Well first up for this month was Becoming Jinn (Becoming Jinn #1) by Lori Goldstein and well that one just didnt work out for me. I needed up DNFing it shortly after chapter 5.
If you want a great book about Jinn's then check out Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle #1) by Heather Demetrios its got snark and well just a better story if you ask me.
So next up on the chopping block for Aprils TBR is I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore Im so excited to read this!! Really REALLY hoping that I love it!!!
So ill see ya next week!


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The Narrow Road to the Deep North
I can't make up my mind about Flanagan's Man Booker winner. I gave it four stars on Goodreads, but on another, grumpier, day I might have awarded it three or even two.
The overall effect of the story is undeniably 'powerful', yet I think this, coupled with flashes of brilliant writing, disguises the deeper flaws. The structure is patchy and seems to conform to no particular logic or set perspective. This was a doubt I picked up early on and dragged with me through the compelling mid-section and beyond. None of the characters really amount to very much either. The whole young officer's affair with married woman detour reeks of Birdsong, a comparison that ends up flattering the Faulks novel more.
The two late chapters that specifically sketch the post-war psychologies of the Korean camp guard and Nakamura, the Japanese commandant, come across as artificial set pieces - and the novel has plenty of these, including a forest fire in Tasmania that is just a bit too Michael Bay for my taste. (And thus a blatant piece of Tinseltown bait.)
I've read that Flanagan was attempting to retell his own father's experiences on 'the line'. My suspicion is that one of the ordinary soldiers (the bugler perhaps) is the real cipher for his father's story and that the figure of Dorrigo Evans is the more contrived and conflicted protagonist that the author presumably thought such a tale would require.
The Ched Evans Saga
Another day another unreconstructed British male has been forced to apologise for opining that Ched Evans was 'probably innocent'. Expressing an opinion on this issue is clearly a potentially hazardous business, but I can't resist the temptation, because the case is so revealing about contemporary British attitudes to things like sex and celebrity, justice and forgiveness.
As the victim had no memories of what transpired at the Premier Inn, it's clear that unless subsequently assisted by a hypnotist, it must have been her who first started this game of assessing the probabilities. This leaves Evans and his co-defendant Clayton McDonald as the only witnesses to the sexual encounter they had rather naively fessed up to the day after. How anyone else is able to make any authoritative judgments regarding the probability of what happened is beyond me. It was a straightforward case of their word against her silence. As far as the facts go, nobody else can have an opinion that gets much beyond speculation.
Anyway, someone must have failed to brief the jury on the standard legal nicety of 'beyond reasonable doubt', as set aside any obvious doubts they did, concluding that while a nineteen-year-old girl who has consumed four vodkas and a sambuca would NOT be too drunk to consent to sex with one footballer, she would however be too drunk to consent to have sex with a second footballer who showed up a bit later and joined in. The level of drunkenness had presumably not changed, just the number of simultaneous sexual partners.
In the absence of facts character had to be judged here - the jury had to decide whether - according to modern British sexual mores - which member of the threesome was the person of bad(dest) character.
If both footballers had been found innocent as charged, the implication would have been that the victim was the sort of girl who was generally up for it. Conversely, if both footballers had been found guilty as charged, all possible suggestion that she was anything other than a chaste young woman waiting for Mr Right - until that last little shot of Italian fire water ruined everything - would have been dispelled.
But the jury would have understood that under normal circumstances people who do stupid things when drunk tend to appear up in the dock not beside the QC for the prosecution, and so probably figured out quite quickly that the solution to this moral dilemma might just be to find only one of the two lascivious footballers guilty. Which is what they did.
And the problem for Ched Evans is that he had left himself open to character judgments whatever the jury thought about the behaviour of his victim, or indeed his co-shagger. At the time he had a long-term girlfriend and yet there he was cruising around a small town in Wales unable to resist the temptation of a spontaneous threesome in a cheap hotel. An obvious toe-rag if ever there was one.
And thus, as the only way to ascertain the facts of the situation was the assess the moral worth of each of the three participants, Evans would come under this scrutiny pre-compromised, not only because his behaviour was unethical regardless of the facts - which could only be surmised - but because as a minor celebrity of the sort we all have a love-hate relationship with, it was always going to be easy to present him with the bill for that particular pact with the devil.
Was Ched Evans guilty of rape? Only he knows, really. He clearly thinks otherwise. Is he a chap of low character? The British vocal majority thinks so, and in spite of the underlying prudishness of the verdict that put him in jail - Britain's vocal majority is almost certainly right on this one. And unfortunately for Evans he sits close to a tipping point: not quite talented enough to be forgiven by default and not quite un-famous enough for nobody to care.
Is this sufficient reason for him to be denied a lucrative new contract with the devil? It's a tricky one. As he has been so sure he is not a rapist, he has failed to apologise for being a scumbag - the real reason he was convicted, dressed up for the benefit of legal precedent as an evaluation of intoxication levels vs capacity for consent that seems the more nebulous the more you think about it. This failure to fess up to being a bit of a degenerate, coupled with Wednesday's cack-handed non-apology, only compounds the problem.
The diabolical contract of celebrity involves a certain degree of hypocritical pretense that the ball-kickers we pay an extraordinary amount of money have to be admirable to children. Ched Evans 'the convicted rapist' is going to be hard to repackage as an idol. And even if his conviction for rape were one day overturned, we'd still have no real reason to re-assess his character would we? The comparatively blokey north of England might not care too much about this, but finds itself joined up to the same media and communications network as the rest of the country.
The case has certain echoes of the Oscar Pistorius trial. There we saw a judge rather than a jury tackle a similar dilemma. Clearly the principle of 'reasonable doubt' was not lost on her, so as far as the facts as known were concerned, she could do nothing else but find Pistorius not guilty of premeditated murder, while leaving herself with just enough leeway for jailing him for his obvious character faults anyway. He won't be a sponsor's dream when he gets out either...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Thursday's Cable Ratings: MTV's "Buckwild" Wraps Freshman Run with Series Highs
Plus: numbers for Bravo's "Kathy," FX's "Legit" and Spike TV's "Bellator MMA Live."
truTV's Hit Series "Impractical Jokers" Scores Series High, With More Than 2 Million Viewers
truTV spins the numbers for Thursday, February 7.
truTV's New Series "Guinness World Records(R) Gone Wild" Draws 1.4 Million Viewers in Debut
"Parks and Recreation" Posts Season High in Adults 18-49, Its Top Result Since November 2011
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, February 7.
"Scandal" Equals Its Series High, Up for Its Second Straight Original in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, February 7.
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Wins with Gains from "Big Bang Theory," "Two and a Half Men"
NBC's "Parks & Recreation" and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" are also up from their last originals.
Wednesday's Cable Ratings: "Moonshiners" Tops Demos for Fifth Straight Week
Plus: numbers for Showtime's "60 Minutes Sports," VH1's "Making Mr. Right" and TLC's "Cheer Perfection."
Discovery Wins Eighth Consecutive Wednesday as "Moonshiners" Dominates Cable Television Prime Time in Male Viewers
Discovery spins the numbers for Wednesday, February 6.
Series Premiere of "The Americans" Sets a Record Live+3 Increase for FX with a 49% Gain in Adults 18-49, 44% in Total Viewers
FX spins the numbers for the series to date.
Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon Deliver Four-Week Highs to Win the Jan. 28-Feb. 1 Week Over Their ABC and CBS Rivals
NBC spins the late-night numbers for the week of January 28-February 1.
ABC Is Late-Night's No. 1 Network in Adults 18-49 on 14 Weeks This Season
ABC spins the late-night numbers for the week of January 28-February 1.
ABC Earns 2nd on Wednesday to FOX - "Modern Family" Is the #1 Scripted Show
ABC spins the numbers for Wednesday, February 6.
"Guys With Kids" Is Up Week to Week by 9% in Both 18-49 rating and Total Viewers
NBC spins the numbers for Wednesday, February 6.
"MTV2's Guy Code" Season 3 Continues to Break Ratings Records
MTV2 spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
Wednesday's Broadcast Ratings: "American Idol" Holds Onto Top Spot for FOX
The network's juggernaut nevertheless falls nearly 15% from last week in adults 18-49.
Tuesday's Cable Ratings: "Tosh.0" Returns, "Hardcore Pawn" Wraps on Top
Plus: numbers for Animal Planet's "Wild Deep," Oxygen's "The Face: The Fight to Make the Final 12" and Lifetime's "Double Divas."
"Hardcore Pawn" Closes Out Sixth Season with 3.4 Million Viewers, truTV's Largest Audience Ever
truTV spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
"Pretty Little Liars" is Tuesday's #1 TV Telecast for the 5th Straight Week in Females 12-34
ABC Family spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
"NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" are the Top Two Programs of the Night
CBS spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
ABC's "The Taste" Is Up/"The Bachelor" Wins from 9-11pm
ABC spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
"Betty White's Second Annual 90th Birthday Special" Captures NBC's Biggest Overall Audience in the Time Period Since December 18
NBC spins the numbers for Tuesday, February 5.
Tuesday's Broadcast Ratings: Another Week, Another "NCIS" Victory for CBS
Plus: NBC's "Smash" returns with series lows while ABC gets a spark from a special "The Bachelor."
Monday's Cable Ratings: "Teen Mom 2" Tops Demos, "WWE Raw" Leads Viewers
Plus: numbers for TNT's "Monday Mornings," HBO's "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" and VH1's "Tiny Tonight!"
Sunday's Cable Ratings: "Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off" Tops Super Bowl Leftovers
Plus: numbers for Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl IX" encores as well as HBO's "Girls" and "Enlightened" repeats.
Saturday's Cable Ratings: Nickelodeon's "Victorious," "Marvin Marvin" Top Viewers
Plus: numbers for HBO's "Girls," Lifetime's "Betty & Coretta" and Discovery's "Dixie Mafia."
The Hub Is Up: Popular Original Series, Strong Stunting, and Power Play Movies Drive Ratings for The Hub TV Network
The Hub spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
ABC Family's "Switched at Birth" Hits More Than 1-Year High in Adults 18-34 and Season Highs in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49
ABC Family spins the numbers for Monday, February 4.
Super Bowl XLVII Live Stream Sets Viewership Records
CBS spins the digital numbers for Sunday, February 3.
CBS's Super Bowl Sunday Delivers 108.5 Million Viewers - The Most Watched Night of Primetime Television Since the Advent of People Meters in 1987
CBS spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
Adult Swim Ranks #1 on Basic Cable for Prime Time Delivery of Adults 18-34 and #5 for Adults 18-49
Turner spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
Disney Channel Extends Streak as TV's #1 Network in Total Day to 86 Consecutive Weeks in Kids 6-11 and Tweens
Disney Channel spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl IX Scored a Record 12.4 Million Viewers
Animal Planet spins the numbers for Sunday, February 3.
"48 Hours: Live to Tell - The Stranger You Know" Is Saturday's #1 Program in Households and Viewers
CBS spins the numbers for Saturday, February 2.
NBC Results for the Primetime Week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3
NBC spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
ABC Delivers 4 of the Week's Top 20 TV Shows Among Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
"Live with Kelly and Michael" Builds to its 2nd-Highest Household Rating This Season
Disney-ABC Domestic Television spins the numbers for the week of January 21-27.
FOX Ranks No. 1 Among Adults 18-34 on Five Nights This Week
FOX spins the numbers for the week of January 28-February 3.
"How I Met Your Mother" Delivers Its Best Adult 18-49 Rating in a Year and Is Monday's Top Show in Key Demographics
CBS spins the numbers for Monday, February 4.
Surging by Double Digits Week to Week, "Katie" Marks its Biggest Week Ever
"The Biggest Loser" Finishes Within a Tenth of a Point of Its Year Ago Episode in 18-49 Rating
NBC spins the numbers for Monday, February 4.
ABC's "The Bachelor" Beats "Biggest Loser" by Season-Best 20% in Adults 18-49
ABC spins the numbers for Monday, February 4.
Monday's Broadcast Ratings: "The Carrie Diaries," "How I Met Your Mother" Post Season Highs
CBS tops the charts last night in total viewers and adults 18-49.
Disney Channel Airs Friday's Top TV Telecasts Led by "Jessie" in Youth Demos and "Sofia the First" in Preschoolers
Disney Channel spins the numbers for Friday, February 1.
Friday's Cable Ratings: Discovery Is "Gold" in Demos, Viewers
Plus: numbers for Showtime's "Mumford & Sons: The Road To Red Rocks," VH1's "Best Super Bowl Concert Ever" and Starz's "Spartacus: War of the Damned."
Discovery's "Gold Rush" Scores 13 Consecutive Weeks as #1 Friday Cable Television Prime Time Program for Men
Discovery spins the numbers for Friday, February 1.
164.1 Million Watch All-or-Part of CBS's Super Bowl XLVII Coverage
CBS further spins the numbers for Sunday, February 3.
"Late Late Show" Super Bowl Special Delivers Second-Largest Audience Ever
CBS spins the late-night numbers for Sunday, February 3.
"Downton Abbey, Season 3" on Masterpiece Classic Rates Second on Super Bowl Sunday
PBS spins the numbers for Sunday, February 3.
Post-Super Bowl "Elementary" Delivers 20.8 Million Viewers; Top-Rated Entertainment Broadcast of Year in Key Demos
CBS's Super Bowl Is Third-Most-Watched; Second-Highest-Rated in 27 Years
CBS spins the numbers for Sunday, February 3.


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SANDF Deployment Notification; Committee Reports: adoption
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
DEFENCE PORTFOLIO AND JOINT STANDING COMMITTEES
Chairperson of Joint Standing Committee on Defence: Dr E Schoemann (ANC)
Chairperson Portfolio Committee on Defence: Mr F Bhengu (ANC)
Documents handed out:
Committee Report on Public Hearings on Well-Being of Military Veterans
Committee Report on the Study Tour to Canada
Committee Report on the Defence Budget 2007/08
Committee Report on Oversight visits to Simonstown and Saldanha
[All reports available at Committee Reports once published]
Audio recording of meeting
The Joint Standing Committee approved the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to the Central African Republic. Committee members were concerned by the lack of detail in the Letter from the President regarding the duties of the deployed and deployment costs. The Joint Standing Committee adopted its Committee Report on the Public Hearings on the Well-Being of Military Veterans.
The Portfolio Committee adopted their Committee Reports on the Defence Budget 2007/08, Oversight visits to Simonstown and Saldanha and the Study Tour to Canada as well as their minutes for the 12 and 18 September meetings. The Department of Defence's Annual Report had been tabled and they would be briefed on it shortly. It was suggested that the Secretary of Defence should be present at that briefing. Reference was also made to the Treasury workshop on 21 September 2007 attended by Committee Chairpersons that had provided guidelines for improving oversight of departments when interrogating their annual reports. It was suggested that a similar workshop be held for all committee members.
The Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Defence held their first joint meeting. Dr E Schoemann noted that the intention behind having joint meetings of the two Defence Committees was to avoid duplication and efficiently utilise members' time as the two committees shared members.
Joint Standing Committee on Defence approval of Deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to Central African Republic (CAR)
Dr Schoemann explained that the letter from the President on the deployment of the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) to the Central African Republic (CAR) was in accordance with the stipulations of the Constitution, which requires the President to inform the Committee of such a deployment.
Mr R Shah (DA) had noted that there was no financial information and asked if it were possible that the Committee could see said information.
Dr Schoemann replied that the President did not have to include the financial information, according to the Constitution. However, he suggested that perhaps the Committee should contact the Office of the President to find out if the Committee could receive more information on this aspect of the deployment.
The motion for the Committee to adopt the letter was given by Mr M Booi (ANC) and seconded by Mr L Diale (ANC). The Committee was unanimous in adopting the letter and its contents.
Mr Shah had concerns that there was not sufficient knowledge about the specified duties of those deployed and asked that the Chairperson respectfully request that such information be forwarded to the Committee.
Dr Schoemann agreed that the Committees should be more involved.
Mr M Booi (ANC) said that the process should be properly understood and probably needed to be explained. He added that the Office of the Presidency could not be blamed.
Mr F Bhengu mentioned that if there were concerns, the Committee should have brought them forward. He agreed with Dr Schoemann that the Committee should be more involved in the process.
Joint Standing Committee on Defence Committee Report on Public Hearings on Well-Being of Military Veterans
The Committee adopted the report unanimously.
Portfolio Committee on Defence Reports: adoption
Mr F Bhengu (ANC) referred to the Committee Reports that needed to be adopted.
The Committee Report on the Defence Budget was adopted with amendments made by Mr R Shah (DA) and Dr G Koornhof (ANC).
The Committee Report on the Oversight visits to Simonstown Naval Base and Saldanah Military Academy was adopted with amendments.
The Committee Report on the Study Tour to Canada was adopted.
Portfolio Committee on Defence programme
Mr Bhengu noted that they were to be briefed by the Department of Defence on the Department's Annual Report. The Department had tabled the report whilst Parliament was in recess. The Committee had not reviewed the report. He indicated that at the next meeting the Committee would be able to review the Annual Report.
Dr Koornhof informed the Committee that the responsibility of the Castle Control Board had been transferred from the Department of Defence to the Department of Arts and Culture.
He referred to the Treasury workshop on the 21 September 2007 attended by Committee Chairpersons that had provided guidelines for improving oversight of departments when interrogating their annual reports. It had given advice on how to deal with the briefings and reports that the Committees receive.
Mr Booi commented that the Secretary of Defence should be present at the review of the Annual Report.
Mr Shah agreed with Mr Booi and that the Committee should reflect on previous recommendations it had made about Department of Defence Annual Reports.
He added that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) had not actively engaged with the Committee and that this should be corrected.
Mr Bhengu suggested that a repeat workshop on evaluating annual reports should be arranged for all and he would ask the Presiding Officers if this could be arranged.
Mr Bhengu adjourned the meeting.
No related


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Lorette System (1914)
Louis Lorette, The Lorette System of Pruning (original French publication 1914, English trans. 2nd edition 1920s – not yet sourced)
Paul Champagnat, The Pruning of Fruit Trees (1954 edtn. trans. N. B. Bagenal)
A. H. Lees, 'Summer Pruning of Hard Fruits', article for the 1934 RHS Conference on Apples and Pears
1914 publication of The Lorette System of Pruning.
According to Champganat, was popularised by Georges Truffaut in Jardinage (magazine? book?) and A.H. Lees of the Long Ashton Research Station contributed a paper on the Lorette System c. 1920 to Long Ashton Annual Report and to the 1934 RHS Conference on Apples and Pears (online source).
"We must be grateful to Truffaut and Hampe, who took up [Lorette's] ideas again in 1941 and gave them a more modern setting." {in L'Art de Tailler les arbres et les Plantes?}
Paul Champagnat, The Pruning of Fruit Trees p. 122
"Lorette's book was translated into English by W. R. Dykes in 1925 and a second edition, revised by F. J. Chittenden, was published by John lane in 1946, with the addition of A. H. Lees' 1934 paper. No one should try the system in England without reading both these."
N.B. Bagenal's translator's note in Champagnat's The Pruning of Fruit Trees p. 122.
"Lorette practised a very severe summer shortening of the wood shoots which he cut back to two leaves, about 1/2 in. (1cm) from their base. This produced later in the season a tardy development of latent buds into beak shoots, brindilles, dards or fruit buds. Whereas Desbois practised one single summer pruning, Lorette did severl between June and September. The September pruning differed from the rest in that it was more a matter of trimming up than actual pruning."
Leader Pruning
Carried out in Spring. "Lorette claimed … there was a better distribution of sap between the buds, and less tendency to annulation in the basal buds … it was possible to preserve the leading shoot at greater length and so form the tree more rapidly … Where the basal bud showed no tendency to be annulled the leader shoot was retained almost full length … an excellent way of using up excess sap and producing dards or brindilles. Where the basal buds did show a tendency … the top half of the leading shoot was cut off. In fully-established trees the leader was cut hard back to base."
Treatment of the Maiden Laterals
Paul Champagnat, The Pruning of Fruit Trees p. 123 – 129
"The Lorette system claimed to lead rapidly to fruit-bearing whilst at the same time allowing rigid formation of the tree. Summer pruning began at the earliest stage of formation pruning while the tree still retained its normal tendency to grow strong shoots." (ibid, p.123)
First Pruning: end of June to early July.
No fixed date, based on observation, varies by region and shoot development. Carried out once shoots have grown to "thickness of an ordinary lead pencil", estimated at 1/5 of an inch (approx. 5mm). Cut back shoot above first two leaves. Intended to develop the "axillary and stipulary" buds, which should grow into "a very small extension, a mere pad … from a fraction of an inch to a little more than one inch. As it is now the middle of summer, growth soon ceases, the minute shoots usually terminating in a dard. Thus a few weeks after pruning, an appreciable result is obtained, last year's shoots being already provided with fruiting organs, According to his own statements, Lorette himself used to obtain numerous fruit buds." (ibid, p. 125)
Second Pruning: end of July to early August.
Any shoots that have reached the appropriate thickness are pruned as above. Thinner shoots are left to produce long or short brindilles. The result of this later pruning is shorter dards.
Third Pruning: end of August to early September.
Prune any shoots that are now thick enough, leave the leader for pruning in following spring. Brindilles can be arched to encourage fruit buds (ibid, p.129).
Possible Failures
– Wood shoot development at pruning point = prune above third or fourth leaf in September, to prevent vigorous regrowth.
– No bud (dard) development = usually due to drought, should produce dards the following season.
– Blindness / annulation of dormant buds = prune carefully, only most vigorous shoots, treat medium shoots as brindilles.
More Complicated Cases
– Several wood shoots = prune above second leaf.
– One wood shoot, two dards = dards retained, prune wood shoot to one leaf.
– Two wood shoots, one dard = prune upper shoot to two or three leaves, lower to one leaf at first pruning.
Pruning of Older Spurs
Treatment of the Dard
"[O]wing to the spring pruning of the leader … and the summer treatment of wood shoots … there is a tendency to produce a large number of dards. It is therefore a first necessity to make these develop rapidly into fruit-bearing organs, since under certain circumstances a dard can very easily grow into a wood shoot." (ibid p. 129)
If the dard is strong and well-formed, it will usually have one or two wood shoots at the same point of origin, which should be pruned back to two or four buds depending on the tree's vigour. "As a result there will be fresh wood shoots made at the expense of the buds that are left, and these valves (or sap-drawers) prevent the transformation of the dard into a shoot. This is merely a summer version of the three-bud winter pruning treatment of a similar case." (ibid p. 129 – 130).
If the dard is weak, prune the other shoots right back. May still result in a wood shoot the following spring if the dard is not judged to be in the right condition.
Treatment of the Knob
Limit any "cumbersome" series of "knobs strung together" ['bourse-on-bourse' shoots] to two or three, to reduce formation of wood shoots, and cut back any wood shoots that do form to their base.
Pruning at the Beginning of September
"…these operations replace all winter pruning in the Lorette system … all superfluous wood is cut back."
– Shoots left a few inches long are cut back as near as possible to main branch.
– Dard on which a fruit bud has formed is cut back to fruit bud.
"He [Lorette] maintained that the small amount of time during which the tree continues growing after this results in too small a supply of sap to make the buds start into wood growth, but sufficient to make them develop into static fruit buds. The risk here is that, should growth cease before this happened, the following spring there would be in many cases a crop of wood shoots, and one year's work would be lost." (ibid, p. 131)
Discussion of the Lorette System
– Designed to bring into bearing trees that do not respond to short-spur or long-spur pruning because they are too vigorous.
– Admits plenty of light and air into the canopy; "research has shown that more floral embryos are formed on shoots that are open to the sunlight than on those in shade." (ibid. p.132)
– Criticism made: "suppression of such a large number of leaves, in the full flush of growth, must endanger the life of the tree" answered by: no more than 40% of foliage typically removed, examination of Lorette pruned trees shows leaves in good health.
– "… to put Lorette's principles into practice successfully demands much common sense, great powers of observation, and skill in the progressive treatment of dards." (ibid, p.132)
– Many axillary and stipulary buds remain dormant at point of pruning, "…due to unsuitable growth conditions, or the attempt to apply the Lorette system to trees that were already old, and that had previously been pruned by some different method." (ibid p. 132)
– Lorette pruning is said to exhaust the tree due to over-cropping; Champagnat suggests that more fruit is better than less and manuring can be used to prolong the life of the tree.
– Very vigorous trees in the appropriate conditions are required to apply the method successfully: "Any really vigorous variety which produces wood shoots in large numbers can be pruned by the Lorette system. Heavy applications of manures should always be provided." (ibid p. 133)
Glossary Links
Brindille
Wood Shoot
Champagnat makes it very clear that the Lorette System is only applicable to very vigorous trees that are also well-manured, in order to ensure they produce enough shoot growth.


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Published April 13, 2016 10:40am EDT
Are you listening Chris Brown? Celebrities who can't take criticism should not tweet, experts say
By Diana Falzone , | Fox News
Chris Brown: To tweet or not to tweet?
Some spotlight-happy celebs might do better leaving Twitter to those who can handle the heat
NEW YORK – Tweeting can be such sweet sorrow, at least for celebs who think the service is their own personal megaphone, instead of a two-way street with their fans and foes alike.
Chris Brown, no stranger to drama, recently engaged in a Twitter brawl with comedienne Jenny Johnson, who blasted him for beating up his former (and perhaps current) girlfriend Rihanna. Their exchanges got so hot, Brown couldn't take the heat, and deleted his account.
A few hours later the notoriously volatile pop star was tweeting again. But he is not alone in his on-again off-again relationship with social media. Twitter devotees like Ashton Kutcher and John Mayer have also gone back and forth with the social network, some times lusting after the attention of their fans, while other times shunning the Twitter backlash sparked by ill-informed tweets or questionable personal behavior.
[pullquote]
Dan Bova, editor of Maxim Magazine, said in the wrong hands, social media can indeed bite a narcissistic celeb in the butt.
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"If a celebrity has diarrhea of the thumbs, it can be a total disaster," Bova said.
Pyror Cashman partner Robert deBrauwere said stars definitely have to have thick skins if they expect to use Twitter to their advantage, because they have little legal recourse if things get ugly
"Twitter is indeed a very powerful promotional tool for celebrities and influencers alike. The power that Twitter has is also maybe manifested in very negative ways," he said. "If someone makes a disparaging remark about someone, but in the context of an opinion or reasonably believed by people to be an opinion, as opposed to a statement of fact, then it would not be defamatory particularly with respect to celebrities. The standard for defamation is very high."
Bova says particularly temperamental stars should steer clear of tweeting all together.
"If you are a known psychotic - bad idea. Look, everyone has demons, and if you're at least trying to put out the face you're not a psychopath and trying to tell the world you're rehabilitating yourself, you should just shut up," Bova said.
SiriusXM radio personality Cristina Palumbo agrees that thin-skinned cooks should stay out of the kitchen.
"When you put yourself out there on social media, you are subject to getting some sort of backlash. It's your decision whether you can take backlash or not," she said. "When you're a celebrity, even on a small scale ... you still are out there for people to pounce on you. You have to take it with a grain of salt, persevere, keep on tweeting, or run and hide."
"When used correctly, [Twitter]'s a lot of fun," Bova added. "When used incorrectly it's horrible."


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Il Prvenstvo Jugoslavije u nogometu 1936-1937 (campionato di calcio della Jugoslavia 1936-1937), conosciuto anche come Državno prvenstvo 1936-1937 (campionato nazionale 1936-1937), fu la quattordicesima edizione della massima serie del campionato jugoslavo di calcio, disputata tra il 13 settembre 1936 e il 30 maggio 1937 e conclusa con la vittoria del , al suo quarto titolo.

Le squadre jugoslave tornarono a partecipare alla Coppa dell'Europa Centrale: in questa edizione lo Državno prvenstvo ebbe un posto a disposizione.

Qualificazioni
Nell'assemblea federale dell'agosto 1936 è stato discusso il format per il torneo 1936-37: è stato scelto quello a girone all'italiana invece di quello a coppa ad eliminazione diretta per 296 voti a 263. Il campionato verrà costituito da 10 squadre: 3 dalla sottofederazione di Belgrado e 3 da quella di Zagabria, l'Hajduk come rappresentante di quella di Spalato; gli ultimi 3 posti sono stati assegnati in base ai risultati del campionato precedente: Slavija Sarajevo, SK Lubiana e Slavija Osijek (quest'ultima dopo uno spareggio contro il NAK Novi Sad).

Spareggio

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#D0D0D0" align=center|  || style="background-color:#D0D0D0" align=center|23.08.1936|| style="background-color:#D0D0D0" align=center|30.08.1936

Campionato nazionale

Classifica

Legenda:
      Campione del Regno di Jugoslavia e qualificata alla Coppa dell'Europa Centrale 1937.
      Retrocessa.

Note:
Due punti a vittoria, uno a pareggio, zero a sconfitta.

Risultati

Statistiche
La federazione faceva dirigere alcune partite anche da arbitri stranieri (da Bulgaria, Germania, Austria, Ungheria ed Inghilterra), soprattutto italiani: Generoso Dattilo (4 gare dirette), Francesco Mattea (3), Raffaele Scorzoni (3), Giuseppe Scarpi (2) e Mario Ciamberlini (1).

Classifica marcatori

Squadra campione
1.HŠK Građanski Zagreb
(allenatore: Márton Bukovi)
Emil Urch
Ivan Jazbinšek
Bernard Hügl
Jozo Kovačević
Mirko Kokotović
Svetozar Đanić
August Lešnik
Milan Antolković
Branko Pleše
Ivan Medarić

Note

Voci correlate
 Državno prvenstvo
 Prvi razred 1936-1937
 Jugokup 1936

Collegamenti esterni
 Campionato nazionale 1936-1937 su exyufudbal
 Prima classe 1936-1937 su exyufudbal
 Campionati 1929-1944 su fsgzrenjanin
 Campionati 1931-1940 su claudionicoletti

Calcio nel 1936
Calcio nel 1937
Campionato jugoslavo di calcio

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Get ready the new season starting 9/23! If you're planning on freshening up any rooms, look here first! If you need help understanding design basics, read our past post.
Here we have a strong brown and yellow mix with some distressed blue back-splash and counter-top tiles to offset the yellow tones. The coffered ceiling adds quality depth to the space.
Using a canary yellow in a utility space like a kitchen adds warmth, giving the space a new and exciting feel without being overwhelming.
In other living spaces like a living room or office, yellow is best used in moderate doses. The chairs and curtains accent the rest of the room with style.
This time in a bedroom, the small amounts of blue and yellow really stand out from the rest of the room, instantly drawing your gaze upon them.
Painting the island cabinetry cobalt blue and distressing the paint really adds character and pops in the kitchen, without being over-the-top.


Meet us next week in the capitol of China, Beijing! We attend the show on booth W1 A71! A warm welcome!
This week we from g-pda.® had the opportunity to meet potential costumers from the potato industry on the "Potato-Expo 2018" in Chifeng.
We had a bunch of fruitful contacts and arranged and several more detailed negotiations were appointed.
g-pda.® goes IPM 2019! Welcome!


text:
Кобилецький Ярослав Володимирович (*1928, с. Ясениця-Сільна, Дрогобицький р-н (нині Львівська обл.) — †1997, с. Мшана, Городоцький р-н, Львівська обл., Україна) — репресований за зв'язки з українським повстанським рухом. Член-засновник підпільної організації «Об'єднання» в м. Інта Комі АРСР, референт пропаганди

Біографія
Народився Кобилецький Я. В.1928 р. у національно свідомій селянській родині в с. Ясениці Сільній Дрогобицького району Львівської обл. Освіта середня: закінчив педшколу.
Серед числа інших українських дисидентів Кобилецький Ярослав Володимирович займає відповідне місце в музеї дисидентського руху.

Перше ув'язнення
Заарештований у жовтні 1949 р., а в 1950 р. засуджений постановою Особливої наради при Раді Міністрів СРСР на 10 років позбавлення волі. Покарання відбував у концтаборах Інти Комі АРСР. Перебуваючи в таборах, завжди був душею товариства, опорою своїх друзів, словом, людиною з почуттям і власної, і національної гідності. У 1956 р. звільнений з-під варти комісією Президії Верховної Ради СРСР.

Підпільна діяльність та друге ув'язнення
Після звільнення жив і працював в Інті. Він один з Ініціаторів створення «Об'єднання», учасник Установчих зборів підпільної організації, де склав клятву та був призначений заступником провідника «Об'єднання». Брав участь у зборах Керівного Осередку, регулярно сплачував членські внески, писав реферати, допомагав облаштовувати друкарню, тобто втілював практично настанови організації.
У справі «Об'єднання» заарештований 1 липня 1960 р. та засуджений Верховним Судом УРСР 10 жовтня 1960 р. на 5 років позбавлення волі (за ст. ст. 1, 9 Закону про особливо небезпечні держанні злочини). Покарання відбував у мордовських концтаборах.

Життя після неволі
Після закінчення терміну ув'язнення приїхав до своєї дружини у с. Мшана Городоцького р-ну Львівської обл. З настанням незалежної української держави став душею громадського та політичного життя села. Односільчани двічі обирали його війтом. Я. Кобилецький був активним членом ОУН. Загинув трагічно в 1997 р.

Джерело
Христинич Богдан. На шляхах до волі. Підпільна організація «Об'єднання» (1956—1959). — Львів, 2004

Примітки

Народились 1928
Померли 1997
Уродженці Ясениці-Сільної
Український рух опору
Культурні рухи
Борці за незалежність України у XX столітті


text:
Q: Expand table 2 based on entry table 1 - results in formula inconsistent I'm using VBA to expand table thus it resulted in some inconsistent formula in column in table 2 by skipping the range in table for example ROW($S$10:S11) the next cell in the same column skips a cell "S12" & ROW($S$10:S13) which can be fix using error audit and restore to calculated column but I would like to have it to automatically fix that error using VBA any help?
    Dim rng As Range
    Dim tbl1 As ListObject
    Dim tbl2 As ListObject
    Dim bError As Byte

    Set tbl1 = Sheets("Sheet1").ListObjects("table1")
    Set tbl2 = Sheets("Sheet2").ListObjects("table2")

    If tbl1.Range.Rows.Count <> tbl2.Range.Rows.Count Then
        Set rng = Sheets("Sheet2").Range("table2[#All]").Resize(tbl1.Range.Rows.Count)
        tbl2.Resize rng
    End If
End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Review: The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin
The Dragon Conspiracy
Author: Lisa Shearin
Publisher: Ace
SPI Files Book #2
Review Copy Source: Publisher
After solving The Grendel Affair, the agents have another SPI File to investigate...
We're Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. We battle the real monsters of myth and legend, but this Halloween, we're searching for diamonds…
A gala opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has attracted the upper crust of Manhattan—and thieves. A trio of vile harpies attacks the crowd and steals the stars of the exhibition: a colorful cluster of seven cursed diamonds known as the Dragon Eggs.
In the right mage's hands, each stone can pack a magical wallop. Together they have the power to "cure" the supernaturals of the tristate area—but for many of those vampires and werewolves, that means turning into dust.
I'm Makenna Fraser, a seer for SPI. With the help of my partner, Ian, and the other agents, I have twenty-four hours to prevent total global panic, find the diamonds, and save the supernatural community. No biggie...
THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY continues the action, investigating and adventure that started with THE GRENDEL AFFAIR. I think you would benefit from starting with book 1 so that you can learn the characters and world of the SPI Files series.
I really like Mac, she isn't a tough girl, but she wants to be and is working hard to prove to her partner that she can be. I like how she fights for what she wants and doesn't give up just because something is hard. I was a little surprised by the love interest of book 2. I could have sworn I saw something sparking between Mac and Ian. Don't get me wrong, I kinda like the other guy, I just felt like I missed something which I might have. This is an Urban Fantasy so there really isn't any romance, but it seems like there might be in the next book. I like romance so I'm excited.
One of my favorite parts of this series is the supporting characters. We learn a little more about them in each book and they all add something 'more' to the story. One thing that kind of bothered me about THE DRAGON CONSPIRACY, or I should say writing, is that I sometimes couldn't tell who was talking. I had to go back more than a few times to re-read a few sentences because I thought someone else was talking when in reality it might have been Mac or vice versa. It was confusing. The story had a nice pace to it, and I was never able to guess what was really happening until it was revealed, I like a good reveal and I got that. Shearin does a good job of throwing in twists and turns when you least expect it. I will definitely continue reading with book 3.
Labels: Book Reviews, Urban Fantasy
A Night Shift Sale
Join the Night Shift for a SALE!
February 2 – 4, get Sanguinary for $.99 and Bound by Blood FREE from Amazon!
Night Shift Novel 1
Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.
When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city's vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.
But she didn't know then what she knows now: there's a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.
So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.
But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?
Only $.99, 2/1 – 2/4: http://www.amazon.com/Sanguinary-Night-Shift-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00MR5VGV8/
Night Shift #2 ~ A Novella
Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real...
As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.
Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city's children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.
But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected....
FREE 2/1 – 2/4: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novella-ebook/dp/B00PB3AIGC/
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
Connect with Margo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Labels: promotional post
Book Blitz & Giveaway: Savage Bytes by Sarah Mäkelä
Savage Bytes
Hacked Investigations #2
If they don't work together, they may be torn apart...
Private investigator Hannah Franklin has a new partner, her lover and technomage, Ian Bradley. But they may be in over their heads when brought in by their friend from the hospital to quietly solve a case that baffles even the police. The victims are being murdered in a ritualistic fashion with their blood drained and organs removed.
When Ian's attention narrows solely to their work, he'll need to keep their relationship strong, or he could find himself repeating a painful past.
NYT & USA Today bestselling author Sarah Mäkelä loves her fiction dark, magical, and passionate. She is a paranormal romance author, but she's written all over the romance spectrum with cyberpunk, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy...even a sweet contemporary romance!
A life-long paranormal fan, she still sleeps with a night-light. In her spare time, she reads sexy books, watches scary movies (and Ghost Adventures), and plays computer games with her
husband. When she gets the chance, she loves traveling the world too.
Find Sarah and her books
Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook
Hannah Franklin froze in the doorway of Ian Bradley's weight room. Ian lay shirtless on the bench as he pressed the bar into the air over his muscular chest. With each rep he did, the muscles in his chest rippled deliciously. She licked her suddenly dry lips and cleared her throat.
His gaze caught hers, and he smiled. He rested the weight on the stand. "Hey, is everything okay?" He sat up and wiped his palms on his khaki cargo shorts.
"Yeah, we just received a call about a new case." She still found it hard to believe how many people had wanted to hire them after going against MAX Home Security. Sometimes, they actually had to turn people away. What a feeling.
Ian raised an eyebrow at her. "Tell me more. What is it about?"
"It's Leon. He wants to meet with us at St. Gregory's hospital in a little over an hour. He seemed pretty stressed." She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, and a frown tugged at the corners of her lips.
Ian stood and then crossed the room to her. His hands cradled her neck, and he pulled her in for a warm kiss. His lips brushed hers, and she opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to stroke hers and fan the burning flames within her body.
Hannah gently pushed away after a moment. "I said we would be on our way." She raked her gaze over his firm, sweat-slick torso. "Besides, I think you need a break from working out."
Ian grinned and reached for his white towel. "I'll go hop in the shower real quick." He wiped off his face and hung the towel around his shoulders as he sauntered away.
Hannah's life had been a roller coaster after reuniting with Ian, her once ex-boyfriend. Now he was her partner in their private investigation company, Hacked Investigations, which specialized in technology-related crimes. The clientele so far had kept them busy, with common requests that involved backtracking various network intrusions to their point of origin and leaving the rest to the customers. Others required mundane tasks such as verifying the authenticity of gray-market implants and other upgrades not sold in broad daylight.
Up until recently, they'd been financially stable. The last two weeks had been slower, and their bills this month were a lot higher than expected. It didn't help that the silly gnome was as ravenous as ever.
She sighed and returned to Ian's small home office to retrieve her jacket. The weather outside was fine, but it could change so quickly, especially this time of year.
"Hey, if you're going out anyway, bring me back a bag of those chocolates I like! We can't all live on coffee, pasta, and CONDOMS, you know?" An obnoxious voice came from the kitchen before she had an opportunity to see the loud-mouthed gnome it belonged to.
"Nice to see you too, Bernard. Finished with the garden so soon?" Hannah forced a smile. "We're heading out to interview a client. Leon called, and we're going to see if we can help him," she said.
Bernard wore classic lederhosen and had a maniacal grin on his face. "Well, the garden can take care of itself for a while. So, why are you heading out to see that flamboyant rainbow-licking nurse? Unless, of course, he wants to trade make-up tips," Bernard said. A devious glint lit his eyes.
Hannah sighed. She could only take so much from the gnome today. Ignoring the other foul comments, she shrugged into her jacket and walked by him. Water sounded from the shower behind the bathroom door. She'd love to join Ian, but they'd be going nowhere fast if she did.
Instead, she sat in Ian's favorite recliner. A quick glance proved the gnome had vanished, giving her a moment's peace.
During their struggle against MAX Home Security, Leon had played a crucial role in getting past security guards and helping them talk with Senator Kendall, who cleared their names after the police had suspected them of attacking the senator. Leon lost his boyfriend, Rich Granger, due to MAX's overeager employee termination program, and he'd been more than willing to help them take MAX Home Security down.
The lack of background noise alerted her to the fact Ian was done in the shower and would be ready to go soon. She glanced in the mirror to reassure herself that she looked professional enough, and then she crossed the room to her safety box for her gun and a clip of ammo. The streets were more dangerous than ever now that MAX Home Security had restrictions placed on them by the legal system. Despite their corruption, MAX held low-level criminals under better control than what the police were capable of.
Ian entered the doorway, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt that revealed enough of his build to make her gaze linger over his toned body.
"Shall we?"
Tour Wide
Labels: Giveaway, promotional post
Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Lion's Share by Rachel Vincent
Lion's Share
Wildcats #1
Publication date: February 23rd 2015
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal
Abby Wade has a dangerous secret.
Two months ago, she disobeyed an order, but instead of kicking her out of the Pride, Jace offered her a job. Since then, she's been battling a completely inappropriate crush on the young, hot Alpha. But when accepting his job offer seems like the only way to keep her skeletons safely in their closet, Abby doesn't hesitate.
Jace Hammond has a big problem.
A rogue is slaughtering humans in his territory, and he must eliminate the threat before the entire shifter species is exposed. There could not be a worse time for Abby to accept a job he only offered as a boost to her confidence. Abby is smart, beautiful, and resilient—more than enough to distract any man from the mission. Unfortunately, she may just be the worst enforcer ever to hold the title.
As they hunt the killer, Abby's secret becomes a threat to Jace's authority and to her own life. But the real danger is the grip she has on his twice-shy heart.
Rachel Vincent is the author of the Shifters series and the Unbound series for adults, as well as the Soul Screamers series for teens.
Rachel's next young adult book is THE STARS NEVER RISE, coming from Delacorte in June of 2015, and her new series for adults will debut with MENAGERIE, coming from Mira books in the fall of 2015
Rachel Vincent is a former English teacher and an eager champion of the Oxford comma. She shares her home in Oklahoma with two cats, two teenagers, and her husband, who's been her # 1 fan from the start. Rachel is older than she looks and younger than she feels, and she remains convinced that writing about the things that scare her is the cheapest form of therapy--but social media is a close second.
Find Rachel and her books
Cover Reveal Wide
Posted by StacyUFI at 12:00 AM No comments:
Labels: Cover reveal, Giveaway
Review: Her Sexy Sentinel by Jenn Burke
Her Sexy Sentinel
Author: Jenn Burke
Publisher: Entangled: Covet
The most dangerous thing they could do is fall in love...
Callie Noble fled to Ottawa to escape danger. But she is far from safe. Overwhelmed by a strange new power she can't control, Callie is terrified and painfully incapacitated. Her only hope is to seek the help of the one man who broke her heart...
Derrick Llewellyn is one of the Sentinels charged with the protection of the city's mysterious secret. Seeing Callie again is a shock enough, but the electricity between them is stronger than ever. Still, loving another marked individual is forbidden, and Callie needs his help—not romantic complications.
But there are forces at work in the city, and Callie finds herself inexorably drawn into a world filled with danger and untold magics. A world where loving Derrick isn't just forbidden...it's the surest way to drive them both mad.
Although the storyline was enjoyable, I had a hard time connecting to the main characters. Callie knows nothing of magic and when something crazy happens she calls Derrick thinking he would help her, he of course does. They have a history and their last meeting didn't end well so there's tension. I found both of them to be kind of frustrating while they worked with their feelings as well as their new relationship towards each other in a business sense. The chemistry was there, I just didn't fully fall into their relationship.
The story had a decent flow to it, It was easy to understand and I didn't see a lot of things coming, which is always nice. I'm not sure if I would read another book if this was part of a series. It would have to be a pretty awesome characters to get me to pick it up, I do have someone in mind so I will keep an eye out.
Interview & Giveaway: The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin
UFI welcomes Author Lisa Shearin. Thanks for Joining us!!
What did you like to read when you were growing up??
I read fairy tales and mythological stories. For mysteries, all we had was Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. And for romance for teens, Victoria Holt was almost the only game in town. It was the literary equivalent of "back in my day, I had to walk to school uphill in two feet of snow." There was no such thing as YA. If I'd had the abundance of paranormal thrillers and romance that there is now, I'd have never have left my room. I read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was in the 4th grade. It was the only vampire book that there was. I have a teenage niece, and when I take her to a bookstore, I tell her that she's living in the Golden Age.
Has your taste in books changed over the years??
I write urban fantasy, but I read mostly paranormal thrillers. I absolutely adore James Rollins, David Golemon, Greig Beck, and Jeremy Robinson. And I'm a huge fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Agent Pendergast series.
Is there a book being released in 2015 that you're looking forward to?
James Rollins has the third book in his Order of the Sanguines series, Blood Infernal, coming out. And David Golemon has the latest Event Group thriller, The Mountain, in August.
How would you pitch your SPI Files Series to someone who has not heard of it before?
It's like Men In Black except with supernatural creatures rather than space aliens.
Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The SPI Files series is set in?
It's set in the present time, and at the moment, in New York. I have plans in future books for Mac & Company to need to do some traveling. In The SPI Files' world, dimensions are all that separate us from the realms of elves, goblins, creatures out of fairy tales. Magic exists along side of science, but it and the creatures who wield it are unknown to the majority of humans. To avoid a global panic, it's the job of SPI agents to keep it that way.
Do you have a favorite scene in The Dragon Conspiracy?
Yasha stepped down into the boat, tipping it sharply to one side.
In addition to hairier and taller, the Russian had become heavier.
"No werewolves," Rake said flatly.
"He's on our side," Ian said.
"Define our."
Yasha's eyes were now bright gold and were boring into the goblin, like he was wondering what side dish would go best with him.
I hated to admit it but Rake might have a point; it'd be counterproductive to have our werewolf car driver eat our goblin boat captain.
"Our as in he's going with us." The intensity of Ian's green eyes easily matched Yasha's I-could-go-moon-crazy-any-moment peepers. "He's ninety-six . . . and he's a friend."
In other words, the man/wolf is going to die in a little over an hour if we don't stop the Dragon Eggs from being activated at midnight. Don't be a heartless putz; give him a chance to save thousands of lives—and his own.
Rake sighed and regarded Yasha solemnly. "If he goes fully wolf on my boat, he leaves."
Ian chuckled darkly. "If he goes wolf on your boat, you're welcome to tell him."
Rake Danescu's dark eyes flashed in the dim light of the boat's dash lights. "There will be no telling. I have not survived so much for this long to be torn apart by an overgrown barbarian mongrel."
Yasha growled, Ian came out of his seat, and Rake took one hand off the wheel. It was glowing.
"Boys." I said it like I'd heard my grandma say it many times—long, drawn out, and low with warning. Grandma Fraser had always been ready and willing to back up that word with a switch, the business end of a broom, or the flat of a cast-iron skillet. Grandma said that a skillet's good for three things: frying chicken, baking corn bread, and going upside an obstinate man's head.
I didn't have a switch, broom, or skillet. I only had an appeal to their good sense; hopefully at least one of them still had some. My money was on the werewolf.
"Let's see, we're going to an island with a criminal mastermind, a gorgon, harpies with hand grenades, and who the hell knows what else? We need everyone on this boat, especially the werewolf. I can vouch for him," I told Rake. "Unless you act like a royal jackass, he won't rip your face off."
I would have asked Yasha to actually promise Rake he wouldn't rip his face off, but Yasha's muzzle had grown a little long for small talk.
Do you and Makenna share any similarities?
We're both Southern girls from small towns in North Carolina. And while we wouldn't mind being kickass, we've accepted that we're not. ; )
Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
It's true what they say that villains have more fun. I've always loved my villains. In my Raine Benares series, I absolutely adored writing Sarad Nukpana. Yes, he's evil, but he has so much fun doing it. I also love my goblins and other characters whose moral leanings are more toward the grey end of the spectrum.
I'm writing three books this year, so 2015 is going to be busy, but in the best possible way. First is the third SPI Files book, The Brimstone Deception, which I'm writing now. When that is finished on March 1, I'll be returning for a while to the world of Raine Benares with two more books: the first will be a followup to the events of the sixth Raine book, All Spell Breaks Loose. For Raine, there's only one thing scarier than taking on the world's top assassins—meeting her future in-laws. Yep, Raine and Mychael finally get married. Naturally, events aren't going to go without a hitch. Let's let Raine tell you herself; she does it better than I could. ; )
With the destruction of the Saghred and a new (and non-psychotic) king on the goblin throne, an elf/goblin peace treaty is being negotiated on the neutral ground of the Isle of Mid. For as long as history has been written down, elves have hated goblins and goblins have despised elves, with humans just trying not to get caught in the middle.
Over a thousand years of hate isn't going to go away overnight just because some royals get together and sign a piece of paper. Ink scratched on parchment isn't a guarantee of anything, not even good penmanship. When the goblin ambassador is found with an elf dagger sticking out of him, soon followed by an elven noble sporting goblin steel, there's way too many suspects and far too few clues.
As a seeker and new Guardian, my job is to find the assassins before the rising body count derails the negotiations and the assassins' victims become merely the first deaths in the next racial war.
As a bride-to-be, my job is to introduce my pirate family to my Guardian fiance's aristocratic parents without having a panic attack. In addition, I have to ignore that my pirate cousin Phaelan and my former-almost boyfriend and goblin royal emissary Tam are in charge of the bachelor party. Last, but certainly not least, I have to foil the attempts of Tam's spellsinger and exotic dancer son Talon from showing up as the entertainment at my bachelorette party.
And I thought assassins were going to be my biggest challenge.
After that book is finished in the early fall, I'll be writing my first book from a man's POV. My readers have been asking for it, and I'm going to deliver. It will be the first book in a Tamnais Nathrach series. My goblins are tall, dark, and sexy, and their fangs aren't for decorative use only. Tam is a fan favorite (and one of mine), so we'll be going to the goblin court. Here's Tam to tell you about it:
My name is Tamnais Nathrach. In my past, I was the chief shaman and magical enforcer for the goblin queen Glicara Mal'Salin. I had the job for five years, apparently setting some sort of Mal'Salin dynasty record. The lifespan of a chief shaman tends to get cut short. I left that life behind—along with the highly addictive black magic I had used—and became a businessman, owning a pair of nightclubs and gambling parlors in cities far from the goblin court. But my past didn't go anywhere; it was waiting for me. Patient. Confident. Knowing that I would return. Not caring that it wasn't by choice. Personal experience has taught me that the past cares for nothing except spotting its next chance to bite you in the ass. My posterior now sports more than its fair share of teeth marks.
The king I now protect and serve, Chigaru Mal'Salin, has proclaimed me his heir until he and his queen, Mirabai, have their first child. Chigaru didn't give me the title of prince. He wisely took prudent—and well-founded—precautions. Some called it paranoia; I called it self-preservation. Precautions like not giving one of his nobles, regardless of how trusted, a title that eventually will have to be given back. The children of Chigaru and Mirabai will be princes and princesses. I will not. The king need not worry about me returning what was never mine. I don't want a title; but if I am to be his heir, even temporarily, I have to have a title higher than any other at court. An annoyance? To say the least. The reasons are political. And complicated. It seems my present is conspiring with my past to make my life as uncomfortable as possible. They have succeeded. Admirably.
Daily life in the goblin court consists of conspiracies on top of plots, woven together with ruthless ambition. Treachery is a full-contact sport, and fatalities are merely a way to rearrange the game board in your favor. I expected attempts on the king and queen's lives—and mine. The nobles of the goblin court haven't been a disappointment. They more than lived up to my expectations, and a few of the more creative efforts even earned my admiration.
Despite my every precaution, Chigaru and Mirabai have been poisoned. A healer managed to hold off death until myself and a pitifully small number of mages I still trust put the royal couple in stasis, keeping them barely alive until an antidote is found.
Everyone is a suspect. One name would have been at the top of my list, except he's dead. Though that's never stopped him before, and my last view of him was being carried, screaming, into the Lower Hells by a demon yours truly summoned. Screaming, but still very much alive. However, there were ample rotten apples sharing Sarad Nukpana's tree. His absence created a void that many are eager to fill—beginning with the more powerful members of the Khrynsani, an ancient goblin secret society and military order. The Khrynsani, with Sarad as their leader, nearly succeeded at wiping out the Mal'Salin dynasty and seizing the goblin throne. Chigaru disbanded the Khyrnsani and imprisoned those we could catch. We did not get them all. The most dangerous enemy is one who has nothing left to lose.
There are a few goblins who I can trust, most notably my old teachers, Kesyn Badru and A'Zahra Nuru, whose efforts to cure me of my black magic addiction at least allow me to consider myself rehabilitated. I call on my friends, the Guardian paladin Mychael Eiliesor and new Guardian and seeker Raine Benares. There has yet to be a situation dire enough that we can't overcome. Of course, there's a first time for everything.
To find the antidote, I have to make a deal with a devil from my past, a past that, as a practitioner of black magic, nearly cost me my immortal soul. I've always been a gambler and never minded high stakes. When I win—and I always have—the payout is worth it. But if I lose, I'll spend eternity paying . . . and paying . . . and paying.
I'll be starting a monthly newsletter to keep readers up-to-date with publication dates, writing progress, contests, and more. Anyone who would like to be added to the distribution list, just send me an email at lisa@lisashearin.com with your name and email address, and I'll sign you up.
Contrary to popular belief, most authors do have day jobs just like everyone else. Lisa's happily freelancing for an advertising agency as an editor and proofreader. In her previous corporate life, she's been a magazine editor, advertising copywriter, and writer of corporate marketing materials of every description.
Lisa is the national bestselling author of The Raine Benares novels, a series of six comedic fantasy adventures. Her second series—The SPI Files—is an urban fantasy that's been described as Stephanie Plum meets Men in Black.
Lisa is a voracious collector of fountain pens both vintage and modern. She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her husband, three spoiled-rotten retired racing greyhounds, and enough woodland creatures to fill a Disney movie.
Find Lisa and her books
SPI Files #2
Posted by StacyUFI at 3:00 AM 8 comments:
Labels: Giveaway, Interview
Launch Day Blitz: Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti
UFI welcomes Author Rebecca Zanetti. Thanks for Joining us!!
Top 5 Urban Fantasy Female Characters
A big thanks to Urban Fantasy Investigations for having me over to play today! I love tough female characters, and I love smart female characters even more. Add those two elements, and you have a pretty awesome combination. So, I was asked to name my top five urban fantasy female characters, and I had to stop and take a moment to narrow the list to five. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. I mean, how can you not love her? She sacrifices and takes on the bad guys for her family, and she's smart. I like smart.
2. Eowyn, Lady of Rohan – Lord of the Rings. I like that's she's brave, tough, and somehow graceful all at once.
3. Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood. Sookie is one of a kind, and while she's sweet and southern, that girl has bodies buried, now doesn't she?
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I loved Buffy. Loved that she picked the bad boy every time, that she tried to remain true to who she was, even with the prophesies, and still let herself grow throughout the series.
5. River Tam from Firefly. She's young, she's wounded, and she's a weapon. Even though that, and trying to save herself, she tries to be human and one of the Firefly family.
New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner - only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She is a member of RWA, has won awards for her works throughout the industry, and has a journalism degree with a poly sci emphasis from Pepperdine University as well as a Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho.
Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day-or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.
Find Rebecca and her books
Sin Brothers #3
Amazon B&N BAM IndieBound iBooks
A betrayal he couldn't forget . . .
For Nate Dean, love is a four-letter word. As part of a secret black-ops military unit, he and his brothers were genetically engineered by the government to be ruthless soldiers with an expiration date. They were loyal only to one another . . . until Nate laid eyes on the woman who stole his heart and blew his world apart. Now, years later, his family is still paying the price for his mistake. But as time runs out, there's only one person who can save his family: the very woman Nate swore he'd never trust again.
A love she couldn't deny . . .
The moment Audrey Madison spies Nate across a crowded ballroom, she can barely breathe. He's just as undeniably sexy as she remembers, yet there's an edge to him now that's as irresistible as it is dangerous. When he asks for her help, Audrey can't refuse. But she has secrets of her own-secrets that, if Nate ever discovers them, may cost them both their lives . . .
Labels: Giveaway, Guest Blog
New Releases: 1/25-1/31
Mon. Jan. 26th
Ghost of a Promise (Phantoms #1) by Kelly Moran
Her Sexy Sentinel (Entangled Covet) by Jenn Burke
The Second Lie (Immortal Vikings #2) by Anna Richland
Transmuted (The St. Croix Chronicles #6) by Karina Cooper
Tue. Jan. 27th
Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3) by Jeaniene Frost
Chaos (Fates #2) by Lanie Bross
The Dragon Conspiracy (SPI Files #2) by Lisa Shearin
Forged in Fire (The Vessel Trilogy #1) by Juliette Cross
Pacific Fire (Daniel Blackland #2) by Greg Van Eekhout
Panther Prowling (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon #17) by Yasmine Galenorn
Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage) by Sarah Cross
The Three Fates of Ryan Love (Beyond #2) by Erin Quinn
Zombified (Zombie Apocalypse #2) by Adam Gallardo
Posted by StacyUFI at 2:30 AM 1 comment:
Interview & Giveaway: Forged in Fire by Juliette Cross
UFI welcomes Author Juliette Cross. Thanks for Joining us!!
I was a high school English teacher for seventeen years and loved every minute of it. I still miss engaging with my students on classic literature and how it reflects our world today. I had the fortune to teach some amazing kids and still keep in touch with them.
My husband and I are Netflix addicts. Seriously. We should be on a 12-step program. Any time we can squeeze in time and the kids are doing their own thing, we're hunkered down with some red wine watching Peaky Blinders, House of Cards, Ripper Street, etc. Our latest favorite is Marco Polo.
The very beginning and the very end of the editing process. I love that time where the story and characters are percolating in my mind and the thrill of starting that new WIP. And then after all the arduous work of the editing process is complete and I send back my galley copy to the editor. Those moments are both my favorite.
Not really. When I write in the mornings, which tends to be every weekday, I just have to rise super early before the kids and get right to work. When I'm writing on the weekends, I need my headphones and Pandora to block out the insanity that is my house. Four kids—ranging from 18 to 4—tend to make a bit of noise.
Ahh, this is an easy one. Hands down, Nalini Singh's Guildhunter and Psy-Changeling series are my favorites. Also, Karen Marie Moning's Fever series is the ultimate. I'm DYING to read BURNED just around the corner.
How would you pitch Forged in Fire to someone who has not heard of it before?
Forged in Fire is a cross between Constantine and Buffy the Vampire Slayer where a sexy-as-sin demon hunter becomes guardian to a snarky heroine who's being hunted by every demon in the underworld, including a demon prince with a fancy for violent sexual
encounters.
Can you tell us a little bit about the world that Forged in Fire is set in?
Set in present day New Orleans, our heroine Genevieve discovers there is a host of demons living among humankind, tempting them toward sin, and even possessing them—body and soul. They are called the Flamma of Dark. It is the duty of the Dominus Daemonum—Flamma of Light—to rein in all demons breaking the rules on earth and expel them back to hell. A Vessel holds a special place in this world with the ability to awaken extraordinary power, but only if she can withstand the temptation of a demon prince. So far, no Vessel alive has been able to do so.
Do you have a favorite scene in Forged in Fire?
Hmmm…probably the first kiss. Genevieve is under the misconception that her attraction to Jude is one-way only. Jude proves her wrong in an intense, bone-melting display of his feelings.
This is SO tough. Since I'm a rule-bender, I'm going to give you my top three:
Hardest AND Favorite—Jude Delacroix (Forged in Fire)—His dark and brooding demeanor and haunted past was inspired by Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre), my first book boyfriend from way back when.
Favorite—Kol Moonring (Waking the Dragon)—Physically and mentally stronger than most men, his forthright honesty sets him apart from the game-players and little boys of the world.
Favorite—Moira Cade (Waking the Dragon)—Her courage despite the threats to her own life in order to seek justice raises her to noble and admirable heights.
For 2015, I have five more releases after Forged in Fire:
Windburn (Feb)
Sealed in Sin (April)
Waking the Dragon (June)
Bound in Black (July)
Nightbloom (September)
Since most of these are nearly through the production process, my next WIP will be Hunting the Witch, book two in the upcoming Vale of Stars series, and I'm dying to get started.
Thank you so much for having me today, UF Investigations! It's always a pleasure to be here. (
Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
Find Juliette and her books
Forged in Fire
The Vessel Trilogy #1
Available at Amazon BN Kobo
She never knew this demon world existed. Now she just wants to survive it.
Genevieve Drake never needed a man to come to her rescue. Not until the night of her twentieth birthday, when some dude nearly chokes her to death in an alley behind a New Orleans Goth club. And a hot stranger splits the guy in half, rips a monster from inside, and incinerates it into ash.
The hunky rescuer? Jude Delacroix—Dominus Daemonum, Master of Demons, now her guardian, whether she likes it or not. But she's seriously beginning to like it.
Her would-be murderer turns out to be only the first of many minions of the demon prince, Danté, who has all kinds of lascivious and sadistic plans. Which means when the formidably beautiful Jude offers his protection, Genevieve has no problem accepting it.
For Jude and his fellow demon hunters tell her she is a Vessel, one who is born to serve the Light, but can be corrupted into a weapon of darkness. And to survive, she must trust a man whose unearthly eyes promise heaven…but whose powers unleash hell.
Warning: Contains a dark and brooding demon hunter who harbors even darker secrets, a snarky heroine who's being hunted by every demon in the underworld, and a sadistic demon prince with a fancy for violent sexual encounters.
I'd parked illegally on the street, knowing full well I'd probably have a ticket on the windshield when I returned. Campus cops were like sharks in bloody waters, sniffing out offenders with notorious stealth. You never saw them but sure as hell felt bitten when they got you. Dreading to see that I'd been attacked by one of these predators, I rounded the corner, and my heart stopped.
Propped beautifully against my silver 350ZX was my rescuer, R-and-B from last night. Faded jeans fit snugly on his hips, and a gray T-shirt accentuated a perfect upper body. His black hair fell just right across lovely dark eyes. With casually crossed arms, he watched me approach.
Heart, please stop pounding that way before he notices.
This was no accident. He'd found me somehow. Should I be afraid? He didn't look dangerous. Well, not in a serial-killer sort of way. Hell, he looked good enough to eat. Totally faking bravado, I stopped in front of him with one hand on my waist.
"Are you stalking me?"
He didn't answer, eyeing me from bottom to top. His gaze paused at my throat, then finally made its way to my eyes. Still mute. I hated awkward silences.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not polite to stare?"
That seemed to jar him a bit. He straightened, his expression grim at best.
"I apologize. I was—"
"Checking me out. Yeah, I got that loud and clear."
Damn, I was brave. He cleared his throat, hiding a smile now.
"I was going to say, examining you." He gestured to my neck.
"Examining? Why? Are you a doctor?"
"Of sorts."
"What sort of sort?"
"I have a doctorate."
No way. He seemed too young to have a PhD.
"A doctorate in what?" I asked skeptically.
"Your expertise?" I asked, noting the rather sarcastic lilt in my voice. He didn't bat an eye.
"My thesis was on how weapons reflect the savagery and sophistication of a culture."
That accent again. Definitely European. But what country?
"Well, a PhD in weaponry may give you some idea how to inflict injuries, but it doesn't qualify you to examine and diagnose them."
Ha! One point for me.
"So…" I let the word hang. "How could you possibly have a PhD in anything at your age?"
"I'm older than I appear."
A slow, slow devastating smile. A fluttering in my stomach felt like a frantic flock of blind birds. Re-lax, Gen. Thank God he spoke, because for the moment, my lips had completely forgotten how to form words.
"I simply wanted to determine whether you'd recovered from last night's attack," he said, pushing off my car and coming closer.
Oh no. He was going to touch me. Genevieve Elizabeth Drake, do NOT faint. He reached out and gently folded back my hoodie. He lifted my chin and angled it so that he could see the marks I knew were purpled along the left side. Why was I letting this stranger get so close? Even if he was picture-book gorgeous. I pushed his hand away and stepped around him to my car.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, pulling the keys from the front pocket of my backpack. "What I want to know is how you knew where to find me. And why are you following me? It's a bit creepy, even if you did save my life last night."
We'd now switched places. I leaned back against my car. He stood there, examining me again, thumbs hooked in the front pockets of those yummy jeans.
"Yesterday was your twentieth birthday, wasn't it?"
Okay. Double creepy.
My question confirmed whatever idea he had in his head. I could see it in the nod and drop of his perfect cleft chin.
Two girls flitted by, engrossed in a conversation. One nudged the other when they caught sight of him, ogling shamelessly. They giggled. Couldn't blame them, but it pissed me off for some reason. R-and-B gave them no real notice, turning back to me.
"I think we should go somewhere private to talk."
Said the creepy man to the little girl with a lollipop and a white van waiting around the corner.
"Um, I don't think so." I crossed my arms. "I don't know you. And no matter what you did for me last night, at this point, I don't trust you."
He shifted weight to his other leg. "As you wish. We'll talk here."
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why were you following me last night? Into the alley?"
"I wasn't following you. I was following the demon."
"Fair enough. How did you know it was my birthday?"
"Last night, I wondered but thought it impossible. I had not thought to meet another like you in all my time as a…" He paused, glancing around and lowering his voice. "As a Dominus Daemonum."
I shook my head. "Okay, hold up. Met one what before? And what the hell is a dominus da-whatever-you-said?"
Dark enchanting eyes kept me still, even with my saucy attitude. A face chiseled in stone regarded me with care. I would never admit it, but I was afraid to move. Something in those almost-black depths warned me what he spoke of now would change my life forever. What's more, I knew those words. They were Latin. But the translation in my head didn't make sense.
"The what is a Vessel," he finally said. "And a Dominus Daemonum is a Master of Demons."
"Do you mean like a…a demon hunter?"
He nodded. No smile.
"That is what I am," he said.
"And what's a Vessel?"
"That is what you are."
Week in Review: 1/18-1/24
Books Received for Review
- The Apollo Academy by Kimberly P. Chase- eARC- NetGalley
- Changing Nature by April White- eCopy- Author
- Heir of the Dog by Hailey Edwards-eARC- Author
Books I've Read
Bind the Soul by Annette Marie
Changing Nature by April White
Reviews Posted
New World Order by S.M. McEachern
White Knight by Kelly Meade
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?
* Tuesday- Interview & Giveaway for Grave Vengeance by Lori Sjoberg
* Thursday- Giveaway for Unbreakable by W.C. Bauers
* Friday- Interview for Sugar Dust: Slippers and Chains by Raven ShadowHawk
* Did you know you can follow UFI on these other sites?
You can also add me (as in Stacy) to your friends on these sites if you're on them.
* I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.
Labels: Week in Review
Interview: Sugar Dust: Slippers and Chains by Raven ShadowHawk
UFI welcomes Author Raven ShadowHawk. Thanks for Joining us!!
That's a tricky one. Hmm. That wouldn't show up in another interview, eh?
Well I touch-type. It's something I learned in secondary school and I can say, quite honestly, that is the ONLY practical skill that I value above all the knowledge I attained. My brain moves so fast that I can't keep up with a pen, the only way to keep pace with the madness of my brain vomit is to type it. That's why I always write my first drafts straight onto a word processor.
What's downtime?
Heh, I'm only half kidding there. I have two young children, so true downtime is a thing of the past. But I do enjoy catch up with old TV shows. Buffy is the most recent one. I realized that the show first aired when I was 13 years old. 13!!! And I still love it. Yes the acting is poor and the effects are dated, but who cares?! It's about a tiny blonde girl who kicks the crap out of bad guys and doesn't need help from a man. What's not to love?
The first draft. That utterly free and limitless thrill of putting my fingers to the key and letting my brain go. Yes, I utilize outlines these days (I have to with all the projects I have on the go) but it's still very open. Earlier I called my words 'brain vomit.' Gross as that sounds, it really is the best way to describe my writing because before the editing begins, that's exactly what it is.
I have a very strict editing process that involves multiple reads on different platforms (computer screen / hard copy / Kindle). But there are small things I do like play a certain music track while working (it's this www.youtube.com/watch?v=emlP2o41Qxw if you're curious) and having the curtains closed to the outside world. Small things, but when I set those things up around me, I know that it must be writing time. I'm even getting better at ignoring the Facebook 'ping' and the Twitter 'tweet' while I'm working. Yey me! ;-)
I guess I'm going to spout all the clichés now but I adore Laurell K Hamilton and anything at all by Kelley Armstrong. Anything by these two is on my 'Love' list or 'About To Be Loved' list. I'm yet to read a book by either I didn't enjoy.
How would you pitch Slippers & Chains: Sugar Dust to someone who has not heard of it before?
I love this part. Okay, I've been working on this for a while and if I were stood beside someone in the queue for the ladies' loos I would pitch it like this:
Do you like Fifty Shades? Do you like Friends? Do you like Eastenders? Okay, imagine all of those mashed together and you've got the Slippers & Chains series, the funny, the mundane and the sexy, all mashed together into series of four novellas.
Ha, go me. ^_^
Can you tell us a little bit about the world that Sugar Dust is set in?
Unlike many of my other projects, it really is just the world we live in today. Contemporary Leicester (East Midlands UK) with all the things that go along with it: modern TV, family feuds, occasional over-attempts at political correctness and a vibrant kink scene. Honest, visit Leicester any time in the next few years and it won't be too much different to what you're reading about.
Do you have a favorite scene in Sugar Dust?
Actually yes. ^_^
Karen is talking to her housemate Cindy about her relationship with Dan. She and Cindy are completely open with each other so there's no need to beat around the bush when discussing the BDSM aspects of the relationship. Cindy is low and depressed because her girlfriend insists that she comes out to her parents and Karen is low and depressed because Dan won't say he loves her.
The scene includes a fabulous line by Cindy where she expresses her caring nature in the only way she knows how: "No, he's hurting you. And if he keeps it up, I'll break his legs. But talk to him first, okay? Sam can't keep blagging me out of trouble."
My favorite has to be Cindy. She's just so crass and foul mouthed and fun. I often feel guilty about all the swearing in my books, but not when I write about her.
Hardest to write about was Dan. Though I have a reasonable grip on the dynamics of a BDSM relationship, I don't for a moment believe that every relationship is the same. So I know that my portrayal of Dan as a Dominant figure won't match the expectations of some. Nor will my portrayal of Karen as a submissive. I guess the hardest part is knowing that I can't possibly please everyone.
All I can do in that regard is be as honest with the characters as I can and I do that by staying true to the people I know them to be, regardless of the BDSM dynamic.
Next up on my 'to do' list is the second Slippers & Chains story called Second Base. Karen and Dan up the stakes by changing their living arrangement and discuss bringing more people into their relationship. Then, under the name Ileandra Young I'll be working on a trilogy of vampire books that mingles adventure in contemporary Leicester with events in Ancient Egypt at the time of Cleopatra VIII and Mark Antony in 36-30BC.
Thirty-*mumbles* year old Raven ShadowHawk lives in Leicester (UK) with her twin sons (Sprog1 andSprog2), her partner (The Funk Master) and a stubbornly barren dwarf lemon tree.
She turned to writing erotica when she realized that many of the stories told by her friends were just too good not to share (and after realizing, after seven years, that working in finance was far too boring and far too comfortable a career to maintain forever).
Raven's unique humor, sauciness, well-observed realism, and unforgiving sass, gives her a brand of erotica she calls Smut With Brains.
Under the series title Meeting Each Other, Raven has released a mini series of six short stories through her imprint Little Vamp Press. Future projects include fantasy and/or horror based collaborative efforts with her "other half" Ileandra Young.
Find details of Raven's other works on her website and for monthly updates and regular freebies, join her mailing list. If you fancy a chat, find her lurking on Facebook, or Twitter sharing—or arguing—with her other half.
Slippers and Chains #1
After an unwelcome family visit highlights romantic insecurities, Dan takes Karen to exclusive fetish club, Sugar Dust. Will the trip rescue or destroy their relationship?
Dan loves submissive women and longs to build a harem of willing females to fill what he lovingly calls his "Slave Library." He shares his plans for sexual bliss with Karen, the first of his submissives in both his mind and his heart. But when an unexpected visit from his mother leads to uncomfortable questions about his ex, Dan realizes that past mistakes are catching up to him, faster than he can run.
The first D/s relationship to blend comfortably with her vanilla life is the one Karen shares with Dan. She treasures the freedom in the act of submission and wants nothing more than to share it with her Master for as long as possible. Why then does he insist on bringing other women into their beds? And why can't he say he loves her?
As Dan battles his inner demons, Karen hopes a sexy mini break at the exclusive fetish club, Sugar Dust will allow them time to relax and reconnect. There she meets Beth, the personification of Dan's past, storming in to demolish her present. Can Karen show Dan that their relationship is strong enough to break the chains of his past, before Beth drives an immoveable wedge between them with her tales of what once was?
The first D/s relationship to blend comfortably with her vanilla life is the one Karen shares with Dan. She treasures the freedom in the act of submission and wants nothing more than to share it with her Master for as long as possible. Why then does he insist on bringing other women into their beds? And why can't he say he loves her?
As Dan battles his inner demons, Karen hopes a sexy mini break at the exclusive fetish club, Sugar Dust will allow them time to relax and reconnect. There she meets Beth, the personification of Dan's past, storming in to demolish her present. Can Karen show Dan that their relationship is strong enough to break the chains of his past, before Beth drives an immoveable wedge between them with her tales of what once was?
Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Lion's Share by Rachel Vi...
Interview & Giveaway: The Dragon Conspiracy by Lis...
Interview & Giveaway: Forged in Fire by Juliette C...
Interview: Sugar Dust: Slippers and Chains by Rave...


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People are often surprised to find out that the most likely environmental damage caused by fire at a waste handling site is not a result of the blaze but the huge quantities of water discharged in a very short time to get the fire under control.
Waste and recycling sites are currently under obligation to reassess their fire accident plans, but could be overlooking the potential impact of the millions of litres of water likely to be discharged to fight a major fire.
Following a string of high-profile fires at waste handling premises last year, the Environment Agency (EA) has revised its technical guidance for sites storing combustible waste, instructing them to review their fire accident planning with a 'must' action to meet the standards.
As part of this, operators should review whether their sites are able to safely contain huge volumes of water. Not only could some sites unknowingly be in danger of causing serious environmental damage through fire water pollution, but there can be crippling fines and costs to pay to put right the damage – and most businesses are unlikely to be insured against the losses.
It is no longer enough for organisations to take a punt that it won't happen to them. In the early stages of a fire, thousands of litres of water are discharged into the environment every minute. The surface water runoff created will pick up pollutants and contaminants from whatever burning or hazardous substances are present. If a site is not fully contained, they will escape into the local environment.
The 2013 fire at Jayplas in Smethwick needed 14 million litres of water simply to contain it, equivalent to six Olympic swimming pools, according to the West Midlands Fire Service. After the Buncefield disaster in 2005, the Health and Safety Executive found that the protective bunding had many flaws that caused large volumes of fuel, foam and fire-fighting water to leak out of the contained area.
The site's last line of water pollution defence – so-called tertiary containment – was practically non-existent, amounting only to surface drainage systems which were not designed to cope with any large-scale releases.
The EA's revised technical guidance includes a requirement to demonstrate the containment facilities and pollution prevention equipment in place for managing fire water. For this, operators are referred to another important industry guidance document: CIRIA C736 – Containment Systems for the Prevention of Pollution. CIRIA C736 was significantly revised in the light of lessons learned, particularly from Buncefield. The Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum has also issued helpful industry guidance: Reducing Fire Risk at Waste Management Sites.
To provide water pollution containment, most companies begin by installing isolation valves in the outlets to surface water drainage to prevent water escaping from the site, and then contain it until it can be safely removed and tankered away. In addition, bunds or physical barriers can sometimes be constructed, especially around hazardous areas.
Hydro International recommends using drop seal valve technology, which provides a watertight, failsafe solution that is already installed at more than 150 sites across the UK. The latest version is called the Hydro‑Brake Isolator pollution containment valve.
On more complex sites, operators will still need to be sure that, even with valves installed, in the case of a fire, the surface water drainage will not back up, overtop the bunds and storage measures and flow out of the site into the surrounding environment.
Hydraulic modelling techniques are a valuable way of mapping the surface water pathways on and off a site, then they can test and prove any valves, bunds or temporary storage measures that are proposed. A solution can be designed and constructed in the safe knowledge that any potential incident will be fully contained.


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Q: how to trigger the dropdown action of a 'dropdown list'? Is it possible that i can trigger the dropdown of a dropdownlist by other elements?
for example, when click a button, a dropdown list will drop down.
please suggest how to do it in plain js withouting using any js framework, thanks

A: You cannot programatically drop down a drop-down-list (select list) using JavaScript.


Bush still has a few hours left in his Presidency, so anything is possible, but it looks like guys like Michael Milken and Jeff Skilling are SOL with respect to pardons. Milken has reportedly spent millions to secure a pardon, but at least he's out of jail. Skilling -- who was always a longshot for a pardon -- has at least a decade left in the slammer.
Bush is the President until noon ET, but he's meeting Obama for coffee at 10:00 AM, and then driving over to the inauguration site, so we're thinking that's the real deadline for any last-minute moves. Barring that, it looks like the two border guards who shot a drug dealer will be the only recipients of a last-minute pardon.
Bush still has a few more hours, but by all accounts he's done with the pardons.


I didn't like the service by flipkart as whenever the sale comes it gives fake promises.
Today 6th march 2018, there was a sale of mi tv 4 on flipkart at 12pm sharp.
I don't get it, that how can a product go out of stock within 10-20seconds even after getting into the cart, if it would not have been in the cart, it was understandable.
Or do flipkart wants us to carry our shopping within 10seconds wow..
I also took a screenshot when the product goes out of stock from the shopping cart.
I ask the consumercomplaint board to take strict action against this.
[Mar 06, 2018] Flipkart customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
Same to same problem happen with me, while i am booking Redmi Note 5 Pro (Black, 64 GB). You must be change your way of booking while flash sale. If your product in cart then that product is not stock out. If i am compare with amazon.in then your website service is very pathetic, you must be change you coding.


On behalf of Scott Michael Mishkin PC on Thursday, January 5, 2017.
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