Woke up this morning, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head ….
Thank you Beatles for the inspirational song ‘A Day in The Life’ to start my day off right. All of the above was true, except for the last statement. I haven’t needed to drag a comb across my head in decades. I used to have hair like that but it’s been gone since my early twenties. I did shave though, so maybe I should modify the line to “dragged a razor across my face”. Nah!
The point is, in getting up, I realized that there is nothing I have to do this afternoon and evening. I have a free night off. There’s no vendor I need to meet with, no deliveries I have to be home for, and my hot tub is slowly doing its magic on my ravaged body. Even my living room, dining room, and kitchen are starting to shape up. My office is getting there. I’m still getting used to my new writing desk.
Whoo hoo! I have nothing I have to do tonight. The very thought is wonderful in of itself.
So, what is the plan when I go home today after work? I have no fucking idea. Isn’t that great!
I might open a box or two, I’m in the market for a couple of storage cabinets so maybe I’ll shop for them. Online of course from the comfort of my easy chair. I could just sit behind my computer screen and write. ‘Lucky Bitch’ is begging for attention. I really should do that and maybe I will. Maybe I’ll just lean back, close my eyes, do nothing, and vegetate.
What I suppose I’ll do is whatever fancy’s me. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll decide when I get home and strip off my work clothes. I might even take an air bath.
The other day, I wrote about why I had been pretty quiet of late. I moved from one home to another. The big question is … why did I not write about the move before now?
Snow Bird
It all has to do with a dear friend of mine. He and his wife have been bugging me for years to sell my home and move to one near them. I love them dearly and yet, I loved the house I used to live in. Frankly, I resisted the urge to up and move. They are also snow birds. For those of you who don’t know the term, it means that they fly to their winter home in Florida and return in the spring. Yup, they roost in the warm sunshine of Florida while I live and work in the North East snows and cold weather.
Since the decision to sell and move occurred while they were in Florida, I decided I wanted to surprise them. Since they read this blog, I couldn’t write about it till now. The more I thought about it, the more the evil in me wanted to surprise them.
Yes, you guessed it. The surprise has been sprung. Last week as a matter of fact. They returned a week ago Monday and we all met up for dinner at my place. The old place and were they ever in for a surprise. The sold sign on the front lawn and closing happening the following day. They were shocked and speechless.
Together, we all went out from dinner, saying goodbye for the last time to the old house, ate a fabulous meal while we spilled the beans on everything we had hidden from them. After dinner, we all went to the new house and introduced them to it.
Can you feel the evil grin on my face throughout all this?
They also surprised us by showing up with a new car, which they bought while still in Florida. I am looking forward to entertaining and playing domino’s with them and the lady in my life long into the evening. Their closing comment to the two of us was ‘You done good.’
I don’t know why, but I’ve been pondering this question for a couple of days. I compared each one to what I think is important in my life and decided that Snoopy was the best fit.
A dog you might ask. Look at it this way and take the species aspect out of it.
Snoopy has a very active imagination. He’s a fighter pilot flying in an open cockpit bi-wing fighter plane. He plays baseball. He knows enough to get enough sleep. He decorates his house for the holidays. He is a writer, a good friend, and a party animal. He tells it like it is and makes no bones about it. He questions idiocy and doesn’t take shit from anybody. Most importantly, he unconditionally loves his friends and family.
He is an independent soul and won’t be forced to conform. He believes what he believes and lives his life accordingly. You either take him as he is or you don’t. It’s not so much that he doesn’t care. Rather, it’s more akin to not being aware that some people may not appreciate him.
Snoopy and I are very much alike. That is why he is my favorite ‘Peanuts’ character. Who is yours and why? We could get into a very interesting dialog.
I’ve spent my entire life doing my best to help others. Rarely have I done something just for myself. Sure, I have a body to die for and I use it to my advantage. It has helped me advance, but honestly, if I don’t, there’s always someone else who will take my place.
I don’t maintain long-term relationships, I simply don’t have time. I take care of the needs of my clients and if there is enough leftover, I’ll do something for myself. Who am I kidding? I have just enough left over for a bath, a glass of wine and the occasional one-night stand.
Then why was I assaulted, beaten, raped and sold into human bondage to be tortured and murdered? I have since learned that what happened to me could happen to anyone.
Back in mid-February, I posted an article regarding my books that comprise the ‘Her Client Trilogy’. Those books include ‘Her Client’, ‘Her Overseer’, and ‘Her Essentia’. In the article, I reported finding numerous editing mistakes missed by my editor. I was shocked to discover so many errors and inconsistencies. Therefore, I immediately pulled the entire series of books from the market so they could be re-edited.
Recently, I found a quote from an acquaintance of mine who uses it in her professional life. I love it and I subscribe to that sentiment with the works I produce. The quote reads as such.
“I strive for perfection, I’ll settle for excellence.” – Nichole Kellett.
Instinctively, I applied this concept to my artwork and when I began writing, I tried to apply the same meticulous attention to details. It’s unfortunate, in my zeal to move on to the next project, I allowed the release of a flawed product. Aghast, I pulled the books.
I’m happy to report that through numerous reviews, edits, and post edit reads, the flaws were corrected and many improvements to the flow and content of the stories were implemented.
The entire series was re-released as a new edition, along with new book covers. Those who purchased the original version will be able to download the second edition for free. If you purchased them directly from my website, I’ll be sending you and email with the revised version download instructions attached. For those who purchased them from Amazon or another retailer, please work with your retailer to get the revised edition. BTW, my experience with Amazon has taught me that when an author updates their book, they will attach a note to your list of books, allowing you to update the book. I encourage you to do so.
I’m also putting together a paperback bound edition of all three books in the trilogy. The paperback edition will soon be available on my website, Amazon.com, and Createspace.com.
As a service to the rest of you, I am making the first book, absolutely free. That should make your day!
What makes me happy is the actual writing, creating the scenes, imagining the dialog that my characters might think and say, and putting all together into a cohesive story. Post production is tedious, strenuous, and frankly, sucks. I will be using a new editor for my future writings so that I can concentrate on the fun part of my novels. The creation and development of the story.
This experience has taught me a lot. I will strive hard to prevent these mistakes from reoccurring. I feel I have learned from my mistakes and I will grow from them.
Granted, my books are not for everyone. I never intended for them to be. In fact, if you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know that publishing my first book was done almost as an afterthought and after I was pressured by my beta readers to publish it.
For those who do like the genre I write in, I think you’ll appreciate the fine tuning that went into them.
‘Her Client Trilogy’ is suitable for those age 18 and above and contain scenes of graphic violence and criminal acts of assault, sexual abuse, and torture.
I read the following quote the other day on social media. Though I don’t have it as exact as it was written, I know that I’ve captured the sentiment.
“I don’t subscribe to the stuff I write about. I just have a vivid imagination.” – author unknown.
This quote rings clearly in my psyche. The sentiment allows me to explain to people about the stories I invent and capture in my writings and in my artwork. In short, it describes me in a very succinct way. It fits me to a tee.
When you read my books, you will feel the anguish my characters suffer, male and female alike. You will feel what they do as they are tormented, brutalized, sexually assaulted and even killed. You will also live inside the minds of the perpetrators as they deliver their horrendous punishments to their unwilling victims. You will follow along inside the minds of the victims and feel their pain. You will identify with the characters and cringe as they suffer.
While I wrote these stories, I find the behaviors of my perpetrators as disturbing. I strongly believe that the idea of an act of violence against any living being, human or otherwise, as abhorrent. I cannot imagine actually doing the violence I write about. The idea that I can be thought of as someone who does, turns my stomach. I can’t imagine myself forcibly raping another person, man or woman. I can’t imagine 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 doing violence against another.
Other people have trouble accepting my explanation. Many have said to me “If I can write it, I must be able or willing to do it.” While I understand how they made that leap, I don’t agree with it. I simply have an active imagination and I choose to document the products of my imagination. I will never, ever, do any of these behaviors for real.
What I find most interesting is the more violent the story, the more graphic and brutal it is, the better it sells. Really? I also recognize that either you like the stories or you don’t. There is no middle ground with these stories. They are not for everyone. I’m okay with that.
Whether you believe me or not, I can’t help you. I don’t subscribe, support and live this behavior and that it is just my vivid imagination. If you can’t believe it, then I can’t help you. I can only reaffirm my beliefs and core values do not include this behavior. Those closest to me, my friends, family, and lover know the truth.
In the meantime, as long as people buy it, I’ll continue to write it.
Janet, my maggical, with love 11″ x 14″ charcoal on 80# matte paper
This being Valentine’s weekend, I made plans to spend it with my wonderful, delicious lady. She’s fantastic and to me, very beautiful. With Sunday being Valentines Day, I spent the entire day with her. Even though we live together and share time, meals, drinks and shopping together, Sunday we spent it hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
Saturday, we also spent lots of time together, though not the full day. There is work to be done, shopping (done together) booze to buy (also done together) and other stuff (done together and separately).
Monday, I had the day off and she had to work. Bummer. We missed each other constantly and texted back and forth. We can’t wait for the day when we retire and share time together 24×7.
Now, to be honest, when we retire, I don’t know how I’ll deal with being with her 24×7. I’m sure she will struggle too but I trust we will figure it out. Each of us had years of alone time to do whatever we wanted, without kids, pets, etc. Mind you, some days being along sucked, big time. Now, I worry that I won’t have the private time my psyche requires. I’m sure I will figure it out. But I digress.
Her Client Trilogy
The real reason I am writing this is that I discovered something last Friday and I am working hard to correct it. Apparently, editing of my Trilogy missed a lot of problems with my writing. My editor explained it to me that she had a hard time editing this series. Apparently, the story rang too close to home. Since it deals with brutal, sexual assault and an eventual entry into the world of human trafficking, I am not surprised. I wrote it to be horrendous and disturbing.
Be that as it may, I’ve spent every working hour since Friday, working with a new editor to fix the problems. I hope it will be much better as a result.
In the meantime, I will be pulling all original versions of the books from the marketplace until I can get them revised. When re-released, I will make them free for anyone who has already purchased the books. I apologize to anyone who had to suffer with an inferior product. I only have to wait until Amazon releases these books from ‘review’ so I can do this. (See below as to why I am delayed.) It was not my intention to release an inferior product and I accept the responsibility.
The following is not as an excuse but as explanation of another issue that recently surfaced.
Recently I’ve lived with Amazon changing my product pages without authorization. This includes pricing and product descriptions. Pricing I have since figured out. It’s the inexplicit changing product descriptions which is most frustrating. It seems that I will fix the description, verify that it appears as I want hours later, only to find that the next day, the description has changed to something I did not authorize. ‘Arrggghhhhh’. They even mixed descriptions from one book to another. Double ‘Arrggghhhhh’.
Something is going on that I don’t pretend to understand. I am working daily on figuring it out and I have working theory. I will admit. I am frustrated but I am working it through. My Amazon customer support requests seem to fix the description. Yet, a day or two later, the issue returns. I apologize again and all I can do is ask for your patience.
This really has been a challenge for someone who also works a full-time job, maintains a household and handles other day-to-day needs. I can’t dedicate a full day, every day, on this shit! So, please, I ask, can you be patient?
However, one piece of feedback has me confused. One commentator mentioned that I misspelled the word ‘Prolog’. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, this is a viable alternative spelling to ‘Prologue’ from which it is based. I chose ‘Prolog’ and ‘Epilog’ and will probably continue to do so as it has a special meaning to me after watching all those 70’s shows that prominently played a ‘Prolog’ and ‘Epilog’ with them. To me, ‘Prologue’ and ‘Epilogue’ are way too formal and not appropriate to my books. If I ever write a historical drama, textbook or other such book, I will be sure to use the spelling ‘Prologue’. In the meantime, I hope this person will learn to deal with it.
Enough for today and this weekend. I hope you will check out my other books, ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’. Be sure to look for my third book in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch’, due out in the months to come.
So, what would you football fanatics do this weekend without a meaningful game to watch? Well, here is a suggestion! It’s the three R’s. Rest, Relax and Read. The last ‘R’ is where I can help.
When you read, Richard Verry’s, ‘Her Client Trilogy’ you will find just the right amount of brutality, torture and a winning outcome. You will shudder at the incredible and unimaginable anguish suffered as the story unfolds. A gripping tale, you will not be able to put it down until the final … final outcome.
So grab your favorite drink, put your feet up and start reading. I promise you that you will be at the edge of your seat, not knowing the ‘score’. You will care about the characters involved in this story yet this isn’t a game. The brutality is happening to a person not a team. If you can’t depend on your peers to help, who is left?
Will this give you the ‘fix’ you need this weekend?
Only you can answer that question yet as a person who can relate and will be going through the same ‘withdrawal’ as you are, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with your read!
It’s conference championship weekend as the remaining four teams battle it out for the honor to represent their conference in the Super Bowl. Just four teams remain in contention while the rest are sitting on the sidelines. This ritual got me thinking how this relates to Richard Verry’s, ‘Her Client Trilogy’.
What happened to Jolene could happen to you.
When I think about the game, the words that come to mind include: dominance, hunt, aggressor, tied, victim, surprise, tension, hard, chains, panic, goal, interference, holding, illegal contact, roughing, fantasy, rout and shit!
I am sure you can add more yet the point is all this is acceptable in the game of football. Culturally, it has become the norm to read, watch and/or participate in this activity.
How is this different from what the author is conveying in his books and novellas?
Overall, I believe we have grown as a society yet there are still issues that we can’t accept or are willing to accept. We still hunt, torture and inflict brutal violence against each another. It is a game for some and a lifestyle for others. Yet like myself, the main character and victim Jolene will fight to survive to the bitter end.
We may have fourth and long to go, time is running out and we are out of time-outs and yet we will keep our wits and fight to the bitter end. We will not be the victim to be hunted and tackled to the ground. We may be injured and on the verge of being routed. Yet, while there are still seconds on the clock, we will not take a knee. We’ll run the screen pass and make a play for the end zone and come out on top.
We will not lay down and give up. We will overcome our trials, we will vanquish those to try to push us down and send us packing. We will do everything we can to rise to the top and hold the trophy high.
See if you agree with my thoughts. Write me a comment and let me know, one way or the other.
Woke up this morning, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head ….
