A big thank you to the person who bought a copy of my book, ‘The Taste of Honey’ the other day. I really do appreciate it.
As you read it, you’ll find out just how to have an office meeting. You’ll never go to another meeting without thinking twice ever again.
I hope you will post a kind review.
What is your favorite Peanuts character?
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.
The BreakupCheck out the book cover for my latest novella, a dark erotic love story of misconceptions and misunderstandings.
Back from editing, publication formatting is in the works. Look for it soon on my website or at your favorite eBook site.
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.
Someone bought a copy of ‘The Taste of Honey’ the other day. Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy the book.
Buy your own copy here on Amazon. http://amzn.to/1JvpwjL
Yesterday, I went to see the movie, ‘The Revenant’ starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Now that I understand the word revenant to mean, ‘a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead’, I couldn’t help think of the similarities between that movie and Richard Verry’s trilogy, ‘Her Client’.
Both characters survive brutal, gruesome and violent attacks. Both Jolene, the heroine in the ‘Her Client Trilogy’ and DiCaprio’s character Hugh Glass in ‘The Revenant’, sustain continued physical and emotional breakdowns. Jolene has her past best friend’s voice playing in her mind while Glass has his dead wife doing the same for him. They are motivated not to give up and both fake their death to fool their attacker.
For both stories, the ending outcome is satisfying to the reader as well as the moviegoer.
The audience of one, me, is cheering for ‘the’ main character in both of these genré. It just takes reading the three novellas and sitting through two hours and thirty-six minutes to come to a satisfying climax. I admit it was agonizing at times, yet getting to the end where the heroes come up on top was fulfilling.
In short, the two creative works had many more similarities than I had expected. What grabs the viewer and the reader is having each main character overcoming certain obstacles and barriers. You follow their struggles through crisis after crisis. You root for them to succeed and cheer when they do.
If you liked ‘The Revenant’, you’ll like ‘Her Client ’.
What do you think? Do you see the similarities I saw or do you disagree? Write a note below and tell me your thoughts.