Layers of Diversity

A diverse group of women and men.

Today, there is a focus on diversity. That’s a good thing! Interestingly, it is almost always the same aspects: gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, race, age, ethnicity, religion. These are also, not coincidentally, protected classes (meaning protected by laws, at least some of the time).

What isn’t often discussed, however, are all of the other layers of diversity worth recognizing. For example:

• Wealth or income level. The amount of money you have affects how you view the world and your experiences in it.

• Education.There are those of us with Doctorates and those without high school diplomas and every step in between.

• Skin tone. Having a lighter or darker pigment, depending on the culture, can affect how you are treated.

• Beauty. Yes, beauty standards vary. But if you exceed or don’t meet the standard, it can affect how people view you.

• Geography. Urban/rural. North/south. East/west. You know what people think. People in the south are slow. City folks are rude. West coasters are laid back potheads.

• Weight/body type. All kinds of assumptions are made about people who are overweight—Lazy. Stupid. Jolly.

On the one hand, it is a research-based fact that when you have a diverse environment, people are happier and more creative, and decision-making is high quality.

In my books, you’ll find characters along many layers of diversity. My characters are older and younger, rich and poor, straight, gay, and transgender, chubby and not. There are attorneys, musicians, drag performers, and corporate bigwigs. And of course, a myriad of races, including the supernatural kind: Vampires, Weres, Incubi, Huldra, Caladrius, Dragons, Wizards and more. All of this makes for, as one reader noted, Memorable characters, humor, compassion, and adventure.

That’s the kind of world I want to live in. The one that diversity can create.

Guest Author: Lisabet Sarai

Incognito: Secret Lives, Forbidden Loves

Shy and serious by day—insatiable by night.During the day, Miranda Cahill works diligently on her doctoral thesis. At night, she has sex with strangers.

Public coupling, multiple partners, age play, spankings, bondage, lesbian lust—each salacious adventure exposes new dimensions of her depravity. Her secret life explodes when she realizes her masked partner at a kink club and the charismatic colleague courting her are in fact the same man.

Dickens scholar Mark Anderson seems like an affable, uncomplicated Midwesterner, but he has hidden depths, myriad talents, and an unlimited appetite for erotic variety. With Mark as her guide,  Miranda comes to accept the intricacy of her own desires, as well as to trust her heart.

Reader Advisory: This novel is an erotic romance featuring a committed relationship and culminating in a wedding. Nevertheless, the main characters participate in a wide range of taboo sexual activities, both together and separately.

Excerpt: Rated R

“Lovely,” sighed a cultured feminine voice, close to her ear. “Don’t you agree?”

Miranda whirled round, startled and embarrassed. She hadn’t realized that she had companions in her blatant voyeurism.

They were young, close to her own age, and enough alike in stature and demeanor that they could have been siblings. Both had thick brunette hair. His was brushed back from his brow, while she wore hers in a bob with blunt bangs. They were both clad in tight black jeans and tank tops that highlighted every curve and swelling of their athletic bodies. Prominent nipples capped her small breasts, clearly visible through the clinging fabric. His half-engorged organ was equally obvious.

Of course both of them wore masks. Near-identical brown eyes gleamed behind their dominoes. It was their mouths, though, that captured Miranda’s attention, their ripe perfect lips inviting, sensuous, bowed in the perpetual promise of a smile.

Miranda ached to kiss those mouths, to trace their luscious curves with the tip of her tongue. She felt the ache in her throat, in her chest, in her painfully taut nipples, in the damp, hungry recesses of her sex. Her palms yearned to glide over those smooth thighs, those flat bellies. She wanted them, both of them, craved them in a visceral way that was totally new to her.

She stifled a moan, and took the hand the woman extended.

“I’m Marla,” the other woman said, her voice melodious and a bit husky. “And this is Marcus.” The young man smiled mysteriously but said nothing. “We were admiring your costume.”

It took Miranda a moment to recall the red velvet jumpsuit that she had chosen from Lucy’s wardrobe. It was defiantly flamboyant, clinging to her body like a sensuous second skin. A gold-colored zipper ran from the scoop neck down to her navel. Matching zippers adorned her wrists and ankles. She knew that the color suited her, contrasted with the hair spilling over her shoulders like a river of jet. She also knew how obvious it was that she was naked underneath the velvet. Not a shy garment, but perhaps just right for tonight.

Choked with desire, she found it difficult to speak. “Thank you,” she managed, finally, then couldn’t resist asking, “Are you twins?”

They gave similar, musical laughs. “Not exactly,” said the one called Marcus. “But we enjoy pretending.”

About Lisabet

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five yearsold and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books onher website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along withmore than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog BeyondRomance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares herphilosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors.She’s also on Goodreads, Pinterest, and  Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

Buy Links

Kinky Literature: https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/362-incognito-secret-lives-forbidden-loves

Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1N7CTMQ

Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B1N7CTMQ

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940165857058

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1147874

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/incognito-secret-lives-forbidden-loves

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61138791-incognito

Incognito New Release Giveaway

Win a $10 bookstore GC or free books in my INCOGNITO giveaway. Contest runs from June 1 to June 15.

To enter, do any or all of the following. (Each action is one entry.)

o Join my VIP email list: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

o Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisabet-sarai

o Email me, telling me what book of mine you’d like to read:  contest@lisabetsarai.com

On June 16th, I will randomly select one grand-prize winner who’ll get a $10 gift certificate, plus two runner-ups who can choose any ebook from my indie back list.

Kate Hill’s Warrior Priest

On sale until the end of June!

Warrior Priest

by Kate Hill

Science Fiction Romance

What happens when a warrior priest from a strict religion meets a free-spirited priestess from a new age commune?

Jade and Selena are as different as two people can be, but to facilitate an alliance between their worlds, they engage in a cultural exchange. With their galaxy in danger from a planet that wants to conquer or destroy all others, they realize the importance of their assignment, but it is difficult for a warrior priest and a nonviolent priestess to understand each other.

Selena is both attracted and appalled by his old school masculinity, and Jade is tempted to break his vow of celibacy until marriage due to his powerful desire for her. Will this unlikely pair not only find common ground, but unconditional love?

Excerpt:

“I thought I saw my father.” Jade couldn’t believe he was confessing to her. “Back there at the waterfall. I heard him, and I saw him.”

Selena reached for his hand and squeezed it. “That’s what upset you? I dreamed about a bakery, and you dreamed about your dad.”

“I wasn’t dreaming. I didn’t fall asleep.”

Selena tilted her gaze up to his. “I’m not sure what to say. Have you ever seen a ghost before?”

“No, Selena! No, I’ve never seen a ghost, and I’m not crazy. I’m thinking that maybe this head wound is—”

“The scan was fine, Jade. Once we’re out of here, I can check again, but if the way you’re trekking through this cave is any indication, there’s nothing wrong with you physically.”

“You think I’m crazy, then?”  

“No, I don’t think you’re crazy. I believe we might be able to communicate with spirits. My religion is based on a variety of beliefs that include the dead leaving imprints on the corporeal world. I also believe that sometimes ghosts aren’t about spirits reaching out from beyond, but about closure we need.”

“I never told him I loved him.” Jade’s stomached clenched. He felt more than a little embarrassed. There was no reason for him to tell her this. Still, he went on. “We didn’t talk much about feelings. Emotions are to be controlled. A lack of discipline can get you killed.”

“That’s true, I suppose. But pretending you don’t have emotions can kill you, too. Slowly. So you can’t ever be truly happy or even sad. It’s kind of like ignoring an injury. It won’t heal, or it’ll heal badly.”

---

Purchase Links:

Warrior Priest is on sale for $0.99 until June 30, 2022 at Smashwords and Amazon

Author Bio:

Kate Hill is a vegetarian New Englander who started writing many years ago for pleasure.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, watching horror and action movies, working out, and spending time with her family and pets.

Social Links:

Website: https://kate-hill.com/

Blog: https://kate-hill.com/blog/

Newsletter: https://kate-hill.com/index.php/newsletter/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Hill/e/B002BLS7OW

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-hill

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16157.Kate_Hill

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/katehillromancewritingandmore/_saved/

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/katehillromancewritingandmore

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateHillRomance

Triumph and Tiaras

I bet you didn’t know today is International Tiara Day. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before now so you could prepare but better late than never, right?

Women wear tiaras for many reasons. Graduations. Weddings. Milestone birthdays. Some people think tiaras are silly. I am of the opposite opinion.

Tiaras are celebratory. I think everyone-men and women-should wear tiaras to commemorate every victory. You don’t have to wait for something earth-shattering. Every day is Tiara Day.

Finished breakfast without spilling coffee? Get that report in on time? Made it through the presentation without throwing up? Well done! Wear your tiny crown.

Mowed the lawn expertly? Washed the dishes like a pro? Remembered to wear pants? Shine up that tiara and put it on.

Fancy or plain, diamonds or cubic zirconia, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is the celebration of all of life’s moments. Do you know why? Because each moment happens only once.

Rock that tiara.

Be Kind to Animals!

May 1st begins Be Kind to Animals week. Whether you’re talking about our domesticated pets who shower us with love, or the beautiful, awe-inspiring creatures in the wild, they make our lives better.

But why do we need a designated week for this? Here are a few facts that might shed some light.

According to the site, petpedia.co:

Every 60 seconds, one animal suffers abuse.

On average, 250,000 animals every yearare victims of animal hoarding.

There are over 10,000 puppy mills in the United States.

More than 115 million animals are used for laboratory experiments yearly.

Every year, more than 10 million animals diefrom abuse in the US alone.

Wow, I suppose we do need the reminder. People can be very unkind. Animals count on us to take care of them and keep them safe and healthy. The least we can do is be kind.

Here are a few animal welfare organizations I support.
Humane Society

ASPCA

World Wildlife Fund

My babies. Toby is snuggling in bed. He’s pretty much a snuggler. The other pictures are my girls, Molly and Chloe. I hope the two of them are frolicking together over the rainbow bridge.

Reducing Global Warming is Our Responsibility

Theoretically, Spring began on March 20th here in Connecticut. But March did not go out like a lamb as promised. In fact, we’ve had a couple of Spring snow storms. I am so tired of cold weather.

You may be wondering how global WARMING can cause colder weather. This Forbes article might offer some insight. But what I know from observation is that the ice cap is melting, average temperatures are on the rise, and our weather is changing. According to EDF (the Environmental Defense Fund), heat waves are hotter, cold is colder, storms surges are fiercer.

We used to have 4 seasons. Spring was my jam! Moderate temperature, warm rains…but it is as likely to be cool as the summer is likely to be crazy hot. Although it may be too late to turn global warming around completely, we have to give it a try.

Green America offers some ideas about what we—you and I—can do about global warming. Ideas include

• We can stop wasting food. Buy what you need. Eat what you prepare. Donate extra to food banks and shelters.

• Eat less meat. I don’t know about the whole gassy cow rumor, but it takes a lot to raise the animals we eat—land, water, food. According to Bloomberg, livestock consumes most of the corn and soy grown. Our collective footprint would be less if we raised fewer animals to eat.

• Use clean energy. Anything you can do to move away from fossil fuel will help.

• Insulate our homes and offices better.

• Recycle. Buy less. When we recycle and/or reduce our consumption, less junk ends up in landfills.

I understand if it doesn’t sound like much. But remember, individual drops of rain overflow rivers. If each person takes a few easy steps, all of us, future generations, and the one and our one and only Earth may survive.

National Introverts Week!

Did you know that last week was National Introverts Week (March 21-27)? It’s no surprise if you didn’t. Do you expect an introvert to broadcast this and celebrate? Probably not.

When I think of introverts, I picture someone who is quiet, reserved, and a bit of a loner. It always seems odd when famous people—actors, singers, politicians— refer to themselves as introverts.  They perform in front of hundreds or thousands of people, how can they be introverted?

I decided to research what famous introverts have in common.  The first thing seems to be the need for a lot of “alone time”.  They take time out of their everyday lives to spend quiet time to think and plan.  In this quiet time, free from distraction, they can let their imaginations free to create and dream.

They also have the ability to focus on whatever idea that sprang from their creativity. This focus often allows them to think through their idea and the steps needed to take to succeed.  They are prepared when an opportunity arises to put their ideas into action.

Introverts tend to prefer small gatherings to large.  A small gathering can make it easier to form friendships or to network, unlike large groups where people meet but don’t really get to know one another.

Hmm. Sounds like me. I might be introverted.

It is still hard to understand an introvert who stands in front of an audience and acts, sings, talks, or otherwise performs. But you can be sure they have thought about what they want, studied their craft, practiced until perfection, and are prepared.

Who are some of these famous introverts?  They can be found in every field.  Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga and Prince, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama in the fields I mentioned above but there is also Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Charles Darwin, Stephen Spielberg, Dr Seuss, and Michael Jordon.

There is brilliance in that list. I’m in very good company. What about you? Introvert or Extrovert?

5 Stress Hacks to Help You Live a Healthier Life

Man literally under stress.

April is Stress Awareness Month.

Many of us have way too much stress in our lives. Stress doesn’t have to come from dire events. It can be insidious, creeping into your life and taking a toll little by little until you feel like the dude in the picture.

Been there? I have.

It is not new information that stress is physically harmful to you. The Mayo Clinic tells us that, left unchecked, stress can cause serious health problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. It’s in our best interest to find ways to alleviate it.

I know, you’re thinking, “Easier said than done.” A few years ago I would have agreed with you. But one day, I woke up with the realization that stress was killing me. At that very moment, I committed to making changes.

The first thing I had to do was leave the job of my heart. I loved it, was born to do it, but the stress of being a nonprofit executive was off the chart. But that wasn’t all. Here are five ways I hacked my way to a life with less stress:

1. Breathe. I have experienced the physiological effects of deep breathing. If you’ve never tried breathing mindfully in order to calm down your “fight or flight” stress response, just give this one minute exercise a shot and see how it makes you feel. Deep Breathing Tool

2. Put on headphones and listen to music. It doesn’t matter what kind of music soothes you, but headphones are a must.

3. Drink a cup of tea. Any warm beverage is thought to calm your body, but teas especially so. Mint and chamomile teas are well known to have relaxing effects, but so does rose tea. You can read more about it here.

4. Play with your pets. It’s generally known that having puppies and kittens around lowers our stress levels by increasing serotonin and dopamine. Don’t have a pet? Make a cup of tea and watch this video. Goodbye, stress.

5. Read. I know. You’d expect an author to say this. But immersing yourself in the world of a story can take you away and give you a chance to breathe.

   Do you have any additional stress hacks? Let me know!

Word Candy

Language is fluid, always changing to incorporate new words and phrases. I’m old school and absolutely refuse to accept new meanings or made-up words in my speech or text. 

• My characters will never refer to each other as Bae.

• They will never call something “adorbs”.

Colorful speech bubbles

I am far less rigid when accepting phrases, especially those in an entertainment context.  I have been known to utter. “I’ll be back,” when it fits the situation. “Do you feel lucky?” is a question my dogs have heard when they refuse to do something I tell them to do. I’ve said   “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” and “We’re not in Kansas anymore”  more times than I want to admit.  “Stay behind me if you want to live,” is sure to elicit groans

Sadly, I’ve not been to see a new movie in over two years.  I have, however, gleefully leapt down the rabbit hole known as YouTube. Consequently, I cannot watch a video by a certain group without hearing the comments of Cameron Phillip K.’s dubs.Not unexpectedly, I’ve picked up many new phrases. 

I now submit to you a list of phrases I use all the time that came from my foray into YouTube over the past year.  I’m not including the dozens of phrases that have come from Prince lyrics (you’re welcome) but I apologize in advance if you’ve been subjected to them or the ones below.  

• Party, party, yeah!

• Jimin-Go back to sleep!

• Jimin’s got no jams!

• In this economy, (followed by a non-sequitur: In this economy, she’s prettier than I am.)

• No, not today!

• Stob it!

• World-Wide Handsome.

• He looks like a boiled dumpling.

• and the one we use most—Socks first!

What phrases have inadvertently entered your day-to-day language?

A Circle of Writers

Writing is hard. Even if the story comes easily, figuring out how to tell it may not. Writing is also lonely. You can sit for hours staring at your computer screen. Sure, your cat occasionally graces you with her presence but it’s not the same thing as having other people with you in the sometimes painful, sometimes gleeful, and always powerful journey.

I currently belong to Marketing for Romance Writers. This is an amazing collection of authors who are happy to share each other’s victories and lament each other’s pain. We don’t convene, but we connect in an email loop and social media. CT Romance Writers is another. I’ve belonged to this group the longest and I credit it with helping me to learn the craft and the ins and outs of submitting manuscripts. Both of these groups are relatively large, and while size has its advantages, it also means that it isn’t very intimate and it is not easy to form individual relationships.

That is where CT Writers Circle comes in. This small group of six wonderful women are my tribe. Each of us writes in very different genres—Thrillers. Poetry. Biographies. Ecological Mysteries. Romantic Comedy—and then there’s me, writing spicy LGBT and rock star romance. What connects us isn’t that we write the same thing. It’s that we are compelled to write, and are willing to support each other as women, as writers, and as colleagues.

No matter you passion, it's important to find your circle. I’m fortunate to have found groups of writers that welcomed me, and who make writing less lonely.

Mercury is in Retrograde, and So Am I

Thankfully, Mercury is retrograde just three more days. It started on January 14 and ends on February 3. “What is this?”, you may ask.

Three or four times a year, Mercury appears to be moving backward, and is thought to cause all manner of communication and technological problems. General advice is don’t sign any important contracts and do not buy technology during this period.

Although I don’t usually seem to be affected by this (and I am skeptical of it most of the time), this year I feel it in my bones. My biggest problem, however, is that the technology I need to use in my classroom is failing me. Every day I have to call in IT to fix the display. They get it running in 20 minutes or so, and assure me it is fixed permanently. If that was the case, why am I calling you every day?

Monday, as usual, I called the techs in again. This time, none of their magic worked. They threw their hands up in the air and exclaimed, “We have to call the manufacturer.”

Seriously.

So I have to now rely on old fashion white boards. Without my regular gear, class could be a snoozefest for my students. I am taxing every creative cell in my body to develop lesson plans that will keep them engaged. Or at least awake.

Three more days.

Our Girl Molly

Our girl Molly.

 The past two weeks have been traumatic for everyone involved.  It started when I noticed Molly had a red spot on her leg. We gave her a bath to be able to examine the site more carefully.  That was when we discovered a lump.  We called the vet and made an appointment to take her in the next day. With Molly’s medical history, we did not want to take any chances. I’m sorry to say it got much worse overnight. Her whole leg was swollen and things had gotten messy.

Because of Covid we were not allowed in the office with her, so the emergency vet didn’t have her record for some reason. Her first concern was the swelling in Molly’s leg so we had to explain she has been diagnosed with tumors in her stomach, her liver, and her adrenal gland.  The vet was not very encouraging that any treatment would help Molly, but we wanted to try.  She is still eating, drinking, and enjoying life.

After a lot of talking and again stressing the downside of treating her, she agreed to do what she could.  So, we brought Molly home with 5 different medications and an Elizabethan collar that makes it hard for us to get around.  If she wasn’t running into something with it, I was running into her.

Isn’t she a cutie?

A week later, we were back for a recheck.  Our regular vet was back and the tech that had seen her the week before was amazed at how healed the wound looked.  Sadly, the collar did nothing to protect her leg when slipping on the ice so she kept re-injuring the spot.  One of the suggestions they made was doggie pajamas. Who knew they even existed?

We ordered one to try which was delivered the next day.  It took two of us to get her into them, not because Molly resisted but because we couldn’t figure out the design. That must have been a sight.  Since we wrestled them on, they have protected her leg and kept her warm in these below zero days. And as you can see in the picture, she looks so cute in them that we decided she needed a whole wardrobe.