News!!!!

Hi all...
So.... A lot has been going on.

Currently editing Dreaming with Ralden, book one of the Kiale Sons Series. It has been going a little slow with everything else I've been up too.

Also Annoucing the opening od my two store.
First, there is my book store, N.B. Book Store. As the name says, N.B. Book Store has a wide variety of books for all ages and catering to all genres.

And secondly, my customized gift store, N.B. Creations. Follow the link. N. B. Creations has  a variety to choose. From tees, to tote, to keepsake boxes, jewlery and much more. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Also don't forget to get your copy of Neil's Fire on Amazon.com.

That is all for now. Talk to you guys later!

Supermom on stike?

Why is it that in a household with two working adults, women are still expected to complete all or majority of the household chores? We as a society, for the most part, have come to accept the fact that a woman’s place is not solely in the home, doing the chores and accommodating the needs of our children and mates. Women have broken through the glass ceiling and are working their way in their careers and gaining the respect of men who thought less of their abilities. If we are being viewed as equals to men career-wise, why are the scales still so unbalanced in the household?

With the emergence of stay-at-home dads, you would think that more men would take on a greater role in the home. But that is hardly the case. Why? Maybe it is because little boys are raised to believe that house chores are woman’s work. That mom is the one who is exclusively responsible for cooking family meals, washing dishes, dusting and doing laundry. That a male participating in the upkeep of the home is unmanly.

But who is responsible for raising our young, impressionable boys to believe that he is exempted from doing household duties while he watches his mom teach his sister to cater to her future husband’s and children’s needs and wants. The answer is surprising but true. Women. We are the ones that impart on our progenies that women are the sole care takers of the house while to keep our men happy, you need to keep the house sparkling, dinner ready on the table by dinner time and the children bathed and tucked into bed by a decent hour so that the man can get some peace and quiet after a hard day’s work. Now, little girls are taught the additional lesson of being independent; get a higher education and land the perfect job. So essentially, we are teaching young ladies to grow up to be super women that work hard all day then arrive home to keep a clean house, raise healthy, happy children and keep a satisfied husband.

We need to break this cycle. We as women need to step up and even out the scale. What’s wrong with showing our offspring that dad can be an equal, or at the very least a contributing participant in the home? Why can’t dad have dinner ready by the time mom gets home? Why can’t dad help with the dishes or the laundry?

I’m not saying that women should give up taking care of their men or children. I find it very satisfying to make my man and child happy but know what I love even better? Having a man that recognizes that I too am tire after working the 9-5. Having a man, who might not take on half the work load of running a household, but who at least makes an effort to help and who shows that he appreciates my efforts. One that recognizes that my caring for him and our family is not a right but a privilege and wants to reciprocate. Why can’t he tuck the kids in tonight while I unwind from a hard day’s work?

Personally, I think it’s too late to noticeable change the mindset of this generation or even the next. But we can plant the seeds for the generations to follow. I believe in equality, in and outside the home. Men need to realize that women work just as hard as they do and have needs and wants of their own. Why is it fair to bear the brunt of the house work load while keeping a full time job. It is not. We need to show our sons that it’s okay to help out around the house. That washing a dish is not the end of the world. We are the ones who need to confront our husbands and demand help. Things will not change overnight but it’s a start.

Happily Ever After?

“And they lived happily ever after.”

This is the common ending for most fairy tales. And quite frankly I’m quite sick of hearing it. What the bleep does it mean? The couple never has a fight? Never have hard times? No troubles?

 That sounds highly unlikely. But to be fair it is a fairy tale after all, where good always wins, the girl always gets the Prince Charming and has a great singing voice. Nothing like reality. And why are they all so damn beautiful, no flaws in sight. You know the stereotype. The princess has long flowing hair, perfect teeth aand a size zero waistline. The prince is…well, Prince Charming with his winning smile. Don’t not-so-beautiful people deserve a happy ending also. People with the chipped tooth, curvy waistline and close cropped hair.

Although I understand wanting to protect our children from the harsh relality of life, that is just it, reality. You can’t run from it. It’s always in you face like that damn pimple that always pops up at the most inopportune times. I think that having a child grow up unprepared for the real world irresponsible. While I want my son to enjoy everything life has to offer, I don’t want him to go into the world with rose-colored glasses and be unprepared for people who in no way see the world in the same light.

We are giving children the wrong idea about what love is. Does love mean you always like your other half, that you live in the biggest house on the block, that you are crowned royality? Of course not. As a matter of fact, I would more readily believe that a couple that fights daily, live in the tiniest house on the block and are deemed ‘peasants”  and are happy with each other, flaws and all, know far more about what love really is. And that’s a happy ending to me.

So while I like mostly everyone enjoy a good fairy tale, I think a more appropriate ending is in order.

Writing Update

Hi guys.

I have been working on my new Series (and first ever), the Kiale Sons, pronounced key ale.

This has been very exciting for me since this is my first paranormal romance. It is a three part series. I don’t want to give anyway anything yet but there are vampires and angels and not the “normal” kind! Does that make sense?

Anyway…

Book one, entitled Dreaming With Ralden has been in the works and the first draft has been completed. Yay!

Now for the most tedious part; editing. I don’t know why but I don’t like editing although I get pretty caught up in it once I start (starting is the hardest part). I should be done by the end of October. Wisk me luck.

Don't foget to check out Neil's Fire. Click here.

To read excerpt, click here.

I got a surprise for you guys. Look for following post.

Night Owl…

So I am up once again after everyone has fallen asleep although I tried very hard to get to sleep. Maybe too hard. 

I am a worrier by nature and at night when I lay my head on my pillow, it’s like everything just crowds my mind vying for attention. I worry about stuff that happened that day, yesterday, a week before, tomorrow. I wish there was an off switch and I could fall fast asleep like my boyfriend. His head hits the pillow and its lights out. Instantly.

That’s a big difference between men and women. Women worry far more than men in my opinion, trying to find solutions to every problem, from how to pay the bills to which shoe to wear to work tomorrow. Men seem to have the fascinating ability to push most of their problems to the far corners of the mind, locking it up in a little box until they choose to deal with it. Well, at least mine does. It infuriates me at times. I am envious of the quality at others.

This got me thinking so I did some research. Do women worry more than men? Apparently not. It’s just that they worry differently than men. O.o...

 What the bleep does that mean?

According to scientists women use both the left and right sides of their brain to worry while men use only the left. An article on ezinearticles.com/says:

Dr. Vesna Pirec, a psychiatrist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago says, "With both hemispheres activated in women, there are many more types of emotional reactions. And women, in times of stress, also tend to remember many more details than men would." It is tough to argue about "what really happened" with a women under stress.

Therefore, women tend to express their worries differently than men. "Women have a greater tendency to brood, with a lot of [emotions] engaged in it," says Dr. Joan Lang, chairwoman of the department of psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine. "Men have a tendency to be a little more obsessive, concentrating on 'What should I do?' rather than, 'What am I feeling?"

           
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/292305

To me that equates to more worrying for women and more gray hairs but what do I know? The article went on to say it’s not that women worry more, they just express their fear and anxiety more, which in a weird way makes sense to me. You know, the whole men don’t cry mentality.

Rainy Day Blues... Maybe.

Hi y'all...

Today's weather is a far cry from the heat of the last few days.

But I'm not complaining. I actually love rainy days. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside if that makes sense.

There's another tropical system over the Atlantic, tropical storm Ophelia.

Forecasters seem to think it won't cause much damage so I'm happy. St. Lucia can't take another hit especially since hurricane Tomas last year. I'm sure most of the US and the Caribbean think the same.

More exciting news. It's my son's birthdat today. My little pookie (sure he won't appreciate that name in a few years) is one year old. I can't believe a whole year has gone by although his birthday actually starts at 4:45 pm (time he was born). I thought motherhood would be a little scarier (well, a lot more) but I love my little man so much that nothing else matters. Awww. (who gives themself's an awww-me, apparently).

Muy Caliente

Hi everyone.

I'm so sorry its been so long. Busy, busy, busy....

It's really hot today, sunny. thought I'd share with you. Here are some photos from the back of my apartment. my fan is on it's highest setting and I'm still melting.

9/11

I remember that day well. I live in St. Lucia as I said before and I was at school when the attack happened. I think I was thirteen at the time. I only found out what happened later that day since I had been at school for most of the day.

When I saw the news and reports I was…I have no idea what I was to tell you the truth. It seemed surreal to me. I remembered wondering how one person, far less an entire group came around to thinking that an act like that would solve any problem. Honestly, can anyone explain that to me? Are people so desperate to believe in something that any bullshit some idiot sprouts at them is gospel?

I could not watch footage from that day for a very long time-I have a hard time watching people suffer: I honestly get sick. But after a few years, I got up the courage to watch some documentaries and the thing that still sticks with me up until this day is watching these people lose hope and jump from those buildings. It was truly heartbreaking for me to watch and for most of it I cried.

And I think that is what 9/11 was about-making people lose hope. If a powerhouse like the United States could not prevent such an attack, who was really safe from people who had no respect for life? No one. That’s the answer I came up with. People were afraid to fly, many still are. We watch at some from another race with contempt, discrimination so easily. Wars are become easily accepted as the norm.

That’s what that attack did to the world. It took away the precious little things. Hope, trust and our humility.

This was not only an attack on the US. It was an attack on the entire world. And I’m not saying that to justify a war. How can violence stop violence? I am saying this because no matter where you came from, what religion, race, social class, man, woman or baby, you were affected by 9/11, directly or indirectly.

Ten years ago, so many people died senseless and I with most of the world mourn the tragic loss.

Remembering all those who were lost on this day.