The Bookmark Hub: Hear Ye!! Hear Ye!!

The Bookmark Hub: Hear Ye!! Hear Ye!!: Announcing the latest publication in paperback version! My book title "Get Up and Go Soul!" is available NOW on Create Space (an amazon co...

Hear Ye!! Hear Ye!!

Announcing the latest publication in paperback version! My book title "Get Up and Go Soul!" is available NOW on Create Space (an amazon company).

It is filled with stories of fun, wisdom, heartbreak, and love inspired by real life events from real women.

The book sells for $4.59 US dollars and is available through Amazon in Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy.

Buy your copy today! Shipping time is approximately 7-10 days from the time you place your print-to-order purchase.

You will love this short story collection...guaranteed!

The purchase link is "http://www.createspace.com/3900527.

This link will take you directly to the sales page where you can place your secure shopping order.

Thank you for your patronage.

The Way We Were...

The 2012 Holiday Season is here, and I'm sure that with its approach many of us are anxious about how we will be celebrating them. For great many of us, the memories of happy and carefree holidays past that were celebrated with our loved ones who for some reason or another are no longer with us. Some of these loved ones have gone from us by passing away; while others have moved on to a new life of some sort. Either way; they are no longer a vital part of our lives and for all intents and purposes have left us behind, and all too often their departure has left a huge void that even with the passing of time; has been hard to fill.

Each Thanksgiving Holiday brings back so many treasured memories of being a child growing up in my parents house. The delicious aromas of cooking filled our house, but what I remember most was not just the food aromas, but the house itself had a certain special smell all through it. This was an indescribable fragrance. It was created not only by pine scented decorations or pumpkin pie; I think it was the pure essence of love coupled with the unmistakable sweetness of my Mother that filled the air and made our house a home.

My Mother was an excellent cook, and she always laid out a sumptuous spread fit for a king, even though the guests at our table usually consisted of my parents, my younger brother, and our grandparents...maybe an aunt and uncle or two. My Daddy loved the holidays. Absolutely loved them! He would start to stake out a Christmas tree for us right after Halloween was over, and from that time on he was as happy as a child anticipating Christmas.

For Thanksgiving, he would help Momma out in the kitchen by chopping the veggies or the "goodies" as she called them to go into the stuffing and the potato salad. He would joke around with her and tease her so much until finally she had to banish him from her domain in order to get her cooking done. I would be watching the parades on television, reading a magazine or maybe listening to records while they were working in the kitchen and I could hear them talking, laughing, and just loving the closeness they shared simply by being together. She would put him in charge of the turkey from the moment she put the big bird in the oven until it was time to set it on the table as the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving Day meal. There was a certain comfort and a feeling of well-being just knowing that my parents were happy and we were together as a family and most of all that soon I would be eating one of the best meals in the world!!

Both of my precious parents have been gone for a long time...twenty seven and twenty five years as of this year. But although time by the grace of God has healed the wound, and has dulled the pain the void they left can never be filled. Sometimes it seems as if it were only yesterday that I sat at my Mother's table in her warm and cheery kitchen. Sometimes it seems as if I never sat there at all. I am not alone in this experience or this feeling. Anyone who has been orphaned or widowed has felt the enormous pain of loss and has looked at the future ahead of them as bleak and lonely at one time or another. Life as we had known it...has ceased to exist.

I remember my Mother not only at holiday times, but when I'm singing a particular song, or looking at old family photos. I believe that I can still smell her essence when I close my eyes and think hard enough.  When I see her in family photos, I can go back in time mentally and recollect the exact thing she was doing in some of those photos. I can see my Daddy laughing, dancing a little jig when he'd had a little sip or two and see him at the kitchen stove frying bacon for breakfast. I remember him coming home from work tired and dirty from working on automobiles all day. Later when he'd had a job promotion, I recall him as a sales person in a local hardware store...charmingly assisting customers with their purchases. And giving me lunch money on my way to work even after I had become all grown up.

Memories...so many memories! They can comfort, they can make me laugh until I cry, and make me cry until I laugh. I dream of them both quite often. In my dreams they are speaking, but although I can see their faces and discern their features distinctly; I can hardly remember the sound of their voices. But that's okay; they echo off of the walls of my soul and they resound deep in my spirit. Here are the two places where their voices will never be without sound.

I would love to recreate those kind of holidays, but even though I have tried with my own family it just doesn't feel the same. Maybe its because I'm not then same. I'm too different now and too much time has passed with me being on my own. I'm not sure if I'd know how to relate to anyone else at this point in my life. I lose myself in the past sometimes. When I'm anxious, lonesome or feeling blue I go there...back to the little frame house where I spent most of my growing years and I'm safe and taken care of.

I can hear the television with the sound of "Gunsmoke" or "Rawhide" westerns playing and my Daddy is sitting in his easy chair in front of the set, totally immersed in his favorite shows. My Momma is in the kitchen washing dishes and there's cake leftover from dinner sitting on the sideboard. My younger brother is playing with his trains in his room, and I'm sprawled across my bed in my room leafing through an "Archie" comic book. And I remain here until I feel as if its safe to come back to reality, and when I do I feel stronger and more able to accept and to cope. Until its time to go back again.

Memories...of the way we were.

An Official Update

Hello There and Welcome Back!

Here's an official update on my work in progress. "Jamaican Jive" is progressing quite nicely! Ten chapters have been completed, and now I will begin the revision process. I will re-examine each chapter for errors, character assimilation, character revision, editing information and so forth.

This will give me a fresh perspective on what I have written, but have not read in several weeks. Possibly I may develop anew slant on the premise and the chararcters. I can check my word count again after I am done.

Currently, I am on Chapter 3 of my workbook "Anatomy of Nonfiction". What interesting things I have learned and a brand new concept is being considered at the back of my mind...Children's Writing; article and book.

I would never have considered this possibility before I began my Creative Writing study! But I am definitely interested in following up. Who knows? This could be my niche!

I have started a new page here on this blog site. Currently its under construction because I have to assemble and upload my finished articles  as part of my online portfolio. With a few extra hours of work, I can have this up and running very soon.

Stay tuned for more exciting details coming soon, and as always there will be official updates on this site.

All My Best.

New Book Preview

Hello Readers,

I haven't posted anything in a couple of weeks, but I am still here and still writing! What I have included in this post is a preview chapter from my new book that I am currently working on with the title "Jamaican Jive".

Its the story of four friends who visit Kingston Jamaica on a vacation, and while on the island they get involved in intrigue, and the mystery of a sudden death of a night club owner. What was intended to be a fun and relaxing excursion to paradise, turns into something...entirely different.

Attached are two files for my readers to preview. The anticipated completion date is late November when I hope to have located an agent and have the manuscript ready to hand over. Read on to sample my new book...

Wish me luck!

Chapter Three

Santana's Nightclub was the funkiest club in Kingston and the most popular one on the Hip Strip. The exterior was quite nondescript, but once you crossed the threshold to the entrance, it was another world. Inside was cool and the lighting was dim but allowed for plenty of illumination to see what the customers needed to see, and there was no danger of feeling in the dark. There was a huge indoor waterfall in the center of the room, and small bistro type tables surrounded its perimeter. Located around the outer part of the room were several leather banquettes in a deep orange color.

Each one had its own wall lamp that was lit with small opaque light bulbs. There was a raised dais at the rear of the room where a band played some pretty groovy Calypso music, and right now, the patrons sitting in the banquettes and at the tables was just enjoying the upbeat sounds. Warm, rich colors were the dominant theme of the interior, where the walls were painted in scenic murals, depicting singers and dancers, in various stages of performing, and musical notes and instruments were blended in to complete the scenes.

The images had been painted with such precision and with such expertise and likeness to the people they represented, that they seemed to flicker in the subdued lighting and come alive from the walls, in a three dimensional parody of the real thing. The shiny dance floor did not yet hold any dancers, but the night was young. One could enter this club and immediately feel a sense of excitement and the promise of a good time.

 Dante had accompanied them to the entrance of the club, and he had summoned the club manager Robaire Wendell as Mr. DeJohn had instructed him to do. When the ladies had been greeted by Robaire, and shown to the VIP Lounge, only then did he feel free to take his leave.

He was quite a bit younger than his former charges, but he held an admiration for each of them and he had not missed out on a single thing about how they looked. Extremely well dressed, smelling good enough to eat, and wonderful personalities to boot. So many Americans thought themselves better than Jamaicans, and they came over here with their demands and their condescension, thinking that the measly tips they left gave them the right to look down their noses at him. But not Ms. Alexis and her friends...they were classy ladies if he ever saw one.

 No sooner had the ladies been seated on a long, white leather couch in the VIP Lounge, did a man approach them. Claudette turned as she heard a man's voice speaking close by to see Robaire; their host give a nod in the direction where they were seated. The man that was speaking reached down and took her hand, kissed it in a way reminiscent of old world gallantry and when he spoke, his voice sounded like liquid silk...if there were such a thing. He introduced himself as Sebastian Jarvis, Club Owner Extraordinaire.  He looked absolutely delicious as he stood there in his white linen slacks and shirt opened nearly halfway down the front, and whatever the fragrance was he was wearing, she had never smelt before and would never forget. He wore a white beret with a gold insignia on it and the touch of his hand was smooth and dry.

 Helena watched them all unobtrusively. She noted the suave way this new player Sebastian carried himself, she noticed the high blush on Claudette's face, and she noticed something else; and she was sure that she was the only one who did. There was a shrewdness about the way he carried himself, that was both passive and luring at the same time. While Mr. Jarvis was making his preliminary move on her friend, someone else was watching from a distance. It was more of a feeling at first; you know how your skin prickles and a flush comes over your body at the same

time your sensory perception goes off the radar in a way that alerts you to danger. She automatically knew that somehow they were in jeopardy.

 For a few moments, Helena simply sat nursing her drink trying to remain calm while she gathered her nerve to turn around and look. She wasn't sure where she would look, or what she would find, but she knew that all she had to do was turn her head slightly, and whatever it was that was actively causing this nervous sensation would manifest it.

 She turned her head just a bit to her left because Sebastian and Claudette were on her right. Her pretense was to smile at the patrons seated nearest her left side. She did, and then she let her gaze slowly roam over the area near the entrance and she noticed two very tall and imposing women looking directly at where they were seated. They were both exquisitely dressed and quite attractive and had an authoritative air about them. Their ages were hard to tell because of the lighting in the VIP Room, and because of the dim lighting here also.

 Nevertheless, Helena met their steady gaze with one of her own. She did not smile, nor did they. After the space of a few heartbeats, Helena turned away very casually and again picked up her drink. Claudette was laughing coyly at whatever it was Sebastian was saying to her, and Alexis was ordering some light appetizers from the Hostess/ Waitress. Bonnie had excused herself to go in search of the powder room. The two women did not move from their place by the door as Bonnie got up, so Helena was pretty sure she wouldn't be followed. Still, she remained on alert just in case.

 It wasn't until Bonnie had returned to her seat, and Sebastian and Claudette had taken to the dance floor that Helena started to relax a bit. Well, it was too soon because just as she tossed her head laughing at something Bonnie had said that she again felt the strange sensation. Before she could turn her head and look this time, the two women had approached their seating area, drinks in hand and without waiting for an invitation, they both sat down; each one on a separate end of the long couch.

 “Good evening ladies, allow us please to introduce ourselves. With a sweeping hand gesture she said “This is my friend Almoy. And I (she paused for dramatic effect as she seemed to stand up even straighter) am Druscilla. I am Sebastian's wife.” No one said a word or even breathed it seemed. This was the exact reaction Druscilla had known she would receive. She knew she had the upper hand and would use it to her advantage…as she always did.

 Not a muscle moved on anyone sitting at the table. The other patrons in the club who had watched Druscilla and Almoy approach the American party were not surprised to see this. Most of them here were regulars, so they had seen this melodrama played out before. They could count on Sebastian making a move on female tourists, and they could depend on his wife showing up to spoil it by bringing along just a hint of fear with her. Helena had only a split second to take note of their cultured way of speaking and carrying themselves before her next thought; “Oops. Kingston we have a problem.”

The Pursuit of a Dream

I was blessed to receive a very powerful message today, and it was one that I really needed to hear. It revved up my engines again, and revived my hope for my future as a writer and a published author, and I am sharing with you.You see, for the past couple of weeks, I was feeling undecided about my future in the literary world. I was disappointed that my book sales have been very slow, and perhaps I didn't have what it takes to make it as an author. Maybe the public didn't think my work was as great as I thought it was, and they simply didn't like my books.

Well, I continued to keep my blogs updated, but I have not written anything else on the new book I am currently working on in several weeks. I allowed a negative view of my future to hold me back, and if I had let my thought processes go unattended for any length of time, my current project would soon have become a thing of the past, and I would have never finished it.

The message I heard today was one of hope for the dream; yours and mine. About how we can unlock our potential and how we can succeed in the pursuit of our dreams. First of all, these dreams must be visionary in that they are blessed by God, and that we see ourselves focused and committed to the pursuit and eventual fulfillment of the dream. We cannot afford to permit disappointments, setbacks, doubts, fear or criticisms detour us from the path. That means we cannot allow the opinions and thoughts and words of others affect us negatively. They must not intrude on the genius that we have nurtured and cared for inside of us go to waste.

Our dreams and visions for our future must be tested and tried to validate the authenticity of them; the staying power of them. When this happens, we must knuckle down harder and ride it out rather than give up. Winners never quit and quitters never win!  Our dreams should be the driving force behind everything that we do. They are fed from and grow from our innermost thoughts and our passions. If we have dared to dream, and if we have begun to take the necessary steps to realize that dream, then it must be cared for and promoted in positive and reinforcing ways.

Dare to dream out loud, and dare to dream with gusto and with zeal! But always remember that you must keep focused and stay determined. Nobody else can do it for you, but everybody can keep you from it.

All my best!

September SALE!!

Hello Writers and Readers of the Literary World!

I am pleased to announce that my book 'VIVID' has gotten a facelift; with a new cover design, and a new sale price!!

For the month of September, and in honor of my birthday, 'VIVID' is on sale at Create Space for $3.99. Buy it now by clicking on the Create Space link at the top of the page and get your sale copy with the really cool design NOW!!

And check out what's new on the Coming Attractions page using the tab at the top to see what is next on my  agenda.

Thanks so much for being loyal fans and remember to support an author and buy a book!

The Bookmark Hub Update

Well, I'm happy to report that I have gotten past my temporary writing setback. For a while there I was finding it pretty hard to concentrate on writing and I just left it all alone for a few days. I did keep up my weekly post on True Confessions (which is doing quite well by the way) and on The Real Grandmothers of Charlotte blogs, but as for my book writing, I just wasn't feeling it! But today I got back in the seat and started firing away again and it felt pretty good.

I started out by redesigning the book cover on my book "VIVID". It has been replaced with a view of the night sky with stars twinkling and it actually lends credence to the book. After all, the stars factor in to a great degree in the story and lends itself to the premise, so this is a much more appealing cover for the book. You just have to check it out at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SV63H2. And there is an additional price reduction there on the book also!

Since I have gotten over my temporary funk about writing, I should be able to meet my deadline for completion by November 1, 2012 on the next book. This one is going to be great folks. I have put a lot of care and effort into making this book a fantastic read. I am expecting big things to come of this!

Look for more news on this upcoming project as I continue to make progress!

Thanks for stopping by.

New Price Reductions on Books!

 BOOK PRICES HAVE BEEN REDUCED!

ON SALE NOW

"Seasoned With Thyme"....99!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AP7816

                                                                          "VIVID"....2.99!

                                               http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SV63H2

Now on Amazon.com..Click Now to buy while the sale lasts.

Need a Good Book to Read?

Hello Fellow Book Lovers!

It has been raining this afternoon and I just love to spend a quiet, rainy evening with a great book and a delicious iced coffee. Hmm...doesn't that sound wonderful? Well, even if its not raining, there's always time to read. If you just don't have any idea what book to choose, first of all, you know I'd LOVE for you to read one of my eBooks. And 'VIVID' is also in paperback form in Create Space e-store. And 'Seasoned With Thyme' is still available for sale!

So you say you've already read both of my books? Fabulous...just check out my recommendations on Goodreads. Or the ones I've got on my bookshelf on Shelfari. I've attached the links to save you time; just click and download your favorite choices to your Kindle, Nook or i Pad and you're good to go.

Now I can't make it easy for you to get your iced coffee, but allow me to recommend Starbucks Iced Frappucino for a delicious treat.

So, enjoy this weekend with your book(s) and your yummy coffee and we'll chat next week. Remember that reading is fundamental, and here at The Bookmark Hub we promote a global interest in reading...one book at a time!

More great tips to read...Relevant Links to Promote Book Marketing

.

My New Book Promotion

Announcing the release of my new book, "VIVID" which has gone live on Create Space! Both the paperback and the Kindle version can be purchased right now at these links; https://www.createspace.com/3951477  and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SV63H2. My first book "Seasoned with Thyme" can also be purchased at the Amazon book store.

"Vivid" by F Wiladene Keen https://www.createspace.com/3951477

What the book is about...

Marianne Starr is a believer. She believes that her fate in matters of the heart lies in wishes and falling stars. She has made her share of them and based her hopes on moonbeams, and placed her trust in the cosmos. Because of her unsuccessful attempts at finding true love on her own, she has relied on the heavens for quite some time now; waiting for some unseen force to bring him into her life. But, Marianne is in for a very different kind of meeting. She will learn that one must be careful what one wishes for, and that you just never know what means will bring about the fulfilled wishes. She is faced with deciding what is reality and what is not because it all seems so VIVID.

ON SALE NOW!

Introducing My New Book; VIVID...

Introducing “VIVID”

A story about just how we can have thoughts and dreams so powerful and real, they become three dimensional.

 Maybe it will forever be a mystery about what lies within the unlimited imagination and the untold powers it has to manifest itself as real. Surely it’s something all of us have thought about at one time or another in our lives; albeit fleetingly. Such was the case with Marianne Starr had often caught a “falling star” and put it in her pocket, believing in the lyrics of the song.

Even as an adult she had sat at her window at night looking up at the heavens when she would recall the nursery rhyme 'Twinkle, twinkle little star...'and faithfully made her wishes never doubting the validity of her actions. A part of her adulthood seemed forever associated with her childhood, and often the two overlapped.

Sometimes she was positive that she lived in another world and was only here in this one because of some cruel joke that had played on her, and if she wished long and hard enough to be with her one truelove, she would be taken to him in that faraway place she could only dream of. Had she wished upon and blew kisses at one too many magic moonbeams? Were her innocent imaginings the very catalyst that had propelled her into an alter world?

Maybe there is another more believable explanation for the series of very unusual and eerie events that take place in Marianne’s life. While she is seemingly trapped there, she would think back on her vivid imagination and wish it hadn't been as active.

Travel along with Marianne and the interesting people she meets on her surreal journey, and decide for yourself if you want to continue your beliefs in the supernatural powers of the distant galaxies, or if you want to limit your imagination and childish wishes to what you can actually see and touch.
VIVID is a story about a lonely young woman named Marianne Starr, whose one persevering wish in life is to fall in love with her very own Prince and to have him love her back.

This book will be available soon early August on Amazon.com

Promotional Blog for Online Magazine

For a limited time only, the creator of the popular blog "The Real Grandmothers of Charlotte...Keep it Real" will be publishing an online magazine or in industry terms; an E-zine. An E-is an online document resembling a blog that is designed to look and read like a magazine. The subject matter is usually on one topic with separate pages that have other diversified content, such as advertisements, photographs, tips for readers, and other articles of mass appeal that you would ordinarily find in any other magazine. 

 

This one will be titled "True Confessions" and although it may not be exactly like the very popular magazine from back in the day (when my generation was in the teen years) that we used to love; hopefully it will bring back memories of that iconic publication. Each of the fabulous divas that you have come to follow, love and enjoy reading about will reveal something from her past; namely her much younger years that the other has no knowledge of.

 

How did they decide to do this? Was it some sort of a "truth or dare" game they wanted to play? Not exactly, because these are things the friends had no intentions of disclosing...ever! Truth is they are being blackmailed by someone from the past. Someone that is intimately connected to one of the ladies, and has the resources to discreetly dig into their past lives for information. When the first friend is contacted by the blackmailing 'friend', she agonizes over what to do. After careful thought and self-examination, she goes to the other three, and in turn they each find out they are facing the same issue. Rather than give power to this evil foe, they make a pact to come clean on their own, and so they gather their families and sit down for a major tell all session. Taking back the power over their lives they relive each of the secrets that were supposed to remain buried for life. Every woman dreams of being a "Ride or Die" chick, and trust...each one of these ladies was up to the occasions.

 

Although we still believe in a moral code of conduct, and that means no erotica and no raw profanity, don't dismiss us! We can bring it and we can give it to you without this and you will STILL be pleased with what you read. So, get ready and we'll be coming your way very soon! 

 

Muy Caliente!