Annette Mori's Blog

Okay…I’m going to admit to recycling an old blog and just tweaking it a little because the wife and I had a redeye flight to Mexico last night, and I’m being lazy. But bear with me, because this blog is an oldie, but a goodie. Today is Black Friday, and personally, I think that is a gruesome name for the day. Years ago, I talked with my nephew’s wife at our annual traditional Thanksgiving dinner, where we used to go out to eat instead of the muss and fuss of cooking (we have a new tradition of flying to Mexico on Thanksgiving now). She had a wealth of information on why the day was named Black Friday. Apparently, the name derives from the fact that, for most establishments, the day after Thanksgiving is when they begin to turn a profit or “go into the black.” Now, I thought that was quite interesting, given that when the stock market crashed in 1929, it was called Black Tuesday. Why not Red Tuesday? Wouldn’t that be a more accurate name if you follow the logic of black ink on an income statement means profit and red ink means loss?  There was a whole lot of loss happening on the day of the stock market crash. I think we should rename the day to Super Sale Friday, Screaming Deals Friday, or… how about Shop Until You Drop Friday? Then there is…The Day After Thanksgiving. Perhaps that one is too on the nose and not clever enough.

Apparently, the name’s origin is well known, as even those across the pond have cited the reason stated above. But I still needed to do some research for a more complete explanation, because that’s what I do. And…do you know what? My ridiculous notions may be closer to the truth on the origin of the term Black Friday. This is what I learned: 

Black Friday first appeared in print in 1966, when a story ran in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors’ magazine.During the 1950s, police in Philadelphia began using the term “Black Friday” to refer to the crowds on the sidewalks and the volume of cars on the streets as shoppers and tourists flocked to Philadelphia in advance of the annual Army vs. Navy football game, which was held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In the beginning, retail store owners did not appreciate being associated with the term “Black Friday,” but they must have seen the light after it became a heavy shopping day and a boon to their businesses, so the name stuck.Interestingly enough, another day in history was coined Black Friday, but apparently, that name did not stick. September 24th, 1869, was the very first Black Friday and had nothing to do with profits. In fact, it was the exact opposite. On this day in history, two ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, bought as much of the nation’s gold as they could,  hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. The conspiracy was unraveled on that Friday, sending the stock market into freefall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

Personally, I find every conceivable reason to avoid the crowds on Black Friday, because nothing is less appealing than pushing and shoving to grab that last item on sale. Or how about the craziness of getting up at four in the morning to stand in line, waiting for the doors to open to grab that new TV at a ridiculously low price, but the store only has 10. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a tad, but not much. Even though I know the history of the name, I’m an author so I’m going to stick to my story that either some poor little old lady probably lost her life in her quest for the perfect gift for her grandson as she dueled over the last Labubu doll or it is aptly named after people like me who would rather have a root canal than get near any store. I know I’m not a retail store, just a lowly author hoping to keep my small publishing house in business, so at least a few are FREE on Kindle Unlimited or well below the $9.99 for a typical, ranging from $3.00 to a mere $6.99 (even for my most recent releases). The others, I think, are also reasonably priced. So make this a profitable Black Friday for Affinity Rainbow Publications, and click the links below to shop! Spoiler alert for those who read The Thanksgiving Baby Caper…Char and Toni have a baby, and she shows up in The Next Generation series.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Love Demand

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Yes, today we’re going to talk about professions, not confessions, specifically what the Trump administration considers a profession. Hold your hats, people, because you are not going to believe what has been axed by the Department of Education, which will have a profound effect on who can get higher amounts for education loans. When I first saw this on Facebook, I thought certainly this was not true…but alas, it is. Most of us consider nurses, especially nurse practitioners, professionals, along with many other master’s prepared individuals, but not the Trump administration. Here are the facts:

The Department of Education proposed a new, narrower definition of “professional degree.” This is part of a larger student‑loan and accreditation overhaul designed to limit the higher borrowing cap to 10 program types.These ten program types include: medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and theology.The implementation of this is set to take effect in July 2026.Excluded are nurses, teachers, master’s-prepared individuals with business degrees, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, speech pathologists, IT, mental and public health professionals, researchers, and many more professionals with bachelor’s and master’s degrees beyond the Trump administration’s narrow view of a professional degree.What this means regarding dollars and cents, as outlined in the Big Ugly Bill, is that annual loans for new borrowers are now capped at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. So, you see, the new definition of professional students will affect many people seeking to advance their education and skills through graduate degrees in excluded professions.If you think that healthcare cannot get any worse under the Trump Administration, think again…we are setting our country up for severe shortages in professions such as nursing and rehabilitation therapies that have already struggled to keep up with demand. I should know. I spent 35+ years in hospital HR. With our aging population and healthcare shortages, it’s a disaster in the waiting.

I often have health professionals as my main characters because that is what I know. Perhaps this new travesty might have to take center stage in an upcoming book. Of course, I’m not naive enough to believe that my one small voice through my writing will have much of an impact, but it’s what I can do, so I’ll keep weaving in these important messages until I can no longer write. As writers, I feel like we have an obligation to bring these issues to light, as they sometimes get missed before it’s too late to make an adjustment. Maybe after I am long gone, those messages will continue to resonate. If you want to check out my books to see all my subtle and not-so-subtle messages, you know the drill: just click the links below. I think you’ll really enjoy The Invisible Woman.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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I know I’m a bit nerdy and absolutely love hearing about social experiments. Well…I read with great interest about this woman who decided to do a social experiment during these trying times to see which churches put their money/aid where their preaching mouth is supposed to be. She recorded the experiment and brought those receipts to TikTok. And oh what a glorious lesson it was. Here is the Buzzfeed article for those who wish to read it: https://www.buzzfeed.com/morgansloss1/tiktoker-calls-churches-to-see-if-theyd-help-feed-a-baby. It is so worth reading! Anyway, here’s a summary of what happened. Sadly, I was not surprised by the results. For all those hard-right pro-life purists who claim that life, all life, including a fetus, is sacred according to their religious beliefs, it appears as though their concern for that life ends at birth.

NiKalie Monroe decided to conduct a social experience where she would test local churches’ willingness to help somebody in need during these difficult times (specifically a woman who had run out of baby formula). As of November 13th, she had contacted 42 churches.Nikalie got very clever with her experiment and included a baby crying in the background to ratchet up the realism of her hypothetical scenario.Of the 42 churches, 33 said nope. Many directed her to other resources and organizations. Reality check: Since SNAP benefits were cruelly stopped by the Trump Administration, many of those resources were taxed beyond what they could provide, and those safety net organizations had to turn away people in need.No big surprise that when she revealed that what she was doing was a social experiment (only after hearing a yes or no), some were none too pleased. Oops, I guess some of those good religious establishments don’t like having the hypocrisy mirror in front of them. Some even called this experiment “spiritual warfare.” While not a surprise to me, an Islamic Center was one of the few that readily said yes. That video definitely ruffled a few feathers. It was a fan favorite with millions of views. The man responded by stating, “I think every church or mosque, they’re only as good as the people who work there…When people come to us for help, I don’t see it as a burden; I see an opportunity to help people.”And to really drive home the point, the ones that did say yes were predominantly black churches, a Buddhist temple, and an Islamic center. I went searching for the list and found this link on Facebook for a listing of all the churches that said yes or no: https://www.facebook.com/nosyforreal/posts/-nikaliemonroe-doing-the-lords-work-here-the-full-list-of-churches-who-said-they/122144159054926155/

Personally, I am not terribly religious, but I respect those who have a deep faith, especially those who follow a kind and loving path. In my books, there are times when I specifically do not capitalize god because my beliefs tend more toward spirituality versus organized religion and the concept of one god. Although I do have characters who are deeply religious, and in those instances, it makes sense to honor their beliefs by capitalizing god. I suspect that when I don’t capitalize god, readers think it’s a typo. Alas, it was not. It was by design. Religion is a tricky issue to navigate because there are so many different belief systems out there that should be honored. I suppose I feel compelled to represent all views in my books. If you’re interested in checking that out, you know the drill; feel free to click the links below.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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Another sex blog? Damn tooting! Why? Because I strongly believe, especially in today’s times, that we should not go back and revisit those buttoned-up times of my youth. I strongly believe that both body and sex positivity are critical to women’s health. This particular topic arose when a reader contacted me to comment on an old blog, titled “Erotic Cave Art” (one of my most popular posts). Since I never remember what I’ve written, I had to refresh my memory and re-read the blog. The reader provided some additional insight into the topic, and I couldn’t be more delighted to share this with all of you. I asked her if I could quote her, and her fabulous response was to state that, “Dr. Nancy A. Neff, an evolutionary biologist, gives what I say an aura of verisimilitude!” Now, I’m not nearly as intelligent as Dr. Neff, but I can use Google to look up words I’m not familiar with. I do love a woman with an impressive vocabulary. Here’s what the word means: the appearance of being true or real. Anyhow, to do anything less than quote her entire response would be a travesty, so here’s the wonderful insight Dr. Neff provided, as well as a few more tidbits I learned via further research:

Dr. Neff provided this incredible insight, “Evolutionary biologist here: I’ll bet that “doggy style” was indeed the original position for male/female copulation in early Homo sapiens. In many cultures today, it is the default position. In the South Pacific, for example, face-to-face was so unusual that it was referred to as “the missionary position” in the 1800s. It was the normal position among Native Americans when Europeans colonized North America. Also indicative is that it is the default position in the other anthropoid apes, suggesting that it is the primitive condition for the hominid line as well. As for intimacy, I saw a male gorilla approach a female, touch her arm with great tenderness, and mount her from behind. During copulation, she reached one hand back, and the male took it — they held hands for more than half the time of intercourse. It was a very intimate act (and I felt incredibly privileged to have witnessed it). So the preponderance of the evidence suggests that mounting from the rear is the default style for humans, and Europeans developed a rather aberrant style later.”One such theory, also tied to evolution, involves the evolution of female anatomy, specifically the pelvis, and its connection to the development of bipedalism. Some argue that this evolution was what made the missionary position possible.The actual term, “missionary position,” started showing up in the late 1960s and early 70s in popular sex manuals like “The Joy of Sex.” However, there is considerable controversy regarding the origin of the term, which dates back to 1948, when Alfred Kinsey published “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.” In that report, he referenced Polish anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski’s “The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia,“ published in 1929. However, Kinsey’s analysis of Malinowski’s work has been challenged. Kinsey embellished a bit because Malinowski never specifically cites the missionary position or missionaries, only that the Trobrianders (people of the Trobriand Islands) played and sang mocking songs under the full moon, whereas Kinsey assumed that the Trobrianders were mocking the missionary position. Malinowski did write about a couple holding hands and leaning against one another, which the natives described as misinari si bubunela — the missionary fashion. It’s a myth that the missionary position came about due to medieval Christian morality that viewed it as the only proper, “civilized,” and procreative method. In reality, that morality focused on virtue, charity, and the spiritual good of the soul, not the actual sexual position adults chose to engage in. Although some note that, from the 6th to 16th centuries, church authorities taught that intercourse should be face-to-face, mostly because they believed that semen flowed with gravity, leading to conception. Additionally, Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican Friar, believed that crimes against nature included intercourse in “unnatural” ways.Contrary to popular belief, the missionary position has been around for a lot longer than one might expect, appearing in ancient pottery and art in what is now the Middle East, as well as in the art of the early Greeks, Romans, Peruvians, Indians, Chinese, and Japanese. Then, of course, we can’t forget about the Kama Sutra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text, which includes the missionary position.

So, there you have it…everything you probably didn’t want or need to know about the missionary position. Honestly, I love reading about the creative ways people have sex and all the different possible sex positions. For more instructive books, there are now a lot more out there than The Joy of Lesbian Sex, first published in 1977. A more contemporary book, which was a Lambda Literary winner in 2015, is The Lesbian Sex Bible. Here’s a link to Amazon (It’s on Kindle Unlimited) https://www.amazon.com/Lesbian-Sex-Bible-Diana-Cage-ebook/dp/B00NTF8SN4/ However, if you want the fantasy, I do have some novels that get creative every now and again. I will admit, however, that lately my novels contain more limited sex scenes that aren’t as steamy as perhaps Pleasure Workers. For those who prefer less spice and more plot and character development, I recommend my more recent novels (sorry, I started getting bored with writing sex scenes). You know the drill, just click the links below.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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It’s Friday and Halloween! I wouldn’t necessarily say that Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I don’t hate it. Who doesn’t like dressing up as someone else and eating candy until you get a bellyache? The one thing I don’t love about Halloween is my worry for my two beloved black cats. Every year, I hear about some asshat torturing a black cat, along with multiple warnings to keep my beloved cuddle bunnies inside. Loads of Halloween decorations feature black cats, likely because cats, and specifically black ones, are well-known familiars with witches. That got me thinking about where it all started, so, of course, I had to research that.

Dating back to Ancient Greece and Greek mythology, Zeus’s wife, Hera, transformed her servant, Galinthias, into a black cat as punishment for impeding the birth of Hercules. Additionally, Hecate, the goddess of magic, sorcery, the moon, and witchcraft, was described as having a cat as both a pet and a familiar.The association between black cats and witchcraft was further entrenched on June 13, 1233, when an official church document, called “Vox in Rama,” was issued by Pope Gregory IX. And this is where the persecution of black cats solidified when the document declared that black cats were an incarnation of Satan. This fatal decree marked the beginning of the Inquisition and church-sanctioned witch hunts. Those witch hunts spread quickly throughout Europe. With the link between witches and cats firmly ingrained in the church teachings, it wasn’t too far off to link old women and cats to witchcraft. I suspect that is the origin of “crazy cat lady.” Eventually, this spread with the Puritans to the colonies.During the Middle Ages, the practice of killing black cats emerged due to their association with evil. The poor things were attributed to all kinds of bizarre theories, such as blaming the spread of the Bubonic plague on cats, giving people ample reason to murder them. Ironically, the very practice of killing cats contributed to the spread of the plague because the diminishing cat population resulted in a lack of control over the rodent population, a major factor in the disease’s spread.Many suspect that the origin of the crazy superstition attributing bad luck to when a black cat crosses one’s path dates back to the beliefs of the Middle Ages. It was thought that a black cat crossing your path might be on a mission from a witch, or that the cat was the devil in disguise, and who would want to cross paths with the devil?The Renaissance saw a slight alteration to the link between black cats and bad luck, with the belief that when a black cat crosses your path, a witch has sent her familiar to do you harm. Because fearful peasants likely went to the church to pay for a blessing and rid themselves of this curse, some believe that the church reinforced those fears to bolster its income.Fortunately, not all cultures link black cats to evil. In Egypt, black cats were revered due to their resemblance to the cat goddess Bastet. In other countries, such as Scotland or Japan, they represent prosperity.

Too bad I don’t believe in the power of black cats, or I would have sent my babies to place a curse on certain individuals in the Trump administration…kidding, not kidding. Anyhoo, I often incorporate cats and specifically black cats into my books. My recent novel, The Kitten Trap, features two adorable black kittens. And in my short story, Vampire Pussy Cat, that is free, by the way, available on this website, features a black kitten: https://annettemoriauthor.com/vampire-pussy-cat-download/ If you love cats, and black cats in particular, feel free to check out my stories by clicking the links below.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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With Halloween around the corner, I’ve been bingeing horror flicks, especially ones with vampires, because I’m obsessed with vampires. So… of course, I wanted to research the origins of horror stories, both literary and cinematic. Vampire stories have evolved over the years, with more recent works portraying vamps as sexy and, on occasion, noble, with more human tendencies and emotions that lead to love, justice, and compassion. However, the genre is certainly much broader than vampires. Anyhoo…here’s what I learned:

Horror can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is based on a play written by Euripides, who tells the story of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus and an Amazon, brought back to life by Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. A Roman author, Pliny the Younger, in a letter to a friend, told a ghost story about a haunted house in Athens. At the beginning of the second century, Plutarch’s Parallel Lives , which was a collection of 48 biographies, tells the story of Cimon, who talks about the spirit of a murderer named Damon, who was murdered in a bathhouse in Chaeronea.Moving forward, in Medieval times, there was the Witch of Berkeley by William of Malmesbury, who was an English historian in the 12th century. Medieval France was a popular location for Werewolf stories. One in particular, titled Bisclavret , was written by Marie de France and also dates to the 12th century. And of course, Dracula is based on a real-life historical figure in the 1400s named Vlad III, the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula, the Prince of Wallachia, known for his cruelty in battle, rumored to drink the blood of his enemies, and to impale them for all to see. Many believe the horror genre began with the Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole in 1764. It was first marketed as a romance!What about movies? Most believe the 1896 French silent film, Le Manoir du Diable (The Haunted Castle), was the first horror movie. It was a brief three-minute film by French director Georges Méliès featuring supernatural and gothic imagery like demons, skeletons, and bats. As far as television series go, the first known horror series dates back to the 1930s with T he Television Ghost , a 1931 anthology series that aired on W2XAB. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of evolution for vampires, portraying them as more complex and not simply evil. This started with one of my all-time favorite television shows, Dark Shadows , which was a campy soap opera about Barnabus Collins, a tormented vampire. The TV show got a reboot in 1991, and I’m still pissed that they didn’t renew it and left us all hanging. Damn networks! Then came the infamous books by Anne Rice that started with Interview with a Vampire . Other notable TV series were Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Vampire Diaries . Finally, the makeover for vampires certainly is not complete without the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. Regarding sapphic vampire stories, the first and most notable is Carmilla written in 1872 by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Since then, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Sisters of the Night written in 1979 by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. So many great sapphic paranormal novels have been written since this novel, some with shapeshifters or werewolves and others with vampires, that I can’t possibly only mention a few, so I’ll leave you to your own research on this. However, I would like to note that my good pal, Ali Spooner, has several that are really good, click here to go to her page: https://ghostwhite-pelican-359984.hostingersite.com/ali-spooner/

I’ve only written one paranormal novel with vampires and shapeshifters, my debut novel, Love Forever, Live Forever (https://annettemoriauthor.com/love-forever-live-forever/), but I have written two short stories based on the characters in this novel, and they are all free on my website: https://annettemoriauthor.com/free-short-stories/, so feel free to check the free stories out and if you enjoyed them, perhaps you will be interested in my debut novel, which is on Kindle Unlimited. Don’t forget my most recent novel, it isn’t Halloween themed, but it’s just as good because it’s about ass-kicking superheroes! Click the links above or below to check out my books!

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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The Final Chapter in the original Organization series is now in Audible Purchase AudibleCatch up with Books 1 and 2 in The Next Generation Series Purchase EBook Purchase Audible Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleWhere it all began….Click on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase Audible Purchase EBookClick on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleBooks in AudibleBooks In Kindle Unlimited (KU)

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Last week, I read this hilarious book by LL Shelton called My Lesbian Grammie, and it got me thinking about whether there are recommended sex toys for women of a certain age. I’ve already written a blog about how our bodies change, and specifically our intimate bits, but I wondered about how that might affect our choice of vibrators. Big surprise that in our ageist and sexist society, there was very little out there on this topic. I’ll bet if vibrators were the preferred sex toy for men, there would be multiple NIH studies. According to Google AI, post menopausal women should use clitoral vibrators. But I wanted to know which ones, specifically. Like, was there a brand out there recommended by four out of five sex therapists? Eventually, I found a wonderful YouTube video that mentioned a Cosmo article. A podcaster on the Age Better channel, hosted by Barbara Hannah Grufferman, spoke with Joan Price, a sex expert. Here is the link to the video for those who wish to see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai4Wy6P8O6U. The most important part of the video is a reference to a Cosmopolitan article in which Joan Price talked about the 10 best sex toys for women over 60. How perfect is that! Here’s a link to that article: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/interactive/a45953779/sex-toys-for-seniors/. For those who want to go shopping, the article has links to the 10 recommended toys! Here they are in no particular order:

Eroscillato 2 Plus With Ultra Soft Finger Tip Combo – The soft finger tip attachment is apparently the key feature, making it perfect for clitoral stimulation. And the bonus is the slim wand handle and long attachment tip, making it more comfortable for arthritic wrists. This vibrator is the only sexual toy that world-renowned sex educator Dr. Ruth Westheimer has ever endorsed. One downside is that it needs to stay plugged in during use.Inya The Rose Clitoral Stimulator – This toy can either gently or strongly suck your clitoris. It has different levels! It is recommended that you apply lube to your clitoris first. This toy also has room for a finger or other toy in your vagina, too.Hot Octopuss Kurve – With two independent motors, this one might fit your needs if you can take a little girth, because the head is 1.5 inches. It might be too big for some of us who are more constricted in our mature years. Like other toys, you can also add another toy or fingers for clitoral stimulation.Tenga Iroha Yuki – A palm-sized vibrator that can cover a larger area to stimulate your clitoris and vulva.Fun Factory Volta – With six speeds and six different rhythm patterns and an ergonomic handle for arthritic wrists, this is a versatile toy. Plus, it has an inventive shape that you can get creative with (there are actual flippers on one end). We-Vibe Touch X – Another palm-sized toy that is very lightweight. This one is a particularly good traveler. This one has eight speeds and seven different rhythms.Womanizer Premium Eco – This one has a unique technology that creates pulsating and massaging using changes in air pressure without touching the clitoris. Apparently, this feels like a combination of nibbling and sucking. Good for those who enjoy oral sex! And a bonus, if you’re environmentally conscious, it is made from recycled materials. Once again, the non-vibrating handle is good for arthritic wrists.We-Vibe Melt – Similar to the Womanizer, this toy is a slimmer version that also uses the same air technology. And, it has 12 speeds! Plus, the toy can be controlled from your smartphone. How fun is that?Magic Wand – I have to admit, this one is not my favorite. Although the fact that it’s rechargeable is a bonus. It comes in a mini version measuring 9.5 inches and weighing 9.7 ounces, but that may still be too big and too heavy for some of us.Fun Factory Limba Flex Bendable Dildo – Now we’re talking. For those who would still like to enjoy some penetration, this slimmer toy might do the trick. The small version is 1.2 inches in diameter. Side note: I found an even slimmer G Spot Vibrator with a Clitoral Stimulator on Amazon. The head was .82 inches. Here’s the link to that toy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6TKLYK2/

So…there you have it. You’re welcome! If LL Shelton can, without shame, incorporate funny stories with women over sixty enjoying sex, I’m sure I could weave in a few nuggets incorporating preferred sex toys for the more mature woman! Want to check out my books? Feel free to click the links below.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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The Final Chapter in the original Organization series is now in Audible Purchase AudibleCatch up with Books 1 and 2 in The Next Generation Series Purchase EBook Purchase Audible Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleWhere it all began….Click on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase Audible Purchase EBookClick on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleBooks in AudibleBooks In Kindle Unlimited (KU)

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I’m aware of this concept of a found family in lesfic, which, if I’m not mistaken, means that family is a broader term than one’s blood relatives. I can totally get behind that because so many in the LGBTQ+ family have to rely on their found family for support. But that’s not really what this blog is about. I’m getting a little off track after reading a very interesting story about the saying, “Blood is thicker than water.” The fascinating thing I learned about this saying is that the original quote means exactly the opposite, implying that found family is more important, as evidenced by the original quote, “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” Yes, that original quote was all about found family, stating that a chosen blood covenant was stronger than the bond of any family. That got me thinking about what other quotes have been misconstrued over the years or selectively plucked from a much longer quote. Here are the biggies:

“The early bird gets the worm” was shortened from the original quote, which was “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” The full quote suggests that being first isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.“Carpe Diem” is another famous quote that was shortened from “Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.” For those who didn’t take Latin, it translates to, seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow. While it doesn’t exactly mean the opposite, it does add even more gravity to the saying. A bit more depressing, don’t you think?“Winning isn’t everything,” also added the “It’s the only thing.” This completely changes how most people have interpreted this saying, which was used to soothe the losing team.The Shakespearean quote “Now is the winter of our discontent” seems to suggest something cold and bleak, but the full quote adds “made glorious summer of this sun of York,” suggesting the tides are turning and the bleak times are in the past.This one is my favorite… “Curiosity killed the cat,” which is incomplete when the famous quote deletes the remainder of the full quote, “but satisfaction brought it back.”“Great minds think alike” is another quote that has an opposite meaning when adding “though fools seldom differ.” Ouch. Kind of reminds me of all the MAGA fools.“Money is the root of all evil.” The full quote is subtly different. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.” Basically, the problem isn’t having money; it’s the desire for it.“Jack of all trades, master of none” is incomplete and means something different when one adds “though oftentimes better than master of one.” The addition actually brings the quote back to its original form, which was simply “Jack of all trades,” intended as a compliment, versus the addition of “master of none,” which turned the phrase into something negative.“My country, right or wrong” is a distorted, shortened version of the original quote from Carl Schurz, an American Senator in 1872. The actual quote was “My country right or wrong, if right to be kept right; and if wrong to be set right.” I’m guessing we are going to have to do a whole hell of a lot of setting right after Trump leaves office!Another personal favorite, which to be fair, never evolved to a fuller quote that a mentor of mine used to say is “No good deed goes unpunished.” She always added, “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to do good deeds.” I’d like to make an official request to change that quote and add my mentor’s addition!

If I ever write a found family novel, I know exactly what to include in the novel. It makes sense to weave in the full quote of the blood of the covenant and provide an explanation. Surely, I’m not the only one who wasn’t aware of this! You’ll certainly find these little gems in most of my novels because I like to add trivia or tidbits that aren’t widely known. Want to check that out in my novels? Feel free to click the links below!

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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Purchase Audible Purchase EbookPleasure Workers in Audio Purchase AudibleLove Sins – The Final Chapter in The Organization UniverseClick on Cover for purchase links and description Purchase eBook Purchase Audible

The Final Chapter in the original Organization series is now in Audible Purchase AudibleCatch up with Books 1 and 2 in The Next Generation Series Purchase EBook Purchase Audible Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleWhere it all began….Click on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase Audible Purchase EBookClick on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleBooks in AudibleBooks In Kindle Unlimited (KU)

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So, I’ll admit to being obsessed with comic book superheroes. Which is why I finally wrote a lesbian superhero novel. Out of the multitude of superheroes in both the DC and Marvel universes, very few are lesbians. That was something I definitely wanted to research, but I also had questions about the origin of superheroes. Here’s what I learned.

Contrary to popular belief, superheroes did not originate in the US. In fact, the very first comic book hero appeared in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1873 with The Adventures of Supermac. The hero, with his alter ego Kent McBruce, possessed amazing strength, although his powers faded when he was exposed to the Scottish tonic wine Buckfast. I think that Superman might have been a rip-off of Supermac… Do you really think that the similarity of the names Kent McBruce and Clark Kent is a coincidence? Prior to the golden era there were numerous superheroes not making their debut in comic books, including: Hugo Hercules in 1902, appearing in the Chicago Tribune; The Scarlet Pimpernel, who appeared in a play in 1903; Nictalope, a superhero who appeared in 1911 in a French newspaper serial; Patoruzu who appeared in an Argentine newspaper serial in 1928; Popeye who first appeared in 1929 is a debatable superhero, but he did possess superstrength after eating spinach; Hugo Danner, a gladiator with superhuman abilities appeared in a novel in 1930; Golden Bat, a Japanese superhero who appeared in 1930; Chandu the Magician debuted in 1931 as a radio show; Mandrate the Magician who appeared in a newspaper serial in 1934 along with Lothar who was Mandrake’s sidekick and the strongest man in the world. The golden era of superheroes did not begin with Superman, even though he is often credited as the first superhero in the US. Prior to Superman, there was Dr. Occult, created by Siegel and Shuster. He first appeared in New Fun Comics #6 in 1935 and is considered DC’s first recurring superhero, using occult powers to fight supernatural evil. Then there was the Phantom, the Ghost who walks, created in 1936 by King Features Syndicate, two years before Superman. The first superhero published by Marvel was an android called the Human Torch, featured in Marvel Comics #1, released in October 1939. But, not so fast, because some believe that Namor the Sub-Mariner, who also appeared in that first issue, is considered the first because an earlier, uncirculated version of his story was printed before this first issue. Possibly the first woman considered a superhero was Olga Mesmer, “The Girl with the X-Ray Eyes”, who starred in a single-page comic strip that ran in issues of the pulp magazine Spicy Mystery Stories with a debut in 1937, prior to Wonder Woman, who debuted in 1941. Also, prior to Wonder Woman was Jane Gem, who first appeared in Amazing Man Comics in 1939, and some believe was not technically a superhero because she was a Martian (what a freakin double standard…duh Superman was a Kryptonian). Some believe that Fantomah, “Mystery Woman of the Jungle”, was the first female comic-book superhero who debuted in a backup feature in Jungle Comics #2 (Feb. 1940).The first openly lesbian superhero in mainstream comics is Thunder (Anissa Pierce) from the DC Comics series Black Lightning. Side note: Her girlfriend, Grace Choi, is also a superhero, shapeshifting badass. Thunder first appeared in the comic Adventures of the Outsiders in 1986. What’s even more exciting is that Thunder and her girlfriend, whom she marries, are both people of color.

So there you have it. I honestly have no preference for DC or Marvel. I love them both. I just wish they would start incorporating more LGBTQ+ characters into their movies and television series. There simply aren’t enough. I’m not talented enough to pen a graphic novel, but I did write a really fun lesbian superhero novel, The Invisible Woman, that also combines a satisfying friends-to-lovers and opposites-attract romance. It’s a fun read and also out on Audible, narrated by the fabulous Robin Amanda. I love, love, love her narration on this novel and have already asked her to narrate my next book, A Moment in Time. If you want to check it out, simply click the links below!

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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Purchase Audible Purchase eBookListen to a clip: Trouble in Paradise – Trophy Wives Club Book 4

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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Purchase Audible Purchase EbookPleasure Workers in Audio Purchase AudibleLove Sins – The Final Chapter in The Organization UniverseClick on Cover for purchase links and description Purchase eBook Purchase Audible

The Final Chapter in the original Organization series is now in Audible Purchase AudibleCatch up with Books 1 and 2 in The Next Generation Series Purchase EBook Purchase Audible Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleWhere it all began….Click on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase Audible Purchase EBookClick on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleBooks in AudibleBooks In Kindle Unlimited (KU)

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Lately, I’ve been bingeing TikTok videos and discovered this hysterical lesbian teacher (@unlearn16) who uses this particular medium to poke fun at her critics by correcting their direct messages. Her area of expertise isn’t English, but history. However, she does a good job of breaking down the messages and correcting them. That got me thinking about modern-day expectations on text and direct messages. Sure, some things are sacrosanct, like the correct use of to, two, and too, or there, they’re, and their. But are there really expectations surrounding Facebook posts, text messages, or direct messages? Additionally, am I expected to ensure my blogs are one hundred percent grammatically correct, or can I get away with my colloquial style of writing and push the envelope? I suppose the answer to these questions may depend on a person’s age. Although I am firmly in the “you can teach an old dog new tricks” camp. Sometimes, I relate or want to relate more to Gen Z rules. I decided to explore this topic more, and while there is no consensus on these questions, here are a few things I learned.

Contrary to what grammar purists might think, a manual for digital communication, such as the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), does not exist. Thus, especially with the younger crowd and those who have adopted this sort of digital shorthand, punctuation is often optional, and capitalization is considered an unnecessary formality. Why? Because it slows down the communication.Simply put, the younger generation considers overly formal digital communication as rude, cold, distant, or passive-aggressive. And when the old-timers correct them, passive aggression turns to blatant aggression. It’s like when their mother uses their full name when they’re in trouble. After eight hours of being professional at work, it’s almost like a permission slip to chill. I get their point.How can a person clearly communicate without punctuation or fully formed sentences, you ask? Imagine a lengthy digital conversation with multiple sentences. Isn’t that hard to read? What about commas? Doesn’t the meaning of the sentence change depending on where you place a comma? Well…enter second texts, gifs, and emojis. Brevity is the key.If you want to keep up with the times, you’d better learn digital abbreviations. I think we all know the main ones: lol, lmao, brb, imo, wtf, or wth. But there are so many more. If all else fails, Google or your preferred search engine is our friend. Perhaps I’ll do an entire blog on digital abbreviations.A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 62% of Gen Z respondents believe that “internet language” is creative and expressive, not lazy. Again, brevity is the key, and the use of emojis or gifs in this new, more fluid language adds tone and nuance that might otherwise require longer explanations.The answer to these competing views is a middle ground. The renowned linguist, David Crystal, argues, “We are not witnessing the death of grammar; we are seeing the rise of multiple grammars for different purposes.” Grammar is not obsolete but merely evolving.Understanding when to follow strict grammar rules and when to bend them is crucial. Different forms of communication require different levels of adherence to proper grammar. Of course, a LinkedIn article will warrant polished grammar, but an Instagram post might thrive on informal language. I don’t believe that workplace communications, including emails, memos, reports, etc, will go the way of digital communication, which is why Grammarly is so popular. However, grammar purists might want to cut some slack for certain forms of digital communication, including, at a minimum, texts, private or direct messages, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and probably other social media posts (Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, Discord, Instagram, etc.).Ironically, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) still favors well-structured, grammatically correct content. So while slang may be trendy, proper grammar supports discoverability and credibility in search engines like Google. Who knew?No doubt this fluidity of language will continue to evolve in the digital age…so come on, join the dark side…no matter what generation you’re from. It’s so freeing to break the rules!

I suppose I was a fast adopter of this more relaxed digital communication, but not for the reasons one might assume. It still takes me a long time to compose a text message on my phone using the hunt-and-peck method. I do not have fast thumbs. Honestly, this relaxed digital style of communication aligns well with my colloquial writing style. Maybe not the zero punctuation or lack of capitalization, but the tendency to break grammar rules, use ellipses and em dashes, and write like I speak, including incomplete sentences, is alive and well in my novels. I write in both the third and first person, but, just between you and me, I prefer the first person. This somewhat relaxed style is also apparent in my blogs and social media posts. I’ll never forget a comment a reader made in a review, noting that my books were easy to consume due to my relaxed writing style (I’m paraphrasing). I believe it was a compliment because the review was positive, even if it wasn’t her favorite book of mine. I’ll never be a classic writer or someone who composes a lot of beautiful prose, but I hope my books are entertaining and occasionally make you think, despite my colloquial and quirky style. Feel free to check them out, just click the links below!

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story Available for pre-order now! Audible Coming Soon… On Pre-orderTrouble in Paradise – Trophy Wives Club Book 4

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The Kitten Trap

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The Love Demand

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Purchase Audible Purchase EbookPleasure Workers in Audio Purchase AudibleLove Sins – The Final Chapter in The Organization UniverseClick on Cover for purchase links and description Purchase eBook Purchase Audible

The Final Chapter in the original Organization series is now in Audible Purchase AudibleCatch up with Books 1 and 2 in The Next Generation Series Purchase EBook Purchase Audible Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleWhere it all began….Click on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase Audible Purchase EBookClick on Covers for purchase links and descriptions Purchase EBook Purchase AudibleBooks in AudibleBooks In Kindle Unlimited (KU)

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