During your annual physical, a well-paid receptionist forwards your chart to an international human trafficking ring. A clear violation of the Hipaa Laws, but who cares? Money is a great incentive.
Consider what happens after they take you, ship you off, and sell you at auction?
Can you imagine your new life? Can you imagine a life as owned property?
Avril Gillios doesn’t have to imagine it; she has to live it. The question is, can she survive it?
After you read this novel, you will forever worry for yourself and the lives of your loved ones. Available now on my website: richardverry.com.
I trust that all is well with you and that you survived New Years. I did, but it was not one of the favorite evenings in my lifetime. First, staying up to midnight was an arduous task. Fortunately, a game of dominos helped a lot. Since my concussion, I haven’t been up that late, which is now in the sixth month.
The injury also left me extremely sensitive to sensory items, such as sound, sight, and smells. That is, more “Good morning one and all”…
Good Morning. I trust everyone is recovering nicely from the festivities of last weekend. You’d better, as the New Year is this coming weekend. Are you hosting or going to a party to celebrate the passing of 2016 (good riddance) and the arrival of 2017? I plan too, but as of yet, I haven’t finalized my plans. I’m sure we’ll figure it out. And if you’re like me, and occasionally skip the party for a quiet evening at home, with or without a loved one, then I say, sounds like a great plan.
I had planned on writing this post yesterday. What kept me? Good question.
As most of you know, I suffered a severe concussion over the summer. I’ve been dealing with the after-effects ever since. I still suffer from short-term memory loss and an infrequent but consistent inability to form coherent sentences. I start therapy for that the middle of January for that.
Most concerning to me is my constant headaches. There hasn’t been a day when I have been without one since July. It sucks, and I am at a loss. My neurologist has stepped up my prescriptions in which I have to increase the dosage week-by-week gradually. I won’t be at full dosage until the end of January. But that isn’t why I failed to write to you yesterday.
I’m now in physical therapy. I have sessions twice a week. Yesterday was the first after the holiday. I go to PT with the expectation that they will beat me up and I need to rest when I get home. Yesterday, man did they ever beat me up. I never thought forty-five minutes of any activity would be so excruciating and so debilitating afterward.
When I got home after yesterday’s PT, I was exhausted, in pain, and my headache climbed a few notches. Hey, isn’t PT suppose to reduce my headaches? Well, that’s what I hope for, but at this early stage, it is far more likely that I will continue experience yesterday’s result for the near future. So, I’m walking in the door, the house is quiet, and my loving girlfriend is still asleep. I grabbed several glasses of water and gulped them down. Then I made a cup of coffee and while that was brewing, drank another glass of water.
When the coffee was ready, I plopped down in my recliner where I spent much of the day. I never felt so physically tired after just forty-five minutes. It’s as if I worked a construction site, or a factory floor, for ten hours. I was mentally and physically fatigued. What the hell is up with that, anyway?
After a mid-afternoon nap, a quiet evening, and a good night’s sleep, I feel much better. Despite still having my headache. Damn, when will I ever get relief?
Care to share your stories? I’ll be happy to read, and if you like, I’ll publish them. Till next time, I’m back to writing and enjoying the season. I hope you have a great day and a better tomorrow.
Best served with love, family, and friends. I wish everyone the happiest and merriest Christmas to all.
May you to be well, play well, love well, and party well. May there be love, laughter, friendship, and shiny packages for all. (nod to JessOnTheRocks)
Despite the crappy year many of us have had, I look forward to the wonderful holiday season, filled with love and cheer, and a better new year. Thank you to one and all that bought and read my books. I promise you, more are on the way. I love you all. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for coffee. I don’t know what I would do without you.
Good cheers to everyone. Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.
Click on the book cover to take you right to my web page for the book.
You can read the first chapter for free before you decide to get your own copy and read the story. It’s available in all eBook formats as well as in pdf. If you’re not comfortable with eBooks, early next year, I will make available a printed version of the book.
If you liked my ‘Her Client’ series and ‘The Breakup,’ you will love this story. Pure fiction, this story follows the development of a young, intelligent woman in her mid-twenties, who is caught up in an unexpected life of love, happiness, sadness, anger, pain, and anguish.
It’s the gritty, gripping, disturbing, and even terrifying tale of a woman who unintentionally catches the eye of an international human trafficking ring. After being snatched off the streets, she is auctioned off to the highest bidder where she learns to live a life as a slave, suffering torment at the hands of her master, while still finding peace, joy, happiness and possibly finding the love of her life.
The question is, can she survive long enough to escape, assuming she still wants to?
You can only get a copy from my site. I’m experimenting with this book, seeing if I can raise interest in my works without paying exorbitant royalties to the various retailers.
:alert, lookout — used in the phrase on the qui vive
Examples
“All right. Lieutenant Howard, go see how the artillery wagons are managing, and on the way tell Major Mason that I need him again. Stay on the qui vive; you may find evidence of liquor.” — William T. Vollmann, The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, 2015
“Pasadena Heritage staged its Colorado Street Bridge Party July 16, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was clearly on the qui vive at the entrance to the bridge.” — Patt Diroll, The Pasadena Star News, 24 July 2016
Did You Know?
When a sentinel guarding a French castle in days of yore cried, “Qui vive?,” your life depended upon your answer. The question the sentinel was asking was “Long live who?” The correct answer was usually something like “Long live the king!” Visitors not answering the question this way were regarded as suspect, and so to be “on the qui vive” meant to be on the alert or lookout, and qui vive came to mean “alert” or “lookout” soon afterward. Nowadays, the term is most often used in the phrase “on the qui vive,” meaning “on the lookout.”
My Take
Alright. Today’s word I want to say is stupid. It’s not, of course, but I’d like to think it. I know I will never use it. Yet, it does have a place in history. If I ever write a historical novel, then perhaps, I will use it.
From the examples, you will note contemporary uses of the word, and yet, I can’t seem to bring it about to use it. If I want to use a term to mean alert or lookout, I’ll use the words. Perhaps it is used in other parts of the world with more frequency. That’s okay too.
Thinking about the term, I came up with some scenarios that would be an appropriate usage of the term. For example, a city deploys additional security due to a terrorist alert, such as what recently occurred in Los Angeles California at the Universal Studios subway station. An event that is, unfortunately, all too common these days. I was also reminded of a woman on alert walking down a dark street or riding a crowded subway car. If the main character, Avril, in my new book were a bit more alert, perhaps she would have escaped her introduction to the despicable world of human trafficking. Be sure to look for this exciting new erotic thriller due out very soon.
In researching the word, I did find a field hockey club using the word as their team name. I also found a movie entitled ‘Qui Vive.’ I never heard of it of course, but what do I know. I found several pieces of artwork using the title, one of which I have included in this post as my twitter bonus picture. Finally, I did find a picture of a border collie. From its pose, it reminded me of my own collies our family bred growing up. When they alerted to something of interest, you knew the dog was on the qui vive.
Today’s bonus picture, available if you tweet from my page on Twitter is an image pertinent to the theme of the day. I hope you like it.
I love learning the different contexts of these words of the day. Do you? Please share your comments. I’m sure we would all like to read them.
Have a great day.
Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Word of the Day.
I’ve sat here, at my desk, or messing around the house trying to decide on what to write today. It’s not the Word of the Day. I can do that. It’s the My Take section that takes so much time. And right now, time is a commodity that is very expensive.
So, I’m going to slow down on the Word of the Day for the rest of the holidays. I’ll publish them, but as time allows or an interesting word captures my interest.
Why am I in a quandary? I’m working hard to put to bed my latest novel ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’ Between getting ready for the holidays, which for me has already started, working with the editor to clean up my manuscript, cover design, website work, and all things related to indie publishing, it’s just a lot to deal with, and I hope you don’t mind the intermittent Words of the Day. It’s good to do, but the novel is so much more fun.
Till next time, this Richard Verry, getting back to work.
Announcing the cover of my latest novel, ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’ Comments and critiques are welcome. There is still time to make minor changes before the release, scheduled in a couple of weeks. If you liked my earlier works, you will love this new one. I am very proud of this story. It’s more mainstream that my other works but still maintains their flavor.
The Trafficking Consortium in 85 words
Imagine, coming to the attention of an international human trafficking ring just by getting your annual physical. Consider what happens after they take you, ship you off, and sell you into a life of slavery. Can you imagine your life as a slave, suffering cruel torments? Can you imagine being forced to choose between a long, torturous, and painful life or a quick but excruciating death? Avril Gillios doesn’t have to imagine it; she has to live it. The question is, can she survive it?
1 : to deceive by underhanded methods :dupe, hoodwink
2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely
Examples
“Some consumers are so bamboozled by slick sales talk that they pay extra for amazingly bad deals. Just one example, a $49.99, four-year service plan on a DVD player that sells for $39.99.” — Mike McClintock, The Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2009
“We agree with those who filed the suits challenging the wording of the ballot question. We believe it is deceitful—and deliberately so, designed to bamboozle voters into thinking they are voting on a minor issue that simply codifies existing law instead of adding five years to a judge’s term.” — The Philadelphia Daily News, 10 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on “the continual Corruption of our English Tongue” in which he complained of “the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows.” Among the inventions Swift disliked were bamboozle, bubble(a dupe), put (a fool), and sham. (Perhaps he objected to the use of sham as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning “false” a couple of years previously.) What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift’s assertion that “All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language.”
My Take
Well, there are no shortages of images to go with today’s word. So, I picked a few that I thought were appropriate and I hope you do too.
To me, though I don’t use the bamboozle too much, the meaning is obvious. Is it with you?
To deceive, dupe, hoodwink, confuse, frustrate or throw off completely. I probably could think of another pocketful of synonyms for the term, but I believe you get the message.
The image I found most enjoyable was the wall appliqué of a tree scene with dozens of birds sitting on the branches. Nice, but it was the dog staring at the wall, bamboozled by the birds beyond its reach. I can imagine how many hours the dog spent trying to catch one. I must be honest, when I first saw this image, I thought it was a cat, which works even better.
Another image I found most enjoyable was the cartoon of the honest government worker. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what country you call home, the sentiment fits. Ain’t it a shame?
Today’s bonus picture, available if you tweet from my page on Twitter is an image pertinent to the theme of the day. I hope you like it.
I love learning the different contexts of these words of the day. Do you? Please share your comments. I’m sure we would all like to read them.
Have a great day.
Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Word of the Day.