12 Days of Christmas, Day 12

Ho Ho Ho! Today, take 50% off our Christmas themed books using coupon code Xmas2012.

We hope you've enjoyed our 12 Days of Christmas as much as we have. May you have health, love, and happiness for the new year.

Merry Christmas, from the staff, management and authors of the Champagne Book Group.

12 Days Of Christmas, Day 11

 

No coupons needed! Today is our bestseller special. Go to any of our stores at www.burstbooks.ca, www.carnalpassions.com/store, or www.champagnebooks.com/shop for the list of specials today.
Here's a hint, check out the bestseller list on our landing page at www.champagnebooks.com and you can see exactly what's on sale. But there may be other secrets waiting to be found so don't hesitate to click on the links.

12 Days Of Christmas, Day 10

Free shipping! Use coupon code FREESHIP at checkout for free shipping on all print books. One use per customer, per imprint. www.burstbooks.ca, www.carnalpassions.com/store, www.champagnebooks.com/shop

12 Days of Christmas, Day 9

What's the Christmas holiday without a little magic? Today's special runs across all three of our stores (www.burstbooks.ca , www.carnalpassions.com/store , www.champagnebooks.com/shop ). If you use coupon code FANFRI2012 at checkout, you'll get 30% off all fantasy, paranormal and sci fi ebooks and print books.

Remember, one use only (per imprint), so lots to choose from!

12 Days of Christmas, Day 8

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree....! It's time for celebrate our past, so for today we're showcasing our historical books, both electronic and print. Visit www.champagnebooks.com/shop or www.carnalpassions.com/store and use coupon code TIMRUS12 for 30% off! One use per customer.

12 Days Of Christmas, Day 7

Today's special is for 30% off contemporary and romantic comedy, using coupon code WEDwed12, at www.champagnebooks.com/shop

Whether your pleasure is digital or print reading, or both, use the coupon today and stock up.

Annual Author Awards Nominees Announced!

I am pleased to announce the nominees for author of the year, and novel of the year, 2012.  Congratulations on a great year!

 

 

 

Nominees for Author Of The Year:

Ute Carbone

Linda Rettstatt

Misa Buckley

Rita Bay

R.J.  Hore

 

Nominations for Novel Of The Year:

 

Blood on the Moon by Cassiel Knight

The P-Town Queen by Ute Carbone

Eleanor’s Heart by Misa Buckley

A Taste Of Evil by Christina Carlisle

The Face On Miss Fanny’s Wall by Gwyneth Greer

The Mutatio Project by J.A. Garland

12 Days Of Christmas Day 6

Like a little spice with your holidays? Today's coupon code is TORRTUES12 for Torrid Tuesday at www.carnalpassions.com/store. 30% off the contents of your cart, one use per customer.

12 Days Of Christmas Day 5

Mystery Monday! Not enough suspense in your life? Like the thrills and chills of a little mystery? Or maybe you just like getting the blood moving with a good thriller. Today, we have 30 % off all mysteries/suspense/thrillers (print or electronic), using coupon code MYSMON12 at www.champagnebooks.com/shop

Read on!

12 Days Of Christmas, Day 4

Not gotten your fix yet? How about a BOGO sale?

Buy one ebook of $5.00 or more and get another of the same value (max $5.00), using coupon code BOGO12 . Coupon can be used once per customer.

12 Days Of Christmas-Day 3!

Today we celebrate our science fiction/fantasy authors. So check out www.burstbooks.ca and www.champagnebooks.com/shop. Oh and there may be a few naughty ones over at www.carnalpassions.com/store too! Today's coupon code for 25% off is SFS25

12 Days of Christmas, day 2!

Today we celebrate by giving our readers a 30% discount off the contents of their shopping cart.
Use the coupon cod: 30CAN at checkout for your discount.

Remember, this special is for one day only at each of our stores: www.burstbooks.ca , www.champagnebooks.com/shop and www.carnalpassions.com/store .

12 Days Of Christmas Sale

Christmas is our favorite time of year, and to help celebrate, we invite you to sample some of our hot, new talent from the last year. For our first special in our 12 Days Of Christmas, we're showcasing our new authors.

Visit our website for books by the following authors and use coupon code NAS1212 to claim 50% off ebooks at both BURST and Champagne bookstores.

 

K.D. Pitner      Cathy Coburn & Duaine Neill R. J. Hore K.D. Fisk Marisa Quin Scott Chase C.J. Fenge EB Ryan Michelle Anderson Picarella January Bain A. P. Torre Cotton E. Davis

Richard Hacker Marc Davies Joyce Proell Debra Easterling Sandra Hall Wanda A. Wallace JA Garland Gary Eddings Wendy Burdess Harry Hindes Joanne Renaud Terri Grimes

Watch for tomorrow for our next special!

 

Facebook Trivia Game with Prizes!

Starting today, over at the Champagne Book Club on Facebook, through Sunday, we are having a contest. Each day, we will post a question on Facebook about something on the Champagne Book Group website. Participants will go to the website to find the answer and send an email to cassie@champagnebooks.com with the answer and where it was found.

Every correct answer gets an entry into the drawing to win a fabulous gift bag of all kinds of swag. Answering the bonus question gets three entries!

So hop on over to the Champagne Book Club and check out the first question. Not only does it serve as our launch of the contest, the answer is the first book we will feature during our first book club meeting the following Wednesday with a discussion on the book with the author. We will hope join us. It will be loads of fun.

Visit the Champagne Book Club on Facebook now through Sunday for a new question and chance to win a fabulous swag gift bag!

October Reader Swag-A-Bration is in full swing!

Last week, we kicked off this with a fun word search game. Seventeen of Champagne Book Group authors have signed up to play this game with readers. Each author was given a word to work into their blog posts or on their websites on a particular day.

To play, all you have to do is go here and download your cheat sheet of words to hunt (see middle of page, lower right of swag-a-gration logo). Then, scroll to the bottom of the page and see the list of participating authors. Click on their links to find the word.

The list of authors is in order of their post date and as they are posting all through the month, please keep in mind that a word you are seeking may not be up yet so stop by frequently and check out the authors’ pages. See what they have going on during this month long celebration of our readers.

Remember the grand prize? Everyone who finds all the words gets entered for a chance to win a Kobo with Champagne books! Come on; nothing to lose - something awesome to win!

Keep coming back to the blog as we’ll have more opportunities to play coming later. In fact, we’ll have another word search game but on our Facebook group (see below) starting later.

Check out our event page at: http://www.champagnebooks.com/swagabration.htm

As well as:

·       Champagne Book Club (Facebook)

·       Follow Champagne Book Group on Twitter - @champagnebooks and #swagabration

·       CBG Blog

SOMETHING STRANGE... by Marc Davies

"Ever seen something you can't explain?

Well I think I may finally have an explanation for my mysterious event.

At the front of my house is an empty room.  It has a large window with plenty of natural light, a high ceiling and floor boards.

The house was built in 1930.  Ever since I moved in, I've felt there is something strange about that room.  At first it was left empty because the space was surplus to my requirements, and I didn't want to spend the money furnishing it.  The space was dusty and full of echoes because it was never used.  Whenever I went in there, I would feel really uncomfortable.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm a complete reductionist and don't believe in anything supernatural, but something about that room--in fact, a particular corner of that room--gave me the creeps.

After about 3 months of moving in, I decided to do something with it by making it into a formal reception room.  I filled it with furniture, bit by bit, and with each piece that went in there, the mood seemed to improve.  Now I've filled empty rooms before, so I know how filling an empty space can improve the acoustics, smell and appearance, thus having a psychological effect, but this felt different.  I can't explain it.

Over time I gradually came to peace with the room, even grew to like it.  It seemed to love being lived in.  Then about 12 months ago (for reasons I won't go into) I had to clear out the furniture and return it to its original, empty state.

Wham.  Back to square one, with the creepy feeling in the corner.

I've been living alone since then.  Like I said, I don't believe in the supernatural, and I try to be totally rational about these things, but not matter how hard I tried, this room kept giving me the creeps, mainly at night (no surprises there).  I dealt with it by keeping the door closed and generally avoiding it (I didn't need the space).  Eventually I kind of forgot that it was there because I had excluded it from my day to day life.  But every now and again something would happen that I couldn't explain.  Here's some examples of the weirdness:

-Several people have commented how the room makes them feel uncomfortable as soon as they walk into it (without any prior prompting from me).

-I've had three dogs in the room over various stages, all of whom have reacted strangely.  Back when it was filled with furniture, Rupert (my Golden Retriever) and Matilda (my Labrador ) would sometimes go into a frenzy without prior notice, sniffing around the room like they've caught the scent of something.  There was nothing there, of coruse, but that didn't stop them.

-A couple of days ago, a guest brought over his dog, Mika (another Lab).  They had to walk past the room when they were leaving.  The door was closed, but as soon as she walked past, Mika stuck her nose to the gap under the door and started sniffing like crazy.  On a hunch I opened to door to let her inside.  The room is now partially filled with a glass dining table, but it still has a lot of echoes.  Anyway, once the door was open, Mika stuck her head inside and immediately got really scared and started backing out with her tail between her legs.  We tried to entice her inside, but she would only take a couple of steps before fleeing back into the corridor.  Now, if you knew Mika, you'd know that is really strange behaviour for her.  She's normally curious to the point of risking her own health.

-About 30 minutes after Mika left, I thought I'd give it a go with Matilda, my lab.  In we went. At first she was okay, but within 10 seconds she was out the door with her tail between her legs too.  She wasn't as freaked out as Mika, but I've never seen her like that and it was kind of unsettling.

-The same dog, Mika, has stayed over a couple of times, and more than once I've heard her barking at the door to that room in the middle of the night.

-The lights in the room are prone to flichering at odd moments.

There have been some other unusual events which I can't explain, but I won't go into them because I'll sound like a crazy person.

So what's the explanation?  Well, here's my attempt at being rational.  A couple weeks ago I did find some mouse droppings in the room, so I think I might have some furry little friends living with me.  That would explain the scents the dogs are picking up.

In terms of the animals being terrified, I think that could be explained by the echoes because the space is empty and has uncovered floor boards.  Dogs don't like echoes because it messes with their hearing.  The echoes could explain my discomfort too--no one like a space with echoes, it just doesn't feel right.  The dogs could also be picking up on my unease.

As for the flickering lights?  Well, the house is old, so that's probably faulty wiring.

Well, that's my explanation anyway. And I'm sticking to it.

Time to go buy some more furniture."


Marc Davies
www.marcdavies.net

October is Reader Celebration Month at Champagne!

Here at Champagne Book Group, we love books and we love readers.  Without readers like you, we wouldn’t be able to continue putting out such fantastic ones so we decided to celebrate YOU!

Hence the birth of the Reader Appreciation Swag-A-Bration!!  Starting today, for the entire month of October, you can participate in contests, win prize packs and get to know our authors.  The grand prize?  One lucky reader will take home a Kobo Reader loaded with an awesome selection of Champagne Book Group ebooks.

How do you participate?

Blogs will be created by our authors that include word hunts.  A list of participating author bloggers will be posted here and you collect the words. Stop by later (or better yet, follow this blog) for more information and the launch of the game.

There will also be author chats scheduled as well as swag baskets made to go to each week’s grand prize winner culminating, at the end of the month, in one grand prize winner who takes home the Kobo.  Look for these fun events:

·       Live chats in the Champagne chat room

·       Twitter contests

·       Facebook contests

·       Giveaways of books and more!

·       Lots more!

To keep up with the event and prizes, stop by regularly (or follow this blog) and keep an eye on our blog, facebook and twitter (hashtag #swagabration).

Until then, thank you, dear readers, for your support.

The Rule of Three for Zombie Race Survival by J.A. Garland

Recently, a team of four brave souls participated in a Run For Your Lives--Zombie race, in Seattle, WA. Our mission, to traverse a challenging obstacle course through hundreds of walking and running dead while protecting three red flags hanging from a belt around our waists. The zombie's mission, to grab our flags before we crossed the finish line, thus making us one of them.

While there were many lessons learned during this event, they can be grouped into three main after action report (AAR) items.

1. Preparation

Conditioning: Make sure you are physically prepared. Our race was held on a BMX race course. Hazard flagging was strung along the outside perimeters of the trail, with zombies lurking right up to that line. Running off course in a cross country trek isn't an option, you must run the gauntlet with the rest of the stampede. For those of you who haven't seen a BMX course, picture hills so steep you have to use your hands to scramble up them. Then imagine that every five feet or so are horizontal lines of zombies waiting for you--and they aren't trying to get up the hill. Some of these zombies are runners, and some are walkers, but their common motivation is an insatiable desire for your flags. You better believe you're going to be sucking air trying to get up and around them.

Weather: Pull a NOAA weather statement for the date/time of your race. Being from out of the area, I should have done this. If I did, I would have pushed the group for an earlier start time. I didn't. I also stopped looking at the car thermometer when it hit 100 degrees. Who cares after that point? It was Africa hot, and as dreaded, I'd soon lean that I didn't pre-hydrate nearly enough.

Battle Dress: Test out your running attire before combat. My chosen ensemble was a pair of long, flared cuff running pants. Crawling on your hands and knees through 20 yard mud trenches meant I emerged with mud coated pants that were several times heavier. They also flapped around my ankles and threatened to trip me up with each evac and evasion maneuver.

(I'm in the race photo, third from the left)

2. Teamwork

I'd like to say everyone made it out alive, but in reality, our group had a 50% survival rate. Looking around, we were fortunate, other groups weren't nearly so lucky. I'd like to think that had something to do with our, 'take one for the team,' mentality. When two of us died, (yes, during mile two I succumbed to my injuries) we became the sacrificial lambs for the rest of the team. Coming up on a horde of zombies in the path, we would preplan a left or right hand run pattern with our team mates. Then we'd head in first so the zombies would give us chase, and our uninfected team mates could run an opposite pattern with less heat. It wasn't perfect, but it gave the survivors a fighting chance.

3. Go for the Gold

Aggression of action. I add this in, because thinking back, there was an individual who had strategy worth mentioning. He came at the zombies like they came at him. As if in a game of pigeon, he'd head straight for zombies, crazy in his eyes. Probably fearing an NFL type collision, the zombies would peel off at the last moment, and this guy would run through unscathed. Now, I'm not saying this tactic would work for everyone, I'm 5'4", so my psycho isn't going to be nearly as impressive as his 6', brick shit house attack.

Good luck!

J.A. Garland

"Where fantasy becomes reality." 

Call for Submissions-Carnal Passions

Aphrodite's Island

 

5-10k words, short story/novella length erotic stories. Each story will be set against the backdrop of a tropical Island.

A luxurious resort set against the backdrop of sparkling blue seas, endless sun, and white sandy beaches. When Aphrodite opened the resort, it had one goal...to give the guests the ultimate in fantasy experiences. The manager, a reclusive young woman known only by Miss 'A' has set in place rules which guide the guests in their quest for the ultimate romantic fantasy...one sensual encounter at a time.

These short books will be hot, sexy reads about couples engaging in different fantasies on the island—everything from pirates and maidens, to BDSM. The only rules—both parties must consent to the fantasy, and pleasure is the ultimate reward.

There are no restrictions beyond the normal submissions exceptions, and can be m/m, m/f/f, f/m/f, f/m/m, m/m/f/f, f/f/m/f, f/f/f/m, etc.  An erotic HEA/HFN is a must.

 

Please visit our submissions page for guidelines and specifics at Carnal Passions Submissions

Email your completed submissions package to submissions@carnalpassions.com

THE HAUNT OF THE MUSE

There is something about evil that draws me into its labyrinth of dark heinousness. There is mystery in the pain of it, there is temptation in the promise of decadent pleasure, there is that longing to surrender without thought or restrain to the unknown and sometimes to the very well known, things one dappled with and found irresistibly wondrous. There it is, my secret. I adore evil. To clarify, I adore writing about it. I have a healthy respect for the muse and movement of it in the undercurrent and the potency it provides a story.

Plotinus in 200 AD wrote, "To deny evil a place among realities is necessarily to deny a way with the good as well." I am certain you often heard that evil cannot exist without good. For certain how can white exist without the contrast of black. The clench and chills of the reader is heightened when there are sharp defined lines between an honorable character facing a foe of a merciless horrendous nature. Though we might surrender to providing a singular redeeming quality to a foe, it is often over-shadowed by their true fully-unredeemable evil.

Yet, what does one do when faced with multiple evils. There are times a hero/shero must make a choice and according to Thomas à Kempis, "Of two evils always choose the lesser." As a writer with the power, we say bull-bleep that, destroy both, or maybe allow one to decimate the other. There are infinite options that makes our job utterly delightful.

Sometimes, though, as I or we joyfully enter the mind of the monster, as I tweak and twitter among his/her psychosis, maniacal obsessions and infinite delusions, I feel like a co-conspirator, for to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. "To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it." And, in the sense of the literary voyeurs that is exactly what we are doing. We are allowing it to thrive and grow, to play with the good people of that particular universe, torment them, hurt them and all without an ounce of remorse. Is that terribly heinous of us? Does that make us monsters as well? I sometimes wonder what is so twisted inside me that makes this such fun, for in truth, I take to the villain(s) much more easily than Zi does. Should I be concerned for my mental health?

Franz Kafka wrote, "What we call evil is only a necessary moment in our endless development." Hence, the answer. I know the effect evil has on the reader. And I want that terror to dip deeply into their primal fear until every bump and squeak has paralyzed their need to scream, battered pulses to quickening, and have their breaths shorten and raspy. That is how I see my/our writing endeavors when it comes to devising the most beastly of all scoundrels, our work is growing into the perfect piece to scare the beejees out of our readers. So, if it takes Angelica and/or Zi to be a bit evil hungry in the sense of respecting it as a fabulous plot device then so be it.

In reality, we both hate evil, hate the clawing and degenerate nature of its makeup, hate the existence of those that hurt others for hurt's sake or even worse for their own demented pleasure. The truth is that the joy of allowing the monsters their day of victory resides in the outcome of each story. In thawing their evilness, rubbing their self-satisfied smugness into the realization of their inability to succeed, the evidence of their cowardliness and the actuality of their failure is what, we believe, gives the reader the greatest pleasure, and it is they that we so humbly serve.

***

We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Angelica Hart and Zi KILLER DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~
CHASING YESTERDAY CHRISTMAS EVE...VIL ~ Christmas 2012
http://www.champagnebooks.com/

Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane STEEL EMBRACE
BOOK NOOKIE-A LIBRARIAN'S BUIDE TO THE DO-ME DECIMAL SYSTEM  (coming soon)
http://www.carnalpassions.com/

Back To School/September Releases!

Summer is over and school is back in session.  Every parent across North America (and probably other places too!) is happy to return to familiar routines and dare I say it... some quiet time? Then there are those of us whose children have grown up and moved out. Back to school doesn’t mean quite the same thing, but we’re still grateful, just the same. These days, I’m happy for authors with young children, because it means they can get back to the business of writing and creating our next new best seller. Often hard to do while the children are running around and peering over one’s shoulder.

 

This month’s releases are an exciting bunch of books. Starting with Dustin’s Turn by June Kramin, we’ve got Dusty trying to fix the past, without screwing up his present. Debut author Wendy Burdess’ The Diddington Diamond has us nodding in agreement. Where there’s a will, there is most certainly a wife! The Soothsayers by Wanda A. Wallace is an historical intrique, with some very slippery characters and The Cheetah Princess by Joan Conning Afman is a very unique shape shifting paranormal romance. Another debut author (we’ve actually got lots of them this month!), J. A. Garland treats us with intrigue, shape shifting, and things that lurk in the shadows, in her urban fantasy tale, Instinct.   And not to be left out, Arlene Knowell is back with another erotic romance and lots of hunky military men in Sinful.

 Check these titles out on our landing page at http://www.champagnebooks.com. You won’t be disappointed.

 'Til next time,

 

Ellen

WHAT CAME FIRST THE CHOCOLATE OR THE PHEROMONES by Angelica Hart and Zi

A: So, what came first the chocolate or the pheromones?

Z: What?

A: (Between words munches on a nutty piece of chocolate candy) I'm interchanging the word chocolate for love.

Z: What? (Looking even more confused)

A: Love is like chocolate. Being in love is simply a fabulous feeling, like eating a piece of chocolate, but do people fall in love because of a chemical reaction that exists because of pro-creation? Or does the chemical reaction happen because one person is drawn to another person, and then bingo-bango, the pheromones to crazy?

Z: And we are talking about this cauuuussse???

A: I got a box of chocolates as a just cause you're wonderful gift. (Holds out a heart-shaped box with half the treats gone)

Z: Didn't your hubba-bubba just give that to you five minutes ago. (Indulges, hesitates, and takes another)

A: Maaayyybbbbeee.

Z: You are a certifiable chocoholic! (Scoops up two more sweets)

A: Hmmm, I believe this is a case of the honey calling the beehive sticky.

Z: Maaayyybbbbeee. (Pops a treat, muttering how he doesn't get the connection Ang is making between chocolate and love and alters the subject a bit) Answer me this and that, do you think a person can really be addicted to chocolate? Is love just a chemical reaction, or is there something more?

A: More...More...More....

Z: Explain.

A: (Holds up her empty candy box) I need to go shopping for more candy. We're all out. (With that, Ang flees the office)

Seriously, folks, what is that crazy little thing called love. According to science, our brain creates phenyl ethylamine when people are falling in love, followed by norepinephren and dopamine when people just think about that special other person. These chemicals are what helps us feel excited and fascinates us enough to want to kiss, touch...etc.

But why one particular person over another? Yes, there is that initial attraction, but in a crowd of equals whether it is the beautiful people or the average Janes and Joes, with no one singular person standing out, we would still be drawn to one person over another. Therefore, does love have more to do with emotion and that soul to soul thing? Is it magic? What?

Think about the first time you went gaga over someone. You could have been just a child. Out of the blue, the moon hits your eyes like a bigga pizza pie, to paraphrase a once popular song, and suddenly everyone else fades away. It could have been the gal on the swing in the playground or the boy snapping his gum in study hall, and as you grew up, the guy/gal across the room.

We believe, there is something to be said about our souls and spirits knowing each other better than we do, meeting and engaging in a different dimension, and something even more to be said about the need for one other, the constant yearning to have that significant special other. It is why there are romance readers. It is a way to continuously trigger the chemicals that make us feel so darn good.

Then again, what do we know except that Angelica is addicted to chocolate, and Zi has a secret stash he didn't tell her about.
***


We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Angelica Hart and Zi KILLER DOLLS ~ SNAKE DANCE ~
CHASING YESTERDAY CHRISTMAS EVE...VIL ~ Christmas 2012
http://www.champagnebooks.com/

Vixen Bright and Zachary Zane STEEL EMBRACE
BOOK NOOKIE-A LIBRARIAN'S BUIDE TO THE DO-ME DECIMAL SYSTEM
http://www.carnalpassions.com/

THE FABLE OF SIN-SIN CINDERELLA Series
angelicahartandzi.com

The Journey of PLANET by January Bain

The Powers That Be

Last night I saw Earth’s government, the United World Government, as hiding the big picture from the populace. (Absolute power corrupts absolutely.) I could see the scene unfolding in from of my eyes: the men in power thinking they know what’s right for everyone and yet some of the people’s “servants” were harboring unspoken selfish intentions. That will be my focus for the next few days.

I also saw “Space Arks” as the type of efficient transport that would allow the kind of world-scale evacuation my novel calls for. The words feel very right and I will spend time researching, one of my favorite things to do.

It’s appearing more and more obvious to me in recent days that I am not going to be writing my usual “romance” book but one with a different scope. It appears to be more about different families and their experience leading up to the mass exodus with government cover-ups coming into focus. I do love a good mystery! And this one is a mystery to me yet…

…And a few days later and my novel is not without its hero. The hero who showed himself today is, tah-dah: one Joshua Carpenter: official in the United World Government who is not the usual ‘suit’, but a man of character who has a altruistic nature though he still knows how to play the game. He will add a real interesting edge to our story as he fights from within the system.

http://www.januarybain.ca/

PERCEPTION AND BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE ELEPANT AND ARMIDILLO by Angelica Hart and Zi

“Fleas know not whether they are upon the body of a giant or upon one of ordinary stature,” wrote the poet Landor. As a flea in the world of writing, I know that Angelica is giantesque.

A: (Tosses a stuffed elephant at Zi) “Where are you going with this? Is this about my weight?”

Z: “Weight? You’ve weight?” (he smiles)

A: I am zaftig...pleasingly curvy...Rubenesque-like. (Stands and holds herself proudly imitating the statue of liberty)

Z: Ah, perception...perception...perception! I was talking about your creativity.

A: Oh...errrr...never mind.

Z: However, since we are on the subject....

There is that fantasy world that often portrays perfection and is also quite appealing, sometimes that has to be honored and if the story dedicates such perfection we respond to that truth. Oscar Wilde said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Therein lies the complexity, especially when it comes to writing. We hope to always give an extra dimension to our stories. We, of course, will describe our character but we rarely comment on a particular size. A heroine can be curvy or athletically built or soft and feminine or whatever, but we downplay any homage to the media phenomena of being a size minus two.

A: Getting philosophical are we?

Z: (Tosses a stuffed armadillo at Angelica, wishing to give equally opportunity tossing to all stuffed creatures)

A: (Cuddles the wee beasty and grins at it) Whacky is also a perception.

Z: Are you calling me whacky?

A: According to the dictionary, whacky is an adjective that describes odd or crazy. Our problem is deciding which of us is odd and who is crazy?

Z: You're over-analyzing.

A: Am not. Z: You always do that.

A: I'm intellectualizing.

Z: You're so strange.

A: Hmmm, then I guess that makes me odd and YOU crazy.
Margaret Hungerford wrote, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." She was an Irish novelist in the 19th century who wrote light romantic fiction. However, this saying first appeared in the 3rd century BC in Greek. And, as all know, what was considered beautiful differed from each era. Beauty from our parents' day differs from the perception of beauty today. That is why we try to make the beauty of our heroines are unique, special, brushed an unusual hue.

Z: Something we fully agree upon.

A: Have you ever considered that the literary gods have a sense of humor by putting us together as writers?

Z: I think they wanted to see what would happen if they mixed two independent writers with 1 part logic, 1 part zany, and 2 parts stubborn.
A: Am not stubborn!

Z: Did I say it was you?

A: Oh... (thinks) No, but if you meant me, I'm not stubborn just... well... just usually right.

Z: (Opens his mouth to speak, and then just keeps quite, shaking his head)


***

We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at writingteamcw@yahoo.com (Write - Blog - in subject line) and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

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The Journey of PLANET by January Bain

Ethical Issues

Now that such minuscule implanting devices are readily available, you have to ask if “Big Brother” has it too easy keeping the population in check. Yes, it reduces crime to virtually zero, but what about individual freedoms? How much of our “humanness” are we willing to give up? The movie “Braveheart” understood implicitly the need for freedom. I would love to create a book some day that speaks to the soul—that cries out for freedom for all people.

Less of an ethical concern, but perhaps much more fun, imagine watching the movie you want on one half of your field of view from inside your own head from a small device hidden behind your ear or being able to project it for your family into a 3-D hologram-like image. I think people will still want to be entertained and be able to escape the bonds of reality whenever and wherever they want.

How far is New Earth from Earth?

Since the recent discovery of HD85512b that is 36 light years from Earth (one light year is 5,865,696,000,000 miles) and our future civilization can travel at the speed of light, then the one-way journey will take 36 years. The media calls this Earth, Super Earth, I’m calling it New Earth, much like adventures called England, New England in America.

(It is 3.6 times the mass of Earth and is a constant temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Which planet would you choose for a mass exodus from our own beloved one?

http://www.januarybain.ca/

The Journey of PLANET by January Bain

The Plan and New Inventions:

By 2723, Earth’s in habitants have undergone many devastating events. Having been tainted through the centuries by numerous plagues of man-made viruses, nuclear explosions, naturally occurring volcanic eruptions of scalding lava that had burst inopportunely through the crust on occasion, the near collapse of the ecosystem that planted the idea for their current United World Government and one biotech disaster that decimated the entire population of Areas Ten through Twenty—but still unbowed in the final analysis until the Titan.

The populace, what remained of it after the viral spread of Ebola by terrorists against the World Government, is now evacuating Earth for New Earth.

How far away is the new planet and how long will it take to get there? The populace needs to be revaccinated with the DNA stem cell therapy serum that “sets” their bodies back fifty years to get everyone there alive.

My inventions to date:  2723 A.D.

(1) Rejuvenation Institute for DNA stem cell therapy serum injections that “sets” the body back 50 years to enable a type of immortality.

(2) 100 Earth Zones under one United World Government.

(3) Automatic robot that cleans the apartment:  Turbo-Robot (my personal favorite!)

(4) Titan: More than twenty-three hundred kilometers across, the massive rock and ice structure was bigger than the total square kilometer size of Area Two. The largest of the one hundred Zones that gridded the planet, it stretched its tentacles from the Mississippi River system through the Great Plains to foot of the Rocky Mountains, from the former Canadian/US border to the state of Texas.

(5) New Earth

(6) An army of unleashed von Neumann probes, those self-replicating robots that are “seeding” the galaxy with terraform. (I didn’t invent this as it has already been suggested!)

(7) Previous Disasters: tainted through the centuries by numerous plagues of man-made viruses, nuclear explosions, naturally occurring volcanic eruptions of scalding lava that had burst inopportunely through the crust on occasion, the near collapse of the ecosystem that planted the idea for their current United World Government and one biotech disaster that decimated the entire population of Zones Ten through Twenty.

(8) Gabaray (space incinerator) turns space junk to dust.

(9) Implanted miniature micro chip that allows instant access to a device that acts similar to a twenty-first century cell phone. Also, it has reduced crime to virtually nonexistent due to its tracking nature.

(10) Flash-8, their very own personal flying conveyance that holds one to three people depending on style: ex. Rover (two people) or Viewer (one person) or Sedan (three people) Mind-controlled crafts.

(11) Nearly invisible headsets that allow you to mentally key in your thoughts to be later downloaded and stored in the library memory hard-drive for future generations.

(12) Movie screens inside your head that can also be projected into a 3-D hologram on to a 3-D hologram for everyone to enjoy.

(13) Library of Data.

(14) Space Arks for the Exodus.

(15) Stay tuned, there will be many more!

Any thoughts?

http://www.januarybain.ca/