Jan Westcott (February 23, 1912)

Jan Westcott, nee Vlachos, married Robert Barden wrote a number of books mainly romances based around Scotland or set in the Elizabethan period.

She wrote one romance which was an historic naval fiction based around the Revolutionary war.

A Janice K. Barden was an industrial psychologist, founded Aviation Personnel International in 1971 in New Orleans, after working in the business aviation industry for over fifteen years. API grew out of Barden's work in developing a battery of testing specific to the evaluation of individuals in the field of aviation. It’s not clear if she is the same Jan Westcott who wrote historical romance novels.

First Book - The Hepburn (1940)

Last Book - Woman of Quality (1978)

( Vintage Covers )

Cornfed by Kiernan Kelly

Hands up: this story by Kiernan Kelly was born by a specific request I did in a chat almost two years ago. Sheikhs romances are my kink, dating back when I was still reading Harlequin Presents, and I so wanted to read a story with a young and handsome sheikh in it; the obvious counterpart in this type of romance is the innocent virgin, but giving the modern time, where you can find a completely innocent boy to fit the dress? Of course in an Amish community! And so here was the very high level plot bunny, a romance between an Amish boy and a sheikh. That night, during the chat, I think we agreed the only obvious place where these two completely different men could meet was in front of the United Nations in New York City, and so from there Kiernan Kelly developed Cornfed.

Jacob is a 18 years old Amish boy leaving Intercourse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for the first time in his life for his rumspringa; his secret dream has always been to visit New York City, and so he is realizing it, even if the reality is not so shining, and by the way it’s even more expensive than expected. While touring in front of the UN, he literally bumps into Fahd, second son of a Saudi Arab sheikh, visiting NYC in a diplomatic mission.

In a way, even if from completely different roots, Jacob and Fahd are not so different after all: both of them have to hide their secret desires for men, even if Fahd has already consciously realized it, and experimented his sexuality, while instead Jacob, has not even yet internalized his sexual urges. Jacob is completely innocent; he has never had any sexual experience and he has neither once questioned that he will go back to Intercourse, enter the church, marry a woman and bear children, many of them. Both Jacob than Fahd are from families where there are multiple brothers and sisters, so it’s not like they have to continue the family line, it’s simply that they have to “adapt” to the common way.

The main difference between Jacob and Fahd is that Fahd is a “rebel”, he doesn’t want to follow his father’s rules, and in a way, he is not as bonded to his family as Jacob is. Fahd can renounce to his family, I see really unlikely that Jacob can do the same.

In comparison to similar romances set among the Amish people, I think that Kiernan Kelly did a fair job, simply since she didn’t exaggerated the whole, and it was not an easy task, not only for Jacob and the Amish, but also for Fahd and his background. True, some “easy” escapes Fahd had were maybe a little too quick and lucky, but indeed he is the son of a sheikh, so it’s not like he is an ordinary man.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3061

Amazon: Cornfed
Amazon Kindle: Cornfed
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (February 23, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610401670
ISBN-13: 978-1610401678

Reading List:



http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Cornfed by Kiernan Kelly

Hands up: this story by Kiernan Kelly was born by a specific request I did in a chat almost two years ago. Sheikhs romances are my kink, dating back when I was still reading Harlequin Presents, and I so wanted to read a story with a young and handsome sheikh in it; the obvious counterpart in this type of romance is the innocent virgin, but giving the modern time, where you can find a completely innocent boy to fit the dress? Of course in an Amish community! And so here was the very high level plot bunny, a romance between an Amish boy and a sheikh. That night, during the chat, I think we agreed the only obvious place where these two completely different men could meet was in front of the United Nations in New York City, and so from there Kiernan Kelly developed Cornfed.

Jacob is a 18 years old Amish boy leaving Intercourse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for the first time in his life for his rumspringa; his secret dream has always been to visit New York City, and so he is realizing it, even if the reality is not so shining, and by the way it’s even more expensive than expected. While touring in front of the UN, he literally bumps into Fahd, second son of a Saudi Arab sheikh, visiting NYC in a diplomatic mission.

In a way, even if from completely different roots, Jacob and Fahd are not so different after all: both of them have to hide their secret desires for men, even if Fahd has already consciously realized it, and experimented his sexuality, while instead Jacob, has not even yet internalized his sexual urges. Jacob is completely innocent; he has never had any sexual experience and he has neither once questioned that he will go back to Intercourse, enter the church, marry a woman and bear children, many of them. Both Jacob than Fahd are from families where there are multiple brothers and sisters, so it’s not like they have to continue the family line, it’s simply that they have to “adapt” to the common way.

The main difference between Jacob and Fahd is that Fahd is a “rebel”, he doesn’t want to follow his father’s rules, and in a way, he is not as bonded to his family as Jacob is. Fahd can renounce to his family, I see really unlikely that Jacob can do the same.

In comparison to similar romances set among the Amish people, I think that Kiernan Kelly did a fair job, simply since she didn’t exaggerated the whole, and it was not an easy task, not only for Jacob and the Amish, but also for Fahd and his background. True, some “easy” escapes Fahd had were maybe a little too quick and lucky, but indeed he is the son of a sheikh, so it’s not like he is an ordinary man.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3061

Amazon: Cornfed
Amazon Kindle: Cornfed
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (February 23, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610401670
ISBN-13: 978-1610401678

Reading List:



http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Richard Phibbs: Chasing Beauty

Richard Phibbs brings an artist's eye to every photo he takes - in advertising and magazines, fine art and his personal work.

He has shot advertising campaigns for Giorgio Armani, as well as iconic American brands such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. His editorial work has appeared in Italian Vanity Fair, Vogue Hommes, The New York Times Magazine and others.

Phibbs's portraits give a revealing "take" on subjects as varied as Hillary Clinton and Bernard Henri Levy, Beyonce and Pedro Almodovar, Meryl Streep and Jay Z. Phibbs has just compiled more than a decade's worth of work into a provocative new book, "Richard Phibbs - Chasing Beauty", which release was in Fall 2010.


Huck is so happy, Water Island, NY 2007


Travis, Water Island, NY 2007

Another facet of Phibbs's work is revealed in Richard Phibbs Fine Art, limited-edition prints - conceived for interior designers, architects and private collectors including Anderson Cooper, Francis Ford Coppola and President Bill Clinton.

Photography is Phibbs's passion. He believes photographs can change, inspire and motivate us. His signature causes - children with AIDS and animals - are his inspiration. His emotional connection to his work is perhaps best revealed in his photos of forgotten children of Romania's AIDS epidemic - some stark, some heartbreaking, all life-affirming. Traveling four times to Bucharest, he has taken more than 200 portraits of children with HIV, many of them orphans. Phibbs's work, including portraits of the children, is the basis for the non-profit Children of Nowhere, co-founded by Phibbs, which funds vital medications and supplies for Romanian children with HIV/AIDS (www.childrenofnowhere.com)

Whoever his subject, Phibbs looks for a personal connection, then brings that connection to the viewer of his finished photos. "Something touches me, something in my heart says now!" he says. "There's a shift in the subject, one way or the other, and I see who that person really is. When I lose a bit of my heart I know: That's the picture".

Born and raised in the Canadian West, Phibbs has received degrees from the University of Toronto and Parsons School of Design. Richard lives in New York City.

http://www.richardphibbs.com/

Chasing Beauty by Richard Phibbs
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: powerHouse Books (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 157687561X
ISBN-13: 978-1576875612
Amazon: Chasing Beauty

“I’m in constant search of chasing beauty, chasing hope—I’m not interested in the dark.”

The celebrated photographer Richard Phibbs, known for his celebrity portraits and iconic ad campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, and more, has an unwavering eye for beauty. Many theorists argue that beauty is subjective, a product of individual preference, but the images from Phibbs’ archive of work from 1997–2009, edited, sequenced, and collected in Chasing Beauty, may put that argument to rest.

The book is a deeply personal labor of love, affirming Phibbs’ belief that photographs can change, inspire, and motivate. Alfredo Paredes, one of the creative minds behind Polo Ralph Lauren, approached Phibbs with the idea of making a monograph—with one caveat: Phibbs was to step back and relinquish control. Paredes had a vision in mind of taking Phibbs’ aesthetic and selecting images that would realize his unique eye for beauty. The result is a fascinating juxtaposition of photographs that excite, tantalize, shock, and surprise. A delicate and gorgeous rose is followed by the rawness of a dirty rugby player; a pair of horses is set beside a female nude. These combinations highlight undeniable beauty of both natural and human origin, and show us that if you only look beauty can be found anywhere.

“Sometimes things cannot be expressed in words—that’s what is so expressive, emotional, or revealing about a photograph. Just look and enjoy it. It reveals that exact fleeting moment in time—that’s all. When I lose my breath a bit, I know that’s the picture.” —Richard Phibbs

( More pictures from Chasing Beauty )

More Photographers at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art