Saturday, May 31, 2014

Your Invite to the Constricted release day event & excerpt!


“Enjoy
a morbidly assortment of heartache, tears, and sadness …immediately felt
connected … flow is beautiful … this book is what perfection really is!”

- Toni L.

The world sundered
and the demons arose, warring against those neither God nor Satan had wanted.

Korrigan trained most
of her life as a courtesan, submitting to the will of men.

Petre searched for
the perfect woman to break his immortal curse.

Sold to Petre in
Arcadia, Korrigan stumbled through her journey of love, treachery, and
forgiveness. Secrets and lies whispered in the dark recesses of her mind as her
past haunted her dreams.
What if all her
master taught her proved to be wrong? As the weight of her new world compounded
on her shoulders, slave and master hatched a plan to liberate the brothel and
tear down the walls.
Beyond the Brothel
Walls Saga #1
Lust ruled the
demons. Seven signs have come and gone. Sloth ruled the vampires. Seven angels
fell to the Earth. Envy ruled the courtesans. Seven Keys lay hidden amongst the
Seven Angels. Gluttony ruled the rich. Seven families rose and fell. Wrath
ruled the Horsemen. One family would bring the world to its knees. Pride ruled
the Morning Star. The Horsemen must seize the keys. Greed ruled the world.





Author Bio
Rae Z. Ryans is a member of the RWA and RWA Fantasy,
Futuristic, and Paranormal chapter. She currently resides in Alabama with her
family. Published since the age of fourteen, Rae enjoys writing romantic,
erotic, fantasy/paranormal stories and poetry. Her name pays homage to her
brothers: Specialist Ryan D. Rexon and Zachary U. Berthot.
She is currently working on Beyond the Brothel Walls #2:
Altered. This post-apocalyptic, erotic paranormal romance is emotionally
driven, dark fantasy.







Excerpt:

Human life held value. A virgin body attracted more wealth
than a used up hag. What my master had paid for mine, I hadn’t known. I’d been
born of unfortunate circumstance and abandoned as an infant. Like most women in
the rebuilt world, I’d existed as a slave to men. Slaves never voiced opinions
if they’d wished to live. Without an owner, I’d wilt away or fall to the harsh
conditions of the broken world.
At eighteen and on my birthday, all I’d celebrated was my
new sale. With a single suitcase grasped in my hand, I’d boarded the steam
engine, and departed Delphia for the first time in my life. My destination,
over ten hours from the Hampshire House of the Lady, lay in one of the three
surviving countries of the Sundering. Arcadia was where my new owner lived.
Hard to believe it an improvement of my situation, but rather a woman belonged
to a single man than those visiting the brothel.
“Ticket miss?” the man interrupted my daydreaming thoughts
as the door to my compartment skidded open. I fished into the pocket of my used
pea coat and handed him the crumpled documents. He whistled low as his eyes
raked over me. My skin crawled with a hundred bugs, and my stomach lurched from
the sudden jostle of the train.
“Business or pleasure?” He accentuated the pleasure. I
thanked the dim lights and hid my blush in the shadows. His hand punched my
ticket, and he marked something on his clipboard. But those eyes kept rolling
over me, and his tongue grazed his teeth.
We slowed down, and my legs itched to run for it as the
steam driven lights dimmed inside my train car. Vehicles, small ships, and some
older trains operated on the steam systems, but the tracks were older and worn
from the icy elements. Steam remained cheap; trash was by far the cheapest.
That much I’d understood from the overheard newscasts and conversations. I
shifted in my seat as the train pulled to a screeching stop on the platform.
Fancy women and groomed men waited their turn as the passengers departed.
“Business.” I forced a smile and met his glassy stare.
Women were different now; I guessed but I had no notions of
the real world beyond stolen moments of television. Even then, I hadn’t
followed much of what they’d explained. New laws had passed, revoking old rules
where men couldn’t own humans, let alone women as property. Females once
established within the governments had found themselves forced from their
positions. Even soldiers and officers found themselves without jobs, and they
became instant scapegoats. God spoke; the man on the television had believed
and blamed the rise of feminine power for the Sundering. Free men had believed
the wild banter as the upper class citizens sought a reason. There lived a rationale
for everything in life, and every wicked deed they had viewed as a punishment.
To me it was a bunch of hogwash, but it had remained the truth.
“Awful long way to travel for a young miss such as
yourself.” His eyes said what his lips hadn’t. I was alone and a slave. At
least the tinted talc hid the marks in my hair, turning the twisted mass into a
pale lilac shade. Wanton men took a glance and knew what services I offered.
Usually, I wore two thick swatches of purple streaked through my dark hair. The
unmistakable sign had announced to others that I remained pure –a prize among
the men but a whopping, fat lie. Nothing about me was wholesome anymore, and
everyone I passed knew it too.
Sure, to him I was young –small enough to pass for a child-
bundled in my coat, but I’d forgotten about the uniform. Even hidden beneath
the wool, my corset squeezed against my boney ribs and dug deeper into my
already marred flesh. Years of training allowed me to block the pain, but I
wasn’t used to the stares of strange men.
At the house, men knew better than to touch me when Jules
was there. My body had belonged to him, and he remained their boss, but I
couldn’t rely on him any longer. Instinct kicked in, and I moved away from the
man, placing my body against the wall of my compartment. I shivered, but there
wasn’t even a hairline gap between the metal barrier and me. He stepped
forward, not bothering to close the door, and my heartbeat quickened. My lungs
burned as he approached, and the scent of his aftershave nauseated my stomach.


“Excuse me,” a deep, accented voice called from the train
car’s hallway. 


 Hope to see you all there!!





















Brought to you by the Release Day Diva


 

My Adventures in Weight Loss @ Weight Watchers

So I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who has weight problems.  While I've always had self esteem issues, I haven't always been overweight.  About 5 years ago (ok 6 since I'm posting this a year later) I found out I have a heart condition.  I got really sick and am now unable to work and require regular medication to keep my heart in line.  Thanks to my condition working out hasn't always been easy.  This lead me to gain weight.  Add in medications that made me gain weight and quitting smoking and I found myself topping 200 lbs.  (Eeep! Did I just admit to that?)  Fortunately for me I have a great boyfriend who doesn't care what I weigh. So while I tried to eat healthy I tried to avoid scales at all cost. Unfortunately my drs. don't ignore my weight.  For obvious health reasons I needed to lose the extra weight and dieting on my own just did not seem to be cutting it.  My one doctor suggested Weight Watchers & I'm really fortunate to have an awesome mom who was willing to foot the bill.  So that's what lead me to this post.

Every week I attend a weekly weigh in and meeting. I also have been keeping a daily points calender which tracks what I eat and gives it a point value that I try to stay within.  On top of that I decided to keep a weekly blog posting updating everyone on my results and experiences.  However I still have horrible self esteem issues, so I've decided that I will schedule these posts to go up one year from when the events actually took place.  That way you can all follow me along on my journey, but at the same time I will have hopefully shed a good amount of these awful pounds so it won't feel so traumatizing!

So on with the show!

My first meeting was interesting. When I first walked in I was kinda scared.  For the first twenty minutes I think I was the only person there who was under 40...I don't mean that to sound mean, but I was kinda hoping to find someone there my own age who could relate to my outlook on life. Ya know?  By the time everyone had come in the meeting there were more people closer to my age and even a few under so I kinda relaxed. But I still picked the furthest chair in the back corner and had settled in to see what it was all about.
I mean I don't care if people like Jessica Simpson say it works, uh hello, I'm sure I could lose weight if I had a personal chef and trainer too! Right?

The meeting was interesting. The topic was "Reasons we eat".  It covered all the basics like boredom and emotional eating and everyone was friendly.  It was like a big group discussion.  I also stayed after for the Power Start class afterwards.  After all there were only 3 people in that group, they were all close to my age and I would get a star for staying...Sorry but I love getting rewards, no matter how silly they might seem.

Overall the meeting was interesting and EVERYBODY was really nice....I still feel out of place and I really hope this works.

I also picked up some books.  One called Simply Solo, that gave a lot of recipes for one, great because it meant no having to measure out portions.  The next was called Eat Out.  It gives the points values for different items at A LOT of different national restaurants.  I don't eat out a lot, but sometimes when I'm out with my mom we picked stuff up when there isn't time to go home.  The third was called Shop.  It provides the points values for tons of items for when you go food shopping.  I don't know if I was completely prepared, but I definitely felt better knowing I wasn't just going to be eating carrot sticks & celery!

So I also decided to take pics every week.  Here is the front and side view of me! (no pointing, laughing or snarky comments. Trolls need not comment. If you have the urge go look in the mirror and take a pic and share it on your own blog if you want to make a comment....If you can do that and deal with any comments left then well....well you still can't say anything mean, cause it will just mean you suck, and I won't be responsible for any comments made back to you!)
5/31/13
5/31/13


Starting weight: *UBER-CRINGE!!*  211 lbs.



***I've decided to post these as a way to help encourage me to keep going, as well as to share my experiences***

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Gabby's Wheels Fundraisers and Donations

So I want to introduce Gabby. Two years ago her mother was here as a guest for my A to Z challenge for the letter R to tell everyone about Rett Syndrome.  A horrible debilitating disease that Gabby was born with. Just click that link to find out more.  Today I'm not here to talk about Rett Syndrome, but to talk about Gabby and the efforts her family is making to get a handicap accessible van to transport her. This van will provide Gabby with secure transportation to her multiple doctors appointments, as well as make it possible for her to leave the house in general. Without the van she is now basically restricted to her home. 

Pics of Gabby and one of the fundraisers currently being held to help raise funds.

What can you do to help? 

Well there are many ways that you can help. 

1-Donate something.
 Do you have something you can donate for the chinese raffle and silent auction that Gabby's family will be holding in the next few months? Not sure? Here are some ideas. If you're a writer why not donate a signed copy of your work, or some of that awesome swag authors seem to have lately. Bookmarks, cover tiles, collector cards, etc.  Nothing is too big or too small. Even if it's only a signed bookmark. If you do a work at home business, like Mary Kay, Avon, that wrap program, why not donate a gift basket or gift card? If you make things, like quilted or crochet blankets, jewelry etc, whether you sell it or do it just for fun, why not donate an item.
The great thing about this option is that if you are in business to make money, whether as a writer or Etsy shop owner, or whatever, this gives you free advertising and promotion for your thing. You can send a business card to be included with your items or if you don't have cards just let Crystal, Gabby's mom, or myself know and we can whip up a nice tag with your info to go with the goodies.

2 - Hold a fundraiser.

A great example of this is shown in the picture above. If you sell Avon, Mary Kay, Treasure Candles, Body Wraps, have and Etsy store. Get in touch with Crystal and set up a sale. If you don't live anywhere near her you can always work something out online. You can choose to donate part or a percent of the sales, or all if you're feeling especially generous. 
This option is really good for both you and Gabby because not only would you both get money, but you would also get more future customers. Again free advertising. 

3.- Simply donate.

Gabby's family has has set up a donation fundraiser at YouCaring.com. It's called Gabby's New Wheels and will be active for the next 100 days.  Even if you can only donate $1 anything helps. 
They also have many fundraisers set up on her Facebook page, Gabby's New Wheels.  Right now there are a few fundraisers going on, and she also has pictures of different hand crafted items that are up for sale. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get something for the money you give. Not only does it help Gabby, but if you're spending money it's helping the economy. You can be generous  AND be a good citizen at the same time! ( I know, I'm a goof, but please don't hold that against Gabby.)
4 - Share 
     This is the easiest thing you can do and it's free. Maybe you don't have anything you could donate or maybe, like me, you are extremely broke. And you know what? THAT'S OK!  It doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes you like the rest of us.  Believe me if the rest of us weren't strapped for cash Gabby's parents wouldn't be working their butts off to try to find a way to raise money for this van. 
So if you fall into this category then maybe you could just share.  Share this post.  Share it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler.  Share it on your blog. If your a blogger and want to just copy and past this post and put it on your blog go ahead. If it makes it easier that's fine you have my permission, I'm not gonna come screaming about copyrights or plagiarism.  Share the links to Gabby's pages. Friend request her on Facebook and invite your friends to be friends with her. Share the fundraiser links.  Share the Rett Syndrome links. 
Yes, I am trying to help her family raise money for the van, but I also want to help people learn about Gabby's condition. I went back to Jersey a few years ago and got the chance to meet Gabbers face to face. She is a sweetie. She's also trapped inside her own body. As I just told my boyfriends 10 year old. If you want to know even a bit of how it feels to be Gabby use some tape to tape your mouth shut, then strap yourself to a chair.  Then watch everybody as they go by. Spend the day like this. You can't walk, you can't talk, but you can see and hear everyone. That's how Gabbers spends her day. She loves to be talked to, to play with toys and to be read to. She loves her school and her family and her friends. She doesn't let her situation stop her from doing her best to try to be a part of the life around her.  If you can't spare a dime, then maybe you could spare just a second to click share?

(And no I have no intention of letting any of my kids or anyone else's tape their mouths shut and tie themselves down, I was just trying to explain to him, and to the rest of you, how it feels to be Gabby. So don't go all crazy thinking I'm duck taping kids to chairs and stuff.)

Below are the links to all the different sites for Gabby. Feel free to check them all out and share them with your friends. 




Also if you don't do the Facebook thing and still wish to donate or anything you can directly contact Gabby's mom Crystal @  jankowskicl@yahoo.com  or you can email me at aimeelavalle@gmail.com and I can get you shipping information or help answer any questions. Just make sure you put Gabby's Wheels in the subject line. 



Want to know more about Crystal and her daughter Gabby? Click on the Gabby's Page at Girl Power 2 Cure link to find out more. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and at least share it.

AimeeKay






Thursday, May 1, 2014

Happy Release Day to Empower: Fight Like A Girl!



To celebrate Lupus Awareness Month I wanted to wish a Happy Release Day to Empower: Fight Like a Girl! An awesome anthology whose proceeds are being donated to the Lupus Foundation of America. Be sure to check out this awesome new book!






Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl



"Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original."

- Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.



Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you'll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.



Authors contributing stories to this volume include:



  • Amy Berg


  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong


  • Akela Cooper


  • Liz Edwards


  • Jane Espenson


  • Shalisha Francis & Nadine Knight


  • Lisa Klink


  • Pang-Ni Landrum


  • Lauren LeFranc


  • Kam Miller


  • Jess Pineda


  • Jennifer Quintenz


  • Lisa Randolph


  • Kay Reindl


  • Kira Snyder


  • Jeane Wong


  • Remember: All proceeds will be donated to the non-profit Lupus Foundation of America to help solve the cruel mystery of lupus.