Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Read About a full length - hot off-world fantasy MATING RITUALS by my Author Friend Tina Gayle

Welcome Tina, one of my favorite guests, who helped me find my way around Blogger!


Tina just finished her Executive Wives’ Club series which combines elements of women fiction with the passion of romance.

The Family Tree series has two books out – Summer’s Growth and Fallen Leaves. Winter’s Wonders is the next book Tina is planning to write. This is a paranormal romantic suspense series, the books follow the keeper of the Winston manor and the trials she has to overcome to remain in the house of her ancestors.
 
 

ABOUT MATING RITUALS

With rock-hard fortitude, Marohka Taunton battles to maintain her position as top mineralogist and refuses to see why she should marry even if the law requires she take a mate. Fighting her attraction for Stihl Fermesium, she struggles to save her father’s company.

Stihl, determined to win her as his mate, is faced with the commission deal of a lifetime and needs the money to save his family land. He wrestles with her emotional resistance and discovers someone other than Marohka is unhappy about their union. In fact, they want to separate them in the most basic of ways, death.

 




 
An Excerpt From MATING RITUALS 


“All right, ladies, please line up for the final event of the evening–The Ladies Parade,” a voice boomed from the speakers. “Give your partner a smile and a curtsy, and then ascend the stairs to the stage area.”

“Right,” Marohka reasoned, “like I need any man.”

Harold, the father presenter, liked to follow the old habit of bowing to one’s partner. The custom to him added romance and grandeur to the evening. She could’ve told him differently, but with him being an old stick from a bygone era and a hopeless romantic, he wouldn’t have listened.

“Now, gentlemen, here are the rules. Although, you might know them, I’ll restate them again so no problems will occur because you forgot what you’re supposed to do.” Harold paused a moment and scanned the crowd. “So listen carefully.”

Marohka and the other girls started up both sides of the twin staircases. Harold stood at the top of the landing, dressed in his usual green plaid suit. His cheeks colored with his excitement.

“Each one of these lovely ladies will be carrying a small placard with a number printed on it.” Harold showed them a sample card. “The number is not how many mates she desires.” The crowd broke into the expected laughter. Harold grinned.

She wished her sign displayed a zero. Even one man was more than she needed. All evening, she’d avoided them. If a man approached, she offered him a rude comment and walked away to prove her lack of interest in catching a mate.

“If you’re attracted to a certain lady and want to meet her in the mating arena, take note of her number. If you write down the wrong number, you’ll be matched with a different girl, which would result in an unwelcome surprise.” Harold released a small cough of humor.

“You can choose three women. In the end, however, you’ll only be mated with one.”

A good-natured roar of disappointment exploded from the men in the hall. Marohka rolled her eyes at the typical male response.

Harold sighed. “Sorry, boys, that’s the rule. The Council of Elders will determine which girl on your list will become your mate. Then it’s up to you to pass the next challenges. The first duel is at three sharp in the battling arena. Be sure to check the schedule. If you miss your fight time, you’ll be out of the running and will have to wait until next year.”

Turning to the girls standing beside him, Harold added. “Ladies, don’t worry. An escort will be sent to your room to make sure you arrive on time.”

As the oldest unmated girl, Marohka stood at the front of the line. Her future suspended on the edge of success. She’d led the other girls down the red carpet, along the edge of the dance floor, through the ballroom, and then back up the twin staircase on the other side of the room many times. She drew in a deep breath, preparing for her final steps to freedom.

Harold glanced at her and nodded. “At the top of the list from the Taunton family is our special princess, Marohka. A smart girl, she’ll offer any man a stimulating adventure, where life will never be boring. She works hard and . . .”

Stepping forward, she cut off Harold’s words by moving off the stage and out of the spotlight. She detested the Royal Presenter selling her to these men. With her job of finding qualtrilium and keeping her father’s company afloat, she had all the challenges she needed in life.

Lustralia’s law might require Royal girls to be present at the charade. But with this being her final year of mandatory attendance, victory stood in sight. All she had to do was navigate the man-infested waters between here and the staircase on the other side of the room. Freedom waited.

She reached the bottom of the staircase. Her path led her past a legion of men. From tall, dark, and handsome to fair-haired wonders, an array of eligible men lined her route. Dressed in fine, silk coats and tight fitted pants, they represented hundreds of Royal families across the great land. All showed excellent breeding and genteel manners. Any one of them would make a good mate to the girls behind her, but none tempted her to lose her freedom.

Staring straight ahead, she avoided eye contact with every man she passed. Moving along the edge of the dance floor, she wove her way back and forth across the assigned path. Her steps, jerky and clumsy, she hid her natural smooth gait. No man, in his right mind, craved an ungraceful wife. At least, she hoped not.

With the stairs a few steps ahead, she tasted victory and allowed herself a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

A masculine voice in front of her chuckled. “It’s not over yet, princess.” 
 

Read the first chapter at http://www.tinagayle.net/mrchapter.html

 







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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Arthurian Author and Friend Kim Headlee is my Guest--Read About Raging Sea: Reckonings

I always enjoy hosting Kim as much as I enjoy her books. I fell in love with the play Camelot at age 3, when my mother went to see it on Broadway, starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. The soundtrack album played in my house constantly. The whole Arthurian legend fascinated me, and still does. 

Kim sent me 3 excerpts of Raging Sea: Reckonings: a PG version, PG-13, and R-rated. I went with the PG-13, right in the middle. If you'd like to see the R version, let me know!

Kim lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-twentieth century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet. She has been an award-winning novelist since 1999 (Dawnflight 1st edition, Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and has been studying the Arthurian Legends for nigh on half a century.



Raging Sea: Reckonings can be read standalone, but the reader will be better informed if s/he has read Dawnflight (book 1; Kindle worldwide link http://getBook.at/Dawnflight_2ed_by_KIH_Kindle ) and particularly Morning’s Journey (book 2; Kindle worldwide link http://getBook.at/Mornings_Journey_by_KIH_Kindle ) first.
 
SYNOPSIS 
Those who aspire to greatness must first learn servanthood. 
Stripped of kin, clan, country, and even his identity for having failed the most important woman in his life and her infant son, Angusel begins the arduous task of rebuilding his life and reclaiming his honor. The path he treads is fraught with uncomfortable revelations, unexpected reconciliations… and unavoidable reckonings.
 
Purchase Raging Sea: Reckonings from Amazon Worldwide
(Kindle Unlimited only)
 
EXCERPT (PG-13)
Gull gave Angusel a measuring stare, glanced at the skies—which had remained calm, and the temperature was behaving itself for once—and reached a decision. “Elian, the wood can keep. Our wee lion cub needs a woman. So do I, truth be told.” He picked up his sword.
Over Angusel’s embarrassed, “What!” soared Elian’s hearty laughter. “I suppose you know just the place,” said the centurion with a grin. 
“Of course. Don’t you?” Gull shot back. When he got no response, he continued, “How long has it been for ye, auld boar?”
Elian’s grin soured. He pivoted on his wooden leg and stomped inside the cottage. Without looking back he said, “None of your cac-licking business. Take him, then. Just don’t be all day about it.” The words faded with distance until the last few were almost inaudible. 
 
FOLLOW KIM
 
 
 
 

Monday, December 14, 2015

Read About Award-winning author Pamela S. Thibodeaux's Devotional LOVE IS A ROSE

My friend and one of my favorite guests Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, Inspirational with an Edge! ™ and reviewed as steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.




Music is the magical entry into the spirit world; the golden gate into the Kingdom of God. But we mustn't be of the mindset that God only uses Christian music to reach out and touch our mind, heart and spirit. God uses any and every means available to speak to His children.
 
Our job is to be open and receptive.

In this devotional, Pamela S. Thibodeaux shares how God opened her spirit to a deeper understanding of the abundance of His grace and mercy through the words of the song, The Rose sung by Country & Western artist Conway Twitty. 

Pamela offers Seeds to Ponder and a prayer as she parallels the love of God and the Christian life to each verse of the song.  

Excerpt: Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need...

How very true!  The Bible speaks of a longing of our soul to be in communion with the Lord. Psalm 42 says, "As the hind longs for running water, so my soul longs for thee, oh God..."

Endless, aching need; we all feel it–the need to be loved, to be worthy; the ache to know God more intimately and to glorify Him.           

Many describe this aspect of their walk with God as an ache or a hunger which is forever present. Sometimes it is more prevalent than others but always there….Thee need to be close to Him, to know His will, to feel His presence, to be made worthy and whole by His Holy Spirit.           

Just when we feel we've gotten closer to Him still, the ache smarts again––deeper, more desperate than the last time. A longing that cannot be described––one that can only be satisfied by the Holy Spirit leading you closer and deeper into the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Every one of us can relate to the insatiable hunger we've experienced in our lives. Many times we seek after and pursue more…bigger and better things (money, houses, cars, jobs) thinking those will satisfy, not realizing the hunger in our soul is one only God can satisfy. As I look back over my life, I recall a time when I got wrapped up in the things of the world, and yet, I've always been a seeker of peace above all things. Oh, that we would teach our children that more is not better and the more things you have, the more time you'll spend taking care of them and the less time you'll have to pursue what really matters in life--people and relationships! 

The accumulation of things will never satisfy the soul like an intimate relationship with the Creator and His creation. Get rid of the stuff in your life and see how much peace there is in simplicity.
 
Purchase LOVE IS A ROSE







 
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Also Please Note: 
 
Getting or Giving a Kindle, Nook or other E-reader for Christmas? 
Fill it with books
Full length titles for $0.99!
 
 
 

Monday, December 7, 2015

My Great Grandparents Married 100 Years Ago--My Heroine Vita is Based on Her

My great grandparents, James and Josephine Arnone, were married on December 4, 1915. My New York historical romance, FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET, has been released with The Wild Rose Press, and my heroine Vita is based on her--a woman way ahead of her time. She left grade school to become a successful real estate investor as she married and raised 4 children.


FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET is Book One of the New York Saga.



It's 1894 on New York's Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita's father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. When Tom’s cousin is murdered, Vita’s father and brother languish in jail, charged with the crime. Can Vita and Tom’s love survive poverty, hatred, and corruption?
Excerpt:
On her way up the stairs, she glanced down the hall and noticed the closed parlor door. Maybe one of the other boarders was in there with a beau. She smiled in the dark. Let them enjoy themselves. All the girls here had beaux, and they needed privacy without chaperones breathing down their necks during every stage of courting.
As she gathered her soap and towel, Madame Branchard tapped on her door. “You have a gentleman caller, Vita. A policeman.”
“Tom?” His name lingered on her lips as she repeated it. She dropped her things and crossed the room.
“No, hon, not him. Another policeman. Theodore something, I think he said.”
No. There can’t be anything wrong. “Thanks,” she whispered, gently nudging Madame Branchard aside. She descended the steps, gripping the banister to support her wobbly legs. Stay calm! she warned herself. But of course it was no use; staying calm just wasn’t her nature.
“Theodore something” stood before the closed parlor door. He’s a policeman? Curious, she looked him up and down. Tall and hefty, a bold pink shirt peeking out of a buttoned waistcoat and fitted jacket, he looked way out of place against the dainty patterned wallpaper.
He removed his hat. “Miss Caputo.” He strained to keep his voice soft as he held out a piece of paper.
“Yes?” Her voice shook.
“I’m Theodore Roosevelt. I have a summons for you, Miss Caputo.” He held it out to her. But she stood rooted to that spot.
He stepped closer, and she took it from him, unfolding it with icy fingers. Why would she be served with a summons? Was someone arresting her now for something she didn’t do?
A shot of anger tore through her at this system, at everything she wanted to change. It eclipsed her fear, made her blood boil. She flipped it open and saw the word “Summons” in fancy script at the top. Her eyes widened with each sentence as she read. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”


Thursday, November 26, 2015

Meet Arthur C. Sippo MD, MPH, Emergency Room Physician, Occupational Therapist, Author, Blog Talk Show Host, Author and Much More

About three weeks ago, my friend Tom Johnson suggested I contact Arthur for an interview on his blog radio show. We exchanged a few Emails, and I guested on his show on November 13. You can listen to it and other podcasts here.

The main purpose of the interview was to talk about my books, and Arthur advised me that it would probably go over the scheduled hour, which I fully expected...I'm a talker! It went a half hour over, but after about 30 seconds, I felt like I was chatting with someone I've known for years. First off, Arthur amazed me by telling me he attended Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, my alma mater. We missed each other by a year--he graduated the year before I entered. Having lived in New Jersey, we both knew some people in common, including Long John Nebel, a popular radio talk show host back in the day.

Somehow we got on the subject of UFOs, which fascinates me. Having served in the military for a few decades, he has some plausible theories about whether we've been visited. We talked at length about the Roswell incident, to my knowledge the only UFO incident that involved the possibility of alien bodies.

I told Arthur he's so interesting to talk to, I want to interview HIM for my blog, and he graciously agreed. Meet him here, and see his answers to some probing questions about what's really out there!

About Dr. Arthur Sippo



Arthur Sippo attended  Saint Peter’s College, Jersey City, NJ from Aug 1970-May 1974 and graduated  Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry.  He was also a Distinguished Military Graduate and Executive office of the ROTC Cadet Corp.
He attended Medical School at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN from Aug 1974-May 1978, earning his MD degree.
He did his Internship in OB-GYN at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC from Jul 1978-Aug 1979.
He attended US Army Flight Surgeon Training at Ft. Rucker, Aland served in the 101st Airborne Division Oct 1979- Aug 1981, where he served as the First Brigade Surgeon, Flight Surgeon, and General Medical Officer.
Dr. Sippo attended The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore, MD from Aug 1981-May 1982, earning a Masters in Public Health.
He completed the Residency in Aerospace Medicine at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine in Brooks AFB, TX in Jun 1983 and obtained his Board Certification in Aerospace Medicine in Feb 1984.
At the US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Ft. Rucker. AL from June 1983- Nov 1986, he was the Division Director of the  Biodynamics Research Division, a Medical Researcher, a Flight Surgeon, and a General Medical Officer.
Dr. Sippo served as an Exchange Officer at the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine, Farnborough, Hants, England; From Nov 1986 until Dec 1989.
While in England he also acted as a reserve flight surgeon at RAF Lakenheath, and RAF Alconbury.  He also was a lecturer on Aerospace medicine to the British Army Aviation Commander’s school and ran the Altitude Chamber for all British Army Pilot training at RNAS Yeovelton.
Dr. Sippo returned to civilian life and went into the practice of  Occupational Medicine with Occupational Care Consultants, Toledo, OH from Jan 1990-Apr 2001. He was Board Certified in Occupational Medicine in Feb 1994.
He joined the Ohio Army National Guard in Medical Staff in Feb 1990 and eventually commanded the 145th MASH from Nov 1994-Jan 1996.
He was made the Assistant State Surgeon OHARNG from Jan 1996-Jan 2001.
Since April of 2001, he is an ER Physician at various hospitals in Southern Illinois and at the John Cochran VA Hospital, St. Louis.
He has been an author of scientific papers, Adventure Fiction, Pulp Fiction, Catholic Apologetics, and Speculative Theology.  He has given several lectures on medical, scientific, religious, and literary subjects.
Dr. Sippo has been married to his beloved Katherine since 1986 and between them, they have raised 5 children. 

An In-Depth Interview with Arthur, About One Of My Favorite Subjects--UFOs! 

1) How well does the official Roswell story hold together?
The entire Roswell saga started with a single press release authorized by the Roswell Army Airfield Commander, Col. Blanchard, on 8 July 1947 and ended officially with a news conference three days later in the office of the Eighth Air Force Commander, General Ramey in Fort Worth, Texas.  Aside from these official Air Force press events, there is nothing tangible available to the investigator.  There is no debris to be examined.  No official analysis of either the debris or the incident in question.  No board of inquiry was convened to study the event and to present guidelines for how such incidents should be handled in the future.  It is also noteworthy that the official log of communications between the Roswell Base, Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Fort Worth Texas, and Washington at the time of the incident are missing from the official files, which is contrary to Air Force policy.
As for the press event in General Ramey’s office, it was restricted to one specifically selected civilian photographer and newsman.  The only debris that was seen and photographed was what was on the floor in the office.  Only a handful of photos were made and they focused mostly on the military personnel who were present, NOT the debris.  If this had been a real news event, there should have been several reporters from papers and news services with multiple camera men.  The planeful of debris that was brought to Fort Worth would have been scattered on the floor of a hangar to be displayed to the entire world in order to prove that this was indeed a mundane weather balloon.
Once they had that single press meeting on 11 July 1947, the entire Roswell incident was never mentioned again despite efforts by the news media to get some follow up on the story. 
In short, the Air Force buried the story and did its best to make everyone forget about it.  This is not standard military procedure.  The debris should have been analyzed and identified even if the results were to remain classified.  There is no evidence for this.
The incident should have been studied and the conduct of the participants should have been reviewed and critiqued.  This is especially true because the people at Roswell Army Airfield had blundered so badly and created an international furor.  Both Col. Blanchard and Major Marcel should have been disciplined and relieved of their posts.  Instead, Blanchard was held in communicato for a month while an officer was sent from Eighth Air Force to run the base in his absence.  Marcel was told to forget the incident and resumed his normal duties a few days after the Fort Worth news conference.  Neither of their military careers were in any way hampered by the incident.  They both finished their regular tours at Roswell and had good Officer Efficiency Ratings.  Blanchard in particular went on to become a 4-star Air Force General and died of a heart attack at his desk in the Pentagon in 1964. 
It appears to me that Blanchard kept silent and was rewarded for doing so.  Marcel had a good military career as well but left the service to take care of his ailing mother.  He remained silent about the Rowell incident until the mid-1970s when Stanton Friedman looked him up and interviewed him.  When this happened, we received more details about the debris that was recovered (including its memory metal capabilities) along with Marcel’s claim that the debris seen in the photographs was not what he had brought from New Mexico.  The major kept silent about this because he had been ordered to do so and he was a good soldier.
In short, the Air Force initiated a very sloppy, rushed effort at a cover up three days after Col. Blanchard revealed his initial press release that only succeeded because of the isolation of the base, the lack of any other information sources about the incident, and the patriotic fervor of the “Greatest Generation” who were willing to believe whatever their government or military told them.  The actual materials that were recovered from the debris field at the Brazel ranch have never been evaluated in the clear and are not available for us to examine at this time.  Why was this the case?  If it was nothing but a weather balloon, full disclosure would have laid the matter to rest.  Even if it was a Mogul Balloon train, all the components were off-the-shelf items with the exception of the specialized electronic package to measure sounds which would have been smashed up pretty badly by the fall. (It should be noted that no electronic components were among the debris that Marcel says he found.  Even if there had been, a cursory examination would have shown that this was terrestrial technology.)  There was nothing unusual about any of it and it all could have been dismissed as the remains of a meteorological test bed.  The fact that the Air Force made this debris “disappear” is very suspicious.  
2) What about the two Air Force Roswell books?
·                          The first Air Force book The Roswell Report: Case Closed was published in 1994.  It put forward the suggestion that the wreckage found by Mac Brazel were the remnants of a top-secret Project Mogul Balloon Train.  While this remains an intriguing idea, the Air Force provided no concrete evidence to support the contention.  There were no reports in any historical records of anyone identifying the Roswell debris as belonging to Project Mogul.  There are no detailed photographs or measurements of the materials in question to substantiate this.  In fact, the Mogul balloon theory was never brought up with regard to Roswell before this book.  The debris field described by Major Marcel was 4000 feet long and 200 to 400 feet wide.  A single Mogul Balloon train would not contain enough material to fill such a space.  Furthermore, no balloon remnants were found at the site, nor were any electronics found. I don’t find this credible. 

The second Air Force book The Roswell Incident was published in 1997.  It treated the Mogul Balloon theory as if it were an established fact instead of an unsubstantiated suggestion.  But then the Air Force did something that I think was foolish on their part and very revealing.  There had been several allegations by witnesses that alien bodies had been found at the Roswell crash site.  The Air Force claimed in this new book that these witnesses may have been describing anthropomorphic dummies which Air Force researchers had dropped to test new parachutes and life support equipment.  The book also alleged that two incidents of catastrophic aircraft decompression had occurred in 1956 and 1959 leading to several deaths. Facial swelling in the deceased crewmembers could have been misinterpreted as the features of aliens.  The book recognized that the dummies had not been used prior to 1952. The reports of bodies associated with the Roswell incident in 1947 would have required the witnesses to confuse the later events from the 1950s and 1960s with events that had occurred at the time of the Roswell incident.  This is an even more ludicrous suggestion than the Project Mogul idea.  But I think that it tells something important. 

During the 1960s and the 1970s, there were numerous claims of crashed UFOs some of which allegedly had alien bodies associated with them.  UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield has written about these in a 7 book series entitled UFO Crash Retrievals.  No solid evidence exists to substantiate these claims, but they are interesting nonetheless.

The description of the bodies included both similarities and differences from story to story.  There were a few general commonalities.  The bodies were humanoid in shape, with a length of about 4 feet, with large heads for body size, and large slanted eyes.   

Most UFO researchers (including Stringfield) had considered such claims to be on the lunatic fringe.  But Stringfield kept running into witnesses with military, intelligence, scientific, and medical backgrounds who seemed to be describing the same thing. He came to believe that there may be something to this.   

(It should be noted that Major Marcel vehemently denied that he had seen any bodies but researchers now believe that there was a second crash site at Corona, several miles from the Brazel Ranch. This was not discovered initially and the stories about bodies seemed to come from that site.) 

It appears that the Air Force felt the need to explain away any claims that witnesses had seen alien bodies either at the time of Roswell or later.  Why?  The idea is so far out and so lacking in evidence that a mere denial should have sufficed.  I suggest they tried to debunk the sightings of alien bodies precisely because some people had seen something.  This was a tactical error.  The Air Force has now tacitly admitted that witnesses saw strange bodies and that there was a mundane explanation for this.

However, their proposed explanation is utterly ridiculous.  Any sighting of alien bodies in 1947 could not be explained by events that would not happen until many years later.  Besides, the anthropomorphic dummies were 6 feet tall, with normal sized heads and normal looking eyes.  Even the body small, big headed body sightings from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s could never be explained by this.
 
In short, the Air Force seems to admit that bodies were seen.  Sadly, their contrived explanation cannot explain this.

I do not know if there have been real sightings of alien bodies.  In the 1940s and 1950s, the idea of a mechanical drone aircraft was science fiction.  Today we know that advanced alien technology would not need to have a living crew on a UFO.  The absence of a living crew would also help to explain the excessively violent flight parameters seen in many UFO sightings.  Rapid changes in altitude, extreme acceleration/deceleration, and tight almost 90 degree turns make more sense if the UFO is a mechanical object without a living crew.  But the Air Force seems to be saying that the reports of bodies need to be explained away, not merely dismissed.
Another allegation in The Roswell Incident was that many UFO sightings since the 1950s were of experimental American aircraft and that the Air Force used the UFO idea as an excuse to cover up these tests.  If one peruses the FOIA information from the early 1950s it is clear that the US Air Force at the highest level checked the secret projects being done by the US Government and its military and found no evidence that any of the unexplained sightings could be correlated with such tests.
3) What is the story about Nitinol?
Nitinol is a family of nickel and titanium alloys that return to their previous shape after being deformed.  It is a true “memory metal.”  The world was first made aware of this material by researchers at the US Navy Ordnance lab in the early 1960s.  At that time, Elroy John Center, a scientist who had left Battelle in 1957, told some associates that he helped develop this material by analyzing the Roswell Crash debris while working at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio.  In fact, there were two classified Battelle monographs on the Nitinol alloys that were referenced in the studies done by the Navy.  Dr. Center’s name was not mentioned in the list of authors of these monographs.  Since they were classified, the monographs were not generally available outside of high security government circles.
Battelle was a private research facility in Columbus founded in 1928 and had helped the US Army Air Corp analyze foreign technology from Germany and Japan during World War II.  They had several contracts with Air Force Intelligence headquartered at Wright Field just down the road in Dayton, Ohio.
The original plan in July 1947 was to send the Roswell debris to Wright Field for evaluation.  After the ersatz “press conference” at Fort Worth, it was implied the debris would not be sent on to Dayton, but the testimony of numerous witnesses indicates the Roswell debris was sent on to Wright Field.  It would not be surprising that some of the material might have been sent to Battelle for analysis.
It should be noted that the description of some of the Roswell debris as being made of “memory metal” was not known until the mid-1970s when a retired Major Jesse Marcel began speaking to UFO investigators about his experiences.
Dr. Center’s claim to have reverse–engineered Roswell wreckage was itself not revealed to the world at large until 1992 through a MUFON Newsletter.  He had died in July 1991 from cancer and so could provide no further information to investigators.  From that point onward, many researchers tried to obtain copies of the two Battelle monographs through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  No copies could be found in government archives and Battelle (a private corporation exempt from FOIA) has a policy of not providing copies of monographs done under client contracts.
This state of affairs persisted until 2008 when a partial copy of the second Battelle monograph was retrieved under the FOIA entitled Second Progress Report Covering the Period September 1 to October 21, 1949 on Research and Development on Titanium Alloys Contract No. 33 (038)-3736.  It is authored by "Simmons, C.W.; Greenidge, C.T., Craighead, C.M. and others." The Battelle report was completed for Wright Patterson Air Materiel Command which ran the Foreign Technology efforts for Air Force Intelligence.  The partial copy clearly identifies Dr. Eldon John Center as being listed among the “others.”
So it seems that Dr. Center’s claims may have some validity.  The placement and timing of the research is right for Battelle to have been contracted to analyze Roswell crash debris. Also the “memory metal” aspects of some of the Roswell debris was not common knowledge until almost 30 years after the Roswell incident.  At the time Marcel began talking about it, Dr. Center’s claims and the Battelle monographs were not known to the general public.
4) What have been the real statistics about the sightings reported to Project Blue Book before it was cancelled in 1969?
The UFO phenomena virtually exploded in the early 1950s eventually including the famed flap over Washington, DC in 1952.  A large number of UFOs buzzed the restricted airspace over the capital, appearing and disappearing from radar at will and dodging the fighter jets that had been scrambled to intercept them.
During this time period, the Air Force was publically dismissing UFOs as either natural phenomena, misidentifications, and hoaxes.  It claimed that 90+% of all sightings had been explained away by the Air Force investigators.  After the DC saucer flap, official Washington was not so sure.
In the wake of this, the CIA contracted Battelle Memorial Institute to analyze all the material collected by the Air Force UFO study projects (Sign, Grudge, and Bluebook) which constituted several thousand sightings.  Battelle issued the classified Robertson Report which provided the following statistics:
a)                                              17% of all the reported sightings had been clearly identified as something mundane 

b)                                             83% could not be explained

c)                                              63% were unexplained but were lacking in sufficient information by which to either confirm or deny the stories.  This fraction included most of the reports from the general public.

d)                                             20% were unexplained but were reported by credible professionals such as pilots, scientists, and military personnel who were deemed reliable witnesses who may have had some supporting physical traces, pictures, radar contacts, or other evidence that supported their stories. 

e)                                              3% were hardcore unexplained cases which included multiple witnesses from different locations, along with supporting evidence of different kinds, making it a virtual certainty that the stories as told were true.
In summary, one case out of five that had been reported represented a credible report.  Most of the reported cases were unexplained.  One case in 33 was a hardcore unknown that could not be dismissed.  This situation was of great concern and so it was decided that UFOs needed to be studied for national security reasons.
In 1969, after the large UFO flap in 1966-67, the Air Force contracted Dr. Condon of the University of Colorado to perform a review of the material that had been collected by Project Bluebook and its predecessors.  This constituted about 13,000 reports.  (It was also revealed that there were several military reports of UFOs that had not been reported to Bluebook which were included.  This infuriated Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the scientific consultant for Bluebook because it meant that several of the best UFO cases had not come through his program.  He had been told that he had access to everything and he was livid when he found out that this was not true.)
The analysis by the Condon Committee produced the following results:
a)                                              22% of all the reported sightings had been clearly identified as something mundane
 
b)                                             78% could not be explained

c)                                              45% were unexplained but were lacking in sufficient information by which to either confirm or deny the stories.  This fraction included most of the reports from the general public.

d)                                             33% were unexplained but were reported by credible professionals such as pilots, scientists, and military personnel who were deemed reliable witnesses who may have had some supporting physical traces, pictures, radar contacts, or other evidence that supported their stories.

e)                                              5.5% were hardcore unexplained cases which included multiple witnesses from different locations, along with supporting evidence of different kinds making it a virtual certainty that the stories as told were true.
By 1969 fully one case in three was credible and unexplained.  The vast majority of cases still remained unexplained.  And more than one case in twenty was considered highly credible and well established.
As you can see, it was never the case that most sightings had mundane explanations.  In fact, the number of credible unexplained cases always has outnumbered the ones that could be explained by a fair margin.  Therefor, it is clear that the final Condon Report's claim that UFOs were not of scientific or national security interest was inane and did not conform itself to the facts which the Committee itself produced.  There continues to be a cover up about the real nature of UFOs at the highest levels of our government which persists to this very day.
 
 
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Monday, November 23, 2015

Hearts and Heroes and a Holiday Recipe--Meet Lyn O'Farrell

Lyn O'Farrell is the writing team of Anne Farrell and Linda McLaughlin. Their romance novel, WORTH THE RISK, was a finalist in RWA's prestigious Golden Heart contest and was first published in paperback under the title PRIVATE AFFAIR by Kensington Precious Gems. Anne and Linda live in sunny Southern California, the inspiration for the fictional town of Santa Elena.

Connect with them online: 




The holidays are almost upon us, which means lots of opportunities to overeat! Holiday potlucks are a staple of the season, and if you’re looking for an easy recipe, I have one to share. Like me, it’s a little sweet and a little tart, fairly low-calorie, dairy free, nut free and gluten free. (Unless you doctor it up, that is.) 

Lyndi's Cranberry-Blueberry Delight

 

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can of Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1 package of fresh small blueberries (about 4 oz.)
1 cup of golden raisins 

Mix, chill and serve. That's it! 

The recipe serves 8-10 ladies. (The photo doesn't reflect the full recipe. It's what is left over after a couple of days of snacking on it.) I’ve also spread it on turkey sandwiches in lieu of regular cranberry sauce.
Since it's so simple, it's easy to experiment. Add nuts for crunch or sweeten to taste, if it's too tart. I'm thinking about adding some of those little marshmallows next time for color and sweetness.

 HEARTS AND HEROES

And if you’re looking for a bargain boxed set for holiday reading, may I suggest Hearts and Heroes? 

What do a cowboy, a biker, a pilot, a P.I. and a race-car driver have in common? They are the heroes of the new Hearts and Heroes Boxed Set of Five Contemporary Romances.

 

Books included:

THE COLTON CREEK COWBOY by Patricia Thayer

On the run… and right into a cowboy’s arms.

Stalked by an ex-boyfriend, Tori Slater escapes to the family’s homestead cabin in Wyoming where she meets the property’s caretaker. An ex-cop, Logan McNely wants a solitary life so he can forget his past, but finds he’s now protecting this intriguing woman. To save Tori, he has to save himself first before they can have a future together.

THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR by Mindy Neff

She's thirty, single and on a husband hunt and her bad boy neighbor is definitely not on her list!

Hallie Fortune wanted to marry a safe, boy-next-door type of man. Her real neighbor, bad boy, ex-Marine, single-parent, Cody Brock, would never do. But suddenly, every time she had a date, Cody was there--at her house, at the restaurant, even at the grocery store! If Hallie didn't know better, she'd think Cody was sabotaging her husband hunt. And bringing his baby daughter along as an accomplice.

THAT WILDER MAN by Gillian Doyle

Max is back to save his hometown from a flood, only to be confronted by his past and the woman who betrayed him.

As teenagers, Max "Wildman" Wilder and his girlfriend Liza Jane had raised their share of hell--in town and in bed. Then Liza Jane betrayed him. Now richer and wiser, Max has come home. But he had no intention of giving Liza Jane another chance to break his heart.

THE RELUCTANT NERD by Sandra Paul

Going undercover can change a man in unexpected ways...

Concerned about nerdy Simon Primes' total lack of confidence, scientist Ernestine St. Bennett is determined to enhance his masculinity--and thus his social ease--by applying the principles used in her studies of fish. Little does Ernie know Simon is really Sam Pierce in disguise...and that no enhancement is needed!

WORTH THE RISK by Lyn O'Farrell



A publicity-shy librarian falls for a sexy single dad with a scandalous past, but is love Worth the Risk?

Children's librarian Amanda Lloyd values privacy above all else… until she meets a sexy single dad with a scandalous past.

Ex-racer Mitch Delaney’s life has been plastered across the tabloids more than once. But he believes that anything worth doing is worth a risk, and he wants Amanda in his life. Can he convince her to take a chance on love?



Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble/Nook, iBooks, Kobo and Smashwords.

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