Bertrice Small

January 20, 2012

I had honestly hoped to make it through the month of January without a harangue. Not going to happen, folks. I am about to harp on the alleged social services system in our country. Not the good people who toil to make this system work. They are to be commended. It's the system itself that needs to wake up. Our country can no longer do business as usual with regards to those in need.

Let's start with HEAP. Hello? Is anybody there? Does anybody care? This year applications for getting help with your heat were opened to the public November 18th. NOVEMBER? There are many places in this country where it is already cold in mid-November. Applications should be available on September 15th not November.

A senior friend of mine applied November 18th. Her business hadn't done well this year. She's a single woman. Last week she ran out of heating oil. She called to see if her application had been processed. She was told another 4 to 6 weeks. 4 weeks meant the middle of February. 6 weeks meant the end of February. She had absolutely no heat in her house. Her thermostat was below freezing. She called the local office for the aging explaining she had a congenital condition. They told her 4 to 6 weeks. She soldiered on dressed in layers and a hat. A friend stopped in to say hello to my friend, and was appalled that the house was freezing. The mutual friend told a few of us, and we got together to get 100 gallons of fuel oil into our senior friend's house. She was grateful but embarrassed that her plight was know even to a few friends. She would have never asked for help, and it might have been a lot more serious.

I'm appalled that this would happen to any citizen of this country. I'm more shocked that it could happen to a hard-working tax paying woman. And I'll bet dollars to donuts it's happening all over this country to decent people not just my senior friend. We're in a depression whatever the hell the government wants to call it. Good people who have never asked for help need it now. The system is obviously over-burdened which means it has to change to accomodate all the citizens who find themselves in need of a little help.

When George and I moved to the North Fork 36 years ago we needed that help, and it was given quickly without question. We were the recipients of help with fuel oil for 2 years. Now the need is so great that people like my senior friend, and even my own son in a house with children are waiting, waiting, waiting. Same thing for food stamps.

Our government is so busy trying to make "friends" with nations who hate us and will never like us in today's world climate that they are freezing and starving our own people. NO MORE FOREIGN AID! That money belongs to We, the People, who paid our taxes so our fellow citizens in need could get help when they needed it. NO MORE FOREIGN AID so if the government needs to hire more people to process all the applications for help these days they can. So the applications can be processed quickly. So help can reach the cold and the hungry.

What the hell is the matter with all you damned leeches down in D.C. who are living so grandly off our tax dollars doing abolutely nothing? All you seem to do these days is squabble to twart the people's business from getting done, to one up each other, to blame the "other" side. Your citizens are hungry. They are living in cold houses. Your behavior is intolerable. The system is f..king broken. FIX IT, DAMNIT!

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?

~ Bertrice

January 16, 2012

It's the 16th of January, and bitter cold, but thank heavens no snow yet here. Today, however, I had copies made of BIANCA, Book One of my new series The Silk Merchant's Daughters. Tom came and burned the CDs for me. My copy and CD is now put away. The other CD and the paper manuscript will go out first thing tomorrow morning to my editor, Claire Zion, at NAL in NYC. Another copy to my agent. I am more than relieved to have this book done. It will be published for you in October. The cover is almost done, and when it is I will be posting it on my website for all of you. And of course there will be a video in late summer.

Next year I'm back to 2 books. Book Two in this series is due into the publisher in July for April or May 2013 publication, and Book Three will be published in October 2013.

This year, however, you will have a chance to re-read the mass market edition of The World of Hetar which is being published every other month beginning with LARA this month. They all have new covers so don't get confused. And Kensington is publishing a couple of re-releases. Just check the Coming Announcements page on this site for info. Hope you are all keeping warm except you lucky people in Florida and the Pacific Rim where it's high summer right now. Buy LARA, and head to the beach!

~ Bertrice

January 1, 2012

Well here we are beginning the new year of 2012. Will anything change for the better? Gosh, I hope so! I remember when I was a lot younger reading predictions of what the 21st century would be like, but of course it isn't at all as "predicted". There's a wonderful old saying that I find myself quoting frequently. "Man plans. GOD laughs." And isn't that so true these days.

However that doesn't mean we can't hope. So here's what I hope for in 2012. No big wars, and what passes for peace on our globe to. continue. No terrible natural disasters. I hope the paranoid rulers in certain countries get replaced. That people stop believing that their GOD is better than someone else's GOD. I believe in one GOD and I'm perfectly willing to share with others. Less greed. Greed is not good. More jobs for Americans. That the banks stop foreclosing on people down on their luck.

But most of all I hope the politicians on both sides of the aisle get off their fat cat asses and do the people's business instead of concentrating on getting re-elected. Now, would that be special?

~ Bertrice