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The Teenage Mind

As Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance said “Teenagers scare the living shit out of me.”

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Seriously, I am dealing with raging hormones, the princess attitude, a stressed out dance recital and an inconsiderate bf who swears he’s done nothing wrong. God help me. Apparently 16 is the magical age when everything is screwed up. I remember being 16…it sucked ass. I had a football player bf, neurotic parents and raging hormones. I was a mess. Now I watch my poor baby deal with stuff like that and try to remember what was like for me. I try to give advice, but not give too much. I think it is time for my baby to figure things out on her own. She has decided what kind of crap she will or will not put up with and how to deal with it. When she crashes, I sit and listen and hug and comfort. What else can I do? The precarious balance on her emotions must be held on to if she tips too far all hell breaks loose between she and I. Here’s to all the moms with teenage daughters and those with teenage boys, because honestly don’t they all have the same raging hormones and fragile emotions?

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Brigit Aine blogging today!!

Thanks for letting me take over today. I am excited about being here. This makes for a nice break from teaching, writing and ummm…well teaching and writing, oh…and teaching writing. I teach high school English and today they are writing an in-class essay. Which for the past few days I have had to teach how to do, this always amazes me.

As a Freshman English teacher I am always floored by how little writing experience the students have. Both formal and creative. I recently had them plot a murder. We were reading “The Most Dangerous Game” and in order to get them up for the General and Rainsford I thought they should do something intriguing themselves. This proved to be an almost impossible task for them. I worked hard to pull details from them, to simply get them to be creative. Honestly, they couldn’t do it. I was so surprised. The longest story I got was ¾ of a page, hand written. Some turned in single sentences.

It made me sad to think that the creativity had been driven out of them. Even more astonishing perhaps was their use (or lack) of grammar and spelling. I got text speak. I was appalled that they would even think this was okay to turn in. Even stepping back for a moment and thinking about what I know of teenagers (having 2 of my own) I couldn’t believe that they would feel it was okay to turn in a written paper to a teacher in text speak. This means that in my teaching of how to write an in-class essay I have had to include the lack of text speak. This actually concerned some of them because they don’t know how to spell out of text speak.

Explaining to students that “laugh out loud”, unless they were using it to describe how someone was doing the laughing, or that one character made another character “laugh out loud”, was unacceptable proved to be time-consuming and frustrating. I am just back in the classroom after being an administrator for 5 ½ years, so this was a new road.

With that said, I am now more appreciative of the voices in my own head clamoring to be heard. I am currently working on the finishing ½ of a story that is part of a collection called “Lost to the Night”. My story, “Prince of Shadows” is based off of Brian Froud’s oracle cards. Two of the cards spoke to me in a different way and so I am telling their story.

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“Lost to the Night” Volume 1 is out now with XOXO Publishing. You can find it at:

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-To-The-Night-ebook/dp/B006LOO75I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327522270&sr=8-1

You can find me at:

http://brigitsjournals.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/brigitaine

http://www.twitter.com/brigitsworld

I also have the following books/stories out:

“Red’s Return” Torrents Talents 1

“Cassie’s Awakening” Torrents Talents 2

“Kraig’s Kat” Torrents Talents 3

“Justice for Leanne”

Just Another Paranormal Halloween Anthology

Just Another Paranormal Christmas Anthology

Halloween Triad

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The Art of Zen

The art of zen is a lost thing, except to those trying to practice it. My husband is trying to practice Buddha’s teachings. He is understanding that things done on accident or purpose require apologies. He is learning to ask for forgiveness. Anyone that knows him well will know this is difficult for him as he has always be one to do and go and tell. He is learning the art of stillness and being sympathetic towards others, understanding them even though he may not agree with them. I am encouraging him to do so and to seek inner peace. He is reading Buddha in Blue Jeans for the third time and understanding more each time he reads. This is not his first zen/Buddhist teaching he has read. I am trying to find inner peace and happiness. This is our new outlook on the year. Our family doesn’t understand where we are coming from. As a general rule we are an angry, vengeful bunch. Seeking this new direction and asking for help when needed are really new for us. We want to, through our actions and examples, pass this on to others. We are not looking for redemption by any means, just a new understanding. My goal of peace comes in many forms. Knowledge expansion, jazz music and calm attitudes among many other things are leading our new path. I hope to put those who would intervene in this new enlightenment behind us. Please journey the path or happiness. It will set you free.

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Dreaming of Him by Wendy Ely

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My BFF and CP has a new book ouy Check it out!!

The dark brings romance…and death

Loneliness has clouded Amber Addaire’s life, but now she’s ready for a change. After a complete makeover still leaves her unhappy, it’s only when she starts dreaming of an oddly familiar – and extremely handsome – man that she begins to feel happiness.

Trace Elkson is a spirit stuck on earth long enough to let his childhood friend, Amber Addaire, know how much she meant to him before he died. He can’t tell her what he is, or that he’s watching over her. He can only communicate with her through her dreams and hopes she will eventually realize who he is.

In the dream realm, Amber falls in love with Trace but can she figure out who he is and join him before his spirit is forced to move on?

WARNING: A deep friendship, impending death, and a life saved.

Copyright 2011, Wendy Ely
All rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.

The sun had begun to sink behind the rippling water of the lake. My favorite time of the night had arrived, along with my favorite season–fall. The cool breeze made me snuggle deeper in my coat. I sat on the large rock, watching the moon glitter over the inky water. This place had been my favorite spot. Always the place I had gone when a problem chewed at my brain, since about age seven.

I felt him approach the rock, but didn’t turn toward him. My gaze stayed fixed on the grooves over the water’s surface. Even his sliding over the rock to sit next to me didn’t steal my attention. At that moment, he didn’t matter to me.

“Amber?”

“Mm hm?” My gaze remained on the lake before me. I had the sense that I had been in this exact situation before. But I didn’t know this man. I was certain of it, even though he felt familiar in a way I couldn’t put my finger on.

“What is bothering you?” He slid his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close, and I rested my head against his shoulder without hesitation.

“How do you know something is bothering me?” Tears of frustration threatened to spill.

“I know you, Amber.” He slid his fingers through my hair. “I can tell when you’re upset about something. What is it?”

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Was he someone I could trust? He must be. Being in his arms felt so right, even without knowing his name. “I’m trying to be someone I’m not.”

“I see.” He really didn’t. He couldn’t possibly understand what a fake life I lived outside of this dream. But he washed away the tension that had been bundling my nerves into tight bands.

“I don’t know what to do about it. That’s why I came here.”

“Because this is your favorite spot to think. Right?”

I pulled from the comfort of his arms. “How do you know that?”

“Because I know you, Amber Michelle Addaire.” He turned to me and clasped my hands in his. “I wish you would realize that.”

“But do I know you? What’s your name?”

His eyes. In each dream, those rich chocolate brown eyes drew me in as though I had once looked into them. Not in the dreams, either. In real life. Had I? Would he tell me this time?

“You’ll know soon enough. Sometimes rushing things ruins the situation. Time, my dear, is everything in this case. Give it all the time warranted.” He stood. “And Amber?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t worry about trying to be someone you’re not. Everyone does that once in awhile. It helps us discover who we really are.” A piece of hair fell down against his tanned forehead as it had the first time he’d joined me at the lake.

The man of my dreams disappeared then, leaving me sitting alone on the rock.

I woke up with a start. Why had he just left willingly this time? It wasn’t as if I had somewhere to go. Saturday morning had arrived, meaning I could sleep in all day. And be with him in my dreams. But nope. He had to disappear, leaving me to wake up in the dreary bedroom, dreading the day ahead.

There really wasn’t any reason to dread the day, either. Things weren’t so bad in my life. Many people in the world had it a lot worse than me, so why couldn’t I see it like that? I tried, damn it, but couldn’t.

Written by: Wendy Ely

Buy it here!!

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Sunday

Have u ever had a moment when u feel so uncomfortable in the midst of a conversation u want to remove yourself from it all together? That happened to me today. Usually I would sit and endure and just say nothing. Today I politely excused myself and took myself out of the situation. I feel as though I am finally adult enough to judge what situations are bet for my continued happiness and state of less stress I am trying to achieve. In my opinion from now on if I am in a situation like this I will remove myself from it. Sometimes I have to put my own well being over that of others.

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Tired Thursday

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Have u ever had a span of time where you just can’t seem to get ahead no matter what u do? That is so where I am. I can’t focus or relax, I just keep contemplating all the crap I haven’t done. For instance, a few short examples, I can’t seem to read the proof copies of The Mating Moon and Bound by Darkness. I can’t seem to get my work people to leave me alone while I’m on vacation. I can’t seem to get my CP’s books formatted for print. And I can’t seem to get ahead enough to get my two new books published! Agh! I’m so aggravated. I’m at the point that I’m just exhausted. I napped on and off all day. I over stressed yesterday and ended up super sick with pain and a migraine today. Fun, fun stuff. I don’t know whether to just relax or attempt to get this stuff done before my vacation is over. Ideas? Suggestions??

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SOPA blackout

I think Rose says it best!

Good Morning Fellow Authors, Readers, Internet users,
Many years ago, there was a pastor by the name of Martin Niemoller who wrote this memorable piece about the Nazi’s:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I was Protestant.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
What I am about to say isn’t about Nazis, it’s about when to say something before it’s too late. On the surface, the SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and it’s twin senate bill, PIPA, both seem like a great idea….on the outside. I’ve had my books pirated, and I’d love it if it didn’t happen. But when this US bill is placed side by side with …say.. China’s internet censorship, there really are few differences. And that’s a frightening thing. Not only would this bill change the face of the internet as we know it, it could set in place monopolies. Experience says when there’s only one well to drink from, the price of water gets as high as the monopoly wants it to be. This would include paying for internet use. But beyond monopolies, it also opens the door to internet censorship. Authors, many of us write erotic fiction. How long before that door closes right in our faces? How many of our blogs and websites would be shut down for inappropriate content? Rolling that ball forward, how long before the virtual book burnings begin? Non-erotic romance writers, how long before someone determines what appropriate is? The people of China know.
Today, January 18th, is a day of protest. To show the world what this bill of censorship can do, sites such as Mozilla, WordPress, Wikipedia, and thousands of others are blacking out. If you can’t join this very important fight by blacking out, please inform yourself and say something. Please take the time to learn about SOPA and PIPA http://sopablackout.org/learnmore/ and then call or fax http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/ and email your Representative and Senators https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173
The internet is a remarkable FREE tool — a marvelous resource for information. How many times as writers do we chase down a thought or check a fact for our stories? Do other people have the right to tell you what you can and cannot discover?…what you can and cannot know? I’ve set my blog to go black for 24 hours http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/ Visit me there to learn more. I’ll also be calling my reps and signing the petitions today. I hope you do too. Please say something before it’s too late. Thanks.
Rose Anderson

Take a moment. Go to Google or Wikipedia or one of the links provided in her email. Speak out. While you still can.