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"I cannot live without books: but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object." -- Thomas Jefferson

Ria Stone Biography, Links & Other Works

Ria Stone Biography, Links & Other Works

Expat Ria Stone lives in Mexico where she appreciates life and has time to write.
 
Ria says, "self-publishing Gina's Dream was a wonderful adventure and an excellent education." It was a positive experience, so she is looking forward to working on her next novel.
 
As Stone explains: "Gina's Dream began as an idea after reading several research papers, in the early 1990s, where basic life functions were being manipulated for singular purposes without regard for the universe’s ecosystem.
The idea started as a story about humans in the future, who live in rival camps because earth has been so contaminated that communities are biologically isolated from each other due to rampant disease. Each camp fights for resources including fertile women, and continues to develop biological weapons to fend off raiders and mutated diseases.
 
I know where the idea started, but it’s hard to recall the various stages of development of the story and how it ended up in its current version, a sci-fi/romance. All I remember is the original story was just so dreary, I wanted a positive story.

When I read Gina’s Dream, I see the influence of many fine authors whose stories I have read or watched on television. I see the influence of one story, Star Trek’s:

Assignment Earth, more than any other. But, I would also like to acknowledge: Harlan Ellison’s work, particularly his contribution to Star Trek, City on the Edge of Forever; two of John Varley’s work, Persistence of Vision and Steel Beach; Ursula Le Guin’s Lathe of Heaven and The Left-Hand of Darkness; Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land; Spider Robinson’s Time Travelers Strictly Cash, other Callahan’s Bar Stories, and Star Dance; Frank Herbert’s Dune; John Boyd’s The Doomsday Gene, and many more.
 
I would also like to thank the many science fiction convention organizers and fans. As well as enjoying the conventions themselves, I found the convention goers smart, funny, creative, and intellectually generous."


Additional Information:

Gina's Dream/El Sueño de Gina Dual Language POD English/Spanish 

 
Amazon: POD - http://www.amazon.com/Ginas-Dream-Ria-Stone/dp/0991652886/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422284140&sr=8-2&keywords=Gina%27s+Dream


Gina's Dream eBook - First Edition, English Only, Includes bonus article - My First Editor 

 
 
Note: Some sites drop eBooks based on sales or other criteria.

POD
MagCloud: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1597585


Mocktails

 
eBook

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/539967
 
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mocktails-ria-stone/1121877308?ean=2940151904308

POD
MagCloud: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1588066


Other Sites: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitsBitesBooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ria-Stone/1401516620155267
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

 

Other Works

Another Game of Hearts

A five of diamonds won the trick and the Queen of Spades. She sighed. She didnʼt like getting the Queen of Spades. It spelt loss and she was tired.
 
It was just another game of hearts. She played it on the weekends between laundry, cleaning, and errands. It absorbed her. It kept her mind from thinking of reality, of a gritty unknown future. It kept her from facing her shortcomings. It kept her from thinking of all her losses. She played one hand after another.

At first, she played a simple strategy, pass three cards to try to make a void but she kept losing. So, she reexamined her strategy as she grumbled and complained that the program was rigged. She focused her attention on the cards again, looking for patterns. Losing game after game reminded her of her own life and of her poor strategies. She wanted to win a game. She wanted to win in life.

She changed her strategy. She passed a high card three suits and played to keep out of the lead. She won a game or two. Adjust your strategy towards life was a lesson she recognized. Even a card game challenged her to face reality.

A four of clubs won the trick and there was the Queen of Spades again. She groaned and felt doomed, then she realized part of the gameʼs strategy was to demoralize a player with the Queen of Spades and let their attitude defeat them. While the Queen of Spades was worth 13 points, there were still 13 other points the other players could collect. With that thought, she played a card knowing others would have to take the trick. It got her out of the lead and she did not get any more points. She didnʼt win, but she didnʼt lose.

Another lesson, your attitude towards lifeʼs blows can play into your defeat. From then on she wasnʼt bothered by the Queen of Spades. She won a few more games.

She continued to play the game, hour after hour, inspired by a few wins. The game focused her attention away from desperate thoughts. She winced when her Ace of Diamonds on the first round caught the Queen of Spades. Uneven card distribution discouraged her and she was amazed when her hand, barren of face cards, took most of the hearts. At times, perseverance was the only strategy she had.

Occasionally, she would win all the hearts and she didnʼt see it coming. Sometimes life gives you unsought chances and opportunities, take them and be grateful. Another lesson. Yes, life dished up surprises, too, and you canʼt always plan for them.

Sometimes she found herself with a hand she had no idea how to play and fumbled her way through. Thatʼs how she often felt about life; she was just fumbling her way through.

She learned to play low and that seemed to work more often than any other strategy. Wasnʼt that how she played life? Lay low, keep out-of-sight, avoid recognition. Occasionally, she ventured to take all the hearts and pass 26 points onto the other three simulated players. Sometimes she won; sometimes she lost. She realized that taking chances, or playing to win werenʼt her natural instincts, she had to push herself.

In the bloodless games she played, she realized that not all losses were fatal, not all losses determined your future. There were many ways to play the hand you are dealt.

After playing the game again and again, she realized that she wasnʼt always losing but she wasnʼt winning either. She was coming in second or third. She smiled and thought, another lesson -- change your perspective. Let the world heap their hopes and dreams on the winners, she would survive.
 

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