MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 437
March 30, 2013
This Week in Tennis 3-30-2013: Tanks A Lot Guys!!
http://thisweekintennispodcast.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/this-week-in-tennis-3-30-2013-tanks-a-lot-guys/
Was there tanking going on down in Miami this past week plus all the highs and lows on both sides of the draw at this years Sony Ericsson Open on this weeks edition of This Week in Tennis with Craig Doyle and Phil Naessens.

Was there tanking going on down in Miami this past week plus all the highs and lows on both sides of the draw at this years Sony Ericsson Open on this weeks edition of This Week in Tennis with Craig Doyle and Phil Naessens.
Published on March 30, 2013 07:01
Thanks For The Memories Johan!!
Thanks For The Memories Johan!!
On Friday March 29, 2013 New York Mets fans received the terrible news that beloved ace Johan Santana would most likely miss the entire season due to a tear in the anterior capsule in his left shoulder. This is the same exact injury that sidelined Santana for the entire 2011 campaign and the Mets have exercised their 2014 buyout option of 5.5 million effectively ending Santana’s career as a New York Met.
On Friday March 29, 2013 New York Mets fans received the terrible news that beloved ace Johan Santana would most likely miss the entire season due to a tear in the anterior capsule in his left shoulder. This is the same exact injury that sidelined Santana for the entire 2011 campaign and the Mets have exercised their 2014 buyout option of 5.5 million effectively ending Santana’s career as a New York Met.
Published on March 30, 2013 06:58
About The Illustrated Woman by Mark Barry
About "The Illustrated Woman" by Mark BarryPublished by Green Wizard Publishing
The story takes place in the present tense and in June 2012. First person narrative from the point of view of the title character. It's a love story.
Emily is a twenty six year old unemployed lone parent living in a two bedroom flat on an estate in Bilborough. Her daughter is seven. All the story takes place in daylight while her daughter is at school, (Unemployed people live their lives in daylight.)
Once a promising Cellist from a prosperous middle class Wollaton family, she dropped out of school after a disastrous first relationship with an amoral, predatory older man and a sneaky shoulder tattoo which angered her parents. They no longer speak and Emily is alone.
Every week, she charts her life through a developing tapestry of tattoos which cover the left half of her body, from a runic inscription on her foot, all the way to a single tear under her eye.
One half of her body is ice cream white, the other is covered with some of the most ornate tattoos you can imagine.
In a health centre, she meets and falls in love with a depressed older man who suffers clinical interview anxiety and agoraphobia.
In a world where buses come two at once, she subsequently falls for his friend, a handsome young firebrand, a tall, brilliant, History graduate who, no matter how hard he tries, cannot get a job, even in a Poundshop. Thus, his bitterness transcends the feelings of all three of them.
The two men spend their lives exchanging prescription drugs, betting on racehorses in town centre bookies, and sitting on park benches in the Arboretum, drinking Thor's Hammer cider and discussing alternative history.
Emily is beautiful, corrupted, decadent, lost and fatally alluring to both men and each respond to her in different ways. As with all triangles like this, the story ends in a tragedy that affects everyone around them.
The story takes place against a backdrop of decay, broken dreams, mass unemployment, sexual and economic inequality, exploitation, personal despair, Prozac politics, benefit cuts, Tory triumphalism, the Great Olympic Robbery, cynicism, a country obsessed with celebrity, and the coming end of days.

Emily is a twenty six year old unemployed lone parent living in a two bedroom flat on an estate in Bilborough. Her daughter is seven. All the story takes place in daylight while her daughter is at school, (Unemployed people live their lives in daylight.)
Once a promising Cellist from a prosperous middle class Wollaton family, she dropped out of school after a disastrous first relationship with an amoral, predatory older man and a sneaky shoulder tattoo which angered her parents. They no longer speak and Emily is alone.
Every week, she charts her life through a developing tapestry of tattoos which cover the left half of her body, from a runic inscription on her foot, all the way to a single tear under her eye.
One half of her body is ice cream white, the other is covered with some of the most ornate tattoos you can imagine.
In a health centre, she meets and falls in love with a depressed older man who suffers clinical interview anxiety and agoraphobia.
In a world where buses come two at once, she subsequently falls for his friend, a handsome young firebrand, a tall, brilliant, History graduate who, no matter how hard he tries, cannot get a job, even in a Poundshop. Thus, his bitterness transcends the feelings of all three of them.
The two men spend their lives exchanging prescription drugs, betting on racehorses in town centre bookies, and sitting on park benches in the Arboretum, drinking Thor's Hammer cider and discussing alternative history.
Emily is beautiful, corrupted, decadent, lost and fatally alluring to both men and each respond to her in different ways. As with all triangles like this, the story ends in a tragedy that affects everyone around them.
The story takes place against a backdrop of decay, broken dreams, mass unemployment, sexual and economic inequality, exploitation, personal despair, Prozac politics, benefit cuts, Tory triumphalism, the Great Olympic Robbery, cynicism, a country obsessed with celebrity, and the coming end of days.

Published on March 30, 2013 06:00
History Trivia - Henry VIII divorces Catherine of Aragon
March 30
317 BC, Phocion, the great Athenian general and statesman, died at an approximate age of 85.
240 BC first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
1135 AD Maimonides was born. He was a Jewish philosopher who tried to harmonize Judaism with the teachings of Aristotle in his principal work, The Guide of the Perplexed, in 1190.
1191 Celestine III elected Pope. During his pontificate, he confirmed the order of Teutonic Knights.
1296 Edward I sacked Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
1603 The Nine Years' War between England and Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill ended with the surrender of the Irish.
1533 Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. 1533 - Thomas Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury.

317 BC, Phocion, the great Athenian general and statesman, died at an approximate age of 85.
240 BC first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
1135 AD Maimonides was born. He was a Jewish philosopher who tried to harmonize Judaism with the teachings of Aristotle in his principal work, The Guide of the Perplexed, in 1190.

1191 Celestine III elected Pope. During his pontificate, he confirmed the order of Teutonic Knights.
1296 Edward I sacked Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
1603 The Nine Years' War between England and Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill ended with the surrender of the Irish.

1533 Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. 1533 - Thomas Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury.
Published on March 30, 2013 05:44
CCR Book Cover Design: Pre-Designed Book Covers: Thriller, Horror, Suspen...
CCR Book Cover Design: Pre-Designed Book Covers: Thriller, Horror, Suspen...: This is my ever-growing collection of pre-designed book covers in the Thriller / Horror / Suspense area. Check out the purchase info and ot...
Published on March 30, 2013 05:28
SSLYBLOG - Interview Margaret Arvanitis
http://sslyblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/interview-margaret-aervanitis/Interview Margaret Arvanitis Mar30
Ms. Arvanitis was born in western Nebraska, married and raised her family in South East Nebraska. She is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers. Her occupation as a preK and early grades teacher gives her insight into the stories children like to read. She has written many short stories for preschool curriculums. Now retired, she writes full time bringing to the mid grade readers books she calls “fables.” She brings mythical creatures such as fairies, elves, mermaids, pixies, and other strange beings to her stories. Now retired, her life has been filled with younguns .. hundreds of students throught the years and her own five children, grandchildren, and they just keep coming. Keeping track of family is her hobby. Writing is her occupation.
Beverly and Tamara: Welcome to SSLY. Thanks so much for joining us today. So first why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.
I am the grandmother type, adoring my grands. I was born in the Midwest, raised on a farm, married and had five children. I am now living on the Oregon coast. I started reading books early on. My dad had boxes of books lying around, most were unsuitable for an eight year old girl and I read them secretly. I dreamed of being a girl reporter, instead I became a writer. I’m a retired preschool and early grade teacher. I’ve traveled extensively visiting my grown children and going to gatherings in various states with the Online single Senior’s Outreach group I founded.
Tamara: What do you HAVE to have when you are writing?
Quiet .. no conversation. Even the music I play when writing must be without words. And no food. I don’t allow food at my desk. not even coffee!! (So throw me out of the writer’s club! J )
Beverly: When did you start to write?
I became interested in writing when in high school and had to write articles. I’ve diddled around with poetry but only when life was treating me badly. Seriously? When I opened my preschool and needed to add puppet dialogues, songs, and short stories to enrich my curriculum. Later I took characters from some of these stories and brought them into the mid-grade books I call Fables. I Can’t call them fairy tales, but they are fantasy based adventures. I also write history based upperteens/YA books.
Tamara: What do you think are the qualities that make up a “hero”?
Hero’s are just normal people who are shoved into a scenario where they have to act upon when governed by their sense of right and wrong. They don’t quit until the job is finished.
Beverly: Can you describe your favorite character? And which of your books is he/she in? How do you come up with your characters?
I love Sadie Squarette, the magical bug in my “Forbidden Wings, a Mermaid’s Story. She, like me, will break into a rhyme at any time. Sadie is a figment of my imagination, never before seen in children’s books. I like to take characters from myths from other countries. I research these character on Google and use them in my fantasy fables.
Tamara: What are the hardest scenes for you to write? Suspense? Sex? Dialogue? And why?
Well since I write for mid-grade there isn’t much sex going on. J However there is romance. I move my story along with dialogue imagining what the voice and the words the character would use. I have trouble with suspense; setting up the problem without saying too much before it is solved. Ending a story is sometimes a problem.
Beverly: What writer, if any, influenced how you write?
I could say Dr. Suess, because I love the rhythm of his books.…there isn’t a book he wrote that small children don’t love to hear over and over.
Anne McCaffrey’s series, the dragon Riders of Pern influenced me in my writing of both mid grade and adult fiction. I try to bring the excitement of suspense and fantasy into younger versions of fantasy.
Tamara: Who would you choose as your “book boyfriend”? From what book? Author?
IF I were young and reading Hank, of Twin Rivers (my teen history series) I would choose Hank as my boyfriend. But he already has eyes for Becca, the preacher’s daughter, so guess that leaves me out. J
Beverly: What is the kinkiest thing you’ve ever done? Or would like to? What? We are all about the love!
I’ve had a few “Kinky” experiences in my time. at my age. J I’ve had my romances but we’ll leave that story for an adult book I may write someday.
Tamara: What are your favorite types of heroines? Do you like the damsel in distress who needs saving or the kick-ass variety? Why?
My heroines are take-charge girls. They need no man to save them. The fairy tales such as Cinderella, and Snow White, tell our girls that they NEED some male to save them. Sorry I don’t spread that rumor with my writing.
Beverly: What was your worst date ever?
In my mature years I tried cyber dating. They all were disasters. LOL
Tamara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you? (you have food, water, shelter, all the necessities, so nothing mundane)
1: Electricity and Wifi so I could keep my Kindle Fire loaded with good books and a hundred of my favorite songs I’ve loved down thru the years.
2: Beautiful scenery around me. Friendly birds and animals, and Flowers to pick.
3: A mattress. I don’t like sleeping on the ground.
Beverly: What is your “guilty pleasure”?
None. Guilt isn’t in my vocabulary. J
Tamara: What dream or goal have you yet to realize?
My dream of seeing my books develop into print books have now happened .. so my next dream is to have one or more of my books turned into a movie directed by Spillberg. If one is going to waste time dreaming they should be BIG. LOL
Beverly: What was you most embarrassing moment? It can’t be worse than mine… getting caught buck naked in the back of an orange Gremlin by the police! (I am such a naughty girl)
During the Midwest summer humidty destroys hairdos, soaking the scalp and hair, so when going dancing with my hubby I would wear a wig. One dance when my husband and I were swinging to a fast jitterbug type dance on a crowded dance floor, a tall guy (I am short) swung his arm against the top of my head and knocked the wig flying across the room. Here I am, my hair plastered to my scalp from the humidity and everyone looking at my wig which lay on the floor like a dead beaver. What did I do? What could I do, as there was no hole to sink into. I calmly walked over, picked it up and placed it on my head .. backwards. Hubby was more embarrassed than I and needless to say we didn’t stay for another dance.
Tamara: If you were a color what would you be and why?
Red of course. Red is exciting, hot, sexy, and most every well-know celebrity wears red when being interviewed.
Beverly: Who has influenced how you perceive love? Why?
Life has taught me that love comes in many forms. In my stories love comes naturally. There is usually a wedding scene at the end either for the protagonist or another character.
Tamara and Beverly: Okay. We are SSLY so I have to ask. Who loves you?
I’ve experienced romantic love a few times. The beginning is always wonderful and exciting. The endings are not. My love was blond and buff and Greek, Some are lucky enough to have a lifetime love. However the love I get from my children is never-ending. And that is the kind of love that makes my world go round.
My latest book launched is Forbidden Wings: A Mermaid’s Story.
buy at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UO7HAI/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
My Author’s pages
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/M.-C.-Arvanitis/e/B007UJWLC4/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MCArvanitisWriterMy writer’s Face Book link: (Likes are always welcome) http://www.facebook.com/M.C.Arvanitis?ref=hl
My blog link is: http://mcarvanitiswriter.blogspot.com

Beverly and Tamara: Welcome to SSLY. Thanks so much for joining us today. So first why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.
I am the grandmother type, adoring my grands. I was born in the Midwest, raised on a farm, married and had five children. I am now living on the Oregon coast. I started reading books early on. My dad had boxes of books lying around, most were unsuitable for an eight year old girl and I read them secretly. I dreamed of being a girl reporter, instead I became a writer. I’m a retired preschool and early grade teacher. I’ve traveled extensively visiting my grown children and going to gatherings in various states with the Online single Senior’s Outreach group I founded.
Tamara: What do you HAVE to have when you are writing?
Quiet .. no conversation. Even the music I play when writing must be without words. And no food. I don’t allow food at my desk. not even coffee!! (So throw me out of the writer’s club! J )
Beverly: When did you start to write?
I became interested in writing when in high school and had to write articles. I’ve diddled around with poetry but only when life was treating me badly. Seriously? When I opened my preschool and needed to add puppet dialogues, songs, and short stories to enrich my curriculum. Later I took characters from some of these stories and brought them into the mid-grade books I call Fables. I Can’t call them fairy tales, but they are fantasy based adventures. I also write history based upperteens/YA books.
Tamara: What do you think are the qualities that make up a “hero”?
Hero’s are just normal people who are shoved into a scenario where they have to act upon when governed by their sense of right and wrong. They don’t quit until the job is finished.
Beverly: Can you describe your favorite character? And which of your books is he/she in? How do you come up with your characters?
I love Sadie Squarette, the magical bug in my “Forbidden Wings, a Mermaid’s Story. She, like me, will break into a rhyme at any time. Sadie is a figment of my imagination, never before seen in children’s books. I like to take characters from myths from other countries. I research these character on Google and use them in my fantasy fables.
Tamara: What are the hardest scenes for you to write? Suspense? Sex? Dialogue? And why?
Well since I write for mid-grade there isn’t much sex going on. J However there is romance. I move my story along with dialogue imagining what the voice and the words the character would use. I have trouble with suspense; setting up the problem without saying too much before it is solved. Ending a story is sometimes a problem.
Beverly: What writer, if any, influenced how you write?
I could say Dr. Suess, because I love the rhythm of his books.…there isn’t a book he wrote that small children don’t love to hear over and over.
Anne McCaffrey’s series, the dragon Riders of Pern influenced me in my writing of both mid grade and adult fiction. I try to bring the excitement of suspense and fantasy into younger versions of fantasy.
Tamara: Who would you choose as your “book boyfriend”? From what book? Author?
IF I were young and reading Hank, of Twin Rivers (my teen history series) I would choose Hank as my boyfriend. But he already has eyes for Becca, the preacher’s daughter, so guess that leaves me out. J
Beverly: What is the kinkiest thing you’ve ever done? Or would like to? What? We are all about the love!
I’ve had a few “Kinky” experiences in my time. at my age. J I’ve had my romances but we’ll leave that story for an adult book I may write someday.
Tamara: What are your favorite types of heroines? Do you like the damsel in distress who needs saving or the kick-ass variety? Why?
My heroines are take-charge girls. They need no man to save them. The fairy tales such as Cinderella, and Snow White, tell our girls that they NEED some male to save them. Sorry I don’t spread that rumor with my writing.
Beverly: What was your worst date ever?
In my mature years I tried cyber dating. They all were disasters. LOL
Tamara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you? (you have food, water, shelter, all the necessities, so nothing mundane)
1: Electricity and Wifi so I could keep my Kindle Fire loaded with good books and a hundred of my favorite songs I’ve loved down thru the years.
2: Beautiful scenery around me. Friendly birds and animals, and Flowers to pick.
3: A mattress. I don’t like sleeping on the ground.
Beverly: What is your “guilty pleasure”?
None. Guilt isn’t in my vocabulary. J
Tamara: What dream or goal have you yet to realize?
My dream of seeing my books develop into print books have now happened .. so my next dream is to have one or more of my books turned into a movie directed by Spillberg. If one is going to waste time dreaming they should be BIG. LOL
Beverly: What was you most embarrassing moment? It can’t be worse than mine… getting caught buck naked in the back of an orange Gremlin by the police! (I am such a naughty girl)
During the Midwest summer humidty destroys hairdos, soaking the scalp and hair, so when going dancing with my hubby I would wear a wig. One dance when my husband and I were swinging to a fast jitterbug type dance on a crowded dance floor, a tall guy (I am short) swung his arm against the top of my head and knocked the wig flying across the room. Here I am, my hair plastered to my scalp from the humidity and everyone looking at my wig which lay on the floor like a dead beaver. What did I do? What could I do, as there was no hole to sink into. I calmly walked over, picked it up and placed it on my head .. backwards. Hubby was more embarrassed than I and needless to say we didn’t stay for another dance.
Tamara: If you were a color what would you be and why?
Red of course. Red is exciting, hot, sexy, and most every well-know celebrity wears red when being interviewed.
Beverly: Who has influenced how you perceive love? Why?
Life has taught me that love comes in many forms. In my stories love comes naturally. There is usually a wedding scene at the end either for the protagonist or another character.
Tamara and Beverly: Okay. We are SSLY so I have to ask. Who loves you?
I’ve experienced romantic love a few times. The beginning is always wonderful and exciting. The endings are not. My love was blond and buff and Greek, Some are lucky enough to have a lifetime love. However the love I get from my children is never-ending. And that is the kind of love that makes my world go round.
My latest book launched is Forbidden Wings: A Mermaid’s Story.

buy at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UO7HAI/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
My Author’s pages
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/M.-C.-Arvanitis/e/B007UJWLC4/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MCArvanitisWriterMy writer’s Face Book link: (Likes are always welcome) http://www.facebook.com/M.C.Arvanitis?ref=hl
My blog link is: http://mcarvanitiswriter.blogspot.com
Published on March 30, 2013 05:00
March 29, 2013
The Writer's Showcase - Mary Ann Bernal discusses The Briton and The Dane
http://thewritersshow.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-writers-showcase-podcast-e15-an-afternoon-with-author-mary-ann-bernal/
Author Mary Ann Bernal joins host Phil Naessens to discuss her The Briton and The Dane The Complete Trilogy, Marketing, Promotion, the advantages of being an Indie Author, Screenplays and much much more.


Published on March 29, 2013 07:44
The Phil Naessens Show 3-29-2013: MLB Opening Day Preview: Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays
http://phillipnaessens.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/the-phil-naessens-show-3-29-2013-mlb-opening-day-preview-minnesota-twins-oakland-athletics-new-york-mets-and-toronto-blue-jays/
On the Friday edition of The Phil Naessens Show Eric Pleiss from Knuckleballs Blog joins Phil to discuss all the new faces on the Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster, Alex Hall from Athletics Nation joins Phil to discuss who will start at second base and shortstop and looks at the Oakland Athletics season opening series with the Seattle Mariners, Blogging Mets Mark Berman joins Phil to discuss the Opening series with the San Diego Padres and Baseball Bo’s Bowen Pausey joins Phil to preview the Toronto Blue Jays.

Published on March 29, 2013 06:45
Ngaire Elder: The Texas Chain Saw Mama
Ngaire Elder: The Texas Chain Saw Mama: This is the first of a new feature I will be doing on a Friday spotlighting some talented writers. Today the spotlight is on author and illu...

Published on March 29, 2013 05:23
History Trivia - Battle at Towton Field - death toll 33,000
March 29
1461 - Battle near Towton Field, death toll about 33,000 in the deadliest battle of the War of the Roses, where Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.
1561 Santorio Santorio, the first physician to employ instruments of precision to medical practice, was born.

1461 - Battle near Towton Field, death toll about 33,000 in the deadliest battle of the War of the Roses, where Edward of York defeated Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.

1561 Santorio Santorio, the first physician to employ instruments of precision to medical practice, was born.
Published on March 29, 2013 04:33