Cindy A. Matthews's Blog, page 2

A Flash and a Thrill--Halloween-Inspired Free Fiction

Enjoy a flash fiction story I created from a one line prompt for Kate Hill's Halloween Adventure promo this month. Here's the link to my page at her site you'll want to check out since I posted a link there to a free book, Brandi Whyne and Her Incredibly Erotic Adventures--Captured by Space Pirates. (Don't miss it!)
http://kate-hill.com/halloweenpage/adventures-start-here/celine-chatillon

After this brief message from Heavenly Bodies, my latest erotic-science fiction series from eXtasy Books, on to the free story!

Book One in the Heavenly Bodies series: Playmate

Book Two in the Heavenly Bodies series: Galactic Guerillas  


And coming soon, book three in the series, Diplomatic Relations. All available from eXtasy Books.com (best price/best service), Amazon and wherever fine e-books are sold.

Now for some chills and thrills...

The Change
by Celine Chatillon
 
On a cold, dark night, you look in the mirror and notice the first small signs of the change beginning.

"Oh, no... Not tonight. My cycle is off. I was suppose to go to that business dinner and do my best to impress our new potential client. My fur and claws will throw him off. The boss will kill me!"

The dress you picked out earlier in the week won't do. It shows way too much décolletage. While you're quite proud of your perky and ample breasts, once the change begins and you become fully lynx-like, the client would probably freak at having cocktails with a catwoman.

"Damn. I was going to do a slow seduction and get him to sign on the dotted line by the end of the evening, making my escape before he got any ideas. Unless he's a hottie... If and only then if he turns out to be sexy, charming and willing was I going to even consider screwing his brains out. I think we're going to have to skip the drinks and dinner and just get to the screwing and his signing on the dotted line. He might not notice my tail until after he's enjoyed some tail."

You laugh. There are some advantages to being a were-cat. You get super horny at the drop of a hat, and you don't mind acting like an alley cat with any handsome, red-blooded male who's willing do the horizontal tango. If only you knew what the guy looked like.

As you walk into the upscale hotel saloon, you shift your briefcase to your other hand in order to smooth down the start of your tail starting to form under your skirt above your nicely rounded ass. Where was this client suppose to meet you? Oh, yeah, under the clock at the end of the bar. There's a suit sitting there sipping a bourbon. His face is turned away from you until you take a step closer. He turns around. You stop and stare.

Is that him? Oh, he's absolutely gorgeous! What a mischievous glint he has in his eye, too. You take another step closer, and he rises to meet you with a gracious nod and a smile. Hmm...this could turn out be quite a fun and successful evening after all.


If you like shapeshifters with a difference, check out Wolf Weiss from my summer short Under The Midnight Sun (eXtasy Books).

Swing through the galaxy with Galactic Guerillas!

Book 2 in the Heavenly Bodies series is now available...


Galactic Guerillas http://www.extasybooks.com/galactic-guerillas/
Jenna believes she's dreaming when she wakes up to her favorite SF/fantasy hero lying in bed beside her. Sexy, half-dressed Prince Reglund of television's Galactic Guerillas series can't be real, can he? But it's a very realistic and erotic dream, so Jenna plays along, agreeing to accompany Reg to his home world. Once there, they meet the dark and handsome voyeur Lord Talbit who lusts after free-spirited Earth maidens as well. Will Jenna and her dream studs enjoy a threesome and discover a fantasy world with a life all its own?

Excerpt: Jenna decides to enjoy her "fantasy lover" even if she's not sure he's really there.


Keeping his gaze fixed firmly on her, Prince Reglund pulled himself to his knees, unfastened his sword belt, and lifted the flap of his loincloth to reveal a hard-on of gargantuan proportions. 

Jenna’s hands flew to her warming cheeks. She gasped. “Oh, my. You’re much more manly than I’ve fantasized, and I can be very creative, you know.”The wicked glint in his eyes challenged her. “Show me.”
She laughed. How could any hot-blooded female pass on this challenge? “All right. First, like any good Galactic Guerilla, I will attempt to disarm your weapon.”
Jenna approached and slowly untied the leather cords resting on his slim hips. The small scrap of leather fell away, fully exposing the glistening head of his engorged, crimson cock. She licked dry lips. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m eye-to-eye with the man-eating dragon beast of episode sixty-nine?” 
“Perhaps you are.” Reg’s resonant chuckle detonated a mini-explosion of desire deep in her pussy. He positioned his rod closer to her. “Will you vanquish your foe with your creative talent? Or will you allow it to enter your cave of wonders, my beautiful maiden?”
“Hmm, good questions. How about a little of both?”
Jenna knelt at the edge of the bed and eased his length into her mouth. Her tongue thrilled at the taste of him, the virile, musky tang of a man who could swing a sword with one arm while carrying off a willing female captive to pleasure over and over again in his other. She cupped his balls gently and sucked his remaining inches into the back of her throat.
He groaned and leaned toward her. “Oh, the dragon is practically slayed, fair one. Allow me to explore your delights before I can no longer contain my enthusiasm.”  
Galactic Guerillas is now available at eXtasy Books, Amazon, and online wherever fine books are sold! ;)

Free Book--Brandi Whyne 1: Captured by Space Pirates

I know how much people like free books, so check this one out... Brandi Whyne Chapter 1 is now absolutely FREE!


Here's the link to download it:

http://www.extasybooks.com/captured-by-space-pirates/?search=celine%20chatillon&sub_category=1

Enjoy! (And let me know what you think. Please leave a comment here or better yet, at Amazon or Goodreads. Thank you.)

Two's Company and Three's... A Lot of Fun! (Excerpt from PlayMate)

Now available from eXtasy Books... 
The first story in the Heavenly Bodies series.

PlayMate
http://www.extasybooks.com/playmate/

Lelia thought living and working alone on an asteroid was an ideal job. Far from the maddening crowds, she values her peace and quiet, but soon she finds she longs for company of an amorous kind. Following a tip from a fellow asteroid miner, she acquires a holographic lover based on the man of her dreams, her friendly postman who visits briefly every two weeks. When postman Del makes an unexpected visit and catches Lelia fooling around with his doppelganger, the fun really begins. Can Lelia handle two Dels at one time? (m/f/m, m/f)
And now a very hot excerpt from PlayMate. Lelia tries out her new "sex toy" and discovers what all her holographic lover is capable of...

“Am I hard enough? Deep enough? Should I go faster?” he asked without missing a beat.
She panted and moaned with abandon. His flickering tongue danced across her tits, suckling her into the ecstasy of near unconsciousness. Any moment she’d explode and scream so loud that Hak Shaunesi would be able to hear her a million parsecs away—without switching on his com link.
“Oh, harder… faster… please.”
“You’re so tight. It’s driving me mad.”
His hips gyrated a faster tempo. His balls slapped a hard, steady rhythm against her. He tossed back his head and moaned.
“I’m going to shoot everything I got into you. I can’t hold on much longer, Lelia. I can’t hold on… hold on…”
Lelia’s eyes widened at the sight of her holographic lover grimacing with effort to keep from coming. Was that really his cock she felt pulsating inside her? She never got the chance to ask her lover the question for even now a massive orgasm was building deep within her.
“Don’t hold back,” she whispered.
She curved her hips back further and wrapped her legs around him. He obliged her with several deep penetrating thrusts. Her pussy instinctively responded, rhythmically contracting and releasing, sending sensations of white-hot electricity zinging outward from her core. Her thrashing about the counter made it difficult for her accomplice to keep his cock planted inside her, but he improvised well. He gripped her buttocks and held on, pushing her over the bliss-filled heights once more with a swift series of searing strokes and a deafening cry of delight.
Minutes later—and with a little help—Lelia groggily sat up. She was eagerly met by her PlayMate’s dazzling smile and characteristic laugh.
She couldn’t help but notice his huge erection.
He wiggled an eyebrow. “Ready for some more cooking, Lelia?” 
PlayMate is available at eXtasy Books (best price and service), Amazon and where all fine e-books are sold. 
Coming next month--more sci-fi outer-space adult fun with the second story in the Heavenly Bodies series, Galactic Guerillas. Jenna wakes up and finds herself lying beside her favorite sci-fi TV show hero. Can the sexy man in her bed be for real?

Out now, Under the Midnight Sun, a  hot summer short about a very horny shape-shifting wilderness guide named Wolf and Penny, the archeologist and fun-loving girl of his dreams. From eXtasy Books, of course.

A Howling Good Excerpt from Under the Midnight Sun

Now available from eXtasy Books... 

Under the Midnight Sun
by Celine Chatillon
http://www.extasybooks.com/under-the-midnight-sun/ 
Penny's expedition goes pear-shaped, but her wilderness guide, Wolf, turns out to be a handsome shape-shifter with an animal magnetism she can't resist.

It's bad enough the entire archeology community thinks they're "crackpots," but after her professor suffers a medical emergency, Penny Redfern finds herself alone at the dig with their handsome wilderness guide. Suddenly she has a lot more on her mind than searching for a suspected Viking longship in the Far North  of Alaska. Wolf Weiss can't help but lust after the gorgeous Penny, but his sense of professionalism keeps him politely distant. Plus, it's a full moon, that time of the month for Wolf to howl with the pack. Not even the midnight sun will halt his urge to shift. He can't let Penny find out he's a shape-shifter—or can he? Will the free-spirited Penny find Wolf's animal magnetism too strong to resist?

An excerpt from Under the Midnight Sun:

The satellite imagery showed something boat-shaped located along this shoreline, but it couldn't possibly be an intact Viking sea vessel after all this time if it had been exposed to the elements. There was no way anyone could have buried a ship that size in the permafrost since it was just too tough to do so even in the perpetually sunny skies of July in the North. Had it been trapped in an iceberg all these centuries, only to be released from its icy prison in the recent climate warming trend? Just the thought of Viking explorers making it through the Northwest Passage and reaching the coast of Alaska would bring her the fame and attention she craved as an archeologist.
Penny quickly unbraided her hair and pulled a brush through its thick mass to clear it of some of the worst of the dust and flying debris. What she wouldn't do for a nice hot shower instead of a bath with some lukewarm water and a camp basin wash cloth. The sooner they finished surveying the area for artifacts and other signs of possible Viking activity, the sooner she could go back home to civilization as she knew it.
Before the paramedics landed, Bev had admonished her, "Cooperate with Wolf and finish our grid search. That's all you need to do, and you'll have plenty to write about for your paper. Promise."
Cooperate with Wolf.
It sounded simple enough, but something about the dark-eyed, introverted outdoorsman made her nervous. Not nervous exactly, but curious. He wasn't much older than her, she realized, but the striking silver streaks in his black beard and at his temples indicated he'd lived a stressful life or his heredity was a bit different from most. Wolf Weiss--white wolf? The translation of his name sounded like some of her Lakota cousins' names on her mother's side.
She had to admit, Wolf possessed something other males of her acquaintance lacked, a sort of animalmagnetism that had attracted her from their first meeting. While Dave was the more outspoken of the two, openly joking with her like her kid brother, Wolf had kept his distance and minded his manners. If anything, he was too damn polite. That made her nervous. How could anyone who lived in the wilderness have such refined manners? She supposed he hadn't always lived and worked in Alaska, but along with his good looks, self-assurance and few words, his mere presence intrigued her.
Better yet, he didn't wear a ring or talk about a lover back in Fairbanks or Nome or elsewhere. Penny had had enough of those two-timing types.
She wanted to know more about Wolf, but she dared not. They were both professionals. It wouldn't be professional of her to flirt with him, would it? But with the climatologists, Dave and Bev all departed, who would know they'd lapsed in their professionalism if they both kept quiet?
Penny put down her hairbrush and pulled off her hoodie, t-shirt, and bra. She soaked the washcloth in the basin and wrung it out and gave her upper torso a quick wash, taking care around her tender nipples. She was halfway through her cycle, and she knew what was happening—she was feeling extra horny because of ovulation. Any halfway decent-looking male would make her want to jump his bones and avail herself of his hard cock.
Penny realized she should be ashamed of herself, thinking of enjoying wild sex with their guide while her college advisor was deathly ill and on her way to the hospital, but she couldn't help her hormones. Poor Wolf was the only man around for miles. Her mind couldn't help spinning erotic fantasies about the shy guy. How would those whiskers feel rubbing against her skin? Would they tickle, or torment her with stimulation?
She dropped her jeans and wriggled out of her panties. Wetting the washcloth, she washed her legs and backside, slowing down as she approached her pubic area. Hmm…a little stimulation from her own hand felt good, and it would relieve the tension of being alone with the macho mountain man of few words for a few days. Penny stretched out across her camp bed and began to stroke her clit, slowly at first and then faster and harder. She tweaked her nipples with her other hand and arched her back into the rhythm of her strokes as she climaxed in a gasp of pleasure.
Relaxing for what seemed the first time in weeks, she stretched and yawned. "There are some advantages to having the yurt all to myself, after all." With that thought, she fell asleep.
Under the Midnight Sun now available from eXtasy Books!http://www.extasybooks.com/under-the-midnight-sun/

The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer

The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer
(Spoiler Alert!)

It's been a busy two weeks, so when I finally sat down to catch up with Doctor Who, I had two episodes to watch. The first episode, The Lie of the Land, is actually part three of the two previous episodes which I found to be mediocre as best. 

Was I expecting anything better for this storyline's finale? No, not really. The Lie of the Land didn't disappoint on that respect. It was mediocre in script and well-done in acting and execution. Bill is still a strong, sympathetic character willing to lay down her life to save others, Nardole is still a loyal aide-de-camp willing to go the extra mile to help out, and the Doctor is... Well, he's a show man of sorts, selling the evil monks' "new history" to the unsuspecting public through slick commercials. Why the evil monks ever go to the extent they do to take over the world is never satisfactorily explained, including the gigantic statues of their mummy-like visages. They should have taken a lesson from the Daleks and Cybermen. Good ol' fashioned firepower and metal suits work just fine to invade Earth in Doctor Who.
Missy is seen once again in The Lie, but her cameo doesn't seem particularly necessary to the plot, as the Doctor should be able to figure things out himself with his abilities and resources. She's incarcerated in a TARDIS-styled vault and seems content to be locked up. There's hints she's not as sociopathic/psychopathic as she once was, but she's still not portrayed as a positive middle-aged female image, but rather as a figure of ridicule/hate. Actress Michelle Gomez could do better and deserves a stronger role.
 
The Orwellian overtones of "He who owns the past owns the future" are good in The Lie, but the overall arc of the trilogy of episodes isn't quite pulled off.  A good script editor could have helped cobble these three disparate episodes together in a more coherent and effective manner and brought out the strengths in each. As is... nice try, but it's very sad how this trilogy falls flat. At least Bill has a decent hairstyle this time out, and I enjoyed the "Maoist China" style of bland/uni-colored clothing of the populace as well as the Doctor's "worn" jacket.

Empress of Mars is a stronger episode in that it doesn't try to be anything it isn't.  The Doctor meets his old foes, the Ice Warriors. They've been updated a bit without losing their lovable "monster of the week" look about them that they've sported since the Patrick Troughton era. My husband was pleased to see the Victorian-era military men on an expedition on Mars, very reminiscent of the characters one takes on in the role playing game Space 1889. (The military costuming was accurate historically according to hubby who is an expert on such things, too.)

Why there is oxygen underground on Mars is never explained, especially since the surface is dead and there's no obvious plant life left.  The frozen/hibernating Ice Warriors are very similar to the Patrick Troughton series Cybermen who were hibernating on Mondas in a pyramid-like set-up. 

Hmm... Pyramids and spacesuits seem to be returning images in this season, as the Doctor and Bill have been seen in spacesuits in Empress of Mars, Oxygen and in underwater diving suits in Thin Ice. The evil monks have a spacecraft (I assume that's what it is since it "flies") that's pyramid-shaped in Nemesis, The Pyramid at the End of the World,  and The Lie of the Land. Is there some kind of connection we're suppose to make with the reoccurring imagery? I have to say, Peter looks great in a form-hugging spacesuit. I hope the hoodie look has been put to rest for good.

With only a few more episodes to go in Peter Capaldi's last year as the Doctor, fingers crossed we get another Mark Gatiss-written story. What's your take on these last episodes? Please write your comments below. Thanks.
 Can't get enough of the man in the spacesuit, can you? :)

Coming Soon... My other persona's  Loving Who series from Devine Destinies Books!

Doctor Who--and Loving Who--Return!

Doctor Who--and Loving Who--Return!It's been a while since I wrote about the Doctor, but this month I have something to write about concerning both the latest series premiere and the re-release of my original Doctor Who-inspired series, Loving Who. (This is a PG to PG-13 rated series, so I'm writing under my Cynthianna pen name.)

My wacky sci-fi romantic-comedies, beginning with the novel Loving Who, are no longer in print from their former publisher (due to a change in business model). The good news is they will be re-released with new cover art and new editing in all new editions from Devine Destinies Books. I'm excited because I really enjoyed revisiting my old friends Cici Connors and the alien John Smith from Loving Who, Leaving Who and Losing Who. I know a lot of new Whovians will enjoy their wild adventures in time, space and fandom, too. I can't wait to introduce them to these new Who-fans.

I don't have an exact release date yet for the first title, but I'll let you know when I do. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you favor... Would you be interested in reading and writing a short review of Loving Who and then posting your review to Amazon and Goodreads? I'd sincerely appreciate it, as the old reviews posted there will no longer be associated with the new release. So, if you're interested, please email me at cynthianna @ hotmail.com (no spaces) and let me know if you're able to help me out with a review. Thanks.

Now onto the quickie review of the opening episode, The Pilot. I must say Peter Capaldi is looking great and  seems very relaxed in the role of the Doctor. His hiding out at a university and teaching physics seems up the Doctor's alley, and it gave me a flashback to the partially filmed Douglas Adams' story, Shada, where the Doctor met an old friend who was hanging out as a professor at an English university. The TARDIS in the corner of his well-appointed office fits the decor perfectly.

The reasons why the Doctor has settled down for a spell to teach--and why the alien Nardole is still with him--aren't given, but I'm willing to give it a pass for now. The university professor situation is intriguing,  and the young woman he meets and encourages to study science is intriguing as well. "Bill" isn't your typical college co-ed, as she's not officially a student, and yet she's bright and eager to learn. (After seeing say some rather dumb lines in the trailers, I wasn't sure if I would like her, but she's much more intelligent than those short blurbs indicate. Whew!) About the only criticism I have of Bill after the first story is her horrible taste in clothing and unkempt hairstyle. Nothing she wears is flattering for her body type, in my opinion. I hope the costume and makeup department get to work on improving her look.
We learn in snippets that Bill (Pearl Mackie) is a foster child and never knew her mother. She's a sympathetic character and seems to have the ambition to make something of herself despite her poor circumstances. The Doctor and Nardole (Matt Lucas) seem to be protecting a "vault" in the basement of the building where the Doctor's office is located, but for what reason and from whom are still a mystery. The opening story isn't overly complicated, but it flows at a good pace and introduces Bill and the audience to the TARDIS and the idea that the Doctor is much more than meets the eye. This is always a good way to restart a series after it's been in hiatus for a while.
I'm looking forward to episode two, and hopeful Moffat doesn't derail the more positive and helpful Doctor to bring back his morose persona of the past seasons. Peter Capaldi announced this will be his last year to play the Doctor, and I'd rather he go out on a high note than a low one, wouldn't you? Fingers crossed! P.S. My short story, If You Give a Time Traveler a Cookie, featuring Cici and John from Loving Who, will also be available from Devine Destinies. Keep it tuned here for details.

Review: Sherlock--This is The End?

Sherlock: This is The End?
(Caution: Spoilers)

I thought I'd write a quick review of Sherlock: The Final Problem since my Doctor Who reviews get quite a few reads. I have enjoyed this mystery series loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories over all, but this last (and it seems to be the very last) episode was quite a let down on many levels.

I realize that the leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, are very busy actors and very much in demand these days, but it's not that fact which was a let down for me. It was the fact that, since this was probably the very last episode for the duo as Holmes and Watson, it should have been of higher quality to match their terrific performances over the years.

What to really say about The Final Problem? It was simply... a problem for me. It didn't come across as a mystery worthy of the great detective, but a gimmicky, cheap shot at trying to hook an audience with gratuitous violence and silliness. Previous episodes were based on the classic Sherlock Holmes short stories or novellas, and they seemed to work fine with their 21st century twists. This time, there was none of the charm of Conan Doyle's original characters coming through in the writing. 

Instead, we were presented with the portrait of an adult female with mental illness that was less than flattering. Somehow she is Sherlock's older sister that he never knew he had, which, of course, is not canon. Misogynistic portrayals of women characters is a problem area for producer/co-writer Steven Moffat.  It has been written about by yours truly (see my Doctor Who reviews from a year or so back) as well several other feminists. 

Why Mr. Moffat comes across as "tone deaf" when it comes to writing female characters is a mystery in itself, but it is a consistent problem he has in most of his scripts. He views women as objects to be used to further plots, but they have few, if any, positive characteristics. Psychopathic and sadistic Euros is the winner of  "The Universe's Worst Woman of All Times Award." She has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. (Correction: My husband reminded me Euros is an excellent violin player. She does have one redeeming quality.)

Other female characters aren't depicted much better in this script. Poor Molly, who has had a crush on Sherlock all these years, is shamed by Euros's trickery and made to feel bad about her love for Sherlock. He, in turn, is ashamed of his affection towards her. How "unromantic" and "un-gallant" is that?

Shooting and drowning unarmed and tied-up hostages is Euros's idea of fun. She's supposed to be related by blood to Sherlock, Mycroft and their seemingly very gentle parents? (I guess the violin playing ability demonstrates the shared genetics?)  If we had never met Sherlock's parents before in a Christmas story and seen them as "human," maybe we could have believed they spawned a she-demon in Euros. But we have seen their parents, and they came across as "normal." So, there's no real satisfactory explanation of how Euros's psychosis came about and why Sherlock and Mycroft are not also insane. 

Five year olds don't usually become "The Bad Seed" all on their own. It takes quite a lot to drive any person to those types of behaviors. Children who are physically, mentally and sexually abused over and over again can suffer a mental break down and act out violently. Are Moffat and Gatiss in their co-authored tale implying all three of the Holmes children had a horrific and abusive childhood?

Yes, it's a real let down of a story. To be fair, I'm looking at it as a professional writer and a person with a psychology degree and some knowledge of what abuse can do to the individual. But honestly, there was nothing particularly uplifting, redeeming or even accurate in any of the character portrayals as written. This lack of logic in the story wasn't enjoyable.

I really do enjoy Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman's Dr. Watson and Mark Gatiss's Mycroft Holmes. They are superb actors. I was  looking forward to a better send-off for all three characters. Let's hope they have the time and energy to make at least one more positive and hopeful Holmes-like mystery so I can forget this episode as easily as Sherlock can forget his young friend whom Euros chained to the bottom of a well. 

(However did a five year old girl  managed this physical task is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Holmes helped her dispatch and chain up the little boy, and they truly are monsters? Ugh.)




 

A Very Vampire Christmas is here!

How do you cheer up your vampire lover around the holiday season? Melynda wonders if maybe a few new traditions of their own are in order to bring a smile to Val's bite. Mel's time-traveling cousin Shelby and her horny boyfriend Quentin add to the fun of the season with their own brand of wild and free activities. Mel and Shel find it's time to get on Santa's "naughty girl" list. Ho, ho, ho!

Available now for download at eXtasy Books:
 http://www.extasybooks.com/2016-holiday-countdown/a-very-vampire-christmas/

 Featuring Melynda and Val from my novel The Vampire Next Door and Shelby and Quentin from the Time Surfer series.

As we enter the holiday season...

As we enter the holiday season, let me be the first person to wish you all a very happy holiday season--whichever one(s) you celebrate. For Americans, most of us celebrate Thanksgiving in November and a holiday or two in December and New Year's Eve. So, please consider yourself "greeted" by yours truly. (If you like, you can return the holiday greetings in the comments below.)

I wanted to make this holiday greeting announcement fairly early on in the season so that what I'm about to say next wouldn't come as a shock to you: I've decided not to send any Christmas cards this year. Don't worry--I will give gifts to close relatives, and I will decorate my tree and house as usual. I'm not going to be a total "Scrooge." The reason why I'm not sending out holiday cards is to make a statement: Not everyone is going to experience a "Happy Holiday!" this year. I feel that the money I spend on postage and cards could be better put to use helping others have a happier, safer and more just 2017, so I plan on doing just that.


You might not be aware of what is happening at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation  with the Dakota Access Pipeline, but this would not be because I haven't shared this information frequently on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and on the weekly blog I edit, Our Revolution Continues and in several pieces I've written for Political Storm.  Since this is Celine's blog I won't go into details here (you can easily click on the links provided for those), but I wanted to share the reason behind the statement I've just given. 


How can I say the words, "Joyous tidings of the season to you," or "Peace on Earth, good will to all mankind," when horrendous injustices are being inflicted on our peaceful water protectors of the Missouri River? I just can't.

Instead of mailing out hollow words of joy to friends and family, I will use those funds to help out the people of Standing Rock and elsewhere who are in need. If you feel inclined to help others in need this season instead of mailing cards and letters to the names on your Christmas list, please feel encouraged to do so. I won't feel slighted in the least if I don't receive a card from you. In fact, I'll feel very happy and proud to call you my friend for putting the needs of those suffering injustices--such as the water protectors of Standing Rock who strive to protect our precious land, sky and water--ahead of my feelings.


I wish you all a happy holiday season, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May it be a better year than we hope, or at least may it be one in which we all re-discover our humanity and humility and truly live out the Golden Rule, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Think: One day you may need your neighbors' help. How can you rely on them in your darkest hour if they can't rely on you during this season of light?

--Cindy/Celine Chatillon 




Here's the first project I'm supporting for the water protectors at Standing Rock in lieu of sending Christmas cards this year. I've always wanted to build a straw bale home, so I'm glad to support Honor the Earth as they build a community hall for the Oceti Sakowin encampments. Check it out, and if you feel motivated, donate a little something toward their goal of $75K (they're about halfway there). They will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner there in a few days. https://honorearth.nationbuilder.com/makagioti

P.S. On a lighter note, my original holiday short story A Very Vampire Christmas will come out December 13 from eXtasy Books. Check out the very cool cover artwork by Angela Waters: