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We all have a purpose when writing no matter if it is fact or fiction, but whatever it is we write or for whom, it is all about making people feel and to stir up emotions of some kind. I can honestly say that I take it as a huge compliment if someone tells me they hate Luca's father, from Finding Home or Anthony or the Colonel from Haven's Revenge, because no matter if we are trying to stir a lot or a little, make people feel anger or happiness, love or hate, thought or simple the pleasure of letting the reader read something that makes them sigh contently and feel blissful. It is all about causing and getting a reaction. I don’t know about you, but when I start a project I always have this image in my head, or several as it may, about what the finished product will look like. There’s always some higher purpose than to simply entertain, it doesn’t have to be extraordinary in any way, it can be as simple as taking anything Shakespeare and use it as a base for writing a short novelette for an anthology to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, to making a grand very in your face political statement like I'm trying to do in Silent Terrorism.
We have Swedes, especially teenagers and young adults, that are forced to live in two worlds, Swedes who at home are forced to live under their parent’s rules which are of course from their own upbringing, most likely in from another culture with different social views on what is right and wrong, expectations and so on and so forth. Obviously being from another country doesn't have to entail that but it is a stated and proven fact that this is the case for many young Swedes today. Their parents expect one thing from them, all based on religious and social beliefs from being brought up in another country where men are men, women are women, LGBT is non-existent and abnormal, women cover their hair and faces, men don’t cry, children are beaten into submission, and you marry the man/woman your parents tell you to marry. In 2016, there are children and teenagers of Sweden that are forced to live through the fear of honor killings (which still happens in this country way too often), we have boys who had family members thrown acid in their face for dishonoring them, we had girls who have been sexually mutilated at home in their own bathtubs because in the country their parents are from girl's genitals are dirty, both boy but mostly girls are forced to marry someone they don’t want to marry, and this all still happens because we as a nation refuse to touch upon the subjects for real and bring them up to the surface because lord beholds you might be accused of being a racist. (And for those who want to shove statistics in my face about how many millions of Swedish kronor our government spend on anti violence each year, save it money isn’t worth two shits if we don’t verbally agree that a problem exist and is real, and actively DO something about it.) Luca represents the struggle that a lot of Swedish teens have to go through today, to live a double life, one demanded by their parents and then one demanded by the rest of society, but none of their own. They have to go out into the everyday world where everyone else live to go to work and go to school and fake another identity, because how do you explain to your fifteen-year-old girlfriends that you spent Easter, back in whatever country your parents come from, with a man twenty years your senior, getting married or lay in bed in agony because in the culture your parents come from the girl parts of your body is dirty and should be sown together. You don’t, instead you stay quiet because no one ever said or did anything all those other times when there was a girl or a boy on the news who gone through the same thing. Society (politicians) always stick their head in the sand and pretend to not to see to afraid to be accused of being a racist than dealing with the real issue and taking a stand.
American’s are generally speaking one of the most good-hearted, helpful and including people I’ve ever met. I’ve lived some of my best years in the US and that including living through 9/11, and working at an American airport during that horrific event. In my entire life, I have never experienced anything quite as surrealistic and terrifying before or after, but I’ve also never been part of anything that after the fact been as inspiring and left me with the feeling of "we will get through this". In crisis American’s come together, if you are there and living there you are American and you belong, there’s no "go home where you come from", there’s no excluding because you are not a citizen.
Kai stands for what to me is America the Beautiful, pride in one’s heritage, pride in one’s family, one’s self, that you stand up and fight for what you believe in, that you help out thy neighbor even if he might be a tad odd, you thrive to see your children grow up and become the best them they can become even if it is the opposite of what you would do or want. The good about the US is the epiphany of Kai. There’s a lot of good things about Sweden, and Swedes, I love my country, just as much as there are things that are rotten about the US and which drives me absolutely batshit crazy. But my point for doing what I do, and in this particular case is to show and to prove that no culture is perfect and we can’t let ourselves be so blinded by what is good that what is till there to be dealt with disappears from our sight. Nor can we let ourselves become so colored by what is bad about a place or a people that we can’t appreciate what is good and that the knowledge they have to share is still something we can take part of and learn from. We can still learn from those who have a long way to go because seldom to never is something black or white and no matter what we never stop learning and why not learn from other people’s mistakes so we don't have to make them too? Finding Home, a contemporary romance in all its glory, set out to entertain and maybe even make you sniffle a bit, but that also carry a darker hidden message if you like. Nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it first appears, and know that it takes a wise man to learn from the mistakes of others and it takes an even wiser man to know that when pointing a finger you always have three fingers pointing back at you. And don't worry if you think this is it, just you wait til I let you in on the symbolism and hidden messages that are in Haven’s Revenge and the Caddo Norse Novels. As for Silent Terrorism, it won’t need an explanation, because that entire series is a rock solid political statement no one can ignore.
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 The Terms of Release by B.a. Tortuga is the first book I read by this author and it won’t be my last. After reading this book about Sage and Win or Adam that is his real name, I wonder why the hell I waited this long.
I love these kind of books, I’m a sucker for a romance as much as the next gal, but I have to be really touched by the story, and there has to be something extra there, something out of the ordinary for me to remember it when I’m done or it will just be one in the masses of all classic romances. This is why I for example gave up on classic romances F/M long ago because women in these books pisses me off no end. I couldn’t, or can’t, relate because women in romance book seldom to never react the way I would but are whiny ass bitches just sitting around waiting for some damn knight, well not me. I’m no damn damsel in distress I’m a “big” girl I can take care of myself, they, women in books never can. Sage, the hero in this amazing story by B.a. Tortuga, is a guy but his dealing with his past which comes after him, he deals with just as I can see myself dealing with it, if I were to be in the same situation. He doesn’t take any of their easy baits, instead he walks away when he can, but he doesn’t let them treat him like shit either and he defends himself when necessary. So Sage, he’s a big boy, not in terms of huge physique, no on the contrary Sage is not huge in anyway, but he takes care of himself. Going into jail at the age of 18 he was the small, pretty white boy and he got the choice of having his knees broken or loose his teeth. He chose knees. After that he saved himself by being a big guys bitch for 10 years, and with all what that entailed. Choosing between getting killed and being someone’s bitch, for him the choice might not have been easy but the only one he had. Have you all seen Jerry McGuire, well if you have then you know the famous line “You had me at hello.” Well that works just fine here for me when it comes to Sage, he’s gentle but no pushover, he’s caring but no doormat, he loves and he loves hard, he knew he did wrong and did his time and paid for it more than just being locked up. He also got blamed for something that wasn’t just his fault and keeps paying for it when he gets out. Going back to Texas as an ex-con isn’t easy but going back an ex-con and gay would be like asking to get you ass kicked and then some, but still when Sage’s parents needed him he saddled up and went home. B.a Tortuga manages the fine balance of making Sage into a “real” ex-con without using the “he went in innocent and hadn’t really done it” and still make Sage very empathetic and make it easy to like him still. With other words, she shows that well that sometimes good people do not so very good things or vice versa some people appear to be good like Sage’s ex boyfriend’s family. Angel was the reason Sage went to jail because he died when they were 18 and a meth lab exploded. Angels family, uncles and brothers, and especially his father hates Sage for corrupting him. Does it surprise anyone that all of them are in law enforcement and all give Sage hell and then some when he returns home to help out on his father’s horse ranch. No, I didn’t think so. Now over to Win. Win is a cop too, and part of Angel’s extended family he is actually his cousin, but unlike the rest of his family Win/Adam believes that people can change and deserves a second chance, but he is pretty alone in that view, well except for his mother who’s rocks solid and totally on his side. He refuses to treat Sage anything less than the man he is, a man who was young, caught on meth and made a bad choice but wasn’t really to blame more than anyone. Win is set to go his own way and refuses to be intimidated by Angel’s relatives, his own uncles and soon becomes Sage’s friend and together they start a friendship that soon blossoms into something more. He’s the one who always has Sage’s back even when all hell breaks loose. The Terms of Release is yes very much a love story but it isn’t without a meaning deeper and more profound than boy-meets-boy and falls in love it is about standing up about what is right, it is about family and being strong together and about never turning your back against them not even when all hell breaks lose. It is about friendship and having the courage to fight for what you believe in. This is a solid read, a great romance with hmph, very well done B.a. Tortuga! You can find B.a. Tortuga on the following social medias: Webpage Goodreads  Fated Future, A Caddo Norse Novel
#Free #Novelette Yes it is free, since there was more to tell and things that didn't get told in Haven's Revenge I decided to write this short story with cut out scenes if you may giving you some more insight what brought things on in Haven's Revenge. You get to meet Vojin Naranjo, Haven's grandfather when he himself is young and starting his own family, you get to meet Gustav the Colonel of the Asa Guard and the mighty Asa King, Odin. And lastly there's a scene between Haven and Alex that never made it into Haven's Revenge. Read about how it all got started, how did Vojin find out about shifters? What is Gustav's real agenda? and What happened between Haven and Alexander that summer right before Alexander went off to college? Since Amazon is Amazon and doesn't "accept" Free books and hasn't matched the 0 price from All Romance yet, it isn't actually free on Amazon at this point but hopefully, will be soon. Until then you can get it on All Romance or download it right here on my website. You find the downloads pdf, mobi and ebup in the menu option under the Caddo Norse tab and further on to Fated Future tab. Happy Reading!  This is the third book I read by Alp Mortal, it is the third book and the more I read by Alp the more I’m starting to love his style. He doesn’t just have one. I’ve read Brave, listened to New World (and damn it Stuart Campbell who narrates that book the voice, SPOT ON!) and now the Last Jötunn.
I’ve been looking for words or ways to describe Alp’s way of writing and it the best thing I can describe it, that it feels as if you are being spoken too. The words flow, the characters reactions, thoughts and actions are so clear and clean, for the lack of a better word that it’s like they’ve grabbed you by the hand and is saying: “Come let me tell you a story. Alp mortal writes fairly complicated stories with what I so far say is a lot of different twists and turns which from my knowledge and experience demands quite a lot of research and common knowledge about a lot of different things. The thing about it though when you read his books you will be stunned by the accuracy and lack of inconsistency his books has. In this particular case, being a Scandinavian myself, and pretty familiar with Norse Mythology (even though I unlike Alp hasn’t read the poetic Edda) am after reading this fairly short but well written book stunned by his fantastic imagination. It takes skills and true interest to be able to put that magical it/myth into a story that merely or fully exist in the world as we know it and it fitting like a glove, and without having parts that doesn’t make sense. Everything about the Last Jötunn makes sense nothing of the magic and “it” factor that appears seems the slightest bit odd. The Last Jötunn, is about a man named Jack, a single gay man in his 50’s, who is currently visiting his friends who lives up in the mountains. They have gone away to Hawaii to get married and Jack is there to take care of their place and their dog while they marry and honeymoon. Jack is at crossroads in his life, he’s just sold his company and is currently pondering, what to do with the rest of his life, to find someone to share it with and if that is worth it and how one goes about finding that special someone. Jack isn’t grumpy but he’s fairly humorous in moments of high frustration, like when he’s out in the deep snow in slippers and with a torch looking for the dog whose refusing to come back inside for some reason. In the middle of being acquainted with Jack, both Jack and the dog he is taking care of are confronted or at least partly confronted with what Jack thinks is a huge boar and for the longest time we are kept at suspense on what or who it is Jack have seen and what takes place when Jack finds out wasn’t at all what I had expected to happened, it was way better! I hope that Alp continues to be inspired by the Poetic Edda and Jack and his friends fate and that there will be a continuance to this story, because I for one would love to find out what happens next. You can find Alp Mortal on the following social medias: Carter Seagrove Project LLC Alp’s webpage |
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