A POEM BY D.G. TORRENS

Once part of a team, life, death and survival

Every decision they make counts

Returning home decision is final

What now? Nothing seems to count.

Isolated in their powerlessness

Experiencing a fear that few people do

A feeling of aimlessness and purposelessness

Returning home is not easy to do.

Trained to kill and disarm bombs

The fear takes root and won’t let go

A feeling they hide from waiting moms

Returning home is hard to do.

Making sense of life after war

The daily search for IEDS over

No longer protecting, what’s it all for?

Returning home a soldier no more.

A POEM: BY D.G. TORRENS

A soldiers success

The dry terrain grips our men

The burning sun teasing their bodies

Their Army fatigues and loaded guns

Adds to the pressure under the sun.

Treading carefully one foot at a time

Aware of the danger not far behind

Searching for explosives in the ground

Occasionally missed but often found.

One brave soldier stepping forward

His second in command ready as ordered

He dusts the object whilst observing wires

Focused and determined to prevent any fires.

A successful day the soldier smiles

As he detonates the bomb heard for miles

No one is hurt the villagers cheer

For the brave soldier standing near.

All children are different and so are their Asthma triggers. For my daughter it’s the very hot weather, virus’s and chesty coughs that sets off her Asthma. Some children’s triggers can be anything from cats, pollen, cold weather, hot weather and many other’s. Many children also grow out of it and then of course some don’t. Will my child grow out of Asthma? This is a question that cannot be answered by any body. You simply have to wait and see as they grow. I pray my daughter will grow out of this like many parents do, in the mean time all we can do is be extra vigilant during their fragile times and act accordingly.

We all know  what Asthma is and it’s so common these days many children as well as adults have it. What we forget is how life threatening it can be when an Asthmatic child has a severe attack. I have a four year old daughter and she is Asthmatic. During the last two years she has been rushed in to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital because of Asthma attacks that could not be brought under control four times. As a parent I can tell you it renders you helpless. Just recently my daughter had her worst attack to date. You follow the guidelines, increase their Salbutamol dozes and increase the times in which you give it them. When this does not work and your child is still working too hard to breath, is very wheezy and is struggling to talk then it’s time to give them the steroids. We of course did all that, and still her attack was not under control in fact it was getting worse. We simply picked her up and rushed her straight to the children’s hospital.

As a child in the middle of a severe Asthma attack she was seen straight away and rushed into the Hobs unit, this is an observation ward, where they hooked her up to a monitor which monitored her oxygen levels. She was also given another ten puffs of Salbutamol and the timing had been increased to every 1/2 hours.

The first thing the doctor said to me and my husband who were by my daughters side, (who by the way was still smiling although she was struggling to breath properly) was, what ever you do don’t watch that monitor it drives parents stir crazy. I asked why? And she said because when the oxygen stats drop below 92 which is not good at all, parents panic? My thoughts on this was, of course parents will panic if the stats drop below what they should be and the machine is beeping away to alert the doctors and nurses?? Well, as you can imagine I was transfixed on that machine for hours. All through the night the monitor barely registered 93 and kept dropping to 90, 91 then 89 then back up to 93, then 91, 90. Not good at all, she was woke up several times because the bleeping machine went off several times throughout the night and she was given more salbutamol.  Asthma is a very serious condition and one that should never be taken lightly. When you are witness to your child fighting to breath in a hospital it really scares you too death.

Even experienced asthma parents to a child like us can’t always get our child’s breathing under control. Recognizing this early and acting on this ASAP is key. Some children can go all through their childhood without ever having a serious attack, but some are not so fortunate and have severe attacks often.  What amazed me the most was how incredibly resilient my beautiful daughter is. She was so grown up about the whole thing and thought it was a great adventure and one she could share with her friends at nursery. She was not scared or fearful at anytime unlike her frantic mother who was quietly panicking inside. This time around it was different from the others in it’s severity. I actually felt sick at one point when she was at her worst because I was fearing the worst case scenario. Yes, there are fatal attacks from Asthma attacks each year and this was sitting in the back of my worried mind throughout her latest and worst attack to date.

Thank God for the superb specialists at the children’s hospital and the nurses and doctors who were all there throughout the night attending to my daughter and finally bringing her breathing under control. The Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a marvelous hospital and the medical staff are second to  none. You only have to see how they put all the children at ease and make the whole journey for them as pleasant and friendly as possible. I could not praise them enough and how speedily they dealt with my daughter. You hear so many horror stories these days about the NHS but Birmingham Children’s hospital is truly a magic Kingdom for poorly children.

I was so honoured when C.R. Hiatt author of the bestselling McSwain and Beck series agreed to a guest post here at Dawnsdaily virtual studio. Having read both of these books I can honestly say I am hooked, McSwain and Beck are two kick ass detectives that you will instantly bond with, throughout the story you will be gunning for them, laughing with them and feeling all of their emotions too. A beautifully written series by an author who is at the top of her game. I met this fabulous author quite sometime ago whilst networking throughout the social media circuit and we fast became friends along with a small group of indie authors. We then went on to form Thrills, Chills and Kills a promotional group formed by a group of like minded authors.

McSwain & Beck series on #SALE #99cents 

CLICK HERE: To download “Gone at zero hundred”  http://amzn.to/ZyKwov

CLICK HERE: To download “Fireworks On The 4th” http://amzn.to/11HtJhQ

Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 and Fireworks on the 4th, both Amazon bestsellers in YA mystery-thrillers, are on sale for 99cents starting April 26 and ending at midnight on April 28. Get your copies now; then get ready for the third book in the series, Lethal Hostages, coming soon!

“High-octane, action-packed and quick-witted romp through the perilous underworld. Written in a vein similar to early James Patterson (his good stuff) the chapters are short and make you want to gobble them down.” ~ Goodreads Reviewer

“CR Hiatt weaves a complex tale of intrigue and suspense that grabbed me right away and never let go, right up to the climactic end” ~ Goodreads Reviewer

An excerpt of Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00:

Detective Carter crept up the hills above an exclusive mansion keeping in the shadows to stay out of sight. One hand was firmly clasped around the 9mm Glock clipped at his hip. The other held the end of a Pelican LED police-issued flashlight which he used to guide his way. He followed the footprints noticeable in the mulch, size seven and ten if he had to take a guess. Sloppy for would-be prowlers looking to rob the place, or crazed killers carrying large weapons—at least that was the description given by the frantic woman when she phoned police dispatch after she spotted suspicious activity in the hills while she was jogging.

SNAP!

Hearing the sound, Carter whipped out his gun and waived his flashlight over the area. He noticed a camera perched on a tripod, peeking out through a row of bushes that was pointed toward a window on the second floor of the mansion.

A camera, that’s the large weapon the caller complained about?

“Ready, and action!” he heard a male voice say.

“Sutter Beach Police!” Carter moved the flashlight toward the voice; then pushed his way through a set of bushes to get a look. He shook his head at what he saw.

“McSwain & Beck, I should have known.” He put his gun back in the holster, and watched with an amused look on his face.

Cody was squatting down in the brush behind the camera, filming. He was painted in camouflage to blend in with the brush, and wore an ear piece with a built-in microphone.

He spoke into the mic. “Looking for two hotshot sleuths?” He veered the lens of the camera toward a set of branches high up on a tree.

That’s where I was, decked out in black Under Armour tights and a long-sleeve athletic shirt, with a ski-mask to hide my face. I was dangling upside down like a bat by a rope I affixed to the tree. I had my own camera zoomed in, and filming the escapades taking place inside the window of the mansion. After I got the footage I was looking for, I yanked on the rope, pulled myself upright and slithered back down.

Cody kept the camera on me until I hit the ground. Then, we posed in front of the camera with my face still hidden behind the mask.

Cody said into the camera, “Have a cheating spouse? Looking for a runaway teen? Need to verify facts, gather information, or have an employee take off with your funds?”

I added, “Or maybe you just need good old-fashioned surveillance services performed? No job is too big, or too small. Look no further, McSwain & Beck, the reluctant sleuths are here for you…”

An excerpt of Fireworks on the 4th:

Every minute was becoming a blur for Jaden. It was like being in the middle of a nightmare, only he couldn’t seem to wake up. After being questioned by Seth Bauer, he knew he wasn’t getting out anytime soon, and that he was being moved to a new location. The only positive news was that Syd and Cody were looking into it. That gave him hope. He knew they wouldn’t let up until he was home.

When the thug with the slash across his face waltzed into the room wearing an eerie smile, Jaden knew it was time…he was going to hell.

He was thrown into the back of a beat up truck with guards carrying AK-47s, and leather whips. By the looks and physical gestures they gave him, he knew he was in danger. He was an American in Mexico. He assumed some of them were gang members, or associates of cartels. The back of the vehicle slid shut, and the truck ambled down the road.

After a long, and excruciatingly hot and bumpy ride, the vehicle came to a stop. The back door slid open, and Carlos greeted him at the door.

“Bienvenido al camp de exterminio! … Salir en fila india,” he said, but followed it with an eerie cackle.

Jaden learned Spanish in school. He knew exactly what they were saying: “Welcome to the Death Camp!”

Another guard ordered him out of the vehicle. When he hesitated, he was met with a crack of the whip. He shuffled out the door. That’s when he got a look at his new hell. It wasn’t like any prison he had ever imagined. It was a large block of dilapidated sandstone with few windows, surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and patrolled by two armed guards. Beyond that it was miles and miles of desert sand. If he tried to escape, he would possibly die, and his skeletal remains wouldn’t be found for years. That is if the creatures of the desert left anything to find.

It had been a long time since Jaden had actually prayed, but he found himself silently pleading and begging for his life. There was still so much he wanted to do. “Please don’t let me die in this horrible place,” he said to himself.

The sound of a gunshot brought his attention back to Carlos who was dangerously waving the weapon in the air. They ordered him to put on a blindfold then he was ushered through the gate, and into the compound prison. They led him across several feet of open space, up a flight of stairs and then tossed him into a confined space. As they slammed the door behind him, he removed his blindfold.

He looked around his new dwelling, noticing all the little creatures that scurried along the floor. The walls and floors were concrete, the color of ash. It looked like the place had gone up in smoke, but was somehow left standing. The only way to go to the bathroom was by squatting over a hole in the floor.

For more info on CR HIATT:

Twitter: @McSwainandBeck

 It is a great honour to have Paul Rega here today at dawnsdaily virtual studio. Paul is the talented author of “HOW TO FIND A JOB WHEN THERE ARE NO JOBS” I met Paul quite some time ago now whilst networking on twitter and in various facebook groups and we fast became friends. His knowledge of the job industry is invaluable with his years of experience running his on very successful executive job search company. Paul has recently completed his second book, “Trail of 32″, due for release in the coming weeks. You can download Paul’s book for FREE on Amazon from 22/26 April.

BIO:

Paul Rega began his writing career in 1980 while attending Western Illinois University as a staff reporter for the Western Courier. Upon graduating with a degree in biology and journalism, he spent the next thirty years in business having started his own executive search firm in 1984. His passion for writing stayed with him throughout his business life and he started writing his first book in 1994. He published, “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs” in December 2011. The book was an instant success and hit #1 on Amazon’s bestseller list for job hunting books in March 2012. He currently lives in a small town along the Gulf Coast of Florida where he is working on his next book.

I would first like to thank you Dawn, for having me as a guest on your fantastic blog. I love all of your work. Your poems are truly inspiring. It is a great honor to be here!

QUESTIONS:

1. Paul, your book, How to Find a Job: When There Are No Jobs, provides great insight to help others determine fulfilling career paths. What can you tell us about your 12-step Intuitive Personal Assessment program and its approach to helping others find their careers?

The biggest mistake most people make when looking for a job is that they fail to prepare for their search. It’s vitally important in today’s hyper competitive job market to know exactly what direction you want to go and what type of position you want before starting any type of search. It’s akin to an airplane pilot not plotting out their course prior to taking off. I have developed a unique 12-step career self-assessment plan in my book called “Intuitive Personal Assessment” or IPA that helps the reader discover their unique career path. The plan also incorporates a goal-setting program that is the vehicle used to turn your desired career path into reality. The program was developed over a period of 25 years and has had a tremendous amount of success.

2. In Chapter 2, you state that “if you do not make proper adjustments to your career as changes in your life occur, your career may stagnate.” Why do you think this is, and what do proper adjustments look like?

That’s a great question and I would say that throughout life, there will be things that will occur that you have control over, i.e. your career for instance. However, there will be plenty of things that will happen to you that you have absolutely no control over such as an illness. It is then imperative that you make the proper adjustments to your career to adjust to your personal situation.

3. You emphasize the importance of understanding your values to find a career path that suits you. Can you always find a way to incorporate them, even during a recession?

Yes, I think that having a value system is very important throughout your life. With the slowdown in our economy, it has become even more important to draw from your values in a way many people have not had to in the past. In some cases, an individual’s values have become the catalyst and idea for a small business. Since your values are typically the things that are most important to you, they can be a logical source for business ideas and thus turned into a business.

4. Throughout your book, you encourage others to use their intuition to determine their values, goals and their desired career paths. What advice can you give to those that have yet to tap into or trust their intuition?

Intuition is something we all have but few really ever practice it. Consequently, your intuition never becomes very refined. I would say that to make it an important part of your daily life is to begin by practicing and trusting it in small ways. Then when you really need it, your sense and feel for it will be more in tune with what is right for you. That is the essence of intuition, “what is right for you.”

Yoy can download his book below for FREE on Amazon from 22/26 April : http://amzn.to/XOvwkq 

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056PFONW

Twitter: http://twitter.com/paulrega

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulregabooks

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Paul-Rega/1636494613

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrega

Author: www.amazon.com/author/paulrega

Web: http://www.howtofindajobwhentherearenojobs.com

Web: http://www.paulrega.com