Happy Thanksgiving 2023


Happy Thanksgiving 2023

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.

happy thanksgiving 2023

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.

Follow-up on Amazon banning Her Client

Follow-up on Amazon banning Her Client

I think it is important to give you, my readers, a follow-up on Amazon banning Her Client. After I made my last on the subject, I received several comments from many of you, supporting my contention that Amazon made an error of judgement. I know of other books that are just as brutal and even more so. So why was my book singled out?

I continue to contend that Amazon’s increasing use of AI algorithms to decide these questions is the fault here.

In the old days, a human would review the newly published work and decide. With so many authors are uploading self-published work coupled with Amazon’s need to watch costs and the bottom line, did they move too aggressively into the world of AI? Did they tailor these algorithms to more PC rather than letting the author’s creativity take precedence?

more “Follow-up on Amazon banning Her Client”

Amazon banned Her Client

Amazon banned Her Client

Yes, my faithful readers. This morning, I received an email that Amazon banned Her Client, the first book in the ‘Her Client Series.’ I don’t get it. It initially published and offered for sale on Amazon eight years ago, but suddenly, they reviewed it and chose to ban it.

The same thing happened in September of 2021 when they banned the second book in the series, leaving 1 and 3 in place.

Why they suddenly decided to unpublish the book on me is unknown. Amazon claims it violates its “content guidelines for appropriateness.” Yet, I know it passed those guidelines at least twice when I first published it and again a year later. I don’t remember exactly when the second review occurred, but that’s okay.

I learned over the years that there is no appeal process for this ruling, and without lots of sales, it’s impossible to get it published again without a major rewrite. In my opinion, a rewrite that will pass their guidelines with strip the story from the emotions of the characters. My readers know what I am talking about. I strive hard to get inside the heads of my characters, protagonists and antagonists alike. It’s the why they do what they do.

more “Amazon banned Her Client”

Retribution is out

Retribution is out

That’s right; Retribution is out. Retribution is book 6 in the Consortium Series. Published on October 13, a few of my readers found it before I could announce it. As of this writing, 84 readers like you have already read it. That’s only ten days. OMG. What’s even cooler is that I have already received nothing less than a couple of 5-star reviews.

Thank you, readers. I love you and appreciate you sticking with me.

I’ve also received some comments on the book on my website. One commenter starts they were very disappointed that I didn’t end the series but went on to say they are happy to find out there will be a book 7 in the series.

Yes, there will be another book, Virginia. Sorry, I used the phrase from the popular holiday story, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. I’ve already begun work on it.

How to read Retribution.

If you’ve missed it, it’s available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Shhh! You don’t need a Kindle to read it. You can read it on your phone, tablet, and computer by downloading the app to your device. I read all my books on either, using them as the situation fits. I usually use my android phone to read my books. It’s small, compact, always charged, and always with me.

However, sometimes an actual book comes in handy, and I’ll read it that way. A regular book is often better suited when riding the bus or train to work and back. That’s what my father did his entire career. There’s no need to charge the device, and it fits neatly in most briefcases, purses, and handbags.

more “Retribution is out”

Last Month Today

Hello friends, welcome to Last Month Today, a quick update on what’s been going on with my writing.

Before I continue, let me say that the title of this update is, without a doubt, a nod to John Oliver’s multi-Emmy-winning show, ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,’ which airs weekly on HBO. If you’ve never seen the show, I urge you to check it out. It’s funny but deals with serious topics affecting our lives. It’s roughly 30 minutes a week. Come on, try it, you will like it.

Last Week Tonight

Last Month Today

It’s been over a month since I last wrote to you. Well, it’s been a busy one. Doing my initial edits and working with my editor on my latest book, ‘Retribution,’ takes time. I’m happy to report that we’ve completed the editing, and I’m moving on to the final stages of getting it published.

more “Last Month Today”

Incentive

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.

Exposure turned out as an incentive to write more.

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.

more “Incentive”

The Taste of Honey

The
Taste of Honey

Second Edition

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.

Why might you ask? more “The Taste of Honey”

UnderCurrents Released

UnderCurrents

UnderCurrents

UnderCurrents book coverAre you being hunted?
Who will satisfy their thirst?
Can anyone quench their thirst?
Will you be the one?

Handcuffed to Sir’s dark desires, Avril’s only chance for survival depends on pleasing her callous master. As the man’s twisted pleasures expand, can Avril endure long enough to outwit the sadistic punisher or will his tight tether be the last thing she sees?

If you enjoy disturbing scenes, powerful villains, and determined heroes, you’ll love this tie-you-in-knots thriller. Tap the link to read the book today!

 

 

Who will satisfy their Thirst? Read the newest thriller today and find out.

LearnMoreAmazon

UnderCurrents: Who will Satisfy their Thirst?

UnderCurrents: Who Will Satisfy Their Thirst?

It’s official, UnderCurrents: Who Will Satisfy Their Thirst is out and available to read today! UnderCurrents is book 3 in the Consortium Series.

In this next edition of her captivity, UnderCurrents continues Avril’s story in balancing her survival with her desire to take down the Consortium. more “UnderCurrents: Who will Satisfy their Thirst?”

Announcing: Perfect Prey arrives today

Perfect Prey arrives todayPerfect Prey arrives today on Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle reader. Yep, that’s right. It’s out. Perfect Prey is Book 2 in the next suspenseful, thrilling chapter in the Consortium Series.

Announcing Perfect Prey arrives today

Check out the blurb on the book page at Amazon.

“Are you being hunted? Are you their perfect prey? What will you do after the Consortium takes you and sells you at auction? What happens after they sell and transport you across the world like cargo? Can you imagine your new life as owned property, with no hope of ever returning to your old life? To suffer and die at the whim of your owner. After you read this novel, you will never, ever stop looking over your shoulder.”

Scary, huh?

more “Announcing: Perfect Prey arrives today”

Perfect Prey cover reveal

Perfect Prey Book Cover

Perfect Prey Cover Reveal

Book 2 in the Consortium series

Hello, all you readers out there, I am proud to show you the Perfect Prey Cover Reveal, book #2 in the Consortium series.

Nice huh? Okay, I am excited. Namely, this latest book is in the final stages of pre-publication. It’s been a lot of work, but hey, I don’t care. I enjoyed writing it. I can’t wait to get it out so you, my readers, can enjoy it as well.

Perfect Prey cover reveal

Check out the synopsis and download the first chapter at my website page.
https://richardverry.com/stories/consortium/perfect-prey/ more “Perfect Prey cover reveal”

Avril Gillios just got picked up!

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.

Yes, that’s right. I refer of course to my latest book, The Trafficking Consortium.

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.

The Trafficking Consortium

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.

Amazon kindle
Free on Kindle Unlimited

Hello my Fans

Hello my fans,

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.’

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.

reviewsreviewsreviewsreviewsreviews

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.

CBCT - 3D Cat scan
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.reviewsreviewsreviewsreviewsreviews

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

Announcing my new novel

The Trafficking ConsortiumAnnouncing my new novel

I am proud and excited to announce the release of my new novel,

‘The Trafficking Consortium’

available exclusively at

www.richardverry.com/books/the-trafficking-consortium/

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.

Suitable for adult readers 18+.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Ramblings and such

Ramblings and such

We’ve just closed out the month of August and the unofficial end to summer is this weekend. At least in the northern hemisphere. Those down under are about to move from winter to spring. As far as I’m concerned, all good times of years.

I have mixed feelings about the month of August 2016. It’s been one of the hottest on record. Not that I am complaining but it would have been nice to have had a bit more rain. Though, the south-west U.S. could use it more. I just wish I could have enjoyed the warm (hot) weather more. It just wasn’t to be.

Why? Well, as you may recall, I suffered a severe concussion in mid July. (See my post ‘I saw Stars‘.) Since then, I’ve been out of work much of the time, while I deal with the after effects. They include a constant headache ranging from 1 – 6 on the pain scale. I’ve also had to deal with a diminished ability to formulate several sentences together into a cognitive thought. When I write, I often fat fingered my typing or misspell words that I know how to spell. Then there are the times when I can’t think of the word I want to say, even though it is sitting right there on the tip of my tongue. I still have trouble maintaining my balance when standing still.

All of this sucks. I am so tired of the headache. My love tells me that she’d rather deal with the pain of childbirth rather than have the headache I have had for the past seven weeks. I can get irritable, and I’m restless — anxious to get back to a normal life. Most certainly, my quality of life has diminished. All I can do is follow my doctor’s instructions and continue to rest.

“Hey Doc, do you know what it’s like for a writer to deal with growing headaches simply because he’s writing?” Let me tell you all, it sucks. Guess how long it took me to write these short paragraphs. Too long, I tell you. Almost an hour. F*&K.

41943863 - black diagram on pc screen. financial data on background.On a good note, I was looking at my sales figures for the month of August. Pretty decent. Amazon alone posted nearly 300 copies of my books, mostly in the Her Client trilogy. That’s 9.7 books per day. My other outlets also showed good sales figures. I guess word is getting around. Not bad for a new author, considering I published my very first book June 2015. Who knows what will happen in the next couple of years. So …

THANK YOU for reading my stories. It means a lot to me.

Next on my agenda, I plan on posting about my novellas. I haven’t quite figured out what I am going to write about but since they are selling well, I’m thinking you may be interested in how I came to write them, plus I may write about my character development, and so forth.

Until next time, have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you soon. Feel free to write me by clicking on the comment button. I look forward to reading them.

What’s for Dinner?

What’s for Dinner?

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.

What's for Dinner?
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’s on Tap

What’s on Tap

Yesterday, Saturday, did in fact turn out fantastic. Except for my ongoing, continuous headache, I couldn’t be more pleased. I am trusting that today will be more of the same, regardless of the weather, sun and heat. Whatever it turns out to be, I’m ready for a glorious day. Perhaps I’ll go see a movie?

InterviewOver the past month, I have been posting portions of an interview I gave several months back. Frankly, I was happy to transcribe portions into my blog. It not only helps my readers to more fully understand the basis of the books I write but it’s been helping me get back into sync with these stories. I have many more planned and I need ways to keep them fresh in my mind.

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting a number of smaller snippets from the interview. Generally, they are short answers to individual questions that move from topic to topic. I hope you enjoy them. Look forward to them starting Monday.

As always, I look forward to your comments. Please feel free to write me and let me know what you think. I always enjoy reading them.


Feel free to comment and agree or dispute my opinions. I love a challenge. Till next time, have a great day!

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.

Tired of the Olympics

Tired of the Olympics?

Tired of the Olympics?Have you had enough of the Olympics? After more than two weeks of competition, the last medal has been awarded, the last anthem played and the venues sit empty.

If you’re tired of the games or simply anxious to replace them with something else, might I suggest reading a book. Perhaps, one of my mine or someone else’s. Anything that cuts your fancy. For a few hours, you’ll find yourself lost in a story that will captivate you, intrigue you, or take you to another world.

Mine are available right here on my site RichardVerry.com, at Amazon or Smashwords, or your favorite eBook retailer. Don’t like eBooks? Most of them are available in paperback. Check them out and write a review. I would love to read it.

No matter what you do, enjoy a good story, one that you can see yourself as one of the characters, feel what they feel, smile, cry, laugh or scream. It doesn’t matter. It’s the journey that counts. The journey to the podium and the party.

Club Lothario

Club Lothario

How did you come up with the name Club Lothario?

When I wrote the first book, ‘The Taste of Honey’, I did not have a name for the club. I simply referred to it as ‘The Club’. In the first book, it was simply a vehicle to support a couple of scenes I wanted to write outside of a house. For the second book, ‘Broken Steele’, I decided the club was going to take on a larger part in the stories. I needed a vehicle to foster conflict as well as resolution. I needed a place estate masters could go to argue issues, meet in private and coördinate effort for the community. I needed a champion for Mona, separate from Master Charles. The Club needed a name. more “Club Lothario”

Club Lothario, what is that?

Club Lothario, what is that?

Ahhh … Club Lothario is one of my favorite inventions for Mona’s culture. With so many women, I decided that men needed somewhere they could go to hang out apart from women but could still interact with them as desired.

Think of Club Lothario as a mix between a men’s social membership club, civic center, strip club, high-end restaurant, and private meeting-house. It supplies solitude from the stresses of maintaining an estate. It offers relaxation, socialization and nourishment to its members. Various calming services are offered, including sexual intimacy to solitude from the everyday responsibilities. This is my concept of Club Lothario. more “Club Lothario, what is that?”

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.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

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.

 


[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]


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’.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]


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’.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]


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.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]


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.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]


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.

Tell me about Mona’s culture (part 5)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, published over the past week. This is the final segment. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


In many ways, Mona’s culture seems like a utopia. I mean, what’s not to like? Everyone has access to unlimited sex, unlimited partners, and unlimited pleasure. Your wants and needs are completely satisfied. You wake up in the morning, alone or with company sharing your bed, picking up from where you left off last night.

At breakfast, some lovely naked wait staff serves you, delivering food and drink right to the table. Man or a woman, it doesn’t matter. You are attended too.

What’s not to like?

After breakfast, you do your chores, whether it is cutting the grass, preparing the next meal of the day, or attending to and serving your household members. The workload is pretty easy.

You spend quality time in the playroom and get fucked on a regular basis. You have a roof over your head and three squares a day.

What’s not to like?

Except that thing about feeding upon one another in order to survive. That’s a bummer, right?

Honey's PortraitWhat if you knew and accepted from birth that one day, you would feed your companions, just as you are feeding upon them now? Does it then become an acceptable and moral practice? Maybe.

What if by converting and feeding your companions, you knew that you would live forever? What then?

I submit to you that Honey, the title character of Book 1, believes she will. She firmly believes that she will live on in Mona and the rest of her family. By living in them, she will have the power to help them successfully navigate through their trials. Besides, she loves them. This way, she will be forever bonded to them.

If you knew that, without a shadow of a doubt, you will live forever. Simply by others consuming your meat, would you? I think I might.

 

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

Tell me about Mona’s culture (part 4)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


With hundreds of female submissives within each house, women serve in roles best suited for their talents. Outside of delivering offspring, they maintain the house, care for offspring, work the slaughterhouse and prepare the meals. They serve as maids and valets, greeters and waitstaff, landscapers, drivers, and trainers. They serve their Master and house guests, satisfying both carnal and nutritional needs as necessary.

woman holding flogger behind neckMany are also playmates to their masters, be it in bed or the playspace, each serves and submits, each according to their talents. From birth to maturity, regardless of sex, everyone is trained on attitude and techniques in pleasuring sexual partners. By the time they are attached to a house, members have the necessary training to attend to required duties.

Take Mona for example. She is an extreme masochist. As a pain slut, she relishes torment delivered by the hands of her Master, her body building to climax and orgasm. To her, it’s a good kind of pain that her body desires and demands. Submitting to Master Charles is an event she eagerly looks forward to and deeply misses when withheld. The same eagerness resides in each of the submissive women, though their desires may differ from one to another.

Unfortunately, attachment to a house is not a foregone conclusion. Assuming they survive to puberty, they are subjected to a battery of training and testing. Despite excelling in their training, if they are not selected to a house, their usefulness diminishes. Without the security of a house, conversion is usually the next step in their journey. Nothing is wasted and their contribution to society is complete.

In my next post, I’ll finish up my description of her culture.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

Tell me about Mona’s culture (Part 3)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


As I wrote the last time, women are genetically born to be naturally submissive to their Masters. It’s in their genes. Membership of a house brings residents security and protection at the expense of becoming the property of the house.

5045638_sResidents bound to the house, serve the needs of the house. They can be traded, transferred, and converted. Males are not immune to this practice either. They too are bound to their estates and are routinely converted when their usefulness to the house and community comes to an end.

Masters are charged with the care, feeding, and nurturing of everyone within their house. They must take care of basic necessities. They must give them an opportunity to grow as a person and rise above their eventual fate. Take Mona for example. As revealed in Book 1, she is already holding a senior rank within her house. She is a Senior Lead Investigator within her Master’s security business. She has a private office and staff to support her. Over the course of the series, she grows and matures, and in Book 3, ‘Lucky Bitch’ becomes the Master of her own house.

The primary responsibility within a house is the birthing new members. The sex of the offspring is less important as the need to keep up with live births. Birthing a male child is a rare event, inducing a time for caution as well as celebration. Hopefully, it will survive to maturity though the odds are greatly against it.

Men are encouraged to have sex with as many fertile women within their house to minimize inbreeding. Frequent community celebrations encourage diverse carnal liaisons among attendees to further diminish inbreeding. Certainly Mona, as Master of her own house, has a problem when it comes to this responsibility. However, she has a plan.

Out of responsibility rather than desire, men also make monthly rounds of the breeding centers, naturally depositing their seed in ovulating women, impregnating as many as possible. Over time, males tend to tire of this arduous duty and can fall behind in their duties. However, few fail to perform their duty for fear of increasing the risk of their own conversion.

In my next post, I’ll continue my description of the culture Mona lives in.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

Tell me about Mona’s culture (Part 2)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Following the ‘Purge Plague’ and over hundreds of years, societal rules changed to accommodate the new reality. War, religion, and social injustices fell by the wayside. Gone also was the concept of money, love, marriage, and monogamy. In Mona’s contemporary time, they simply have no comprehension of these concepts. Survival of the species became paramount.

Earth of two mindsThe last-ditch effort to save the human race through gene manipulation caused other consequences and society continued to adapt. People perished by the billions. Genetic changes within females caused them to become extremely submissive to males while males suffered extremely high mortality rates. Within two generations, population disparities between men and women became extremely unbalanced. Within a century, only one male in 10,000 survived to adulthood, leaving about 66 men for every million women.

To compensate, a system arose to regulate and deal with progeny and food supply. Live births surviving to maturity are graded and categorized for the quality of their meat. Meat that one day will feed their community. To ensure fairness, an elaborate system developed to secure equitable conversion processing among everyone. Out of necessity, progeny remained unnamed until maturity and bound to a house.

With the dissimilar distribution of men to women, society accommodated the shift by distributing a single male and master per estate.

The Master became ‘the dominant and the deciding authority’ in all things related to their house. The rest of the residents of a house were generally women. While women could rise to become the Master of a house, admittedly, this was a rare event. Otherwise, women submitted to the needs of their house and Master.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon the consequences of past decisions.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

Tell me about Mona’s culture (part 1)

What follows are excerpts from an interview I gave some months ago. I’ve condensed it to a five-part series, which I intend to published over the next week. I hope it will provide insight into the world I created with the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. Feel free to comment on the link at the bottom. I welcome your insights and opinions.


Mona’s Culture? What an interesting question.

Estate HouseMona lives in a feudal world set thousands of years in our future. She lives in a world without a central power or government. Instead, her community consists of loosely linked estates, commonly called houses, each named after the owner of their estate. Residents who live on the estate refer to the owner as ‘Master’. Loosely tying the estates together, is Club Lothario. The club acts as a central meeting-house, civic center, and relaxed governing body. The club acts to ensure each house meets their quota to the community.

Their culture evolved to deal with a near extinction event more than a millennium in the past. Cultural roots go back to a time when gene manipulation of the food-producing animals and plants was common place. Eventually, larger profits were sought, mistakes were made and aggressive genome manipulation ran out of control. Unsurprisingly, the plague nearly wiped out all life on Earth.

The ‘Purge Plague’, as it was later called, caused in the extinction of every insect, animal and most of the edible plant life, leaving the planet devoid of any and all sources of consumable protein. As the plague ran on over decades, the world was quickly stripped of life. Humans were about to follow suit.

Through extraordinary and expensive measures, scientists at the time were able to halt the extinction of the human species. In one massive, last-ditch effort of gene manipulation, the human race was saved.

Despite halting the extinction, the stigma of genetic manipulation survived. Over time, the idea of gene splicing was abhorrent to the population. It didn’t take long before all gene manipulation was banned all around the world.

As with all actions, there are consequences. The most significant consequence was, in order for humans to survive, they learned to consume the only source of protein available … themselves.

In my next post, I’ll expand upon how their culture evolved.

[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]

On the Mona Bendarova Adventures

Do you like the genre of science fiction? I am not a fan yet if a story has character development, conflict and some resolution, I am interested. That is what I have found reading Richard Verry’s ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’.

IMG_20160617_111433I guess I have to wait for the third book in the series, ’ Lucky Bitch’, hoping there is some resolution for the main character, Mona. I am hoping the author will introduce new characters and more conflict. I truly enjoyed his first two books where I met and immersed myself  into the characters he introduced. All you had to do was mention a character name and I could tell you how the character relates to the story. That is a credit to the author, Mr. Verry, who vividly created the characters and the story.

In the midst of these stories, Mr. Verry describes a future world where his characters come alive and live. Again, I can understand his vision knowing I have been drawn in by the characters and the world they occupy. Like ‘Star Wars’ and most recently, ‘Independence Day’, we need to see these types of movies soon after they are released. I am okay with it since I can identify with the characters even if the setting is in the future.

So for those that love character development no matter what genre it is in, take a leap of faith in reading ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’ and enjoy the world that the author created. I can affirm to you that you will embrace these characters and the books. Start with a ‘Taste of Honey’ and follow it up with ‘Broken Steele’. ‘Lucky Bitch’ will soon follow.

I honestly can tell you that I am looking forward to reading it.

Janet M.

Rest assured, I’m still with you.

Just a quick note to let you know, I’m still here. I’m recovering nicely. As I am able, I am working on a five-part post that I hope to publish next week.

In this five-part post, I will be exploring the culture that Mona Bendarova lives in. For most of you, you know that Mona is the lead character in my series of novels called ‘The Mona Bendarova Adventures.

Taste Of HoneyIn the first two books, ‘The Taste of Honey‘ and ‘Broken Steele‘, I tell a story of a woman in another time and culture. She lives in a world very different from the one we live in today. Yet, it is plausible on so many levels. The third book in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch‘, continues to explore this culture, and I hopefully will have it out this fall. Be sure to look for it.

When you read the stories, you’ll wonder, could the world she lives in, really happen?

Check it out and let me know what you think.

In the meantime, dinner’s on the table. Time to eat.

One Week Left

Less Than One Week Left in the 50% off Summer/Winter Sale for ‘The Taste of Honey‘. Don’t miss out. Sales ends midnight, July 31, 2016. 50 %off only at RichardVerry.com and Smashwords.com.

When you read this story, you’ll ask yourself this question. “Could this really happen to us?

Find out how the human race survives 3D

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.

Since my books are different and other musings

Broken Steele book cover 6x9 The Taste of Honey book cover 6x9First off, thank you to the fine folks who purchased my books, ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’ in the past week. They were purchased right after I saw stars and suffered a significant concussion. I’ve been offline a lot since then, so I missed it. Thank you. I hope you are enjoying them. Be sure to look for the third book in the series ‘Lucky Bitch’ due out very soon.

Speaking of seeing stars (details will be found in a post I did earlier in the week), I resting as I recover. Frankly, it’s driving me crazy, sitting around being so inactive. Normally, I have lots to do, my day filled with activity. Until a day or so ago, even sitting at this computer and writing was problematic. But, just so you know, I’m on the mend and I’m looking forward to getting back to a normal life.

What I really want to write about today is how my books are different. In my last post, I wrote how I hoped my books were different from others on the market. That was my intention when I wrote them. I wanted to find my niche in the market. I believe I have succeeded.

However, being different and unique is a blessing and a curse. While I love writing these stories, marketing them is another story. First, though, let me give you a little background as I understand it. I could be mistaken in some of my understandings so I welcome comments correcting me.

The publishing industry is going through significant changes, just as the music industry did. The jury is still out on how it will shake out. For me, and thousands like me, this is a good thing. We authors are not dependent upon a relative few to publish our work. We can publish them ourselves, market them ourselves, and earn royalties on our creative works.

I find the indie-publishing aspect relatively easy. It took a while to figure it all out but with six unique selling published works, I’ve figured out the formula for getting them published.

I can write a book, I can publish a book. Two down, one to go. Marketing a book.

This I find is the hardest of all. Even though I am a college grad with a Master’s Degree, I did not learn much about marketing. I suck at it and I know it. Which is why I depend on others to help me.

The biggest problem I need to figure out how to overcome focuses on targeting a specific audience. That means, how do I find you? If you are reading this post, I’m ecstatic. It means I have already found you. But how do I find more like you?

Word of mouth is ‘the’ thing that everyone agrees with. So, I ask you. Will you help me? Will you spread the word, talk to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, the waiter who pours your coffee, and every man or woman on the street you come into contact with? Can you get people to like my website and my facebook page? Ask them to follow me on facebook (richardverryauthorartist), or twitter (@richverry), or my blog (richardverry.com/#subscribe). Thank you.

Next time, I hope to write about how I think my books are different and how to categorize them into the slots the publishing industry places them in. It’s a murky road, fret with thorns and brambles. Perhaps you can help me there too.

Feel free to write me and share your opinions.

Spread the word.

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

Sales are the best review but are they really?

Hello friends and fans. Yesterday afternoon I got a pleasant surprise. Someone bought a copy of my book, ‘Broken Steele‘ from Smashwords. Thank you.

Book-2D-loopHowever, that one little revelation got me poking around all of my sales outlets. To my surprise, over the past three months, unbeknownst to me, hundreds of copies of all of my books have been downloaded from various sites. Many are free copies of my book ‘Her Client’ but many of you out there bought your own copies of my other books from various sources. I noted sales on iBooks for the Apple platform, B&N for the Nook platform and even Kobo for who knows what eBook reader.

I’m ecstatic.

Thanks to all who have purchased and downloaded one of my books. I hope you enjoy them. Please, I would be interested in a review or two from you. Of course sales are the best review so I must be doing something right.

Read what others have said about my books. Many are summarized right here. Feel free to read them and decide for yourself. Thank you for giving me a slice of your valuable time. I appreciate it.

[good-reviews]

 

Someone just purchased Broken Steele, thank you.

I just received notice that someone purchased a copy of my book ‘Broken Steele‘. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It would be fantastic if you would post a review of the book. I’ll give you a gold star should you do. This book, as well as all of my books, are available on my website, RichardVerry.com and at book retailers such as Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks, B&N and a host of ebook retailers all over the world.

Broken-Steele-advert3a-800x300

When you read this erotic, kinky, and captivating, tale, you will wonder who your friends are and can they be trusted.

For those of you who might not be aware, ‘Broken Steele‘ is the gripping sequel to ‘The Taste of Honey‘ and is the second book in the Mona Bendarova Adventures. It picks up after Honey is rescued and before she delivers her first male child. It is another mystery for Mona to solve when she is called upon to find out who brutally murdered the master of another estate in her community. Along the way, she uncovers a plot that is threatening the entire community. A community who for years has experienced peace and tranquility which is now shattered with fear, angst, and unrest.

She solves the mystery but now her own life is in great peril as many in her community are ignorant of the growing threat and simply can’t deal with the consequences. Mona’s own life is now in jeopardy as well as those who are close to her.

Good luck Mona. It appears you have a long and perilous journey ahead of you. Book three in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch’ is in the works. Be sure to look for it.

Suitable for readers 18+.

A Big Thank You

Her Client Trilogy book cover 3D
Her Client Trilogy

I wish to express my gratitude for the fantastic reviewsreviewsreviewsreviewsreviews 5 star reviews that Bibs left on Amazon for my trilogy, ‘Her Client’. You brought a big smile to my face. Thank you, I really appreciate the reviews. A paper back version is also available at CreateSpace logo .

Bibs is correct. These books are not for everyone. Yet, I wrote them because I saw a market and people are responding. The-Breakup-advert4aIf you liked ‘Her Client’ you may enjoy reading ‘The Breakup’, currently only available off my website, RichardVerry.com. Just $0.99.

In the review, Bibs wanted to know if I would continue Jolene’s story? I have considered it. If you are, sent me your comments, including ideas on how you think Jolene should carry on. If there is enough interest, I will see what I can come up with.

Do you know what the trouble is? I have outlined over thirty stories in the same genre and I really want to bring them all to life. I’m working on two more right now, in addition to finishing up the third book in my “Mona Bendarova” series entitled ‘Lucky Bitch’.

Her Client Book 1 cover 3D
Her Client, Book 1 in the Her Client Trilogy

Her Overseer Book 2 cover 3D
Her Overseer, Book 2 in the Her Client Trilogy

Her Essentia Book 3 cover 3D
Her Essentia, Book 3 in the Her Client Trilogy

Thank you for the reviews.

I am Richard Verry and I appreciate the support.

Holiday weekend with Charles Bendarova

It’s 97 degrees Fahrenheit or 36 degrees Celsius. It’s hot. Really hot. Stifling hot on a cloudless day, the hot sun beating down on everyone and everything. Going outside is something I don’t relish. Yet, I had the opportunity to invite Charles Bendarova over to share a beer and catch up.

Charles is a good friend of mine. Of course he’s a fictional characters in my Mona Bendarova Adventure series. Yet, he is a dear friend. Tomorrow, he will be going to his communities Summer Start festivities but today, he could give me a couple of hours to kibitz, shoot the breeze and share stories.

Taste-Of-Honey--advert4aTogether, we sat on the porch and shared a beer. Well, several as it turned out. As the afternoon wore on, we talked about a lot of things. Take tomorrow for example. He told me the barbecue tomorrow was going to be a big affair. Several competitions were planned and he intended to win the dance competition. He had once again entered Jewel, his latest personal sub in training, to compete and this time, he had high expectations of her winning. Of course, I wished the two of them luck.

Soon enough, we got on to the talk of sex. I felt bad that I couldn’t offer him an attendant. Especially knowing that if the tables were turned and he had been hosting my visit to his home, we would be sharing beers while any number of gorgeous women attended to our desires. A big part of me wanted to go with him to his barbecue on the morrow but then again, who would then write the stories that come out of it. Yes, Charles knows full well that we are a team. Without me, his stories could not be told and without him, I wouldn’t have stories to tell.

Broken-Steele-advert2aEventually, we got to talking about Mona. Charles is really worried about her. He’s worried because she’s on her own and no longer under his protection. Officially, that is. He confessed that he still looks after her, watches out for her, and does his best to protect her ass. Still, she’s on her own and he’s very worried. I am too. Mona has challenges to overcome just learning how to run her own estate. Yet, Charles and I know different. Many segments of the community don’t like the fact that a woman is now in charge of her own estate. She is the boss. She is the master of the house and mistress to hundreds of people under her. She must figure out how to feed everyone, take care of their needs, and care of the welfare of her housemates.

I feel for Charles, I do. Yet, I don’t know how to help him. He needs to figure it out for himself. I can only report the stories as it unfolds. I agreed with him, Mona has much to learn and she doesn’t need obstructive behaviors of members of her house and community working against her and making it even harder for everyone.

What I didn’t know until recently, Mona has had to deal with acts of terrorism within her own house. I was surprised, to say the least. Mona’s community hasn’t known behaviors like this for centuries. Charles is dumbfounded, to say the least. He reported to me that he suspects that several of Mona’s household have been assaulted and killed. He was shocked and nearly powerless to help.

I felt for him but I didn’t know what to say. Except to say, I tilted my glass of beer towards him, clinked the together and we each drained them. After draining a few more beers, he bade me goodbye. I wished him well.

Tomorrow, while Charles is partying it up at the barbecue, I’ll be writing more of his stories. Stay tuned.

Unofficial start of summer in America

Unofficial Start of Summer

In the United States, we are about to celebrate the start of summer. The unofficial start of summer that is. Memorial Day is an official national holiday created to commemorate our fallen soldiers in past and present military actions. Unofficially, it is our unofficial start of summer.

But I wonder, the same occasion remembers our fallen dead while we celebrate the coming of summer. Interesting, isn’t it?

Mona Bendarova’s Community Holidays

Celebrating the unofficial start of summer
Find out how the human race survives

I can’t help wonder what Mona Bendarova and her community would do to celebrate the coming of summer. I refer to of course to my books, ‘The Taste of Honey’, ‘Broken Steele’, and  the soon to be released ‘Lucky Bitch’.

Mona and her community would celebrate one of the biggest parties of the year. While roasting meats over a number of barbecue pits, they would prepare tables of delicacies, and imbibe on all sorts of hard and soft beverages.

Competitions abound as cheering audiences root for their favorite contestants and betting flows freely celebrating both winners and losers. Capping the holiday off everyone enjoys wild group sex among a number of partners well into the next day.

Reading her stories, you will get a sense of what I am referring to. It’s a time everyone looks forward too. Sounds like a fun time. Eat, drink, fornicate, and be merry.

I’m looking forward to my celebration of the coming summer in a completely different way. There will be many similarities yet, there will be significant differences, especially when it comes to the menu. As I eat my share this weekend, I can promise you that I will think about Mona and her housemates, friends and acquaintances.

FrankenFood, are we playing with fire?

USAToday published an article entitled “Genetic ‘frankenfood’ found not harmful to human health”. The article goes on to state that a committee of 50+ experts compared disease reports from North America where Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are commonly used in food sources with disease reports from UK and Western Europe. According to these experts, there is no significant difference or increases in the incidence of specific health problems.

Good news, right?

Not so fast. I do understand that GMOs are being used with good intentions. They are being introduced to promote greater yield per acre, more drought & insect resistant, and other similar reasons. All good on the face of it.

For me, the problem is more to do with those behind the modifications being made to the genomes of our food supply. They are run and paid for by major corporations. Their motives are not to benefit the human race (or their customers). Rather, they are profit motivated. The stockholders in these corporations want bigger and bigger profits so they can increase their overall wealth.

I’m sorry but that is not a reason to mess with our food supply. I disagree with the practice. I would prefer that it stop but I know it won’t. I can only hope and pray that nothing goes wrong.

While I am not a fanatic on a cause, I can’t believe this report. Why you may ask?

Taste of Honey book cover small
Find out how the human race survives

Something going wrong is the underlying basis of my ‘Mona Bendarova’ series of books which opens with the ‘Taste of Honey’. Granted this is fiction but I based the books on the very concept that something goes wrong with playing with the genomes of our food supply.

To me, there are too many unknowns. My books are set a millennium in the future where we lose control of GMO’s and they wreak havoc on the food supply. We lose control of how the organisms replicate and they destroy our food sources ability to provide the proteins we need to survive. The ‘Purge Plague’ as it became known in the stories, caused the extinction of every consumable protein source on the planet. Every insect, plant, and animal died out within 100 years. Towards the end, humans managed to survive with a last-ditch effort to prevent their own extinction by radically changing their genome. However, to survive and move forward, a major sacrifice was required. A thousand years later, a social system arose to ensure the long-term survival of their species. Read ‘The Taste of Honey’ and it’s sequel, ‘Broken Steele’ to find out more.

In the meantime, I am a staunch believer that playing with our food sources and their genomes is akin to playing with fire. One day, we will get burned. I believe we will suffer a major catastrophe related to this practice. I only hope that we or our children never see the day.

Read “Broken Steele” if you liked “The Taste of Honey”

If you liked “The Taste of Honey”, be sure to read “Broken Steele”. Why?

Broken-Steele“The Taste of Honey” is actually the first in a series of 3 books whose main characters include Mona, Honey, and Renee. “Broken Steele” picks up the action after Mona solves the mystery of Honey’s disappearance and before Honey’s significant contribution to her community. In “Broken Steele”, the saucy details you come to expect play out as you learn more about the community the characters live in. You’ll find out what drives them and how they enjoy life to the fullest. Don’t miss out on the juicy sexy action as Mona, Renee and all the others enjoy their lusty passions while Mona works on solving yet another shocking mystery.

If you start reading “Broken Steele” before “The Taste of Honey”, don’t!. Read them in sequence or you’ll miss out on the saucy details the first book sets the stage for the rest of the stories. Then, be sure to look for the third book in the series, “Lucky Bitch” due out soon. Plus, I’m told that the lusty action won’t stop there. Sign up for my blog and you could win a free copy of ‘The Taste of Honey”. Winners are selected randomly from each weeks new subscribers.

Look over what others have said about the stories posted right on Amazon. I’m confident that if you like saucy, racy, and risque excitement, mystery and suspense with a healthy dose of kink and sadomasochism, you’ll agree with these readers.

TOH reviews

Whirlwind nearly over, part 4

One's Home is their CastleThey say one’s home is their castle. I can’t help wonder about the truth in the statement.

The home I used to live in, the one I recently sold and moved from, used to be my castle. I loved my home. I did not envision leaving it any time soon. In fact, I was sure I would still be living there at least six more years. Instead, it’s now sold to new owners. Someone else is living with all of the upgrades I did along the way as well as with its issues that all homes have. It’s their castle now.

What I don’t understand is why I have moved on as I have. I have no interest in driving by to see what the new owners are doing. I heard from my moving company that the very same crew I used to move out was contract to move the new owners in. Small world? No, I don’t think so. I suspect how that happened and I don’t think it was a coincidence. It’s a local firm, not a national chain with a very good reputation in the area. Moving with a peace of mind http://sheridanbrothersmoving.com/ If you are moving, local or not and live in my area, check them out.

My new home is my castle now. It’s a nice home and I’m sure one day, I’ll come to love it as I did the old one. Sure, I love this home but as in all relationships, its different. I still don’t understand all its subtleties, all the things that make it unique and different from another house. Like a lover. You love your current partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever. You love them deeply and would do anything for them. They are the best part of your life and complete you in ways that you want and desire. Yet, that does mean you didn’t love your previous lover any less. Just differently. Regardless of how or why you have a new lover, your love for them was just as deep. It was just different. At least, this is how I see the world. Perhaps you do to.

ghost in the haunted castleSo, I have a new home. It’s my castle. I love it now and as time goes by, I’m confident that I will love it more. For better or worse, it’s my castle and I’ve pleased to be sharing it with my lover, partner and best friend. Love you maggical.

Now, for those of you that know my perversion for Halloween, whatever am I going to do to celebrate Halloween?

Whirlwind nearly over, part 3

Last time, I wrote about springing the surprise of my move on a dear friend and his wife. Though the move is officially over and I am living in my new home for a couple of weeks, it’s not really over. There are too many boxes left to be unpacked, window treatment to hang, furniture to deal with, and a plethora of other things to do. Most of my friends, (that being my books and artwork), are still packed away. Very little is hanging on the walls and there is still much to do.

The worst part?

I can’t find a damn thing. Well, that’s not completely true but it feels that way. Take for example, my favorite keyboard for this computer I’m writing on. I CAN’T F’ing FIND IT! So, I’m using a spare which I don’t like but I normally have attached to another computer I keep hooked up in the basement that handles my backups. Which BTW, that computer is not hooked up either. Other than lights and one utility outlet next to the circuit breaker box, there are no outlets to give it life. I need to get an electrician in to wire up the place.

But I can’t do that either right now! I don’t know how I want to utilize the space. There are still boxes galore to sort, organize and empty. It’s a problem for sure but a good problem. I foresee me being happy in this new home for many years to come.

There was one bit of good news which happened yesterday. My hot tub is now hooked up, filled with water, and today I’m going hot tubing. My body feels ravaged from this whirlwind of a move. Every bone and muscle in my body feels like I’ve been working out at the gym for hour after hour all day, everyday for over a month. My back is sore, my shoulders ache and even my ass hurts. Not from sitting mind you. Sitting doesn’t help that either. Rather, it’s aches and pain that radiate out from my ass down the back of my legs. My hamstrings and calves feel the brunt of the aches but every now and then, a shooting pain jumps from my ass and shoots right down the back of my left leg. Yeow!

Be Relaxed, Be Renewed, Be RestoredTo help restore my body, I went to my favorite masseuse and got a full body, deep tissue massage. Relaxing MassageI knew I screwed my body up something fierce during the heyday of the move. Was I ever right. Tammy, my masseuse whom I highly recommend, runs her own business BeMassageAndWellness.com. She found damage that I didn’t even know about. She found a problem in my right shoulder that was so bad, she worked on it for much of the session. She found the same issue on my left shoulder as well, only not as bad. When she was working on my left hamstring, it felt like she was digging a hole deep into the earth, even though she was barely pressing with her magic fingers.

I routinely see her but I must admit, I skipped a couple of months due to the move. I guess I should have listened to her. What I like best about her, is that she follows up the following day, asking me, how do I feel. Such service is rare and extremely appreciated. So, if I may. If you are in need of a talented, caring, and professional masseuse, you can’t go wrong with booking a session with Tammy. She’s a hero in my book.

Till next time when I expect to wrap up this little experience, I hope you have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Whirlwind nearly over, part 2

The other day, I wrote about why I had been pretty quiet of late. I moved from one home to another. The big question is … why did I not write about the move before now?

14269901_s
Snow Bird

It all has to do with a dear friend of mine. He and his wife have been bugging me for years to sell my home and move to one near them. I love them dearly and yet, I loved the house I used to live in. Frankly, I resisted the urge to up and move. They are also snow birds. For those of you who don’t know the term, it means that they fly to their winter home in Florida and return in the spring. Yup, they roost in the warm sunshine of Florida while I live and work in the North East snows and cold weather.

17059963_sSince the decision to sell and move occurred while they were in Florida, I decided I wanted to surprise them. Since they read this blog, I couldn’t write about it till now. The more I thought about it, the more the evil in me wanted to surprise them.

Yes, you guessed it. The surprise has been sprung. Last week as a matter of fact. They returned a week ago Monday and we all met up for dinner at my place. The old place and were they ever in for a surprise. The sold sign on the front lawn and closing happening the following day. They were shocked and speechless.

Together, we all went out from dinner, saying goodbye for the last time to the old house, ate a fabulous meal while we spilled the beans on everything we had hidden from them. After dinner, we all went to the new house and introduced them to it.

Can you feel the evil grin on my face throughout all this?

They also surprised us by showing up with a new car, which they bought while still in Florida. I am looking forward to entertaining and playing domino’s with them and the lady in my life long into the evening. Their closing comment to the two of us was ‘You done good.’

I couldn’t be happier.

 

Whew! Whirlwind nearly over

Apologies to all my followers. I know I have been quiet of late, posting updates on an irregular schedule. It’s been a whirlwind during the last month or so. You see, I’ve moved my home.

Not that my home is on wheels and I can just drive it down the road. No, I sold my old house and bought a new one. I thought the whole thing would happen over a number of months. That was not to be. Instead, it all happened within the space of under a single month.

24889758_sLast January, I put in an offer on a new home which was accepted. So far, so good. The house closed at the end of March and I was free to begin moving in. Figuring I had time enough, I planned the move to happen over six weeks, taking my time, staging the old one and being out of my old one long before I needed to be when the new owners took possession.

The day after I closed on my new home, the old home was put on the market. Within 24 hours, a single showing and little time to breathe, I received a FULL CASH non-contingent offer with closing to happen in only a few weeks. If it wasn’t for the lawyers involved, it might have been done even sooner. Thank you lawyers, at least you gave me time to get everything in place.

So then I had a big problem. A good problem for sure, who wouldn’t want CASH up front. It’s a beautiful thing. Over the next two weeks, I had to pack up the rest of the house, get the hell out, and move all the stuff that goes with one’s domicile.

7180364_sI’m pleased to report that I am now safely in my new home, still unpacking, and still settling in. Organizing the move has been the only thing on my mind for over a month now. I’ve barely written 2000 words in any of my stories in all that time. My internet service had been discounted for several days as well. By the end of each day, I was exhausted, worn out, and barely functional to eat a meal. Too many restaurants of late, nearly falling asleep in my dinner plate. Thank you all you restaurant workers and servers for taking care of me during this time.

I hope to get back to writing soon. I have the start of my new office in the works, a new writing desk, and a new coffee mug labeled ‘Go Away, I’m Writing’ which was a sweet gift from my girlfriend and life partner. I hope to get back to more consistent writing soon. I’ll take a picture of my new office soon. There are still so many boxes to unpack, finding homes for all the little things that make me feel warm and comfortable.

In the meantime, I’m going to try hard to resume more consistent blogging and keeping you updated. In my next blog, I hope to give you more insights into why I didn’t mention this move sooner. I had a wicked thought but you’ll have to wait to find out what that was.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

On Re-Reading Favorites

I’m curious. Do you re-read your favorite books? Would you ever even think of re-reading a book? Has the idea of re-reading a book ever crossed your mind?

I do. Over the years, I’ve re-read my favorites many times over. Books from my younger years are favorite re-reads. Many I’ve kept in my personal library, moving them from home to home over the decades. Others, I check out of the public library or lately, buy the eBook version even though I have the paperback or hard copy of the book.

They are my friends, my companions, and never once have they ever disappointed me. I’ve never regretted reading them. I’ve never regretted re-reading them. When I re-read a book, I realize a new innuendo to the story that I hadn’t realized before. It’s amazing. I still learn something from these books years after I last read them.

What are your favorite books or stories? Here are a few of mine.

The Harrad ExperimentAs I wrote awhile back, I am a sci-fi, erotic, mystery & suspense, and paranormal aficionado. My all time favorite author in the genre is Robert Heinlein. Kim Harrison, the author of the ‘The Hollows’ series, is another favorite. Charlaine Harris, the author of the ‘Sookie Stackhouse’ books and later ported to HBO’s ‘True Blood’ is among my all-time favorites. An obscure favorite later made into a movie, is ‘The Harrad Experiment’ by Robert H. Rimmer. To this day, I wish I had been one of the students in that story.

Another favorite is ‘Logan’s Run’, a cheesy movie but the book was so much better. In fact, I remember writing a similar short story years before this book came out. Of course, I was still in primary school at the time. I’m sure it’s just a freak coincidence.

Tess Gerritsen is an author I enjoy reading again and again. So are John Grisham, ‘Along Came a Spider’, and the early works by Tom Clancy such as ‘Patriot Games’. There are many, many others.

However, I do have a problem. There are so many new books and authors that I enjoy following, that it’s getting harder to enjoy these older books again and again. Do you have the same problem? Or, do you just wing it and read the next thing that captures your fancy?

Then there is the problem of the books and stories that I write. I love them dearly. A bit of my soul is in each of them and again, I like to re-read them as well. What am I to do?

What’s your opinion?

Do you want to be entertained?

Same Old Stuff

Instead of watching the same old stuff on the boob tube, read a book, any book. It doesn’t have to be one of mine. Read any book that gives you pleasure, knowledge, or enjoyment.

Go ahead. I dare you. Pull the plug on the boob tube and read a book.

Book on green grassI don’t know about you, but I’m really tired of the same old stuff on the boob tube. I find it hard to become captivated by the story presented to me. All too often, I find that I am multitasking between what is on the screen, browsing the internet or just bored with the content. I could be shopping, catching up on the news, watching porn, or simply clicking link after link. Am I watching? Technically yes but in the end, do I even care? Usually not.

I know I’m not alone in this behavior. My girlfriend does the same thing. I suspect most of you out there do as well. My attention is split between the flat screen on the wall, the little screen on my lap and random thoughts.

In general, I read for the entertainment value. Picking up a good book allows me to focus my thoughts. For me, it takes a bit of effort to read. While I will read the occasional tutorial book, I most read novels, fiction or nonfiction. I like getting captivated into the universe the author created. I can’t multitask like I can do when watching the boob tube.

boobtubeBoob tube

By the way, in case, you don’t know, the boob tube is an old slur meaning the television set. Back in the day when TV images were displayed on a CRT tube, that was shaped somewhat like a boob, the term was appropriate. Today’s flat screen televisions look nothing like the old but I still think of them as boob tubes.

If you want something different in your entertainment climate, may I recommend reading a book? They’re still inexpensive, especially when compared to a Cable TV or Satellite TV bill. The best part, like a TV, if you don’t like the story, change the channel, or in this case, choose another book. It’s a lesson I learned a long time ago. There are so many books out there, there is no reason to suffer through a book that you don’t like simply to get through it. Put it aside and pick up another.

And guess what? You can read a book almost anywhere and at any time. You don’t need electricity, batteries, or devices to read them. Just sit down and turn the page.

I read all the time, in bed, at the table, on the throne, anywhere. I read curled up next to a window, on the beach, in the park, on the deck, and just about anywhere.

Again, I dare you. Pull the plug on the boob tube and read a book.

What do you think? Where do you read? Do you read, other than this blog of course? 😉 Please feel free to comment. I really want to hear from you and your opinions, even if you don’t agree with me.

One final thought. Thanks for reading.

Happy at the coming of spring.

I am waking up today to what promises to be a warm spring day. Can this winter really be over? Or, does old man winter have one more surprise in store for me? Whatever the weather, I’ll deal with it. In the meantime, I’m loving the weather.

In the meantime, I have work and projects to do. Spring cleanup of the yard, thinking about cutting the grass again, open the windows and clean the house. Yet, I can’t get away from the urge to write.

I have lots of ideas, scenes and scenarios to write down. They flood my brain. Between a full-time job and the stuff I need to do around the house, there is just not enough time in a day. The bed begins calling me before nine o’clock. WTF? Nine? Really? What happened to the days when I could be up to all hours of the night and be up and about in the morning.

For me, this is the strangest thing going on with me. Frankly, I don’t understand it. I know the years are going by, seemingly faster and faster. What happened to the days when summer vacation seemed to last forever?

What about the rest of you out there? Do you worry that you’ll find your days shortened by an urge to sleep? Are you already feeling it? Or, are you the kind of person who can stay up late and sleep late? Personally, I wish I could do that. Waking at five a.m. without the benefit of an alarm clock really pisses me off.

Brunette drinking coffee outdoor cafe
Hmm, good coffee, honey!

Let me know. Write me or comment on this page. I would love to know what you do, what you fear, and what you do to postpone inevitable change.

In the meantime, it’s time to join my girlfriend (who looks every sexy lying in bed waiting for me) for a cup of coffee and start the day.

Happy Spring everyone!

Thank you!

The Taste of Honey
The Taste of Honey

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.

 

Peanuts

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.

Newest Release coming soon

The Breakup Upright BookThe Breakup

Check 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.

Her Client

Jolene in reposeI’ve spent my entire life doing my best to help others. Rarely have I done something just for myself. Sure, I have a body to die for and I use it to my advantage. It has helped me advance, but honestly, if I don’t, there’s always someone else who will take my place.

I don’t maintain long-term relationships, I simply don’t have time. I take care of the needs of my clients and if there is enough leftover, I’ll do something for myself. Who am I kidding? I have just enough left over for a bath, a glass of wine and the occasional one-night stand.

Then why was I assaulted, beaten, raped and sold into human bondage to be tortured and murdered? I have since learned that what happened to me could happen to anyone.

It could even happen to you.

~Jolene

Available at smashwords.com, or check out my website for more information. RichardVerry.com

Her Client Trilogy Advert

Return to the Shelf

Her Client Book 1 cover 3DBack 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.Her Overseer Book 2 cover 3D

“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.

Her Essentia Book 3 cover 3DI’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.

Her Client Trilogy book cover 3DI’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.

A concise, succinct view of my world

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.

Her Client Trilogy book cover 3DWhen 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.

Do I have a fix for you.

So, what would you football fanatics do this weekend without a meaningful game to watch? Well, here is a suggestion! It’s the three R’s. Rest, Relax and Read. The last ‘R’ is where I can help.

When you read, Richard Verry’s, ‘Her Client Trilogy’ you will find just the right amount of brutality, torture and a winning outcome. You will shudder at the incredible and unimaginable anguish suffered as the story unfolds. A gripping tale, you will not be able to put it down until the final … final outcome.

Her Client Trilogy Advert

So grab your favorite drink, put your feet up and start reading. I promise you that you will be at the edge of your seat, not knowing the ‘score’. You will care about the characters involved in this story yet this isn’t a game. The brutality is happening to a person not a team. If you can’t depend on your peers to help, who is left?

Will this give you the ‘fix’ you need this weekend?

Only you can answer that question yet as a person who can relate and will be going through the same ‘withdrawal’ as you are, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with your read!

Suitable for readers 18+.

Football as it relates to Her Client Trilogy

Football and Her Client Trilogy

It’s conference championship weekend as the remaining four teams battle it out for the honor to represent their conference in the Super Bowl. Just four teams remain in contention while the rest are sitting on the sidelines. This ritual got me thinking how this relates to Richard Verry’s, ‘Her Client Trilogy’.

Her Client Trilogy Advert
What happened to Jolene could happen to you.

When I think about the game, the words that come to mind include: dominance, hunt, aggressor, tied, victim, surprise, tension, hard, chains, panic, goal, interference, holding, illegal contact, roughing, fantasy, rout and shit!

I am sure you can add more yet the point is all this is acceptable in the game of football. Culturally, it has become the norm to read, watch and/or participate in this activity.

How is this different from what the author is conveying in his books and novellas?

Overall, I believe we have grown as a society yet there are still issues that we can’t accept or are willing to accept. We still hunt, torture and inflict brutal violence against each another. It is a game for some and a lifestyle for others. Yet like myself, the main character and victim Jolene will fight to survive to the bitter end.

We may have fourth and long to go, time is running out and we are out of time-outs and yet we will keep our wits and fight to the bitter end. We will not be the victim to be hunted and tackled to the ground. We may be injured and on the verge of being routed. Yet, while there are still seconds on the clock, we will not take a knee. We’ll run the screen pass and make a play for the end zone and come out on top.

We will not lay down and give up. We will overcome our trials, we will vanquish those to try to push us down and send us packing. We will do everything we can to rise to the top and hold the trophy high.

See if you agree with my thoughts. Write me a comment and let me know, one way or the other.

Insights in ‘The Revenant’

The RevenantYesterday, 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.

Her Client TrilogyFor both stories, the ending outcome is satisfying to the reader as well as the moviegoer.

The audience of one, me, is cheering forthe’ 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.

Where did your characters for ‘Her Client’ come from?

The characters in ‘Her Client’ developed differently from the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’. In ‘Her Client’, I had an idea for the story-line and I started writing the first lines of the story without naming the main character. When it came time for a name, the name Jolene just popped into my head. Great, I thought, and kept on writing.

Her Client Book 1 cover 3D
Her Client, Book 1 in the Her Client Trilogy

Jolene’s character was somewhat well-defined in my head as I wrote the story. I wanted her to be up and coming in the business world. She was to be intelligent, beautiful and sexy. When I thought about what careers she might be involved in, I shied away from the media related professions. More ideas like pharmaceuticals, legal, Wall Street et. all came to mind. I decided to make her an account executive in charge of handling people’s money. I also wanted her to be overburdened, trying to make a name for herself in her chosen industry. Just as doctors, lawyers and stock brokers work long and late hours to rise above the rest, so would Jolene.

Unfortunately, it also gets her into trouble as she attracts the wrong kind of interest. Enter Jeremy.

When I started writing about her adversary, I asked myself, “Hmmm, what name could I use here?” I didn’t want to choose a name of anyone I was familiar with and after thinking about it for a few minutes, I stumbled upon the name Jeremy. And no, before you ask, this character is not based upon anyone at all. He is purely fictional and he’s pure evil. He can be your best friend and a snake in the grass waiting to pounce.

Her Overseer Book 2 cover 3D
Her Overseer, Book 2 in the Her Client Trilogy

Both characters have many layers to them. Jeremy has several businesses but the one he is most proud of and makes the most money from is his illicit business … human trafficking. The phrase is never used yet the reader knows it at the end of the first book. Jolene’s starts out as a naïve woman, intent only on doing what is right for her clients. She is a giver and a cheerleader. Yet, she is also damaged and has spent the last ten years working out a past tragedy that in her mind  feels was her fault. It’s not but the human mind is not logical or reasonable.

After she is sold off into bondage, she encounters her next nemesis, Jon in ‘Her Overseer’. Originally, I had not intended to write a follow-up book to Jolene. However, as the first book ended, it seemed logical to continue her story with what happens after she unwillingly enters the world as a trafficked victim. Jon’s name just happened to appear in my head as I wrote the second story. I liked it and it stuck.

Her Essentia Book 3 cover 3D
Her Essentia, Book 3 in the Her Client Trilogy

Again, as in the first book, when I finished this story, I asked myself “What might happen if Jolene survives and returns for a third story?” Enter Jules in ‘Her Essentia’. Jules is Jolene’s childhood best friend who was killed in a tragic traffic accident. Jules convinces Jolene not to give into death but to return to earth and finish the vow she made in the first two books. You’ll need to read the books to find out how it turns out. Suffice to say, all three are gruesome, violent and graphic.

It wasn’t until the books were in the editing stages that I realized that all of the characters names began with the letter ‘J’. How about that? I’m not sure how or why that happened. It just did. Since then, I’ve been taking pains to avoid use of the letter ‘J’ in defining new characters, though I almost fell into that trap with another story, ‘The Breakup’ which is due out soon.

I hope you enjoy reading my answers to these interview questions. It’s been fun to remind myself of the processes I went through to create these characters.

For those of you who are writers, how do you come up with your characters. Or, if you are an artist, how do you come up with your vision? If you’re a musician, what process do you use to come up with your next song, composition or symphony?

I’m curious. Please, share your thought processes. I’d love to read them.

Where do my Characters come from?

Q: Where did your characters come from? In your head?

A: Thin air. That’s right, I came up with them from thin air. The process that I followed what makes this interesting.

010-ReflectionsBWThe beginning was coming up with the concept of the story that I had rolling around in my head for months. I knew what I wanted to write yet I didn’t know how to write it. I reflected over weeks that turned into months before I came up with the basis of the books as they exist today.

One day, I had a flash of inspiration and I came up with the title, ‘The Taste of Honey’. Once I had that, the character ‘Honey’ was obvious. Her attributes, mindsets and beliefs hadn’t been worked out yet but I had her name.

BeautyHow I came up with ‘Mona’ happened completely differently. I knew I was writing an adult themed story that would be full of sex and kink. I also wanted this character to be a strong, confident woman who is more than capable in thriving in her world.

First and foremost, she was a sexual woman who enjoys all forms of sex and intercourse. After reflecting upon her fundamental characteristics, I decided that she would be vocal in her sexual play. She would be a moaner. Ergo? ‘Mona’. Her last name was a bit more of a challenge but eventually I decided on a play of words. Think of, ‘bend her over and screw her’. ‘Bend her over’ became ‘Bendarova’.

Broken Steele Spine Cover 6x9Charles, as Mona’s owner and Master, had to become ‘Charles Bendarova’ by rule. Honey’s master came about from the adverb masterly, as in Master Lee. His last name Marks was just a name I liked a lot and it sounded good.*

In ‘Broken Steele’, the new characters I introduced came about very differently. Due to a disaster of working with two different bankers in my real life, I took their names and reworked them into Braxton Steele and Ryder Moro. I consider them villains and their characters definitely reflect that.

The rest of the characters come from a list of names I keep in my notes for the books. They get on the list because I like the names and I choose them as necessary. Since women outnumber men thousands to one, the list of possible women’s name is huge and I burn through them by the dozens in each book. Some are recurring characters, such as Renée. Others don’t survive a single book. To avoid confusion for the reader, I don’t reuse a name though I know that it does happen in real life. Certainly, there are enough names in our languages to avoid duplication.

None of these characters are based upon real people, though I reserve the right to do so in the future. There is a lot of me in Mona and Charles. I split my likes between them. Mona, loves coffee and Kamikaze cocktails. Charles, loves a good steak and a single malt scotch. Of course, both love sex and kinky play, just as I do. For the others, no one character is based upon anyone in particular but I reserve the right to inject attributes from those in my life who have left an impression on me. Good or bad, these attributes help make the characters believable.

The characters in ‘Her Client Trilogy’ came about completely different from what I wrote about above. I’ll write about those characters in a future blog.

So, that’s my story. That’s how I came up with my characters. For those of you who are writers, how do you come up with your characters. Or, if you are an artist, how do you come up with your vision? If you’re a musician, what process do you use to come up with your next song, composition or symphony?

I’m curious. Please, share your thought processes. I’d love to read them.

What do I think?

What YOU think about the characters in the Mona Bendarova Adventures?

Broken SteeleWhat do I think about these characters? I love these characters. I think that they are wonderful, deep characters. Just as an onion is built on layer upon layer, Mona and Honey especially have many layers to them. Each of them were born and raised in a time when the odds of living past their mid-twenties are low. These two women have something about them that allows them to survive and excel.

The Taste of HoneyMy first book, ‘The Taste of Honey’, deals with Honey’s strong desire to do what is right for her family and her Master. She deals with being kidnapped by her sister housemate who attempts to murder her.

Honey’s resolve to give back to her family is what allows her to survive against all odds. She has a deep spirituality that she draws upon to find the strength and will to overcome her ordeal. Her convictions are to do what she believes is the right thing to benefit her loved ones and the man in her life.

BeautyMona, on the other hand, is a smart, confident and intelligent woman who knows what she wants and has the talents and skill sets to see beyond the obvious. When facts point to the obvious, her community accepts them as truth and judge accordingly. Mona figures out that there are holes in the story and relentlessly pursues the truth. She figures out that there is something wrong and resolves the mystery. She also knows what she needs to be happy and what the Master of her House needs. She delivers and accepts his attentions for the benefit of all.

The other characters were created to make these two women real and believable. Lee and Charles, the Masters of their own houses, are flawed yet strong men. Their responsibilities are beyond what men of today have to deal with. Yet, while they both rose to their positions they would each say that are not powerful men, just influential. They both know the real power in the community resides in the whole, the men and women of their community.

The villain in the story is a naïve character. She is self-centric, self-absorbed and very arrogant. She mistakenly believes she can get what she wants regardless of the hurt she inflicts upon her own family. She gets what is coming to her in the end. However, her story doesn’t end in the first book but continues in subsequent books.

As for the rest, I like them. Some are wishy-washy. Some are strong and some are weak. They provide interest with the stories. When I think of them as a whole, I think of them as the frame around a painting, enhancing the primary subject centered inside the frame.

Let me know what you think. More importantly, write a review and post it. I would enjoy reading your viewpoints. Please, do it today.

10,000 Twitter Followers

The Taste of HoneyYesterday, I reported that I had crossed the 10,000 Twitter followers mark. Thank you to all my followers.

As a thank you, I am offering you a free copy of my début novel ‘The Taste of Honey’.

https://wp.me/P6UOUi-tN

Just click the book cover and you’ll be taken to a special page where you can download the full book, in the format of your choosing. You’ll be reading it in minutes.

Thank you for following me and my page. I would love to hear from you so please feel free to comment. I look forward to reading them. And again, THANK YOU!

Hot pepper sauce. Holy S#!$

Cleaning out the fridge.

Today, we were cleaning out the refrigerator. You know how some stuff tends to collect after months. Well sometime ago, a family member brought one of those small little bottles of hot sauce. You know the kind. A single drop goes a long, long way.

So far …  so good.

Fire hot pepperThat is until the bottle falls on its way to the garbage pail. Yup, that’s right, it falls on the floor in the kitchen and the top breaks off. A decent amount spills on to the floor. I picked up the bottle and since it was spilling all over the garbage pail I tried to contain it from getting all over.0

What I did next is what I normally would do in this situation. I dumped the balance of the bottle down the sink to flush it down the drain. Oops. Within seconds, the water mixed with the hot sauce, sending the main chemical in the pepper that makes it hot — air-borne.

Within seconds, it permeated the room. I was breathing it in. It clogged my sinuses, my air ways, my chest. As I tried to wash it down the drain, I touched it with my hands. Hours later, they are still tingling from the pepper sauce.

After sometime, coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose, I thought I was past it and I washed my hands thoroughly. That is until I needed to use the bathroom. Even after washing my hands beforehand, a minute afterwards, my junk started burning. Oh shit! What the fuck!

Hot PepperI’m trying to eat dinner and I can’t stand it. All I can think of is washing my dick. Jumping into the shower, only exasperates the problem. Holy shit. Even the water vapor from the shower is mixing with the remnants of the sauce embedded in my skin. I can’t stand it any long. I turn off the water and dry off. As I’m doing so, my girlfriend who was to this point not involved, runs into the bathroom complaining that it got into her eye.

Oh shit again. Apparently, she breathed in a little bit of the air permeated with the remnants of the smell of the sauce and had to blow her nose. As she blew, it backed up into her eyes and they’re burning. Again, washing doesn’t help but the watering in her eyes eventually settles her down. It took a while and now she’s resting. Now, as I look at her face, it looks like she’s got a black eye, almost as if someone punched her in the face.

An hour later, I’m finally able to think, though the skin that touched the sauce is still burning. The backs of my hands and fingers are still tingling. Her eyes are still sore but we’re progressing.

A word to the wise! Don’t ever … ever spill this fucking sauce. It’s murder.

One thing though. Compared to Jolene, my heroine in the ‘Her Client Trilogy’, I’d rather go through this incidence with the pepper sauce than what she had to endure. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out this trilogy. It’s brutal. It’s criminal. It’s savage. By all rights, Jolene should be dead and buried. Somehow, she survives. Read her story and find out how she does it.

Me, I’m glad that I nor any one of my loved ones don’t have to endure either of these assaults. And yes, I consider this episode with the pepper sauce an assault. Why the fuck would anyone want to intentionally want to eat this shit is beyond me.

Hopefully by tomorrow, we’ll be past this.

Oh, and … if anyone wants to come visit us as our house, do not and I mean it, DO NOT bring a bottle of this pepper sauce with you. You will not be allowed in my house. PERIOD.

Don’t even think about it. You hear me! I mean it. DON’T.

10,000 and climbing

Whoo hoo!

I’ve just noticed that I went over the 10,000 twitter follower’s mark. Thank you everyone. Thank you.

Tweet AnnouncementAs a gift to my followers, I am making available a free copy of my book, ‘The Taste of Honey’. Just click this link, you’ll be taken to a special page on my site where you can download the full book, in the format of your choosing.

https://wp.me/P6UOUi-tN

After you read it, I would appreciate a review on Amazon but it’s not required. Just click this link and you’ll be reading my début novel within minutes.

Thank you again. I love and appreciate you all.

Reporting from Rochester NY, this is a very appreciative Richard Verry.

https://wp.me/P6UOUi-tN

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.

Reflections

Woke up this morning with even more snow on the ground. Still not enough to justify having the snow plow clean out my driveway. I don’t know which is worse, having a lot of snow or just enough to make driving treacherous.

Don’t get me wrong, I like snow and I don’t worry about driving in it. I’ve driven a car or truck most of my life and I consider myself a good driver. Still, a thin layer of snow seems to me to be more dangerous than a significant snow fall.

Why? I don’t think most drivers understand just how dangerous it can be. That thin layer easily converts to ice or worse black ice. For those who don’t know, black ice is prevalent in western NY and consists of a slippery thin layer of frozen water that is impossible to see. It’s so thin that one does realize that they are on it until they spin-out. It’s slippery as hell.

coffee latteSo, what’s the best way to deal with it? Go slow or don’t go out at all. Me? I don’t care what you do, just don’t lose control and smash into me. Stay home had have a hot chocolate, a glass of wine or a stiff drink.

What would Mona do? Well, she would either stay home and have that drink, enjoy the company of her household members or enjoy a good romp in the bed. If she had to drive, she would keep her wits about her and allow the road conditions dictate her speed. Better yet, as a senior member of her house, she would have someone else do all the driving while she sat in the back, enjoying the ride.

I’ll be enjoying the snow from the comfort of my living room, a nice drink in my hand and a fire burning in the fireplace. Enjoy the evening everyone. And for those south of the equator, enjoy the summer sun.

Reflections

Today, instead of answering my interview questions, I’d like to mention stuff that comes to mind.

Broken SteeleFirst and foremost, thank you — thank you to those who have been purchasing my books. The bulk have been sold both in the UK and in the US. Thank you. A big thank you to whomever purchased my sequel to the Mona Bendarova Adventures, called ‘Broken Steele’. It’s really nice to see the appreciation of someone who took the time to buy and read it. Thank you.

To everyone who has read my books, in addition to my thanks, I would ask that you write a review on the site from which you purchased the book(s). Seems that Amazon and the like tend to not promote a book until a certain number of reviews have been published for it. I really would appreciate it.

Now, on to other stuff.

Snow finally comes to Rochester, NY. We’ve been extremely lucky this year. Last year, we were buried under many feet of snow for the bulk of the season. Houses, mine included, took a big hit from ice and snow damage. This year, nothing, zippo, nada until today. Any yet, it’s not a lot, under an inch or so and most melted under the afternoon sun.

Now, as I write the Mona Bendarova Adventures, I am constantly wondering what her weather is like. So far, except for the occasional rain or thunderstorm, it’s been pretty temperate. After all, if I want my characters naked much of the time, indoors and out, it has to be warm enough to allow it. (Or, does it? I wonder.)

As I write the third book in the series, I have definitely introduced a change in climate. It’s the end of the growing season and the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping. How low should I take them is the question. Will there be snow on the ground at some point? I haven’t decided.

What do you think? Should there be? Should the members of Mona’s house and community have to deal with in climate weather? Should they have to deal with snow, ice, tornado’s and or hurricanes? Do I put the community in a temperate zone, the equatorial zone or closer to the poles where seasons are more dramatic? Part of me wants them in a temperate zone, where it’s not too hot or too cold. Yet, for drama sake, more extreme weather can lead to more interesting plot lines.

The nice thing is, my characters will have to deal with anything I write into the stories.

I am interested in hearing what you have to say. Send me a comment from the link below and let me know your thoughts and why you think that. At this point, I can bend it in whatever direction you like.

Football and the ‘Her Client Trilogy’

Football and ‘Her Client Trilogy’

FootballIt is playoff weekend as the teams begin their hunt to the Super Bowl. Most of the teams are sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting for the big finale. This ritual got me thinking how this relates to Richard Verry’s, ‘Her Client Trilogy’.

The words that come to mind are: dominance, hunt, aggressor, tied, victim, surprise, tension,  fumble, pass, fan, tackle, mind game, injured, winner, loser, touchdown, coach, snap, chilling, receive, tight end, shotgun, touchdown, first down, chill in the air, cold, hard, chains, knee, time-out, panic, suck, ball, screen pass, run, interception, squeeze play, clock winding down, fourth down, fourth and long, two-minute warning, goal, first and goal, broken play, sack, interference, holding, illegal contact, roughing, offense, defense, pocket, opportunity, fantasy, handed off, time out, bowls, bowl game, hall of fame, rout, blown opportunity, huddle, dropped, down and out, route, champ, mascot, and shit!

Her Client Trilogy book cover 3DI am sure you can add more yet the point is all this is acceptable in the game of football. Culturally, it has become the norm to read, watch and/or participate in this activity.

How is this different from what the author is conveying in his books and novellas? To me, the answer is simple. The majority of our culture has not accepted this as the norm. Will it ever? I don’t know. I hope not.

Overall, we have grown as a society yet there are still issues that we can’t accept or are willing to accept. Still, we hunt, torture and inflict brutal violence against one another. It is a game for some and a lifestyle for others. Yet for Jolene and I, we will fight to the bitter end. We will not lay down and give up.

We may have fourth and long to go, time is running out and we are out of time outs and yet we will keep our wits and fight to the bitter end. We will not be the victim to be hunted and tackled to the ground. We may be injured and on the verge of being routed. Yet, while there are still seconds on the clock, we will not take a knee. We’ll run the screen pass and make a play for the end zone and a win.

See if you agree with my thoughts. Write me a comment and let me know, one way or the other.

Will men love in the Mona Bendarova Adventures? (part 2)

What aspect of the book will men love in the Mona Bendarova Adventures? (part 2)

Being so few of them, the community ensures that they become the master of their own house with hundreds of women there to serve and attend to them. But is it really serving? Sure, a Master of the house can snap his fingers and there is someone instantly available to attend to their needs, whether that being delivering a drink, some food or their bodies.

But why? Why would the women willing submit like that?  Women enjoy their role and love sex as much as men do. The  masters have responsibilities and at times it can be overwhelming and the women understand this.

First, masters’ of a house have to find enough food and water to support hundreds of mouths to feed, three times a day, everyday. Can anyone today envision the idea of providing three meals a day for hundreds of your community?

Theirs is a feudal style community where the concept of money and taxes are extinct. They barter goods and services to provide for their house and community. Commodities useful for acquiring food and drink are few.  

Pregnant giftNot only do they provide for their household, they have to ensure the survival of the species. With so few males around, their responsibilities include an obligation to impregnate as many women as possible. With a significant portion of all women being infertile, they have to regularly make the rounds with the breeding centers, depositing their seed into ovulating women, again and again. It’s their work. It’s their job to impregnate dozens of women in a short period of time, every week, month after month, year after year. Whew!

Why? Why not use in vitro or similar? As a result of the ‘Purge Plague’, people within Mona’s world are aghast at the idea of repeating the mistakes of the past. They’re scared of genetic manipulation and the idea of anything other than natural propagation is just not done. They also don’t go for C-Sections or doing any extraordinary measures to prolong life. They truly feel that survival of the fittest is the only way to insure the survival of the species.

For me, as the creator of this universe, I love the idea of being the Master of my House. I understand Charles and his responsibilities. He is the epitome of maleness in my books. Woman bend over backwards, literally, to please him. He knows how to please them and give them what they need. Some simply like sex. Some prefer the taste of a whip or feeling cocooned in tight bindings. All live to serve.

Then, in the end, when the men can no longer perform their duties, nor deposit viable seed in the wombs of fertile females, their role in the community is over.

The ride to get there is awesome. It’s a fun, long ride filled with pleasures, drink and sex. What’s not to like?

To learn more about this universe I’ve created, check out my site, RichardVerry.com where you’ll find all sorts of more information, a free preview of each of my books you can read so you can see for yourself and where you can buy the full books.

Will men love in the Mona Bendarova Adventures? (part 1)

What aspect will men love in the Mona Bendarova Adventures? (part 1)

Garters Thigh High Stockings vectorWhat’s not to love about the role men have in these books. They have all the sex they could ever want, any time of day or night. They have a bevy of women who by their very nature are submissive. They serve, attend and even die for their head of households. Once accepted into a house, they yearn to please the Master of the house. They have sex, often with several women at the same time. They enjoy playtime in the dungeons where women willingly submit to their Masters in kinky pleasures. They take care of all of the household chores. What’s not to like?

And yet, men in the community are few in number. The odds of being born and surviving to maturity are extremely low. Only one in fifteen thousand births results in a male making it to adulthood. In the early stages of life, assuming they survive their traumatic birth, they are sickly and prone to severe illness. Of those that survive their birth, most will die before their first birthday. Assuming they survive to adulthood, they are by nature, the strongest and the most viral. They are the epitome of Darwin’s law of survival of the fittest.

Just imagine. You’re born and somehow, against all odds, manage to reach adulthood. You are given a house of your own, filled with women willing to lie and have sex with you . They are eager to please your every fantasy. Additionally, you don’t have to find a job, fret each and every day whether you can make a career and earn a living.

Today, most of us men struggle to figure out our place in life. A rare few, figure it out early. Most, figure it out just when we wish we could start again, with what we learned along the way. Many never figure it out at all.

I’m one of those that took decades to figure out just who I am and what my talents are. I love the idea of being given my own house, a stable of women to fuck and a household to love. I would enjoy being the uncontested Master of my house. To never have to worry where my next meal was coming from, whether I would have a roof over my head or a community I can be a part of, all appeals to me.

Yet, I’ve not spoken about the other side of the coin. Stay tuned to tomorrow’s followup to this entry. Part two talks about the responsibilities they must deal with and how it affects their house and community should he not live up to their responsibilities.

To learn more about this universe I’ve created, check out my site, RichardVerry.com where you’ll find all sorts of more information, a free preview of each of my books you can read so you can see for yourself and where you can buy the full books.

Fantasies Realized!

Did you write these books as a way to experience fantasies that you could never experience for real?

<Laughing>

When I heard this question, I started laughing. I suppose that all creative people, writers, artists, musicians etc. all express their fantasies in their art.

Silhouette in redNo, I don’t want to experience most of the scenes I write about. The sex, sure. The kinky stuff,  I admit, some. I enjoy many forms of adult play. No, I have no desire to experience some of what my characters go through, either as a perpetrator or victim. I abhor violence. I always have. Some even have accused me as someone who avoids conflict. I suppose there is some truth in that. The thought that I could inflict that kind of suffering on another living creäture, human or not, offends me.

But that doesn’t stop the scenes from playing out in my head nor stop trying to capture them in either the visual or written form. For whatever reason, I find the fantasies I dream up fascinating. Without them, I couldn’t write my books or paint my scenes. Good or bad, tame or horrendous, they’re just fantasies. I recognize they’re not real. What concerns me more is what would happen if I didn’t get them out. Now, that’s some scary shit.

This is Richard Verry, reporting from Rochester, NY. Be sure to check out my website at RichardVerry.com.

Under the weather-followup #2

Under the weather – followup

The other day, I wrote about my month-long cold/whatever it is/was. However, since I wrote about my ills over the last month, I feel the need to write a followup.

Most important of all is … thank you for all of the kind words sent to me wishing me get well soon. I really appreciate them. It means a lot to me. I don’t normally like to write or talk about health related issues. Normally, it’s no ones business. To demonstrate how I feel about that, when I broke my leg a 15 years ago, I didn’t tell a soul. Even though I was living alone at the time, I kept that private. That’s life and I dealt with it.

As I wrote yesterday, I did go see the doctor and go through several tests. Doc tells me that I am presenting a very strange case, one that doesn’t seem to fit normal progressions of winter colds and flu. Yes, I did get my flu shot this year. The tests came back either negative or within normal ranges. So, no help there other than discount the norms.

So, what’s going on?

No one knows. She suspects that I am the victim of serial multiple cold or other viral infections. She suspects that this is the case as each one, taken along presents differently and is treated differently.

Today, I am feeling much better. She’s put me on a new stronger regime of antibiotics, which seems to be doing the trick. And while I’ve heard this before, I am crossing my fingers. I plan on returning to work tomorrow. And after that, get back to writing. Whoo hoo!

I have a long way to go to finish up my next novel, ‘Lucky Bitch’, the third book in the Mona Bendarova Adventures. Time to buckle down and get writing.

Wow! I’m a serial victim? Sounds interesting. It could even an idea for a book or story. I’ll have to give it some thought.

Imagery

Why do you think you have these images and scenes bombarding your mind every day?

Every day of my life, for as long as I can remember, I’ve had constant imagery flooding my thoughts, night and day. As a child, the images reflected my interests or extended the experiences of the day. I can remember watching new episodes of ‘Star Trek’, ‘Sea Hunt’, ‘Fireball XL5’, or even ‘Diver Dan’. Do you remember ‘Diver Dan’, a series targeting the very young about life under the sea. Maybe that’s when my fascination with mermaids began … or maybe not? The imagery extended from the books I was reading of the day. They include ‘The Adventures of Tom Swift’, ‘The Hardy Boys’ and even ‘Nancy Drew’. I read them all and lots more.

In thinking about this question, I can’t help but wonder whether the stories of my youth helped create the constant pattern of images floating through my mind. I remember dreaming up and sketching fantastic ships flying through the air, traveling between the stars and diving into the depths of the earth.

10829335_s-Vector illustration silhouette of women in striped stockingsThen later, as I went through puberty, the imagery changed. Girls caught my eye and the female form took over. I’ve been fascinated with ‘her’, both mentally and physically. You can see my fascination in my drawings, paintings and stories.

Today having many more experiences under my belt, I’ve learned a thing or two. I still have a lot to learn yet one thing I do know is that I will never get to capture, experience or write about all of images that invade my everyday thoughts.

I don’t know why I have these images flooding my mind. Until recently, I thought that everyone had them. Even though I have been around for many decades, it’s only been in the last five years or so that I realized that most people don’t experience this. I am asking myself, why is that? Am I unique? Am I so very different? No, I don’t think so yet I realize that I am not like many people.

Then who or what am I?  Do I rule my images or am I ruled by them? Most days I believe it’s the later rather than the former. What I do know is that I am me and I embrace my images. They give me insights into myself and provide inspiration for my creative output.

So, should I find a way to escape my imagery? I feel these images are a part of me so I’m not sure I want to even try.I would probably be lost without them.

I would be pleased to read about others who share similar experiences. Or, am I truly a rare bird? Leave a comment on my website, RichardVerry.com and let me know. I sure would like to know what others think.

A Reader’s Perspective.

A Reader’s Perspective

by Janet Maggio

I ask myself why readers are buying the ‘Her Client Trilogy’ en-mass compared to the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’?

1-Her-Client-3DThe ‘Her Client Trilogy’ are short novellas depicting a woman, Jolene who is tortured, brutalized and sold into Human Trafficking. Is it because this subject is relevant to today and the Mona Bendarova Adventures are depicted in a futuristic setting?

I hear from the author, Richard Verry, that his latest book in the Mona Bendarova Adventures, ‘Lucky Bitch’ deals with terrorism on Mona and her household. That is relevant in today’s society with what is going on globally and for some in our own city.

The Taste of HoneyI also believe that Mona herself represents today’s woman. She is powerful, independent and dominant in her own right. She may not realize it in the first book, ‘The Taste of Honey’ yet as the reader reads through her adventures, it becomes apparent that is what the author had in mind for Mona. She doesn’t recognize it early on as some women in today’s society don’t yet they don’t call us the stronger sex for nothing!

Do you feel the same or have a different perspective?

Read the ‘Her Client Trilogy’ and the first two books in the Mona Bendarova Adventures, ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’ and compare them.

Afterwards, I encourage you to share your thoughts by commenting on the author’s website, RichardVerry.com.

Normalcy returns to Rochester, NY?

Normalcy returns to Rochester, NY?

Firework burstOn New Year’s Eve, like everyone in town, I was surprised that our New Year’s fireworks celebration was cancelled at the last-minute. Huh? Why?

Yep, after a lot of hype by the local media and city officials promoting the event, a five o’clock news conference announced that they were CANCELLED. Apparently, terrorism has come to our community. The day before, a terrorist attack was thwarted when the FBI detained and arrested a person of interest who was planning an attack on a bar full of patrons celebrating the new year. He was alleged to have been operating under orders from ISIS.

After he was taken in custody, a search of his abode turned up a pressure cooker bomb similar to what was used in the Boston Marathon bombings. I wasn’t too surprised to note that the incidence made the national news.

Later, while attending a family party to ring in the New Year, the incident sparked heated arguments in the wee hours leading up to midnight. No one was upset by the arrest itself but the big question was “How could he be arrested before he actually did anything?” The group was divided on the question. Some said, “Why not? They had enough evidence supporting the arrest.” Others said, “What? Arrest a guy without actually doing anything? What are we, in a police state?”

I’m glad they stopped the terrorist attack before it became a reality. But it did prompt me to reflect upon the question. Should I be arrested for the thoughts that I bring to life in my books? Should John Carpenter for his ‘Halloween’ story be arrested for writing a story about a serial killer targeting teenagers? Should Stephen King be arrested for writing his huge volume of works? Should anyone who delivers creative works of criminal acts be arrested, simply for crafting a well put together recollection of their fantasies?

I wouldn’t want to be part of a world that makes that distinction.

I’m Richard Verry, reporting to you from Rochester, NY. I hope you have a very happy and safe 2016.

Braxton Steele, love the name and hate the character!

Broken SteeleIn this second book of the Mona Bendarova Adventures ‘Broken Steele’, the reader meets an awful and cruel man. Even when we find out what may have caused his behavior, it doesn’t change my mind. I am glad he is dead. I find myself cheering for our heroine, Mona Bendarova, that she will be investigating to find out what caused his demise.

I like that the author, Richard Verry, chose a name that oozes sexuality and uniqueness. I find that Mr. Steele had both yet I still wanted him to die. He mistreated the women in his house and they were terrified of him. His was not the typical role of the masters in this community.

His death reveals more than a hated man who I wanted dead. I was surprised where Mona’s discovery takes the reader.

Will you be surprised too? Read the second novel ‘Broken Steele’ for yourself and find out. Afterwards, I encourage you to share your thoughts with the fans of the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures’ by commenting on the author’s website, RichardVerry.com.

by Janet Maggio

What would you do?

Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you had absolutely ZERO control? You wake up in the morning, refreshed and ready to take on the world, only to have the day end with you being assaulted, clinging to life and barely able to hold on?

Generally, you look upon life with optimism and faith in your fellow man. Sure, there are ups and downs but overall, life is good. You make a decent living, earn an honest wage and live life to the fullest.

In this scenario, a woman works hard, tries the best that she can and makes the best of life. She’s attractive and knows that her goods looks has helped her in advancing her career. Not that she has abused the power she has but realized when she was a young girl that others made it easy for her. All in all, she tries to live a good life and insists upon living by the morals taught to her as a child.

Then, someone comes into her life and turns it upside down. WTF does she do then?

0-Client-3DThat is what happens to Jolene, the heroine in my latest books, ‘Her Client Trilogy’, available everywhere, including Amazon and my website https://richardverry.com/her-client-trilogy/.

One day, she returns home to kick off her shoes, drink some wine and relax in the privacy of her home. From the moment she walks in the door, her world is shattered.

She is beaten, sexually assaulted, brutalized and sold into the dark world of human trafficking. A world in which she realizes that they have no intention of letting her live, let alone escape. Through her brutal torments and trials, the innocence she once had is ripped from her forever. Her torturers hurt her and one of them even leaves her for dead.

What emerges is a hardened, vengeful woman. A woman who no longer recognizes herself when she looks in the mirror. What she sees is beyond comprehension.

Follow her journey into the dark world of human trafficking and slavery. Feel with her, every torment, every ache and pain, every evil that can be inflicted on a body.

Can you survive? Can you manage to find an exit on the other side? Find out if Jolene does and if so, how she does it.

It’s a scary thought yet , remember ,what happened to Jolene could happen to anyone … it could even happen to you!

https://richardverry.com/her-client-trilogy/

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Verry/e/B00YQLXU2E

Thank you OOPS

Thank youOops.

I just realized that I am human too. Alright, you can stop laughing now. I know I am human and I make mistakes. And I made a big one a little while ago.

I was just re-reading my blog, published to thank all of those folks in my life that in some way, contributed to my personal growth this past year. As I was reading it, I realized that I forgot a whole segment of people who I needed to thank.

It is you, my fans and followers. Those who read my blogs every day, those who follow me on Twitter and Facebook. It’s everyone who has read my books and/or posted a review on them. Without you, I wouldn’t be doing this nor would my spirits soar as they do when I hear from you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

So, this entry is for you, my fans and followers. I appreciate all that you do. Thank you.

Perhaps it was the ‘Get off the fucking stage’ music that was running in my head as I was writing my earlier piece. After years of watching award shows and glad for the music, I now realize just how distracting it can be for the person on the stage. I feel for you man! (Oops, I did it again.) I feel for you all, men and women alike. It really is a tough gig and I have a new-found respect for your talents.

So, again, thank you to all of my followers. A big special thank you for those who have taken their valuable time to read my books. Whether you like to read a little or a lot, if you have slotted one of my books into your schedule, taken the time to read it, THANK YOU. If you haven’t yet already, that’s okay. There’s still time. I welcome the opportunity to thank you at a later date.

The books are available, right here on my website, RichardVerry.com or at Amazon, B&N, iBook etc.

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.