Happy Holidays! December 16-17 FREE Kindle Downloads of MOTHER TONGUE and DEGREES OF OBSESSION

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

For an exciting holiday gift and a thank you to the hundreds of fans and followers of my Doc Flamingo’s Blog, my Facebook Page, and my @docflamingo Twitter page, I am offering a FREE KINDLE PROMOTION for BOTH of my suspense novels.

CLICK HERE FREE DOWNLOAD DEGREES OF OBSESSION

CLICK HERE FREE DOWNLOAD MOTHER TONGUE: LINGUA CORSA

Amazon worldwide on DECEMBER 16 & 17, 2017

Can’t wait? View the heart-pounding DEGREES OF OBSESSION trailer and the suspenseful MOTHER TONGUE trailer.

DEGREES OF OBSESSION – SYNOPSIS

Charlie Pederson, fierce but flawed like all women who have loved deeply and lost, takes a dangerous thrill ride from risky infatuation to the edge of disaster when she stalks her still suck-the-breath-out-of-you handsome college flame.

As a therapist, Charlie knows she should abandon her crazed obsession over Danny Shapiro. But as a woman turning fifty and stifled in her marriage to deadly dull Harold, she finds herself driven to take a dicey last chance to find all that her heart needs.

Little does she suspect that an impulsive visit to Danny’s law office will make her the target of a homicidal erotomaniac. As she chases Danny down, she jeopardizes her professional reputation, infuriates her best friend, alienates her husband, and risks exposing the most painful secret of her life.

DEGREES OF OBSESSION has it all—juicy romance and heart-pounding suspense. Best of all, it shines light on the fears, follies, and fantasies that drive the choices women make and on the love that redeems them.

MOTHER TONGUE:LINGUA CORSA – SYNOPSIS

Child advocate attorney, Liz Fallon, desperately needs a break after legal blunders and her own negligence lead to the kidnapping and death of a mother and daughter she represents. Fluent in her mother’s native Corsican tongue, she nabs a job at a Paris newspaper as a lingua corsa translator for Pierre Benatar, whose coverage of the explosive Corsican Nationalist movement has enraged every separatist faction.

When Benatar and his seven-year-old son disappear, she resolves to prevent another tragedy and cons her way to Corsica under the ruse of researching a tabloid story about the mazzeri, the isle’s ancient harbingers of death. She cozies up to the prime suspects using her secret knowledge of lingua corsa and the aid of an elderly Brit and a courageous teen Corsican cousin. The hunters suddenly become the hunted when Liz’s inquiries arouse the suspicions and passions of both the separatist leader and the French police chief. When the mazzeri story also takes a chilling personal turn, she has to wonder whether Corsica intends to reclaim her as its prodigal daughter or destroy her.

Dining my way through France

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

France = Fabulous Food.

A photo journey from the Jules Verne restaurant in the Tour Eiffel to the La Calife Seine dinner cruise to very best culinary experiences in Annecy and other French Alps locations to traditional French dishes prepared by daughter–my fabulous tour guide, translator, and personal chef–who was spending the summer in France with my granddaughters. The little ones enjoyed their own three course hot meals at the day-long French summer camps they attended throughout their stay. Lots of foie gras energy for those gondola trips to the top of the Alps, the museum visits in Geneva, and the usual smattering of forts, castles, historic and scenic sites in both Paris and Annecy.

the summer in Annecy with my granddaughters.

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

johnpoetflanagan

TO LIFE

i cannot say how many times i’ve loved you
as i love you now
or how often in the past i loved you
if i had the chance to love you over and over

and i cannot say how many times
i will love you in times to come

that i love you now is what matters
that i love your wild green and blue canopy
your perfumed reds in borders
you tumbling and still waters
your uneven paths and manicured ways
your antlers paws hooves long necks
and calls of longing in the night

that i love your pains and disappointments
laughter and celebration
and the air you let me breathe

i will go on loving you
against the threat of hoods salutes and banners
against the unthinking voices of division
against hate and race creed and colour

for to love you is to know
you are…

View original post 9 more words

Donald Osborne ~ Lecture at Blackhawk Museum

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

So enjoyed the lecture today at Blackhawk Museum by Donald Osborne, author, classic car historian, regular on Jay Leno’s Garage television program, appraiser, consultant and even opera singer! A video of exactly how they positioned all of the cars in the Museum for the exhibition is a must watch.

He was touting his stunning new book Transatlantic Style/ Stile Transatlantico which beautifully illustrates the exchange between Italian and American car designers from the end of World War II until 1960.

But the most fun was when an audience member asked what he drives every day. He reported that he just bought a 2017 Alfa Romeo Guilia Ti 2 weeks ago and has already put 2300 miles on it. So last month I took a test drive of this very car! So this is what he wrote when he signed his card for me. And I quote: Grandma deserves a Guilia Ti!!

The expert has spoken! It’s a sign! As soon as my ship comes in, I’m going to buy mine!

A smokin’ hot memory from 1972

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

Exactly forty-five years ago today, my husband Tom and I, along with a few friends, stood on top of rickety wooden folding chairs in the 20th row of the main floor of Chicago’s International Amphitheater for a couple of hours screaming our lungs out for the Rolling Stones. And Stevie Wonder, whom we had never seen before, was the warm up act!

To get our much sought after tickets, we had an inspiration and headed to the Sears in the heart of Chicago’s South Side where only a handful of folks were lined up at the box office vs. thousands on the North Side. Good thing it wasn’t Roberta Flack, Al Green, or Chuck Berry performing!

And as I wrote this and started counting back on my fingers, I realized that I was probably about 6 weeks pregnant with my first child at the time. I’m surprised I wasn’t throwing up through the entire concert.

No live album was released from the tour…the above YouTube video is one recorded by an audience member on the very night we attended. The tour grossed $4 million which in today’s dollars would be almost $24 million but at the time was record-breaking.

The standard set list for the tour was:

“Brown Sugar“
“Bitch“
“Rocks Off“
“Gimme Shelter“
“Happy“
“Tumbling Dice“
“Love in Vain“
“Sweet Virginia“
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want“
“All Down the Line“
“Midnight Rambler“
“Bye Bye Johnny“
“Rip This Joint“
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash“
“Street Fighting Man“
Encore: often none, sometimes “Honky Tonk Women“, a few times “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” / “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction“

Feels good to remember that this 73 year old woman had her moments! Proof that you CAN sometimes get what you want.

With a little help from my friends…

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

Matisse Woman with a Hat; Diebenkorn Seated Figure with Hat

A recent visit to San Francisco’s MOMA for the Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibition and the purchase of a book on Matisse spurred me on to drag out my seldom used oil paints and create something myself. I do not consider myself an oil painter, perhaps more of a wanna be. A few paintings here and there over the years. So this is more about the inspiration to try something creative at any age than an expression of a true artist.

Vincent van Gogh Bedroom at Arles

Henri Matisse Interior at Collioure

I was inspired particularly by Matisse’s Interior at Collioure and also by Vincent van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles (Musee D’Orsay), a print of which hangs in my bedroom.

Karen Stephen Flamingo Dream

As my painting evolved, I found myself wanting to portray the sleeping girl as a child who has lost her dream of being a ballerina to a malady that requires her to wear a leg brace. But the common artistic device of showing the exterior through an open window, common in Matisse’s day, allowed me to bring a different world view to the sleeping child. There stands a beautiful pink flamingo in it’s natural pink tutu, standing proud and free on one leg, bringing her a message of wholeness no matter what our circumstances.

Paris miniatures, Renoir’s Dance in the City, photo of original oil created by Carol Quinn from photo I took of Albert Pub in London 2009

I’ve placed it near some of my other favorites in my living room.

Vroom! Vroom!

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Dr. Karen Stephen

Having had a delightful birthday (hers) luncheon with my daughter at Berkeley City Club in Julia’s (i.e., Julia Morgan of architectural fame, who designed hundreds of buildings including this club and Hearst Castle to name a couple), and with nothing else to do on a Friday afternoon, I trotted over to an Alfa Romeo dealership in Berkeley and took a test drive in an Alfa Gulia ti.

So this is my old lady’s dream, to have one more great car in my life. A very nice young man pulled it out of the dealership lot and turned it over to me a few blocks down. Now, downtown Berkeley is not the best place for a test drive, but within a few turns we were on a deserted side street. A perfect place to the put the pedal to the metal and experience that Alfa Romeo smile as it took off like a bat out of hell. Not, of course, the power of the top of the line Quadrifoglio model, but then again, not the price tag either. And how badly do I want to get arrested for speeding at my age…not.

I sunk down into the luxurious interior with it’s wood paneling, softer than soft buff leather seats, adjusted the driver’s seat that moves every which way at the touch of a button to make even a 73 year old back with its attendant aches and pains quite comfortable. I start to imagine long rides on the open road. Although I may have to cave and get the “regular” model with it’s smaller wheels in order not to feel every bump in the road. But then again, with that choice I can’t have the cool rims. Beauty…pain…beauty…pain! Such a dilemma!

The only glitch, of course, is the lack of funds. Do you think a Go Fund Me campaign would fly? Help this elderly woman buy a car beyond her means. Well, one can dream and if I could settle for the “regular” edition, perhaps it is doable. Stay tuned.