Pole Dancin, so Misunderstood, Yeah!

The other day I was talking to a friend about pole dancing because I took a class a few years back. It was fun. I joined to get in shape and feel sensual. After the experience…well, I’ll leave it to you to assume what happened to my pole dancin’ calling.

For about the first half of the pole dancing class, we stretched and then the teacher put on music for us to walk around the room to get our sexay on. This was the tough part. Getting in your zone…feeling the music…letting it move your body. I laughed and looked at the others…then I’d get mad because they got in the zone while I was laughing. So my right leg would take a lazy, drunk step forward while I swung my hips to the right, and then my left leg would stagger forward for a left hip swing. I let the lids of my eyes sink halfway down so I couldn’t see anyone else and try to keep the zone going. I walked and walked, swinging from side to side, my body feeling the groove.

After we brought sexy back, there were two cushioned stages with a pole in the middle of them. We each took turns going up there. The first pole dancing step was to walk around the pole with our right hand on the top of it, lean out with our legs angled toward the pole, and swing around it. Good! I swung around the pole feeling strong and sexy.  I wanted to shout, “Bring it on!” We did this a few times until everyone felt comfortable with it.

Then the instructor was about to show us the next step. My body was screaming ‘sexy’ inside and I couldn’t wait to feel the pole again. With the instructor’s right arm at the top of the pole, her left hand underneath overlapping the right, she lifted and bent her legs behind her, turning, drifting beautifully down the pole until she so eloquently made it to the mat with her legs flared behind. The strength…the beauty…the “I so can do that” feeling made me want to be one of the first people in line. I hopped up on the mat, grabbed the pole, walked around it a few times, getting in the mood, placed my hands as shown by the instructor, lifted my legs—damp palms screeched down the pole and boom, straight to the mat. I thought, “Seriously?! Get your fat butt up there and spin. Prove you brought sexy back!” This time, I grabbed the pole with a vice grip, lifted my legs up and nothing. I wasn’t spinning, nor did I fall straight to the mat. I just hung on the bar, like a drunken starlet has-been. I couldn’t nor wouldn’t do it again. Too many sets of eyes watched me as I threw away my sexiness.

So now, the only pole dancing I’ll be doing is this one.

Pole Dancing and Giving Sexy Back,

Bea

My Bottle Tree

http://indulgy.com/post/qfgNHaJqI1/copper-tubing-bottle-tree

My Bottle Tree

razzle, dazzle me, bottle tree

captivate me, like the humming bee

your colors reflect off the mornin’ dew

one vying to be noticed, a deep, steel blue

suffer in silence, if a bottle breaks

the stillness, my heart, my body aches

those copper stems, stretch far and wide

large and small bottles held side by side

may they capture the evil spirits that roam

keep them away from my blissful home

Bottle trees and gardens,

Bea

I’ve Got the Style Like Chuckie

Summer is here, I’m working on my new WIP and as I was going through my bookmarked creative websites, I came across this one called “I Write Like”. If you copy and paste a writing sample of your work, it analyzes the style and compares it to a famous writer. Of course it’s just for fun. The one thing I noticed is I needed to use more than one paragraph to get a good comparison, so I put in an entire page of my books. What’s interesting is that I write like a few authors, and on top of that, there’s a connection between the two of them.

I plugged in the first chapter of my dark, psychological suspense Net Switch, and it seems my writing is comparable to

I write like
Bram Stoker

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

When I plugged in the first page of my new novel, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sarcasm (working title), it states that I write like

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

For those who don’t know, Bram Stoker is known for his 1897 novel Dracula, and Chuck Palahniuk is known for his 1996 novel Fight Club. I don’t know much about either one of these authors. Horror isn’t my genre, so I never read Dracula. I’ve also never read a story by Chuck Palahniuk. I find it intriguing that my writing style (yes it’s just for fun) is comparable to two authors I haven't read and a genre I don’t write in.

I went online to see if there are any similarities between Stoker and Palahniuk. It seems there is a Bram Stoker Award given for excellent achievement in horror writing. Chuck Palahniuk was nominated twice for this award—the first for Lullaby in 2002 and then Haunted in 2005.

Even though I did this only for entertainment value, I learned a little about the writers I Write Like.

Who do you write like?

Style and Fame,

Bea

Chronicles of a Displaced Writer

http://pinterest.com/pin/137852438564110167/

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve literally moved from one place to the next as things were sorted out. From time to time, I would promote my book by asking for reviews, did a radio station interview and two book giveaways on Goodreads. For those readers and writers out there unfamiliar with Goodreads, I would suggest you check it out. It’s a great place to get to know other people who enjoy books, get free books, and if you’re a writer, a great place to build an audience and promote. These are some of the ways I’ve promoted my book, Net Switch.

I have done a few guest author spots on blogs. It gives my book exposure to people who have never heard about it. Here are links to a few places I’ve been a blog guest: JLB Creatives, CMash Loves to Read (also a book giveaway), and 10 Day Book Club. The comments I have received for being a new author are wonderful, and I do treasure each one.

It’s very important as a new author to get reviews, whether it’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, a blog, Goodreads, etc. People do read reviews and make a decision as to whether or not they’ll like the book. As a reader, I sometimes look over the reviews and it’s what is said about the book that helps me decide. Anywhere and any way you can get reviews as a writer, you get out there and get them. Many people like to read and review sci-fi, fantasy, YA or paranormal, so I’ve had to dig a little deeper to find reviewers willing to read suspense. I reached out to a blog that does reviews, Indie Book Blog, and someone in one of my LinkedIn groups, Kaptica Book Reviews and News…and my quest for more reviews continues.

A few ways I also promoted my book was creating my book trailer, on the side bar, and a bookmark.

Free advertisement is always a great way to get the word out. I did a few Press Releases on PRLog and Press Release Point. I also did a radio interview on The Author Show, but it was only for one day. From that interview I received some wonderful responses that you can read here on my Facebook Event Page. Along with the free press releases and Facebook exposure, I also joined Pinterest and have my novel listed on the Pinterest Board of Book Junkies.

I still have the Goodreads Giveaway going until July 2. You’ll also find a link to that on the top right side bar. My Goodreads profile, Net Switch has a 4.5 star rating out of 5 with 9 ratings and 4 reviews, and 125 people have added it to one of their book shelves. 

So like I’ve asked the Goodreads community, Could you find true love in an online chat room?

My book promotions have moved from one place to another, much like I have from one location to the next…but I will always have an online imprint.

While I am still promoting, I’ve started another book and I’m in the process of finding somewhere I can settle down and catch my breath.

Displaced and Unforgettable,

Bea