Thursday, December 31, 2015

What to Expect from Simply Sexy Reads in 2016

Although life and schedules can never be predictable, these are the books that Simply Sexy Reads endeavours to publish in 2016 (2017 at the latest):

From Sophie Slade:


Eternally Yours #3: To Love A Vampire

Diamond Pack Alpha's #1: Pleasing the Pack

If Tomorrow Never Comes

Just One Weekend

The Christmas Ring

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From Elaine White:


Esthim #1: Esthim
Esthim #2: The 1st 6 Months

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And who knows? There may be some more surprises on the way. ;)

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Author Resource: Animal Instincts

Reblogged from The Conversation, about the UK TV program 'The Hunt'
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The Hunt: a natural history series that challenges us to side with the predators

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We’re here to reveal another side to “nature, red in tooth and claw”. Predators are commonly perceived as being ferocious successful hunters and their prey as having little or no chance of survival once the hunt is on. The truth however, is that hunts often fail. Even for the most powerful and formidable predators, failure is more common than success.
The Hunt, a new OU/BBC series produced by Silverback Films and narrated by David Attenborough, looks at different habitats and the challenges each presents to both predators and prey. The show highlights how wild animals can only be understood by considering the habitat in which they evolved. While stealth, ingenuity or camouflage may work in one environment, stamina, strength or speed may be needed in another.
Arctic wolves have lots of stamina as there isn’t much food around. © Silverback Films

Both predators and prey are caught up in an “evolutionary arms race” where over time predators evolve traits that make them better hunters and prey evolve more effective defenses to evade capture, and so on. So, for an antelope that relies on speed and agility to avoid capture, only the fastest, most agile survive but the same also applies to their predators.
The upshot is that both predator and prey become better adapted, but neither attain a significant survival advantage over the other. As the Queen said to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: “It takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place”. This is known as the Red Queen hypothesis: organisms constantly evolve to keep up with their opponents who themselves evolve in response.
The series, which we worked on as academic consultants, captures hunting behaviour that has not been filmed and in some cases not even seen before: polar bears climbing 300 metres up a cliff in search of chicks and eggs; Darwin’s bark spider, only described in 2010, constructing a web by spraying a strand of silk 25 metres across a river to serve as a bridging line from which the web is hung (the silk is ten times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bullet-proof jackets); and footage of Arctic foxes leaping vertically into the air, plucking auks out of the sky.

Cheetahs are nature’s sports cars

The series' “car chase” footage of African wild dogs, achieved using gyro-stabilised camera mounted on a vehicle, puts you alongside the pack as they hunt. It illustrates why they are the most successful hunters on the plains and can bring down prey ten times their size: they hunt in co-ordinated packs led by a dominant individual and have immense stamina, travelling up to 60 km/h for up to 5 km.
Strength in numbers means wild dogs can take on much larger animals. BBC/Silverback
Unlike wild dogs who depend on stamina and cooperation, cheetahs are mostly solitary hunters relying on speed and agility. They are recognised as the fastest land mammal on earth. A recent study of naturally hunting cheetahs recorded a male, named Ferrari, at a top speed of 93 km/hr (58 mph).
But in spite of their ability to run incredibly fast, cheetahs rarely hunt at top speed; to be successful, they have to balance pace with the agility needed to catch animals like gazelles that use quick turns as an escape tactic. When going flat out, cheetahs can’t track these turns efficiently. They therefore make a trade off – speed for manoeuvrability – which is a common strategy in biological systems.
The slow motion photography used to film their hunts gives a sense of both nimbleness and speed but also their astounding power – 120 watts per kg of muscle – twice that of greyhounds and four times that of racehorses. Usain Bolt generated just 25 watts/kg during his 100 metre world record.

It’s not just big mammals

The series also explores the tactics of some smaller, less familiar predators. Jumping spiders of the genus Portia feed on other spiders and display remarkably complex and flexible hunting behaviour for an animal with a brain made up of just a few neurons.

Smarter than it looks. © Huw Cordey/Silverback Films

In fact their capacity to innovate and learn is more reminiscent of dogs and cats. Their hunting behaviour is visually guided and includes aggressive mimicry, a form of deception where, on locating a spider, they manipulate the web by plucking it, imitating a small ensnared insect. Portia can generate an almost unlimited number of signals and adjusts them in response to feedback from prey. In other words, they derive signals through trial and error – problem-solving behaviour you wouldn’t expect from a spider.
If deception doesn’t work Portia switches tactic, planning the route to its prey and taking detours even when direct paths are available. For example when approaching a spitting spider they approach from the rear even if this means going out of their way. But even this behaviour is flexible, as spitting spiders that are carrying eggs and cannot spit are approached head on. Making pre-planned detours when hunting prey is the sort of sophisticated behaviour you see in lions; it seems by making best use of limited brain resources a small spider can achieve a predatory strategy that rivals that of a large mammal.

Predators under threat

The Hunt makes one acutely aware that many of the animals featured and many others on Earth are under threat because of conflict with humans. The final programme in the series addresses some of the conservation initiatives around the world that recognise many iconic predators are struggling to survive in a world that, for them, is shrinking rapidly.

Endangered lions are losing their status as Africa’s apex predators. © Ellen Husain/Silverback Films

Co-existing with big predators is possible, but requires commitment, compromise and dedication. Without concerted effort, large iconic predators such as lions, leopards, polar bears and harpy eagles as well as many small but equally important ones, could disappear completely from the wild.
The new series presents predators in a refreshing and thought-provoking way – they are not just relentless killers but animals that work hard for a meal, relying on stealth, stamina, speed, ingenuity, cooperation and sometimes just luck. At times, instead of rooting for the hunted, you’ll find yourself cheering on the hunter.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Author Resource: Storyville: Tips on Putting Together a Short Story Collection

Reblogged from : LitReactor

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So you’ve gotten some work published, and you’re trying to figure out if you not only have enough writing for a collection, but how to put the damn thing together. Here are some suggestions on how to make it a compelling, balanced, and powerful read.

LENGTH

Well, it turns out it does matter—to a degree. I’ve seen really thin collections of dense prose that were only 100 pages long, and I’ve seen epic tomes that were 300, 400 pages and longer. Really, it depends on what you have, but I’d suggest that you have at least 40,000 words. Where does this number come from, you ask? I’ve seen a lot of presses that have this as the minimum. Plus, I was just looking at the guidelines for submitting my collection, Staring Into the Abyss, for the Bram Stoker Awards, and guess what the minimum is? Yep—it’s 40,000 words. Any idea how long my collection is? Not 40,000 words, unfortunately. So, learn from my mistake there. Or, make it as long as you want and don’t worry about it. Your audience just wants enough material to dig into, time to get to know your voice, and something with a little meat on the bone. I’ll go pick up several collections at random off my shelves right now—Staring Into the Abyss, 135 pages; Lindsay Hunter’s Don’t Kiss Me, 174 pages; Roy Kesey’s All Over, 144 pages; Craig Davidson’s Rust and Bone, 234; Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners, 297; Benjamin Percy’s Refresh, Refresh, 249; Paul Tremblay’s In the Mean Time, 214; Stephen King’s Just After Sunset, 366.

QUALITY

I know this seems obvious, but don’t just stick every story you’ve ever written into the collection. Read through and only choose the work that really resonates with you. If you read a story and aren’t impressed, leave it out. Maybe you’ve grown since then, or maybe you just don’t like it any more. Whatever the case is, put your best work in—because people are going to tear it apart. They won’t love every story, but at least try to make the collection as strong as possible.

PUBLISHED VS. UNPUBLISHED

Most short story collections are going to consist of writing that has already been published. If you pick up any collection off your bookshelf, you’ll find this to be true. Your collection is a body of work, a way for your fans to read more than one story in one place, one sitting, all together. They don’t want to have to scour the internet, or track down and pay for every obscure journal and magazine you’re in. It can get expensive. Imagine if you have twenty stories in a collection, and each journal or magazine costs $3, that’s $60 to get all of those stories. So don’t feel bad that these are essentially reprints. Only your most loyal fans will have read every story you’ve written in the original publications. I’m a huge Stephen King fan, but that doesn’t mean I rush out to buy every copy of The Atlantic or Esquire or Playboy that he’s in. BUT, if you do want to do something nice for your readers, include one or two original stories, totally new and never seen before. They’ll appreciate the fact that there is new work to be read, and it’ll help to generate a little bit of excitement about your collection.

TONE AND THEME

If you write a wide variety of genres, try to focus on one theme, tone or genre with your collection. If you only write horror stories, then make sure that the horror stories you include work together. Maybe you have several new horror stories that are more literary and subtle and don't fit with your older work. When I was putting together Herniated Roots, my first collection, I chose stories that leaned towards noir. When I put togetherStaring Into the Abyss, I chose stories that leaned towards horror. I left out my MFA stories, the literary stories I wrote, because they weren’t published yet, and they didn’t fit the theme and voice. I also left out more recent work that was closer to magical realism because it also didn’t fit. Just keep that in mind.

THE TITLE

The title of your collection is going to be a great way to wrap it all up and clue your audience in to the theme, POV, focus, genre, and voice. The easy thing to do is give it the same title as one of the stories in the collection, usually the “best” story in the book. That’s what Benjamin Percy did with Refresh, Refresh. The first story in the collection is “Refresh, Refresh.” But a title like Magic for Beginners gives you a hint at what’s coming, so when you dig into Link’s work and get surreal, magical realism, you aren’t surprised. Also, check Amazon to make sure that the title isn’t already taken. It doesn't mean you can’t use it, but why not tweak it and make it original? There was no Transubstantiate when I wrote my first book, and there is no book called Exigencies either, an upcoming anthology I’m editing at Dark House Press.

THE ORDER

This may be one of the most important aspects of the collection, but don't sweat it too much, because in the end, your audience may not even notice these subtle choices. And when I say “best” what do I mean? I mean your favorites, I mean the stories that were placed in the best publications, the ones that got nominated (or won) awards, contest winners, the ones your readers kept talking about, all of that.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. First and last. I always try to start with one of the best, and end with one of the best. Why? You want to grab your reader and get their attention. If they read a great story first, they will most likely continue. Also, you want to leave them thinking their hard earned dollars were well spent. If the last story is just average, or ends on a weak note, they’ll leave thinking bad thoughts. Why take the chance? Start strong and end strong.
2. Tent poles. This is a theory that I like as well. If you have 21 stories in a collection, and you’re already starting strong and ending strong, why not break up the rest of the collection with your better stories? So, 1 is strong, and 21 is strong, probably your best, then put your next two at 7 and 14. The idea is that whatever is going on, hopefully the reader will put up with a few weaker stories, or more experimental stories, if they keep getting a fix every so often. I know, I know—all of your stories are brilliant. Then just pick your favorites for 1, 7,14, and 21.
3. Length. Mix up the long stories and the short stories. Try to fill in the blanks around the 1, 7, 14 and 21 with a variety of lengths. I try not to put two really long stories back to back. Bookend the 7,000-word story with two flash fictions, perhaps. Just play around with it. I’ve also heard that you should put you longest story LAST, so keep that in mind as well. It’s the story your readers will spend the most time with, so that’s an option, a way to end with some power, a longer connection, some depth.
4. Tone. If you have some really dark stories, maybe follow them up with lighter fare. If you have some really technical science fiction, follow it up with some softer science. If you have some experimental voices and formats, follow them up with more traditional work. Make sense?
5. Frontload. Another approach is to put your better stories in the front. So if you’ve got first and last as your best, and a couple of tent poles, why not put a couple more of your best stories up front? Don’t let the reader slip away. Hit them hard and hit them often, pummeling them into submission—with your words.

IN CONCLUSION

Try to keep all of these ideas in mind, but in the end, just have fun with it. Try to imagine the journey your reader is taking. Mix it up—short and then long, up and then down, dark and then light, opening strong and ending strong. Your voice is your voice, and if people love your work, they’ll probably enjoy whatever you put together. Here’s one quick example for you. When I put together Staring Into the Abyss, I did worry that some of the shorter, older stories wouldn’t hold up. But I re-read them and still liked them a lot, so I put them in. And strangely enough, whenever I’ve read the reviews of Staring Into the Abyss, I’m always surprised at what they highlight as the best. Whether it’s the guys at Booked, Horror News or Parable Press, there was at least one story they loved that I worried wasn't good enough. So, who knows what your audience will like, just do the best job you can, and let the chips fall where they may. Good luck!
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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Picture Prompts #5

Some more images, to help you through that awful writer's block.
 Please click the image for the source.
 
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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Reblog: Whatever You Do, Don't Put Down That Book... 5 Of The Best Reasons To Keep Reading

You can find the original post here, at OMG Facts.

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"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more things that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss

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1. Reading retrains your brain



The structure of children's brains were studied by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University before and after 100 hours of intensive reading instruction and they noted that the amount of white matter (which improves communicative skills) increased significantly after the exercises. 
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2. What you read becomes a part of you


Ever had a moment where you can't remember if something happened to you or if you read it? According to Spanish researchers, the brain doesn't draw strong distinctions between the two events and allows us to feel as if we've actually experienced events we've only read about. 
Research at Emory University has also shown that when reading words or phrases related to smell or texture, the sensory cortex activated in the respective areas. 
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3. Different reading styles create different brain patterns


Researchers at Stanford University studied the brain activity of people closely reading and skimming portions of Jane Austen novels and noticed increased blood flow in different areas. So even all that skimming you do is helping your brain. 
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4. Reading makes you smarter

Many recent studies have seen improvement in all three types of intelligence (crystallized, fluid, and emotional) thanks to reading and author Dan Hurley swears by it's educational power. 
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5. Reading increases your empathy

As you read and relate to characters while reading fiction, you're also becoming more empathetic yourself. Researchers at The New School in NYC discovered that fiction readers were better at reading and understanding the emotions of others. 
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So for the sake of your brain, head on over to the library and read up!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Friday, December 18, 2015

You Might Like...Lexi Ostrow

Steampunk 2 - Meet the Author
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Lexi Ostrow has been in love with the written word since second grade when her librarian started a writing club. Born in sunny southern California she’s spent time in various places across the country and can’t wait to settle down somewhere in the French Quarter when she’s able too.
Lexi has been a writer ever since the second grade in some form or another. Getting her degree in creative writing and her master’s in journalism she couldn’t wait to get a chance to put her fantasies down on paper. Her debut novel, Torn Between Two Worlds is something that was simmering in her mind since middle school and she’s so grateful to put it out into the literary world. From paranormal romance to thriller there isn’t a genre she doesn’t love to spend her time reading or writing.
Reading and writing are her first loves but her passion for shopping, love for yummy food and her love for all her many pets. She hopes to one day help other readers fall in love with writing as she did.
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Goodreads           Facebook          Twitter           Website             YouTube
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Steampunk 2 - Covers and Blurbs
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In the London Underground the Alliance of Silver and Steam is all that protects humans from demons.
Felicia Gannon is no stranger to the demons that lurk in the night. After her parents were murdered in front of her the Alliance took her in and trained her. Vengeance became her only drive.
Greyston Westham is more than just the devilishly handsome Captain of the Guard. He's an Incubus Demon who hunts his own kind because they have no use for lesser demons like himself.
When a murderer is running lose that only the Alliance can deal with Felicia and Greyston are thrown together in a deadly game. Can she overcome her hatred of demons and give into the relationship that will save her life? Or will Felicia's hatred be her doom.
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Eliza Kempe Dorley is always left in the background. As a female, being top inventor for the Alliance of Silver and Steam has as many draw backs as perks. She’s in charge of the creation of the many tools the Alliance uses in pursuit of the demons that run lose in the London Underground, which means without her, the demons would be harder to put down. It also means she misses all of the action and has never had the chance to really use any of her inventions.
Lucius Cooley Willan is a Nightmare Demon with a penchant for gambling and sleeping with women he shouldn’t’t and it’s landed him in hot water. Now he spends his nights slinking in humans dreams and unleashing terrors so strong it kills them so he can capture their soul for his boss. But when he’s ordered to attack the group that hunts his kind he’s enthralled by the feisty inventor he comes upon.
Eliza’s victim to Lucius in a way no others have been, a sensual dream that she can’t shake when she wakes up. When he bumps into her at the trains she’s an addiction he can’t shake. When he outright disobeys the demon who controls him for some out of dreams interactions with the Eliza, it will be up to him to save her from the nightmare he’s put her in.
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Odette Cosgrove’s father is Master Thomas Agardawes, head of the Alliance of Silver and Steam. She has grown up in the center of the Alliance of Silver and Steam; her childhood spent learning how to fight and take down the creatures. When her father asked her to head up a chapter of the Alliance in America she accepted. Love was waiting for her, but so were demons who knew she would be unready to handle them and they tore her new life apart sending her running back to London.
Philippe Clemis is The Alliance of Silver and Steam’s best hunter. He’s killed hundreds of the vile demons and kills without remorse. When Odette shows up back in London after her family was slaughtered he’s assigned to get her reacquainted with guild ways - he’d rather be cleaning up the toilets. The obstinate female drives him crazy and makes him mad with desire because she challenges him in a way no one ever has.
When a Kappa Demon attack on Philippe claims Odette instead the pair will have to work together to stop her transformation into the vampiric little demon. A journey across Europe and into hell itself to find a cure will force the pair to determine if what they feel is love or hate if they are going to make it back alive.
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Her heart was torn differently than others, between two worlds. Her choice would affect her position in each.
Ciara Miller was born the same as others, but she got a little something extra. When she was younger she learned she was a Word Speaker, someone who could create life from stories. Her gift is incomplete until her 27th birthday, before then all she can create is things she, and others like her can see. Evil wants her gift as well and the characters she choses to create become her Guardians against the unseen attackers that want to use her skill. Just before her 27th birthday, fate has a surprise for her.
Stryder is a demon, created to be a backup plan for the Horseman of the Apocalypse, War. Since the day he learned he was nothing more than pawn he and his brothers had been seeking a way to betray hell and fight on the side of the angels. His world is torn apart again when he finds out he's nothing more than a story and given the option to protect a human female, Ciara, or die.
Ciara hates Stryder for replacing her former Guardian. But she cannot deny the lust and connection that rocks through her every time they touch. She could deny it all she wanted, but she belonged to Stryder and when they find themselves thrown into a war bigger than them both she must choose between her reality bound heart and her fantasy bound soul to save them.
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Julian Michelson is a firefighter in a small town in Alabama. He's been struggling for years to prove to himself that Word Speakers, people who can pull characters from books, exist. Why? Because he's supposed to be one and he's failed every step of the way and a war is supposedly coming.
Serena, a princess in fictional medieval Britain, is the epitome of a good girl. She lives to appease her father and her country. That is until she felt a strange voice in her head before waking up and seeing a handsome man through the flames of a fire in a strange world. Now she's stuck in his world and is none to happy with him despite her fascination with the new world and her growing attraction for him.
Julian must make amends to Serena, his first and only Guardian, because if she leaves he can kiss his gift goodbye. A lust they can't deny spikes between them as Word Speaker and Guardian and they must decide – are they in the fight together, or do they go their separate ways?
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Dale grew up fighting for self respect and the respect of others. Being a Word Speaker hadn’t helped. Most of the Guardians he had sought out those that were decidedly darker and fighting on what could be seen as the wrong side of the war. When Ciara gives him her gifts to follow her own happy ending he’s forced to see his self worth and honor her precious gift.
Breena is a dark sprite in charge of sneaking through dreams to steal information in a war between the Seelie and Unseelie court in her world. Finding out she’s a book character destined to save the life of a human wasn’t her cup of tea - but it was her father’s. Commanded to get close the Word Speaker Dale so they could all enter his world she’s forced to leave what she knows behind and corrupt a man on the brink of finding himself.
When passion ignites between Dale and Breena he finds himself seduced by the darkness once more. He’s tangled up in a web that threatens to change his stance in the war just before his 27th birthday. When her true intentions come out he will have to choose between dark and light, and where he stands in the war.
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Leena has been in love with her boss, Nick DeMarco, for almost eight years. But he's never given her any indication that she was special to him. Their relationship was close, but rarely outside of a business function. So when he invites her to be his fake girlfriend at his family's Christmas week she is thrilled and ready to show Nick just what he's missing out on, her only wish for the Christmas season.
Nick wouldn't admit it to anyone except his brother, but his assistant Leena is the only woman he's had feelings for in quite some time. He didn't want to seem like a powerful boss trying to seduce his employee so he had ignored his desire for her for the past five years. When the opportunity to take her to his family's chalets opens he takes it, intent on seducing her.
When things begin to heat up with Leena and Nick, both are pleasantly surprised. But a winter storm traps them in the chalet just as Nick's older brother Jake arrives. When he makes no attempt to hide his attraction to Leena the whole vacation becomes heated. What will happen when the storm lifts, will the assistant have gotten a her Christmas wish?
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Ashley has grown content with her life. Her husband is in the United States Coast Guard but has been assigned a land unit. Which means more time with him and no chance of danger. But then he gets bad news. He's been put on special duty assignment that will mean months of deployment in various open waters. Because he's in the Coast Guard, Ashley assumes that nothing can go wrong.
Waterways have been under attack from pirates of all kinds in the past years. Travis's cutter is destined for waters where they have been seen and there's no telling what his ship will encounter.
Left alone with her memories of their life together Ashley will face the toughest deployment separation yet. Will a lifetime of memories be enough to keep her and Travis from falling apart?
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Steampunk 2 - Buy Links
Amazon UK            Amazon US              Amazon CA

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Intimacy: in Pictures

As writers, one of the most difficult things we can write is intimacy. There's a fine line between intimate, sexy and overboard. Especially when you're writing a sex scene or a really impactful moment that you want to be tender, yet sensual in a way.
Here are some photographers who can say better in one picture, what I could say with a thousand words or more. Click on the image, to be taken to the original site.
Enjoy!
*DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these images, nor claim to. I am purely using them as a reference material and have credited the artist, photographer, model, publication where possible.*

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(Photographer: Ewan Phelan and his wife Brianna)

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(Photographer: Ewan Phelan and his wife Brianna)

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(Photographer: Dawn Hartman)

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(Photographer: Mads Nissen)

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(Photographer: Emmanuelle Bosse)

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(Photographer: Maud Charland)

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(Photographer: Harold Feinstein
Asleep on Board Walk, Coney Island, 1946, Anne Reed Gallery)

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(Photographer: Pleasant Dreams, on Tumblr)

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