I can’t believe she managed to hold her book, basket, and the TARDIS. Must be some time-lord technology. The talented Princess of the North cosplayer!
Massive Book Launch and Party!
Hello,
This Sunday will be a huge party at the Royal Oak on Laurier starting at 1pm! Four Authors, Five Books, Two Card Games, and lots of awesome people. Here’s the Facebook Event.
This is going to be AWESOME. It’s a combined Renaissance Press and S.M. Carrière launch. 
The Books Being Launched
Blood Matters
The Fourth Family by Choice novel by Caroline Frechette. I absolutely loved the first in the series. Check out my review here. They should have all four books available at the launch. Don’t waste your chance to own one of the best Urban-Noir Fantasy Series available.
Human
I may have mentioned this awesome book recently. Now is your chance to own it! It is my favourite vampire centric book that has a touching romance and a few steamy scenes. Not to mention more action than you can shake a stake at.
The King in Darkness
I haven’t read this one but I’ll be buying it. It’s a Supernatural-Suspense and looks fantastic. Read more about it here.
Journey of a Thousand Steps
This is a mystery thriller starring someone with MS. That’s really cool. I’ll be picking this up this up for sure. Read more here.
Unblocked
This is the only non-fiction being released and it should hold a nice place next to your writing style guides and dictionaries. It’s a wonderful combination of advice, motivation, and self-writer-help book. If you’ve ever felt you wanted to write but struggled this is the book for you.
The Games Being Launched
A Match Made in Austen
I mentioned the kickstarter for this game a few times before. Now it’s available to everyone. I already have my copy and it rocks. Great quality and fun game.
Extrahumans
You’re going to like the Family by Choice novels so much that you’ll want to play in the world. With this awesome card game you now can. Plus it’s cooperative, which is one of my favourite kinds of game.
I hope to see you there!
Éric
Blush: Masturbation
So far we have received almost three digits worth of questions, but I’m greedy, and I want more! Ask us your anonymous questions here!
Question
What is masturbation? What are the risks?
Answer
Masturbation is when a person derives pleasure from touching oneself, either their entire body and/or specifically their sex organs. Orgasm does not have to be the primary goal of masturbation.
Positives to masturbation
Planned Parenthood did a superb job of covering this, so I’m just going to summarize a few points here.
Masturbation is great for your mental and physical health. You become more aware of your body’s needs and how you can meet them. People who masturbate are also more likely to protect themselves against STIs, because they are more comfortable with their bodies and the idea of sex, they are more likely to discuss protection with their partner. Also, they become familiar with what turns them on, and are able to communicate that to their partner when they have one.
Risks
In my research, I have found two main risks to masturbating.
1. Irritation
This one is easy to solve. Use lube. Saliva works well, water based lubricants are safe, and there are some oil based lubricants out there as well. If you are using a toy (a topic for another week), be sure to ask the staff at the store that you bought it (or read the packaging) what kind of lubes are safe to use with it. Some toys should not be used in combination with oil based lubricants.
2. Shame and Guilt
This is a little more difficult to deal with. Since masturbation is considered a taboo subject, a lot of people have heard negative things about it while growing up. This translates into guilt and/or shameful feelings bubbling to the surface. This can threaten our health and mental well-being. The best way to shake the guilt is to talk about it with a trusted friend, doctor, or therapist. Masturbating is all about feeling good and happy. Get rid of the negativity!
Wow…I managed to bring communication into a topic that focuses on a single person. Seems like it’s a pretty big deal, doesn’t it?
References
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexuality/masturbation
http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/masturbation-guide
Only Human (Serial Story) Part 8
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Sitting down onto the low cushion hurt Rachel’s healing side. The cut hadn’t been as deep as she’d thought, but it was at an awkward angle and hurt if she moved wrong.
“Your side still hurt?” asked Ronny.
“It’s only been a few days, we can’t all heal after a meal,” Rachel snipped. She was more annoyed that he’d noticed, she thought she’d done a good job at hiding her feelings.
“Sorry.” He lifted his hands in the air and looked like a whipped puppy.
“It’s ok, Ronny. What do you have planned for tonight?” After his show of bravery, or stupidity, she’d agreed to a date. It also gave her a chance to ask him questions and make sure he wasn’t the one who took the picture of her in the cafeteria.
They were at a restaurant she didn’t recognize, which was decorated in bright orange and red with short tables that had cushions instead of chairs. Each eating area had a thin curved fish tank around it for privacy.
“First dinner, then we’ll be trying something that I think you’ll love.”
“Mysterious, I wouldn’t have thought that of you.” She smiled at him. He was cute, his pale skin nearly glowed in this lighting and instead of making him look evil or monstrous it gave him an ethereal quality. Combined with his looks, that would make a super hero jealous; she liked the look of him. More than that, she liked who he was when he was alone with her. He was equal parts shy gentlemen and eager puppy, a surprisingly sexy combination.
“So what kind of food do they serve here?” she asked, trying not to stare at his well defined arms.
“Atlantean.” When he saw her surprised look he added, “Yes that Atlantis. It’s one of the only authentic restaurants in North America.”
The waiter arrived before she could ask any further questions. There wasn’t a written menu. Instead they had four authentic dishes. Two were sea food, one of chicken, and a last was blood based.
When the waiter left Ronny said, “Atlantis was a mixed colony of Vampires and Humans.” As an afterthought he added, “And they lived in harmony. Not slavery like the late Egyptian pharaohs.”
Ronny told her about Atlantis and the ancient world, he was a history major, and they talked about everything but what was going on. It was a wonderful break from her semi-obsessive mission to find out who’d sent the huntress after her.
The waiter came back after they’d finished and asked if they wanted any dessert. Rachel was going to say yes but Ronny shook his head as the waiter looked at her.
On the way out she asked, “I kinda wanted dessert.” She comically pouted like the girls on television and they both burst out laughing.
Taking her hand in his, which was as cold as ice, he started walking away from the restaurant and where they’d parked. “Atlantean food is great, but their dessert is lackluster. There were no bees, sugar cane, or chocolate on Atlantis. They only had sour and bitter dessert. There’s a story in one of my books where they complained that rhubarb was too sweet.” She made a face and again they laughed. It was easy to laugh around him.
They were so deep into conversation that they passed the place he’d been planning on taking her and had to double back. The small shop he brought her to was called, “Chocolate Bars by You!”
“How did you know I love chocolate?” she asked genuinely surprised.
“I’ve seen you orgasm over the cafeteria’s chocolate pudding and you live with my sister.”
Inside looked like it was decorated by five year olds with a love of colour. They must have looked odd both in dark clothes. It certainly wasn’t a place she’d expect to see Ronny the vampire and football star. He didn’t try to hide his excitement; he had a childlike joy in his undead eyes.
Walking in, they were given a tray with two compartments, one for chocolate and one for everything else. The walls were covered in candies, nuts, cereals, chocolate and other wonderful things.
What happened was you chose your chocolate and what to go inside and they made you a giant personalized chocolate bar which was flash frozen so you could eat it right away.
Ronny made a semi-sweet chocolate bar with peanut butter and rice crispy cereal. Rachel made a dark chocolate bar with chunks of caramel and gummy worms. The bars were the size of a piece of paper and they nibbled on them as they drank a coffee in the coffee shop next door.
In a lull in the conversation she asked, “Why do you do the macho crap when other people around?”
He frowned, creating lines in his smooth forehead. “People expect it and it’s easy. The jerk me doesn’t get hurt.”
Surprised at his honesty, she leaned forward and watched as he did the same. With eyes open she kissed him. It was a soft but passionate kiss that sent pleasurable shivers up and down her spine.
Pulling away she teased, “That makes sense. Plus if you show your sensitive brooding side they’ll compare you to Edward or Angel.”
He made a face and stuck out his tongue. “I’m totally team Spike,” he said, surprising a giggle out of her.
They left with less chocolate than she’d expected. As they walked away from the store, she could tell they were being followed. She took Ronny’s hand and pulled him down a side street. She hoped the person wouldn’t follow them.
The dark shadow turned into the same street and she whispered to him, “We’re being followed. Trust me.”
Leading the mysterious shadow down alleys and other streets, Rachel hoped to lose them. She could fight, but with her side still healing, she’d rather avoid it.
After multiple twists and turns she brought them back to the car. It was the only one left in the parking lot. Checking her watch she saw that it was much later than she’d expected.
Ronny got into the car and Rachel pulled out a pair of throwing knives. When she saw the shadow she threw a knife at it and it gave a high pitched scream followed by, “Rachel, it’s me!” Ginny came out of the shadows with her arms raised and said, “Don’t kill me!”
Thor tells you to VOTE!
Thor is willing to risk $5000 and 6 months in Canadian jail to tell you to vote, so you should do it (if you’re Canadian)! Btw, great pose. She looks epic!
Note: The cosplayer in this photo did not tell me to say that. I am Canadian, and I have voted. Have you?
Lady Sif
The talented Dex Morgan cosplaying as Lady Sif, portrayed by Jaimie Alexander in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. You can catch Jaimie in her amazing show Blindspot on Mondays, NBC (or CTV in Canada) at 10/9c.
Voting in the 2015 Canadian Elections
Hello,
If you’ve read my blog, even for a few months, you know I lean left ideologically. This isn’t going to be about whom to vote for but how to make up your mind.
Where and what do I need to vote?
Let’s start at the basics. To find your riding go to Elections Canada. All you need to find your riding, who’s running, and where to vote, is your postal code.
As for what you need, here’s what Elections Canada says:
You must prove your identity and address to register and vote in a federal election. Here are your ID options when you are voting in person – at an Elections Canada office, at advance polls or on election day.
In other words, you need a piece of ID with your address on it and your face. If you don’t have that, you need two forms of ID.
Check out this nifty infographic:
How do I know who I agree with?
You are going to hear all kinds of things. One candidate will say the other likes stealing monkeys, and the other will say he doesn’t steal monkeys but that the first is anti-monkey… etc etc. Ad Nauseum!
Political ads do nothing to give you information, especially honest information.
Don’t fret, there are tools out there that can help.
The CBC’s Vote Compass will ask you all your opinions and tell you what most matches the current platforms of the major parties.
If you’re willing to put in the time, all the major parties have their platforms on their websites. They are filled with propaganda, but they give you an ok idea.
The Maclean’s Leaders debate was mildly enlightening and is available on youtube.
Last but not least, talk to your friends and family. They will have something to say. I promise.
What about strategic voting?
Although I see the appeal, it goes fundamentally against what I believe in. People should vote FOR something not AGAINST something. Read more about why I LOATH strategic voting.
Not to mention that it’s both ineffective if most people don’t vote and easily manipulated. Search around enough and you’ll start to see that each strategic voting site has a bias and that’s born of flawed methodology in their polling (if they poll at all) and the fact that they’re often funded by parties.
I’m not saying this is happening, but if I were in power and had lots of money, I’d invest into funding a strategic voting site in order to make sure the vote went my way.
Vote with your heart!
My vote doesn’t matter so why even do it?
Let’s look at numbers. The current government has a majority, which means they were elected in more than half of the ridings in Canada.
A total of 61.1% of eligible voters actually voted and the ruling party received 39.62% of the total vote.
So the ruling party got 39.62% of 61.1%… or 24.2% of the eligible voters.
The difference between the ruling party and second place was 8.9% of the vote. So our ruling party won by a margin of 5.4%.
To put this into perspective… if half the people who chose not to vote had voted for an imaginary party they would have gotten second place in total votes.
VOTE!
These people represent you, whether you like it or not. If you don’t vote, you give to power to those that do.
By not voting, that 38.9% in the last election made everyone else’s vote count for 38.9% more.
This is your country, make a difference, make a choice, and let your voice be heard.
On Monday October 19th, please go out and vote!
Skara Brae – Guest Travel Article by S.M. Carrière
In the Bay of Skaill on the north-west coast of the largest of Scotland’s Orkney Islands sat a large mound known then as Skerrabra. A storm in 1850 washed part of the mound away, revealing part of village that was inhabited 5 000 years ago. A local by the name of William Watt began an amateur excavation of the site, which was abandoned in 1868. After another storm, in which some of the site was lost to the weather, earnest excavation and preservation began in 1925.
It is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of four sites that make up “The Neolithic Heart of Orkney”. And my goodness is this place beautiful!
Inhabited in the Neolithic (literally, the “new stone age”) the village, which has since been renamed Skara Brae, is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza. It is a fantastic example of the sophistication of the Stone Age inhabitants of the island of Britain, replete with stone furniture and even toilets!
Tolkien fans will be pleased to note that the dwellings of Skara Brae were dug into the ground and covered over with earth and sod. These were the original hobbit holes!
The site is a brilliant playground for both learning and fun, boasting not only the ruins of the village which you can wander around, but also a visitor’s centre (with games!), a café and a gift shop with locally made souvenirs.
If you’re an archaeology or prehistoric anthropology nerd like I am, Skara Brae and the entire Heart of Neolithic Orkney should definitely be on your must-see destination list.
For more information on Skara Brae and the Heart of Neolithic Orkney, see http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyresults/propertyoverview.htm?PropID=PL_244 and don’t forget to book with Jennifer Desmarais through AJ Travel for a trip full of magic, wonder and learning!
This article brought to you by our guest author S.M. Carrière. She is a local Ottawa speculative fiction author and prehistory of Britain enthusiast. She has a degree in Directed Interdisciplinary Studies: Ancient Cultures with a Celtic Studies concentration and is celebrating the release of her fifth book, Human, this month.
Thankful
Hello my Imaginary Friends,
Today I want to tell you a few things I’m thankful for, you know in honour of yesterday being thanksgiving.
Warning the sappiness is off the chart!
Friends
I suck at keeping regular contact with people but I’m extremely thankful for the friends that understand and accept me anyway.
I’m thankful that I have awesome friends who accept me for me and don’t freak out when I say stupid or weird stuff.
Family
My close family is small, just my brother, his significant other, my father in-law, mother in-law, Sister in-law, and wife. Over the past 7 years I’ve lost both parents and that makes me even more grateful for the wonderful family I have. You’re all amazing.
I’m particularly thankful to my wife, who is both understanding and supportive in everything I do. Even when it’s random like learning to soldering or roasting coffee.
You
I’m especially thankful for you all of you, My Imaginary Friends. I’ve been blogging, in one form or another, since 2004. Sometimes it feels like no one out there is listening but every once in a while one of you will surprise me.
I got a text this weekend about a friends grandmother who was telling the family about an article she read on facebook. And it turned out to be this post. It’s not going viral or anything but to know that I made someone happy is great.
To everyone who reads, glances, or stops by occasionally… Thank you!
