tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9791234671077301912024-03-04T23:58:23.611-05:00FCEtier, Photographer - Author* Award winning photographer
* Published author
* Frequent contributor at VentureGalleries.com
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01034125920155332301noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-55074338308311306332014-11-19T17:26:00.003-05:002015-01-24T22:21:20.326-05:00The Most Influential Books in My Life<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My personal Top Ten:</span></b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">An fellow author recently asked me to post a list of the top ten books that changed my life.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">That "life-changer" qualification made it tough.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">After some thought, I posted a list on Facebook. Several folks who added comments to the thread asked "How in the world did <b>THAT</b> book get on the list?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Their question was neither a challenge nor criticism and it inspired me to pen a series of blogs in which their question would be answered about each of the ten books.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The list follows and as each blog is posted (on another site) I'll come back and add the link.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Perhaps my list and it's reasons will encourage you to read a book with which you aren't familiar.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrA5pcM7uLnB-xGSif0Ya3-oubekp-W4C0luCtmKmwEr2AmEv641aeGnxk5dVaZjbMSNS4NpccWFm5uWaOSffJuVdugLQ9CRk8nQ0bM_ZZSvnY_WG5d0tN3o5IQVYxmKIlwCJHjlFpMj4/s1600/Top+10+5a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrA5pcM7uLnB-xGSif0Ya3-oubekp-W4C0luCtmKmwEr2AmEv641aeGnxk5dVaZjbMSNS4NpccWFm5uWaOSffJuVdugLQ9CRk8nQ0bM_ZZSvnY_WG5d0tN3o5IQVYxmKIlwCJHjlFpMj4/s1600/Top+10+5a.jpg" height="117" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><b>In no particular order:</b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Holy Bible</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*2. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/winning-friends-influencing-people-authors-collection/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">How to Win Friends and Influence People</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Dale Carnegie</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*3. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/top-ten-books-world-young-authors-collection/" target="_blank">When All the World Was Young</a> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Ferrol Sams</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God Is Not Great </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Christopher Hitchens</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*5. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/state-fear-authors-collection/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">State of Fear</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Michael Crichton</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
</span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/book-woke-face-truth/" target="_blank">None Dare Call It Conspiracy</a> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Gary Allen</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-789ecd83-ca06-d0c2-e872-7b297a4a5802">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*7. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/book-taught-reading-pleasure/" target="_blank">Swiftwater</a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Paul Annixter</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*8. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/books-changed-life-authors-collection/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Da Vinci Code</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Dan Brown</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All the President’s Men </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Woodward & Bernstein</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3636363636363635; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Search of Excellence </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Peters and Waterman</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUW1vSAB_PnEtQQdYgYoTKrEYUVKTmfW1Kx8SzyVz5r7UKt7D-vhBBhIuKIWxvBIFWauD-XCNnRXHFQrDsuehHkD-bNcCrbDnMTqtoTRcaSAFSw2Ahz6ub34y_X4wsnASH1-jWzX_fXc/s1600/Top+10+5b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUW1vSAB_PnEtQQdYgYoTKrEYUVKTmfW1Kx8SzyVz5r7UKt7D-vhBBhIuKIWxvBIFWauD-XCNnRXHFQrDsuehHkD-bNcCrbDnMTqtoTRcaSAFSw2Ahz6ub34y_X4wsnASH1-jWzX_fXc/s1600/Top+10+5b.jpg" height="110" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
</span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-20364428522687980732014-09-29T12:21:00.000-04:002014-09-29T14:08:18.423-04:00A Year Without Killing -- the first 886 words<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>A Year Without Killing</b></i> by FCEtier</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Chapter One</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1705f1e8-c22f-3501-a76f-5bf948170898"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1705f1e8-c22f-3501-a76f-5bf948170898"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Claudia Barry owned Manhattan’s West 33rd Street.</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1705f1e8-c22f-3501-a76f-5bf948170898">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTOkb1IFIkE8U9OW2fd79wleZUBSDXazlnUZmZc2ihpwVbCEd-uLWyfI7eyPGGMW4ZnlILIvek58D90fbwwN8vzqz-UnOhzY4cM7VbuaXktoPVg9H7B1a_sjwxgLmsvgdTXuWtKtBfU4/s1600/AYearWithoutKilling-+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTOkb1IFIkE8U9OW2fd79wleZUBSDXazlnUZmZc2ihpwVbCEd-uLWyfI7eyPGGMW4ZnlILIvek58D90fbwwN8vzqz-UnOhzY4cM7VbuaXktoPVg9H7B1a_sjwxgLmsvgdTXuWtKtBfU4/s1600/AYearWithoutKilling-+FINAL.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She stayed close to the buildings, away from the crowds, and glanced at every face. Every movement got her attention. It was an old habit and hard to break. It had kept her alive. She took deliberate strides toward 8th Street.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The drizzle had stopped, the skies were still overcast, and the sidewalk wet. </span><span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would have been impossible for her to miss the action fifty feet ahead of her.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An African-American woman who appeared to be in her late sixties stepped onto the sidewalk and headed towards Claudia. She needed a cane to keep her balance. Her body swayed from side to side like the wand on a metronome. A built up shoe compensated for a short leg. Every step required extra effort.</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> That woman’s about my age</span><span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Claudia thought. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then it happened.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A tall skinny male Goth stepped in front of the black woman. He grabbed the strap on her purse and jerked it from her grasp. His next decision was one of the worst of his life. He ran right into the path of a semi-retired assassin with a sense of justice.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the mugger passed, Claudia Barry moved her five foot five medium built frame into his path and delivered a forearm to make Anthony Munoz proud. The Goth surprised her. He bounced off, continued down the sidewalk, and disappeared into an alley. </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He won’t get away so easy.</span><span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> She stepped out of her heels and gave chase. </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’s no match for my aerobic endurance.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He collapsed behind a dumpster and complained out loud, “Fuck! I’m too damned out of shape. Bitch thought she would be a fuckin’ hero. Guess I showed her.” He opened the purse and began to toss the contents off to his side. “Not much in here. Done better many times. Ain’t enough for a decent fix.” He put his hand onto the pavement to stand and it touched a stocking covered foot. He raised his head and made eye contact with Claudia, “Where the hell did you come from?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their eyes met and she held him motionless in her concentrated gaze.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her dark brown eyes dared him to move.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve been here all along. And I’ll never leave you.” While she spoke, she produced a tactical switchblade. In the blink of an eye, the blade sprang from the front of the handle and removed a button from his shirt with a quick, precise flick of the attacker’s wrist.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He bowed his head and looked down at his chest.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His heart pounded. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He felt it in his ears.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He gasped and couldn’t breathe as she continued.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A second button fell to the ground, then a third.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my god, what do you want?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked back up at her malevolent expression and pleaded, “Oh god! Don’t kill me, please!”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweat covered his forehead and top lip. He couldn’t keep his hands still.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He bent double, convulsed, and endured several dry heaves.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The attacker allowed her victim to scramble to his hands and knees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was able to breathe after a few seconds.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he felt the knife blade under his chin. It forced his head up and the two made eye contact. The woman terror spoke again, “Put everything back into the purse and then grab your ankles.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He tried to answer but couldn’t speak.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His sweat-covered hands trembled.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After several futile attempts, he managed to replace the contents of the woman’s handbag, change purse, keys, checkbook, photos and a Vicks inhaler. He sat on his knees, grabbed his ankles, and looked up.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Claudia Barry frowned and grabbed a handful of his hair with her left hand. Her right hand guided the knife blade to the left corner of his mouth.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you ever think I’m not around, just look over your shoulder. I’ll be there. You may not recognize me, but I’ll be there, always on the watch. I’ll recognize you because you won’t have a lower lip.” The blade penetrated his lip until it reached the gums of his lower jaw. A quick wave across his chin and the Goth purse snatcher had no bottom lip. He passed out.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Claudia’s rapid steps had her back at the sidewalk in seconds. She looked both ways in hopes the woman was still within eyesight. The victim was gone, but a street vendor handed the impromptu vigilante her shoes and a hot dog. “I see you got the purse back. Nice job, Lady.” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you know her…”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t know her name, but she’s one of my regular customers. Does domestic work around here somewheres.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Her address is in her purse, I want to return it.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can’t help you there. You got one of them gadgets on yer phone?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“GPS, yes. I’ll find her. How much for the hot dog?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“On the house, Lady. Enjoy it.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As she turned to leave he said, “Oh, one question if you don’t mind.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Claudia turned back and faced him, “Go ahead.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You really put a move on that kid. I’m impressed. Would you mind, ah, I’m forty-nine and…”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m a baby boomer. Do the math.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled, winked, and left with the hot dog. She looked at her wristwatch, </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d better hurry or I’ll be late to meet Mr. Debert.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Want feedback on your work?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28.9799995422363px;"><span style="color: blue;">Do you want to know what readers think when they read the first page of your book? Welcome to </span><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://firstpagereview.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The First Page Review</a> </span><span style="color: blue;">blog hop happening during the month of October. The idea is simple. Sign the linky list, linking your own blog post that contains the first page--NO MORE than the first 1,000 words of a WIP, a manuscript, or a novel, published or unpublished.</span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28.9799995422363px;" /><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28.9799995422363px;" /><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28.9799995422363px;">This month-long blog hop is meant to answer one simple question for each participant. After reading your first 1,000 word, would a person continue reading it?</span></span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-27960518629182206412014-09-06T20:00:00.000-04:002014-09-06T20:00:00.547-04:00The New World Order<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPq2gK7qhQzRPT76Xfkz9hb3JChvXUvYE21g3r8k0U78LgpxKnoA4hMi3dej9uvucHVhB3YZdESw9ZNgbi14XWlOn3zbRk1fbBnbrXJxFzTV9IoYMu7PyM2ps0fwi6UV4uggvXUgHiR4/s1600/New+World+Order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">The Eight Sentences</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">:</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dahl continued their conversation, “Did you hear what the President said last week at the meeting of the Bilderbergers?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I don’t listen to Presidents, but are you speaking about his comments regarding the commoners?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, l</span><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 16.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">et me paraphrase it, ‘Ordinary men and women are too small minded to govern their own affairs. Order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all powerful sovereign.’”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Yes, exactly -- you nailed it -- something we’ve been working for generations to attain is now in reach. How did you know it so well if you didn’t hear him?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wrote it,” </span><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 16.5pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dahl smiled and sipped his drink, “but it isn’t unique.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Correct, every U.S. President since Woodrow Wilson has said something similar."</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><u>The Back Story</u>:</b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"> [Note: Gotta work on the attribution above, but I was trying to squeeze it all into 8 lines.] </span><br />
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me, as the author, the back story began on Nov. 22, 1963 around noon. I was in the 6th grade, Miss Ola Cooper's class.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's when I became a believer in the conspiracy theory of history. FDR's words that</span></span><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />"nothing in politics happens by accident" and, "If it happens in politics, it was planned that way," still resonate with me today and have influenced my writing. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1hZwEZOLxtZmsIa6e55VyzM3kBzkeg5oxmoy8Sivdb2W6FxHbPTrPCl_Ew0iOUAOlYvgoiRQbcsUnwi278UpDN7gn7uW6yh7JnCpXxy9Vb01dgmcPuqX3pl9EZ_DPXS0z6uoQiZ0Y2E/s1600/None+Dare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1hZwEZOLxtZmsIa6e55VyzM3kBzkeg5oxmoy8Sivdb2W6FxHbPTrPCl_Ew0iOUAOlYvgoiRQbcsUnwi278UpDN7gn7uW6yh7JnCpXxy9Vb01dgmcPuqX3pl9EZ_DPXS0z6uoQiZ0Y2E/s1600/None+Dare.jpg" height="200" width="120" /></a><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The real eye-opener was the book pictured here, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0945001290/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1NK67Q367H1J4HD7DG70&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">None Dare Call It Conspiracy</a></i> by Gary Allen.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't try to convince readers that these conspiracies exist, I simply assume that they are real and write stories with that in mind. My characters accept master puppeteers are at work pulling the strings behind the veil. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my first two books, Julian Thibaut and several other characters were members of these secret groups that no longer seem to be so secret.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the scene above, Bernard Dahl hosts a "Mr. Remington" for discussions on which string(s) to pull next.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><u>Open Call for Writers</u>:</b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Join us here at </span><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a><span style="line-height: 18px;">. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="92" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">same </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">link will take you to the work of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">dozens of talented </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">writers. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">For a treat, please c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">heck out their work, too. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> group.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-38154717617776407042014-08-30T20:00:00.000-04:002014-08-31T18:41:59.125-04:00A jackhammer on steroids<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisasM2d8BOp8DQRre0CnXQozvasw27_ur_-3yxuzveJU-AqSGJInhnr1YjJHvN8PwWkPHhyphenhyphenqxxeK-aSMcuNgYBUgFe7U1n0EwM8Wy7zRp9WwgS3fKZ8dL9kact44RoLgTVUFiUVYJfT8I/s1600/Hawks+Hog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisasM2d8BOp8DQRre0CnXQozvasw27_ur_-3yxuzveJU-AqSGJInhnr1YjJHvN8PwWkPHhyphenhyphenqxxeK-aSMcuNgYBUgFe7U1n0EwM8Wy7zRp9WwgS3fKZ8dL9kact44RoLgTVUFiUVYJfT8I/s1600/Hawks+Hog.jpg" height="165" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawk's Hog<br />
Image credit: timmsharley.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sound of a jackhammer on steroids from the front parking lot interrupted their attempt at a conversation. Next, they heard the popping sound of a small caliber pistol.</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Was that an Uzi?” asked Dryden.</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuckin’ A, followed by return fire from a toy gun,” said Scully.</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They both drew their weapons and began to move to vantage points to observe the action out front. Dryden, in a stage whisper, said, “You mean a Glock, right?”</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-f84462b1-1cc0-4497-fce2-679fd9a2c1b0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yep, Mattel -- Barbie and Ken.”</span></div>
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside, they could see a 379 pound man on his side behind a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide as he slammed a loaded magazine into his Glock 9 mm semi-automatic pistol.</span></span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Setup</u>:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b>A previous snippet introduced the <a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-league-of-old-men.html" target="_blank">League of Old Men</a> and now here they are in action. For this assignment they met at the Mountain Empire Airport (what a cool name! Watch for a blog on this.) in Virginia. The big guy on the Hog is Hawk Barger, relative of Sonny Barger, one of the Hell's Angels at the infamous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Free_Concert" target="_blank">Altamont Free Concert</a>. I'll blog about that one soon, too.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Open Call for Writers</u>:</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="92" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Join us here at </span><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a><span style="line-height: 18px;">. The </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">same </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">writers. For a treat, please c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">heck out their work, too. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> group.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Bonus</u>:</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hear how an Uzi sounds.</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ziAng8SyRJ4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-8449547395925350862014-08-24T07:00:00.000-04:002014-08-24T07:00:00.286-04:00I am sudden death.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi1HOEP_NJwVKkRJFlESb7MkAofQbHlpTjY5ppQUY-eE8V15nE5yII-pwJLt2zzPBC2NwRibLkuDZQapi6oE7yi-TiqVZr70RVaG0p5RyzyxPLve19XrLFUZipCloUCQbMxXinJJpW9cU/s1600/BW+c+CR+-+Finan+Dist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi1HOEP_NJwVKkRJFlESb7MkAofQbHlpTjY5ppQUY-eE8V15nE5yII-pwJLt2zzPBC2NwRibLkuDZQapi6oE7yi-TiqVZr70RVaG0p5RyzyxPLve19XrLFUZipCloUCQbMxXinJJpW9cU/s1600/BW+c+CR+-+Finan+Dist.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tourist Killer ends and A Year Without Killing opens<br />
in Manhattan near Penn Station.<br />
Here's a shot I got from Hoboken. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-7631d14e-eaeb-6da9-62a3-5db3f0415372"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-7631d14e-eaeb-6da9-62a3-5db3f0415372"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I am sudden death.</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-7631d14e-eaeb-6da9-62a3-5db3f0415372"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Unexpected. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Unwelcome. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Final.” -- For over thirty years, it was the credo of one of the most successful and least known professional assassins in history. In</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A Year Without Killing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Claudia Barry takes a year off from work. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn’t leave her weapons at home.</span></div>
</span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u>:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Today's excerpt is the promo line for my third novel.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> If that was all you knew about the book, would you click your mouse to find out more?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> As usual, all feedback welcomed.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="92" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Open call for writers</u>:</b></span></div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Join us here at </span><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a><span style="line-height: 18px;">. The </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">same </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">writers. For a treat, please c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">heck out their work, too. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 18px;"> group.</span></div>
</div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-62548063580491423022014-08-23T07:14:00.000-04:002014-08-23T07:14:39.209-04:00Meet Ulysses "Track" Presius<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I8oDYyraa1Ov_XX2mV14sx1VN2pbBt0HjqOzYSB0yRKTEj1e_BXzEfkvdC695qNrdY7lwAtJMYh8II2bnFyaTZkc2AXozgzdoFVyDea7dK0IQtxlaecnLuLgOFrIUxSgKdHL1xQSCAY/s1600/Guest+Blog-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I8oDYyraa1Ov_XX2mV14sx1VN2pbBt0HjqOzYSB0yRKTEj1e_BXzEfkvdC695qNrdY7lwAtJMYh8II2bnFyaTZkc2AXozgzdoFVyDea7dK0IQtxlaecnLuLgOFrIUxSgKdHL1xQSCAY/s1600/Guest+Blog-2.jpg" height="161" width="320" /></a></div>
...is by author, E.E.Giorgi. We both participate in some weekly blog hops and share interests in not only writing, but also science and photography.<br />
The main character of her first two books has an interesting name. I have blogged about how author's <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/what-makes-a-name-memorable-in-books/" target="_blank">chose names for their characters</a>, so I asked her to tell us about <b>Ulysses "Track" Presius</b>.<br />
<br />
Track was born from a mix of things. I was intrigued by the idea of a "creature" that can both love and kill at the same time. I picked up a vampire book because of this concept, but I was hugely disappointed. I thought that the book failed in exploiting the "scary" part of the creature. However, even though I didn't enjoy that particular book, I kept thinking about the story and how I would've improved where the author (in my opinion) had failed.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMJhv9xWIRQsJSK9NPLnRFGFxzEX-ct_6gkDx5z3XlIiC6yl4UtFyBc4vqyeYH68Ygy9m9xpjbsJuefGGm3YoKIgvPCjuJds9V299g3CtkmGW13nMHk555jOlSvvHqCswkSr7ItuikKY/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMJhv9xWIRQsJSK9NPLnRFGFxzEX-ct_6gkDx5z3XlIiC6yl4UtFyBc4vqyeYH68Ygy9m9xpjbsJuefGGm3YoKIgvPCjuJds9V299g3CtkmGW13nMHk555jOlSvvHqCswkSr7ItuikKY/s1600/cover.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a>Around the same time, I learned about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudogene" target="_blank">pseudogenes</a>, bits of our DNA that no longer code for proteins. We inherited those bits from our ancestors and, as we evolved from predators to monkeys to human, they lost their functions. They're still in our DNA, we just don't use them anymore. Take the vomeronasal organ for example: many mammals use it to smell pheromones. We still have the vomeronasal organ, but of course we no longer use it since humans today rely more heavily on visual stimuli rather than olfactory ones.<br />
<br />
I put all these cool concepts together and asked myself: what if there was one human being whose ancestral (predator) genes, for whatever reason, were suddenly turned on? Of course, in real life you can't "turn" genes on and off as if they were switches. But it is true that sudden changes in diet or traumas can affect gene expression and randomly activate or silence some genes.<br />
<br />
I discussed these ideas with my dad, who's a developmental biologist, and he told me that most of our pseudogenes in the human genome code for olfactory receptors. Oddly, olfactory receptors can be found in the strangest places, not just in the nose. Males have them in sperm. We all have them in our guts. If my character were to have activated pseudogenes, he had to have an enhanced sense of smell. And then I thought that somebody with an enhanced sense of smell would be perfect at finding bodies and solving crimes.<br />
<br />
The nickname "Track" immediately came to mind, from "tracking dog." His real name came a little later. I had just finished reading Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, and I absolutely loved how the narrative in the book was interspersed with references to Greek mythology. As I started writing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JI6UNPE" target="_blank">Chimeras</a>, I knew I had to make a similar connection: Track is an epigenetic chimera, and the original meaning of the word chimera comes from Greek mythology. What better name than Ulysses for a character who's still searching for his own identity, his own home in a body that no longer feels his?<br />
<br />
"What about the last name Presius?" you may ask. I honestly don't know. I wanted something not trivial to pronounce, something that would strike as odd. All great detectives have odd names: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Hieronymus Bosch. So I guess I had to follow the tradition: Ulysses "Track" Presius. I think it fits. What do you think?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D3drVzOLyz_TjQw4OwhF3f6Xw_44lWEUroFvw-ZomAM-DWrKmWgcUBL4SOKLn6ZxwRg67SaTVNxfPlSh9HbYjbFnmFrpRGxzFhoC4h18FtU26Fc00xXBPcgUZFi6lRrHsBEXOQ1fGJE/s1600/me_by_Josip_Loncaric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D3drVzOLyz_TjQw4OwhF3f6Xw_44lWEUroFvw-ZomAM-DWrKmWgcUBL4SOKLn6ZxwRg67SaTVNxfPlSh9HbYjbFnmFrpRGxzFhoC4h18FtU26Fc00xXBPcgUZFi6lRrHsBEXOQ1fGJE/s1600/me_by_Josip_Loncaric.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E.E. Giorgi, scientist, photographer, author.<br />
Image copyright Yosip Loncaric</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>E.E. Giorgi is a scientist, a writer, and a photographer. She spends her days analyzing genetic data, her evenings chasing sunsets, and her nights pretending she's somebody else. <a href="http://elenaedi.smugmug.com/" target="blank">Her photographs</a> have been showcased in galleries in California, New Mexico and Texas. <a href="http://chimerasthebooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">On her blog</a>, E.E. discusses science for the inquiring mind, especially the kind that sparks fantastic premises and engaging stories. She is the author of the Track Presius mystery series, </i><i>a hard-boiled police procedural with a genetic twist. The first book in the series,</i><i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JI6UNPE" target="_blank">CHIMERAS</a>, is a 2014 Book Award finalists, and the second book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com//dp/B00MQZSFA4/" target="_blank">MOSAICS,</a> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="background-color: white;">will be released on September 8, 2014</span><span style="background-color: white;"> and is now availa</span></i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>ble for preorder</i></span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. Yo</span>u can sign up for Giorgi's "Chimeras Newsletter," <a href="http://eepurl.com/SPCvT" target="blank">here</a>.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com//dp/B00MQZSFA4/" target="_blank">MOSAICS (A Track Presius Mystery)</a></b>Dubbed the Byzantine Strangler because of the mysterious mosaic tiles he leaves at the crime scene, a new serial killer is stalking the streets of Los Angeles. Racing to decipher the code encrypted in the tiles before the killer strikes again, Detective Track Presius faces a new challenge: the "awakened" genes that make his vision and olfactory sense so sharp are now taking a toll on his life. When a new set of tiles appears in his own backyard, Track makes a chilling realization: those very same genes that are threatening his life are drawing the Byzantine Strangler closer and closer. The fine line between hunter and hunted has suddenly blurred. Will Track be the next piece of the mosaic puzzle?<br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody></tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-UTb-R9gw5nE%2FU9z0KM-lNbI%2FAAAAAAABA58%2Fab_wxPTRlA8%2Fs1600%2Fcover.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMJhv9xWIRQsJSK9NPLnRFGFxzEX-ct_6gkDx5z3XlIiC6yl4UtFyBc4vqyeYH68Ygy9m9xpjbsJuefGGm3YoKIgvPCjuJds9V299g3CtkmGW13nMHk555jOlSvvHqCswkSr7ItuikKY/s1600/cover.jpg" -->FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-51141673865725244322014-08-16T19:00:00.000-04:002014-08-16T19:19:34.736-04:00The League of Old Men -- Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3vMhESnLnyuNK864cqIKBkuTaxU4gbHM6XkXGfQ7yD276U-X-galVRUNewz_l83Lqn2mwuV0Zu9Yb54tqGfn4WVBmOqtv1hPr70IMCpbJoUWS8ZFkq31A2NAoR5qaDncOuCcCc3esgU/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences:</b></span><a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<div style="font-family: OpenSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: large;">The sidewalk leading up to the street was broken and uneven. Grass and tall weeds made homes of the cracks. Poison ivy grew up the side of an exterior wall, rooted somewhere between a window and the brick veneer wall.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: OpenSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But the interior was another story.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfejixwBORfzbtkAVZpZIgH7E6KZuc9puKUqOEKwDeesxW9s3waPdRHpiR1HZ1hHUVgR-AM_LSOYhUn1CF0bRxZCIioJDl7AJeWcYEj2I7jsEEeJ0VY-fi6YE_Q95ReA_c5bzILS_ATg/s1600/Eagle+Right+Color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfejixwBORfzbtkAVZpZIgH7E6KZuc9puKUqOEKwDeesxW9s3waPdRHpiR1HZ1hHUVgR-AM_LSOYhUn1CF0bRxZCIioJDl7AJeWcYEj2I7jsEEeJ0VY-fi6YE_Q95ReA_c5bzILS_ATg/s1600/Eagle+Right+Color.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image copyright 2007 FCEtier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: OpenSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The floors were worn but clean. It was clear that the kitchen and dining area had been used recently and frequently. A mahogany bar hosted a row of bar stools from another era. The back counter was stocked with bourbon and scotch.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: OpenSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The American flag stood proudly with an eagle decoration atop the wooden staff.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: OpenSans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Back Story:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Last <a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-league-of-old-men.html" target="_blank">week's snippet</a> was my first dealing with the League of Old Men. Today, we visit their meeting hall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This will be my last excerpt on this eclectic group who will make their debut in my third book, <i>A Year Without Killing</i>.</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">These guys will turn up again in my fourth book, <i>Transfer the Dragon</i>. They will be joined in this adventure by the talented and feisty members of the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-Book-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408194490&sr=8-3&keywords=the+presidents+club" target="_blank">Presidents Club</a></i>.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Open call for writers:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Join us here at </span><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">. The </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">same </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18px;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 18px;">writers.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-834c497e-a912-7186-51e8-96d2c17a6829" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
</div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-7965081727346586062014-08-09T19:00:00.000-04:002014-08-09T19:00:00.937-04:00The League of Old Men<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Weekend Writing Warriors</u></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences:</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-834c497e-a912-7186-51e8-96d2c17a6829"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: blue; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRrOMm7abHocoMHXDJaL49Pt7N8MbWcyHFhCzMp7qOQRuTepaXBGSqXxQO-T2dRs8IqbLXHlLCFhyphenhyphen4NwJ6A7u6VZgpiHRhYsb0FmE9hiJGxy2EmNUoSC0XSqFC23LX6ZtPFv8MMdCrhg/s1600/loom-1+SML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRrOMm7abHocoMHXDJaL49Pt7N8MbWcyHFhCzMp7qOQRuTepaXBGSqXxQO-T2dRs8IqbLXHlLCFhyphenhyphen4NwJ6A7u6VZgpiHRhYsb0FmE9hiJGxy2EmNUoSC0XSqFC23LX6ZtPFv8MMdCrhg/s1600/loom-1+SML.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stumbled into their meeting hall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-834c497e-a912-7186-51e8-96d2c17a6829"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As far as I was concerned, it had always been an urban legend.</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-834c497e-a912-7186-51e8-96d2c17a6829">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://fcetier.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/the-league-of-old-men/" target="_blank">The League Of Old Men</a> was as real to me as a twenty-first century Illuminati.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You may have heard the legends, rumors, and stories yourself.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Events that at first seem unrelated and then, overnight, are connected by wing-nut conspiracy theorists.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deals, deaths, and deniable dilemmas that mark the repetition of history through the decades.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The romantic stories of great loyalty, unshakable devotion, and a will that would make that of G. Gordon Liddy pale by comparison. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Former Hell’s Angels with a desire to preserve their culture,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viet Nam veterans obsessed with a sense of justice usually reserved for vigilantes.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Maverick cops and detectives determined to execute appropriate sentences — with or without a judge and jury.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Back Story:</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b>My current work in progress, <i>A Year Without Killing</i>, introduces several new characters in the "Barry-Hixon Conspiracy" series of books. <a href="http://fcetier.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/the-league-of-old-men/" target="_blank">This recent blog</a> (on my WordPress site) sheds light on a secret organization to which several of the new characters belong. Watch for more on the League of Old Men in future snippets.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Does your work fit?</b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> There are some rules, but generally, the administrators are tolerant. From </span></span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> the rules on the WeWriWa site: "</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Then on </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Sunday, post 8 sentences </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">from a current writing project, </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">published or unpublished."</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Join us here at </span><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">. The </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">same </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;">writers.</span></div>
</span><br />
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-15510551211812316642014-08-05T07:08:00.000-04:002014-08-05T07:08:16.954-04:00Meet Claudia Barry<span style="font-size: large;">Cindy A invited me to participate in a "Meet Your Character" blog hop. Cindy is the author of The Milk Carton Murders due out next spring. Meet Cindy and view her blog, <b><a href="http://historysleuth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, Meet My Character:</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-3b2e5c85-a599-4ed6-308c-6f5ae134a3c0"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Claudia Barry - fictional</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2) When and where is the story set?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Current times, eastern seaboard USA</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3) What should we know about him/her?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Readers meet Claudia in my first book, </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Tourist-Killer-FC-Etier/dp/1937569357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407236615&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tourist+killer" target="_blank">The Tourist Killer</a></span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. She’s sixty-two years old and has successfully negotiated a career of over thirty years. Now she’s contemplating retirement and examining her life. What’s next for a professional assassin? Who do you retire? Her assigner convinces her to take a year sabbatical rather than retire outright. <i>A Year Without Killing</i> is the sequel and chronicles her time off.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Is retirement from this career any easier than retiring from the CIA or the mafia? How do you break away and stay alive? Claudia must now find a way to be at peace with herself so she can enjoy the rest of her life. As </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tourist Killer </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ends, she and her lover are in separate parts of the country and neither knows the fate of the other.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5) What is the personal goal of the character?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="http://faithfictionfriends.blogspot.com/2012/11/fc-etiers-tourist-killer.html" target="_blank"> Claudia</a> wants to settle down with John Hixon and pursue life without the burden of being the harbinger of death to others.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Year Without Killing, </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">my current work in progress is the third book in the Barry-Hixon series and is the sequel to my first book, </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tourist Killer</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I participate most weekends in a blog hop, titled, “Weekend Writing Warriors” and most of the excerpts I publish for the next few months will be from AYWK. Catch up with Claudia and her exploits </span><a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7) When can we expect the book to be published?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-book and trade paperback versions should be available in the spring of 2015. A Year Without Killing will debut in serialized form, with two chapters per week in either late fall of 2014 or winter of 2015 on the publisher’s site, </span><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Venture Galleries</span></a><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To keep the meetings going, I'll tag:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/author/calebpirtle/" target="_blank">Caleb Pirtle</a> , <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/author/stephenwoodfin/" target="_blank">Stephen Woodfin</a> , and <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/author/davidstokes/" target="_blank">David Stokes</a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
</span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-31309390482213888192014-08-02T19:00:00.000-04:002014-08-02T19:00:00.838-04:00Distraction Enables Stealth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star closed her eyes and stretched her arms out in either direction to their full length. Then she leaned forward, placed her hands on her ankles, and slid them up her legs. She clasped her hands and placed them in plain view on her knees. When she had returned to her previous position, she looked in the direction of the bar and Claudia was gone. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was impressive. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Claudia’s voice came from behind, “You do know how to give the impression that you’re not here as an adversary. You said you wanted my help, start talking.”</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c49f5175-7f3d-c832-d14c-a6e6fc4181d9"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“I’d prefer to talk over dinner, or drinks, or both.”</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Another excerpt from my third novel, <i>A Year Without Killing</i> (a WIP.) This scene picks up from a previous snippet found <b><a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-eight-sentences-claudia-did-not.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b>.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Claudia is meeting with Star Braun who is trying to earn Claudia's trust during a surprise encounter. At the beginning, Claudia is standing behind the bar in her hotel room. Star gets a sample of Claudia's ability to steal about a room undetected.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>But wait, there's more</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-87281054239503557642014-07-26T06:32:00.000-04:002014-07-28T06:18:20.528-04:00Faces of Folkmoot - 2014<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqXKLmRJb8rJGsyysA2k45c8GtOlvgfV_5UsyhRakm7dG8u9OtWthF-NYanol2ZJPmY9HBJt3RwpqnFWxHNLhd7iyG_zJYjSSxSK9NyYHKzp_jRn7ndnhEtifg2ZzpA_FSf1B9mhmcP4/s1600/Title+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqXKLmRJb8rJGsyysA2k45c8GtOlvgfV_5UsyhRakm7dG8u9OtWthF-NYanol2ZJPmY9HBJt3RwpqnFWxHNLhd7iyG_zJYjSSxSK9NyYHKzp_jRn7ndnhEtifg2ZzpA_FSf1B9mhmcP4/s1600/Title+page.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Fireman" from Hawaii, USA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Folkmoot USA </b>is North Carolina's official international festival. For over thirty years this organization has brought performers from around the world to dozens of venues in western North Carolina. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thousands of visitors descend upon Waynesville and the surrounding area to participate, volunteer, and enjoy the shows.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Each year, <a href="http://etier.zenfolio.com/" target="_blank">FCEtier Photography</a> and <a href="http://royalflamingoworks.com/index.htm?music=1" target="_blank">Royal Flamingo Works, LLC</a> present a slide show focused on the smiles and beauty of the performers, spectators, and volunteers. We proudly present the <b>2014</b> edition:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mu4ZqRg7QA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mu4ZqRg7QA</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHPkkJk79LSfsnTfXTt7wElfBYQbOU2SSCUFsLW_791hrNoyByaboIq2JHr0U3aGUclWQxV6h-4bssiuOh-NsYf2gBbhOw1S4rxP2C6SjpHfodOrGt7mh0T1cSiBFRYjufuKiBUhf_iU/s1600/DragonHead-42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHPkkJk79LSfsnTfXTt7wElfBYQbOU2SSCUFsLW_791hrNoyByaboIq2JHr0U3aGUclWQxV6h-4bssiuOh-NsYf2gBbhOw1S4rxP2C6SjpHfodOrGt7mh0T1cSiBFRYjufuKiBUhf_iU/s1600/DragonHead-42.jpg" height="135" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-fcfe4d8b-7c79-995d-b7aa-ba0c6e05c173"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8Mu4ZqRg7QA" width="560"></iframe></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-62839376829065403622014-07-17T11:03:00.000-04:002014-07-17T11:03:37.911-04:00A kiss in Harajuku<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A girl is walking on the street in Harajuku, Japan.<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She's disappointed that her boyfriend had other plans for the evening.</span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRMDh-0wM7upDQPeArvM9UGSkQd_yl-l6yoGxYaL2nlaSG3qGzEmTQNYCqyauyXBoNKNfHk95ocnxasEvi_h_3tX4rO6cYHr9cZKi1zwTr3mSO5-T146G6PHm2_sRmknnb46lT_uhZ1I/s1600/HarajukuKissFrontCover+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRMDh-0wM7upDQPeArvM9UGSkQd_yl-l6yoGxYaL2nlaSG3qGzEmTQNYCqyauyXBoNKNfHk95ocnxasEvi_h_3tX4rO6cYHr9cZKi1zwTr3mSO5-T146G6PHm2_sRmknnb46lT_uhZ1I/s1600/HarajukuKissFrontCover+(1).jpg" height="200" width="126" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Without warning a stranger, a boy, rushes up to her and kisses her.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He disappears into the crowd.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Intrigued, she attempts to find him and in the bat of an eye, becomes entangled in a dangerous game.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">A biologist has been murdered and a deadly virus is on the loose.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">What a great premise for a novel. We're pleased to have Linda Hamonu join us as our guest blogger this week to introduce her latest book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harajuku-Kiss-Linda-Hamonou-ebook/dp/B00LEAVNOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405302396&sr=8-1&keywords=harajuku+kiss" target="_blank">Harajuku Kiss</a></i>. Linda and I became acquainted due to our participation in the <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" target="_blank">Weekend Writing Warriors</a></span> project. Regular readers of these columns will be familiar with my photography, which is another interest in which Linda and I have in common. You can see some of her images <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.crazypuce.blogspot.jp/search/label/365%20photo%20challenge" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></b>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">First, a bit about Linda and then an excerpt from <i>Harajuku Kiss</i>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Welcome Linda!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Author bio</u>:</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacbGVwTPaL8DdGTSt5k2-lD7udAAEGFK0sfphZIHh8njhmwjkCzyd7ExYRIlsSSYnSaMOrMB2DSQyoTclNTTtDSZET2hMgAACOT4bhGtczWmmwjfhAUYKMpKaUnNcdrgG9SPC8BEs75M/s1600/LindaHamonou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacbGVwTPaL8DdGTSt5k2-lD7udAAEGFK0sfphZIHh8njhmwjkCzyd7ExYRIlsSSYnSaMOrMB2DSQyoTclNTTtDSZET2hMgAACOT4bhGtczWmmwjfhAUYKMpKaUnNcdrgG9SPC8BEs75M/s1600/LindaHamonou.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Born in November 1983 in Brittany, France, Linda Hamonou spent a lot of time lost in Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels. She entered university to study physics and obtained her PhD at Queen's University Belfast in 2009. Her studies allowed her to travel to Europe and America. She then moved to Japan and after three years doing research in Tokyo, she is currently doing a new postdoc in Sendai, Japan.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Excerpt:</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As I walked, I had the bizarre sensation someone was observing me. I could have run like Seiji, but it seemed impossible with my backpack.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On one hand, I always carried heavy stuff. Even when I wanted to travel light, I ended up with something unnecessary, like books I wouldn’t read or in this case my computer. I had been too lazy to bring it back home before coming here.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">On the other hand, I was a terrible runner. Running made my jaws ache. Running in this street, I would for sure never reach the station, let alone escape someone. I decided to pretend I didn’t notice. It could be that old man again or just my imagination. I didn’t look back. I just dug my hands further in my pockets, if that was at all possible, and held tight on the memory stick. I needed to be more careful with it for sure. The old man knew I had it and other people surely did as well. I was afraid. I heard the steps of a man coming closer. I turned right, I was far from the station. The streets here were not so crowded anymore. I wanted to get somewhere with a lot of people. It felt safer, in the middle of people nobody would try anything.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It came from my left side. Someone pulled on my shoulder and quickly put his hand on my mouth, dragging me in the dark. I panicked using very disorganized movements to try and free myself from the grasp, not really knowing how to do it.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">Would you stay quiet? I’ll free you if you promise to stay quiet?” It was the voice of the old man from earlier.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I tried to calm down and nodded. No matter, who he was, this time I was no longer afraid of running. He pushed me against the wall, still keeping his sweaty old hand on my mouth. It was salty and disgusting. I would never have imagined this old man could have such strength.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">They are not people to take lightly,” he said as he took his hand away slowly.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I took few steps toward the exit. I didn’t want to stay in this dark alley with him. He was freaking me out even more than the feeling of being followed, but he pulled me back holding on my bag.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">What do you think you’re doing?” I wanted to yell, but the fear made my voice sound like an inaudible whisper.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I had always wondered why some people wouldn’t yell while in danger, here was my answer: their voice was frozen. And unfortunately or fortunately, tonight, I was one of them.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">Two men are following you,” he said.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">I know that, thanks,” I answered.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span lang="en-US">You know it and you still walked in this empty street, are you insane?” he said shaking his head in disbelief.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Catch up with Linda here:</b></span><br />
<div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harajuku-Kiss-Linda-Hamonou-ebook/dp/B00LEAVNOW" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Harajuku Kiss on Amazon</a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://crazypuce.blogspot.jp/search/label/Harajuku%20kiss" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Harajuku Kiss on Linda's blog</span></a></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/452126" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Harajuku Kiss on Smashwords </span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Linda.Hamonou.Writing.Corner" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Linda's Facebook Author Page</span></a></div>
</div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-53143369464197124392014-07-12T18:57:00.002-04:002014-07-12T18:57:42.100-04:00I'll have a glass of chianti, please.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 27pt;">
<a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Louella said, “Bye bye, now,” and lowered the receiver of her vintage 1963 telephone onto its cradle. She went into the kitchen </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and selected her favorite glass from the cabinet over the sink. </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of these days, I’ll splurge and get a wine stem. This glass the </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welch’s grape jelly came in is fine for now. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She poured it half full of Bell’Agio Chianti, held it to her nose and looked back at the bottle. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; text-indent: 27pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hmm...vintage 2012. Oh well, two tears in a bucket. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-91e82e99-228e-8424-82c7-eede473894c9"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">By the time she was settled into her recliner, the glass was almost empty.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u>:</b> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In this scene from my third novel (a WIP, <i>A Year Without Killing</i>) Mrs. Johnson is back at home after a mugging and purse snatching. She's safe but upset. She was the recipient of the good deed from Claudia Barry, mentioned in <b><a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/05/i-did-good-deed-today.html" target="_blank">THIS BLOG</a></b> a few weeks ago.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Want exposure</u>?</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXR6pYgFzNCIX2QLggBZGVy17aNNIPcVsXTSeHeS2mgJzs_jNqR7h0rgxBOM8wuKumHpFVwN37uvGr50HR-Z-rJy3AMpiM7wPqXBsy9E20s_AFzyNZ3Mvwolr04zIEe_bnst8Duqjh1Q/s1600/Expose+YuSlf+to+ART.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXR6pYgFzNCIX2QLggBZGVy17aNNIPcVsXTSeHeS2mgJzs_jNqR7h0rgxBOM8wuKumHpFVwN37uvGr50HR-Z-rJy3AMpiM7wPqXBsy9E20s_AFzyNZ3Mvwolr04zIEe_bnst8Duqjh1Q/s1600/Expose+YuSlf+to+ART.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-73057194018263317702014-07-05T18:00:00.000-04:002014-07-06T18:04:48.080-04:00"Too much of anything ain't good for you."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When I hear the term, “infodump,” the first name that comes to mind is that of the late author, Tom Clancy. Others who fit into that category include James Michener and Michael Crichton. No doubt readers can rattle off the names of other authors whom some feel provide “more information than I want to know.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">On the other end of the technology spectrum for a writer, simply saying, “The woman shot her gun,” is not sufficient to stand alone. Readers deserve more.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">How much more? </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It depends. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Just a ounce of details can produce a ton of credibility.</span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Set Up</u>:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An excerpt from my third novel, a work in progress titled, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Year Without Killing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, appeared in </span><a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-eight-sentences-claudia-did-not.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this BLOG</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and introduced a technical topic. It was unnecessary to go into great detail, just give the reader the basics so they would understand that my main character applied a learned skill out of habit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was inspired by a comment to write a blog about "infodump."</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">These eight sentences come from <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/dont-dump-on-your-readers-the-authors-collection/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">that blog</span></a>.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The title is a quote from my late father, my most frequent source of inspiration. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2coNAFTcYGVsxTHtK9pqs65oClsHwdVWanEBiybF2dPHQqvNaHOpiT_gry8CBasCPUOR_yTI4QP4avhTJUkstPxB94lSn5rEC7ahkalmYQv03XMZy85Tn-o5OMSlkiZHGXC0SkRlgR60/s1600/Dad+n+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2coNAFTcYGVsxTHtK9pqs65oClsHwdVWanEBiybF2dPHQqvNaHOpiT_gry8CBasCPUOR_yTI4QP4avhTJUkstPxB94lSn5rEC7ahkalmYQv03XMZy85Tn-o5OMSlkiZHGXC0SkRlgR60/s1600/Dad+n+Me.jpg" height="189" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Dad and me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Consider joining us</u>: </b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-64004469582557415162014-06-21T19:00:00.000-04:002014-06-22T10:42:41.842-04:00The world thinks he had a heart attack.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She touched a remote switch and heavy drapes concealed the windows and muted the sound of the thunderstorm, “I’m going to the States for a meeting with Julian Thibaut.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“You’ve spent a noteworthy amount of time with him since Brian’s death.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She ignored the suggestion and took the conversation in another direction, “You mean, since Brian’s murder.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“The world thinks he had a heart attack,” answered Byrd.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“We know different -- and I know who pulled the trigger and who put up the money.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Byrd was staggered by the revelation. He hesitated for a moment, looked at the floor, took a deep breath and changed the subject, “Do you think Thibaut will have an interest in a sizeable portion of our stock?”</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ce6f64de-a9a6-66cc-e441-949db51a2180"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Star made eye contact, smiled, and replied, “Probably, but before I find out, I’m having an old friend for dinner.”</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Setup</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-return-of-star-braun.html" target="_blank">Star Braun</a> plans a trip to the States. It's just the tip of the ice berg and the first in a series of dominoes about to fall. She's discussing it with a business associate and friend.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Consider joining us</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-12142402329136925722014-06-14T17:00:00.000-04:002014-06-14T18:48:21.667-04:00The eyes have it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u></b>:</span> </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Claudia did not answer right away. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Star continued to watch the crown molding where the wall met the ceiling, “I’m going to sit up now and take my feet off the ottoman.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPWQsFdEsFkMnAwbt60m77KFjPkXWxE3AqY2pecYF6VK8nIPdsIyxky9SqfcB0IobUDBl5x_eYhDT5gBB5BCQQwSnaFf1DrBkCOIy1Kq5Oz5XmqIsjelk_3z8lh8ZyzeGyKT2E6FoZAs/s1600/NLP+Eye+chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiPWQsFdEsFkMnAwbt60m77KFjPkXWxE3AqY2pecYF6VK8nIPdsIyxky9SqfcB0IobUDBl5x_eYhDT5gBB5BCQQwSnaFf1DrBkCOIy1Kq5Oz5XmqIsjelk_3z8lh8ZyzeGyKT2E6FoZAs/s1600/NLP+Eye+chart.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As before, Claudia did not respond while Star did as she had said.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Their eyes met again.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Claudia watched her left-handed guest's eye movement to see how they </span><span style="line-height: 27.600000381469727px; white-space: pre-wrap;">responded</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to a question, “What can I do for you?” </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Star’s eyes moved up and to her right in a subconscious and uncontrollable response — visual remembrance — she was about to tell the truth, “I need your help.” </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ce6f64de-805f-5c67-c0b5-0ddd59c1788a"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 16.5pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Claudia’s shoulders dropped but she kept a firm grip on her tactical knife, “In what way?” </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u></b>: </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Claudia's guest is a character from each of my first two books, Star Braun.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Star is left handed so Claudia applies what she learned from the NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) accessing cues to determine if it is a lie or not.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Knowing and being able to apply this information was an important part of Claudia's studies to earn a masters degree in group dynamics at LSU. Group dynamics was the subject of this blog: <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/what-the-assassin-already-knows-the-authors-collection/" target="_blank">"What the assassin already knows."</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Join us!</u></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-52421511089967760402014-06-07T18:00:00.000-04:002014-06-07T19:25:39.259-04:00Manhattan Skyline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u>:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Manhattan skyline glowed like bullion thanks to the sun’s rays just before dusk. Claudia Barry appreciated the spectacle from her table in the Vu Lounge of the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City. She held her martini glass up so she could observe the Freedom Tower through her drink. She liked the distorted view. It gave her ideas for a watercolor painting she planned to complete while in the northeast. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She turned to a fresh sheet of paper in her leather portfolio and wrote with her antique fountain pen. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-ce6f64de-642e-2308-103f-bd43164fea0a"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She moved the pen with a deliberate pace. The painter’s hand moved the premium writing instrument with an assassin’s precision.</span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafrRMQwCpQhiU3p5q86w_Af_6OwB6zW0Itz3-ILdqSKX7hZ6zp8PbJAHaR5IGDAqFMAapkP2ckDPQ6WMxyBh8q-j-NGa4t-jkQzREsk0egmYxCrvK06QuMy_1cuf_Vvtryx53mGIsj38/s1600/FrdmTwr-PAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafrRMQwCpQhiU3p5q86w_Af_6OwB6zW0Itz3-ILdqSKX7hZ6zp8PbJAHaR5IGDAqFMAapkP2ckDPQ6WMxyBh8q-j-NGa4t-jkQzREsk0egmYxCrvK06QuMy_1cuf_Vvtryx53mGIsj38/s1600/FrdmTwr-PAN.jpg" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Claudia's view of the Freedom Tower from Jersey City.<br />
Image credit: Etier Photography/Royal Flamingo Works, LLC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u>:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Readers first met Claudia Barry in <i><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/the-tourist-killer-by-f-c-etier-a-review-by-stephenwoodfin/" target="_blank">The Tourist Killer</a></i>. As that book ended, she had decided to take a year off from work. The sequel, <i>A Year Without Killing,</i> tells what she did during that twelve month sabbatical. She did not leave her weapons at home.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>What now</u>?</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-19495378804962770012014-05-31T19:00:00.000-04:002014-06-01T08:22:44.055-04:00I did a good deed today.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvVxWvyhKVn8Yp6g5HNNj6PNZR4FADSpyou9kDGGpLNyesE56dY7jGPwGsEc-3a6Ry31QnigpZfEQEhPSY99u_GKr0TGiswr8S3Ywxv9yilBrk2jo4WFripKeOQrkhO3x-cIEmfeyXWc/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAvVxWvyhKVn8Yp6g5HNNj6PNZR4FADSpyou9kDGGpLNyesE56dY7jGPwGsEc-3a6Ry31QnigpZfEQEhPSY99u_GKr0TGiswr8S3Ywxv9yilBrk2jo4WFripKeOQrkhO3x-cIEmfeyXWc/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>The Eight Sentences</b></u></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">His smile brought her a sense of calm and a reassurance of safety as it always had.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She leaned forward to push her chair back and stand to greet him.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He waved it off, “Keep your seat. You look so comfortable, Claudia, the epitome of self confidence and bliss. Your smile is radiant.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“Am I smiling? It must be because I did a good deed today.” </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ce6f64de-42c7-41b7-0a8b-acc5ca1c959d"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Debert nodded understanding, and returned the smile.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>The Back Story</b></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtT5mv88kKehJMqU1ZWWtT38BQs_CKFa8H9BfYUoJihug0mUS_sZJUF-hL9eF70ABalSfGLxhevfGJ7q-a7YtjrhycTFPH0mpnKPsWI0RAs1XkWf48CugGiR9_B_3Wm59SPloBqSpeJI/s1600/Tir+na+nOg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtT5mv88kKehJMqU1ZWWtT38BQs_CKFa8H9BfYUoJihug0mUS_sZJUF-hL9eF70ABalSfGLxhevfGJ7q-a7YtjrhycTFPH0mpnKPsWI0RAs1XkWf48CugGiR9_B_3Wm59SPloBqSpeJI/s1600/Tir+na+nOg.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When in Manhattan, visit this great pub. It's right across the <br />
street from Penn Station. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mr. Debert (DAY'-bear) is Claudia's muse and confidant. They often meet at her favorite Irish pub when she's in NYC, the tir na nOg. This conversation occurs about a half hour after her altercation with the mugger (from<a href="http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-year-without-killing.html" target="_blank"> last week's excerpt</a>.)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>What now?</b></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/" target="_blank"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></a></span> group.</span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-82292717469057746472014-05-24T19:00:00.000-04:002014-05-24T19:00:00.607-04:00A Year Without Killing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTcAXpUBjfYdKZ-qW22zUJ9_Rp0HtKxfhBK43JtwGMlFp1ygKh3jCeUEwykTfxXKMWMURZJ8IKwTQWZcinP_GDmzUg4BRQAmgj1kCOTA5nwBBKzNNZ4iINDIs6FDoRAYIzQb84UtXR_Y/s1600/WWW+header.jpg" height="92" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences </b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An African-American woman who appeared to be in her late sixties stepped onto the sidewalk and walked towards Claudia.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> That woman’s about my age</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Claudia thought. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then it happened.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rs9ARxcDNqmWF5C4wx0xGWUZaeNCT9T8zb4S5ysQuzLYhLvjnJ8mOsG2ObJGbndvCEBYal7v50uw27JHNMQD3hPM1Ah6ETGQoSLeGoRRUAsMMooLSxNrbbquY7w6eBCfXXCHctY3pmw/s1600/Penn+Sta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rs9ARxcDNqmWF5C4wx0xGWUZaeNCT9T8zb4S5ysQuzLYhLvjnJ8mOsG2ObJGbndvCEBYal7v50uw27JHNMQD3hPM1Ah6ETGQoSLeGoRRUAsMMooLSxNrbbquY7w6eBCfXXCHctY3pmw/s1600/Penn+Sta.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penn Station - across the street from where this scene<br /> occurs. Image Source: hereandnow.wbur.org</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 27pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A tall skinny male Goth stepped into the black woman’s path. He grabbed the strap on her purse and jerked it from her grasp. His next decision was one of the worst of his life. He ran right into the path of a semi-retired assassin with a sense of justice.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-1751ae1d-2142-307c-f536-b5263071c4f0"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As he passed, Claudia Barry stepped into his path and delivered a forearm to make Anthony Munoz proud. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Back Story </b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> </b><i><b>A Year Without Killing</b></i> is a work in progress and will be the third in my series of novels known as the "Barry-Hixon Conspiracy." This is the sequel to my first book, <i><a href="http://tinyurl.com/ngkypol" target="_blank">The Tourist Killer</a></i>, which ends with professional assassin Claudia Barry beginning a twelve month leave. She had planned to retire, but was convinced by her assigner to take some time off before making the final decision.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Today's excerpt shows how difficult it will be to take off from work. It's from Chapter One.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>What now? </b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="line-height: 18px;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Weekend Writing Warriors</span></b></a>. The same </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Check out their work, too. Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> <span style="color: blue;"><b>S</b><b>unday</b><b> Snippett</b></span> group.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-4787978250406265872014-05-16T22:21:00.002-04:002014-05-16T22:24:27.381-04:00Paying It Forward<span id="docs-internal-guid-2ad32398-07f5-14d6-9a39-82e27370a22f"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2ad32398-07f5-14d6-9a39-82e27370a22f"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Recently another author invited me to participate in a “blog tour” by posting an article in which I answer several questions. Here goes.</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2ad32398-07f5-14d6-9a39-82e27370a22f">
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My writing time in addition to blog articles is focused on my third novel, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Year Without Killing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This will be volume three in the “Barry-Hixon Conspiracy” series. It is also the sequel to my first book, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Tourist-Killer-FC-Etier/dp/1937569357/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400293173&sr=8-2&keywords=fcetier" target="_blank">The Tourist Killer</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Writing is not my full time occupation, so it make take a while. If it all works out, maybe AYWK will be available in time for Christmas shopping. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrzCmFN8yST-gkIlUMbzdMQLia4GqjRQ-XlihOssKe38tGQcp5c1h82g2MZ-Tm8G0KTOy7Nc16VoJis41JkcyPxZuNO0X4XaxrPWQX8Af9I9OQEtlhA_wKWIbR7POlZznvyObvJ8aW1I/s1600/TPC+signing-sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrzCmFN8yST-gkIlUMbzdMQLia4GqjRQ-XlihOssKe38tGQcp5c1h82g2MZ-Tm8G0KTOy7Nc16VoJis41JkcyPxZuNO0X4XaxrPWQX8Af9I9OQEtlhA_wKWIbR7POlZznvyObvJ8aW1I/s1600/TPC+signing-sml.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
</span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While some books neatly fit into a particular genre, I’m not a big fan of the genre-labeling game. My first book prompted this comment from reviewer, Blaine Coleman,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tourist Killer</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a complex story that’s difficult to pigeonhole into a single category: is it a novel about crime, international intrigue, a psychological thriller, a look into the mind of a paid assassin, or, is it a romance?” You could say that my books are “crossover” in terms of genre and that’s what makes them different.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dale Carnegie said to speak about something that you have: 1. earned the right to speak about (personal experience) or 2. done extensive research and can speak about with knowledge. Applying his advice to writing, I write about what I know. My wife says I talk too much and she’s probably correct. My editor prefers me to use dialog to drive the story so I put my experience to work. The combination has earned kudos from reviewers for the conversations in my books. From a review of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400293173&sr=8-1&keywords=fcetier" target="_blank">The Presidents Club</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, “</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also intriguing are the elderly men themselves, their histories, and their opinions. Although they are, at times, catty, insulting, and sly, they seem like people we'd want to know (Hey, Louie, bring me a beer.) Etier has captured real conversations as the characters' comments overlap, entertain, and yes zing each other.”</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">write for the same reason many readers open a book -- escape. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The time spent with my characters is wonderful and meaningful. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I can escape and become totally absorbed with my characters in the story, then, perhaps my readers can also. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I write dialog, it helps to (as they say in the theater), "get into character." </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When a few weeks pass without writing, and then I return to it, I'm always surprised at how much I missed being with my literary friends.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I begin a project, I think about characters and make notes on them. An overall story arc helps and then I write the first and last chapters. At that point, I turn the characters loose and hang on for dear life. It is often surprising what the characters do.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is never disappointing and that’s why I love writing.</span><a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>At least three of my writer friends will receive an e-mail from me soon with an invitation to answer the same questions and invite three of their fellow authors.</b></i></span></span></div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-33699034119913152402014-04-08T18:32:00.000-04:002014-04-14T09:50:25.899-04:00Guest Blog: How Do I Love Thee...Let Me Recount the WaysToday's guest blogger is <a href="http://www.arthoffman.com/" target="_blank">Art Hoffman</a>, who brings us a touching story of friendship and love.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" type="cite">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>
It was with a feeling of numbness, more than grief, as I read the email in the Georgia motel room on the way back from Florida. True there was some sadness. But I had anticipated news like this one day. After all, when your "high school girlfriend" is 100, the relationship stretches for weeks and months, not years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But to hear that my precious Jeanne had died on my birthday? My life's start and her life's end all ironically packaged in one 24 hour period? </div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" type="cite">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>
Too much to bear, I thought, as I reclined against the pillow and sighed. My wife asked what was wrong. I told her about the email. She understood and</div>
<div>
gave me space to simply stare at the wall.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3gWTU86exnBD7J4k4t7PuHs4TbRO9iAtAmbmyEaNrOLZo4pJ2FGL0xWLItwgadyb-bOc8QDme6o6KXErbBY514HkPDLl1WxAnXT0Ed-eqtEfl-aTfcYQD1mVSXKahSCeiT9-18KZtRg/s1600/Art+&+Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3gWTU86exnBD7J4k4t7PuHs4TbRO9iAtAmbmyEaNrOLZo4pJ2FGL0xWLItwgadyb-bOc8QDme6o6KXErbBY514HkPDLl1WxAnXT0Ed-eqtEfl-aTfcYQD1mVSXKahSCeiT9-18KZtRg/s1600/Art+&+Rose.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeanne and Art</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" type="cite">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>
Instantly, my mind raced back to the day when I met Jeanne. It was October 2010 at Roosevelt High School's "all years" reunion in Chicago. What I had no way of knowing then was how fate had something special in store for both of us. My expectations were fairly simple - to reconnect with classmates from the 1960s. It wasn't until I read an article about 97 year old Jeanne Goodman in the<i> Chicago Tribune</i> the day before that I changed my plans. I was immediately captivated by her story as related in that article: a shy, retiring teenager, slowly blossoming into a more confident woman and then meeting the love of her life, Morris, with whom a solid fulfilling marriage endured for many decades. I am a sucker for schmaltzy love stories. There were enough such tidbits about the romantic side of that relationship featured in the article that I vowed to meet her at the reunion. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She arrived, accompanied by one of her daughters and son-in-law. I politely asked if she would mind if my wife took a photo of the two of us. She agreed and we made small talk for a couple of minutes. I recall she asked if I played basketball on the school team. Guess when you are a petite 5 foot tall (if that) and standing next to 6'1", you will come to that conclusion. I said no and she followed with some self-effacing charm: "That's OK, people sometimes ask if I play miniature golf." She moved on to the cafeteria with her family and I thought to myself, great, I got to meet her and now have this anecdote to relate and a souvenir photo.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In hindsight, taking that photo and then sending it to her set the stage for what followed. Not flowers or candy (though I did brighten her day with these over the next couple of years). A simple 4x6 print - that was the seed. Why? Because as soon as she received it, she called to thank me and relive some of the memories from the reunion. It didn't take long though for our conversation to get around to our respective backgrounds and history. As a 97 year old, I knew she was born the same year as my own mother, Rose, who had died 25 years earlier. I began to pick up on some of the many ways Jeanne reminded me of my mother and thought again about the serendipity that brought us together that evening. But, more importantly, I sensed that our relationship was expanding.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When I learned that Morris was also born in 1913, I casually inquired where he had attended high school and she replied Tuley High School, my mom's high school. We had already established that Jeanne and I shared a classmate connection (albeit 34 years apart). I was now wondering if her Morris and my Rose had a more direct link 80 years ago and, fortunately, for both of us, I had the ability to research this further, namely Rose's high school yearbook. Without telling Jeanne I had it, we talked further and agreed to stay in touch.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPGRqUCHizm_vBE1HQVmnYvKYLsbxS25ewxfMtZ3MuKYpRioOabIrt6V_i3rbXojBEbF-_at9bgm1HFvn4IeBHEEBI4sIxw4f2JRaREhUzDFbIu1oo_NIUHrL2_coDBwtlkRsLPe8d9s/s1600/Yearbook2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPGRqUCHizm_vBE1HQVmnYvKYLsbxS25ewxfMtZ3MuKYpRioOabIrt6V_i3rbXojBEbF-_at9bgm1HFvn4IeBHEEBI4sIxw4f2JRaREhUzDFbIu1oo_NIUHrL2_coDBwtlkRsLPe8d9s/s1600/Yearbook2.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once I located it in the basement "archives", I eagerly (but carefully) leafed through the time worn pages. And there I found them, two fresh-faced 18-year-olds - she was smiling, he was more serious, staring at me<br />
from the bottom two corners of the page (here outlined in red). Because of another welcome happenstance, the alphabet, Rose GORDON was closely linked to Morris GOODMAN.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Wow, I wondered, they likely knew of each other, perhaps Mom even sat behind Morris. Did he carry her books home? Did she help him with his homework? Did he watch her tennis matches? Was she rooting him on at his track meets? No way of knowing of course. Just as there was no way of predicting that nearly a century later this man's future wife and this woman's son would be embarking on their own high school saga. I emailed Jeanne the next day, letting her know of this discovery and promising to send a copy of that page. She didn't take long to respond, informing me that although she once had a copy of the yearbook, she no longer did and offered her reaction at seeing his photo once again. "It's unbelievable that you found my Morry...I now believe that anything and everything is possible, all of this is so emotional for me."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Her and Morry's story enchanted me. Here was a marriage begun two weeks before Pearl Harbor and suddenly ended six weeks before 9/11 when, during their nightly ritual of toasting each other with a glass of wine, Morry died of a brain aneurysm. National tragedies bookending a tale of love and absolute devotion to each other. I was charmed by the way that Jeanne praised Morry: "He opened a whole new world for me and I loved it." She met him at a dance in May 1941. "He was the cutest boy I ever saw" she recalled, "he asked me to dance, what a great dancer." And it was mutual. Morry proclaimed to fellow drivers in the streets of Flagstaff, many years later, rolling down the window and waving and smiling proudly, "You see her? She's mine. I'm the luckiest man alive."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But Jeanne became mine as well, as part of this "love affair" borne out of a chance encounter at our high school. Over the next many months, we bonded during long phone conversations, discussing current events, politics, classical music, the arts, computers and technology (and I am the one born well <b>after </b>World War I), health issues and, not surprisingly, the afterlife. One of her emails requested that we would "keep in touch as long as possible, after all, it's later than we think as far as I'm concerned." The occasional visits to see her in Chicago were always cherished. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It did not take long before I became an adopted member of her family, and forged a friendship with both her daughters. All of this culminated at her memorable 100th birthday party in September where I was privileged to attend and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNcfJA001WQ" target="_blank">video the festivities</a>. </div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VNcfJA001WQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" type="cite">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>
Her reaching that milestone was never assured though. Just months before, she had received the cancer diagnosis. I was not the only one who was questioning how much fighting spirit she could muster at that stage of her life. After all, she <b>was </b>99. But not to worry, especially with her unwavering commitment to dance at her grandson's wedding. With pluck and grace she soldiered on through biopsies, tests and surgeries. The promised dance materialized. And four months later, the eagerly anticipated birthday party would be held on a crisp September afternoon. The "proverbial good time" was had by scores of family members and friends from all over the country.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But the sunshine and brilliant fall foliage outside the restaurant that day were symbolic for me. I knew their warmth and beauty would fade in mere weeks. The days would soon "dwindle down to a precious few." Natural forces were at work. And as all this transpired, inevitably, how would I feel? Especially because now I realized I had been given a remarkable gift. A chance to love and be loved by a second mom. My own mom's spirit had returned via Jeanne. And now it would be departing for a second time. I began to grieve for myself, as I also anguished for her immediate family.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As we all monitored her declining health over the winter. I struggled with alternating desires. Selfishly, I wanted her to overcome the illness, ignoring the reality of the situation. But I was </div>
<div>
having trouble with the notion of "letting her go." If hers was a "life well lived", maybe there was still a bit more "living well" ahead. Those were difficult times for me but nothing compared to what family members were experiencing. So ultimately, it is fitting that I found the greatest comfort in what her two daughters related at the service held to celebrate Jeanne the week after her passing. Sharon noted that Jeanne was everyone's role model and a wonderful inspiration. Heidi recalled many years ago that when she asked "Mom, what will I do without you when you're not here?" Jeanne softly replied "I'll always be with you because when it is time for me to leave this earth, my heart will live within your own."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Words with very special meaning. For Jeanne and her family. For my mom and me. All of us together. Acknowledging a love that came full circle.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-17303755931450227252014-01-25T17:00:00.000-05:002014-01-25T17:00:10.583-05:00The Gold Trap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> In the darkness of her bedroom, Miriam Gold felt a hand over her mouth and then heard a whisper in her ear, “Crawl into the bathroom and call 9-1-1.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It was a pre-arranged course of action she and Ron had planned years ago and had never had to use it — until now.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A digital clock showed 2:30 A.M. and the house was pitch black dark </span><span style="font-size: large;">— y</span><span style="font-size: large;">ou couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Ron had always felt darker was safer. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Ron rolled back away from Miriam as she began to slip out of the bed onto the floor. While he still lay on his back, he reached down and felt his .45 caliber pistol in its holster attached to the side of the bed, a bullet already chambered. It felt as comfortable in his hand now as it had for over thirty years. His thumb found the safety with ease and flicked it down </span><span style="font-size: large;">— h</span><span style="font-size: large;">e was ready to shoot. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwi8a6kzX1lTt5u-QSvAHJNWCQVhZYMv9QRVQueBee08KzRYF3NdPeW9rgYNrjW1ej-k1k1p2Plip7WhwQW2W-IYTe7NIVfy1OR1g3LlS7-QPY6J0SodARY3ifr01Qg-tAznPqtsA9qSA/s1600/45+semi+auto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwi8a6kzX1lTt5u-QSvAHJNWCQVhZYMv9QRVQueBee08KzRYF3NdPeW9rgYNrjW1ej-k1k1p2Plip7WhwQW2W-IYTe7NIVfy1OR1g3LlS7-QPY6J0SodARY3ifr01Qg-tAznPqtsA9qSA/s1600/45+semi+auto.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Gold's .45</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Back Story:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b>Ron Gold is a member of <b><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1390570322&sr=8-4&keywords=the+presidents+club" target="_blank">The Presidents Club</a></i></b>. In this scene, he and his wife,Miriam respond to the unwelcomed visit of an intruder.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Ron is retired from the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of a special forces group (similar to the Navy's SEALS).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> <b>From the book:</b> <i>"The Golds had celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary two years before, when Ron was eighty. They were both in good health despite their genes — remarkable for their age. They both had high blood pressure and Ron had battled diabetes for years. With the exception of Ron’s obsession with television documentaries, they enjoyed good mental health as well." </i></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>What now?</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>Weekend Writing Warriors</b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> Check out their work, too. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> S<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unday</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Snippett</a></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> group</span>.</span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href=""></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-32068678065895160012014-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:002014-01-19T06:02:20.572-05:00Meet Abe Region<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences:</b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> “One of the assistant managers had hired me. I guess it must have been about the second day on the job, I was in the men’s room with a mop and other clean up products. I’d finished the urinals, toilets, and sinks and I was about to mop the floor. Someone came in behind me and it was someone I didn’t know. His name tag told me he was the store manager. The first words out of his mouth was, ‘You’re going to be in management one day.’</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">“I said, ‘How do you know?’</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-24082707-a042-48b9-58c5-6bf5decb9ae3"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">'Nobody wants to clean the restrooms except a member of management -- I sure cleaned my share of them!’ and we laughed together.'"</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Behind the scenes:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Each Friday, my publisher, <a href="http://venturegalleries.com/author/frankcetier/" target="_blank">Venture Galleries</a>, posts one of my blogs. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Twice a month, they feature one of my blogs as a part of their "Author's Collection." Sunday, Jan. 19, I begin a series of blogs about the members of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390049091&sr=8-1&keywords=fcetier" target="_blank"><b>The Presidents Club</b></a></i>.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> This week, we begin with the first member mentioned in either of my books, <b><a href="http://venturegalleries.com/blog/itthe-authors-collection/" target="_blank">Abe Region</a></b>. He made his debut in <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tourist-Killer-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B009W6AZVC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390049091&sr=8-2&keywords=fcetier" target="_blank">The Tourist Killer</a></b></i> and it was a comment by him, that sparked the idea for <i>The Presidents Club.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What now?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>Weekend Writing Warriors</b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> Check out their work, too. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> S<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unday</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Snippett</a></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> group</span>.</span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=979123467107730191"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-82595476288994197822014-01-12T08:44:00.001-05:002014-01-12T08:48:24.945-05:00Meet the "Presidents"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTkYdtDWPO8k5VhmTQ5E-uMXMjew5_iH2M2JG7Ra_vk2XfbIKpfGKESEP4QcIdEaK97h0bcP1LW0mBy-ItSiqmYR1nZ64WnYfTVacb8NXRSWRjTt0yjT_SOgsFPnvluD550pVbtOZmE0/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" height="115" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Eight Sentences:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRJduLnKtQyDrXePuv70HkTiYskQg_T2n2TA3KrBPpY6TtQVIc0HCknYJ9aGTbcZlCwabAn6j0QPOKm8esj_npOQ9Y33ieisgGucSWRWMyHzIMY4um1cKOqnNxNqgVs5FORyllAXO-Ww/s1600/MtRshmre+-+BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRJduLnKtQyDrXePuv70HkTiYskQg_T2n2TA3KrBPpY6TtQVIc0HCknYJ9aGTbcZlCwabAn6j0QPOKm8esj_npOQ9Y33ieisgGucSWRWMyHzIMY4um1cKOqnNxNqgVs5FORyllAXO-Ww/s1600/MtRshmre+-+BW.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got 3 of the 4.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“After being around these guys for a few hours, it’s easy to see how Thibaut — or anyone — could fall under their spell.”</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Charming?” Rosemary asked.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Irresistible!”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Tell me more, I think I like them already,” as she clasped her wine glass with both hands. She focused on his eyes but also watched every move on his face as he spoke. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Only one of them works now, Abe, the first one the boss met, and the others are all retired. Of course, the bartender works. Anyway, there are two doctors, two teachers, a preacher, a former Lowe’s manager, and one ex-military.”</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Back Story:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Dinner at Rosemary's apartment with Gerald Pointe. He's the head of security for billionaire investor, Julian Thibaut. In this conversation, he begins to tell her about the men he's met in the Louisville Tavern </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">—</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> the men who make up <i><b><a href="http://groundreport.com/the-presidents-club/" target="_blank">The Presidents Club</a></b></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> Today's blog begins a series of blogs, each of which will focus on one of the members of the group. Next week, Abraham Leroy Region, aka: Abe.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">News</span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384608825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+presidents+club+fcetier" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Presidents Club</a></span></i><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;">went live on <b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-presidents-club-fc-etier/1117704736?ean=2940148333043" target="_blank">NOOK</a></b> earlier this week.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Please help me with some exposure by sharing this link in the social media.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What now?</span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>Weekend Writing Warriors</b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> Check out their work, too. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> S<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unday</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Snippett</a></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> group</span>.</span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=979123467107730191"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-979123467107730191.post-14861807064106798022013-11-16T17:00:00.000-05:002013-11-16T17:00:04.557-05:00For whom did you last vote?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzCQuu5nykjDjdgvmF6evginkeP3Omnp-sksDyhoZTrsm-B7yXZorKQehAMBWiB975DhhZZT18-UnRT6hff2f7_ptXGMvhr1qiFhCqMNS1R9kTbZreyQgEkYP1iZpuREscXl6fqY8gDo/s1600/AAA-WWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzCQuu5nykjDjdgvmF6evginkeP3Omnp-sksDyhoZTrsm-B7yXZorKQehAMBWiB975DhhZZT18-UnRT6hff2f7_ptXGMvhr1qiFhCqMNS1R9kTbZreyQgEkYP1iZpuREscXl6fqY8gDo/s400/AAA-WWW.jpg" width="400" />+</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Eight Sentences</u></b></span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They could hear the dominoes being shuffled again,so Abe spun around on his bar stool to face the gamesmen and asked, “How many of y’all vote?”</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">His answer was four blank stares. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After a pause, York spoke up, “You mean in elections?”</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Louie said to Abe, “Guess you got your answer, huh? What about you, do you vote?”</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Sometimes, the last time I voted was when Samuel L.Jackson and I voted for the brother, gimmie another beer.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9KZpZRMZgXkaSvdV3VX_JqHOVaoeFVevmOwiyiMQtHVaxdJcNtgJCYES8juHbUV4eczON_U7Bmsl6oTGLgLwBKlAxy21b2yQBMI33nkS6WIMCbb2M8LPcyx5rANaPIlj8iacBfeDJQU/s1600/ThePresidentsClubFinal-SML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9KZpZRMZgXkaSvdV3VX_JqHOVaoeFVevmOwiyiMQtHVaxdJcNtgJCYES8juHbUV4eczON_U7Bmsl6oTGLgLwBKlAxy21b2yQBMI33nkS6WIMCbb2M8LPcyx5rANaPIlj8iacBfeDJQU/s200/ThePresidentsClubFinal-SML.jpg" width="141" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Louie volunteered, “The last time I voted was for Miss Rheingold.”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Back Story</u></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIalMrLC3kkGTZYbWAduoSiphAmJ4Jbqa275YJ-rTM5tu-f702K34ZygPkhGGDoYbWmw2C3HaoliNNJiWxC6HwfpRIkMQKMkO8rvSTBB7CxkrLH3Ar7gtoW_FiLyK7LDtIYsq_zvTGpAs/s1600/Miss+Rheingold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIalMrLC3kkGTZYbWAduoSiphAmJ4Jbqa275YJ-rTM5tu-f702K34ZygPkhGGDoYbWmw2C3HaoliNNJiWxC6HwfpRIkMQKMkO8rvSTBB7CxkrLH3Ar7gtoW_FiLyK7LDtIYsq_zvTGpAs/s200/Miss+Rheingold.jpg" width="140" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b>The members of the Presidents Club and their bartender discuss the relative interest of the general population in voting. Some people don't even bother anymore. Do you vote?</span></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Louie the bartender did. He voted for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwRXEh_TaBI" target="_blank">Miss Rheingold</a> in the beer company's annual competition. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>News</u></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b> <i><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384608825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+presidents+club+fcetier" target="_blank">The Presidents Club</a></span></i> </b>went live on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Barry-Hixon-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B00GMSVLOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384608825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+presidents+club+fcetier" target="_blank">Amazon</a> earlier this week.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Official release date is Tuesday, Nov. 19. If you've enjoyed my snippets, I hope you'll help me with some exposure by sharing this link in the social media.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>What now?</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<b style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Join us here at <a href="http://www.wewriwa.com/" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>Weekend Writing Warriors</b></a>. The same </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> Check out their work, too. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's the Facebook link for the</span></div>
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> S<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">unday</a></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/486008994818623/?ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_reply" style="color: #015782; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Snippett</a></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> group</span>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=979123467107730191"></a>FCEtierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14199098303138353894noreply@blogger.com18