Unwelcome Attention by Eden Monroe

 I have been stalked. It was a terrible experience. It happened several years ago and thankfully it ended without violence, but I still remember how crazy it made me feel during those awful weeks. On one occasion he chased me, at night, but I managed to make it to my car and get the door locked just as he arrived at the driver’s side window.

So, since I have experienced stalking first hand, it’s not surprising the subject found it’s way into my romantic suspense novel Sunrise Interrupted:

“’Come to me, little one,’ he said aloud in the cab of the vehicle as though doing so would influence the desired outcome. He’d found a good place to get his vehicle off the road the other day, a very convenient hiding spot so he could watch, familiarize himself with her comings and goings. It seemed she was always with someone, especially travelling in those vans, but sooner or later he’d get his chance. All it would take was one misstep, and he’d have her.“

Stalkingawareness.org defines stalking as: “A pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress. (Fear) The definition of stalking includes that a reasonable person would feel fear. It is important to note that fear is often masked by other emotions: anger, frustration, hopelessness or despair.”

It was exactly that for me, and while anyone can be a victim of stalking, celebrities are particularly vulnerable because of their high public profile. As well, stalking is not a crime exclusively of the 20th/21st centuries because even Queen Victoria, during her reign in the 1800’s, was not exempt according to Guinnessworldrecords.com:

“Edward ‘the Boy’ Jones (UK) stalked Queen Victoria from 1838 until 1841, repeatedly entering Buckingham Palace to spy on her and steal her underwear. After he had entered her dressing-room, to watch her undress for the night, he was kidnapped by government agents and forced to serve abroad in the Royal Navy for many years.”

Law enforcement personnel have now successfully profiled stalkers and while there are exceptions to this general outline, most fall into a specific category. Says sciencedirect.com: 

“The modal stalker is an unemployed or underemployed man in his fourth decade of life. He is single or divorced and has a prior criminal, psychiatric, and drug abuse history. He has a high school or college education, however, and is significantly more intelligent than are other criminals. He does not disproportionately appear in any racial or ethnic group. Suggestive data show that he suffered the loss of a primary caretaker in childhood and a significant loss, usually a job…”

Photo credit: Andie Smith

Celebrity Anne Murray endured a twenty-year battle with a stalker, a male fan obsessed with the Canadian singer. Despite being repeatedly sent to prison for violating numerous probation and court orders, this delusional man remained infatuated with Anne, actually fighting court rulings not to contact her because he believed he had the right to do so. Unfortunately many cases of stalking do go on for years, making the lives of their victims miserable. As well, the crime of stalking involves both genders, although interestingly, according to psychologytoday.com on the subject of stalking, men and women react differently to being stalked:

“How men and women respond differently to unwelcome pursuit

- Victims experience and respond to stalking very differently, often depending on gender.

- When a victim is male, the average ‘stalking campaign’ lasts more than twice as long as when the victim is female, according to research.

- Regarding stalking behavior, men report more acts of vandalism and intrusive communication, whereas women report more following and harassment.

- Men often respond to stalkers in a fashion that is direct, without fear of confrontation, but women are more likely to seek out social support.

We expect crime victims to report. You come home to find your home broken into, your car vandalized, or your purse and credit cards missing, you call the police. Yet with certain types of crimes, victims suffer in silence. This is especially true with stalking. Some people don’t recognize stalking behavior to begin with; other classes of victims, such as men, are less likely to report.

We encourage stalking victims to report their victimization, to ensure their own safety, as well as the safety of future victims. Remember that David Letterman’s stalker, who repeatedly broke into his home and claimed he was her husband, went on to stalk astronaut Story Musgrave—writing him letters and repeatedly calling him. One time she showed up at his home, banged on his doors, and turned on all of his faucets.”

It’s also frighteningly real that stalking can result in life-threatening violence as set out in Thesun.co.uk:

“CREEPING IN FOR THE KILL 

Almost all murders are committed by stalkers with 85 per cent of killings committed in victim’s home, study reveals

Patrick Gysin

Published: 02:01, 24 Apr 2017

STALKING plays a part in the vast majority of murders, a study says.

Criminologists found it was involved in 94 per cent of 350 cases they studied.

A study has revealed 94 per cent of murders are committed by a stalker.

Worrying behaviour by the stalker — including control and isolation of the victim — and threats to kill, was identified in 79 per cent of cases.

And all but 15 per cent of the killings occurred in the victim’s home, a team at the University of Gloucestershire found.

Now researchers believe identifying the intention behind the stalking and managing the stalker’s fixation may save lives.

In almost every case the killer displayed obsessive and fixated behaviour associated with stalking…”

Speaking from my own experience, I will never forget how terrified and vulnerable my stalker made me feel. My last sighting of him was when I encountered him face to face on a sidewalk in broad daylight. I stopped, whipped out my cellphone to call police, with whom I had been red flagged on 911 because of my several encounters with that man. He bolted in the opposite direction and sprinted away. I never saw him again.

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Mysterious Sightings

 

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I'm hardly alone, but in my life I've witnessed some odd-goings on in the night sky. My father, who, long ago, just post WW2, worked at Wright-Patterson airbase in Ohio, was the first person I can remember who retold UFO stories he'd heard around work, from pilots who'd encountered weird objects in the sky they could not explain. Dad was an amateur astronomer of sorts, and he bequeathed a love of standing outside at night to view the celestial show. I lament today's light pollution. When I was a child, you could see horizon to horizon from most suburban backyards, and it just such a place that Dad taught me constellations. 

Fast forward thirty+ years to a few vacations spent on an island near Portsmouth, NH. It was a primitive kind of campground. Wash water was rationed to one pitcher in the morning; there was no water source on the island. A smoking ban was strictly observed because of the danger of fires. This was a New England church camp, so some hardship was expected--and, in fact, welcomed--by the Yankees who attended. Meal time was when there was food, too, so when the bell rang, you better be there!

The wind-swept beauty of the place and the silence (that's gone today--too many bellowing off shore tour boats) were what we all enjoyed. Painters went to paint, writers to write. Kids had scheduled activities, so moms would have a break from childcare. A lot of people, my mother-in-law who brought us there included, simply sat and watched the sun rise and set from rocking chairs on the front porch, reading or talking among themselves. 

We were all supposed to attend morally improving lectures, but some of us did not. We, instead,  walked through a maze of gigantic wild rose bushes until we reached the opposite side of the island. Here,  mighty winter storms had cleared the land right down to the granite bones. Among the boulders, we hung out and watched the ocean below send huge waves against the cliffs, while the ground trembled beneath our feet. There was an immense seagull colony in one area, a place we respectfully avoided. It was that or get pooped on and pecked by angry birds, guarding their fledglings. 

Sometimes we went into the wild rose thicket, a stickery maze, especially at night. We'd walk to a cleared spot by the obelisk, doubtless a 19th Century Masonic relic. This was a great place to hang out, beneath the monument pointing into the star filled sky. You could hear the constant booming waves, the bell buoys ringing, see the lighthouse nearer in periodically sweep the ocean with light. 

On one particular night, listening to the waves, watching the stars and planets and the airplanes heading toward Boston, a friend and I were sitting by the obelisk, discussing "life the universe and everything" when several moving lights in the sky caught our attention. Three points of light suddenly moved into view, appearing to fly in a triangle formation. We were used to watching all the air traffic from there, but this seemed odd. 

Why were all three moving at the same speed? We commented on this and began watching, joking as we did about UFOs. There had been a spate of such news recently in New Hampshire, near where my friend lived. As soon as we wondered aloud about this, the movement of the three lights ceased. They did not wink like airplanes or make any noise. Next, the triangle began moving again, slowly, staying in formation. 

They appeared to be coming toward the island now. Two more lights appeared, moving in from the periphery of our view with great speed. Again the three lights stopped, hanging in the night sky.

After a few breathless moments, they moved into a new geometry. Now it was a pentagon, one which appeared to be moving in our direction. The atmosphere around us seemed to crackle. My friend and I turned to face one another, there in the darkness.

 

"What if it knows we're watching?" 

As soon as she whispered that, one of the lights broke from the others and rushed toward us. We cowered on the ground as it passed overhead, very fast. There was absolutely no sound as there would have been if this had been a plane. As we watched, it turned and flew directly into what we'd earlier thought was just a brighter star near the horizon, maybe a planet. The other four lights, in a rapid train, followed, disappearing one by one into that same large "star." For a grand finale, the "star," surged into the sky dome and, in a wink, was gone. Gone as if it had never been. 

We got to our feet and threaded our way through the looming maze faster, I'll bet, than anyone ever had before, day or night. 

Crazy? Hallucinating? Paranoid? Of course, when we tried to describe what we'd seen, that was the reception we received. At last we gave up and comforted ourselves. At  least, another person had seen what we had seen. 

~Juliet Waldron

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Brain Food For Readers and Writers... By Connie Vines #Halloween #Trick or Treat #Zombies and Monsters #BrainFood

It wasn't until I completed this blog post that I realized that my title, well... carried an unintended double meaning. 🧛🧟🧠

My featured novella this month—Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow —is a Zombie story. And today's topic is brain food. 

I'm not a hard-core fan of blood and gore when it comes to Halloween events (or reading material). 

I am an enthusiastic fan of dinner parties, little trick-or-treaters, and costumes.

I try to set my deadlines (for books, not evil deeds) before or after October.

Why?

Because when I'm on deadline, I'm possessed- -I mean, obsessed.  Forfeiting sleep, exercise, and nutrition, I claw my way to that moment and type "The End". 

My meals consist of grazing foods that are high in protein, easy to prep, and tasty.

Single-serve (5 ounces) of nonfat cottage cheese.  3 grams more protein than a typical serving of Greek yogurt.

Hard-boiled egg.  No longer shunned due to claims of too-high cholesterol, we can enjoy them in moderation. You can boil them yourself or purchase peeled and packaged at the market.

Peanut butter.  Scoop your own or buy single packets; smear on banana or apple slices.

Roasted chickpeas (I love hummus and falafel).  120 cals per serving, 5 grams of protein and fiber.

To prep, rinse and drain chickpeas in a bowl, then toss with olive oil.  Add chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes.

Greek yogurt

Turkey roll-ups. Nitrate-free deli turkey breast with a squirt os mustard, a slice of tomato, and some lettuce.  Add red pepper slices and baby carrots. Roll and store in a plastic container or foil.

Hummus.  Made from chickpeas, tahini, and olive oil, hummus is a healthy mix of protein and fiber. Use it as a dip for carrots, tomatoes, red pepper, and cucumber slices and String cheese.

Do you have a favorite "brain food"?

Or is Halloween all about "the candy and the treats "? 🍬🍫

My office is in semi-scary attire 
Bats on the wall and crows on my desk!

What's your favorite Fall/Autumn indulgence? I must confess I'm partial to pumpkin pancakes (drenched with warm maple syrup). 

Indulge in my Zombie RomCom (Zero calories and filled with Halloween fun!)

All my novels are available online at your favorite eBook vendor.

Link to the BWL site: https://www.bookswelove.com

Connie

 

  

The Magical Power of Sound and Music - by Vijaya Schartz

In the Chronicles of Kassouk, sound is sometimes used to power levitating vehicles
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Sound is a vibration – Everything in our universe is vibration. Depending on the frequency of a vibration, it is perceived differently, sometimes as sound, color, or other sensory perception.

The ancient Greek and Egyptians believed music was a gift from the gods… and the musical scale is based on divine mathematical science. Since antiquity, music has been played in sacred spaces. Some artificial caves in Turkey and Sicily were built thousands of years ago, to enhance a specific frequency, thought to elevate the soul.

The Gregorian chant, also divine in origin, when enhanced by the high vaults of churches and cathedrals, does elevate the soul. To this day, music and choirs are still part of worship.

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Some sounds have the power to soothe the mind and the body. They are used in therapy (singing bowls). Specific frequencies have been linked to healing different parts of the body. In the temples of India, Tibet, and Nepal, Similar kinds of sound frequencies (mantras like OHM or specific chimes) are said to resonate with the Shakras to awaken psychic abilities.

A Chi Warrior can also manifest psyhic abilities
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Closer to home, the purr of a cat also has healing powers. Its vibration naturally regulates the heart and can prevent some types of heart problems.

Plants and trees also vibrate at frequencies that can be recorded and amplified, to be heard as music. I’ve heard it, and it’s amazing to realize these beautiful harmonies originated in nature itself. But it shouldn’t surprise us. We’ve all heard the trill of a bird, the sound of the wind in the branches, the gentle pitter-patter of rain, which are also nature’s soothing sounds. Waterfalls and jungle-sounds recordings have been used to promote sleep.

The Azurans on the Phantom Ship protect the universe from evil
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In the past, some melodies have been forbidden on the radio, because they’d been determined to drive some listeners to suicide. Other melodies can bring peace, and others yet can give you energy and even bring pure joy.

Film makers know this well, as they use music and sound in every scene to create suspense, love, fear, empathy, or happiness on the screen.

On the darker side, some sounds can incite violence or drive people insane. Armies and revolutions all had their martial songs – During WWII, Wagner’s music became a symbol of Hitler’s third Reich. In America, hard rock was once accused of holding dark magic. Some conspiracy theorists even believe that sound can be used to control the mind of entire populations.

The Ladies of the Lost Isle also have magic powers
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Whether we like it or not, sound is a big part of our lives. TV commercials exploit the power of music or the special quality of a voice to create a mood, a need, a yearning for whatever product they are selling.

But if we are aware of the effect of sound on our mind, body, and soul, we can choose to listen to elevating sounds, enjoy the music that makes us feel good, and ignore or mute the negative sounds in our lives.

Good luck, and happy reading.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Kick-butt Sci-fi Heroines, cats, romantic elements

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When Does Christmas Season Start by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

The Twelve Dates of Christmas

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Single Bells

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When I was a child (not quite pre-history) Christmas season started when our school put on the Christmas concert for parents. We children practiced our roles in plays and choirs and got our costumes organized by our parents (mainly mothers). The concert was held on a school evening about mid-month and most of us and our families walked to the school for the event. Santa appeared when the concert was over and we each received a bag of goodies from him. We were all excited to see Santa and each of us happy with what was in the bags.

Dad would go and buy our real tree, since there weren't artificial ones, about a week before Christmas and put it in a stand of water. We would decorate it and that was the only decorations in our house and most houses in our neighbourhood. No one had outdoor lights. Some of the stores put up decorations in their windows and painted scenes on their windows.

Nothing much changed until I was in my teens, when we added a few more decorations around the house and Dad and some other homeowners hung outdoor lights on their houses.  But, because television channels were limited, there still wasn't much advertising for toys or other gifts. People would go to the stores and wander around looking for the right toy for their children, the right clothing or piece of jewelry, or tool, or household appliance for other members of the family. The types of gifts and costs were limited.

But nothing good lasts for long. Soon stores put the Christmas decorations on their shelves in November and then in October, and now in September. They even start playing Christmas music in September. Television advertisers bombarded parents with what they need to buy for their children and then switched to bombarding children with what they should want from Santa. This is even before Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en.

When I was a child, the Christmas hype lasted about two or three weeks and then we had the gratification of Christmas morning. Now the hype lasts for months and many people get hype fatigue so that by the time Christmas actually arrives, they just want it over with.

So then, why am I advertising my Christmas novels now, in October and before Hallowe'en? My sister and I wrote both of them and now we have a third one coming out November 1st. Since I only post on the 24th of each month, this is my chance to start promoting it, and the first two, and gives readers time to check them out.