tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2430992453317950712024-03-13T11:55:10.569-07:00Arwen JayneArwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-55374527574325284212022-05-02T20:09:00.002-07:002022-05-02T20:15:48.581-07:00Interview with Matt Schmidt from the Side Show Hustle podcast<p> I was delighted to be interviewed by Matt Schmidt from the Side Show Hustle podcast. Matt started his podcast channel only a couple of months ago but is proving to be a natural when it comes to his new craft. He's already interviewed quite a diverse and fascinating collection of side show hustlers. Matt managed to draw a fair bit out of me about why I started writing. The path of an indie author, like any author, is full of challenges and lots of learning. I hope the podcast launches a few more budding authors on their path to endless hours of rewarding fun, reflection and engagement with fans and the people, like Matt who support us in our journey. <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sideshowhustle.com%2F2022%2F05%2F02%2Farwen-jayne-indie-author-episode-6%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1wmn0hrhGFbL_21UHJOMUOvWsEfEya4cswj-tNiwVN1GyOADxNzglr-jE&h=AT1qUOGLQetDf6cAI7gptlDAGQUlvOp3qMBCgUUpdlnz9BZ-QQ2Wy2XJeBO0joeMACONMJuvUlTnAFzqPBv1RqPSmaHmFGiwngGiZq-ZxYIffkG7JF_x15kljm4As5FmXasg8VO6Xqi5ot1Rug&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3_Kev0BxvgKY28rnikhZi6ydNtRU35fX2AlW9MCX5SDb9NE3kQFj0OU31Nm21CAzspqR2Ul2J07g1iNzHLepm-RwaXQIN7tUFfcCHWigkqjWJUCdkKr5OwrqA9j53S0cyCZL06AR88BUslCS9KzwuWt1nCtp5mQPKmvnR-d5JJT9-ByQ" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; animation-name: none; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-property: none;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.sideshowhustle.com/.../arwen-jayne-indie.../</a></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh15FkgH4PXuEXR-0uNllMhjfi8C-kph6eS9Ek-dBoerlOKs8Ccs-pZS4fU-vIi1OakJB8-Q5BqDeFDlL4QyGetmgVLyhf8GaV9ERZ24Mp4QeKNI8sGR3Gsjdy68ZF_Ah3Hk_xfvi2UlUmQ-uYysI7Vshini-E7gMDp-9RkcW6U5SQRcFr7rioXwFVQjQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh15FkgH4PXuEXR-0uNllMhjfi8C-kph6eS9Ek-dBoerlOKs8Ccs-pZS4fU-vIi1OakJB8-Q5BqDeFDlL4QyGetmgVLyhf8GaV9ERZ24Mp4QeKNI8sGR3Gsjdy68ZF_Ah3Hk_xfvi2UlUmQ-uYysI7Vshini-E7gMDp-9RkcW6U5SQRcFr7rioXwFVQjQ" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-2142153762455177532022-02-16T20:56:00.002-08:002022-02-16T21:17:34.519-08:00Writing during the Co-vid Hiatus<p> Ah! That era that started in late 2019 and went way into 2022. Indeed as of February 2022 it's still ongoing. for me, and I expect many others, it's been an unusual time. It started with the death of my father in late November 2019 from ironically Influenza A and pneumonia. It was the start of a time for me where I questioned nearly everything I'd ever being interested in. What hobbies and interests had I pursued because they were dad's interests? Then came the realization, followed quickly by acceptance, that, though I was fascinated by science I had very little aptitude for it. I'd gone as far as teaching myself Calculus and doing online moocs in that, while I was writing Ideally Imperfect. I love maths, science and engineering but to push any further than calculus was going to take a lot of bloodymindedness. Something had to give. We only have so many years on this planet, or so it seems. What did I want to do with the time I have? Writing - tick. Flute - tick? Gardening - I could ease back on, get rid of the pot plants for one thing. Languages - well I still have an addiction there which is currently pursuing Irish for no earthly reason other than it's my equivalent of doing sudoku - something to use all available brain cells when I want a rest from thinking about other things. Genealogy? - well there's nothing but brick walls left in my chart. There comes a time when you realize there really weren't many records for ordinary people before the 1570s - Good old Henry the Eighth saw to that. Astrology? - well I've come to realize you can spend endless hours on that but all I really need to know these days are the general energies affecting the planet and how they might affect my innate quirks. </p><p>So after all that soul searching and refinding myself have I written anything of late. Yes:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiM5W-TXEIaxAcWh0ZPSA0QwqUQAs79nR6Vr-WksrCeq7DzkwD42m5rBeLBOBpknwAm8HCDZKC8pecav06eDjQqxxnWrjtBcs3_h9MIG0MigrXFFL7g5tnagdQk7vLSKb0k_y7FEq1gAR9_Fe7O6RL4IE6---Mi7_htj0Vkiyioeu-bnUneDMkr_32Xnw=s2400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiM5W-TXEIaxAcWh0ZPSA0QwqUQAs79nR6Vr-WksrCeq7DzkwD42m5rBeLBOBpknwAm8HCDZKC8pecav06eDjQqxxnWrjtBcs3_h9MIG0MigrXFFL7g5tnagdQk7vLSKb0k_y7FEq1gAR9_Fe7O6RL4IE6---Mi7_htj0Vkiyioeu-bnUneDMkr_32Xnw=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: -7pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh No You Don’t!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Thallon's surprised and delighted when his off-planet conversation is hacked by a human. But will she agree to go out with him? Terri's workplace supervisor's just found out you don't mess with her but will he get his revenge? Dan's having to deal with hostile competitors who want his system, but to what purpose? A lot could go wrong but no-one's on their own as friends unite to deal with everything that's coming their way.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: -7pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: -7pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH9WL-02cBj5901BmQ2lsvsNmNV-vI8e_8jqFp1C9Voj03W9tzs8cQn7dUiCu5ma33OQ-hukiuxPvE9_LZ5PIQmxh6I6RXdPZJUp-x2EXnUHOI2T3Gjw_kqz2zHWO_2PQTwyMDOV6SaC3AXgXT0CNElszrIP8msT-z8rgMkqfdBDUFNiSZqqLJxFWBoA=s2400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH9WL-02cBj5901BmQ2lsvsNmNV-vI8e_8jqFp1C9Voj03W9tzs8cQn7dUiCu5ma33OQ-hukiuxPvE9_LZ5PIQmxh6I6RXdPZJUp-x2EXnUHOI2T3Gjw_kqz2zHWO_2PQTwyMDOV6SaC3AXgXT0CNElszrIP8msT-z8rgMkqfdBDUFNiSZqqLJxFWBoA=s320" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-782ed1db-7fff-83a9-d6cb-ebc21dab036f"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Transformation Solution</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Mars’s core is still rumbling with earthquakes but the planet’s facilitator Naira has more than that on her plate of worries. What to do with the old guard of Lyreans who still sleep in stasis in the bowels of the city, one of them her own father? Octopuses have colonised the Martian ocean but no-one except Emily knows much about them. And then there’s the dealing with the disharmony in the galaxy that is being broadcast from a source close to the galaxy’s centre.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then there was a little short story while I worked out the "Where to from here?"</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3c1aedf2sUkMU8wnUvJINSbrdFFrgDBc_rz1hBvCAI3qpQ2hK8MBgo1MnByukL1G-ltnWqM8PDfTQ7CW3aoGSlui41Rf8ngQ4zxFalrutIlv_FohjKqbZtRvjjEiDweb3gIbnG2P-uFzTTJXPbKEW7wltCeWARRN1INB6yiCPk400Ff-xQlniFO2pHg=s2400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3c1aedf2sUkMU8wnUvJINSbrdFFrgDBc_rz1hBvCAI3qpQ2hK8MBgo1MnByukL1G-ltnWqM8PDfTQ7CW3aoGSlui41Rf8ngQ4zxFalrutIlv_FohjKqbZtRvjjEiDweb3gIbnG2P-uFzTTJXPbKEW7wltCeWARRN1INB6yiCPk400Ff-xQlniFO2pHg=s320" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: -7pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"><b><span id="docs-internal-guid-dc69cba2-7fff-2cda-c9f4-29c27059827f"></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: -7pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Finding Eden</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (a prequel to In the Unknown Everything Awaits) - Work comes in bits and pieces for remote viewer and psychic private detective Rachael Bashandi. When the local Protectors ring asking for help with a case she leaps at the chance. But not everyone in the Protectors Office approves of magick users. Fighting prejudice and her nebulous relationship with the Protectors she sets out to find one Eden Esme James who's disappeared without a trace.</span></span></p>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-66473396933907392382019-09-18T16:00:00.004-07:002019-09-18T16:00:39.119-07:00The writer in us all"Loving myself as I am" can be transformational in not only how we view ourselves but also the wider cosmos. At the level of the ego self it means letting go of all falsity, the layers we cover ourselves with to present ourselves in the way we choose to our peers and loved ones. It is saying this is who I am in this moment, eccentricities, quirks, issues and all - I accept myself as I am. I no longer need to give my power to others by requiring them to give me attention. I am myself's own source of love and acceptance. The world can no longer pull me with puppet strings made of carrots and sticks. I call back my power. I am whole. Where I am on the path right now is where I am. I act from a space that is centered in this moment, a space filled with loving acceptance. That space fills me and surrounds me. It is my comfort and my safety. My home, my lover. Then the inner eye opens and "Loving myself as I am" becomes the whole world, indeed the cosmos and beyond. All that resides within it, ever existed, ever will exist or indeed may never choose to take form. It is all 'me'. The fact is I wanted to try every conceivable way to exist. My insatiable curiosity imagined an Iceland and a Hawaii. I imagined life roaming the desert of the Kalahari and the shop rows of New York. I imagined religious devotion and secular logic. Piety and hedonism. Mystics and playboys. Jewellers and miners. Eight legged beings, green skinned aliens, killer whales and territorial humans. I imagined romance, lives filled with thrill, who done its and flights of fantasy. I am a writer. I am the refraction and reflection of the light of the cosmos. You are too.Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-49783734005841393162019-06-01T20:30:00.002-07:002022-02-16T20:35:57.311-08:00Ideally Imperfect - a heroine in need of love, acceptance and redemption<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1763f8e2-7fff-ca45-1867-8b02d9a6be16" style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="display: inline; line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ideally Imperfect</span></h2>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alys, who renames herself Gratia early in this book, suffers from defensiveness. It's destroyed her marriage and lost her relationships with her father and friends. Not liking her life she determines to turn her it around, one piece at a time, to create a new reality.</span>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the third in the series "The Martian Vampire Chronicles", and a continuation of the world created in "Lefthand Adventures." Favorite characters will appear, including faeries, delphines, the Shang, the Lemurians, The Malakim and immortals of Boswell and Mars and of course the baddies, the Din, led by Sakla. However I hope I've included enough backstory along the way that the book can be read on its own.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wanted this story to be about reality creation and self acceptance. For Gratia that means coming to terms with the loss of her mother, early in life, finding a way to balance her hormones and her defensiveness, recognizing her potential, her true interests and her capacity to love beyond the bounds of what she was raised to consider as acceptable.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a story of an individual finding peace with who they are and making the most of it. About blossoming into a life unknown and unexpected.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those who have read the first book of the series, "An open connection of the heart", will recognize the main character as someone who had life changing impact on Callan. When his wife refuses counselling he determines to do it himself, learning how to manage her as best he can, to defuse situations that might make her explode in anger. To avoid the triggers. But his counsellor, Leigha, warns him that it won't make the problem go away. And she was right. Having done all he could Callan ends his marriage and ends up living in a caravan, living on two minute noodle, until... well that was book of the series.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So why did I rework Alys into this story. Purely and simply a writer's compassion for one of her characters. I couldn't leave her as she was. There had to be a more positive future for her.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So if you read Book 1 I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive Alys and enjoy, as I have, her journey into becoming Gratia, short for gratitude.</span></div></span><span style="color: #202124; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can find the book at all good online vendors, eg:</span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smashwords:</span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/941906" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #202124; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/941906</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon: </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ideally-Imperfect-Martian-Vampire-Chronicals-ebook/dp/B07SG8W95N" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.amazon.com/Ideally-Imperfect-Martian-Vampire-Chronicals-ebook/dp/B07SG8W95N</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google Play: </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Arwen_Jayne_Ideally_Imperfect?id=EtaaDwAAQBAJ&hl=en" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Arwen_Jayne_Ideally_Imperfect?id=EtaaDwAAQBAJ&hl=en</span></a></div>
</li>
</ul>
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Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-59609714857193046532019-05-27T18:06:00.001-07:002019-05-27T18:06:27.924-07:00Almond Strawberry Pikelets<h2>
Almond Strawberry Pikelets</h2>
<img src="https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/03/43/89/240_F_3438959_m4xbGZNATlQEWpzewbuZrATlR5kXqV.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>3-4 frozen strawberries, defrosted and mashed</li>
<li>three heaped tablespoons of lentil flour</li>
<li>two heaped tablespoons of almond meal</li>
<li>1 heaped tablespoon of psyllium husk</li>
<li>1 teaspoon olive oil</li>
<li>a little water</li>
</ul>
<div>
Mix all together and add water to a firm batter. Put spoonfulls of batter in a flat non stick frypan and cook until golden. Enjoy.</div>
Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-36591808785508489332018-04-01T21:29:00.001-07:002018-04-01T21:29:41.349-07:00Hazelnut pumpkin pie - vegan, gluten free, sugar-less<br />
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<br />
First the crust<br />
<br />
The crust part of this recipe was originally sourced from <a href="http://fromthegroundupwellness.com/recipes/savory-vegan-pumpkin-pie-with-almond-meal-crust">http://fromthegroundupwellness.com/recipes/savory-vegan-pumpkin-pie-with-almond-meal-crust</a><br />
<br />
Grease a flan tray or pie tin and then line with grease-proof baking paper. The oil helps to hold the paper in place. Trim any excess paper.<br />
<br />
Preheat your oven to 180C/350F<br />
<br />
You will need:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>a cup and a half of almond meal</li>
<li>a pinch of Himalayan salt. (don't use sea salt cause there's too many microplastics floating around in our oceans these days)</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon of baking soda</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon</li>
<li>3 tablespoons coconut oil (in my climate I need to heat this to make it liquid)</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of water. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Mix into a dough then place in the flan tray and press it with a spoon, spreading it out and up the sides. If it sticks to the spoon sprinkle a little rice flour over the mixture.<br />
<br />
Bake for 10 minutes then set to one side. While it's been cooking you might have ground some hazelnuts and pre-cooked your pumpkin.<br />
<br />
Now for the mixture<br />
<br />
Preheat, if you haven't already, your oven to 180C/350F<br />
<br />
You will need:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>2 generous cups of cooked pumpkin - I used Japanese pumpkin on my first attempt but butternut or just about any other pumpkin should work well, even golden nugget squash.</li>
<li>1/2-3/4 cup of hazelnut. 3/4 is better but it takes time for me to grind this in my coffee grinder. You can also purchase pre-ground hazelnut meal but since I grow my own hazelnuts I thought I'd better use them. They're sweeter, juicier and better tasting fresh.</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice</li>
<li>1 tablespoon of tapioca or arrowroot flour as a binding agent.</li>
<li>1&1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. I don't add any nutmeg as it is an irritant that causes digestive problems for those susceptible to it.</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon of allspice</li>
<li>a grind or two of Himalayan salt.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Mash together then place in you pre-prepared pie crust. Spread to the edges<br />
<br />
Bake for 20 minutes<br />
<br />
So tasty it disappears in minutes so if you are serving more than two people you might want to double the quantities.Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-26026468322859682982018-03-26T20:42:00.001-07:002018-03-26T20:42:59.945-07:00Sprouted quinoa, toasted pine nuts, shredded nori, rice and carrot sushi and patties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zsEl_9iYkq8/Wrm9DOYFX9I/AAAAAAAADos/Uih1mOn4b3AgHKOp9dNLXMsYmbFq8SSJwCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC02833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zsEl_9iYkq8/Wrm9DOYFX9I/AAAAAAAADos/Uih1mOn4b3AgHKOp9dNLXMsYmbFq8SSJwCLcBGAs/s320/DSC02833.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
My friend Robyn, who's a great amateur chef and amazes me what she produces in her small but compact kitchen, turned up the other day with some treats for me. I quizzed her on the ingredients then had to have a go myself:<br />
<br />
The mix for the sushi and the patties is basically the same.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Sprout one cup of quinoa</li>
<li>Cook one cup of rice</li>
<li>Cook half a carrot and mash it.</li>
<li>Toast about 1/3 cup of pine nuts in the fry pan until browned</li>
<li>Shred or finely cut up one sheet of nori</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Mix together and use the mixture as filling for sushi rolls<br />
<br />
To make the patties add two tablespoons of psyllium seed as an egg replacement. Add about a dessertspoon of turmeric for color and flavor. Pan fry until brown<br />
<br />
I use a non stick fry pan for toasting the pine nuts and browning the patties so no oil needed.<br />
<br />
Serve the sushi chilled, the patties warmed. Both are quite sweet tasting.<br />
<br />
Robyn's original mix used cooked pumpkin instead of the carrot but I didn't have any so I substituted.Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-2735599405003449982018-01-02T20:52:00.001-08:002018-01-02T20:53:14.752-08:00Chickpea Tofu and Vegan Frittata<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Chickpea Tofu and Vegan Frittata . Last winter while camping at Yowah a nice lady named Dawn gave me a recipe for chickpea tofu. I got around to making my first batch last week. Then brainstorming with my friend Robyn we wondered if you could use it to make a vegan frittata. Yes you can and its delicious. Here's what you do. For the frittata bit pre prepare some vegetables by stir frying about two cups of your favourite veggies. Zucchini, ginger, mizuna with coriander, cumin,</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> asafoetida, tumeric and a little pepper works well. Once cooked place on the bottom of a flan dish and set to one side. Next you will need one cup of chickpea flour and three cups of water. First place the flour and half the water in a large cooking pot. Mix until a smooth consistency. Then add the rest of the water. Stir well. Now bring the mixture to a boil and turn down to simmer, stirring all the while. You can't walk away from this, you must keep stirring if you want to avoid lumps. The mixture should take between five to eight minutes to thicken to a consistency that looks like one of those bubbling mud lakes you see around Rotarua in New Zealand. Even makes the same plop plop sound. Once it has thickened remove from the heat and immediately pour into the pre prepared flan tray. Smooth the top and let it cool then refrigerate until fully set. Slice and pan fry to rewarm as needed.</span>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-44671378942743389412018-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:002018-01-02T20:49:50.638-08:00We are all just pixels of light - an introduction to "An open connection of the heart"<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I set out to introduce in my latest novel "An Open Connection of the Heart" was the idea that an unbounded connection with each other and the cosmos is more important than our day to day attachments. One of the main characters, Russell, must come to grips with the fact that he is no longer truly physical. Once he comes to terms with it he realizes that he is no longer constrained by the normal boundaries we perceive. Towards the end of the book he explains to Sam, as much as he's managed to work out: <span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 18pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 18pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 18pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “I am pixels of light. I’m only solid if I wear this,” he indicated the pendant, “and put my mind into it. My body only exists as a projection of my mind. My body exists within me. Not me within my body.”</span></span><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-12ee28df-ba54-54bd-c7e0-4346ac2b9dca"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam nodded. “It’s quite the opposite of what most people think, but go on.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“You are pixels of light too. It’s just you believe in your solidity as THE reality.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam thought back to how she had pulled Naira out of the stasis pod, using the firm belief that the pod did not exist and that Naira was made of light. “Everything is that, isn’t it? Particles of light in the visible light spectrum which our brain processes as solid with boundaries defining body, self and other.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“That’s what I’ve been mulling over as I adjust to what I am now, but I think you’ve described it better.”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“So if everything is really particles vibrating at a certain frequency, with no particular boundaries defining separate people or things what makes you you and me me?”</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I haven’t worked that out yet but I’m starting to think those people you’re talking about are our own fictions, characters in a story we’re dreaming into existence.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book is much more than a spotlight on my usual non-dual philosophy. It's also an adventure. One with aliens, androids, human scientists and a sentient slime mold. All of them must work together if they are to make a new life for themselves on the surface of a planet that, until now, appeared dead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Available now at all good online vendors.</span></span></div>
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</span>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-88567816675362810872017-04-15T18:13:00.002-07:002017-04-15T18:13:28.371-07:00Rewriting the Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QpL3fMLKW4Q/WPK_Nl3uAfI/AAAAAAAABRw/gzxjPbyZwN4dsTrW1JYW8Q3OvTukWzY7gCLcB/s1600/Aurora%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QpL3fMLKW4Q/WPK_Nl3uAfI/AAAAAAAABRw/gzxjPbyZwN4dsTrW1JYW8Q3OvTukWzY7gCLcB/s320/Aurora%2B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Writing the end to a long running series like Left Hand Adventures was a lot harder than writing the others. So many loose ends and story arcs to tie in. Continuity was my biggest issue. Remembering everything that had gone on before. In the middle of it all we bought a new caravan and spent winter avoiding the massive rainfalls affecting the East coast of Australia at the time. It was a good time to muse though. I realized early on in the book that it wasn't going to let itself be rushed. It was waiting for me to grow just a little bit more. Finally the end of the book came to me. The crux of it would be that we have all got imperfect pasts that we need to forgive and heal to move on to a brighter future.<br />
<br />
The biggest karma of them all, for the story at least, was Atlantis. That massive blunder that I theorized still held back the planet. It was great fun tying together all the old myths of Atlantis and Camelot with the upheaval than might ensue from an oncoming solar grand minimum and magnetic flip. No conspiracy theory or even science is safe when I'm writing.<br />
<br />
Of course, along the way, I had to throw in the usual polyamorous, metaphysical, paranormal mayhem with all the usual array of sentient species helping to save the planet, or getting in the way.<br />
<br />
My friend Sue Wragge kindly gave me permission to use the spectacular photo of a southern aurora which I adapted for the cover.<br />
<br />
You can find the book at all good online vendors:<br />
<b>Amazon:</b> https://www.amazon.com/Rewriting-Dream-Left-hand-Adventures-ebook/dp/B06XBF9SG3/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8<br />
<b>Google Play Books:</b> https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Rewriting_the_Dream.html?id=mWM2DgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y<br />
<b>iBooks:</b> https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/rewriting-the-dream/id1211802320?mt=11<br />
<b>Barnes and Noble:</b> http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rewriting-the-dream-arwen-jayne/1125896640;jsessionid=8E40C61F386A5ACB6B6415EEAB6A76B0.prodny_store02-atgap07?ean=2940154038857<br />
<br />
or download a copy directly from <b>Smashwords</b><br />
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/706708Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-46868935062042761802016-06-22T19:33:00.001-07:002016-06-22T19:33:01.745-07:00My Inner Alien<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
I've enjoyed writing all my books but I am especially fond of the couple who take center stage in this story. Having worked in the television industry myself Phoenix seemed very real as a character. Passionate about her career, bull at a gate, rushing headlong into wherever her gut instincts led her. Even the Ducati was special. In my twenties I had a poster of one hanging on my wall. When I met my mate he had a moto guzzi and later a Laverda motocycle and I had a modest but much loved 250 Kawasaki LTD so I soon forgot all about Ducatis until I asked myself what sort of transportation would Phoenix ride. A motorbike fitted nicely with her fearless have a go disposition. Then there was her back story to invent. Why did she have problems feeling her emotions? The father and his dislike of overemotional females just seemed to mesh. But the father was by no means the nasty sod that Muire's was so I decided to redeem him later on.<br />
<br />
Trian. Well I'd read a little about Arcturians, mostly what others have channeled. A three foot alien didn't seem to suit but I thought he could be relatively short in the Lemurian world, compared to Phoenix's previous incarnation. That Trian was someone who was able to freely cross the barrier between form and light gave me quite a bit of scope for a different kind of sexual encounter.<br />
<br />
The science of how much matter is in our atoms, bioprinting and the collapsing magnetic field of the earth I tried to keep plausible, mostly. A little bit got into the realms of fancy. Maybe a lot. But it was fun. I'm not ashamed to say I like what I would call fun sci-fi. The likes of the TV series Eureka.<br />
<br />
The metaphysics is the serious stuff that I always try to weave through my novels. The novels were birthed from an experience of non-dual consciousness that I had back in 2012. Since then I've followed a path that could bring the insights from that experience into my day to day world. I've had a lot of growing to do and still do. What I've learnt along the way has given life to Boswell's generally culture. The rest of that culture comes from small Australian bush town ethics, people helping each other, not for gain but because we are all isolated from the city.<br />
<br />
The final book of this series, yet to be named, is already starting to take life, in my mind at least, will bring all the events and story threads that have been weaving through this series to their culmination. I look forward to it being as much fun to write as this one.<br />
<br />
My Inner Alien is out now on <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/644273">Smashwords</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/my-inner-alien/id1125931648?mt=11">iBook</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-Inner-Alien-Lefthand-Adventures-ebook/dp/B01H8LKAR6?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Arwen_Jayne_My_Inner_Alien?id=z0tsDAAAQBAJ">Google Play</a> and other online vendors. Available in ebook and paperbackArwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-82712665695788851052015-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:002015-11-06T21:35:28.027-08:00The Vampire President and The HeadmistressWhen I set out to write this story I only intended a short story, similar to the Guardians of the Rasselas. I soon realized I was going to have a LOT of fun writing this very different vampire story. Take a species of alien, driven from their own galaxy by a relentless enemy, a Martian apocalypse that led to them eventually seeking refuge on earth and one recently made immortal headmistress who's been cajoled into being Boswell's ambassador to them and you have just the start of the plot.<br />
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Since I was finally starting to get deeply into dream yoga as I wrote this my imagination took flight. Which you'll see if you read the story. Along the way there were plenty of opportunities to entwine other metaphysics as well as myths and legends into the plot.<br />
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There's probably room for a later tale set on Mars but that's for later on.<br />
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You can find the paperback on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-President-Headmistress-Lefthand-Adventures/dp/1518648746/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1446873274&sr=8-2&keywords=arwen+jayne">Amazon</a>, Bookdepository and other online vendors:<br />
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The ebook is widely available.<br />
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Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-33931656696703180972015-07-25T18:44:00.003-07:002015-07-25T18:44:37.881-07:00Don't label me!I am thrilled to be finally releasing this story which is out now on kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012IVHGHI , Smashwords and Google play. Other vendor sites to follow. There will be a paperback version. I chose a waterlily, from my own garden, for the cover as it symbolises rising above the mud that life sometimes mires us in. Sathi, Hideo and George all have lives that in one way or the other have been uprooted by events outside their control. Against the odds they find their destinies on the other side of the planet.<br />
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This is their story. The book, number five iin the series, also continues the story of Boswell, its paranormal and kinky inhabitants and their ongoing struggle to free the planet from enslavement by their arch enemy the Din.<br />
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I especially enjoyed writing the little side plot of Ang and the Delphine emissary.Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-42364600062527302982015-03-10T22:15:00.001-07:002015-03-10T22:15:17.202-07:00Guardians of the Rasselas: an off the grid sci-fi fantasy romance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2eFaaakeWvQ/VP_OHAM1dmI/AAAAAAAAASI/uxKhyW8WvLU/s1600/cover%2Bwith%2Btext%2Bsmaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2eFaaakeWvQ/VP_OHAM1dmI/AAAAAAAAASI/uxKhyW8WvLU/s1600/cover%2Bwith%2Btext%2Bsmaller.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
A pre-Christmas visit to one of our favorite fishing spots caused a bit of a shock when we realized the water level had dropped significantly since we had visited it two years earlier. Where we'd previously launched the boat was now bare gravel. The last figure I saw recently said the lake was down 38 metres. Last year this wilderness area only got about 2/3 of its normal rainfall. Of course, like everything in my life it got my imagination going. A novella demanded to be written before I could continue on with writing my fifth novel. So here it is: "Guardian's of the Rasselas".<br />
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In a world run by those driven by greed a few brave souls still work on
the side of the planet and its inhabitants. Long ago Eleni's family were
entrusted with the guardianship of the knowledge and sworn to keep it
secret. Unbeknownst to the rest of the family Eleni's brother Yiannos
has inherited the role from his psychic grandmother. But all is not well
in their small family. Eleni opts to avoid the dubious pleasure of
Christmas with the family by camping out at her favorite lake only to be
faced with a shocking discovery. Having dropped his retail addicted
wife and cousins at the airport, to do even more shopping, Eleni's
father JJ realizes the time has come to make a life changing decision.
Eleni's discoveries at the lake will change all their lives. And while
Eleni and JJ might not be the guardian it is their affinity with stone
that will reawaken more than just a parched landscape.
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<br />Guardians of the Rasselas is a novella set loosely within the world
of the Left Hand Adventures series but it can be read independently. It
contains adult references, diverse sexual relationships and some
Australian slang.<br />
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Available in paperback or ebook: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guardians-Rasselas-Left-Adventures-Novella-ebook/dp/B00UI0XCIY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426048760&sr=1-2">Amazon</a>, Google Play (shortly), <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/526560">Smashwords</a> and other vendors as it is distributed. Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-42184009404240988742015-03-10T01:07:00.000-07:002015-03-10T01:07:00.648-07:00A Short Introduction to the Sattvic Diet: A diet for the mind, body and soul. A way of life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Short-Introduction-Sattvic-Diet-soul-ebook/dp/B00TM8R8K6/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Short-Introduction-Sattvic-Diet-soul-ebook/dp/B00TM8R8K6/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SMQw6XhlY6k/VP6lfbXifEI/AAAAAAAAAR0/quWy9BanStQ/s1600/Sattvic_cover2.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></div>
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When I initially conceived of this booklet I was thinking more about the recipes for some of the vegan dishes mentioned in my series of novels Left Hand Adventures. First up I was going to call it Simon's Cookbook after one of the main characters in the series. I soon realized once I started writing it that it had potentially a much wider audience. Being vegetarian by choice and variously allergic or food intolerant to gluten, mushrooms, most dairy and a range of preservatives, colorings and other nasties I've had to develop my own recipes over the years. Mostly because no one cookbook seemed to address all my needs.<br />
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Having had to manage myself, even while tripping around New Zealand, Japan and some remote parts of outback Australia, I've acquired a keen interest in finding what I can safely eat when away from home. <br />
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More recently, delving into genetics by getting my 23andme test done gave me a springboard for learning about myself from another point of view. Along the way I learnt about obscure things like the methylation cycle and how some genes regulate it, or don't if you have an unfavorable mutation or two.<br />
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Mix all that with a life long interest in yoga and relaxation as a path to well being and a happy mind and you have what I've summarised in this book. I'm hoping it will be of use to others like myself as well as those wanting to pursue the ancient Sattvic diet which probably not coincidentally most of what works for me fits within. In some ways I could kick myself for not following this regime sooner but then maybe my learning path was meant to be. I've tried as much as possible to keep any yoga dogma to a minimum and provide references for those wanting to research further.<br />
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You can find the booklet on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Short-Introduction-Sattvic-Diet-soul-ebook/dp/B00TM8R8K6/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Kindle</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Arwen_Jayne_A_Short_Introduction_to_the_Sattvic_Di?id=tyqoBgAAQBAJ">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/518293">Smashwords</a> and for those who want a paperback version these one of those available too, at as close to production cost as I could make it. <br />
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If you have a recipe you think should be included in a future addition please let me know.<br />
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<br />Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-1551084510854363912015-01-10T21:00:00.001-08:002015-01-10T21:00:46.892-08:00Don't call me kitten - cover and publishing details<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lM39LsEMtno/VLH-1xEKhnI/AAAAAAAAAQw/WbKDViegQM4/s1600/DSC00237%2Bedit%2Bmaster%2Btext.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lM39LsEMtno/VLH-1xEKhnI/AAAAAAAAAQw/WbKDViegQM4/s1600/DSC00237%2Bedit%2Bmaster%2Btext.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></a></div>
<span class="userContent">After the trials and tribulations of 2014
things seem to be coming together in 2015. My partner finally got his
old bike ready enough to get it on a trailer and get it to where we
wanted to do the photo shoot for the cover of Don't call me <span class="text_exposed_show">kitten.
Since we are going to sell our beloved bike soon we wanted to
immortalize it for old times sake and what nicer way than on the cover
of one of my books. We waited for the right evening lighting and then
propped me up on a brick to give me the same height as Helena. Of course
Helena is blonde and I haven't quite got her build so it was a lot of
work to hide hair and features that didn't suit the character. A small
build Celtic-Australian just doesn't come off as a tall big build
Russian blonde bombshell. Being an indie author on a non-existent budget
you make do. I hope you like the cover. Baring any hiccups the book should be up on most major vendor sites by tomorrow, if not
sooner. If you can't wait you'll find it on Smashwords in the meantime. The Google version will have to wait a couple of days until I
can access a different PC or faster WiFi as this one doesn't seem to want to talk to
the Google book publishing site. It might be just throwing a tizzy
because I was using the Firefox browser for the job. Firefox seems to be a little less problematic on the wireless internet we have here. Hoping to get connected to a high speed service within the month, if they can get around to deciding that our address really does exist. At the moment we exist on some databases but not on others. Pretty normal really for the rural back blocks of Australia.</span></span><br />
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<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Here's the book's info. I had to limit it or I would have included spoilers:</span></span><br />
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<i>Zex is a diplomat who specializes in
delicate war zone negotiations. He is pulled out of his current
assignment to be part of an emergency response team heading out to
deal with a new foe. In Moscow Helena is in debt to the Russian
Mafia and shadowed by a condor that's not really there. She must
forge a life for herself and her sister, trying to make the best of
bad lot. Deep in the jungles of South America a small town faces
being wiped off the map. I can't tell you much more than that or I'd
spoil the story. However, I can say this is book 4 of the Left hand
adventures series and includes many of the characters from the
previous books. The question is how long will Sakla tolerate the
town's existence and the danger its inhabitants pose to his global
corporate empire.</i></div>
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Don't forget your feedback on ratings site is invaluable so please consider leaving some wherever you source the book or on Good Reads, Shelfari or Library Thing.</div>
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In other news Book 5 is progressing but a visit to one of our favorite lakes just before Christmas truly shocked us. There was still a lake to be sure but the drop in the lake level was truly mind blowing. It's triggered an idea for a novella I've got side-tracked into writing.</div>
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<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"> I think this is where a new heroine Eleni will find the crystallized remains of the rest of Thex's team. Those who were hacked (to death?) at the start of it all. Until now they were at the bottom of the lake, concealed from all. I always did wonder how I was going to deal with them. They were a little bit of a loose end - a loose end whose story deserves to be told.</span></span>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-21617479502584480112014-09-02T17:36:00.001-07:002014-09-02T17:36:50.174-07:00Book Four: "Don't call me kitten!" update and general newsI finished "Don't call me kitten!" a little while ago. My highly valued test readers and editors have given it their thumbs up. So what am I waiting on? Well there is a move afoot to immortalise my beloved partner's Laverda Jota on the front cover. The main character of this book, Helena, needed a bike. At first I thought her bike was going to be a Vincent Black Shadow on a Norton Featherbed frame but as there are not a lot of those around where I live and I needed a unique copyright free photo I was in a bit of a quandry. It was then my partner suggested the Laverda. The very original full racing version is bright orange and goes so fast that if you are a pillion passenger on the back it damn near pins your ears back. Being race worthy it is rather temperamental. It needs a full charge in its battery, the right ocatane fuel and the right spark plugs for the conditions you want to ride it in. It has been our pride and joy for many years but it is a younger person's bike and it is in need of restoration. Before we part with it we want to put it on the cover of book 4. To do that my partner needs to get it road worthy, as well a presentable for sale. Then we'll find a nice location for the photo shoot.<br />
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In the meantime I've had a rare form of shingles back in May. Throughout the Australian winter we've been immersed in house building as we extend our small log cabin retirement home to include a deck, a new main bedroom, bathroom (with bath - yay!) and lounge room. In the middle of all that my two day a week paying job is going through restructuring and cutbacks. My intuition is telling me its time to pull out my resume, do a new business card and go hunting some casual work to tide me over until I'm legally entitled to draw on my superannuation. It's a balancing act between working enough to pay the bills and having enough time to write, garden and meditate.<br />
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Book five is in progress and I've given it a working title of "Don't label me." This will be mainly Hideo and Sathi's story but as usual there will be plenty of sub plots building on the lives of those in Boswell. I'm still fleshing out the plot for it but it is starting to come together.<br />
<br />
And...I've decided Simon needs a cookbook which a certain unscrupulous journalist will copy. This will include many of the recipes that have been mentioned in the novels plus others. I'm putting it together as much for my own reference as well as those interested in the ancient Sattvic diet and its principles. I'm particularly interested in adapting the diet to the colder and more temperate climates. The original was designed for the tropics. I thought it would be better if the bulk of the ingredients used could be grown in Boswell.Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-23047699669638696302014-09-02T16:59:00.001-07:002014-09-02T16:59:51.693-07:00An infinitiy of space - a meditation<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /> <div style='background-color:transparent;' data-iframestyle='background-color:transparent; display:block; box-shadow:0 0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15); min-width:320px; max-width:700px;' data-boourl='http://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation/embed/v2?eid=AQAAAPdZBlRxSiUA' class='ab-player'><a href='http://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation'>listen to ‘An infinitiy of space - a meditation’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type='text/javascript'>(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/cdn/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /> </div><br /> Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-27089675074441187962014-03-04T21:08:00.002-08:002014-09-02T17:04:38.209-07:00"Infinity of Space" meditation now on both myPlick and AudiobooSince Slideshare closed down its Slidecast service (that allowed you to sync audio with a presentation). I first moved the whole of the "Infinity of Space" meditation to myPlick and now the audio only, as an mp3 file, to Audioboo <a href="https://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation">https://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation</a>. The myplick version is just a straight overlay of sound over the pdf I downloaded from Slideshare. I haven't fiddled yet to see if you can control where slides change but on this one it doesn't really matter as it is really one to do with your eyes closed anyway.<br />
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<div class="ab-player" data-boourl="http://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation/embed/v2?eid=AQAAAPlZBlRxSiUA" data-boowidth="100%" data-iframestyle="background-color:transparent; display:block; box-shadow:0 0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15); min-width:320px; max-width:700px;" data-maxheight="150" style="background-color: transparent;">
<a href="https://audioboo.fm/boos/2443889-an-infinitiy-of-space-a-meditation">listen to ‘An infinitiy of space - a meditation’ on Audioboo</a><br />
<br />
or myPlick: </div>
<script type="text/javascript">(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/cdn/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script>
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<b><a href="http://www.myplick.com/view/2EfPBockFLP/An-Infinity-of-Space" target="_blank">An Infinity of Space</a></b></div>
<object height="343" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://embed.myplick.com/player-thin.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="plickName=2EfPBockFLP&t=t&s=m&d=20140305"/><embed src="http://embed.myplick.com/player-thin.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="343" FlashVars="plickName=2EfPBockFLP&t=t&s=m&d=20140305"></embed></object><br />
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Tags: <b><a href="http://www.myplick.com/tags/meditation" target="_blank">meditation</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.myplick.com/tags/mysticism" target="_blank">mysticism</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.myplick.com/tags/consciousness" target="_blank">consciousness</a></b> </div>
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Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-53867299904566516102013-11-13T18:08:00.000-08:002013-11-13T18:08:55.752-08:00Happy no matter what<br />
Enjoying reading Louis Koster's "A new language for life: happy no matter what" <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Language-Life-Happy-Matter-ebook/dp/B009R898FY/">http://www.amazon.com/New-Language-Life-Happy-Matter-ebook/dp/B009R898FY/</a> at the moment. In a nutshell it's about how we can choose to be happy, independent of what is happening in our lives. It's also about the insight that comes from realising that nothing outside of us inherently has the capacity to make us happy. So what does the author mean by all that? Well you'll have to read his book for that but here's my take on it all below.<br />
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Have you ever remembered a happy event and had a smile come to you face. If you visualise yourself as happy then your muscles follow suit. The brain is just a mainframe information processing centre after all. If you tell it you're happy it will send messages to your bodies systems that you are happy. Visualise and feel the emotion and the body will follow suit. Happiness is a choice. It is a habit that we can practise and become skillfull at. In some cultures being happy may be seen as abnormal. Some cultures value stoicism, the still upper lip, fatalism or a carefree "whatever" attitude. How we respond to the world is largely learnt from our culture, circumstances, our peers and our family. But we can break free. Someone has to be first right? The hundred monkey syndrome starts with one monkey. A while back I decided to be such a monkey. Like the author of "Happy no matter what" I'm still practising. Its a skill I practise daily by being aware of where my emotions are coming from, how am I responding to others or circumstances. Changing your response to life is a hell of a big elephant to eat but if you do it one bit at a time you will eventually eat it. Why else are elephants scared of mice.<br />
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Part of my own practise is using the basics of Bon Dzogchen meditation as outlined by Tenzin Wangyal in<br />
<span class="lrg bold" style="text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Luminous-Mind-Tibetan-Meditation-ebook/dp/B008DTOL8W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384393652&sr=8-1&keywords=tenzin+wangyal" style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Awakening The Luminous Mind: Tibetan Meditation for Inner Peace and Joy</b></a></span><br />
and in his<br />
<span id="btAsinTitle"><b>Tibetan Sound Healing</b>. I find boundless space in my solar plexus (under my ribcage) and allow the sense of light and warmth there to awaken into joy. It is not a joy I create but one I am allowing. It is always there. I just choose to awaken to it and allow it to take a greater prominence in my life.</span><br />
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When you start to practise the choice you start to realise that while someone around you might be having a bad day you don't have to have one too. Yes feel compassion for them but you don't have to be miserable too. The world is geared around judgement. Lots of people spend their daily lives passing opinions about other people's actions. When you start to realise that you make the choice about how you react to the world around you suddenly you realise that it is the act of judgement that determines how you feel about something or someone. By taking responsibility for feeling happy of not you become less inclined to judge others because you are no longer making them responsible for your happiness.<br />
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For more about Louis Koster and his remarkable life journey visit his website at <a href="http://www.louiskoster.com/">http://www.louiskoster.com/</a>Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-53585309451503457552013-11-09T15:48:00.000-08:002013-11-09T16:00:23.583-08:00"Trust and Destiny", book 3 of Lefthand AdventuresI'd had "In Deep" as the working title for book 3 of the Lefthand Adventures series but at the last minute it morphed into "Trust and Destiny" with a different cover than I'd planned. It was nice to take a few weeks off while my editors poured over the draft. One thing writing has taught me is that I don't have to be a total do-it-yourselfer. There are people out there with better attention to detail and a better feel for design. I'm really grateful to all those who helped me with this one and donated their time to make it happen. The enthusiasm of my small but growing fan base has been a sheer delight. When I started out I really wasn't sure what people's response tot the books would be.<br />
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As a writer I achieved my first goal the first time I got into print. The next was my first online sale. Frankly when I started this whole exercise I thought it would be nice if I could get a few copies of my books printed for friends and family and if I ever got an online sale I'd be over the moon. Just last week I got my first review in the New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine for my meditation and relaxation booklet.<br />
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If you enjoyed the first two books in the series I know you'll enjoy this one. This is Michael's story:<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>One minute he'd been Michael Williams, six foot four, short cut brown hair and unassuming brown eyes. The next minute he'd found himself in a vast boundless void of light and space with no point of reference in time and space. It was immensely peaceful with a sense of oneness and connectedness with everything. Then he was spat out the other side..</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>"Who are you?" came a lilting but startled female voice, waking him from his reverie. </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Before him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She wore a pale blue, almost translucent garment. Wavy hair the color of softly spun gold flowed down her back. Her eyes were of clearest sea-green, sparkling like a tropical ocean. He thought he might fall into that ocean and drown in it happily.</i></span></div>
Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-72881506654276697352013-03-31T19:10:00.002-07:002013-03-31T19:10:39.067-07:00"A lick of Immortality" - The second in a series of paranormal romance novels based around the ongoing battle between the Malakim and the DinThe extremely hot weather we had over the summer that's just finished gave me the time I needed to write "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lick-Immortality-Left-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00C460ZWG">A Lick of Immortality</a>". I can see know why some writers get attached to their characters. I feel compelled to tell their tale and see them through the whole story arc, to the release of all their friends. It's going to take a few books to do that. This is the second.<div>
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The basic synopsis for this one is this:</div>
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Thex wants to free his second in command Arion who was imprisoned in immensely hard crystal at the same time as the rest of his team. He'd like to free his whole team but humans with the level of compassion to do it are pretty thin on the ground. There's still the problem of who will help them this time.</div>
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Major John Samuels is just back from a trip to Sydney, tying up a few loose ends before he settles permanently on the outskirts of Boswell. He plans to settle into the old fishing shack down by the lake that he's been renting but has just bought. He's had some bad news.</div>
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Sally, the local vet and sister to the local cop, has been mooning over the Major since he arrived in the town. She's been looking forward to his return. She can't work out why but weird things are starting to happen in her life. Simon's kitten might be to blame. The kitten might be more than he appears.</div>
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To tell you more would spoil the story but there's plenty of romance and fantasy along the way. Beyond the surface story is a wealth of metaphysics covering ascension into a rainbow body, traversing the Bardo, transcending the self and realizing the true nature of the universe. </div>
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The evil Din are still there in the background, causing trouble. There's a little more of a look at the tyrant Sakla who leads them and his economic empire. We meet General Polemarch who's been Sakla's right hand man what seems forever. Upal and Mendal who defected to the Malakim side in the first book are still there and assist Thex towards the end of the book. I think their story will come in book four.</div>
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In the meantime I'm plotting Sargent Michael Wilson's story and the rescue of Kiana from the deep.</div>
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For me these books are a whole lot of fun. Writing is turning out to be the hobby I never planned. Sure I've written a few short stories in the past but whole books...! The process of writing, editing, doing book covers, indie publishing and marketing has really broadened my horizons. It's strengthened my belief in the interconnectedness of everything as what I've done wouldn't have been possible without the right people with the right skills turning up to help. I am indebted to them. Maybe one day I'll make enough from this hobby to reimburse them in some way but for now we're all in it for the love of it.</div>
Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-19566627165000549052013-03-04T00:29:00.001-08:002013-03-04T00:29:14.763-08:00A plain English introduction to the world of yogic meditation and relaxation : A simple Nuts and Bolts Guide to Meditation and Relaxation <br />
Finally a plain English introduction to the world of yogic meditation and relaxation : <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Bolts-Meditation-Relaxation-ebook/dp/B00APSWG3G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356572480&sr=8-2&keywords=arwen+jayne" target="_blank">A simple Nuts and Bolts Guide to Meditation and Relaxation</a><br />
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This booklet outlines the basics, drawn from across a number traditions. It doesn't try to say that this is the only right way as some dogmatic tomes do, rather it recommends an experiential try it and judge for yourself approach.<br />
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The meditations are all simple and easy to do. Background information explaining yogic anatomy and terms that might be needed to help the practitioner further their interest are provided. While I respect Sanskrit as a beautiful and ancient language I am aware that it deters many from this path. With that in mind I try to explain the system using language people know while giving sufficient terms so that the curious can go looking for further information.<br />
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The booklet is well suited for those who want to know how to do meditation without the usual overload of religious doctrine. The spiritual side is still there but it is presented as a way of using meditation. Its your choice whether you use the meditations to simply relax and find inner peace or to start a spiritual journey to uncovering the oneness that is always present within us all.<br />
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Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243099245331795071.post-55180421926939251802013-03-04T00:21:00.003-08:002013-03-04T00:34:19.285-08:00A heart of stone: a metaphysical paranormal romance based loosely on Gnostic legend<br />
My first novella <i>Heart of Stone</i> was an ebook on Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SNZGEG.">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008SNZGEG.</a> Priced at $0.99US. Published in the middle of 2012.<br />
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On one level this simple, lighthearted and fast paced, very Australian, paranormal erotic romance is a little bit naughty and a bit kinky. Underlying all that is a deeper message about love that is all accepting, transcending taboos and arbitrary values and connecting us with the all pervading consciousness of the universe.<br />
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The heroine Tyra is a soon to be retired librarian. She is woken in the middle of the night to find her uncle has died and a destiny she didn't know she had calls her to a small Australian country town. To fulfill her destiny she must find her own liberation and make a bond of love that exceeds normal human limits. Tyra must let go of obstacles she has placed in the path of love and let go of boundaries of self and mortality. And of course there's an ancient evil out to stop her.<br />
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The Malakim are the good guys. Loosely based on angels they are higher dimensional beings seeking to free their own who were imprisioned in crystal by the Din (aka Djinn), the bad guys, 100,000 year ago. Trouble is the bad guys are still around. The Malakim are fairly indestructible, except for the Din's dark light weapon that can turn them into stone. The characters are based on Gnostic legends with the Din cast as lion headed reptiles that can infest a human's aura or take physical form separate from their host but only as a reptile and that tends to go down not too well these days. The Malakim understand the non-dual nature of existence. In our plane they are really high frequency light and sound but mentally project a form that can interact with the world. They also like fast cars, pilot interdimensional spacecraft and are pretty damn hot.<br />
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A paperback version was released towards the end of 2012 and is available through all good book vendors. A sequel is called "A lick of immortality" is at the final edit stage and should be out shortly after Easter 2013Arwen Jaynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01050598728090860218noreply@blogger.com0