Moon Dust

  created by Elena Ray & purchased at CanStock

Before I get to the gist of this blog, I have to say, relating to Iran and nuclear weapons-- I believe that given their current regime, they should be blocked from such weapons. I do not know if the recent attack on their facilities will do that, knowing there can be suitcase nukes, I do not know if that can be stopped. I know the US, nor other nations have not used these bombs since WWII. I think most nations who had them felt it would be destructive to all humankind to use them. If nukes become part of modern warfare, I think we as a human race are done for. Let's hope others value life more than killing. Sadly, not sure that's true...

 .....

If you are a creative person, who takes the work seriously, seeing it as a career, you already understand how the marketing of it goes. If you have had success whether in what are called the fine arts or writing, you've seen the pressure to keep doing what you saw working through sales or praise. 

Why mention this now? Because I have a set of contemporary romances that have had a hard time getting even readers, ones who liked my historicals, to give these a try. I guess they didn't see the danger, intensity, relationship problems could be as strong in a set of characters living ordinary lives and then beset with black swan events that changes everything.

When I got the website, I did not feel the covers for these contemporaries, some with connecting characters, and some without, suited the stories with various dynamics to what each character was experiencing. Once I got the covers right, we asked the website creators to add this series at the bottom. After a few confusions of terms, we got what was wanted and I like it a lot. While the website gives the general idea, I think, the list of books is better. 

Rain Trueax Books

What I intend to write in the blogs for a while will be why contemporary stories were of interest to me. Maybe they won't bring with them original fans of earlier historicals books, but maybe new readers. Either way, succeed or not, I believe in them. Each offers challenges for characters and readers. It starts with Moon Dust. 

The book begins with a woman facing divorce-- not exactly romance territory but can be part of relationships where they no longer seem to be working. 

She sees no hope for a solution since her husband, a high school principal in inner city schools, avoids emotional confrontations.

He is facing his own set or problems with those wanting their way where it comes to teaching. He is blindsided by his wife wanting a divorce and this is where this romance begins. Two people, still in love but cannot meet each other's needs.

Who would think a high school principal would be a hero, but most doubting that have no idea of the complex problems faced in,
especially, inner cities.

As the couple work through their difficulties, with the heroine an interior decorator, there are secondary complications like a youth leader who has been brainwashing the youths he wants to use as an army to change the culture. 

Moon dust comes into the story as a kind of fairy tale of how culture can also be changed but by love and attention to others-- sometimes just hearing what they say.

Romances might seem simple stories; but in reality, they can deal with many often complex emotional needs. Maybe that's not appealing to all readers, but when it is, meet the challenge to learn maybe something more as to what others face. Often, not what we expected.

 

Currently only available on Amazon: 

Moon Dust

 

 

 

 

 

 

something to worry about?

 

Something good-- the summer solstice, where the longest day of the year yields way to the change of seasons with eventually shorter days. Down here in the Southwest, it means hot times ahead, and we hope monsoon storms, which the desert needs.

It's hard right now to concentrate on what I might prefer. I read those from the left explaining how the deportations of illegals has run amok. It ran amok during the Biden years when nobody watched who came in, now it will hurt honest workers, who get rounded up when they aren't the targets or the ones supposed to be sent out of the country. I get it that it's not good. But how do we fix what happened during those unbounded years?

It's the big thing in the US with legal gatherings to express anger at the current policies, of the elected government. Although I want to see it fixed fairly, it's not my biggest concern. For me, it's what's going on with Iran and Israel and is the US about to get into it with dropping bombs? If so, what will that trigger?

I want to see our borders controlled, but I have to look at some of the ICE targets, and some that I see, sadly reminds me of what we saw with WWII when even native born Japanese had their land taken and were thrown into what amounted to concentration camps because someone wanted that land. Happened earlier with unfair treatment of the Chinese and Native Americans with the same goal-- someone turned in so someone else could get what they had.

So, that's not good (to say the very least) and needs to be addressed, but something else is out there.

What will happen if the US gets into war with Iran? What other countries will get involved to increase the war? What happens if the leaders in Iran do finally get a nuclear bomb capability, given their previous support of terrorism? What about possible sleeper cells already in the US maybe with suitcase nukes. You know, it's not just honest workers who entered the loose border. Or maybe you don't know, but should think about it, as well as what drones will mean for future wars.

Likely, most who read here do not read Glenn Beck because they see him as a right wing religious nut. Well, they might give this YouTube a listen for the Iranian expert, who was being interviewed, Asra Nomani.  

It's another viewpoint on the whole situation. By the way, Glenn separates Iranians into some being Persians. If you read Reading Lolita in Tehran, it might give you a different perspective on how many there favor the Twelvers and how many are part of a proud heritage that isn't just about religious fundamentalism, but people who want a real chance to manage their lives.  

While, I think it's fine for some to march for their beliefs here in my country, I just hope they are also paying attention to the rest of what is going on, which might be catastrophic, although we hope not. Having grandchildren, who might be called up with a war, I have a selfish reason to not want to see again what I was born into and grew up through. 

Ranch Boss gets excerpts from The Atlantic, very interesting insights, if you subscribe, by Eliot  A. Cohen --The Three Dramatic Consequences of Israel’s Attack on Iran . Many are thinking about this. The world needs more doing that. It could impact lives everywhere.

In the end, of all we read, what should we trust? I have no idea, and that is frustrating,. We have been lied into wars before. I wish we could not  let it happen again.

The image at the top is from Stencil, no telling from where or if it is AI. 

Chaos is an answer to what?

 

 Although I had no intention on writing more about cultural issues, events occurred that changed my mind. Over time, I've heard plenty of people on Facebook talk civil war, if their party didn't win. When the leader they favored used as much power as he had (Executive Orders), it was fine, no concern he was being a king, but woe unto the other side winning and doing what they ran on. So threats ran wild, often no more than words. It worried me anyway, as I do not accept violence unless it is in self-defense.

It's kind of an irony right now that some on the left talk as though maybe this last election involved cheating in key states. Four years ago, they called such talk treason and impossible.

Well, sadly, it's not just talk where some want violent overthrow of existing laws to suit ones that they favor. I wonder how many think about what that kind of violence in our cities and towns will mean and has meant in the past-- both here and other places? Who could ever welcome such again?

 

Yet to some of our politicians and citizens, to send in the military to stop it is wrong. In fact one governor is claiming that to bring in military makes it all worse. In other words let the riots, destruction, and blocking of certain roads or neighborhoods continue. It is just fine as he sees it as peaceful protest even when it involves throwing rocks, setting fires, and looting stores. 

That way of thinking blows my mind; and since I've seen the photos of what was going on, when that governor ignored it, I know it was not the fault of the federal government, who declared that all citizens in the United States were entitled to protection and that includes police and military.

I picked up some photos from Stencil, which you see above, of what war in the streets has looked like in the past and still does when nobody can stop it. 

The left was horrified by January 6th, even though the only deaths were of the rioters and later suicides of officers, which sadly happens due to the difficulty of what they do.

Who though can stop this kind of violence, like Antifa years back in Portland with a lot of the same actions? Politicians with fancy words? Giving the rioters everything they want, which in this case means do not send those here without legal papers and who have committed crimes like rape, murder, assault, burglary, etc., back to from where they came-- at least if they'll take them.

If votes do not determine the direction a country is going to go, is it violence? How would you like it, if you were on your way to work, as one upset woman was in, I think, New York, and the ones blocking her car were laughing (photo out there). Do the ones creating this kind of chaos have a purpose and if so, what it it? To me though, the big question still is who can stop it if not police or military?

One more thing-- Saturday the US will have a military parade (weather permitting), which I won't watch as I watch no TV, at least for now, but likely wouldn't anyway as I am not a big parade person and never was. It though celebrates 250 years history of the American military, a kind of birthday. It's a military that has intervened in wars, sometimes with success, sometimes not-- although a lot depends on how heavily it went in. Our soldiers though, our warriors, do deserve to be appreciated and that's what the parade is about.

Paths of Empires

 

 As a writer, and especially of historical novels, I find research a key to the stories, but my love for history began as a child with the books I loved to read, especially when I got old enough to check out books from the adult side of the library. Most writers of such books also do a lot of research, which makes their books more exciting when blended with fictional characters.

One book I bought years later, when at the farm, was Generations, by Neil Howe. It dealt with how one generation influences another, and he took it from our beginning as a nation to 2069. The idea is what our parents experienced will impact how we see life-- and we will also impact our offspring in ways we don't really understand. For me, with my historicals, I saw this as advantageous to understand the personalities of the characters. 

So, where I am today with what I see with my country, the United States, is how history and the impact of generations, might impact what we want... although there are many my age with a totally different idea of what is right for ethics and life. We as humans are complex is all I can say.

Because of all I have heard from right and left wingers, I found this article very interesting and drew from it some key points. This is its link for those who want more than those points: The Seven Stages of all Great Nations.

Here those stages based on his research of nations going way back in history. It definitely fits the United States quite well-- at least for the past:

1. pioneer

2. conquest

3. commerce

4. affluence

5. elites and intellect

6. decadence and lack of courage

7. decline-- distrust, scapegoating, factionalization, currency collapse 

Basically, the 7th stage is the end; or if not, a total recreating in a new form, what that would be decided by the ones in power.

I could write more about each stage, but better those interested go to the link for the interpretations there. 

So, where are we in the United States today? 

We can see, if we know history, that we've been through a lot of the stages, although defining things like conquest might vary with different empires.  The US went through a lot of conquests with other nations but especially with the people who were first occupying this land-- i.e. Native Americans. 

The 7th stage though is where it seems we are now with blaming others, trusting nothing, divided into 'tribes' with only currency collapse yet to show up.

With the factionalization, what gets to me is when I hear people complain about the 'other' side. While I don't disagree that both sides have their part in leading to distrust, to taking away other people's freedom of speech (as they see it), but rarely can either side see something wrong with their own. 

The other big thing for me is how we have so many programs intended to help people, often keeping them dependent (while calling it empathy) but how are the programs being paid for? We know our  US debt is approaching $40 trillion dollars, and increasing with every new budget. How do we pay for these 'nice' programs? I know there are those who cannot take care of themselves, but is this because they never could or were taught that someone else could fix whatever was wrong, and they didn't have to do it?

Some say to think that way is a lack of caring but does that really help weak people or were they actually ever weak? We know some have mental illness, but do we have programs for that or is the answer just throwing money at the problem? A lot of times, the money goes to those running the programs... sometimes a LOT of it. Is there ever true accountability for how well something is working? Where it comes to education, sadly many of the best teachers are hindered from what they'd really like to do by partisan rules sent down from above, which can be from either side.

When I talk to some about these ideas, they blame me for how I think. They do not offer real solutions, if there are any. 

If we are truly in that 7th stage, maybe some are hoping for a totally reworked culture, along lines they believe better--like with sports and how a biological male can compete with biological females simply if he says he sees himself as a female. Well, we can't just see ourselves as another race because does that make us one? It's very unfair to the girls who have trained so hard but cannot beat a biological male. Talk about misogyny. But is there any turning around from the fractionalization that is clearly in our country right now?

Sometimes I say what I think, but a lot of the times I do not, mainly because I am not sure how to fix anything. I only know one thing-- we cannot keep borrowing money because at some point no one else will want to loan to us. What then? A sugar daddy? Santa Claus? A mystical spirit? Or is it really up to us if we don't want total destruction with not a sugar daddy running things but the meanest, toughest ones possible...

The photos above are ones I've kept for historical reference, not my family-- although I have those also for maybe some other time. They, and many others I have saved, are a reference to what it was like and not that many years ago in terms of time. Is it any wonder that we are having a hard time adjusting to all the changes. Yes, young people have not seen that many changes, but they have also seen so many.