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1965. I came home for a weekend my junior year in college, noticed right away my different dad. Same man, altered TV habits.  “Hi, Dad.”

            He stared at the set, rechecked the channel, then his watch. A few seconds later, at 6:46, a full color commercial aired for National Airlines. A bikinied blonde waded out of surf showing more and more tantalizing tanned leg and less and less inhibition as she grew bigger and bigger on our new 24” screen. When her flesh took up 23 of them she flipped her hair, pouted, suggested flying National and bent over to pick up a sea shell. Her breasts spilled from her top, almost onto our living room carpet. The screen morphed to a National jet’s tail where the same girl’s face, now a logo, took it to the next level.  She winked.  “I’m Sally. Fly me.” It seemed to take…

James Ortega knew the abductors would communicate, even if it meant leaving body parts somewhere prominent—communication in its most brutal form.  The negotiator didn’t think this was one of those cases.  In his rumpled clothes, James looked out of place working beside the other professionals, but he took charge, monitoring every facet of the set-up.  Roberto had no problem giving him complete command of this operation.  This was his specialty.  With his low scratchy voice, he called for an informal meeting of the group.

“Gentlemen, we have a ransom situation here and I want everyone to be clear on our strategy during the negotiations.”

barnettTHE TRUTH

I parked my car in front of the worn-out house. A sign announced: Christian Rest Home. I walked up the sagging steps wondering, “When it’s my time, will I find an Atheist Rest Home?”

I carried with me the antique Bible my grandmother Essie had given me prior to

her passing just last week. I didn’t really want to [accept] it, but I couldn’t disappoint Granny Essie on her death bed. After all she had shown me kindness throughout my years. She took me on her knee and told me stories when I was little, cooked me her famous gumbo when I was a teenager and continued to have hope that I was a good Christian even when I went away to the State University in the capital where –diós mío—there abounded atheist professors in all departments, Communists in every nook of the campus and nude model…

Swami Satchianada & the Integral Yoga Institute

Retreats…. silence, vegetarian food, no looking at

other participants, keeping our gazes down, away

from other yogis, etc.

In New York City when I attended Sivananda style yoga classes at the upper West side branch of the Integral Yoga Institute my young son wanted to go with me, so he attended the yoga classes for kids while I was in the adult classes.

The Institute regularly hosted retreats in a serene wooded area of upstate New York . During these weekend retreats we ate only vegetarian food, kept silence during the entire retreat, kept our gaze internal, not making eye contact with other participants—the purpose of these behaviors being that of increasing & deepening our internal experience.

MEXICA GLOSSARY

Pronunciation Key

Vowels are pronounced as in Spanish. Consonants are pronounced as in English with the exceptions below. Stress is normally on the penultimate syllable.

 Vowles

a as in father

Until the day a gallery owner shook his hand and asked to represent him.  A commission followed, then another gallery and Garland Weeks had truly become a professional.  Now, finally, others began to recognize what was going on in his modest studio.  As he had honed his talent, so had grown his reputation.

Garland had made himself into a celebrated sculptor and now owns numerous honors and memberships in prestigious organizations like the National Academy of Western Art.  He is a past president of the Texas Cowboy Artists Association and was named Official Sculptor of Texas in 1995.  He was selected for full membership in the National Sculpture Society in 1990, and eventually was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of this, the most prestigious organization devoted to sculpture in the country.  We have only a few thousand professional sculptors in the USA, most of whom maintain other…

“You’ve seen the silvers defeat superior numbers in battle. They’re cunning and strong. Although we’re not warriors, we’ll soon fight alongside them. After we return to Tenochtitlan, visit your favorite woman, hunt, fish, sleep and eat to regain your strengths. Savages will soon enter the valley. While the furry leader sleeps with his whore, we’ll plan to hang their heads on our skull racks. Bring me the curly-haired beast.” A porter ran to him and handed him the prize.

            The chief merchant held it high by its hair. “This is the monster that has come to challenge our rule. Let him hear your fiercest war cries. Show him our Mexica courage.”

            Omotl stood with the merchant caravan and drew closer to Taponoc. The remains enraged the men like angry bees swarming an intruder who sought to steal their honey. They hurled insults and curses, shouted how they’d slaughter…

I am so grateful for Charlie's tips and social media class. However...I don't have her talents and have a novel to promote. Does anyone have experience with hiring a service to raise visibility? Any recommendations? Slams? Did the marketer/promoter get resuts?

Madeleine

A while back on a Monday critique, I told Richard that I'd noticed he'd italicized the Spanish words in his work and that current thought on that is changing.

The guidance in Chicago Manual of Style* is that on first use, non-English words are italicized and then if the readers come across them enough that they'll learn them, the words are not italicized after first use.

That guidance applies to made-up words in a spec fiction book and to books set in our world with non-English words / words from other languages that are not in the dictionary. (If a word is in the dictionary--like déjà vu is--then it is not italicized).

Many authors and editors are now choosing to not put words from other languages in italics because the italics "others." But as a signal to readers that this might be an unfamiliar word, the italics might be used.