Back in the late 1970's, I was in college as a cultural Anthropology major in a well known American University and had no idea that my chosen profession was about to become popular and even sexy to some. The year after I graduated I went to the movies and was stunned to have accidentally encountered a role model, the unconventional archaeologist, Indiana Jones, and he was at least superficially just like me, or more appropriately, just like I wanted to be. While I was studying archeology back then, Indie was actually doing the exciting fieldwork and retrieving the relics, idols and artifacts. While I had been attending the lectures about exotic cultures and civilizations, Indiana was feeling the warm desert breeze on the back of his neck and coming face to face with adventure and intrigue. Yes, there was quite a contrast there, and perhaps more than a little imaginative fantasizing about role reversal, so that I could be the one wearing the Fedora and having the adventures.
Actually, I knew several archaeologists and anthropologists. None of them had a Fedora. One did smoke a pipe, though, but that wasn't anywhere near as dashing. After the first Indiana Jones movies came out, there was actually something of a conflicted backlash by professionals within the industry. You see, the dirty little secret was that Indie was breaking all of the rules during his exploits. While he was being dashing and exciting, he was also frequently ignoring the fragile and precious nature of the objects of his quests, and certainly disregarding the rights of the governments or indigenous people whose artifacts he was plundering, for his University back home. Yes, back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were a few archaeologists who sometimes behaved that way, but by today's standards, they are hardly looked upon as role models. They were not Indiana Jones. For Indie, the adventure always ended with the retrieval of the fantastic and the revelation of what it meant.
Well, decades have passed and yet another Indiana Jones movie will soon be released in a few days. My own archeology/anthropology career had managed to take a sharp left turn as well, taking me into directions I would never have anticipated. Yet, I still remember Indie fondly and actually owe a lot to him. In a way, he was responsible for me wishing to equal his exploits in archeology. Much to my surprise, I have.
Instead of recovering lost artifacts, I created a hero who would do that for me. Rather than visiting exotic lands on this world, I created a land so exotic that even Indiana Jones would be amazed by it. You see, in my spare time, I became a writer of fiction. My adventures, so firmly rooted in archaeological realities, took flight into amazing fantasy and mystical realms, that would have made Indie's hair stand on end if he could have seen them.
Where the Indiana Jones movies traditionally end, with the retrieval of the amazing mystical artifact, my novel began. I was much more interested in the mystical after effects of the initial adventure than the retrieval process. Thus, the world of Asharra was born and my longing to trade places with Indiana Jones ended. I had created a world where even Indie would be amazed. It was on Asharra that I could endlessly adventure, even without a Fedora.
When I was pursuing a cultural anthropology degree (dual major with comparative religions) back in the 1970's, I never imagined that I would be influenced by the Indiana Jones movies. Looking back on it, what geek wouldn't be? Still, the strange part is that, years later, I was able to channel my professional training and expertise and meld it together with my love for adventure, something I credit to those hours in the theatre, rather than the lecture hall. My adventure is one I can hold in my hands, a copy of the Winds of Asharra. I'm as grateful to Indiana Jones as I am to my degree in his field. Who would have thought that both of them would have lead me to the world of the purple sky, the land of Asharra? The best part is, I can visit and adventure there anytime I want. I don't even need the Fedora any more.
Ask any woman what they are looking for in a man and you're sure to hear that they want someone who can make them laugh. Humor is one of the most powerful tools you can use to attract women. Women assume that if someone makes them laugh, they must like them. This is the reason that 65% of commercials use humor to sell their products. Humor sells - it's that simple.
Laughing makes you feel good. Humor breaks down barriers and defense mechanisms creating instant rapport. The assumption is that if a commercial makes you laugh then you'll have good feelings about the product. The same is true with women. The key is to be funny in a playful, fun way. You don't want to be goofy in an annoying little brother kind of way. When you make a woman laugh often, she'll associate you with good times and feeling good.
A prominent reason that women love to laugh is because laughter arouses feeling. Keep in mind that women are not creatures of logic. They are creatures of feeling. Laughter is a profound process that involves every major system in the body. It's spiritual, physiological, and emotional. Laughter is unreasonable, illogical, and irrational. Laughter exists for its own sake. Infants laugh strictly because it feels good. They learn to laugh first and later on develop a sense of humor, which is a playfully intellectual way of relating to the world. Yes laughter can be intellectual, but its roots are in pure feeling.
By making a woman laugh, you make her feel. When you make a woman laugh, you make her heart rate and blood pressure go way up, and then drop down way below the norm. When a woman laughs her diaphragm convulses and her internal organs get massaged. As she takes in the massive amounts of air, her blood becomes oxygenated. She also loses muscle control, which relaxes her skeletal system. Laughter causes her brain to produce hormones called beta endorphins. What do all of these effects have in common? They are the same biological processes that occur during sexual arousal. By making her laugh you are actually putting her in a more sexual state.
In the interim between "Deception's Guard" and "Deception's Fury," Skye and Rhys have married and have three young children. Skye's life has become very low-key and she is enjoying her role as a wife and mother. When Skye discovers that her talents are needed in another mission, she resorts to some questionable tactics to get assigned to the case. It was supposed to be an easy, in and out mission, however, she is captured. When she doesn't return home, Rhys goes in search of her and finds her being held captive and brutally beaten. He helps rescue her. Skye is determined to finish what she started, especially since the agents that were with her were murdered.
Holding to her promise of confidentiality, she cannot tell Rhys how vital the mission is to the safety of the United States. Seeing only part of the picture, Rhys begins to have doubts about what kind of woman and mother Skye really is. Their relationship is severely affected. This is incredibly painful for Skye because she knows the truth and cannot tell it to the man that she loves.
"Deception's Fury" will keep you reading late into the night. There is a lot of brutality that is difficult to read in this story. Ms. Randolph relies extensively on her own personal experience to make this story very realistic and exciting. Her own personal resume and a mention of the Deception Series being semi-autobiographical, make the adventure even more incredible. There were two underlying threads that run through the story that I really appreciated and could relate to. The first is an underlying faith in God. I loved that this was incorporated into the story. As the hero and heroine were going through some incredibly rough times, they didn't abandon their faith in a higher power.
The other thread that ran through the story was Skye's insistence and need to hang on to her individuality as a person. Unlike many relationships, she didn't sacrifice her sense of self in this story. Rather than having issues of giving up who she is, as a woman, she has issues of her husband having to deal with her individuality. He had to come to terms with this issue. Skye knows who she is and that she is a person of integrity. Her husband needed to come to terms with this and trust her. I think that a lot of women can benefit from reading of Skye's strength. She was not selfish getting involved the mission; she had to look at the entire picture as a whole. If the safety of the country is at risk, so is the safety of her children.
Actually, I knew several archaeologists and anthropologists. None of them had a Fedora. One did smoke a pipe, though, but that wasn't anywhere near as dashing. After the first Indiana Jones movies came out, there was actually something of a conflicted backlash by professionals within the industry. You see, the dirty little secret was that Indie was breaking all of the rules during his exploits. While he was being dashing and exciting, he was also frequently ignoring the fragile and precious nature of the objects of his quests, and certainly disregarding the rights of the governments or indigenous people whose artifacts he was plundering, for his University back home. Yes, back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were a few archaeologists who sometimes behaved that way, but by today's standards, they are hardly looked upon as role models. They were not Indiana Jones. For Indie, the adventure always ended with the retrieval of the fantastic and the revelation of what it meant.
Well, decades have passed and yet another Indiana Jones movie will soon be released in a few days. My own archeology/anthropology career had managed to take a sharp left turn as well, taking me into directions I would never have anticipated. Yet, I still remember Indie fondly and actually owe a lot to him. In a way, he was responsible for me wishing to equal his exploits in archeology. Much to my surprise, I have.
Instead of recovering lost artifacts, I created a hero who would do that for me. Rather than visiting exotic lands on this world, I created a land so exotic that even Indiana Jones would be amazed by it. You see, in my spare time, I became a writer of fiction. My adventures, so firmly rooted in archaeological realities, took flight into amazing fantasy and mystical realms, that would have made Indie's hair stand on end if he could have seen them.
Where the Indiana Jones movies traditionally end, with the retrieval of the amazing mystical artifact, my novel began. I was much more interested in the mystical after effects of the initial adventure than the retrieval process. Thus, the world of Asharra was born and my longing to trade places with Indiana Jones ended. I had created a world where even Indie would be amazed. It was on Asharra that I could endlessly adventure, even without a Fedora.
When I was pursuing a cultural anthropology degree (dual major with comparative religions) back in the 1970's, I never imagined that I would be influenced by the Indiana Jones movies. Looking back on it, what geek wouldn't be? Still, the strange part is that, years later, I was able to channel my professional training and expertise and meld it together with my love for adventure, something I credit to those hours in the theatre, rather than the lecture hall. My adventure is one I can hold in my hands, a copy of the Winds of Asharra. I'm as grateful to Indiana Jones as I am to my degree in his field. Who would have thought that both of them would have lead me to the world of the purple sky, the land of Asharra? The best part is, I can visit and adventure there anytime I want. I don't even need the Fedora any more.
Ask any woman what they are looking for in a man and you're sure to hear that they want someone who can make them laugh. Humor is one of the most powerful tools you can use to attract women. Women assume that if someone makes them laugh, they must like them. This is the reason that 65% of commercials use humor to sell their products. Humor sells - it's that simple.
Laughing makes you feel good. Humor breaks down barriers and defense mechanisms creating instant rapport. The assumption is that if a commercial makes you laugh then you'll have good feelings about the product. The same is true with women. The key is to be funny in a playful, fun way. You don't want to be goofy in an annoying little brother kind of way. When you make a woman laugh often, she'll associate you with good times and feeling good.
A prominent reason that women love to laugh is because laughter arouses feeling. Keep in mind that women are not creatures of logic. They are creatures of feeling. Laughter is a profound process that involves every major system in the body. It's spiritual, physiological, and emotional. Laughter is unreasonable, illogical, and irrational. Laughter exists for its own sake. Infants laugh strictly because it feels good. They learn to laugh first and later on develop a sense of humor, which is a playfully intellectual way of relating to the world. Yes laughter can be intellectual, but its roots are in pure feeling.
By making a woman laugh, you make her feel. When you make a woman laugh, you make her heart rate and blood pressure go way up, and then drop down way below the norm. When a woman laughs her diaphragm convulses and her internal organs get massaged. As she takes in the massive amounts of air, her blood becomes oxygenated. She also loses muscle control, which relaxes her skeletal system. Laughter causes her brain to produce hormones called beta endorphins. What do all of these effects have in common? They are the same biological processes that occur during sexual arousal. By making her laugh you are actually putting her in a more sexual state.
In the interim between "Deception's Guard" and "Deception's Fury," Skye and Rhys have married and have three young children. Skye's life has become very low-key and she is enjoying her role as a wife and mother. When Skye discovers that her talents are needed in another mission, she resorts to some questionable tactics to get assigned to the case. It was supposed to be an easy, in and out mission, however, she is captured. When she doesn't return home, Rhys goes in search of her and finds her being held captive and brutally beaten. He helps rescue her. Skye is determined to finish what she started, especially since the agents that were with her were murdered.
Holding to her promise of confidentiality, she cannot tell Rhys how vital the mission is to the safety of the United States. Seeing only part of the picture, Rhys begins to have doubts about what kind of woman and mother Skye really is. Their relationship is severely affected. This is incredibly painful for Skye because she knows the truth and cannot tell it to the man that she loves.
"Deception's Fury" will keep you reading late into the night. There is a lot of brutality that is difficult to read in this story. Ms. Randolph relies extensively on her own personal experience to make this story very realistic and exciting. Her own personal resume and a mention of the Deception Series being semi-autobiographical, make the adventure even more incredible. There were two underlying threads that run through the story that I really appreciated and could relate to. The first is an underlying faith in God. I loved that this was incorporated into the story. As the hero and heroine were going through some incredibly rough times, they didn't abandon their faith in a higher power.
The other thread that ran through the story was Skye's insistence and need to hang on to her individuality as a person. Unlike many relationships, she didn't sacrifice her sense of self in this story. Rather than having issues of giving up who she is, as a woman, she has issues of her husband having to deal with her individuality. He had to come to terms with this issue. Skye knows who she is and that she is a person of integrity. Her husband needed to come to terms with this and trust her. I think that a lot of women can benefit from reading of Skye's strength. She was not selfish getting involved the mission; she had to look at the entire picture as a whole. If the safety of the country is at risk, so is the safety of her children.
