A.J. Llewellyn's Blog, page 28

Phantom Lover AUDIO Book

Phantom Lover Audio Book is OUT NOW!

Purchase Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/audio-books-c-84/products_id/928

Book one in my best-selling Phantom Lover series is an audio book with gorgeous voice work from the dynamic Donnie Don Don who does a wonderful job reading the story. My brother did a beautiful production job with some wonderful Polynesian drumming music between the chapters…it's really lovely.

Synopsis:

Hawaiian hula dancer Bobby Kikawa has deep fantasies about the dark, mysterious, Kimo Wilder, especially after Kimo poses for an erotic painting called Phantom Lover. He plans to seduce Kimo even though Kimo is straight, married and known for his extreme loyalty to his wife. Alone on a hot night after dance rehearsal on the big island of Hawaii, Bobby manages to persuade Kimo to let him service his hot, neglected, extremely hungry passion. The two men soon become embroiled in a red-hot fling that threatens not only Kimo's marriage but Bobby's sanity when he discovers Kimo is a 'Keeper of Secrets' in the Hawaiian culture… a man born of fire and hidden, taboo dark magic the ancient Hawaiians called Lua.

 

CONTENT ADVISORY: This title contains MM, MMF, and MMM sex scenes.

For purchase and more information please click this link:

https://spsilverpublishing.com/produc...

Abandoned Paradise – OUT NOW!

                                     Abandoned Paradise 

   Two men, one island…what is the secret that keeps them apart?

  A New Paranormal, Contemporary M/M Romance by A.J. Llewellyn

                         Available TODAY at Amber Allure!

 

Purchase Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AbandonedParadise.html

Alessandro Aikau, an anthropologist visiting Hawaii from Boston, has been given rare permission to spend a month on the abandoned and forbidden island of Kaho'olawe.

Kem, whose family has been entrusted with the sacred upkeep of this battered piece of paradise, at first resents Alessandro's unusual assignment. As the two men come to know each other, Kem begins to realize that there is a deeper, mysterious meaning to the man's presence on the island. He begins to sense it is a ritual atonement. But for what?

Kem's kahuna parents won't divulge the secret, and neither will Alessandro, even as the two men become deeply attracted to one another and Alessandro suffers several bad accidents, faces continual sabotage, along with a strange invasion of the island.

Will Alessandro survive his twenty-eight-day ritual, and if so, can he find love with Kem in this abandoned paradise?

 

Excerpt:

…Alessandro waited as the rain pelted him. Tropical rain was like that. It came down hard and fast as if the sky had a grievance, and then, just like that, it would stop.

He waited until the boat was too far out for him to swim to it. True, he could have jumped into his own vessel and hightailed it back to civilization, but he wouldn't, and he couldn't. He walked to the ocean's edge, watching the small launch disappearing across the horizon.

As quickly as it came, the rain went. A tropical shower, so common in the islands, seemed cruel on this island, which looked like it yearned for a good, solid rainfall. He held a drop of moisture on his tongue and tasted it. Sweet.

He was surprised how long he was able to hear the chanting of the kahuna aboard the small craft, offering prayers to the deities who governed the island. Seeking Alessandro's protection as they departed, he wondered if the three water goddesses might be listening on such a beautiful day? Maybe. He could believe in anything with this view. And with this silence. He'd never been in a place so peaceful. Did one even exist?

Alessandro's camp was in the picturesque curve of Hanakanai'a, its name meaning Bay of Dolphins. He could hardly wait for the spinner dolphins he'd heard visited the islands each day to come and frolic for him. He'd brought cameras and electronics galore. He would record every moment he could.

He knew rain was a significant harbinger of good luck in the islands. No rain, no rainbows. He tried to block the image of sexy Kem making a rainbow for his niece.

Stop that.

As the boat slipped over the last visible wave, he let out a breath. Finally, he was alone. And, for the first time, he felt very good about his decision. For a moment he reveled in the quiet, the vast expanse of land and, just yards from his tent flap, dazzling, azure-blue water. Everything had a special brilliance here. Even the ocean water's foam seemed whiter than white.

He was really here. It was his for a whole month. For the first time since his unusual odyssey had begun, he asked himself the question his friends and family had been asking. What will I do with my time?

Alessandro turned, still able to smell the charred sea grass the elderly kahuna had burned as they stood in the circle. He was grateful the group had helped him set up camp and, yes, he'd sensed jealousy from a couple of them, but also excitement.

Inside his tent, he reached for his suitcase and, in a flash, caught sight of the wiggling antennae out of the corner of his eye. Shocked, he glanced back a second time. It couldn't be.

Nope. No mistake. A scorpion. A goddamned scorpion! The inch-long, almost transparent, eight-legged little monster skittered clumsily over the handle of Alessandro's waterproof suitcase containing his most vital possessions.

Thoughts collided as he took a deep breath and noticed a thick, brown claw wending its way behind the little guy. A bigger, more menacing version of the tiny scorpion clambered over the handle. Aw, how…cute. A mom and baby. Easily seven inches long, the mother reared as if to strike the human hand that almost touched her evil offspring.

Alessandro made the fastest decision of his life. Though it was a lesser brown scorpion, not the most lethal variety, it still packed enough venom in its stinger to cause extreme pain. With one hand he grabbed his sat phone and activated the camera, and with the other picked up his baseball bat. He flattened the heck out of the treacherous little suckers.

Making sure there were no signs of bug life, he began circling the suitcase as he used a paper towel to wipe off the tip of the bat. No other stowaways on board. Thank God.

How the hell had the scorpions gotten in here?

He cleaned up the mess from the suitcase and the tent floor. He was here to observe life and collect unusual specimens, but not scorpions, an accidentally introduced species to the Hawaiian Islands. He was an anthropologist by trade, and it was his cover story, but not the real story for his visit here. Only three people knew the real story. His mom, his best friend Mickey, and Uncle Joe.

Alessandro knew that scorpions existed on Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and on the big island of Hawaii, but they weren't supposed to be here on Kaho'olawe, the smallest and most sacred of the island group. How…hellish. Less than an hour on island and he was already wrecking the delicate balance of life…

For info and purchase: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AbandonedParadise.html

 

Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Slaves Chapter Twelve – this is IT!

How exciting but how sad! Our twelfth and final chapter of our wild, cyber-punk, vampire, paranormal, sci-fi, never-never romp is over. The final chapter is out today but have no fear. The divine D.J. Manly and I will be penning a few more Stride and Zero stories in the future.

Thank you to all our awesome readers for the wonderful emails about our strange new world and the wacky characters we created…and now, drum roll please…

Book twelve in the Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Warriors Series

In this final chapter of Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Warriors, Stride and Zero find a home on earth…but can they ever find lasting happiness?

In this exciting, action-packed instalment, Stride and Zero are reunited, and Stride's son is now a teenager who is questioning his sexuality. Things happen fast with the intervention of good and bad entities and an ancient Greek mythological deity.

The planet Earth is re-inventing itself as the three men take up residency in this strange new world. Forgetting the past is a natural human phenomenon, but for the vampire family, it's a dangerous path to tread.

Zero finds his work as a star fleet commander comes in handy as he takes a job flying an air taxi. Stride too finds employment befitting his unusual skill set as the self-deposed king of the underworld.

However, death and danger still lurk and a surprising enemy threatens not only the small family, but all of humanity as evil begins its dark and ugly uprising. Who can they trust and can they survive this latest threat?

Reader Advisory:This book is part of a serial and is best read in sequence.

Purchase Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1554

If Come

By A.J. Llewellyn

I'm so excited that this wonderful anthology, Sins of Winter is out and it contains one of my fave stories, If Come.

Until the day before I started writing this story I'd never heard of an If Come deal, which, I learned is the hot new thing in Hollywood. How it works is that a producer reads a screenplay and instead of giving the writer money and a contract, they give the author a contract and a promise that if it comes to pass that the screenplay is sold, the writer will get extra money on top of the industry standard rate.

The producer I'd met with on a project wanted to give me an If Come deal and I was a little…perturbed. I'd never heard of an If Come deal and hated sounding like a dumb-ass asking him to explain. I've worked as a screenplay reader for several years and it shocked me that I didn't know what an If Come deal was.

He patiently described how it all worked. I'd had deals in the past  where I'd allowed a couple of people to option my material for free. Both times, they were actors and I still lament that those projects never worked out. My lit agent at the time warned me against these deals saying unless people paid for the right to projects they didn't take them seriously but I've never believed this to be true.

I personally know tons of people who have no financial binding to a project but heartily champion their passion pieces…besides, as a struggling young writer, I was thrilled that people even liked my work, let alone wanted to option it. I even had a mad dinner one night with actor Robert Blake about a screenplay I wrote…but that's a whole 'nother story…

The If Come deal is a whole lot better for writers because they get more money than they otherwise would, and hungry producers get to pitch something they love to the studio and/or production company.

After checking with a couple of friends who are smarter than I am and knew all about If Come deals – one of them actually had one and it panned out!! – I signed the contract but of course, I am waiting. I'm not thinking about it much except of course it gave me the idea for a cool story!

If Come is about a struggling writer, Zam Carmarthen, who is dealing with depression – actually he is dealing with acedia – one of the oldest of the seven deadly sins – and he wants badly to make it in Hollywood. He's had some success with one screenplay, which he sold…except that a famous script doctor, Dominic Glass was hired to rewrite it and got the final screenwriting credit.

Yep…those things happen in Hollywood every day.

When Zam gets an If Come deal for a second screenplay, he learns to his horror that Dominic Glass is being scheduled to take over as author. ARRGGH!

Of course…love, sex, passion, movies…love…did I mention love? happen…and well, I won't say anything more. I hope you'll check out this handsome new antho with my story and two rocking great ones from D.J. Manly and Serena Yates.

And if it comes to pass that you read it, gimme a holler. I'd love to know what you think!

Purchase Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1549

Aloha oe,

 

A.J.

Sins of Winter – OUT TODAY!!

Book three in The Seven Deadly Sins Collection of Anthologies

The seven deadly sins: lust, wrath, greed, gluttony, envy, pride and sloth.

The Sins of Winter weaves a general thread of revelation loosely tying these tales together. Acedia (a precursor to sloth), Greed and Pride, are explored in these hot m/m tales involving action, burning hot sex and out-of-this-world adventures that will warm you up…fast!

'Toppling Pedestals' by D.J.Manly

In 'Toppling Pedestals', DJ Manly deals with the sin of pride.

The thought that there was something better out there took Tristan away…then pride almost broke his heart.

Tristan, Samuel and Casey had been friends since grade one. When Casey-the doctor's son-goes off to university, Samuel and Tristan are left behind in their small hometown. Samuel comes from a poor background and has no money for school. He takes a job in the hardware store that Tristan's parents own.

Tristan decides to work at the store for a year before joining Casey at school. He's expected to run the store eventually but wants to explore what's out there first. Breaking away from the town means breaking Samuel's heart. When tragedy brings Tristan home again, will pride stand in the way of letting Samuel know how he feels?

'If Come' by A.J.Llewellyn

In If Come, AJ Llewellyn deals with the ancient deadly sin of acedia.

It was once considered the 'noonday demon'-a melancholia that is brought about by repetitive work. Writing, marriage and monkhood were the three main occupations said to induce it.

Zam Carmarthen is a mildly successful Hollywood screenwriter struggling with a debilitating depression that prevents him from completing anything he starts. When he lands an 'If Come' deal with a major Hollywood producer, he's finally forced to focus on his work and not give into the strange malaise gripping him. In order to ever move ahead in the movie business, he must complete the pilot episode of his proposed TV series, Angel Inn. If his producer is able to sell the series, Zam will be a very rich man. Everything he has worked for can be his.

Paralysed by his depression, he finds unusual solace in the form of his arch nemesis, Dominic Glass-a surgeon turned super successful screenwriter…and the man who rewrote Zam's hit screenplay for his own glory.

Can Zam overcome the depression Dominic calls acedia, which threatens to derail his whole life? Can he move on from his long time sex buddy Jason? And what about these new feelings he has for Dominic in spite of their rocky history? Will Zam get it together…or will Dominic once again walk away with all the credit for something Zam created?

'Winter Challenge' by Serena Yates

In Winter Challenge, Serena Yates deals with the sin of greed.

Paediatrician Noah Goldwin receives some bad news-his father has died and his greedy elder brother doesn't only take over the family business, he wants the entire fortune for himself. So, he informs Noah that he was adopted and washes his hands of him. Noah, who never knew of his past, sets out to find his roots.

An elderly aunt, a mysterious ring and a location in the far north of Canada are his only hints…until he meets a tall, dark stranger who may have the solution to all his questions. There is only one problem-Ataro lives in a parallel dimension.

Will the two men be able to find a way to join forces? How will they defeat the power hungry enemies on Ataro's world? And are inter-dimensional relationships even possible?

For purchase and sizzling excerpts please click this link:

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1549

Good Grief

By A.J. Llewellyn

It is nine weeks today since I lost my beloved dog, Venus. I've had pets die in the past…I once had a cat stolen and the shock and worry over her were tremendous but my grief right now seems endless. I cannot believe how broken I feel and how easily I burst into tears. Everything is an effort. My two cats are loving and sweet but it is not the same. I question everything I did in my baby's last, trying few months and while I know I did everything I could I ask myself why wasn't it enough?

I know she is not the only dog to die but I wanted her so much. I can't rationalize that I wanted one more day because it isn't true. I wanted more. I troll youtube and other sites obsessively looking for a new dog to love even when I know I'm really not ready yet. I have stumbled across horrible scenes of dog abuse and have donated money to people who rescue dogs from shelters and the streets. I have applied online for several dogs…but never hear back.

I loved my dog. We spent 15 years together. My brain is a mush of jumbled thoughts and my heart awash with emotions.

Well-meaning friends ask how I am doing then when I start to tell them, they say I need to get over it, I need to pull myself together. If they don't want to know how I am doing, why ask?

A few of my friends know exactly how I feel because they are going through it too. The news isn't good. I am learning that grief is profound and it takes a long, long time to recover. I know they suffer in silence and for the most part I do too. I have good days and bad. I can be absolutely fine and then all of a sudden it hits me.

Often, my mind spins back to the day I found her on the freeway and how I wish I could go back and start all over again.

I want more time. 15 years was not enough. Why doesn't God allow our companion animals to live longer?

Dogs haunt me everywhere I go. I see people walking their dogs and looking bored…or checking their text messages. I envy the time they have. I envy their dogs' mobility. I want to scream at them. "Enjoy every second. It does not last!"

I keep running into mobile adoption units that leave me in tears. I fret over the ones from the East Valley shelter because of their high-kill rate. There was one little white dog I saw just before Christmas. I beat myself up because I wonder if the dog found a home…or…

The one dog I found recently likes to kill cats. Obviously, that won't work. I try so hard not to dwell but it's almost impossible. In those first dark days a friend called me and warned that the first six weeks were the hardest. She also warned that I'd have a lot of free time. That it would be a huge adjustment. She wasn't kidding.

I was shocked to discover she was right. I had no idea how much time I invested in Venus. She was a huge part of every single day. Even at the end we walked five times a day. My entire writing schedule, my whole life revolved around her.

In the last six months when she couldn't manage it up and down the stairs without help, it was physically difficult but she always kept a smile on her face. I will never forget how much she still wanted to be here. How she still stopped and smelled flowers on the stret tried to chase squirrels and barked at people with dogs.

I miss her capacity for joy and her funny ways. I miss her in the morning waiting at the kitchen door for cookies and her big kisses goodnight. I wake up in the middle of the night and remember…and the chain pr pain begins again.

I have tried to fill the empty spaces with work, long walks alone, long walks with other people's dogs…I continue my volunteer efforts but it's not enough. I drive home crying because I know she's not there waiting for me for our next adventure outdoors.

The house feels so empty. I've cleaned and rearranged…it's no use. She's not there.

Mostly I miss holding her, talking to her, and I miss her bright, beautiful being. Her spirit was huge and my home doesn't feel the same. I know one day I will find a new dog to love. I know my cats won't be happy but I will feel better. I have so much dog-love to give and nowhere to put it all. Mostly, I will never forget and never stop loving the dog who taught me so much and still gives me moments of joy and yes, profound sadness.

I've been surprised how many people miss Venus…people who live in my building who didn't hear the news see me at the mailbox or whatever and ask about her. They are so used to seeing us everywhere together.

Sometimes, I hear her…seriously. I heard her lapping water one time and I thought I was dreaming but the cats looked FREAKED so I know Venus was back just for a moment to let me know she is okay. I will never forget that moment…

I find it hard to talk about her but I love when people ask after her. I have five friends who all got dogs around the same time. We all became friends at the dog park and have stayed close all these years. We've lost them all…Last week her friend Bridey left this life and we dog parents talk about how all the dogs are together again in heaven. I like to think so…and I like to think I'll meet my golden girl again on the rainbow bridge. I look forward to her special hugs and kisses and long walks where she feels no pain and her bark no longer sounds feeble.

I miss my girl, my bright, beautiful, best friend. I know she is in a beautiful place and free of all pain. I bet she gets all the bacon she wants, too. I will never forget her…I will never get over her. I will think of her often and thank her for choosing me to love her in the first place.

Aloha oe,

A.J.

The Three Year Swim Club

By A.J. Llewellyn

It's not often that I am so moved by a play that I lose sleep over it but I've seen Three Year Swim Club twice this week and damn it, even on second viewing this powerful, resonant work still has a hold on me. It still manages to make me cry and laugh in equal doses. Written by Lee Tonouchi and directed by the mega-talented actor, writer, director and hula master, Keo Woolford, this is a stunning and yet deceptively simple piece.

Currently in a week of previews until its mainland premiere Wednesday at the East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo on the edge of LA's downtown area, this is the one play you should see this year. If you are convinced life has become too harsh for dreams…too short on ideals and inspiration…if you want to feel invigorated and re-energized come see a show that will have you dancing hula in your sleep.

In a play filled with beautiful words, there is one clear message. Never short-change yourself on your dreams, even if you learn to swim in a humble irrigation ditch.

Based on the heart-breakingly true tale of an amazing man, Soichi Sakamoto, who, by most definitions was a saint, the story is set in Maui, Hawaii in 1937. Hawaii was still a US territory and Pearl Harbor was in the distance, but war loomed, its heavy shadow as solid as a boulder on the Japanese families living in the islands.

Three Year Swim Club follows Sakamoto's attempts to carve a future for the children of sugar cane plantation workers on the island. Destined for lives of mind-numbing, back-breaking work, he dares them to dream, to work for and achieve success in something other than sugar cane.

This is the real Coach Sakamoto…

He gives them a goal: the 1940 Olympic Games set to take place in Tokyo, Japan.

His wife thinks he's a lunatic, the four teens who are the play's focus think he probably is too. His lessons are so profound however, that they quickly realize everything he teaches them is not just about swimming, but life. The start to grow, and thrive, like wild, sturdy sugar cane, absorbing his kind logic and steely discipline. Like sugar cane (which I never knew is very susceptible to disease) they miraculously survive crippling elemental enemies.

When Japan invades China launching the second Sino-Japanese War, the 1940 Olympics are moved from Tokyo to Helsinki. Hearing the news on the radio, a disappointed but undaunted Coach Sakamoto pushes his pupils on.

Kick, kick, reach, pull. Kick, kick. Inhale.

This wonderful play is astonishingly engrossing and thankfully the small cast of six is just amazing. Led by the quietly commanding Blake Kushi as the great Coach Sakamoto, he is aided and abetted by four of the finest young actors I have ever seen on the Los Angeles stage.

Kelsey Chock as the mouthy yet touching Halo is a part-time cut-up, full-time scene stealer. We all grew up with a kid just like Halo. Too distracted, too full of himself…too…human.

As Keo, the most accomplished swimmer of the four, Jared Asato captures the character's dignity in the face of his initial reluctance to swim in the ditch-  to his short-lived joy when he qualifies for the Olympics.

Chris Takemoto-Gentile is just adorable as Bill, AKA Honolulu, who puts up with a lot of rubbishing from Halo just trying to belong. His mannerisms and posture are pitch-perfect…which brings me to the uttlerly beguiling Mapuana Makia as Fudge, the only girl in the group.

She broke my heart in a million pieces in her very effective scenes with Keo as she told him how hard it was to be a girl…how hard it was to accept her parents not wanting to send her to college because it was a waste of time...for a girl.

This is the real Fudge.

Her story has affected me deeply. I don't want to give away too much but we all know now that the 1940 Olympics did not happen because of World War II.

Neither the coach, nor his swim club ever gave up. They kept training. And never stopped believing.

Kick, kick, reach, pull. Kick, Kick, exhale.

The cast is rounded out by Kaliko Kauahi as Mrs. Sakamoto. She is thoroughly believable as the supportive wife whose anger turns to acceptance and then total support when she realizes the Olympics are not an empty wish. Kaliko is a terrific ipo gourd drummer as well as a wonderful actress. Her rhythm on the ipo helped make this theatrical experience a total, sensory revelation.

Ultimately, all of this is due to Tonouchi's words but also most assuredly to the sublime direction and serene hand of the Hawaiian Powerhouse, Keo Woolford.

Keo continues to stun me with his brilliance and grace. It says a lot for a man who is really starting to come into his own as a bona fide Hawaiian movie and TV star (check out his work in the TVseries Hawaii Five-O!) that he continues his passionate commitment to stories that speak to his love for his islands and its often tragic history.

Just as Coach Sakamoto taught his students to swim using traditional hula movements, I recognize Keo's guidance and endless knowledge in this sacred art.

The set design is very good and I especially love the hapa-hoale Hawaiian songs emerging from the 1930s era radio and the vintage photos of thatched roofs and cane fields superimposed on the walls to establish the scenes.

Most of all, I will quit pining over my own imagined setbacks and look for strength in the memory of this very great teacher, his four heroic students and…

I will never look at a spoonful of sugar quite the same way again.

Aloha oe,

A.J.

For tickets and more info on Three Year Swim Club please visit: http://www.eastwestplayers.org/

Inclusion, Not Exclusion

By A.J. Llewellyn

This week has been a huge victory for the GLBTQ community with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals deeming California's hated and hateful Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional.

The battle still rages, however. We have a very long way to go and nowhere is this felt more keenly than on the frontlines, right here in LA where so many gay couples were allowed to marry, as Ellen deGeneres recently joked, "for ten minutes."

Last night, I attended another wonderful, memorable evening service at Beth Chayim Chadashim. I learned that it means "House of New Life" and considering this synagogue was the first GLBTQ one to ever open, it felt historic and right to be here. The men and women who sat in this sanctuary with me spearheaded the campaign to fight against Proposition 8 when it reared its ugly head on the ballot four years ago.

The synagogue, founded in 1972, has been the champion of so many causes. Last night, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, traveled from New York to speak in the midst of some of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. Performed by my secret crush, Cantor Juval Porat and guest Cantor Lance Tapper, I glimpsed the traditional Jewish music's baton-passing to the reform movement.

Some of the songs were in Aramaic… Tradition, observance, spiritual passion all run deeply in the hearts of so many men and women who fight daily against injustice. A group of people others would prefer to disenfranchise.

I sat agog as Rabbi Jacobs proclaimed BCC as one of the most successful synagogues in the country at a time when so many are suffering.

"BCC has always promoted inclusion, not exclusion. You are becoming the home of so many people." When I glanced down at the program in my hands and saw all the upcoming events, including a Trans and Gender Queer Text Study, I knew he was right.

Rabbi Jacobs, like so many speakers I have heard thanks to my evenings at BCC, is a powerful speaker. I was spellbound when he described how some reform movement members hated the idea of a GLBT synagogue. He has always endorsed it and said he knew that one day they would understand.

When he talked of the early days of the AIDS epidemic, tears filled my eyes as he related how many 'countless families' called him begging him to perform funeral rites on their deceased or dying loved ones.

"The conversation would always start with 'I'm not one of your congregants but all the other Rabbis seem to be busy…' "

Rabbi Jacobs looked stricken as he related the story of a mother who called, begging him not to mention her son's death to AIDS in his funeral service. "Please, please, don't mention him identifying as gay," he said, repeating her traumatized words. "The school where I work as a nurse have no idea he was gay…"

Around me, many people nodded or shook their heads. Many of them remember what it was like back then, when funeral homes refused to bury AIDS patients and hospital workers wore Haz Mat suits to treat their loved ones.

"Can you imagine how she felt?" he asked. He nodded as he looked around the packed room. "Yes, I know you do."

As the battle for marriage equality for all finds unlikely allies and tremendous support across the country, Rabbi Jacobs said what was on many people's minds:

How great it will be when we don't have to label unions as gay or straight.

It is an enlightened thought. As he talked about the reform movement's own troubles with people sometimes dismissing it as 'Judaism lite' I was thinking about a radio report I'd heard earlier in the day with a DJ ridiculing Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first lesbian couple to be married in Los Angeles, for getting divorced.

To me, it was tragic. To Bill Handel, it was a sign that all GLBT people are flaky or weird…and in his estimation, dangerous.

Sure, a few of the couples who were married in California in that tiny window of opportunity have since split. So what?

How many straight people have been married and divorced since then?

A hell of a lot more.

18,000 GLBT couples married before Proposition 8 passed the ballot. I haven't seen the sky falling or whole towns burning as a result…have you?

In a public statement, Robin Tyler said that even the best marriages come to an end. The right to marry doesn't guarantee gay couples would live happily ever after.

Isn't that true of every marriage?

Inclusion, not exclusion. That's all we are asking for.

Aloha oe,

A.J.

The End of the World as We Know It

By A.J. Llewellyn

I am not a doomsdayist but ever since my niece started telling me that one of her teachers believes December 2012 will be the end of the world and several readers have written me to ask for my opinion on the subject – I am starting to wonder.
I've always longed for the perfect world, a Dystopia where everyone was happy and treated each other right. As a kid I loved fairytales. I believed in them.
And I still want to.
The way we are all treating each other and the increasingly despicable things we are doing to animals, children and the elderly, makes me despair that we will never even come close to it.
I think we are at the end of the road as a species.
Last night, I watched in horror a terrible story on the news about a local woman in Burbank who stabbed her family's cocker spaniel to death. Three people have been arrested in what police say was a horrific incident of animal cruelty. 
A few days ago a friend called to tell me of a woman he knew who started starving her Chihuahua in hopes it would die. Starvation is not a swift way to go, even in a small dog. After several days when the poor, helpless animal began to convulse, she finally smothered it with a pillow and killed it.
This story has given me sleepless nights.
My friend relating the story has been a good, solid friend for eighteen years but the fact he did not report this to the police in Detroit (where the incident occurred) really bothers me. The fact that he would not tell me who the woman was so I could report it bothers me more.
I have said it before and I'll say it again. Anyone who can harm an innocent animal WILL at some point hurt a human being.
Each and every day, new and worse atrocities make the news. A Brazilian nurse, Camila de Moura, beat her innocent Yorkshire terrier to death in December and her neighbor put the results on Youtube when the police refused to arrest her.
Why didn't this neighbor do more than just video it? How could a mom beat a tiny dog in front of her toddler?
Why is she not in jail?
Last month, 101-year-old Texana Hollis was evicted from her home in Detroit, Michigan because officials deemed it unfit to live in. Were it not for the kindness of strangers she would be homeless. And still, her situation is dire. Her kindly Samaritans have no ramp for her wheelchair.
How far must we continue to fall before it all is really and truly over?
Yesterday, Josh Powell, the man suspected of murdering his wife, Susan, torched himself and his two tiny sons before social workers could stop him.
I despair of us as a race…I can't bear to watch youtube videos of anything but Don Ho singing Tiny Bubbles. The bullying, the videotaped bashings, the despair of our teenagers who wonder if it really does get better?
How can we say it does when people bury dogs alive, stab their neighbors' cats for no good reason…and the electric companies turn off services when people can't pay? How do we justify 93-year old World War II veteran, Marvin Schur, freezing to death inside his Bay City, Michigan home?
Who is that we honor?
I could go on and on but I am too outraged and utterly devastated that this is world as we know it. I have friends who wonder how I can spend my whole day writing but for me, living in a world of love and romance beats reality. I like my protective bubble, not that it isn't frequently burst, but I believe in the power of positive thought, of kindness to our fellow earthlings.
All of them.
And I believe this our challenge now, to protect, respect and cherish every man, woman, and creature that shares this sacred space. I hope for everyone who feels victimized and hopless that a beautiful change is coming.
I hope I am not just whispering into the wind…
Aloha oe,
A.J.

Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Warriors-Chapter Eleven

OUT NOW!!!

by A.J. Llewellyn | D.J. Manly |

Book eleven in the Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Warriors Series

Stride has wiped Zero's mind of all memories of him, but love is stronger than death. Zero starts to remember, their passion rekindling in spite of terror and threats.

Stride might be in command of all the demonic forces in the world, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Like any ruler, he never knows who trust…even his own sex shifter wife. Stride and Zero, the man he truly loves, are reunited but it's no picnic in the garden of Eden…only snakes and demonic forces hell-bent on destroying Stride.

Fearing his beloved son, Akakios, will have to endure the same miserable childhood Stride did—not to mention the control of deadly, evil forces—Stride and Zero once again wind up on the run. This time, they have help in the form of the fallen angel, Étienne, to help protect their precious cargo. Realising that his own people want to take possession of Akakios, Stride must make decisions that could sacrifice his relationship with Zero…and his own life.

Reader Advisory: This book is part of a serial and is best read in sequence.

This serial contains scenes of menage and bdsm.

For an excerpt and for purchase, please click this link:

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1514