How was your Fourth of July?

Mine was quite relaxing. We went to the beach but the ocean was rough so we ended at the pool. My cousin and his two years old twin girls provided entertainment for the adults since my grandchildren didn’t come. In the evening we had dinner on the beach and then we stood on the sand to watch the gorgeous fireworks for an hour. I have never seen the beach so crowded at night.

For ten years, before my kids left home, I used to host a Fourth of July party for about forty people and children. Back then I lived in a house with a big backyard. I cooked, my husband barbecued and my friends brought the drinks and desserts. Adults and children played soccer and then volley-ball. When the children became teenagers, they started bringing their girlfriends or boyfriends, and the moms gossiped while helping. “These were the days, my friends, we thought would never end...”

Did you know that the month of July is a month of celebration in many countries, with Independence Days, Revolution day,…, I collected a few information from the Internet:

Algeria: July 5 Independence from France in 1962.
Argentina: July 9 Independence declared from the Spanish Empire in 1816.
Bahamas: July 10 Independence from the United Kingdom in 1973
Belarus: July 3 The liberation of Minsk after many years of German occupation in 1944.
Cape Verde: July 5 Independence from Portugal in 1975.
Colombia: July 20 Independence from Spain in 1810.
Laos: July 19 Independence from France on July 19, 1949.
Liberia: July 26 1847.
Peru: July 28 Independence from Spain in 1821.
Slovachia: July 17 Declaration of Independence in 1992 (only a remembrance day), de jure independence came on January 1, 1993 after the division of Czechoslovakia (public holiday).
Venezuela: July 5 Declaration of independence from Spain in 1811.
Revolution Day refers to the public holiday in Egypt on 23 July, the anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. It is the biggest secular public holiday in Egypt. Annual celebrations marking the Revolution begin on the preceding evening, as the evening of 22 July 1952 was when the Free Officers Movement led by Gamal Abdel Nasser commenced the military coup d'état that launched the Revolution, and ultimately led to the abdication of King Farouk of Egypt.

So how was your Fourth of July?

OSIRIS' MISSING PART: a paranormal fantasy

Buy link at Ellora's Cave

Buy link at Amazon.co

Sensual romance but not erotic.

According to the legend, the evil Egyptian god, Seth, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, reassembled thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member, where his godly power was stored, she reattached a human one.

Isis has always loved Osiris, the charming god of labor, and helps him fight Seth. Together they search for his missing organ so he can recover his godly attributes, but can Isis forgive the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences?

I used to read an article called ‘Can this marriage be saved?’ in one of the women’s magazines I received every week years ago. The wife cries and whines first, then the husband complains and groans, and finally the marriage counselor waves his magic wand and solves all the problems.
You are all either romance readers and/or writers. You create conflict in your stories, escalate it until it reaches a black moment and resolve all the troubles to bring a HEA ending.

May I ask you to play psychologist in a real situation?

Here are the premises:

The wife is a career woman in her late forties. Let’s make her a successful busy doctor and call her Jane.
The husband, John, early fifties, is also a doctor, less successful than his wife and earning much less money. They have two children now, a boy, 5, and a girl, 12.

They met at the hospital where they both worked, fell in love and have been married for twenty years.

Trouble started three years after their marriage when Jane miscarried her first baby and was told she needed to stay on bed-rest the whole nine months if she wanted to carry a baby to term. John was spending a lot and insisted she continued to work so they could afford his expensive car and boat.

Three years later Jane finally took a break and had their first child. They were both delighted with their baby daughter and the relationship improved for a short time. Then Jane went back to work leaving the baby all day with a nanny. Jane wanted to decrease her hours to spend time with her daughter but John lost his job.

They argued and fought. He verbally abused her and belittled her, while insisting she should work longer hours. She left home with her baby for a few days. He went after her, saying he loved her and brought them back. Eventually, he worked again, but his verbal abuse increased every day. Jane thought about divorcing and often left home to escape his abuse but he always brought her back with sweet words of love. The ups and downs continued. Jane became pregnant again and had a boy.

Jane’s complaints: John always bullies her, never helps with the children, expects her to work non-stop, but doesn’t let her handle the finances. He saves his own income in his own saving while she has to spend on the house, the children and herself. They rarely go in vacation and it has to be where John wants to go. Jane doesn’t love him anymore but when she talks about divorcing, he threatens to take their children because she doesn’t spend enough time with them and will ask for alimony because she makes more money.

On the other hand, John never abused her physically, never looked at another woman, but insists he loves and can't live without her.

Jane is a shy person with no friends. She rarely confides and feels very lonely. Recently she cut her hours to dedicate more time to her children. Her husband got very upset and increased his hours of work. After twenty years of the same life, she wants to leave him but is afraid of being on her own, afraid he would take the children and sue her for half her belonging.

Should she stay with him? How can she become more assertive? How can you help her?
Give her some advice.

OSIRIS MISSING PART.
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9394-osiris-missing-part.aspx
Seth, the evil god of storm, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, has always loved Osiris and reassembles thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member where his godly power is stored, she reattaches a human one to make him whole.

Osiris, the charming god of labor Egyptians revere is now a mortal without power, anxious to recover both his own magical organ and his godly status. Guided by oracles Isis utters during their lovemaking, they search for his missing organ and fight Seth until they find Osiris’s magical manhood and he recovers his godly attributes. Osiris has fallen in love with Isis but will the sins of his past catch up with him in the present and interfere with their future?

1-Richard Hooker worked for seven years on his novel, MASH that was rejected by 23 publishers.
2-Louis L'amour received 350 rejections before he made his first sale and then sold 100 western novels with more than 200 miliion copies.
3-Dr. Seuss' first children's book was rejected by 27 publishers. The 28th publisher, Vanguard Press, sold six million copies of the book.
4-Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind was rejected 40 times before selling the first copy. 30 million copies are now in print.
5-John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected by 15 publishers and 30 agents. More than 60 million copies are now in print.
6-Alex Hailey who wrote Roots received a rejection letter once a week for four years.
7-The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before 20th-Century Fox produced it. you know the rest!
8-Jack London received 600 rejections slips before he sold his first story.
9-Mary Higgins Clark was rejected 40 times before selling her first story. More than 30 million copies of her books are in print.
10-Mona Risk received 10 rejection letters for To Love A Hero, her first book. Now she has five books published and the next one to be released on June 23, exactly one month and a half after signing the contract with Ellora's Cave Blush (non erotica).

 SO HOW MANY REJECTIONS CAN YOU BOAST OF?

According to the legend, the evil Egyptian god of storm, Seth, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, reassembled thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member where his godly power was stored, she reattached a human one.


Isis has always loved Osiris, the charming god of labor every woman adores. While dreaming of marriage, family and a son, she helps him fight Seth. Together they struggle to survive iniquities and perils.

His trip to the Afterlife has changed Osiris. He’s attracted to Isis and regrets his past womanizing. Guided by oracles she utters when they make love, they search lands and seas until they find his missing organ and he recovers his godly attributes. Osiris has fallen in love with Isis but the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences threaten to separate them more painfully than Seth’s mayhem and curses.

This book is dedicated to the many friends, readers and fans who love Ancient Egypt, a fabulous civilization, shrouded in mystery, glamour and mysticism.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Ancient Egypt, at the dawn of time.

Isis, goddess of health and family, bent over the gilded sarcophagus and laid her cheek upon the lifeless face. “Osiris, my love.” Grief raked her and soft sobs escaped her lips as she stroked his chest with tender caresses.

After a moment of desolation, she exhaled at the futility of her moaning. Desperate words and kisses had never revived a dead body, especially one cut into several pieces. Determined to bring him back to life, she swallowed her wailing and stiffened her back. Adjusting his severed parts close to each other, she pressed them tightly together and sealed the junctions with her tears.

With the greatest care, she pressed her key of life to Osiris’ forehead, swept it over his chest and belly, and tapped his groin a few times while she recited a litany of prayers from the Book of the Dead. “Osiris, god of knowledge and work, I command you, leave the Afterlife.”

The body squirmed against the walls confining him. Clutching her key of life with all her strength, she brushed his lips with a cautious kiss and blew her godly vigor into his mouth. His chest rose and fell.

Joy exploded in Isis’ heart. “Almighty Osiris, you’re alive. Finally.” Her voice resonated like a triumphant hymn.

His eyelids fluttered and he squinted. “Isis,” he muttered in a guttural voice she hardly recognized. “Where…what…?”

Dropping to her knees in the mud and the dewy grass on the bank of the Nile River, Isis watched him anxiously. He patted his neck and torso. His hand skated to his belly, skimmed down to the junction of his thighs and lingered over his shaft. Shock and fear twitched his face. He yanked back his fingers and heaved up his head for a better look at his groin.

“By my ankh-specter and its tau, this isn’t… Where is my…my…?” Osiris’ loud interjection ended in a groan that gnawed at Isis’ heart. It hadn’t taken him long to notice the unfamiliar member. Panic filled his eyes at the absence of his most prized organ and his gaze flitted from his crotch to her face.

A sigh escaped Isis’ quivering lips. Unable to detach her gaze from the area that should have harbored his fabulous shaft and now displayed a human penis, void of supernatural power, she debated how to reveal the tragedy.

“You’re alive and awake.” To reassure him, she caressed his chest with her open palm and leaned forward to rain kisses over his taut flesh. “Still more handsome than any desert knight, my lord. A generous king of the earth that Egyptians revere.”

Her loving gesture elicited another growl of frustration. With a disgusted grunt, Osiris grabbed her hand and lowered it between his thighs. “This is not my glorious member, my pride. Isis, my godly power is missing. What happened?” His voice curt, his tone impatient, Almighty Osiris scrambled to a sitting position in the wooden coffin. “Where is my own penis?” His thunderous voice echoed across the clouded skies. “Answer me, woman.”

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.


Rx IN RUSSIAN at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-in-Russian-ebook/dp/B004VGU8CE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1304683753&sr=8-4

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.
Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON

All books available at amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mona+risk&sprefix=mona+risk