“This fire that we call Loving is too strong for human minds. But just right for human souls.”
Image: Jean Baptiste Robie, A Still life with Flowers and Raspberries
Tag Archives: romance
August 2022 Literary Calendar
Events in the month of August for writers and readers
- Romance Awareness Month
- August 2 – National Coloring Book Day
- August 7 – Purple Heart Day
- August 9 – Book Lover’s Day (also November 6)
- August 18 – Bad Poetry Day
- August 21 – Poet’s Day
- August 31 – We Love Memoirs Day
Filed under News
From the ‘Creepy as Shit Files – January 15, 2022
Actress Megan Fox, best known for her roles in the Transformers franchise, and rap singer Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker) recently announced on their respective Instagram accounts that, after more than a year of dating, they are engaged.
“In July of 2020 we sat under this banyan tree,” Fox wrote in the caption of her post. “We asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love. And the karma.”
It gets better – or worse, depending on your age category and romantic predilections.
Fox continued: “And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes…and then we drank each other’s blood.”
Call me old-fashioned, but what happened to engagement rings? Blood?! I would have preferred a shot of tequila and a hand job – not necessarily in that order. But again, I’m old school when it comes to love and romance.
And I feel so sad for that banyan tree; having to witness that kind of psychosis on full display. Let us hope and pray it can get the proper therapy and go on to lead a happy arboreal life.
Filed under Curiosities
Happy Valentine’s Day 2021!
“What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.”
Pearl Bailey
“Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage.”
Ambrose Bierce
“Valentine’s Day: the holiday that reminds you that if you don’t have a special someone, you’re alone.”
Lewis Black
“Love is a lot like a backache: it doesn’t show up on X-rays, but you know it’s there.”
George Burns
“Love is a two-way street constantly under construction.”
Carroll Bryant
“A girl can wait for the right man to come along, but in the meantime that doesn’t mean she can’t have a wonderful time with all the wrong ones.”
Cher
“An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”
Agatha Christie
“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell.”
Joan Crawford
“Marry a man your own age; as your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.”
Phyllis Diller
“Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.”
Albert Einstein
“I married for love, but the obvious side benefit of having someone around to find my glasses cannot be ignored.”
Cameron Esposito
“Oh, here’s an idea: Let’s make pictures of our internal organs and give them to other people we love on Valentine’s Day. That’s not weird at all.”
Jimmy Fallon
“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet service to see who they really are.”
Will Ferrell
“Without Valentine’s Day, February would be … well, January.”
Jim Gaffigan
“Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.”
Richard Jeni
“Love is telling someone their hair extensions are showing.”
Natasha Leggero
“You are never alone on Valentine’s Day if you’re near a lake and have bread.”
Mike Primavera
“I love being married. It’s so great to find one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”
Rita Rudner
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
Charles M. Schulz
“Men want the same thing from their underwear that they want from women; a little bit of support and a little bit of freedom.”
Jerry Seinfeld
“Love is blind – marriage is the eye-opener.”
Pauline Thomason
“If love is the answer, could you please rephrase the question?”
Lily Tomlin
“Love thy neighbor – and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier.”
Mae West
“You can’t buy love, but you can pay heavily for it.”
Henny Youngman
Filed under News
In Memoriam – Judith Krantz, 1928 – 2019
“I love magazines and film critics, so I eat it up. I’m not one of those people who says, ‘I never read anything.’ I generally read all of it.”
“I’m convinced that it’s energy and humor. The two of them combined equal charm.”
“Surely the whole point of writing your own life story is to be as honest as you possibly can, revealing everything about yourself that is most private and probably most interesting for that very reason.”
“Have some sort of private place to work in. Put up a sign to keep from being interrupted. Mine says: ‘Please, do not knock, do not say hello or goodbye, do not ask what’s for dinner, do not disturb me unless the fire or policemen have to be called.’”
“Thousands of people plan to be writers, but they never get around to it. The only way to find out if you can write is to set aside a certain period every day and try.”
“Some questions are not meant to be asked as long as the answers are right.”
“The rich are different only because people treat them as if they were.”
Filed under News
In the Beginning…
It’s great to know the e-version of my debut novel is now on sale at Wal-Mart – right next to the cheesy romance stuff. But hey, a writer has to start somewhere, right?!
Juan Miguel thought of his great-aunt again and suddenly recollected another death even further back – one of his parents’ friends. He’d never met the woman, but watched his mother, Marisol, become overwhelmed with grief; an unusually emotional response from a woman who’d driven herself to the hospital during evening rush hour, when she thought she’d gone into labor with him.
She and some other old friends had gathered shortly after the rosary – another long-ass rosary – to reminisce about their younger days and quickly found themselves laughing in the sanctity of the funeral home.
“Like I’ve said before,” his father, Armando, interjected, almost philosophically, “you need to get together.”
And everyone agreed. They needed to get together; reconvene under more pleasant circumstances and relive the best parts of their lives. They promised to call each other and do something; have lunch or dinner – anything! Just stay in touch before it was too late. Then they left – and his parents never heard from anybody.
Until someone’s name popped up in the obituaries.
Filed under The Silent Fountain
Of Cats, Moons and Unsettled Love
James paused before stepping onto the patio. Juan Miguel followed.
A crescent moon hovered above. He heard voices – and music. He looked around, as the voices became louder; people talking and laughing, while gathered along the walkways in the yard. Then, he noticed the orbs of light amidst the trees – lanterns. Along with the moon, they lit up the area. The chatter and laughter continued, as the orchestral music grew stronger.
“She’s out there,” James said. “She’s waiting for you. She loves you.” He receded into the house and dropped into a chair. The blue-eyed cat hopped onto his lap. He began caressing it, as the animal laid its head upon its paws.
Juan Miguel peered into the foliage through the opaque light of both the moon and the lanterns. The laughter – it sounded so good. Nights made for lovers. He smiled, as floral aromas swarmed around him, and light winds cavorted with the trees.
Remember, my debut novel, “The Silent Fountain”, is available in both print and e-versions. It’s the perfect gift – birthday, Christmas, retirement, a month without a road incident – for anyone on any occasion, especially those who like their romance a little on the creepy – I mean, surreal! – side.
Filed under The Silent Fountain
“The Silent Fountain” – Print Version Out Today
“You never really stop loving someone.”
“Just grass,” Juan Miguel mumbled. Just flowers. What kind of flowers?
Lílas.
Yes – lilacs. I don’t know much about flowers. Lilacs, orchids… He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Love that scent – fresh grass – lilacs – her. Her scent, her soft skin. He opened his eyes, as sunlight spilled through a gap in the ceiling and bounced off her auburn hair.
“Ay, que simpatico,” she crooned, as if seeing him for the first time.
He grinned modestly, realizing how he must look: half naked and sweaty with matted hair. “Gracias,” he finally chirped, feeling like an awkward teenager – again.
“Es verdad.” (It’s true.)
He didn’t know what to say. How did she manage to do this to him? Her dark green eyes still bore that strong sense of love and admiration – and hurt. Why? Why do you look so sad? What hurts so much?
The print version of my debut novel, “The Silent Fountain”, is now available. The e-version has been out since December 21, 2018. Today, January 14, 2019, also happens to be my father’s 86th birthday. That wasn’t by design, but I also don’t believe it’s purely coincidental either.
As always, thanks for your continued support, my good followers!
Keep writing and keep fighting!
“A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.”
– Washington Irving (1783-1859)
Image by J.L.A. De La Garza
Filed under News
“The Silent Fountain” – Now Available
“You never really stop loving someone.”
The hours moved quickly: midnight, one o’clock, two o’clock… Why can’t I sleep? He flipped the pillow again, sighing heavily, and closed his eyes, determined to keep them that way.
Then David’s smiling face sprinted through his mind. “Oh, God!” he hollered, more out of irritation than sadness, his hands slamming onto his forehead. “Not now! I’m too tired!” His arms flopped down on either side of him. “I’m just too damn tired.”
David’s quirky grin disappeared, but the same guilty sensation settled back into him. He sat up, face buried in his hands. “It’s not fair,” he whispered. “It’s just not right. Why, God? Why David? Why’d you do that to him? I’ve asked you again and again, and you still won’t tell me.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of death,” Juan Miguel’s paternal grandfather once told him and his brothers. The old man actually admired death. “It doesn’t discriminate. It takes whomever it wants: young, old, anyone.”
But as Juan Miguel now let his body convulse in quiet sobs, he had to disagree; it does discriminate. It takes the young, when it should take the old. It takes the good, when it should take the bad.
I know.
The e-book version of my debut novel, “The Silent Fountain”, is now available. And what better Christmas present than a story of someone in a gigantic old house filled with colorful characters and strange sounds?! Aside from me in a Speedo with a bottle of wine…no, wait! That was in another life. Never mind! I told you people when I started this blog nearly 7 years ago I was weird! Like you needed more proof, right? Anyway, thanks for your love and adoration, my good followers!
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
Image by J.L.A. De La Garza
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 