Crocus

Just a nice video about bees.

This hawk recently landed on my porch. I was close enough to get a good shot with my camera. A very good shot. Only I didn't have my camera with me as I sat at the table. If I had moved too much he would've flown off anyway. So, all I could do was enjoy the experience and lament that I didn't have my phone with me. Beautiful bird though.

Dragoness and Mare.

This is a gaming concept I invented that I'd love to have made. I don't have the resources to do it myself.

The two main characters are actually based on lost toys I had as a child. They look a great deal better in my drawing than the toys did. I Cheated a bit with the backdrop and basically everything except for the dragon and mare. I was more interested in the idea than doing all the work myself. I do realize that this idea won't happen. Who would take interest in it? So, it was a fun idea that I enjoyed trying, but will go nowhere.

Plum Flowers and Ladybug

Big Boss Portraits. Not my cat. His people are Gab Smolders and Jacksepticeye. Thought it would be fun to draw him. Got quite a few likes for them on Reddit. But I can't post them again on the same subreddit because the moderators will take them down. They really don't like reposts. I'd do another portrait, but I haven't had the time to do any drawing at all in a year. So no telling when I can get back to it.

P.S. - These are for sale as prints and on other products at Redbubble. I'm CherokeeGal1975 there. I always use my user name as a search term, so that should help. Or at least I hope so.

I'm broke, so every bit of support helps. Before anyone yells, get a job, I'm working on that. Even getting help to find one. In the meantime, check out my store. I got nice work there.

So cute!

Saw the local hawk. Took a short video of him. Cooper's Hawk. Been seeing him for years now. I know the video is crap. My phone does not do well with anything more than a few feet away. I have no tripod, so the video will shake in spite of my best efforts to keep the camera steady.

BB and Sam. This digital fan art is for sale on Redbubble. I recommend their art prints since I bought another cat portrait as an experiment. My only regret is that I didn't buy a framed print. Other than that, the print quality is excellent and was worth every penny.

In fact I have quite a few selections of art and photos available for sale in my Redbubble shop. I'm CherokeeGal1975 there and I always use my user name as a search term to make me easy to find.

This drawing took me a long time to do because I didn't have a decent reference for Big Boss until I found one that was passible on Tumblr. It then took me about a week, in two to three hour sessions, to complete the drawing. I even did the abstract pattern in the backdrop myself. I put in Sam to help identify this lovely kitty. His people are Jacksetpiceye and Gab Smolders who are both Youtube gamers that I follow. Since I can't afford to play games, I learn about them on YouTube instead by watching playthroughs. I like the ones that have excellent graphics and have a story to them, kind of like a choose your own adventure book.

Anyway, I really could use your support. So check out my shop:

CherokeeGal1975 Shop | Redbubble

There's lots to choose from.

Still promoting my work. You can listen to this for free on YouTube or read it for free on DeviantART under CherokeeGal1975 in my Books and Illustrations folder. Or you can buy it on Amazon either as a paperback or Kindle ebook.

Yes, it's an mpreg, but only because I hate most of what I find in that genera, so I decided to try it myself and remove all the elements I didn't like. It was my experimental plot that became a novel.

Anyway, here's the synopsis:

Johnathan was a family man and cargo runner and had no interest in getting entangled in royal affairs. So, when a deposed and fleeing princess arranges a meeting to give him a package to keep safe, he was reluctant to take it. But she convinced him to hide the royal seal until she needed it back despite himself. Unknown to him, she had also tricked him into carrying another precious cargo.

When Johnathan learns of the trick, he’s furious. When he confronts the princess about it, he learns it’ll be impossible to return it before it’s appointed time. Then she tells him of an unbreakable bond between them and ends a long search for someone he had lost as a boy. So, instead of revenge, he does what he can to help her. He must also avoid capture; the King would execute Johnathan if he ever found out about his secret cargo.

Anyway, there's talking rat companions in very positive roles. A little girl that's also a dragon my main character adopted as his daughter after rescuing her from a gladiator stable. Gay werewolves are briefly mentioned...I wrote those in not knowing that's a popular theme in this genera. I went on a literary dumpster dive and it gave me some insight into the minds of the writers. Hated the stories, but used what I learned in my own work.

There's a princess who saves herself, but uses my main character to do it...out of desperation only. She's not evil at all. She later makes it up to him.

I've got a couple of chapter's of backstory. Two chapters that jump through time a bit as a way to keep the pace of the story up. I was mindful of that because in my first novel, I was told it was too slow.

My first novel is titled Eden Symbiotic by Meriah Smith and it's available on Amazon and on DeviantART. Since I'm aware that people aren't likely to buy my work...though I'd love that if you did, I'm so broke...I'm more about honest feedback and maybe constructive criticism. The more the better.

One comment I got on YouTube about Unexpected Cargo by Meriah Smith...and my thoughts on it.

@sunofpeter2 

 • 4 months ago @CherokeeGal123  hey Miss, I like the story. Pretty original in alot of ways. I have listened to almost all of it, The creatures are unique and the dynamic of the main character and his lover i like alot. In you writing be aware of plot armour and overpowering the protagonist with talents, physical attributes and allies. But lots of originality and potential for world building and a series. Keep writing and developing your creative persona! I think you could become good at reading your work. Just takes Practice and a little coaching. I like your voice easy to listen to if not outright pleasant. You should read "The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire " by Edward Gibbon. I say this because the story is interesting but this mastery of the English language is amazing. It is so rich, like acting a decadent dessert. Your use is good and again the potential for enriching your writing style is only limited by you. Your main character does smart things, you impressed me with his basic survival decisions. You must have some outdoor skills. In survival situations have your character use real life skills and backing his thought process with logic makes sense..and it make like you character. I hate dumb characters that are that way because the author lacks real world sensibility. Louis L'Amour is pulp fiction writer, wrote westerns, his characters new how to live off the land. He was very descriptive in their decision making process backed by real world application. I think you have a touch of that and can expand on that. Your personal development and research will benefit your character skills. I would also pick a fighting style for your character and go take classes so you can use your experience when describing his fights. Make hin a Dutch style kick boxer. Watch training videos and take some classes and use what you learn to describe his fights. Louis L'Amour was a boxer and he described his fights in a simple yet realistic rhythm. If your character is going to use a weapon go learn how to use it or research it so your writing reflects real world applications. Be proud of your work and keep at it. I will listen to the end tomorrow. I am at the part where he escaped the deamon and is about to give birth. You touch on this slightly erotic /taboo sexual theme and you do it a way that is tantalizing because you touch on it then leave it to me to think about the details and emotions. Love it. I wish you the best of luck in your writing career, keep at it!

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Love that I got a positive review, even appreciated the constructive criticism I got for my work. Still a little vague with what he thought with (I'm assuming this person's a man based on the username, but I'm aware that it could've been a woman too) his descriptions on what he thought of my story. I tried to enquire further and got no answer.

Maybe the word I should use is critique instead of just feedback? I want to know both the good and the bad and the "meh." I know my book has issues and my audiobook isn't the best since I'm not a trained reader. I will get it all fixed as soon as I can...which won't be very soon, but I will try my best to get some professional help for my work. It's a life goal of mine and I really would love to see my book be adapted to a Netflix movie or miniseries. My chances are slim to none, but I'll definitely try as soon as I have the funding to get things going. Literally, the only thing holding me back is the lack of funds. Based on my own experiences with reading books and watching TV and movies, even gaining access to Netflix for a time, I'm confident that my work will fit right in. But, just in case I'm wrong, this is where the feedback/critiques come in. I need a mirror...or a thousand mirrors in the form of readers willing to share their thoughts. The more the better. Maybe you will prove to me I'm right about my work being good enough to be on Netflix...or at least selling a lot of copies once I really get it published professionally instead of self-published on Amazon and YouTube.

I did get some pleasant conversation from this guy and I was happy to do so. But I really wanted to know more about what he thought about my book and he never did tell me more. Maybe he hated the ending? Or just dropped it and forgot it? I don't know. He stopped writing after a brief conversation about other books.

IF and that's a big if, I can get the funding to do what I need to do to get my work properly out there, I will definitely try to get an agency to propose my work to Netflix. I'm aware they could say no, but I'll won't fail for not trying. That and I'll see to it I can get a decent reader after all the editing is done. I suck at it, not the worst, but I could've done better. That and I can't stand the sound of my own voice in a recording.

Yes, I'm aware I'm being a little harsh on myself, but I use being my own worst critic as a way to drive me to do better the next time, not drag myself down.

Bee and flowers

Took me years to get this shot of the hawk that kept visiting my back yard. Landed in the apricot tree and I had to be very quiet and hope that the dog wouldn't bark. Then I had to hide my body behind part of the tree and then raise my phone as high as I could. Then it was a matter of hit or miss. The end result being not great, but considering what I have to work with, it could have been worse. I was very lucky that day. :)

Plum Flowers with Ladybug

Wild rats can be beautiful

I discovered that when a small colony moved into our backyard and caused no problems. This one would come up and sniff my toes if I stood very still. I was thrilled.

Blue Eye Samurai (A Woman's Review)

I wasn't too sure about it at first, but the story caught my interest in spite of not being one of my usual picks for stories. I was even looking at reviews about this show today to see what other people thought of it. For some reason there were only men.

I watched the first season over the course of a week. It's gory. There's nudity and sex. It's not for children and not even remotely cute...well except for one of the characters...Rory if I remember correctly. He was cute. I tried to tell my mother about it and she said, I'm sure it's very cute. I said, no, not a bit.

I'm not usually into gore or explicit sex...I'm fine with it if it's part of the story and has a point. I don't go seeking it out though. I will never go out and see a slasher movie for example, I find them deeply unappealing.

As a whole, the visuals were fantastic. The story balanced and the characters had depth. This is the kind of story that never gets boring and even the larger than life characters in this story are shown to have human vulnerabilities.

The characters themselves are understandable and relatable. The main character, Mizu, is someone you both want to root for and question her motives. She is a grey character...or what people call an antihero. She's both a badass and spiritually broken.

The main plot is that Mizu is hell bent on revenge for her birth. In a certain time Japan...the Eddo period (I'm aware I likely misspelled that) they closed their borders to everyone, especially people from Europe and the U.K. Being a foreigner in Japan at that time was illegal and children of mixed race were considered worse than trash.

Mizu was of a mixed race, bullied a lot and orphaned at a young age. That prejudice against her and the loss of her mother, caused her to go on a path of revenge that she cannot be swayed from. She was almost turned away from it, but because of a betrayal of both her husband and her mother, she went back on the warpath.

The first episode of the series is long and Mizu disguises herself to look like a man for a couple of reasons. One of the main ones is because there are people hunting her and they are looking for a girl/woman so her mother made her dress like a boy. The other reason I think, is because women in that period of time were property and had no freedoms. Bartering chips, breeding stock or prostitutes, nothing more. In fact her true gender isn't revealed until the end of the first episode and it was an accident. Fortunately, it was Rory who found out about her, and he admired her and wanted to learn how to be a Samurai himself. A difficult thing for him, because he was born with no hands. He manages very well for himself in spite of his disability and goes on a quest to become great at something, anything and thinks Mizu can help him do that.

The story also contains real history and culture from Japan. There's an overall balance to the story telling. The music is good, though I generally don't pay attention to background music in movies and TV and wonder what they would be like without it sometimes.

Nobody has any complaints about this Netflix series and I'll have to agree with them. I have no complaints. This is one of those stories that might require to watch it again and to contemplate the plot. This is as story that requires some thought. Some people might not like that, but I do.

I wasn't expecting the gore. I was surprised the nudity and sex. But it did have a point. This is a layered plot. The motives of the characters not always pure. Especially Mizu's motives. They aren't completely sane, even though they are also understandable.

I'm keeping the spoilers down to a minimum. I recommend this story to anyone who's fully adult. I don't care how liberal you are with your kids, this is not a kid's story. It's on Netflix, the first episode is on YouTube. Overall, it's a good story. That's saying something since I'm not into gore. And it is very gory. The sex in the brothels is often weird. The plot pulls no punches.

I think I won't be the only woman who will appreciate this story. This is an antihero girl power plot with excellent supporting characters of both sexes. So, go check it out if you can.

(I know I contradicted myself about Mizu's mom being dead, then not, but that's part of the plot too.) I'd like to see some women give reviews for this series on YouTube and share their thoughts on it.