Thursday, October 3, 2019

Does Avon Test Their Products On Animals?

I've noticed a heck of a lot of advertising from Avon in my Facebook feed lately. In fact, just over the last couple of weeks, my wife remarked that she'd noticed the same, sudden frenzied number of postings by Avon recruiters and sales reps on Facebook based in our immediate vicinity. The main thing I've noticed about these ads - whether the ads say it outright, or if the posters come on to answer pointed questions about animal testing, they all seem to say the same thing:

"We don't test on animals."

Why do they feel a need to inform people that it's safe to buy Avon products because they don't test on animals? Their website claims - as they do in sharing a similar statement which draws heavily on this claim - that Avon was the first cosmetics company to stop this practice way back in 1989 - 30 years ago - isn't it already old news? Why the continued accusations? Why the back-and-forth argument? What's the real deal here?

Is this smoke? Is there a fire under it?

I decided to look into the matter for myself, and this article is the result.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Newsletter #34: October 2019

Here's my latest newsletter! :) Enjoy!

http://christinaengela.com/2019/09/30/another-round-at-the-crow-bar-34-october-2019/

#fictionwriting #amwriting #indie #author

______________________________________________________________

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.


If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

Show your appreciation for Christina's work!

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019. 

________________________________________

Friday, September 27, 2019

LGBT Heroes in Galaxii & Quantum – the “G” in LGBT

I've spoken at length before about my reasons for writing about LGBT characters - and specifically about being transgender and lesbian and how this enriches my writing, particularly with regard to how it influences my portrayal of LGBT characters. I've spent some time talking about my transgender characters, specifically Cindy-Mei Winter (the Quantum Series) and Marsha (Galaxii series, "Dead Beckoning") to name just two. In this article I'll be introducing you to a few of my gay characters.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Secret Weapons of the Resistance: Time Travel, Beck the Badfeller & Cindy-Mei Winter


In “High Steaks”, the most recent addition to the Quantum Series, a resistance rises to meet the revolutionaries – a resistance with friends in low places. Together with the Vampire Underground, bovine torpedoes, a mad scientist, an invisible space ship, and a well-camouflaged operative, the nasties must also contend with another unseen enemy: Time, and its agents.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

FAQ’s Answered #12: Who Is Cindy-Mei Winter?


Today in a series of replies to FAQ (frequently asked questions) sent to me by fans (and sometimes not so much), I answer the question:  "Who is Cindy-Mei Winter?" the first main character of the Quantum Series, and a transwoman.

Monday, September 23, 2019

FAQ's Answered #7: What Do I Write About (& Other Questions)


Today in a series of replies to FAQ (frequently asked questions) sent to me by fans (and sometimes not so much), I answer a few similar questions together under the umbrella question:  "What do you write about?"

FAQ’s Answered #10: Who Is Marsha In "Dead Beckoning" to Blachart?


Today in a series of replies to FAQ (frequently asked questions) sent to me by fans (and sometimes not so much), I answer the question:  "Who is Marsha in "Dead Beckoning", and what part does she she play in relation to the character of Blachart?"

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Newsletter #33: September 2019

Here's my latest newsletter! :) Enjoy!

https://christinaengela.com/2019/08/31/another-round-at-the-crow-bar-33-september-2019/ 

#fictionwriting #amwriting #indie #author

______________________________________________________________

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.


If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

Show your appreciation for Christina's work!

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019. 

________________________________________

Friday, August 30, 2019

Grief & Loss: A Writer's Conduit To Creating Authentic Characters



Most of us have already tasted the bitter sting of death at one time or another - the loss of a loved one, or the ending of a powerful relationship, the pain of separation, the guilt of things that passed between us, the things that were said or done that should've been - or the regret for things said or done that we can never take back.

I am of course, no exception.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

What would happen if fascists took over the world?


What would happen if fascists took over the world? Not just one or two states, but all of them? How would people react to having their lives upturned? Without any alternative authorities to turn to, without any rescuers or saviors to call upon, how would they handle seeing 'undesirables' and 'enemies of the state' - their neighbors, family, friends or colleagues being dragged away to concentration camps by uniformed thugs with the full backing of the law?

How would they tell fact from fiction while those who have seized power and their news services twist the truth to cast themselves as righteous heroes and to portray their victims as unpatriotic, dangerous, threatening, impure, monsters deserving of extermination?