The affair Weinstein stirred quite a bit. Everyone is talking about it now, and the hashtag MeToo has been gathering a lot of testimonials from women who were sexually abused.
I'd like to share my own view on this subject. First of all, let me state that unwanted advances happen - I suppose it's in the nature of man. He's a hunter, has been, always will be out to conquer. But of course, that's no excuse. No man should advance a woman with attentions she doesn't ask for.
As a woman, I've never had any problem with handling such situations. Raised mainly by a grandmother who was world-savvy and very outspoken, I learned from early age on that my body was my own and that nobody was allowed to touch it if I didn't want to.
When a man advances me from behind and for instance slides his arm around my middle, he'll get a sharp elbow into his stomach. Or when they touch my backside, I'll slap their hands or face. I don't care where or when, ,or who the person is. Personal integrity is important. There are some men around who know what I mean. One of them had to walk around with a broken nose and one blue eye for some time...
I.m.o. it's wrong to think you need to allow sexual harassment to get a better job, to advance yourself. That is selling yourself. Regretfully, there are women who like to use their sex appeal to better themselves. But does that make you happy???
Hello everyone! I'm a writer of historical fiction next to being a teacher. I like to share my views on life and actuality, along with bringing you interviews with bestselling authors and guest blogs.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Monday, October 16, 2017
Hide and Seek
Please welcome author Desiree Holt today. Desiree is doing a virtual book blast tour for her novel Hide and Seek - a romantic suspense available October 17, 2017 from Kensington Publishing. The Book Blast Tour will take place on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.
Anything can happen when you let your guard down . . .
After receiving a violent threat on the heels of her father’s disappearance from the town of Arrowhead Bay, Devon Cole fears for her life—until Vigilance, a local private security agency, steps in to shield her from danger. Although she isn’t usually quick to surrender her freedom, she has no problem stripping her defenses for her new sexy bodyguard . . .
Tortured by the painful memory of lost love, Logan Malik is determined not to fall for a client again. So when he’s tasked with watching over Devon day and night, he’s focused on doing his job. Day is no problem, but as tensions rise at night, nothing can protect them from giving in to unbridled passion . . .
“Your father is missing.”
Devon Cole tightened her grip on her cell phone and tried to make sense of what Sheridan March had just told her, as fear swept through her. Maybe she hadn’t heard right.
“What do you mean, missing?”
“The Coast Guard found the Princess Devon drifting five miles off shore early this morning,” the Arrowhead Bay Chief of Police explained. “But there’s no sign of him anywhere. And no clue to anything in the house. We went through every inch of it. The alarm was fried, probably needs to be replaced, but otherwise the place was clean as a whistle.”
Devon clutched the phone. “Was there anything on the boat? Something he might have had with him that could give us a clue?”
“Nada.”
“Where’s the boat now. Would the Coast Guard hold onto it?”
“In its slip at the Bayside Marina. After the Guard went over every inch of it they had one of the men on the cutter bring it back in and berth it. I have the keys.”
Devon swallowed to ease the tightness in her throat. “When was the last time anyone saw him?”
Desiree Holt is the world’s
oldest living published author of erotic and spicy romance. A graduate of the
University of Michigan with double majors in English and History, her earlier
careers include agent and manager in the music industry, public television,
associate vice president of university advancement, public relations, and
economic development.
She is three times a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award (and a winner in 2014), a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year
Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award winner for best BDSM book of the year, a USA Today Bestselling author and winner of the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Romance Literature.
She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast,
USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times, The Huffington Post and numerous other national and international publications. She is also the Authors After Dark 2014 Author of the Year.
“Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last.” (Romance Junkies)
Learn more about her and read her novels here:
www.desireeholt.com
www.desiremeonly.com
www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor
www.faceboook.com/authordesireeholt
Twitter @desireeholt
Pinterest: desiree02holt
Google: https://plus.google.com/113212301982441064210
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desiree-holt-a7272526/
Desiree will be awarding a Kindle Fire 7 with Alexa to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
Blurb
After receiving a violent threat on the heels of her father’s disappearance from the town of Arrowhead Bay, Devon Cole fears for her life—until Vigilance, a local private security agency, steps in to shield her from danger. Although she isn’t usually quick to surrender her freedom, she has no problem stripping her defenses for her new sexy bodyguard . . .
Tortured by the painful memory of lost love, Logan Malik is determined not to fall for a client again. So when he’s tasked with watching over Devon day and night, he’s focused on doing his job. Day is no problem, but as tensions rise at night, nothing can protect them from giving in to unbridled passion . . .
Excerpt
Devon Cole tightened her grip on her cell phone and tried to make sense of what Sheridan March had just told her, as fear swept through her. Maybe she hadn’t heard right.
“What do you mean, missing?”
“The Coast Guard found the Princess Devon drifting five miles off shore early this morning,” the Arrowhead Bay Chief of Police explained. “But there’s no sign of him anywhere. And no clue to anything in the house. We went through every inch of it. The alarm was fried, probably needs to be replaced, but otherwise the place was clean as a whistle.”
Devon clutched the phone. “Was there anything on the boat? Something he might have had with him that could give us a clue?”
“Nada.”
“Where’s the boat now. Would the Coast Guard hold onto it?”
“In its slip at the Bayside Marina. After the Guard went over every inch of it they had one of the men on the cutter bring it back in and berth it. I have the keys.”
Devon swallowed to ease the tightness in her throat. “When was the last time anyone saw him?”
Author bio and links
She is three times a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award (and a winner in 2014), a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year
Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award winner for best BDSM book of the year, a USA Today Bestselling author and winner of the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Romance Literature.
She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast,
USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times, The Huffington Post and numerous other national and international publications. She is also the Authors After Dark 2014 Author of the Year.
“Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last.” (Romance Junkies)
Learn more about her and read her novels here:
www.desireeholt.com
www.desiremeonly.com
www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor
www.faceboook.com/authordesireeholt
Twitter @desireeholt
Pinterest: desiree02holt
Google: https://plus.google.com/113212301982441064210
Great idea
The town of Roubaix, in the north of France, offers interested parties to buy a house for just ONE Euro! Of course, this comes with the condition to renovate the house.
Roubaix got the idea from Liverpool in Great-Britain, where it has been a big success.
Here in Belgium a house would cost approximately 200,000 €. For that price you expect a house that is more or less in order. Building a new house would be more expensive. Old, run down houses go for at least 70,000 € to 100,000. And then you have to reckon with the costs of total renovation. From experience, I know this can easily run into the high figures. My house is practically 100 years old and I have spent quite some money on it already. New roof, major renovation including breaking out walls, new doors and windows with double glazing, isolation of the roof, ....
So I think this is really a great opportunity for young people to get a house of their own. When you only need to pay one euro, you can easily find some bank ready to provide a loan for renovation (you even get money back from the government).
Roubaix got the idea from Liverpool in Great-Britain, where it has been a big success.
Here in Belgium a house would cost approximately 200,000 €. For that price you expect a house that is more or less in order. Building a new house would be more expensive. Old, run down houses go for at least 70,000 € to 100,000. And then you have to reckon with the costs of total renovation. From experience, I know this can easily run into the high figures. My house is practically 100 years old and I have spent quite some money on it already. New roof, major renovation including breaking out walls, new doors and windows with double glazing, isolation of the roof, ....
So I think this is really a great opportunity for young people to get a house of their own. When you only need to pay one euro, you can easily find some bank ready to provide a loan for renovation (you even get money back from the government).
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Summer mid October
Believe it or not, but it's just like summer today and the coming days. Temperatures of more than 20° Celsius and lots of sunshine.
The coast is up for a very busy weekend. Lots of people drove to one of the coastal resorts yesterday and will be spending the weekend there. Unfortunately, we couldn't go as I had a short stay in the hospital once more. Only came home yesterday and was still feeling somewhat racked. A good nightrest helped a lot, though.
I can't recall we've ever had such nice weather in October. In 2011 we had a beautiful weekend with high temperatures, but that was at the end of September until the beginning of October. This is something special and we can only enjoy it.
We've been busy riding the bike to run some errands a bit out of town - something you don't do when the wind is blowing hard and it's raining. Now at last we have what we needed.
Tomorrow we're going to spend some time in the garden, picking up the leaves from all our neighbor's trees (!) and disposing of them. A couple more weeks, and then the tress will be free of them. And we also need to do some work on the terrace. Well, we won't be needing a warm jacket!
The coast is up for a very busy weekend. Lots of people drove to one of the coastal resorts yesterday and will be spending the weekend there. Unfortunately, we couldn't go as I had a short stay in the hospital once more. Only came home yesterday and was still feeling somewhat racked. A good nightrest helped a lot, though.
I can't recall we've ever had such nice weather in October. In 2011 we had a beautiful weekend with high temperatures, but that was at the end of September until the beginning of October. This is something special and we can only enjoy it.
We've been busy riding the bike to run some errands a bit out of town - something you don't do when the wind is blowing hard and it's raining. Now at last we have what we needed.
Tomorrow we're going to spend some time in the garden, picking up the leaves from all our neighbor's trees (!) and disposing of them. A couple more weeks, and then the tress will be free of them. And we also need to do some work on the terrace. Well, we won't be needing a warm jacket!
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Indian summer, just in time for the weekend
The weather forecasters predict an Indian Summer for the next couple of days. Hurray! It will be a nice change from the grey skies which have been hanging above our heads all the past days.
And what's better, the weekend is coming up. Lots of people will be taking a day off to be able to go to the coast or the Ardennes (a hilly region in the French speaking part of Belgium) for a long weekend.
Here at home, it's a good opportunity to do some things on the outside which we weren't able to do earlier. We need to some some repairs to the terrace, for instance. And give a lick of paint to some spots which have been repaired.
And perhaps we can even light the barbecue???
And what's better, the weekend is coming up. Lots of people will be taking a day off to be able to go to the coast or the Ardennes (a hilly region in the French speaking part of Belgium) for a long weekend.
Here at home, it's a good opportunity to do some things on the outside which we weren't able to do earlier. We need to some some repairs to the terrace, for instance. And give a lick of paint to some spots which have been repaired.
And perhaps we can even light the barbecue???
Monday, October 9, 2017
The Christmas Wedding Swap
I've another author as my guest. Today features Allyson Charles. The author is doing a virtual book blast tour for THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING SWAP, a small-town contemporary romance available October 10 from Lyrical Press.
Allyson Charles will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment(s):
Blurb
SOMETIMES YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED . . .
Allison Stuart has always been the odd-woman-out of her family. She wears her jeans a little too tight, colors her hair a little too blonde, and instead of going into medicine and law like her sisters, she runs a diner. She’s also the only single sibling left. And while she won’t change her style, and her meatloaf is to die for, thank you very much, she wouldn’t mind her share of wedded bliss. So she makes an early New Year’s resolution: No more meaningless flings.
Drop-dead sexy Luke Hamilton is everything Allison has sworn off. His only serious relationship has been with his five-star restaurant, Le Cygne Noir, in Chicago. When he’s threatened by a lawsuit, Luke decides to hide out in Pineville, Michigan, until the statute of limitations runs out. The small town is filled with Christmas charm, but he can’t imagine living there. Heating things up with the hottie who owns the local diner would make his exile bearable—if he can convince her to give up her ridiculous resolution . . .
Allison Stuart has always been the odd-woman-out of her family. She wears her jeans a little too tight, colors her hair a little too blonde, and instead of going into medicine and law like her sisters, she runs a diner. She’s also the only single sibling left. And while she won’t change her style, and her meatloaf is to die for, thank you very much, she wouldn’t mind her share of wedded bliss. So she makes an early New Year’s resolution: No more meaningless flings.
Drop-dead sexy Luke Hamilton is everything Allison has sworn off. His only serious relationship has been with his five-star restaurant, Le Cygne Noir, in Chicago. When he’s threatened by a lawsuit, Luke decides to hide out in Pineville, Michigan, until the statute of limitations runs out. The small town is filled with Christmas charm, but he can’t imagine living there. Heating things up with the hottie who owns the local diner would make his exile bearable—if he can convince her to give up her ridiculous resolution . . .
Excerpt
She laid a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Both my sisters are married to nice, dependable men, and I have two nieces. That’s what I want. No matter how much my hormones want to take you up to my bed and have their way with you, that’s not going to get me to my dream.”
“Nice. Dependable.” He shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. “It doesn’t sound like you want a husband. It sounds like you want a pet dog.”
She took a step back and ran her hands down her dress, smoothing out the creases. “There’s nothing wrong with dependable.”
“It’s boring.”
“Reliable.”
Raising his hand, he picked up a lock of her hair and twisted it around his finger. “That’s just a synonym for dependable, not an argument.”
“This isn’t something you can argue with me about. It’s my decision.” She took a step away before turning back. “I’ll show you to your room. And I really am sorry I threw myself at you like that, gave you the wrong message. It won’t happen again, hot shot,” she said with a wink, her good humor restored.
Luke picked up his bags and trudged after her up the stairs. She bounced back as quickly as her curls did, and a tiny kernel of resentment blossomed in Luke’s gut. He didn’t want her to be heartbroken, but a token display of dejection wouldn’t go amiss. Luke was man enough to admit that the fact that he was never going to have Allison Stuart caused an ache behind his breastbone.
And just for a moment, he thought about what it would take to be the kind of man Allison wanted.
“Nice. Dependable.” He shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. “It doesn’t sound like you want a husband. It sounds like you want a pet dog.”
She took a step back and ran her hands down her dress, smoothing out the creases. “There’s nothing wrong with dependable.”
“It’s boring.”
“Reliable.”
Raising his hand, he picked up a lock of her hair and twisted it around his finger. “That’s just a synonym for dependable, not an argument.”
“This isn’t something you can argue with me about. It’s my decision.” She took a step away before turning back. “I’ll show you to your room. And I really am sorry I threw myself at you like that, gave you the wrong message. It won’t happen again, hot shot,” she said with a wink, her good humor restored.
Luke picked up his bags and trudged after her up the stairs. She bounced back as quickly as her curls did, and a tiny kernel of resentment blossomed in Luke’s gut. He didn’t want her to be heartbroken, but a token display of dejection wouldn’t go amiss. Luke was man enough to admit that the fact that he was never going to have Allison Stuart caused an ache behind his breastbone.
And just for a moment, he thought about what it would take to be the kind of man Allison wanted.
Author bio and links
Allyson Charles lives in
Northern California. She’s the author of the "Pineville Romance"
series, small-town, contemporary romances published by Lyrical Press. A former
attorney, she happily ditched those suits and now works in her pajamas writing
about men’s briefs instead of legal briefs. When she’s not writing, she’s
probably engaged in one of her favorite hobbies: napping, eating, or martial
arts (That last one almost makes up for the first two, right?). One of
Allyson’s greatest disappointments is living in a state that doesn’t have any
Cracker Barrels in it.
Sign up for Allyson’s newsletter at www.allysoncharles.com/newsletter
You can find her at www.allysoncharles.com, on Twitter @1allysoncharles, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorAllysonCharles
Buy links for THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING SWAP
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=9781601836090
IBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-christmas-wedding-swap/id1209823636?mt=11
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-christmas-wedding-swap-allyson-charles/1125489708;jsessionid=7895472FF3C5A0BDE501E6AB0E760A87.prodny_store02-atgap02?ean=9781601836090
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-christmas-wedding-swap
Google: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781601836090&c=books
Sign up for Allyson’s newsletter at www.allysoncharles.com/newsletter
You can find her at www.allysoncharles.com, on Twitter @1allysoncharles, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorAllysonCharles
Buy links for THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING SWAP
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=9781601836090
IBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-christmas-wedding-swap/id1209823636?mt=11
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-christmas-wedding-swap-allyson-charles/1125489708;jsessionid=7895472FF3C5A0BDE501E6AB0E760A87.prodny_store02-atgap02?ean=9781601836090
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-christmas-wedding-swap
Google: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781601836090&c=books
In which a little country can be great
That Belgium is top for chocolates and beer is widely known. But there are a lot of things in which we are equally great!
Did you know, for instance, that Belgium - and more precisely Flanders - is the biggest seller of frozen vegetables? They are especially liked in the Middle East. The area around Roeselaere is a concentration of plans where vegetables are deep frozen and put into packages or boxes... Which is one of the reasons why the most beautiful vegs can never be found in any of our shops.
Last weekend gymnast Nina Derwael got a bronze medal in the WC Gymnastics, for her exercise on the bridge. This thanks to an excellent organisation that cherishes talents. We can hope now that Belgium will be counted among those countries who go for the medals in future years, because we have other great gymnasts.
Also in tennis we're doing well. David Goffin is now a top ten player and will probably compete in the Masters. And don't forget, the Belgian tennis team is playing the Davis Cup Final next month, against France. A victory in sight?
And of course we have a great soccer team. Most of its members play in foreign clubs where they have a star role. Who doesn't know De Bruyne, Fellaini, Mertens, Lukaku, ...? And the ambition of this team is to win the cup in the coming world championship soccer.
Did you know, for instance, that Belgium - and more precisely Flanders - is the biggest seller of frozen vegetables? They are especially liked in the Middle East. The area around Roeselaere is a concentration of plans where vegetables are deep frozen and put into packages or boxes... Which is one of the reasons why the most beautiful vegs can never be found in any of our shops.
Last weekend gymnast Nina Derwael got a bronze medal in the WC Gymnastics, for her exercise on the bridge. This thanks to an excellent organisation that cherishes talents. We can hope now that Belgium will be counted among those countries who go for the medals in future years, because we have other great gymnasts.
Also in tennis we're doing well. David Goffin is now a top ten player and will probably compete in the Masters. And don't forget, the Belgian tennis team is playing the Davis Cup Final next month, against France. A victory in sight?
And of course we have a great soccer team. Most of its members play in foreign clubs where they have a star role. Who doesn't know De Bruyne, Fellaini, Mertens, Lukaku, ...? And the ambition of this team is to win the cup in the coming world championship soccer.
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