Are you a bird or a pig? How life mimics Angry Birds

 Are you a bird or a pig? How life mimics Angry Birds

I’ve been giving much thought to the meaning of life.

What is the purpose of life? 

Are we supposed to be happy?

 Is anyone reading this?

And as I fling a bird against a wall, for the umpteenth time a row, it came to me.

 Life is like Angry Birds.

If someone stole your eggs what would you do?

Buy some more?

Be thankful for the time you had with your eggs?

Or hunt them down?

It is kinda scary how easily people are giving up their rights. Because, they don’t wanna make a scene. Because, they don’t have the energy or gumption to fight for what is theirs. Because, they have been raised as sheep.

 No matter what the reason; it is refreshing to see that some birds still care. That some birds will go the extra mile, to stand up for what is right even if it means sacrificing themselves.

Let’s take the red bird. Yes, fairly worthless in some people’s eyes; but red bird never gives up. It will fly into a stone wall over and over and over and over until it cracks. Perseverance.

Yellow bird is just plain ticked off. It takes aim and shifts into overdrive holding nothing back. Balls. Do you got ‘em?

White Bird, not the smartest, but shows up for the fight every time. Loyalty.

Black Bird, gets the job done. It will bowl through anything in its path and blow the crap out of it. Determination.

Blue Bird, size doesn’t matter. It’s all in the strategy. These little guys know there is strength in numbers. Power.

And the pigs. Yes, those low down pigs who take what they want, when they want it. Doesn’t matter that they didn’t earn it. Do they deserve your eggs?

Heck no! So speak up, make a scene, and don’t take life for granted.

Me? I’m gonna go make a Ham & Cheese Omelet.

Note: No animals were harmed in the writing of this blog. Pictures are from Wikipedia. Angry Birds are property of Rovio

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Interview with Musician D.B. Patterson

I’m very pleased to introduce you guys to D.B. Patterson. D.B. just released his first album and was kind enough to  stop in for a spell.

D.B. when did your love for music develop?

My love for music started at a young age.  I enjoyed elementary school music class.  I took violin lessons and stuck with that until the 7th grade.  I think though that classical music, as beautiful as it is, was not really my cup of tea.  I have always liked songs, especially songs with memorable lyrics.  Lyrics that tell a story, lyrics that are poetic, or ones that evoke vivid imagery.   I started to get into rock music in junior high school, not playing anything, just listening.  My parents liked country music, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, Marty Robbins, and I think they listened to Bing Crosby and that genre of music.  My sister liked The Beatles, Roberta Flack, Joni Mitchell, Harry Chapin, Simon and Garfunkel, and John Denver.  I think the first albums I bought were ones by the Eagles, Elton John, Boston, and Led Zeppelin.  When I was eighteen, I joined the Air Force, and it was there that I was exposed to lots of new music and was really hooked.  I loved just about all Rock and Roll, including lots of new wave bands because I thought "wow, this doesn't sound commercial and smooth, these bands have the guts to break out of the mold."  I bought my first guitar at that time and taught myself to play.  During this time I also started listening to jazz and blues.  In college I took a mini-course on the blues harmonica and that helped me secure a spot as lead vocalist and harp player in my first band, The Dharma Bums.  I am the one who came up with the band's name, it is the title of a book that was written by Jack Kerouac. 

I think writing a song is like writing a really short book, every one tells a story. Where do your song ideas come from?

My song ideas come from lyrical hooks usually. I almost always start with the lyrics before I start trying to write the music. Sometimes I also decide I'd like to write a topical song or song that tells a story.

What inspired you to create a CD?

My inspiration to make my CD, Walking in the Morning Rain, was the need to have something tangible to promote myself as a musician.  It also gave me a goal to work towards and the opportunity to work with another musician, Donny C. Hammonds, and to share ideas regarding composition. Donny is very talented and he contributed lead guitar, bass, mandolin, back-up vocals, and percussion. It was recorded at Donny's studio, The Afterdark Studio. His facebook page for the studio is www.facebook.com/theafterdarkstudio.

Do you have any upcoming Gigs?

I don't have any immediate gigs lined up, but I am sure I will be playing in the Cartersville area with the Cartersville Songwriters Exchange in the near future. I owe a lot to my friends Randy and Patricia Owens, who really help promote local musicians and who organize so many fun events.

Where can we get a copy?

You can buy my music online at www.Reverbnation.com/davidpatterson. I also sell Walking in the Morning Rain whenever I play out at a gig. $5 for ten songs, a pretty decent bargain!  You can also email me for more information about buying the CD if you'd like that instead of the digital files.






For more info visit: D.B.'s Facebook Fan Page
Or send him an email: db.patterson@gmail.com

Author G.W. Jefferies: Apolo Drakuvich

Author G.W. Jefferies Sharing his new book 

Apolo Drakuvich (Psst! We love the Final Cover!)

The Book

The Blurb

The Man

Amazon link to book: http://www.amazon.com/Apolo-Drakuvich-ebook/dp/B004OEIT7E/

Author blog/website: www.gwjefferies.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gwjefferies

 

The Book:

----- (Review from Free Book Reviews)

Jefferies grabs you with this book and refuses to let go until you see it his way or no way. They say Texas is raw and gritty and this writer shows this truth in his writing. The story is mesmerizing and refuses to let go until it is finished with you.

Point of View: Jefferies is direct with the point of view and really grabs the attention of the reader.

Voice: The voice again is direct in an entertaining way but the story itself is what draws you in.

Character Development: You can not help but feel for Apolo and empathize with him throughout the book.

Plot: We all know that a corrupt system exists and we all know this HAS happened in some form or another.

Dialogue: Gritty, fast paced and delivered flawlessly.

Pacing: Imagine the open expanse of the Texas Country Side fit inside of Rhode Island and that is how the plot moves. Meaning it feels wide open but the author finds a way to fit it all in between the pages he allowed. WOW!

Setting: Again we all know this could or did happen somewhere in some fashion.

Continuity: The bow is a little skewed but the author does a nice job of making it tied and in place.
-Albert Robbins III of Free Book Reviews
------

 

The Blurb:

G.W. Jefferies' Apolo Drakuvich captures the life of a petty criminal on a strange ride ranging from bizarre and senseless to utterly tragic. Revolving around parasitic journalism, media and government corruption, and a ruthless, conniving judge who milks the citizens out of millions of dollars, Apolo Drakuvich can be described as a compilation of untamed and sheer madness--captivating the readers' attention from beginning to end. With its raw descriptions, penetrating dialogue and crisp writing, this book is like no other.

Within all the madness that so epitomizes the life of Apolo, G.W. Jeffries presents a life of regret in epic proportions. Sitting in a jail cell, Apolo reflects, "One thing is for sure, I let it all slip away...so many opportunities lost." Apolo sadly examines the events and decisions of his life, and the paths he took and should have taken. Apolo seeks peace of mind and justice, but flashbacks of his past continuously haunt him; moreover, he seems to be victimized by a corrupt justice system everywhere he goes.

As an offender, Apolo discusses pertinent issues of today's society, where it is next to impossible for offenders to live normal lives, despite the desire to do so. Essentially, law enforcement and authorities seem to systematically destroy the offender by placing constraints on the offender such as restrictions on where to live, GPS monitoring, registering as offenders on websites, and more.

Apolo Drakuvich is a microcosm of numerous real-life issues encompassing the wild, the bizarre, and the tragic.

Amazon link to book: http://www.amazon.com/Apolo-Drakuvich-ebook/dp/B004OEIT7E/

Author blog/website: www.gwjefferies.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gwjefferies

 

The Man:

1. Tell us about yourself and how you came to be a writer / poet.

I’m a native Texan and I write contemporary and dystopian fiction.  The themes of counter-culture and dystopian views are usually included in some form in my works.  Some of my literary influences include Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, William S. Burroughs, George Orwell, and Kurt Vonnegut. 

2. What's currently on your Kindle / Nook / eReader?

I just bought my Kindle last week but I have some books by Vonnegut and Hunter S. Thompson.  I also have works by some indie authors: Melissa Smith, David Gaughran, Jack Wallen, etc….too many to mention.

3. What's next up in your Netflix queue?

I have about 200 hundred movies and tv shows in the que at the moment but I think I’m going to watch the Twin Peaks tv series.  I’m in the mood to freak myself out.

4.  From the description, Apolo Drakuvich seems to be a story about the cyclic nature of a criminal life—how increased scrutiny from law enforcement and the stigma of being a criminal create a spiral that prevents any kind of normal life and in fact perpetuates further criminal activity. Is this a fair assessment? What prompted you to write such a book?

I think that is a fair assessment but I would add to the mix a corrupt justice system and now we have real chaos.  How can people expect criminals to better themselves when the system in play is just as bad as the criminal activity?  Apolo Drakuvich was written to help bring awareness to all sides of the issue.  Let’s stop and really take a look at this system. 

5. You had a post on your blog last week about a badly written, poorly-rated book you found that has made fairly constant appearances on the Kindle bestsellers list. Your conclusion was, cheap sex sells. As an artist struggling for the attention of a wider audience, does it discourage you to see the bestseller lists filled with books that seem so shallow on the surface?

Cheap sex sells…this will never end.  Kudos for the authors making a few extra dollars.  It’s a little discouraging but if this is what the people want, let them have it.

6. Is it fair to say that you've noticed an overall theme in your work? Something that follows you from piece to piece? If so, what is it?

I only have a novella, a short story, and poetry currently published but I would say the themes are dark at the moment.  They are dystopian stories that deal with some form of corruption.  I wouldn’t say this is my overall theme for all of my works but just the theme that is available to the world…if that makes any sense.  I’m interested in character/human/individual growth and I always try to put those type of character traits into my works.

7. What message do you want the world to see in your writing?

Don’t always believe what you see or read.  Be a free thinker.

8. If you could change the world right now, what would those changes look like?

People would be free to make their own choices so the world would probably look more or less the same.  Well, I guess I would like to add…let’s play nice.

9. PC or Mac?

I use both but I write on a PC.

Guest Blogger: Romance Author Sarah Woodbury

Historical Romance Author Sarah Woodbury stopped into day with a wonderful History lesson!

 As you know, I love history and am tickled to death to have her visit!

Sarah has several wonderful titles. Today she is sharing Daughter of time, only .99, just in time for Cyber Monday!

Women in Celtic Society

It is a stereotype that women in the Middle Ages had two career options:  mother or holy woman, with prostitute or chattel filling in the gaps between those two.  Whether we like it or not, for the most part this stereotype is accurate and the status and role of women in that era revolved around these categories.

This is one reason that when an author sets fiction in this time, it is difficult to write a self-actualized female character who has any kind of autonomy or authority over her own life.  Thus, it is common practice to make fictional characters either healers of some sort (thus opening up a whole array of narrative possibilities for travel and interaction with interesting people) or to focus on high status women.  Such women may or may not actually have had more autonomy, but their lives didn’t consist of drudgery and child care from morning until night.

This is not to say that men in the Middle Ages weren’t equally restricted in their ‘careers’.  A serf is a serf after all, of whatever gender.  Men as a whole, however, did have control of women, of finances, of government, and of the Church, and thus organized and ruled the world.  Literally.

There are obvious exceptions—Eleanor of Aquitaine, anyone—but women such as she were one out of thousands upon thousands who were born, worked, and died within five miles of their home.

At the same time, within Celtic cultures, women at least had the possibility of greater personal autonomy.  In Ireland, where the Roman Church had less influence, women had a viable place both within the Druid religion and within the Celtic/Irish Church.  Wales too was less subject to the restrictions of the Church.  There, women had a higher status than in Christendom as a whole, including the right to divorce her husband and societal acceptance of illegitimate children. 

The Laws of Women (part of the Laws of Hywel Dda) included rules that governed marriage and the division of property if a married couple should separate. Women usually married through contract, but elopement was allowed, with the provision that if the relationship lasted seven years, a woman had the same entitlements as if she’d been given to her husband by her kin.

My book, Daughter of Time, tells the story a young widow, Meg, who falls through time into the Middle Ages—and into the arms of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of Wales.  One aspect of the book that I found very interesting to write was her reaction to the status and role of women in medieval Wales, and how a modern woman might deal with it.  

Links:

My web page:  http://www.sarahwoodbury.com/

My Twitter code is:  http://twitter.com/#!/SarahWoodbury

On Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sarahwoodburybooks

Links to my books: 

Amazon and Amazon UK
Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Contest! Enter to Win A Signed Print Copy of Chase the Moon

Contest! Enter to Win A Signed Print Copy of 

Chase the Moon by Lynn Hubbard

You will receive 1 entry for each activity you complete. Winner will be notified by email. 

Some entries are daily so check back for more chances! 

Click Here to Enter!

Chase the Moon is the latest Historical Romance from Lynn Hubbard, 

Best Selling Author of Run into the Wind

Amelia is enraptured by Chase’s charm and his touch. 

Will she fit into his world? Or, will Chase give up everything 

to fit into hers? 

Set in Mississippi 1886 

Meet Chase Stafford. Chase inherited his mother’s Comanche blood and his father’s sense of humor. After receiving a wedding invitation from his brother Brock, he heads off on a train to Mississippi. Along the way, he runs into Amelia. Half asleep, he mistakes her flowing alabaster hair for that of a banshee. After starting off on the wrong foot can Chase’s charm persuade her to give him another chance? 

Amelia’s initial encounter with Chase was unsettling to say the least. The glamorous city girl was taken aback by Chase’s forwardness. Nevertheless, she is bound and determined to awaken the sensations that only he can unleash. 

www.lynnhubbard.com

                                       

                                               Click Here to Enter!

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Black Friday-Free ebook

Let the shopping begin!

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year!  I love the blue tint my nose turns while waiting outside for the stores to open. 

Need something to warm you up? 

How about a free romance ebook? 

Desperado is sure to get the blood pumping!

Just visit smashwords.com

and enter the code below!

Desperado by Lynn Hubbard

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29316

Promotional price: $0.00

Coupon Code: RD46Y

Expires: November 30, 2011

Sign up for updates below and get entered for a chance to win a signed copy of my latest book Chase the Moon 

Contest ends 12/15/2011

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Need more? Visit www.lynnhubbard.com

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Laura Yirak's thoughts on Thanksgiving!

Counting down the days! 

Thanksgiving is upon us and Author Laura Yirak 

is here to Share her thoughts.  

The Yirak Turkey!

 

I always get a fresh turkey for thanksgiving---this year I'm doing it up early, so I bought a FROZEN turkey.  That was all they had---OMG, a FROZEN turkey you say.  Yes, I do say!

Yesterday I put the solid sucker in the fridge.

Neurotically, I wonder, how long will it take to defrost?  Will it defrost in time?  Should I put it in water, leave it on the counter?  I have been checking and poking and examining it every few hours---yes, I'm crazy.  Though I check and though I peak, it's still as hard as a poultry brick.

A table full of starved guests, I open up my fridge and pull out my FROZEN solid turkey and place it on my table, "I thought this year that we would celebrate Thanksgiving symbolically."  I could put a bow on top for added decor.

And as I light some candles, I will pull my plate of chicken nuggets from the microwave and serve them up steaming HOT, with some chilled cranberry sauce.  "Thank you all for coming and traveling so far to be here with us on this day.  I hope that you will all enjoy the meal."  And I will warmly smile.

I still have two days left :)

 

Happy turkey day!!!

Visit Laura's Blog at: http://dreamsofdiamondsauthor.blogspot.com/

Get Laura's Book at Amazon

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