Chelle Ramsey's Blog, page 78

EXCERPT_IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER?

Yesterday I promised a sneak peek of Christina in action. Here's an excerpt from my current WIP "Is the Grass Really Greener?"


“The nation is shocked at the verdict; it has left legal experts stunned. Congressman Leopold Lefkowicz was found not guilty, in the murder of his wife Marilyn Roshofski Lefkowicz. Marilyn who had come home after meeting with the congressman’s mistress, confronted him about his affair. To recap this case, the Congressman’s neighbors called 911 to report hearing gun shots in rapid succession after a loud shouting match in their palatial residence in Oak Hills Estate. When police arrived at the home Congressman Lefkowicz was standing over her body crying. Lefkowicz was the only suspect police had; however, his alibi was that he was with his mistress at the time at a dinner party. His story was corroborated by friends, including Tom Belk, co-owner of Belk and Broadway Manufacturing. Apparently Congressman Lefkowicz’s mistress, Jenna Hathaway, stated she had met with his wife earlier in the day. The congressman stated he had just come home and found his wife lying on the floor at the front door, suggesting she may have opened the door to the assailant.
Throughout the trial every aspect of the congressman’s private life has been raked over with a fine tooth comb to reveal his motive for murder. But the one that stood out the most was that the congressman had impregnated a sixteen year old family friend just over a year ago, and had paid her family to keep quiet. After recently discovering his mistress, Jenna Hathaway, his wife Marilyn had threatened to go public with all the information in effect ruining his career. The defense stated from the beginning he was incapable of committing such a grievous wrong. Lefkowicz was a member of the Chambliss law review, graduating summa cum laude from the renowned university, and has published many reports and books on economy and peace talks throughout the years. He is most honored for his work on the Araud peace talks and the Araud Resolution Pact for, which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. The state contends that his rocky marriage and sordid past were ample reason for him to commit the murder, and in a stunning move of brilliance they uncovered documented evidence of violent tendencies during his stint in the military and during Desert Storm. Yet, all of this wasn’t enough to for the jurors to return a guilty verdict. Could there be more to this story than what was brought out at the trial? Could this really go higher up the chain of command than anyone could guess? Stay tuned tomorrow with more on this story from top legal experts in the field and a surprise guest. This is Christina Kirkland, reporting live at the courthouse in downtown Atlanta on WGNV-TV Channel 7.”
            She turned off her mike and instantly began taking off her suit jacket. “I have got to get out of this suit, I’m hot as hell,” Christina complained to her cameraman Alex. He was so cute, but so gay. She wouldn’t mind banging him if he went for her type. But he was more attracted to the van driver Todd, than he was to her. It was too bad for him that Todd didn’t reciprocate those feelings. He had made it very clear in the beginning that if Alex ever made a move on him, he would kick his ass. Despite the violent warning, the two got along very well. Besides, Todd was extremely attracted to Christina, but he was too young for her. She liked her men full grown and capable of handling her, neither of which described Todd.
            “Okay let’s head back to the studio and get you changed girl,” Alex responded.
            “How do you think that piece went Alex?” Christina asked.
            “I think you did great as usual, let’s just pray our mystery guest shows up tomorrow to make the story,” Alex stated seriously with worry furrowing his brow.
            Todd was sitting in the van with the air running and bopping his head to the latest Chris Brown CD.
            Dismissing Alex’s worries, Christina grabbed her cell phone out of her purse that was buzzing its special ring tone. She quickly clicked the on button before the guys could see the readout on the face of the phone. She didn’t put his name on there, but the lack of a real name and the code name Flame would definitely ignite curiosity.
            “Yeah,” she responded. That was her way of letting him know that she couldn’t talk.
            “Damn you look hot in that suit on TV just now,”
            “Well I was actually,” she replied feeling a tingling between her thighs.
            “Nahhh…you know what I mean. I mean like I wanted to rip it off you and get all down in that creamy goodness. I will be seeing you tonight okay?”
            “Sure, I’ve got that sir.”
            He clicked the phone off in her ear. It irritated him when she didn’t have time for him. He knew that she had a job to do, but he wanted her to drop whatever she had to do when he wanted her to. And she couldn’t expect the same back from him. But he was really important and so was his job. His job sometimes meant the difference between life and death.
            He told her their time would come where they could be all about one another and take their focus off work and everything else for a time. He had never lied to her or never let her down. That’s the thought she was having that night when he came knocking at the door.
            “Hi baby,” she said opening the door to him. He came into the suite and instantly followed her to the bedroom. She had opened the door in the nude. He couldn’t wait to feel himself inside of her.Thanks for following along and I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave your comments, as usual I love to hear feedback from you. JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

CHRISTINA_CHARACTER REVIEW

I am working on a project that is nearing its completion. Entitled "Is the Grass Really Greener," this book is a story that follows 5 friends, who are professional, career women at different stages in their lives in terms of careers, relationships, and families. We often look at those around us and envy them to an extent. Oh, I wish that my children behaved as hers does, or I wish I could get married, or I wish I had a job like that. We began to compare our lives to the lives of others, and as a result become seemingly dissatisfied with what we have. Everyone has their own set of issues, but it is amazing how we think that others may have it altogether and we do not have a clue of what's going on behind closed doors. I began to ask myself the question is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence? My husband's answer to that is, "We don't understand the sacrifice and hard work that went into getting that grass as green as it appears." So this novel takes a look at the lives of these five women and the secrets they hold despite their professional, composed, diva appearances. This story is strictly fictional, and although the pictures are real people (who have given express consent for their images to be used), the stories were all composed in my own imagination. Run wild imagination, run wild! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek.
IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER?
 


Single and sexy, Christina Kirkland, is a field reporter for Atlanta's TV news station WGNV, Channel 7. She is also an esteemed usher at one of the ATL's mega churches, The King's Vineyard Worship Center. Always on the trail for a hot tip, this ambitious reporter allows nothing to get in the way of a good story, her praise, or a hot night on the town. This dual personality diva is a good girl by day, and just like thunder and lightning excitement follows everywhere she goes by night. The freedom she enjoys is the envy of all her girls. They live vicariously through her stories on their monthly Friday Night Feasts. But this freedom has cost her something great. Something she isn't willing to share with the others. Some hot news tip is about to explode and it will have this news reporter running for cover even from her own news station.

Stay tuned tomorrow to read an excerpt from my current WIP "Is The Grass Really Greener," and a preview of "HOT TINA" in action.

JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

RANDOM RAMBLINGS...JUSTIFIED FORCE OR POLICE BRUTALITY?

There was an outcry against the APD (Atlanta Police Department) yesterday when residents of a Northeast Atlanta neighborhood witnessed the beating of a man police were attempting to take into custody. Apparently the police were present to arrest one man for an unrelated situation (according to another news report) and when another gentleman approached them on how they were handling the man, attention turned his way.

 Cell phone video poured into newsrooms in Atlanta to show how the situation quickly escalated out of control. I have included the link to the video below. Unfortunately, scenarios such as the one depicted in the video are not new; however, the amount of reports and attention that they receive are on the rise. As I viewed the video I questioned in my mind how the scene could have been different? I have known people to be involved in situations, such as the one depicted below and where it is easy to make a judgment call, it is not always that simple. If you closely watch the video you notice there are not any residents approaching the officers. Some are clearly speaking out but they are not creating any form of physical interference or disturbance. So they had the situation under control with no threat from residents. And while some may say the man was resisting arrest, what many people do not take into account is that there are some out there that know their rights. And if the man was simply speaking out against the tactics they used in handling someone else, it does not justify their right to arrest him, let alone use physical force. Some of the information I am including came from other news reports not just the one seen here.
 We always hear about how police have to use certain force to protect themselves because they have dangerous jobs. I can understand and appreciate that, but I don't buy that in all situations. I have seen too many times were police have intentionally provoked people to get a rise out of them so they can arrest the person or use intimidation, or physical force against the individuals. And most of these situations were not justified.
One incident involved a young man leaving work where he was suddenly surrounded by several Fulton County police cars in the parking lot of the young man's job. He was said to have fit the description of a black man in the area who had just robbed an elderly white lady. Although he had a co-worker with him confirming they had just left the job, and the police officers went into the job to confirm the statements, they continued to harass him to the point of ripping the man's coat. Another incident involved family members at an emotional murder trial of their loved one. Separating themselves for a moment to collect their emotions, they were followed by a member of the police force (to ensure they kept themselves under control), as they gathered to discuss the happenings of the trial at that point. The officer asked one of the family members to come here. The family member approached the officer and the officer stated the man was not allowed to come back into the trial, because he had supposedly created a disturbance. (The so called disturbance was in reference to a question the family member had asked one of the officers on the scene. She had changed her statement and was giving out false information {later verified it was false} to a witness at the scene.) The original officer became aggressive and hostile to the point of garnering more police presence and threatening family members that they were going to Taser them. At that point the only thing that stopped the issue from escalating out of control was the gathering crowd of onlookers threatening the police that they would submit their cell phone footage to every social media outlet and news network there was if they used force against these family members. You see, these onlookers were watching and videoing from the start. This was a situation that clearly did not warrant that type of attention the police were bringing.
While I was not a witness to what happened on yesterday it really started me to thinking how this type of action is becoming all too common especially in the City of Atlanta. I lived in Cincinnati for 6 years, and I recall at one point police brutality in urban areas escalated so far out of control that when one young man Timothy Thomas, was shot in the back and killed while running away from the police, the citizens of downtown Cincinnati rioted. This resulted in a citywide curfew for an extensive period of time. As the man states in this video, when you are bent over people will ride you, until you stand up. Where does violence stop and where does justice began? Was the force really justified or is it a matter of police brutality? My issue is that it seemingly happens in the urban communities all too often and no one does anything about it. Why? Because often these residents do not have the power, connections, money, or knowledge to do something about it. They also lack the resources to tell their side of the story, whereas the local police departments have the know-how and connections to twist the story in their favor. Whether this results from a lack of education, or a consequence of oppression I cannot say. But what I do know is that every human life should be valued.
Why didn’t they try to subdue the man instead of beating him? Watch the video with a clear and discerning eye...justified force or police brutality? You be the judge.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21926137/protester

JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

BOOK SPOTLIGHT...A FAMILY AFFAIR

www.femalefirst.co.uk 
 Can you imagine uncovering a secret that is so devastating it shakes you to your core and makes you question who you are? A secret so painful that you no longer trust anything around you anymore and nothing is what it appears to be? That's what happens to Christine Blacksworth in Mary Campisi's "A Family Affair." Raised in a privileged Chicago family among the city's elite, Christine has led a sheltered life and received nothing but the best from her mother and father. Suffering and pain has not been a part of her life, but when her father is killed in a car accident on his way home from one of his monthly getaways to Magdalena, NY her suffering is just about to begin.

Christine discovers a hidden secret at the reading of her father's will. Her journey to uncover the truth leads to a mistress her father has kept hidden all these years and a half-sister she has not known about. Christine is determined to hate the woman and her daughter, but innocence and love begins prickling at her icy exterior to warm her heart and she can no longer turn away from two of the people who meant the most to her father in life. As she learns more about them she learns more about the man her father really was, a man few people in life truly knew. And it just might do her a little good as she finds love along the way.

This story was a hard to read for me at first because I too, just like Christine had determined to dislike the mistress and daughter. But as Ms. Campisi weaves the story of a man desperate to be free from society's expectations and the trappings of wealth, and one simple woman who understands him, you cannot help but be pulled in by their characters. In her powerful storytelling she allows us to gain a glimpse into the heart and soul of Christine's "real family" that she has grown up with all these years.

As a daughter you feel Christine's pain and even envy that a father could possibly have another child who knows more about your father than you did. As a woman you feel the anger that any woman would have towards a husband's mistress and other child. But as a reader, when you glimpse the truth about his "real family" your heart will be drawn in towards his "secret family" and all that comes with them. When I first read the cover and how Ms. Campisi purposed to write the story I too wandered what would make a man build an entirely separate and secret life. How could a husband and father hurt those he claims to love and care about like that? And while there are many explanations that could answer this question, she gave an excellent perspective into one particular answer to that question and provide readers some understanding into the mind of a man living two separate lives.

This was an excellent love story. You can read a sample excerpt by visiting the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Affair-Truth-Lies-ebook/dp/B004OL2OKK#


JUST LIVIN' MY DREAMS,C. MICHELLE RAMSEYwww.cmichelleramsey.com

MOTIVATING MONDAY_

First let me start by saying "Happy Birthday Mommy!" That wonderful lady who brought me into this world is celebrating another Fabulous Year! I love you.

As I thought about what my inspirational quote would be for this Monday morning various thoughts ran through my head. My husband looked at me and said, "there are plenty of inspirational stories out there," and I told him that I knew but I was looking for that special one. He simply said, "you woke up this morning."

At first I looked at him with disbelief. I got what he was say but I didn't get what he was saying to me, but it really is so simple. Just because we were blessed with another day of breath, we have the opportunity to make it better than yesterday. I recall an elderly man telling me years ago that he never allows his feet to touch the floor in the morning without first praising God for another day of breath in his body. I simply want to say "Thank you Lord for this Motivational Monday and allowing me and everyone out there to be blessed with another day of life, health, and abundant strength."

Go forward and be the best you that you can be. Motivate someone this morning.
Be blessed!

JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. MICHELLE RAMSEYwww.cmichelleramsey.com

MOTIVATING MONDAY_YOU

© Orest | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images  
"If you believe in yourself there is nowhere you can’t go, nothing you can’t do, nothing you can’t achieve. It doesn’t start with dealing with those people out there, but it starts with dealing with you in here." MARVIN RAMSEY SR. My husband is a thinker and his perspective on this saying is that when you deal with your emotions and place them in perspective you are empowered to handle the outside world accordingly. When you know yourself you are capable of seeing more clearly what needs to be done, what you don't need within your life, and the paths you must travel to get to where you are going. He also taught me that sometimes learning to deal with yourself can be the most challenging part of your walk in this life but also the most required part. When you have to deal with the aspects of yourself that you do not care for, your fears, doubts, and flaws it can become overwhelming and easy to point the finger at others.
Yet, when you look beyond the smoke screen and look into your heart and deal with what you have in there you are then empowered to deal with the world and be who God meant you to be.
 JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. MICHELLE RAMSEYwww.cmichelleramsey.com

RANDOM RAMBLINGS...WHY DO WE TEAR DOWN OUR LOVED ONES?

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Motivated, inspired, encouraged, uplifted, praised, life-giving, strengthened, empowered. These are more than just words, they are feelings, feelings that we seek from one another. But why is it that so often we fail to give this back to our loved ones? Everyone is always competing against one another and trying to one up their brother or sister, attempting to make him or her feel less than. If someone performs an act, something as simple as a dance move, you can best believe that there is someone waiting in the wings to frown upon his or her accomplishment or action. There will be someone waiting in the shadows to speak a negative word against what that person has just done or waiting to tell the person how it can be done better or it wasn't as good as someone else's action or accomplishment. We see it amongst "friends," co-workers, and worst of all among family. Family can cause the most damage because you really do care what one another think and how one another feels.

Why is this? Why do we feel the need to tear down another person rather than building him or her up? Oftentimes we hide behind the excuse that "Oh, I just want him to be the best that he can be," or "I know that she can do it better and I'm trying to tell her what's best for her." This would be fine if it were done occasionally and in an effort to look out for the other person's best interests. However, more often than not that's not the motivation behind the words. If it were then when someone says "hey, why do you always try to make me feel less than," or "why are you always correcting me," then the offending party would not take the defensive. Instead they would answer in love their true reasoning behind the corrective words, understand they are hurting the other person, and stop doing it. Unfortunately, this usually does not happen but what does happen is the offending party all of a sudden becomes offended that his or her words were not taken in a positive manner. The offending party goes on the defense with an argument of how he was only trying to help.

The real motivation behind these actions and words lie within the person speaking them. I believe more often than not it is a low self-esteem issue. The party speaking those words generally does not feel good about himself and because of his self-consciousness and insecurities he chooses to project his feelings about himself on the party that he is degrading. Continuing in this manner is toxic to the relationship we hold with these individuals as well as to ourselves. We tear down the other person's self esteem by constantly putting him down. Eventually if a person continues to go through something long enough he will begin to either believe this about himself, and feel that he is just not good enough, or he will began to resent the relationship he has with the offending party. This behavior also serves to weaken the other party.

As people we have to learn to strengthen each other by lifting one another up through words that speak life, words that encourage, words that motivate and inspire. This does not happen when we put someone down; instead we build up walls of defense, harm their self-belief, and destroy our own integrity in the process. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

We must learn to deal with those issues and this can be done by understanding our own true issues. My husband always says "we have enough issues of our own, that we don't have time to worry about someone else's." And this is so true as people individually we all come with our own faults and issues. If we continue to work on our own (and we will never be perfect) then we truly don't have time to negate someone else's behaviors or actions. The second thing we must do is accept our own errors and issues. Understanding that we are mere mortals we will began to take steps towards accepting our flaws and working toward corrective actions. As we learn to laugh at our silly mistakes, accept responsibility, and learn from all of the mistakes we make, we can grow as individuals. It will help us to accept the flaws that we see in other people and empower us to lift them up and motivate them.

Inspiration, motivation, encouragement, praise, strength, life, and empowerment are essential to us as a people. For without it how are we expected to move forward in a positive direction individually or as a group? For after all regardless of how much we deny it, we need one another. I need you and you need me.
 JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. MICHELLE RAMSEY To learn more about me and my works please visit me @ the following link:
www.cmichelleramsey.com

BOOK SPOTLIGHT...HOSTILE WITNESS

www.smashwords.com 
Josie Baylor-Bates has stepped off the fast track as a high profile criminal defense attorney and is representing the residents of the beachfront city of Hermosa Beach, California in small cases. She has completely wiped her hands clean of the kinds of cases she once took under her wing and isn't turning back. At least that's her plan until an old college friend, Linda Rayburn, shows up at her door pleading for her assistance.

Linda's daughter, sixteen-year-old Hannah Sheraton has been charged with the murder of her step-grandfather, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, Fritz Rayburn. And she's certain that the only one that can help them is Josie. At first Josie is reluctant to step back into the arena of high profile criminal defense cases. She has had her fair share of the spotlight and it has come at some great costs to herself and others. She's unwilling to take that kind of risk again...until she meets Hannah and realizes the girl needs her, even if momentarily.

Josie has made up her mind to assist in the preliminaries of the case up to a certain point but as she continues to step out further into the waters she realizes there's no going back. It's either sink or swim because Hannah has no one she can depend on except Josie. When Hannah is charged as an adult Josie decides to take the case on much to the chagrin of her imminent law partner. As she jeopardizes her career and upcoming partnership Josie finds enemies coming at her out of the wood work in some unexpected places. Every corner she turns she realizes that there are many reasons and people who would have wanted Justice Rayburn dead and some of those reasons point to home.

Riddled with familial strife, hints of political corruption, and legal divisions this criminal suspense will keep you entertained as you learn more about the characters portrayed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; however, I was able to solve the "who" of the suspense early on, it didn't leave me guessing for long. And that part was somewhat disappointing to me because I like to be surprised by finding out it was the person I least expected. The only part that I was unsure of was the "why" of the book and was quite thrilled to learn towards the end that I had not guessed that part. It was filled with drama and capable of wringing out every emotion you possess (which I love) and the characters will keep you engaged until the end. If you are a lover of suspense, I suggest you check out this legal thriller, Rebecca Forster will keep you entertained and wanting more.


JUST LIVIN' MY DREAMS,C. MICHELLE RAMSEYFor more about me and my works please visit me at the link below:
www.cmichelleramsey.com

MOTIVATING MONDAY_LIVING LIFE

© Kts | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images "Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it."~ David Guy Powers
 Daily we are blessed with new opportunities to make the day better than the one before. We may not know what the day holds or the potential challenges that will arise as the day goes on, but within ourselves we hold the power to make it the best that it can be. This power influences our attitudes and our choices. We have the choice to implement a positive attitude even in the midst of negativity. We have the choice to embrace every day and live it to the fullest by being alive (or fully present mentally) in the moment and experiencing the feelings, sensations, and relationships that come our way. We have a choice to rise above the evil that is all around us and within us and shine a positive light that influences others. When we're challenged we have the power to rise to the challenge, heads up and keep moving forward. So what if you're thrown off track a little by a challenge? It doesn't have to stop your day from being the best day you can create. A twist of attitude, a spirit of thankfulness, and embracing challenges with a victor's perspective brings new life to every day. We are blessed with this one life, live it to the fullest by being the best you that you can be, letting nothing stop you from shining that positive light of love, power, and peace. JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. MICHELLE RAMSEYwww.cmichelleramsey.com  

SHANIA_CHARACTER REVIEW

Shania is a character in my first book "Reflections of Promises." She's the older sister of someone in the book, whose identity will remain undisclosed at this time. She is the stereotypical older, bossy sister who has helped raise her younger siblings. It may be this issue that has resulted in her becoming the self-conscious and insecure woman that she is. This flaw in her character does not impede the love that she has for her family, but it has allowed her to build up walls of self-defense for self-protection. Or maybe it results from actions that she has taken that may be viewed as harming certain family members? In this scene Shania is in the kitchen with her husband having a conversation about a serious issue in their lives...


“So have you gotten it all out of your system now?” Shania asked standing behind her husband who stood staring into the abyss of their refrigerator. 

“Gotten what out of my system?” Terrence asked obviously distracted. He didn’t realize how close Shania had gotten to him until he turned around with a jar of jelly in his hands.  “Damn it! Why are you standing that close to me like that girl?” he shouted after dropping the jar and breaking it on the tile floor. 

“You think I don’t know Terrence?” Shania asked moving out of his way and backing out of the kitchen. 

Terrence grabbed some paper towels and dampened them to clean the jelly off the floor and the cabinets where they had landed.  

Shania flinched when he snatched the bag out of her hand to place the glass shards of the jelly jar in. 

“That you’re still in love with her?” she said softly.

“What are you talking about Shania…who am I still in love with?”

For more information on Reflections of Promises please visit me @ www.cmichelleramsey.com
or visit the links below:

http://www.amazon.com/Reflections-of-Promises-ebook/dp/B008F5LS0I

http://bookstore.booktango.com/Products/SKU-000590124/Reflections-of-Promises.aspx

JUST LIVIN' MY DREAMSC. MICHELLE RAMSEYwww.cmichelleramsey.com