...the author should be conceived of as a personal 'other' to be encountered through the text rather than an absent author who has simply left a faceless text. ... We can hear best from the author if we respect the author and authorial communication as distinct from us yet personally related or addressed to us. 

...My goal in participating in a conversation with a friend is not to master what is communicated, or the person communicating it for that matter. Instead, I want to to really hear and thereby know the other person more fully. Analogously, our goal in textual interpretation involves, at its heart, listening in order to hear well. This listening is attentive to what is being communicated, without requiring the assurance that I can reach some sort of pure objectivity. Instead, listening seeks relationship.

...At its heart, the hermeneutical process is open-ended, never fully completed. Maybe this should not surprise us, since an interpersonal view of hermeneutics invites the analogy of relationship or friendship, whose goal is not completion for its own sake but continual longing to know and be known.

From 'Scripture as Communication' by Jeannine K Brown, pp.73-74

 Perry M. Rogers. Who da thunk?! XD

  This week's author is Megan Hussey. She has some absolutely delicious looking titles to her credit. Look up her website at http://goldenmuse.tripod.com/index.htm and choose one to indulge in.

PBDiva: Give us a brief guide to you. 

Megan: I'm a Florida gal who gets her kicks writing humorous feminist erotica stories and leading the Playgirl Posse, which promotes Playgirl, Playgirl TV and the concept of quality erotica for women.

 PBDiva: What's your current project; tell us about your back list and where to purchase.

Megan:  Currently in release I have

¾    Passion's Tapestry (http://www.bladepublishing.org/passionstapestry.html)

¾    Graphic Sexuality (http://www.bladepublishing.org/books/graphicsexuality.html) from Blade Publishing,

¾    Under Cover of the Night (http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Under+Cover+of+the+Night/exact_match=exact) through Phaze Publishing,

¾    Passion Storm and The Ghost and Mrs. Dunn (a story I wrote with my dear friend Linda White-Francis for the Spellfire Specials digest) through Midnight Showcase Fiction (http://www.midnightshowcase.com /PassionStorm.htm and http://www.midnightshowcase.com/Specials.htm).

PBDiva: What's your genre and how did you choose it or have it chosen for you. 

Megan: I've been writing erotic romance for a long time now, probably because it's my favorite genre to read. I wanted to offer something new to the mix, with realistic looking feminist heroines and sinfully sexy men--who usually have either fins or fangs.

 PBDiva: Whose writing do you admire most?

Megan:  Aside from all of the wonderful authors I work with, I really admire Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dara Joy, Barbara Wood, Robin Schone, Connie Mason, Karen Marie Moning, and others.

PBDiva: What's the worst piece of writing advice you ever got?

Megan:  Stop writing, Blondie; you can't make a living off of it! LOL  Everyone should feel free to pursue their dreams and ambitions.

PBDiva: Describe what you think a reader will come away with after reading your book.

Megan:  I hope she'll be able to lose herself in my stories, to indulge in a world of fantasy where her desires rule.

 PBDiva: Tell us about your writing place.

Megan:  I like to write on my day bed, while listening to soft music or watching a Playgirl DVD; really sets the mood!

 PBDiva: I bet! Describe the "perfect" hero? What about the "perfect" hero for you?

Megan: I love funny, sensitive men who are gorgeous inside and out; compelling eyes, muscles, smooth hair, the whole package.

Corsi, the author of the No. 1 best-selling book "The Obama Nation," was picked up by authorities at his hotel at 9:45 a.m. and detained at Nyayo House, the provincial headquarters for Nairobi.

"Just as we were about to start the 10 a.m. press conference at the Grand Regency Hotel in Nairobi, Kenyan immigration approached us and detained us," Corsi told WND by telephone this morning. "Tim Bueler, my publicist, and I are now in the immigration offices, with our passports taken. The immigration officer told the press, 'There is no problem, and Dr. Corsi is a friend of Kenya.'"

"There are unconfirmed reports from on the ground in Nairobi that Jerome Corsi and his traveling partner and publicist, Tim Bueler, have left Kenya," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND who was in touch with Corsi by telephone and email until 9:30 a.m. Eastern today. "However, we have not been able to reach either Corsi or Bueler for several hours, and we are concerned. Officials in Kenya have not been responsive to our requests for information. We also hear unconfirmed reports from the government claiming it has 'deported' Corsi. Since Corsi was scheduled to leave the country today, this would seem to be a strange action from a government that was well aware of Corsi's presence, his travels and his activities in the country for the last week."

Corsi had extensive meetings with top Kenyan officials upon his arrival. His visit and his activities during his stay have been well-known to authorities at the highest levels.

Please continue reading:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77268

1. Rushing to get a manuscript out before it's "clean." It's easy to be excited about the fact that you've FINALLY finished that novel after 2 years, but you've got to make sure it's truly ready. If you blow your chances with all the agents/publishers the first time around, you don't get to make spelling and grammatical fixes and send it back out to them.

2. Trying to approach publishers before agents. There are lots of reasons this is bad, the three biggest of which is that major publishers won't look at unagented manuscripts; agents can help you navigate through an ever-changing industry; once you get turned down by all the publishers, you can't go back to try to get an agent because they have no one to shop your book to!

3. Writing about your life story. Everyone thinks their life is fascinating. Everyone's friends say, "Oh, that's a cool story. You should write about it." But guess what, not everyone's life is interesting. Find another topic or weave bits and pieces of your life into a book. Unless your famous, an autobiography won't sell.

Leslie T. Chang's Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China is a fascinating ethnography of the young women who labor in the factories of Guangdong, China's richest province, a land of boomtowns where wealth and scams and exploitation and warmth and courage all abound.

Chang is an American-born Chinese writer who won over the confidence of several remarkable young migrant women who came from the distant provinces to work in the factories and find independence, social mobility and status as cash earners. These women experience many setbacks and victories, undergo remarkable personal transformations, and come to lively life under Chang's studious eye.

But Factory Girls is also a memoir of Chang's own family, the Zhangs, migrants who fled China after WWII and the Maoist revolution. Chang and her family are also "migrants," who out-migrated beyond the coastal cities, reinventing themselves in distant America. Chang's camaraderie with the Factory Girls clearly stems in part from this fellow-feeling, this knowing what it means to be from a place but not of it anymore (I'm an immigrant who left the country of my birth, in which my family were also immigrants, so this had all kinds of resonances for me).

In Chang's journey back to her surviving Mainland relatives and her relationship to the Factory Girls of Guangdong we see the inkling of what a new normal might look like, what these remarkable young women might become after the dust settles and they stop reinventing themselves and simple are.

In the meantime, the Factory Girls and their adventures fill the pages of this remarkable book, which chronicles everything from the sleaze of karaoke bars and multi-level direct-sales cults to the heartbreak of romance and speed-dating to the small heroism of the many friendships and noble deeds of the girls of the book.

I must have read fifty books about China this year (I'm working on a novel set partly in China), but this stands out as one of the best. Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

By

VIKRAM KARVE

When I was a small boy in the nineteen sixties Pune was a “Tea Town”. Everyone drank tea and all over the town there were chiefly two types of tea for the laidback discerning gourmet Punekar to relish – AMRUT TULYA CHAHA at the ubiquitous Amrut-tulya Tea Shops in every nook and corner of Pune, and the peerless IRANI CHAI served by the numerous Irani Restaurants all over Pune City and Camp like Café Naaz, Lucky, Good Luck, Volga etc.

Amrut means Nectar, and Tulya means Comparable, so “Amrut Tulya” means “Comparable to Nectar” and indeed, true to its name, Amrut-Tulya Tea is comparable to nectar –  sweet, ambrosial, like the elixir of life! Amrut Tulya Chaha is not brewed in the traditional Tea service style – the tea is “cooked” in front of you.

Come, my dear Tea Lover, let me tell you how to make Amrut Tulya Chaha - The Art of Tea – Pune Style.

Assemble the following Ingredients for Two cups of Amrut Tulya Tea “Special Chaha”

Assam CTC Tea or, if you live in Pune, get the famous CTC+OP “Family Mixture” Tea Powder from your favourite “Tea Depot” in the heart of Pune City.

[By the way, the acronyms are: CTC – Crush, Tear, Curl; OP – Orange Pekoe; BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe].

Full Cream Buffalo Milk [I like Chitale’s]

Fresh Water

Sugar

Fresh Ginger Crushed [Better still you can crush the juicy fresh ginger with the chimta directly in the water-milk concoction to let the ginger juices flow out and blend in smoothly]

Cardamom – peel, crush and powder the pods

[NB – Amrut Tulya Tea is not your traditional Masala Chai so please don’t add any Tea Masalas or spices like clove, cinnamon, black peppercorns or herbs like gavati chaha (lemon grass?), tulsi leaves etc. and neither is it the “khada chamach” or “cutting” Chai so please don’t boil away to glory – remember, you must achieve Amrut Tulya Chaha of just the right consistency!]

In a brass vessel [or stainless steel, if you can’t get a brass vessel] mix one cup of water and one cup of milk. Add four teaspoons of sugar. Put on the stove. Medium heat.

Squeeze in a bit of crushed ginger and add a pinch of cardamom powder and the peel.

Lightly stir, let it warm, and bring to a boil.

Smartly add two teaspoons of tea powder and keep stirring gently to ensure the boiling concoction does not spill over. Keep boiling till the tea attains beautiful bright golden-orange colour – the moment you see a reddish tinge, give the heavenly brew a loving last stir, twirl the vessel, and sieve the Amrut Tulya Tea Special Chaha directly into the cups.

Sip the delicious tea slowly and mindfully, roll it on your tongue, let it emulsify in your palate, close your eyes, absorb, discern the flavour, the rich taste, relish every sip lovingly.

Tell me, isn’t Amrut Tulya Chaha lip-smacking tasty and soul-refreshing? Blissful ambrosia, an experience of nectar, isn’t it?

Now you know why they call it Amrut Tulya – comparable to Nectar!

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2008

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

An author (whether self-published or not) needs a blog, because readers are going to want to know more about you than what's offered in the standard author bio on the back of a book cover or on a publisher's web site. A blog doesn't just give your readers the opportunity to get to know you a little better, it gives them the chance to gauge your writing style and ability. If you aren't engaging company in your bog, they're going to think your book probably won't be any more captivating. I found it a little difficult, at first, to find a balance... I didn't want to be so informal that my reader got the idea that I was his or her best buddy, but I didn't want to swing in the other direction and end up so formal that I ended up sounding like a stuffed shirt. I do recommend updating your blog at least twice a week, to keep readers coming back, and adding pictures (if they're relevant of course) as they add a bit of interest. 

You need a web site, whether self-published or not. For that web site you need a personalised domain name... so www.myname.com or www.mybooktitle.com, not www.freehostsarecheap.com/freepage/myname.html or something equally unprofessional. If you can't put together a decent site yourself then find someone who can, because it may well be the first contact your reader has with details of your book, and a bad site leaves a bad (in a lasting way) impression. It doesn't have to be complicated, it simply needs to present you and your book in a manner which does both of you credit.

To write an effective press release you need to don your journalist head. Your book may be the most important thing in your life, and the lives of your husband/wife, children and Labrador, but what makes it something worth sitting up and taking notice of for every other human being on the planet? I have suffered extreme culture shock, going from being a writer to being a businesswoman who has to peddle my wares and promote my "product" to the world at large, and of all the things I've had to do so far, writing the press release was the most time consuming (and vexing). It's ironic that writers, who write for a living after all, find it so difficult to write about themselves. I have written pretty good (though I say so myself) blurbs for the most mundane of things, but when it came to writing about my book I was stumped. It's just as well that I allowed several months to turn out the final release. For some reason, self-publishers seem to get the idea that a press release should be sent out only once the book is available at stores, but you really need to start whetting the appetites of people before the book is available... although, not so far in advance that everyone's forgotten about it when it finally is launched.

Networking is important. I am an incredibly shy person... painfully so... but it's important to make contacts and make yourself heard if you want people to notice that both you and your book exist. I did leave this side of things rather late, hence the running about like a headless chicken at this moment in time, and I have a lot of catching up to do. The more sites you join, the more links you post, the more times your book is mentioned, the more your web site or blog (whichever one you link to) will creep up that google ranking. It takes time and work to elevate a web site's status. If you're going to list your book with google's book search facility then allow a couple of months for that to appear online. Again, as with sending out press releases, self-publishers seem to leave this until the book is available at Amazon, and sites like Lulu appear to promote this way of thinking.

If you have a book coming out next week and you haven't started promoting it yet... what are you doing reading this, get on with it! You have months of work to catch up on.

Last nite I had a great time listening to Candace Bushnell talk about her new book,"One Fifth Avenue". She read an exerpt out of her book and the audience really loved her. The room was filled with stylish women and a full house...if I must say so! It was held at the legendary Margaret Mitchell house.Im new to Atlanta, and had no clue that this bookstore/museum was named after the great author who wrote,"Gone with the Wind"...wow! That was the only book Margaret ever wrote. Candace talked about some of her characters in the book,her past and love for English writers. She said she thought books were glamourus and often asked her parents why they didnt have butlers and maids. She talked about at 34,she moved to NY.She couldnt afford alot of things.She had no car,no real estate,furniture,silverware...just making an average salary in the beginning.

Candace loved to read books as a little girl. When she visited the library as a youngster, she would often read books that were not appropiate for her age lol. Candace talked about how Carrie Bradshaw was the one character that was the closes to her own image. In 1994,she really was a columinist(Sex and the City) for the NY Observer. She really did have a "Mr.Big". The 49 yr old, talked about how she likes to create characters that has flaws,or that are needy. She said alot of her books are,"Art versus Commerce".Candace says she writes about 3-5 pages daily. There is no routine and that if you would like to be a writer or anything else, you just have to be committed. Committed and focused is the key. She said in being an author there is no instant gratification and to really trust your gut!

She did talk about how she loves Atlanta and how the women here wear great shoes, and are true divas! Women in Atlanta are very sophisticated..oh, I like her! I got a chance to let her sign my copy of,"One Fifth Avenue" and Im already half way through the book, so you guys go pick up a copy its good reading!

Here is also a lil video clip of her speaking: <

Brighid: Welcome Angel, I’m so happy to have a guest of your distinction as my first interview. May I interest you in a glass of champagne?

Angel: Thank you for the welcome, it’s an honor to be allowed out for this interview; but I’ll pass on the alcohol--it clouds the mind.

B: All right, let’s get down to the business of getting to know you better. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, a quick bio.

A: Quick scarcely covers multiple lives, Brighid. I’ll hold back the misery of my first life, and focus on the now. My family owns half the docks, controls a large majority of what comes and goes in this little town; but, excuse the pun, “I have bigger fish to fry.”  My brother was killed ten years ago, bled to death by a bitch of a vampire, and since then I’ve devoted myself to learning all that I can to hunt them, to kill them all.

B: I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like your lives have been full of cinematic drama. If you had to choose an actress to portray you, who would it be?

A: Well, Kate Hudson is beautiful, in a soft, curvey, blond, pull-her-hair out kind of way--like me, before Mercy. I’d have to say, slap a blond wig on Kate Beckensdale in Underworld and make the creatures she hunts the vampires, and we have a fair approximation.

B: Your chosen scent is jasmine, very lovely by the way, is there a significance to the flower for you?

A: It was the main flower in the bouquet I threw onto my brother’s casket, Brighid. Delicate and white as it fluttered down... I swore at that moment I would never let another vampire hurt me or take a man from me, again. I wear the scent as a reminder.

B: You make your first appearance in A.E. Rought’s, Prey for Mercy. Please tell us a little bit about your relationship with Mercy.

A: Convoluted and painful.

Our history spans more than one lifetime. Most recently, Mercy resurfaced in Maine and did everything she could to make my life miserable. The bitch stole my fiancé, embarrassed me at the Cotillion, parading her dark power...powers that should have been mine all along...

Okay, to stop rambling and put things succinctly, I may have entertained soft emotions for Mercy once, in another time, but now, I want her dead--permanently.

B:  How did you become aware that another woman’s lifetime and sorrow had become reincarnated through you?

A: A decade ago, dark, luscious Mercy seduced her way into my parents house in Louisiana. In my brother’s bedroom, she took what she wanted from Christopher and then killed him while I hid in the closet to horrified to scream, too fascinated to look away. I gasped when he went limp, and Mercy looked to my hiding place, seemed to see through the louvered door and straight into me. Her eyes... those damned glowing irises triggered a soul memory in me. My past life didn’t blossom like a spring bud, it blasted open like a percussion grenade.

B: As a foe, what are your greatest strengths? What are your weaknesses?

A: Greatest strength? I’m patient and persistent as hell.

Weaknesses? If I had any, I would have to say it was my...over zealous nature--it’s hard to contain a tempest in a teacup. 

B:  Without giving too much away of course, will you be crossing paths with Mercy again?

A: Our fates are tangled. I was in her past, she will be in my future--not time, not death, nothing but the sun can come between us.

B:  I’ve heard through the muse grapevine that AE Rought has written a book dedicated to your life story. Can you give us a little glimpse of the story?

A: The only thing I will say, Brighid, is that AE does not paint a flattering portrait of my life after Christopher’s death. She shines a light in the dark places of my soul I would’ve rather kept hidden; she lays bear my indiscretions and failures. If I had it to do over again, I would have come to another author, one less...brutal.

B: Finally, in honor of the approaching Halloween festivities, what costume would you choose for yourself and why?

A: Excuse me while I choke on a giggle. What costume, you ask? Why...an Angel, of course, because I am anything but.

Thank you again Angel for being my guest. I look forward to picking up a copy of Angel’s Fall and for those who haven’t read Prey for Mercy yet, don’t wait any longer! It’s a fast-paced, kick-ass, dark and sexy ride from beginning to end. Buy it now.

A little bit more about Angel’s authoress:

AE Rought is a multi-published author, with works published under two different names. When writing as AE, the stories explore passion and pain in their many shades, through the genres of fantasy and the paranormal. Look for witches and magick, fangs and fur, and heart stopping emotion.

AE's blog: http://aerought.blogspot.com

AE's website: http://www.aerought.com

AE's email: aerought@gmail.com

Monday October 20th 2008 – 6.30pm
Pearse Street Library, 138-144 Pearse Street Library Dublin 2

CBI, Piccadilly Press, Harper Collins and Dublin City Libraries are very excited to announce this unique author event as part of the 2008 Children’s Book Festival. Cathy Hopkins (whose best selling series include Mates, Dates and Truth, Dare) and Jenny Valentine (author of Finding Violet Park, winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and Broken Soup) will debate their very different approaches to writing for teenagers with Dr Patricia Kennon, co-editor of Inis magazine. This event promises to be one of the highlights of the CBF programme and is open to both interested adults and young fans alike.

Please Note: Entry to all of these events is free but numbers are limited. To book please email:
info@childrensbooksireland.ie, including your name, telephone number and the number of places you require for each event.
Monday October 20th 2008 – 6.30pm
Pearse Street Library, Dublin 2

- Irish Pen Presents 'Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing for Children (and more!) Speakers: Helen Carr of O'Brien Press, uber editor.Also:  Mags Walsh, Director of Children's Books Ireland, the national organisation for children's books and reading. Mags will talk about what children really want from their books. And the heroic Oisin McGann, author and illustrator. Oisin is always full of good, honest sense and will be talking about making a living from writing for children, writing for different age groups and many other writerly things.

Irish Pen Presents 'Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing for Children (and more!)

Venue: United Arts Club, 2 Upper Fitzwilliam Street (off Baggot Street), Dublin

8.00pm Thursday 9th October euro3 members, euro 5 non members
Booking irishpen@ireland.com

As Sarah Webb says - Be there or don't be Dr Seuss or Judy Blume - eva!

Jerome Corsi "has been detained and he is currently being held at the immigration office" in Nairobi, a top police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Corsi was to unveil "The Obama Nation" to the Kenyan public at a Nairobi hotel.

Obama's father, now deceased, was Kenyan and the US senator running for president enjoys wide support in East Africa.

In a press release distributed earlier this week, Corsi announced he would "expose deep secret ties between between US Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and a section of the Kenyan government leaders."

He was also to detail Kenyan leaders' "connections to certain sectoral groups in Kenya and a subsequent plot to be executed in Kenya should Sen. Obama win the American presidency," the release said.

The police official denied Corsi's detention was linked to the contents of his book.

"Just like anybody else, we are concerned with his immigration papers. We have nothing to do with the book or whoever it's about. It's about the law of Kenya," he said.

Corsi made his name by co-authoring "Unfit for Command," which maligned 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's Vietnam War record and is believed to have contributed to his defeat by President George W. Bush.

Corsi's book on Obama, subtitled "Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," was released on August 1.

The book's publisher, Threshold Editions, said it examined "why the extreme leftism of an Obama presidency would leave the United States weakened, diminished and divided, why Obama must be defeated -- and how he can be."

Source: AFP

On this blog, I'll talk about what I'm currently working on and any news in my writing world.  I'll hopefully also have photos posted of events that you may find interesting.  Feel free to leave comments and check back soon!

In the meantime, visit my official website at writtenbyangela.t35.com.

Recently, as I have been saying and along with others around the globe, Earth, our planet, our only home, is for lack of a better term, dying.  We have been reminded through the species that face extinction right now, we are no better than them and that we are next.  How many known dying species are there??  44,838 species.  Do you realize that this count is truly unbelievable, considering just how much is out there! Wow! (*****Quarter of species on Earth may face extinction: expert http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081006/sc_afp/environmentbiodiversityspeciessurvey and http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_sc/sci_endangered_mammals)

Scientists stumble upon “mysteries” all the time.  These “mysteries” are a small portion of a pie that makes up the whole to our environment…the environment we live in.  Sure we get up and go to school, go to work, go shopping, drive to the farthest reaches of the mountains, vacation, and all the commercialism that goes along with so called “life” now.  We did not use to live this way or be so easily lead or controlled.  A unique balance was always front and center to the way the World was created.  See it or call it what you will, but do you really think that a cubical was meant for you to live in Monday thru Friday, eight to five - five days a week?  No.  You are not an animal right?  Ever feel like one on display at your office or part time job? I mean, if you don’t, hell let us go ahead and put up museums for humans right now that work.  Ha!  Could you imagine??

According to a recent article, and I am sure I touched on this; the “herding” effect was and has taken place over Wall Street.  What does this mean?  Confirmation that yes we are apes, that have less fur, a bigger brain, and intelligence that has been misused.  Buy! Sell! Buy! Sell!  Everyone relying on the other, to get him/her on the right path, and/or direction to “lead them”, out of the storm. Continuous denial of the bigger picture, I.E. life, not a safety bubble of things, that has brought us closer to our own extinction.  Yet, as the “ruling” species, we refuse to see the damage caused.  (I say “ruling” because we have chosen not to live in balance with our Natural surroundings.  We want to “rule”, not “work with”, a simple observation.)

Again we have reports emerging of the glaciers retreating and thinning out – but in Alaska this time.  There has not been a follow up to the Greenland http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080923/sc_afp/denmarkgreenlandclimatewarmingice_080923041933
or Africa or the Arctic, but Alaska.  (****Most Alaskan Glaciers Retreat and Thin http://www.unisci.com/stories/20014/1211011.htm) Have you noticed that the dates and estimated time changes all the time?  We live unbalanced and consumed by what we do not see, because of distraction. Ah. If you really question all of the melting and rising of the global waters, seeing as how it does not effect you yet, read about **Study finds recent global warming unprecedented in 1,300 years ** http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080912/sc_mcclatchy/3043658. I like this, “The new study “establishes further evidence that the recent warming isn’t just part of a typical cycle,” said climatologist Michael Mann….

Granted he is not saying that this is due to mankind.  No. No. This study is an ongoing events of the global work that has been started by many others before him.  This is a gathering of scientists and data, in which they are finally beginning to work together.  In other words, they are looking for the patterns or “hot spots”, in which all things are, connected – basically – what I have been trying to say. 

How mad would be, seriously think about this…how mad are you and do you get when you are “invaded”?  Take the word invaded as you will.  Invasion of privacy…Invasion of having someone tell you how to raise your child/children…Invasion of the life you lead?  Does it make you mad?  Do you feel helpless and hopeless? If so, what makes you and I so different from the planet that has given us the basic needs that any man, woman or child needs?  

Conserve your resources. Educate your mind on what is going on around you and the World.  No scientist, expert, religious leader, or leader of any kind in the world, has all the answers.  All decent “things” have come from a mere person, like yourself and/or me, because of a mere idea that if really this is all there is to life – we are far worse off then the animals that face extinction – we have reached the “end” of our human development.  What happens at the end of anything?

And here is something else for all out there who look at numbers – Why is it the studies seem to start on or in, 1970?  Seems interesting – just rolling it out there. 

As always – just food for thought.  Right or wrong – at least you thinking and taking a look around.  J

What I haven't told you is this... 'Take the Plunge Now' is available both as a normal hard copy book and as an e-book which means you can be reading your very own copy of the book at 12.01am tonight!

The select few people who have had the opportunity to read the book have given me some fantastic feedback. One reader summarised the book better than I could, saying "It's an easy to read book that calls you into action immediately" and another reader said "it's a down to earth read that gears you up to achieve your goals".  

If you haven't already, I highly recommend you jump on www.TakeThePlungeNow.com and reserve your free bonuses while they are still available!

Have an incredible day and I look forward to sharing my book with you real soon! 

Adam Baird
Author of Take the Plunge Now 

inspiration - like infinite grains of sand - can be grasped.

but if too tightly clenched, like the grains of sand, the inspiration will leak through the fingers & disappear. but if held & shared with an open attitude, such grains of inspiration will remain. remain to be shared with others!

my writter's motto is:

be the change you want to see in the world ... today!

you too can be part of the change in your own life, starting today. by allowing God to help you do this, you will find inspiration within your transformation of BEING the change.

here you will find inspirational resources for your personal inspiration, motivation, & self help. my books & links will only hold an interest to those who of you who are honestly seeking. seeking for something you seem to miss and don't know why.

my books are inspirational non fictions - guaranteed to jump start your spirit & your mind. expressing eternal wisdom in context to our modern day life. written with a fresh, sensitive, & an intuitive writing style.

you will witness your own inspirational growth & new found spiritual freedom while reading my books. you will be amazed that you really know more intuitively about God than you may have realized. you just needed a gentle reminder.

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By

VIKRAM KARVE

I love tea.

You too love tea but don’t know how to make a good cup?

Let me tell you how to make tea.

Get some good Assam CTC Tea [CTC is an acronym for Crush, Tear and Curl]. CTC teas have a granular appearance and the fact of the matter is that if you are really interested in a Stimulating, Refreshing and Invigorating cup of traditional Indian Tea, Orthodox Leaf Teas [the OPs, the BOPs, et al] just don’t fit the bill – you need CTC tea to brew your strong, bright and full-bodied cup of milky Chai which looks deliciously appetizing – a lively reddish orange colour, not the dull muddy brown colour you get when you add milk to tea made from leaf teas the orthodox “teapot” way.

Take two cups of fresh water [one for you and one for me!] in a stainless steel vessel. Add four teaspoons of sugar. Put on the stove, cover with a lid and boil. Once the water starts boiling, remove the lid and boil for one and a half minutes – yes, exactly one and a half minutes!

Now briskly add two teaspoons of CTC Tea leaves, one teaspoon for each cup – the boiling water will suddenly erupt, and surge up, like a volcano, so smartly switch off the flame before it spills over and quickly cover tightly with the lid. Brew for five minutes till the liquor is full-bodied and the infusion is complete.

Have ready some freshly boiled full cream buffalo milk – yes, fresh creamy buffalo milk is a must – in Pune, I prefer Chitale’s. First pour in some hot milk in the cup, and through a strainer, pour in the rich tea brew and till you get beautiful reddish orange colour. Remember – always pour tea into milk, never milk into tea. This is the secret of the appetizingly attractive bright lively carroty red colour as it facilitates the perfect blending of the strong rich full-bodied intense tea liquor tea brew with the creamy white milk without producing any bitterness.

Now, go ahead, relish every sip, and enjoy your cup of ambrosial divine rejuvenating tea.

And do tell us how you liked it.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2008

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

I found out I was wrong.

Though I didn't actually work on any of my writing this weekend (surprise, surprise...), she accosted me. Kaiyo kept shadowing me the entire weekend, being persistent (as she is known for...), telling me more about herself than I'd ever imagined. She's a lot more complex than I'd originally thought! She practically screamed at me when I was listening to Natalie Grant's song I Will Not Be Moved  saying this was HER song; this was the cry of her heart. I never understood her completely until I heard it and now there's a new understanding I have of her and her story.

Now that she's thoroughly satisfied that I understand her completely, it seems she's rallied all of the other characters, for now they are coming forward and letting me know that I need to examine them more. :P

I'm especially surprised by Ryuji, who still tends to be on the mysterious side, but since Kaiyo's little dare, he's found himself slightly more emboldened to let me know how I've characterized him wrong too :P It seems that there's a slightly darker past that he has that he never let me see before now. I never really knew how much pain he was really in and how brave he was. I'm understanding why he keeps his distance from people now.

And then there's Iesada, Kaiyo's estranged father...he too is very secretive and not really certain if I'm to be trusted with his story; however, I've discovered an entire backstory of his that he's let be revealed through other characters...but with his permission of course. He likes to  be difficult with me, but it's understandable--his rank as oyabun in the yakuza makes him this way.

And I can't forget the antagonist, Kaemon (as much as I want to!). I know I tend to avoid him, because he's so intimidating, but I can't any longer. I'm afraid to see the true depth of his darkness, for I know he enjoys causing others pain and gets some sick joy out of it. I don't really want to examine his character, but I know that I'm going to have to if I want to tell the story the way it ought to be. (I can hear him already laughing about what I'm going to discover....)

 I'm spending a great deal of time daydreaming and not being quite here in this world as their world and their lives come to the forefront. And of course, as a writer, I am obliged to sit and listen, for it would be a great injustice to ignore them (even though I don't think I could if I tried!).

I know a great deal of writers are accosted by their characters at odd times and I'm sure that anyone who has characters and stories can understand this :) Even though this entry does make me sound a bit on the crazy side!

Finishing a novel is a feeling like none other. First I'm all wrapped up in the drama of the ending, feeling bittersweet and teary, yet hopeful, just like the heroine. Then, it's a flash of pure joy. I did it, and it's saved multiple times in multiple locations, and therefore it will continue to exist even after I move on. I've created SOMETHING, and that something is a huge part of me, even though it is its own entity too (kind of like a child).

The novel (which is a young adult, like my others) is called DRAWN, about Michelle De Freccio, a teen artist from Jersey who is running from her family's freaky past. Her dad is transferred to teach at an academy in England, and this is a new beginning for Michelle. A clean slate. How many second chances do we get in life to become what we really want to be? In Michelle's case, she wants to be normal. But when Michelle starts channelling a ghost through her drawings, a young man who she then meets and feels inexplicably drawn to, normal soon flies from her grasp as she's pulled into a world of conflict, mortal danger, and boundless love.

Writing DRAWN was an all-consuming experience. I fell in love, I fought for my life, I ran from madness...I became my character, all while trying to pursue my own version of a normal life with its routine of driving the kids around, and cooking dinner, and sometimes even vacuming. The moment I finished writing, I ran out to celebrate by picking up some sushi and dumplings for lunch and popping in a Bridget Jones DVD. I was free, and carefree, and blissful...for about two hours.

Then I missed my book, and my characters. It's kind of how you feel when you read a book you absolutely love, and you so want to get to the end to find out what's happened, but then you feel really depressed that it's done.

Now it's on to the next phase: critiques. This is where my amazing writer's group gets its hands on it, and I have to wait an excruciating month to hear what they think. And this is when my two teen daughters devour it, after waiting for too many months for a read, and they report back on their thoughts. Then I'll process their opinions, and send the shiny revised version off to my wonderful agent, hoping she'll be as in love with it as I am.

Okay, quite frankly, this phase is a tough one. In many ways, much tougher than writing the book. What if people don't like it? What if I've somehow failed to convey the thrills and drama and heart-stopping love? This is where we lonely writers have to find some way to believe in ourselves and in our vision, even when others might not. I hate doubting, but I love input. And I want my book to sizzle. I want my readers to flip the pages eagerly, and to feel as touched when they read the last word as I did writing it. I want them to set the novel down when they are finished, VERY sorry that it is done. So, as Dr. Suess would say, I'm in The Waiting Place.

I'm more of a doer, frankly. I've even got a twinkling of an idea for another novel ahead of me.  But in the meantime, in The Waiting Place, I'm getting to all the things I told myself I'd look forward to doing once the book was complete and sent to my first readers. I'm washing my car, and sorting through papers, and shifting away the summer clothes, and washing windows, and wishing wishing wishing I was still writing DRAWN. I'm in writing withdrawal.

I wonder if all writers feel like this. It's been a few days. I want to create some more. And I really want to linger in that world I'd just created. Maybe I'll read DRAWN through one more time, just for old times sake.

WARNING:  This is a no-edit zone...

In the last week, every email that I’ve gotten from those who read this blog has related to crisis and stress.  Understandable, considering.

Stress either builds slowly over time or comes on like a gangbuster and body slams you.  Either way, we know that stress kills.   Many try to ignore what has them stressed.  They deny, rationalize, ignore, suppress, or otherwise attempt to hide from the stress factors that are burdening them.

It doesn’t work.  And the impairments that come with it impact you emotionally, spiritually and physically.  There is no calm, peace, serenity and the physical body rebels against all those things.  You see headaches, body aches even nausea and colon challenges.  The entire body can be impacted and tossed into turmoil.

What does work?

Dealing with the stress.

How do you do that?

Get physical.
Exercise releases endorphins that counter the chemical imbalance stress brings on.

Get rested.
Weariness and exhaustion destroys our ability to make calm, rational decisions or to set our course of actions.

Get smart.
Whether your worries are personal, your private business, your professional business, the nation’s business--get informed.  It’s impossible to make wise choices when you don’t know the details.  When you understand the challenge, then you can focus on the solution.

Making that shift--from the challenge to the solution is paramount in lowering your stress level.  Why?  Because command of the matter gives you confidence that the decisions you make will be good ones, seated in wisdom.

These are stressful times and they’re going to get worse before they get better.  Every generation has its challenges, and this one is no exception.  That isn’t always a bad thing.  It’s not pleasant, but challenges have value.  If we elect not to ignore but to deal with these challenges, we often discover what we stand for, what we will not stand for.  We discover our strengths, our character.

We discover ourselves . . .

Blessings,

Vicki

Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com