Sadness

As some of you know I have a cousin who has been battling Leukemia. Tonya was diagnosed in June of this year. It's with a heavy heart I share this news with you: She has lost her battle with this horrible disease.

Tonya passed from our life on Thursday October 9th at 9 pm. Our visitation services were today and she will be laid to rest tomorrow, Monday October 13th.

Tonya was an amazing person. She had such a bright spirit and positive outlook on life. I've never seen her upset or angry. Even after she became ill she was so upbeat. The illness took her vision shortly after her diagnosis but living in the darkness didn't get her down. I remember she made jokes about how she wouldn't have to clean house any more--she couldn't see the dirt so it wouldn't matter.

She had the most adorable lopsided smile and you couldn't help but share it. Tonya was also the epitome of the blond cliche--slightly ditzy, always adorable. When someone did something goofy it was said they "pulled a Tonya."

Her pain is over and while we're all gratedul for the releif her loss is great and her memory will never dim.

All the kind words I've received and the prayers that have been shared with me and my fmaily are most heartily appreciated. Thank you all for your caring, generosity.

It may be a bit of time before I'm back and updating my news. Your patience is appreciated!
Hugz
JJ

Fantasy Fables?

If someone said "take your favorite fairy tale and turn it into an adults only story" which one would you choose?

That's what RP has asked of their authors and I have to say I'm blessed to be in league with some amazingly talented individuals.

Some of them have taken up the challenge and written their versions of classic tales. I have to admit I bow in their presence--even if one of them did take the tale I had an idea for...(I luv ya anyway Maddie! LOL)

There are a few options for you:

Like a bit of the Persian? Did Ali Baba and the tales of old make you long for desert adventures?

Well Melinda Barron has updated several tales and made them more steamy than a hot Arabian Night! Check out these tales:

To Rub, Honor and Obey
Aliya Baban and the Cave of Pleasure
Wish Me Up, Rub Me Down

Shapeshifters more your speed?
Check out Maddie James' new twist on the old Red Riding Hood story in
Red: A Seduction Tale

Cinderella's story has been told in different forms over the ages but to be honest, the best one yet is Celia Kyle's book Fiery Ember

So, have you thought over what story you'd like to see modernized with a twist? Leave your comments here!

Hugz
JJ

Questions for you

I'm going to pose some questions that I would be enormously interested in your opinions. Before I begin let me say this: This can be a touchy subject for some. Religious beliefs vary from person to person and all replies to this post MUST be respectful of others. Anything I read that is considered rude or disrespectful WILL be deleted.

Okay on with it:
I've been doing some reading while preparing to rewrite Heaven's Torment (for the third time...) and I read things that made me go hmmm...

According to (some slants) I've read I have found that some believe that fallen angels can never be forgiven because they turned their backs on God. They denied Him so He will deny them for eternity.

BUT we do believe that no matter who asks God to forgive them of their sins they can be forgiven. Jeffery Dahmer pops into my head as he "found God" shortly before his death. We who are religious have been taught that God is Love and He has forgiven Dahmer if he was truly repentant.

If God can forgive someone as evil as Dahmer, why wouldn't He forgive angels who asks for it?

Delving in a little deeper, theoretically speaking, is fallen angels can be forgiven, if ANYONE who repents can receive God's forgiveness, if Satan were to repent and return to God, would he be forgiven?

I'm very curious as to what you all think. Remember all posts MUST show respect for the opinions of others.

Hugz
JJ

Didja Miss Me?

It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to get back in and do any updates. I’ve been busy in my other life and I’ve sorely neglected this one.

First and foremost, Heaven’s Torment was rejected—again…I’m wondering if it’s worth the stress and struggle to try and rewrite it again. I LOVE my demons but there’s just something about it that’s not clicking.

In order to force my muse into doing his part I tried a free type. This is where I empty my mind (stop that snickering!) open a blank file and just type whatever pops into my head. I turned on some music (As a side tracking thought, I found this AMAZING band! Nox Arcana—they ROCK!!!)

So turned on Nox Arcana, placed my fingers on the keys and suddenly my mind filled with images. Here’s the beginning:

Audra Atreyu passed between the rusted metal gates. One side hung askew from the decay. The monolithic mansion made of stone stood before her. It might have been glorious in its day but from years of neglect and abandonment; it was nothing less than a husk of its former self.

She climbed the crumbling stone steps to the battered and rotted wooden porch. The heavy oak door stood partially open as if to welcome her inside. She passed the barrier and scraped at the heavy cobwebs that brushed against her skin. Buried beneath the odor of mold was the distinct smell of death. She hated places like this. While they weren’t all mansions, they all held secrets clutched tightly as a child would hold their favorite toy.

At a rasping sound in the darkness, she froze mid-step and reached for the dagger in her waistband. She focused her attention to the location of the noise and through the darkness she spotted a rat as it raced across the floor to disappear into a hole in the wall. She shivered and relaxed slightly.

Her steps were padded as she searched the house for her target. This wasn’t how she enjoyed spending her nights. Damn rules. She couldn’t hunt during the day even though she know who her enemy.

Another sound drew her attention. A smile crept across her lips. There he was. The dagger didn’t make a sound as she slid it from the leather case and palmed it. The silver handle waved in perfect alignment with her hand. Fit like a glove.

Sounds pretty interesting, right? I’m not sure where, or IF, it’s going. But it was kind of nice to free associate again. I’ve been trying to stick with certain things and they just aren’t working.

Now to see if I can share any of the Nox Arcana music with you. I’ve checked YouTube and there isn’t any actual videos for their music. However, there are a couple that have plain artwork associated with them. So let’s see if I can get a couple loaded here.

The first is Transylvanian Overture


And next we have The Awakening


And finally Castle Dracula:


There are many more but I'll be content with those three--for now!

Have to run. See you all again as soon as I can.
Hugz
JJ

Starting Over...

...AGAIN

Have you ever felt frustrated, agitated and ready to scream? Then you know how I feel right now.

It seems there was some kind of glitch in the system and while my blog shows up on the net, I can't log in and post to it. So, I was told I had to create a new one. Yeah, it's a real PITA. Especially when my original blog template I loved so much cannot be repeated. I've lost the codes.

So for now I'm going with simplicity. I haven't found any templates that really seem to suit me at this point. Besides, I'm in no shape to keep searching.

On my vacation, my lovely, long awaited vacation, I had a nasty accident. It really was a bad one...well here's the break down:

During the trip, Friday (almost the end of our vacation) my dad, my best friend, her son and I headed off for one of our three hour ATV rides. We were headed down a steep grade into a washed out creek bed. I remember stopping long enough to look at the grade and find the best way to cross the bank—then things went black and next thing I know I was sitting on the ground next to my father in more pain than I’ve ever known in my life—and I’ve had two kids!

I can’t remember the accident no matter how hard I try. My best friend and my father have tried to fill in the blanks for me but nothing registers. I do remember them saying “I thought she was dead.”

So, here is what happened, to the best of my knowledge: My best friend said she saw me do two things she’d never EVER seen me do before: fail to counter balance and stick out my leg.

Counter balance is just what it sounds like, you’re going on a slope you lean away from the middle, the sloped side, to give your bike/ATV a counter weight. As to sticking out the leg, that’s an absolute no-no no matter if you’re riding an ATV or a motorcycle. You’re foot can get crushed if the bike flips on it’s side.

Anyway we figured out that my shoe/foot either got hung on an uproot or the strap got caught in the brake, so I pulled out my leg to try and free my foot. By focusing on this I must’ve been distracted from the fact I needed to counter balance.

The ATV went down forward first, I was thrown into the side mirror. Then I flipped off the back and side of the bike when the creek bank crumbled under the tire. I hit the rocks, bounced upward, but had been knocked out because I collapsed just before the bike slid down the embankment.

The back end crashed down by my head so close the tire ended up on my hat. My head was between the back tires. Because my hat had been pinned on the underside and the way the bike came crashing down, AND because of where my head had been just seconds before, my friend and my dad were sure I’d been killed by 600 pounds of heavy metal.

Where we were, there was no way of a rescue squad getting in to me. There was no way a truck, even a 4 wheel drive, could get down there. The trees were too tall, so the helicopter was out. (I have special insurance that covers rescue choppers—I’m a die hard rider :))

I do remember my best friend asking how they were going to get me out. My dad said “She’s going to have to ride out.” K’s face was so funny, kind of a mask that seemed to say “Have you lost your freakin’ mind?!?!?!”

There was also a suggestion of leaving one of the bikes down there and someone coming back for it. My father discounted this; there really was no one else. My grandfather is as tough as most anyone I know, but he couldn’t have made that ride.

So I rode the ATV out. We were only halfway through the ride but I was told it still took us almost three hours. They had to stop occasionally for me to rest. The ride out is a massive blur. I do remember some things, but for the most part…well, not so much.

We reached one point and my dad said we would be reachable by first response or a rescue squad and he asked if I wanted one—apparently I said no. Again, don’t remember this conversation.

We got to my grandparents house, Granny was a little freaked. K went down to my trailer to swap out an ATV for my truck then we loaded me into the truck and made the hour drive to the nearest hospital.

I was immediately taken in, x-rayed and the staff was stunned to find I hadn’t broken a single bone. They put a temporary cast on my foot because the muscles, ligaments and tissues were pretty mangled. My shoulder felt dislocated, but it was only severe muscle bruising.

On Saturday, I came hobbling out of the trailer and was riding the ATV around again. I was afraid I would be too scared to ride again and I felt I had to get on again. There were some patches I did indeed panic but I’m sure that will fade in time. Then I got my hillbilly shower and it felt wonderful.

What’s a hillbilly shower? Well, take a garden hose and…I hear you laughing but honestly, it works! I got up, put on a swimsuit and pair of shorts, wrapped a garbage bag around my cast and secured it with duct tape—yes, it does fix anything!

Then after wetting down with the hose, simply scrub up. After I finished soaping up, my best friend rinsed me off then washed my hair. I accomplished two tasks: cleaned my body AND washed my clothes, LOL.

She also took tons of pictures of my heavily bruised body.I ended up staying alone that night while my best friend, my dad and her little boy went on the night drive together. But, my grandparents came down to visit with me for a few minutes. They wanted to see for themselves I was all right.

Sunday morning I woke up and found I couldn’t move. Not an inch without excruciating pain. I hurt in places I didn’t know I had, or at least hadn’t seen in a LONG while. Sunday was the day we were supposed to pack up and load most of our stuff. Because I couldn’t move even if the place was on fire, my best friend did it all, with the help of her son. (Nick is an amazing kid! Not only did he insist on going to the hospital with us to make sure I was really all right, he helped wait on me. Whatever I needed he more than willingly got for me!)

Monday we did the final load and headed for home. I was absolutely miserable the entire drive. We stopped at Mammoth Springs park—if your ever in that area don’t miss this place! It’s AMAZING! I missed the walk around the dam this time around, but take my word for it, you won’t regret stopping by there.

By the time we got home all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die.

It’s been over a week now. My foot is still massively swollen and the pain gets to be almost unbearable at times. My arm still doesn’t function the way it’s supposed to, but it is getting better.

I'm ready for another vacation!

Well sitting here isn't doing my foot or body much good. I'll be back to post again later. Thanks so much for trying to keep up with my constant moves!

See you all soon. HUGZ!
JJ