About Night Before Day

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thinking...hmmmm

Sometimes you come across some things that make you go....hmmmm. And these RSA Animate definitely do that for me. If you have 11 minutes (per video) take a look at what could joggle your mind.

Motivations

I really like this about the surprising truth about what motivates us. It makes you really thing about things...


Changing Education Paradigms
I also like this one about the education system and wonder WHY something hasn't changed yet. Some things just move so, so slow.



Thanks for stopping bye!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Let's talk about sex!

Quoting Salt 'N' Pepper

Let's talk about sex, baby
Let's talk about you and me
Let's talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be
Let's talk about sex

....

Let's talk about sex for now to the people at home or in the crowd
It keeps coming up anyhow....



Yes, it keeps coming up anyhow.

Growing up, some people wondered why sex was such a driving factor in young people's lives...especially under 13 years of age. "Maybe she/he was sexually abused...?" they wonder.

Nope.

"How did he/she know about this so young?"

Doesn't everyone?

One of my favorite quotes is from the Science Fiction TV Series, Farscape

CHIANA: “So…why are all the little girls wearing all those clothes?”
BOBBY: “Because they see it on the TV, and in all the magazines.”
CHIANA: “But "somebody" sold them the clothes…so "somebody" wants them to have sex!”


We are exposed to sex early. We even teach our 2 and 3 year olds about "Good touches" and "Bad touches". We do this to protect them, so they learn the proper ethics in society--that's a part of society.

Sex has many faces:
authority over another, survival of the fittest, accumulation of wealth, personal connection, binding relationships, Hell and Purgatory, spiritual enlightenment, pleasure/honey of the flesh, a rite of passage, symbols of a country, a nation, a land...art.

And it's all a part of society.

To match the definitions of the above list, is this list:

Phallic symbols/Phallic amulets (Rome, Pompeii)
Romeo and Juliet (Hmm...at 13 yrs...at least Juliet was...a different time, I know)
Geisha/Concubine/Courtesan
Chocolate
The Oldest Profession
Greek Roman Fertility Rituals
Marilyn Monroe
Lambada
The Birth of Venus/The Sleeping Venus
Kama Sutra
The size of feet


Sex is right up there with violence (see Embarrassed about watching Hentai?)...and it's ALL AROUND US.

The Bad Side of Sex

Bad things happen. We make bad decision. We do things because of it. All and all, if you survive, and name and face what it is, you will become empowered.

I, for one, need to fight in my own way...writing.

Quills (2000)
If I wasn't such a bad woman on the page, I couldn't be such a good woman in life.

That's a funny quote. I love it! LOL!

In my stories, characters are taken advantage of--it's in the grey area where it's not detrimental to one's life, where they don't go into depression and/or have nightmares everlasting. The physical act thrust upon them (no pun intended) becomes a stain on their lives. From that, they form a path, a path of power. And I hope that readers can see that from my writing.

I use sex a lot. It's a tool to bring more emotion out of the story, as well as something fun that I like to write about. I don't consider the scenes to be too much like erotica, but more like romantica--something between erotic and romance--an erotic romance--Romantica!

I quote Daisy Harris
Erotica describes an individual’s journey in the context of sexual encounters, and erotic romance describes two or more people’s journey in the context of a sexual relationship.

Is Romantica someone's fantasy? For some. But, it's also someone's way of life, someone's past, someone's future, someone's decision, someone's fear, someone's hatred, someone's goal, someone's power.

And all of it pertains to sex.

The Good Side of Sex

There's more things in life besides sex? Sure there is. You can say the same thing about eating, money, and surviving. Sex is just one of many aspects of life....that has a big piece of the pie ;)

In film, it becomes a part of the fun, like in Porky's (1982) and Sex and the City (TV Series 1998 until 2004 and Films 2008 and 2010). We have Danielle Steel. We have all those powerful women in the "profession" who counselled great men. We have the statue of David. We have each other (wouldn't be here if the egg didn't meet that sperm...or is it the other way around). It's enjoyable. It's beautiful. It's love.

All In All

You don't have to read it, or watch it, or write it...just like violence, you can try to avoid it as much as possible, but somehow, someway, sometime, someday, it's gonna come at your door--within an inch or a mile. It's in our lives. It created us.

You can either rule it or have it rule over you.

I don't know about you, but I when I'm backed into a corner, I show my fangs!


Until Next Time!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Authors Do Read Your Reviews

If you're wondering if Authors read your comments and reviews of their books, the answer is YES!  I'm not sure of Authors who have thousands of fans, but for those who can not make a complete living with just writing books, being connected to the Readers is important.

They most likely will not comment on negative reviews, however, because those who do, it usually just ends up in a mess. Even stating something like, "I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the book" comes out wrong. It's just best to let people have their own opinions. One can not please everyone. So, basically, you just have to think that the novel just wasn't for that person. Now emails...emails Authors can comment and send replies on, but not negative ones.

You ever want to hear what Authors talk about on forums? Take a look at KindleBoards.com. There is the Writer's Cafe forum where Authors who have published on Kindle talk and talk and talk. They also hang out at the NookBoards.com and AbsoluteWrite.com, as well as other places. You might not find those Big Name Authors, but you just might find a few that you enjoy reading, or even find a book you wouldn't normally read by looking at their signatures.

What do Authors Talk about?
Mostly about how to reach more Readers and what they're writing about currently, and what they wrote next on their blogs, and their next big promotion and Book Reviews and Book Giveaways, and how they really, really, really, really need to get back to writing their books LOL!

The forums are a fun place to hang out. Maybe I'll see you there sometime.

Later! :)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Venery!

According to Wikipedia
Venery can refer to the following:
The practice or sport of hunting game animals, or the wild animals so hunted.
The practice or pursuit of sexual pleasure, or the indulgence of sexual desire.

In my novel, The Made, that word is a combination of both of those definitions. It was a fun word to find and research, and it also helped me develop the novel around this definition.

Venery!


The Made is the first novel of a series of novels that totals four (4) books. Each novel reads independently, meaning, they don't have a "to be continued" type of thing (I hate those), but they are all related to the same world and same story.

The Made is my first baby--the first novel that I toiled and sweated over for years to get just right. I didn't mean for it to be as large as it was, but that's how it came out. And being that I have complete control over my creative expression, I can keep this length, which I really like. It tells a complete story as well as satisfies a long relationship between readers and characters.

The characters and scenes and...uh... sex, is all combined to flow with the story. I use sex a lot. It's a tool to bring more emotion out of the story, as well as something fun that I like to write about. I don't consider the scenes to be too much like erotica, but more like romantica--something between erotic and romance--an erotic romance--Romantica!.

I quote Daisy Harris
Erotica describes an individual’s journey in the context of sexual encounters, and erotic romance describes two or more people’s journey in the context of a sexual relationship.

I enjoy maps and I always wanted to have maps in my books. Thus, the Made has a map that I drew myself. Though several of my other books do not have maps, some will have something in them to reference the story, such as The 9th Symbol, which has a chart.

If you have any questions about my books, just give me a shout. I'm at deana@zhollis.com