Winter Skin Part 2 #Our AuthorGang

Winter skincare

By Erika M Szabo

While we would love to have winter skin like this:

Most likely, it feels like this:

I studied Natural Healing and my philosophy as a Naturopath is that “If you can’t eat or drink it safely, don’t put it on your skin either”. 

In my first Winter Skin post, I talked about how I clean and exfoliate my skin: https://asmallgangofauthors.blogspot.com/2018_01_04_archive.html

In this post, I'll talk about how I moisturize. I’ve been using my grandmother's special blend of oils.

Why do I use oils?

Our ancestors used base and essential oils for centuries with great success. The first documented beauty was Cleopatra, she used almond and rose oils to keep her skin supple and beautiful. Only the past 50 years or so since the cosmetic industry developed thousands of creams and lotions, using essential oils to moisturize skin became taboo. Why? Simply because selling natural oils is not profitable.

The cosmetic industry provides us with thousands and thousands of skin care products. The question is: do you want to use them if you’re conscious about your health?

Let’s talk about creams and lotions:

When you try to read and understand the long list of the ingredients on creams and lotions, I bet you give up after reading the second line.

We’re so careful nowadays with what we’re putting into our stomachs. What about our skin? Everything that we apply to our skin goes right into our body as well. The long list of chemicals can affect not only your skin but also your organs by creating yet unknown chemical bonds and reactions as well as hormonal changes. Nobody would suspect an innocent looking moisturizer 15 years from now as a cause of some of your health or autoimmune problems.

They say, don’t put oil on your skin, but the truth is that in order to make a cream, you need base oil, stabilizer, and preservative to cook it into a cream. So, you have been putting oils on your skin, just not the right ones.

The truth is that all most creams and lotions do is just strip the natural sebum and dead skin from the top layer of your skin and add a thin layer that gives you the feeling of soft and moisturized skin.

However, just staying in a dry room for a short time makes your skin dry and thirsty for moisture, because below the top layer, your skin is stripped and dehydrated.

The myth that facial oils cause breakouts and clog your pores is nothing but a myth. Quality facial oils, when used correctly, can protect and nourish your skin without clogging your pores or affect your health.

“If you can’t eat or drink it safely, don’t put it on your skin either”.

BASE & ESSENTIAL OILS PROPERTIES:

Rose oil - promotes cell turnover and has anti-wrinkle properties

Sweet almond oil - excellent antioxidant, very absorbent, emollient, softens, soothes and balances the skin. High in vitamin B17 that is known cancer preventing vitamin.

Rosehip oil - smooths wrinkles and softens dry, dehydrated skin, high in essential fatty acids

Hazelnut oil - astringent, anti-inflammatory, rich in vitamins

Avocado oil - deep moisturizer, rich in vitamins

Jojoba oil - a natural antioxidant, its absorption properties are similar to the skin’s own sebum, deep moisturizer

Vitamin E oil - anti-oxidant, smooth scars and heals acne

Geranium essential oil - balances oily skin helps heal acne, eczema, dermatitis

Lemongrass essential oil - anti-wrinkle properties, hydrating, nourishing

Lavender essential oil -balancing, rejuvenating

Neroli essential oil - helps restore skin's PH balance, rejuvenates wrinkled, weathered skin

Chamomile essential oil - soothes dry, inflamed skin, anti-inflammatory

Frankincense essential oil - rejuvenates, balances all skin types

Juniper essential oil - clears oily, congested skin

Orange essential oil - lifts and tightens slack skin, wrinkle reducer

Ylang-ylang essential oil - excellent toner, rejuvenates skin, wrinkle reducer

Apricot kernel oil - softens and protects the skin without leaving an oily residue, smooths existing wrinkles and prevents new wrinkle formation. It contains a high amount of vitamin B17 which is a cancer-prevention vitamin.

My favorite blend is still grandma's recipe:

I add a few drops of rose, lemongrass, apricot kernel, and lavender oils to a base almond oil.

I apply a thin layer to my skin, head to toe, in the shower, after I washed, and then give it a quick rinse and tap dry my skin.

I'm a writer too, I write children's books and fantasy novels.

If you have a few minutes, click on this link and take a look at my books:

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com/reading-room.html

COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Winter Skin Part 2 #Our AuthorGang
Winter skincare By Erika M Szabo While we would love to have winter skin like this: Most likely, it feels like this: I studied Natural Healing and my philosophy as a Naturopath is that “If you can’t eat or drink it safely, don’t put it on your skin either”....

+

2
3
2

 

 · 

Reply

Ruth de Jauregui

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Oh, I am already in love with your recipe. This sounds great! I will have to tag my sister, who uses all natural ingredients to make soaps and creams.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Erika M Szabo

1 year ago

 

 

Awesome!

Rich Feitelberg

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Nice list of oils. If nothing else, good source material for the wise women in my fantasy world.

+

3
2
3

 

 · 

Reply

Erika M Szabo

1 year ago

 

 

Guys have skin too Rich :) Give it a try, you might like it

Nikki McDonagh

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Natural is best.

 

 · 

Reply

Mary Anne Yarde

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Such an interesting post!

+

3
2
3

 

 · 

Reply

Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Dry winter skin and commercial products aren't helping? Erika Szabo shares natural remedies to help you. And hey, she writes children's books too!!

+

1
2
1

 

 · 

Reply

Toi Thomas

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Another great post that'll help keep my skin healthy. Good tips for anyone looking for a healthy alternative to dealing with dry skin.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Joe Bonadonna

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Thanks for more excellent tips, Erika . . . some of these I'm already doing!

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Today on A Small Gang of Authors, Erika M. Szabo tells us more about the natural ways of taking care of our skin.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Rebecca Tran

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Great skin care tips from author Erika Szabo

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Rebecca Tran

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

I'll keep this list close. I always have people asking about essential oils and tips on dry skin in the pharmacy.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Grace Au

1 year ago  -  Shared publicly

 

Wonderful information for our winter skin treatments. I use an all natural product that I purchase from a Master herbologist that is fabulous at keeping the alligator skin at bay. Thanks for sharing this information about essential oils.

+

2
1
2

 

 · 

Reply

Biological, Chosen, or Fantasy #OurAuthorGang

by Grace Augustine

I dare to wager a bet...at some point in your life you have longed for a family other than your own.  I think we all do that. My parents, in the above photo, were older parents. I was their only child. My father, a Filipino, died when I was 9 years old. My Mother died when I was 30. Tomorrow would have been her 100th birthday. 

I didn't know either set of grandparents. I think that was due to age and location more than anything.  My maternal grandparents lived in Missouri and paternal grandparents, from the Philippines, died long before I was born.

There was no one to grow up with. Don't get me wrong, I had neighborhood kids I ran around with, but there was no one to grow up with in my home. Today, my biological family is comprised of my two sons and beautiful feline, Bou. Since I have no cousins, no aunts, uncles...no one...I've chosen my family. I have chosen sisters and brothers all over the world that are either real, in person friends chosen as family, or online internet never-met family.

photo created by photofunia

When I penned The Acorn Hills Series, I based it on a close-knit group of friends who experienced life together. They grew up going to sporting events, catching each other's tears, and laughing and rejoicing at each other's accomplishments--much the same as a real family would.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7QFRUK/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

Whether you have a fabulous biological family, a family you've chosen through friendship, or a fantasy family that you'd like to someday have, I hope you make memories together that all will remember and maybe one day write stories about.

Our Guest Today is author Brenda Sparks

It's good having you with us today, Brenda.

Brenda has always loved all things spooky and enjoys incorporating paranormal elements in her writing. She refuses to allow pesky human constraints to get in her way of telling the story. Luckily, the only thing limiting her stories is her own imagination. Her characters are strong, courageous, and she adores spending time with them in their imaginary world.

Her idea of a perfect day is one that is spent in front of her computer with a hot cup of coffee, her fingers flying over the keys to send her characters off on their latest adventures.

Brenda may be reached at the links below. Brenda's books are for mature audiences of 18+.

http://brenda-sparks.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/forBrendaSparks/

https://twitter.com/brenda_sparks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4416074.Brenda_Sparks

 http://a.co/0gXmXL0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alpha-lover-brenda-sparks/1124934443?ean=2940156932726

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/alpha-lover/id1173716918?mt=11&ign-itsct=1173716918-1173716918&ign-itscg=0177&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/alpha-lover-1

https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/4760-alpha-lover.html?search_query=alpha+lover&results=2

EXCERPT

"Julie’s gaze swept the landscape. The moon’s rays glittered on the snowy bows. The birch trees stood with their trunks painted white to match their limbs. Thick pine branches held fast under the weight of the new fallen snow, making them appear as if they wore white blankets made of virginal cotton about each limb. Sparkling mounds cluttered the ground between the trees, hiding the forest’s treasures beneath.

Save the sound of the hooves pounding on the ground, they journeyed through the silent night to a clearing in the trees. Nicholai clicked to his stallion, and with a flick of the reins, the steed increased into a rolling canter up a steep incline. Julie’s thighs pushed against the sides of the horse as she tried to match the new rhythm.

Nicholai’s breath warmed her ear when he spoke. “Not too much further. It’s right up ahead.”

“What’s up ahead?” Just as the words left Julie’s mouth, they crested over the ridge.

The frozen valley below took her breath away. A glaciate waterfall stood still as a statue against the rocky terrain. The cascading water, stopped as if by magic, reflected the moon’s soft rays and cast tiny prisms on the snow below.

Julie’s breath hitched in her throat. She took in the serene beauty of the land as they cruised at a slow trot. Debris rolled under Kedar’s hoofs. It created a hollow rattle in the night, barely audible to Juliette.

When they reached the valley, Nicholai pulled up the stallion and handed the reins to Julie. She patted the horse’s steaming neck as her lover dismounted with a fluid grace. He turned, grabbed Kedar’s reins, then reached up for Julie. Her thick coat seemed to melt as his strong hands clasped around her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders, and the bulge of muscle under his coat played under her fingers when he helped her down. A thrill went through her body.

Her breath frosted the air in a white plume. The lovers held each other, his hands about her waist, hers resting on his shoulders. Quiet as the moon above, they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Nicholai captured her lips in a gentle caress that welcomed her to this special place."

Our Guest Today Is Author DW Duke

DW Duke is a Los Angeles attorney with a double major in economics and psychology from the University of Michigan and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to his work in law, he is a lecturer focused on human rights in the Middle East. He is also a musician and a fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is the author of six books.

"Not without a Fight: A Polish Jew's Resistance" is based on the true story of Casimir "Cass" Bieberstein, a young member of the prominent Bieberstein family. Despite their affluence and influence in Poland, with the invasion by the Nazis they were eventually forced to decide, fight or flee. Family friends Sarah and Rachel Goldstein were sent to the Treblinka concentration camp, while the Biebersteins were forced from their home with little more than the clothes on their backs.

The story begins when Cass is a young boy, and follows him through the invasion, life in the ghetto, the brutal murder of his friend Zofia Wagner and his decision to join the Jewish Resistance group Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa.

Written by Duke and Thomas Biebers, Cass' son, "Not without a Fight: A Polish Jew's Resistance" is historically accurate and filled with details of the life before, during and after the Nazi's brutal occupation of Poland. Highly recommended for history and World War II buffs.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Not-without-Fight-Polish-Resistance/dp/1532026676

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-without-a-fight-dw-duke/1126934098?ean=9781532026676

#DWDuke  #WWII  #historicalnovel  #JewishResistance  #ASmallGangOfAuthors

Never Throw Anything Away #OurAuthorGang

Never Throw Anything Away  

Joe Bonadonna

Not long ago a friend remarked that I’m very prolific, citing that since 2011 I’ve published 6 novels and 7 short stories, with two more stories and another novel on the way. I don’t know. Is that being prolific? I don’t consider myself to be prolific. I know people who publish 2 or 3 novels a year. I can’t even begin to tell you how long it took me to write Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser. But I can say that it took me 3 years to write the sequel, Mad Shadows II: Dorgo the Dowser and The Order of the Serpent, and three or so years to write my forthcoming novel, The MechMen of Canis-9. Hell, it took me 6 months one time just to write a 25-K word novella. Prolific? Not really. But I’ll tell you a secret.

Never throw anything away.

I started writing in 1973, and I wrote a short story each month for over a year. Every one of them got rejected for various reasons. In retrospect, they were pretty awful. But I hung onto them anyway and filed them away. I knew there was a seed or a spark in each of them that could evolve into something else, something different and better, as time went on.

The only story I wrote and tossed into the trash, other than things I’d written in grade school and high school, was the original version of Mad Shadows. This was not the story that starred Dorgo the Dowser. No, this was an entirely different tale, with different characters and a totally different plot. Around 1977 or I submitted it to a number of professional magazines, such as Analog, Fantastic, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Everyone rejected it: old-hat; just another sword and sorcery tale; all plot based around cardboard characters. Mind you, for all the criticisms there were also helpful tips, suggestions, and plenty of encouragement to keep trying. Now, I didn’t throw the manuscript away out of anger and disappointment  . . . I tossed it into the trash because I rewrote it over and over again, changing the plot, changing the “McGuffin,” and finally settled on Dorgo as the main character.

For over ten years I also labored over a 1000-page fantasy epic: Courier font, 12 characters per inch. That’s about 300 words per page, I think. Finally, I knew it was too unwieldly for my meager talent, too unmanageable; the damn thing had become my own Frankenstein’s monster. I then moved on to trying my hand at writing screenplays, which was a great learning experience I recommend every writer try. But I never threw away that 1000-page monstrosity. Nope. I mined that sucker as if I was mining for gold. Two long chapters eventually evolved into the novellas, In the Vale of the Black Diamond and Blood on the Moon, both of which appear in Mad Shadows 1. One other story I’d written during that year-long writing binge also ended up in MS 1: The Man Who Loved Puppets. Another later appeared in Mad Shadows II: The Girl Who Loved Ghouls. Another story became The Blood of the Lion, which was published in Griots II: Sisters of the Spear, and one more turned into The Dragon’s Horde, for Janet Morris’ Heroika I: Dragon Eaters. Pieces and parts from various unfinished projects ended up as chapters in Dave Smith’s and my sword and sorcery pirate novel, Waters of Darkness.

As for the screenplays I wrote? I penned five during a 5-year period?

My space opera, Star Trooper Doon became the novel Three Against The Stars. Then I turned my silly satire, Sinbad’s Summer Vacation into the more serious and dramatic novella, Sinbad and The Golden Fleece, which was also published in Sinbad: The New Voyages #4. Another screenplay became the Dorgo the Dowser novella, The Order of the Serpent, which is part three of Mad Shadows II. A fourth screenplay turned into the three-year project, The MechMen of Canis-9, and another unpublished novel, The Last Warlock, not only was mined for MechMen, but for a number of other stories, as well.

As for the fifth screenplay . . . well, that’s a somewhat interesting story.

In 1997, years before the zombie craze exploded like a nuke, I wrote a screenplay called Twilight of the Dead. Naïve me . . . I intended it to be a sequel to the late George Romero’s third “living dead” film, Day of the Dead. I even managed to get in touch with Romero’s agent, who kindly replied that Romero already had a number of films on the drawing board. The agent told me that, as Romero holds no copyright over the use of zombies, and as long as I didn’t use any of his characters or referenced any of his films, I should shop the script around because he and Romero believed a “zombie boom” was about to break big. So I shopped it around, as I did with all my scripts, but nothing happened. Later, I read that Romero was thinking of calling his fourth flesh-eating epic Twilight of the Dead. So I changed my title to Children of the Grave, taking it from an old Black Sabbath song. (Since then there have been one film and at least one novel with that same title.) Someday, hopefully, if I can come up with a good hook, something not yet done, I’ll turn my zombie script into a novel, too.

So what has all this to do with anything?

Nothing. Everything, as Saladin (Ghassan Massoud) says to Balian de Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, The Kingdom of Heaven.

My point is — my novels, short stories and many of my novellas might never have been written, had I not mined my “writing past” for the sake of my writing future. And that 1000-page, heroic fantasy magnum opus? It will be mined again and again for material until there’s nothing left of it. In fact, about 25-K words of it, perhaps more have already been used for Mad Shadows III: Dorgo and The Heroes of Echo Gate. Only a few Dorgo the Dowser tales, Erika M Szabo’s and my 2-volume Creepy Hollow Adventures, and the stories I write for Janet Morris’ Heroes in Hell series have been written from scratch.

What I’m saying is — your words are precious. They come from your heart and soul, from the very core of your being. They’re born of your blood, sweat and tears. Save everything you write. Store it away for the future. While today’s words may not glitter right now, tomorrow they just might turn out to be gold. So don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

Oh, how I wish I had saved that very first version of the Mad Shadows. That’s why now I never throw anything away.

My Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Bonadonna/e/B009I1KYIK

#heroicfantasy  #swordandsorcery  #spaceopera  #swordandplanet  #horror  #supernatural  #newpulpadventure  #children’sbooks 

Finding Fantasy in the Bible #OurAuthorGang

By Rebecca Tran 

Finding fantasy in the Bible may sound like heresy to some, and I am not suggesting by any means that the Bible is a work of fiction. I am in fact a christian with great faith. What I am referring to is reading between the lines. You can find inspiration in how and why the Bible was written; what was included and what was left out of this holy text. For me, all it took was a little research and basic understanding of how the Bible came to be.

I've found material for three novels in the Bible. One novel only used a small piece while the other two wouldn't exist without it unfortunately only one is completed so far. During this two part blog, I will show you some of the discoveries I made. Hopefully, you will find it as interesting as I did and inspire you to draw inspiration from one of the oldest books in history.

When researching anything in the Bible, you first have to understand how it was constructed. I say this because their are "unofficial" books of the Bible in existence. Those are writings made by christians or followers of Christ that didn't make the cut to be official canon of scripture. That criteria were as follows:

1. Written by a recognized prophet or apostle
2. Written by those associated with a recognized prophet or apostle
3. Truthfulness in the writing
4. Faithfulness to previously accepted canonical writings
5. Confirmed by Christ, prophet, or disciple
6. (original)Church usage and recognition  (For more info)

Nephilim are nothing new they were mentioned in books before and had a movie made out of them. They are humans born of angels, and yes according to the Bible they existed. However, they weren't 
handsome teenagers with mystical powers or even 300 year old vampires. They weren't even the good guys.

Nephilim according to the Bible were a race of giants. They were evil and led to the downfall of man. Some scholars argue that they were prolific breeders and so corrupt that they led to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was the Nephilim that God wanted to destroy in the flood. Of course, there is debate everywhere that God did not succeed in killing all the Nephilim. The Promised Land was inhabited by them before the Israelites arrived, and Goliath was supposedly one. For more information here are three sites with interesting arguments. 1. 2. 3.

When I needed a way to re-invent vampire lore in "For Their Sins" Nephilim gave me the perfect opportunity. Who better to track down the world's worst sinners than descendant's of angels. Only this time everything was done with God's approval and under his control.

Amazon      Other Retailers