Politics Then and Now

By Barbara Plum aka AB Plum

A Two-Word Story

A week later … post mid-term elections.

Are you glad you voted?

Did you imagine the aftermath?

Can you envision the days ahead?

I am delirious I voted—early. I never imagined the aftermath, and I’ve sent my crystal ball out for refurbishing. I plan to consult it many times over the next months.

In the meantime, I’m going to read, read, read for escape, entertainment, and enlightenment. Top of the list: Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times.

Also, I’m looking forward to some down time from writing and some more quality time with friends and family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

****

Barbara Plum, aka AB Plum, writes across the gamut of light and dark (paranormal romance to dark, psychological thrillers). As always, her two latest books explore families.

Available now on Amazon:

Go Vote!

by J.M. Phillippe

I have this thing where I use story telling to help my clients understand growth. It's a pretty simple formula, I say. All character growth comes from the resolution of conflict.

In every life, there is a before, a status quo, or where things are at the beginning. And then something happens, or someone wants or needs something. This creates a conflict. And this thing that happens, or that's wanted or needed? It's too big or personal or important, and that means the protagonist can't ignore it and gets locked into to the path to go out and change said big thing, or pursue said wants or needs. They have to move through the conflict (or series of conflicts) and get to the other side. And doing so helps them grow.

Conflict then is not inherently a bad thing. Almost every conflict has the potential for growth inside of it.

Right now in America, we are reaching what feels like the zenith of a conflict that has been brewing for decades. I would argue that in some way this conflict was built into the very founding of the nation, and what caused us to almost split apart in the past. The United States stayed the United States, but it has never really been united.


But while the nation has been marked by internal conflict, most of the time those conflicts ultimately pushed the nation forward, helping America progress toward the ultimate goal of a state of true equality for all. America has found a way to grow through the conflict.

I feel like this election is another chance for that type of growth--the type that comes when things are too big, too important, and too personal to allow protagonists to do anything other than move forward.

So today I'm asking the our American readers to do something truly heroic--go out and vote. And maybe America can use all this conflict to grow toward something better than it was before.

***

J.M. Phillippe is the author of the novels Perfect Likeness and Aurora One and the short stories, The Sight and Plane Signals. She has lived in the deserts of California, the suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York City. She works as a clinical social worker in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free time binge-watching quality TV, drinking cider with amazing friends, and learning the art of radical self-acceptance, one day at a time.

Whew! It's Over (for now)

By Evelyn David

So the good news is my guy won.

Local elections were held last week. I thought there was a real difference between the two candidates, so had no trouble pulling the lever for my guy. Although sadly, with electronic voting, there is no actual lever to pull; no curtain to hide behind as I make weighty decisions. I'm old school and quite frankly, standing at a little kiosk to color in an electronic ballot too closely resembles taking the SATs. To finish off the event, I fed my ballot into what was the equivalent of a bank ATM.

But what the days leading up to the election taught me most was the desperate need for election reform. This was a county-wide election. The area population is a little less than a million. The ads and signage must have felled several forests. But what drove me absolutely insane were the robo-calls. Day after day I'd receive multiple calls, all for the same candidate. I kept begging to be taken off the list – to no avail.

I was sorely tempted to sit out the election as some form of protest – but good citizen that I am, that wasn't an option. Eliminating my landline wasn't an option either. I prefer the sound quality of my landline. I have caller ID on some of my phones – but not all, so there were times when I grabbed the phone without first checking to see if I recognized the caller.

If it's this obnoxious and intrusive for a local election, I shudder to think about the barrage of TV, radio, Internet, and mail ads, not to mention the constant phone calls for the mid-terms in 2014 and the Presidential election in 2016. As my mother, the original Evelyn would say, OY.

The Do Not Call registry never covered political phone calls. To be honest, the DNC registry is a bit of a joke anyway. When it's not election season,  I'm getting constant calls for new credit cards (no thank you) and to change my electric provider (also no thank you).

You can't physically invade my home without my permission. You can't harass me on the street. I can block spam from my inbox. But phone calls on behalf of democracy in action, seems like I just have to grin and bear it. But you can bet "my guy" is getting a letter offering my congratulations – and instructions to never call me again.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

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Evelyn David's Mysteries 

Audible    iTunes

Audible    iTunes

 

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 - Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Sullivan Investigations Mystery series
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Your Vote Matters!

By Bethany Maines

The good news: I have a new short story coming out on Tax Day!  Yes, that is an infamously black day, but I thought I’d give people something to look forward to.

The bad news:  I’m having serious second thoughts about the story title.

Up until now it’s been known rather blandly as Cops & Robbers.  The story – part of my Tales From the City of Destiny series – features Sam Roseberry, a Tacoma Detective and Native American shaman in training, as he hunts down a killer who’s been murdering people for their magical powers. Not only does Cops & Robbers sound like the wrong genre, it sounds about as boring as butterless popcorn. The truth is that when I’m writing, the name of the story is the farthest thing from my mind. When I call a story something initially, it’s usually something like, “The One With Sam.”  Which is an even less sellable name than “Cops & Robbers.”  Once my writing group insists on a name (apparently, “The One With Sam” doesn’t clarify things for them), I slap a working title on the thing and move forward. Sadly, my working titles are frequently extremely literal with a dash of cliché for easy memorization. Sam is a Cop and people are Robbing magical powers.  One title – check. 

My first novel was called something hideous like “Espionage Purple” and my agent delicately suggested that perhaps that maybe… er… that wasn’t the best title for the book and maybe… er… it could be changed. To which I said, “Oh, yes.  That’s a terrible name.  I’d love to change it.”  And she said, “Great, so you should come up with some alternate titles!”  I was so crestfallen. I was really hoping she would tell me what to call it. What do you mean I have to name my own book?!! The horror! The suffering! I ended up mass emailing my friends and listing out words that connected to the themes of my book. Then we all played MadLibs until we’d arrived at the far more appropriate and fun Bulletproof Mascara.

But I have to admit that the horror of naming my own stories remains. Toward that end I have narrowed down the field of names to a top three and I’m hoping that you – my internet friends – will help me pick.  What’s your vote?  Which one would you want to read?

Bethany Maines is the author of The Carrie Mae Mysteries, as well as Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her at www.bethanymaines.com.  

Just Do It! Vote!

Some great points were made by comedian/commentator Jon Stewart on Saturday. No matter what your political party, I hope we can all agree that everyone needs to work together to make things better. Honest debate is good. Hate speech isn't. You can make a difference, it starts by voting. The results from tomorrow's elections will change lives and futures! Be a part of the process. Vote!