Sing a song!

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." Maya Angelou

Then maybe the answer is in the song . . . or one can be led to the answer after having heard the song; for many songs lead to great inspirations, comfort and answers.

When you feel down and out;
Sing a song, it'll make your day.
Here's a time to shout!
Sing a song, it'll make a way.
Sometimes it's hard to care.
Sing a song, it'll make your day.
A smile so hard to bear.
Sing a song, it'll make a way.
Sing a soooooooonnngg . . .

"Sing a Song" by Earth, Wind and Fire

Things that baffle me . . .

Things that baffle me -- Why post a status update about someone's runover shoes, if you aren't going to buy them a new pair? Why talk about how bad a young mother is, if you're not going to offer suggestions? Why point out how ugly some little girl or little boy or old person is, when you know the inside of your heart and soul are ugly? Why post about the life, sordid or not, someone else is living when you're not "living" at all? Why speak of how wonderful life was "back in the day" when you are not doing anything to make "right now" good? Why expect the media to report positive news when you only reply and react to the negative?

20% off at Lulu.com

20% off at Lulu.com. Use code: Sweet. 

Offer is valid through February 23, 2012.
Small Pleasures: Mya's Story.

Support Indie Authors

I have just purchased Waiting on a Friend, by T.J. Leng and Getting the Important Things Right by Padget Gerler today and will begin reading them soon, all in support of Indie Writers but not just because of that. I read snippets of these novels and was intrigued to read more.

I will also add Butterfly Harvest by Sandra R. Campbell and To Kill a Rose by Kelly Roe to my list of must reads, must haves . . . and others. If you know of any more, please share!

Dominatrix Valentine

Dominatrix Valentine, a photo by ~Darni on Flickr.

Have a happy valentine's day (and every day)!

Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniel detective novels sell more than 250,000 copies on Kindle

"I keep chapters short and snappy because I like that. I try not to flit between characters too much because I don't like that either. As such, in a literary sense, I know it's not perfect - but I wasn't aiming for that. I wanted to create something I would like as a consumer," he said."


Read the entire story.

Rayna's Reign (to be continued)

Mesmerized, the moment he saw her prancing on the porch, pretending to be a pony, Dak fell dangerously in love with Rayna Taylor. She represented luxuries denied him while growing up in rural Georgia. Her long dark mane of hair, secured by a clasp of ruby red stones and ribbons of silk, extended high upon the crown of her head, trailed into a ponytail down her back. Shoeless dancing feet, her toes were painted red too, and upon one toe was a ring with a tiny, costly chip of a diamond within its grasp. She and her life were perfect, and balanced, like the leap from one end of the porch to the other that landed her on one, steady foot. He smiled at her show, which he assumed was performed for him but it was really just her way of being. 

An Evening with Toni Morrison

Advice to New Writers (Oprah.com)

"After I finished The Bluest Eye , which took me five years to write, I went into a long period of…not deep depression but a kind of melancholy. Then I had another idea for a book, Sula, where I was trying to write about real friendship between women—and the whole world came alive again. Everything I saw or did was potentially data, a word or a sound or something for the book, and then I really realized that for me writing meant having something coherent in the world. And that feels like…not exactly what I was born for, it's more the thing that holds me in the world in healthy relationship, with language, with people, bits of everything filter down, and I can stay here."
— Toni Morrison 

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Advice-to-New-Writers

Olympia Vernon

Olympia Vernon is another one of my favorite authors. I've heard people compare her to Toni Morrison but I really don't see the connection or maybe I'm not looking for it. To me, her writing style is very different but to read her novels wi...ll take time, they are not breezy reads - you must think while reading (maybe that is the resemblance between she and Morrison). Olympia is very abstract and detailed when it comes to the human experience and how our bodies portray andbetray us. I love how she described a throat like a glass vase . . . All the while you're wondering about this vase and it's really someone's throat.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_Vernon

Indigo and Books-a-Million join boycott of Amazon print titles

According to the Canadian Globe and Mail, Eger (Indigo's VP) said in an email: “In our view Amazon's actions are not in the long-term interests of the reading public or the publishing and book retailing industry, globally.” She added: “Indigo founder and c.e.o Heather Reisman has congratulated Barnes & Noble for taking a leadership stance on the matter, and offers kudos.”
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/indigo-and-books-million-join-boycott-of-Amazon-print-titles.html

Say it with feeling | Emory University | Atlanta, GA

Say it with feeling | Emory University | Atlanta, GA

Monsters are real

A mansion on top of a hill was their home. It was the only one close to the clouds where the air, even when dewy, was sharp and crystal. Below the mansion less opulent homes cluttered the flat lands. The people who lived in those homes adored the family on the hill despite what they became at night. Even the lion eats and remains adored and respected. Kings of the Jungle. Especially by those who fear them most. The villagers loved them all, each one, from old to young, male to female. By day, they were human. At night they became lions feeding on those who worshiped them without hesitation. She was unaware of this when they invited her to live with them. Flowers bloomed without sunlight. The sky was vibrant blue. There came a time when the elder lion reveled himself to her, chased her on two legs until they became four — throughout the entire mansion and the lush brush that hid it from the road. Powered by fear and adrenaline the girl ran until day broke. Having outrun him, she knew another opportunity would come. Yet she remained in their home, reading stories to their young, sipping tea with the lady of the house and accepting charm offered by the men. She loved them even though they were monsters with a desire to destroy her.