Stop My Bleeding Heart

Heartbreak is all I know. And my heart bleeds because of it. Jade Diamond once had the world at her fingertips. That is, until a robbery gone wrong left her an orphan. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, her boyfriend breaks up with her and her stepmother kicks her out of her childhood home. With nowhere else to go, Jade moves in with a distant aunt and her home of foster kids. She’s living in an all new world, trying to reconnect with cousins, making new friends, and unraveling the mysteries of the boys surrounding her. Including two from her new school who seem to be vying for her attention. Can Jade find herself again and finally heal from her father’s death? Will she find her prince charming to stop her bleeding heart? ♥ Stop My Bleeding Heart is a contemporary young adult coming of age tale with a Snow White retelling twist.

5x8 version

This is a collection of poetry that I have put together. Some will make you laugh, and some are sure to touch a warm spot in your heart. Others are just too hot to talk about. So I hope you enjoy my first collection.

Love causes you to respond in any area where your help is needed. Love has no color when you see people through the eyes of God.

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR BY THE SEATTLE TIMES • London’s wiliest detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, are on the case in this fiendishly clever mystery. And when a cemetery becomes the scene of a crime, neither secrets—nor bodies—stay buried. Romain Curtis sneaks into St. George’s Gardens one evening with his date, planning to show her the stars. A centuries-old burial ground, the small, quiet park is the perfect place to be alone. Yet the night takes a chilling turn when the two teenagers spy a strange figure rising from among the tombstones: a corpse emerging from the grave. Suffice it to say that wherever there’s a dead man walking, Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit are never far behind. As the PCU investigates the sighting, a second urgent matter requires their unusual brand of problem-solving. Seven ravens have gone missing from their historic home in the Tower of London, and legend has it that when the ravens disappear, England will fall. Bryant has been tasked with recovering the lost birds, but when Romain is suddenly found dead, the two seemingly separate mysteries start to intertwine and point to a plot more sinister than anyone could ever imagine. Soon Bryant and May find themselves immersed in London’s darkest lore, from Victorian-era body snatchers, to arcane black magic, to the grisly myth behind Bleeding Heart Yard, a courtyard long associated with murder. And as the body count spikes and more coffins are unearthed, they will have to dig deep to catch a killer and finally lay these cases to rest. Darkly funny and fast-paced, Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart is a brilliantly twisting puzzle, conjured from the inventive mind of Christopher Fowler. Praise for Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart “Let’s talk about guilty pleasures. . . . A historic burial ground like St. George’s Garden, scene of the unfortunate incident of resurrection, is right up [Arthur Bryant’s] dark alley. And mine.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review “Delectably droll . . . criminally underappreciated . . . guaranteed to amuse . . . [Bryant & May are] endearing throwbacks to a time when this genre was brainy and pure. They are the last of a breed and they know it. . . . Their very credibility puts quaint old Bryant & May in a class of their own.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Fans of the series will enjoy the continuing travails of these two long-suffering octogenerian friends and their fellow officers. Newcomers will appreciate the twists and turns of the case as well as the many details from the odd corners of one of the world’s great cities.”—Library Journal “Endearingly eccentric . . . intriguing.”—Publishers Weekly “Hilarious . . . a charming and intriguing mystery mixed with marvelous characters. [Christopher] Fowler’s snarky writing elevates what could be dull or routine and makes it a true joy to read.”—RT Book Reviews “Make Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart the next book you read. . . . These stories are witty, challenging, engrossing, informative and incredibly well written. . . . Picture a television series that is a rough mash-up of Law & Order, The X-Files and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. . . . I sensed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ed McBain and Agatha Christie nodding in approval. . . . [Fowler’s] latest book contains some of his best writing.”—Bookreporter

In 1996 I celebrated a year of sobriety and began a journey of rebirth. That year I developed confidence in myself that previously I never experienced. I took my personal collection of notes, diaries, and tapes from my year in Vietnam and begin to organize them into a book. In 1997 I completed the manuscript and titled it One Heart One Mind: one man's memoir of a tour of Vietnam. The book not only dealt with my year in Vietnam but with the emotional cost of the war on my soul and psyche. With assistance from Jonathan Shay M.D., Ph.D., the author of Achilles in Vietnam (a book about combat trauma and the undoing of character), I tried unsuccessfully to get my book published. In 1998 I legally changed my name from John Joseph to Janice Josephine and my writing now included transgender issues. I felt that I had come to terms with my trauma from the Vietnam War, and I was ready to move on. In 1999-2000 I wrote and performed a play "I Was Always Me." The two-act play is a monologue of my transition from John to Janice. In the fall of 2000 I had my first article published in the Transgender Tapestry Magazine. In 2001 I was the subject of a documentary: "TransJan" produced and directed by Katherine Cronin. Its premiere at the Provincetown International Film Festival opened the door for me and after each screening; I conducted a Q&A about transgender issues. The latest screening of "TransJan" was in 2002, when it was selected to be one of the films for the Tampa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. In 2001, in Boston, while performing readings of my poems and rants at Slams, I met the writer Toni Amato. Shortly after that meeting I begin attending Toni's creative writing workshops at Women's Words and later attended one of her weekend writer retreats. That year I presented "TransJan" and sat on panels at the Transcending Boundaries Conference at Yale University and at Speak Out, a conference at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. My most challenging event that year was the L/B/T/Allies Strategy Summit in Vermont, sponsored by the National Organization for Women. In 2002 I continued to do workshops using creative writing as a means of getting people to open up about transgender issues. I also put together a course of study on transgender issues called "Transsexuals are Human Also." I conducted creative writing workshops at the Midwest L/G/B/T/Allies College Conference. Out of this conference came my transgender monologue,' and, as "My Vagina Monologue," I performed this at the St Petersburg Metropolitan Community Churcher's Talent Show, and it was published in the summer issue of the Transgender Tapestry Magazine. This year I have presented creative writing workshops at the International Foundation for Gender Education in Philadelphia, the New Hampshire Transgender Resources for Education and Empowerment at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and at Silver Threads, a weekend retreat on St Pete Beach. I have put together a collection of my poems, rants and essays that are directly from a transwoman's heart called "Purple Hearts and Silver Stars." One of my short stories was published as part of Mary Boenke's Trans Forming Families, real stories about transgender loved ones. Later this year two short stories will published in anthologies, Pinned down by Pronouns (http://www.convictionbooks.com) and Trans-lating Faith, Pilgrim Press, 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. I am an active member of a local group of women artists called "Women Artist Rising" with whom I share my poems, rants and stories at various WAR events (http://www.womenartistsrising.com). My new column "Perspectives from a Trans-woman" that started in a local newsletter is now in syndication.

Mr. Toelen’s work is based on his life. His poetry has been inspired by the love of his life. He found in Candice his lost soul mate. After five years he found her back on the Internet. Feeling love, happiness and sorrow of this girl and her son. The people in his life, the hurt of losing love. Broken friendship, and more feeling are written. To bring you laughter and tears in each single poem. Many people have already read his work. It has inspired them deeply. He’s been through tough lessons in his life. It encourages him to write with his heart. He thanks his Friends and Family. For all the support they have given him. God bless you all. For more work of Mr. Toelen go to this link: http://webpages.charter.net/cterry002/