Diatribes of the Introvert

Image by daffa rayhan zein

Hi. My name is Erica. I am a Hermit introvert.

You can call me vertically challenged, hermit, and boring and it will not phase my day. There was a time when it used to.

The reason I am writing this post is that I feel people do not understand us introverts and the sad part is they never will, not on a deeper, subatomic level anyway. We are a special group of people who are made to feel not so special or “square”.

I would like to venture a guess that most of us have social anxieties, have the water sign of Cancer, or are expert homemakers who would rather knit and bake than go out to bars, and clubs or trying to act normal in other people’s hell, er “social settings”.

This series of posts is definitely for you because just like you I prefer knitting, writing, anime, reading, baking, anime, yoga, Pilates, anime…you get it by now.

Here are a list of popular/famous people who are known introverts…

J.K. Rowling- author of Harry Potter Series

Albert Einstein

Bill Gates

Steven Spielberg

Rosa Parks

Dr. Seuss and plenty more, just go to Inc.com for the famous introvert list.

I was led to write this because just yesterday, we celebrated my husband’s birthday and to be honest, it was filled with fun and laughter (introverts laugh too), we danced the night away but when we got to the club part of the evening with the younger folks and I discovered I couldn’t do the “wobble” and bumped into someone, my “introvert alert” came in and I told my husband sadly, “I have to bounce. Sorry.”

I walked away from the dance floor.

Our Facebook pictures show a lovely tale of celebration and awesome food. I mean, it was a celebration and memorable…

I have been called Squidward(because of my scathing personality and ability to complain when going outdoors).

I have been called boring and hermit.

I’ve received strange looks and told I complain a lot, but when you take the shell off a crab, what do you expect? We love our homes!

So at this juncture, if you feel you are alone and that you are the only one who prefers to stay inside and watch movies than go to social settings you cannot control, you are not alone. Even famous introverts prefer to stay to themselves.

Alright, go chill, sip your tea, eat, bake or whatever until the next post.

Much love and hugs,

Ericajean

What I Have Been Doing, Besides Blogging

In a previous post, I promised to show you what I have been doing after dark all this time. Besides giving my labor and energy to a company during a normal 9-5, I have been doing this:

Creating knitted projects for family and friends!

Knitting is relaxing and profitable for many people( no profits yet)

Knitting also has an added benefit-

If you don’t like numbers and math, you will grow to love them as it makes your knitting even more fantastic. Granted knitting scarves and certain knitted fabrics don’t require too much attention to numbers but when you make clothing you need a measuring tape and you better learn the metric system and English system quick. I knew it already but knitting provided a refresher for me.

A downside is that the novels I write on the side have taken a backseat.

Anyway, I’m hoping to grow more proficient at this knitting thing in the New Year and I pray all of you to appreciate and create more blessings this year and the next years to come!

I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions as it remains the same.

Let me know what you think of my work and also feel free to post what your favorite hobbies are 🙂

~Ericajean

#BirdBoxReview and What It Means To Black Women

Disclaimer: Just one or two small spoilers are in here really- not enough to detract from the enjoyment of the movie though. Also, I have not read the book but plan to, so this review and my opinions are just that- opinions. Thank you!

I’d like to begin by saying positive things about Bird Box:

• My favorite actress Sandra Bullock was in it. Score high points for that one.
• Sarah Paulson from American Horror Story played her role well as usual.
• And the other actors were equally stellar too.
• The plot was off the chain: Basically, what would you do if what you see could cause you to kill yourself? An unseen presence that will literally make you blindfold yourself?
• Many memes were birthed from this movie, but I’d rather focus on another issue I immediately noticed.

No black women in the movie.

It is nearly 2019- unacceptable.

Very, Highly unacceptable in this so-called post-racial, post-bias society people think we

Bird Box is on Netflix Now

live in.

To be fair, I’ve watched plenty of great science fiction and horror films that were extremely popular but would have the overused pairing of a white girl, a black man, white men, and “other”.

Black women pointed this out online and I tried not to write this post.

I swear I did not want to write this.

But many black women pointed this out in envy, in justified hatred, and to be fair- in sadness, because as much as we love these movies, our little Coppertone and chocolate girls need more than just the Tyler Perry and Steve Harvey type movies to enjoy, doling out the same trope of why men and women are different or singing hymns.

Octavia Butler did not want her black speculative books made into movies, but I wish she had because it would be nice to see black women(full black women) playing not only as strong leaders but acting in horror and science fiction.

This is why I cut back on reading “Indie” thugged out books(some are very good though) and picked up black historical fiction and black contemporary novels where black women are duchesses and princesses. In Tananarive Due and her husband’s books, black people, in general, are fully fleshed out and realized in thrillers and horror.

Instead of complaining though, what can black women do when we see ourselves playing in the same kind of films or nonexistent in blockbuster films like Bird Box?

Well, let’s start going for roles out of our comfort zones. I mean, we do have Storm from X-Men(even though they choose bi-racials to play as Storm), we have the black women warriors in Black Panther, and let’s not forget Brandy in Scream.

Remember Def by Temptation? A wealth of black cast there even though it’s old school, it still frightens me.

Also, to put it plainly…

Would you have really wanted a black woman to play in Sandra Bullock’s role? In the movie Bird Box, Sandra played as Malorie- a woman who considered her pregnancy an illness,, she liked being alone and had no man around but clearly, the child belonged to someone- she even named her children “Girl” and “Boy” to detach herself from them. This is not to say she hated the children but if a black woman played that role, the movie may not have reached 45 million views.

Maybe it would have reached millions of viewers like Luke Cage did in 2016,but the stereotype would reinforce the social media conversation of how black women are not good mothers and without a man.

In other words, films with alpha black males and anyone else but black women, seem to make it big.

In sum, Bird Box was a great movie to conclude 2018 with. It had horror, suspense, great actors and the memes gave me life. For real. You should check out the memes.

Everyone is analyzing and philosophizing Bird Box’s spiritual component which I enjoy. My husband and I had a nice discussion afterward about moral blindness, politics and other messages we seen in the film.

Have you watched Bird Box? If you have, what did you think? If not, would you watch it?

I appreciate all comments- just keep it nice 🙂

~The Write Web

When Christmas Had Another Name

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What Did Christmas Mean to Me This Year?

I smelled it in the air, the year we struggled. It was two weeks before Christmas when we lost our place. The spiced scent of Christmas in my drink, in my food, in the air- was no more.

I saw trees lighted in people’s windows, churches sang sweet hymns to  God and everyone was bundled up in red, green and gold: the official banner for Santa and for the very first time-

I did not care.

Fast forward six years later and Christmas no longer holds the magic it used to hold.

I take that statement back, last night for the first time, a small bit of Christmas nipped me at my nostalgic nose, greeted me with a kiss. My sister came by with her sweet children and we all played Banned Words. My brother- in- law flew in to visit and regaled us with his adventures of traveling the globe and my husband and I were pleased to serve a good meal to anyone who came by.

Earlier that morning while cooking, I played the Jackson 5 Christmas songs album on YouTube. So glad my favorite holiday album can be found on social media these days.

A bit of that magic seeped into our home.

For that moment, just one moment, I was that little girl again waking up to breakfast and shiny packages to rip into.

Except for these packages were felt instead of seen.

Like I said, Christmas just isn’t the same anymore. It has been called many things:

• Jesus’ Birthday
• A Pagan Holiday
• Commercialized Selling Point

Through all of the name changes, I’ve come to believe it is simply a holiday like most that did not originate from thin air.

In the beginning, it was just Christmas to me-I was a child. Then Christianity became my cloak and it became Jesus’ Birthday. Research made me see it as pagan holiday when it I held it up to Bible Scholarship and as a full-fledged adult, it became a holiday after my money

Yet, for a few hours last night, I was taught the meaning of friendship and love and how laughter can heal anything.

~Ericajean

‘A Duke By Default’, Another Winning Romance from Alyssa Cole

 

The Reluctant Royals Series by Alyssa Cole is Heating Up the Winter!

Five Purple hearts by default for A Duke By Default(Book #2 in the Reluctant Royals Series)

I am serious. These books are impossible to put down and I love how each one takes place somewhere different. Read my take on the first book in a previous post.

In A Duke By Default, Portia Hobbs is in over her head with drinking, partying, and sexing random men. Even with her Master’s degrees, she is told by family and friends to grow up and get a handle on things.

Why not apprentice as a swordmaker? Portia decides to head to Scotland and create Project: New Portia. No boozing, no sexing strange men and definitely get her head on straight, but when she meets Tavish McKenzie, her boss. Drinking is definitely the last thing on her mind.

Check out my reaction to this story below:

5 out of 5 starsA Feel Good Contemporary Romance

December 21, 2018

Format: Mass Market Paperback

This is a story I’d love to see on the silver screen. It is just that good. Once again, Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series has made me lose sleep.

Duke by Default is hot, passionate, and just all around feel good. There’s swordmaking, Scotland, hot Scottish accents, Queens, Dukes, royals, and pop culture galore.

As part of Project: New Portia, Portia Hobbs goes off to Scotland to be an apprentice to a swordmaker, Mr. Tavish McKenzie. She is soon curious as to how skilled he really is with his hands because Tavish is devilishly handsome and his accent is making her want to demolish her Project New Portia.

A wonderful, delightful story about how we can feel so terrible about ourselves when we compare ourselves to others.

Even with all the passion, all the romance, and an equally posh/historic setting, Portia’s background and family life tugs at your heart.- *Review found on Amazon*

I am excited about Book 3 arriving on the scene April 2019, pre-order A Prince on Paper now to continue the adventure with those who did not ask for royalty, but find the passion of their hearts instead.

~The Write Web

This International Romance Was Voted New YorkTimes #100NotableBooksof2018

Image courtesy Avon Books

There’s a reason this book was selected as New York Times 100 Notable books of 2018!

I have never read an Alyssa Cole novel but found A Princess in Theory’s blurb to be interesting enough to purchase the paperback. Go Amazon Prime!

Here’s a snippet of the blurb and my reaction to the book:

From acclaimed author, Alyssa Cole comes the tale of a city Cinderella and her Prince Charming in disguise . . .

Between grad school and multiple jobs, Naledi Smith doesn’t have time for fairy tales…or patience for the constant e-mails claiming she’s betrothed to an African prince. Sure. Right. Delete! As a former foster kid, she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and the scientific method, and a silly e-mail won’t convince her otherwise.

Prince Thabiso is the sole heir to the throne of Thesolo, shouldering the hopes of his parents and his people. At the top of their list? His marriage. Ever dutiful, he tracks down his missing betrothed. When Naledi mistakes the prince for a pauper, Thabiso can’t resist the chance to experience life—and love—without the burden of his crown.

The chemistry between them is instant and irresistible, and flirty friendship quickly evolves into passionate nights. But when the truth is revealed, can a princess in theory become a princess ever after?

 

I was so sorry to have the close this story at the end. I felt like I read a beautiful romantic rom-com with a bit of the fictional Wakanda in it. The character that made me feel- that made me say YAAASSSS was Prince Thabiso. Even when he pretended to be Jamal, he was so sweet and awkward but he knew how to treat a lady in and out of bed. I swear, the yummy hot scenes will stick with you all this Winter.

Ledi, an epidemiologist(studies diseases) was so used to being cast away in life that she called herself “defective Velcro”, no one sticks around. Sure her self-deprecating talk and manner could be off-putting but she had her reasons.

The setting of Thesolo and the description of the seeming “odd” weather in South Africa places you right there in the midst of the cool terrain and the royalty of beautiful black skin.

If you are looking for a book with international romance and adventure this book is a great place to start. I enjoyed the book from start to finish.

Five luscious hearts!

A Princess in Theory is part of the Reluctant Royals Series, Book #1

Also, Last week I reviewed a delicious historical by Beverly Jenkins. Let’s just say I’ll never look at the Revolutionary War the same again.  Please visit my review on Amazon today.

Have you read any good books lately?

Soon, I will post pics of what I’ve been really doing after work… 😉

 

*Oh get your minds out the gutter. I’m talking about something else- LOL*

Presenting L.K. Rayne’s ‘Silk and Thorne’ #Books2Read

Every once in a while, an author gifts me with amazing books and I feel horrible sometimes that I have sooooo many books in queue to read, that I could never read the ARCs in the allotted time… However, I deal with this by reading the blurbs and a few chapters and if I feel good about them, I present them here. For instance, today I present to you L.K Rayne’s Silk and Thorne(which I will be reading and reviewing soon), here is the juicy blurb..

Some promises are made to be broken.
Some memories are better left forgotten.
Some thorns are not meant to be touched.

What do I remember most about Ethan Thorne?
The stupid games we used to play.
His scrawny legs as he struggled to climb the old willow tree.
How we raced back to the dock from the middle of the lake on a hot summer day.

What does the world say about Ethan Thorne?
Well, the tabloids call him a playboy. A lady-killer. Some sort of maverick. 
The business circuit calls him ruthless and cunning. An unrelenting competitor. A titan of industry.

But do you want to know who the real Ethan Thorne is? 
The truth is, I have no idea. 

Fifteen years ago, we were only children. For one short summer, we were pure and innocent, unspoiled by the cruelty of the world. But the funny thing about the world is that it has a way of taking what we hold closest to our heart and tearing it away.- Blurb from Amazon

The makings of a real romance seem on the horizon with this one.

I’d like to thank the author for sending me the ARC and to my blogger friends and those reading, if you are interested in a contemporary romance about old friendships turning into new flaming passionate love- pick this one up.

Have any book recommendations for me?

Let me know in the comments below!

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving Holiday was bright with love and feasting! 🙂