Political Joke

While walking down the street one day a corrupt Senator was tragically hit by a car and died. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

“Welcome to heaven,” says St. Peter. “Before you settle in, it seems there is ……a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.”

“No problem, just let me in,” says the Senator.

“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from the higher ups. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.”

“Really?, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,” says the Senator.

“I’m sorry, but we have our rules.” And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and the finest champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who is having a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are all having such a good time that before the Senator realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him, “Now it’s time to visit heaven…”

So, 24 hours passed with the Senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns. “Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.”

The Senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: “Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.” So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell…Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls to the ground. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulders.

“I don’t understand,” stammers the Senator. “Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?”

The devil smiles at him and says, “Yesterday we were campaigning…Today, you voted..”

Breanne Braddy’s Son of Ereubus Interview

http://www.guardiansoflegend.com


http://www.jschancellor.com


http://www.welcometotheasylum.net

1. What do you think most characterizes your writing?

**My writing style is elemental. Meaning, I don’t use a lot of complex
sentence structures. I would rather a reader remember the story I’ve
told, than the words I chose to tell it with. It reminds me of the
first time I was taught to apply makeup: It needs to blend and look
natural, so that people see you and not just the blush, lipstick or
eyeshadow.

2. What was the hardest part of writing this book?

**Edits and revisions–killing my darlings. There were more than a few
scenes that were ultimately cut for the good of the novel.

3. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

**The drafting stage, where the story flowed without any consideration
of audience or publication or future edits. I’ll never have that
experience with a novel again and this series will always be special
to me because it was the first one I wrote without having gone through
the process of submitting to agents and publishers, etc.

4. What is the biggest thing that people THINK they know about your
subject/genre, that isn’t so?

**Epic fantasy can have just as much depth as literary fiction. There
has been a shadow over genre fiction for years that unfairly labels
anything beyond the literary category as being two-dimensional and
bereft of complex themes. Nothing could be further from the truth.

5. Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were
influential in your work?  What impact have they had on your writing?

**Believe it or not, Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. That sounds
ridiculous, but when I first learned to love reading, I read YA
thrillers: R.L. Stine’s Fear Street Series and just about everything
of Christopher Pike’s. Those novels, read when I was 11, 12, 13 years
old, taught me cadence and the importance of when to conceal and when
to reveal.

6. What are some day jobs that you have held?

**I worked in property management before I left gainful employment to
write full time. But, I’ve also worked in retail, a doctor’s office
and a long, long time ago I was a barista at a coffee stand.

7. Who is your least favorite character in Son of Ereubus?

**Aiden. He represents so many things, but the bottom line is that
he’s a selfish, egotistical, bastard. He does some really repulsive
things in book one and I struggled with how to portray one scene in
particular without going overboard or giving undue attention to the
act.

8. How does your family feel about your writing?

**I am incredibly blessed. I have fantastic parents and in-laws.
Really. I’ve had an overwhelming amount of support from all sides of
my family–far more than I ever expected or hoped for.

9. Is there more beyond the Guardians of Legend trilogy? For these characters?

**Oh yes. This is a nine book series. The first trilogy stands alone,
but you have to have read it in order to follow the second and third
trilogies. The second one goes back in time to the beginning, and the
third one jumps ahead to 25 years after the end of the first trilogy.

10. What is the most important thing to look for in signing with a
small publisher?

**Distribution. Distribution. Distribution. I can’t say that enough.
Rhemalda recently signed with a full service distributor, Atlas Books,
and that’s huge for us. Communication is also pivotal. You need to
make sure you are signing with someone who will keep in touch with you
and let you know what’s going on with your work and who will keep you
involved in decisions.

Book Review Quantum Earth by Julie Ann Weinstein

Fascinating Metaphysical Look at What Happens to the Human Psyche Before Disasters

The book opens with a deadly tsunami and a team of scientists on a quest to use their psychic powers to determine what if any role the conscious soul has in causing natural disasters.  From flood to earthquakes the scientists interview survivors and those that didn’t make it in the hopes of saving planet earth. What starts out at first on a macrocosm level quickly gets personal as two scientists fall in love. Noah, the lead medium with the help of his powerful spirit guide, Jackson reaches out to the loved ones on the other side and inadvertently channels a scary entity. Soon there is violence at one of their public events and the team loses their funding. The stakes get raised higher and higher with each new gathering of disaster survivors. The team finds a mysterious benefactor who causes both Shauna and her boyfriend the lead scientist, Hawk to feel uneasy on a gut level.
It is business more or less as usual for Hawk, even though he wants to escape more and more with pure passion for his new love, Shauna. It is Shauna, the heroine who is empowered both by love and the strengthening of her intuition that ultimately unites her teammates in this metaphysical tale of good vs. evil.