Outcast by Rick Haynes

A fantasy tale of love, betrayal, and giants

The freedom of youth quickly disappears as a maelstrom of evil erupts. Torn between blind loyalty to his evil master and freedom, Sigbjorn chooses to escape from the clutches of Lord Uddi. With his two sword shields following, Sigbjorn leads them to Humli, a small peaceful town in the hills. Their hopes of finding a place to call home are soon dashed as a shadow grows in the east. With the vile Guths threatening to align themselves with the mysterious giants, only a tidal wave of hero’s blood can prevent the carnage.                                            https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1093832541

Fake It Till You Make It

Is it a good advice?

https://books2read.com/Fake-It

I wrote this short story remembering all the seemingly perfect families I've met in my life.
They show a picture perfect family life but hide the struggles, heartache, compromises, and sacrifices they made to get there.
People are not perfect and we all come with a baggage. We can live a happy life or a create a chaotic life. It all depends on the choices we make

Nancy arrives home from a long day at work. She kicks off her high heels and walks into the kitchen. Bruce lights the candles on the dinner table and embraces her in a warm hug. Her two girls, ages five and six, are running from the playroom to greet her. Their handsome seventeen-year-old boy looks up from his computer and smiles at her.

A beautiful picture, isn’t it? The man plays the role of the happy househusband and the wife is the breadwinner. Nothing is wrong with that. But, let’s just see how they got to this ideal picture of a happy home.

A short snippet from the book

Bruce remembered a conversation he had with his father a long time ago.

They were sitting at the kitchen table having a beer when he was just a teenager. He felt so grown up and important because his father let him drink a beer. He asked his father if he ever loved his mother. He had watched their relationship since he was a small child, and he couldn’t sense any devotion on his father’s part.

“She’s a dumb bitch. What’s there to love? But she’s a good mother and a good provider. I find my love elsewhere, son. The home is for security and comfort while I’m looking for a job,” he said, winking at Bruce. “She’s well trained if you know what I mean,” he continued.

Bruce wanted his father’s approval desperately. He was the role model for absentee fathers, but occasionally they had a moment together when he felt some closeness to him. All his life he believed that his mother and, as a matter of fact, every woman was just a meal ticket to an easy life. That’s what he saw, and that’s what he learned. He thought about relationships rationally: have fun with a girl but marry a steady woman on whom you can depend, as his father said. He had many girls to have fun with, and when he was in his early twenties, he began looking for a wife. He moved in and out of fleeting relationships, and he was surprised in the beginning that after four or five months, the women threw him out. They saw right through him and they refused to be used. He asked his father about it.

“Son, you have to be smart. You can’t just sit at home watching movies all day. Of course, they will find out you have no intention to work. You must ‘fake it till you make it’ Take a job, do it for a couple of weeks, and then get yourself fired. Find a way that makes it look like it wasn’t your fault. Then you’re okay for a couple of months; they will leave you in peace to look for another job,” his father advised him.

It worked for years, and he could stay in a relationship longer and longer.

My published fiction, children's books, and audiobooks:

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The Love of my Life #OurAuthorGang

First I just want to say Happy Valentine’s Day from Everyone here at Our Author Gang

Originally when I took this slot, I intended to write a romantic flash fiction piece. Then my husband inspired me to do something a little different. He asked me if he was in my books. The answer is yes. But he is never one specific character.

To help you understand I’ll give you a little background on us. My husband and I are high school sweethearts. We met when I was 17, and he was 18. We married four years later. This August will be our 17^th wedding anniversary. Please don’t do the math.

We’ve been through thick and thin, together. He’s seen me at my worst and my best. My husband stuck by when I battled depression twice and never complained. We’ve survived two spans of long distance relationships totaling six years. When people ask how we did it, I always tell them we are in it for the long haul what’s a few years compared to the rest of your life.  

If you read my fantasy series Chronicles of the Coranydas, you’ll see him as the best friend turned lover and husband in Mara’s love interest. In For Their Sins, his bad boy nature comes out just a little in Alexandria’s love. In Neutral Space, I needed a strong, dependable man for the lead, and that’s my husband to a tee. In Dragon’s of the North, I see him the most in Hayden. He’s funny and charming, yet so in love, it makes him vulnerable.

R Tran Books

My husband is present in everything I do. How could he not be? He’s the love of my life.

Below is a very brief story of how we got engaged. (After 17 years the words might not be exact but you'll get the idea).

I waited anxiously, all week to see Isaac. He said he wanted to go to a nice restaurant when he got into town. Why? He never wanted to go out when he came. He was going to dump me. Ran through

my head. Yep at a public place so I can’t get upset. I pushed the thought aside as I checked the time once more. He should be here by now. It was cold and rainy traffic was probably bad. I told myself for the third time.
Finally, there was a knock on the door. Isaac waited there shivering in the cold. It was misting slightly. “Can you help me with something in the car?”

I was suspicious. He only ever brought one bag. He was going to break up with me here instead of the restaurant and drive home. It was an irrational thought, I knew. Why would he drive two hours only to break up with me then go straight home? I put on my coat and followed him to the car.

Isaac unlocked the door and reached in, but didn’t get his bag. What was he up to now? He turned around and had a small grey velvet box in his hand. “Becky, you know I love you. Will you marry me?”

I put the ring on my finger as I said yes. We kissed, and the rest was history.

It turns out he bought the ring on Wednesday. Isaac could never keep a secret. He was bursting to ask me by the time he reached me on Friday. Waiting until we reached the restaurant was simply too long. I’ve never resented my curbside proposal. All that matters is us.

Our Guest today is Author Kathleen DuHamel #OurAuthorGang

We're pleased to have with us today, Author Kathleen Duhamel

Kathleen Duhamel is a contemporary fiction writer and author of THE DEEP BLUE TRILOGY (Deep Blue, Deeper, and Deep End), as well as the novella AT HOME WITH ANDRE. She wrote and illustrated her first short story at the age of eight. Her love of the written word continued throughout her varied career as a newspaper journalist and editor, public relations executive, free-lance travel writer, and owner/operator of two small businesses. A native of Texas, she's spent most of her adult life in Colorado. She lives in the Denver area with her husband, a geriatric standard poodle, and a spoiled cat. Kathleen is a lifelong devotee of rock and soul music, contemporary art, and pop culture.

http://www.kathleenduhamel.com

http://www.facebook.com/kathleen.duhamel

http://www.twitter.com/KathleenDuhamel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777VCF6D?tag=geolinker-20

When her close-to-perfect world falls apart, can love still prevail?

After years of struggle and harsh criticism, happily married rock-star wife, Claire Martin, has finally achieved the career success of her dreams. As the featured artist in an international traveling exhibit, she looks forward to her best year ever, while her husband, singer Robert Silver of the legendary rock band Deep Blue, contemplates a return to touring.

Things are also looking up for Claire's best friend, Denise Hrivnak, who's planning her wedding to Robert's musical partner, Art Hoffman. However, what should have been the most joyful day of Denise's life, turns to tragedy when an unexpected event forces both women to contemplate the terrifying possibility of life without the men they love.

Besieged with the paparazzi and sick with worry, Claire waits for answers in a Las Vegas hotel room, thinking over her improbable relationship with Rob and praying that love alone is strong enough to bring her husband back from the brink.

GUESS > VOTE > WIN

Guess if our blog will or will not reach 100,000 by December 31st.  

If you guess correctly, you will be eligible to win a prize package including ebooks and/or a signed print copy. 

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Bittersweet beginnings #OurAuthorGang

How do I get through the tough stuff?  I write.

by Grace Augustine

As I reflect on the loves of my life, (there have only been 4--2 husbands, a fiance and a very special man) I find I've been "in" love two times. Once was in the 1980's with a redheaded Scottish chiropractor. We'd seen each other for months and talked of marriage. He attended an out of town conference and said when he got home we'd discuss it more. He didn't get home. I received a phone call from his office manager telling me that he had committed suicide. The family was making arrangements and I'd be notified when services were.  Oh, the pain! The anger! The loss! I was friends with a radio station disc jockey and we were to have had dinner that night.  I phoned and told him what had happened. He of course was working and couldn't leave the station,but he encouraged me to write. I wrote what I titled "A Eulogy for Philip" and put down my pen for good...or so I thought.

https://www.amazon.com/Fragments-Reflection-Grace-Augustine/dp/1511831480

An Eulogy for Philip

I love you with a love so deep

My days are filled with pain

The nights do not hold sleep.

My head only beats in anger

My heart is an empty shell

I’m numb, void of feeling

For today from life you fell.

I remember many dinners

Late night moonlight walks

Singing and playing music

And quiet heartfelt talks

I remember Halloween

The masked bandit and the clown

Laughing and dancing ‘til 3 am

And all the love we found

I remember the day we met

I thought you old and gray

Then deja vous got in our way

You loved wispy pastels and long flowing hair

We made quite a pair, you and I

You came to Sunday dinner in a three piece suit

Portraying some big winner

You saw me during good times

Counselled me in bad

Held me during rough times

Loved me when I was sad

Animals seemed to love you

Children did, too.

You played the piano and we sang ‘til dawn

I still can’t believe you’re really gone

Gone from my life

And all that is real

We sat on your roof

Counting the stars

Dreaming our dreams

I never thought you’d leave

Be gone forever

And I’d never get the chance to say good-bye

I wonder where you are

Are you sitting on a star?

Sailing a ship?

Singing love songs in my ear?

Have you passed through the Gate?

Are you clothed in sparkling white?

God, I feel you so close

My heart beats in tune with yours

As it always did

I loved the curls of your soft auburn hair

The twinkle in your beautiful eyes

Every time you smiled.

Your closeness warms my heart

My dear, dear, Philip

We will never live our dreams

We will never be together

We will never be each other’s soulmate

I’ll never hold you again

Feel the warmth of your touch

The passion filled kisses

The plans for marriage

For a lifetime together

All gone in the blink of an eye.

I love you, darling

Someday, someday

We will have our second chance

We will have a brand new start

Until then

Fly with the angels

Brighten the night sky

I’ll forever hold you in my heart

I’ll see you soon

I’ll never say goodbye

--5/21/81

It seems my batting record with romance is a big fat zero! Don't get me wrong, when I love, I love with every ounce of me. That may be my biggest downfall. After an unfortunate set of circumstances I could no longer overlook, or be part of, six years ago I ended a relationship with the man I felt was my soulmate. This person taught me what I wanted from love, taught me how to love completely with no reservation, and taught me how to grow. To say I was devastated was an understatement! I was angry...seeing red, snorting bull angry... that he didn't seem to understand why my decision had to stand.

So, as I had in the past when adversity struck, I pulled out paper and pen and wrote down my thoughts and feelings. Tears poured down my cheeks and onto the paper. My head soon was on that wet surface as I grieved for what I'd lost. Soon, I'd written 30 pages...front and back...and a story was forming. Little did I know at that time, it would be the first book of my Acorn Hills Series... Bittersweet.

It's amazing the stories we can weave when we are uspet, betrayed, unloved, or so elated we want to shout to the masses from the rooftops.

I hope you enjoy reading Bittersweet. It is book 1 of The Acorn Hills Series and is free on all platforms.

http://a.co/aZ2CsId

Excerpt from Bittersweet:

     "One of Jake’s major problems was that he loved women. Not just some women, but ALL women.  Sure he knew that he brought it all on himself, but damn it, he just couldn’t help how he felt.  He loved how they looked, how they smelled.  Hell, he could even tell which ones were ripe and in “heat” when walking by them! He loved the curves of full breasts, whether they were a B cup or a double D! He loved the sight of a tight ass as it walked away in front of him; the perfect sway of those hips with each step.  Ah, yes, women!  His pet word for them was “PITA” which stood for Pains in the Ass.

        No two ways about it, Jake WAS charming.  He knew how to get what he wanted from just about anyone.  He was a master at putting his spin on the truth.  People seemed drawn to him like the Pied Piper. Maybe the spin came in a look or in his dazzling smile or in his deep commanding voice. It was different for each situation.

         Little did people know that once in his lair, it was hard to get away and more difficult to escape the charming smoke screen that enshrouded the situation.  That didn’t mean he got off scot free, though. Women loved him, men hated him, business associates tolerated him, and family, for the most part, was very disappointed in his choices. He let out a breath of exasperation.  Life as he knew it. 

        Jake reflected on the conversation from earlier that afternoon. Jillian had told him to come get his things. Well, it certainly wasn’t going to happen right now. He had to think about this, had to plan what was going to be the best for him with this whole thing. 

       His condo wasn't ready to move into and he really didn’t want to spend the money to stay at a hotel. His only choice was to stay at his office. After all, he had spent millions on renovations and it would accommodate his needs for the present time. He would go home and pick up his things in a couple days. He just couldn’t do it right now. The reality of those words pierced his heart…Jillian’s was no longer his home. It was HER house, her home.  He didn’t have a “home”.

        A vision of Jillian plagued his mind. Jillian Halloran wasn’t “just another woman.” She had been THE woman in his life for the past three years.  Jake remembered thinking how “wholesome” she appeared when they met at that Chamber of Commerce luncheon. She wasn’t a striking beauty, and in fact Jake would categorize her as “nothing special,” but Jillian was definitely bright and funny and caring and compassionate and loving and just simply beautiful from the inside out. 

      She had extremely expressive eyes, those big, lash-fringed, doe-like eyes that you just couldn’t resist. Yet when she was angry her eyes turned to these pools of liquid amber that threw daggers at the opposition.  God, he just simply got lost in them every time their eyes met. And, her nose. How he loved her nose…it was just the right size to kiss and suckle.  Her breasts fit so well in the palms of his hands. Her fragrance, sometimes fruity, sometimes spicy, but always fresh.  He fell hard for her the day they met.  It was like fireworks and a tilt-a-whirl mixed into one daring ride.  Yet, now she was saying it was over?  Who was she to call the shots?  Who was she to say when it was over?  And why couldn’t she just deal with the fact that his passion was women?"

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Prose and Poetry #OurAuthorGang

by Author Grace Augustine

http://a.co/7tVAaRn

Excerpts from a 40 year compilation of prose and poetry:

A day in the life of a clown

For one and all to see

Sometimes up, sometimes down

So, what's right for me?

Am I now alone

In this foolish game?

Can I still condone

Life's fortune and it's fame?

Do these tears still fall

Drowning what's not right?

How I fail to hear you call

As you whisper in the night.

I want to be aglow

From all the love you give...

Your warmth I want to know

So I'll more fully live.

I need to be with you

In all parts of my day.

To find our love renewed

Through all the words we say.

ICICLE TEARS

Porcupine quills

Puncture the sensitive tendons

Of the soul

As the precious life blood

Seeps through

The pin-hole openings

Draining all energy and emotion

Traumatic transformation occurs slowly

One in which all systems shut down

Only to become

Stony grey and cold and hard

My heart and I cry

Icicle tears.

Dance Little Snowflakes, Dance

On silver skates you'll twirl

Late at night 'til early morn

With laziness you'll swirl.

The children laugh aloud,

You can even hear them skate.

Rows and rows of snowmen

Now stand guard around the lake.

The chilly North winds blow,

You seem to heed their call.

Float then gently down,

Uniting as you fall.

Biting, whirring whirlwinds

Create mounds of deep white fluff.

The piles grow ever higher.

Isn't this enough?

https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Augustine/e/B00FQXTT58

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Pets and Daily Life @OurAuthorGang

by Author Grace Augustine

August 6, 2014, a friend and I had plans for lunch. She came by my place and, as we made our way to her vehicle, we heard a relentless meow coming from under my mobile home. My friend assured me if it was still there when we returned, we were investigating.

Well, the meow was still there...faint, raspy, but still there. 

My friend unlatched the skirting of my mobile home and got down on her knees with a flashlight. What she found was this tiny kitten in awful shape--dehydrated, hungry, infested with ear mites, and infection in both eyes.

The only thing I had in the house to feed it was deli turkey lunchmeat. I finely chopped it up and took it outside to give to the kitten, who, by this time, was nuzzling up to my friend's neck.

She set the kitten down and it chowed down the food. When it was picked up, it began purring and nestled right up against my friend's neck again. There was no way I could allow this little thing to be outside all night. 

We brought her inside, put a towel in the bottom of a laundry basket and duct taped the handles of another basket on top. The kitten was silent. I was worried it may not make it through the night.

The afternoon we found the kitten

First thing the next morning, my son and I took it to the vet. She weighed 1.3 lbs. She'd also won my heart! We weren't going to keep her, but the more she was in our home, the more she felt a part of our home.

Two Weeks after finding Miss Bou

I'm happy to say, Ms. Babou weighs in at a little under 11 lbs, is a happy 3 yr old who rules this domain...and her people. She also has been known to do newsletter and blog takeovers on my website!

Ms. Bou's author photo

In Ethereal Authority, Book 2 of The Diva to the Guides Trilogy, you meet Simon. Simon is no ordinary feline. Simon has special powers and puts them to work saving his owner. Here is an excerpt:  http://a.co/iybrGaD

       "Charisse tried to shift her body. A sharp object under her left hip prevented her from moving.

        “Don’t panic, Miss.”

        Charisse felt a warm blanket of comfort wash over her at that point. She knew Simon understood where she was and what was going on.  Not only had she had to deal with these gifts she didn’t understand, she’d been adopted by a cat who seemed to now own her. Simon The Cat had special abilities, too.

        In a world that seemed so simple, nothing was: the gifts Charisse didn’t understand, the jobs she held that used those gifts, Simon The Cat, who was now her familiar and best friend. All of this she had to figure out by herself. If only her mom could be here to teach her how to develop and use these gifts."

Love's an Adventure at Any Age Part 2 #OurAuthorGang

     by Grace Augustine

As a high school student, I fell in love with the idea of falling in love. I read Harlequins when Harlequins were sweet with nothing more than a kiss or thought. My favorite books were from authors Janet Dailey, Anne Mather, and Grace Livingston Hill.

    In my early 20's, I gravitated toward self-help books. I think that was because I was the Administrative Assistant to the Offices of Student Services at Western States Chiropractic College. (Say that ten times really fast!)
    Soon marriage and children came along and the only books I read were Dr. Seuss and Good Night, Moon...over and over and over.

     Now that my life is void of children or grandchildren who need my undivided attention,  I've come full circle and am embracing romance/love again.
     The thing about love...it is timeless. It has no boundaries except those we put on it.
     The tag-line for my Acorn Hills series... "Acorn Hills--Where Love is Ageless and Dreams are Reality" sums up the feel of this series. You can be in love and be loved at any age. We don't have to put numbers on it--you don't have to be 25, 35 or 40. My characters are in their 60's by the time the books end and still very much in love.
     An excerpt from Mystic Capers, Book 2 of the Acorn Hills Series.
http://a.co/9RatJc2

    "Charles pulled away from his daughter and looked down at her. He still saw the younger version of his wife in her. Her eyes, her hair, her spirit were all Kathleen O'Reilly Farnsworth. He smiled and pulled Ginger back to him, resting his chin on her head.

        “That’s another thing, are you sure that you are doing the right thing by moving in with Jordan, that you aren’t just doing this because you don’t have the apartment any longer?”

        “Daddy, I’m hopelessly in love with Jordan. I don’t know if he’s there yet, but my heart is his. Yes, I’m confident that what I’m doing is the right thing for me. I love him, Daddy,” Ginger confessed.

        “Then, honey, that’s all that matters. Jordan seems a good, responsible man. He’s the type that will take care of you. Trust me, dear girl, I see in his eyes when he looks at you the love I felt for your mother when I first laid eyes on her. You’ll be happy with this man, Ginger. Just be open and honest. Be you and ‘love the stuffin’ oot o’ him’ as your mother would say.” They both chuckled at that."