Bobbing Around

 

*About Bobbing Around   subscribe/unsubscribe.   guidelines for contributions *Tsunami: the Russian connection. *Depleted Uranium: a crime against humanity by Bob Nichols. *This soldier hates war *A response to Nancy Fulton from Dave Mack *Psychology   The first requirement for a helper   Betty Jo Schuler addresses bullying.   Her mother loves heroin more. *Brags and bargains    A movie from Stan Thomas's book?    Shirley Cheng's inspiring biography.   Community music and art, from Tim Green   Los Angeles-Inspired Poem Wins Readers’ Award, from Carolyn Howard-Johnson.   Two new titles from Di Newton.   Award received, new book out: Janet Elaine Smith.   Zinta Aistars publicizes books.   Romantic suspense from Ann Durand.   A romantic suspense from Janet Mills.   'For the Love of a Child' an inspirational story from Wilburta Arrowood. *For Writers   'Editing headaches' by Lea Schizas   'How to write flash fiction' by Mike Kechula   Cheryl Wright on body language   Tips on using Word to edit, by Elsa Neal *Book reviews:   'The Janus Protocol' by Chas Eeles   'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' by John Perkins, reviewed by John Gorman   'Grab The Queen Power:Live Your Best Life' by Allyn Evans, reviewed by Lea Schizas   'January's Paradigm' by J. Conrad Guest, reviewed by Zinta Aistars   'Thrips' by L.R. Farley, reviewed by Susie Hawes   'Legacy of the Black Dragon' by Julie D'Arcy, reviewed by Kelley Hartsell *a Haiku by Robin Buehler

Fourth Edition Out The Earth Garden Building Book: Design and build your own house was my first book, in 1987. Penguin have just reissued the 4th edition. You can buy it from Earth Garden Magazine, or any Australian bookshop. Or I can send you an autographed copy (when I get them -- haven't seen the new issue yet!)    As with all of my books, if you email me a copy of proof of purchase, you have earned a FREE copy of any of my electronic titles. Sleeeper, Awake Double Dragon e-books are the publishers of my award-winning novel 'Sleeper, Awake'. During the month of March 2005, 'bobbing around' readers will receive TWO FREE e-books if they email me proof of purchase of this book, either directly from the publisher, or from Fictionwise. Fictionwise has a bookshop associated with EPIC, which you can access via http://www.epicauthors.org/.    Bobbing Around is COPYRIGHTED. No part of it may be reproduced in any form, at any venue, without the express permission of the publisher (ME!) and the author if that is another person. You may forward the entire magazine to anyone else.    I am responsible for anything I have written. However, where I reproduce contributions from other people, I do not necessarily endorse their opinions. I may or may not agree with them, but give them the courtesy of a forum. Done is done. Life is too short to be given over to bitterness, resentment and regrets.

Tsunami: the Russian connection

   My regular contributor James Choron writes from Russia. However, he also has a long connection to Sri Lanka, which is one of the worst devastated countries. And I know the wave was months ago, but the the consequences are STILL devastating. The majority of western relief is headed for India and Thailand, which were not nearly so badly hit, since Sri Lanka is only 200km from the epicenter of the Tsunami. James has been been organizing a series of charity benefits to raise money for the construction of children's homes for children orphaned by the Tsunami. It costs about 30k to build and equip a home (building is cheap there) for 20 kids, with the government paying for staff and furnishing supplies and supporting the kids once they're in the homes.

   James wrote: "If any of you want to help, contact the Sri Lankan Embassy where you live, and ask for the repesentative of the Sri Lankan Ladies Diplomatic Association. They'll be glad to let you know what you can do. If any of you work with schools or other institutions and clubs... the Masonic Lodge, etc... This would be a great project. When you contact the Embassy, please tell them that you heard this from me and the Moscow Embassy... Like I said, we don't get a thing for it, but it'd be nice for some of our friends in the West to know that we really do do something here... If some of you brave souls want to call the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow, the number is, in complete sequence from the US, 011-7-095-688-1651. Ask for His Excellency the Ambassador or for Mrs. Shani Karunartana the 2nd Secreatary. Feel free to say that I told you about the need and gave you their names. Of all of the millions of dollars donated by the US, only about 20% of it reaches it's destination. The reast is eaten up by "administrative fees"... stolen... What we are doing guarantees that every dime, except what it actually costs us to make the transfers, reaches the ones that it's intended to reach."

Depleted Uranium: A crime against humanity

Condensed from an award-winning essay by Bob Nichols

   Bob Nichols won the 'Project Censored' award, announced on 21st February, 2005, with his essay US Military, President Out Of Control: What Does 'Mildly Radioactive' Mean, Anyway? The entire work is way too long. Here are a few snippets from it.

   The American Department of Defense and other government departments all are unanimous in calling so-called depleted uranium "mildly radioactive depleted uranium." They like to use it for bombs, shells and heavy caliber bullets. The Russians recently stopped a weightlifter coming across the border with about 100 pounds of "highly radioactive depleted uranium." The guy said he was using it for dumbbells in weightlifting.

   What is the difference in "highly radioactive" in Russia or "mildly radioactive" in Virginia? Is it the same metal? Yes, it is. Are both metals radioactive? Yes! Whether they are in Russia or the United States, at 12,000 little bullets per second, anywhere in the known universe!

   Just so you know, that is 43 million, 200 thousand little bullets per hour. This nuclear bombardment at the heart of a cell in the lung or the rest of the body never stops.

   Remember the 100-hour-long First Gulf War? Only an unlucky few were killed. We Americans used 375 tons of Uranium munitions. Out of the one half million or so soldiers in the prime of life in the war, 11,000 are now dead. and hundreds of thousands are on Medical Disability.

   Since uranium is a metal that also catches on fire and burns, the bombs, shells and bullets burn and vaporize when they hit something hard like a tank, bunker, or building. Uranium gas and smoke ends up in the nose, throat and lungs of our kids in the Military and any unlucky Iraqi around.

   Some of the gas also hitches a ride on the desert winds to the rest of the world. Favorable trade winds can take as little 3-4 hours to reach America and spread over the water supply, agricultural land.

   Uranium by the thousands of tons has been dispersed this way in Iraq during Gulf War I, the No-Fly Zones era, Gulf War II, the war after the war, and to this very day. Once the uranium gas and dust is in their lungs and bodies the soldiers and civilians become radiation poisoning victims and are forever changed.

   There is no way to remove the uranium smoke from the body. It is radioactive. There is no treatment; there is no cure. This stuff stays dangerous, lethal even, forever and a day. After all, it is highly radioact ... err, ... pardon me, "mildly radioactive," ... err ... whatever!

   Our victimized soldiers don't have forever, though. With the same absolute certainty of the Atomic Clock the constant ticking of the "atomic disintegrations" (little bullets) starts the countdown to death from radiation poisoning for the soldiers and civilians alike. It's just a matter of the dose of lethal poison they received. A greater dose equals less time.

   It gets worse. Captain Terry Riordon unknowingly brought radiation poisoning home with him from Iraq to his wife, Susan Riordon. As recounted in the November, 2004 issue of the mainstream publication Vanity Fair, Mrs. Riordon was constantly burned by her husband's semen during intercourse.

   Seems Terry's semen was turned to a fiery alkali by the radioactive uranium that settled in his testicles. The happily married couple had no idea what this new and horrifying complication was in this intensely private part of their life together. Little did they know the American Department of Defense had hopped into bed with them.

   With her husband slowly dying of radiation poisoning and in intense pain herself, Mrs. Riordon resorted to filling condoms with frozen green peas to use on herself to obtain relief from the internal burnings intense, excruciating, lasting pain. Perhaps inevitably, he became impotent. "And that was like our last little intimacy gone."

   Children produced from radioactive soldiers' couplings have devastating birth defects; both to war's children born in the United States and in Iraq. After all, uranium gas is just a dumb radioactive metal; it does not care one whit about the nationality of the body parts it targets.

   According to famous UN War Crimes and humanitarian lawyer Karen Parker, JD., the use of depleted uranium is a war crime in four ways: "It spreads" (beyond the field of battle); "it lasts" (can't be turned off when the war ends); "it injures people in impermissible ways" (as in making an as yet unborn child deformed); and "it harms the environment".

   Uranium bombs, shells and bullets are just different forms of slow-acting, stealth nuclear weapons. They are slower than the instant big boom and flash of Nagasaki type Nuclear Weapons -- the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb. They are the answer to the Administration's dedicated Crusade for the Holy Grail of a "usable" nuclear weapon.

   Time has telescoped from 1945 instantly -- past to present; World War II is just over, and we used nuclear weapons on civilians. Now we are using the next generation of nuclear weapons on the hapless guerrillas and civilians of Iraq. They never had a chance. Not a prayer.

   Uranium weapons spread deadly radioactivity that kills and contaminates forever. Iraq is simply "toast" because of the indiscriminate, promiscuous and criminal use of millions of pounds of uranium weapons by our kids and friends in the Military, at the command of their political masters. The masters and troopers are war criminals, and we, the U.S. taxpayers, are accessories to war crimes.

   Americans of all political stripes should be enraged to hear of what our US Military has done to Iraq. It is not OK, and they should feel betrayed by the Bush Administration, perhaps especially the center-right Americans responsible for twice electing Bush.

   The time to act is now. The Bush Administration controls the big media on this issue. They do not control you. Tell your family, friends, email this article everywhere possible, especially congressional representatives. As U.S. citizens, as human beings, we know what we should do, and we know that we cannot afford to wait any longer.

   Writers & Warriors Speakers Group: Contact Bob Nichols at info-radiation-wars@cox.net for College Distinguished Lecture Series Speakers, Commencement Speakers, People's Events and Rallies.

This soldier hates war

   by Sgt. Kevin Benderman

   This is a condensed version of Sgt. Benderman's courageous statement.

   I have been a soldier for ten years, and I always felt there was no higher honor than to serve my country and defend its values. My family has served this country back to the American Revolution, and I felt that to continue on in that tradition was the honorable thing to do.

    As I went through the process which led to my decision to refuse deployment to Iraq for the second time, I was torn between thoughts of abandoning the soldiers that I serve with, or following my conscience, which tells me: war is the ultimate in destruction and waste of humanity.

    I have often thought that we could, and should, consider better ways to solve our differences with other people in the world. And this was the driving force that made me refuse a second tour of duty to Iraq. Some people may say I am doing so out of fear of combat; I am not going to tell you that the thought of going back to that place isn't scary, but that is not the reason for my decision to not return.

    I want people to know that the longer I thought about just how stupid the concept of war really is, the stronger I felt about not participating in war. Why do we tell our children to not solve their differences with violence, then turn around and commit the ultimate in violence against people in another country who have nothing to do with the political attitudes of their leaders?

   There are no valid arguments for war. People are destroyed, nations are destroyed, and yet we continue on with war. The young people that I went with to the combat zone looked at it like it was a video game they played back in their childhood. Why must it be considered honorable to train young men and women to look through the sights of a high-powered rifle and to kill another human being from 300 meters away?

   I've received e-mails from people who said that I was a coward for not going to war, but I say to them that I have already been, so I do not have anything to prove to anyone anymore. What is there to prove anyway --that I can kill someone I do not even know and who has never done anything to me? What is in that concept that anyone could consider honorable?

    I first realized that war was the wrong way to handle things in this or any other country when I went to the war zone and saw the damage that it causes. Why must we resort to violence when things do not go our way? Where is the logic of that?  I have felt that there are better ways to handle our business than to bomb each other into oblivion. When you are on the water in a boat and you have a chance to see dolphins playing with each other as they go about their business, you realize that if they can live without war, then humanity should be able to as well.

   Can't we teach our children to leave war behind in history where it belongs? We realized that slavery and human sacrifice were obsolete institutions, and we left them behind us. When are going to have the same enlightened attitude about war?

    I have learned from firsthand experience that war is the destroyer of everything that is good in the world; it turns our young into soulless killers, and we tell them that they are heroes when they master the "art" of killing. That is a very deranged mindset in my opinion. It destroys the environment, life, and the resources that could be used to create more life by advancing our endeavors.

A response to Nancy Fulton

by Dave Mack

Hello Bob,

   My name is Dave Mack and I am a member of the Writing Road site, which is how I came to read your newsletter. I live in North Wales but was brought up in England, near Wolverhampton. I’ve had a few poems published, but my main interest is short stories, though I have a novel mapped out and the writing started. I have returned to education in my fifties and I am in my second year studying Creative Writing (part time) at the local college.

   I was reading your newsletter, Bobbing Around, and was particularly struck by Support the Iraq War & Betray Christ? by Nancy Fulton. I had a Christian upbringing, but became disillusioned with established religion and I now practice no faith. Nancy Fulton points out the type of hypocrisy leading to my break with the Church.

   I have attached a poem that I wrote only in the last week, which demonstrates my empathy with Nancy’s feelings and her frustration.

Thanks,
Dave Mack.

G. Dubye and Bin (partners in sin)

G. Dubye wants, “to cleanse the Earth of sin.”
Profound words spoken with conviction
Safe now from political eviction).
I suspect he is the Devil within!

Leader of a leading Christian nation,
Shouldn’t he, “Turn the other cheek, not kill,
Love all of thy neighbours and show good will.”
Is he playing the cards of damnation?

Wielding the twisted stick of God and good,
As, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind,”
Age-old common decency they rescind,
Eroding moral code with falsehood.

Bin Laden and Bush have hands red with blood,
Both hypocrites and defiling their God.

Psychology

The first requirement for a helper
Bullying
Her mother loves heroin more

The First Requirement for a helper

   You can't like everybody. Occasionally I meet a new client who turns me right off. There is something there, a repulsion, a reluctance to get involved with this person.

   Almost always, I get a complete change of heart as I listen to the client's story. Typically, ten minutes to half an hour into the first session, I like this person very much indeed.

   This fails to happen two or three times in a year. Typically, the client soon terminates our contact; in one case, I chose to refer the person on to another psychologist. This is because the only essential ingredient for therapy is missing.

   Unless I honestly like my client, I cannot be helpful in the relationship. And if I do like my client, I have a very high chance of inducing changes the client wants to see happen. People grow in a setting of warm, unjudging acceptance. That's the major function of therapy.

   Let's return to those people whom I initially disliked. What was happening there?

   One or both of two things are likely. First, something about this person may have triggered a negative experience from my past. Unknowingly, I then judged this person as if I were in the past situation. Listening to the client's story later allowed me to distinguish present from past, without ever becoming aware of the process.

   Second, some people specialise in 'pulling' certain emotions from others. I have a friend, a very intelligent, competent and strong woman, who is mothered by everyone, male of female. She 'pulls' protectiveness. Would you be surprised to hear that she is the youngest in a big family? Well, for some reason, there are people who 'pull' dislike, distrust, rejection, hostility. As I listen to the person's story, I automatically look for patterns. And usually, I can see a pattern of contact after contact treating my client in hostile, rejecting ways... and I know that I was reacting to the same nonverbal messages as they did. Understanding is followed by acceptance, then liking... and then we can work together.

Every Student Has a Right to an Education in a Safe Environment
by Betty Jo Schuler

   BULLYING: an ugly word for ugly behavior. Bullies tease, embarrass, and threaten others. Some students are afraid to go to school because a bully calls them names, takes their money, and hits or trips them. Bullying is an increasingly dangerous problem and some states are passing legislation requiring schools to have programs in place to deal with this antisocial behavior.

   Did you know...?

   Bullying is rampant in schools, and in today's society, may be life threatening.

   Approximately 160,000 students stay home from school every day because they're afraid of being bullied.

   A University of Michigan study spanning 35 years found that children who were named by their schoolmates at age eight remained bullies throughout their lives.

   Research shows sixty percent of young people characterized by their classmates as bullies in grades six to nine had at least one criminal conviction by age 24.

   These offenders, when they reach adulthood, will bully their mates, children, and others they feel superior to-unless different behaviors are learned.

   Bullies' victims may suffer long time emotional and behavioral effects.

   How can we help children deal effectively with bullies? Enter the Bully Brigade!

   BULLY BRIGADE, Banish Bullies Now, written by former elementary school teacher Betty Jo Schuler and illustrated by art teacher Susan Scott, is an anti-bullying book written primarily for use in elementary school classrooms. A Teacher's Guide and Reproducible Activity Kit is also available from DiskUs Publishing.

DiskUs Publishing: http://www.diskuspublishing.com/bettyjoschuler.html
Betty Jo Schuler, Author http://home.webworks2000.net/bschuler/bettyjo.html

Her mother loves heroin more

   I have a new little client. She lives with her grandmother, because the Family Court has denied access to both her mother and her father. Both are heroin addicts, both live in a chaotic environment. Mother was told to submit weekly blood tests. If they come back clean for three months, she can have her little girl back.

   That was in October. She has not sent in a single blood test.

   Gran describes the little girl as 'super good'. She smiles, sings, has friends, does very well at school. She loves horses, and at her last visit to me, kept drawing pictures of Clydesdales.

   She is always obedient... until, in the safety of home, alone with no-one but Gran, something triggers her. Then she cries, screams, throws objects, bangs doors. This goes on for hours sometimes. Eventually, she runs out of energy, and sleeps a long time. Then, it's back to being super-good again.

   I have written a poem for her. I hope it may help her take a step away from where she is now.

           The poor little foal

There was a Clydesdale foal called Shay
who -- very sadly -- lost her way.
While other Clydesdales pulled big loads
and proudly followed streets and roads
she lazed about and did no work,
all her duties she had to shirk.

She did NOT like to be this way:
she felt as if she had no say.
See, a man in a passing car
one day gave her a fat Mars Bar.
What you have got to keep in mind:
Mars Bar's a poison to horsey kind.

Give a horse this delicious treat
and she can hardly lift her feet.
Her mind goes fuzzy -- she can't think.
She will not even eat or drink.
Her thoughts will only go so far
as chewing up the next Mars Bar.

Think of poor Shay, caught in this trap:
her life has fallen off the map!
She'll lose her teeth, she'll grow so fat;
can't even be helped by the vet.
She can't do things she'd love to do.
She just won't try anything new.

A tangled mane, and poop that stinks
are a few of the awful things
that Mars Bar eating does to Shay.
I hope she stops. I wish she may
give this bad habit away.
But it is HARD, once you are caught:
it seems to have you by the throat.

Don't be too hard on this young horse,
you know she is sad -- oh, of course!
She seems like she loves no-one else
while she is living in her hells.
It is sad that she cannot be
like every other horse you see.

Brags and Bargains

Stan Thomas
Shirley Cheng
Tim Green
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Diane Newton
Janet Elaine Smith
Zinta Aistars
Ann Durand
Janet Mills
Wilburta Arrowood

Stan Thomas

Dr. Bob,

   My name is Stan Thomas. You may not remember me, but I submitted my book, HUMAN WRONGS, to you for editing. Besides doing a great editing job, you commented that I had written a 'great' book. Maybe you'll remember its substance by its LOGLINE: When a black law professor decides to defend a racist killer, the stakes are much higher than a mere guilty verdict...

   I just thought you'd like to know that Nelson Coates, Production Designer on such movies as Kiss the Girls, Murder at 1600, and Man of the House (among others), read my book, loved it, and recommended it to Producers Gary Fleder, Todd Black, and  Spielberg associate, Bonnie Curtis for a possible movie. I want to thank you for your keen insight in editing my book. If indeed HUMAN WRONGS is made into a movie, a major publisher will certainly pick it up, and one of the first pages will hold editing kudos to you.

Best Regards
Stan

A Star's Endless Shine Leaves No Darkness Untouched

The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials & Tribulations unveils the gripping life story of Shirley Cheng--the blind and physically disabled survivor of severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and more so of falsehood in American medical system--and her quest to triumph over tremendous adversities.

In The Revelation of a Star’s Endless Shine, with 50 photographs, Shirley reveals her world of terrors, struggles, dreams, and triumphs. From her painful diagnosis of JRA as an infant, and the 1990 victory of her mother in her custody case, to their acceptance of a devastating fate, Shirley's autobiography will inspire and reveal life's true values.

Shirley was born in New York in 1983 to a single-parent, Chinese-speaking family, and received no schooling until she was eleven because of years of hospitalization. Having achieved grade level in all areas after 180 days of special education, she moved to a regular sixth grade class. She lost her eyesight at seventeen. She did the entire GED exam, including mathematical calculations, graphs, and an essay, completely in her head and received a special recognition award for her very high score. She hopes to earn science doctorates from Harvard after successful eye surgery.

Shirley is also the author of Daring Quests of Mystics (ISBN 1-58939-513-1 for softcover and 1-58939-515-8 for hardcover), , and Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells (ISBN: 1-4116-1858-0), an anthology of short stories and poems.

To receive updates on Shirley's books, subscribe to her announcement newsletter by sending a blank e-mail to:
shirleydqm-subscribe@topica.com

To learn more about the book and the author, and to read excerpts, go to
http://www.shirleycheng.com

ISBN: 1-4116-1860-2
Available from http://www.lulu.com/shirleycheng, and coming soon to Amazon.com,BN.com, and many other online bookstores and through Ingram. To order autographed copies, please contact Shirley Cheng at AuthorShirley@yahoo.com

Shirley
Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope haul you high!

Tim Green: 'Brackets and Jam'

Hi Bob,

   I'd love to get your regular e-mail newsletter. I live on the Central Coast of NSW and stumbled on your website via a link to the Moora Moora community from the Central Coast Community website. The CCC are dedicated to setting up a community based on the principles pioneered by Moora Moora, I have just become aware are of them and my wife and I are interested in joining. I have been interested in sustainable methods of building and living for some time and think that a planned community might be a way I can put these principles into practice in a more cost effective way.

   I am currently involved in a local community organisation called Brackets and Jam. Brackets & Jam is a non-profit organisation whose aim is foster all kinds of music, performance and art which is available to all at a local community level. At the moment the organisation arranges a monthly evening of entertainment which takes place in the mud-brick kiosk atop the beautiful Kincumba Mountain. B&J supply this great venue and a sound system so that performers can entertain a local audience in a non-threatening supportive environment.

   Brackets & Jam encourages amateurs and professionals alike, giving them the opportunity to try live performance, or to experiment with new material. This often makes for a very exciting and surprising evening! As well as a diverse range of music, we have been lucky enough to host dance, theatre, story-telling and poetry. Our goal is to bring together all forms of performing arts, encouraging interaction on both a social and artistic level. This gives artists the opportunity to network and collaborate. Audience interaction is encouraged, with expression through dance, impromptu performance and various "Jams" during the evening. Brackets & Jam on the Central Coast is a self-funding organisation, run by a team of volunteers. A small entry fee is charged to cover the cost of the venue and the sound system. Any remaining funds are used for promotion, special events and future projects that continue to promote the arts on the central Coast.

   I look forward to receiving your newsletter and expanding my horizons!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Los Angeles-Inspired Poem Wins Readers’ Award

   John Amen, Editor of The Pedestal Magazine, has named Carolyn Howard-Johnson the winner of his first Readers’ Award for Poetry. The popular poem, “Olvera Street Tutorial,” was inspired by Los Angeles’s cultural and historical site and may be read at: http://pedestalmagazine.com/Secure/Content/cb.asp?cbid=4611.

   Howard-Johnson is the author of other books including THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T, USA Book News’ “Best Professional Book 2004." Her novel, THIS IS THE PLACE and book of short stories, HARKENING, are also award-winning books.

   Howard-Johnson was named Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by the 43rd and 44th District of the California Legislature. Her fiction, nonfiction and poems have appeared in national magazines, anthologies and review journals. She speaks on tolerance and other subjects and has appeared on TV and hundreds of radio stations nationwide. She is also is an instructor for UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program.

   Howard-Johnson may be reached at HoJoNews@aol.com. Information is also available at http://carolynhowardjohnson.com.

   Information on The Pedestal Magazine is available at http://pedestalmagazine.com/.

Diane Newton

   Diane J. Newton, an award winning suspense author from New York, is the midst of exciting events. Her third thriller, Paradigm, was released by Aventine Press LLC. The book, ISBN: 1-59330-245-2, sold out at on line stores its first day. No worries, mates. It was restocked. Amazon.com will take orders even if it continues to sell out and offers a 25% discount. Read an excerpt: http://www.hometown.aol.com/dianejnewton/.

   Secrets, Fact or Fiction? will be released April 1 from Oxcart Press. Diane complied and edited this exciting, nine-author anthology about secrets, kept or revealed. Readers are invited to enter a contest guessing whether stories are based on fact or are purely fiction. For review copies and pre-release orders in the United States or in The United Kingdom: http://www.oxcartpress.com'

   Features and interviews are running in numerous NY newspapers, DeSilva's News, Mysterical-E and Cheryl McCann's Review-Books. Diane and Secrets co-authors will appear on Brian Jud's television show, The Book Authority, which airs in the Hartford, CT area.

   Diane's other titles, Unusual Destiny and Children of the Sun, have recently caught the attention of movie production companies. For reviewer and media requests, to follow Diane's signing schedule or to obtain signed author copies of these books, contact dianejnewton@yahoo.com

Janet Elaine Smith

   Janet Elaine Smith is a winner of an Award of Excellence by RIO (Reviewers International Organization) for two of her books: House Call to the Past and Par for the Course, as announced on March 1, 2005. The two books tied with each other for third place in the "Re-released Gems" category. Other winners included such noted authors as Nora Roberts and John Grisham.

   Janet Elaine Smith's new book, Pampas, will be released by PageFree Publishing, Inc. in March. Janet describes it as an "inspirational romantic intrigue, set in Argentina, with a very unusual Argentine cowboy (a gaucho), who--like the Pace Picante commercial says--came from New York City!" She is currently working on translating Pampas, and it will be her first book in Spanish. She expects it to be out in Spanish by the end of the year. http://www.janetelainesmith.com.

Zinta Aistars

ZEENYTHE COMMUNICATIONS "Helping writers reach the pinnacle of success."

   Zinta Aistars, a literary publicist and communications specialist working with the finest new literary voices, creating connections between writer and reader:

   "It is one thing to create a masterpiece. It is entirely another to market and sell that masterpiece. How to find your target audience? A literary publicist lets your audience know--what you've written, who you are, why your masterpiece is not to be missed."

   Contact Zeenythe Communications at zeenythecommunications@yahoo.com to find out more or to sign up for the free monthly ZC Newsletter--marketing tips and inspiration, editorial advice, links and ideas, articles to enlighten and brighten your day!

   Archived issues are available at http://zeenythecommunications.blogspot.com/

Ann Durand

   Available now from Double Dragon Publishing: A Promise to Keep, a romantic suspense by Ann Durand. http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com or visit TRI-Studio Authors at http://www.TRI-Studio.com for more information about Ann and her books.

   In the story, A Promise to Keep, the tidy world of schoolteacher Karen Hudson turns upside down as she embarks on a reckless chase from a small town in California to a jungle in Mexico, searching for the truth about the man who has captured her heart. One day after Michael Browning professes his undying love for Karen, he vanishes. Then she learns he is wanted for murder. Stunned and disbelieving, she sets out on a dangerous quest to unravel the mystery, making her the next target for murder.

   Michael Borbeau, alias Michael Browning, never intended to mislead Karen, or fall in love for that matter. Only the need to protect his daughter forced him to choose a new town and a new name. Now, the whole mess is threatening to surface, and he must flee to keep his daughter safe.

   Will he ever see his beloved Karen again? Will she discover the truth before the killer strikes again? Will she succeed in reuniting with the only man to ever unlock her heart?

Janet Mills

   Janet Mills announces the release of her first romantic suspense! MIDSUMMER NIGHTS, complete with rabid stalker, is now available at Whiskey Creek Press. www.whiskeycreekpress.com.

Review snippets:

   "Ms. Mills has penned a heart-wrenching tale of betrayal, suspicion and romance. -- 5 Blue Ribbons from Jodi at Romance Junkies.

   "Janet Mills has, once again, penned a winner. MIDSUMMER NIGHTS is a gripping story! -- A Recommended Read from Cindy at Cinny's Place Reviews.

   "Ms. Mills has written a touching story of a young woman's survival from a devastating trauma. She handles the situation with a deft touch and a steady hand." 4 Cups from Susan White at Coffeetime Romance

   Janet invites you to visit her website at: http://www.janetmills.net.

Wilburta Arrowood

   Wilburta Arrowood has written a gripping inspirational novel, For the Love of a Child, regarding anger, bitterness, and revenge. Margaret has lost her only child and she’s set on finding the fiend responsible and making him pay. Along the way she becomes a Christian and has to reconcile her rage with her new-found faith. You won’t want to miss this heart-wrenching story.

   Wilburta has many links on her pages of interest to Christians and to writers. She also offers a different free downloadable jigsaw puzzle on her website each month. Drop by http://www.wilburtaarrowood.com and get yours, and don’t forget to come back next month for another one.

For Writers

Editing Headaches
Writing Flash Fiction
Personalise Your Characters with Body Language
Editing Tips using MS Word

Editing Headaches
by Lea Schizas

It's time for that worrisome process called editing. This is where you begin to tighten and polish your work for publication. At times, a first draft may be sufficient, but a second or third draft is more likely. This only proves you are a conscientious writer and strive at any lengths to get published. Good for you!

Here are a few pointers to ease you into the editing process.

1. Spellcheck Never rely on your computer spellchecker to catch your mistakes. Ewe know what I mean? To bee or not to bee, that is the question.

You have to rely on your own eyesight to catch these dreaded misspelled words. A tip is to start your editing from the end, sentence by sentence. In this manner, you are not captivated in the story aspect but trying to pinpoint spelling mistakes.

2. Punctuation Have you ended all of your sentences with the proper punctuation? Did you place your commas? your exclamation points? your quotation marks? Without the proper punctuation, your sentence may lose its meaning.

Example: ‘How many times do I have to repeat myself.’ Without the question mark, this sentence gives the impression of a statement, (or with an exclamation mark, a frustration), not a question. If this was your intent, then you’ve made your point. But if a question was your goal, it was lost in that lonely period at the end of your sentence.

An omitted comma can alter a sentence’s meaning.

For example, ‘Go kill Susan.’ and ‘Go kill, Susan.’ gives the reader two different overviews of what the character was trying to relate.

In the first example, it implies that the character is asking for Susan to be killed, whereas in the second sentence, Susan is asked to go and kill someone. Omitting a simple comma forms two different meanings.

3. Choice of Words Have you chosen the right word to dramatize a certain situation?

Example: 1--John threw the bat across the field as he walked off.

2--John flung the severed bat across the field as he stormed away.

Do you see the different feeling that is invoked from one sentence to the other? In the first, we see an image of John simply tossing his bat aside as he walks away.

In the next sentence, we feel his anger by the words ‘flung’ and ‘stormed’. And the word ‘severed’ indicates the force of his anger.

Choosing the appropriate word enhances your storyline, by adding to the projected meaning, feeling or visual aspect that you intend to convey.

Editing is a tedious but necessary job that will propel you one step closer to your dream of publication. Handle it with care.

Editing is like sculpting; you chisel away until the true form appears.

Lea Schizas, mom of 5, from Canada, Editor in Chief and co-founder of Apollo’s Lyre, Founder of The MuseItUp Club, publicist for Star Publish and Senior Editor for the new print Coffee Cramp Magazine. You can get to know Lea better at http://www.apolloslyre.com http://pages.ivillage.com/rockofrealm/museitup http://starpublish.com http://pages.ivillage.com/rockofrealm

Writing Flash Fiction 12 guides from Mike Kechula

   'Falsh Fiction is defined as being under 1000 words. Mike is a champion at generating gripping tales of this length. Here are his 12 guides. As you can see, he practices brevity even when teaching how to do it. :)

1. Write openers that grab attention.
2. Omit excessive detail. It burns up precious word count.
3. Omit long sentences, especially those with semi-colons.
4. Consider including 1-word, or 2-word sentences for impact.
5. Include dialog. Big chunks of narrative create yawns.
6. Use contractions. Especially in dialog. One word is saved each time.
7. Use words gained from items 2 and 6 to enhance the plot.
8. Omit anything that may throw readers out of the story.
9. Keep moving the story forward.
10. Keep characters down to a minimum.
11. Read your draft manuscript out loud. Better yet, record it and listen to the story several times.
12. Edit, edit, edit.

   Actually, Mike's advice applies to ALL writing.

Personalise Your Characters with Body Language
by Cheryl Wright

   Have you ever stood and watched a long queue of people. It makes no difference why they are waiting; just standing, waiting is boring, and those waiting come across as bland, boring people.

   That’s exactly how your characters will appear without some ‘character traits’. They need personality, distinctive dialogue, and their own unique body language.

   Body language is basically the ‘gestures’ used by people or characters. For instance, when someone nods or shakes their head, that’s body language. When they purse their lips, it’s body language, and when they throw their arms up in the air in frustration, that’s also body language. Each and every character should have their own individual set of gestures and expressive signals etc.

   Perhaps your heroine braces her shoulders when she’s mad. Or maybe she does it when she’s preparing for an argument. In my novel "Saving Emma" the heroine (Emma Larkin) refuses to make eye contact when she is trying to hide something, and licks her lips when she’s nervous.

   Your hero might prefer to ‘tower over’ his opponents to make them feel inferior, or maybe he smokes when he’s stressed.

   Types of body language include: