Meet Melina

    Author Bio: Hi I’m Mel aka Melina Turner, I’m an international award-winning poet and live in Australia in a little town called Gympie. I began my writing at an extremely young age starting in primary school in year 3 when I heard about Write4Fun, a school international writing competition. My first piece was called “Wild Brumbies” published in 2003 when I was in year 3. I soon after moved from Nambour to Gympie an hour away, where I was influenced by an amazing English teacher to continue writing. In 2005 when I was in year 5 I was awarded “honoured writer” for my poetry in which I continued and still do. In 2013 I was awarded, “Best Poet of 2012” and put into a poetry book that is now in the library of Congress.
    After I began poetry I soon wanted to branch out thus starting “The Deathly-Roses Volume 1” a flash fiction narrative-prose piece, original and first of its kind, to be published 2013. I then gapped it out and wrote Volume 2 in 2007 to be published at the end of 2013; the third to be written in 2013 and publish 2014. My goal with these books (TDR Volumes) was to make it short and poetic-like to gain non-readers interest and I believe I have done that. As of 2012, I slowly branched out and started helping co-author for Timothy Mitchell Films, helping with scripts for movies.
    As of now I am beginning to write my first finished novel ever and working at my business as an editor and promoter for independent authors.
    As of now I will be finishing my novels and aiming for traditional publishing.

    What am I writing at the moment you may as…well the answer is simple three pieces and each has its own personal signature. As The Past plays to the Present is my first YA Teen Romance about a past that replays to the present. As Black a teen born into one of the richest families ever struggles to survive from her father, who stalks her for the very riches he murder her mother for…Will most definitely finish rewriting this piece this year.

    The second book is a collaboration with a new author called Bill Jensen it will be a book on a collection of comedy shorts that both will make you laugh, shock you and might even find it offensive but there are so many different comedy types to choose from that we will cover most of them; from aussie humour on the drop bears to a girl tying herself up to a very long rope and flying like a kite (pretending to be an army plane mind you) and another which will really offend which I wont mention just yet ;) This won’t be finished for a while so the wait must continue.
    And lucky last Deodora Daggers, the first novel ever in The Deathly-Roses Books which will introduce a new character and how she came to be and how she managed to be in The Deathly-Roses Volumes. This piece surprisingly will not be YA as The Deathly-Roses Volumes are but Adult content. It will be published hopefully next year before The Deathly-Roses Volume 3.

A small blurb of Author’s book: The Deathly-Roses Volume 1

    “I had scratches and scars all over me but they were slowly disappearing, which was great and would let my beauty settle in. I looked at myself in the mirror focussing on different parts of my face. Something was different. Was it my full lips? The cleaned face? Mo, it wasn’t. It was my eye colour it had changed…”

    Meet Wisty, a teenager forced by her family to bond to the richest, in Acrelain. But dire punishments, have given her something she never believed was true… Join Wisty as she sets off on her journey between good and evil to find the very truths…that could break her or make her stronger.

Reviews or quotes of positive reviews your work has already received. 

Review Of “The Deathly-Roses” (volume 1 and 2)
    There is an honest voice in Turner’s writing evident in “The Deathly Rose”. Turner writes with wit and manages to keep the reader engaged over the course of the two volumes. The end with bonus volume 3 sneak peak (which could even serve as a prologue for volume 2) reminds me of the ending of ‘Mad Max’, in the sense that the character has slowly sunken to the depths of insanity the she now is ready to extract more violent horrors. Some descriptions are a little had to visualize, but I guess that’s part of its poetic beauty. The first person narration voice isn’t narrating character’s name in third person in the same chapter. Still, it’s only a small thing which readers will choose to ignore because of its engaging content. Definitely get into this series. Well craft and very well devised. 4 out of 5. ~Timothy David Mitchell (moviemaker of “The Waiting game”)

    Melina turner’s “The Deathly-Roses” Volume 1, is a refreshing story well written story, with an excellent array of supernatural thought provoking concepts. The characters both serve as well written portrayals of angels, corrupt business tycoons and tragic misunderstood victims each with their own complex back stories and agendas. At the heart of the characters is the character of Wisty. A tortured young girl, drugged and forced to serve under a corrupted rich family and forced to marry a stranger against her will. Melina Turner does a great job at bringing the character of Wisty to life, as the feeling of sadness on Wisty is ultimately reflected upon the reader as well as the strength and courage Wisty gains upon learning of real purpose in life and her love and affection with the character of Iriami, a mysterious stranger who shows sympathy towards Wisty. The story as a whole is edgy and well-driven; with a sense of humour in various areas. All in all a very well written story and I cannot wait for the next installments in this exceptional series ~Robert Church

Promotional links.
Her face book author page:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMelMelleni
Her editing and promotions page:    
https://www.facebook.com/MelsFreelanceServices
Her The Deathly-Roses Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDeathlyRoses
Her twitter account:
http://www.twitter.com/@melinawritedark
Her blog link:
http://melsfreelanceservices.wordpress.com/
http://melseverything.wordpress.com/
Or add her on face book:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMelinaTurner
Her Goodreads link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6925370.Melina_Turner

You can buy The Deathly-Roses Volume 1 at this link http://smarturl.it/DeathlyRoses but hurry The Deathly-Roses Volume 2 releases June 9th

Homelessness

     Homelessness is really a difficult thing to live through having been there before. Sometimes it was of my own making but it wasn't that case every single time. The last time it was Brandy and myself. Together we lived in a Toyota Corolla which isn't fun in the least I assure you and I never want to do it again. The whole roof, trunk, and back seat was loaded with much of what we owned. Thankfully that was a long time ago now but because of things like that I know how difficult it can be to get yourself off the streets.

     Anyway, Utah seems to have found a means to help alleviate the situation. They've begun giving homeless people apartments and I think also they're helping with food stamps. I imagine some will run with the opportunity that's presented. One of the hard parts of getting off of the street is having a home address of some kind. Another issue is being able to get cleaned up which isn't easy at public restroom sink though I've done it. For a while my address was at a soup kitchen but I had a cell phone so at least I could receive a call from an employer. http://www.exposingthetruth.co/utahs-plan-eradicate-homelessness-actually-working/

     While Utah's solution isn't perfect I think it's better than what's being done in most places. I do recall that it sometimes seemed impossible and I'm not joking on that. It seems like there are insurmountable obstacles which is why many will never break the cycle. In many cases someone's self image is damaged almost permanently which is sad.

Xenophobia

I was rather shocked recently that an ad would cause outrage of any kind because it wasn't in English. It happened with the ad this link goes to. http://www.eonline.com/news/506501/coca-cola-s-america-the-beautiful-commercial-sparks-outrage-on-twitter

Every one of us, except for a very few are the descendants of immigrants. My own ancestry is English, Irish, Norwegian, and several others and my family name originated with John Bigelow who was on the Winthrop Fleet of 1630. While my ancestors have been here in the America's for a long time, almost four centuries, it doesn't make me better than anyone else. John Bigelow, he was born in Suffolk, England on 16 February 1617.

America consists of a melting pot. That's part of what made this country so great. So many different ideas were brought together in one place it sparked so many inventions. I can guarantee you that the majority of those immigrants that came didn't speak English at first. They had to learn it over time and I'm sure it was difficult. Can you imagine why they would leave their homelands? It was lots of different reasons. Starvation or religious persecution was two of the big ones.

I would love to see the derision, hatred, bigotry, all go bye bye. It doesn't really belong when you think about it. 

Secrets Abound My Love

Pamela Foreman, Published Author

Genre: Romantic Fiction

SYNOPSIS: When David and Annette join their families and begin one of their own, the couple can’t imagine how their marriage will affect their children, new and old. As parents, they each have high hopes for their children and their marriage, but in only a few short years, the path has gone the way of destruction.

Drugs, alcohol, abuse, loneliness … Secrets hide among the folds of their new lives and David and Annette are faced with the challenge of reconnecting with their children, while learning to be parents all over again.

How will they cope, discovering the hidden secrets? Will their marriage survive or will the threat of losing their children drive them apart? Can they fight adversity and win, or will their marriage be over as quickly as it began? Find out in Secrets Abound, My Love, the third segment in the Nebraska Holds series.

Purchase Link: WILL BE GIVING THIS OUT ON THE 23RD OF JANUARY

EXCERPT:

“Oh, Georgia! Lighten up!” Jersey shook her finger at Georgia. Georgia could tell her sister had been drinking not only by her behavior, but Jersey smelled of the beer or liquor. The two girls plus their fellow triplet, Virginia, were barely seventeen, and their step-sister Mallory was still sixteen. The four were about to be seniors in high school and their sibling was already an alcoholic.
Jersey and this male friend of hers both laughed then shushed each other like preschoolers about to get caught in an mischievous act. Georgia didn’t even know his name and didn’t remember ever seeing him before. Georgia rolled her eyes, knowing this was not going to get any better.

“How did he get in here?” Georgia asked. She put her hands on her hips, an action she had observed her mother doing over the past several years as all her older siblings had become teenagers. Georgia knew for a fact this boy did not enter through the front door of their house.

“How else?” Jersey slurred. “The window.”

“The window? We’re on the second floor!” Georgia put her head in her hands, exasperated. She’s been covering for her sister for more than two years now, but she wasn’t sure she could any longer. Jersey seemed to be getting herself deeper and deeper in trouble.

Author Bio: Pamela Foreman is a wife of seventeen years to her high school sweetheart and the mother of four children. Having grown up in Texas, Pamela currently lives in central Virginia. Pamela received her master’s degree in accounting from Liberty University and is an avid reader. She enjoys sewing, crocheting, knitting and scrapbooking when she is not involved with her children’s activities and spending time with her husband.

Pamela is the author of the Nebraska Holds series, a series surrounding the lives of David Anderson and Annette Miller, middle-aged adults who have both gone through the sudden deaths of their spouses and each have children to continue to raise. The series currently has three books, You're Right, My Love (December 2011), Not Again, My Love (January 2013) and Secrets Abound, My Love (January 2014).

Author Links:

Website: http://www.pamelaforeman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamelaforemanauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamela_foreman

About Me: http://about.me/pamelaforeman

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pef1996/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/111814691744564977712/posts

Make your own bike panniers

     I rely on a bicycle to get around as many know that follow this blog. What do you do when you have groceries? Cabs are expensive and I do have very reliable transportation, it just happens to be two wheeled transportation.  Recently I got a new bike and when I went hunting through everything for the old grocery panniers I only found one. Interestingly enough with the rack attached there isn't quite enough room to put the bike trailer hitch on the axle. Anyway, it's time to make a new set of grocery panniers and I decided to share what I'm doing so you can make your own. They aren't difficult to do. 

     This black nylon strapping came with our new sofa when it was delivered. I've been saving the strap for over a year. I'll be using some of it around the top of the pannier bags. It's two inches wide so I'll fold it over, sew it together and then to the bag. 

     What the 's' hooks will be used for is to connect the grocery pannier to the rack of which I've got a really good one, an Axiom rack. It was really worth the money and I've had it on three different bikes now. I think it maxes out at 130 Lbs that it will carry. It's one of the most durable ones you can get. I've had others that I wasn't too happy with. Most of them are not designed for hauling $100 worth of groceries home. Each of the hooks will hold around 40 Lbs of weight which is more than enough for this application since I'm using three per bag. Notice that I've taken the hooks to the left I've squeezed one end in and it's the part that will be directly attached to the nylon webbing.

     Here is the initial bag as just an unfinished bag. I thought it looked good so I had to shoot a picture of it. To the right of it is the pliers I used to squeeze the one end of the s hook closer. You also see part of the sewing machine.

     Both of the blue materials I bought on a close out sale several years ago. I bought up all there was of the blue canvas they had in stock because to tell you the truth it was extremely cheap on that sale. In fact I wish I would have bought even more colors now that I look back. I think at one time I had five yards of the light blue and 3 1/2 of the dark blue. If you get new canvas you'll probably pay about $7.50 per yard now.

     Here's the pannier bag attached to the bike. You'll notice the bottom is slightly narrower than the top. There is a reason for that. It's so that my heel doesn't have as much of a tendency to hit the pannier while I'm peddling along. That's been something I didn't figure for on other panniers I've made. 

     If that's happening you have to slide your foot forward which isn't entirely natural and it's harder to peddle as a result. What should be centered on the peddle is the ball of your foot, not the arch. 

     The rough size of the finished pannier is 6 1/4" inside to outside panel, 12" wide along the top, 9 1/2" wide across the bottom. The reason for the 6 1/4" size is for gallons of milk so that it will fit and not get damaged.

Here is a detail of the hooks. You can pretty easily see what I did.

Update, 25 January: What I've also done is finally came up with something that will work in the bottom. Some cardboard cut to size, multiple layers that are running different directions to give it the greatest strength. I simply used masking tape to hold the pieces together. It turns out I don't have any glue to turn it into a solid sandwich. I've used four layers here. It turns out the bottom is 6 1/4" by 9 1/4" inside.

     Because the cardboard won't do well once it gets wet and it will at some point I wrapped it in a black store bag to help keep it dry. I believe in recycling whenever possible.

Here are both panniers complete and on the bike. The left one is the particular one I put together today and it's a little neater than the one on the right.

I'm thinking they'll do a good job on the groceries they'll be hauling.

     Here they are with a full load. I just got back from the grocery store today. Yes, they worked exactly as intended. My heels didn't hit the bottom of either pannier as I was peddling. I will say it's a heavy load that I readily noticed especially as I started moving forward. Because of the angle on the front side it did take a little while I was at the store on loading them.

     The rack itself is by Axiom and this is the particular one has been an extremely good one. In fact, I haven't had one that does as well as this one does. Of course I bought it in January 2010 so the same model might have different characteristics now. It doesn't say it on Amazon these days but the rack will hold 100 Lbs (45 Kgs) pretty handily and it seems to center the load well. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SR3LKE

The Storm Sullivan Saga

Violet doesn't know I'm doing this but she's got a great set of books available for 99 cents, it's a real bargain. My wife read the first couple of books and really liked them. If you're into paranormal romance you'll probably want to check it out also.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Storm-Sullivan-Saga-Emerald-ebook/dp/B00HYPKRKC

Spirits Move

Spirits move and writhe here

This night of the full moon

Cold orb dark in eclipse

It's over far too soon

Dancing in the ruins

Chilling all my senses

As I am enamored

Lost within their presence

The wispy phantasms

Disappear with the light

When the eclipse is done

And all becomes so bright

19 January 2014