Still in the World

Has it really been that long? Well, I may have disappeared for a time  but just wanted all my readers to know I am still here. For the last several months writing has taken a back seat to home repairs and a flurry of summertime activities.

A storm in spring tore half the roof from my house so that had to be replaced. We are still in the process of having our windows replaced. Our home has a rock face (not a façade, but real rock) so window replacement has taken three visits so far and there will be more after the rain passes.

Fear not, for I am currently working diligently on my next story. This one promises to be more fantasy and less erotic that what some might have grown familiar with from me. This is a story of love, hate, chance, rescue, faults, and redemption between a 1920's air mail flyer, a forest nymph, and an ogre. Surely not your typical high fantasy but, in true Ellison James fashion, full of paranormal wonder and history in a world made believable on a base of fact.

So, stay tuned, and for those reading this blog article in America, happy Independence Day!

Women of Strength

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling

I like the above quote, and I know that J.K. Rowling has had to make her share of character-defining choices. The writing of her first Harry Potter novel was interrupted in 1990 by the death of her mother. A marriage lasting only three years left her a single parent living on assistance by the end of 1993. She suffered from depression, even contemplated suicide at one point, but continued to write. Her real success did not come until 1997 when the publisher, Scholastic, brought her novels to the vast American market. Joanne Rowling made her choices from a position of strength. Her actions, then and now, show a strength of character worthy of emulation.

Sarah Buel, co-founder and co-director of the National Training Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, did not just happen into this position. After escaping a life of domestic violence, Sarah could have just gone away, and lived her life in obscurity. She chose instead to become an attorney to better help battered women and abused children. In addition to performing her duties with the Center, she continues to run a legal clinic for battered women.

The two women mentioned above are truly worthy of mention, and serve as a beacon of strength, but I would submit that a countless number of women you might never hear of display strength. Who is it that you would like to emulate? I think that many of you would agree with me in my choice of example in how to be strong, and make choices that strengthen character.

I grew up in a poor family but rarely went without food, clothing, and school supplies. Unknown to me until much later in life, my mother’s strength and sacrifice shielded me from such suffering. One year, we all (I have a brother and a sister) had to purchase used shoes at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store, along with our usual back-to-school clothing purchases. Although our clothing was mostly second-hand, we had always gotten new shoes each year for the start of school. We later found out that Mom used the money saved to buy a used freezer from a neighbor. Of course, we did not understand this at the time, and were deeply hurt.

We later realized that the freezer allowed Mom to buy food in bulk, and therefore, at a cheaper price. Like I said before, we seldom went hungry, and we later knew it was because our Mom sacrificed much more than just one year’s worth of new shoes. She had sold some of her precious heirloom jewelry to buy that freezer. She spent our youth making tough choices to shield us from the harsh realities of our destitution. Many times since then, Mom served as a guidepost for my own choices, and I know that I could never thank her enough in my one lifetime for her choices, her sacrifices, her strength. Rest her soul.

Women of strength are inspiring. Women who are faced with difficult choices that determine their character are intriguing. These traits I found so desirable in Joanne Rowling, Sarah Beul, and my own dear Mother, that they became the basis for my main character, Azra, in my novel, Lovestruck Succubus.

I wanted to show Azra as a women of strength and unwavering determination in her quest to experience love as a normal, mortal person. Of course, I could not make it easy. I threw numerous roadblocks in front of her like being pursued by a police detective, bounty hunters, and finally, her own need for sustainment. In the end, I would hope that her actions proved her a woman of strength, and a role model, like my Mother, others would honor and emulate.

If you like stories about women of strength, a heroinne that does not need saving, please give my paranormal erotic novel, Lovestruck Succubus, a try. Download it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords, or buy it in paperback.

Also, look for my other stories, Pleasure Doing Business or Window Treatment at all the above locations. Or, Download my short story, The Fifth Beauty for FREE from Smashwords or Barnes & Noble. You can also find my stories at Apple ibooks, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel Books.