of compassion as it relates to her. He is so consumed by his own sexual needs and fantasies, that this escapade has the reader thinking that Doug is heartless and questions how he could do this to Ginny. There are sexual needs fulfilled on both sides yet the story brings me back to my original question.

I know life and choosing a life partner is a risk. Yet aren’t there some signals that one may see that are ‘red flags’? Is he a loner? Is he too good to be true? If the answer is yes, than you are warned that it must be and to keep your guard up.

Ginny fell hard for Doug and she was rewarded in such a brutal, horrific way. Her pleasure was short-lived and the end was unexpected. The reader, meaning me, hoped that had she won his heart and he would change his plans accordingly. I was surprised that his own needs won out and that his feelings for Ginny were part of a game. It’s not a game I want to be part of and yet I know it happens.

If you liked Richard Verry’s novella, ‘Her Client’, this is a must read for you. Sit back and enjoy the roller coaster ride and ask yourself the same question, ‘Do you really know him’?

What do you think?

Janet M.

Available on his website, Amazon, Smashwords and your favorite eBook retailer.
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How are my books different from other books on the market?

Are they different? I certainly hope so. I spent a long time trying to find storylines that others hadn’t already written about. So, yes, they are.

First, a little background. I am an avid reader. I’ve been reading since I can remember, somewhere about the age of six. By the time I was in 4th grade, I had read every ‘Hardy Boys’ books, every ‘Nancy Drew’, ‘Tom Swift’ and hundreds of others. I’ll never remember them all. I just remember having a voracious appetite for books.

Book-3D-loopI lived in worlds that others had envisioned. Worlds that either exists or could exist. I found ‘Star Trek’ when it first aired. I was reading all sorts of Science Fiction by then. ‘Star Wars’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘Firefly’, ‘Dr. Who’ and a host of others was easy to love. SciFi isn’t the only genre I like to read. I like to read historical dramas, erotica … well … let’s just say, fiction of all sorts.

Why am I telling you this? It’s because when I decided I wanted to write a novel, I didn’t want to redo what others had done. I knew I could write something in those worlds that was plagiarizing someone else’s work. I just didn’t want to write something remotely similar to everything I’ve ever read. I wanted something new, fresh and even controversial.

I came up with at least two different genres. One is brutal, graphically depicting the depravity of the human race. The other is a world where people respect, honor and support each other … well, most of the time. What’s a story without conflict? Both are paranormal fantasies.

I particularly like Mona Bendarova’s world. There is no war, no religion, no self-righteous do-gooders who push their agenda on others. People live in harmony, enjoying life to the fullest and sacrificing when necessary to ensure the continuation of the species.

What makes them different? I try to tell it real. I don’t like dancing around a scene. I’ve read a lot where the author paints a grand scene leading up to ‘the’ moment, only to fast-forward to the next scene. I hate that. I am left wanting and unfulfilled. I can be angry that the author chose to dance over the real action.

As in my paintings, I try to depict realistic scenes; be it sex, violence, love, or simple conversation. My scenes can be raw. They can be soft and sweet. What makes them different is that they are complete, uncensored depictions of human nature. It’s the real deal.

If you like realism, if you like the complete story, if you like the uncensored version, you’ll like my books. Enjoy and let me know what you think. I’m always interested in hearing what you, the reader, has to say.

Good books are friends

My girlfriend and I had chinese food for dinner the other night. I’d like to share with you what my fortune cookie had hidden inside.

“Good books are friends who are always ready to talk to us.”

For the readers out there, I think you will agree. Good or bad, they talk to us, reach into our souls and stimulate emotions. I don’t know about you, but I have conversations with my books. Yes, the books themselves. I talk to them and they respond.

IMG_20160617_111433I also have conversations with other readers about books, either mine or someone else’s. We can debate whether it was a good read or a bad read. We can argue about the elements of the characters, the plot or the outcome.

My favorite books are those that I cannot predict where the story is taking me. Not just the ending either. I want to be surprised and jolted all along the way. Just when I think I figured out ‘who done it’ or whether the couple will final get together, the best stories for me those that change direction. By the time the last page is turned, I want the story wrapped up. I want all of the pieces to fit, like a jigsaw puzzle.

So far, from what people tell me, my books fit that criteria. However, I would be interested in what you, the reader of this blog, thinks. Write me. Fill out the comment field below and lay it on me. Tell me whether your favorite books talk to you and what it is about them that makes the book one of your favorites.

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

Your’s in reading and writing, Rich.

Mid-Summer Musings

I know it’s been a week since I’ve last posted a note. Sorry about that. I took the time to revise my website, RichardVerry.com, getting it to load faster, and remove some of the bloat that time inevitably creates. If you haven’t been to the site lately, please stop by.

29869517 - an image of a useful sale button 50%

One reason to stop by is that I am running a sale on some of my books. Check out the webpage for details. I can say this, some of the books are either free or 50% off.

Her-Client-Trilogy-advert1aI want to thank everyone who has been buying my ‘Her Client’ books. I did an analysis of sales for the past month. It appears that I am selling a decent quantity of these books each day. However, I did note some interesting facts.

Fact 1: Book 1, ‘Her Client’ sells twice as many as Books 2 & 3, and Book 2 ‘Her Overseer’ sells twice as many as Book 3 ‘Her Essentia’.

Fact 2: Sales on Books 2 & 3 follow that same curve as book 1, only a day or two later. That tells me this. If I captured your interest in Book 1, you are sure to buy books 2 & 3 a day or two later.

Fact3: Sales are the best reviews. I heartily believe that. However, I would love to hear from the readers on what you thought about the books. Write me, I welcome your comments. In the long run, your comments will help me write better and better books.

Be on the lookout for other books in the ‘Her Client’ genre. I have one already published on my site called ‘The Breakup’. It is also available on many other sites. I hope to get it available soon on Amazon. Frankly, I’ve been holding off on publishing it to Amazon as I am running an experiment. I’ll tell you more about the experiment in the future, but for now, the best place to get the book, ‘The Breakup’ is from my site.The-Breakup-advert5a800x300

Stop by and check out the site and read the reviews by readers like you. You might be surprised at mind boggling and enthralling the stories are.

Till next time, I hope you are have a great day and a better tomorrow.

FrankenFood, are we playing with fire?

USAToday published an article entitled “Genetic ‘frankenfood’ found not harmful to human health”. The article goes on to state that a committee of 50+ experts compared disease reports from North America where Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are commonly used in food sources with disease reports from UK and Western Europe. According to these experts, there is no significant difference or increases in the incidence of specific health problems.

Good news, right?

Not so fast. I do understand that GMOs are being used with good intentions. They are being introduced to promote greater yield per acre, more drought & insect resistant, and other similar reasons. All good on the face of it.

For me, the problem is more to do with those behind the modifications being made to the genomes of our food supply. They are run and paid for by major corporations. Their motives are not to benefit the human race (or their customers). Rather, they are profit motivated. The stockholders in these corporations want bigger and bigger profits so they can increase their overall wealth.

I’m sorry but that is not a reason to mess with our food supply. I disagree with the practice. I would prefer that it stop but I know it won’t. I can only hope and pray that nothing goes wrong.

While I am not a fanatic on a cause, I can’t believe this report. Why you may ask?

Taste of Honey book cover small
Find out how the human race survives

Something going wrong is the underlying basis of my ‘Mona Bendarova’ series of books which opens with the ‘Taste of Honey’. Granted this is fiction but I based the books on the very concept that something goes wrong with playing with the genomes of our food supply.

To me, there are too many unknowns. My books are set a millennium in the future where we lose control of GMO’s and they wreak havoc on the food supply. We lose control of how the organisms replicate and they destroy our food sources ability to provide the proteins we need to survive. The ‘Purge Plague’ as it became known in the stories, caused the extinction of every consumable protein source on the planet. Every insect, plant, and animal died out within 100 years. Towards the end, humans managed to survive with a last-ditch effort to prevent their own extinction by radically changing their genome. However, to survive and move forward, a major sacrifice was required. A thousand years later, a social system arose to ensure the long-term survival of their species. Read ‘The Taste of Honey’ and it’s sequel, ‘Broken Steele’ to find out more.

In the meantime, I am a staunch believer that playing with our food sources and their genomes is akin to playing with fire. One day, we will get burned. I believe we will suffer a major catastrophe related to this practice. I only hope that we or our children never see the day.

Whirlwind nearly over, part 4

One's Home is their CastleThey say one’s home is their castle. I can’t help wonder about the truth in the statement.

The home I used to live in, the one I recently sold and moved from, used to be my castle. I loved my home. I did not envision leaving it any time soon. In fact, I was sure I would still be living there at least six more years. Instead, it’s now sold to new owners. Someone else is living with all of the upgrades I did along the way as well as with its issues that all homes have. It’s their castle now.

What I don’t understand is why I have moved on as I have. I have no interest in driving by to see what the new owners are doing. I heard from my moving company that the very same crew I used to move out was contract to move the new owners in. Small world? No, I don’t think so. I suspect how that happened and I don’t think it was a coincidence. It’s a local firm, not a national chain with a very good reputation in the area. Moving with a peace of mind http://sheridanbrothersmoving.com/ If you are moving, local or not and live in my area, check them out.

My new home is my castle now. It’s a nice home and I’m sure one day, I’ll come to love it as I did the old one. Sure, I love this home but as in all relationships, its different. I still don’t understand all its subtleties, all the things that make it unique and different from another house. Like a lover. You love your current partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever. You love them deeply and would do anything for them. They are the best part of your life and complete you in ways that you want and desire. Yet, that does mean you didn’t love your previous lover any less. Just differently. Regardless of how or why you have a new lover, your love for them was just as deep. It was just different. At least, this is how I see the world. Perhaps you do to.

ghost in the haunted castleSo, I have a new home. It’s my castle. I love it now and as time goes by, I’m confident that I will love it more. For better or worse, it’s my castle and I’ve pleased to be sharing it with my lover, partner and best friend. Love you maggical.

Now, for those of you that know my perversion for Halloween, whatever am I going to do to celebrate Halloween?