heaven is a place on earth...

Hello!
One of the things that make me happy are truly great books that you can completely fall in love with, so far in love that you get through the book in days and are truly saddened when you come to the last page, unable to convince yourself you will ever find a book just as good that will promise the same feelings of complete escapism and euphoria experienced. Bookworm that I am, filled with 'booksense and no common sense', finding books that really stimulate you are hard to find, and nothing is better than curling up on the sofa with a large blanket, some hot chocolate, and some soft background music and reading a book that you've grown to love, each page well and truly thumbed with eager anticipation of what happens next.
The other thing I love is getting lost in a library or a charity shop. Since the recession has pretty much locked down most of the major chains when it comes to bookshops, they are the next best thing, and there's something that makes it a whole lot sweeter when you find a good couple of books that are truly amazing if they are free and on loan, or pre owned from a charity shop at unbelievable thrifty, gorgeous prices.... For me, nothing's better than taking a lazy sloooow sunday morning to get lost in a [rather large] bookshop, armed with a starbucks coffee for good measure. It makes me look semi intelligent, and in my view, this is never a bad thing.

[6. Love Is What You Mean To Me]

[Stacie Anderson, Gramercy, Gramercy Park, New York City, NY]

*
[2 Months Later]

Everything is OK. Everything's the way it should be. Your career has gone from strength to strength, and you have a boyfriend who loves you and wants to make you his forever. You're his everything, his whole world. Nothing bad is going to happen.

I didn't believe in the conviction of my own words, and had to convince myself over and over again that the words I was saying to myself was the truth, and nothing else. I willed myself to go back to sleep, my eyelids getting heavier with each passing minute, and finally, I closed my eyes and tried to close my mind to all my thoughts and feelings, telling myself my body just needed to sleep.
I woke up again in the middle of the night. Anxious and jittery as I stared up at the ceiling, wondering why there was a creeping sense of nausea located in the pit of my stomach. I force myself to close my eyes again, and focus on a subject that will successfully lull me back to sleep. I lie awake and think of Daniel. It's hard for him to put into words just how much I mean to him, how much he means to me. It's the little things that make me smile. The way he becomes so happy and contented whenever he's around me, the way that despite me being five foot 9, I still have to stand on tip toe to reach his lips, to kiss him.
I move my leg slightly, and between the tangled sheets I can feel his leg propped up beside mine as his head is turned away from me, his body rigid and completely still, the room absolutely silent.
I open my eyes again and look through the window to the right of me. Through the gossamer-like thin curtains, I can see the sun starting to rise, and I wonder if today will be any different to the blissful ones beforehand.
I start to move around restlessly in the bed, making enough noise for Daniel to stir and shift as he lies in the bed beside me. But what I get from him is nothing; nothing even close to a reaction, or even a slight indication that he is starting to wake up. I look at him again, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth subconsciously. I put a hand on his shoulder but he doesn't move. I reach over, and my hands slide underneath the tangled mess of sheets towards him as I start to tap him again on his arm, but he doesn't respond. I sit up on my knees as I turn him towards me as he is laying on his side, and slowly I see his body start to move.
His body is completely still, and his eyes are open, but glazed over and entirely white, covering over his dark brown pupils. His face is expressionless, and my hands start to run frantically over his face, searching for any sign of life. My fingers trail down to his arm, running my hand back and forth to find out that his arms, his stomach - his entire body is cold, devoid of life. I move back, away from him and I take big deep breaths as my eyes start to fill with tears, unable to hold them in any longer. I look over at him again and my mouth lets out a long, loud scream as I bury my face into my pillow, before I wake up.

*

"Bad Dreams?" Daniel said, lying next to me, stroking my shoulders softly before kissing it gently.
I shifted in my bed uncomfortably. I was all too aware of the sheen of sweat that now coated my body due to my occasional nightmares, but this went unnoticed by Daniel as he continued to cuddle up next to me, making me aware that he was next to me, alive, and that everything was going to be OK.
"Something like that." I said, as I started to feel restless and uneasy, images from my nightmare finding their way back to me all too quickly for me to completely dismiss them.
Daniel got up, and now perched on his knees, held me softly to him as he kissed the top of my head, his hands in mine, as he turned my face to look at him.
Could my dreams be a sign of something? Maybe my nightmares were foretelling what was to come? If that was the case, how much longer would we stay like this - how long would I have left to touch his face, to hear his voice, before it was all too late?
"Listen to me...." Daniel said, keeping his eyes locked on my face as he held my hands in his, stroking my palms softly as I listened to the birds outside whilst I waited for him to speak. He leaned in closer as his lips touched mine very softly.
"I love you. You are goofy...cute....philosophical...intelligent...warm...beautiful... and the toughest woman I know. Nothing bad is going to happen. To either of us. You're my heart, and I won't let you go, not even if you want me to." He said, giving me a wink and a soft smile, and my heart couldn't help but melt as his lips brushed softly against mine.

*

Beautiful Awakenings: Video Inspirations

Literature and Music are my stimulus. For me, there's nothing better than great lyrics to a song, or the way a particular song can make you feel once the melodies and the lyrics come together to create beautiful harmonies and symphonies that seem to effervesce raw talent, energy and creativity. In the same way, one of my favourite ways to relax and unwind is simply to curl up on a deep sofa buried within a mound of blankets and cushions with some tea, and get lost in a book. Your mind starts opening up and you really start to get lost in a different world altogether. As long as my books and my music continue to provoke raw emotion and make me feel or connect with something....... then I am in love....[until my true love comes along, finds me and keeps me, that is! -LOL] I believe that what moves you can also have an impact on what makes you, your essence, and the kind of person you are, and the way you make your mark on others. I normally have playlists and piles of books everywhere, just waiting to be read or listened to..... The best thing I can do as an aspiring author is to read as much as possible, so I'm always making new reading lists, trying out book suggestions, discovering new authors and writing styles.... anything to make me see literature in yet another new light.
This post in particular focuses on the music videos that I have connected with in terms of their creativity and the story that they choose to tell, and the three videos in particular that I have chosen, are part of what inspired me to tell Stacie and Daniel's story in the way that I have so far.
I hope you enjoy them, and if you have any questions, comments, or anything you want to say, feel free to comment on here, on twitter, on facebook, or you can now find me at http://www.suganet.info too!

1. Song: ["Halo"] Artist: Beyonce Album: I am...Sasha Fierce [2009]
This video, shot alongside actor Michael Ealy, would sum up Stacie and Daniel's relationship in a nutshell. They really do love each other, and I thought this was an excellent video to show this, as instead of big, grand gestures of love, Beyonce describes to showcase the song sentimentally by focusing on all the small things that couples in a relationship usually take for granted and should spend more time appreciating.


Beyonce Halo

_Mya_ | MySpace Video

2. Song: ["I Want You"] Artist: Common Album: Finding Forever [2007]
This video, shot by Common, shows a dinner party attended by guests which include the likes of Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Serena Williams, & Derek & Sophia Luke. The video also stars Actress Kerry Washington who co-directed the video along with main director Sanji Senaka - depicts two women [Keys and Washington] who harbor feelings for the rap artist. With Keys starring as his girlfriend, it would seem the two are in a state of homely bliss in their comfort zone with friends, in the throng of a successful dinner party, however their happiness has not gone unnoticed by Washington, who plays Common's ex girlfriend, who decides to break into the dinner party, unannounced.
Although I had already written the 'triangle', this video would have been an inspiration to me, and I could definetely relate what I had written in my drafts to the premise and storyline of this video.



3. Song: ["Lost Without You"] Artist: Robin Thicke Album: The Evolution of Robin Thicke [2007]

This song represents an equal balance of love and lust. I think that in today's modern world and society, we always overuse the word 'Love' using it as an almost everyday reference or term without even thinking about what it really means, such as "I love those pair of shoes." We don't take the time to find out if we really love that one pair of shoes, is it love, is it lust, is it infatuation, or something else entirely different? In my opinion, we should start lusting after a lot more things, and let's be honest, a little bit of lust never really hurt anybody.
Again, this is one I would use to once again describe Stacie and Daniel - most probably in the early stages of their relationship.

Robin Thicke Lost Without U
by Robin-Thicke

Zadie Smith: Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays

For me, Zadie Smith is one of those rare finds when it comes to intriguing, fictitious literature. Having changed her name from 'Sadie' to 'Zadie' in order to give her more of an exotic edge, Zadie quickly impressed the literary world and blew away her critics with her debut novel 'White Teeth' which was quickly followed on by her sophomore effort 'The Autograph Man', and most recently, her third novel, 'On Beauty', no doubt one of her best yet, with its intricate yet very real, no holds back intimate portrayals of each individual character and their role within the dysfunctional Belsey family.
Having taken a hiatus to pursue lecturing and teaching at prestigious Universities in America, including Columbia and New York Universities, and a quick edit of the book published last year, 'The Book of Other People', Zadie is back with her own collection of essays, called 'Changing My Mind' in which she gives her own, frank view on everything from Middlemarch to Will Smith, calling him 'A waste of space.' And from her own insights into how she views the world as well as highlighting her undulated passion in her love for books, it seems Miss Smith is never sated and satisfied until she tries or makes people aware to her particular way of thinking, and it would seem that in this book, she does so, in such a delectable way that I can't wait to read it.

Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays
Published: 26th November 2009
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton LTD, Hardback, 330 Pages
£20.00
ISBN: 9780241142950

Kristen Stewart: A Style Icon with Two Perfect Accessories....

Hello!
Although I would love to hate her, I secretly heart Kristen Stewart. She's a pretty good actress, has a cool personality where nothing, and I mean nothing seems to phase her, and she's proven she can pull off a dark black short mullet hairstyle whilst rocking out to the sounds of Joan Jett and still look good.... plus, if she gets to do this everyday......with these two....... then she's pretty darn lucky!! Plus, she happens to be a little bit of a style icon. Not only can she pull off pretty edgy outfits, [black leather skirts with spikes coming out everywhere = fierce!] but since her promotion with the boys kicked off for New Moon earlier this month, Miss Stewart has definitely been wearing many lovely dresses that truly bring to light just how versatile her fashion sense really is. Although she swears that she lives in 'Jeans and T-shirts' and doesn't really 'look at what she wears' this particular attitude towards clothes seems to be on some sort of hiatus for the moment.... and I like it! :-)
Her favourite Jeans are from favourite denim label 'Rock & Republic' but she also mixes and matches these casual ensembles with more high end pieces, wearing Designers such as Herve Leger, House of Lavande, Jason Wu, Valentino, Oscar De La Renta, Elizabeth & James, Yigal Azrouel, Proenza Schouler, Sergio Rossi, J Mendel, and Jimmy Choo. Take a look at how Kristen rocks these dresses in her cool, calm, laid back demeanour - What do you think??

Books Of The Week...

I thought I'd bring something new to TBE, so I've decided to put a new post up every week with my recommended books for the weeks ahead. Maybe I'll start a book club on here too - If Jonathan Ross can get away with it on Twitter, then so can I!!

So, this week, my picks for Books Of The Week are:

1. New Moan [The Twishite Saga - A Twilight Parody] - Stephfordy Mayo
'I want to bite you, Heffa. I want to bite you very hard. I'll be gentle, I promise. If you really loved me, you'd let me.' Heffa Lump is just a typical, pale and interesting seventeen-year-old, who doubts that anyone will ever see her true beauty. But then she moves to Spatula and meets Teddy Kelledy, an impossibly gorgeous boy who eats rare meat, is super-strong and never goes out in sunlight. Could he, just maybe - be a vampire? (Hint: totally.) A tale of first love, painful longing and even more painful pointy teeth, "New Moan" is a hilarious parody of the phenomenon that is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga.

[Book Details:]

Price: £5.99
Published: 22nd October 2009
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books LTD
ISBN: 9781843174448


2. My Non-Fiction Pick is: Push - A novel by Sapphire
Precious is a 16-year-old who has never left Harlem. Her story is one of neglect and abuse and a fierce determination to acquire an education. Pregnant by her own father, she is forced to leave school. Her defences and her world unravel as she struggles to gain control of her own life. The book has been made into a film due for release this year and stars Mo'nique, Paula Patton, and Mariah Carey. See the Trailer below.

[Book Details]

Price: £6.39
Published: 5th February 1998
Publisher: Minerva
ISBN: 9780749395049

Great Gothic Glamorous Reads: True Blood Takes On Twilight

Let's face it, when trying out anything remotely 'Vamp', it's always going to look cool, whether its having a new Blood Red lipstick or releasing your inner dark side. So when it comes to making Literature look insanely good again, Stephenie Meyer and Charlaine Harris have proven themselves as undeniable forces to be reckoned with. Over the past year, Twilight and True Blood have been an inspiration to many fields in more ways than one. Repeatedly at the top of the best selling lists and having international and world acclaim, it seems that both Harris and Meyer can do no wrong, as the world waits with baited breath for their next book releases.
Having read The Twilight Saga and endured being depressed at having finished all 4 books so quickly, I am now reading 'Dead Until Dark' by Charlaine Harris, the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series, her latest being a collection of short stories involving the feisty protagonist, meant for readers who 'want to have every last sip of Sookie' entitled 'A Touch Of Dead.'
Although I haven't finished the book yet, True Blood is no picnic and is a world away from the slight fantasy element that The Twilight Saga manages to retain. With Harris, you really do get the impression that Vampires do [and very well could] live in Southern America, or any part of the world. Whereas Meyer, who was brought up a Mormon, whose protagonists Edward and Bella do not sleep together until the fourth and last book, Breaking Dawn, Harris does not hold back when it comes to describing physical relationships. In the series, Bill Compton, vampiric lover of small time 'disabled' waitress Sookie Stackhouse, tells Sookie on a regular basis just how much he lusts, as well as loves her, and Harris takes a delightful thrill in throwing in the 'fuck' word, just to make things that bit more twisted, and slightly darker.
Both of the Series are must reads, and for anyone who hasn't caught on to this growing phenomonon should probably do some serious catching up. Although Harris' series is longer by several books, they should be well worth reading. Both of the narrative voices provide a pull which draws the reader in and takes hold quickly, so that once you start reading, it becomes quite difficult to stop.
For all of their similarities, the worlds of Twilight and True Blood are innately different, and can be seen very obviously when reading the books. The subsequent films and TV series surrounding them have done a great job in keeping to the stories themselves, and have chosen to compromise on almost little to nothing, which shows just how strong the books are in providing excellent blueprints.
For any of you who were wondering just how different the two vampire franchises really are, True Blood actor Stephen Moyer recently described character Edward Cullen, and not Robert Pattinson, fellow english actor, as the following: "[He's a] Pussy. He's the Slim-Fast, Diet Coke of Vampires."
Whatever you think, make sure you read the books [FIRST!] and then, if you like what you've read, take a look at the TV shows. Even if you hate the books, the films and TV shows are still thoroughly recommended purely because of the predominantly hot eye candy. Seriously. Freaking. Hot. Stuff.

The Sookie Stackhouse Series [Gollancz/Orion Books - £6.99] is as follows:

1. Dead Until Dark

2. Living Dead In Dallas

3. Club Dead

4. Dead To The World

5. Definitely Dead

6. Dead As A Doornail

7. From Dead To Worse

8. All Together Dead

9. Dead and Gone

10. A Touch Of Dead [Short Stories, HB, £11.99]

And, for the four people across the globe who missed this, in case you were wondering, The Twilight Saga [Atom Books - £6.99] is as follows:

1. Twilight

2. New Moon

3. Eclipse

4. Breaking Dawn - [HB, £11.99]

Here's the Trailers/clips from the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon/ True Blood Series 2