Friday, July 31, 2015

The Best Holiday Gift Guide For 2015-2016





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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Desire & Prejudice by Jean-Louis McMillan

 
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Desire & Prejudice

By Jean-Louis McMillan

In an instant, Adam's life has crumbled. The trauma keeps him awake at night, the pressure squeezing against his lungs, his soul. His life continues on a downward spiral until he's entirely broken. And he doesn’t know how he’ll ever be whole again. Until he meets Jasmine.

He finds her while working as an official for the DGSE—France’s external intelligence agency—in Beirut, Lebanon. Their hearts are jolted back to life at the sight of one another, but their erotic affair is a dangerous one. Jasmine is a woman he cannot have and was never meant to be with.

Her beauty captivates him; her love overwhelms him. Though Jasmine suffers from her own trauma and feels constricted within the confines of her societal role, she too finds temporary healing and freedom in her wild but secret romance with Adam. But for how long can they keep their dangerous love a secret?

Desire & Prejudice
is a sexy love story with a spy thriller twist by one of the most exciting new authors of 2014. Through the story of Adam and Jasmine, first-time author Jean-Louis McMillan uses the classic tale to explore the modern art of lovemaking and the power of redemption.

Does love have the power to overcome prejudice? Can it heal a wounded soul?

*Author’s Note: This is a contemporary love story with sexual content and strong language. Recommended reading age: 18+ 

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Connect with Jean-Louis McMillan…

Desire & Prejudice is a realistic, believable story that readers haven't heard before. Desire & Prejudice is about the healing power of true lovemaking and the damning power of ethnic bias. The poetic letter takes the reader into the minds of two lovers desperately wanting one another. The erotic descriptions are vivid enough, but scarcely the right quantity of description to know precisely what is going on. When Jasmine learns the truth about Adam, it shocks her, and her shock comes as more than a surprise for him. Will love be strong enough to keep them together? 

Reviews…
I loved this book! The author, Jean-Louis McMillan, has created a contemporary romance with some really lovable characters with complicated issues.
  
ByKnewmeon  
First thing I saw/read in this book wasn't table of contents or something like that...It was one of mine favourite quotes (From A.E.), I immediately felt some connection with the Jean-Louis McMillan (Author of this Masterpiece) and continued my reading with his Foreword. 20-40 minutes (didn't have a feeling for time passing) later I was already at 6th chapter of book with my mouth open widely.

Read more reviews at amazon.com
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Biography
JL McMillan is a retired freelance journalist and first-time author. He was born in Oran on the Mediterranean coast in Algeria, but left Algeria after a restless childhood and settled in Paris, France, where he earned a degree in Philosophy. Now, after a turbulent youth and a career that had thrown him into the heart of the hardest battles in the Middle East, Jean-Louis wanders between the Orient and the Occident. He writes as a means to explore, and to heal. "Desire & Prejudice" is his first book.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Peter Mankowski, CEO SeeHorse Wearable

Archived interview as seen in the November 2015 Issue of Arabian Finish Line Magazine...

From Canada, welcome Peter Mankowski the CEO of SeeHorse Wearable, a device that is designed “especially for the equestrian market by people who love horses.” SeeHorse will monitor your horse’s vital signs to “help you improve the health and performance of your horse.”

Congratulations, Peter, on your new product! An awesome and timely product that is sure to become a stable necessity.  

“Most of us at SeeHorse Wearable either have a horse or have had one in the past,” Pete explains. “My background is engineering and I left BlackBerry to pursue something that blends both my skills and passion. When I was younger, I worked on the artificial human heart and found the work exciting and challenging. Saving a life of a living organism is huge responsibility and I wanted to do something relevant. I used to work for BlackBerry in Canada and lead a research and development team. Innovation is in my DNA and I have always dreamed of developing and designing my own gadget. My son left for out-of-town university and the house was so quiet with just my wife Beata and our dog 'Batxer' so to work I went. I didn't want to build another invention for humans and thought of going back to my childhood passion – horses. I started riding in Europe around the age of 5 but did not compete until my teens. Building the first SeeHorse was a result of another company co-funder, Jessica Roberts' idea. She told me that her horse has a busy show season ahead and she really wanted to shine this year so together we developed SeeHorse Wearable to help horse lovers monitor the important vitals of their beloved horse.” 



Did you develop SeeHorse out of necessity for one of your own horses?
Definitely, we built it for our own horses first. As we visit friends or show horses we face frequent horse care, injuries and transportation challenges. Without an actual business plan, we just looked at what we needed and wanted as horse lovers and that was how SeeHorse was born. Last year, one of our horses got really hurt during transportation in the trailer. I always felt that I could have done something to see it coming and SeeHorse now lets us predict when a horse needs a break during transportation. 

Where exactly is SeeHorse positioned for best results? Does it require a special halter/bridle?
No special halter/bridle is required. We provide several straps and options on how to mount it. We did not want to force users to replace what they already had.


What statistics does SeeHorse monitor?
Temperature
Heart rate
Respiratory
Horse’s movement
Fitness level
Count steps
Calories
Pregnancy analytics

Is SeeHorse configured by breed, age, or specific (horse) intrinsic, or is it ready to go out-of-the-box for all horses?
Each Seehorse is ready to help you out-of-the-box by being pre-configured during assembly. Later, you will configure your device to match closely to your horse's needs and customize what vitals you want to closely monitor.

I can share my horse’s statistics with my veterinarian, Facebook and Twitter with your app?
Yes, your horse will have a Facebook and Twitter account allowing frequent updates, even when you are not around. Any important changes are sent automatically. My horse emails me few time a day and it feels like “we are actually talking”. It feels great to be connected.

In addition, you could configure alarms and notifications to be emailed to vets, trainers, and anybody who needs to stay in the loop.

Is the device waterproof and roll proof for horses on continuous pasture?
Yes and yes. We tried our best to make it right. Horses are very large animals so if any point the device does break, we replace those as a part of our company policy, at no cost.

What drives the SeeHorse battery/power?  
The SeeHorse battery needs recharging and we provide you with the wireless charging pad. Simply place your SeeHorse on it and wait.  Another really great feature is the kinetic energy charger that translates your horse's movement into energy. If your horse is active, it will generate its own power. We thought; why not use what universe already gave us – Motion. This is 100% green power, with zero pollution.

The first thing that comes to mind is the pregnant mare ready to foal and how this app can provide critical information directly to the horse owner and vet. Can you share a success story?
In our area, horse breeders are plentiful and all of them have the same challenge – when is the foal going to arrive? We discovered that our SeeHorse can accurately determine mare foaling very accurately. It is more than a simple alarm but a proactive notification of things to come. In addition to the Night Watch feature, SeeHorse helps with watching over your mare and her well-being.

What is in the future for SeeHorse?
We are at the most critical junction and additional funding is required. We hope to continue strong sales and find investors to bring this concept to every horse very soon. We are hoping to be funding over the next few months so we can continue into the next phase of our business.

Connect with Peter and SeeHorse

Peter Mankowski, Funder/CEO
SeeHorse
151 Charles Street West,
Kitchener, ON, N2G 1H6
CANADA
Email: peter@seehorse.ca
Web: www.seehorse.ca
Skype: seehorseca
+1 226.220.7210


Special thanks to SeeHorse Social Media Manager, Stacy Sage.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Thomas Bartlett, Author


Welcome author Thomas Bartlett! Announcing his first novel, Americans Bombing Paris, Bartlett is also a published ghost writer. He was born in Belfast, grew up in Galway, and lived a year in the US as a child. In his twenties, he lived in Paris for four years, and Spain for two. Now living in Dublin, he is a full-time writer.


Congratulations on your new book! 
What is the premise for Americans Bombing Paris?
Americans Bombing Paris or ABP is a satirical novel set in an imagined 'what if' world leading up to the Iraq War. The French and the Americans are arguing over Iraq and sanctions. Not a million miles away from what was actually happening at that time. Our main character Johnny, an Irish guy, has decided along with his English and American friends to cause some trouble, to protest against what they perceive to be a lack of fraternity, equality and liberty.  All of the above is important but the main event of the book is when Johnny meets Naya, a French girl from the south and they begin a passionate affair. Everything else swirls around them but they hold the centre stage for most of the book.

How much of your storyline is based upon your own life events vs. fiction?
Very little is based on my own life events. I did live in Paris for four years around the time ABP is set and I use my memories of the city to colour in the sites and the emotions Paris evokes. The political stuff I made up, poking fun at those in power. The characters are composites of sorts, although perhaps only in appearance as the personalities are not like people I know.

Who is your favorite character?
I think probably Naya. From the first moment we meet her we are always struggling to see her all at once. Her face and her intentions are hidden, I enjoyed writing her as well as I was able to extemporize ‘til my heart's content. For some reason I felt I had more freedom with her character as she did not really remind me of anyone.

Please share an excerpt...
She gingerly tip toed out of the squat. Or, as I discovered later, the trendy artists’ retreat. She had a camera hanging from her neck. A bit grubby, wearing weary jeans, no shoes and a blue vest, dark hair, I hesitate to say any further south than the Med. I didn’t want my picture taken. She didn’t try to take it. I went over and introduced myself. I was thin back then. Real thin. Thin like a child or a rent boy. I wore a stolen T-shirt nobody else in the whole of Europe had, that was just fine.
She said her name was Naya. I was taken aback briefly by her perfect name, but outwardly I was calm. Inwardly I was at a ninety degree angle. We spoke in English; hers was perfect. I asked her what she did, or something stupid and irrelevant. It wasn’t going to be that type of relationship; no shopping and no owning. She liked me already, had decided. She understood I was learning to throw stones at somebody or something that deserved it. She never asked that day and I never told her.
I asked her “Would you like to come for a drink?
She replied “I’d like a coffee.”
I may have exhaled slightly, she smiled and then said,“OK a drink.”
She had a flip flop in each jean back pocket and put them on. Nothing in my life had really prepared me for how those little things made me feel. Like the protector and the parent, the subject and the slave.

Describe your writing studio...
I write on a desk my brother made for me. Rough and ready, nice and sturdy. It is also the right height. I don't like a low desk. I overlook a cul de sac in a residential area near the centre of Dublin city in Ireland. The houses around were built to house longshoremen or dockers, now though it is a mix of the locals and the regular hodge podge of any city.

People come and people go all day. I have gotten used to it. I listen to jazz or electronic or opera to drown out some of the background. Although I live in the city there are millions of birds constantly flying around. The locals like to put their food leftovers on the road for the pigeons, seagulls, crows etc. This means that we always have plenty of company.

How do you juggle thoughts and ideas?
I like to let them percolate. I try not to impose too many structures or parameters on what I am about to write. I then sit down and empty my brain onto the page. It tends to work, mostly.
I am interested in most everything so anyone I meet I like to find out about them. I practice listening; an extremely useful skill for any writer.

What is the key to being a great writer?
I believe the key to everything is hard work; sorry you are not going to get some magic formula from me. Reading as much as you can is the second most important thing, as a great deal of writing involves reading and rewriting. Then you need to learn that what people say to you about your writing or your career is important but only up to a point. Often friends, family et al are simply projecting their own regrets, frustrations on you. I have been lucky in that I have always had the support of most people in my life. Without them things are more difficult.

Finally on this despite what I have just said it is your life so live it whatever way you can.

Who is your favorite author?
I really like Mark Twain, mostly though because of Huckleberry Finn. I am not sure that the rest of his canon is quite up there. I also thoroughly enjoy Dumas, the adventure stories, Three Musketeers and Count of Monte Cristo being great favorites. I read a lot, or at least I used to. I suppose the one author I always look out for is Michel Houllebecq. I buy his books when they are translated, his recent offerings are somewhat off the pace but he remains in my opinion an interesting writer who causes some trouble, which I like.

What are you currently writing?
I am currently writing All Girl Army. After I finished Americans Bombing Paris I realized that I wanted to write a book with a female as the main protagonist. I am nearly finished the first draft of All Girl Army, a story of four people:  a Hollywood actress, a scummy Paparazzo, teenage blogger and a quantum physicist. So that has two men and two women as the main characters. I need to bring it home at the end, tie up the loose ends, kill who needs to be killed and save who needs to be saved, you know the usual.

List a few things your fans may not know about you...
I am not sure I have any fans quite yet, but things they may not know about me, hmmm. I love sports, cooking, drinking and laughing. I really want to live abroad again, so that is the next stop on the world domination tour.

Do you have advice for novice writers?
Make it all up. Be nice to yourself.

Connect with Thomas…

Thursday, July 16, 2015

David Page, Author & Poet


Born in London, now residing in Gloucester, England, David Page is the author of over 6 books. He is a talented writer, writing complex plots with funny and provocative scenarios. A veteran of the Royal Navy, David spent 8 years in Her Majesty’s Service, including 2 years in an ex-Japanese Execution Camp in Singapore. For the past 30 years he has been a successful accountant and IT professional in Europe, the UK and the Far East. Currently in the process of writing a new novel, David took the time to talk about his writing and much more…

Welcome David!

At what age did you realize you wanted to become a writer?
I don’t know that I did realize I wanted to become a writer until rheumatoid arthritis finally started to physically affect me, and at 60 I found that driving hundreds of miles a week with the stress of working on client sites and looking after complex financial databases, was not something I could continue to do.

I had written a lot of poetry between 1998 and 2002 and even had a publisher interested at one point, but there is no money in poetry, even if successful, and it was always my first love so I stayed in it and cut the poetry out although I am playing about with it, nowadays.

After I left the Royal Navy, I completed a fill-in editing and structure of English course at college - back in the 70s - that gave me the ability to edit, create digests, understand the structure of writing and write a 15,000 word essay, so I knew I could do it. It was to be honest, just a requirement to do something in English with the rest of subjects for the first year.

How do you maintain thoughts and ideas?
I do edit several times during the course of a book for different reasons and my wife reads various random printouts for ease of reading, flow and continuity and she has pushed me to include more dialogues.

I am able to switch hats for editing even though I am obviously not independent of the writing but by the same philosophy I know what I meant to say and how it fits in with the story so it is not a series of disjointed activities as can otherwise happen.

Once I have the main idea for a book I usually just start writing, and eventually I will at some point use a free-mind map and record the major elements, the characters, relationships, possible future flow and this gives me the discipline of working through the book and recording my thoughts and the flow.

Mind-mapping makes me think about the book structure, but also documenting it means I am able to later return to check names, research, what was the structure of a previous book and I hope makes me consistent across several books – such as the Parky Espionage Books.

There is in every book’s time a place when you come to a dead halt. I try to get around that but often it is only by taking a break and then starting as if I was beginning anew that I can break the block and by doing this on my last two books I felt I produced better second halves for both Parky’s Teatime and FYOG – I May Be A Long Time.

Tell us about your books…


My Poetry Book is comprised of the poems I wrote during 1998 - 2002 and was a task undertaken when the writing dried up and I took a break. The title was meant to be humorous and was partly because I could have improved the poems but I liked them as they were, and I didn’t want to go back after a long time and start changing them. The difference in time would have meant they became different poems, although in the end, I did change some of them.

The Parky’s Series title originated when I started to think that Parky’s real name was Peter Pettigrew and I wanted him to have something that would embarrass the hard man. I have originally planned to have him as a Security Agent working in a BR car park who found the Minister of Defence’s daughter in a position that would allow Parky to blackmail the Minister for a better job.

I didn’t really develop that idea but the name Parky stuck and became the name of the series. His history was with the Royal Scots – also known as Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard – I decided to leave that even though they were later merged (Motto, Nemo me impune lacessit. Latin: "Nobody harms me with impunity".).

The Royal Scots and the motto later provided a background for Parky that leads to him being blackmailed in Parky’s Afters. Parky and Bishop met up in Malaya where both formed part of a killing squad run by the Major, who was subsequently jailed for embezzlement, and in Parky’s Lunch they set up the Major and his Batman together with an Irish gunman, a bent lorry driver and the Boy – all hunted – to be killed. The CIA get involved and so does a Chinese guy – Mr Hoo, and another CIA guy – Huron, but none of them realized that the organizers of the hijackers are an Insurance guru, the Minister of Defense, an industrialist, an international banker and other top people who have bought into the syndicate. Will all of the guys survive ‘The Lady’ exploding and achieve their final aims?

Parky’s Afters covers that the boy survived and stupidly returns to England despite now also being a CIA Agent and holding a US Passport. He is picked up at Heathrow and vanishes under the Defense Minister’s instructions as a traitor where he is held in a secret prison in Kensington and tortured by a team of guys and also by a woman – Gris – who he subsequently finds out, works for Parky.

In breaking him out the Defense Minister is killed and so is the Prime Minister’s fund raiser and to this total is added the Insurance Guru from the previous book. The Boy is finally forced to marry Gris and join the UK Security Service, which has at least five moles operating and a useless Director and Assistant.

Can the moles be found, and added to this, can Neville – a Police Inspector cum drunk – now involved with the Insurance Guru’s wife, stop a serial killer on the loose in London?

Parky’s team has once again been successful; put out to pasture, and held there until the head of Security is changed once again and brings the team back. This time they become involved with the National Crime Agency and helping to combat organized crime, but is ‘Owley’ – the Met Police’s organized crime Commissioner seconded to the NCA – what he seems?

This time the team is forced to rescue an agent from Russia; fight organized crime in the UK and in France; rescue kidnapped women and the finale is set in the Provence area of Southern France – so where does the black magic come in. Will they win and will they still manage to survive as they are finally caught up in crossfire between the CIA and Gangsters?

England is under a Dictatorship with four families effectively controlling the Dictator. Acton Kade is unaware he is the son of a Resistance Leader assassinated by the Government and is now classed as an Outcast working in a Computer Centre. As part of a project he secretly upgrades a wall communication device with more CPU, Memory, Artificial Intelligence and together they start to learn. Deep down Acton just wants to go to work, come home and find some women to relate to although that finally drives him and Wall to start to take on the State.

The Public Safety Correctional Consultants have now taken over from the Brands led Dictatorship with the ex-executives locked away without trial – as is Acton Kade. Sken like Acton is also the son of a dead Resistance Leader and wants nothing to do with a revolution but like Acton is forced again and again to be some kind of hero. In the meantime, Wall seems to have gone berserk and decided he wants an electronic mate, robotic children, and he wants Sken to build them. Sken has fallen in love – he thinks – with Pearlie but now has Mum illegally living with him as well and Mum can’t stand him.

The treatment of Lauryn by her unknown father has made this an Adult book although not in the personal sense of the word. What will happen; will Sken survive; will his relationship with Pearlie overcome his relationship with Royal Naval Experience?

You were in the Navy and have traveled to many places. Which place interested you the most?
The most interesting has to be my two years in Singapore in the mid-60s, although the two Royal Tournaments in the 1970s were also unusual. I was a volunteer for the Far East but due to my age and the Communist Emergency in Malaysia, plus the wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, Lagos, Borneo; the trouble in Rhodesia; the possible invasion of Singapore by Indonesia, which was actually expected as they were already causing and supporting trouble in other countries, meant that I had to wait until a ceasefire was agreed on the Emergency before I could be drafted.

I arrived in Singapore as it was then – still with jungles; wide open in every sense of the word with curfews, Riot Squad training, Service Patrols and Gurkhas stationed in Nee Soon garrison. I was based in Sembawang in a Naval Base about a mile into the main establishment.

It was a very lively place. I was there to work on the wages for the locally employed personnel who were either Singapore or Hong Kong Chinese. One of the issues for me in working with the Chinese was that Chinese people have a Tribal name as in Wong, a Family name as in Kee and a third name, which in the case of my girlfriend, was Joon, who preferred to be called Susan; rather than Wong Kee Joon. I did feel a bit silly one day, when I asked someone why it was called HMS TERROR and he pointed out that it had been a Japanese Execution Camp and the block we worked in was the Execution Block. Given some of the complaints on our calculating pay, some still thought it was.

I did read something later in a book about Mercury 2, which was associated with it, and had been a wireless transmission facility – there was one opposite us. The Sick Quarters were apparently the torture chambers and when they built the swimming pool they kept finding bodies buried. I did get the chance to travel around Singapore although I also was beaten up and robbed.

The monsoon ditches varied between 5 foot wide by 6 foot deep and 1 foot by 6 inches but the only umbrella that could take a monsoon when it struck was a Chinese wooden umbrella. We had a golf course in HMS TERROR, down by the old swamp, and if you were playing in a monsoon you had to watch for the water coming up, to see where your ball landed.

Part of the locally employed personnel stilled lived in the jungle, and we also had people to pay in Malaya so Taff, my senior hand, would drive a Land Rover to them and I had to sit there with the money and the book for them to sign. Given the recent trouble it did get a bit nerve wracking driving through the jungle areas and every place we visited would insist we had a bottle of anchor beer and sat down with the family – at times we were lucky to get back as Taff swerved the Land Rover.

One final piece of funny news was about Chinese names – I am not being racist on this, just recounting the humour – on a formal pay parade an officer stood beside me as I called out 3 names for each person plus any short names and aliases, and with 300 people to pay, I called out nearly a thousand names and none of the Chinese guys could understand me. They looked up at the Chief Steward; he knew what I was trying to say and nodded and then they were paid.

Who is your favorite author?
Terry Pratchett. His sense of humour, ability, and the ease of reading make him someone to treasure. I have attended several Discworld Conventions, met him and people associated with him, and it was an interesting few days.

What are you currently reading?
Terry Pratchett’s Raising Steam and MSDOS manuals.

What are you currently writing?
Having spent two years non-stop writing Parky’s Teatime and FYOG – I May Be A Long Time, my wife has insisted that I take a break from writing and I am currently retro building an old machine from the parts of three different machines.

My next book when I start will have the Series title of Micky Lofts and The Promise Ring will be the first book in the series. It will be set on another world and a thousand years ago and will probably be a ‘blood and thunder’ action book – still to develop it, find the ideas I wrote years ago and the maps and other stuff. Potential characters include a Priest who is partnered to a Lady who prefers to be a Hawk; a psychic who was being hatched in a cave when she was frightened and has ended up in a man’s stomach and a guy who watched his village burnt down after they threw him out because he wanted to fight.

Do you have advice for novice writers?
Learn all you can and don’t expect that the world to beat a path to your door for your first book. Keep writing; keep developing and remember your first draft maybe the point at which you start really writing.
Keep your connections with other writers open; use the Internet for research; plan how you set up your computer for writing – I tend to have a Book, Marketing and Research directory for each book under a top-level Writing directory and BACKUP your machine and writing on a regular basis. Don’t discard work or ideas and maybe have a 4th Directory – Director’s Cuts.

Connect with David…

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Jessica Starks, Writer, Blogger & Much More

Jessica Starks is a freelance writer, blogger, pop culture junkie, natural hair freak, random fact lover, and much more… Her awesome blog The Pen & the Needle isn't necessarily your typical blog. Jessica says, “I classify as a lifestyle blog, but I don't have a specific niche. When I created The Pen & the Needle, I wanted to create a place for people to come and learn, laugh, and live! You never know what to expect from each post! Explore The Pen & the Needle and see what new things I can teach you today!"

Jessica is a college graduate who is currently stepping out on faith and pursuing her freelance writing career. She currently has about three and a half years’ experience under her belt, and she is eager to gain more. 

At what age did it occur to you that you wanted to be a writer?
In all honestly, I think I came straight from the womb wanting to be a writer, ha! I have seriously loved writing ever since I could remember. However, I was about 17 or 18 when I realized that writing was my true calling.

Describe your office and where you write...
I guess you can say I'm a rolling stone. "Wherever I lay my laptop is my home!" - like my Temptations reference? Anyway, I write in my bed, on the back porch, on the couch, on the table in my living room, on my phone...literally everywhere!

What/who inspires your creative writing?
My ancestors really inspire my creative writing. I don't know what it is, but it's almost as if they naturally present the stories to me.

What is your favorite topic/genre?
When it comes to freelance writing, I love writing entertainment/humor-based content. When writing creatively, historical fiction is my favorite.

I love your blog. Do you have a favorite blog post to date?  
Wow, that's a tough question! I think I'll go with a "Weekly Blessings" post I did about righteous indignation. The post covered what righteous indignation is, what it has to do with Christianity, and its difference from your typical, "wordly" anger. You can read the full post here.

As far as my blog goes....
I named my blog The Pen & the Needle for a number of reasons. First, there is a song by Lupe Fiasco entitled "Pen and the Needles," that I am a fan of. The song kind of fits a little bit into what my blog is about. Plus, pens and needles have multiple meanings, depending upon its content. And that's sort of what I want my blog to represent - diversity and a constant learning experience. 

Do you have a favorite blog that you read often? 
I really like JordoneWrites; her blog is definitely one of my favorites. Her testimony is so powerful and her faith is super strong. She's also an excellent writer!

Do you accept guest bloggers? If so, what type of content are you looking for?
I do accept guest bloggers! My blog tends to be a smorgasbord of thoughts, ideas, and opinions, so anything goes! I do prefer things to be family-friendly though.

As a writer, you help students compose papers. Do you offer any other specialized writing services?
I am in the process of putting together a beta reading service. That will be coming up soon, so be on the lookout!

What are your views on current world events?
I'm at the point where I hate discussing world events, simply because everything is so depressing! One minute somebody is getting killed, the next someone has lost their home, then the government is doing something crazy - yikes! But I am a Christian, and because of this I believe this is simply what is naturally supposed to happen in order for Jesus to come back. So I just sit back, pray a lot, and try to push through all the chaos going on in the world.

What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading "Disturbed Mind" by Charlotte Raine. I love how she is able to write the entire story through the point of view of each character. Amazing!

Who is your favorite author?
Ooh, this is a hard one! I don't think I have an author that I would single out as my favorite. I love a number of great authors - Chris Cleave, Ransom Riggs, Charlotte Raine, Mary Monroe, Pat G'Orge-Walker, etc...the list goes on.

What is key to writing a great article?
The key to writing a great article is passion. If you aren't remotely interested or open to being interesting in what you are writing about, your audience will know it and hate your work because of it. Great articles come from people who are passionate about writing as a whole.

Do you have advice for novice writers?
Write! Ha. Write and read. Even if you don't have a formal education, a book by itself can be a college course if you let it. And why wouldn't you write? If you don't write, are you really a writer? Practice makes perfect!

Also, make sure writing is your passion. There are so many people who decide that they want to write, but don't have the passion to keep it up. You can't write one thing and then stop - you have to keep going! If you're okay with that, then you'll do great! But if you have to force it, it's not for you.

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Milliron Monday: Letters Home Oct 10 1960

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