Writing up a storm

Writing up a storm

For the last three weeks, I’ve been writing up a storm. One thing you don’t know is that I am back from a vacation in the sun, mild warm temperatures, and dips in the pool. It sure is nice to get away from the brutal snow and frigid temperatures.

I wrote while enjoying the blue skies in my shorts and t-shirt. Writing up a storm, I got a lot done. I’m working in the third book in the Consortium Series. I only have a few more chapters to write to finish the draft. It’s time to build up to the exciting climax, and of course the hook to bring you back for the next installment.

I haven’t given book 3 a title yet, but it will come. Right now, I’m using the working title of ‘Consortia,’ but I very much doubt I will use that. Working diligently, writing up a storm, I hope to have it out by early summer.

more “Writing up a storm”

Followup to ‘How do I think of these things’

Followup to ‘How do I think of these things’

In my last article, I wrote about how I come up with my ideas for my books. I received several comments from people who read my books. I found them interesting.

The first comment comes from a reader who read my first book, ‘The Taste of Honey.’ At the time, this reader wrote me and, if I recall correctly, told me she had a hard time with the story. She considered herself to be a traditional, conservative person and didn’t read all that much. However, a friend turned her onto the book and while struggling with the storyline, discovered an underlying unexpected love story that she loved. It turned her around, and she eventually wrote a compelling five-star review.

The following is what I received in response to the article.

“I found it insightful as well as a confirmation of what I already felt in my heart was the way you find your inspirations. I’ve always believed you to be intelligent and extremely creative. It’s nice to see you finding the right outlet for that creativity (of which you do so well!).” jb

Apparently, she knows me well, and yes, I am acquainted with this person.

Another reader sent me this comment.

“It’s hard to understand how you can write that in such detail and emotion. And, not wonder about you. […] After reading your statements and seeing that your girlfriend felt the same way, I think I feel much better. Maybe, lol.” gd

Her Client Trilogy StackedI am only just becoming acquainted with this reader, having recently received several comments and messages regarding my ‘Her Client’ trilogy. After reading the first book, she contacted with a note indicating how much she liked it. After reading the second book, I received a second comment expressing the need “… to think about this one?” implying that the story might have been a bit over the top for her. [No surprise. This book is intentionally horrific and deals with the real monsters among us.] Her followup to this comment to this book inspired me to write my previous article. The last I heard, the reader was just starting the third book, ‘Her Essentia.’ I have little doubt that she will send me an additional note.

Interestingly enough, the ‘Her Client’ books are my best sellers. I never expected that to happen. As a result, those are the kinds of books I will continue to focus on as I write.

The Trafficking ConsortiumI received many comments on the article. I hope it helps you understand where I am coming from and where I am going. My stories don’t come from personal experiences. Rather, they come from observation and wondering, “what if …”.

That’s how my latest book, ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ came to life. I was at my doctor’s office and as I sat in the waiting room, wondered “what if someone behind the counter and sent the medical history of a patient to someone who had no right to the file?” From there, the pieces just fell into place, and Avril’s story came to life.

The BreakupThen there’s ‘The Breakup’, a story about what a woman hopes will happen on a date of dinner and dancing. My ‘what if’ revolved around the word, dancing. “What was his definition of dancing?” Ginny is about to find out. The question is, will she be happy about it?

Overall, I don’t really know what to say. If you, my current and new followers, continue to read my books, what am I going to do but keep writing new ones that tickle your fancy and your emotions? I have notes on several ideas for future stories. Stay tuned.


maggicalExpressionsOh, and I almost forgot. I finally finished putting together my online art gallery. It’s called ‘maggicalExpressions.’ Links to it are on my book site.

Yes, that’s correct. I paint and draw when I need to disappear. Oh, yes, that’s what I do when I write. Well, it’s a different kind of medium, and I enjoy it. I hope you like them.


It’s a nice day today, blue sky, and lots of sun. I’m going to work on my book most of the day, and then I’m going to a party tonight. I can’t wait. It’s a themed party sponsored by a social club I belong to. It’s been way too long since I’ve attended one. I’m looking forward to it.


Have a great day and a better tomorrow.
Rich

Word of the Day: Invective

Invective
Source: Vocabulary Pics

Word of the Day: Invective

Invenctive

noun | in-VEK-tiv

Definition

1 : an abusive expression or speech
2 : insulting or abusive language : vituperation

Examples

“The ongoing collapse of responsible broadcast and cable journalism and the explosive role that social media has assumed in this campaign have made for a nasty brew of invective, slurs and accusations….” — Susan J. Douglas, In These Times, July 2016

“At a moment when American political discourse has descended to almost unimaginable levels of … invective, we need our teachers to model a better way to discuss our differences.” — Jonathan Zimmerman, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

Invective originated in the 15th century as an adjective meaning “of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse.” In the early 16th century, it appeared in print as a noun meaning “an example of abusive speech.” Eventually, the noun developed a second sense applying to abusive language as a whole. Invective comes to us from the Middle French wordinvectif, which in turn derives from Latin invectivus, meaning “reproachful, abusive.” (Invectivus comes from Latin invectus, past participle of the verb invehere, one form of which means “to assail with words.”) Invective is similar to abuse, but it tends to suggest not only anger and vehemence but verbal and rhetorical skill. It sometimes implies public denunciation, as in “blistering political invective.”

My Take

It’s a shame really. I think everyone, at one time or another, have been either the victim or abuser of invective language. I don’t care to use it, and I can’t recall a particular instance over the last several years where I have used it. However, I do know that I have, as the feelings I sustained at the time, remain with me to this day. Push comes to shove; I will fall prey to using it. I have also been the victim of such language. For me, it can be degrading, demoralizing, and an outright assault upon my psyche.

That said, it’s a word that I intend to strive to remember and avoid practicing. Searching for an appropriate image found numerous examples, most of which are products such as guns, which I will not promote. Finding a generic one was harder. Persistence prevails so that I may bring one to you.

In my writings, you will find little invective speech, especially in the Mona Bendarova Adventures. Sure, there is coarse language, flavorful language, descriptive, and erotic language, but little in the way of abusive language. Oh, sure, a couple of my characters may utter short abusive outbursts, but they usually don’t last more than a sentence or two. Perhaps I should incorporate more of invective language in my stories.

What do you think? I would love to know. Feel free to share your comments with me.

Brought to you by Merrian-Webster, Word of the Day.

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Gratitude

Gratitude

What is gratitude? The way I see it, it is being thankful for someone or something that enriched a person’s life. The way I feel when I see people buying my books. Thank you. You are all awesome. A special thank you to those that recently purchased ‘The Taste of Honey‘ and ‘Broken Steele‘. I really appreciate it. Be sure to look for the third book in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch‘, coming soon.

I would be especially grateful if after reading my books, you would post a review. Reviews are the lifeblood of a book. I appreciate each and every one of them.

Plus, sales aside, reviews lift my spirits and soothe my soul. Thank you for your kindness and your review.

Thank you

Thank you

A new fantastic review of ‘The Taste of Honey’ appeared on Amazon the other day. Thank you Reenie K for your comments. I do appreciate them. BTW, I hope your prophecy comes true. Wouldn’t that be something. Gotta keep writing, that’s all there is to it.

Thank youI also want to thank all of my readers out there who continue to buy my books. It’s really nice to see the sales charts documenting all of the hits. What’s really cool is to see the numbers not just from Amazon but the other eBook retailers out there, including Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo to name a few. Thank you to each and everyone of you.

Thanks too to my loving girlfriend and partner in crime. She puts up with a lot to help me get these posts and stories out. I have two projects going at once and sometimes, I hole up in my office writing, leaving her to wander the rest of the house doing who knows what.

After months of little rain, we finally experienced significant rain as well as a few thunderstorms over the last couple of days. It is a welcome relief. I love my thunderstorms. Every chance I get, I sit in the safety of my garage and watch the light show around me as the wind drives bullet sized rain onto the ground. Weather wise, I love living in the northeast U.S. Our weather is mild compared to the rest of the country yet diverse enough that I am never bored.

Finally, a quick report. A month ago tomorrow, as many of you know, I suffered a severe concussion. I saw a galaxy of stars in that moment. While I am progressing, I am still not past it yet. Constant headaches, fatigue and short term memory loss are still an issue. I am back to work, though on half days. That’s good. I need the job to support my writing. I see Doc again this week and I can’t help wonder what will come out the other side. Crossing my fingers.

It’s been a good week overall and I am looking forward to the coming weeks ahead. How about you? Are you in a good space? Either way, feel free to comment. I look forward to reading them. I am Richard Verry, reporting to you from my home office, drinking my first cup of coffee. Delish.

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Cultural Changes of The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 5)

Cultural Changes caused by The Purge Plague

Over the last four segments, I wrote about the roots of the plague and the causal effects on Mona’s community. In this segment, I cover the cultural effects which resulted.

cultural changes due to gene splicing 58592066 - abstract education and science backgrounds for your designIt should be noted that while the plague was halted, it was not eradicated. Over centuries, people made many attempts to revive the extinct species. Huge stores of seeds were set aside on the chance that one day, they could be replanted. Attempts to germinate these seeds failed. A millennium later, survivors made little progress finding an alternate source of high protein food stores.

In the early days, societal controls fell apart as starving people sought ways to find the nutrition they needed. Populations started to diminish once more. On the verge of succumbing to extinction, the survivors banded together to deal with the stresses of trying to live. Through trial and error, often violent, they eventually settled on a systemized process to select candidates for conversion through random selection. Over centuries, everyone accepted that one day, they would help feed the future generations.

Population Disparity

Due to the disparity of numbers between men to women, it became commonplace for sterile women to supply the bulk of those converted for food. Afterall, they represented more than three quarters of the population. Still though, everyone submitted to conversion processing at some point in their lives. There were no exceptions. From birth to conversion, people lived their life based upon this eventual fate. In between, everything they learned, did and produced was focused meeting the needs of society. They became the primary producers, workers and sex toys. In short, each person lived to serve and contribute.

In summary, due to the inability to satisfy basic nutritional needs, they turned to each other. To manage the conversion process, a complex society arose to fairly deal with the new reality. No one was immune from this fate but a culture developed to de-horrify the practice. In time, the stigma of consuming themselves disappeared. It became a simple fact and accepted as a part of life.

 


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Excerpts

Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored dealt with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the final installment in a five-part series published over the past several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 4): Physical Changes

Physical Changes caused by The Purge Plague

Besides high male mortality rates and a shift in a woman’s difficulty in carrying children, there were other changes to human physiology. The last-ditch gene splicing efforts manifested itself in significant physical changes to the human body.

physical changes due to gene splicing 57855271 - evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsWoman tended to have longer legs, shorter torso, wider hips and fuller breasts. Fertile women were constantly pregnant, averaging several dozen multiple birth deliveries. Besides feeding their young, they also became the world’s milk and dairy producer. Expressed milk was turned into yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products.

Emotionally, all women became extremely submissive, exchanging power for security. At the same time, most lost their maternal instincts. They were easily sexually aroused, eager to find opportunities to enjoy frequent sexual relations.

Men tended to grow taller and stronger, especially in the shoulders and legs. They picked up the nurturing gene that women lost. They cared for the women and progeny within in their homes. Like women, men were eager for sexual release. Testicles grew larger, tripling daily semen production. Prostates grew in size and strength, producing larger volumes of seminal fluid and stronger ejaculations. As a result, men were more easily able to attain and maintain an erection, capable of delivering vast quantities of viable semen on a daily basis.

For both men and women, lack of regular sexual orgasms resulted in a diminished quality of life. As a consequence, lack of sex lead to irritability, discomfort, anguish, and physical suffering. For men and women, sexual releases several times a day became the norm. Quite literally, life became painful without regular sexual contact among all members of the community.

 


In my next post

I will summarize the changes to the human race as a result of the ‘Purge Plague’.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the fourth installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

Consequences: The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 3)

The Purge Plague: Consequences

Solving the human extinction event wasn’t without its consequences. Besides finding an alternate food source, other changes occurred. The new genome made significant changes to human physiology. Sickness had been wiped out. The common cold, cancer, infections, and the various maladies associated in pre-plague days were nonexistent. Within one hundred years, no one ever got sick.

Consequences of gene splicing 58592001 - abstract science and technology backgrounds for your designLife expectancy shortened. Three out of four women were born sterile. The rest became prolific baby factories, capable of delivering multiple babies in each pregnancy. As such, the terms ‘bitches’, ‘litters’, and ‘sows’ came into common everyday language. Cycles shortened from 28 days to 23 days. Gestation periods dropped to under 30 weeks. Over time, those that could bear children were highly sought after. Those that could not bear offspring, eventually contribute their meat.

Over time, sterility became defined as either not being able to conceive or conception was difficult and rarely came to term. For example, despite having been pregnant, since her offspring weren’t viable, Mona is considered sterile. Over time, population censuses implied that women of this class were evolving into a third sex. However, in Mona’s time, this was not yet the case. Women in this class became the workers and playmates to their masters. They were also the primary livestock for the community.

Men weren’t immune to change

The single most significant physiological change occurred in men. Mortality rates for men skyrocketed, resulting in near 100% mortality by age 1. Of those that did survive past age 1, matured slowly, enfeebled and frail. With 30% dying each subsequent year, not until nearing the age of 20, did surviving males began to thrive, grow and mature. By 25, they were virtually assured of a long and prolific life, one among 10,000 women.

Within a century, a man’s primary role was to impregnate as many women as possible. Women became the producers of all other necessities of life. In short, women had all the power in their society but due to their submissive nature, exchanged it to satisfy their own needs.

 


In my next post, I will explore further physical and psychological changes as a result of the “fix” to the ‘Purge Plague’.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. This is the third installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 2) : Extinction?

Extinction – The Purge Plague initiates an unstoppable event

Resolving the runaway genome infection among human populations was not without its perils. The plague had already caused the extinction of almost all life on the planet. While it was too late to save the other species, scientists at the time saved what they could. GMOs initiate a near extinction event 57855271 - evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsIt became a race to find an answer before the total extinction of human race.

Desperate to find a solution, scientists took chances and spliced genes they might not have otherwise done. With human population under a million and declining rapidly, they tried one more daring and dangerous splice. Unsure of what would happen, they tested it directly on human subjects and crossed their fingers.

gene splicing at the genetic level 27282224 - dna molecule, structural fragment of z-form, 3d illustration

Success?

Surprisingly, they found success. Test subjects recovered and began to recover. Buoyed with success, they deployed the new genome on a massive scale. Within a generation, they had turned the tide.

Unfortunately, it was too late for other species on the planet. Every high protein plant had already died out. Every animal, fish, and insect perished. Wiped out forever, were dolphins and whales, halibut and flounder, trout and bass, crab and lobster, and fish of all kinds. Extinct were dogs and cats, horses and mules, cattle and sheep, insects including beetles, bees, and mosquitos (no loss there). Gone too were soybean, legumes and beans, broccoli, lentils, and asparagus. The list went on and on.

Except for humans, nothing survived. Everything high in consumible protein became extinct. What survived could barely be considered a viable food source. Attempts to repopulate species from seed stock failed.

Humans were effectively … alone … rulers of a decimated planet.

Plus, they were hungry. Without significant sources of food high in protein, humans had little choice. They could either wither or turn to the only source available to them … themselves.

 


In my next post

I will explore the changes to human physiology that occurred as a result of the “fix” to the Purge Plague.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be and how it survived a near-extinction event. This is the second installment in a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

The ‘Purge Plague’ (Part 1), What brought it about?

The Purge Plague, can you elaborate on that?

purge plague gene splicing GMO genome 57855280 - mankind and evolution, female portrait against abstract science backgroundsThe Purge Plague is a speculation that I came up with to justify the culture of Mona’s world. However, it is a speculation that I firmly believe is possible, if not likely, to occur. Most of all, it is The Purge Plague that causes the near extinction of the human race.

Let’s compare the post plague era with today’s world as we know it today. For centuries, we’ve been cross-breeding plants and animals to create new subspecies. Most fail and the subspecies dies out. Some, however, become a new species and reproduce, creating copies of themselves.

Over the last sixty years, scientists and corporations are doing more than that. They are slicing genes at the genetic level. Sometimes, they do it to see if they can. More often than not, there is a specific goal they are trying to attain.

gene splicing 27282224 - dna molecule, structural fragment of z-form, 3d illustrationBe it crops or animal stock, gene splicing is happening today. Farmers, big and small, are trying to develop hardier crops, resistant to insect and disease. Another goal is to produce more usable product per acre, regardless of the species. More product for less cost means higher profits.

Consequences

The Purge Plague speculates what would happen to life should a gene splice replicate on a massive scale with undesirable results. As a result, the resultant genome is so hardy, so resistant to eradication, that it spreads across the planet, modifying the DNA of every living plant, animal, and insect. The genome rapidly invades every organism on the planet, humans included.

Consequently, species fail to reproduce or are without critical biological systems to process nutrients from the foods they ingest. Specifically, consumable proteins that are nutritional in nature and necessary for life. Without being able to ingest consumable proteins; plants, animals, and people wither and die. Even today, vegans ingest proteins in the form of legumes, beans, nuts, and similar plant sources.

Think what would happen if all of these species died out suddenly, all at once. Mass extinction.

 


In my next post

I will explore the extraordinary lengths taken to halt the plague.

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Excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. The question explored has to do with the ‘Purge Plague’, a vehicle I invented to explain how Mona’s culture came to be. It is a five-part series that I will publish over the next several days. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.

Classifying my books

The last couple of days, I have been writing about how different my books are. I also wrote that I intentionally wanted to write books that were different from others. I wanted them to stand out from the rest out there.

To me, this is a good thing. I didn’t want to write something that stood out. That’s the thing about me. I don’t consider me as being ‘vanilla’. There are aspects to me that don’t fit the mold that society likes to fit each of us into.

The same goes for my books. As best as I can tell, they don’t fit into the nice and neat classifications that the publishing industry established.

And that’s a problem.

What do I classify my books so that you, the reader, can find them.

Certainly, they are fiction. After that, what?

I can tag them as erotica but are they really? I tag the Mona Bendarova books as mystery/suspense. They are … and yet not, at least in the traditional sense. Some people have told me that they think they are SciFi. I never thought of them that way but I can see how they do think of them they way. I sometimes think of them as a utopia but it could also be a dystopia.

My other books reflect stories of criminal acts but are they really crime novels? Since they also include sexual acts are they erotica? I don’t think so and from everyone I’ve contacted, they agree. Maybe ‘Dark Erotica’ but not everyone allows that classification.

So, what are they?

Any help would be appreciated. Write me and tell me your opinion. I appreciate your opinion.

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.

Working Hard

All my life I have strived to do better, improve myself, help the community, love my family, and cherish my significant other. It’s hard work but it’s easy work as well. Seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? I don’t see it that way. Take for example, the quote I just found.

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.”

Working HardWhen I read this, I didn’t need to study it. My mind instantly went to points in my life where I felt each of these emotions. I’ve had my stresses in my life but once I’m past them, I tend to forget about them. The feelings remain but the facts fade. I guess I do that as a way of protecting myself and staying healthy.

Most poignantly are the passions in my life. Building a shelf, lashing a complicated structure to protect life and limb, painting a portrait to get it just right, writing and rewriting a piece of dialog for a story; these are all passions I love.

I pour my heart and soul into my passions. My girlfriend and significant other is the most important passion in my life. I tend to put aside other passions in order to do for her. Helping others, even the little things, is also important to me. Whether it’s offering a drink to a house guest, helping someone find their lost keys, or helping someone in distress, I do with the love of passion.

When I put aside time to work on my creative works, my passions really come alive. I recall and relive those feelings. I get lost in the creative process. Even now, as I write this entry, my body and soul are coming alive as these feelings flood every nook and cranny.

Time seems to slow or even stop. Adrenaline floods my body, my mind focuses on the work and everything else disappears. It’s a wonderful feeling. In my mind, I go somewhere else. Just ask anyone who has observed me in this state. I’m gone from this world and I’m in another world. I’m so far gone, that it frustrates my girlfriend to no end. Whether she wants to make dinner, spend time with me, or just ask my opinion, she finds it hard to break in. When I finally acknowledge the interruption, I can get upset, even angry. I lose my train of thought. I lose my mojo.

I don’t mean it. I would prefer to not snap and get upset. She doesn’t deserve the response and she tries to be patient but at times, not. Sorry honey. Together, we work it out, make adjustments and move forward.

Yet, I can’t get away from this alternate reality I go to in my mind when I’m creating, painting or writing. It’s fun. It’s addicting. It’s a far better alternative to prefering alcohol, drugs or just being a dickwad.

I can’t wait to re-enter the zone of my passions. What about you? What are your passions that you love.

Leave a trail

Good morning all you readers out there. I had a long and tiring weekend but today I’m refreshed and happy. I spent Friday night with friends who cooked us a fine meal and engaged me with spirited conversation well into the night. Saturday, I went to a wedding at the ball park. After the wedding, the reception was held in one of the ball park suites where a battle raged on the field. After the game, I were treated to fireworks. I’ll bet that there aren’t too many people who can honestly say that they had fireworks on their wedding night.

Not that kind! Well, that too but I am referring to the kind where gun powder is fired into the air which explodes into a multitude of light and sonic boomers. I had a wonderful time. Sunday was recovery day. I was wiped out and I needed to rest and recover.

But I digress. I read a cool quote this morning which I’d like to share with you.

“Do no go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Reading this quote, I was hit with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, following the path is easy. It’s what is expected. Fall in line, conform, and do as your told. I know that my girlfriend would welcome this from me, at least, some of the time. Yet, one of the reasons she loves me is that I do blaze my own trail. I go my own way. I forage ahead and damn the consequences.

Leading Line To The Kyoto GatesAdmittedly, I’ve gotten into trouble on a number of occasions and paid a price for my independence. Yet, it is who I am. One thing I’ve learned in life is that to be happy with myself, I have to be who I am. If I’m not happy with me and who I am, how the f**k can I make someone else happy.

So, I walk where there is no path. I am enjoying this period of discovery. It’s filled with wonder and joy. True, I make a wrong turn now and then and I need to back track a bit. So what. It’s a learning experience. What I still need to figure out is how to leave a trail. I do so in my professional life. Yet, I need to figure out how to leave a more lasting trail in my personal life.

I have talent for doing things. Whether it is hanging a TV on the wall so it won’t fall off or grilling a steak to perfection, I manage to do things in creative ways that people appreciate, or so they tell me. Yet, it is not enough. I want to more. I want to blaze a trail for others to enjoy.

Which is why I write and paint. I can express myself in ways that is impossible to do in real life. Perhaps some of my creative works will survive my life. Wouldn’t that be cool? Can you imagine? What if a hundred years from now, some picks up one of my books and reads it, or stumbles across one of my paintings and says, “Wow!”

What would Mona think? Would she enjoy someone reading her story well after her author moved on? I think she would. There is a lot of me in Mona.

What about you? What do you think?

Followup to Goals without a Plan

Yesterday, I wrote about goals without a plan is nothing more than a wish. In fact, I believe it’s more than that. It’s wishful thinking.

However, once you have the plan, you are already on the road to meeting your goals. For me, that’s the fun part. Taking the first step, then the next and then, the next one again. I’ve always believed that to reach the summit, you must put one foot in front of the other. Step over over the pebbles and eventually you’ll step over the stone, and eventually the mountain.

Earlier, I stumbled upon this followup quote.

“There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”

Makes sense to me, despite that I wish that it were possible to jump ahead of the line and go right to the top.

No Elevator to SuccessThe image I’ve displayed shows the quote surrounded by a spiraling stair case. I can’t imagine how many steps it would take to climb that stair case and reach the top. Hundreds? Thousands?

However many there are, in real life, it takes much more to achieve our goals. My goals. I’ve spent decades learning, experiencing, and experimentation before deciding upon my goals. Some of my goals have fallen to the wayside in favor of newer, more interesting goals.

Do you know what I find if fun? Working on my goals, figuring them out and taking the steps to achieve them. For me, it’s sitting down in front of my computer and transcribing the dialog running through my head. It’s picking up a pencil or paint brush and putting it to paper or canvas. Adrenaline begins racing throughout my body. I’m excited and the imagery in my mind feeds off the adrenaline and suddenly, my fingers can’t move fast enough. Whether it’s typing on a keyboard or stroke after stroke of my pencil or brush, I pour my heart and soul into each creative work.

Years later, I can look at a painting I did, notice one of my books on the shelves and the excitement returns in an immeasurable instant. Every so often, I review Honey’s story in my book, The Taste of Honey, and I’m filled with joy, wonderment and concern. I want her to be saved. I want her to thrive. I know that she has a goal in mind and that goal will survive death. She’ll make it happen. She has a plan. You’ll see as you delve into her world along with her best friend, Mona Bendarova.

Damn, I love what I do. I hope you do and if you don’t, well that’s okay too. You’re welcome to your opinion. Who am I to tell you what to think. So, to conclude, I hope I can instill this one thought and it’s a motto I’ve lived with my entire life. As far as I can tell, no one else has said this and I’ve repeated the mantra in my head every day of my adult life, and I’ve been around a while. I would be interested in your comments and responses. Please send me a note. I’ll be happy to read them.

My personal motto is this.

“Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible. It’s all in the attitude.” – Richard Verry

You sometimes describe yourself as ‘deviant’. If you consider yourself normal, why is that?

Let’s go back to Webster’s Dictionary definition of the word.

Deviant def: ‘different from what is considered to be normal or morally correct.’

Now mind you, I say that I am sometimes a deviant from the side of my mouth, in jest. Yet, I do feel that at times. I was raised in a traditional home with  liberal thinking parents and a house full of female siblings. I instinctively know that I think differently from so many people around me. Most of my community, including family and friends, are more traditional in their thinking than I. They are more conservative and middle of the road in their thinking. They aren’t open-minded and appear to be set in their ways.  

Normality, as in the American dream, was what I ever known. Religious, hard working, earning a living  and eating dinner at 6 pm with the family was my norm.

You get the picture.

Stand out in a crowdMe, I don’t subscribe to this view of life. It’s way too ‘vanilla’ for me. I rebelled from this mindset when I became an adult. I believe in whatever makes you happy so long as it doesn’t hurt someone else.

I believe in the right to love who you want, sleep with whomever, one on one or more. I believe in monogamy, polygamy and group marriage even though I don’t believe I could deal with the stress of multiple spouses. One is quite enough, thank you very much.

I believe in sharing and loving without reservation. With that, I do have expectations in those whom I love. I believe in polyamorous family units. I believe in same-sex marriage. I believe in being single as well, if it suits you.

I believe in power exchange in adult play among consenting partners.

I believe in doing what’s best for myself, my family and my friends. I believe in giving of myself. I believe that it is okay to have expectations from those you love. They say ‘you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends’. I say you can choose both. If family or friends don’t live up to your expectations and can’t offer you what you need, then I choose to find a new family and new friends.

Not that I live outside society’s norms. I will, however, try to rise above society’s expectations and pull the rest of you along with me, if I can. If I see that you have something to offer to help me rise to greater heights, I will accept whatever gifts you offer in attaining growth and enlightenment.

So to that extent, I consider myself a deviant … also normal.

2016 May it be a great one!

2016 scratched in sand2016 A great one to come?

You’ll note that the image I’ve used for this post is one where the year is scratched into the sand.

It’s beach sand and I wonder, will it be washed away from the surf, scraped away by some angry foot or harden and turn to stone for all eternity.

I wish that 2016 will be a superb year, filled with promise and hope for the future of our species. If anything, the past several years makes me wonder whether we as a species will be around a millennium from now. I wonder. There seems to be so much hate in the world, closed-minded people who insist that everyone believe and act as they do, whether we as a species can surmount these challenges and boldly move forward into the 21st century.

Girl with Santa hat in forestEven if we do survive to the 22nd and 23rd centuries, what will they say about our current period on this planet. I can’t help wonder that they would say “Just how the hell did the species survive?”

Mona and Honey live sometime in the next millennium, 35th century perhaps, and somehow, their community has figured out a way to accept each other for whom they are. They are opened minded enough to realize that all members of our species have something to contribute to society as a whole.

Let’s see if we can emulate their example and accept that each of us, have something to contribute to the global community.

If you have a greeting or a wish you wish to extend to someone, please feel free to share it here. I’ll be happy to repost it to all of my followers. In the meantime, may 2016 be a great one for you.

As 2015 winds down

Countdown to 2016As 2015 gives way to 2016

As the year 2015 winds down and as we prepare to welcome 2016, I plan on remembering both the good and the bad that happened in my life this past year.

If there is any one thing I’ve learned this past year, it’s that our failures as well as our successes that make me the person I am today. Those experiences will also shape the person I will become tomorrow.

As we celebrate this new year, it is my sincerest wish that our celebrations are done with love, compassion and fellowship with our neighbors, both near and far. Even if they live on the other side of the globe, we all deserve the respect of being who we are.

If you are looking for a New Year’s Resolution, I would offer you this one.

Find a way to accept your neighbor into your heart, regardless of their race, sex, nationality or religious belief.

Holidays in Mona’s Realm

HOLIDAYS AS THEY RELATE TO MY CHARACTERS

Are there holidays in Mona’s Realm?

Hot Chocolate Warmest HolidaysHolidays are completely different in Mona Bendarova’s world. Introduced in ‘The Taste of Honey’, Mona’s community comes together for monthly and quarterly celebrations. There are no holidays per se commemorating people, specific events or beliefs.

Monthly celebrations are more of a community gathering where people come together and enjoy each other’s company. It’s a time for revelry, entertainment, eating, drinking, and enjoying sex. Seed is spilled and deposited into willing recipients frequently at these celebrations. Most fertile women wake up the following morning happy and pregnant after a night of pleasure. For the rest, they are simply happy and most certainly satiated.

Quarterly celebrations on the other hand are bigger and more involved events. Generally, they follow the seasons, roughly scheduled around the Summer and Winter Solstices plus the Fall and Spring Equinoxes.

The Spring Equinox hails the coming growing season where the community plans to produce the bulk of their non-protein based food. The Summer Solstice salutes the height of the warm sun, long pleasant days and short warm nights. The Fall Equinox celebrates the harvest gathering, giving thanks for what the land has given them despite the atrocities it suffered in the past.

Winter Blonde in White Knit DressThe biggest celebration of the year is the Winter Solstice. This festivity focuses upon hope and joyful reunions for the coming year. It is denoted by enjoying the rich milky way of stars lighting the night skies, providing a backdrop for a magical time of year. The longest night of the year is celebrated by staying warm, enjoying each other’s bodies and conceiving the greatest diversity within the gene pool. Even conceptions in the breeding farms don’t distribute the gene pool as much as what happens at this celebration.

Therefore, celebrations are a holiday in a sense. They provide an opportunity to ensure the survival of the human species. It is a way to enjoy life yet most importantly, to preserve it.

Now, as I reflect upon these celebrations, I can’t help wish that our own holidays follow a similar scenario. Fun and revelry among friends and strangers where sharing joy, pleasure and seed is expected, world-wide? What’s not to like? Not that I expect to see it come to pass in my lifetime but I wonder what our lives might be like sharing similar celebrations. I firmly believe that we would be better off if we divorce ourselves from out petty differences, slice away the personal agendas and welcome our differences as opportunities to grow.

IDIC MedallionAs I write this, I am reminded of the concept ‘IDIC’ introduced by Gene Roddenberry in his original TV series, ‘Star Trek’. ‘IDIC’ stands for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. I embrace this view of the world. I firmly believe we are better with our differences than without. Rather than homogenizing our species, it’s our differences that allow us to grow stronger.

What do you think? Can we all embrace our differences, enjoy our humanities and love our fellow-man? I do.

Please, share your thoughts with me. I welcome constructive view points, whether I agree with them or not. Perhaps one day, world-wide, we can celebrate a holiday of love, joy and pleasure.

Merry Christmas

Girl with present at ChristmasMerry Christmas

On this day, around the world people are celebrating the holiday as is their custom in their native lands. I hope you remember the ones you are not with you on this special day. Whether they be protecting your country, on assignment helping to support their families or simply living afar, please send them your love. It’s the most precious gift one can give.

If you wish to share a holiday memory or send a message to a loved one, I welcome your comments. I’d be happy to share them with my followers.

Merry Christmas

Season’s Greetings

coffee at ChristmasSeason’s Greetings

Wishing you and yours the very best time in this holiday season.

I welcome your comments regarding your season’s memories or if you simply wish to share a season greetings to a loved one. I’ll be happy to share them with all of my followers.

 

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays in typewriterHappy Holidays

As I write another chapter for my next book, I am reminded just why we are all here on this planet. Contemplating just how Mona and Honey would approach this holiday, I can’t help wonder that ultimately, they would gather their respective families together, share fellowship, various stories of the past year of their dearly departed and they would welcome their newest members of their households.

They would also sit down together, share a meal, engage in conversation, seek out those they barely know and even enjoy each other, be it in fellowship, their bodies or simply, their common experiences.

We are a community. We are a global community. We all live together for the common goal and support of one another. I trust everyone on this planet feels the same way. I would love to hear your stories, your holiday memories and your wishes for the new year. I’d be happy to publish them here on this blog and share them with all my followers.

I hope that our own future is akin to their experiences. It is also my hope that our entire global community will celebrate the coming holiday with love and compassion for our fellow neighbor.

I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, have a very Happy Holiday.

What inspired you to write?

11059592_sWhat inspired you to write?

Hmmmm … I suppose I’ve been writing in one form or another all my life. I remember writing short stories as a kid. I remember one story I wrote that later became a motion picture but that is another story in of itself.

Later, as an adult, I chose a career where I would write code for programs. I even got recruited by a company because I reverse engineered their software and began writing programs against their platform. They were so impressed, I got an upgraded job.

Writing programs exercised my creativity as well as the logical sides of my brain for decades. It was enough to figure out what to write and deliver a product that many people used each and every day. I got paid to do it yet there was never a question or an interest in receiving residuals for the work!

10392256_s-Creative definition pointed out by pencilJump ahead to the later part of my life and I was becoming increasingly anxious to create something other than computer code. I picked up pencil and paper and rediscovered drawing. Picking up paint and brushes, I rediscovered painting. For a while, I thought about trying to market my creative works. I was quickly frustrated by the process and abandoned my feeble marketing efforts. I still draw and paint but I do it for the love of the craft.

Frustrated by not being able to capture the imagery in my head fast enough, I dabbled with writing. Eventually, I stumbled upon an idea that really excited me. So, I wrote and wrote. Over time I must admit but I was determined to finish the story.

When I shared the finished product with friends, I was astounded by the response. They demanded that I publish it and continue writing.

So, now I’m working on a new career. One in which I do part-time now and will devote full-time after I retire from business. I enjoy writing and if I make money doing something I love, wow!  Who is to say that someone might even like it enough to sign me to a movie deal? Wouldn’t that be cool?

What inspires you to do what you love?

What was YOUR favorite part of ‘The Taste of Honey’?

The Taste of HoneyWhat was YOUR favorite part of the book?

There are many favorite parts. They include among many, Mona’s dungeon play with Master Charles, the execution scene of Honey’s perpetrator, Mona’s investigation into Honey’s disappearance, Mona’s budding relationship with Renée and Honey’s final scene as she is preparing for her live roasting.

As I look back at each scene and how I felt when I wrote them, I realized that it was Honey’s roasting scene that was my favorite part. While the sex and her spitting is graphic, it was the love story that developed out of it that really captured my interest.

I wrote it from the first person perspective so that the reader would connect with Honey and accept her decision for a live roasting.

What I really liked about the scene is that you’re inside her head, experiencing what she experiences. You feel her final hours as she has her final sex with her Master, loving him as he discovers that he, in fact, loves her also. You, as the reader, experience the spit pushing into her sex, traveling through her body and exiting out her mouth. Ewe! You are right there with Honey as they gut her insides. You see what she sees as she is carried over to the fire pit and begins to roast. Through her eyes, you see her family and friends looking on, before she succumbs to the heat of the fire.

010-ReflectionsBWWhat I really liked about this scene is how I felt as I wrote it. When I started the writing the scene, my mind seemed to divorce itself from my body. My fingers flew over the keyboard. As the scene developed, I got wrapped up in her character. I felt for her. For awhile, I became her.

Ultimately, the scene defines the love relationship between Honey, her Master, her family and her closest friends, including Mona. Her spirituality is so strong that no one can divert her from this course. Even her own Master has told her over and over again that she did not need to do this. In this moment, he realizes that he loves and needs her. He needs her in his life and doesn’t want her to roast.

Honey, however, believes that she has a higher calling. Honey believes that her actions will help save them. She believes that her decision will allow her to live forever in him and her loved ones. As a result, they will live healthier and happier lives.

So, for those and for many other reasons, that is my favorite part of the book. What’s yours?