National Freedom Day

Okay...I'm a flag waver. Always have been and always will be. Freedom comes with a price, and sometimes we definitely forget that.

I remember listening to stories my father and uncles would tell about World War II and how they were in the military. Even visited Pearl Harbor and honored those who died in WWII.



In college during the Vietnam era, I was a dorm representative for our student council government. We were asked to vote for an anti-war statement. I was one of two who wouldn't vote for it. Again, that flag waver in me felt as if I had to support the military...and I hadn't been given the chance to poll those I represented.

My husband spent two tours in Vietnam. No one cared then. His devotion to the military and decision to make the Army his career didn't change how I felt for him. I knew the risks he'd take, in the name of keeping us free, and married him.

Those who protest anything and everything sometimes don't remember that they're able to do that because others made sacrifices for their freedom. Respect for those protecting us took a turn after 9/11. Sad to say, but that one day changed how many felt about their freedom and lives. As the years pass, some show signs of forgetting just how terrible those days in September 2001 felt, and how we need to constantly be on guard to insure our freedom.

My son's unit should be going to Afghanistan this year. He's ready. He knows the risks, as do I. Do I want him to go? No. No one wants war. No mother wants her son or daughter to go. But, he has a job to do for his country. Men and women in uniform will fight "over there" to protect us "over here" and keep the ideals of freedom from disappearing.

Fly your flag. I do, every day. Show your patriotism. Thank those in the military when you see them in uniform. Freedom isn't something to take for granted...it's something we've enjoyed, thanks to the hard work of others.

Photos: Flickr: Fausxt_digit, Frank Hale, The Gifted Photographer's photostreams.

In "Strip Poker for Two" by April Ash, my hero is an Army officer. Gotta love those men in uniforms, as the heroine quickly finds out! Check out this book at my website: http://www.aprilash.net/
Coming 19 February: "Anything You Can Do" by Marianne Stephens. Go to http://www.mariannestephens.net/ for more information. "Gone to the Dogs" is now available in print.

REVIEWER TOP PICK: "SEXY GAMES"

Shamelessly patting myself on the back for this! "Sexy Games", erotic romance by April Ash, got a great review!

Happy Dancing here...sincere but not very pretty at my "old age" and lack of rhythm. (Envision a Maxine - Barney the purple dinosaur combination!)

I'm posting my 5 HEARTS, REVIEWER TOP PICK review of "Sexy Games" by Diana Coyle, Night Owl Romance:

"I thought this was a fantastic story from the start. I loved the creative storyline and enjoyed that Sloane and Stacy were going to “work” together for one whole week. I hoped that even though they were using the games as the excuse for their spending time together, that they would open up to each other and see where they really stood with one another. I thought Stacy was perfect for Sloane and I only wished that he would eventually see that himself. Ms. Ash is a very talented storyteller and she knows how to transport you into her storyline with ease. Well done, Ms. Ash!"
To read the full review, go to:
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=4881

BLURB:
Naughty Games Company Invitation: Test new games. Consenting adults. Male-female. Company penthouse. One week. Associates of NGC only.

Invitee employee Stacy Newman accepts. Betrayed by a past ex-fiancé, her goal is to concentrate on her career, sell a game idea to NGC, and open her own store.
Invitee Sloane Hoffman, son of NGC’s CEO, accepts. He knows his dad wants him to take over the company. He’s been hurt and used by past lovers only after his money and what he could do for them.
Months earlier, they shared a night of passion but a panicked Sloane left without a word when Stacy inspired thoughts of “commitment” and “settling down”. His disappearance left her heartsick.
As game partners they’ll test games that require role-playing and sex. Undeniable lust and mutual desire quickly resurfaces, and they agree to a business-only venture. They choose games called “Hot Sands” (sheik and bride-to-be), “Teach Me” (nerdy professor and stripper/lap dancer) and “Royal Romps” (Lady and butler).
Spending time together offers chances to learn more about each other, fall in love, and share passionate sexual adventures. But, two misunderstandings occur, threatening to pull them apart once again, this time forever.

As the season of Thanksgiving draws near, I'm extremely grateful for this review. Reviews mean so much to authors...they're validations of hard work and effort.

http://www.mariannestephens.net
CERRIDWEN PRESS:
http://www.jasminejade.com/default.aspx?skinid=13

http://www.aprilash.net
ELLORA'S CAVE:
http://www.jasminejade.com/default.aspx?skinid=11
“SEXY GAMES”:
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7393-sexy-games.aspx

INSTALLING LOVE IN YOURSELF AND BOOKS

My passion is writing romance books, stories of love and happily-ever-afters. A writer needs to know herself/himself and understand or have experience with all the feelings that complicate love and romance before penning that next book.

Have you experienced envy? Jealousy? Hurt? Forgiveness? These are just some of those feelings along the rocky road to love. The following is an edited, whimsical rendition of Installing Love in yourself before a writer can successfully portray romantic heroes and heroines in novels.

(NOTE: There are various versions of this on the Internet and I can’t locate the original author. I did find a version in the Winter 1999 issue of Hopes & Dreams newsletter of the Illinois Chapter, Huntington's Disease Society of America.)

Tech: How can I help you?
Writer: I've decided to write a romance book and figure I need to install Love in myself first. Can you help me?

Tech: Certainly. Are you ready?
Writer: Well, I'm not very technical but I think I am. What do I do first?

Tech: The first step is to open your heart. (Pause) Have you located your Heart?
Writer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Can I still install Love while the others are running?

Tech: What programs are running?
Writer: Let's see. I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech: No problem. Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs.
Writer: Okay, that sounds great. What about Low Self-Esteem?

Tech: Love will also eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem.
Writer: And the other programs?

Tech: You'll have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Writer: I don't know how. Can you tell me?

Tech: Sure. It's really easy. Go to the start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Writer: Hey! I did it and Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program right now. You'll need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Writer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error-Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech: Stay calm. Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.
Writer: So then...what do I do?

Tech: Pull down Self-Acceptance and click on the following files: Forgive Self, Realize Your Worth, and Acknowledge Your Limitations.
Writer: Okay. Done.

Tech: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it's completely gone and never comes back.
Writer: Got it. Hey! My Heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is that okay?

Tech: For some it works that way. For others, it takes awhile but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Writer: Great! What about the other things that crowd my Heart program like Responsibility, Obligations, Distractions, Jealousy, and Envy?

Tech: Sorry but there's no way to delete these from your permanent memory and operating programs. Those will pop up at any time and you'll have to just deal with them when they do.
Writer: I guess now that Love is installed in My Heart, I'll handle those as they surface. You've been so helpful. Thanks so much!

Writers need to have their characters go through much the same process. Love isn't automatically installed. Obstacles have to be overcome, hearts have to open, so many complications must be addressed and conquered. Then, happily-ever-after will happen!

The heroine, Katie, of "Gone to the Dogs", by Marianne Stephens, has lots to go through before Love installs in her Heart program. Read an excerpt and reviews of "Gone to the Dogs", published by Cerridwen Press, at my web site: http://www.mariannestephens.net

Marianne Stephens has three ebooks published by Cerridwen Press, http://www.jasminejade.com and one of those is also available as a paperback.
April Ash has two erotic romance books available: www.ellorascave.com
and one is also available in print.
www.mariannestephens.net
www.aprilash.net

CURSES - The Kind You "Put" on People

I'll never forget the stories my mother told me about my great-grandmother. Apparently she wasn't an easy woman to live with...in fact, in her later years it was hard to find one of her children willing to take her in and care for her.

We're talking about the 1930s, when nursing homes/assisted living facilities weren't available. Dear sweet great-granny was anything but that and somewhat of a nasty person...and that's only considering her good days. No doubt that her life had been difficult, but her attitude made her children's and grandchildren's lives miserable.

Angelina used "curses" to torment people and threaten them when she didn't get what she wanted. As she aged, her "evil eye" tirades increased, and the family grew to ignore her as she also seemed to drift into what we now know would be called episodes of dementia. Although laughing at her "curses", my mother remarks that the family members on the receiving end of Angelina's wrath always harbored a tiny bit of fear.

What if Angelina really did have "the power" she claimed to have? Was the job loss because of her? How about falling and breaking a bone? Or, the breakup of a courtship? Was Angelina responsible?

Curses hold a mystifying effect on some, and it's that "beyond belief" suspicion we have that makes us wonder. Curiosity edges us to try and figure their meanings and factual properties, while the adrenaline pumps in our bodies at the thought that maybe some of them are legitimate.

Great-grandmother Angelina gave an "evil eye" curse the day my grandmother married. She didn't like my grandfather, Rosario, so walked back and forth in front of the church mumbling her "curse" as my grandmother got married inside. She squinted her eyes and pointed at various times during her "curse".

Did it have any effect? None that was noted...although my grandfather died at an early age, leaving my grandmother to raise their children alone. And, times had been tough for them...but wasn't that the norm for that decade?

After all the misery she wished upon family members, especially my grandmother, when it came time to let great-granny move in with someone, it was my grandmother who made room in her house.

Maybe that was the "curse" finally coming to fruition. Angelina's "evil eye" rant meant that my grandmother would one day suffer on a daily basis by having to deal with great-granny in her own home and until she died.

Do you believe in curses? What about the curse of King Tut's Tomb? Is there something mystical about it or just factual/coincidental events that have been made to look suspicious?

No curses in my books, but two have paranormal elements. "Street of Dreams", by Marianne Stephens, is a time travel, romantic suspense ebook that received a "4 - HOT" rating from Romantic Times Magazine. It's available from Cerridwen Press:
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-3971-street-of-dreams.aspx

"Second Sight Dating", by Marianne Stephens, is a psychic romance, available from Cerridwen Press in both print and ebook format:
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-3953-second-sight-dating.aspx

April Ash has two erotic romance ebooks available at: http://www.ellorascave.com and one is also in print.
www.aprilash.net
www.mariannestephens.net