There's some big rumblings over on book funnel with massive giveaways. Want to find your new favorite series? How about your new favorite author? Check out these promos.
Like Sci-fi and Fantasy? Check out all the books here
Like your Sci-Fi and Fantasy with a little royal intrigue? This is the link for you
Are you a romance fan? ;Here's your hot and steamy reads
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Child of Fire, Child of Ice is Volume One in the exciting new Sci-Fi Romance series, The Waljan Chronicles. Be one of 100 people to win a copy by joining here. Volume two will be out sometimes this month and audio books to follow
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Saturday, April 21, 2018
A new short story by Samantha James
Today, I have for you a short story by Samantha James. Samantha is a blogger and writer. She also does interviews several writers for her blog, including yours truly. This is a short story that is part of a trilogy and you can read it here.
WHEN CORDELIA ALVIN MET COLE
Monday, April 16, 2018
No, a pit bull is not a death machine
I recently saw a comment on a facebook post that all pit bull should be banned because they are automatically going to kill everything they come into contact with. I have a huge problem with that as a rescue worker and a pit bull owner.
The thing is, every time you read about a deadly dog attack and you see pit bull attached to it, this could have gone several ways. Pit bull is not really a recognized breed. Most of the time, they are identified visually by several characteristics, like blocky heads, weight range, and coat type. My pit bull? Was stolen from a guy running a dog fighting right. Has a big, beautiful blocky head. Wrong body type and wrong coat. My pit bull is tall and willowy, not short and squat and she has a different coat than what you would call a "purebred" pit bull. She's still listed as a pit bull mix at the vet, I call her a pit bull, and anyone that looks at her would see pit bull.
So, where does a shelter dog with a slightly blocky head fit in? Unless you get a DNA test, someone is going to look at the blocky head and call it a pit bull. You could walk into the shelter and adopt a lab mix on paper then find yourself with an eviction notice unless you get rid of your dog because something about it screams pit bull to someone. You're shit out of luck unless you get a DNA test and even then, that may not work.
I was bit by a dog while working in a pet store. The dog looked like yellow lab mix to me. Nothing about the dog said pit bull. BUT apparently before the dog bit me, he lunged at several employees. I'm not even going to comment on his owner not getting him out the store after that, but the dog lunged at my face and got my thumb. Everyone the dog lunged at call him a pit bull. Me, who got bit, saw a yellow lab mix and this was years before I ever adopted a pit bull.
There's also this horrible thing going on with breeding dogs right now and pit bulls are included in this. People are combining random breeds to call them hypoallergenic and charging tons of money for essentially a mutt. My other dog was adopted at a rescue. I was told he was a mix. One day, I randomly google his mix and came across his designer hybrid name and a ton of bizarre looking dogs that look like mine. "But JB, they are breeding for temperament and coat!"
Trust me, there was no valid reason to put together the two breeds my little dog is. My vet probably hates me when I bring him in for his dental cleanings because he's too bowlegged to get a vein and he's got an under bite. But he's MY dog and I think he's fucking adorable. I'll face punch you if you tell him he's weird looking to his face. He's already neurotic enough and spent 6 months on Prozac.
They are also doing the same thing with the bully breed. Breeding bulldogs with pits and various other dogs to get a short, squat, muscular dog. You've also got the issue of "status dogs". People who buy pit bulls and various other dogs because they "look scary" or make the owner look macho or whatever the fuck they are trying to achieve. When I was working at a pet store, years ago, someone came up to me and asked me for a supplement to make his dog big and muscular. Making a dog big and muscular is a lot like making a human big and muscular and I told this to him. He proceeds to ask questions looking for a quick, easy fix for a buff dog to walk by his side. I told him there is no shortcut. I explained he could supplement eggs, meats, and proteins into the dog's diet, but he would still have to exercise him. Dude proceeds to ask me where the eggs are......in the middle of the pet store.
Where am I going with all of this? Pit pull identification is largely visual. With all the cross breeding and horrible things we are doing to dogs so that they fit some sort of perfect visual we have in our heads, whether it be teacup and fit in your purse or large enough to compensate for something you're lacking in, you could very well read a story about a pit bull attack and the dog has 0 pit bull. The dog was simply given that breed because it bit and it fit certain visual criteria.
My pit mix was stolen from a fighting ring when she was a puppy before she ended up at the rescue, then with me. Does that make her automatically aggressive? No. My little designer hybrid is 15 lbs smaller than her. She loves toys and he does not. But he does like to take her toys away from her and sit on them so she can't play with them. Is there fighting over this? Nope. I know it's happened because I hear her wailing. She won't take them back from him.
She's not even a good guard dog. She doesn't bark when the doorbell rings or someone new comes over. The only time she barks is this high pitched, wailing bark in the morning because I'm too slow bringing her breakfast to her. I'm not even going to start when my cat wants to stand across the room and give her the stink eye. It involves wailing and her hiding under the bed. Puddles also totally ruin her day.
Do pit bulls attack sometimes? Yes. Do other dog breeds as well? Yes.
The thing is, every time you read about a deadly dog attack and you see pit bull attached to it, this could have gone several ways. Pit bull is not really a recognized breed. Most of the time, they are identified visually by several characteristics, like blocky heads, weight range, and coat type. My pit bull? Was stolen from a guy running a dog fighting right. Has a big, beautiful blocky head. Wrong body type and wrong coat. My pit bull is tall and willowy, not short and squat and she has a different coat than what you would call a "purebred" pit bull. She's still listed as a pit bull mix at the vet, I call her a pit bull, and anyone that looks at her would see pit bull.
So, where does a shelter dog with a slightly blocky head fit in? Unless you get a DNA test, someone is going to look at the blocky head and call it a pit bull. You could walk into the shelter and adopt a lab mix on paper then find yourself with an eviction notice unless you get rid of your dog because something about it screams pit bull to someone. You're shit out of luck unless you get a DNA test and even then, that may not work.
I was bit by a dog while working in a pet store. The dog looked like yellow lab mix to me. Nothing about the dog said pit bull. BUT apparently before the dog bit me, he lunged at several employees. I'm not even going to comment on his owner not getting him out the store after that, but the dog lunged at my face and got my thumb. Everyone the dog lunged at call him a pit bull. Me, who got bit, saw a yellow lab mix and this was years before I ever adopted a pit bull.
There's also this horrible thing going on with breeding dogs right now and pit bulls are included in this. People are combining random breeds to call them hypoallergenic and charging tons of money for essentially a mutt. My other dog was adopted at a rescue. I was told he was a mix. One day, I randomly google his mix and came across his designer hybrid name and a ton of bizarre looking dogs that look like mine. "But JB, they are breeding for temperament and coat!"
Trust me, there was no valid reason to put together the two breeds my little dog is. My vet probably hates me when I bring him in for his dental cleanings because he's too bowlegged to get a vein and he's got an under bite. But he's MY dog and I think he's fucking adorable. I'll face punch you if you tell him he's weird looking to his face. He's already neurotic enough and spent 6 months on Prozac.
They are also doing the same thing with the bully breed. Breeding bulldogs with pits and various other dogs to get a short, squat, muscular dog. You've also got the issue of "status dogs". People who buy pit bulls and various other dogs because they "look scary" or make the owner look macho or whatever the fuck they are trying to achieve. When I was working at a pet store, years ago, someone came up to me and asked me for a supplement to make his dog big and muscular. Making a dog big and muscular is a lot like making a human big and muscular and I told this to him. He proceeds to ask questions looking for a quick, easy fix for a buff dog to walk by his side. I told him there is no shortcut. I explained he could supplement eggs, meats, and proteins into the dog's diet, but he would still have to exercise him. Dude proceeds to ask me where the eggs are......in the middle of the pet store.
Where am I going with all of this? Pit pull identification is largely visual. With all the cross breeding and horrible things we are doing to dogs so that they fit some sort of perfect visual we have in our heads, whether it be teacup and fit in your purse or large enough to compensate for something you're lacking in, you could very well read a story about a pit bull attack and the dog has 0 pit bull. The dog was simply given that breed because it bit and it fit certain visual criteria.
My pit mix was stolen from a fighting ring when she was a puppy before she ended up at the rescue, then with me. Does that make her automatically aggressive? No. My little designer hybrid is 15 lbs smaller than her. She loves toys and he does not. But he does like to take her toys away from her and sit on them so she can't play with them. Is there fighting over this? Nope. I know it's happened because I hear her wailing. She won't take them back from him.
She's not even a good guard dog. She doesn't bark when the doorbell rings or someone new comes over. The only time she barks is this high pitched, wailing bark in the morning because I'm too slow bringing her breakfast to her. I'm not even going to start when my cat wants to stand across the room and give her the stink eye. It involves wailing and her hiding under the bed. Puddles also totally ruin her day.
Do pit bulls attack sometimes? Yes. Do other dog breeds as well? Yes.
Monday, April 9, 2018
My Neighbors #satire. BRB moving to Florida
I was recently reading my side bar on Facebook. A woman in Florida was stopped by a cop and they found cocaine in her purse. Her response? "It's a windy day. The wind probably blew it into my bag." I just sat there like, that's beautiful. I hate participation trophies, but give her a big one. Then, it hit me. Every time I see some weird news story, it's almost always in Florida.
Maybe I need to move to Florida. Maybe that's where my tribe is.
My townhouse is literally on a tiny side street. There's only one way in and only people who own or rent townhouses live on that street. One would think with a limited number of people on my street, it would be quiet, but that is not the case.
Condo to my right has been a revolving door of crazy. Newest resident killed all the flowers in my flowerbed her second day here and erected a religious statue for a religion I don't follow to hang out with my Buddhas. She frequently likes to decorate my flowerbed for holidays, but does nothing with her own.
Neighbor to the left has decided I'm a shut in because I work strange hours from home now. Newest resident to the right gets up to some sort of voodoo, it doesn't matter what room I'm in there's thumping and slamming through the walls and her dog is constantly crying.
One fine Sunday, I'm relaxing, watching Netflix. Whatever shit show is going on next door has MY dogs upset. Now, most normal people would just knock on my door if they heard my dogs barking when they usually never hear them. (My bedroom window was open). Did that happen? Nope.
Neighbor to the left couldn't knock himself. He jumps to the conclusion that just because HE hadn't seen me outside (I'm out walking my dogs, taking out the trash, or running errands on any given day) that my dogs must gave been barking OVER MY CORPSE.
So, the fire department broke down my back door. I go flying downstairs in time to see my back door flying open and an army of people in my backyard. It is my day off, so I'm currently sporting pajamas and "I've been hit by the garbage truck" chic. I've got some lady taking his word over mine and asking me stupid questions about if I know what day it is and what the date is and NO ONE IS ANSWERING WHO IS FIXING MY FUCKING DOOR!
That's not the most fucked up thing in the 12 years I've been living here, but it's the first that's damaged my personal property. So, The Neighbors, A Totally True Parody will be coming soon. There will be corrupt HOA members, HOA members harboring unregistered sex offenders right next to a school, a few disgruntled renters that decided to rob, neighborly violence, a booty call that ended in death, and a few other fucked up things that happened since I bought this place.
I'll probably end up making all of them pod people or cannibals because there cannot be this much crazy on one small street without a logical explanation like aliens
Maybe I need to move to Florida. Maybe that's where my tribe is.
My townhouse is literally on a tiny side street. There's only one way in and only people who own or rent townhouses live on that street. One would think with a limited number of people on my street, it would be quiet, but that is not the case.
Condo to my right has been a revolving door of crazy. Newest resident killed all the flowers in my flowerbed her second day here and erected a religious statue for a religion I don't follow to hang out with my Buddhas. She frequently likes to decorate my flowerbed for holidays, but does nothing with her own.
Neighbor to the left has decided I'm a shut in because I work strange hours from home now. Newest resident to the right gets up to some sort of voodoo, it doesn't matter what room I'm in there's thumping and slamming through the walls and her dog is constantly crying.
One fine Sunday, I'm relaxing, watching Netflix. Whatever shit show is going on next door has MY dogs upset. Now, most normal people would just knock on my door if they heard my dogs barking when they usually never hear them. (My bedroom window was open). Did that happen? Nope.
Neighbor to the left couldn't knock himself. He jumps to the conclusion that just because HE hadn't seen me outside (I'm out walking my dogs, taking out the trash, or running errands on any given day) that my dogs must gave been barking OVER MY CORPSE.
So, the fire department broke down my back door. I go flying downstairs in time to see my back door flying open and an army of people in my backyard. It is my day off, so I'm currently sporting pajamas and "I've been hit by the garbage truck" chic. I've got some lady taking his word over mine and asking me stupid questions about if I know what day it is and what the date is and NO ONE IS ANSWERING WHO IS FIXING MY FUCKING DOOR!
That's not the most fucked up thing in the 12 years I've been living here, but it's the first that's damaged my personal property. So, The Neighbors, A Totally True Parody will be coming soon. There will be corrupt HOA members, HOA members harboring unregistered sex offenders right next to a school, a few disgruntled renters that decided to rob, neighborly violence, a booty call that ended in death, and a few other fucked up things that happened since I bought this place.
I'll probably end up making all of them pod people or cannibals because there cannot be this much crazy on one small street without a logical explanation like aliens
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Bette, Unscripted. A new #metoo book
Most of my ideas for books come either while I'm sleeping or while I can't sleep. Bette, Unscripted came to me during a night of frustrated not sleeping after watching both twitter and facebook comment on the #metoos that were popping up and people defending Roy Moore. I was reading all sorts of things like "if that REALLY happened, they would have spoken up right away, not 20 years later." "Rape culture is not real." "If woman want to be taken seriously about this, they shouldn't dress a certain way" Essentially a bunch of horseshit blaming victims and not the fact that we have a broken system here. Brock Turner, anyone?
Here's a story. Someone tried to attack me when I was alone at my job. Locked me in the building and tried to corner me. Let's just say in the future, he won't assume small girls are easy targets. He ran out the back door when my manager unlocked the front. We had his name, address, and phone number because he's apparently as dumb as what I scoop out my litter box. My manager and I reported it right there. A cop came and interviewed me and we provided him with all his info.
The guy locked me in the building with every intention of raping me. He didn't get charge with false imprisonment or attempted rape. He got charged with simple battery because he touched me when I didn't want him to. If they could actually locate him with the information provided, he would get a citation and a fine. So, essentially, this guy is still walking the streets to do this to someone else and I got fired for being "distracting" to the workers.
And Brock Turner and his shit head father? They want the charges dropped totally because HE'S suffered enough. Seeing a pattern here? In the case of your boss or someone in the position to ruin your career, there's logic in safety in numbers like we are seeing in the #metoo movement.
myBook.to/betteunscripted">Bette, Unscripted
came to me while I was stewing on all of that. Some of it was personal experience, some was the news, some was just me fantasizing about a world where the chickens eventually come to roost and there's some fighting to heal there. It went to some darker places than I originally intended, but I like where it did end up going. Not every story is this extreme or ends this way, but I told the story I wanted to tell.
Here's a story. Someone tried to attack me when I was alone at my job. Locked me in the building and tried to corner me. Let's just say in the future, he won't assume small girls are easy targets. He ran out the back door when my manager unlocked the front. We had his name, address, and phone number because he's apparently as dumb as what I scoop out my litter box. My manager and I reported it right there. A cop came and interviewed me and we provided him with all his info.
The guy locked me in the building with every intention of raping me. He didn't get charge with false imprisonment or attempted rape. He got charged with simple battery because he touched me when I didn't want him to. If they could actually locate him with the information provided, he would get a citation and a fine. So, essentially, this guy is still walking the streets to do this to someone else and I got fired for being "distracting" to the workers.
And Brock Turner and his shit head father? They want the charges dropped totally because HE'S suffered enough. Seeing a pattern here? In the case of your boss or someone in the position to ruin your career, there's logic in safety in numbers like we are seeing in the #metoo movement.
myBook.to/betteunscripted">Bette, Unscripted
came to me while I was stewing on all of that. Some of it was personal experience, some was the news, some was just me fantasizing about a world where the chickens eventually come to roost and there's some fighting to heal there. It went to some darker places than I originally intended, but I like where it did end up going. Not every story is this extreme or ends this way, but I told the story I wanted to tell.
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