MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 365
October 7, 2013
Mr. Chuckles is reading Hard as Roxx by Bill Jones, Jr.
In a world that is a distorted hybrid of rigid control and absolute lawlessness, Roxanne Grail broke a cardinal rule: she got pregnant, for the second time. Now, she and her two daughters need to make it across the Sahara to the frozen European north, and freedom. There are just two problems: one, she doesn’t have a way to get there, and two, the One Child Law doesn’t have a statute of limitations. The penalty for a second birth is death - to the mother and to the child. And her youngest daughter’s father? Well, he just happens to be a war hero and emerging leader of a shaky burgeoning democracy. An illegal child – especially the result of a rape – wouldn’t be good for his career. He means to see that no one ever finds out. Meet Roxx, a 6'3" martial arts instructor with a penchant for twentieth-century tech, including her 1940 Indian motorcycle. The Law says she must surrender her child, or die. Roxx never studied law. So, it is Roxx, her two daughters, and new partner, Trint, against the world. Those odds suit Roxx just fine.Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Roxx-Bill-Jones-Jr/dp/149212799X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381069740&sr=8-1&keywords=hard+as+roxx
Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Roxx-Bill-Jones-Jr/dp/149212799X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381069819&sr=8-1&keywords=Hard+as+Roxx+by+Bill+Jones+Jr
The Phil Naessens Show 10-7-2013 MLB Playoffs and NBA’s Central Division Preview
http://phillipnaessens.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/the-phil-naessens-show-10-7-2013-mlb-playoffs-and-nbas-central-division-preview/
Segment 1: Blogging Mets Mark Berman joins Phil to discuss the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers and the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers plus much more
Segment 2: Sonics Rising Managing Editor Kevin Nesgoda joins Phil to preview the NBA’s Central division plus much more
Segment 1: Blogging Mets Mark Berman joins Phil to discuss the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers and the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers plus much more
Segment 2: Sonics Rising Managing Editor Kevin Nesgoda joins Phil to preview the NBA’s Central division plus much more
History Trivia - Holy League of Papal States victorious at the Battle of Lepanto
October 7
336 Pope Saint Mark (Marcus) died of natural causes, ending his reign as Catholic Pope which lasted under a year. He is credited with the foundation of the Basilica of San Marco in Rome, and a cemetery church over the Catacomb of Balbina, just outside the city.
1571 The Holy League of the Papal States, Spain and Venice routed the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto. This was the defining battle of the crusades between the Christian nations on the
336 Pope Saint Mark (Marcus) died of natural causes, ending his reign as Catholic Pope which lasted under a year. He is credited with the foundation of the Basilica of San Marco in Rome, and a cemetery church over the Catacomb of Balbina, just outside the city.
1571 The Holy League of the Papal States, Spain and Venice routed the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto. This was the defining battle of the crusades between the Christian nations on the
October 6, 2013
Congratulations to Mark Barry - in the Top Ten Authors Database
Check out Mark Barry's page http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/1438-mark-barry
Author DetailsBloghttp://greenwizard62.blogspot.co.ukTwitter@greenwizard62My Facebook Friend MeFacebook PageLike My PageGoodReadsBecome a FanBioMark Barry, author of "The Ritual", "Kid Atomic", "The Illustrated Woman", "Hollywood Shakedown", "Ultra Violence" and "Carla", is a writer who writes across genre. He has been writing since he was twenty one, having his first tentative pieces published in 1986 in "Knave" and "Razzle" magazines.Currently, Mark is a full time fiction writer and author interviewer. He runs a critically praised Author Interview blog called "The Wizard's Cauldron". He has been interviewed on several Radio talk shows - including The Phil Naessens Show-
http://phillipnaessens.wordpress.com/...
http://www.philnaessens.com/apps/blog...
http://www.philnaessens.com/apps/blog...
where he has given readings of his work. His work has been featured in The Sun and Daily Mail and he has also been interviewed on Television.
Mark resides in Southwell, Nottinghamshire
The Wizard of Notts recommends: Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe October 6 2013
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe: Orfevre heads field at LongchampQatar Prix de l'Arc de TriompheVenue: Longchamp Racecourse, ParisDate: Sunday, 6 OctoberTime: 15:15 BSTCoverage: Commentary on BBC Radio 5 live; Channel 4 & At The Races TV
Favourite Orfevre heads a high-class field of 17 runners for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp racecourse in Paris on Sunday.
Orfevre will be bidding to give Japan a first win in Europe's richest race.
Last year's narrow runner-up, trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, will be ridden by Belgian Christophe Soumillon.
Novellist, previously the second favourite, will not run in the mile-and-a-half showdown because of a high temperature.
Leading British challenger Al Kazeem must overcome the widest draw of all to triumph for Roger Charlton.
Top Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien saddles Leading Light and Ruler Of The World.
Orfevre was given a kind draw towards the middle on Friday and will start from stall eight, while second favourite Treve, an unbeaten three-year-old filly, is in 15.
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe odds
9-4 Orfevre 9-2 Treve 13-2 Kizuna 9-1 Ruler Of The World 10-1 Leading Light 10-1 Intello Odds correct as of Saturday 11:00 BST
But Treve trainer Criquette Head-Maarek, who signed up Thierry Jarnet to replace injured Frankie Dettori, believes she will not be unduly inconvenienced by starting further away from the running rail.
"The draw is no problem," said the Chantilly trainer.
"At this distance all the talk about the draw is crazy. I could understand it if the race was over a mile at Longchamp but over 2,400 metres? Give me a break."
The last nine winners of the big race have been drawn eight or lower, although Orfevre ran from 18 when beaten a neck by Solemia in 2012.
Going at the Paris track is expected to be soft on Sunday.
O'Brien runs two Classic winners in Derby hero Ruler Of The World and St Leger victor Leading Light.
As both are three-year-olds who carry 8st 11lb, at least 3lb less than their older rivals on the weight-for-age scale, it leaves stable jockey Joseph O'Brien without a ride as his minimum weight is around the 9st mark.
The trainer has called on 46-year-old French rider Gerald Mosse for Leading Light, while Ryan Moore maintains his partnership with Ruler Of The World.
Recent Arc winners & draw
2012 Solemia (6) 2011 Danedream (2) 2010 Workforce (8) 2009 Sea The Stars (6) 2008 Zarkava (1) 2007 Dylan Thomas (6) 2006 Rail Link (4)
Ruler Of The World is one of three Derby winners in the field, along with Intello (French) and Kizuna (Japan).
Intello is one of five runners for French trainer Andre Fabre, who has won his country's biggest race seven times.
Flintshire, Ocovango, Godolphin's Penglai Pavilion and Pirika complete his 2013 runners.
"I think the ground will be good to soft come Sunday which Flintshire should be able to handle," said Fabre.
"I've been very happy with him and as for the draw, I always think that is only a problem if there is no pace."
Other contenders include Joshua Tree, trained in Newmarket by Ed Dunlop, and supplementary entry Meandre.
But Andreas Wohler's four-year-old Novellist, who won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, will not be among the entrants.
Wohler discovered all was not well with his stable star when preparing him for his trip to Paris on Saturday morning and had no option but to pull him out of Europe's premier middle-distance event.
"He had a temperature this morning and it has developed even more, so there is no way we can let him travel to Paris," Wohler said.
"It's unbelievable and very disappointing, but he has given us some great moments this year."
Full Arc draw: 1 Very Nice Name 2 Meandre 3 Pirika 4 Going Somewhere 5 Leading Light 6 Ruler Of The World 7 Flintshire 8 Orfevre 9 Intello 10 Penglai Pavilion 11 Kizuna 12 Novellist* 13 Ocovango 14 Joshua Tree 15 Treve 16 Sahawar 17 Haya Landa 18 Al Kazeem
* ruled out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/24398854
History Trivia - The Cimbri defeat the Roman Army at the Battle of Arausio
October 6
105 BC Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri (tribe from Northern Europe) inflicted the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.
877 Charles the Bald died.
891 Formosus was elected Pope. During his pontificate, he attempted to liberate Rome from the Spoletan Holy Roman co-emperors Guy and his son Lambert, crowned Arnulf of the East Franks emperor and requested he invade Italy which left the German states in discord.
1014 The Byzantine Emperor Basil earns the title "Slayer of Bulgers" after he orders the blinding of 15,000 Bulgerian troops.
1536 William Tyndale, the English translator of the New Testament, was strangled and burned at the stake for heresy at Vilvorde, France.
105 BC Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri (tribe from Northern Europe) inflicted the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.
877 Charles the Bald died.
891 Formosus was elected Pope. During his pontificate, he attempted to liberate Rome from the Spoletan Holy Roman co-emperors Guy and his son Lambert, crowned Arnulf of the East Franks emperor and requested he invade Italy which left the German states in discord.
1014 The Byzantine Emperor Basil earns the title "Slayer of Bulgers" after he orders the blinding of 15,000 Bulgerian troops.
1536 William Tyndale, the English translator of the New Testament, was strangled and burned at the stake for heresy at Vilvorde, France.
October 5, 2013
Authors Database - Mary Ann Bernal in the Top Ten
Please visit my profile page and become a fan. Would love to see you there.
http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/1446-mary-ann-bernal
Authors Directory Mary Ann Bernal
Author DetailsPen NameMary Ann BernalWebsitehttp://www.maryannbernal.comBloghttp://maryannbernal.blogspot.com/Twitter@BritonandDaneFacebook PageLike My PageGoodReadsBecome a FanLinkedInConnect With MeGoogle+Add Me To Your CircleBioMary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane novels, is an avid history buff whose area of interest focuses on Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain during the Viking Age. While pursuing a degree in business administration, she managed to fit creative writing classes and workshops into her busy schedule to learn the craft, but it would take decades before her “Erik the Viking” novel was ultimately published.Mary Ann is also a passionate supporter of the United States military, having been involved with letter writing campaigns and other support programs since Operation Desert Storm. She has appeared on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS television affiliate in Omaha, and was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for her volunteer work. She has also been a featured author on Triangle Variety Radio, The Phil Naessens Show, and The Writers Showcase -
http://thewritersshow.wordpress.com/2...
http://www.philnaessens.com/apps/blog...
and has been interviewed extensively by American and European bloggers -
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/sea...
Mary Ann is a New York “expat,” and currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Wizard of Notts Recommends: Green Wizard News - Cult Novel, Carla by Mark Barry - second edition has launched!
Saturday, 5 October 2013Carla Second Edition is Out http://greenwizardcarla.blogspot.com/2013/10/carla-second-edition-is-out.html Carla (Second Edition) is out...and it really is a beautiful looking book.
I'll leave readers to comment on the writing and the story, but I'll shout how lovely looking this book is from atop the Walls of Jericho (...before they fall down, that is!)
I wish I could give it away free. Amazon won't let me!
People need to see this. It's a work of art. It's been reedited, reduced in size, given a new cover, a new font typeface and just generally tidied up.
The cover features a friend of mine, trainee teacher Laura Jackson. I'll talk more about the aetiology of the cover next week. Except to say, I think it is Dawn Smith (0f Dark Dawn Creations), finest work so far.
It's beautiful. Seriously. I don't want to sound like a car dealer, but it is. It's a lovely looking book.
If I was a reader, I would be proud to give this book as a present to anyone who reads. Or has a bookshelf.
Or has a coffee table they can plop it on and leave it there; (preferably one of those glass ones, with tubular chrome plated legs, like the one the doomed corporate schill chops lines of coke upon in "Robocop").
Here's the new blurb.
Cult novel, Carla is an introspective, moody and chilling romance novel with its roots firmly grounded in the work of the great pulp writers of the fifties, particularly Jim Thompson, to whom the book is dedicated.
It is a book for adults and for those who have lived through the occasionally bloody battlefields that are the relationships between men and women.
The book may also interest those in mixed age relationships (in either role) or those who suffer (or is related to someone who suffers from) Borderline Personality Disorder.
Paperback: The paperback in particular is striking looking and with Kindle Match, you can get a FREE e-copy so you never have to bend the cover. It is perfect for coffee tables and bookshelves, with a glorious looking spine. The typeface is an easy reading font and there is plenty of clear cream space. It's an easy, fast paced page turner which doesn't overstay its welcome and leaves, according to reviewers, a lasting imprint on the consciousness.
So far, the book has gained 17 5* reviews and a cult following. Comments from people who have read the book appear all over the Net.
EVERY single review of Carla, whether the reader likes the theme or not, has commented on the quality of the writing. This second edition has been even further improved by micro-editing and the book raises the Indie standard further.
The Carla paperback is an ideal present. Small, compact and able to fit in a clasp bag, it is ideal for Secret Santa, beach holidays, air travel and christmas/birthday gifts. It is also cheap enough to buy as a spontaneous present for someone you like. (Or love).
It is suitable for men and women who enjoy good writing and a book which involves the senses.
Buy if you like: strong writing, emotion, psychology, pulp fiction with amoral, ambivalent characters; reality fiction; quirky, innovative books; sad romance; black humour and stories within stories.
It is set in the beautiful middle English town of Southwell, UK, and interested readers can follow the trail of John and Carla to the footstep.
Back matter: Borderline Personality Disorder sufferer and released mental patient, John Dexter, falls in love with Carla, a fresh- faced environmental student and part-time barmaid, the first time he sees her. He should walk away, he knows he should, but he doesn’t.
He can’t.
And by falling in love, he sets off a chain of events, which are at first, heart-warming and inspirational, and then bleak and horrifying.
The origins of Carla, complete with the original cover, may be found here:
http://greenwizardcarla.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/green-wizard-5-carla-reprise-i-wrote.html
I hope you enjoy the book.
Mark Barry
_______________________________________________________________________________
You can buy the book by clicking the Carla cover to your top right. Or you can follow these links.
UK Readers: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carla-Mark-Barry/dp/1492159441/ref=la_B008479RWI_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380632040&sr=1-3
US Readers:
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Barry/e/B008479RWI
There is a problem with the e-book at the moment. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Here's an extract from chapter three. Anyone who remembers the biblical flood from 2012 (which washed away Southwell Racecourse), will recognise the context.
___________________________________________
For the next three days, it rained on Wheatley Fields. It rained the type of rain that soaks through clothes in seconds. It hadn’t rained like this here for twenty years, and in the middle of the weirdest, warmest winter in two hundred years, it seemed incongruous.
Seventy two hours of black rain fell in heavy sheets and winds howled straight from the Urals. Cars aquaplaned through the pounding floods, sending waves onto the pavements. Streams poured into the grates. A skyscape of purest gunmetal grey stretched in an unbroken mass.
I was desperate to go back to the pub to see if Carla was on shift, but I literally couldn’t get out of the house. I tried the second day, but didn’t even make a hundred yards.
Besides, the intensity of the emotions I experienced wasn’t recommended for me, and I was glad I couldn’t immediately act on my impulses. I tried to forget her…told myself it was like a serious cold, and it would go away if I worked on it.
But none of it worked.
I went to bed that first night thinking about her, and it took me hours to get to sleep. I had to take Temazepam and a Tramadol, as well as my anti-psychotic, just to hasten the journey into darkness.
I woke up thinking about her. Her Little Fluffy Clouds voice in my ears. I tried to bet on the computer, on racehorses, with limited success. The heavens had opened all over the country. Several race meetings were abandoned due to severe waterlogging. Even when they raced on the All Weather, I lost money because I couldn’t concentrate. All three days. Instead of focusing on the performance of my horses, I spent most of my time looking on the Internet for examples of older men and younger women getting spliced and living happily ever after.
I found plenty. Celebrities, politicians. The French in particular. It didn’t seem a taboo there. Not like over here.
In Blighty, fancy a twenty year old girl and in the eyes of the population you were one step away from Nonceville, Arizona.
I read about etiquette.
The French Equation.Halve your age.Add seven years.That’s an acceptable age for a girlfriend.I’m forty two. Half that. Makes twenty one. Add seven. Makes me too old for Carla.Damn.
I re-read Oliver Reed’s autobiography. Well, the later bit. The wild man actor famously married a sixteen year old girl. He even asked her father’s permission. She was happy with him, and she was at his side when he died.
Irritated and confused, I alternated between reading about this stuff and turning it off. For three days and nights, I was beset by an internal monologue, which was straight out of a Mills and Boons romance novel.
I cursed myself for a fool, paced up and down, beset by images of domestic bliss between Carla and me. Miracle upon miracles, I fancied that she was in love with me also, love at first sight. I pictured the big house. A decent car. She wouldn’t have to work. I’d do all that for her. Maybe it was time to stop drinking and gambling. I’d tell her all this. Spend our nights watching TV on the sofa, hugging and cuddling. I’d listen carefully to tales of her day. I’d be the strong silent type. We’d always eat together. We’d go away for weekends. The Lake District. Paris. Sun-drenched Spain. Three holidays a year. Walk arm-in-arm along the promenade overlooking the Med. Watch the sun melt into the sea in the distance, the sound of gulls and the Mediterranean breeze on the shore our only companions. Eat fresh shellfish in some island grotto built into the rocks near where Perseus slew Medusa, the salt between our toes, holding hands forever……all this gruesome stuff.
I couldn’t stop thinking about us. It was madness, and I knew it. It was back.I tried to focus on the horses, but it all seemed so irrelevant. In three days, I lost five hundred pounds. At the end of the second day, I rationalised the shocking performance of my horses.
I saw it as a sign: Unlucky at cards. Lucky in love.
On each of those three nights, I stared out of the window thinking about Carla for hours. I watched the rain tumble down, the resonant vibrations on the pavement below, the poet in his garret awaiting the return of his long lost love.
I felt simultaneously lighter than air and heavier than lead. Happier than I’d ever been and suicidal, despairing. Love is a bit like madness, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I’m not going to get all Love Is on you. Love is like the corner of a thick rug. Love is like a raindrop on the windowpane. Love is like…well…you’ve seen the cartoons.But it is. Madness. I went a bit mad when I met Carla.
A little bit insane.
I'll leave readers to comment on the writing and the story, but I'll shout how lovely looking this book is from atop the Walls of Jericho (...before they fall down, that is!)
I wish I could give it away free. Amazon won't let me!
People need to see this. It's a work of art. It's been reedited, reduced in size, given a new cover, a new font typeface and just generally tidied up.
The cover features a friend of mine, trainee teacher Laura Jackson. I'll talk more about the aetiology of the cover next week. Except to say, I think it is Dawn Smith (0f Dark Dawn Creations), finest work so far.
It's beautiful. Seriously. I don't want to sound like a car dealer, but it is. It's a lovely looking book.
If I was a reader, I would be proud to give this book as a present to anyone who reads. Or has a bookshelf.
Or has a coffee table they can plop it on and leave it there; (preferably one of those glass ones, with tubular chrome plated legs, like the one the doomed corporate schill chops lines of coke upon in "Robocop").
Here's the new blurb.
Cult novel, Carla is an introspective, moody and chilling romance novel with its roots firmly grounded in the work of the great pulp writers of the fifties, particularly Jim Thompson, to whom the book is dedicated.
It is a book for adults and for those who have lived through the occasionally bloody battlefields that are the relationships between men and women.
The book may also interest those in mixed age relationships (in either role) or those who suffer (or is related to someone who suffers from) Borderline Personality Disorder.
Paperback: The paperback in particular is striking looking and with Kindle Match, you can get a FREE e-copy so you never have to bend the cover. It is perfect for coffee tables and bookshelves, with a glorious looking spine. The typeface is an easy reading font and there is plenty of clear cream space. It's an easy, fast paced page turner which doesn't overstay its welcome and leaves, according to reviewers, a lasting imprint on the consciousness.
So far, the book has gained 17 5* reviews and a cult following. Comments from people who have read the book appear all over the Net.
EVERY single review of Carla, whether the reader likes the theme or not, has commented on the quality of the writing. This second edition has been even further improved by micro-editing and the book raises the Indie standard further.
The Carla paperback is an ideal present. Small, compact and able to fit in a clasp bag, it is ideal for Secret Santa, beach holidays, air travel and christmas/birthday gifts. It is also cheap enough to buy as a spontaneous present for someone you like. (Or love).
It is suitable for men and women who enjoy good writing and a book which involves the senses.
Buy if you like: strong writing, emotion, psychology, pulp fiction with amoral, ambivalent characters; reality fiction; quirky, innovative books; sad romance; black humour and stories within stories.
It is set in the beautiful middle English town of Southwell, UK, and interested readers can follow the trail of John and Carla to the footstep.
Back matter: Borderline Personality Disorder sufferer and released mental patient, John Dexter, falls in love with Carla, a fresh- faced environmental student and part-time barmaid, the first time he sees her. He should walk away, he knows he should, but he doesn’t.
He can’t.
And by falling in love, he sets off a chain of events, which are at first, heart-warming and inspirational, and then bleak and horrifying.
The origins of Carla, complete with the original cover, may be found here:
http://greenwizardcarla.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/green-wizard-5-carla-reprise-i-wrote.html
I hope you enjoy the book.
Mark Barry
_______________________________________________________________________________
You can buy the book by clicking the Carla cover to your top right. Or you can follow these links.
UK Readers: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carla-Mark-Barry/dp/1492159441/ref=la_B008479RWI_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380632040&sr=1-3
US Readers:
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Barry/e/B008479RWI
There is a problem with the e-book at the moment. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Here's an extract from chapter three. Anyone who remembers the biblical flood from 2012 (which washed away Southwell Racecourse), will recognise the context.
___________________________________________
For the next three days, it rained on Wheatley Fields. It rained the type of rain that soaks through clothes in seconds. It hadn’t rained like this here for twenty years, and in the middle of the weirdest, warmest winter in two hundred years, it seemed incongruous.
Seventy two hours of black rain fell in heavy sheets and winds howled straight from the Urals. Cars aquaplaned through the pounding floods, sending waves onto the pavements. Streams poured into the grates. A skyscape of purest gunmetal grey stretched in an unbroken mass.
I was desperate to go back to the pub to see if Carla was on shift, but I literally couldn’t get out of the house. I tried the second day, but didn’t even make a hundred yards.
Besides, the intensity of the emotions I experienced wasn’t recommended for me, and I was glad I couldn’t immediately act on my impulses. I tried to forget her…told myself it was like a serious cold, and it would go away if I worked on it.
But none of it worked.
I went to bed that first night thinking about her, and it took me hours to get to sleep. I had to take Temazepam and a Tramadol, as well as my anti-psychotic, just to hasten the journey into darkness.
I woke up thinking about her. Her Little Fluffy Clouds voice in my ears. I tried to bet on the computer, on racehorses, with limited success. The heavens had opened all over the country. Several race meetings were abandoned due to severe waterlogging. Even when they raced on the All Weather, I lost money because I couldn’t concentrate. All three days. Instead of focusing on the performance of my horses, I spent most of my time looking on the Internet for examples of older men and younger women getting spliced and living happily ever after.
I found plenty. Celebrities, politicians. The French in particular. It didn’t seem a taboo there. Not like over here.
In Blighty, fancy a twenty year old girl and in the eyes of the population you were one step away from Nonceville, Arizona.
I read about etiquette.
The French Equation.Halve your age.Add seven years.That’s an acceptable age for a girlfriend.I’m forty two. Half that. Makes twenty one. Add seven. Makes me too old for Carla.Damn.
I re-read Oliver Reed’s autobiography. Well, the later bit. The wild man actor famously married a sixteen year old girl. He even asked her father’s permission. She was happy with him, and she was at his side when he died.
Irritated and confused, I alternated between reading about this stuff and turning it off. For three days and nights, I was beset by an internal monologue, which was straight out of a Mills and Boons romance novel.
I cursed myself for a fool, paced up and down, beset by images of domestic bliss between Carla and me. Miracle upon miracles, I fancied that she was in love with me also, love at first sight. I pictured the big house. A decent car. She wouldn’t have to work. I’d do all that for her. Maybe it was time to stop drinking and gambling. I’d tell her all this. Spend our nights watching TV on the sofa, hugging and cuddling. I’d listen carefully to tales of her day. I’d be the strong silent type. We’d always eat together. We’d go away for weekends. The Lake District. Paris. Sun-drenched Spain. Three holidays a year. Walk arm-in-arm along the promenade overlooking the Med. Watch the sun melt into the sea in the distance, the sound of gulls and the Mediterranean breeze on the shore our only companions. Eat fresh shellfish in some island grotto built into the rocks near where Perseus slew Medusa, the salt between our toes, holding hands forever……all this gruesome stuff.
I couldn’t stop thinking about us. It was madness, and I knew it. It was back.I tried to focus on the horses, but it all seemed so irrelevant. In three days, I lost five hundred pounds. At the end of the second day, I rationalised the shocking performance of my horses.
I saw it as a sign: Unlucky at cards. Lucky in love.
On each of those three nights, I stared out of the window thinking about Carla for hours. I watched the rain tumble down, the resonant vibrations on the pavement below, the poet in his garret awaiting the return of his long lost love.
I felt simultaneously lighter than air and heavier than lead. Happier than I’d ever been and suicidal, despairing. Love is a bit like madness, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I’m not going to get all Love Is on you. Love is like the corner of a thick rug. Love is like a raindrop on the windowpane. Love is like…well…you’ve seen the cartoons.But it is. Madness. I went a bit mad when I met Carla.
A little bit insane.
History Trivia - Portugal recognized as a kingdom
October 5
610 Byzantine Emperor Heraclius' fleet took Constantinople. He was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire's official language.
869 4th Council of Constantinople (8th Ecumenical Council) opened.
1143 King Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile (Emperor of all Spain) recognized Portugal as a Kingdom..
1553 Queen Mary's first Parliament met and declared Katherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry VIII legitimate, and also declared the Queen's birth legitimate.
610 Byzantine Emperor Heraclius' fleet took Constantinople. He was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire's official language.
869 4th Council of Constantinople (8th Ecumenical Council) opened.
1143 King Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile (Emperor of all Spain) recognized Portugal as a Kingdom..
1553 Queen Mary's first Parliament met and declared Katherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry VIII legitimate, and also declared the Queen's birth legitimate.
October 4, 2013
Facebook Event - Home Wrecker author Brenda Perlin will be giving away an ebook copy of Carla by Mark Barry - join the event for a chance to win
Brenda Perlin will be giving away a copy of Mark Barry's AKA Wiz Green's brilliant Ebook Carla!
https://www.facebook.com/events/207641289413064/
"Cult novel Carla, is an introspective, moody and chilling romance novel with its roots firmly grounded in the work of the great pulp writers of th...
e fifties, particularly Jim Thompson, to whom the book is dedicated.
It is a book for adults and for those who have lived through the occasionally bloody battlefields that are the relationships between men and women.
It is suitable for men and women who enjoy good writing and a book which involves the senses. The book may also interest those in mixed age relationships (in either role) or those who suffer (or is related to someone who suffers from) Borderline Personality Disorder."
Good luck!
https://www.facebook.com/events/207641289413064/
"Cult novel Carla, is an introspective, moody and chilling romance novel with its roots firmly grounded in the work of the great pulp writers of th...
e fifties, particularly Jim Thompson, to whom the book is dedicated.
It is a book for adults and for those who have lived through the occasionally bloody battlefields that are the relationships between men and women.
It is suitable for men and women who enjoy good writing and a book which involves the senses. The book may also interest those in mixed age relationships (in either role) or those who suffer (or is related to someone who suffers from) Borderline Personality Disorder."
Good luck!
