Dating Again - Buyer Beware

If you've been reading my blog, you know I have attempted online dating. This is a continuation of what I am learning.

First, let me apologize to the guys who are honest and sincere in there search for a date online. I know there are some out there but they are truly few and far between.

Ok, in the first two months I was online I met four men. Out of those four, who were all nice guys, only one I still speak with. The first lasted three dates, wanted me to tell him he was an amazing guy and I just couldn't do it since I barely knew him. I didn't want to lie or lead him on. He got offended. The second was just one date - totally no chemistry. The fourth decided he REALLY liked me after three dates. Uh...no. Too needy and way too fast. The third I skipped on purpose. We actually still go out as friends. We have a lot in common and enjoy being with each other, but we decided we are better friends than lovers.

After all that, I left online dating for a couple weeks. I signed onto another site to see what would happen there. This is where my experience totally changed. There really are men out there who say they are widowed with kids to get the sympathy card. I'm guessing they are really married because they don't want your phone number, just IM and site chat. I thought I met a great guy but after two weeks, and refusing to call me, I figured there was something fishy. I stuck it out for a couple more weeks then called him out on it. He got a bit nasty but so be it.

I'm trying a third site but I think I will turn my profile off. It's been three days and I've had more admittedly married men telling me they aren't dead yet. Hmmm, at least they're honest? NOT. Oh, there's the twenty-something guys wanting to date a MILF (mother I'd like to f***). Even when I tell them they're my daughter's age and I'm not interested, they still ask me if I like lingerie. WTH? The occasional faux widower has also made an appearance. UGH!

All I can say is be cautious and weary. Good luck. If you've had experiences you'd like to share, good and bad, I'd love to hear them.

Home Wrecker

Please welcome Brenda Perlin, author of Home Wrecker. Her novel is available for $.99 now! It's a romance, with a price. Check it out. In the meanwhile, meet Brenda! 

What is the ideal recipe for a good novel?

The recipe is simple. It must entertain but at the same time touch the reader in some way. One must be able to feel a connection.

You’ve been contacted by the Association of Libraries from the Alien Planet of Zaolia. They want to know the five most important novels in all of Earth’s history. Which five novels do you give them?

That is such a difficult question. I should keep better notes. I aim to please, especially the Aliens of Zaolia, so here you go:

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Of Human Bondage by  W. Somerset Maughman

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

What was the turning point in your life when you decided to start writing?

I guess was when I was old enough to go to coffee shops on my own where I would sit, drink coffee and write on paper napkins for hours.

What is or are the genres of your book or books?

Fiction

What made you decide to write in your particular genre?

It will get me in less trouble than writing an autobiography.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I would say my inspiration is 100% from life. I don’t have the best imagination. I am not your typical writer. I prefer stories that are from reality but that is just my preference.

Do you write about your personal life experiences in your stories?

Yes

  

What is your favorite scene in your story?

I think the most profound moment in Home Wrecker is when I talk about Brooklyn as a young girl. She was so unhappy that she would often sit at the kitchen table, eating just to pass the time before dinner. I don’t know, I am always touched by that. It’s sad but I am sure many young girls have felt the same way.  She was missing something but didn’t know what.

Author bio

I live in Orange County, California. I have spent most of my working life in the physical fitness arena. I love the gratification that comes with helping people achieve their fitness goals and I love the fulfillment that comes with having a healthy body.

I moved from the Los Angeles area where I was raised to Orange County in the Spring of 2005. During that time I was a housewife with a couple of dogs. Now I am not. Instead I am writing my adventures for all to read.

Amazon author page

http://www.amazon.com/Brenda-Perlin/e/B0088M542Q/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1363974786&sr=1-2-ent

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6468331.Brenda_Perlin

Find me on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/brenda.perlin

https://www.facebook.com/HomeWreckertheBook

https://www.facebook.com/HomeWreckerTheBrooklynandBoChronicles

Given Away

Coming  July 2013

Given Away, A Sicilian Upbringing

A Novel

  by Marianna Randazzo

Welcome Marianna Randazzo to my blog today! She has this wonderful book coming out in a few days. Its a must read! 

Praise for Given Away, A Sicilian Upbringing.  

"A must-read! Compelling! Riveting! Courageous! Though time heals most anything, there are unfathomable stories of the human experience that must be told and retold again so that history can find its peace.  Given Away is a novel inspired by true events that will capture the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. It is a dramatic work that retells the story of a young Italian girl, fraught with personal trials and tribulations - overcoming a life of challenges presented during World War II; and her ultimate journey to self discovery and her passageway to America.  Given Away is a truly inspiring and stirring story that will touch the core soul of your very being! It is a novel that is sure to become a best-selling book and potential Hollywood blockbuster!" - C.A. Bailey-Lloyd, Senior Social Media Specialist, Content Developer, Online Journalist, Copy Editor, Author, Professional Blogger and Social Media Consultant

Summary

In Sicily, 1935 a four-year child walks away from her loving family, her mother, her sister and an infant brother, with a great-aunt for a vacation. She spends the next eight years of her life absent from their lives. It was not abduction nor was it an adoption. Tina lives in a one-room house in one of the poorest regions of Sicily. She sleeps between a loving aunt and a deranged uncle. She shares her breakfast with goats and chickens while living in the shadow of fascism. The child grows up while WW II ravages the town. Her school is taken over by the Germans and the things like bread and eggs that were once plentiful, no longer exist. Less than 25 kilometers away her family leads a very different life. After eight years, she returns home to find her childhood interrupted again. This time sickness, warfare and destruction are her enemies. In wartime Europe, childhood does not exist. The child witnesses and experiences many disturbing things from her uncouth, unsanitary living conditions to the failed paratroopers dangling from trees during the allied invasion.
Tina is a survivor. She is able to forgive those who took so much away from her. Her spirit trumps over adversity during the war times within and around her. As she grows older, she struggles to keep the harsh realities of World War II and abandonment at a distance through her sense of humor, imagination and determination. 
By the age of 15, her fate is sealed, again, without her permission. To gain passage to America she must accept the role as a war bride. A tyrannical, overbearing, bootlegging aunt in America arranges the match. Tina must live under her roof and her rules until her morality and citizenship are secure. 
The plot and setting are true to life in the period of the past. It will bring the history of war torn Europe to life, providing us a lens upon our collective past that define our unique lives. 
Tina triumphs against all odds with an unconditional love for a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fortitude to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

Learn more about the facts behind the fiction @ Mariannarandazzo.com

Follow me at:

https://www.facebook.com/GivenAwayASicilianUpbringing?ref=hl

http://pinterest.com/sicily1958/

https://twitter.com/telltatstory

http://www.writerscarnival.ca/members/mariannarandazzo/

DIGITUS 233

UPDATE: ITS AVAILABLE NOW!! THE REVIEWS ARE GREAT! CHECK IT OUT!!!


My publisher has found something wonderful for you to do on our last days per the Mayan calendar. Check out her new book on Dec 21st! 

There's a party in Facebook too! Have fun with us! 

Is it the end or just the beginning? Celebrate w/ us! Dec 21 Digitus 233 book launch. Huge giveaway on FB http://on.fb.me/UOMrS2

Digitus 233 – Available Dec. 21^st on Amazon

Digitus, the world’s dominant corporation, has studied human nature for centuries. They are experts who expand on a human’s natural gifts and talents to create supreme world leaders in all major areas of science, art, religion, and leadership. A select few are handpicked each year to join the elite.

This year, fifteen-year-old Zeph fights to uncover the truth with the help of an old man and a monkey, while as a final test of induction into Digitus, five teens are dropped from a specially designed Learjet and land on a barren arctic island. They are forced to come together in an effort to survive and escape. Unfortunately, escape is short lived when a Russian ballistic submarine rescues them and a computer malfunction threatens an all-out nuclear attack on North America. Time is running out and the sub’s programmer cannot stop the computer failure. It is up to the teens to convince the Russians they should be allowed to give it a try.

Tick tock.

K.D. Emerson Bio

Author, K.D. Emerson was born (or is that hatched) several years ago. We won’t go into how long it has been because she has this fantasy that she is still a teenager off to conquer the world. Her first novel was written in pencil, stapled together and placed in the school library. At age 6, she didn’t have a clue an author needed a publisher. She has a passion for the written word and assisting other writers in becoming the best they can be. She also loves to promote others and cheer them on to victory. Follow her on twitter @MstrKoda or you can find her at www.masterkoda.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kimmutch.emerson 

The Keeper by Natalie Star

The Keeper (Young Adult/Paranormal Romance/heat level 2), by Natalie Star

Blurb:

   The morning of her sixteenth birthday, Billie feels blessed despite the reoccurring nightmare that wakes her. Loving parents, a caring boyfriend, and great friends surround her until an heirloom necklace throws her into a world she never imagined.
   “Gifted” with supernatural powers and an unexpected destiny as the Keeper, Billie and a mysterious boy from her past must work together to find answers. But, as they begin to discover feelings for one another, he disappears leaving her to fight evil alone. Her life spirals out of control. She breaks up with her boyfriend, Tony, and alienates her best friends Arianna and Jocelyn to protect them from the truth.
   As dark forces pursue her, Billie longs to run away from it all, yet a need to do what’s right compels her to face the future as the keeper of more than her own fortune.

Excerpt One:

“I have something special for you. Sit, I’ll go get it.” And before I knew it, she rushed down the hall.

“Hurry, Mom, I have to get to school!” I yelled after her. She was back in a flash. “Here, honey.” She handed me a long narrow velvet jewelry box, maroon in color, the coloring faded from age and use. I flipped back the lid and saw a gold chain with a charm hanging from it. Definitely nothing I would have handpicked, nice enough I guess, but it looked older than dirt itself. There was a yellowish gemstone, citrine I think, no larger than a nickel and it was set on top of a golden sunburst. She explained, “It’s been in our family for years. It’s been handed down from generation to generation on the sixteenth birthday.”

“Um, thank you. How old is it, and where did it come from?” I questioned because it even smelled old.

“No one in recent memory knows the answer to either question. We do know it is an honor to receive it, and you have to wear it for your whole birthday, no matter what,” Mom explained.

“Or what, I will have seven years bad luck?” I didn’t know what else to say.

“No, worse, a whole life of bad luck.” Mom said it so seriously.

“Well, if that isn’t convincing enough, put it on me!” I was not superstitious but why take chances?

I lifted my flat ironed hair out of the way, and Mom placed the chain around my neck. The second I heard it click into place, I felt funny, and I swear the jewelry’s temperature rose. I stood up in a state of a panic as it warmed and the heat spread from my neck throughout my body. Everything went white, and then pulled out.

“Billie!” Mom screamed.

Excerpt Two:

“Do I want to know?” he asked uneasy.

“Probably not, so if you want to call it quits and go on with your life I would totally understand because all of what I have to tell you is unsettling and will be life changing. If you want out, now’s the time.” I waited.
I didn’t know I held my breath until Ty stopped walking. He kept his stare on the ground. “If you don’t tell me now, I will always wonder and probably regret not knowing because it seems important.”

“You need to be absolutely sure you want to know before I tell you. So think about it for a few minutes.” I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach for him.

He nodded, and we followed the overgrown trail for a while through curves and switchbacks. The path led through all kinds of trees and wild growth. Never have I seen such beauty in autumn. I could see yellows, oranges, and reds all around us. It would have been silent if it weren’t for the fluttering leaves and nuts falling from the trees, and our feet crunching over the dead vegetation on the ground. I stomped my feet, and I liked the noise it made. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. I put my arms out and spun in a circle while crunching. I felt giddy. I almost forgot where I was and why. Ty regarded me as if I’d lost my mind, which I probably had.

“What?” I asked as I spun past him.

“Just watching you.” He continued to watch with smiling eyes.

“It’s fun. You should try it.” I grabbed his hands because he wouldn’t come willingly, and we spun and spun until we were dizzy. We fell to the ground and lay there for a minute to catch our breath and get our heads straight.

I watched him. He seemed genuinely happy, and I felt genuinely crappy. Could I really take away his happy life and innocence? That’s exactly what I was about to do by unleashing the truth. I sat up.
He too sat up and looked toward me. “You okay?” He twirled a strand of my hair. I knew which bit of hair, too; the one that always curled away on its own.
I shook my head. “Not really. I don’t want to tell you. I thought I did, but now I’m not sure.”

“I don’t want you to tell me…not yet. First let’s have a few more minutes of normal.” He reached for my chin and tilted it toward him and pressed his lips to mine. We lay back in the leaves holding and kissing one another. We were consumed in each other’s sweet perfect kisses.

I pushed away from him and lay my head on his chest. He stroked my hair as we listened to the sounds of Mother Nature. I could hear his heartbeat, and it was calm and soothing. It didn’t match mine.
I jumped to my feet in a split second. I was on total alert. My heart pounded so loud I felt it in my ears.

“What’s going on?” Ty asked. Still on the ground where I was a second ago, he swiveled his head around.

“We’re done with normal.” I reached for my gem. Yep, cold but I didn’t need to feel it, I actually sensed it beforehand. I dropped a hand to help him up. He stared at it. “Ty, come on we don’t have time for this. I am stronger than you, much stronger, so this is why you need to get out of here.”

He took my hand. I pulled him to his feet. He gasped. With a peck on his cheek, I told him, “Go. Run.” But he stood there not moving. I saw and heard nothing. I closed my eyes and went into my mind to see what might come in the near future, and it wasn’t pretty.

“I might need to take my own advice and run.” I took Ty’s arm and dragged him along with me. It was too little, too late. We were surrounded.

“What can I do?” His voice crackled in fear. His head whipped around looking from one monster to the next. The creatures completely surrounded us. There was no way out, and they were hungry, hungry with a desire to kill. I could hear them in my head: kill.

“Try to stay alive,” I said. I felt sick to my stomach because I knew he wouldn’t make it through this.

Links:

Book Trailer on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8x0K05MHWA

http://www.authornataliestar.com

http://authornataliestar.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/#!/iamjustnatalie

https://plus.google.com/u/0/116484157865842677580/posts

http://www.shelfari.com/nataliestar

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5424878.Natalie_Star

Purchase sites: http://authornataliestar.blogspot.com/2012/01/keeper-where-can-you-find-it.html  To celebrate the one year anniversary of The Keeper, the price has been reduced to $2.99.