As One of My Writer's Group Says...

Folks, Just remember as you read this, this person probably drives
AND votes!
And may have already reproduced…



Thank you Rickey and Bill,

Frances
Sometimes Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Let’s Play “What If?”

All of the anniversaries on this date got me to thinking. As a writer of Science Fiction Romance, when I start thinking, I start playing “What if?” Want to play with me? Then bear with my wandering mind. I’ve been playing with a scenario for a future work.

First Anniversary on this Date:
On late night April 19th and early morning April 20th, 1775, the American Revolution began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. These were plain farmers and businessmen telling the Brits to quit bullying them. As a revolution, the American Revolution is an anomaly in all of history. It’s the only revolution in the history of the world which did not lead to the wholesale slaughter of the defeated parties. They simply told the Brits to go home. Would that all family squabbles were handled so well.

Several years later, 1789-1799, the French Revolution began in economic turmoil and lead to a blood bath in which several hundred thousand people perished in the arms of Madame la Guillotine. Granted, circumstances were different; but, the French Revolution followed the classic course for most political revolutions: protest; rebellion and change; execution of opposition; dictatorship. The same pattern followed in Mexico in 1910, Russia in 1917 and in China in 1949, all times of economic upheaval. Seven million died in Mexico, and only God knows how many millions died in Russia and China. Domestic violence sucks!

Second Anniversary on this Date:
On this day in 1889, Adolf Hitler was born. In 1933, again a time of economic uncertainty, he became Chancellor of Germany. In less than a year, with barely a whimper of protest, he replaced a democratically elected government with a totalitarian regime in a country that had a long history of education and culture. Fast forward fifteen years and he was responsible for the direct murder of over 17 million people... just as statistic unless you were one of them.

This is the scenario with which I am playing:
I have a planet in the distant future which is rather similar technologically to our own. It has had every advantage which freedom can offer. Why would its people suddenly turn their backs on the freedoms which they have enjoyed for centuries? What type of people would the villains be? What steps would they go through to accomplish their coup with the minimum of initial bloodshed? What would they do to keep power? What type of person would the hero be? What would the heroine be like? What are the good guys doing? What would the villians throw at them? Could they rescue their world? What would it cost them to do so? What other questions do you think that should be asked for a rip roaring good story?

Happy “What if-ing,”

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

I Am Disturbed

Dear Friends,

Recently, I have observed something that disturbs me very much. Perhaps I have been living in a bubble of civility, but that’s the way I like it, so that is the way I live it.

There are multitudes of law-abiding citizens of the United States who are dissatisfied with what the government of this country is doing. I’ve never seen anything like it. Recently, these people, through word of mouth and the Internet, began to make contact with one another. They decided (again through word of mouth) to get together on the day upon which they paid their taxes, and let their elected representatives know that they were not pleased with those representatives’ conduct. That’s cool. People have been doing that in America since before the country became an independent nation.

Thousands of people, all across the country, brought their families, met, voiced their opinions, broke no laws, and, from what I saw, didn’t even leave a shred of trash behind when they went back to their jobs or homes.

What disturbed me was the conduct of the mainstream news media. I have seen them report on groups of five to ten screaming people as if they were many hundreds present. Day-before-yesterday, there were thousands and thousands of polite people gathered all over the country, and except for one network, the mainstream news media barely commented upon it... except to make crude jokes about law abiding citizens. How very vulgar!

No wonder the mainstream news media ratings are declining. Vulgarity should never be rewarded. After all, next to being boring, vulgarity is the second most unforgivable sin.

No one should ever be belittled. Everyone has the right to say what they think... so long as they do it civilly and don’t harm anyone else. It’s called FREEDOM OF SPEECH. It’s guaranteed in our Constitution.

Let’s keep it that way.

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Susan Boyle

I will rarely post about pop culture. I am so not there, but I have to pass this on.

The lady in this picture is Susan Boyle. Twenty-four hours ago, she blew the world away with her incomparable voice. Click on her name and enjoy.

If you want to see what others thought of her singing, Entertainment Weekly has a great article and viewer comments. Check them out.

It's so wonderful to have the cynical world slapped up side the head every so often... myself included. I wish this lady the world.

Keep the wonder in your heart.

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

He Is Risen

So, what’s this Easter, or rather Resurrection Sunday, all about?

For two thousand years, Christians have generally celebrated the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth on the first Sunday after Passover.

What does this mean to Christians? Why is it so important?

Simply put, Christians believe that God is so holy that there is no way for any man to approach Him on his own merits.

Therefore, because God loves each of us so much, He Himself, as Jesus of Nazareth, took on a human body, lived as a human, and died as a human to reunite us to Himself.

As a sign that Jesus was the Messiah, the Chosen One, and the Creator of the Universe, with the authority to do this, Jesus did not stay dead, but came back to life three days after his execution.

This is the Christian’s guarantee that there is life beyond death. This is the Christian’s guarantee that Jesus will raise those who love Him to new life in His perfect time. This is the Christian’s guarantee that when he or she must stand before the all-holy, Creator of the Universe that He sees Jesus rather than that person’s screw-ups. In perfect love there is no fear.

The only requirements for anyone to be a Christian are: 1) to accept that God did this for them; 2) thank Him for it; and 3) ask Him to live fully in one’s life, everyday. It’s a choice that only an individual can make. It’s just that simple, and it’s just that hard. Nothing else has any real importance.

That’s why Resurrection Sunday is so important to Christians.

He Is Risen.

Frances
Wishing you every blessing.

Freedom

As of sunset this evening, one of the world's great religions will begin observing possibly the oldest feast to freedom that we know of, Pesach, or as is more commonly known, Passover.

For almost four thousand years the Jews of the world have been asking, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" It is the night on which they remember the joy of gaining their freedom after four hundred years of slavery to Egypt, and the sorrow of the cost of that freedom to their former masters. Freedom is never free.

Through these people, the world has been given the inestimable gifts of the concepts of freedom with responsibility, and the rule of just law rather than the rule of might. We can only say, thank you to our Jewish friends.

Happy Passover
Let Freedom Ring
Shalom aleichem

Frances

After the Storms

After the training storms of the past weeks, the last few days have been positively breathtaking. The rain washed most of the tree pollen away, so everything is no longer coated with yellow. Granted, my yard is getting a little weedy, but since I can’t see it most of the time, I can ignore it. It works for me.

I do most of my writing sitting in my desk (aka the bed) with books scattered all around me, computer on lap, and the Supreme Poodle Pasha Zackery snuggled either beside me, across my shoulders, or around my feet, depending upon the temperature of the moment. Since the temperature has been especially pleasant, I’ve had the windows open wide and have been enjoying the spring scents and breezes. I’ve also been enjoying the colors. The Indica Azalea, Formosa, outside my window is in its full fuchsia glory. My room will remain hot pink for yet a few more days. The azalea is so desperately in need of pruning that it tops the eaves, and all I can see are fuchsia blossoms, chartreuse leaves, and cerulean sky. Well, not quite. Today, I see visiting mockingbirds, cardinals, bumble bees, and Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies. No interior decorator ever made more beautiful drapes. And for sure, no manmade drapes ever smelled so good. I dread pruning that azalea. There go the drapes.

Beyond the fuchsia azalea, are: blue, woodland hyacinths; lavender, woodland phlox; lemon yellow, pseudacoras iris; purple, William Setchell Iris (very old German Bearded); mauve, Persian Berry Iris (German Bearded); yellow, Well Endowed Iris (German Bearded); and yellow and white, Champaign Elegance Iris (German Bearded). All of these have such wonderful fragrances that my art students used to beg me to bottle them. I just might have to do that someday. :-)

As some of you know, and the rest of you have deduced, I used to teach art. I love wonderful art and while I was skulking, lusting after, looking for pictures of Iris I found prints of watercolor paintings by Clif Hadfield at the Cooley’s Gardens website. These are gorgeous watercolors, and I thought that you would enjoy seeing the rest of them. They aren’t expensive if your looking for something like them. Just click on Clif’s name to see more of his paintings. Click on Cooley’s above to look at their Iris collections.

Another incredible website is Schreiners Iris Gardens. Isn’t spring inspiring.

Be inspired.

Write inspired.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

I Know. I Am so Twisted!

Happy April Fool's Day

:-D

Frances

Not writing much of anything right now.