Neale Sourna's Writing Naked 101

Hot Short Stories: Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary (NCAD) / Journal (NCAJ) [available, even the ones BANNED by Amazon Kindle, so there]

2012-01-28T15:32:00.006-05:00

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary (NCAD),Vol. 4, Issue 1 [Vol. 4.1]

BUY Vol 4, Issue 1 -- Tad: The Switch-hitter, His Twink, and His Teacher--A Lust Novella (M/M/M) [22 horny chapters, 25,139 words] [banned at Kindle, get it elsewhere below]

NCAJ1 NCA Journal 1 is Adult Erotic Fiction, the compiled short stories from Volumes 1-3 of North Coast Academies' Diary. PRINT BOOK (POD) and EBOOK [banned at Kindle, get it elsewhere below]

BUY Vol 3, Issue 1-- 3 Sex Views: Ross, Laila, and Sascha [16,337 words] -- 3 HUGE, hardcore stories for the price of just 1!!!

BUY Vol 3, Issue 1.1 -- Sascha: Laila's Classmate-Public Parking, Sex Squared [8289 words]

BUY Vol 3, Issue 1.2 -- Laila: Smarty Schoolgirl-Daddy's Willing Little Slut [3711 words]

BUY Vol 3, Issue 1.3 -- Ross: Laila's Stepdad-My Daughter's Anal [Asshole] Cherry [4337 words]

BUY Vol 2, Issue 1 -- Ross: Daddy's Little Whore, uh, Seductress [8401 words]

BUY Vol 1, Issue 2 -- Yune: Suck My Kiss [3677 words]

BUY Vol 1, Issue 1 -- Laila: Cozy With Daddy [7857 words]

NEW, Sexy and Exciting Ebooks online from YOUR WRITER Neale Sourna.

BUY Adobe Reader (PDF), Kindle-Mobipocket, and Print; epub editions to come.

Find everywhere online! And order offline, too; just ask!

eBookMall (Adobe PDF)

Ebook Eros

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Diesel Ebooks (Adobe Digital / Kindle-Mobi)

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--------------

also Amazon's European (Euro), Canadian, Australia / New Zealand Stores

Neale Sourna at Amazon.com (ebooks & paperback print books) (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Store (Kindle-Mobi ebooks only) (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Amazon A-store aka Neale's Sexy Store (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Books On Board (nonfiction ebooks only)

--------------

Mobipocket Store (Mobipocket only) (closes Jan 02, 2012; consolidates all stock to Kindle Store)

Microsoft Reader Store (closed, all MS Reader ebooks out of production, out of stock per Microsoft 2011)

Fictionwise Ebooks ("Hobble" only)

Palm format ("Hobble" only)

and at other quality online and offline independent and chain booksellers you love!!

Just ask your Wholesalers and Retailers to purchase Neale Sourna / PIE: Perception Is Everything books and ebooks through Ingram's /Ingram Content or Lightning Source and Amazon Kindle.

Your Unique Sexy Valentine's Story: Neale Sourna's "Hobble" [An Adult Fiction]

2012-01-28T14:16:00.011-05:00

My baby, HOBBLE [An Adult Novel], has won an award: Best of Year in Romantic Erotica. Yippee and huzzah!!

What a surprise! Thank you so much. It looks "mahhhvelous," don't you think? Thank you, Dolores Thornton, thank you, BlackRefer.com, for this sehr tres cool honor. -- Neale

"Hobble is a book that you must read."--RAWSistaz Reviews
* * *
"...the narrative style is rather appealing...an interesting story...I would read again...it rather intrigued me. The heroine is unique."--Sensual Romance Reviews
* * *
"When's your next one coming out?"--Several Cleveland, Ohio Readers to the author
* * *
"The numerous sex scenes...show...natural spark."--Absinthe Literary Review

Available as Trade Paperback, Adobe Reader, MS Reader, Palm, MobiPocket, Amazon Kindle

Printed Novel eBook

"Dipping into several genres from erotica to mystery, even sprinkling a little comedy into the mix, Sourne created a story like no other. This ... tale had me shaking my head in astonishment and I can honestly say I never read anything like Hobble before. Sourne wrote a novel with such a large supply of twist and turns it'll have you dropping your mouth in shock. But be forewarned, Hobble has a crazy mix of characters.... Some of the sex scenes had me (a person who loves erotica) squirming. Although the book is racy, it was an interesting read and should be picked up by anyone who enjoys reading something different from the norm."
--Joy Farringdon, Nubian Sistas Review
READ Full Review

"Hobble is a story of lust and obsessive sex...I was so moved...I went back to my (Franklin) dictionary...hobble means to limp along ... to impede ... to tie-up, shackle or leash...all of [which] were used in this steamy story, of sex, ... and betrayal!"--Delores Thornton, www.BlackRefer.com Reviews

READ Delores' full review
[A www.BlackRefer.com Review]

* * *

More Reviews

* * *

INTERVIEWS for you to HEAR and READ at
PIE: Percept.com FREE Audio
READ Jordan Duke of ScriptCLEVELAND'S written informative
INTERVIEW: Jan 2003, Neale Sourna's HOBBLE

http://catalog.neale-sourna.com/

Find NEW erotic stories online from YOUR WRITER Neale Sourna, for Kindle, Kobo, IPad, and more.
BUY Neale Sourna erotic literature Books & Ebooks with lots of erotic sex NOW at:

NEW, Sexy and Exciting Ebooks online from YOUR WRITER Neale Sourna.

BUY Adobe Reader (PDF), Kindle-Mobipocket, and Print; epub editions to come.

Find everywhere online! And order offline, too; just ask!

eBookMall (Adobe PDF)

Ebook Eros

EbookPie

GoHastings

Lybrary.com

Kobo Books

TookBook

Starland Books

Diesel Ebooks (Adobe Digital / Kindle-Mobi)

Powell's (paperback print book / ebooks

AbeBooks (paperback print books only)

Barnes&Noble (paperback print books only)

--------------

also Amazon's European (Euro), Canadian, Australia / New Zealand Stores

Neale Sourna at Amazon.com (ebooks & paperback print books) (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Store (Kindle-Mobi ebooks only) (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Amazon A-store aka Neale's Sexy Store (some items not available _ banned by Amazon)

Books On Board (nonfiction ebooks only)

--------------

Mobipocket Store (Mobipocket only) (closes Jan 02, 2012; consolidates all stock to Kindle Store)

Microsoft Reader Store (closed, all MS Reader ebooks out of production, out of stock per Microsoft 2011)

Fictionwise Ebooks ("Hobble" only)

Palm format ("Hobble" only)

and at other quality online and offline independent and chain booksellers you love!!

Just ask your Wholesalers and Retailers to purchase Neale Sourna / PIE: Perception Is Everything books and ebooks through Ingram's /Ingram Content or Lightning Source and Amazon Kindle.

BY PHONE 877-BUY-BOOK [877-289-2665] CHECK or CHARGE!!

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Hobble

Neale Sourna

Excerpt 1

I literally fell for her; tripped over and fell on her, on the sunny, gritty beach of Virginia Beach. I wasn't spiritually...emotionally lost, I believe; but, what we "believe" is so very often wrong. I suppose I was inactively, instinctively hunting something...something I almost felt, but couldn't as yet begin to verbalize.
Anyway, because of muggers, mad dogs, and badly driven cars, I'm always very aware of everything and everyone around me, when I take my morning run; but, it was late in the day. So, maybe because my flight'd been delayed or because I'd become strangely out-of-synch or...?
My mind was...fixated on a problem, now entirely forgotten, as I turned my head, toward the frightened, anguished cry of a lone sea bird, who sounded...terribly and despairingly lonely to me...and, somehow, devastatingly lost. And, in gazing aside at the bird, for all of two blind seconds, I knocked her down, onto the sand-a brown woman, in a long, potato sack, calico dress.
What a face!
An American face of excellently blended African and Native American genes, with a healthy little dollop of European blood, a terribly agitated face, as she fetally balled up in great pain and wouldn't let me look at her injured ankle.
I explained that she could "trust me", that I knew what I was doing, when I wasn't "knocking defenseless young women to the ground". She didn't laugh, slightly chuckle, or even crack the tiniest of a smile, and from furtive, dark eyes, she gave me a shaky, cursory once over-at the brown skin over hard-angled facial bones, at my black hair and dimly Asian eyes.
I have a lot more than "a healthy dollop of European blood" myself, from Dad's side, which explains the beard [a recent addition] and the general curliness of my hair, which I've let grow to its own rule for months now. But, despite the Old World genes, I look most like my mother's Peruvian-Incan/Mexican-Mayan, New World genes.
I told my hapless victim my name was Benn, Bennet Gillespie.
She took a more thorough, ill-at-ease view of me into her head, which was covered with tousles of...dark brown ringlets, which in the sunlight had auburn streaks, speckled with very premature silver. The sterling was incongruous with her physical youthfulness; but, the heartrending glance from those eyes hinted that it was well earned. Finally, she stared into my eyes, then nominally stopped cringing and gazed downward-as her ("demure" came oddly to mind)...as her demure signal permitting me to have my way with her, so to speak.
I checked her injury.
She had the shapely legs of an athlete or dancer, and wore battered out, lowheeled ankle boots, that were slightly Victorian or Edwardian or one of those old "-ian" styles, laced over soft, thick socks. The ankle moved stiffly, painfully. The footgear was in the way, so, I began unlacing to better ascertain how bad off it was, because sometimes there are hidden breaks and misleading damage.
She abruptly realized I was actually opening her boot and flinched away, shrieking at me; but, the small boot and sock slipped off into my hand. She fell silent, completely mortified, then started crying, wailing, in fact, lying flat back in the sand.
Besides the swelling I'd caused, her ankle had a deep cut. Not an immediately recent cut, that I might have caused her, but a deep, nicely healing, surgical one-and I know this because my mother was a surgeon and she'd made me take "real" medicine classes and be her assistant, to go with the rest of my training.
This cut was nicely, cosmetically stitched; but, I bet you, and I'd win, that the seam was there to repair something grossly traumatic.
She was lying there sobbing actual tears. I know because I pulled her hands away from her face and checked. However, whether the tears were also actually genuine...? I glanced up and down the beach and saw absolutely no one else around for continents. The nearest anything was a lonely looking, one-story beachhouse behind us, that was showing no life or interest in us, and I had a little insight.
She attempted stopping me, as she sat up and wordlessly defended her secret, until finally allowing me, in mute, humiliated resignation, to unlace the other boot-that stiff and pained ankle was also restitched. Both of them were sewn quite a way around, like a can opener makes a cut around a lid, until it's nearly severed. However the original lacerations had been made, it hadn't been by penknife or train wheel-I've seen the resulting cuts of both of those on the human body; these'd been done by something in between.
I asked if she lived nearby, I suggested I call for an ambulance, or I could carry her to my car at the hotel a mile or so back up the beach, and she obviously hated all my ideas. Noisily so. Who'd think so much mournfully, piercing sound could come out of such a perfect mouth. I began considering that she might be completely inarticulate, then, I had another insight-with her ankles this raw, she had to've come from nearby. I asked her, quite specifically, where she lived.
She clammed up like a petulant child and really didn't want to answer that, so I told her if I couldn't take her home, I'd have to take her to a hospital. I couldn't just leave her there, like a beached wha--.
"What are you doing to her, young man?"...[more Hobble at http://hobble.neale-sourna.com]

3 Free Short Story Chapters: Raj by Neale Sourna (soft romantic erotica)

2012-01-25T21:02:00.004-05:00

Raj

Neale Sourna

A great Indian lady chooses a British Raj officer from the crowd for her amusement; but discovers her choice may bring her more than she expected.

-------

The tiresome British have been here for some time and find our ceremonies "fascinating" in a "quaint manner"; believing we are their British India. They do love parades in pretty clothes. And that is when I saw him, standing among the crowd of the faithful with two other "redcoat" officers kept back behind my official guard, as I entered for my official duties.

Our gazes locking upon the other caused a feeling as palpable as one's skin in an electrical storm.

Upon my exiting the temple, he was still there, just beyond the iron gates, separating us from them.

I spoke to my man and kept on, and the Britisher was collected and brought the secret way to my private apartments.

He was stripped—a fine figure from my hidden vantage—as he was washed and redressed in silks and finest linen, with only a few protests of good-natured curiosity from him, but no excessive, disrespectful attitude of superiority, or entitlement, so often rampant in one of his nation and race.

"What is your name, sir?"

He was startled by my appearance, and his eyes bulged, so did his linen trousers, when he beheld me in my simple gown, cut low between my generous breasts. He appeared unable to speak, or think.

"Sir. Your personal name, nor more."

"Sutton Palm—. Sutton. Ma'am." Hm. Very respectful, and attractive.

"Tell me what you thought, and felt, as your gaze first met mine. Exactly." He blushed, rather terribly.

"It wouldn't be proper, ma'am. Great Lady."

"Tell me, or I'll send you away, this instant." A look of distress distorted his fine, honest features. "Exactly, sir. Now." His gaze met mine in challenge, and then fell away.

"Nothing. My mind blanked, but I-I felt as one when caught in an electrical storm which makes the hairs upon one's body stand." Ah. Good answer.

* * * *

I took him by the hand and led him to a soft bed of pillows, and we reclined together...http://stories.neale-sourna.com/Raj.html

screenwritingu.com: 10 Commandments of Writing Your Screenplays.

2012-01-24T22:37:00.003-05:00

The New 10 Commandments of Writing Screenplays.

Most people know about writing screenplays, but if you break these commandments, your soul will be damned to eternal amateur-damnation…

…Or maybe it’ll just be a bit more difficult to become a pro. Either way, you’ll want to really consider these guidelines as you write or rewrite your screenplay.

Writing Screenplays By Commandment

1. Entertain us…or it’s over!

Entertainment is the number one reason that people go to movies. Every producer and agent knows that. So it should be the #1 focus of your screenwriting. Become a master at making any character or situation entertaining and you’ll be a writer in demand.

To be blunt, if there is anything in your script that doesn’t entertain, fix it.

2. Make EVERYTHING more interesting.

The industry is filled with readers who are fed a gourmet diet of professional screenplays. If you want yours to stand out, it has to captivate their attention and cause them to forget that they are doing a job.

This should be an ongoing campaign of yours. Make your scenes more interesting. Make your characters more interesting. Make your dialogue more interesting. Make everything more interesting.

3. Give us a lead character we can’t stop following.

Professional screenwriters intentionally create characters we want to follow. They are unique, yet familiar. We can relate to them and want to go on the journey with that character.

In general, your protagonist should be the perfect person to lead us deep into this story and the conflict that is about to occur. Don’t settle for a good lead. Go for great.

4. Promise us something special…and deliver on it.

Somehow, you have to keep people reading until the last page. Here’s a solution.

About 15 years ago, I read a book called “A Story Is A Promise” by Bill Johnson. Since then, I’ve always looked at a script from the perspective of “What is the promise you’re making to the reader/audience and how do you keep it in a unique way?”

Essentially, you are promising some major achievement by the protagonist or some big confrontation that will happen in the 3rd Act between protag and antag. If the promise is strong enough, we’ll read every page to see what happens.

5. Show us deeper meaning.

Deeper meaning can be built into the plot, character, situations, actions, and dialogue of a script. It doesn’t have to be profound, just beneath the surface…and perceived by the audience.

Audiences and readers just don’t appreciate on-the-nose writing. Subtext gives them a chance to interact with the film. They have an internal experience of the story because they are interpreting what the dialogue and actions really mean.

Because of that, it is just as important to take care of the subtext of a story as it is to create the surface story.

6. Put your characters through hell.

Great parents take care of their children and don’t let harm come to them. Great writers put their characters in the worst possible places to challenge their beliefs and physical limitations.

Don’t get the two jobs mixed up. Audiences don’t go to movies to see characters lead safe lives. They want to see your characters take risks, experience danger, and barely escape from challenging situations.

Writing screenplays will make you a tough task-master. By your final draft, your characters should hate you for all the terrible things you did to them.

7. Free up your dialogue so you can express more character.

Beginning writers often fill their dialogue with exposition and story details, thus reducing the amount of character and creativity that shows up in that dialogue. Don’t do it.

Instead, put the exposition, information, and story details into the action and situations.

For example, instead of a trainer telling a new boxer that a certain philosophy doesn’t work, have him put the character in the boxing ring and learn it by having his ass kicked. Now, the trainer doesn’t have to lecture. In fact, he is free to talk about anything – breakfast, politics, his favorite dog, etc. – because the real meaning is being delivered through the action.

It completely frees you up so you can be much more creative with your dialogue.

8. Turn cliches into fresh ideas.

In the film industry, a cliché is defined as “something we’ve seen before.” If you write a script with the same plot or the same lead characters or the same situations, people will balk at them.

Audiences want to see familiar stories told in different ways and familiar characters with something special about them. That means that your characters, situations, actions, and dialogue need to have something unique to them.

Your challenge: Hunt down every cliché in your script and brainstorm more unique ways to accomplish their purpose. Give them a twist or unique spin or different voice. It takes a bit of work, but it instantly improves your screenplay.

9. Give yourself permission to write shit in your first draft…

…and push yourself for perfection in your final draft. Not the other way around.

This is a better strategy for writing screenplays than trying to be perfect on the first draft and shoving yourself into writer’s block.

First drafts are the time for total freedom of expression, not criticizing your writing. You want to discover what you can about your story, characters, etc.

On the other side, writers often send drafts to producers that aren’t even close to ready. That’s the time to bring out your internal critic and make sure this is a perfect draft.

The more in sync you are with your creative process, the faster you’ll achieve perfection.

10. Rethink your script…until it is the most amazing it can be.

This is the ultimate challenge of a professional screenwriter – having to rethink the same script over and over until you discover the perfect way to tell this story.

Even if you think your story or character is perfect, you should have the skills to re-envision it in many different ways. Not only will this help you write a better story, it will also help you work with production companies and Studios when they request script changes.

Make those 10 Commandments part of your daily writing and someday, you’ll be soon be writing screenplays like the Hollywood writing Gods.

——

And if you want to dramatically improve your ability to write screenplays, check out ScreenwritingU’s screenwriting classes.

These 10 Commandments are built into our classes. That may be why Script Magazine rated our classes #1 in their “Top 9 Online Screenwriting Courses.”

What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People [Paperback] Joe Navarro (Author), Marvin Karlins (Author)

2012-01-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

A great reference on body language from an immigrant FBI officer.

Do you know what touching your nose could mean to others?

How to learn more from someone you interview, just by having a full clear view of their entire body...?

paperback

Kindle

Free Fiction Sci-fi Romance Short Story: Frictionless Sheets by Neale Sourna

2012-01-23T18:11:00.003-05:00

Frictionless Sheets

by Neale Sourna

Intergalactic Deep Space sometime in the Future

Straczynski's bloody, damnable "frictionless sheets." He'd had them freight teleported to us and we'd used them right away. Let's just say the exciting IDEA of "frictionless sheets" is an intriguing one, the actuality of using them, however, not so much a good idea.

Maybe only "half"-frictionless, you intrepid inventors out there?

It was a bad idea because we still have the basic physics of our universe. That a head banged against a resistant wall or headboard will have a reciprocal reaction, as Sir Isaac Newton pointed out so long ago—an equal and opposite force—and, once again, I and my partner, without any tangible drag holding us in safe place, rocketed off our nuptial bunk with its slick, new sheets.

Into the far bulkhead, in an unseemly tangle of bruised arms, legs, and one dented, twisted male appendage. The latter of which is deeply cherished by us both, and upon which a sweet kiss on its "boo-boo" would not make it better. It made it all...http://www.weddingnight.com/stories/frictionless-sheets.html

Free Short Story online_The Veil: 1846 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-21T13:21:00.003-05:00

The Veil: 1846

by Neale Sourna

Gretna Green, Scotland

His mother hates me, fears that I'll take him from her, or, well actually, neither he nor I know for certain what she holds against me. But he understands this hindrance; that she wishes to post the banns for his marriage to … that other person.

So we ran, he and I, with my aunt's tacit approval, including giving me a gift before our late night journey began northward, to Scotland's nearest border and the famous Blacksmiths of Gretna Green, who forge both metal and legal marriage.

We were soaked from the rain's downpour, literally steaming in the hot work shelter, leaving me unable to wear my aunt's fair gift, as the smith was hot of foot to close and splash through cold puddles and slick mud to dry home and warm supper, and so we'd married without our rings, too deeply buried in my love's valise for safekeeping, as the smith impatiently waited to legally bind us.

And we runaways were forged together, man to woman, husband to wife, with full intent to double secure our matrimonial with a visit to a somewhat distant, but well-respected, ordained minister—in insurance against my new mother-in-law's contrary wishes and any possible suit of that other's frail love and family, in desiring to forever bind him in law, and with child.

We'd been hard pressed by possible pursuit and by our own leaping hearts to be forged together as one, over the tongs of Scotland's generous law. Now, it was done.

* * * *

We'd arrived at this lovely, gabled inn, a room was provided, warm meal and warm blankets, too, and our clothes had gone to be cleared of travel mud and dried.

All we wore were scratchy, woolen blankets.

We ate in mute happiness with nervousness underlying our delicate, new bond. Words of power had been spoken in that forge's rainproof shelter, the smith's apprentice a witness to acknowledge our new status in sacred mutual agreement; and the minister's extra weight of rank and piety would hold till floods ceased.

Our meal was eaten, with only bodily consummation the next surety to our bond of runaway love as yet left undone. We put aside food and wine for later, in case we hungered and thirsted in the night, during our first night alon‑.

I ran, with nerves too heightened, to the window and stared out, and stated, "The rain slows." He came and stood behind me, he in his blanket and I... http://www.weddingnight.com/stories/the-veil.html

Character, Importance of Fairy tales: "The Wild Swans" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

2012-01-19T16:47:00.005-05:00

"The Wild Swans" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published on 2 October 1838 as the first installment in Andersen's Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In a faraway kingdom, there lives a widowed King with his twelve children: eleven princes and one princess. One day, he decides to remarry. He marries a wicked queen who was a witch. Out of spite, the queen turns her eleven stepsons into swans (they are allowed to become human by night) and forces them to fly away.

The queen then tries to bewitch their 15-year old sister Elisa, but Elisa's goodness is too strong for this, so she has Elisa banished. The brothers carry Elisa to safety in a foreign land where she is out of harm's way of her stepmother.

There, Elisa is guided by the queen of the fairies to gather nettles in graveyards; she knits these into shirts that will eventually help her brothers regain their human shapes.

Elisa endures painfully blistered hands from nettle stings, and she must also take a vow of silence for the duration of her task, for speaking one word will kill her brothers.

The king of another faraway land happens to come across the mute Elisa and falls in love with her. He grants her a room in the castle where she continues her knitting. Eventually he proposes to crown her as his queen and wife, and she accepts.

Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen, Andersen‘s first illustrator (1850)

However, the Archbishop is chagrined because he thinks Elisa is herself a witch, but the king will not believe him. One night Elisa runs out of nettles and is forced to collect more in a nearby church graveyard where the Archbishop is watching.

He reports the incident to the king as proof of witchcraft.

The statues of the saints shake their heads in protest, but the Archbishop misinterprets this sign as confirmation of Elisa's guilt.

The Archbishop orders to put Elisa on trial for witchcraft. She can speak no word in her defence and is sentenced to death by burning at the stake.

The brothers discover Elisa's plight and try to speak to the king, but fail. Even as the tumbril bears Elisa away to execution, she continues knitting, determined to keep it up to the last moment of her life. This enrages the people, who are on the brink of snatching and destroying the shirts when the swans descend and rescue Elisa.

The people (correctly) interpret this as a sign from Heaven that Elisa is innocent, but the executioner still makes ready for the burning. Then Elisa throws the shirts over the swans, and the brothers return to their human forms. The youngest brother retains one swan's wing because Elisa did not have time to finish the last sleeve.

Elisa is now free to speak and tell the truth, but she faints from exhaustion, so her brothers explain. As they do so, the firewood around Elisa's stake miraculously take root and burst into flowers. Because of the miracle that happened, the youngest brother's wing turns back to a normal arm; the king plucks the topmost flower and presents it to Elisa.

Elisa's courage prevails, and she is forever reunited with her brothers and her father, the king.

Free Short Story, Wedding Night & Honeymoon: No Touching by Neale Sourna

2012-01-19T15:28:00.004-05:00

No Touching

by Neale Sourna

No touching. That's what we'd decided, before truly realizing, as we do know, how hard this would be.

We've lived together for two years and our wedding's in two days, and we haven't "touched," I mean REALLY TOUCHED in two months. A brief, pecking kiss here; a quick hand squeeze there, yes, but not more. Pretty much just like business associates or brother and sister.

So, no lingering embraces, no handsy petting, not even lengthy handholding because, with this promise to ourselves, all of that becomes unbearable at a point; all those handsy, lingering, touchy-feely things clearly lead a woman and a man far astray to break from the kind of celibate pledge we've made to each other, and ourselves, after two and a half years of close, physical intimacy.

But we'd decided, in full mutual, sober agreement, to refrain from "close, physical intimacy" these last long, frustrating months. Two entire months. Sixty-one days. One thousand, four hundred, sixty-four hours. Infinite minutes. An infinity of seconds.

Not that we haven't had intimacy, still...http://www.weddingnight.com/stories/no-touching.html [abstinence]

Article, Post World World II: Five and Dime Store by Neale Sourna

2012-01-18T17:36:00.003-05:00

Five and Dime Store by Neale Sourna

My parents did meet, like the old song, in a "5 and 10 Cent Store." Okay, technically, it was a drug store, People's Drugstore, but that's close enough. It was after the Second World War in Richmond, Virginia.

Daddy had been a Marine, after being drafted at about age twenty-two, to serve in the "Pacific theater." He'd boxed for them and....

"Dug foxholes and hid in them," which was always his answer when we were growing up of, "What did you do doing the war, Daddy?"

He told us nothing about that time, never once glamorizing it or his part in it. Finally, a few years ago, he told one of his grandsons and I listened, silently, afraid he'd clam up like he used to do.

He told of loading and offloading death-reeking bodies of soldiers.

"A smell you never forget." He hadn't known Mama, then.

Our mother, for her part, at that time, sent letters to...http://www.romantic4ever.com/d_how_we_met/100408-five-and-dime-store.html

Free Short Story: Empty Nest Honeymoon by Neale Sourna

2012-01-17T19:15:00.003-05:00

Empty Nest Honeymoon

by Neale Sourna

Australia and Pradesh, India

Our youngest had flown from our nest, to try life on her own terms, leaving us, alone, together, for the first time, since before the children; and now, since Lal's retirement, we'd managed to argue constantly, getting on each other's raw nerves, because he'd never spent so much time home before.

So, I escaped to my sister Anila's, for a break from him being forever under my foot, walking behind me, throughout my house and gardens; criticizing—but no, he calls it "being helpful," to "help" me "streamline" my workload, etcetera, as if, after the many years of birthing and caring for his children and of his many short notices—.

"Didn't I tell you? We're to be having a business dinner party in three hours. I must have told you, Asha. Just unthaw something, do your magic, and put on a nice dress. No wait! Wear the dark purple sari—you look so very lovely and regal—."

I could have, should have killed Lal many times, justifiably. And a jury of twelve tired wives would free me. Tiresome man.

* * * *

Our eldest and middlemost child, surprisingly, met me at Anila's...http://www.weddingnight.com/stories/empty-nest-honeymoon.html

Popular Websites [Wikipedia] to Go Dark Over SOPA Controversy By Melissa Knowles | Trending Now

2012-01-17T15:02:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/popular-websites-dark-over-sopa-controversy-174211626.html

If you have anything you want to look up on Wikipedia, you'd better do it today, or you're going to have to wait a full 24 hours to get your answer. Why? Well, Wikipedia will be leading a number of high-profile websites going dark on Wednesday to protest two controversial bills in Congress.

SOPA, also known as the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House of Representatives, and PIPA, the Protect I-P Act in the Senate, are designed to crack down on the illegal sharing of movies and music on the Web. However, critics say the anti-piracy legislation is censorship and would force sites to police the online world.

On Twitter, Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, confirmed that all of Wikipedia's 3.8 million English-language articles will be unavailable from midnight Eastern time tonight until midnight Wednesday. Anyone who visits the site will be redirected to a banner that reads "The Internet must remain free." Also joining Wikipedia in going black are Reddit, Minecraft, Craigslist, and Boing Boing, among others. Craigslist has posted a message at the top of its city homepages with a link to "help put a stop to this madness" of SOPA and PIPA.

The Obama administration, as well as Congress, seem to be listening to the critics. In a blog post, the White House said it would not support "legislation that reduces freedom of expression ... or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."

And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said a vote would not come up for SOPA until a consensus is reached. By the way, if you're a fan of any of the sites that are planning to participate in the blackout, don't worry: You can still tweet about it as much as you want. Twitter will still be up and running. In fact, CEO Dick Costolo tweeted this about the sites choosing to go dark: "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."

Although there is a lot of opposition to SOPA and PIPA, some believe the legislation is necessary.
One person who does not mince words about his support for SOPA is Rupert Murdoch. Over the weekend, the media tycoon and CEO of News Corporation seemed to almost mimic the recent antics of Charlie Sheen and Kanye West, firing off a number of tweets in a short period of time.

Murdoch blasted Obama and Google for how they are dealing with the anti-piracy legislation, tweeting, "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells [ads] around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying." Google responded, calling the accusation "nonsense" and adding that it has taken down 5 million infringing webpages from its search results ... and that it fights pirating and counterfeiters every day.

Many believe that Murdoch confused downloading with streaming, and the next day he backed off. Murdoch tweeted, "Sure misunderstand many things, but not plain stealing. Incidentally google blocks many other undesirable things."

Short Story: Iraqi Honeymoon by Neale Sourna

2012-01-16T20:35:00.003-05:00

Iraqi Honeymoon

by Neale Sourna

My lady's on MP duty, that's Military Police, policing the dangerous, dusty streets of Fallujah, Iraq. Yep, Iraq; honeymoon capital of the world. Absolutely not.

We married three days ago, said, "I do." Kissed. Partied a little, until interrupted, as my special logistics liaison unit pulled out, in answer to an emergency and, short staffed at the present, we all left, including me, her brand, new husband; with the promise to get me back to her soon—AFTER our assignment, of course.

She's great.

When we're together there's no fear, but apart she worries about my "secret" forays into unknown places, among the hardest of enemies. And I go mad knowing she's on dangerous streets that make the roughest gang street in America a block party in comparison.

I get the best equipment, the best intel, the best training, and she gets a cheesy, ill-fitting safety vest, a hummer without armor, and a rifle that's a Cracker Jack® toy prize compared to the hardcore one I carry.

We're foreign here. And there's sand everywhere.

I should be caressing her soft skin, not alone, oiling my weapon—no pun intended. It gets into everything, like "fine time sand, windblown from a broken hourglass." Her mom, MY new mom-in-law said that. Well, actually, her mom said the fine sand part, and my baby added the rest.

She's so smart. She's so beautiful to me. I do love her. I do miss her. I do plan not to be blown or shot to bits before holding her again. Holding her forever.

Her last voicemail to me, in her bubbly voice, said she'd stay away from cafés and open markets—prime targets for a disgruntled types blowing themselves and their neighbors up, and she promised that she'd keep her....http://www.weddingnight.com/stories/iraqi-honeymoon.html

Outback Honeymoon, Part 3 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-15T16:48:00.000-05:00

Outback Honeymoon, Part 3 by Neale Sourna [romantic fiction]

Coober Pedy, South Australia; 1920

Nude, sun- and wind-kissed skin impregnated by improper, desirous thoughts and naked feeling.

That's what I was having, wasn't I? But, love of spirit was good, and love of heart was good, so shouldn't the open love of the body, especially the naked body of a man, who belonged to me, be as well?

"What's wrong, Maddy love?" Even his voice warms me.

"Nothing. Just stupid fluff in my brain," I said, without enough breath in me.

"Ah, congestion of the mind, eh?" He smiled too sweetly, looking terribly smug about something.

"Y-Yes."

"Well, let me help. What's the culprit obscuring your fine, clear thoughts, girl?" I can't lie, not to an honest face like that, with eyes…. But, I couldn't really just say, "You," could I?

Pete tilted his head, silently encouraging me to proceed. I tried to swallow what felt like a dry, spiky rock. The "culprit," the object of my open desir—.http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/081125-outbacklove-03.html

Outback Love, Part 2 by Neale Sourna_short story

2012-01-14T19:21:00.000-05:00

Outback Love, Part 2

by Neale Sourna

Coober Pedy, South Australia; 1919

Green. I miss the color green. Green trees, both evergreen and deciduous, and green azalea bushes ready to spring bloom, dripping with rainwater or glistening with morning's kiss. There is no green or dew kisses here because in this dry, hard place, "like the lifeless moon, after Armageddon", we never had our honeymoon, Pete and I.

"I'm not him, I'm not Joe, Maddy, not the man who sent you those letters that brought you here, but … but, if you'll h-have me—?"

"Yes. Without question," I'd said, and he'd blushed horribly, nodded mutely, and we were betrothed.

We were married by a great talkative preacher on hostile and diligent mission to convert and subvert the kind aborigines to his God. Then, Pete and I spent an uncomfortable, unconsummated wedding night lying side by side, and then he'd risen early, but I'd finally convinced him to sit still for breakfast only to have him seem increasingly guilty about dawdling his day away with me.

So, a half day into our honeymoon week, he returned to mining the opal, and that lonely way was our way for too long.

"Are y'happy here, Maddy, with me?" I'd wanted to say a bold, unquestioning "yes" again, but my nod was not so doubtless.

He's a fine man, but this is a daunting new world—this post Great War, Australian outback, this barren place of castaways. Pete was clearly avoiding any marital intimacy with me; a fine start that. Shouldn't a man be happy and take relish in his new wife, especially if he truly loved?

Still your mind and heart, Maddy girl. Mama always said I should curb such harsh, unfeminine thoughts and keep all such masculine tones of disappointment or...http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/081125-outbacklove-02.html

Free Short Story: Outback Love, Part 1 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-14T19:13:00.002-05:00

Outback Love, Part 1 [an Australian Western]

by Neale Sourna

Coober Pedy, South Australia; 1919

I'd come from a lush place, of trees and wide rivers, and had sailed a long, exhaustive time, thousands upon thousands of miles from my home, a half a world away, after receiving his letters and deciding I'd be his wife; even though I'd never met him face-to-face.

Pete'd waited several days at the port, her ship was late, and he'd wondered what she'd actually be like. People often weren't like their letters. He'd read every one, more than once.

I sighed; there wasn't a tree for miles round, not even a decent bush, as Pete drove the wagon into the interior. My God this is a large country, and barren. And my future brother-in-law seems a nervous sort, as he fidgets beside me and barely speaks to me.

The woman made Pete speechless, this soon-to-be sister-in-law. Just being beside her made him nervous. She wasn't beautiful, but she was a fine looking woman, fine enough that—.

"Ma'am?"

"Pete, we're to be brother and sister, call me Maddy." He didn't touch her name, as if it were too intimate a thing for him.

"Why're you here, ma'am, a … a fine lookin' woman like yourself, and smart too, well spoken, you could have anyone. You even read and write, but you come all the way HERE?"

"For your brother." Pete was silent a long while, then quietly asked.

"His letters that good?"

"Well, I...." I was alone with this work-hewn stranger, hundreds of miles from any other person, whether friend or foe, so my lot was cast, as I stared at his strong, and possibly deadly hands. I'd never....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/081125-outbacklove-01.html

Samurai Nights/Samurai Days by Neale Sourna

2012-01-12T17:52:00.000-05:00

Samurai Nights

by Neale Sourna

Kyoto, Japan; 1600s

We were encamped within in sight of our lord's favored family temple. His entire core retinue was in attendance, to be of service to his every noble whim. He is a good lord, a great lord, who is extremely clever and most brave, and exceedingly handsome.

As one of the many ladies of his high court, it is a joy and a thing of great hidden tears to merely glance upon him, even at a distance, as I kneel when he passes and I bow in fullest respect to such a superior being.

But, it is rumored that his heartbeats are set upon the noble Lady Ko, a wealthy cousin of our emperor with many liege knights at her call. She is a widow, and mature, but highly valued for her fine lineage, wealth, and lasting beauty.

I am but a courtier's daughter, fair at the athletic defensive skills of katana, bow, and court wit. I'd more than willingly give my life in preservation of my lord's; and yet, he will never look upon me as he does the refined and delicate Lady Ko, who supped and laughed with him, as I continued my unfortunate display and regrettable knack for breaking my Koto strings.

If I could but....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/080116-samurai.html

Samurai Days

I was encamped within sight of my favorite family temple. My entire core retinue was in attendance. I didn't need them all, but it was the most certain way to have HER there, and have no one discern the full interest and possible plans I had for her.

She's clever in fierce conversation, brave in battle, and exceedingly beautiful every moment, and yet has a blushing innocence beneath her sharp wit that intrigues me to no end. It has been pointed out that she would make a most exceptional concubine. It is even a consideration her parents clearly entertain, having singled out her best assets to me, on more than one occasion.

I could make a high match of matrimony for her. I've had several underlords, and even a rival prince or two, beg a blood alliance, sealed by her graceful hand.

I have said, "No," and I will always say, "No."

My own betrothal prospects have been argued and betted upon for some time. My ally, Lady Ko, is the frontrunner, and a marriage alliance with that wealthy, imperial cousin would prove advantageous; and she is a woman in whom I have attraction.

But lovely Ko is not HER, who I could not keep my gaze from, at my banquet for Ko, not while she was so well presented in her finest robes and brightest smiles. She sings and plays the Koto well, although she believes she does not, and even played well, despite suddenly broken strings, and did a brave thing of humor to cover her playing errors, which most women would have been far too mortified to have accomplished.

SHE repeatedly distracted me from my necessary duties with Ko, and so I had her father send her from table, for....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/080116-samurai.html

Client Relationship Article_Words: "It's Only Words" by Neale Sourna

2012-01-12T17:24:00.001-05:00

Words, "It's Only Words"

Our words, expressing ourselves, and what we may be really saying

I'm guilty, which can actually get me dead because I've been accused of quibbling about the subtle meanings of words; semantics. "That's just semantics, Neale." Well. "We are what we eat." "Garbage in, garbage out." "If I didn't know better…." I find words to be fascinating and the blatant and especially subliminal ways people choose them and use them even more so. Many seem to think imprecision of word choice and the subtle tones behind them, as they deliver them to another's ear is wholly inconsequential.

Hm. About as unimportant as too million dollars? No, that's not a typo. Or try this: you for dinner in lieu of ewe for dinner. Are the right words important to you yet?

Anger and rage.

Curse someone out quietly, with or without expletives and you'll stun your victim a little, sometimes a lot. Calm rage, contained hostility takes more energy for them to engage; they wonder is he really pissed, is she just playing, is my life on the line or not—I can't tell, exactly.

Because the accepted tone for anger and rage is loud, hysterical even.

Love is spoken in dulcet tones, like cooing to babies and kittens, but say hostile words in dulcet, soft, warm and cooing tones and you befuddle and frighten. Leaving them stunned long enough for you to run, punch them out, or come up with a third more brilliant and creative action to your pending conflict.

Marvel versus DC.

Words are a main reason I always, in general, preferred Marvel Comics over DC. Words and character. Marvel had the best "real" characters with real problems, everyday problems—that's why Spidey and "The X-Men" rule...http://stories.neale-sourna.com/article_words.html

Becca The Outlaw’s Sea Battle, Part 6 by Neale Sourna [short story, novel excerpt, chapter excerpt]

2012-01-11T22:32:00.004-05:00

Becca The Outlaw's Sea Battle, Part 6 [short story, novel excerpt, chapter excerpt]

by Neale Sourna

England; early 1690s

They'd been spotted, together, in port, shopping, of all things. They were gone by now, of course, or would be by the time he or any men he trusted could arrive to retrieve her, and yet John Eccleston, the Baron Ravenspurn, Third Earl of Northington, and newly made Duke of Hampshire, smiled, as he often did in his fashion, when he knew the goal of a fine and hard-won campaign would soon be his.

Supposed "unattainable" and "unassailable" goals were the best, for they garnered the greater reward, both personally and careerwise, whether in masculine war or at power-filled, subtle royal court.

Eccleston scowled, she'd run from engagement with him, and he'd found her and carried her himself from the isolated hunting lodge, in that great cape of Irish wool. He'd not noticed it then, a man's cape, he'd been so relieved to have found her well and unharmed, sighing in her sleep; for her popish pirate, no doubt.

The rogue Aidan O'Rourke had her, all right, that gentleman widower and foul Catholic loyalist turned pirate had walked up to her parent's home and had had a whiskey or two with a groom, as he'd seduced information from the man in easy conversation, after boldly raiding royal merchant ships and hiding in the cove nearby. And then, he'd sailed out of reach of Eccleston's gunfire, sailed with the outgoing tide, with her, after she'd sprinted....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-06.html

Chuck Lorre Vanity Cards, Y'know his TV shows closing card sayings.

2012-01-11T22:24:00.004-05:00

<< >>

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS

Thank you for videotaping "Dharma & Greg" and freeze-framing on my vanity card. I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you some of my personal beliefs. I believe that everyone thinks they can write. This is not true. It is true, however, that everyone can direct. I believe that the Laws of Karma do not apply to show business, where good things happen to bad people on a fairly regular basis. I believe that what doesn't kill us makes us bitter. I believe that the obsessive worship of movie, TV and sports figures is less likely to produce spiritual gain than praying to Thor. I believe that Larry was a vastly underrated Stooge, without whom Moe and Curly could not conform to the comedy law of three (thanks, Lee). I believe my kids are secretly proud of me. I believe that if you can't find anything nice to say about people whom you've helped to make wildly successful and then they stabbed you in the back, then don't say anything at all. I believe I have a great dog, maybe the greatest dog in the whole wide world, yes, he is! I believe that beer is a gateway drug that leads, inevitably, to vodka and somebody oughta do something about it. I believe that when ABC reads this, I'm gonna be in biiiig trouble. I believe that Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High", is the greatest rock song ever recorded. Once again, thanks for watching "Dharma & Greg". Please be sure to tune in again to this vanity card for more of my personal beliefs.

<< >>

1st Aired: 24 Sept 2007

Human Character: Woman Claims Hotel Gave Drunken Man Her Room Key By CANDACE SMITH | Good Morning America

2012-01-10T17:34:00.003-05:00

A New York business woman is suing Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, claiming staff at one of their hotels gave her room key to a drunken man who allegedly sexually assaulted her in her bed.

Alison Fournier announced the suit today at a news conference with women's rights lawyer Gloria Allred.

According to the suit, Fournier was in her locked room [Most hotels have a lock, a bolt, AND a chain. I use all three, why didn't she?_NS] in Hotel Kämp, a hotel operated by Starwood Hotels in Helsinki, Finland, on the night of Jan. 15, 2011 when she was sexually assaulted.

The man, who was "visibly intoxicated," had undressed, slipped into her bed, and proceeded to grope her naked body, the suit says.

Fournier, who is represented by Allred and the New York firm Cuti Hecker Wang LLP, is suing the company for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress for an amount to be determined at trial.

Fournier was traveling to Helinski for work and said that she specifically chose a Starwood hotel because of the company's reputation.

"Starwood is the go-to brand for business travelers and I expected a certain level of security from their hotels," Fournier said in a statement.

But instead of security, Fournier said she found susceptibility.

According to a release that Allred sent out, a man approached Fournier the night of the incident, expressing a sexual interest in her. According to Allred, Fournier had made it very clear that she was not interested in him and retreated to her room to get away.

That same man, according to the suit, later went to the front desk, said that he was Fournier's husband, and obtained a key from hotel staff to her room.

The staff did not ask him for any identification or proof that he was in fact Fournier's husband, according to the lawsuit. He then proceeded to her room [Most hotels have a lock, a bolt, AND a chain. I use all three, why didn't she?_NS] and tried to molest her. She awoke, grabbed a housecoat, and ran screaming from the room.

"To this day, I still suffer from the memories of that night and I am still not able to put it behind me," Fournier said.

She said that, because of the incident, she left her career and moved from New York to be closer to her family.

The suit alleges that there is no indication that Starwood has taken any action to investigate the incident at Hotel Kämp or to disassociate itself from the Finnish hotel.

In a statement given to ABC News by Starwoods Hotels and Resorts, Worldwide, the company said it is investigating the incident.

"The safety and security of our guests is our first and foremost priority. It is company-wide policy to ensure proper identification is shown and verified before distributing a key to a registered guest's room," the statement said. "We are taking this allegation seriously and are working with the hotel in question to understand the facts and any breach of security that may have contributed to this very unfortunate event. "

Allred said the case is representative of a bigger problem than a personal assault, because women, particularly businesswoman, have a right to feel safe when traveling and staying at well known hotels.

"Business women have a right to safety and security and especially need that safety and security when traveling abroad," Allred told ABC News. "They are particualrly vulnerable when traveling alone. Starwood's negligence, misconduct and reckless disregard for the safety of Ms. Fournier has led to devastating and life changing consequences for her. ... They need to be fully accountable and make sure that this never happens again." [Most hotels have a lock, a bolt, AND a chain. I use all three, why didn't she?_NS]

Becca Comes Ashore, Part 5 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-10T17:27:00.003-05:00

Becca Comes Ashore,
Part 5

by Neale Sourna

Donegal Bay, Ireland, 1680s

Despite his carrot red hair, she hadn't seen him, but he'd seen her and recognized her, and had followed, until the wily-eyed Irishman had noticed him, and so he'd slunk from direct sight, letting her go on.

She was alone with a man not her kinsman and most assuredly not her noble, poor husband. He amended that thought to "her noble husband," for to call the fearsome earl "poor" by mistake to his face or in any way it might return to him could prove disastrous. But, he had valuable information, now, and directly sent it by his most trusted and fleet messenger, to the earl—the current whereabouts of his adulterous new countess.

* * * *

Becca laughed and Aidan's gaze pulled back from the surrounding market crowd, to watch her do so, as she watched the cabin boy and his rat terrier run about the cursing vendors like mad to see so many new and interesting things in this Irish bay port. Aidan's gaze captured hers.

"Laughing at me, sir?"

"No. But you're laughing at the boy."

"He likes it when I notice him, although I make him quite nervous. Why is that?"http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-05.html rest of short story / chapter novel excerpt

eBookMall: Neale Sourna eBooks

2012-01-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

Neale Sourna eBooks

Neale won BlackRefer.com's Best Erotica Novel award for her first published novel, "Hobble," published through her own company, PIE: Perception Is Everything, and successfully ranked as a finalist for New Century Screenplay's national contest for her script, "FRAMES." Neale has many enjoyable titles available for ebook and print.

This author's purpose? Great fiction with great characters, edgy and human characters, whether male or female POV, that gets in deep under your skin and is a benefit in your life, perhaps even a great anchor or a great elevator of spirit, fiction (and nonfiction) you'll read again and again, and share with your friends, family, and special beloved one(s). www.Neale-Sourna.com / www.PIE-Percept.com

Interview with Neale Sourna

Do your friends and family approve or disprove of the content of your books?

They approve and think it scandalous fun; but, I'm not certain they actually read them. I sent everyone a copy of my first to publish, "Hobble," and have gotten praise for completing it and continuing; and my schoolmate Amy said she'd put it somewhere the kids wouldn't get into it.

Name a book that you'd blush to be seen reading on the bus.

I don't remember the titles; but, when I had out erotic books from the Cleveland Public Library (www.CPL.org) for reference reading, mostly contemporary gay / lesbian or classic erotica stuff; the covers had naked women on them, that's a bit racy for the city bus. Of course, now my own North Coast Academies series has a man's naked chest and a woman's lace clad tushy and condom; so, I hold it downward—as I do most books anyway, as the natural reading position—on public transport.

What is a favorite novel of yours that nobody else seems to have heard of?

Ursula K. Le Guin's "Lathe of Heaven," as a novel; not just two obscure sci-fi films. Another people seem to forget is a book novel, not just movies. In fact, I once found, that I own—meaning I bought it TWICE, and enjoyed buying it, again, totalling forgetting I already had a copy—Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights." I adore its wild, deep passions, which is why it was heavily censured; men and certainly educated, well-bred ladies don't write that. They do and / or they read it, too. Repeatedly. I still have both copies.

What book were you forced to read at school that no child should have to study?

Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"; can't finish the book, can't finish the film. It's the only book report I ever fudged in school. Sorry. Maybe because it's too well-written and I find all the dreariness daunting. When Mr. M. Smith asked me if I'd actually read the book; I told this favored 11th grade American English teacher, "Yes and no. I read the top, hated it. Skipped to the end, and hated that, too." But, worse, I just didn't care about the people in that story; but, I respect and like Steinbeck's other works.

I never finished "Lord Jim" either, although I'd bought it to do so. I couldn't get through the first non-ending, mind-numbing pages of descriptions of foliage or whatever; did get through the Peter O'Toole film, once. I've been reading adult level books since elementary but, sometimes, stuff is just not for every mind and heart.

Did you ever read a book and then wish you had all that time back?

No. If it's that bad, I don't finish it. I try, though, and I give it more time and pages to win me over, and a limit; like with the formerly U.S.-banned erotica "Tropic of Cancer" (1934) by Henry Miller—another reference I got from CPL, for good written erotica. My limit was, if he mentioned "bedbugs" ONE MORE time, I'd quit. I think I read fewer than ten more pages before he did it again.

I never have these problems with D. H. Lawrence, who is more emotion and love-based to me, and less a one trying to show off how manly he is, yet, uses the "naughty" words, as real people do, and telling stories well.

What is the best contemporary novel you've read in the last year?

I can't say one in particular, but for the past year—since I enjoy well-crafted and character most, then action and emotion based on how each character handles it—enjoyed the entire series for, each: Harry Potter, Sookie Stackhouse, Lily Bard's "Shakespeare" series, and latest continuations for "The House of Night's" Zooey Redbird minus the novellas (haven't gotten to those, yet).

Waiting to get my hands on the new Diana Gabaldon for anything in the "Outlander" series. Always.

What is the best writing advice you've ever been given?

"Write what you know." But, I interpret it as writing what I love to read, study, and obsess about, or am annoyed with, because that gives the writing energy. I know lots of stuff and it floats up, pulled by each different character, whether Old West, or Victorian England, or just male/female POV things from real people, and old books and stories, or a new and inventive character-driven television show on DVD.

Did you ever regret wanting to be a writer?

No. Never. But, I do find it sometimes daunting, crazy, overwhelming, and awe-inspiring. Godlike. Making entire worlds and allowing my character children do their individual thing, no matter how much they sometimes freak me out.

Do you like to know how a story ends before starting it?

Of someone else's book, no. Of one of my own, I usually have an idea, an inkling of what the end is, sometimes I haven't a clue, until I fully get there; especially, if I thought I knew but the character pulls a u-turn or loop the loop spiral; and, suddenly, the end I perceived has a slightly different flavor or sense to it. That's really cool.

I had that happen with "Hobble." The lead, Benn, had a significantly different personal background, just a slight step to the side, from the one I'd penned for him up to the point the cops reveal what he'd hidden (even from me, his author!!!) most of the entire book. A way cool surprise.

Do you ever write while intoxicated?

I don't drink intoxicants, or take them any other way, they're annoying, expensive, and ruin the mediumistic connection I have with me, myself, and I. So, I'd assume intoxicants would interfere with my characters communicating with me. Except, maybe, caffeine mixed with sugary drinks. Yum.

And, yes, they do communicate. I hear their voices in my head, feel their emotions, and sometimes, like with anahk Tor of my "All Along the Watchtower," he communicates so clearly to me, sometimes, I've actually told him to shut up, so I could sleep, and to hold his thoughts until the next day writing, or dictation, in his case. Making good use of all those years in administrative offices downtown.

And, once or twice, when I've been deeply upset with heavy life issues, Tor has come to me, in my dreams, and comforted me. Really.

That is deep and, probably, a bit psychotic to some; but, I'd never planned on being an author, really. I'd thought I'd write a book or two, nonfiction about something amusing or interesting; but, mostly, I'd be a screenwriter for TV and film or a music composer; instead, a child of a minister truck driver and a foodworker from working class middle America's north Midwest is....

It's too amazing, sometimes. So, I've been dragging my heels, a bit, because it is so damn amazing, and important (no matter what people whine about the less importantness of entertainment, and how much it costs); good stories, let alone great ones, and characters you remember like friends and family are priceless. And a thing I'm used to generating in my private mind and feelings, since I was little, not penning and handing to others to read!

I'm working on that, folks, and own my still GROWING cue of interesting novels, about: a Victorian Native American, Tor and his powerful sorceress princess, expanding post Charles II of England's runaway bride "Becca's" story of loving a pirate and a soldier from the online short chapters, and more stories in Sparta and Rome, in deep space, and a stint or two in the military Special Forces....

Thanks,
Neale Sourna

eBooks found: 17

All Along the Watchtower: Submerged (A Novel Excerpt)

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Fantasy - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, August 2009
ISBN: 9780979684173

I had a dream, literally, and it was a wordless, brief scene of great emotion, in which a warrior, in his king's name, had just devastated a people, and that his lover was the leader of those displaced >>

eBook price: $1.97

Dia's Coach (1)

Neale Sourna

Fiction : African American - General | Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, December 2011
ISBN: 9781938903052

Young Dia is a naughty cheerleader, who prefers older men, well, one particular older man. She wants everyone's favorite team coach and teacher, Mr. Dean. He's been good and strong, resisting her; but, >>

eBook price: $4.97

Hobble

Neale Sourna

Fiction : African American - General | Fiction : Erotica - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, August 2003
ISBN: 9780974195001

Native American medical professional BENNET GILLESPIE'S "off track" life dangerously spirals, as his compulsive and sexual, love entanglement with DAY, a beautiful, "knife-happy" African American "innocent", >>

eBook price: $9.95

NCADv4n1--North Coast Academies' Diary, Vol 4 #1--Tad: The Switch-hitter, His Twink, and His Teacher--A Lust Novella (M/M/M)

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, January 2011
ISBN: 9780979684197

Gorgeous, biracial, bisexual rich kid, Tad, gets whoever he wants, male or female, and he has a relentless hard on for his English professor, Dr. Hupper, whose magnificent black cock Tad's stuffed down >>

eBook price: $7.97

Neale Sourna's CuntSinger: Cunnilingus: How to Give Head (Oral Sex and Eating Pussy), for Giving Women Orgasms of Cuntlicious Joy!

Neale Sourna

Health & Fitness : Sexuality | Self-Help : Sexual Instruction

PIE: Perception Is Everything ClearFocus, May 2009
ISBN: 9780979684159

Have her fall completely in love with THE WAY YOU MAKE LOVE to her. She'll NEVER say, "No," again. Neale Sourna's CuntSinger Cunnilingus: How to Give Head (Oral Sex and Eating Pussy), for Giving Women >>

eBook price: $9.97

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 1, #1--Laila: Cozy with Daddy

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, May 2006
ISBN: 9780974195056

Brainy, multiracial, private school virgin, Laila Mariah Deever, chooses to seduce her handsome, middle aged stepfather, Ross, for her first incestuous sexual encounter. NCAD Vol 1 #1 Laila: Cozy With >>

eBook price: $3.50

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 1, #2--Yune: Suck My _ _ _ _

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, July 2006
ISBN: 9780974195070

Basketball jock Yune gets his stone hard, young Korean American cocksucked by a first time knob munching, K.A. church virgin, while his favorite, bespectacled, brown-skinned teen goddess secretly watches, >>

eBook price: $2.75

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 2, #1--Ross: Daddy's Little Whore, uh, Seductress

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, July 2007
ISBN: 9780979684104

Sexy middle-aged stepdad, Ross Deever, wakes naked beside his newly deflowered, multiracial stepdaughter, Laila; then vainly tries abstaining from hitting it again. And again. With a vengeance. Kitchen >>

eBook price: $6.25

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 3, #1. 2--Laila: Daddy's Willing Little Slut

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, December 2008
ISBN: 9780979684135

Laila; Smarty Schoolgirl--Daddy's Willing Little Slut. Teen Laila's rape-punished by stepdaddy, Ross, for playing the skanking stepdaughter, and she loves it. Laila's first incestuous father-daughter rape >>

eBook price: $6.25

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 3, #1. 3--Ross: My Daughter's Anal Cherry

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, December 2008
ISBN: 9780979684142

Ross; Laila's Stepdad--My Daughter's Anal [Asshole] Cherry. Daddy Ross regrets his criminal-rough treatment, until randy little Laila begs for more, in her pristine asshole. And gets it. A volunteer cock >>

eBook price: $6.25

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eBooks found: 17

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 3, #1.1--Sascha: Public Parking, Sex Squared

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, December 2008
ISBN: 9780979684128

Sascha: Laila's Classmate--Public Parking, Sex Squared. Studious, male teen virgin, Sascha, watches hottie valedictorian schoolmate Laila steam up her glasses, public sexin' her lucky stepdad, then nerdy >>

eBook price: $6.25

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary, Volume 3, #1--3 Sex Views: Ross, Laila, Sascha

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, November 2008
ISBN: 9780979684111

Three (3) HUGE stories, priced as ONE (1)!! (1.) Sascha: Laila's Classmate-Public Parking, Sex Squared [8289 words] Studious, male teen virgin, Sascha, watches hottie valedictorian schoolmate Laila steam >>

eBook price: $6.25

Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Journal 1, Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary Vol. 1-3 Compiled

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Short Stories (single author)

PIE: Perception Is Everything, March 2010
ISBN: 9780979684180

Journal compilation of six (6) hardcore, sexual short stories previously published individually, as "Neale Sourna's North Coast Diary" entries. Laila: Cozy With Daddy [7857 words]; Yune: Suck My - - - >>

eBook price: $6.97

Neale Sourna's SexSinger: Cunnilingus_How to Give Head (Oral Sex and Eating Pussy), for Giving Women Orgasms of Cuntlicious Joy! Info and Sex Games!

Neale Sourna

Games | Health & Fitness : Sexuality | Self-Help : Sexual Instruction

PIE: Perception Is Everything ClearFocus, October 2011
ISBN: 9781938903021

Cunnilingus: How to Give Head (Oral Sex and Eating Pussy), for Giving Women Orgasms of Cuntlicious Joy! Info and Sex Games! Includes: Helpful information, diagrams, clear instructions, plus fiction excerpts >>

eBook price: $9.97

Seduce Her Like Keanu Reeves (3 Articles: Seduce, 10 Seduction Secrets, List of Bad Lovers)

Neale Sourna

Family & Relationships : Interpersonal Relations | Family & Relationships : Love & Romance | Self-Help : Sexual Instruction

PIE: Perception Is Everything ClearFocus, August 2009
ISBN: 9780979684166

3 Articles: Seduce, 10 Seduction Secrets, List of Bad Lovers (1) Seduce Her Like Keanu Reeves (2) Ten, Yes, 10 (Ten) of The Best, Easiest, Romantic Seduction Secrets, from Keanu Reeves' Performances (3) >>

eBook price: $0.67

Steve's Monkey's Paw and More

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything, September 2005
ISBN: 9780974195094

eBook price: $1.95

The Freelancer

Neale Sourna

Fiction : Erotica - General | Fiction : Romance - General

PIE: Perception Is Everything SoftFocus, September 2011
ISBN: 9781938903007

Annie's new temp, Ryan, with the fascinating ass, is great at his job, even on his very first day; but, he's driving her to distraction and she can't get anything done! When Annie works late and alone, >>

eBook price: $1.00

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Becca's Faux Honeymoon, Part 4 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-09T18:29:00.002-05:00

Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, 1680s

Faux honeymoon. That was the phrase scurrying around her mind; this time together, sailing, locked in his quarters, lying flesh to flesh in his bunk. Curse him, smirking whenever she called a wall a "wall" not bulkhead, the window "window" not port, and his comfy bunk a "bed."

"Are you listening? Aidan?" He stretched his big body and quirked one drowsy eye open.

"I'm happy and contented, woman, can yah not leave it at that?"

"But I-I know so little about your world, and it is quite a different world, fascinating, all open air and freedom. Granted, I've not been … 'topside,' is it? But…. Oh! What do your men know? Not that I care, as they're not gentlemen, and really, aren't sailors a kind of servant, except those the crown holds in service as virtual slaves, but they'd…. What? Why do you stare at me so?"

"You're quite energetic after bed-ridin', aren't yah?" She shrugged.

"Well, saucy sir, it HAS been a while, since…." Her incredible face saddened, and a part of him

was jealous of her hidden, longing memories of another man.

"You never took a lover, after you were widowed?" She frowned, plainly he'd hit a sore point.

"No. Not 'after' or 'before' nor during. My love, when given, is quite chaste. Surely you understand. I saw the relief on your face when I returned your silver cup."

She saw him wince, then she glanced at it now, it sat across the room in the place of secure honor, where he must plainly be able to see it directly before him whenever he sat to work. Was there another term for a sailor's desk, she'd have to ask, but later, as the cup practically sang in the light that reflected brightly off it like a fierce angel's....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-04.html

A Report on Software Tools for Interactive Storytelling by Richard Rabil, Jr

2012-01-08T23:51:00.002-05:00

This report presents an evaluation of four tools used to author stories for video games: articy:draft, Chat Mapper, the Dragon Age Toolset, and Microsoft Excel 2007.

The evaluation involved a literature review, web survey, hours of firsthand experience with each tool, and an extensive scoring process. The report contains visual summaries of results, quantitative scores for each tool, a detailed discussion (along with relevant screenshots), recommendations, and an in-depth commentary.

Becca Gets Her Sea Legs, Part 3 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-08T22:25:00.000-05:00

Atlantic Ocean, Ireland; 1680s

"It's not fair," Becca moaned between gulps, of drinking a watered wine concoction, and promptly vomited, again. Aidan wiped her face, and then she fell back into his bunk, and watched as his hammock, which, though pulled to one side, swayed with the rocking of his ship. Damnable pirate. This new world of his would not be still.

"Utterly not fair."

"Your new husband, who you jilted your wedding night, pretending to be sick, so you'd not have to accommodate him, as per your full wifely duties, and then dashing away to me and sea, I think he'd say it was your just desserts, skittish girline."

"I doubt he'd say 'skittish,' perhaps something starting with an 's' and 'l.' And don't say 'desser‑'." And she hastily draped herself over the edge, and nothing came. A wholly unattractive way to spend one's time with one's new lover.

"More?" He proffered the drink and she shook her disheveled head and groaned with pathetic intensity, as he....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-03.html [short story chapter]

Gradual Hopes

2012-01-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

"Watch for the gradual hopes, they'll destroy you. Or set you free."

_Neale Sourna
10/04/2011

Becca Escapes to Sea, Part 2 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-07T19:32:00.002-05:00

Becca Escapes to Sea, Part 2 by Neale Sourna

Cornwall, England UK; 1680s

Runaway bride Becca's betrothed, her elder earl, and his huntsmen found her comfortably asleep by the hearth fire, wrapped in Pirate Aidan's great cloak, and Aidan was gone from her side when she was abruptly awakened.

He'd barely escaped, so at peace with her, so distracted was he by an extraordinary woman.

"Damn."

He hid in the wet trees unable to return, as the earl himself gathered up his wayward fiancée and left. Aidan tipped back, not caring that his good cloak was gone, but the silver cup's loss was immeasurable. He'd found it gone, taken, and had swallowed hard, fighting the panic to draw pistol and cutlass and retrieve it, as the sudden....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-02.html

Becca in the Woods, Part 1 by Neale Sourna

2012-01-06T16:51:00.000-05:00

Cornwall, England UK; 1680s

Becca'd been on her way to her betrothal, or rather she'd escaped from crowded, maddening London, back to her stormy, Atlantic tossed Cornwall coast;,three hundred miles further west than most London courtiers would ever venture.

The whole world was in mad upheaval! Pirates raided coasts. Neighbor killed neighbor, for God and Right. Their Catholic king'd run away and his daughter, with her Dutch Protestant husband, now ruled; as Becca's healthy loveliness and strong family name remained besieged by an earl, whose grown heir had died, and now he wanted another, by her.

Unlucky Becca.

She'd lost....http://www.romantic4ever.com/romantic-fiction/becca-01.html

Prepare for Valentine's Day! Sexy Creative Sex Information and Sex Games!

2012-01-06T15:33:00.005-05:00

Sing your sex, make her sing with love....

Sing your sex harder, make her sing louder with love....

Or, with love it's all equally ecstatic.

_Neale Sourna

Listing of free and buyable books, ebooks

2012-01-05T00:16:00.002-05:00

Listing of books, ebooks, short stories, excerpts, novels and more, like games, poems, scripts/screenplays (still adding material)

by author Neale Sourna

$3.2 billion in revenue/2011: Tablets, e-readers closing book on ink-and-paper era

2012-01-03T17:03:00.005-05:00

Tablet computers and electronic readers promise to close the book on the ink-and-paper era as they transform the way people browse magazines, check news or lose themselves in novels.

“It is only a matter of time before we stop killing trees and all publications become digital,” Creative Strategies president and principal analyst Tim Bajarin told AFP.

Online retail giant Amazon has made electronic readers mainstream with Kindle devices, and Apple ignited insatiable demand for tablets ideal for devouring online content ranging from films to magazines and books.

In 2011, digital books earned about $3.2 billion in revenue, an amount that the combined momentum of e-readers and tablets is expected to triple to $9.7 billion by the year 2016, according to a Juniper Research report.

Readers are showing increased loyalty to digital books, according to the US Book Industry Study Group (BISG).

Nearly half of print book buyers who also got digital works said they would skip getting an ink-and-paper release by a favorite author if an electronic version could be had within three months, a BISG survey showed.

“The e-book market is developing very fast, with consumer attitudes and behaviors changing over the course of months, rather than years,” said BISG deputy executive director Angela Bole.

Concerns about ebook reading are diminishing, with people mainly wishing for lower device prices, according to the survey.

Owning e-readers tended to ramp up the amount of money people spent on titles in what BISG described as a promising sign for publishers.

Major US book seller Barnes & Noble responded to the trend by launching an ereader, the Nook, and other chains are picking up on the strategy, according to Juniper.

“I’m among those who believe that the new e-book craze expands a person’s interest in reading overall,” said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner.

“When you can get someone excited about reading in any way, you turn on the reading ignition and it leads to all content,” Weiner said, adding that ink-and-paper works will continue to hold a place in the mix.

Bajarin believes it will be at least a decade before print is obsolete.

“For one thing, there is a generation of people above 45 who grew up with this reading format and for many this will remain the most comfortable way for them to consume content for quite a while,” he said.

“However, younger generations are already moving rapidly to digital representations of publications and, over time, they will be using e-books and tablets to consume all of their publications.”

Weiner expected hardback or paperback books to be preferred in some situations, such as home reading, even as digital dominates publishing.

“I think it is a myth that it is going to kill the print book business,” Weiner said.
“Will it force publishers to think differently?” he asked rhetorically. “Absolutely, but it doesn’t spell the demise of print (book) publishing.”

Newspapers and magazines, however, should read the digital writing on the wall, according to analysts.

“Newspapers and magazines have different issues,” Weiner said.

“Print will wind up extinct for newspapers, while magazines will need to figure out the balance between print and digital,” he contended.

Newspapers spend a lot of money printing and distributing daily editions that can’t be kept as fresh as stories on the Internet.

Meanwhile, advertising has been moving online where audiences can be better targeted and advertisers pay when people actually click on ads.

In 2011, media colossus News Corp. launched an iPad only publication, The Daily, as newspapers big and small improved mobile websites and invested in applications to get their publications on tablets.

Struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! has been recreating itself as a platform for “premier digital content” and in November it launched a Livestand news magazine tailored for the iPad.

Livestand weaves video, pictures and text in easily navigated presentations in a challenge to popular iPad social magazine application Flipboard.

Time Inc. last month brought in digital advertising veteran Laura Lang to run what is the largest magazine publisher in the United States.

“Magazines are still figuring it out,” Weiner said of adapting to the smart tablet age. “I think they are in evolution.”

As if online competition weren’t enough for the print magazine business, the US Postal Service is proposing to do away with weekend deliveries in a move that could make weeklies seem like even older news by the time they arrive.

Agence France-Presse

AFP journalists cover wars, conflicts, politics, science, health, the environment, technology, fashion, entertainment, the offbeat, sports and a whole lot more in text, photographs, video, graphics and online.

New Character Stuff to Write in Fiction and Nonfiction_M.I.T. Game-Changer: Free Online Education For All by James Marshall Crotty

2012-01-01T20:42:00.003-05:00

Posted: 12/21/2011 @ 1:57PM

For Wall Street Occupiers or other decriers of the “social injustice” of college tuition, here’s a curveball bound to scramble your worldview: a totally free college education regardless of your academic performance or background.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) will announce on Monday that they intend to launch an online learning initiative called M.I.T.x,which will offer the online teaching of M.I.T. courses free of charge to anyone in the world.

The program will not allow students to earn an M.I.T. degree.

Instead, those who are able to exhibit a mastery of the subjects taught on the platform will receive an official certificate of completion. The certificate will obviously not carry the weight of a traditional M.I.T. diploma, but it will provide an incentive to finish the online material.

According to the New York Times, in order to prevent confusion, the certificate will be a credential bearing the distinct name of a new not-for-profit body that will be created within M.I.T.

The new online platform will look to build upon the decade-long success of the university’s original free online platform, OpenCourseWare (OCW), which has been used by over 100 million students and contains course material for roughly 2,100 classes.

The new M.I.T.x online program will not compete with OCW in the number of courses that it offers. However, the program will offer students a greater interactive experience.

Students using the program will be able to communicate with their peers through student-to-student discussions, allowing them an opportunity to ask questions or simply brainstorm with others, while also being able to access online laboratories and self-assessments. In the future, students and faculty will be able to control which classes will be available on the system based on their interests, creating a personalized education setting.

M.I.T.x represents the next logical evolution in the mushrooming business of free online education by giving students an interactive experience as opposed to a simple videotaped lecture.

Academic Earth (picked by Time Magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2009) has cornered the market on free online education by making a smorgasbord of online course content – from prestigious universities such as Stanford and Princeton – accessible and free to anyone in the world. Users on Academic Earth can watch lectures from some of the brightest minds our universities have to offer from the comfort of their own computer screen.

However, that is all they can do: watch.

Khan Academy, another notable online education site, offers a largely free interactive experience to its users through assessments and exercises, but it limits itself to K-12 education. By contrast, M.I.T.x will combine the interactivity of the Khan Academy with the collegiate focus of Academic Earth, while drawing primarily from M.I.T.’s advanced course material.

“M.I.T. has long believed that anyone in the world with the motivation and ability to engage M.I.T. coursework should have the opportunity to attain the best M.I.T.-based educational experience that Internet technology enables,” said M.I.T. President Susan Hockfield in the university’s press release.

According to the university, residential MIT students can expect to use M.I.T.x in a different way than online-only students. For instance, the program will be used to augment on-campus course work by expanding upon what students learn in class (faculty and students will determine how to incorporate the program into their courses).

The university intends to run the two programs simultaneously with no reduction in OCW offerings.

"Best Values" In Private University Education
James Marshall Crotty Contributor

According to the New York Times, access to the software will be free. However, there will most likely be an “affordable” charge, not yet determined, for a credential.

The program will also save individuals from the rigors of the cutthroat M.I.T. admissions process, as online-only students will not have to be enrolled in the prestigious, yet expensive, university to access its online teaching resources.

Those chomping at the bit to dive into M.I.T.x will have to wait, as the university doesn’t plan to launch a prototype of the platform until the spring of 2012.

According to M.I.T. Provost L. Rafael Reif and Anant Agarwal, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, the prototype might include only one course, but it would quickly expand to include many more courses. Once launched, M.I.T. officials expect the M.I.T.x platform to be a giant hit amongst other universities looking to create or expand upon their online course materials.

“Creating an open learning infrastructure will enable other communities of developers to contribute to it, thereby making it self-sustaining,” said Agarwal in the M.I.T. press release.

Whether M.I.T.x will directly threaten the margins at for-profit online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, APUS, or DeVry remains to be seen.

But as M.I.T.x starts to provide many of the salient virtues of for-profit online colleges, such as a robust learning management systems and real-time virtual interaction, these publicly traded education companies might have to lower fees in order to compete with M.I.T.x’s compelling free price.

In addition, the success of M.I.T.x, OCW, and Academic Earth may push dramatic technological innovation at for-profits, so that they can maintain a unique selling proposition versus their free competitors.

Moreover, as the rapidly growing number of what are termed “self educators” choose free college education, a cottage industry of social media support services might evolve to bring them together for free in-person study and help sessions.

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Which is all to say that, against this country’s sizable need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) graduates, M.I.T.x is nothing short of revolutionary. This is especially true if you aren’t a credential freak and, like me, just want to improve your chops in a marketable subject area.

Heck, maybe Gene Marks’ (“If I Were a Black Kid”) tech-based view of education can become a reality after all.

5 Big Trends for Education in 2012-13
James Marshall Crotty Contributor

Quote of the Day: Brilliant Ideas...

2011-12-26T17:08:00.002-05:00

"You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere."

—Lee Iacocca: Businessman, author, former CEO of Chrysler Corporation and bad actor in "Miami Vice" episode

Motivational Quote of the Day

2011-12-19T17:01:00.000-05:00

"The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone.

The driving force of a career must come from the individual.

Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!"

— Earl Nightingale: was an American motivational speaker and author

Where to Buy Neale Sourna / PIE: Perception Is Everything Books and Ebooks

2011-12-18T03:26:00.000-05:00

NEW, Sexy and Exciting Ebooks online from YOUR WRITER Neale Sourna.

BUY Adobe Reader (PDF), Kindle-Mobipocket, and Print; epub editions to come.

Find everywhere online! And order offline, too; just ask!

eBookMall (Adobe PDF)

Ebook Eros

EbookPie

GoHastings

Lybrary.com

Kobo Books

TookBook

Starland Books

Diesel Ebooks (Adobe Digital / Kindle-Mobi)

Powell's (paperback print book / ebooks

AbeBooks (paperback print books only)

Barnes&Noble (paperback print books only)

--------------

also Amazon's European (Euro), Canadian, Australia / New Zealand Stores
Neale Sourna at Amazon.com (ebooks & paperback print books)
(some items not available _ banned by Amazon)
Amazon Kindle Store (Kindle-Mobi ebooks only)
(some items not available _ banned by Amazon)
Amazon A-store aka Neale's Sexy Store (some items not
available _ banned by Amazon)

Books On Board (nonfiction ebooks only)

--------------

Mobipocket Store (Mobipocket only)
(closes Jan 02, 2012; consolidates all stock to Kindle Store)

Microsoft Reader Store (closed, all MS Reader ebooks out
of production, out of stock per Microsoft 2011)

Fictionwise Ebooks ("Hobble" only)

Palm format ("Hobble" only)

and at other quality online and offline independent and chain booksellers you love!!

Just ask your Wholesalers and Retailers to purchase Neale Sourna / PIE: Perception Is Everything books
and ebooks through Ingram's /Ingram Content or Lightning Source and Amazon Kindle.