Crochet has always served as a favorite pastime for me since I was a youngster.
I came across this lovely item on Amazon today and could not resist the urge to share and to promote it.
Such an enjoyable way to indulge in the art and craft of creativity within the multitudes of innovating, inspiring, and conducive ideas!
Here are the details about this wonderful product:
This brings back memories:
I remember years ago in the neighborhood where I grew up as a child there was a store to get t-shirts and sweatshirts with your name or whatever design you chose ironed-on.
Welcome To the Tantalizing Tales Collection: Toya’s Titles of Terror, Treachery, And Suspense Shorties Volume Three–Enjoy the ride!
Story One:
The Demons
Tricia Newman moves into her new apartment to find out that she is not the only one occupying residence there.
At first, she believes she is just burdened by unwelcome four-legged guests of the rotund kind to find out something more sinister is lurking behind the scenes.
Mice and rats are the least of Tricia’s problems when she discovers a host of monstrous creatures running around to horrifyingly wreak havoc and wrestle her into their demonic world.
Story Two:
Oliver The Mute
If anyone knows how to keep a secret it is Oliver Tujari. No one can pry anything out of him his lips stay sealed. Too quiet in his silence everyone wonders why twelve-year-old Oliver will not speak a word.
Is he shy? Does he feel he may say the wrong thing? Or is he just tongue-tied?
While people criticize young Oliver and even inflict violence upon him due to his non-verbal communication—when he finally does open, it is a moment that anyone within his presence will deeply regret.
Story Three:
Night Chaser
The role of a good Samaritan Indigo Jones decides not to become when someone in need earnestly reaches out to her for help.
This lady of the night saw something that she was not supposed to see.
In her wander throughout town Indigo is not the only one to roam around the street all morning long. The tables take a turn, and this unlucky lady ends up running for her life.
Will she escape what is in the night or will the night take Indigo down for the chase?
Books By LaToya Lawrence
My New Supernatural Thriller
Though surrounded by loved ones and friends Arlette Bardot feels old, lonely, and bored with her life. Filled with nostalgia she yearns for the times of long ago when her beauty reigned, and she blossomed in her youth.
Perceiving herself as burnt out and over the hill Arlette seeks rejuvenation in the wrong place.
A mystical remedy to cure her discontentment teaches her a lesson about searching out of her zone for restoration in a tabooed setting.
Arlette learns too late that she should have been grateful for the life she already had instead of chasing behind a fleeting illusion that alluded to her idea of elation.
Secret Admirer
Bryce Brandon has found the love of his life—the only woman for him—but someone else is looking to take this lovely lady’s place. Watching and waiting behind the scenes for the opportunity to snatch Bryce up for them self this mysterious individual will stop at nothing to get their hand on the object of their affections, and fervent desire—even if it causes them to kill for it!
Books By LaToya Lawrence
Welcome To the Tantalizing Tales Collection: Toya’s Titles of Terror, Treachery, And Suspense Shorties Volume Two
In Volume two of this series two separate stories take place—the first a continuation from Book one that moves into its own tale of torture.
And the second, a standalone that moves in line with another one of its own quirks and craziness.
Enjoy the out of the ordinary ride!
Tale One:
Secret Admirer
Bryce Brandon has found the love of his life—the only woman for him—but someone else is looking to take this lovely lady’s place. Watching and waiting behind the scenes for the opportunity to snatch Bryce up for them self this mysterious individual will stop at nothing to get their hand on the object of their affections, and fervent desire—even if it causes them to kill for it!
Tale Two:
The Dollhouse
Lorna Ferguson is a twelve-year-old loner with a secret. A secret she likes to incorporate into her alone time play. The games in her life become real. The reality of her games become deadly. This young girl does not play when it comes to others or those that cross her, so do not play with this little girl—if you do it may cause you your life!
Volume one starts off with:
Book 1 of 1: Tantalizing Tales In The City
Who is murdering the young students that attend Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita Preparatory School?
As the bodies mysteriously build up shock and scandal erupt on the grounds of a private parochial school affiliated with the neighboring church and convent that serve and inspire the community.
Is the killer the obvious suspect or the one that everyone least expects committing these awful, brutal crimes?
Will the true killer escape capture? Or will the innocent person pay the penalty for the sins of another? Or could it just be the one suspected at the start the true murderer there right under everybody’s nose?
I love and enjoy writing it is one of the things I was born to do.🌷🕊
Bambi is a trusted therapist who clients put their money and trust in. They share to her their innermost feelings and spill their deep darkest secrets.
Bambi thought she had heard and seen it all until this one unusual client comes in for a session and manages to get inside to pick her brain.
Bambi eventually starts to lose her grip and begins to wonder who the therapist is and who the client is.
In a head game of truth and revelation, will this new client serve as a hard nut to crack- or will Bambi end up the one to crack up enough to kill?
Jordanna’s customers are dropping like flies when they buy and consume the decadent array of incomparable and matchless handmade pastries of her family-owned bakehouse that are literally a cut above the rest in comparison to her competitors.
Is there something speculative in the recipe? Could it be the unethical managing of an employee? Could there be a contamination somewhere in the ingredients of specific items ordered and delivered to the shop? Or is the sudden fatality of consumers who patronize Irresistible Bites Bakehouse just victims of their own demise or unfortunate circumstance?
Detective Grayson Waylon would sure like to know the answer as he is the lead investigator boggled by the mystery behind a string of unsolved deaths undetectable by medical examiners conducting autopsies on the bodies that start to build up.
In a case of unknown causes of death tied to a common thread there is no evidence to show or to prove Jordanna’s bakery as the main source for foul play.
Lady is Available in paperback and hardcover as well as kindle.
Paperback:
Hardcover:
Will be available in hardcover and kindle soon.
What is lurking in the clear waters of Lake Cahuilla in upstate White Oaks, New York? It seems when those that dive in for a cool splash or to take a rejuvenating swim, they do not always make it out of the loch alive.
In such a lovely, inviting atmosphere there at the Backwater Summer Lake Resort And Water Park- where there is luxury lodging at the Red Brick Villa, luxury dining at the Lakeside Hideaway, luxury coffees and pastries at Cahuilla Lakeside Café, luxury entertainment and drinks at the Swinging Cahuilla Cocktail Lounge, luxury lake boat rides on the Brave-Waters Expedition, local luxury spots of recreation and pastimes to indulge in at All Things Books Bookstore, The Happy Hangout Jazz Club, The Reel Zone Movie Theater, The Lavender Boutique Department Store in addition to a host of other places to explore- how could anything of a threatening nature go unresolved or undetected?
Or is what is quietly held to those as superstition kept hidden, and what is held as superstitious dread, considered water under the bridge?
And what is the strange connection between Lake Cahuilla and two young sisters who live in a town of New York nowhere near White Oaks? Why are they drawn to a place they have never been to and had no prior knowledge of before becoming aware of its existence?
Is this all-just coincidence or is there something in the backwaters of their past that they do not remember calling out to them to send them a chilling message that will explain an incident from the past that will also have a positive impact on their future?
Books By LaToya Lawrence
Written in a style that blends a touch of mystery and suspense.
Exciting psychological thriller with a shocking plot twist available in paperback, hardcover, and kindle.
Do to others as you would have done unto you or do to others what they have done to you? One should ask Delilah, the beauty with a score to settle against those who inhabit her world.
When an incident of disturbance shake-up Delilah’s life, she becomes twisted, diving into the arms of men who cannot resist her fire. Ready to burn each one in her passion- things turn deadly.
While Delilah plays a dangerous game of laying traps for those who cannot break free- even when she chooses to let go and cut loose- danger comes to bite back at a cost where murder inevitably will pay.
First, I want to say that this author is an incredibly good writer.
I love the setup of the town created and the depiction of the portrayal of a tourist attraction as well as an investment and cherished western home-life milieu for Cassidy Tanner and her grandfather (Doc) Dr. Irving
The story begins allowing us to know right away there is trouble ahead through West’s character who enters the “Watering Hole”- a marvelous/entertaining replica of an 1800’s Western for sightseeing visitors to explore- in desperate need of work while carrying secrets from his past to eventually unknowingly unravel secret mysteries of the current that are tied in association to another vital motive for drawing him to this location.
Without giving anything away in the story, momentum builds from childhood secrets to adulthood shocks- there are a string of murders that follow West’s arrival- sending the Watering Hole into a place of danger, fright, and curiosity. Why are these murders happening and who is the cause? And why is West at the center of it all?
Well, all is not what it seems like additional buried secrets rise to the surface to bear their ugly and astonishing heads to reveal a truth more suspenseful and mysterious than originally thought.
Secrets In the Blood is an entertaining, page- turning, evocative and enthralling tale that keeps one anticipating for more.
It is well worth the read.
Danielle’s Diary Paperback Edition
Harmonic Inspirations Front and back Hardcover
Here is an excerpt from my new release!
Blood was everywhere.
The five-year-old babies were covered in blood but appeared to be unharmed after close observation.
The police blocked off the scene outside the house while investigators acted.
Nothing had ever rocked the upstate town of Pennington, New York in this upscale neighborhood where crime was scarce, and residents lived at ease in their gated communities.
Could this have been family related? Could this have been an inside job?
It was a complete mystery and gossip swept throughout the entire city.
In bars, restaurants, offices, department stores- everyone was talking about how Evelyn Barker and her son Ryan Barker brutally murdered inside their home, their bludgeoned bodies horribly discovered by the loving husband and father Jake Barker.
It was astonishing the two other children found at the home were alive and well.
Later learned, according to the children, that they ran and hid themselves inside a bedroom closet at the sound of violence erupting within the household from someone who had paid Evelyn a visit.
So, how did blood get all over the children?
The children told officers and a child psychologist while they were being questioned and evaluated that after things in the home quieted down and, in their words, – “The bad man had left”, they left from the bedroom closet, down the stairs, and both slipped in the pool of blood puddled throughout the living room.
The media and News reports ran with this story for months before the novelty of the situation wore off and the interest had died down a bit.
No suspect ever gained capture, but the case remained open until it eventually went cold from no substantial leads.
The only evidence found at the scene was a sledgehammer used in the assault on the mother and child.
Jake Barker’s fingerprints were on the weapon along with his wife’s, but Jake claimed to not be home during the possible time of the incident and security camera footage backed up his story.
However, counsel later claimed he could have committed the crimes before he left the home to attend for work on that Friday winter morning of January 5, 1981.
Evelyn’s parents Jane and Phil Caldwell refused to give up and vigorously pressed law enforcement hard in their search for justice in honor of their beloved daughter and grandson.
They did not want to believe their son in law Jake could do such a horrible act against the woman and child he was supposed to love and protect, yet there was nothing but the man’s word- and his word only telling them different.
There was no hard evidence, just circumstantial. It was natural for Jake’s or Evelyn’s fingerprints to be on the sledgehammer as the object was one of their own household tools.
Nevertheless, in this event, after deliberation, speculation, and town uproar there was no other conclusion drawn that would exclude Jake from somehow being involved in his wife and child’s premature death.
Jake was sentenced to twenty-five years to life with no parole.
Jake’s parents and relatives were disappointed and devastated. They felt that Jake did not receive a fair trial.
There was no way he killed Evelyn and six-year-old Ryan according to their beliefs. There was just no way. Not from what they knew and lived of Jake their adored son, brother, uncle, cousin, and grandson.
Jane and Phil Caldwell had money and influence, and they used their wealth in hiring and appointing the best attorneys along with whatever else it took to gain closure for themselves through the legal system.
Both my two new books are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook.
A few weeks ago I mentioned publishing a manuscript I wrote over twenty years ago?
Well, I did not get to that yet- but I will eventually.
Suddenly energy came out of nowhere to inspire me to come up with new ideas/new material along with the old ones I had regarding novels I intended to put out years ago though I did not get the chance to due to jealous people trying to hold me back (it is a long story but one I triumphed over as no one could ever stop me or bring me down. I am a fighter and a survivor to the end).
I have a brand-new book I just recently published and have been busy currently in the process of writing two more for publication.
This is my time now to get back into my career as a true to the heart book writer without any interference.
Like I said before, when God has a purpose and plan for your life no one can stop it.
We may get delayed for a while but we get back on board to sail an even bigger ship! ❤
I am so happy and excited about getting back into publishing.
I just had to say it again I love all my blogs (all nine of them ❤) and I love blogging.
One of my friends keeps telling me that she cannot wait for me to write and publish another book.
She loved the two I wrote and published years ago.
The thing about us true writers, though, is that we must wait until the energy comes upon us to make that move.
We do not just come up with the material/information instantly the material and information in detailing whatever it is that we are going to write and how we will proceed within our creative process has to materialize upon us when it is ready to reveal itself to us.
Then we can instantly and automatically vibe into the essence of our projects.
That natural energetic direction puts us into mode while it instinctively guides and provides us with stimulation.
This is why I do not rush and try to make myself come up with an idea that does not manifest, because the timing may not be right and things may not work out accordingly, just as I do with blogging. The information or ideas will naturally come to write itself.
This is how it happened when I published my very first novel along with the second one.
The ideas came to me spontaneously and the books wrote themselves and everything was successful in completion and timing.
I have an unpublished manuscript that I had copywritten twenty years ago. I am planning to work on getting this material published next until I get inspired to write and publish more books when they are meant to be.
I know one of the things I was put on this earth to do is write so when the urge hits I will be a willing vessel and participant to comply with continuing to do what I love and enjoy doing.
I have quite a few hobbies that I enjoy and occupy myself with from time to time when I have time or am in the mood.
I learned to crochet at nine or ten years of age. Knitting was too complicated at the time as I preferred to use only one needle to creatively loop yarn.
Crocheting was an activity I enjoyed during my teenage years too.
It is fun coming up with ideas to experiment with different patterns in addition to shopping through arts and craft stores to look over various colors, styles, and textures of yarn.
Very cute and useful household items or homemade gifts tend to result from the inventiveness brought forth by craft.
One, and many have already, can make a professional business out of designing materials made out by hand.
My mother had crocheted me a beautiful baby blanket when I was an infant. My mother also knew how to sow professionally and put together a fantastic, lovely dress she manufactured totally on her own with her sowing machine- she was a woman of multi-talent.
Till this day, I am still fond of crochet. I also love needlepoint stitchery.
Aside from writing being a gift, talent, hobby that many of us share and enjoy- writing has been a lifesaver to me, an outlet.
A cathartic way for me to express my feelings, release my truths and connect to the universe on a spiritual level that is fulfilling to me.
I am truly thankful and grateful for a healthy way to utilize my writing skills as a source of inspiration as well as productivity.
I signed into WordPress this morning to notice this Daily Prompt- which I have seen Prompts in general as a form of motivation from time to time pop up here- yet I had never responded. This is a great spur of the moment stimulating activity!
Today, when I saw the title to list one’s five favorite fruits I was inspired to do so as I am a vegan and definite lover of fruits!
My Top Five Favorite Fruits Are:
Fresh Pineapples🍍, Watermelon 🍉, Apples 🍏(Granny Smith/Red Delicious) 🍎, Oranges/Tangerines 🍊 and Grapes 🍇
As writers we can get inspired by anything- I know I do.
It is a part of our artistic, creative mode when the energy stirs us into action.
Today I read a fellow blogger’s “About Page” after I discovered her by a comment of mine that she liked.
I loved what she had to say in her introduction.
These are the sentences of the lady’s words that struck me because I have also been saying this for years.
She wrote:
We see the world with our eyes which have our own perception. When view doesn’t please our perception we start taking it as wrong or consider it as misfit for our calculated vision.
I responded back to her summary and shared my own accord in agreement by denoting:
Love your words that are spoken in truth.
As soon as some see or hear something that goes beyond their sense of understanding or belief, they are ready to attack or criticize instead of just accepting that we all are different and on our own path and there is so much more out there within the universe than what they may be able to grasp.
I had seen previews for Lee Daniels 2023 BET horror/thriller movie “The Reading” starring Mo’Nique last week.
The first time I saw one of the coming attractions I did not think much of the film- not really paying too much attention to it.
The second time I saw a commercial for The Reading it struck me as eerily spooky.
The BET television premiere for the film is set to air on March 14, 2023, but I did not want to wait that long.
So, after midnight this morning I watched The Reading on Amazon Prime- and I was not at all disappointed.
I loved the way the movie started off. It was intense and did not waste a moment to delve into the story.
Around the middle of the film there was a shocking, unexpected twist that threw me off.
I thought it was going to be a spirit haunting type of movie with something going wrong through the spirit-medium who gave the chilling psychic readings.
I was ready to lightheartedly fear what I thought may come about. Everything was getting so freaky and exciting!
Even though the film went in another direction it was still entertaining.
The Reading was action-packed, full of suspense, and ruthlessly gore with Mo’Nique’s character.
I loved that the movie depicted an African American girl with genuine clairvoyant/psychic ability (the woman played her part well as well as all the other actors and actresses) because we do exist, and we are out here in the world.
Race or ethnicity has nothing to do with one being born with preternatural ability, yet we rarely see people of color who possess these gifts shown in the media unless it is a portrayal of some stereotypical voodoo shit!
Ask the younger people of today what paper dolls are most would not have a clue!
Paper dolls were the fad of my generation and before.
I even used to cut out fashion model images from magazines to add to the imagination of play.
It is hard to find quality punch out paper dolls currently.
I never purchased paper dolls with the daunting task of having to cut them out alongside their outlines within the pages of the books they were designed upon.
A few years ago, I came across high quality, sturdy cardboard, adorable images, and playset of paper dolls.
I even purchased some for my two older adult friends who were pleased to surprisingly receive them from me.
The price for this treasure was extremely reasonable for its excellent quality.
• Rock the red carpet with your very own fashion show! Fashion Show Play Set features 5 paper dolls (actually made of card stock), 3 fold-out scenes—dressing room, fashion show runway, and photographer’s studio—and dozens of glamorous and trendy outfits and accessories any model would love to wear!
Dress up your paper doll ”model” as a bride, in a bathing suit, in a glamorous gown, and more. When the show is over, place dolls and their outfits in the enclosed storage envelope.- excerpt from the paper doll advertisement!
I remember when I was in the fourth grade. I had a teacher named Mrs. Yaffey. She was Jewish.
I attended an elementary school in Bayside, New York at the time- P.S. 203.
I wrote a play back then as an assignment in which I chose specific classmates to act out in roles I had created within my story. I even cast a student for the narration in between scenes that I had written.
This preparation took place among us all in our classroom.
I never received a low or bad grade on book reports so knew I could write well at an early age.
Reading and writing were my best subjects.
After Mrs. Yaffey was impressed by one of my book reports- she to my surprise- gave me the lead role as Robinhood for our school play called “Potpourri”.
I was not one who wanted to be in the spotlight, so I gave the part to a girl named Erica Goldstein. She had a narrator role in which I exchanged with her.
Throughout the days up until we were to perform on stage in front of an auditorium full of people we rehearsed and had to get our apparel and costumes ready.
I had to wear a white shirt, a black belt, and black tights as the narrator. “Robinhood” had to wear her cape and each other character according to their required specific wardrobe.
During opening night my mother later expressed to me that she was disappointed that I had such few lines in a small role. I don’t think she liked that I gave up the lead part to someone else.
But things like that were not a big deal to me. I was not a child who liked being the center of attention.
My mother did not mean any harm, she was just a parent who was proud of her kid.
I am not into all of that name-brand shit as a trend- I had all of those things growing up.
As long as I am clean, my clothes are of quality, and of the taste I prefer I am completely satisfied.
My mother kept me pristine as a child and kept me decked out as I was her little baby girl.
When I rode the school bus a few girls were jealous of the fancy gear my mother had sent me off in and they made it known by their envious talk.
I was just an innocent kid wearing clothes that my loving parent bought for me- but I learned early about the green-eyed monster.
I was always attracted to beauty. I had my own sense of style, an eye for what looked good.
I could pick out stylish home decor along with everything else that had sparked an interest within me. Whatever it was it would be elegant.
I had a knack for great judgment!
When it came to the summer, I liked to wear designer shorts/capris, skirts and jumper-skirts.
I became very conservatively appareled into adulthood. I was naturally comfortable and classy. I had my own fashionable style but nowhere near old-fashioned.
I was never a high-heeled, flashy dresses-wearing girl.
I liked my slacks, jeans, t-shirts or button-down shirts.
I was never too crazy about clothes during my teenage years and as I got older, yet I always dressed nicely.
I am not, nor was I ever, a materialistic person though I had wonderful material things throughout the years since my childhood.
My mother was a fashion queen. She had an exceptionally fabulous wardrobe.
My mother had an eye-catching sense of style that attracted attention ever since she was a young girl.
People admired my mother’s apparel, her flair.
Some were even jealous of the gorgeous figure she had and how her clothing fit her adoringly.
She dressed her ass off! From her jewelry, to her jackets, to her pocketbooks, to her blouses, to her jeans, to her heels, to her sneakers, to her dresses- my mother was in a style all by herself.
Fashion ran within the family.
My uncle had a large, spectacular wardrobe full of clothes too! He kept his body clean and dressed very sharply.
Other members of the family also had quality gear to their liking- and a particular few were into luxury and glamor as they had the money to splurge.
My great-grandmother had furs, her sister had lavished items, and her niece was high-class in a league of her own.
Nevertheless, my mother did not dress to impress anyone (none of us did). Nice clothes and things were just a part of her nature, good taste, and talent for design.
I always had a head full of long hair since childhood.
I grew my hair down to my back almost near my derriere when I was in my twenties.
I wore my hair natural until I had gotten my first perm/relaxer at age eighteen.
A year ago, I did the big chop. I went to the barber shop and got a buzz cut that I loved. I had not permed my hair within about a year and a half before then.
I was glad to cut off all of the remains of my previously permed hair.
I had initially planned to keep my hair chopped down within a buzz cut.
I changed my mind when I saw my natural wavy-curly hair take on a life of its own!
All I do is wash my hair with Dove body wash and water. I do not put any hair grease, dressings, or sprays within my hair afterward.
My hair is strong and full of luster and elasticity.
I do not ever intend to grow it extra-long again but for now I would like to see what my hair continues to do on its own.
I do not even have to style my hair. The way it sets is the result of how I come out of the shower.
I have a combination of texture to my hair due to my mixture of African American, Native American and European heritage/bloodline. It was never the nappy/kinky type- which is just fine for those who do!
I love African American hair within its natural state. It is so versatile.
Black women come in all different beautiful shades with all different beautiful hair types.
Do not let society or anyone else tell you that you are not gorgeous because of the color of your skin or how you wear your hair!
Wow! I was not expecting to get a WordPress announcement of my fifteenth year of blogging since I haven’t received one in a long time. It is nice for us serious bloggers to all keep track.
I just came across the notification today.
I also miss the New Year’s celebration announcements we bloggers used to get with the animation every beginning of the year and the snowfall animations around winter or December!
Thank you, WordPress I hope to fly with you for as long as possible. I love to blog!
"My Voice" Weblog By Miss LaToya Lawrence 