I Must Be Getting Really Frustrated.

Those of you who know me from discussion boards or author groups will recognize how rarely I become involved in political discussions. Rather than alienate a group of people with whom I share common goals (those being the continued freedom of speech and the press and fighting the demonization of healthy sexuality), I will sit on the sidelines and just allow peoples passions free reign. Those rare times I do speak up are usually when someone just goes too far to the extreme in making a point.

Yet lately, I find myself compelled to make very public the point that disagreeing with the foreign policy of a sitting President is not an exercise in sedition.

This nation was founded in part because we did not feel that it was correct to simply do what George said without speaking our mind about it. True, that was a different George. That one had the title that this one sometimes appears to desire. Also, neither George is an isolated entity making decisions unilaterally, although the propaganda of those in opposition has portrayed it as such in both cases.

Therefore, I find it bewildering to be accused of “acting un-American” when I question the wisdom or policies of a man who STILL can’t pronounce nuclear. On the contrary, I would say that our founding fathers would find the idea that we should accept the word of a political figure as truth simply because we elected him is the thing that is un-American.

As a certain segment of our population continues the attempt to push us further toward a Fundamentalist Christian theocracy and away from being comfortable when speaking with a dissenting voice, I suspect that I will feel the urge to shoot from the hip more often.

Let me make it clear that although I most certainly did not vote for him, George W. Bush is my President. I will make my opinion of his actions known when asked and I am not shy about demonstrating my disapproval of him, but he is the democratically elected leader of the nation I love. I am not in denial, nor am I unaware of how the process works. However it is both my duty and my right to disagree with the man and other members of his political party.

So back off! Don’t call me a traitor, or a terrorist enabler, or anything else that makes sense in your twisted little neo-con minds. Don’t tell me I don’t support the troops because I don’t think they belong in the middle of someone else’s civil war. I come from a family with a strong military tradition. My father slogged through rice paddies, my brother was special forces out of Fort Bragg before he messed up his back and I have cousins in the service right now, one of whom has seen more of Baghdad than he ever wanted.

There is nothing that makes us more American then standing up and speaking our minds when we feel people in authority are in the wrong. The price of freedom is eternal viligance. Thomas Jefferson said that. The name should be familiar.

Coffee In New York

Baileys, heavy cream and froth sprinkled with cinnamon,
rejuvenating,
intoxicating cup
on a windswept August afternoon
tendril’d heat
rising steamily
over the tan and green
of the vine’d tablecloth
a summer’s feast
tripping across tongues
laughter echoing against the windows
shared memories
imposing upon the silence
time to feel
the meaning of our friendship
time to make moments
that light candles and stars.

Phaze In The City

Last Friday night, I had a reading and signing in the Big Apple.

Really. People came and listened to my poetry and prose. Stood there in the dark, listened appreciatively. Laughed at the right times. Made interesting little noises at the right times. After my turn came I returned to my table and watched several others do the same and found myself seriously impressed with them. Then I wondered if they were thinking the same thing about me. I decided that they may have been, and that was just wonderfully fulfilling.

Then at the very end I went back up and finished off the night as I had been the one to start it, only this time reading in tandem with my co-author Alessia Brio. This time I know people were affected by our words and our performance. I could hear their breathing, hear the little intakes of breath and even a muttered "oh my".

We read a scene that happens fairly early in Amichu, and it was very well recieved. Afterwards, we were asked where we would be appearing next by one of the patrons. Is there any greater compliment then for someone to come up and tell you that he enjoyed that enough that he wants to hear more and perhaps bring some others to hear it too?

It was great to meet so many of my fellow authors from Phaze. Robin Slick, Bianca D'Arc, Petula Caesar, Cassidy Kent and Stella Price; I so enjoyed our time together and look forward with great anticipation to meeting you again. We had a wonderful time, didn't we?

The only sad things were that our compatriot Leigh Ellwood had her flight cancelled and a special guest that I was really looking forward to meeting after years of speaking with her by phone or email had an unavoidable situation keep her from attending. But even so, it was incredibly empowering and gratifying. To be applauded for the work of my imagination in such a manner wasn't bad for the ol' male ego either.

I am so doing this again!

"Amichu" Is Finally Available!

After delays caused by circumstances beyond our control, and due in no small part to the extraordinary efforts of my partner and one of our Phaze comrades, Amichu is now available for download here.

Amichu is the third in a series of adventures involving Bruce and Mandy and is the most far-reaching in terms of location and intrigue. I feel it is a solid work and will dearly enjoy hearing the responses from our readers.

Interviewed By An Angel

Well, a Fallen Angel anyway...I recently did an interview with Serena of Fallen Angel Reviews. The interview is posted at their website, here.

Serena asked a couple of fun questions and I always enjoy the banter, but I've gotten very little feedback from my interviews don in the past and I always wonder how people feel about what I had to say.

So...A Contest! A reader of mine has given me a wonderful suggestion for promotional bookmarks to use at signings. Because of the popularity of a couple of my avatars and the association with blue jeans that has grown from that, I will soon be cutting up a pair of my jeans into bookmarks for autograph purposes.

The first person to respond via email with a subject line of "Whimsical Fallen Angel Contest" that correctly can tell me the name of the first girl I kissed and the title I relish even more than "published author" will win one of these denim keepsakes, personally autographed by yours truly.

So let's see if anyone is actually paying attention out there...