Imagine sitting around a campfire on a cool evening toasting marshmallows over the flickering flames. Your gaze never wanders as the glowing white glob hisses and spits. The marshmallow emerges from the flame at just the right moment as a golden brown work of culinary perfection. As the melted, gooey confection oozes across the top of a Graham cracker, you grin in anticipation as you gently layer on some chocolate and another crunchy cracker. You look. You admire. You taste. Heavenly. S'mores, what would life be without them? The chocolate and marshmallows are the main attraction tempting our taste buds… but don't forget the humble Graham crackers holding everything together. If it weren't for them, we'd just have a melted, sweet conglomeration with nowhere to go. We must thank Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), a Presbyterian minister, for the ingenious combination of ingredients that now bear his name. Even though his original recipe for Graham cakes bears no resemblance to what we enjoy today, the story behind Graham crackers remains quite intriguing. Rev. Graham was a staunch social reformer and an advocate for healthy living. He preached that too much lustful living harmed the body, and excessive sexual activity caused ailments ranging from headaches and indigestion to pulmonary problems, spinal diseases, epilepsy, and insanity. He also believed that offspring conceived in this manner would die early due to weakened stock. Graham endorsed a strict high-fiber diet consisting of unrefined wheat flour, no fat, and no meats to suppress those carnal urges. In addition, Graham discouraged the use of mustard and ketchup since, according to him, it also caused insanity. Surprisingly, Graham's doctrine was accepted by a limited number of people during the American health craze of the 1820s and 1830s. His converts gladly confined themselves to Graham boarding houses in New York and Boston, adhering to the strict regimen. The Graham cakes made their grand entrance at that time. The Reverend wanted a special treat for his faithful friends and meticulously perfected his recipe made with unrefined wheat flour and without any sugar or flavorings. It became a staple among his followers to supplement the high-fiber vegetarian diet. As with all fads, though, Sylvester Graham's healthy living philosophy fizzled out. Yet, the Graham cakes lived on – slightly modified, of course. Graham's name remained because of the use of his highly proclaimed unsifted wheat flour. However, that was the only ingredient that survived the transition from Graham cakes to Graham crackers. It's a mystery who first concocted the cracker version, but the revised recipe appeared in a cookbook in 1882. The rest of the story is history. The crunchy wafer we all know and love come from the National Biscuit Company, a.k.a. Nabisco. They began marketing Graham crackers in the late 1800s. But their record-breaking success came in 1925 when the company introduced the Honey Maid line, and the delicious treat has remained popular since then. Sylvester Graham probably spins in his grave whenever his name is used to describe the cookie-like treat made with refined white flour and sugar. But hey, that's progress. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You may be wondering what the history of Graham crackers has to do with books or writing. Answer: Absolutely nothing. I just thought it was an interesting tidbit of history. At any rate, this is our Whatever blog, so it still fits, sort of. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Did you know… I'm sure you know that S'more is a contraction of the phrase "some more." However, did you know the first recipe appeared in a Campfire Marshmallows cookbook in the early 1920s? The guide may have heralded the Graham Cracker Sandwich as an ingenious invention, but it was already a well-known treat for Boy and Girl Scouts alike. The first official recipe for a s'more came out in the 1927 Girl Scout guidebook, "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts." While the book was intended to offer advice on being a good Girl Scout (always get a parent's permission before hiking!), its lasting legacy was the Some More. The renamed recipe, credited to a troop leader named Loretta Scott Crew, calls for 16 graham crackers, eight bars of plain chocolate, and 16 marshmallows. The instructions say, "Toast the marshmallows to a 'crispy, gooey state.' Put the marshmallow on top of a chocolate bar, between two graham crackers, and voilà, you got a " Some More." It's unclear when the name was shortened to simply s'more, but various Girl Scout publications referred to the treat as Some More until at least 1971. Thanks, Dannye, for digging up these little-known facts! Now, I'm craving some gooey, toasted marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. How long has it been since you ate a s'more? Today is St. Valentine’s Day. It’s the perfect occasion to express your heartfelt feelings to the ones you love. It didn’t begin that way, though. On the contrary, the legend started out with intrigue, beheadings, and scattered body parts. To top that off, no one even knows who the real St. Valentine was. All the details have been lost to time, only to be transformed by the poets in tales of love and romance. The story behind this February 14th celebration would make an excellent mystery novel. There are so many unknowns! First, the investigator must determine which of the 40+ St. Valentines died on that particular date. The next step entails lots of research to establish the causes of death – was it natural, or was the guy bumped off? After weeding the list down to the Valentines killed on February 14th, the detective must use his little gray cells to piece together how an event featuring a martyred saint could become a symbol of romance and love—a challenging task. Who was the Real St. Valentine? The facts he uncovers lead our sleuth to believe the victim could be one of several people or a combination of several of them. Two Valentines stand out as likely candidates, but neither dealt with matters of romance. Both were martyrs and were beheaded by Roman Emperor Claudius on the 14th of February, but in different years. The first Valentine refused to renounce his faith and was placed under house arrest. The whole house converted to Christianity after witnessing the priest restore sight to a young blind girl. Once word reached the Emperor, Valentine was executed. The second candidate, Bishop Valentine of Terni, was also known for his healing ability. The legend claims that a Roman scholar asked the bishop to heal his crippled son. After performing this miracle, the scholar, his family, and visiting friends converted to Christianity. Soon after, the bishop was arrested and killed. A third Valentine could also be a contender. This priest defied Emperor Claudius by performing marriages for young lovers in secret. Claudius believed that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, so he outlawed marriage for young men. When these illegal marriages were discovered, Valentine was put to death. But that’s not all. Another Valentine helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. After being imprisoned himself, he supposedly sent the first “From Your Valentine” greeting to a young girl who visited him during his confinement. The facts behind the Valentine legends are murky. It’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to track down the truth. Even more questionable is the validity of the saint’s sacred body parts believed to exist in churches across Europe. Our investigator must visit these places of worship in Prague, Rome, Madrid, Terni, Glasgow, and Dublin to search for any clues pertinent to his investigation. The Romance Angle Our gumshoe spends his time aboard his private jet, wracking his brain over where the romance angle comes in. Face it, Catholic priests and bishops do not mix all that well with images of Cupid. There is no evidence that any of these saints performed acts promoting romance, except that guy who wrote love letters from his jail cell to a kid. That doesn’t sound very likely and places Valentine number four at the bottom of the list of suspects. So, what inspired Valentine’s Day? Google predicts it could have been the execution of Valentine, a pagan holiday, or Middle Age poets looking for new ideas to entertain their readers. Our private eye has ruled out the executions of the assorted Valentines since there are no historical references to any parties where love-themed cards were exchanged for at least 1300 years or so after Claudius’ reign. The earliest possible origin of Valentine’s Day evolved from the pagan holiday Lupercalia. Occurring in mid-February, it was popular and one of the few pagan holidays allowed to be celebrated after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire. Lupercalia celebrated fertility. Men stripped naked and sacrificed a goat and dog. Young boys would then take strips of hide from the sacrificed animals and use them to whip young women to promote fertility. We are getting closer to solving the mystery. Anyway, all the wild parties came to an end when Pope Gelasius came to power in the late fifth century and put an end to the fun. To replace Lupercalia, the Catholic church declared February 14 as a feast day to celebrate the martyred St. Valentine. Unfortunately, the early Valentine’s Day celebrations substituted the fertility, love, and sacrifices with food and prayers honoring the saint. No romance. The more modern notion of Valentine’s Day celebrating passion arose a thousand-plus years later when British author Geoffrey Chaucer introduced the idea of recognizing lovers during this annual feast. Evidence proves that much of the romanticized tales of St. Valentine originated from the imagination of Chaucer and other poets trying to liven up their work to attract more readers. (That is the opinion of our investigator, not historians.) As far as Valentine’s cards go, they didn’t become popular until the 1400s. The oldest known Valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London. That concludes the investigation. The mystery is solved. A priest or bishop named Valentine was martyred way back in the BC times. The Catholic church replaced the Roman pagan celebration, Lupercalia, with a calmer, more conservative feast in honor of St. Valentine. Chaucer added all the bells and whistles during the Middle Ages. The cards came into play a few years later. Case closed. Any questions? This is an article I wrote for Indies Unlimited. It was published on 03-22-2012. For the last week, I have been sitting at my computer, wracking my brain, trying to finish a short story. After seven days of madly typing away, only four paragraphs appear on the screen in front of me. The countless hours working on this one story, and that is all I have to show for it? The right words elude me. I have deleted more material than I have saved. Where is my inspiration? Why won’t the words come to me? Have I lost my ability to write? Desperation has set in. All I can think about is the stupid story. I need a distraction, maybe some housework. No, too close to the computer. How about yard work? Nope, I still look at my office window, and the siren song from my laptop lures me back inside. Ah ha, an escape. I have a doctor’s appointment. I hate going to the doctor’s office, but the nervousness and dread offer something new to occupy my battered mind - a couple of hours away from the pull of my computer, just what I need. While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, inspiration strikes. The words I have been desperately searching for come to me. That’s it, that’s perfect, but I don’t have access to my computer, not even a tape recorder or notepad. I’ve got to get these thoughts down before I lose them. Why now? Why here? The other folks sitting next to me are staring; did I say something out loud? I don’t care what they think. I have to write this down before I forget it. I run up to the receptionist and blurt out, “I need paper and a pen…oh, and can I borrow your clipboard?” I don’t want to say too much, or the words in my head might escape from my one-track mind. I nervously pace back and forth, muttering to myself while I wait. Finally, after years…er minutes of waiting, she calmly hands over the requested materials to my shaking hands. Somehow, I made it back to my seat, still muttering to myself while scribbling down the words that had been repeating over and over in my brain. All eyes are upon me. Have I grown a second head or something? Hasn’t anyone else ever had a flash of inspiration before, or are the giggles accompanying my writing too much for everyone to bear? I hear voices coming from the office; two men carrying an oversized white jacket approach me. Distractions, not now. Can’t these people understand I am having an epiphany, a moment of sheer genius? “I’m not crazy, I’m an author…just a few more sentences …” are my last words before being taken to a padded cell. At least they let me keep my notes. Now, how do I get a computer in here? Have you ever encountered a fictional character who instantly felt like a friend — someone who shares the same sense of humor, similar interests, and would have your back if the two of you wound up in a sticky situation? My new Best Friend Forever comes across as a real person, not an imaginary person born from an author's imagination. Her experiences, feelings, and emotions make me laugh, cry, or cringe in fear as she peers around the corner to discover 'whodunit.' For me, it's as if I'm not just reading a story. Instead, I'm actively participating in the action alongside my friend. Lately, cozy mysteries are my go-to evening read, where I imagine myself tagging along, pointing clues out to my companion. Even when the story ends, it's difficult to stop thinking about the book and being a part of the tale. I want to spend more time with my BFF. A couple of weeks ago, as I was packing up my collection of paperbacks, I ran across Anne McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern series. I was introduced to these stories over 30 years ago, but I still remember how much I loved them from page one. I recall several novels that captured my imagination, but nothing like the Pern books. They totally immersed me into McCaffery's fantasy world and didn't let go. As I progressed through the series, I imagined being a Dragonrider and living in one of the weyrs. My best friend was my dragon. We fought thread together. We explored unchartered territory together. We were a team. Of course, I interacted with F'lar, Lessa, Robinton, and all the other primary characters. Masterharper Robinton was my favorite human character and BFF. Everyone loved and respected him, and through McCaffery's outstanding descriptive writing, I got to know him and imagined being a part of his inner circle. In my mind's eye, I rode with the Dragonriders who uncovered the long-forgotten original settlement. I witnessed the reawakening of AVAIS, the computerized artificial intelligence that had been buried beneath the deserted colony's sands for many years. I sat side by side with Robinton and the other leaders as AVAIS recounted the history of the early days on Pern. What an adventure! Since then, I've 'befriended' other fictional BFFs, such as Doretta in Robert DeBurgh's Riders of the Wind. While Robinton and other literary personalities were friends, Doretta spoke to me in a way no fictional character has ever done before or since. Quick note: I may be biased since my husband wrote this aviation-based historical fiction. The tale revolves around his relatives engaged in this new and exciting profession. Over the years, Robert shared tales with me of his Uncle Charlie flying the newly charted mail routes and smuggling bootleg booze from Canada during Prohibition. Bob was proud of his mother, who earned a private pilot certificate when females were thought incapable of flying, and his father, an ace mechanic, devised ingenious ways to keep the planes in the air. So, as I read each chapter and learned more about his family, it was easy to place myself in the cockpit alongside Aunt Doretta as she and Charlie explored flight routes over the jungles of the Pantanal and started their own airline. In the second book, Winds of Fate, Doretta fought against discrimination and sabotage as she delivered bombers and fighter planes to military bases across the US. Robert confessed that he combined some of my characteristics with memories of his Aunt Doretta. That's probably why I felt such a kinship with her. She and I could have been incredibly close friends. I loved getting to know her and still regret never meeting this remarkable lady in person. How about you? Have you ever encountered a fictional character who instantly became a friend? Tell us about your imaginary BFF in the blog's comments. Don't be shy. We won't divulge your secrets. The comma is a signal to the reader that the words or phrases associated with the comma are being set off for a reason. Although you may find when reading aloud that you do indeed pause for a breath where commas appear in text, this is not its purpose. There has to be an acceptable reason for using a comma. A comma provides clarity. It signals the reader when to slow or pause in anticipation of new information. It sets off elements in a sentence that provide contrast, separates a series of items, identifies nonessential elements, and introduces or completes a quotation. Incredibly, these are only some of the ways in which the efficacious comma is used. Unfortunately, there seems to be an unwritten rule about the comma that results in its being overused. This unwritten rule is when in doubt, use a comma.
Assuming that most of us know the correct way to use a comma with lists, quotations, and compound sentences, my suggestion for all other occasions is to use this other unwritten rule: when in doubt, leave the comma out. Another solution for your doubt is to rework your sentence so that the questionable structure no longer exists. Of course, if you are one of those running sentences together with commas as a matter of course, then the comma is the least of your worries as a writer. Faulty use of a comma can often be determined by simply reading and focusing on one sentence at a time. Follow the cues you have in place with your commas. Is the message clear? Honor the comma in your work by using it only when it fulfills its purpose of creating understanding for the reader as he travels from the beginning of a sentence to the end. When I wrote Shattered Hearts, Book 2 in the Brita Madison Paranormal Mysteries series, I had been caregiving for my husband for eight years after his strokes. Needless to say, my own heart was certainly fractured, if not shattered. My emotions were being manipulated by every circumstance that presented itself, a lot like balls in a pinball machine, being flipped hither and yon. My writing has often served as a release valve at some level. It was only in retrospect I realized how often.
Shattered Hearts incorporates many of the emotions I was feeling then. Loss at slowly losing my husband to his health issues. Frustration at not being able to fix it. Rage at a few bullies in the medical profession. Joy for the small victories. These are only a few. Writing this novel not only served as an outlet for my pain and tears, but also restored my hope. Surprises, Betrayals, and Unexpected Twists and Turns Await You After Chasing Shadows, Brita Madison’s exploits lead her to a new experience in her life – women friends. Her abilities have always forced her to be a loner. Chief James Weston and Sam Jenkins in Book 1 of the series were her first real friends. After the Inside Edition segment, her newest editing client brings her four writer friends onboard as clients. Since they all write novels with paranormal twists, the Dabblers & Scribblers, as they call themselves, felt Brita would be a perfect editor! So does she when she discovers each of them has abilities as well. A year after they became her clients, they decide to meet in Phoenix, Arizona, so Brita can join them. It proves to be a watershed moment in the relationships between all six women. A ghost boy appears to Brita in Phoenix igniting an adventure which drags everyone in her world into the dark underbelly of a pedophile ring. Trying to rescue the children puts all of them in the crosshairs, including her boyfriend Sam and her unofficial partner, James Weston. Many hearts will be shattered before this case is put to rest. If you haven’t read book 1 in the series, Chasing Shadows, grab your copy and start the journey with Brita as the learning curve for her paranormal abilities begins. Then continue on with Shattered Hearts and then Unraveling Memories as her world enlarges in ways she never thought possible. Book 4 of the Brita Madison Paranormal Mysteries series is in the hands of my muse at the moment. We’re hoping to have it for you by sometime in 2024.. 1. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee 2. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen 3. "The Diary of Anne Frank" by Anne Frank 4. "1984" by George Orwell 5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling 6. "The Lord of the Rings" (1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien 7. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald 8. "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White 9. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien 10. "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott 11. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury 12. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte 13. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell 14. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell 15. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger 16. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak 17. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain 18. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins 19. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett 20. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wadrobe" by C.S. Lewis 21. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck 22. "The Lord of the Flies" by William Golding 23. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini 24. "Night" by Elie Wiesel 25. "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare 26. "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle 27. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck 28. "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens 29. "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare 30. "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams 31. "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett 32. "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens 33. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 34. "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley 35. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling 36. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry 37. "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood 38. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein 39. "Wuthering Heights" Emily Bronte 40. "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green 41. "Anne of Green Gables" by L.M. Montgomery 42. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain 43. "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare 44. "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larrson 45. "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley 46. "The Holy Bible: King James Version" 47. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker 48. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas 49. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith 50. "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck 51. "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll 52. "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote 53. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller 54. "The Stand" by Stephen King 55. "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon 56. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling 57. "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card 58. "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy 59. "Watership Down" by Richard Adams 60. "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden 61. "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier 62. "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin 63. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens 64. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway 65. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (#3) by Arthur Conan Doyle 66. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo 67. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling 68. "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel 69. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne 70. "Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge" by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 71. “The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis 72. "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett 73. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins 74. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl 75. "Dracula" by Bram Stoker 76. "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman 77. “Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen 78. "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe 79. "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd 80. "The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel" by Barbara Kingsolver 81. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcí¬a Márquez 82. "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger 83. "The Odyssey" by Homer 84. "The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)" by Pearl S. Buck 85. "Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3)" by Suzanne Collins 86. "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie 87. "The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough 88. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving 89. "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls 90. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot 91. "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 92. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy 93. "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien 94. "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse 95. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison 96. "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut 97. "Cutting For Stone" by Abraham Verghese 98. "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster 99. "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 100. "The Story of My Life" by Helen Keller 100 Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die (Ranked!): Business Insider
Do you ever think about all the things you could accomplish if there were just more hours in the day? It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a multi-million dollar company or an entrepreneur trying to perfect a revolutionary idea or a parent trying to juggle work, home, and the kids. If only I had a few more hours, I could finish this project. Sorry, no one can magically increase the number of hours in a day. But there are ways to make the hours allotted to you to be more productive. Ask for some help. That’s all it takes. Delegate responsibilities. There are folks able to help if you ask them. The attitude that you alone can accomplish a certain task can be modified to Why don’t I hire someone whose only focus is this kind of project? If you’re working full-time in your business, you don’t always have time to take the plunge of marketing through books. If you are an entrepreneur having to wear lots of hats, you may not be able to block out the time to write that book that would boost your business. Writing projects that are a vital part of your marketing efforts for your business require a professional ghostwriter. A professional ghostwriter knows how to interview and ask the right questions to bring out all the details necessary for the story. She can also write in your voice, your style, and give you credit as the author. Confidence is important when it comes to hiring a ghostwriter. With something as important as a book that represents you and your business, you want to be confident she will follow through on your ideas and work with you to ensure it delivers your message. Examples of nonfiction books you may be considering are listed below. Of course, these only represent a few possibilities.
If you have a project in mind, check out Heart Song Ghostwriting. We may be able to help you bring your story to life. Well, we’re in the season of shopping, eating, worshipping, opening presents, and trying to finish off everything on our list for this year before we’re forced to think about next year. For Greta and me, our gift to ourselves this year is to take time off for the whole month of December.
For those of you who know us, you’re aware that we have a lot in common. Of course, we are both writers. Otherwise, having five blogs on our website together would be rather ridiculous! Besides this, we both have a passion for making a difference in the world in some way. We were both caregivers for our spouses and lost them within two months of each other in 2020. Although I had only known Greta on Facebook, I felt drawn to call her in the summer of that year to see if she wanted to work together. The three and a half years since have been a journey for us that has been a blessing as we each worked our way through grief. We haven’t hesitated to switch gears in finding a vehicle that allows us to express ourselves. We have worked diligently with hope and expectations on our journey. However, the one thing we haven’t done is allow time for ourselves, putting work aside. So, for the month of December, we are pausing posts on www.SassyScribblers.com and all its blogs. I am in the process of moving out of state, and Greta has begun the search for her perfect place. We both trust that everything is in Divine Order. We are looking forward to the new year and moving into Act 3 of our lives with gusto! See you in January, 2024! |
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I will read forever because it lets me visit in my mind the worlds that I will never be able to see; it helps me put away the stresses of the day and relax into the rhythm of the story before me; it lets me bring to the surface and experience without regrets those feelings I hide away; it lets me re-experience the thrill of first love through someone else's eyes; it keeps my mind juiced so that it will never desert me; it is always there for me even when there's no one else. I will read forever no matter whether it is print or digital because the words will always call to me. ~ A Sassy Scribbler