Under the weather – followup

January 6, 2016

Under the weather – followup

Yesterday, 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.

Under the weather

January 5, 2016

Under the weather.

Who thought up that idiom to mean being sick anyway?

Most of you don’t know this but I’ve been under the weather much of the past month. I’ve used up a bunch of my banked sick days and I hate that. What started as a cold took a downturn after five days. After eight days, I decided to see my doctor. I love my doctor. She, that’s right she’s a woman, works with me to keep me healthy and strong. Before this $%^& cold, I hadn’t had a cold or flu for years. I guess it’s payback time.

Anyway, I digress. So I went to see Doctor Nancy and get fixed up. She tells me that more than half of her patients are experiencing what I am experiencing. I don’t know why but it made me feel better. Dumb eh? Feeling better because so many others are suffering the way I am. Sorry everyone who has what I have.

Doc puts me on a regime including antibiotics. Within two days, I’m feeling better. Whoo hoo! Over the next week, I know I’m not completely well yet but I’m progressing. I’m good with that.

Then, it hits me again this past weekend and I spend much of Sunday and Monday back in bed, coughing up my lungs and not getting much rest. WTF? Am I ever going to get better? I’m going back to see her yet again today but this time, before I meet with her, she’s scheduled me for various tests. Anything to get past this, I’m in.

Do you know what’s worse?

Those images floating in my head that I wrote about the other day, well they’re still there but it’s chaotic. I can’t make sense of them. Add to that, I can’t seem to keep creative thoughts long enough to write them down so I’ve done very little writing these past couple of weeks.

If it’s brainless and monotonous, I can do that. At least for short periods of time. If it’s more than that, I’m totally fucked. My head hurts, my throat hurts, and dare I say it, my chest feels like there is a rock in it? I hope not.

Wish me luck.

Endless Repeat

December 21, 2015

Endless Repeat

When I write or paint, I tend to put on music so that I can stay focused on what I’m doing. The other day I was discussing music with a friend of mine. It got me thinking.

I play ‘Gold Dust Woman’ by Fleetwood Mac on endless repeat for hours while I write or paint. While I like this song, it is not my favorite. It’s only when I sit in my studio and work that I will put this one on endless repeat. It’s my go to song to play when I want to get lost in my project. Perhaps it is the catchy tune, the driving beat or just something that soothes my thoughts. I just like it. Therefore the CD is always nearby and ready to play.

It really doesn’t matter what the project is either. I could be sketching a rough draft, drawing a final composition, painting in oils and watercolors or writing chapter after chapter of my new book. The song somehow allows me to disappear into my project. Lost in the realm I’m creating, the words seem to flow effortlessly to the keyboard, the paint flows from my brush to the canvas and the pencils and pastels blend smoothly across the paper. I’m in Heaven, Valhalla or any place one associates with a perfect alternate reality.

Hours later, I will emerge pleased with the progress I’ve made. After consuming food and drink, I come back and review my progress. I rarely find something that I want to touch up or change. I can only think that the trance I’m in somehow enhances the quality of my work.

After emerging, I am often surprised by how long I was gone, disappeared in this trance. And yes, I am in a trance. I recognize and welcome it. I am most annoyed when I am forced out of it by some external influence. “Sorry honey if I snapped at you. You’ll forgive me. Right?”

Time to get back to work. Now, where did that CD go now?

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

December 9, 2015

What was YOUR favorite part of the book?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How did you come up with the Mona character?

December 8, 2015

How did you come up with the Mona character?

When I finally figured out the title of the story ‘The Taste of Honey’, I knew how I wanted the story to end. Honey was a main character who wanted to live forever in her family and close friends. In her mind, for whatever reason, she firmly believed that her spirit could only continue on through a live roasting on a barbecue spit. Gruesome, I know, but in Honey’s universe, it’s a common practice among the community.

Knowing how the story was to end, I needed to create characters with whom Honey would share her meat. As I thought about how Honey would meet her end, I needed an avenue to get there. So, I hit upon the idea that she goes missing and someone hired to go find her.

Introduce the investigator, Mona. Since my universe incorporated pervasive bdsm play, I decided that this character would be a masochist who enjoyed extreme play. So, her first name became Mona. Mona would be a play on the sound ‘moan’, which she would do a lot during her play.

To come up with her surname, I wanted her name to reflect her sexuality. Eventually, I came to the concept of ‘bend her over’.With a hidden message decided, I contracted it to Bendarova. To date, only one person I know has made this relate and called me on it. She smiled as she told me.

That’s how Mona Bendarova came into existence. She’s a smart, masochistic investigator who loves sex. Who’s your favorite character?

How did you come up with the title ‘The Taste of Honey’?

December 7, 2015

How did you come up with the title? Did the title come first or did the story?

For months, I had a concept of what I wanted to write. I had developed the idea of a future history of the human race dependent upon consuming themselves to survive. Originally, I had thought at it would be the result of a devastating war that put the species on the brink of extinction. It wasn’t until later, that I came up with the GMO angle running wild, systematically wiping out all protein based biologically life on the planet.

Yet that didn’t help me decide on a specific story line. I wanted a story in which I would highlight a main character who would by the end, decide to be live roasted and her meat consumed by her family and close friends. I wanted the live roasting to be the character’s choice and not forced upon the character. Further, I wanted the other main characters to feel comfortable with consuming the meat of one who had been one of their own. I struggled over months to find a way to carry out that goal.

In that time, I wrote draft after draft but none of them spoke to me. Then one day, while sitting on my deck, enjoying roasting under the summer afternoon sun, the phrase ‘The Taste of Honey’ hit me. It was a eureka moment. As I reflected upon the phrase, I decided immediately that it would be the title of the story.

Now, at that time, I wasn’t even thinking about publishing the story. I just wanted to write it. Now that I had a title, the rest of the story came together in a flash. Within minutes, I was furiously writing notes, capturing thoughts and ideas before they flashed out of existence. For me, it was a race to document the ideas, never mind whether I would use them all.

A couple of hours later, I had a clear concept of what I wanted to write and I began writing anew. Honey was not only to be the subject of the title but she would be a main character in the story.

It was a journey of self discovery, of retrospection and of desire. Desire in the sense of curiosity of seeing the story come to its conclusion. I knew what I wanted to write but I wanted to see it written on paper. The story took on a life of its own and before I knew it, it was no longer a short story but a full length novel.

An Editor’s Viewpoint

December 4, 2015

An Editor’s Viewpoint

by Janet Maggio

I just completed editing the novellas included in ‘The Client Series’. I look forward to editing Richard Verry’s writings since I see first hand what a great author he is becoming, especially with character development. As in any book, I like to define myself with one of the characters. ‘The Client Series’ was difficult for me. It identifies with one of my greatest fears against the female gender and it is so timely with what is happening in the world today, Human Trafficking.

I like reading and editing with Rich. Those sessions have created heated discussions and since Richard knows I am impatient, he keeps telling me to hang on and “you will feel better” after reading ‘Her Essentia’. I hate to admit it yet he was right! I do feel better.

I hope you enjoy the series too. Please read all three and I implore all women to get through them all.

It will soon be available on his site, www.richardverry.com.

Inspirational Authors

December 3, 2015

Inspirational Authors

I woke up this morning with thinking about my early days of reading. They started out when I was about seven years old. I read lots of YA books in those days, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew (yep her too), Tom Swift are some of my more memorable books. I grew from those quickly and looked for more interesting stories. I soon discovered authors Arthur C. Clark and Isaac Asimov.

It was when I discovered Robert A. Heinlein that I found my favorite author of all time. My very first book of his that I read was ‘Methuselah’s Children’. I was immediately hooked. I still have that particular 1958 edition in my library. It’s been republished over and over since it was first written in 1941.

‘Methuselah’s Children’ was Heinlein’s early stories into what became his ‘Future Histories’ books. Over the decades, this author managed to weave many of his other books into the ‘Future Histories’ line.

It was his character, Lazarus Long and his many incarnations, that really captured my interest. He was a ruthless yet caring character who could live, love and protect his family and friends. His story lines are filled with polyamorous love and sex of various flavors and experiences. Lazarus Long was a loaner and a family man. He was a father, a son, a husband, a widower, a soldier, a tradesman, a lover and a sinner. Deep down, he was a pacifist but would ruthlessly act to protect the worthy and the needy. He loved life and abhorred violence for violence sake.

As I read everything I could find, I was enamored with his books. I couldn’t get enough of Robert A. Heinlein. I was saddened when he died.

As I think about those days, reading his stories, I now realize that Heinlein helped shape me to be the person I am today. Instinctively, I’ve always known that about him. Now I understand it.

Who is the person that most influenced you in becoming who you are? I would enjoy reading your comments on my site www.richardverry.com.

How I came to write ‘The Taste of Honey’ (part 2)

December 1, 2015

With a title, I had a really rough idea of how I wanted the story to go. At the time, I wasn’t thinking I would publish it but I want to write a fresh and new story. As I researched the story idea, I found little that someone else hadn’t already written about my idea. Great! Time to get writing in earnest.

So, with a title and a rough, and I mean really rough, concept, I began writing. No outline, no framework that existed except in my head. As the stories developed, I wrote draft after draft refining it as I went along. I wrote a future history and an encyclopedia of the rules and concepts of the universe I was creating. Over the years, the drafts and the supporting material got more and more refined.

This process went on for two years. During that time, I didn’t tell anyone that I was writing a full length novel. As the months went by, I would pick it up and work on it. At other times, weeks would go by without even thinking about it. Six months before I finished it, I resolved myself to work harder at it. Diligently, I would write a chapter a day or so. Then, a funny thing happened.

I started waking up at four in the morning with awesome dialog running through my head of this scene or that one. Like the imagery that invades my thoughts, the dialog my half asleep mind developed was perfect. Instead of trying to fall back asleep, I would get up and write for a couple of hours. On weekends, I would write well into mid-morning.

My lady-love would wake up and begin talking to me and I’d ask her to hang on until I finished my thought. At times she’d be okay and at other times, not. Oops! Not good. But the unwritten dialog was just too good to interrupt. I had to capture it and I beg forgiveness and kept on writing.

Then, while on a trip to Florida, I did a final push and finished the book. That’s when I involved my girlfriend and other friends, editing it again and again. They all told me, “Rich, you need to publish this. It’s too good not to.”

So, I published it and immediately began writing in earnest, driving myself to continue Mona and Honey’s story. Four months later, I released the sequel ‘Broken Steele’. I’ll tell you about how that came to be written in a future blog.

How I came to write ‘The Taste of Honey’ (part 1)

November 30, 2015

I wrote ‘The Taste of Honey’ at a time in my life when I was bored with painting and was taking a break. That’s about the time I stepped up my reading, voraciously consuming book after book.

At the same time, my brain kept intruding my thoughts with imagery and scenarios that I captured with my drawings and paintings. I couldn’t capture them fast enough and so many slipped away.

Taking a break from drawing and painting, I started browsing the net for anything that might interest me. I was reviewing the things I used to do as a young man and realized that I used to write stories. Keeping that in mind as I browsed the net, I stumbled upon a series of adult graphic stories that I absolutely loved. As I devoured them, I thought, I can write this, too. I began by keeping a running dialog in my mind of possible topics.

Whenever I thought of a fresh story idea, I would research the subject and usually found that many people had already written and published a story that was too similar to my idea. So … I went back and kept looking.

Somewhere along the way, the title ‘The Taste of Honey’ jumped into my head. I had the title, now I just needed the story! As I thought more about the title, the story started to materialize. I don’t know how other authors do this, but this is how I did it. I would enjoy reading about various methods used so feel free to share.

More to come tomorrow. Please join me then.

Please check out ‘The Taste of Honey’. The first chapter is available for free on this site as well as on Amazon and other e-book retailers. ‘The Taste of Honey’ is available right now on this website as well as Amazon and other book online retailers.

Under the weather – followup

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Under the weather.

Who thought up that idiom to mean being sick anyway?

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Endless Repeat

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