MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 430

In the Midst: Part One: Let's talk beginning

In the Midst: Part One: Let's talk beginning: Hi, Recently, I have been asked about writing my book, Journey to Freedom . Because of this discussion, I decided to bring to you a series...

Ngaire Elder: Typing Trials and Texas Tractors - Interviewing Author K-T Meador

Ngaire Elder: Typing Trials and Texas Tractors: What a pleasure it was to catch-up with K-Trina Meador. Kicking our shoes off we wandered along a beautiful Hawaiian beach and chatted about...

History Trivia - Yorkists defeat the Lancastrians at Barnet

April 14

43 BC Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieged Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in Mutina and defeated the forces of the consul Pansa, who was wounded.

69 Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeated Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seized the throne.

70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, surrounded the Jewish capital, with four Roman legions.

73 after two years of defending the fortress of Masada, the Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Roman Tenth Legion.

979  Challenge to throne of King Aethelred II of England.

1028 Henry III, son of Conrad, was elected king of the Germans.

1205 Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.

1434 The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France was laid.

1471 In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl was killed and Edward IV resumed the throne.

M. C. Arvanitis, writer / WORDS TOGETHER MAKE TALES: 4 FACTS ABOUT GIANTPANDAS(Could thesepandas be ELP...

M. C. Arvanitis, writer / WORDS TOGETHER MAKE TALES: 4 FACTS ABOUT GIANTPANDAS(Could thesepandas be ELP...: 4 FACTS ABOUT GIANT PANDAS (Could these pandas be ELPanda Paws siblings?) Fact Number One The panda offspring, also kno...

Reality Bites, a Green Wizard Publishing anthology - Goodreads review

Brenda Perlin's review Apr 13, 13
Goodreads 5 of 5 stars bookshelves: to-read
Read in April, 2013

My Review:

Dark, twisted,dreary, dismal, gloomy, glum, anguish, melancholy, morose, soul-searching, disparaging, moody, sulky, emotional, Reality Bites is all these things and more.

Ophelia by Claire Appleseed

This haunting story touched me deep within my soul. I could feel the pain but also the will to live. No one should ever take that away from us.

"Blinded by love, I believed him and put his indiscretions into that box that only gets visited under extreme conditions. I should have listened to them, the gossipmongers, they knew and now I know; they were right. In retrospect, his infidelities must have been his way of dealing with his failings, made him feel good that he could still 'pull a bird'. He boasted about them."

Doubting Cheryl by Cheryl Casey

Short but sweet. An innocent tale about a young girl coming to terms with the thereafter.
"Not once did I pray that "now I lay me down to sleep" business when I was a kid. No way was I going to utter the words, "if I should die before I wake." I fully intended to wake up and live the next day and wasn't about to entertain the possibility of dying in my sleep."

Without Hope by Emma Edwards

Without hope... There is nothing. This story pulls on your heart strings. Gut wrenching and takes you to the darkest depths of despair. Will that glimmer of hope be enough to save Nadine?

"The first thing she does is glance upwards. It is indeed a clear night, full of twinkling stars. People have always looked to the stars as a source if inspiration. Now Nadine looks at them in a different way. Just the sight of them makes her feel uplifted. Makes her feel less like reaching for a handful of the pills in her bag."

Resiliency from Within by Christy L. Foster

This is a story of sheer perseverance. Why do some people simply shine more than others? Zest for life goes way past the exterior. It has to do with your inner core. Some people have it and some people don't.
For some people giving up is not even a consideration. This story really makes you step back and look at your own life and reminds you of everything you have taken for granted up until this point.
"A light snowfall covered the tiny Massachusetts city as dawn broke over the horizon. The brisk chill in the air added to the life and heartbeat of the beautiful February day. Rosy cheeks, shallow breaths, and quick movements proved the daily business stopped for no obstacle, man, or weather. People were bustling about clearing the snow from their cars, shoveling their sidewalks, and making breakfast in preparation for what would be a normal day for most. As the rest of the town went about their daily grind, one family's happy routine was destined to be shattered, and their faith tested.

Regeneration by Rae Gee

This a story in the eyes of an addict. She was 23, young and invincible or so she thought. The common thread to all these stories seems to be the topic of bullying. Each tale different but so much the same. We all want to be accepted and yet acceptance is something we all seem to fight for.
"Sometimes, she'd step away from her seat, ordering someone to remain with her belongings while she twirled on the dance floor. The lyrics of songs speaking of autumn, of forbidden loves, of full moons and vampires, touched her feet and made her dance. She'd wave her arms in the air, reaching for the moon, wanting to pull it close, while the scent of cloves and graveyards spiralled around her."

Little Girl by Lexi Kravey

A story about abuse. This lost girl becomes an addict, a person without hope who looks for a way out of this tragedy that is her life.
"Like a tortured soul, I was led down a path that few whoever tread survived it, turned to drugs or alcohol to relieve the acidic pain that rotted out their insides and turned the world from a place of good to a place of evil being constantly held a prisoner in the darkness of memories."

The Hotter the Forge, The Stronger the Steel by Eric Rada

This story is told with such raw emotion. The suffering you can feel through your veins. How do you look for forgiveness when you don't even forgive yourself? When is it time to let go of the suffering? This story is a reminder to never give up. Yes, there can light at the end of the tunnel.

"How do you comfort your siblings when you are the one who took your mother's life? How do you embrace your grandma when you killed her daughter? How do you stay strong for your father when you murdered his soul mate? How does one stay strong and be a pillar for a family when it is your fault they are suffering? My world was a struggle between being there for my family and knowing I am the reason they are suffering?"

Ghosts in Me by Suzanne van Rooyen

Life is not always fair but how you chose to deal with it is what matters most. If tragedy strikes, are we just supposed to give up? How do you find the strength to rise above? Can you?

"The syringa was in full bloom, lilac flowers and orange berries, with a chorus of grey lorries amongst the leafy boughs. My bare feet burned on the tar driveway as the large black gates offering a false sense of security to my upper-middle-class abode swung slowly open."

Suleman's Kebab by Stefan Xerxes

I have heard of dependencies, mostly over drugs, alcohol, sex, and food but never over kabobs. Can a person experience withdrawal symptoms from giving up their favorite food choice? Can one food choice change your entire life?

"Let me describe it to you, this kebab. Suleman's kebab. The kebab from the keeper of all circles. I know, I know. You've all eaten kabobs. You've all experienced a gyros. Why am I making such a fuss? Who can write a short story about a kebab? I mean, fuck off. Stop wasting my time. You're reading an anthology about loss and heartache, and relationships, and death and grief, and all that, and here you are talking about a kebab?"

Out of the Depths by Mary Ann Bernal

This is a story of addiction, betrayal and self-pity. A person who has hit rock bottom and then from there realizes he wants to live. Don't we all deserve a second chance?

"I see you judging me once again, shaking your head in disgust, I venture. But before I am condemned, hear me out. Once you know the facts, once you know I have conquered my demons, then, and only then, will you accept your help. Yes, I admit it, I need your help, but I will not beg."

Best years of Our Lives by Mark Barry

You are a thirteen year old boy and repeatedly bullied by your classmates. You are paralyzed with fear even though there were warning signs. Boys and girls gang up against you. You want to cry but you don't. You know it will only make things worse. You take your beatings and wait for them to be over. It is through this experience that you learn something about life. Somehow this experience changes you forever.

"You have never experienced anything like this anticipation before, and you're scared. Your stomach is turning over as if you're staring down the side of a skyscraper. You are tense and dizzy and you wish you hadn't had seconds at dinner."

My Paranormal Life: Author Mark Barry live From England! Sunday- April 21

My Paranormal Life: Author Mark Barry live From England! Sunday- April...: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mackenzi... Mark Barry, author of “Hollywood Shakedown”, “Ult...

This Week in Tennis 4-13-2013: Look Out Tennis World the Canadians Are Coming

On this edition of This Week in Tennis host Phil Naessens 

http://thisweekintennispodcast.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/this-week-in-tennis-4-13-2013-look-out-tennis-world-the-canadians-are-coming/

Green Wizard Publishing - Reality Bites launch

Congratulations to Green Wizard Publishing on the launch of its first anthology, Reality Bites http://http://ning.it/ZUh2mp

If you have a chance, stop by the FB launch event - ebook prizes from indie authors  https://www.facebook.com/events/373938592719804/

Hope to see you there.

History Trivia - Henry IV of France issues Edict of Nantes

April 13

837 Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years.

1111 Henry V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

1204 Constantinople fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.

1250 The Seventh Crusade was defeated in Egypt; Louis IX of France was captured.

1256 The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.

1598 Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. (Edict repealed in 1685.)

 1640 Charles I's eleven years of personal rule end with the calling of the 'Short Parliament' at Westminster.

Green Wizard Publishing launches Reality Bites - an anthology of twelve fictional stories

Death.  Domestic abuse. Ritual exploitation. The passing of a loved one. Child battery. Horrifying food addiction. Brutal bullying.  Friendship gone bad.  Drugs.  Family collapse. Loss. Despair.  These are the bricks in the walls of Hell. 
 That would be real hell. Not the imaginary hell of the biblical scribe, the epic fantasist, the horrorphile, the metaphorist, the allegory peddler or the unreliable narrator. 

This is the real Hell.

But no matter how bleak things become in that impenetrable abyss, no matter how bleak, no matter how pitch black, there is always the bottom rung of a rotten, threadbare rope ladder dangling from the precipice – and the message is:  the rung is in reach.  This is Reality Bites . Twelve fictional stories by twelve superb independent authors, each of whom is a card-carrying survivor of the abyss.  And these are their tales.    Extract from Reality Bites (excerpt by Christy L Foster): The nippy temperatures were blamed for many things, including cooler water reserves for the building where the Gilmore family resided. Many tenants complained to the landlord about not having hot water for a hot shower. Not having a washer and dryer in the apartment meant that if Carol needed a clean uniform, she would have to make a choice. She could choose to go to the laundromat or wash a uniform at home. Going to the laundromat meant going through the copious steps and headache of trekking there in the cold with an infant and the basket in tow. Staying at home meant she would need to wash the uniform quickly and hang it to dry before her shift that evening. As she often did, she chose to hand wash so she could be home with her baby. She headed for the bathroom and turned on the water, plugged the bathtub, and turned to get the laundry detergent as Christy toddled her way into the bathroom.    Ever the early-starter, Christy already had a firm grasp on walking and had discovered her love of water, as well. The ultra-shallow depth of the tub allowed Christy to splash and play in the water easily any time she was preparing for a bath or when her mother needed to wash a few pieces of laundry. She always would coo and giggle when it was time to play in the water. Seeing Christy make her way through the door and head for the bathtub was a normal thing for Carol. She smiled and cleared the path so her little one would not have a problem making her way to her target as Carol reached up to get the detergent from the shelf. Just moments later, a piercing scream shot through the apartment and froze Carol mid-reach.

US
http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Bites-ebook/dp/B00CA95CES

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Bites-ebook/dp/B00CA95CES