fear. not.

 

A woman who wrote science fiction. Whudduhthunkit.

I'm not going to tell you how to live.

Nobody told me how to live. Nobody taught me.
How to live. Nobody in my little girl world knew.

They taught me how to fear. They taught me
how to get liked. How to survive so-called civilization.

Domestication. That's all. They want.ed.

Cook for me. 

Clean after my messinesses.

Bend over. No wow. That's all. They taught me
to fear death. But I

I rejected (all that silliness) that. Death
fascinated. 

Not like that. 
Not like that either. 

Rather, what comes after death. 
Fascinated me. What unknowable
something. 

Wow. How 
can you not
be intrigued?

What are the possibilities? What
are the endless opportunities as
a different life form? 

What's it like, the spiritual dimension?

Certainly not all white<
frothy<
robes and gold flip flops 
anyone? real
l.y.

Es
muy bueno. 

They taught me to fear the unknown.
Tried. Failed.

So I won't tell you how to live. Because
I don't own a copy of the one and only manual.

Nobody looks at the user manual anyway.
Well geeks do. I love geeks. 
We turn to the manual or the help key when we
get stuck. Or driven crazy by the madness of trying
to understand
technological so-called wonders and
blundering devices.

Nobody taught me how to live. Because
they weren't living. They were fearing. 

Live. Damn it. Live!

-a poem by herzenity herself on 25 july 2026, i was here

A woman who writes science fiction.

Whodathunkit.

Among other things...

i am fearless. powerful. i am here
i am an indie author. 
share this. i dare

to dream. i dare to
wander. i dare
to live in wonder.

picture books for big kidz n early readers

Most of my books are free until July 31st. Help me reach my audience. Please share this. Socialize. Help a fearless, powerful writer find her e-readers and bookworms. ❤

Thank You

Thank You Very Much

!

carma. gagne. chan. 2023 tulum. mexico baby.

If you can't pronounce Gagne. Think champagne. 

herzenity herself insta

herzenity in the morning

herzenity doing herzenity things

herzenity and her friends making her stories

@CarmaGagneChan, Author
@Herzenity @HerzenityPubs
Saardu (free in July)
Zenya (ditto)
Sometimes known as Orenda
in some storybooks. Not a fairytale illuminary.
Just someone
who loves to make stuff up
bring it to weirdness
blow it up. boom. trash.
Pulp. Fiction.
Just a girl who love/d/s books and rocks
and trees and climbing and
wading and watching
good storytelling on TV
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Carma_GagneChan

share this. please. thank you.

Family Love Stories Promotion

 

These two family love stories are free at Smashwords Ebooks, use the public coupon code at check (9YTCB). The coupon expires in 2030. The author wants to share these beautiful people with everyone, available anywhere in the world with internet access. (English epub file only; no translations or alternative formats available at this time.) These books are available in print at Amazon (not free, printing and shipping costs a pretty penny:)

Here are the links to take you directly to the book listings:

• Albert Loved Sylvia  
  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1875867
• Sweet like John
  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1998224

Learn more about each story at the book listing. Enjoy! Please post reviews after reading and share with others you think would enjoy reading these lovely stories. 

❤

Follow Carma Gagne Chan on Instagram @herzenity or Facebook @herzenitypubs. 

Fire Horse Power

 I celebrate the Lunar New Year, and who can resist the Year of the Fire Horse!? My favorite way to celebrate is to attend the parade in Chinatown. 

A young girl watching the parade smiles as a dancing dragon performs in front of her.
Los Angeles Chinatown 2019; photo by Carma G. Chan 

Another way that I celebrate is to create a coupon to give readers a free download to some of my books. This year's coupon code is VV9XD, valid February 16-22, 2026, exclusively at Smashwords. Just go to my Smashwords author page and see if the book you want is available for free with this coupon. 

Content you may like to add to your library or share to encourage a young reader:

• If Flowers Could Talk
• Saardu: The Adventure Begins
• A is for Art
• B is for Balloonist
• C is for Camping
• 10 Most Annoying Things People Say to NICU Parents...when they're only trying to help! 

🧧 Happy Year of the Fire Horse 🧧

Photo by Carma G. Chan at the 2019 Chinatown Parade

You're Welcome,    
        Carma G. Chan

 ❤ ANNOUNCEMENT ❤

The author known as Carma Gagne Chan will publish as Carma G. Chan 2026 forward. Watch for her next novel at this blogspot.

Smashwords Sale

 

All of my books are 100% off at Smashwords during the End of Year Sale, Dec 8 - Jan 1. Here is my author page listing all of the titles I have published there along with descriptions. Be sure to use the coupon code SW100 when checking out!

I giveaway my books to promote reading and in the hope that readers will write reviews. 

I do not pay a marketing company to post reviews. 

I do not ask friends or family to post reviews. 

I prefer organic, authentic reviews. Occasionally a reader takes the time to do that and when I discover it, it usually puts a smile on my face. 

Saardu Movie Script

The movie rights to Saardu are available. 

The original award-winning script is online. Click the link to explore: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQLJHJ4P

Book Cover | SAARDU: The Original Award-Winning Script

Inquiries may be sent via social media, found on the About page of this blog. 

Art Gallery: Alexandre Nodopaka

The Crow by Alexandre Nodopaka

Before my friend Alex died last year, he entrusted me with the legacy of his artwork. He did not say those words exactly. He lived those words in my presence. 

Alex collaborated with me on his biography, a gallery in literary form, He gave me permission to continue to use his artwork in my publications, knowing that I am a kind and gentle soul, a teacher, a fellow artist and art lover, a nature lover, an explorer forever wandering and wondering. 

Alex and I were peas in a pod, birds of a feather...he was a mentor and a treasured friend whose gravitational influence in my tiny piece of Earth forever altered the trajectory of my soul. Simply put, I learned to appreciate Art through Alex's passion for it and his mind-blowing prolific creativity. 

He was many things. A Renaissance man, for sure. A mechanical engineer, photography virtuoso, digital magician, sculptor and poetic wordsmith. 

In the years before he died, he would forward me the links to his latest publication. Alex was a retired gentleman, husband, pet fish keeper and gardener, who created artwork daily. DAILY. He played with his food. He took a picture of it. He transformed the picture into a masterpiece. He submitted the artwork to magazines. He got published. Over and over and over and over again. The list of his publications is here: https://alexandrenodopaka.blogspot.com/p/many-publications-have-featured.html

The above artwork by Alex was featured on the cover of Sunspot Literary Journal Volume 5 Issue #1, Sun Dog Creations, in April 2023. A free PDF of the issue can be downloaded by navigating to THE JOURNAL > Editions: 2023, scroll down to April, below the artwork is a DOWNLOAD button. 

Watching Alex grow old taught me how to survive, how to tolerate the effects of aging, how to enjoy life no matter what. 

It was only at the bitter end... when age robbed him of the ability to make art... 

...to be artistic...

to express innermost thoughts creatively, in ways that communicate

...

the otherworldly, 

the inexplicable experiences

... 

of fully alive minds
of very old
and most wise
Humans

.

That is when Alex died inside. It took his body about nine months to accept the fact that Elvis had left the building. Alex was done. 

Today, coming across the need to utilize his artwork to teach concepts in a children's picture book about artificial intelligence and internet safety, I got the itch to blog about Alex, share his artwork, and remind the world that there is a biography about him, and that encountering this artist's mind through his body of artwork is life-changing. 

❤

Sweet Like John

Dad at age 25 (book cover)

Whenever I tell people about my Chinese stepdad and how he came to America, what he survived as a child, how he met my mother and fell in love with all of us, added two more children with her, making us a family of ten, and achieved his American dream, retired and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s…they listen with eyes wide, often shiny with tears, and in soft voices say, “You should write a book!”

I have given this book my very best. I hope it honors my parents and lives up to their high bar of compassion and decency. John has earned his place in the library of humanity.

Sweet Like John is the title chosen to keep me and the story clear and focused. Though his childhood was shattered by war, his enduring sweetness touches every page. And though our story begins with the darkness of abandonment by my natural father, it positively blooms into a sunny garden tended by the one who stepped up. My childhood was rescued by a good stepfather. My discarded soul was resuscitated by his trustworthiness.

Though power struggles and faith crisscross every aspect of living, John did not push his philosophies on me. As the giver of his story to the world, I do not push politics or religion. There are inescapable facts, such as the religion of my parents, which must be mentioned to establish the arc of my character as the storyteller and prodigal daughter.

As you read the pages of our lives, you join me on a journey of cherishing loved ones who are gone, yet live in who we become. John's unconditional love of my mother and all eight of the children they raised is the star that guides my path. I am a work in progress.

All heroes are flawed. John was not perfect. However, he shines in my world like a supernova. Long after he burst on the scene and transcended into that mystical place we call Heaven, his light continues on Earth. His kindness and empathy stand tall and indestructible, more real than a statue. John Wang Leong Chan was and will always be to me the best man who ever walked the Earth. The world needs more men to be sweet like John.

Who am I to say such a thing? Merely one of eight children who called him Dad. I was very young when I met John. While the youngest two are genetically related and the world calls them half, they are and always have been my full brother and sister, same as all the others. They were simply more fortunate to be able to call him Daddy without feeling like a traitor and an impostor. There was someone that six of us called Daddy before John. Sadly, I must remember that part of our story, too.

❤