My Little Boy

Kindle Fire HD Raffle for Charity

“I'm very polite by nature, even the voices in my head let each other finish their sentences.” – from Completely Flappable Don’t you just hate it when you have a thousand little thoughts rattling around your brain, good for nothing but keeping you up at night? Ideas, worries, mental reminders for the next day? My voices can get pretty insistent, and mostly this is a nuisance, but sometimes it’s okay, when there’s a story idea or two among the ramblings. And rarely, very rarely, I get what I think is a really good idea, but one that I don't know what to do with. For instance, a while ago it occurred to me that it’s probably not governments or big corporations that wield the world’s greatest financial power. I think it’s us. All the little people together. Then I started wondering what could happen if we all decided to set 1 month of our incomes aside towards fixing this place up a bit. How many of the world’s problems could we actually solve permanently? Half of them, maybe? All of them? That's a pretty cool picture. But I’m a pretty dim light when it comes to implementing even small ideas, never mind the big ones. So I’m not sure how to get that ball rolling (heck, I'm not even sure where we keep the balls). But I can certainly start with myself. That’s easy enough (I’ve been in close contact with myself for years; I didn't have much trouble convincing myself.) So, this December, all proceeds of all my novels will go to Child Helpline International. The CHI is pretty cool because they support toll-free child helplines worldwide and they help highlight gaps in child protection systems. They do all this on donations (click the image below for more information.) But what does all this have to do with you? Well, I'm raffling off some prizes and giving out some freebees to boost the donation (expenses out of my own pocket, not the donation :P ) So what's in it for you, besides that warm, fuzzy feeling you'll get knowing the Xmas presents you’re buying include an automatic donation? Well, how about I give you the new edition to the award winning No Hope for Gomez saga completely free? And how about a Kindle Fire HD raffle ticket with every purchase while we’re at it? Simply forward your receipt emails to nohopeforgomez@gmail.com to participate. And now, on to the pitch. This is the bit where I try to convince you, using only my words, that my novels don’t suck (or at least, not too much.) That they won’t only tickle your brain, but they’ll actually make your life better, if only marginally. That they are, in fact, worthy donation material. Here goes (fingers crossed)...

Paper: $6.08 Kindle:$2.99 (uk paper, kindle)

No Hope for Gomez! Winner of the Forewords Book of the Year Awards, featured on Kirkus Best Indie List 2011, IBA and USA Book News Award nominee. It's the age-old tale:   Boy meets girl.   Boy stalks girl.   Girl already has a stalker.   Boy becomes her stalker-stalker. We've seen it all before, many times, but this time it's different. If only slightly.

"Extremely witty writing containing keen insights into human nature." --California Chronicle "Challenges the way we think about, and interact with, the world around us." --Kirkus Discoveries "The antics in this book will leave the reader laughing. Graham Parke is a genius."--Reader's Favorite

Unspent Time Warning: reading this novel may make you more attractive and elevate your random luck by about 9.332%* (*These statements have not been evaluated by anyone of consequence) Permeating the cracks between the past and the present is the realm of Unspent Time. Time that was allotted but never spent. In this realm we find the stories that could have been true. Such as the story of the designer of the color scheme used inside your shoe, or the story of Goki Feng Ho: the Chinese art of decoding the secret meaning of car license plates.

Paper: $6.08 Kindle:$2.99 ePub : $2.99 (uk paper, kindle)

“Captivating. Each story fired up my imagination.” – Alan H. Jordan, author. "Delightfully mad. Graham's vibrant characters shine from the first page." --Tahlia Newland, author.

Free with this event

Completely Flappable “He’s completely flappable!” “Don’t you mean he’s unflappable?” “Not really. He can very easily be flapped.” Gomez has never been on a date. In his 27 years on the planet he’s never been able to quite close the deal. For some reason, circumstances always conspire to make his meet-ups with women less than official dates. But now a blond German girl with freckles has moved into his building and he decides it’s time to get his act together.

If you've read this far, you're already my hero ;) I hope you like my idea enough to join me in this fun adventure. Let's see how much we can raise this Xmas ;) Kind regards, Graham Parke

It Is An App World Out There

a shop window at Manitou Springs..that's my 4th child's head

My husband was lured by Nokia Lumia because he wanted the 50 GB camera on the phone. I wanted the bigger camera (GB-size) too, but considering my life runs by apps lately, I cannot leave iPhone until other platforms have as many apps as.  My class notes is available all over my devices with DropBox. I know that other phones have it, but it is not as easy to use.  Ease of use is important to me.   That said, ff you are a real estate agent, check out goconnect iphone app. It is an amazing app. In fact, if I was not bound for law school, I would consider turning into a real estate agent so I could use this app. On the other hand, it might just be final exam panic talking. Still, that app is amazing.  I know because I have tried it.

On The Way to Pikes Peak

I found it surprising that nothing grew on top of Pikes Peak.  Somehow, I imagined it full of pine trees!  But it was filled with rocks and Boulders.  I guess when it's that high up, atmosphere and top soil is pretty thin.

I was just thinking about it today.  I have final exam in 6 days. I have 3 in a row. The stakes are high.  Law Review Journal is at stake!  The free entrance that is.  Otherwise, I could always write on, but auto-entrance is way nicer, I think.

Wish me luck!

Looking For A Ring?

 

 When I first got my wedding ring, my finger size barely made it to 4.  Then I have five children, gain lots of weight, and now, I need a 6.  During my pregnancies, I have reached size 7.  I am still wearing that wedding band, but it keeps falling off. In fact, I was reaching for something in class the other day, and off my ring flew, hit my professor's nicely polished cowboy boots.  It landed 3 inches safely his heels.  My professor did not miss a beat.  I thought my husband should check out Reeds.com wedding ring sets for my new ring. I bet they would have my size.  I am just wearing my plain platinum band, but it has lots of scratches it in.  Platinum might be the strongest metal to hold on to your solitaire, but I would pick a different metal for a plain band. I'd go for gold or silver.  Still, this wedding band is not so bad, but I would not mind a new one.

Today' Flower

my roses are blooming again

orchid from Tom Thumb

I am thrilled to see my rose bush is blooming again. I thought for sure that it was dead last summer when all the leaves fell off the bush.  It is fast become a tree...and I have no clue how to trim it.  The orchids are from the grocery store.  I have about one dozen small ones in my home. They are all rescued orchid which I got from Lowes Home Improvement Store.  Rescued because they were almost dead when I got them.  However, I lost 6 of them after about a year.  I either watered them too much, or not enough, or perhaps, my children decided to give it soda or orange juice -- I am not sure.  But, the bottom line is, my once healthy rescue orchid are now dead.

Anyway, I thought I'd take a break from taking practice exams and post my flowers today. I have back-to-back five finals starting December 3.  Wish me luck.

Camera Critters

 

I am not really sure if Angry Birds candy qualify as a camera critter, but it sure was very sweet and delicious so long as the gag reflex does not kick from so much sugar.

 

My study buddy. He stares are me and then barks if I take my eyes off the pages of the book, or when I pick up my iPhone.

 

He he is wrapped up in blanket because my kids thinks he's a doll...and this lovely dog would let them.

 

If I Could Keep Time In A Bottle

 

It is that time of year when I have this panicky feeling in my chest.  This is how much time I have til my first exam.  I have five.  The first three are bunched so close together, that if I am not ready by the 3rd of December, I am likely to have the grades I do not want.  I can pass with what I have now, but that is not my goal.  I want better than passing. I want my As.  So, I better have a game plan and stick to it.  That hearbeat that you hear is mine.  It beats just a bit faster each time I think about how it is going to be if I keep messing up my schedule and watch TV on weekends!

It's A Musical Family

I have gone through so many storage device. I take many pictures.  I need  a place to store them.  There are plenty of choices, but having to make a choice is quite difficult.  I did not realized that I still need a power source for them. Sometimes, I find it too much of a bother having to find a free outlet.    We are a musical family, and soon, we will need better instruments and device to record all these creativity.  My 9 year old had decided to play the cello because his only sister plays the violin, his older brother plays the bass.  I was thrilled to hear that my budding cello player is going to be good enough to compete at the all-city-band competition next year.  There is a good chance he'll win. Yay!

Violin Solo at Half-time Show

My daughter used to play for the orchestra. However, she was longing for a newer songs to play than the orchestra is playing.  As a result, this year, my daughter gave up being a concert master to play with the band.  She's happy to bang away on a marimba.  She's a whole lot busier too.  There's a game almost every Friday night.  This band has certainly changed the way our Friday nights go.  The conductor or whatever you call the person who directs the band, thought it might be a great idea to have her play the violin.  I wonder if what we have is going to be enough to get her heard over the volume of people and other loud band instruments.  I am excited for her.  It is not every day one gets an offer to play solo about something.  I am actually looking forward to it.  My daughter's band playlist includes music from Twilight, the movie.