Things have settled down even more over the past couple of weeks. I’m spending less and less time with paperwork, doctor follow-ups, and Medicaid shit for my domestic partner. I’m feeling less stressed as a result. Nice! I’m now trying to catch up on sleep to reawaken my creative mind. I’m also doing something else to achieve that goal.
I’m working on a short prequel novel in the Consortium series. I aim to write a short novel introducing the series’ main characters. I plan to offer it for cheap or free as a lead-in to the rest of my books. So far, it’s coming out well. I’ve written 14 out of approximately 20 chapters. I hope you will embrace it as much as it deserves, considering I’ve been off the writing cart for the past year.
Just a quick note to wish everyone here in the U.S.A. a Happy Thanksgiving 2023.
As most of you know, it has not been a good year for my partner and me. Between her disease and me, an engineer, taking on the role of a full-time home caregiver has stressed the household too many limits. But that’s alright. She’s still with us and, hopefully, will be for several years to come.
Her neurologist informed us at our last appointment that there is no way to predict how much time she has left. Unlike other fatal diseases, they can chart no metrics on a timeline to approximate how long she has left. It could be six months, six years, and anything between and even longer.
But I am thankful she’s still with us, as her family is as well.
Have a happy Thanksgiving. Just be careful not to overdo it.
And if you’re not sharing it with a loved one, friend, or even an acquaintance, find something to do. Take a walk, go to the park, ride a bicycle, read a book, or do anything that interests you. And remember, I have many good books you can read, you can find most of them on Amazon. If you haven’t read one of my books, check them out. You might be surprised.
I have an additional incentive to continue writing. I am referring, of course, to my latest novel, Exposure. It’s doing well. In fact, some of you out there discovered its release and started reading it before I announced it. Across the board, my sales are up 37% since its release when comparing them to the average of the last quarter with January’s numbers.
So what is my incentive to write, you may ask? With success like that, how can I not write my stories? I’m encouraged and excited to add to my stories. That’s good news for you, my readers. Why, you may ask?
During Exposure’s writing and editing phase, I struggled with deciding to end Avril’s story in my latest book. I could have finished it. I had even mapped out a way to end it, leaving some unresolved questions and subplots.
At least one of my reviewers complained I hadn’t, vowing never to read my novels ever again. After discussing it with my editor and beta readers, I left it as is and move on to write the sixth book in the series. I might even write more. The Consortium Series is, after all, a serialized story.
Long story short, I’m excited to write more, especially now that I have an enticing incentive. I’ve already started working on it, writing copious notes and such.
And before I forget. Thank you to all my readers for making this a success story.
Yesterday, I published the revised edition of ‘The Taste of Honey.’ I love this new version. I completely rewrote it from the ground up. It’s the same story but revised and updated to fall in line with the later books in the series.
The problem is, it wasn’t the police who picked her up. She was kidnapped, snatched off the streets of NYC, as she was walking home from work. Only a block away from her apartment building, tired after a long, hard day, someone pushes her from behind into the open door of a taxi stopped by the sidewalk.
Flailing, she is caught in the waiting arms of a man who puts a foul-smelling cloth over her mouth and nose. Moments later, she is unconscious as the taxi joins the vast sea of other cabs navigating the seemingly friendly chasms of the city. Did anyone notice her abduction? Did anyone call the police? A couple of hours later and still unconscious, she is on a plane and well beyond the borders of her native country.
It’s a brutal erotic suspense thriller about Avril Gillios, a young woman in her mid-twenties, who get’s caught up in an international organized crime ring specializing in human trafficking. The thousand-year old organization call themselves ‘The Consortium.’ Their affluent and influential members can order or acquire anyone, men and women alike, to satisfy their unique needs and desires. From organ acquisition; to perverse sexual satisfaction; or feasting upon their prey, they seemingly operate above the law all across the globe.
Told from Avril’s point of view, the story describes how this criminal organization targets her, kidnaps her right off the streets of NYC and sells her to the highest bidder; marking the beginning of a new life, forever barred from returning to the only life she ever knew.
Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016
She must navigate the perilous events that threaten her life to survive her ordeal and attempt escape. Sold to a sadistic monster, her captivity is relatively comfortable. Locked in a luxurious suite with all the trimmings included in the most elegant high-end apartments enjoyed by the upper one-percenters, a cage is still a cage.
She endures brutal beatings and violent ravishments as her new owner trains her to be compliant to his demands and needs. Along the way, she discovers that her sadistic owner, in his own way, loves her.
Confused and bewildered, she must figure out how to navigate the ever narrowing serpentine path to escape the growing threat to her life. Her captor eventually gives her an impossible choice, one that takes away all doubt of what he intends to do with her. However, he requires that she select the path that her life will take. Failing to choose is the same as choosing a horrific, slow, and painful death.
Will she choose life or death? I encourage you to find out for yourself.
Give it a go and let me know what you thought about the book. Then ask yourself. Could this happen to you or one of your loved ones; a son or a daughter, a niece or a nephew?
I hate to think so but, yes it could. My advice? Be vigilant with whom you share your personal information with. You might not like what the do with it.
Please accept my apologies for not writing for almost two weeks. These past days have been quite hectic as a result of my PCS (post concussion syndrome) and the release of my latest novel, ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’
Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016
Let me tell you; there is good news on both fronts.
First, let me tell you about my book. Avril’s story about being kidnapped and sold into the underworld of human trafficking is doing quite well. In the first two weeks, more readers than I can imagine are reading it, and I received my first review yesterday.
Five stars! Can you imagine? I am ecstatic. You can find the review on Amazon’s website. Click any of the book titles and it will bring you right to it.
The reader/reviewer, Bibs wrote:
Another Winner, Another Panty Melter
“You did it again Richard. I couldn’t put it down. A very fast paced read. If you have not read a book from this author, you’re missing out. Every book I read of Richard Verry’s has been excellent. Please pick one up today, and you will be hooked. Thank you, Richard!!”
Wow! What an endorsement.
Bibs has reviewed many of my books, but by far and large, I believe that this one is by far the best for my career as a writer. Personally, I agree with the reviewer, but then again, I’m biased. Thank you Bibs.
If you haven’t yet read ‘The Trafficking Consortium,’ I suggest that you do. I’d be interested if you concur with the review or not.
There is more good news regarding my PCS. Over the past two months, I’ve been miserable. I was suffering near unbearable pain, at times moaning and screaming in a poor effort to deal with my headaches. They reached new highs during that time, and if you have read my recent posts, you already know this. Last week, I hooked up with yet another new doctor, this time, a chiropractor. He did a full assessment on my issue, concentrating on my neck and skull. Using a CBCT (a type of 3D cat scanner), he found that my C1 and C4 vertebrae were out of position, and not just on one side but both. The doc reported that discovering both sides out of position is rare. My C1 (also called Axis) was both skewed and rotated out of whack, making the opening for my spinal column smaller, pinching nerves.
Rich’s CBCT 2017-06-06
After getting my first adjustment to pop them back into the correct position, I felt better almost immediately. Within hours, my headache dropped to low levels. On my second adjustment appointment, he reported that both C1 and C4 were still in the correct position and no adjustment was necessary. I was both ecstatic and disappointed. The later because he denied me the opportunity to be adjusted again. How dumb is that? That’s what expectations can do. Yet, I was happy that his prior adjustment held. After all, the vertebrae had gotten used to being out of alignment and may very well want to get back to its old position. He tells me that this is very possible. On my third adjustment appointment, he needed to adjust me once more, which he took care immediately. The funny thing, over the past two days, I knew that I was out of adjustment, my headaches were growing worse and a bad fatigue had set in.
What really excites me is that someone finally found a physiological cause to my perpetual headaches. With the vertebrae out of alignment, they were pinching the nerves of the brainstem and spinal cord. The nerves have to transgress a very snug opening, so to have the vertebrae shrink their pathways even smaller, well, I could have been suffering from a host of issues. The brain, after all, controls the entire body.
I’m in good spirits and anxious to see whether this is the right treatment for me. If so, I can drop seeing the voluminous doctor and therapy appointments I attend each week. Better yet, I hope I can wean myself off the pills I’ve been taking to manage the pain. Wish me luck!
Well, that’s it for the time being. I look forward to today and tomorrow, getting back to writing and the like. Have fun.
: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.
2 a : a person’s fixed, permanent, and principal home for legal purposes
b : the place where a corporation is actually or officially established
Source: Pininterest
Examples
“I got married, when I was 66, to David Bale…. I thought the women’s movement has struggled for 25 years to allow marriage to be an equal partnership, so I no longer had to give up my name, my domicile, my credit rating, so why not? — Gloria Steinem, quoted in The Scottish Daily Mail, 29 Feb. 2016
“Meese estimates he moved 20 times during his 32-year military career. While he could have chosen a number of states for his residence, he elected to keep Texas—where he bought his first house—as his domicile.” — Maryalene LaPonsie, U.S. News & World Report, 11 Mar. 2016
Source: home-designing.com
Did You Know?
Domicile traces to Latin domus, meaning “home,” and English speakers have been using it as a word for “home” since at least the 15th century. In the eyes of the law, a domicile can also be a legal residence, the address from which one registers to vote, licenses a car, and pays income tax. Wealthy people may have several homes in which they live at different times of the year, but only one of their homes can be their official domicile for all legal purposes.
My Take
When I think of the word domicile, I automatically think of home. My home, your home, anyone’s home. Homes are different for everyone. They may be the grandest estate in the country, or it may be a cardboard box in an abandoned subway tunnel. It may be a long haul truckers cab, or it may be the RV roaming the back roads from city to city. Domiciles are personal preferences for where a person lives, whether by desire or necessity.
But domiciles can be much more than that. In my house, a modest 55+ ranch, our domicile is not so much the house, it’s the bedroom. We spend a lot of time there. It’s a place to sleep; it’s a place to hang out; it’s a place to make love, and it’s an erotic playroom for consenting adults.
A domicile is one’s home and their castle. Most importantly, home is where the heart is.
Please share your comments. I’m sure we would all enjoy reading them.
By the way, if you share this post by clicking one of the twitter buttons, you will be treated with a sexier image related to the word. My gift to you.
Brought to you by Merrian-Webster, Word of the Day.
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.
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!
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?
A: 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!
