Month: June 2015

June 26, 2015 Gallery

You’ll Be a Man Before Your Mother

Sounds a lot like me but my father died when I was eleven. A.G.

No Facilities

My daughter took this photo in 2009. They added a skateboard area to the park I used to play in. Nothing like that in my day. My daughter took this photo in 2009. They added a skateboard area to the park I used to play in. Nothing like that in my day.

I never thought that I’d have to preface a post with a disclaimer regarding how it’s not a post about gender identity. It’s not. The expression in the title is what my father used to tell me as he dealt with my injury du jour. He would look at my skinned knee, brush the bits of dirt out of the bloody scratches and say “you’ll be a man before your mother.” I won’t tell you how old I was before I realized the relative certainty of that statement. I like to think that I wasn’t “slow on the uptake” but rather that his words had the desired effect.

I always felt better after he said that.

My dad wasn’t one to…

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June 26, 2015

Taming the Tida by Eslynne Smith-blog tour

Welcome to the tour of Taming the Tida by Eslynne Smith.  The full tour schedule can be seen at http://www.elitebookpromotions.com/book-tours/.

In 2014 the nation was in crisis. Partisan politics were the rule of the day, stifling and sabotaging meaningful change in Washington. Americans were desperate for someone—anyone—to offer them hope, to show them there was indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.

That hope came in the form of Sharmin Smith, a contestant on the breakthrough reality show Who Wants to Be President? Designed to increase voter participation and heal a deeply divided nation, Who Wants to Be President? pitted contestants against each other in speeches on America’s most pressing issues, from abortion and health care to immigration and the economy.

Smith, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, caught the country’s attention, delivering her unusual, groundbreaking opinions with two service dogs by her side. She gave a nation hope, and in return, Americans gave her their trust.

The first book of the Change the World trilogy, Taming the Tida gives hope to those tired of contemporary political gridlock and looks to a brighter tomorrow.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eslynne Smith is the Author of Taming the Tida, a fictional story about politics, religion and a Reality TV show. Eslynne was born in a naval hospital in Newport, RI just after the Navy’s 200th birthday. She has been following politics ever since her mother told her she was related to James K. Polk, the 11th President of The United States of America. She comes from a long line of military spouses and has been an enlisted spouse, a commissioned spouse and she is currently a retired spouse as her husband recently retired after 22 years of naval service.She has held professional positions for over 20 years in the financial services industry, including the “Big 3”. She began by working in the accounting department for a computer company before she moved into auto finance and finally on to the mortgage industry. She obtained her Direct Endorsement from FHA to underwrite government loans in 2005 just before Hurricane Katrina hit. She held training and leadership roles where she did everything from write policies and procedures for default and collections to manage underwriting and repurchase teams during the recent mortgage crisis.

Eslynne was diagnosed with PTSD in the summer of 2008 from traumatic childhood events.  After years of multiple therapy techniques she accepted the advice of a trusted therapist and stepped away from her professional life to focus on her personal life. It was during this time that she embraced writing for pleasure and decided to undertake the Great American Novel.

EXCERPT
“There’s a meme out there stating that people who cuss are actually more trustworthy. If that’s true, then I’m the most trustworthy fucker you’ll ever meet in politics.” The announcer slides his arm around her shoulder as they both laugh at the remarks. He looks at her and their eyes meet for an uncomfortable moment. She slides out from under his arm and squares her shoulders.“You look amazing tonight.”  He breathes.

Sharmin rolls her eyes and drops a little accent as she responds “Thank you, I clean up alright.  It helps when you have a team of pros that knows what they’re doing. I don’t even recognize myself.  It’s so itchy.  I can’t wait to get it off.”

“It’s a good look on you, you should do this more often.”  He smiles and tries to be charming.

Sharmin smirks at him and nods her head “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He continues “One question please. If you are elected as President, do you want to be called Madam or Mrs.?”

Sharmin looks him in the eyes and said “Ms. please, I’m not marrying it. It’s a title I won’t just have to earn it, I’ll have to prove I deserve it. Not as a Madam running a whore house, but as the President running our White House.” then she walks away, leaving him to stare after her as she walks out on stage.

June 18, 2015

Fairly Certain by Deborah Ann Davis- A Love of Fair Tales-my review

Deborah Ann DavisI gave this five stars because I just loved it. Especially the way Deborah brought the story to conclusion.

I was given a copy for my honest review which this is. When I first started reading the story, I thought this was just another Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court type book. I was wrong. It is even better because the author has you believing from the start that you are a witness to a time traveler going through time in a dream. Petir, who falls out of a tree losing his cell phone wakes up being rescued by characters from merry old England only this time Robin Hood is a female, Maid Rianne making the story even more interesting.
As you read, you are caught up in the dream that Petir thinks he is having but everything is so real to him, yet he still believes he is just dreaming. In his dream, he finds the woman of his affection, Maid Rianne along with a host of others from previous Robin Hood stories.
An excerpt from the book-
Everyone was decked in their finery—lords, ladies, and peasants alike.
Disappointment rippled through her as she watched the tournament attendees. She had so wanted to participate in the archery competition, but the risk of drawing attention was too great. Her capture would put the entire camp of outlaws at risk.
But she had a more important, although seemingly impossible, mission right now. What if I fail to sneak into the fair?
And once I get in, how am I going to locate Mistress Jocelyn? Rianne willed herself to be calm.
First things first. Where is the best place to slip in?
She scanned the edge of the fair, ignoring the scampering children, bypassing the men carrying sacks of feed and bales of hay, disregarding a burly blond lord stealing a kiss from a redheaded wench behind a booth, and… Wait. Is that…?

I admit that I left the book after the first few pages going on to another book but was drawn back to the story wondering how this would go. Surprising a was wound up in the story being well written and paced to keep you reading to find out if it was a dream or it was real? My hats off to Deborah for pulling this story off in such good fashion. I highly recommend this book to fairy tale readers and others that like a good story.
Deborah Ann Davis
“If Variety is the spice of life, Humor is my favorite flavor.” –Deborah Ann Davis

About the Author-DEBORAH ANN DAVIS has joyfully taught Science (Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science) for 25+ years. Even though they had followed separate paths, Deborah reunited with, and married her childhood sweetheart, twelve years after their first kiss. Somewhere in the middle of all that educating, she stepped out of teaching for 6 years to do the mommy thing and run the office for the family construction company. During that time, she and her husband coached a Girls AAU Basketball Team, which swept States two years in a row. She is also an Educational Speaker and a Certified Personal Trainer. For several years their daughter and their money went to college. They currently reside on a lovely lake in Connecticut. Deborah enjoys dabbling with living a sustainable life, writing novels, dancing, playing outside, and laughing really hard every day. She actively promotes increasing the amount of movement throughout your day via Wiggle Writer posts on her blog, Merry Meddling. You can learn more at http://www.DeborahAnnDavis.com @DeborahAnnDavis. or follow her

DEBORAH ANN DAVIS

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