Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Aradians!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my beloved Aradians! 
On behalf of L.a. Jones, Harrison R. Bradlow, and Debi Stewartwho was kind enough to allow me to use this photo as a greeting card to you all.

Everyone Matters: Team Children

Milton Olive jumped on a grenade in Vietnam in 1965, and saved the lives of four soldiers - including Robert Toporek, who never forgot it. 20 years later, he visited Milton's father - and discovered that theMedal of Honor recipient had a park, a playground, and a housing project named for Milton. Robert had an epiphany.

"Damn, he's having a bigger impact dead than I am alive," said the Vietnam vet.

That's how Robert was inspired to start "Team Children," a non-profit that recycles donated computers into the hands of kids, to bridge the "digital divide." Area companies donate them. His team upgrades them, and they are sold, just to cover costs, to kids, families, literacy programs.

Team Children has distributed 11,000 computers - to reach 50,000 children. Wow!

Bravo to Robert, who inspires all of us to make a difference. 

Join our growing community whereEveryone Matters!

Check out the CBS video about Robert:http://goo.gl/IcGo9T

And the website: http://goo.gl/S87nQB 

Thanks to Danielle Higgins for suggesting!

Newest review!

Newest review!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best new writers out there., November 18, 2013

By 

Imaokie1958@yahoo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 1 (Kindle Edition)

This is a great series.It will keep you wanting more ,if you start it in the evening be ready for an all nighter.I have read the whole series they are great.my hats off to L.A. Jones cant wait for her new books to come out.

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"I'm just not going to stand by and watch my friends and pretty much family get degraded its just not right,"

Everyone Matters

"Courageous" is the only word we can think of in describing Omaha resident Ryan Langenegger. Ryan was attacked earlier this week outside of a restaurant while standing up for his two friends who are #gay.

Ryan and his friends Josh and Jacob were eating when the harassment began. Jacob was dressed in drag and three men began to verbally abuse them. Ryan and his two friends decided to leave in the hopes of avoiding an altercation, but the men followed them out of the restaurant and continued their insults, even blocking them from leaving.

"I didn't know if they were going to try to hurt them...I stepped in and said, 'Hey we aren't looking for any trouble,'" says Ryan, "As I'm talking...one comes up and hits me in the face. I stand up and he also swings at my other friend and misses and I just look at him and say, 'Why?' There's no reason for this."

Ryan suffered bruises, chipped teeth and gash to his forehead, but says it was worth it to stand up for his friends. "I'm just not going to stand by and watch my friends and pretty much family get degraded its just not right," he added.

We applaud Ryan for defending his friends' rights to be who they are. Not everyone may support #gayrights, but we can all agree no one has the right to harm someone for what they believe in!

More to this story
http://goo.gl/54Tcq5

Ryan and his friends Josh and Jacob were eating when the harassment began. Jacob was dressed in drag and three men began to verbally abuse them. Ryan and his two friends decided to leave in the hopes of avoiding an altercation, but the men followed them out of the restaurant and continued their insults, even blocking them from leaving.

"I didn't know if they were going to try to hurt them...I stepped in and said, 'Hey we aren't looking for any trouble,'" says Ryan, "As I'm talking...one comes up and hits me in the face. I stand up and he also swings at my other friend and misses and I just look at him and say, 'Why?' There's no reason for this."

Ryan suffered bruises, chipped teeth and gash to his forehead, but says it was worth it to stand up for his friends. "I'm just not going to stand by and watch my friends and pretty much family get degraded its just not right," he added.

We applaud Ryan for defending his friends' rights to be who they are. Not everyone may support #gayrights, but we can all agree no one has the right to harm someone for what they believe in!

More to this story
http://goo.gl/54Tcq5" width="321" height="371" style="border:0px;display:block;margin:0px;height:371px;min-height:100%;position:relative;max-width:none;left:0px">

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An Omaha man told WOWT 6 News he is recovering Monday after being attacked in the Old Market Saturday night. Ryan Langenegger said he was punched after sticking up for his friends, who were being harassed for being gay.

Langenegger said he and his two friends, Josh Foo and Jacob Gellinger, were eating at Pepperjax Grill in the Old Market around 2 a.m. when the harassment began. Jacob was dressed in drag.

"We were eating and there was three guys watching us and one of them stepped up and was a foot or two away from my friend {Gellinger} and he just kept saying should I should I?" Langenegger explained.

Gellinger said eventually he told the men, "I know I'm a boy in a dress." Kellenegger said the men then told Gellinger, "Yeah, you're disgusting and more colorful language and insisted on using more derogatory remarks toward my two friends."

That's when the three friends decided to leave the restaurant, but according to Langenegger, the men followed them outside and eventually cut them off, preventing them from getting to their car and leaving.

"I stepped in and said, 'Hey we aren’t looking for any trouble,' and as I’m talking to him one of his friends from the corner of my eye comes up and hits me in the face. I stand up and he also swings at my other friend and misses and I just look at him and say, 'Why?' There's no reason for this."

The friends say they are upset because they were minding their own business and didn't do anything to provoke the fight.

Langenegger suffered bruising on the face, two chipped teeth, and a giant gash on his forehead. He says taking the punch was worth it to stick up for his friends.

"I see this happen all the time with my friends and it’s really sickening. It’s 2013, we live in Omaha, a lot of people don’t realize that this stuff is going on and it's just not right, and I'm just not going to stand by and watch my friends and pretty much family get degraded its just not right," he told WOWT 6 News.

Foo said, "What he did for standing up that meant so much to me." Gellinger also thanked Kellenegger, "He got in the way otherwise it would have been us."

The friends said they hope to get surveillance footage from the Pepperjax and the attackers credit card information that he likely used inside the restaurant to track him down. They hope charges will be pressed against them.

Trevor Simms didn't have long to live so he made it count.

Everybody matters! 

Trevor Sims of Baton Rouge died last week after a five year battle with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare #cancer that typically affects kids. Though sick, Trevor was determined to start a food drive to help combat hunger -- something he was all too well acquainted with: when he was first diagnosed, his mother was unable to buy food.

"We were starving for two or three days in a row," Trevor said. "She couldn't get a job because she had to take care of me. I don't want anyone to feel that way."

Trevor sought to gather money and food for the Baton Rouge Food Bank to help the #homeless and the#hungry. In response, the organization dedicated a week-long charity in his honor. During that time, they collected nearly 23,000 pounds of food and $34,000, enough to provide approximately 200,000 meals.

Trevor said people can make a difference by doing little things for people: "You can make a difference everyday just by helping someone who is getting bullied or helping someone cross the street." 

We'll never forget Trevor, or his simple, perfect message:Everyone Matters

http://goo.gl/QEMh10

Trevor sought to gather money and food for the Baton Rouge Food Bank to help the #homeless and the #hungry. In response, the organization dedicated a week-long charity in his honor. During that time, they collected nearly 23,000 pounds of food and $34,000, enough to provide approximately 200,000 meals.

Trevor said people can make a difference by doing little things for people: "You can make a difference everyday just by helping someone who is getting bullied or helping someone cross the street."

We'll never forget Trevor, or his simple, perfect message: Everyone Matters

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An Aspie's Journey on the Employment Rollercoaster By Ben: Guest Post from my Mentor Garry Burge

An Aspie's Journey on the Employment Rollercoaster By Ben: Guest Post from my Mentor Garry Burge: This week's post is my first guest post which is written by Garry Burge who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome 1998 by Dr Tony ...

He was innocent, and she believed him.

For the rest of his days, Anthony Graves will never forget Nicole Casarez. 

Graves was on death row in Texas, convicted of being an accomplice to the murder of a woman, her daughter and several of her grandchildren. Anthony swore he was not involved in the crime. The actual murderer, who had initially indicated Anthony had taken part, later recanted multiple times, including on the day of his execution.

Attorney -- and journalism professor -- Nicole Casarez believed Anthony and was determined to see him exonerated. She along with students fome her class at the University of St Thomas worked tirelessly to bring Anthony justice.

Finally in 2010, and after 18 years behind bars, Anthony Graves was a free man.

The story doesn't end there. Anthony was determined to repay Nicole for her dedication, but knew it had to be something special, "I wanted to repay Nicole but I knew she’d never accept money from me," Anthony says, "I thought about giving her an amazing trip somewhere, but I wanted to give her something that would live on."

Instead, Anthony established a college scholarship in Nicole's honor at the University of Texas Law School, which he presented to her at a dinner party.

Back in 2011, Nicole said Anthony's exoneration was proof that we should "never underestimate the power of dedicated people working for good."

Applause to Anthony for his tribute, and gratitude to Nicole and her students for remembering that Everyone Matters
http://goo.gl/rcFvKz

Instead, Anthony established a college scholarship in Nicole's honor at the University of Texas Law School, which he presented to her at a dinner party.

Back in 2011, Nicole said Anthony's exoneration was proof that we should "never underestimate the power of dedicated people working for good."

Applause to Anthony for his tribute, and gratitude to Nicole and her students for remembering that @[295429577163605:274:Everyone Matters]
http://goo.gl/rcFvKz" width="321" height="371" style="border:0px;display:block;margin:0px;height:371px;min-height:100%;position:relative;max-width:none;left:0px">

"Witches are people too!"

Tom here from Everyone Matters...

As Halloween approaches, let's talk about witches – since you're seeing a lot of them around. Most people only know about witches from TV and movies, the Halloween costumes and caricatures. Two networks are debuting shows about witches -- Lifetime's 'Witches of East End' and FX's "American Horror Story: Coven." 

I always find myself a little amused at the way Hollywood portrays witches: somewhere between sexed-up goth girls or hellfire-infused, robe wearing devil worshipers.

Because, as it happens -- and I am proud to say - I have several friends that are modern-day Witches, Wiccans and Pagans. They are regular people, with regular jobs who happen to practice a different religion than most would be used to -- although arguably their beliefs pre-date many others by a long, long time.

A few years ago, my wife and I were visiting family in Massachusetts, and we stopped in Salem to introduce our boys to some Witches. We went in one of the local stores and explained to the folks working there that we were looking to "break the stereotypes" associated with Witches. The ladies (yes some dressed in black, but some dressed quite conventionally) were all too happy to talk with our little guys, explaining (in terms a kid would understand) what their beliefs were. One young lady giggled and blushed when our one son said, "But, you're so pretty...aren't witches scary with pointy hats?"

So, you may not be aware that Witches, Wiccans or Pagans exist – and still may not believe in it, which is okay - but there are others that do, and who practice it as their form of spirituality.

At Everyone Matters, we believe that everyone has a right to follow their own form of spirituality and belief system (including not believing), as long as it allows others to believe what they believe, equally. 

FYI - Join us at Everyone Matters - where EVERYONE is allowed to BE who they are, and BELIEVE what they believe -(as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, and they don't FORCE anyone else to believe what they believe!)

FYI - if you're curious about what Wicca is, check out
http://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/wicca.htm

 — with Cindy Loss.

Bruce owns Food Truck Heaven, a business where he converts old bread trucks into food service vehicles.

Everyone matters! A while back we told you about Gary Pickering: formerly#homeless, Gary began constructing pod-like shelters to help people down on their luck escape the elements and regain a little dignity. Inspired by Gary's idea, Florida resident Bruce Hicks has created a similar shelter.

Bruce owns Food Truck Heaven, a business where he converts old bread trucks into food service vehicles. Bruce created a aluminum shelter that includes a portable toilet, a bed, storage and a place to cook outside. The total cost -- around $500.

"How can we not have compassion for somebody out on the street?" Bruce says, "What's better than eating, sleeping and washing yourself and feeling safe? When the door closes, they are able to sit there without the other [outside] pressures."

Bruce plans to take the pods to local shelters to see if they would be interested in investing in some.

Thank you Bruce for keeping dignity alive for those less fortunate. Everyone Mattershttps://www.facebook.com/everyonematters?ref=stream&directed_target_id=0

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Oyster’s subscription service will help our authors connect with a segment of the reading audience they’re not reaching anywhere else.  Oyster will also give authors yet another reason to steer clear of exclusivity and embrace full distribution with Smashwords." 

Werewolf symbol

  The Werewolf Symbol 

As described in book five, the history of the werewolf in the Aradian universe is as follows. The very first werewolf was a Roman Emperor named Romulus who  along with his twin brother Remus was suckled by a she-wolf. Supposedly, Romulus absorbed more of the wolf's essence than his brother. This gave him more of the instincts of a wolf and the abilities as well. Later on in the years, he became able to shape-shift from man to wolf. 

With reference to that, I have created the werewolf symbol. The double R's stand for the Romans which are the true ancestors of the Werewolf's. The wolf's paw...I think that speaks for itself. 

I have already run this by the Aradian fan group but I am still open to suggestions. 

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You Are Not A REAL Author! Quoted from a Airicka Phoneix blog

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"Now I’m not saying that’s the case with all indie authors. I’ve met authors who refuse to go the traditional route because they don’t agree with the way things are run by traditional houses. For others it’s because they’ve already done the traditional thing and want to try something new. Whatever the reason may be, everyone has one. Are any of these reasons wrong? Should these people feel ashamed that they’ve taken matters into their own hands?

Absolutely not!

Is self publishing as big as traditional publishing? Are indie authors taking away from big house publishing? Are indies somehow rising up to take over the world?"

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I now have 72 reviews on Amazon

  

New five star review! 

Thank you Nanette!! You Rock! 

5.0 out of 5 stars a great read!, July 12, 2013

By 

n.bradford - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 1 (Kindle Edition)

The Tale of Aradia was in my opinion a totally great read for all ages. I'm a huge fan of strong female characters and Aradia was strong in so many ways.

Aradia's story actually begins with a sad start. As a baby she loses her whole family but one last attempt to save her life brought her to her life as it is now. A human family found her in a cave and adopted her as their daughter. Aradia and her parents always knew she was different but it wasn't until they moved to Salem that she started to fit in.

Never having friends, for fear she might hurt them, Aradia was pretty much a loner, but on her first days of school she met Rhonda and felt truly at home with her and her new friends. As any new teen she was also attracted to pretty much every hot guy she saw which was weird in itself because the school had a really high amount of them around.

I loved how L.A. jones intertwined the world of the hidden with humans. There were Fae, werewolves, vampires, and shifters all together in her school but Aradia didn't know all of this yet. She had no knowledge of this Hidden World or what she was.

I especially liked Roy. He was sweet and totally the boy next door type. He has a little bit of a crush on Aradia so of course when Aradia started to make googlie eyes on Dax he was jealous as heck. Didn't help matters that Dax is a vampire.
Now Dax is completely opposite of Roy. he's the bad boy Aradia can't seem to get out of her head. Dax notices Aradia too but he's got a hidden agenda that might put a bit of a wrinkle in their relationship.

All in all I could not put this book down between the hot guys, watching Aradia learn about the Hidden's, and trying to solve a huge murder case I was on he edge of my seat. I recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery, paranormal reads, and a bit of jealousy. This book has all that and more.

Come and find out what Happens in the Tales of Aradia. Getting the next book right now. :)

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The Hidden Vampire symbol

 

To explain the vampire hidden symbol: 

Harrison R. Bradlow and I chose to use the alchemy air symbol 

"The Greeks proposed the existence of five basic elements. Of these, four were the physical elements – fire, air, water and earth – of which the entire world is composed. Alchemists eventually associated four triangular symbols to represent these elements.

The fifth element, which goes by a variety of names, is more rarefied than the four physical elements. Some simply call it Spirit. Others call it Aether or Quintessence (literally "fifth element" in Latin).

In traditional Western occult theory, the elements are hierarchical - spirit, fire, air, water and earth – with the first elements being more spiritual and perfect and the last elements being more material and base. Some modern systems, such as Wicca, view the elements as equal." 

What the alchemy symbol air represents in term of the vampire is their evolution from human (the bottom) to something more (the vampire.) 

The circle symbol represents the labyrinth, which in turn represent their long lives. 

Hidden symbols

 

A while back one of my favorite Aradians (a fan of the Tales of Aradia book series) Tracey Sadler suggested that perhaps all the hiddens have their own separate symbols. My editor, Harrison R. Bradlow, and I agreed that this was a good idea. Tracey also suggested that perhaps the Hiddens have their own unified symbol and I also thought this was a good idea but like Harry and Jennifer (another one of my favorite Aradians) mentioned the fact that they are hiddens means they stay hidden. A big unified symbol I think would give them away. However, I do think I will be able to work in that angle a bit later on in the series. No spoilers though because that just wouldn't be fair. 

But back to the symbols, as Devanie pointed out I must like the symbols I choose for the hidden races because after all this is my series. I believe that an author's true purpose is to entertain their readers and be able to recieve feedback from them. I want Aradia to be more than just a book series, I want it to be an opportunity to breach that gap between authors and readers. Self publishing although many people loathe it has caused a shift in the balance of power in the publishing world. Now the publishers must see their authors as more than just employees. They must see that their authors are their partners. The self publishing movement is what helped caused this. I want Aradia to be something similar. I want it to be the chance to bridge the gap between fans and authors, to give fans an opportunity to voice their own ideas and input. Give the people what they want I always say but for the love of God take the time to ask them what they want before you decide.

This is the process I used in choosing my symbols 

In my special fan group, I posted pictures that I created to represent the different types of people in the hidden race.

This symbol represents the vampires. Their color are reds, blues, and purples. 

This symbol represents the werewolves. Their colors are brown, black, and white.

This symbol represents the Fae. Their colors are pink, green, and yellow. 

More description on how these symbols came to be will follow tomorrow. 

 

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Autism activist Temple Grandin donates writings to Brock archive | What's On Thorold

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"Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American doctor of animal science andprofessor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, autistic activist, and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. She also created the "hug box", a device to calmautistic children. The subject of an award-winning biographical film, Temple Grandin, in 2010 she was listed in the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in the "Heroes" category.^[2]" 

7 Things I Do Not Want to See in Man of Steel

  As quoted from the amazing blog written by my incredible editor Harrison R. Bradlow

Here is a snippet

"Man of Steel, the upcoming Superman reboot film, is scheduled for release in 2012, with filming set to start sometime in the near future.  As a huge Superman fan, I'm very excited for this.  Why?  Well, part of it is that it will probably be really good.  Zack Snyder has proven himself as a gifted outside-the-box director, which is precisely what the franchise needs at this point.  Plus, anything with "Nolan" attached to it goes up a few notches in my book.

Another part of it though is that I love all things Superman, even the really awful things.  I'll go see the new film, enthusiastically, possibly more than once, no matter how terrible it is.  That's why I own the box set for the first four Superman movies.

I'd rather see a quality Superman film though than another terrible one.  We still haven't seen a great Superman movie, the kind that elevates the franchise from comic book movie to true film.  Superman 2 is probably the most enjoyable of them so far, and even it lays claim to more than one of the items on this list.  No, if we're going to see a truly great film, Batman Begins great, we'll need to depart substantially from what we've done in the past.  And so, without further ado, here are 7 things I do not want to see in the upcoming Man of Steel:" 

Read the whole article by clicking the following link:

http://www.harrisonbradlow.com/2/post/2011/06/7-things-i-do-not-want-to-see-in-man-of-steel.html

Self-publishing gains bigger share of book market

Self-publishing gains bigger share of book market

"Star Trek Into Darkness: Political Allegory on the Modern View of War"

A political commentary article quoted from my editor, Harrison R. Bradlow's, blog...

" The main message, stated rather bluntly by Kirk in the film's Aesop's Fables-like ending, is that when fighting monsters, it's important not to become one. That's a sentiment with which it is easy to agree, but somewhat more difficult to uphold. There is not much Nietzsche I hold dear, but that bit about monsters and the abyss holds truth."

Click here to read full article

what's cool is that Harrison also quotes and states this in the first book in the Tales of Aradia series. What he and I strive for her is much more than your typical superhero shtick. We want Aradia to be a political and social statement. Ironically, that is what science fiction is really about. It is expressing political and social opinions in a fictional setting or what-we-think-will-happen scenario if certain current events are allowed to unfold unchecked.
Mind you, many of the things that occur in the Aradia universe are not exactly current but some of the things I believe are still relevant to this day are expressed in these books. Things like women in power, the drug trade, bullying, victimization, and so on so forth.