A little something it's time to get off my chest, this on the subject of strong female characters in movies and books that seems the topic of discussion nowadays. More specifically, this tendency of Hollywood changing established male characters into females or weakening the male characters to make the female ones look stronger. Now, i have nothing against strong female characters, just as I have nothign against strokng male characters. For me, it's the plot and only the plot; the story rules all. So, if a story calls for a strong female character, I'll use one; if it calls for a weak female I'll use that; same for the males. But if I use a strong female character, I am NOT simply going to make all the men around her wimps, or give the female lead unusual advantages that the best of males don't have. Everybody earns their way to heroism, guy or gal. In my various stories I have some pretty strong women, but they still have their faults just as the men do. And of course, anatomical and physiological differences dictate there are some things that one sex can do that the other cannot; just like by extension there are some things that various alien races can and cannot do that humans can. A practical example: In my big fantasy series, amongst the many characters I have, there is one warrior who is the best with the blade, but shy around girls, so naturally he attracts the eye of a set of teenage triplet sisters... who unfortunately for him are three of the King's daughters. He spends 3 books doing his heroics like the other characters, the girls come on rather strong trying to win his love, so finally t do that they try to prove themselves to him by joining the army and training just like any grunt. They have to work their way up and in the process happen upon a plot that could undo everything. They do end up proving themselves but by lots of hard work, and while at one point they save the man's life it's not because he's suddenly a wimped-out male. it's because he's been controlled by an outrageously powerful force and the one thing that can free him is for the triplets to get him to realize that he really does love them just as they do him. No shoe-horning in anything just to make an artificially 'strong' female character, no wimpy males around them to make them look good.

I have been told, no, quite a lot on my writing journey. It is meant to arrest my progress, tell me not to write Arlinda's story, not to publish it. I cannot abide by no. Yes, it gets me to stop and think why they are saying no. They might be protecting me, since I have limited capacity every day. So I find ways to make it work within my schedule. They might be protecting themselves and their privacy. So I exclude the family from the story, making Arlinda's isolation from her family all the more poignant. No one's no is more powerful than Arlinda's yes. Her approval and authorization to write her story has helped me forge ahead, while finding ways to accommodate others' reservations. But I will not stop. August 27, 2026 will be here soon, and on that day this book will be released.

Congratulations @Rachael Bermingham for being featured on Facebook by Skool.

I'm thinking it's time for a bit of a freshen up! We've been open now for 3 months, and I'm wondering if we should update our 'about' image. We've been playing around with it and have come up with this. What are your thoughts? It's as much your community as it is mine, so I'd love to get your insight because the more you love it, the more others will too! Love it, don't like it? Is it modern enough? Change something? Over to you...

I don't think I have introduced myself here. If I have, please forgive me. I have memory issues from receiving 3 brain injuries in one night. When I am not writing and now publishing my first biography, I am doing one of three things: 1. I run the Kingdom of Hawaii's first vegan animal sanctuary. I have rescued cows, donkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, turkeys, ducks, and chickens. Many of them were airlifted from the 2018 lava flow while I was cobbling together pasture fences and shelters for them. 2. A lot of self-care. I am disabled, so there are lots of doctor appointments and physical therapy. I am part of the ManKind Project men's group that teaches emotional intelligence to the men in the community. It is the key ingredient for me becoming more social again. 3. Last but not least, I take care of my home, while my life partner works and brings in the money. She is a therapist, but she is not my therapist. I receive wonderful support from her.