by control | Dec 1, 2023 | Blogs, December Gem Stone
“If cold December gives you birthThe month of snow and ice and mirthPlace on your hand a Turquoise blueSuccess will bless whate’er you do” Turquoise What could the earliest weapons have in common with December’s birthstone… Turquoise? It was Copper — believe...
by control | Nov 1, 2023 | Birthstones and more, Blogs
Who first comes to this world below With drear November’s fog and snow Should prize the Topaz’s amber hue Emblem of friends and lovers true” Topaz My wedding colors was perfect for a November gemstone wedding ~ Blue/topaz and Yellow/citrine. But my...
by control | Aug 31, 2023 | Birthstones and more, Blogs
September A maiden born when autumn leavesAre rustling in September’s breezeA sapphire’s on her brow should bindTwill cure diseases of the mind Blue Sapphire Of all the gemstones, I think the blue sapphire is my favorite. Now, I do love my own birthstone – the diamond...
by control | Jun 5, 2023 | Blogs, Category Pearl Moonstone and Agate
“Who comes with summer to this Earth. And owes to June her hour of birth. With rings of Agate on her hand Can health, wealth, and long live command” Walker I bet when you thought of birthstones for June you thought of pearl. But I have a surprise for you. There are...
by control | Mar 6, 2023 | Birthstones and more, Blogs
Who in this world of our, her eyesIn March first opens, shall be wise.In days of Peril firm and braveAnd wear a bloodstone to her grave. BloodstoneWho ever heard of a bloodstone? Much less thought of it as a birthstone? Or this gem even related to March? Those were my...
by control | Feb 6, 2023 | Birthstones and more, Blogs
The February-born shall find Sincerity and peace of mind Freedom from passion and from care If they the amethyst will wear. Oh, you are gonna love this. Amethustos in Greek means ‘sober’. Thus, Medieval kings and Romans drank from amethyst goblets to prevent...
by control | Jan 25, 2023 | Blogs
I studied this picture, and it took me a long time to figure out how I could be looking down on the main setting of my story in Threatened Loyalties. I knew Herculaneum was an extremely popular beach town in Ancient Rome. Just take a look at how high I was when I took...
by control | Jan 11, 2023 | Blogs
I really have learned a lot about trauma. Life has helped, but writing Mirrored Reflections really gave it a greater reality. I now have a better understanding about PTSD and Complex Trauma. And it all started with a television show. Dancing with the Stars was the...
by control | Jan 2, 2023 | Blogs
January Garnet and Rose Quartz By her in January born, No gem save garnets should be worn. They will ensure her constancy Truth friendship and fidelity What does Connecticut, Idaho, New York, Vermont…Celts, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Anglo Saxons and Victorians...
by control | Dec 27, 2022 | Blogs
As I said earlier, “ And as Romans do…it became an art or culturized. Into various forms of kissing.” They had different kinds of kisses. Osculum was a friendship kiss …not of passion but a greeting. The infamous kiss on each cheek (Godfather kiss) ...
by control | Dec 27, 2022 | Blogs
No. Yes. The act of placing one’s lips upon another’s does stimulate hormones and creates a delightful mood as a result of oxytocing being released whtich creates one’s attraction for more ‘good’ vibes. Dopamine is also released which stimulaes the pleasure scenter...
by control | Dec 27, 2022 | Blogs
Blame India. They are believed to have started the art of kissing around 1500bc with the Vedic Sanskrit. Buried in those writing are references to pressing and rubbing noses as a sign of affections. And then… about 500 to a 1000 years later in the Mahabharata...
by control | Dec 27, 2022 | Blogs
Apparently, according to Donald Richie, kissing (touching lips) in Japan and China may have happened in private. But in public, never. That became the ‘invisible kiss. But here in the West there was nothing invisible about it. (Wikipedia.org/wiki/kiss) The kiss of...
by control | Dec 27, 2022 | Blogs
Kissing is the ‘complex action that requires significant muscular coordination involving 34 muscles and 112 postural muscles” The most important muscle is the orbicularis oris muscle, which is used to pucker the lips – known as the ‘kissing muscle.” Lips also have...
by control | Dec 23, 2022 | Blogs
Birthstones and more A bit of history first Uh, books are written about the history of jewelry. So, I shall be brief. Throughout history, people liked gems a lot. They used gems to impress and control. Or defy. Empires were taken over with these little gems. Murder...
by control | Dec 20, 2022 | Blogs
It’s the friendship part that’s hard Hopefully you said ‘I do’ to the person you want to spend every day of your life with. But maybe, as time went on, you started to wonder what happened to that friend? Are they still your friend? Was it Hollywood sensualism, sexism,...
by control | Dec 20, 2022 | Blogs
Birthstones and more Coming up on a new year has prompted me to wish 2023 a Happy Birthday and a year of birthday stones. Over the many years, history has gifted each month with its special stone for the special person born that month. Along with that gift is a...
by control | Dec 6, 2022 | Blogs
The identity crisis of burn survivors ‘It was like the blast all over again. That was not Chad Michaels. He didn’t know that freak. It had to be some Halloween costume of a monster from some horror movie staring back at him. He thought of his high school senior...
by control | Dec 3, 2022 | Blogs
Times Change and people don’t. This phrase from my mother is true.(She did say this.) And it’s true. Because from the ancient world to today, people still love, laugh, cry, fight, make love, fall in love, fall out of love, struggle with love, and all that comes with...
by control | Nov 23, 2022 | Blogs
The Fortuna lolled in a trough, tilting sideways. A fresh clean breeze hurried into the cabin where Lucianus sat beside the repaired bed. A rosy color of sunset washed the deck outside where sea gulls screeched in the sky. Cold waves sloshed against the oars as they...
by control | Nov 23, 2022 | Blogs
John nodded. “I’ll show you the weather report once we are inside.” He motioned to the lowest step. “Step here and hold here. Put your other foot there.” He pointed to the next step. “And grab here.” She stuffed the keys in her coat pocket and grabbed the first handle...
by control | Nov 21, 2022 | Blogs
That’s what my dad called truck drivers. Once upon a time, truckers would stop to help a car stranded on the road or pick up a hitchhiker. And like my husband, provide a way for him to see his family and/or return him to college. Times changed and these ‘princes’...
by control | Nov 4, 2022 | Blogs
“Tears jerked from her insides. “Colton let me hold the puppy and said there were more in a van. I wanted to see them. He said that was the plan all along. My mother was to bring me to the playground and let him show me the puppies.”Mirrored Reflections ...
by control | Dec 8, 2021 | Blogs
First comes the pain. Then the pain of caring for the wound. Then the pain of healing that wound. Then the itch as the body covers the wound with a scar. What I have learned writing Beauty and the Beast, is that both can be physical and emotional. It’s the...
by control | Nov 29, 2021 | Blogs
Yep, that’s me…writing this story. Chad and Sierra’s story is tough. Why is this harder than my Roman stories? This one gets personal. It’s real. It’s today. I’m writing about the trauma that people go through today. Oh, my. Not pretty. Not easy. And rather...
by control | Nov 9, 2021 | Blogs
This is the most difficult research for a book I have ever done as a writer. I have started a new book, a Christian Contemporary Romance, and it is kicking my butt. The hero is a veteran who is burned by a suicide bomber and now suffers from grief and PTSD...
by control | Oct 29, 2021 | Blogs
Julius is raging….life has been unfair Just when Calgacus thought life was perfect….he learns it’s not. Truth hurts. Gnaeus Julius Agricola cannot alter the past that trained him to become a polished Roman senator. As Rome expected, Julius married Domitia, regardless...
by control | Oct 19, 2021 | Blogs
Rage is out of control: Yep, this is Julius in most of Red Fury RAGE. Book 2 of my Agricola series. Yep, he’s pissed. Why? Because of Book 1 Red Fury Revolt You see, he fell in love with a Britanni woman in book one–Red Fury REVOLT and they had a son. And that...
by control | Oct 11, 2021 | Blogs
I am now writing the hardest write I have ever done. Sure, I have written six books and short stories. The books average 75,000 words to 95,000 words. Short stories average 7500 words. And still, this is the hardest write yet. Reason 1. This short story is in first...
by control | Oct 5, 2021 | Blogs
A 20 Year Affair – Red Fury Revolt Yep, I did some math recently, and ouch. Julius, Calgacus, and I go back twenty years. It all started in Annapolis, MD at an antique bookstore. I bought a book. Yep. I bought a book about historic women in history. I have it...
by control | Sep 15, 2021 | Blogs
I was listening to Levi Lusko as he talked about “You Have a New Memory.” He talked about just how tricky memory is. How bad can be good? And good can be bad. How dangerous forgetting our past is. I am disturbed about all these historical statues being taken down as...
by control | Aug 18, 2021 | Blogs
Life for the Rich in Rome | JF Ridgley – Author : Life in Rome was never easy for anyone. Yes, we all know the plebs and barbarians had it rough. But well, so did the elite. In some ways, their lives were even more difficult. You see, at least the plebs and...
by control | Aug 3, 2021 | Blogs
Here you have the setting of my whole story of Threatened Loyalties. In the background is Vesuvius. Before you are the huts where people hid and where their blood boiled and they died from the volcanic vomit. You see the statue of Balbus at the entrance to his...
by control | Jul 30, 2021 | Blogs
For the Family Book : A short story of this woman. Viciria- the mother of this man, Marcus Nonius Balbus. Balbus was proconsul of Rome, a senator, and the ‘first citizen of Herculaneum.’ Balbus and his family, two daughters, wife, mother and son’s statues were found...
by control | Jul 28, 2021 | Blogs
To many these are just pictures of an ancient city in the area called Campania that is old. A moment caught in modern time because we can take pictures. In fact, these are MY pictures that I took when I was there. In fact the big pic on top is the settings of my novel...
by control | Jul 13, 2021 | Blogs
Kids! Just what are you going to do with them? Me? I write about them. They are fun, but sometimes I do not like what they are doing. Take Birth of a Bully. That was a hard write in many ways. Bullies are not born really. They are made. By a parent usually who is a...
by control | Jun 29, 2021 | Blogs
It was believed among the Celts that the women had as much to lose as the men. If in time of war, they chose to fight for their tribes and their survival, it was just fine with the men. And one such woman did. Boudica, queen of the Iceni. Because the Britanni people...
by control | May 19, 2021 | Blogs
Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian I am not going to lie to you. I am having too much fun with these guys. And Nero. But as I research each of these men, I have found corruption more rampant than anything in any of our recent elections. Rome was a mess and it had...
by control | Apr 26, 2021 | Blogs
Even after 2774 years!! So why celebrate Rome? Why not. After all, that time period really did give the world so much. And you ask….and what is that? Let’s take a basic look at just what Rome has given us. It started much like the American pioneer, the first peoples...
by control | Apr 19, 2021 | Blogs
And it’s not in Missouri but in Illinois just across the river from St. Louis. There REALLY used to be a racetrack there and a civilization that existed up to the arrival of Columbus. Okay okay…it’s not Roman but it’s just as grand. And there is a museum now...
by control | Mar 2, 2021 | Blogs
Where would we be without truckers? We do not even want to consider that idea. Just take a scan around your house, the room you are in, and what you are wearing. Yep, that came on an 18-wheeler to the store you bought it or to you directly. They keep us functioning,...
by control | Feb 17, 2021 | Blogs
Well, the shepherds were not likely out in the fields watching sheep on December 25. That may be true. But when the Christians were presenting the religion to the Romans, they adopted Saturnalia as the day to honor the birth of Christ. Why Saturnalia? It was the...
by control | Feb 13, 2021 | Blogs
Looking for hilarious Rome puns to share with friends before a trip to Rome? Or want a few clever jokes to use as Rome Instagram captions or Whatsapp statuses on your trip? Here are my favorite Rome jokes and puns to help make your amazing trip to Rome even more...
by control | Dec 21, 2020 | Blogs
Borrowing from Irish Central, I have learned about how the Celtic people have influenced our Christmas ho Christmas has become so universal that we almost certainly forget its roots. Yet many of the holiday’s ritual are centered deep in old Irish and Celtic...
by control | Dec 7, 2020 | Blogs
Like painting, writing is an art. Learned art. Learned by play, by rewrite, by frustration. However, it is what keeps us drawing and writing. An artist learns to mix colors, first possibly by wanting a blue, and then realizes it’s not right. So, they add white; it’s...
by control | Dec 4, 2020 | Blogs
I do not condone slavery in any of its insults to humanity. But slavery is a fact of history and I, a writer of Ancient Rome, must deal with it. In fact, use it. It is a fact of life to, at least, make it as acceptable as possible. My characters do not insult them...
by control | Apr 12, 2020 | Blogs
THANK YOU America is going through a tough time right now. And if we never noticed before, it is the truckers on 18Wheelers, train engineers, doctors, nurses and all other hospital and nursing home staffs, store clerks who are keeping us surviving. We also must thank...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
Yes. Love can be that way I was recently surprised that my idea of complicated situations in love is not original as I discovered binge-watching Amazon’s newest series Modern Love. I felt each touched on real life and love in today’s world. It was cute, funny,...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
Truckers talk funny. The long hours of bringing you nearly everything in your house, somehow makes truckers very creative. Our cities’ names are not their cities’ names. They do love to nickname. For example, I used to live in ‘Bright Lights’ and now I live in ‘Mile...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
My excuse….I had just started publishing books and, being an ‘Indie’ who is not really ‘attention to detail’ as I should be. (I’m more right-brained/creative than left-brain/ATD.) This fact allowed me to remain oblivious of many things as the need of reviewing what...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
OH MY. I’m seeing that learning can be quite an embarrassing experience. What I thought was a polished manuscript of my second ever published book, I have discovered recently that it was not polished. What I thought was so professionally edited…twice, it was not....
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
THE OTHER BEARS OUT THERE Thank God for the police officers who try their best to keep order on our highways and byways. We call them officers, cops, police officers. But in the world of Trucking, they have different titles. I had to smile when I started learning...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
Where were the Christians executed? After Rome’s Great Fire of AD 64 In the Coliseum or Vespasian’s Amphitheater Or In the Circus Maximus Answer- Neither…. It was in Nero’s Circus The Vespasian hadn’t built his great amphitheater because he wasn’t emperor until AD...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
Well, most of us out on the highway know truckers, who drive 18-wheelers or semitrailer trucks, talk. We also know they have their own lingo, which I’m new at as many of you out there driving in the hammer lane. Well I drive mostly in the granny lane except when I...
by control | Jan 22, 2020 | Blogs
Yeah, lots of things happen on piers. People come and go. People meet other people. They learn something they didn’t know. And as for Allyson, she spews out her frustration, unbeknownst that Steve is watching her back that late at night. Thus, the setting of my new...
by control | Jan 15, 2020 | Blogs
This lady fascinates me. In our modern world, we encourage our young girls to challenge their world. Stand up. Be counted. Not be run over my others, especially by men. And we tend to look back at women in history as weak and submissive. I don’t see Roman women in...
