To say that I believe in reincarnation would totally explain my pen-name, however, I have Russell Brand to thank for it. <3 I love poetry and epic fantasy; despite my account here, I am not a fan of traditional romance; I love music performed in languages I don't understand where the music and the feeling moves something in me regardless of any language barrier, and I love music with no words at all; I love foreign films and documentaries; Venice, San Francisco, Paris, New York and Cairo are my Heart Cities but Pennsylvania is my home.
I travel by way of The Circus Train; I aspire to live in a magnificent Victorian and Drag is an art form I wish I'd been born in.
I believe in Love, Respect and Equality. Constructive Criticism is a welcome meal, I serve and eat! An atheist with a healthy curiosity in all things mind, body and spirit, I am (if, in fact, the third one turns out to exist). I have zero belief in "saviors", there is a pessimistic ghost inside me. But I like to look on the Bright Side with ALL of my Might. Go figure.
Have I said enough on myself? ^_~ I think yes! If you have anything to say to me, Don't Be Shy.
D.F.T.B.A.
Non dimenticare di essere impressionante.
Take away love and our earth is a tomb ~ Robert Browning
They are pretty people, indeed.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
Sometimes when it comes to family and their issues, a lie is more acceptable than reality.
Acceptable Lies is an original work of fiction. Please do not copy or post this story to any other websites. Copyright 2011 BRAnderson
Gabriel's having anal sex with Honey really disgusted me. To have her cherry simply because his Dad harped on his insecurities, she should have put him out. Just because he had his mind set did not mean he deserved what he wanted, bujt then he's a child that way, obviously that isn't an excuse since he's making adult decisions. And even if he did deserve it, she didn't want to do it, she wasn't even curious before he came at her sideways.
I'd been enjoying the story quite a bit beforehand, although ALL THE SEX felt unnecessary more times than not, but that scene felt like rape to me and I have never been so turned off by a sex scene in my life. I hope their relationship gets better and more of a balance is struck later on because Gabriel making decisions for them as a couple simply doesn't work.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
Samara, a model/actress, is sucked into the world of BDSM as she tries to figure out who murdered her photographer best friend and roommate, Ana, who belonged to a BDSM club called Bound in which she’s involved with a dominant who has a connection to Samara…Justin, a model by day and a Bound BDSM dominant by night. Samara tries to keep a level head as she tries to avoid getting completely consumed by this BDSM lifestyle.
Leo and Brian, they could BIND me any day of the week.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
A chance meeting on a bus ride headed for closure.
Much thanks to my amazing beta Curiously Amused
I enjoyed the ending, everything felt wrapped up, though not in an annoyingly photo-finish kind of way. It works. I did not like Eric calling her "babe". Their connection didn't seem that DEEP to me, for pet names, at least not ones with any real meaning.
Good story.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
This chapter was interesting because of their conversation, though it was a little short. For simple conversation, to keep it jumping-off-the-page, I think more detail would help the narrative.
So far, the idea is a new one, these two disowned children looking for their fathers aboard the Greyhound. Could their fathers be one man in the same, I wonder. Could that be the twist?
Because of how long the trip takes and the way you're writing it, I think the pacing is perfect. I feel the anxiety and excitement, and grating of the nerves from a long bus ride. It is a taxing way to travel but that's part of what makes it fun.
The setting works for the ideas though I'd like to know MORE about the world around them as they move through it. When I wasn't talking to an interesting stranger, I was looking out the window. That could land a little to the story, I think. :-) The bus as a setting as well, faulty seatbelts, a busted air conditioner or the ever-present bathroom stench - which was already mentioned, so it could work!
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed The present tense style works wonderfully here because it is done so right in the first few lines that I could not deny being caught. Being swept up in Eric's state of mind so immediately insured that I would continue on in the world you were building.
What can one say when confronted with death, especially when it's the mother of a random young lady you happened to meet on the Greyhound. In the end, despite Dani's bomb-drop about her Mom, her adoption AND her bio-Dad, you managed to end the chapter in a light, playful way. I appreciated that, as you could have taken Dani and Eric to a dark place!
And maybe you will, maybe that's the rub!
My favorite scene was the official introduction scene, the way Dani was sitting, with her back to the window, reminded me of how I got down on the Greyhound back in the day! Especially if I had a headache. Also, the internal mologue about getting a name after you've given a total (possibly crazy) stranger your property made me laugh AND salute, because isn't that the truth!
There was very little dialogue, a plus in my book because this is the first chapter, but what was spoken between Eric and Dani was spot-on. Dani is independent and street-savvy, Eric is independent and irritated, they play their parts through their words very well.
"But given the fact that they were in close quarters for hours on end, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. If something needed to be said, she would say it." There are some tense issues, mixing present tense with past tnse, but the chapter as a whole was spot on.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
As more characters were introduced and the chapter length was scaled back, the meat-and-potatoes of your two leads wasn't as filling. I liked that the other characters stepped out of the background but I feel like Eric and Dani were a little lost in the melee.
Their relationship, if there is to be one, is developing at a realistic pace for a bus ride. Close proximity sort of forces us all to be social and, in this case, that seems to be a good thing.
I enjoyed the writing but it felt forced. There were certain scenes that could have been pushed to dole out more info on the minor characters as well as Dani and Eric through their interactions with said minor characters.
There are sometimes missing words here and there, that happens to everyone, however.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed 
“We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.”
Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
I hate when insecurity enters into creativity, it is a killer, which makes me glad that you're doing something to get over it.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
College student Rory Daniels has a problem, and it isn’t how she’s going to pass her final exams.
You see, she can do this thing where she can manipulate objects… and other things, and as far as she knows she’s the only one who can. So when she’s forced to use her powers at a crowded bookstore and attracts the attention of a fellow student, she’s anything but happy about it. When it turns out the student has no interest in turning her over to the government and actually wants, of all things, a double date, she’s pleasantly surprised. That is, until her date ditches her for her friend and she ends up stuck with his.
His friend turns out to be Victor Ryken. He’s tall. Built like a Greek god and has a set of the most memorizing hazel eyes Rory’s ever seen. And, oh yeah, he does nothing but infuriate her. After the date from hell, Vic has for some reason taken an increased interest in her and what’s worse… her powers light up every time he touches her. When Vic’s around her abilities go haywire and his presence marks the beginning of a string of unusual events. Suddenly, she’s become a person of interest to nearly everyone she meets and strange people pop up in her life that have her question her own weirdness. When Vic himself displays a whole new level of weird while saving her from an attacker, Rory ends up concluding one thing.
Maybe she’s not as alone as she thinks.
At the end of chapter two, I'm beginning to see that Rory's way of dressing, speaking, acting, etc., is all a way to keep out the sort of people that might effect change, good or bad, in her life. I could be wrong but my gut is telling me that her confidence is all bravado. She calls herself alternative, wears the word like an honor, yet she wonders why someone like Vic, who she has prejudged, would have any interest in someone like her.
Someone like her, she thinks, and it makes me sad because I can see what makes her unique at a surface level while not overlooking the basic fact that she is a person. Everyone is of some value to someone else and I wish she could see that.
I want to read on, though not necessarily to find out who that is calling her name or if Vic knows about her ability, but because I want to see this character change as I know she will. She feels 3D to me, and that means that her story could change her into anything. A heroin, a villain, a strong woman, a shell. Who knows. Excited.
Rory and Vic's back-and-forth hinted at the fact that he is more confident than she is, that she is guarded and that he will have a hell of a time getting on her list at all! But he seems steadfast, especially since her brash attitude hadn't swayed him though I found it unsettling myself. I like where this is going, though I'm still making no connections to the preface.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed Rory's blue hair is fabulously luminous and her nose ring hints at some cheek, which I am looking forward to.
Vic, at least in that picture, gets a 10 on the Scale of Sex. We'll see if his character matches up. Fingers crossed! Sexy, sarcastic characters are always a pleasure.
Tatiana looks interesting, like a goddess illuminated from the inside. These three should have a threesome, and in my mind they will. ^_^
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed Zombies! was my first thought but I remember this being a Romance and I do not remember any mention of the Walking Dead coming into this so I'm going to hold off on that sort of excitement. It will be hard for me.
Second thought: Who (or what) are they and why is their arrival so horrifying?
Lastly, in this bit of text "...ole' ancestors new this was..." new should be knew. Now, I'm hoping this isn't the millionith time someone has pointed that out to you. ^_^
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed Yeah, see? No zombies.
I was hooked because of this word: simian. Primates, I LOVE them, so that scene with her in the campus book store managed to float my boat. Turk? Not so much, because ONLY LL can get away with licking his lips, especially so much! I lick my lips and it is not sexy...it's dry. Not cute.
This beginning was not what I expected from the preface; the beginning of chapter one was surprisingly lighthearted in contrast. Yes, the character dropped a few cuss words and hinted at a past as a juvenile delinquent but, still, she was not a brooding character. I enjoyed that. And I liked her monologue on being loose. It isn't a bad thing when you don't want a relationship, I am a firm believer in that.
Her...relationship with Kyra, love her and her son's names (by the way), was refreshing in that it wasn't at all a trip into best-friends-forever-land. I like that their relationship is as it always was, one of necessity from jump. Fantastic.
Is Vic your hero, I wonder?
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed My favorite scene thus far was little more than a snippet in the chapter as a whole. Because, if that woman was who I believe she is, Rory should have allowed her to buy her a drink. The polyamorous relationship between Rory, Vic and Luminous Eyes (whose name I do not know for sure) has to start somewhere, after all. This chapter was shorter than the rest and therefore I haven't much to say. Rory is in college, she loves music and dancing, she is a regular and possibly bartender-for-hire as well as being magical. Much of that I already knew but her love for music really made me smile. A woman after my own heart.
There is news, however; this chapter, with the dancing guy and Luminous Eyes entering the picture, was the first time I flashed back to the preface. Their arrival evokes the same darkness. I look forward to seeing where they ALL go.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed Enjoying it, I am, mm-hm.
Oh, rubbing the back of his neck, the surest sign of "I'm hot but I really like you so I'm nervous" anywhere! It is a pet peeve of mine.
Stalking only has the opportunity to be sexy in fiction. Good thing for Vic, who I grow fonder of by each line, that this is what it is.
Again, Rory and her snap judgements. It is a good character flaw for a character in a romance, especially one whose life has been spent in situations with less than trustful folks. However, Vic isn't giving up, a trait I enjoy. Plus, he is on it when it comes to responses. I love someone who can keep a converation going.
The daner dude from Onyx, am I correct? And Vic knows him BECAUSE he has mega-awesome super-powers, too, right?
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed "She emphasized the word like I was piece of shit..." Oh, Rory, you pretty much THINK of yourself the same way.
I sincerely hope Scar, whom I like thus far, isn't the best friend who is secretly in love with Vic. She is better than that, I feel. If she is just being protective, I will be thrilled by that, being the Mama Cheetah that I am.
So Rory is afraid of the dark, then? And Vic has perfect, precise timing, he is always hanging 'round when Rory could have need of him. Is he watching her, I wonder, for her safety. Because there are only a few ways I could see this going. He is obsessed with her, which isn't likely. He knows about her powers, which would be skeevy a bit because then maybe that's the only reason he's showing any interest. Or he sought her out to protect her (and other like him) from Luminous and the Dancer Dude but ending up liking what he saw a little too much. All theory, of course.
Which brings me to Vic and Rory's relationship. WHy is it developing so quickly? I know he messes with her on a molecular level but her letting her guard down, with hos especially paranoid she's been this entire time, doesn't seem right to me. Doesn't feel organic.
I like Scar, though, and I look forward to seeing more of her.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed So, they're young, Rory and Vic; their brains are all-sex all the time, thus their hooking up so soon after Rory's even allowed him to kind-of be her guy makes sense to me. But for a character like Rory, who would rather have a one-off, her rapidly intensifying relationship with Vic seems...a little out of whack. Like she'd at least try harder to keep her guard up with him, the guy trying so desperately to get past that guard. Maybe it's just me, but that's how guarded people usually react, and they carry on with the charade for as long as they can or until the person in pursuit gives up. ^_^
And who is the mysterious speaker?
The amount of Vic-description takes away from the story as we see him too often to need reminding. For me, describing the world these characters inhabit would be more effective than repeatedly describing the characters themselves.
Do you have a Beta reader? I believe one would really help with the few errors I've been able to pick out. “I can’t. I’m about to dance Rory.” You see, the word "with" would complete this sentence. Missing or misused words are an example of the common issues from one chapter to the next. Repetitive words and phrases, like "baritone," "ghost of a smile" and Rory's comments on Vic's eyes, are another issue.
I guess the heat supposedly came from Vic and Rory in the woods, but it could also be the mystery speaker. I shall see.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed He was exactly the way she designed him...
Adonis is a little cutie.
I know! I don't know who could deny a such a cutie pie.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed 
Camille Jones accepted society's problem with her body long ago. Yet, she can't help the insecurity felt when approached by gym owner Ryan Kahuna, he was most women's wet dream. He could have any woman he wanted.
Including her.
Bread is SERIOUSLY delicious, it's a definite problem-food and avocado is the absolute worst. I'd eat a grapefruit first, and those kill me. Anyway.
Camille and Ryan, I like them and I'm liking their story quite a bit. They are two mature characters, both interesting and flawed enough to keep me curious. I'd like to delve deeper into Ryan's issues with his love for thick women as well as going beneath Camille's bravado to the woman who is, in my opinion, more sensitive about her weight than even she knows. This isn't a bad thing, pseudo-confidence versus actual confidence is a thing worth examining! I'm loving it.
If I had one bone to pick (which I always do, lol), it would be that Camille and Ryan's POVs mirror one another too closely. Their thoughts hit on the same points, especially in the gym scene where Camille is confronted by the would-be-Casanova. That comes with one author writing multiple POVs, I know the issue well, so all I'd say is watch it. I'd like to see them differ a little and see how those differences of opinion affect the scene and their friendship/relationship as a whole.
Oh, and this: I hope Ryan's lie (about his business) and his fib (about his name) don't cause Camille to have the sterotypical "You told me one tiny lie, I can never trust you again" reaction because that would ruin her for me. Finding out a wonderful person has a better position at a stable job usually doesn't drive someone AWAY from them despite what romance novels/movies would have us believe, lol.
This review is now EXTRA long. Oops. ^_^
Thank you for such a great review! I was writing the new chapter and we have similar thoughts. It was seeming a bit one dimensional with their thoughts an I figured it was because I was forcing them to be in the same place experiencing the same events. I plan to give them more depth and outside influences soon though. Thanks for letting me know I wasn't overthinking!
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed 
Thoroughly revised and reuploaded!
Willow Carter is a plus-sized girl with lots of attitude and very low self-esteem. When her mother and oler sister force her to jog to slim down for her sister's wedding, she is attacked by a madman and rescued by a savior. But just because a man saves your life doesn't mean you should trust him. Soon she throws herself into a thrilling game of cat and mouse that brings more pain than pleasure and puts everyone she loves in harm's way.
So, Willow is a fully grown woman with familial issues who continues hanging out with her disrespectful family. Why? I'm confused, this isn't anything I would put up with - blood doesn't make you family.<p>On the other hand, Will IS very defensive. If you're going to go to lunch, go to lunch. It's way too easy to look places up online (hello, Yelp) before visiting them. If your judgmental mother and sister invite you someplace, look it up, see if you think you'll be judged, skip accordingly. I don't know, she Just keeps putting herself in situations and then balking at said situations like she didn't know exactly what she was getting herself into. Also, take your phone with you everywhere you go, you don't leave that thing in the car!</p><p>Ah, Willow is DEEPLY insecure, I get it now. Starving yourself is insane, working out while starving yourself is insane and stupid. Girl, bye. You better get a bacon, egg and cheese. He is a man, not a computer, and him kissing you was sexual assault. Girl, take your sister up on her personal trainer, not because it would work better but because it would be SAFER. Be fucking safe. This girl needs to take care of HERSELF, that totally includes making sure you're strong enough to workout. Come on, Google how to get that body poppin'! </p><p>Sounds like a BEAUTIFUL home, Seb. I'd like to rent the place one weekend. Lol, let's get physical! You found her passed out and brought her to your house because...? Dude, put a strong scent under her nose (I prefer bacon) and wait 'til she comes around! </p><p>I'll take a gift card to Macy's, they sell pots and pans I love. </p><p>Um, you can't tell this man what he likes, lol. </p><p>Hah, he might seriously be insane, though, for real! I imagined myself as Flavor Flav as I typed that. Good times. </p>
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed Daphne Gregory is on the run. She's looking for a place to lay low until things calm down back home. When she lands in Oklahoma, the last thing she expects to find is a friend in resident playboy Landon Phelps.
The end of this chapter made me laugh out loud, I love that.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death Signed
Wallflower Abby Kensington is ready to start living her best life! This road trip is the first of many exciting steps she is taking. However, on her journey she meets a man who has a different plan in store for her...
Will we see Abby's friend, Leah, again, I wonder. She's supportive, that's the kind of friend we all need.
If I have one criticism about Abby it's that she seems naive for her age. Maybe there's backstory for that. If so, I'd love to see it; to understand it.
I do love a road trip story...though I wonder if this is that. The self-discovery and reliance one uncovers while traveling alone is magical and an inspiration to me when the naysayers tell me I shouldn't "do this or go there" all by myself. So, that's cool.
Gran, I don't know how I feel about her. I don't know how I feel about people like her, though we all know one or two. Relationships are not a panacea for an unhappy life. If only people would grasp that.
I enjoyed this opening chapter and the characters are interesting. More Leah, I hope, I'd like to get to know her better. Less Southern stereotyping by Abby, more getting to know the people individually. Maybe that's one of her character flaws, making assumptions! That's always good to learn and grow from. I will continue reading on, see what you got going on here.
Thank you so much for your review! Abby is definitely naive and sheltered. I think Gran just has a different mindset from a different time. We will see Leah again.
Reviewer: Die A Mouse Death SignedDisclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.