I've been nominated...AGAIN!

Happy Thursday, kids!

Today, it is with great excitement that I announce that I have been nominated for MORE awards!

I don't mean to toot my own horn.

I am just honored and excited about all of this!

The Keystone Alliance/Gaylife Newsletter has announced its semi-finalists for their Readers' Choice Awards. I am honored to not only be nominated, but to be a semi-finalist...and in 4 different categories to boot!

http://gaylifenewsletter.com/wwwrcasemifinalistballot.html

I am a semi-finalist for:

1) NEWS MEDIA STAFF OR COLUMNIST

2) LESBIAN OF THE YEAR

3) GLBT COUPLE OF THE YEAR (with my wife, Vicki Shiro)

4) MISS GAYLIFE CONGENIALITY

Semi-Finalist votes will be accepted between February 1st thru February 28th.  Finalist votes will take place between March 5th thru April 5th. Winners will be announced on April 20th in the newsletter.

Send your ballots to keystonealliancegaylifenewsletter@hotmail.com.

Thank you all for your votes and support! It means the world to me!

Thank you, and happy reading!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for voting for Pianissimo.

For the third consecutive year, my work has won a spot in the Top Ten. Pianissimo came in 6th, and I am very grateful and excited. There is no way I could have done as well as I did without your help. Thank you is inadequate comparative to the gratitude I feel. I deeply appreciate it!

For anyone who has not yet checked out Pianissimo, I would like to share a couple of links, and even an excerpt for you.


First, here is the video.

Second, here are the first 4 chapters as a sample for you to read before you buy the book in its entirety.

Lastly, here are some buy links for you:

Amazon
Smashwords
All Romance Ebooks

And here's a little snippet to wet your appetite. ;)

As she peered around the corner, something green caught her eye. Slowly, the form took shape from

under the shadows. It was an old piano. A very old piano. As Corinne stepped closer, she read a large brass plate that still sat regally on the old instrument. R. S. Howard. It was an R. S. Howard upright piano. The backboard was missing, exposing the scrawny, naked strings and hammers. A few of the keys were permanently depressed. The piano’s original rich wood finish was hidden under an old coat of drab olive green paint.

Why on earth was there a piano in the basement? Who keeps a piano down there? It’s an unfinished

basement. It’s not like people would be entertaining company in this hole. It was so weird.

And why was it painted? Who would paint a piano? Especially such an ugly color. It looked stupid.

Corinne just shook her head in confusion.

As she stared at the old instrument, memories of her musical days came flooding back to her. She

remembered the years and years of piano lessons. She remembered all the recitals and concerts. She smiled reflecting back on all those great memories.

She walked over to it. She could only imagine the beautiful music that had once been played on the old piece. She softly touched it. A burst of a cold sensation struck her hand and raced up her arm. 

Corinne immediately dropper her hand. The cold feeling was gone.

She was struck by a burst of energy while she continued to stare at the piano.

“Hello?” A man’s voice echoed down the stairs.

I hope you liked it. Happy reading!

The 2014 P & E and Team VHP

Hiya troops!

I may be beating a bit of a dead horse today. I want to talk about the P & E Poll...again. The polls close one week from today, so I really just want to explain the importance of it, not just for me, but for all of VHP.

As some of you may remember, Loving Her Volume 2 took 2nd place in its category last year. Does that make me hungry for the win? I'd be a liar if I said it didn't.

But there's so much more to it than just the win. 

Yes, I want to win. But, it's not just about the accolades for me. Oh sure, it's nice to have bragging rights. The thing is, I don't want to just win. I want to use the win.

Vanilla Heart Publishing and I have some big goals for Pianissimo. I really want to use this book as a means to create more social awareness and acceptance. In order to have a bigger impact, a broader readership is necessary. An award-winning book is more likely to gain more readers, and thus have a bigger positive social impact. That's why I'm asking for your help. Your votes will help me to reach others. I want to touch lives, open minds, and change hearts. With your help, we can do just that.
Together, we can make this world a better place. 

Please vote for Pianissimo here (please note that entries are listed in alphabetical order).

But I don't want you to vote just for me.

My publisher, and all of us VHP writers have been nominated. I would ask that you please help support all of us by voting. You may vote one time in each category. Here are all of the awards Team VHP has been nominated for:

*Angela Kay Austin: Rumer http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml

*Charmaine Gordon: the River's Edge Trio
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstoryr.shtml and Housebroken 
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml 

*Chelle Cordero: Holiday Happiness  http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstoryr.shtml
Can We Talk? http://www.critters.org/predpoll/nonfiction.shtml
Author Page http://www.critters.org/predpoll/author.shtml
Writer's Workshop Living, Breathing, Writing http://www.critters.org/predpoll/writerws.shtml
The Potpourri Parlor http://www.critters.org/predpoll/promotions.shtml
Within The Law Cover Art http://www.critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

*Malcolm R. Campbell: Emily's Stories  http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelyoungadult.shtml and Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelmys.shtml

*Neva Squires-Rodriguez: In Too Deep 
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml and In Too Deep Cover Art
 http://www.critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

*Tamara Philip: The Trouble with Playing Cupid http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml

*Vanilla Heart Publishing: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/ebookpublisher.shtml

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I cannot believe it's 2015. It feels like 2014 just started! It is amazing how quickly time flies, isn't it?

So of course, I want to talk about the new year, hopes, dreams, goals, and the like. New Year's Day is a day of reflection and hope, so let's do just that.

In reflection, I am proud of what 2014 gave me. Taking 2nd place in the P & E Poll, having all 8 Loving Her stories revamped and re-published, and having Pianissimo come out.

There were certainly hard times, especially after breaking my back this summer, but overall, I think it was a good year.


Holding onto that excitement and joy, I look forward to 2015. The New Year promises some wonderful experiences as Pianissimo has been nominated for a Lambda Literary "Lammy" Award AND for the P & E Poll.

As an aside, I would love to place or even win the P & E this year. Please click here, scroll down and vote for Pianissimo. Thank you!!!

It will be exciting to see what the Lammies have in store as well! Win or lose, I don't really care. To be nominated is such an honor, that I am thankful either way! :)

What else is there? Who knows?! My hope is that my readership will continue to grow, and that my books can have a positive effect on our world today. Even if I touch just one person's heart, I can rest assured knowing that I've done some good. That's really all I want out of all this: to help people. to promote understanding, respect, and acceptance within the human race. To help people open their eyes. To remind us all of our humanity and connectedness.

I can tell you that I am working on some short stories that I plan to have released in 2015.

However many stories or experiences arise day by day remains to be seen. Regardless, I will stay positive, I will continue to write for the greater good, and I will be forever grateful for all the blessings I have received (and continue to receive)!


Happy New Year (and, of course, happy reading), everyone!

Thanksgiving

Good Turkey Day Thursday to one and all! I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

I just want to take a minute to discuss what I most thankful for:

YOU! :)



Without my readers, my books and I would be nowhere.

Without my readers, I wouldn't be able to write for as many periodicals and publications as I do.

Without my readers, there's no way I could have taken 2nd place in the P & E Poll this year.

So, thank you! Thank you for buying my work, thank you for supporting my work, thank you for being a reader. Believe it or not, just reading my stories alone means more than words could ever describe.


THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!  :)

A to Z '14 - Zest

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


Z is for Zest.


My grandfather had an amazing zest for life. I always remember him having great enthusiasm for...everything!


He was enthusiastic when he played with us or talked to us. He had a passion for cars. He had a great zeal for history. Anything - and everything - that he did, he did with such energy and enthusiasm.


He showed me the importance of having passions in life. He showed me that having zest in what you do makes you that much happier.


He did nothing half-assed. He loved everything he did. His life was not dull, it was bright, beautiful, and zestful.


It has been incredibly difficult to live this past year without him - especially to live with any kind of zest. He left a huge hole in my heart. But I also know that he would not want me to mope around and hide under the covers, so to speak. So I am facing each day without him with as much zest as I can muster up in order to honor him properly. I must live my life with the same joy and enthusiasm that he did so that I may carry on his legacy. I will continue that legacy, and I will do so with zest.



Thank you for traveling through the alphabet with me and for sharing these memories and this tribute with me.


And remember, Z is for Zest.

A to Z '14 - Youth

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


Y is for Youth.


You're probably asking what a 93 year old man could have ever taught me about youth.


He taught me a lot, actually.


He taught me that youth is not something you lose with age.



He still loved the same movies and same slapstick comedy that he adored as a child.



His sense of humor and ability to laugh were one of they keys to his longevity.



He remained as active as he could. Age gave him a back surgery and two bad knees, but he continued to drive (fairly well, all thing considered), go to church and keep himself relatively busy. He didn't let his age keep him down or use it as an excuse to NOT do things.


My grandfather lived life as fully as he could at every age.


Even at 93 laying in the hospital bed, I could see the little boy behind his blue eyes.


Youth is not restricted to age. It is only restricted if you allow it to be.

Y is for Youth.

A to Z '14 - Time

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


T is for Time.

My grandfather taught me a few things about time. He told me about the importance of time. How time with friends and family was far greater than time spent working. He showed me the value of an hour.



Living to 93, he also taught me that we don't have the time we think we do. He and I had always talked about me writing his memoirs. I figured I had enough time. He never got sick. If I had, I think I would have started to work on it with him. No, he fell and broke his neck. He was in the hospital for about a week. I got a call the day before he died. I was there by 7 am the next morning and stayed with him till he passed that evening. There was no preparation time. I couldn't just ask him to give me all the details he wanted in his memoirs. Even after 93 years, there wasn't enough time.




Time is a very fragile, precious gift. We never really know exactly how much time we're going to have. So value your time. Celebrate your time. Enjoy every moment in your life.

Time is important.



T is for time.

A to Z '14 - Selflessness

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


S is for Selflessness.


My grandfather was a very selfless man. He always gave and did for others.


His mother was a very hard working, selfless woman. At a young age, he learned the value of selflessness and generosity.


Working his way through life, he gave back to his mother. He gave to everyone in the family. He gave to multiple charities. He gave to anyone he encountered that was in need of help.


Mind you, he was anything but a doormat. There is a huge difference between selflessness and people pleasing. He clearly set boundaries which people respected. And he gave what he could: time, money, energy, effort. He was very respected for it and very much appreciated for it.



Sadly, we live in a world where selflessness is a dying attribute. Most people nowadays only live for themselves. Is it any wonder the divorce rate is as high as it is? Can we really be surprised by the hatred and killing in our society today when we glorify selfishness in the media today?


We need to return to our humanity. To give - even just a little - in order to help someone else. It doesn't take a tremendous amount of money or some huge event to be able to change someone's life. Just do the best you can with what you have. You'll be amazed to learn that the life changed is your own.


S is for selflessness.

A to Z '14 - Role Model

For this year's A to Z Challenge, I am honoring my grandfather who passed away on April 3, 2013.


R is for Role Model.

My grandfather was the greatest role model a girl could ever ask for. I cannot think of any way in which he wasn't the perfect role model.



Wikipedia defines a role model as, "A role model is a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people."


His behavior was impeccable. He was always giving, helping, caring, doing for others. He laughed often. He took care of his family in every way possible.


He led by example. He was generous, he was smart, he was respectful. He gave us something to emulate.


His success was like something out of a novel. Growing up in the Great Depression, he came from nothing. He started working as a teenager - he dropped out of high school to work. And he worked until he was about 80, having briefly owned companies like Poland Spring and Revlon. His life was the epitome of hard work and success.


So was my grandfather a role model? Yes! He was the perfect role model!


R is for Role Model.