YOU MUST VISIT VISIT HER SITE

THE RUE IN THE GUMBO IS HER AWARD WINNING BOOK!

EERIE EATINGS, by Kim Robinson

Bloody feet
Take five chicken Breasts and pound them into the shape of feet. Pound into a shape of a foot. Make and sure you make right and left feet. Cut wedges out to look like toes. Place ovals of red, yellow or orange bell peppers or pimentos on the "toes" to look like polished nails. Sprinkle with a little seasoning salt and Broil for twenty minutes on low broil. Arrange on platters two next to one another. Squeeze out a line of ketchup to look like blood.

Creepy Brew!
Put dry ice around the punch bowl and watch the fog rise!

QS FOUNDER, COLUMNIST AND AUTHOR

CATE CAVANAGH

When People Are Mean

by Cate Cavanagh

We cannot understand it, much less fathom what makes people be mean. I am not talking about the person that life has trounced about mercilessly and, as a result, is left feeling defeated, angry and hopeless. I believe we can all understand and have empathy for people that go through the travails of life until their stamina is gone and with it, the ability to smile.

What we cannot fathom is when someone, especially one we have known for many years, suddenly turns on us and none of us is immune. We go on our way, doing the best we can and work toward being good, compassionate and helpful people and then, for some reason, find ourselves targeted for no reason other than the whim of a mean person.

I have experienced this in my life. I have experienced this during my professional (none writing)career where for some reason that I just couldn't figure out, people targeted me. I know I am not alone in this experience and we all accept, more or less, that things like this just happen sometimes.

But "sometimes", as infrequently as it may be, can be hurtful especially when someone is targeted with the purpose of destroying a long, honorable and credible career. Some subscribers here may be unaware of what I am going to share. Others, who are members in the writing community, will have heard the rumblings of the ugliness that is circulating around the web.

I have known Janet Elaine Smith for years. As a mentor, she has helped many (including myself) learn about publishing, the web and marketing tools to advance our work. She continues to run, with her husband Ivan, Mission Soccoro. This Social and human service organization is manned only by Janet and Ivan and, although I know she would not want me to share this, is funded by them. They help the truly needy and elderly get heat in the winter, food, toys for children for the holidays and so much more.

Janet is a successful writer of over 16 books and is widely heard on internetvoicesradio.com where she continues to share her knowledge of the writng industry freely. She also has an international podcast in Spanish.

The thousands of writers that Janet has helped and that know her agree with me when I say (and please pardon the cliche) Janet broke the mold when she was born.

In recent months she has been maligned and targeted in online groups and on the web with no justification or truth. I will not say where these vicious lies are coming from for the people responsible deserve no promotion.

People part ways during careers and one would think they would be wished well. I am publicly condemning the falsehoods, lies and libel that have been circulated to wrongly hurt Janet professionally and as a person.

Janet had no idea I was going to be writing this in her defense but I felt obligated to do so because what does one do when people are mean?

Once again Janet has become the pinnacle of dignity we should all strive to emulate. She has not, as many of us might have been tempted to do, played quid pro quo. She has not fed the frenzy these people have unsuccessfully attempted to create. These people have been told in groups to back off and I have personally told them to shut up.

Many may wonder how I, as a spiritual person, could say such a thing. Remember we each have a life path. My path is that of a warrior and if I see a wrong, I call it. This is how I keep my inner truth and spirit power. But, this still all begs the question: how does one handle people who are mean? With the grace and honor that Janet Elaine Smith has shown us all.

MOTHER MYRIAM MAYTORENA

AUTHOR, INTUITIVE COUNSELOR, PSYCHIC

The Passionate Life
by Mother Myriam Maytorena
Never underestimate the power of passion.--
Eve Sawyer

Are you living a passionate life? Or, are you following the crowd and allowing life to happen to you? It takes a great deal of courage to decide that you are in charge of how your life evolves whether in love and relationships or in career and work. If you feel that your passions in the various areas of your life seems to have grown quiet and you are languishing rather than growing, it is time to take charge again.

We all have times of quietness in our lives but this is not the road to joy and exhilaration that we crave for living a life of bliss. Joseph Campbell wrote that man does not need to find a meaning to life but he must create it. How we create this meaning is to become passionately involved in everything that we do. Whether doing a job or task or how we engage others in friendship or love. Love only has meaning when driven by a passion to express and feel love to the fullest. Work only has meaning when driven by a passion to express our best.

As you work to awaken the passion in your life you will discover greater joy and greater understanding that you are more powerful than you ever believed. This does not mean that you have to strive for fame or material greatness but that you must express your being by being fully engaged in that which gives you pleasure. You may have a passion for gardening or for decorating your home. You may have a passion for cooking and serving others. You may have a passion for music. Passion is more than sensual expression of love of another although this is a good thing. Passion is to find sensuality and expression in actions that bring you joy.

Many times when we have been hurt we withdraw into self and feel a sense of a lowering of self-esteem and thus a reluctance to go forward in life with passion. Take a risk today and rediscover the joy that comes from living a life that is passion filled.

Myriam Maytorena
http://manifestreality.com
http://asknow.com

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST, AUTHOR, ANTHOLOGIST

THE SOULMATE QUEEN, DOROTHY THOMPSON!

Dorothy Says
by Dorothy Thompson, The Soulmate Queen

Q: I understand that when soulmates meet very often one may pick up on the connection whilst the other dosn't or goes into denial. I've heard that the energy connection can be put into the spiritual reverse so the other mate gets more interactive. How would you encourage this spiritual reverse of the energies?

A: The first thing you need to look into is why it is that one soul mate feels the spiritual connection, but the other doesn't. That is your key. I feel that when the love isn't reciprocated, the one who is backing off is the one who has not come to terms with him or herself. In other words, there is still some baggage that the other is not letting go of which is preventing them from opening up their heart and feeling this soul mate energy. I feel that they do feel it, but for one reason or another, and because they still have some karma within themselves to work out, they put up a block. In most cases, they are putting up that block because of past hurts, although there are zillions of other reasons such as maybe they need space to find out who they are before they begin another relationship.

To reverse the energy connection would be to find a way to knock down that block, of course. I really don't believe we have that power to do so because we are not that person and we have not gone through the same experiences they have that caused the block. Sure, we can be sympathetic and try all we can to help that person see it our way, but it's not going to happen until it's time for it to happen.

I have found that timing plays a huge part in whether soul mates are meant to be together at a particular time in history. I also feel that our life's paths were already mapped out before we were born, so it wouldn't be following either one's life path to MAKE it happen and would, basically, screw up the scheme of things.

There was an interesting story I read about a man who believed he could turn a woman he had never met into his soul mate. He made the news and everything. Promoted the heck out of it.

The story goes he found the woman with whom he planned on doing this on an airplane. She balked at first, but then relented. Leaving her family and the life she once knew behind, she joined him and they began their relationship. It bombed eventually and she flew back to her homeland citing the relationship was more like an experiment, which it basically was, and didn't feel natural.

I found the man's email address and emailed him, telling him that soul mates cannot be "made," and instead had to be born into it.

He didn't take kindly to it and I suppose he was embarrassed the whole thing bombed.

In essence, I don't believe that you can reverse the soul mate energies. If the timing isn't right at this particular time, perhaps it will be right further down the road. You just can't force the soul mate relationship. Let it happen on its own accord. It stands a better chance at succeeding.

Hope this helps! ;o)

If you have a soul mate question and would like my assistance, you are welcome to fill out the online form at my website, The Soul Mate Queen, at www.soulmatequeen.com. This is a FREE feature. Please state on your form if you do not want your question and my answer made public on this blog. Future questions and answers will appear on this blog unless you have stated otherwise.

SOUL MATE TIP OF THE DAY:

Remember that all soul mates play important parts in your lives and that no one particular soul mate is more important than the other for they all are meant to come into your life to help you reach your higher self. ;o)

Visit Dorothy Thompson, Relationship Expert & Author

www.dorothythompson.net

www.soulmatequeen.com

WITCH, AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER

THERESA CHAZE, VALKYRIE PUBLISHING

Here is a wonderful article on the power of fear!

By the Scruff of the Neck

By Theresa Chaze

Soon after the new neighbors moved in a black cat appeared on my door step. At the time she was less than a year old and one of many the woman across the street was responsible for. None of her cats were altered and she took no care in preventing litters. The household was in chaos most of the time and the police were frequently called to break up fights between her and her live-in boyfriend. Her children and her cats wandered around the neighborhood unsupervised. Abby, as I came to call her, was sweet and cuddly. It wasn't long before she was spending more time on my porch than across the street. At the time I already had four cats and I didn't feel financially comfortable adopting another. In addition, the situation across the street was so volatile, I didn't know what the woman would do if I did adopt her.

Michigan winters are not known for being mild and that winter was partially cold. I would come home at night to find her curled up on my front porch even though it was below zero. I built her a shelter and continued to provide food for her. That winter Pooky, my eldest died at the age of 19. The next May, Abby bore two kittens under my back porch. By the time I had found them their eyes were open and they were just becoming mobile. However, Abby's milk had begun to dry up, because she wasn't getting enough nutrition to care for them. Immediately I made sure she got more food and fenced in a corner of my basement so I could have a safe place to put them all. The next day I brought all three inside. The kittens were named Sissy and Sinbad. They were identical I color coded them with collars. My three weren't exactly pleased, more so because Abby's maternal instinct made her uncharacteristically aggressive. Whenever my others approached the fence, she would puff up and charge it. She frightened Thor so badly he refused to go downstairs and I had to bring one of the litter boxes upstairs for him.

As the kittens grew and became more independent, Abby relaxed and returned to her cuddly self. Eventually they were allowed the full run of the house. Sissy was always the more adventurous one. She made her place upstairs and won over Thor in a matter of days. Sinbad was more shy and reserved preferring to stay downstairs with Abby.

Abby, however, had many issues. Sudden movements and loud noises frightened her, which made me believe she had been abused. The sounds of big trucks sent her into hysterics. But her major problem was being afraid of losing her home. She didn't understand why she suddenly was abandoned.

Eventually she made her way upstairs but Thor had a long memory and held a grudge. The two of them would frequently squabble, but they were evenly matched. As long as Abby didn't back down and run, Thor would hiss but wouldn't do anything. The balance of power changed when Abby went to the vet to be spayed.

The car ride and the over night vet visit revived all her old issues. The fear of losing her home became so great that she no longer fought back. Thor started teasing and chasing her until she no longer came upstairs. Instead she would hide under the downstairs sofa or in the back corner under the stairs. She would only come out to use the litter box and to eat. When she did come out she would slink around the lower level, doing her best not to be noticed.

I gave her a few weeks to reestablish her sense of security. After a month, she wasn't getting any better and her fear was spreading to Sinbad. I decided to intervene by forcibly bringing her upstairs. I set up my office with food and a litter box. When I was home the door would remain open; however, when I left the house I closed the door to prevent any unsupervised encounters between them.

It worked for a while. Slowly Abby started exploring the upstairs on her own. She was always searching for Thor. When she would see him, she would run to the safety of the office or back downstairs. It was a continuing cycle. She would run; Thor would chase her. Several times he bit her in the tail. Once so badly, I considered taking her to the vet. After which, she refused to come back upstairs.

I changed my tactic. Instead of putting food and water downstairs for Abby, I fed Thor behind the closed door of my bedroom and chased Abby upstairs. After a couple of weeks, Abby started coming up on her own but always ran back downstairs when I let Thor out. She'd run and he would chase her. Whenever possible, I would intervene, but they are much quicker than I am.

Eventually, the two started establishing a peace between them. But it only happened because Abby started standing up to him again. Instead of running she would curl up and hiss back. Thor did nothing to her. Once she realized he was using her own fear against her, she stopped running. She hit him in the head a couple of times and he started leaving her alone. The more time she spent upstairs, the less attention Thor gave her. It took over a year of running through the alphabet of new plans, yelling and forcing Abby out from under the stairs, but today all eight of my fur-kids are now eating peacefully in the kitchen. Abby sleeps on the living room couch--or wherever else she wishes. Large trucks still make her nervous, but just long enough for her look out the window to see where they are. She has regained her sense of home and trust. Quick movements and strangers make her wary, but she is also working through that.

How often do each of us give into our fears, only to find that when we turn and stand up to them, they are never as big and bad as we thought? Abby ran and hid. Her fears took all her time and energy. Using a combination of love, cajoling, bribery and physical force I pushed Abby to work through her fears. When I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and required her to go upstairs it might have seemed cruel, especially when Thor bit her in the tail. However by forcing her to face her fears, she was able to over come them. By hiding under the stairs, she found a temporary sense of sanctuary, but it was false security. By running she gave her fears and Thor more power over her. By standing up and facing them she took back control over her life.

The Goddess does the same to all of us. She puts us in situations where we must face our challenges head on. When we attempt to hide from them she is quite capable of grabbing us by the scruff of the neck and dragging us back to face the lesson. No matter how much energy we waste running and hiding, she will always find us and require us to face our fears.

As I did my best to help Abby heal, so will the Goddess give support and send help-mates, but it up to the individual to do the hard work. No one else can do it for us. Others can be supportive and offer options, yet it is our choice to accept the blessings or to continue to hide under the stairs. We can either spend the energy healing or waste it hiding. By ignoring the lessons, we can not make them go away. They may have a different face or be in a different place, but they will always reappear to confront you when you least expect it. Yet by facing them, you empower yourself and conquer that which you fear the most.

If you enjoy a good magical fantasy in the style of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey and Harry Potter, you will enjoy my novels, Awakening the Dragon and Dragon Domain Filled with magic, suspense and romance, the residents of Coyote Springs will entice and frighten you as they face challenges that come from within and without. . www.theresachaze.com http://360.yahoo.com/tirgana