Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the first of Moran's novels that I've read and I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive after reading the first chapter. However, with the introduction of the warrior Prince Juba - Moran had me at hello. I was immediately drawn by his affections for the oblivious and stubborn Selene but disappointed by the rushed development of their relationship at the end of the novel. Yet Moran's re-envisioning of Rome completely made up for it. If one doesn't feel transported to the former empire then I suggest they request the manuscript be converted to screenplay because it doesn't get any better than "Cleopatra's Daughter".



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Ever went about your day as normal? Things are going great, then something happens that leads to nostalgia. And its not a good feeling either. Happened to me a few days ago. A song played that was popular when I was 15, the first time I had my heart shattered into a million pieces. Its not like I care about the person anymore, its just that what I felt came rushing back. I feel it sometimes when I read a book and the MC has their heart yanked out of their chest and used for batting practice. Saliva thick in my throat , prickly pain radiating through my chest, sudden loss of appetite and the rapid onset of depression. Yet, just as quickly as the feeling came, it evaporated. I guess that's what nostalgia is. Anyway, I marveled at just how resilient the human heart is. It has the power to forgive the most insensitive acts against it and to rebuild itself and though it gets better, its never really the same. This sonnet is about the prior feeling, the darkness of heartache.




Sonnet #2



Walking through snow, ice falls - diamond raindrops

No soft pitter-patter, so sweet silence

harsh sound doth echo through the frigid air

No source to blame for this most piercing noise

This forest empty no life nor light be near

Alone here in the frightful darkened night

Spirit far from men who think hearts be toys...



This bare landscape reflects my erratic state

created by my mind's most grand demise

A heart once soft now composed of black ice

Hang only by threads tinged with love despite

You've controlled those thin and so fragile strings

Seeing you with her freed them from their fate

So this frozen heart shatters as it breaks...

So I have decided to start a little Series on my blog, just to wet your taste buds. It is a compilation of related Flash fiction, keep in mind I have no idea where this is going. The name of the Series is By the Nautilus and each chapter will begin "By the" so here is the first installment, enjoy and let me know what you think.

Today, I was thinking about all the people, who have loved and lost. In that number was I. I thought about all the people, friends, relatives I’ve lost and never got the chance to say goodbye to. Then I thought about everyone who has ever been in love with someone, never got over them and they passed. If you had to write them a letter, what would you say?











Here is what I came up with…










Dear Beloved Gone Before Me,






I wanted to say this for a while now,


Perhaps it is too late… you are before the world, gone.


I loved you, more than I have words to express.


I’m sorry I didn’t stand by your mother as she wept for you…






You see, I watched from a gravestone,


As they lowered you to the ground,


I watched from a distance as your… fiancé wept.


I had no place there I realized… I should have left.






I was your past, though I wished to be your future.


And yet, your future is no more.


It left you that fateful day.






I only approached you, after THEY left.


And though I said goodbye then,


I didn’t really.


Because I couldn’t bear to let you go.






I know you wonder, what that has to do with now,


I know you wonder why I brought this letter and a single white rose,


I know you wonder where that leaves us in terms of closure.


Or maybe you had closure the day you walked away from me…


And I am left to say my FINAL GOODBYE






Yours in love and truth,


The one you left behind










©2009 C. Dominique Gibson

There was an urban legend circulating about a young man who refused medical attention because he didn't have adequate health care and didn't want a hefty medical bill sent to him. The young man was rumored to have died.






Of course I agree that this must be one of those parable like tales about the health insurance industry. But what I cannot ignore is that one phrase that should have stood out to everyone "lack of adequate health insurance". That particular phrase should be coined a terminal illness by every medical board in existence. The lack of adequate health insurance has most likely lead to many deaths or terminal diagnoses whether directly or indirectly.






There are many people who refuse treatment because they either have no insurance or there clauses in their current insurance that would lead to high bills and debt. We all know how important the credit system is to the proper function of daily life in the US. An ambulance ride can range anywhere from $300, cheaper states to $2000 and in some instances, even more. I will not even break down the ridiculous emergency room fees. No wonder people would rather be sick than get medical attention.






I'm a broke college student who pays 1000$ for three months on a mandatory health insurance. I recently went for a yearly check up, which should have been covered by my insurance but instead I got bills totaling some $1200 for a pap smear and a breast examination. That doesn't even include lab fees. I would rather fly home to the Bahamas for $300, pay nothing for a doctors visit and pay maybe $150 in lab fees for glucose and full blood testing and perhaps $80 for a year supply of antibiotics. A pap smear is $20. And ambulance rides are gratis, free.






There are many people who no longer have coverage from group insurance because they have been laid off due to the Economy. You would think that premiums would be reduced, however, group premiums have spiked in the last three months.






And for those of us who are still employed, there are states and firms that force employees to get insurance. These premiums can take up anywhere from less than 1% of a paycheck to a whopping 75%. Imagine those who rely on tips to make up the rest of their pay, when their wages are $2.00 per hour(sky caps, valet) and their weekly pay is only about $80.00 after taxes and the group premium bi-weekly is about $100 +. What do they have left for food if they don't make tips that week? How about an individual who makes $1500 a month after taxes paying $400 a month for a premium. That leaves $1100 to pay rent, utilities, car notes and grocery. Hell, they may not even be able to pay for groceries. Yet, these insurance companies have the audacity to tell a patient "No, you have to die because we won't cover that shit." I know they don't say it like that, but they may as well. Because that's all our health problems are to them "shit". Otherwise, they would take our health more seriously.






And now, for you greedy, pathetically insensitive bastard CEO's and Partners of every major health insurance provider. HOW DARE YOU TAKE THE HEARTS,LIVERS,PANCREASES,SPLEENS,KIDNIES AND OTHER VITAL ORGANS OF OUR CHILDREN, SISTERS, BROTHERS, FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS WHO YOU DENIED LIFE BY NOT APPROVING THEIR LIFE SAVING PROCEDURE TO SAVE YOURSELF. HERE IS WHAT I THINK, GIVE US OUR ORGANS BACK SELFISH BASTARDS. HOW DARE YOU STAY FAT AND RICH LIVING OFF OF THE ORGANS OF THE VERY PEOPLE YOU DENIED?






I was near tears listening to a woman who lost her child succumbed to a rare illness because her health care provider did not see the condition as life threatening nor the surgery necessary for survival. And ironically, that same night, one of the directors of operations of that same insurance company, daughter received her child's kidneys. I'm shaking my head and tearing up again. That same woman, without hatred, visited that little girl and brought her flowers and a card. *sigh*

Here goes it: