Posted by: Author | May 11, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | May 10, 2011
Graduation, ACT and Migraine
We had a busy week in my family last week. #1 son graduated from architecture school in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s a five year degree and they have one year of graduate level classes. They don’t get a master’s degree though- how odd is that? Anyway, #1 son was one of only 4 of his graduating class of 30 to get an award. His was a research award for graduate level thesis work. He got a certificate and a book for the award. The spouse and I, along with my mother, traveled down to see the awards ceremony and the graduation. This is the kid most like me- driven and type A.
In the meantime, #2 son stayed home with my father as he had to take his Advanced Placement tests for this school year. He’s a junior in high school. He got his ACT scores this week- he made a 30 overall with a 34 in the English section- this score is in the top 98% in Fla and 96% nationwide- but guess what? He’s not satisfied. He wants to take it again. To get at least a 34. Geez. 36 is the best you can get. What the heck is the deal? His 30 would get him in anywhere he might want to go. AND this is supposed to be my laid back kid. Who is this boy?
And lastly, migraine. I hate and despise migraine headaches. I’ve been cursed by them my whole life and got hit with a whammy of one while down south for the graduation. I missed one of the celebratory luncheons but decided I couldn’t or should I say, shouldn’t, embarass the kiddo by vomiting in front of the whole restaurant so I stayed at his apartment and lolled about. I absolutely hate it when these things hit. They’re debilitating and make me miserable. Crying does no good but I always seem to think it will. I had to get on a plane home with it and that was awful, too. When I got home finally, as I staggered out of the airport, one of my favorite local policemen was there at the security gate. He hugged me and was nice enough not to tell me I looked like the hell I felt. LOL! Gotta love friends that let you keep the delusion!
Everything has settled down now and I feel better. Looking forward to the weekend, though! 
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: ACT, architecture, college, Ft. Lauderdale, graduation, high school, migraine
Posted by: Author | May 6, 2011
Friday Facts- May 6, 2011- Boca Raton
For the last five years, my son has lived in Boca Raton, Florida as he attended college at Florida Atlantic University. He graduated yesterday with a degree in architecture (a five year program)- I’m very proud of him as he had a full scholarship and did quite well. But enough bragging. This is Friday Facts after all, not Friday Sentimentalities.
Today’s fact is Boca Raton. It is a town on the East Coast of Florida. The word Boca in Spanish is mouth and is used to describe an inlet. Raton is Spanish for mouse. The Spanish sailors that first came to Florida used the term mouse to describe the small rocks that scraped their ships’ hulls. So, Boca Raton basically means Rocky Inlet. The original area that the Spanish referred to was Biscayne Bay near Miami Beach but sometime in the early nineteenth century, the name mistakenly was used to refer to the current Lake Boca Raton. The name thus migrated northward by some forty odd miles. The actual city of Boca Raton was founded in 1925.
That area of my state is much different than where I live. It’s much more tropical. My son’s first impressions was that there were no trees there. He’s right. The city is lovely with its palm trees but it can’t hold a candle to the panhandle with all the pines, oaks and lush vegetation. Here’s a picture of him on the beach- 
Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: Boca Raton, Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Friday Facts, graduation, son
Posted by: Author | May 5, 2011
Character Interview with Viktor Bacau
Today I have with me the wonderfully handsome Viktor Bacau. He’s a character in The Wolf’s Torment by Strphanie Burkhart which released on May 1, 2011 from Desert Breeze Publlishing. I was lucky enough to read this book as an ARC and let me tell you, the title is appropriate. My heart hurt for poor Viktor. It was an excellent story but I did feel angst for Viktor- I think that’s a sign of a great book- Way to go, Steph! Without further ado, let’s get to the man of the day.
VIKTOR: Thank you for having me.
JILLIAN: How did you meet Mihai?
VIKTOR: In London. We both went to University together. When my brother stopped sending my tuition, Mihai gave me his spending money to help. Mihai studied politics and I studied journalism. Our favorite place to go was “Saxon’s Tavern” on Friday nights. The ale was good and the food hearty. We were young, but leaned and laughed a lot.
JILLIAN: What did you think of Sonia when you met her? What was your first impression?
VIKTOR: Sonia is Mihai’s sister. I thought she was Aphrodite personified. I had a very physical reaction to her. My heart beat faster and I had to wipe the sweat off my hands onto my pants – very casually without drawing attention. That was a challenge. I waned her to think I was a gentleman. Once we started talking and I learned how generous she was and how she enjoyed nursing, I discovered what made her beautiful on the outside was her inner beauty.
JILLIAN: Describe Sonia on your wedding day. What did she look like? What was your first thought when you saw her enter the chapel?
VIKTOR: Sonia and I are Orthodox, so the ceremony is very involved. To begin, the wedding party gathers in the vestibule where the rings are exchanged. When I first saw Sonia in her wedding dress, simple, yet elegant, my heart fluttered. The dress went down to her ankles and had a long sleeves. It was decorated with lace and pearls. Her father presented her to me and Mihai exchanged our rings. The happiness of that day will forever linger in my heart.
JILLIAN: What is a traditional wedding meal in Moldavia? What was your favorite part of the day?
VIKTOR: My favorite part of the day was the wedding night! My second favorite part was when I crowned Sonia. She knelt before me in front of the altar and I placed the marriage crown on her head. In that moment she was mine. For our wedding meal, we had a roasted lamb, crepes, and Tuica, a Romanian plum brandy.
JILLIAN: Where did you go on your honeymoon? What was the favorite part of the trip?
VIKTOR: I look Sonia to Odessa, in the Ukraine. I wanted to show her the Potemkin Stairs and show off our beautiful city, but our honeymoon was a disaster. There is little for me to cherish. The only happiness we shared was our first night on the boat. Despite Sonia’s illness, I was delighted to discover she was carrying my child.
JILLIAN: Are you hoping for a girl or a boy?
VIKTOR: A boy.
Visit the Book Trailer on You Tube and give it a ‘like’ at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzHE2spBeeU
The Wolf’s Torment is available as an ebook only on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Sony Ereader. Formats include: PDF, html, and epub which can be found on the Publisher’s Website at:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-163/Stephanie-Burkhart-Moldavian-Moon/Detail.bok
About the Author: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She also served as an MP in the US Army. Multi-published, she has a children’s book, “The Giving Meadow” with 4RV Publishing. She’s an avid reader , loves coffee in the morning, and her favorite movie “werewolf” is David Thewlis, Lupin from Harry Potter
Posted in guests | Tags: book, David Thewlis, Desert Breeze Publishing, romance, Stephanie Burkhart, The Wolf's Torment, werewolf. paranormal
Posted by: Author | May 4, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
By the way, it’s my monthly appearance at Over the BackYard Fence. Come help me celebrate May. http://llblog2010.wordpress.com/
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | May 2, 2011
Reading and Being Anal
I started reading a new book this weekend and I really love the author’s voice and her imagery. One of the reviews said it was very Dickensian and it really is. The villains are people you love to hate and the good people are ones that you can truly root for their lives to improve. The thing that is driving me mental is the math error in the beginning of the book. If it’s not a math error, it’s a typo or a historical fact error. Anyway, the prologue is dated Paris, 1765 and the heroine is 5 years old. She meets the Dauphine (Marie Antoinette) on her way to Versailles and the prologue says the Dauphine was about 10 years older than the heroine.
Chapter one is titled September, 1781. Sixteen years after the prologue. BUT THE HEROINE IS DESCRIBED AS BEING 16. Ok. NO!! That ain’t right. And as the book goes on, the error is compounded. She thinks back two years to when she was 14 and then two years later, she’s 18. By my calculation, 5 plus 16 is 21. HELLO?? How was this not caught by someone?
Then we come to historical accuracy. Marie Antoinette was born in 1755 in Austria. She was sent to France at age 14 which would have been 1769. A much better year for our heroine to have been 5, right? Closer to being 16 in 1781, right?? So, which is it? A typo or a math error? Either way, it’s sending me over the edge.
Other than that, I can recommend the book. It’s called The Queen’s Dollmaker. It’s by Christine Trent. I think it’s a wonderful story. 
Posted in Books | Tags: Christine Trent, France, Marie Antoinette, Queen's Dollmaker, Versailles
Posted by: Author | April 29, 2011
Friday Fact- April 29, 2011- TASER
This is awesome. Tasers are used by many police forces and I bet you didn’t know it’s actually sort of an acronym: It stands for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. How’s that for useless knowledge?
The man that worked on the invention of it (Jack Cover) loved the series of young adult novels featuring Tom Swift as the protagonist. One of the stories was actually named Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle and Tom had a rifle that shot electric bolts from it. The stories were written by Victor Appleton (a house psuedonym of the Stratemeyer Syndicate- the same company that brought us The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys) beginning in the 1910s and going into the 1940s.
I think it’s awesome that the company that created the Taser uses this name. 
Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: Friday fact, Taser
Posted by: Author | April 28, 2011
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
I love this band. They are absolutely awesome. I have to see them every year at Christmas and have traveled each and every time as they haven’t come to Pensacola. UNTIL yesterday!! Last night, they played their rock opera called Beethoven’s Last Night at the Pensacola Civic Center. I was there. On the floor, Row 3, Seat 1. The story is very moving and has a wonderful theme. I’ve posted a youtube video of one of the songs- this is a video recorded by a member of a yahoo group I’m in dedicated to this band. And for today only, at Amazon, you can get the MP3 album and the digital booklet (that has the story in it) for only $2.99 rather than the regular $8.99. I really recommend it- Heck, I paid full price when it came out in 2000 of like $14.99. http://www.amazon.com:80/gp/product/B003H5MDAK?ie=UTF8&tag=transsiberi0c-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B003H5MDAK
As a huge fan of Al Pitrelli and his abilities, I would love to interview him someday for background for one of my novels. He’s an inspiring musician and has an adorable personality.
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: Al Pitrelli, Amazon, Beethoven's Last Night, Concert, Pensacola, Rob Evan, TransSiberian Orchestra, Who is this Child, Youtube
Posted by: Author | April 27, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | April 26, 2011
HANNA vs. THE CONSPIRATOR
I treated myself to two movies this weekend. On Friday, I saw HANNA. It was interesting but disturbing. Cate Blanchett played the villain quite well. She was decidedly evil. The young girl that played Hanna was excellent. She nailed the part – she was very believable as the sheltered yet powerful teen/assassin. There were quite a few scenes that caused me angst and made me want a different outcome but it wasn’t in the cards.
On Saturday, I saw THE CONSPIRATOR. It’s based on the story of Mary Surratt. She was accused of being part of the conspiracy to kill Abe Lincoln. She was the first woman to be hanged in the United States. I knew going in how the thing played out as I presumed that it would be historically accurate. I was surprised at how disturbed I was at some of the scenes. The lawyer in me was deeply, and I mean soul deep, offended at the tactics of the prosecutor, the secretary of war and the chief officer of the military tribunal. They suborned perjury, they paid witnesses and the hearing officer sustained clear hearsay evidence as well as let in perjured testimony. Now, I believe I can understand the mass hysteria at the time and the cry for the blood of those that killed the President, but dang, people, I was sworn to uphold the Constitution of these United States when I took my oath as an attorney and I was so offended by their tactics, I thought I’d vomit. Literally. It turned my stomach.
So, two movies, two days, two time periods, both movies disturbing in their own ways. Were they good movies? Yes. I believe they were both well done but be warned. They aren’t a walk in the park and there is no Happily Ever After. In either.
I’m at my group blog (fourfoxesonehound) today talking about what I do after I get a story idea. http://fourfoxesonehound.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/ok-so-i-have-an-idea-whats-next/
Posted in movies | Tags: Abe Lincoln, HANNA, happily ever after, Mary Surratt, movies, THE CONSPIRATOR
Jillian Chantal 