do good

Do Good July.15

Every month I feature a way to give back by sharing things I’ve found meaningful to champion. For July 2015 I chose Underwearness. We all know the thrill of receiving something brand new, something given just to us that is just for us. Imagine if that thrill came from something as simple as a brand new pair of underwear.

Ways to help: Get Involved || Donate

underwearness

Mission Statement:

One night at dinner my brother-in-law told a story that grabbed my heart and would not let go. This is what he told me:

“You thought getting toys with only three wheels was bad, we were so poor that we would be excited to find barely used underwear in the bags of clothes donated by the church.”

“Barely used, you did not get new underwear?” I asked. I was shocked to hear that something as basic as new underwear was not provided in a town much like mine, to kids much like me. The only difference was that they were in circumstances that made them less fortunate. I left that evening feeling sad to know that children grew up with used underwear or no underwear at all.

I carried the vision of these children with me to work the next morning and shared the story with my co-workers.  Everyone’s heartstrings were tugged at the same time, and before we knew it we were formulating a plan to make a difference in children’s lives, one pair of underwear at a time!  We may not be saving the world, but we can provide children the basic human kindness of being able to open up a new package of underwear that is theirs, and theirs alone. In an astonishingly short period of time, UNDERWEARNESS, Inc. was born.

We have come a long way from that first brainstorming session. We have a Mission, a Strategy, a Board of Directors, a grass roots marketing model, and partners stepping forward to help us make this dream a reality.  Each time we tell our story we hear even more stories of all the children and organizations that we can serve.  Many hearts have been captured by the simple act of providing new underwear to children. Our fun and creative name adds a light-hearted touch to our efforts so that no child will ever suffer the humiliation of pulling a pair of used underwear out of a bag of donated clothes.

underwearness

Happy giving, in whatever way you choose to better your world!

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Agatha Bird. Thanks, Agatha.

To know more about Agatha Bird, check out agathabird.com or see what she’s up to on twitter (@aggybird). Her latest literary triumph is Recipe for Magic and it’s available here.

recipeformagic


1) You get a private tour of any historic site in the world—what’s your destination?

Does it have to be a site that still exists? Because I would give my theoretical first born to wander around the Royal Library of Alexandria. As a librarian, it’s the holy mecca of my people. Of course, I couldn’t read any of the languages, and I was crap at Ancient Greek in college, so I’d hope my tour guide was a decent translator. If the Library is disqualified on the basis that a time machine is currently unavailable, then I’m going to be cliché and say Stonehenge. I want my tour guide to be a secret Druidic descendant with even more secret knowledge of the site and its arcane workings. (My life would be so much more interesting if I wrote it.)

2) Are you a compulsive keeper or ridder of things?

A Ridder of Things is actually the title of my next book. (It’s not, but wouldn’t that be awesome? Some kind of magical garbage man…) I am one of the least sentimental people on the planet, so I have very few keepsakes. I also have a rule that if I haven’t used it in a year, it goes away. I try to donate things to charity (or unsuspecting coworkers) before I resort to throwing it out. I moved into a new place at the beginning of the summer and did some serious cleansing, which makes me feel light and free. Plus, the less stuff you have to move, the better. The one exception to this: books. Their numbers only grow.

3) Cherries: sweet or tart?

Sweet! My friends have lovingly bestowed the nickname “Hummingbird” upon me because of my preference for sweet things. (Usually alcohol.) I like sickly sweet cherry pie, maraschino cherries at the bottom of my beverage, and cherry slushies.

4) What is your favorite word?

My favorite word is probably dangit. It’s my most-uttered phrase, and it’s incredibly versatile. You can imbue so much into a single “dangit.” (And you can dress it up to “golldangit” if you’re feelin’ frisky.) The word reminds me of my very southern grandma, who had a lexicon of Arkansas-inspired phrases that I love to pepper in here or there. The word ridiculous comes in a close second. It pairs well with “dangit” and leaves a faint, nutty aftertaste.

5) Is there a subject you’re fascinated with but not many people know you’re so interested in?

I love, love, love Halloween makeup and face painting. Some of my closest friends are very aware of this, and run away at the beginning of October so they are not subjected to my madness. I usually start planning my elaborate Halloween costumes a year in advance, and I watch countless hours of facepainting videos on YouTube every week. It is a sickness. I’m subscribed to at least five face painting channels, and if you sit still near me long enough, I’ll try to put makeup on you. In another life, I would have been an FX makeup artist instead of an enthusiastic amateur. Prop making, mold making, crazy creature design makeup — IT’S THE BEST. (I’m sure a lot of this can be traced back to my unhealthy love of monsters. Most things can.)


Agatha Bird grew up in sunny, swampy Florida where she still lives with two ridiculously named cats. agathabirdShe told fibs when she was a kid, but now she tells stories. (Plus, storyteller sounds way better than professional liar.) She subsists on a steady diet of sunflower seeds, tea, books, and terrible puns. Libraries are her natural habitat, and she reaches her full power once a year on Halloween. She believes in wereyorkies, the full moon, and true romance. She loves monsters, magic, bad guys, and happy endings, preferably all in one story. She thinks frog princes are totally overdone, so she stares a little too longingly at alligators. One has yet to stare longingly back.

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Ariel Tachna. Thanks, Ariel.

To know more about Ariel Tachna, check out arieltachna.com or see what she’s up to on twitter (@arieltachna). Her latest literary triumphs are Dance Off and Cherish the Land and are available here.

CherishLand


1) If you could claim any one work of art ever made as your own, which would you take home?

Wow, that is a hard question, not the least because of all the different ways one could define a work of art. Is Machu Picchu a work of art? Is the Louvre (by which I mean the building itself, not its contents) a work of art? And then you have the issue of weighing the value of one of my daughter’s paintings against something others would see as a greater work of art but that would have less value for me.

If I had to choose from what would more traditionally be called works of art, I would choose La Dame à la licorne tapestry in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. I have been fascinated by unicorns and collected them in various shapes and materials since I was a child. I made a unicorn tapestry when I was in ninth grade, but it’s nothing compared to the real one!

2) Long-stemmed roses or wildflowers?

Definitely wildflowers. I love roses, and I have several rose bushes in my garden, but there’s something so freeing about the riot of color and shape and fragrance that is a field of wildflowers. Roses are beautiful and elegant, but they’re also controlled. They’re the unattainable beauty of Greta Garbo or Ingrid Bergman, perfectly polished but somehow cold. Wildflowers are a little less perfect, but there are no limits placed upon them.

3) Brownies or blondies?

Brownies. There is no such thing as too much chocolate. I make fudge brownies with chocolate chips in them.

4) What is your favorite word?

According to my beta readers, it’s “just.” Apparently I overuse that a little, although I’m trying to get better about it. I would say frisson is one of my favorite words. It’s that hint of French that adds elegance and mystery to a sensation whose synonyms all either have a negative connotation (shudder) or are less elegant (wallop). It also tickles me that when I look it up in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, all the rhymes with words are in French. (I might have a bit of a thing for the French language and culture and food and well, all things French.)

5) Tomorrow is July 4th—you have a limitless budget, how will you celebrate?

I’ve always wanted to visit Washington, D.C. on July 4. I remember watching the fireworks over the Washington Monument on TV as a child, particularly the bicentennial. I’d love to see them in person someday.


Ariel Tachna lives outside of Houston with her husband, her daughter and son, and their two dogs. arielBefore moving there, she traveled all over the world, having fallen in love with both France, where she found her husband, and India, where she dreams of retiring someday. She’s bilingual with snippets of four other languages to her credit, and is as in love with languages as she is with writing.

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July.15 Book Rec

This month’s book recommendation: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. My reasons for choosing this book are many: It’s July, making it America’s birthday month; I love love love the documentary it is a companion to; Duncan and I both get misty-eyed thinking about new land being formed when lava meets the ocean; I always enjoy a great nonfiction read; it’s Dreamspinner Press’ American Dream #dreamer month, and I was thus inspired.

the national parks

Even if you haven’t seen the documentary — or maybe especially if you haven’t — this book has so much to offer. The photographs alone are worth a look. The narrative is rich in history about the Parks, but calls upon historical parallels happening in the United States as the Parks are formed, established, and become an institution. There’s far more than trivia about Yosemite to be gleaned, here. Duncan & Burns maintain the balance between factual detail and sensitive prose quite ably, making it an informative and absorbing read.

The National Parks will make you want to turn another page, and at the same time, make you want to bust outside and take a long walk. That’s the best of both worlds, really.

Brew a pot of tea and enjoy!

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is lyric apted. Thanks, lyric.

To know more about lyric apted, you’ll have to actually find her at some conference selling books in the Dreamspinner booth, being as she has no online presence despite (or maybe because of) the fact that she’s been working on, in and around the internet for almost as long as it’s existed. Her ongoing triumph is working as the Review Coordinator and a production assistant for Dreamspinner Press, DSP Publications and Harmony Ink Press.

dsp beach


1) If you could design your own Lego set, what would you want?

Something huge and elaborate, like Disneyland in legos.

2) Flower garden or vegetable garden?

Both, but only if someone else cares for them. I’m rubbish with plants of any kind.

3) Broadway show: tight drama or rollicking musical?

Musical. Absolutely.

4) What is your favorite word?

Brilliant

5) You have developed the ability to talk to animals but only one species. Which?

I want to say something horribly interesting, but in fact I’d have to say house cats. I live alone with my beloved Isabella and it would be nice if we could have an actual conversation. Though I fear it would consist a lot of her asking why I wasn’t feeding her Right Now and me apologizing.


lyric apted is the Review Coordinator and a production assistant for Dreamspinner Press and its two imprints, DSP lyricPublications and Harmony Ink Press. She has been with Dreamspinner since 2012 and doesn’t plan on ever leaving. Though she has lived most of her life in the Pacific Northwest, she spent seven years as a Kiwi and has a NZ passport to prove it. She believes there is nothing more important than love and a good story.

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is HeatherK. Thanks, Heather.

To know more about Heather, see what she’s up to on Twitter (@dentistheatherk). Her ongoing triumph is maintaining myfictionnook.com, an all-romance review site.

fictionnook


1) Did you watch Saturday Morning Cartoons growing up?

Oh yeah, I was a HUGE TV junkie. My brother and I watched hours of cartoons every weekend. Oddly enough, I rarely watch TV now.

2) A day hike or a spa day?

Oh my god, spa day, any day of the week. For my 30th birthday I took my closest friends and family to a destination spa and we spent the entire weekend being pampered. Bliss.

3) The Caribbean or The Mediterranean?

Probably the Mediterranean. I’ve been to the Caribbean before, so I’d like to try something totally new for me.

4) What is your favorite word?

That’s a tough one. I have the mouth of a church lady (a Jewish church lady??), so I never curse. I just feels wrong to me! My favorite word would probably be… love? I like “love.”

5) If you could all-access explore any house in the United States, which would you choose?

I would most likely pick some random celebrity. I think it would be exciting for about five minutes, then start to feel kind of creepy.


Heather is a part-time blogger/reviewer, full time wife and mother, part time dentist, and full time sleep-avoider. HeatherShe first discovered romance a few years ago and then gay romance in 2012 and has been hooked every since. Now she spends most of her time with her nose in her Kindle, mainlining coffee, and trying to balance life and work. Heather’s mottos are honesty and loyalty, and though she looks innocent, she has a love of everything smutty, smart, and kinky. Her husband has his hands full.

do good

Do Good June.15

Every month I feature a way to give back by sharing things I’ve found meaningful to champion. For June 2015 I chose Hailey’s Harvest. “For a few dollars, Hailey’s Harvest can easily change lives by sheltering and feeding the homeless.” It often doesn’t take a lot to make a huge difference, as Hailey’s ongoing–and inspiring–mission proves.

Hailey's Harvest

Mission statement:

We exist to help those in need. Fresh Food: Most of us are fortunate enough to just head to the grocery store or farmer’s market for fresh food. Many people have difficulties affording or finding fresh, healthy food. Meals: Empty stomachs hurt. They break concentration and make the future seem impossible. Giving food is essential to creating health. Shelter: Although these structures are not permanent, it provides a safe, dry, and warm place to sleep and store valuable possessions.

Hailey’s Harvest is committed to helping feed and shelter the homeless in Western Washington as well as providing a personal story of those in need.

Hailey

Happy giving, in whatever way you choose to better your world!

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Lyla Bellatas. Thanks, Lyla.

To know more about Lyla Bellatas, check out LylaBellatas.com or see what she’s up to on twitter (@LylaBellatas). Her latest literary triumphs: She’s shopping No Fear, her first book in the Racing Hearts Series, and Spell Bound, her first book in The Enchanted Candles Series and hopes to be published soon.

Racing Hearts


1) Which season do you enjoy the most?

I love Autumn. I love the colors. The leaves, the cloudless blue skies and cool Canadian breeze. Besides my birthday is in September.

2) Armadillos or sloths?

Definitely Sloths. With resting happy face and smeared eye liner they look like they had a wild night and could not care less what other people think. No walk of shame for them. And with Taurus Rising I can’t help but admire their ability to make hanging out a priority.

3) Hostess or Drake’s Cakes?

Drakes except I haven’t had one since I was in elementary school. I used to love Ring Dings and those CoffeeCakes. Unwrapping a Ring Ding was such a sensual act. All that chocolatey goodness in a compact tin foil wrapped package that was surprisingly weighty. Yum.

4) What is your favorite word?

The first word that came to mind is egregious! I know… it’s a strange one to pick but so perfect, unfortunately, to so many things these days. From a sound perspective I like the way it rolls off my tongue.

5) If you could relive one day from your past, when would you go back to?

The birth of our daughter was a tremendous day, but the prevailing emotion was relief. Joy, yes but mostly relief like at the end of a grueling marathon. I actually fell asleep on the operating table after she was born. The doctor and her staff had a good laugh. She said she’d never had a mother fall asleep. I said I hadn’t slept for over a year trying to conceive her and throughout the difficult multi-911-call filled pregnancy. Even the birth ended up in an emergency C. So after we counted her fingers and toes I fell asleep.

The day I would love to relive was our wedding day. The emotion that best describes it is Pure Bliss. It was a spectacular day; it rained a little in the early morning and then the sun came out and it was gorgeous, which was good because our reception was outside at my parents’ house. I was so happy and excited. I had waited such a long time to find my husband–scoured endlessly searching–and once we met I knew that moment I’d found him and I couldn’t wait to be married.

I asked my husband which day he would relive… he wanted to relive our two-week honeymoon. I said you can only pick ONE day! He said our wedding day. But we absolutely need to have a honeymoon do-over. The Greek Islands and Lake Lugano are stunning.


Born Armenian American on Long Island’s Gold coast, Lyla defies convention. Lyla BellatasShe plays like a man in a man’s world but is always a woman. In a time where style often matters more than substance, she’s fierce, fun, and fearless. Lyla’s passions have led to many outlets. She is a high-performance race car driver and driving instructor, poker player, and loves to shoot pool. She was gifted her first tarot deck during a chance encounter in an elevator. Innately empathic and claircognizant, tarot unlocked the natural witch within. Lyla has taught tarot and pessomancy (reading stones), and read professionally, collecting stories along the way. She still reads with or without a deck when the moon shines just right. Lyla writes contemporary and paranormal romances with strong female heroines that shatter gender boundaries while following their own line, and the men who respect and love them. They are bold and fierce navigating the duality of being strong, powerful, and ever divinely feminine.

book recs

June.15 Book Rec

This month’s book recommendation: Taming The Beast by Amy J Fetzer. The beauty and the beast set-up is one of my favorite tropes, and this book does an excellent job with its modern take on the fable. A tortured, growly beast in his darkened castle. A sensitive yet practical beauty who disrupts his embittered isolation. And a sweet, not-too-precocious kid tossed into the mix for good measure.

0511-9781459206502-bigw

Beyond the easy-sell premise for me, I discovered a nicely fleshed out world with likable characters who each carry judged on appearance alone scars of their own. There’s a reason the heroine relates so well to the beast, and it isn’t simply a matter of instant attraction; this adds depth to the relationship and both leads, and makes their fit and happily ever after with one another all the more believable. There’s palpable physical heat between them as the plot develops, which adds great spice, but there’s also personal longing to be accepted and understood, which adds solidity to their arc.

With strong secondary characters and organic forces of conflict, Taming really comes together in a satisfying whole.

Brew a pot of tea and enjoy!

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Mary Calmes. Thanks, Mary.

To know more about Mary Calmes, check out her website here or her blog here. Her latest release is Sultry Sunset and is available at Dreamspinner Press.

Forging The Future


1) Best Halloween costume as a kid?

I used to watch Emergency! when I was a kid, (which tells you exactly how old I am), and I wanted to be a fireman so bad and live at Station 51 with the guys that I dressed up like a fireman three years in a row.

2) Sweet or unsweet iced tea?

It depends on the restaurant I’m in. If they serve flavored tea, raspberry, mango, peach, then I would probably get that but as a rule, unsweetened is what I chose 9 times out of 10. It’s funny though, now that I live in the South, I’m spoiled with tea as an option. When I was in Orlando for the DSP workshop back in March, I asked for tea at a restaurant and nope, they had none. That’s crazy. I’m so used to my options being sweet or unsweet that I take it for granted.

3) High peak observation deck or cave tour?

Before visiting Mammoth Cave last summer I would have said observation deck but now I’m definitely a cave tour person. Interestingly enough, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world and it’s in Kentucky where I live now. It was incredible, we were hundreds of feet underground, with lanterns, and in the fall you can take a boat ride on the underground river. I’m a cave geek now, it’s wild.

4) What is your favorite word?

Splendid. It’s a great word and not used nearly enough.

5) You get to design your dream beach house. Which beach will this house front, and what has to be inside?

My dream beach house would be on the island of Capri on Marina Grande harbor and therefore would be technically more villa than house. I’d need my family, my cats, friends to visit, my computer, all my books, WiFi, NetFlix, wine (red), my Keurig, my electric kettle for tea, and a fabulous interior decorator who would make the whole place look good enough to be in Architectural Digest. Sounds fabulous, I’m ready to go. 🙂


Mary Calmes lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. Mary[1]She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and falling into her work.