nSticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
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nThe evening of what was supposed to have been election day, I began reading a new book. That’s not an unusual occurrence. I only got a few chapters in before I closed the book and deleted it from my Kindle. That, too, is not an unusual occurrence. I’m a picky reader, although the quantity I read might indicate otherwise.
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nIt wasn’t the writing that turned me off. The author uses language effectively.
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nIt wasn’t a failure of editing that made me turn away in disgust. The writer obviously uses an editor who’s competent.
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nIt wasn’t the story premise, either. The story begins with a young woman fleeing for her life and freedom after having been abducted and forced into sexual slavery. I can admire such strength, resourcefulness, and courage. I’ve written heroines with that kind of moxie. The plot has the heroine going after the wealthy, powerful degenerates responsible for the atrocities committed against her and other young women, like the movie Taken, only our girl becomes the badass out for vengeance.
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nNope. It was the language. The words the author used. Or, rather, the words the author had the so-called heroic figures use. They exploit the heroine, debase her, speak of her in derogatory terms, speak to her in insulting terms … and to make matters worse, she likes it. It excites her.
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nThis kind of stuff disgusts me. It offends me. There’s an utter lack of respect, regardless of the heroine’s point of view and internal monologue. The heroes do not respect her. She does not respect herself. Aretha Franklin ought to be spinning in her grave.
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nI know a lot of readers enjoy this type of fantasy. I could be politically correct and say that’s okay, but I’d be lying. I don’t think it’s acceptable because we think in words. Our values and opinions are derived from what we hear and read, communicated in words and deeds. Words accompany deeds and describe them. Words fire our imaginations and sink into our souls. Words inform us and teach us. They frame our thoughts. What are we if we have no words?
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nThe words we use matter. Shakespeare was only half-correct. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but the meanings assigned to words also influence our perception of the objects and actions they describe. Using an offensive term ascribes the insult of that term to whatever it names.
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nWords matter. Yes, they can and do hurt and cause harm, especially when they lead to subjugation, oppression, bigotry, and prejudice.
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​March Book of the Month

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n nAridis: Concubine’s daughter, emperor’s sister, and the provincial queen of Imenotash n nEdan: Peasant’s son, mystic warrior, and captain of the palace guard of Imenotash n nGiroch: Emperor of the Harudin Empire and unable to produce an heir of his own body. n nA dangerous class of wills erupts when an intelligent and strong-willed woman with deadly secrets defies the Harudin emperor by marrying her peasant-born captain of the guard, who has lethal secrets of his own. Emperor Giroch gets his cruel revenge by threatening them both with death unless they bow down to cruel humiliation designed to destroy them and produce an heir. They find an unlikely ally and risk everything in a desperate gamble to obtain freedom from cruel tyranny. Along the way, their mutual respect is tested and begins to transform. Will they achieve freedom, love, and happiness, or will their enemies and deadly secrets destroy them? n nThis fantasy romance novella contains mature content not suitable for readers under 18 years old.n n

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nhttps://www.amazon.com/Falcon-Imenotash-Holly-Bargo-ebook/dp/B072F8C333n

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Excerpt

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n​A grunt of pain, followed by a metallic hiss, awakened Edan instantly. His sword pulled free of its scabbard and whistled through the air as he launched himself at the two intruders trying to subdue his lady’s guard. Although the men attempted to remain quiet, inevitably their fighting knocked over a small vase on the cupboard against the wall. Exploding pottery shards and the sounds of a struggle not entirely suppressed woke Aridis.
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nSitting up, she blinked and quickly realized the situation. She scrambled off the bed and scuttled to the bedroom door. Flinging it open, she cried out, “To me!”
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nFour of her guard answered immediately, followed by six more who woke from their rest, weapons ready to hand. Since the quiet had been broken, the men called to each other.
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n“Surround her!” Edan snapped as he drove the point of his sword into one of the intruders.
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nFour of his soldiers immediately set Aridis in their center.
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nA cry in the dark and then a wet gurgle announced the second intruder’s death.
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nEdan wiped his sword on the dead man’s clothes and commanded, “Ready the horses. We leave now.” Turning toward the four men who surrounded his queen, he said, “Pull on your cloak, my lady. We cannot delay.”
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nShe shook her head, eyes wide. “We cannot leave like this.”
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nEdan approached and two of the soldiers stepped aside for him. Looking down into the dark gleam of her eyes, he said, “Their bodies will give sufficient reason for our hasty departure.”
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n“This will surely offend the emperor.”n

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Hogtied Book Tour 

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n nCowgirl meets biker … what could go wrong? n nWhen a biker shoots her sister’s prize steer, champion roper Melanie goes after him. Unfortunately, she doesn’t think it through, and that hot temper puts her squarely in Hammer’s sights. Melanie’s ire only increases when Hammer defuses the dangerous situation by claiming her as his property. If the former Marine and now sergeant-at-arms of the Black Ice Revolution MC thinks she’s his for the taking, he’s sadly mistaken. She wants nothing to do with him, but he’s not about to let this sexy, feisty woman go. ​n n

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nhttps://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/hogtied-book-tour-and-giveawayn

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nhttps://www.amazon.com/Hogtied-Holly-Bargo-ebook/dp/B0842DX7H3/n

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Excerpt ​

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n“We don’t need no dirty biker drug money,” the man snarled and leveled the muzzle at him.

nHammer backed away slowly.

nThe younger girl tugged on her father’s shirt. “Daddy, I need that money for school.”

nThe man looked at her and said, “We’ll manage, Julie. We always do.”

n“The scholarships aren’t enough. I’ve got to take out student loans as it is.”

n“Sir,” Hammer said, drawing upon the discipline and polite behavior drilled into him by eight years of service in the Marines, “I promised your daughter that we’d reimburse for the cow.”

n“Steer,” the older girl corrected. She’d moved around the horse and was hosing off its other side.

n“Steer,” Hammer repeated. “Seems to me that you owe me a thank-you.”

n“Thanks? For what?” she screeched.

nThe corners of Hammer’s mouth curled in a small smile. “For making sure you got home unharmed. Riding into a rally like that was stupid.”

nThe old man’s bushy eyebrows rose to where his hairline used to be. “That true, Melanie? You chased that dirty biker all the way to the rally?”

n“How else was I going to confront that guy who killed Buster?” she demanded.

nThe shotgun’s barrel dipped, but Hammer did not make the mistake of thinking it couldn’t be raised again.

n“Do you realize what happens to foolish girls who wander into places like that?” the old man snapped.

n“Nothing happened, Daddy.”

n“Nothing happened to you this time,” Hammer corrected. “But Lowball, the guy who shot your steer, won’t forgive the insult, and it’s likely his brothers won’t either.”

n“Ah, shit, Melanie. You’ve gone and gotten us into trouble with those lowlifes.”

nHammer clenched his jaws against the constant slurs, even if they could be accurately applied to too many of the men who populated the outlaw motorcycle clubs that attended the rally. However, he understood the young woman’s pride and the need to protect what belonged to her family. Every MC felt the same way.

nHe looked at the girl’s father and said, “You’re going to need protection for a little while, just in case Lowball’s club decides to get their revenge.”

n“Revenge?” the girl snarled. “What right has he got to think that?”

n“You humiliated him in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of his peers. His club’s president might think he deserved it, but he won’t—can’t—tolerate an outsider—and especially a chick—leveling punishment that is his to determine.”

n“A chick?”n

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