For those of you who have been on a shopping binge . . .
Hear the song on Youtube.
Saturday 30 November 2013
Friday 29 November 2013
Ben Folds "All U Can Eat"
You know what I can't quite reconcile?
I feel pretty disgusted by the whole Black Friday insanity of our consumer culture, and am very, very put off that some businesses tried to get a jump on Christmas (which is still a month away!) by opening on Thanksgiving.
I reject participating in any of it.
On the other hand, I am not opposed to having a large, lavish meal on Thanksgiving.
Why is one okay in my mind, but not the other?
Isn't it all, as Ben Folds sings about, just crass consumption?
Hear the song on Youtube.
I feel pretty disgusted by the whole Black Friday insanity of our consumer culture, and am very, very put off that some businesses tried to get a jump on Christmas (which is still a month away!) by opening on Thanksgiving.
I reject participating in any of it.
On the other hand, I am not opposed to having a large, lavish meal on Thanksgiving.
Why is one okay in my mind, but not the other?
Isn't it all, as Ben Folds sings about, just crass consumption?
Hear the song on Youtube.
Thursday 28 November 2013
Johnny Cash "Thanksgiving Prayer"
Happy Thanksgiving from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman!
(And also Johnny Cash)
((And me!))
Hear the song on Youtube.
(And also Johnny Cash)
((And me!))
Hear the song on Youtube.
Wednesday 27 November 2013
The JB's "Pass The Peas"
Of all the dishes that I look forward to preparing, and eating, on Thanksgiving, I'd have to say that Peas are pretty low on the list.
Not that I dislike them. Just . . . they're peas. Who cares?
BUT, if I'm looking for something to keep things grooving in the kitchen as I juggle the pots and pans and mixers and hot plates . . . well, bring on the JBs and Pass The Peas . . .
Hear the song on Youtube.
Not that I dislike them. Just . . . they're peas. Who cares?
BUT, if I'm looking for something to keep things grooving in the kitchen as I juggle the pots and pans and mixers and hot plates . . . well, bring on the JBs and Pass The Peas . . .
Hear the song on Youtube.
Tuesday 26 November 2013
Christmas Lites ~ Cover revealing!
Hey Lovelies!
It is the holiday season again! That means Christmas Lites III is going to be released soon! Here is the cover revealing and all of the amazing authors that have donated stories to raise money for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
It is the holiday season again! That means Christmas Lites III is going to be released soon! Here is the cover revealing and all of the amazing authors that have donated stories to raise money for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Blurb:
The Christmas season is upon us yet again. Yes, my friends, it is a time of giving, loving, and sharing. Within these pages is a way you can help many people desperately in need of love, support, and goodness: the victims of domestic crime. By purchasing this anthology, you are sending every last dime made off this book to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The NCADV is an amazing charity that saves these people and lets them know there is still hope, still goodness, and still a reason to carry on.
Twenty-one authors have joined in this year, giving their time and their stories to these people – and to you. We all hope you enjoy our holiday tales captured in bite-size pieces. Whether you read this on the bus, before bed, or snuggled by the fire, please, do read – and share.
Authors in this anthology:
Addison Moore
A.F. Stewart
Amy Eye
Angela Yuriko Smith
Ben Warden
Cassie McCown
Elizabeth Evans
J.A. Clement
JG Faherty
Jonathan Tidball
M.L. Sherwood
Monica La Porta
Ottilie Weber
Patrick Freivald
Phil Cantrill
Robert Gray
Ron C. Neito
S. Patrick Pothier
Tricia Kristufek
Vered Ehsani
*Brandon Eye bonus story
Editor/compiler: Amy Eye of The Eyes for Editing
Cover Design Kyra Smith
Link to the charity: www.ncadv.org
Paul Simon "Slip Slidin' Away"
One great source for battling the seasonal slowdown, is the reissue pile. Sometimes.
Sometimes the reissue of classic albums contain "bonus" content that is pretty weak. But sometimes there is a little bit of treasure buried there.
Paul Simon recently collected all his solo albums into one box. And each album has a few demo or live versions of the songs therein.
The label helpfully put all these alternate versions on one disc for promotional purposes, and though not every cut is radio ready, some of these stripped down take are a great listen and give you a new appreciation for the old songs.
I found about 7 cuts that are worth some limited airplay, bundled them up in a "packet" and they will cycle through the playlist at the speed that just one song might. So it's not heavy airplay, but the songs are so well-known that there's no need to build familiarity as if it were a new artist or new cut.
Instead, the friendly, loveable sound of Paul Simon provides a little bit of an anchor to a time when the playlist could start to tilt toward the unfamiliar.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Sometimes the reissue of classic albums contain "bonus" content that is pretty weak. But sometimes there is a little bit of treasure buried there.
Paul Simon recently collected all his solo albums into one box. And each album has a few demo or live versions of the songs therein.
The label helpfully put all these alternate versions on one disc for promotional purposes, and though not every cut is radio ready, some of these stripped down take are a great listen and give you a new appreciation for the old songs.
I found about 7 cuts that are worth some limited airplay, bundled them up in a "packet" and they will cycle through the playlist at the speed that just one song might. So it's not heavy airplay, but the songs are so well-known that there's no need to build familiarity as if it were a new artist or new cut.
Instead, the friendly, loveable sound of Paul Simon provides a little bit of an anchor to a time when the playlist could start to tilt toward the unfamiliar.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Monday 25 November 2013
Eddie Murphy "Boogie In Your Butt"
Another story popping up multiple times on my Facebook feed is this one about the old Columbia Record And Tapes Club. It's worth a read.
I had forgotten about the thing, completely. But those ads used to be ubiquitous.
Perhaps the only worse deal that someone actually joining the Columbia Record Club, was the one I somehow roped my cousin into.
The deal was something like, "You can get 11 records for a penny."
But in the fine print you found out: you had to buy a certain number of albums at an overprice, AND they would send you a new album every month and make you pay for it unless you sent them a refusal saying you DIDN'T want it.
Because the number of albums you initially got was an odd number, I proposed to my cousin Christine that I'd give her the penny, and only take 5 of the albums and she could have 6. But in the fine print: she had to be the one to sign up for the account, leaving her on the hook for the payments and the refusals.
These 30 years later, she still speaks to me. But it was a pretty shitty deal to foist upon a family member. Sorry cousin!
Lousy deals aside, it may surprise you to know that the Columbia Record And Tape club was not so much a musical influence on me, as it was a comedic influence. I got my first comedy albums this way, including "The Best Of Bill Cosby" and Eddie Murphy's debut "Eddie Murphy."
As recently as today, I was appropriating material from the Eddie Murphy album.
(He does this brilliant thing where he asks an audience member who'd been hit by a car, "Where did you get hit?" and when the person responds with the street, Murphy gets a big laugh from the audience by saying that he meant where "on your body" did you get hit. It's brilliant because it works in reverse---if the person had answered with a body part, he could have said "I meant where in town did you get hit?")
And the albums weren't without their occasional musical moment, like this timeless classic, Boogie In Your Butt."
Hear the song on Youtube.
I had forgotten about the thing, completely. But those ads used to be ubiquitous.
Perhaps the only worse deal that someone actually joining the Columbia Record Club, was the one I somehow roped my cousin into.
The deal was something like, "You can get 11 records for a penny."
But in the fine print you found out: you had to buy a certain number of albums at an overprice, AND they would send you a new album every month and make you pay for it unless you sent them a refusal saying you DIDN'T want it.
Because the number of albums you initially got was an odd number, I proposed to my cousin Christine that I'd give her the penny, and only take 5 of the albums and she could have 6. But in the fine print: she had to be the one to sign up for the account, leaving her on the hook for the payments and the refusals.
These 30 years later, she still speaks to me. But it was a pretty shitty deal to foist upon a family member. Sorry cousin!
Lousy deals aside, it may surprise you to know that the Columbia Record And Tape club was not so much a musical influence on me, as it was a comedic influence. I got my first comedy albums this way, including "The Best Of Bill Cosby" and Eddie Murphy's debut "Eddie Murphy."
As recently as today, I was appropriating material from the Eddie Murphy album.
(He does this brilliant thing where he asks an audience member who'd been hit by a car, "Where did you get hit?" and when the person responds with the street, Murphy gets a big laugh from the audience by saying that he meant where "on your body" did you get hit. It's brilliant because it works in reverse---if the person had answered with a body part, he could have said "I meant where in town did you get hit?")
And the albums weren't without their occasional musical moment, like this timeless classic, Boogie In Your Butt."
Hear the song on Youtube.
Sunday 24 November 2013
Semisonic "Chemistry"
Here's another Weekend Post:
After yesterday's horror, it's good to return to the more understated late 90s/2000s, where stripes and glasses and choker-things were the wild accessories.
"All About Chemistry" ended up being Semisonic's final record, which was disappointing, because I think, like Fountains Of Wayne, there was a breakthrough hit somewhere in their future, that would have opened up an audience to a treasure trove of great catalogue songs.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.
Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.
Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
After yesterday's horror, it's good to return to the more understated late 90s/2000s, where stripes and glasses and choker-things were the wild accessories.
"All About Chemistry" ended up being Semisonic's final record, which was disappointing, because I think, like Fountains Of Wayne, there was a breakthrough hit somewhere in their future, that would have opened up an audience to a treasure trove of great catalogue songs.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.
Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.
Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
Saturday 23 November 2013
Trip Shakespeare "Bachelorette"
Here's another Weekend Post:
After writing about Dan Wilson earlier this week, I thought I'd make the weekend posts about his two former bands.
As the kids would say, OMG!
I had never seen this video before.
With the hair and the "rocking out lip-syncing" this is such an 80s video. And it totally reminds me of that movie with Hugh Grant where he's the songwriter and they flash back to his 80s hits. Except I'm not sure they were joking in this video.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.
Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.
Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
After writing about Dan Wilson earlier this week, I thought I'd make the weekend posts about his two former bands.
As the kids would say, OMG!
I had never seen this video before.
With the hair and the "rocking out lip-syncing" this is such an 80s video. And it totally reminds me of that movie with Hugh Grant where he's the songwriter and they flash back to his 80s hits. Except I'm not sure they were joking in this video.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.
Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.
Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
Friday 22 November 2013
John Forster "Entering Marion"
If someone posts a video on Facebook and I see it in my feed, I don't usually click on it, unless I'm just killing time.
But if I see that same video posted multiple times by multiple people, I figure it's worth checking out.
And that's how I came across the video below, which explains, in a regionally/appropriately profane way, how to correctly pronounce just a few of the ridiculously mis-pronounceable town names in Massachusetts.
That brought up these two songs, that are much funnier if you're from here, but still work if you're not.
Former mvy News Director Toby Wilson introduced me to "Entering Marion" years ago. And Dana Edelman and his son now live on the Vineyard.
Enjoy. And put it in your Facebook feed several times if you want me to click on it.
Hear "How To Properly Say Massachusetts Town Names" on Youtube.
Hear Dana Edelman's "Massachusetts Song" here (I can't embed it here).
Hear a live version the song on Youtube.
But if I see that same video posted multiple times by multiple people, I figure it's worth checking out.
And that's how I came across the video below, which explains, in a regionally/appropriately profane way, how to correctly pronounce just a few of the ridiculously mis-pronounceable town names in Massachusetts.
That brought up these two songs, that are much funnier if you're from here, but still work if you're not.
Former mvy News Director Toby Wilson introduced me to "Entering Marion" years ago. And Dana Edelman and his son now live on the Vineyard.
Enjoy. And put it in your Facebook feed several times if you want me to click on it.
Hear "How To Properly Say Massachusetts Town Names" on Youtube.
Hear Dana Edelman's "Massachusetts Song" here (I can't embed it here).
Hear a live version the song on Youtube.
Thursday 21 November 2013
Dan Wilson "Disappearing"
Sometimes it is such a relief to hear a good song.
Dan Wilson is one of those artists that I personally love. But none of his work has ever really fit on MVY. Or fit snugly, anyway.
His 80s and 90s bands---Trip Shakespeare and Semisonic---were a little too pop for the MVY world.
And when Semisonic's early-2000s "All About Chemistry" album didn't really break through, commercially, the band went on hold and it seemed like maybe Wilson's considerable song-crafting talents could have slide into obscurity.
Thankfully, he developed into an incredible co-writer and producer, reaching the highest highs in the last decade while co-writing and producing Grammy winning smash hits for The Dixie Chicks and Adele.
He's also worked with Jason Mraz, Mike Doughty, Taylor Swift and Rachel Yamagata, among other artists who can deliver a strong song with a pop sheen.
But listening to a song like Adele's "Someone Like You," even if you feel like that song is too much of a "pop hit," your ears would have to be broken to miss the fact that it is an incredibly well-constructed song, with an instantly memorable melody, with lyrics that pack an emotional wallop.
He could make a song that would fit on MVY.
And he did.
I haven't even dug into what "Disappearing" might be about, or plumbed the details of the melody and the arrangement. I have the feeling that the depth of the song will unfold for me in the coming weeks of listening. But I didn't have to think too hard about adding it to MVY's rotation.
I only had to hear the song once, to love it.
And that, if anything, is the mark of a Dan Wilson tune.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Dan Wilson is one of those artists that I personally love. But none of his work has ever really fit on MVY. Or fit snugly, anyway.
His 80s and 90s bands---Trip Shakespeare and Semisonic---were a little too pop for the MVY world.
And when Semisonic's early-2000s "All About Chemistry" album didn't really break through, commercially, the band went on hold and it seemed like maybe Wilson's considerable song-crafting talents could have slide into obscurity.
Thankfully, he developed into an incredible co-writer and producer, reaching the highest highs in the last decade while co-writing and producing Grammy winning smash hits for The Dixie Chicks and Adele.
He's also worked with Jason Mraz, Mike Doughty, Taylor Swift and Rachel Yamagata, among other artists who can deliver a strong song with a pop sheen.
But listening to a song like Adele's "Someone Like You," even if you feel like that song is too much of a "pop hit," your ears would have to be broken to miss the fact that it is an incredibly well-constructed song, with an instantly memorable melody, with lyrics that pack an emotional wallop.
He could make a song that would fit on MVY.
And he did.
I haven't even dug into what "Disappearing" might be about, or plumbed the details of the melody and the arrangement. I have the feeling that the depth of the song will unfold for me in the coming weeks of listening. But I didn't have to think too hard about adding it to MVY's rotation.
I only had to hear the song once, to love it.
And that, if anything, is the mark of a Dan Wilson tune.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Wednesday 20 November 2013
End of the Line Sale
Hey Lovelies!
I said that I would let everyone know when the End of the Line sale started. All e-book editions are now $0.99! It doesn't matter if you have a kindle or a nook or even a kobo, all editions of End of the Line are now $0.99 so that everyone has a chance to read the story before I start the mini series on my blog, Going Rogue!
When so much is lost how does one to have the strength to move on? At seventeen Lauren was prepared for yet another year of school. Then asteroids hit, killing all of those she knew except for a few other teens from her neighborhood. Joining forces with her classmate Aaron, they work together on the journey in the hopes of finding more people that are alive. On the way, threats of starvation, illness, and freezing to death don’t compare to the danger of Dean Manson. Manson is an ex-con out for revenge against Aaron. With so much working against them these teens fight for everything even if it means denying their feelings just for the chance to see a new day.
kindle $0.99
paperback $8.09
nook $0.99
smashwords $0.99
kobo $0.99
I said that I would let everyone know when the End of the Line sale started. All e-book editions are now $0.99! It doesn't matter if you have a kindle or a nook or even a kobo, all editions of End of the Line are now $0.99 so that everyone has a chance to read the story before I start the mini series on my blog, Going Rogue!
End of the Line
kindle $0.99
paperback $8.09
nook $0.99
smashwords $0.99
kobo $0.99
Lady Gaga "Applause"
My wife and I were waiting to meet some friends at a bar this weekend. While our friends were extricating themselves from a different party to come join us, my wife and I had some time to sit in the bar, talk and listen.
We talked about serious things. We talked about light things. We talked about Christmas. We talked about the kids.
The usual.
A local band was getting set up at one of end of the barroom. But in the meantime, the PA system was rotating through a bevy of current pop hits.
I don't listen to too much pop music by choice. I don't hate it necessarily. It's just not my taste.
But I DO hear a least a sample of what's current, via my wife and kids.
While they don't like everything---they are discriminating---they like enough to make me feel like I am connected to the pop world so that I know who Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are, or what the fox say.
Some fun song would come on the PA and my wife would start grooving in her chair, a smile breaking out on her face. It wouldn't necessarily stop the conversation or anything. It was just a part of the scene and the mood.
Our friends showed up right around the time the band started playing.
The band's selections tended toward the heavier, moodier stuff, and both my wife and I noted a marked change from what the vibe in the room had been.
"What were they playing before?"
"Oh, you know, Pop stuff," I said. "Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and such."
My wife started cracking up.
"No they didn't."
Really? I thought they did.
But no. She ran through the 10 or so artists we HAD heard. But Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars were not among them.
Basically, what she was calling me out on, was that to me, there isn't really any difference between hearing Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and hearing Fun and Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (whose songs we DID hear).
Admittedly, unless I have heard the song a few dozen times (via my wife), then sometimes hearing songs from these artists is like trying to tell squirrels apart.
Hear "Applause" on Youtube.
Hear "Locked Out Of Heaven" on Youtube.
Hear "Roar" on Youtube.
We talked about serious things. We talked about light things. We talked about Christmas. We talked about the kids.
The usual.
A local band was getting set up at one of end of the barroom. But in the meantime, the PA system was rotating through a bevy of current pop hits.
I don't listen to too much pop music by choice. I don't hate it necessarily. It's just not my taste.
But I DO hear a least a sample of what's current, via my wife and kids.
While they don't like everything---they are discriminating---they like enough to make me feel like I am connected to the pop world so that I know who Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are, or what the fox say.
Some fun song would come on the PA and my wife would start grooving in her chair, a smile breaking out on her face. It wouldn't necessarily stop the conversation or anything. It was just a part of the scene and the mood.
Our friends showed up right around the time the band started playing.
The band's selections tended toward the heavier, moodier stuff, and both my wife and I noted a marked change from what the vibe in the room had been.
"What were they playing before?"
"Oh, you know, Pop stuff," I said. "Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and such."
My wife started cracking up.
"No they didn't."
Really? I thought they did.
But no. She ran through the 10 or so artists we HAD heard. But Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars were not among them.
Basically, what she was calling me out on, was that to me, there isn't really any difference between hearing Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and hearing Fun and Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (whose songs we DID hear).
Admittedly, unless I have heard the song a few dozen times (via my wife), then sometimes hearing songs from these artists is like trying to tell squirrels apart.
Hear "Applause" on Youtube.
Hear "Locked Out Of Heaven" on Youtube.
Hear "Roar" on Youtube.
Friday 15 November 2013
Review ~ I Am Yours by Faith Sullivan
Hey Lovelies!
I revealed the cover for I Am Yours and done reviews for a most of Faith Sullivan's novels. She is a New Adult author, she focuses on Contemporary Romances with touches of suspense. She is also a writer who does write steamy scenes which I would not suggest readers under 18 to read! This one is the last installment for her Heartbreak trilogy! She did not fail
Once you've found the one you've been hunting down, are they really who you thought they were? We last left Adam and Jada when they went to Adam's brother's wedding. Adam's soon-to-be sister in-law is carrying his baby though just as Adam finally runs into Katie, the dead woman that has been haunting her dreams. Now that you're caught up I Am Yours follows as everyone's confusion and lies are unraveling before their eyes before anyone can stop the the hurt feelings.
Faith Sullivan has the readers invested in the characters, twisting them in every direction so that the readers feel for both Jada and Katie, not wanting either to get hurt. At one point or another we have been hurt, possibly even felt as if we were choice too, the back up person for the one we loved. Even if you haven't Faith shows all the emotions in a realistic way, in her easy to flowing style. Her readers will not be rolling their eyes at her explanation for why Adam sees a dead woman. Just when you think the story is going way she takes a quick turn. Plus steamy scenes for those who are old enough ;) can't wait to read her next story!
Kindle
Amazon paperback
Nook
Smashwords
I revealed the cover for I Am Yours and done reviews for a most of Faith Sullivan's novels. She is a New Adult author, she focuses on Contemporary Romances with touches of suspense. She is also a writer who does write steamy scenes which I would not suggest readers under 18 to read! This one is the last installment for her Heartbreak trilogy! She did not fail
I Am Yours
Once you've found the one you've been hunting down, are they really who you thought they were? We last left Adam and Jada when they went to Adam's brother's wedding. Adam's soon-to-be sister in-law is carrying his baby though just as Adam finally runs into Katie, the dead woman that has been haunting her dreams. Now that you're caught up I Am Yours follows as everyone's confusion and lies are unraveling before their eyes before anyone can stop the the hurt feelings.
Faith Sullivan has the readers invested in the characters, twisting them in every direction so that the readers feel for both Jada and Katie, not wanting either to get hurt. At one point or another we have been hurt, possibly even felt as if we were choice too, the back up person for the one we loved. Even if you haven't Faith shows all the emotions in a realistic way, in her easy to flowing style. Her readers will not be rolling their eyes at her explanation for why Adam sees a dead woman. Just when you think the story is going way she takes a quick turn. Plus steamy scenes for those who are old enough ;) can't wait to read her next story!
Kindle
Amazon paperback
Nook
Smashwords
Monday 11 November 2013
Mini blog series...
Hey lovelies!
I just wanted to talk about something that I'll be posting soon. I mentioned on my facebook page that I was going to be starting a mini blog series this year. At the rate I've been typing I'll probably starting the series in mid-December! At one point I thought I'd publish it as a 1.5 for End of the Line, but honestly unless it's a prequel the mini short stories between stories kind of annoy me. A. I like to have all my series in one format. B. If it didn't make it into the book there might be a reason. C. Kind of drives me nuts that Authors do multiple between every book. I don't care if the author is a New York best seller or an Indie, it drives me a little nuts, sorry I did not mean to rant.
In a couple of reviews for End of the Line though there was question about what happened in a certain spot. The people wanted more details (sorry I'm trying to spoil anything for those who have not read it yet!) so I thought I'd start a mini blog series to help fill in those questions. So what I'll be doing before hand is I'm going to put End of the Line on sale soon, the paperback is already on sale, so the ebook. I'll post every Sunday instead of a Sample Sunday, I'll post a chapter of the mini series 'Going Rogue.' If you miss one week, don't worry the chapters are short and I'll post links to the previous chapters to each week. I love working with Aaron again, I think I'll always have a soft spot for him ;) I will say I was writing last night and had to remember if I killed a character off yet or not ;)
So keep your eyes out I'll give you notice on when the End of the Line sale will happen ($0.99 for all e-book formats!). While I'm working on the mini blog series I'm working on the series to see how that is working out, hopefully I'll have a better grasp on how that series is. I don't want to put out a series just for the sake of having a sequel.
~Ottilie
PS This was probably in bad taste to mention something like this on Veteran's Day! I'm sorry, I just had to had off today because of school work and wanted to post while I remembered. I do want to thank all the men and women who have served and are currently serving now. Even in a time where our country is kind of turned upside down and chaotic that they still make sacrifices despite the fact they get overlooked. That is true heroism that should be honored. Thank you for all the military branches and their families for all that they are put through even though they do not get the thanks they deserve.
I just wanted to talk about something that I'll be posting soon. I mentioned on my facebook page that I was going to be starting a mini blog series this year. At the rate I've been typing I'll probably starting the series in mid-December! At one point I thought I'd publish it as a 1.5 for End of the Line, but honestly unless it's a prequel the mini short stories between stories kind of annoy me. A. I like to have all my series in one format. B. If it didn't make it into the book there might be a reason. C. Kind of drives me nuts that Authors do multiple between every book. I don't care if the author is a New York best seller or an Indie, it drives me a little nuts, sorry I did not mean to rant.
In a couple of reviews for End of the Line though there was question about what happened in a certain spot. The people wanted more details (sorry I'm trying to spoil anything for those who have not read it yet!) so I thought I'd start a mini blog series to help fill in those questions. So what I'll be doing before hand is I'm going to put End of the Line on sale soon, the paperback is already on sale, so the ebook. I'll post every Sunday instead of a Sample Sunday, I'll post a chapter of the mini series 'Going Rogue.' If you miss one week, don't worry the chapters are short and I'll post links to the previous chapters to each week. I love working with Aaron again, I think I'll always have a soft spot for him ;) I will say I was writing last night and had to remember if I killed a character off yet or not ;)
So keep your eyes out I'll give you notice on when the End of the Line sale will happen ($0.99 for all e-book formats!). While I'm working on the mini blog series I'm working on the series to see how that is working out, hopefully I'll have a better grasp on how that series is. I don't want to put out a series just for the sake of having a sequel.
~Ottilie
PS This was probably in bad taste to mention something like this on Veteran's Day! I'm sorry, I just had to had off today because of school work and wanted to post while I remembered. I do want to thank all the men and women who have served and are currently serving now. Even in a time where our country is kind of turned upside down and chaotic that they still make sacrifices despite the fact they get overlooked. That is true heroism that should be honored. Thank you for all the military branches and their families for all that they are put through even though they do not get the thanks they deserve.
Thursday 7 November 2013
Cover Revealing ~ Meant for Me Faith Sullivan
Hey Lovelies!
Faith Sullivan has done it again! I reviewed her Take me Now which is a New Adult Romantic Fiction story. She has written a book two for Take me Now that follows the story of Ivy and Eric that I'm sure the readers will be happy with the wait!
Meant for Me (Take Me Now #2)
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Summary from Goodreads:
Eric thought he had forever...before.
Divided between reliving the past and embracing his new life with Ivy, Eric fears that love will once again be ripped from his grasp. Having faith in the future is hard. So many things can go wrong.
Ivy is convinced that what they have is meant to be...but no one can escape the wheel of fate.
Her love for Eric and the life they're creating make every sacrifice seem worthwhile. Until she's forced to reveal the truth surrounding her delicate condition. Even if it shatters his hope.
Can they hold onto their newfound happiness or are events already in motion to keep them apart?
Eric thought he had forever...before.
Divided between reliving the past and embracing his new life with Ivy, Eric fears that love will once again be ripped from his grasp. Having faith in the future is hard. So many things can go wrong.
Ivy is convinced that what they have is meant to be...but no one can escape the wheel of fate.
Her love for Eric and the life they're creating make every sacrifice seem worthwhile. Until she's forced to reveal the truth surrounding her delicate condition. Even if it shatters his hope.
Can they hold onto their newfound happiness or are events already in motion to keep them apart?
Books in this trilogy:
(linked to Goodreads)
About the Author:
Faith Sullivan is an author of New Adult contemporary romances including the HEARTBEAT trilogy, the TAKE ME NOW series and the 9/11 novel, UNEXPECTED.
Where to find Faith Sullivan:
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Adam, Eve, and the young female artist
I was asking my students to point out for me, or find for me if they could, depictions of Adam and Eve by women artists prior to the nineteenth century (I’d thought of Suzanne Valadon). My notion was that the subject was perhaps one that involved too much naked man to be quite feasible for the woman artist to undertake, at least until the 19th century.
But I failed completely to think of one special category of female artist that valiantly, methodically and with epic concentration undertook the subject time and again: little girls working their samplers.
Why Adam and Eve were so favoured as a design element in the sampler is worth pondering. Paradise allowed lots of attendant animals, and they were fun to stitch. Adam and Eve were part of children’s iconography – in part because their homes might not feature much pictorial material (a less pious household might have some ballad sheets with woodblock prints pasted up on the privy walls). But Adam and Eve popped up everywhere – often they appear on title pages of Bibles. For the German market at least, cut out and paste Genesis I-III pictures were available.
One could take a grave view of this, that the little daughters of Eve were being made to focus on her role in bringing sin into the world. It is possible that some of the earlier women writers about Adam and Eve – I am thinking of Lucy Aitken, and possibly further back to women of the 17th century like Lucy Hutchinson and Ester Sowernam - may have had to demonstrate their skill with the needle in working Eve and her husband , and what they slowly worked onto the linen they also stitched into their minds as a subject they’d want to return to and say more about.
But there may have been, short of effects of indoctrination, some fun to be had in working these figures. It was probably fun to be judicious about doing the naked figures with suitable decency, and the serpent was a joy to work, wriggling in the tree.
On the wonderful Google Art Project, several such samplers can be seen. On the 18thof April 1737 Margaret Grant began her work, aged just nine. Perhaps the materials for making her sampler were a birthday present. She will use silk and linen threads in many colours, it’s a big project, with an outlay involved. It’s easy to imagine that work on the sampler inaugurated the girl’s own sewing box, and her mother passing on some material, but also buying new to set the project off to a good start.
But Margaret, obviously a painstaking child, went far beyond the usual proof of being able to read in displaying the conventional elements in a sampler of an alphabet and her name: she included a whole poem
Neither the Google Art Project nor the Museum that holds the item http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18564339/seems to have identified the poem, but it is easily found, being Francis Quarles’ ‘On Adam’:
How soon, poore Adam, was thy Freedome lost!
Forfeit to death ere thou hadst time to boast;
Before thy Triumph, was thy Glory done,
Betwixt a rising and a setting Sun:
How soon that ends, that should have ended never!
Thine eyes nere slept, untill they slept for ever.
The poem was first published in Quarles’ Divine Fanciesin 1632, but that was an astonishingly popular work, going through edition after edition. (On EEBO I see 1632, 33, 41, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 64, 65, 71, 75, there might have been more, clearly if a 17th century household had a book of verse, it was quite likely to be this). Resonantly gloomy, the poem briefly expresses (and finds relish in expressing) the commonly agreed view that Adam and Eve fell on their first day in Paradise. It’s not a view that enhances anyone’s sense of God’s sense of proportion, but it seems as though anxiety about Adam and Eve sleeping together, and immediately conceiving a child while sinless, alarmed everyone to thinking it was all over between 9am and 3pm (or similar). There was also that inveterate desire to read the Old Testament typologically, so the sequence of events in the original sin must match the time taken for Christ to die on the Cross, in redeeming that sin.
Lord; if our Father Adam could not stay
In his upright perfection, one poor day;
How can it be expected, we have power
To hold out Siege, one scruple of an hour …
In his upright perfection, one poor day;
How can it be expected, we have power
To hold out Siege, one scruple of an hour …
exclaims Quarles in his Meditation 21 (“See, how the crafty Serpent, twists and windes / Into the brest of man!”, etc).
Well, at least it wasn’t a verse about Eve…
Tuesday 5 November 2013
Our poverty has nothing to do with Mars Mission
To say that the Rs 450 crore spent on Mars Mission (comparatively a small amount) should have been spent on feeding the poor, is mixing up issues. If many Indians are hungry and homeless, if India has poor public infrastructure, it's not because Indian space scientists are doing their job. More
Sunday 3 November 2013
New Release ~ Beneath the Scars
Hey Lovelies!
Wonderful news! Beneath the Scars is finally released in paperback and all ebook formats! It might take a couple of days to show up on sites, but I promise you I have uploaded for all formats.
Corporal Riley Nolan is back home and out of the hospital after sustaining severe injuries in a skirmish overseas. His physical injuries may be healed, though he is left with horrible scars all over his body. His mind is still healing, and he has almost no contact with the world outside his small dark apartment.
After the death of her parents and being forced to sell their house and move into an apartment in a new town, Eponine is left picking up the pieces while trying to maintain a normal life for her little sister, Genevieve.
Can these new neighbors help each other heal, finding the light and laughter in the world again? Most importantly, can Eponine help Riley see he's not the monster he believes himself to be beneath the scars?
I am looking for some reviews, if you are interested send me an email at ottilieweber(at)gmail(dot)com. There is a limited number I'm willing to send out.
Kindle $1.99
Paperback $11.39
paperback createspace store $11.99
smashwwords $1.99
Wonderful news! Beneath the Scars is finally released in paperback and all ebook formats! It might take a couple of days to show up on sites, but I promise you I have uploaded for all formats.
Beneath the Scars
Corporal Riley Nolan is back home and out of the hospital after sustaining severe injuries in a skirmish overseas. His physical injuries may be healed, though he is left with horrible scars all over his body. His mind is still healing, and he has almost no contact with the world outside his small dark apartment.
After the death of her parents and being forced to sell their house and move into an apartment in a new town, Eponine is left picking up the pieces while trying to maintain a normal life for her little sister, Genevieve.
Can these new neighbors help each other heal, finding the light and laughter in the world again? Most importantly, can Eponine help Riley see he's not the monster he believes himself to be beneath the scars?
I am looking for some reviews, if you are interested send me an email at ottilieweber(at)gmail(dot)com. There is a limited number I'm willing to send out.
Kindle $1.99
Paperback $11.39
paperback createspace store $11.99
smashwwords $1.99
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