My Novels

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Holidays to my friends, readers & people near and far

First, may your holidays be bright and merry. Or if not that, at least tolerable and serene. Remember to smile a lot at family gatherings, even if you don't like some of your relatives. Just keep smiling, and they'll wonder what you have been up to!

I haven't even started my New Year's list of hopes for next year, and was thinking lately I'd not accomplished much this past year. But then, upon reflection, I realized I had done something that I was proud of, and that took a lot of my time. I edited, re-edited, and finally have 11 of my past novels online at Amazon.com. I had covers made for some, and others I created using Amazon's online tool. It was more than just editing past work too; I had to learn how to format the work for Kindle ebook reader. I could still improve on that, and may at some point re-work the formatting, but first I need to finish editing the remainder of my work. I have 3 more novels, as well as a book of short stories, and poetry. In the meantime, I've been halfway outlining another novella...

I can't say sales have been spectacular, but I am selling at least one or two novels a day. And that is mostly the ebook I have promoted a little. Once all the work is online, I'll look into promotion more since I'll have time for that effort.

So I am going to stop beating myself up for not getting anything accomplished this past year. Maybe I'll even think of something else positive I have done. Who knows?

And now, off to our family gathering where I will smile mysteriously...

Saturday, December 14, 2013

A few poems

I've been reading through some of my past poetry -- and thought I'd share a few here today. I do plan to create an e-book of all my poems, which range widely over all sorts of topics.

These are a few poems about childhood abuse, addiction and survival...

Children of the Storm

You think we can be saved,
Moody, damaged and born
Of high wind in a raging storm,
Of lightning flashing in dark skies,
   Night terror and empty dreams;
   We refuse to be defined.

You say you want to understand
Who we are from moment to moment,
And you'd like to be the deep anchor
To hold swaying ships on turbulent seas.
  Others have tried, all have failed;
  We refuse to be rescued.

You want more than we can give,
More change, more growth, more of us
Than any of us have -- you ask
By the silent plea in your eyes, the kind voice
Talking about good intentions, noble causes
   To help save us
     From ourselves.

But we are all doomed children,
Born of the storm, already destroyed
  Long before you came along...
  Because we were never loved.

~~~~~~~

Under Cover
                         
They travel by night
Where no child should be alone,
And they steal souls, trap
Unsuspecting victims in their web,
Not dead, but not alive either;
They rob children of childhood.

They travel under cover of dark,
Thieves, robbers of small worlds,
These molesters of innocent children,
Disguised as parents, family, friends,
They rob children of their spirits.

They travel in deep of midnight,
Marauding and murdering silently
In the deadly quiet of kept-secrets,
These double-dealers and deceivers,
They rob children of life.

They travel by night
And their evil, sinful vices
Turn children's faces into stone masks;
Yet many citizens who learn this truth
Turn away from the brutal
Ugliness
Done under cover of midnight.

~~~~~~~~

Deception

You come to those in need
Like a sweet dream,
Escape is your promise;
Ignorant, they are mesmerized. 

You say you know how to prove
Your love for them,
How to create a deep, dark mystery. 

They fall deeper and deeper
Into your black wizardry,
Enchanted by wicked sorcery. 

By the time they understand you,
By the time they know your real name,
And recognize your hypnotic spell
As the destructive vice of evil...
Their alcoholic stupor
Has turned to worship of liquor...
And they have been deceived.


~~~~~~~~

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time,
There was a time, I know,
When you, father, walked in sunshine.

But those days are as gone
As wine through your mind.

Once upon a time,
There was a time, I know,
When you dreamed dreams
Of being a successful guitarist.

But those days are as lost
As whiskey down your throat.

Once upon a time,
There was a time, I know,
When you were kind,
And loved your children,
Before drink spoiled your affections.

But those days are as past
As your liquor-induced madness.

Once upon a time,
There was a time, I know,
But those times died with you
Souring those golden days
When you once loved us...
Leaving us poisoned
By your violent outbursts,
And your anger-glazed eyes
That left us wondering why?


~~~~~~~~

Addicts

Life beyond the open door,
They bow before your design;
But the waltz slows,
And slowly, slowly it stops.

They can't see the horizon
Because their vision dims,
And their eyes go blind. 

They reach for a slim hope to cope
But time stands silently still,
In the bleak pall of nothingness
Where their fragile hold on reality
Slips farther and farther away...
Where only that one narcotic rush,
That dangerous jolt of a needle prick
Brings the hit of speed they need
So they can revive, live and breathe. 

You see, straight friend,
Time only moves, only flies...
When they are speeding on deadly wheels,
Riding high a rushing cycle of crack...
That spins out of control into the graveyard. 

~~~~~~~~

And one last poem that seems to echo my recent fiction reading about post-apocalyptic earth...

Ashes

There will be ashes over us all
In time's burnt-out sun
When all we humans have done
Becomes meaningless, useless.

There will be no shadows
Of our human loss,
An earth barren as dust,
And none of us will matter
For time will be done, gone,
The trivial quest of humanity
A joke, a jest, an eccentricity
And our ignorant arrogance
That life was somehow important
Will have ended in nothingness.

~~~~~~~~

Rainy, dreary day today. The usual here -- reading, writing, and house-cleaning while herding my cats & dogs! 


Wednesday, December 04, 2013

My Experience With Obamacare

I felt compelled to write this post, simply because my experience is probably one of many. We need to combat the negativity about Obamacare!

There is a LOT of disinformation out there, so any time a person can relate a good example of how Obamacare is helping them, it will help others understand better.

I'm a widow, and have struggled for the past 7 years to keep insurance (freelance writer and also have pension/SS). I'm willing and able to pay for insurance, but due to pre-existing conditions I've had a 7 year struggle.

I had Cobra 3 years (500+ a month, but good coverage); then I went to the pre-existing state plan (500+ a month, 5,000 deductible, went up every year on my birthday -- by now I'd be paying in excess of a 1,000 each month). Lastly, I had the government pre-existing insurance, 350.00 a month with 2,000 deductible.

And starting in January I'll have good, affordable insurance which I bought on the exchange. I used the 800 number, probably took less than 30 minutes to get signed up. Got my Blue Cross insurance card within a week. Paid the first premium today, 555.00 a month BUT only 100.00 deductible and pays 90% of medical bills! I'm willing to pay that, since I have pre-existing problems that need attention (back/spine/knees). Not unhealthy, except arthritis and orthopedic issues from exercising in the past -- running, biking, walking. I am not overweight, never smoked.

At any rate, I'm very, very pleased with Obamacare. He made a statement in the news yesterday which was a relief: "Obamacare will not be repealed for the next 3 years while I'm president, and I'll do everything I can to make it work." In 3 years, I'll be eligible for medicare.

It's been a tough, rough road to keep health care insurance, and in my case, I didn't want to lose everything my late husband & I worked hard and saved for all our lives to medical bills. Even the roof over your head can be taken if you have excessive medical bills (at least in Alabama, but some states can't take your home). We paid our home off when I was 35, due to my work at the newspaper and a small inheritance from my paternal grandmother.

That's my story, and I'm sure there are many others out there like me -- small business owners, self-employed, freelancers, part-time people. And the less income you make the higher the subsidy. If you live in a state that agreed to accept the federal funds for medicaid it's likely low income people will qualify. In Alabama our "so-called doctor" governor chose to refuse the funds, as well as ignore his medical oath: "First, do no harm." The federal funds would have created jobs, helped hospitals get bills paid (many just don't pay, have no property to lose), and also expanded the amount for those qualifying.

I hope that this post will encourage others to at least give Obamacare a chance, and don't judge until enough time has passed for the problems to be smoothed out. Rarely are any kind of online applications perfect when first online; it takes time to work out the glitches.

I urge you to give the exchange a try, as well as looking into medicaid if your income is low enough to qualify.