Monday, May 26, 2014

Breasts & Poetry

Few poems make me laugh, cry, and drive hope into my soul. Here's one that makes me all emotional just reading it! Have a great weekend!


While The Bathtub Is Filling

by Lana Hechtman Ayers

The mirror reports that I am starting to
resemble my mother, the way she looked

that time I went into her bedroom without knocking,
saw her breasts: two weighted-down plastic bags,

bloated, slow-swinging pendulums.
I decided right then to die at eighteen,

in the prime of perkiness and elasticity.

Last year, my mother showed me a fat scar

where her left breast used to be.
It looked as if a red snake slithered

out of her heart and hid his head
in the brush of her armpit.

The longer I stared, the more I recognized
the creature above her belly for what is was: life.

Nothing about nakedness was ever that lovely.
My mother’s survived this halving,

that scar, a red brooch of honor
making me proud to be a woman like her.

In a moment, when the bathtub is finally full,
I’ll forget the mirror, all these musings,

lie back in the pale green bath,
and feel the warm water work its magic,

making buoyant, bobbing apples
of my two old gals.


This poem appears in Dance From Inside My Bones, published by Snake Nation Press, © 2007, Lana Hechtman Ayers.



Lana Hechtman Ayers lives in the Seattle area with her husband and many monochromatic pets. She is a poetry manuscript consultant, a writing workshop facilitator, a small press publisher and an editorial consultant for Crab Creek Review. Her poems appear in numerous journals.  She is a National Book Award nominee, a Pushcart nominee, and received honors from the “Discovery”/The Nation competition, the Rita Dove Poetry Prize, and the Science Fiction Poetry Associations' Rhysling prize. Lana taught writing workshops for the Centrum Port Townsend Writers Conference, Write on the Sound Conference, Field's End Writers Conference, and the King County Library System. She has authored five poetry collections, the most recent of which, A New Red and What Big Teeth, feature a contemporary Red Riding Hood all grown up. Lana’s sixth and seventh collections are due out in 2015.



Monday, May 19, 2014

50 Shades of Grey Art

I happened to be strolling Calle Ocho. It's a street in the heart of Miami's Little Havana. And what did I stumble on. . .ART!!

*swooning




And art inspired by 50 Shades of Grey. 


Maggie Genova Cordovi


I must say that there is a certain darkness to the work that makes me love it so much! Additionally, and I'm no art academic, I just love what I love, but there's this sense of body detachment and sort of this struggle to find the light and sexuality within the darkness.

So whether you're a fan of 50 Shades of Grey or not, I just had to show this to you all. Check out Maggie's website for more artwork by pressing on her link in the caption under her name.






Monday, May 12, 2014

The Drinkable Book



Nonprofit Water is Life has a new book available that presents safe water drinking tips, AND also purifies water and kills deadly waterborne diseases.


The Drinkable Book!” 

Check out this video, and let me know if you think this is a solution or just some gimmick.

For me, I'm fascinated by the book, but not sure if this is the solution.













Top Ten Interracial Romance List

When I take a few days off from writing to read, I go to several trustee people for book advice. One of them provided an awesome Interracial Romance list for me, so I had to share. 

Check out my girl, Marcia, one of the organizers of Interracial Romance Readers on FB.



Marcia's Top 10 Romances 
(not necessarily in this order)



by Marcia Walkerdine

These are my top ten.  This is not an exhaustive list and I deliberately choose stories that were not a part of a series.  I love these stories because they demonstrate that even broken, desperate men and woman can be touched and healed by love.

My forum home is Interracial Romance Readers  where we love to share recommendations of good IR/MC stories.  Please join me there where you will find literally hundreds more recommendations for great Interracial /Multicultural love!







Book 1  - Lyon on a Leash by Erosa Knowles



Every woman should experience the love of an Alpha submissive man at least once in her life. Although there is a Dom/Sub theme to the story it really is not about that, this story is about how Marcus Lyon loves Vera Knight and demonstrates this in all his actions towards her.  I love this story!

Book 2 –Monster by Francette Phal


Dominic is truly a tyrant for sure, he is oppressive, a dictator, bully, ultimate Alpha male and truly damaged from his background, a very hard and complex man.  He needs the love and understanding of a good woman that woman is Eve.  I love this story because it shows of how true love redeemes Dominic!


Book 3 – Whatever He Wants by Eve Vaughn



James Rothschild another damaged Alpha male who needs to be loved unconditionally.  Noelle Greene is the woman who gives him all her love to which he is blind to and does not see it until it is nearly too late.  Then he has to work hard to redeem himself in her eyes.


Book 4 - Kiss of Ice by Lavender Parker


Annata St James is as hard as they come, she is the Alpha female and Christophe Van der Kind is the man who loves her with his heart, body and soul and then some. I just could not believe how much this man loved this woman.  Again a demonstration of how unstoppable true love is and how it conquers all barriers in the end.

Book 5 – Tempting Mr Parker by Delilah Hunt



Shakara is a stripper and Cade makes a judgement about her based on this fact alone whilst trying to come to terms with his feelings for her. Cade is an Alpha male with lots of attitude  Their love has to overcome great barriers in order for them to be together.  Short story but powerful and intense in my opinion.  


Book 6 - Her Russian Billionaire by Theodora Taylor


Alexei Rustanov and Eva St. James story.  They were in love with each other and had nothing to their names but they had each other.  Then one day Eva vanishes with no explanation and breaks Alexi’s heart, taking her secret with her.  He  wants to break her the way she broke him using all his Alpha badness to do it.  The story is intense and an emotional roller coaster







Book 7 - Second Chances by Delaney Diamond



Renaldo and Sabrina da Silva’s story.  This story will take you on an emotional roller coaster with an Alpha male who believes his love has been betrayed by the woman he loves with his whole heart and soul.  Sabrina does not know how she could have betrayed the man she loves and still loves even when he is cold and bitter towards her and wants nothing to do with her ever again.  Sabrina has to lay it all down to win back her man.


Book 8 - Black Butterfly by Sienna Mynx



Nolen Adams and Sydney Allen’s story.  Nolen is an Alpha male who does not know the meaning of the word no.  He wants Sydney who rejects his advances. This in turn cause Nolen to pursue her relentlessly which pursuit not only impacts on Sydney’s life but the lives of her friends and test their friendships to the max.  Intense and emotionally roller coaster story.


Book 9 – Gents 4 Ladies by Dez Burke



Tiana and Jordan’s story.  This story is funny, very romantic and an intense but sweet read.  This again is an unusual twist to a romantic story that had me gripped.  Tiana thinks she is going on a date with a male escort to attend a wedding.  What happens after is truly amazing love story, in my opinion.  




Book 10 - Beast by Pepper Pace




This a beautiful portrayal of the Beauty and the Beast story, Ashleigh and Christopher’s story.  Ashleigh is your typical big curvy woman who cannot seem to hold onto a man and Christopher is the man with the disfigured face who would not even approach a woman because of how he looks.  A beautiful story of love conquering even physical impairments!



Thursday, May 1, 2014

Street Art, Bitches!

I'm Miami all day, baby! But when I party, it's not at South Beach. It's WYNWOOD Art District.




Sounds familiar?

The area has been discussed in my books. Some novels that come to mind are. . .The Muse (gallery opening), Sexual Deception (whole book is set there), etc



Wood Bar, one of my favorite spots


Regardless, more books will be set in Wynwood and explore the crazy scene.



Building owners don't mind the art as long as their info is on there too.

The best way to know you're in Wynwood is to see all of the amazing street art covering every damn building in that area!! 




Even the sidewalks, streets, doorways and phone poles are covered.


















I love art, but Street art has a special lure for me. It entangles my senses at times. . .


















The Raw and unapologetic part of this genre just grabs me!


The terms "urban art", "guerrilla art", "post-graffiti" and "neo-graffiti" are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts.



Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork itself is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.



















Why am I saying all of this?

A book is coming people! It's in me to explore characters in the Street Art world!





Every time I come to the district, adrenaline fills my veins! I'm a kid in a real Alice in Wonderland!


And let me tell you. . . Wynwood never disappoints at night!! There will be more blogs on this amazing place as well as stories!!


Kenya signing out, bitches!

(sorry, I call my friends bitches.Take comfort in that.)