Tag: romance

Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviews, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Love and fate go hand in hand in the romantic period drama Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon. A tale of romance, family feuds and unexplainable
power, this incredible story takes readers through the post World War II mid-west American setting to tell the story of two star crossed lovers
that must fight to be together. Here is the official synopsis:

In the early 1950s, Odessa Drake (Dessa) is rescued from a bleak existence with a single mother. She takes a chance on the unknown to work in a boarding house owned by a widowed great aunt in Mineville, New York. Dessa is devoted to Aunt Flo and especially a young man, Nicholas, who appears and takes shelter in the attic, the only available space. Four years pass. She looks forward to each day because of his presence, in spite of the tedious work. Dessa is now eighteen and knows little more of Nicholas than the day he arrived to work the mines. She knows only he is a remarkable man who has a limp and she trusts Nicholas explicitly. There is a familiarity both recognize and an unshakable bond develops. Nicholas has reasons to keep his past buried. Dangers loom and become evident when Nicholas gets too close and exposes their bond. What is the mystery behind this threat? To discover the answer, they escape by railway heading West, colliding with treachery and uncovering secrets, mile by mile. Their journey is impossible, but, they are supported by friends who risk their lives to make sure a great love and lineage is preserved. Or is it? None will forget their odyssey as they proceed to their destiny farther than they imagined.

The story of Odessa and Nicholas is a blend of Romeo and Juliet with a splash of the supernatural. The mystery behind Nicholas spans the entire
novel, with twists and turns that no one will see coming. The bond between these two lovers is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Its a whirlwind
romance that takes the reader through a roller coaster of emotions.

The writing was fantastic, with a wonderful attention to detail that made me feel as if I were living in the early 1950s. I could almost feel
the biting cold of winter and smell the sawdust on the small farm Odessa lives in. The imagery of the Midwest setting was breathtakingly beautiful
in it’s description, and the emotions felt throughout the novel were evident in every page of every chapter. It’s a wonderful read that’s full of
heart that everyone should read, so if you haven’t yet please be sure to pick up your copy of Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon today!

Rating: 8/10

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Happy #worldbookday in honor of the occasion, you can get my novella #VOID for 50% off! That’s a $5 savings. Use the code UM5VGQBP on #createspace now to get this acclaimed contemporary romance and drama today! You can’t beat this bargain. 📖❤️ #sale #book #books #booksale #bookdiscount #discount #halfoff #novella #romance #contemporaryromance #drama #author #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #writer

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★´¨)
(¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•`IT’S LIVE★*´¨✫

Dᴇsᴇᴄʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ Sᴏʟᴏᴍᴏɴ by bestselling Author Lucian Bane is out!
Go get this twisted ‪#‎romance‬ ‪#‎thriller‬ TODAY!

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/1McfFHi

Blurb:

**WARNING***
This
book contains elements that may be disturbing and offensive. Please
read with caution if you are triggered by events depicting violence and
various forms of abuse.

On the seventh day of the seventh year… she desecrates.

Evil
keeps a formidable schedule in Weston, West Virginia. Every seventh
year, spirits from the town’s abandoned insane asylum seek worthy souls
to command. But this seventh year, a desecration unlike any before is
scheduled to ravage the town. And Solomon Gorge is lured to the
harrowing event by the screams of Silence.

@amazon

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How I Met Your Mother Fail: My Problem with the Finale:

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER OR THE FINALE, DON’T READ AHEAD.

Now before I write this, let me state a simple fact: I loved How I Met Your Mother and all the characters over the course of it’s nine
seasons. While the ninth and final season had it’s hiccups, I even loved the emotional core of the season. This post however is one writer’s
perspective on the finale, and why I felt it failed to conclude the series story properly.

There are a few problems I had with the finale as both a fan and as a writer. First off, let’s start with the fact that the final episode
felt like a forced plot. Spending an entire season building up this massive weekend affair for Robin and Barney’s wedding, plus spending
the whole last season showing Barney and Robin’s progression as characters to evolve to a loving, more committed place, would have been
a great payoff. However, to end the series with Robin choosing her career over a balance of work and love, and having Barney return to
womanizing after the divorce, only to get a woman pregnant and become a father, seems a huge disservice to the growth each character
had towards the end of the series.

Now let’s talk about Ted and The Mother. The entire series has been this huge build up of meeting the mother. Everyone has been looking
forward to learning the mother’s identity, and then we spent the entire last season meeting and falling in love with the mother character.
It seems to me that the entire series led up to this beautiful relationship building between Ted and the Mother, and then we finally get
this relationship, and then she’s taken away by an unknown disease. Then, to end the series, the kids tell Ted to go after their aunt
Robin. To me, this seems like one of the biggest slaps in the face the audience could get.

To me, this, coupled with little things in the finale like Robin leaving the group because of another burst of unresolved feelings for Ted,
or the group loosing touch with one another after going through everything they went through together, made the finale a bust. The biggest
takeaway from the finale was that Barney, Robin and Ted seemed to regress to their season 1 selves, completely taking away the growth each
character had throughout the series.

The only people that seemed to grow as people were Marshall and Lily, and yet their success was not enough to wash away the bad taste this finale left. As a writer, I felt let down by the utter lack to faithfulness to the characters. If I had
written the show, I either would have alluded to Robin’s conflicting feelings for Ted throughout the series more often, with the Barney
relationship being a mistaken hook up and nothing more, or I would have let the mother live, and let Barney and Robin stay together, and the
group, including the mother, would stay together as a close-knit group of friends. To me at least, the name of the game would be growth for
these characters, and this finale was more about a total regression.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments below whether or not you guys liked the finale, or if you agree with my view on it.

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I also have a special promotion going on in honor of the upcoming release of VOID. From now until September 5th, my book of poetry, Blood and Romance, will be free on @amazon and @amazonkindle ! Who could turn down a free book? Download your copy of the book now before it’s too late, and be sure to pre-order your copy of VOID if you enjoy either my work or romantic and drama filled stories. #VOID #novella #bloodandromance #romance #poetry #freebooks #amazon #kindle #promotion http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Romance-Poetry-Hopeless-Romantic-ebook/dp/B0042P5DP6/ref=la_B003ACFI2U_1_22?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441234541&sr=1-22&refinements=p_82%3AB003ACFI2U

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Romanticism in the 21st Century: Author Anthony Avina’s Inspiration for His Novella, VOID

Hello there everyone. Today’s blog post is going to be partly a behind the scenes look at my creative process and inspiration for VOID, the
novella I just released for preorder on Amazon Kindle. It’s also going to be partly personal, in which I talk about a big part of my life,
and that is my romantic side.

Let’s get personal guys. I am what is referred to as a hopeless romantic. That means that basically, I believe in love. I believe in the
power of love and that when you find love, it’s a rare but beautiful thing. I know that for most guys, the bachelor life appeals to them.
They enjoy moving from one night stands and flimsy relationships to the next one. I also know that women might be wary of a guy who speaks
of love, especially at my age, (25). Yet a bachelor lifestyle never appealed to me, and I’m not interested in a one-sided relationship where
I’m more invested in the relationship than she is. I have no interest in being one of those men who is clingy, or too focused on the relationship
and not on myself. No, what I want is a partner, whom I love and who loves me.

There’s a saying that I think fits my thinking best. Love is patient, and love is kind. To me, that means that everyone is different. Sometimes,
a person is lucky enough to know at their first encounter that they’ve found the person they love. Others take time to grow their feelings.
It’s about respecting love’s timetable. It cannot be forced. It cannot be arranged or brought on unnaturally. Love is a living, breathing
thing. It grows when two people, (and I mean any two people, but more on that later), work together in unison, taking in both the good and
the bad aspects of one another, and at the end of the day deciding that their love for one another is stronger than any apprehensions or
fears.

This has been a driving force in my life for years. I’ve always been more in touch with my feelings and the feelings of those around me, which
made me a good friend and shoulder to lean on for friends I’ve made over the years. While most people won’t agree with me, I am looking for
love, and I know I’ll find it one day. I have no interest in forcing it or assuming I’ll find it immediately. I just am allowing myself to
open up to love, and going along for the ride.

Now on to how this applies to VOID. You see, as a romantic, I’ve always incorporated love into my horror stories. I believe in showcasing
romance even in the face of horrific situations. Yet I felt inspiration strike after listening to a song. It was A Great Big World’s “Say
Something”. This song spoke to me on a new creative level. I listened to the song, and heard a message of loss, of hope, and of love. It
spoke to me about how life throws us curve-balls. How through pain, through loss, and through tragedy, one can find hope. Although the song
can be open to interpretation, this is the message I heard, and so VOID was born.

I decided to write a story about six friends, each undergoing a tragedy or dilemma of some sort. I decided to incorporate bits of my life
or things I believe in into their stories, such as Jasper, who’s undergoing a tragic set of circumstances as he is a gay man with parents
who are devoutly religious people who are against homosexuality. This is a subject I’m passionate about, because not only have I met and
known people who judge people by their sexuality, but I believe that love knows no sexual orientation. I felt like I needed to showcase
the mistakes and pitfalls of judging people. I wanted to highlight the struggles of the LGBT community in the face of adversity, and showcase
that friends could help him overcome his debacle.

I am writing this all down because I wanted to give you all a deeper understand of how I write and what I believe in. I’m a straight man
who fights for equality for everyone. I believe whole heartedly that everyone, no matter your race, gender or sexuality, is equal, and I
choose to believe this because I believe in love. You know, I just recently watched a very heartwarming and romantic video on YouTube of
well known YouTubers Colleen and Joshua Evans. It was their wedding video, and the love I saw in this video spoke to me. Not only the bright
love between this young couple, but the family that grew among their friends and family. Bonds were formed out of this love. A new family
was created out of this love. That is what I wanted to convey in VOID. Love among friends can bloom a new family. Love is one of our world’s
most powerful forces, and it should be cherished. That is what defines the theme of VOID.

Thank you guys for listening. To Josh and Colleen Ballinger, congratulations on your wedding. I’m always happy to see love blossom like in
your case. It’s a beautiful thing, and as a fellow YouTuber and romantic, I couldn’t be more proud and happy for you. To the rest of you guys,
I hope this gives you a better understanding of who I am and my creative process. I feel deeply, and I have always striven to incorporate
my thoughts, my feelings, and my romanticism into my writing. I hope you guys will check out VOID and see for yourself how love runs throughout
the veins of this novella. It’s available for preorder now on Amazon Kindle and will be out on October 1st, 2015 in both paperback and eBook
formats.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010VUR5QK?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Love’s Historic Victory: A look into the legendary victory for LGBT marriage rights everywhere!

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I wanted to talk about something that the entire United States is currently talking about. I’m talking about the historic moment when the

Supreme Court made it a law that the LGBT community had the same rights as straight couples to get married nationwide. Now, so that I’m
straight up honest with everyone, I myself am not a part of the LGBT community, so I cannot speak of any personal struggles I’ve suffered.
I’m also not a religious person at all, so I cannot speak as a religious person who opposes this decision. This post is strictly my thoughts
on the subject.

I couldn’t be happier for this ruling. While I haven’t struggled with this subject personally, I’ve always been a big supporter for equality
and the fight to have the LGBT community viewed as equals. The bottom line is this: we are all equal. No matter what your race, gender,
sexual orientation, etc, we are all human beings.

More than anything else, I relate to this ruling as a romantic. I believe in love, and it has always saddened me that we as a nation had
failed to bring equality to the forum of love. This ruling has given me hope that our country is not doomed as most people have implied over
the years. With hard work, real change is possible. The time of ignorance and hate needs to stop. The bottom line is that even if you do
have a religious reason not to support this law, think about this: how does it really affect you? You are not being asked to marry someone
of the same sex. You are not being forced to be a part of a gay wedding. This has not effect on you whatsoever. Let people live the lives
they want to live. Who we are attracted to and who we love is not a choice, it’s an internal feeling that we are born with.

So I don’t need to be gay to appreciate this incredible ruling. Equality between us all should never be this big of a fight. Love knows no
bounds. I’m a fan of true love, whether it’s between straight couples or LGBT couples. This week, love won!

P.S.: For you judgmental people out there who are saying on social media that you are going to move to Canada because of this decision,
gay marriage has been legal in Canada for the past decade. In fact, a lot of countries now support same sex marriage. You are the minority
now. Either learn to accept people for who they are and be nice, genuine people, or be ready for a lonely life. Just know that the rest of
the world that you are rejecting will be here, ready to welcome you into our lives with open arms if and when you are ready to stop judging
others. The more you know…