Fadi, Amanda and Elise Matti
have welcomed Elaina Reese Matti into God’s beautiful world. Born 10/27/14 @ 10:02am,
she weighed in at 6lbs 9oz.
For the Mattis, there is a
happily-ever-after…
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Fadi, Amanda and Elise Matti have welcomed Elaina Reese Matti into God’s beautiful world.
Kathleen M. Rodgers’ blog about her youngest son's homecoming from Afghanistan.
Kathleen M. Rodgers’ blog about her youngest son's homecoming from
Afghanistan. A pictorial essay. http://siteblog.kathleenmrodgers.com/?p=2490
“We are still celebrating his safe return,” Kathleen
Kathleen M. Rodgers
www.kathleenMRodgers.com
2014 Tarrant County College/NE Campus Distinguished Alumna
The Final Salute, published by Deer Hawk Publications
Johnnie Come Lately, published by Camel Press (February 2015)
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
www.kathleenMRodgers.com
2014 Tarrant County College/NE Campus Distinguished Alumna
The Final Salute, published by Deer Hawk Publications
Johnnie Come Lately, published by Camel Press (February 2015)
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency
Joyce Zeller’s novel of new beginnings, Love in a Small Town, has been acquired by Rogue Phoenix Press!
Joyce Zeller’s novel of new beginnings, Love in a Small Town, has
been acquired by Rogue Phoenix Press!
When Chicagoan, David Martin, moves to Eureka
Springs with his step-daughter, he is escaping urban America and all its
violence, as well as memories of his deceased wife. A marriage of convenience
ended in tragedy and left him to raise a fifteen-year-old daughter whom he has
only known for two years. Both father and daughter are testing foreign waters:
new home, school and work. Neither expected it, but where there is a will,
there is love in a small town.
“I’ve wanted to be a writer since the first day I learned to
read. Luckily, I’ve had many mentors who were willing to teach me, and I
listened. I’ve written six books,
published five: The Hidden History of Eureka Springs (The History Press, 2011), Accidental Alien (Published by Joyce Zeller, 2012),
short story “Love is a Seed” is
featured in Embrace: A Romance Collection (Goldmine Press,
2012), Christmas for Annabel (CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform; 2014) and Maddie’s Choice (Coffeetown
Press, 2013) a romance with her favorite theme,
“that being human is a lonely business, but for everyone there is somebody to
love. It’s a matter of finding them.” There will always be kids and animals in
her books, and always, humor, “…because life without humor is unthinkable.”
Zeller has also written The Haunting of Aaron House
(available for acquisition) set in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a place where
ghosts, witchcraft and the paranormal are part of the local culture. Her latest achievement was being elected as Alderman
to the Eureka Springs City Council. More stories to come… www.joycezeller.com Represented by
Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
I believe God wants you to know that no one does anything they do not want to do.
I believe God wants you to know that
no one does anything they do not want to do.
You always have a reason--and usually, a pretty good one--for doing what you are doing and choosing what you are choosing. Be careful not to convince yourself that you are doing something against your will. Such a thing is impossible.
Therefore, be honest with yourself as to why you are choosing to do a particular thing. Then, do it gladly, knowing that you are always getting to do what you want.
The statement "I have no choice" is a lie. You can choose. You simply do not prefer the alternatives
available to you, for whatever reason. So you select the outcome that you most prefer. Isn't that power? www.CWGPortal.com
You always have a reason--and usually, a pretty good one--for doing what you are doing and choosing what you are choosing. Be careful not to convince yourself that you are doing something against your will. Such a thing is impossible.
Therefore, be honest with yourself as to why you are choosing to do a particular thing. Then, do it gladly, knowing that you are always getting to do what you want.
The statement "I have no choice" is a lie. You can choose. You simply do not prefer the alternatives
available to you, for whatever reason. So you select the outcome that you most prefer. Isn't that power? www.CWGPortal.com
An
addendum: Are you doing what you are doing out of fear or out of love? This is
something Buzz Bernard touches on in his upcoming novel, BLIZZARD. Profound. www.buzzbernard.com
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
If you missed the October 19th blog featuring JJ White, author of Prodigious Savant, you can still read it, and today you are “treated” with another!
If you missed the October 19th blog featuring JJ White,
author of Prodigious Savant, you can still read it, and today you are “treated”
with another!
Now put these two on
your calendars!!!
·
November 13 – Fran Lewis Radio Interview - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork/2013/01/10/book-discussion--
White has written over two hundred short stories, had
articles and stories published in several anthologies and magazines including, Wordsmith, The Homestead
Review, The Seven Hills
Review and The Grey Sparrow Journal. His story, “The Nine Hole League” was recently published
in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Magazine, #13. He has won
awards and honors from the Alabama Writers Conclave, Writers-Editors
International, Maryland Writers Association, The Royal Palm Literary Awards,
Professional Writers of Prescott, and Writer’s
Digest. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short piece in The
Grey Sparrow Journal. His other two novels, Deviant Acts (2015) and
Nisei (2015) will also by published by Black Opal Books. www.jjwhitebooks.com
Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com
Represented by Loiacono Literary
Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
I believe God wants you to know that when a loved one leaves the body, it is a cause for a genuine and special joy.
I
believe God wants you to know that when a loved one leaves the body, it is a
cause for a genuine and special joy.
It can be difficult to experience this joy over the death of a loved one, and sadness is both perfectly natural and very "okay." Yet know this: your Beloved is celebrating Continuation Day. This is the most glorious experience you could possibly imagine. It is, truly, heaven!
And there is this: You will once again reunite with the soul of this loved one. Nor will you ever be separate even now, for their Essence flies to you at your very thought of them. I would not tell you this were it not true. www.CWGPortal.com
It can be difficult to experience this joy over the death of a loved one, and sadness is both perfectly natural and very "okay." Yet know this: your Beloved is celebrating Continuation Day. This is the most glorious experience you could possibly imagine. It is, truly, heaven!
And there is this: You will once again reunite with the soul of this loved one. Nor will you ever be separate even now, for their Essence flies to you at your very thought of them. I would not tell you this were it not true. www.CWGPortal.com
Monday, October 27, 2014
Congratulations! MURDER IN CANEY FORK by Wally Avett is a finalist in the Ariana awards for its fantastic cover!
Congratulations! MURDER
IN CANEY FORK by Wally Avett is a finalist in the Ariana awards for its
fantastic cover! Winners are announced in March.
www.wallyavett.com Published by BelleBooks
www.bellebooks.com Represented by
Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Cyber virus on Smartphones!
I
recently tried to download a movie and was overcome with a virus called
astromenda.com. My daughter, Laura, clued me in and it took Robert and
me days to get rid of everything associated with it. Don't just agree to
anything. Please watch this. It is some scary stuff
Strongly suggest anyone with a smart phone and a "flashlight app" watch this FOX NEWS VIDEO.
Strongly suggest anyone with a smart phone and a "flashlight app" watch this FOX NEWS VIDEO.
BEWARE! MALWARE! on the FLASHLIGHT of Your Smart Phone!!
Watch and Heed!!! DANGEROUS! URGENT! IMPORTANT.....
....especially, if you have a Flashlight Application on your iPhone or Android Smart Phone other than the AP which
came with the phone .
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Another contributor to Forgotten Heroes of WWII by Thomas E. Simmons has passed…
Another contributor to
Forgotten Heroes of WWII by Thomas E. Simmons has passed…
It saddens
me terribly to announce that contributor to Forgotten Heroes of WWII
by Thomas E. Simmons, Ed Anderson (Chapter 2 “A Bizarre Tale of April Fools”), flew
West the day before his signed copies of the revised edition were delivered. Simmons
explains, “He was so looking forward to seeing the new book for he’d lost his
first edition during Hurricane Katrina. I visited him several times
including the day before he left us. He always asked, “When will the book
arrive?” We talked and laughed (rather all he could do was smile) about flying,
his, mine and ours.
“I took two books to his home, one
for the family and one dedicated and signed to him as the family expressed the
desire to place his copy in his coffin, which they did. I’d like to say
it gave him something to read on his last flight home. You see pilots
never say a fellow pilot has died…we say they have “gone West…on a last flight
into the sunset.”
An
excerpt Forgotten Heroes of World
War II: Personal Accounts of Ordinary Soldiers Land, Sea and Air, Chapter 2 “A Bizarre Tale of April
Fools”):
“Spring is a season when young men’s thoughts turn to
adventure. So it was on April Fools’ Day 1942 (three months after Pearl
Harbor). At five that morning, Edward Hawkins Anderson, freshman engineering student
at Mississippi State College, and three classmates took off from the campus bound
for New Orleans in Ed’s 1930 Ford roadster.
After driving nearly eight hours
on mostly gravel highways, the dusty foursome found themselves cruising Canal
Street and primed for a good time. A few blocks shy of Bourbon Street, Ed’s
roommate, Sumrall, called attention to a large poster of Uncle Sam in front of
a recruiting center. “STOP!” Sumrall insisted. “Let’s go in and tell ’em we’re
signing up.”
“Are you crazy? We have a
college deferment.”
“Yeah, dummy. We’re in ROTC.
We’ll be on active duty soon enough.”
“Remember what day this is?”
Sumrall insisted. “Come on. I’ll yell ‘April Fools,’ and we’ll run like hell.
Park this thing, Ed. Anybody doesn’t follow me in is a chicken. Just don’t trip
on the way out.”
They walked in as a group, ready
for the cue to run, but each man quickly found himself sitting in a booth
separated from the others with a no-nonsense recruiting sergeant for company.
Twenty minutes later the good-time boys had a discussion on the street.
“Sumrall, you dumb bastard, why
the hell didn’t you yell ‘April Fools’?”
“When we all got separated by
those guys,” he explained, “I couldn’t figure out when to say it.”
“Well the damn joke’s on us, you
dimwit. We couldn’t just get up and run out like a bunch of cowards. We’re all
in the army.”
“Not me,” Sumrall replied.
They looked as though they might
kill him, then he grinned and said, “I’m in the marines.”
Following the recruiters’
instructions, Sumrall went in one direction while I drove the three of us army
recruits to Jackson Barracks, where we filled out a stack of papers, passed
physical examinations, and reported to a distinctly humorless sergeant. He told
us it was too late
in the day to draw uniforms from supply and assigned each
of us to a bunk. I told him I left my car out front and asked where I was
supposed to park it.
“You won’t be needing it,” he
said. “Better get rid of it while you have a chance.”
I hadn’t been in the army two
hours, and I hated it already.”
(Three years later…)
“By the time we docked the tug
at the Fifty-ninth Street Wharf in New York, it was late September 1944. A
colonel met me at the dock and said that that things were looking good in
Europe. “Can’t last more than six or eight months,” he said. “Fact is, Captain
Anderson, they really no longer need your tug over there.” Then he asked a
silly question: “How would you like to go home?”
I had been at war on small boats
for three years, had sailed almost forty thousand nautical miles, had three
vessels shot out from under me, and had survived a hurricane. Not much later I
heard that Sumrall, my college roommate who started everything that April
Fools’ Day, had been killed in action on some Pacific island. (I never heard what
happened to the other two who had also signed up with me.) Then I learned that
my best wartime friend, Zek Brandon, had been killed early on D-Day at
Normandy. I was not quite twenty-two-years-old, but I was mentally and
physically exhausted.
The first and only time during
the entire war that I wore a complete officer’s class A uniform with proper
insignia was the day I was relieved from active duty.”
***
Ed Anderson finished his engineering degree, got a pilot’s
license (has owned several planes), and occasionally will even go out on a
boat. He still follows the buoys to Ship Island. He came home from his wars
(World War II and Korea) highly decorated, but he won’t talk about the medals.
“I used to have a few in a cigar box, but I don’t know where they are now. I
think maybe they washed away with my house during Hurricane Camille.”
God bless Ed Anderson, his family and all those who
have ever served in the United States Armed Forces.
www.thomasesimmons.net
Amazon new and used of the original edition Forgotten Heroes of World War II: Personal Accounts of
Ordinary Soldiers (Cumberland House Publishing, October
2002)
For Forgotten Heroes of World War II: Personal
Accounts of Ordinary Soldiers Land, Sea and Air release
November 2014 Powell’s Books and Waterstones Pre-orders only Published by Taylor
Trade/Rowman and Littlefield Publishing www.rowman.com/TaylorTrade.com
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Touching Spirit: Letters of Minominike by James Washburn gets outstanding endorsement from Winona LaDuke!
Touching
Spirit: Letters of Minominike by James Washburn gets outstanding endorsement from Winona
LaDuke!
Touching
Spirit: Letters of Minominike by James Washburn is the story of
a baby boy whose missionary parents are both killed in an ice fishing accident
and is raised by an Inuit couple in the Boreal Forest of Canada in the late
1920’s. The man he called Grandfather, Minominike, left a box of letters for
him to read in hopes of their re-minding him of his connection with The Creator
of All. (Kal-Ba Publishing, Thanksgiving 2014)
“A beautiful inspiring story
of life lived close to the Earth and in tune with the Spirit. I endorse this
visionary work.”
— Winona LaDuke - Founder of
Honor the Earth; Green Party vice-presidential candidate ’96 & ’00 ; TIME magazine selection - Most
Promising Leader; Ms. magazine - Woman of the Year; Reebok Human Rights Award; National Women’s Hall of Fame 2007
-
ONE
WORLD - ONE FAMILY OF MAN - ONE CREATOR OF ALL
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Published by Kal-Ba Publishing www.kal-ba.com
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Help Stop Human Trafficking! http://teespring.com/findclaire Buy a “I Found Claire Fletcher” t-shirt, based on the novel by Lisa Regan Finding Claire Fletcher
Help Stop Human Trafficking! http://teespring.com/findclaire
Buy a “I Found Claire Fletcher” t-shirt, based on the novel by Lisa Regan Finding
Claire Fletcher www.lisaregan.com Published by Sapphire Star Publishing www.sapphirestarpublishing.com Amazon
Fish Pond The Book
Depository BAM B&N
Indie Bound Kobo Wal Mart Powell”s Books Smashwords
Waterstones www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
All proceeds go to O.U.R. or Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit
organization founded and run by a former CIA agent/Homeland Security agent.
They use cutting edge technology to locate and track child pornographers and
human traffickers. Then they go to local police agencies around the world and
help them catch these monsters. Elizabeth Smart has worked with them. You can
read this great article about them here:
http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/26/tech-startup-operation-underground-railroad-is-saving-kids-from-human-traffickers/ You can check out their website here: https://www.ourrescue.org/
I got two! My sister loved the book! AND it goes to a good cause. Makes great gifts, especially if you get the t-shirt with the book!! Christmas, birthdays, just-for-the-heck-of-it...
I got two! My sister loved the book! AND it goes to a good cause. Makes great gifts, especially if you get the t-shirt with the book!! Christmas, birthdays, just-for-the-heck-of-it...
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Dawn Patrol By Vicki Levin
Dawn Patrol
By Vicki
Levin, author of Just Keep Your Panties On: A Playful Book about Food
and Erotica for the Bedside Table
For the non-surfer this phrase may mean nothing.
But add in the concepts of warm tropical waters, masses of turtles and a
rainbow—well, I’ve just described surfing Ho’okipa on a typically sloppy summer
swell.
The phone rings at 5 a.m. Still too dark to
consider tea or coffee, I try not to whine as my BFF cheerily tosses
out a ‘rise and shine’ over the phone at me. I grunt my assent and the plod
begins.
I wander the dark house in a daze, trying to
remember if I have a suit in the car, is my board loaded or sitting in the rain
and is there anything I can grab to eat post-surf when I will be ravishingly
hungry? The answers float around my head—no suit in the car, did manage to load
boards last night, nothing in the fridge to grab. Damn. Why won't my eyes
focus?
The tea steeps and I barely get my teeth brushed
when the 30 minutes prep time has passed. If I don’t get on the road this very
instant, Lil will decide without me whether we surf Ho’okipa or go to Baldwin
Beach for a walk and swim. This running late has a downside—if she likes the
size of the surf and the wind conditions and is suiting up before I arrive, I’m
stuck—i.e. whatever the conditions are, that’s what I am surfing. Whereas, if I
arrive early or on time, we negotiate a bit. If it is too big or too rough,
sometimes she’ll acquiesce for the beach walk/swim option instead. But today,
there’s no chance. She’ll be there, waxing her board when I pull in. The light
will just begin to play across the water at this hour.
I always feel so righteous when I walk down the
beach in the early morning light, surveying the waves. I know I am taking care
of myself both physically and mentally with this early morning commitment. As
is my ritual, I stretch very lightly and wrap my leash to my leg (I am a
regular-foot, not goofy). I take in the headland to my right where the sun is
starting to peek over, noticing the amount of breakwater on the rocks and how
shallow the water is. I begin a Hawaiian Oli, my entrance chant that has me
asking permission to enter the ocean and learn what I can. I gaze at the cliffs
of Kahakaloa and the West Maui mountains, so lushly green and elegant while I
chant. I wait after my Oli is complete until I feel at ease with permission to
enter Mother Ocean, not injure myself and enjoy the ride or rides if I am lucky
today.
The ocean is a bit rough this morning. A good
paddle out for me is to have dry hair upon arrival into the line-up, where all
the surfers are jockeying for position. A set rolls through and I stay to the
outer edge of the breaking waves as I continue to move further offshore.
As I sit up to stretch a bit and gather my wits
about me, I notice three turtle heads popping up nearby. This is a popular
feeding ground for them and we often feel we are dodging turtle shells as we
take off on waves. Such problems we have on Maui. I recall once being launched
off the front of my board when my back fin hit a large turtle, thereby stopping
my board in mid-drop down a wave face.
After managing to pick off a couple of small
waves, it began to rain. Not a mist as is often the case, but giant pelting
drops hitting the water—the sun shimmering through the rain as I faced East
towards the now fully rising sun—blessed with a field of diamonds. The rain
bouncing off the surface tension of the ocean with the sun streaming through
each droplet—beyond beautiful. We sat laughing at this surprisingly stunning
rain shower and the sparkling gems of light.
Of course, looking west to Kahakaloa once more,
the full double rainbow smiled at us, as she is no stranger to this lovely
rainforest East side of Maui. www.vickilevin.com
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Turn It Over By Jeanne Charters
Turn It Over
I sing at funerals. That scares me sometimes because it
reminds me of my hometown wakes and funerals when the same old ladies would put
on their black dresses and show up. It was kind of a joke in our Irish-American
community. My mother called them crepe hangers. It was, we
thought, their one social activity—except for weekly Mass, of course. Wouldn’t
it be funny if, in fact, they were having raging affairs no one knew about?
Uhhh…I don’t think so. But for their sakes, I hope so.
But anyway, I like to sing at funerals. Well, I just
like to sing in general, but not enough to join the regular choir which
rehearses every Wednesday night. As a funeral singer, you just show up an hour
before it starts and you’re good to go.
As I was driving to the church yesterday for a funeral,
for no reason whatsoever, I got the heebie jeebies about my novel, Shanty Gold.
What if it sucks? What if no one likes it? What if I’ve
been kidding myself, my agent, and my publisher about its quality?
Don’t ask me why I do this. I just do.
After the funeral, I stopped to speak to an ancient
Sister of Mercy. She has opened and operated all the Mercy Urgent Care Centers
where I live, and they’re magnificent. I interviewed her once several years
ago. I respect her talent without qualification.
She asked, “Still writing?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact, my novel Shanty Gold will be
published in 2015.”
“Then why do you look dejected?”
“Oh, Sister, I’m just in my old self-doubt mode,
questioning my talent.”
She looked at me kindly. Her old face was completely
without wrinkles, lines, or rancor.
“You’ve done your best,” she said. “Turn the rest over to
the Lord.”
Of course! Why is it so hard to do that?
(Or as it says in the Bible, “Cast, don’t carry.” —her
agent)
Travis Mills lost both arms and legs in Afghanistan. Help him, help all troops, all vets.
Travis Mills lost both arms
and legs in Afghanistan. Help him, help all troops, all vets. http://travisthemovie.com/ http://travisthemovie.com/showings/
http://www.prekindle.com/promo/id/23543011511940084
GUEST BLOG: A GOOD DAY FOR THE BOOK Southern Literature Rides On—no matter what or when…
Southern Literature Rides On—no matter
what or when…
My
guest blogger today is Stephen Doster, author of a fine new novel, Jesus
Tree. http://robert-inman.com/blog/ www.sdoster.com
Around Nashville you occasionally see a “Save The Book” bumper sticker, courtesy of Parnassus Books, a local bookseller started by Karen Hayes and Ann Patchett after a major independent bookseller folded. The phrase, “Save The book,” stirs up a lot of connotations. In the 140-character world of Twitter and text-speak, some people fret for the future of the written word. Cell phone novels, written entirely as text messages, began in Japan in 2003 and spread to other countries at a rate that makes Ebola blush (LOL). E-readers and e-books threaten to make paperbacks and hardcovers a thing of the past. So, what about the book as we know it? Will it survive? Will we be a literate or a semi-literate society?
I don’t know the answer to that. But I do know that October 11, 2014 was
a good day for “the book.” In fact, it was a good day for a lot of
books. On that day I attended another author panel session at the
Southern Festival of Books, an annual three-day love fest for authors,
publishers, and most importantly, readers, not e-readers but the actual
flesh-and-blood variety. The festival encompasses three large edifices –
the main library, the state capitol, and the legislative building. There
are numerous author sessions occurring every hour of the festival for three
days.
Saturday, October 11th was also the day #2 ranked Auburn Tigers played #3
ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs in college football – in the South, where
Nashville happens to be located. It was a wet, overcast day, and I was
going to an end-of-the day, closing session. But I had been to this
festival before on a workday Friday, on an SEC football Saturday, and on an NFL
(Titans in town) Sunday, and there had always been a good turnout for “the book.”
But was that still the case? After all, e-books had another year to
undermine “the book” since the 2013 festival.
The room I was going to was on the third floor of Nashville’s impressive marble
and stone library. The 3:00 o’clock session was ending (packed room – a
good sign!), and people were gathering outside the room for the last panel.
This particular session was titled, “The Evolution of the Southern Short
Story,” featuring authors Suzzane Hudson, David Madden, and H. William (Bill)
Rice. Before the session began, Belmont University Professor Devon Boan,
the moderator, was discussing Bill’s book in-depth. “It’s nice when a
moderator has actually read the book!” the author said. Welcome to the
Southern Festival of Books.
During the session, the authors read passages from their books. Madden
acted his out in a one-man play. Afterward, the audience members peppered
them with questions. The discussion ranged from the evolution of short
stories, or lack thereof, to post-humanism in Southern literature.
Wow. Really? Auburn is playing Mississippi State, and we’re talking
post-humanism? Full disclosure: I didn’t follow all of that segment
of the discussion, but the fact it was going down in the South, on an SEC
football Saturday, was encouraging.
But it gets better. After this session, I followed Devon and the authors
to Legislative Plaza where the author signing area is located. I stopped
to buy books and then made my way up the steps to the author tables in the
still overcast and dreary afternoon with evening closing in. The three
authors were at the same table signing books. Suzanne and Bill
autographed their copies for me, then I got in David’s line. David knows
a lot of people. A big guy was standing next to him talking to Devon and
David as he signed books. When I got closer, the big guy reached out his
hand and said, “Hi. I’m Pat Conroy. Nice to meet you.”
Pat Conroy was the keynote for the book festival and had been signing books for two hours before we got there. And there he was, still talking to authors and fans, and chatting with people like me, like we’re family. Then he said something I’ve always thought when attending this festival but never expressed. He looked out over the tables with authors from other sessions and the lines of people waiting to have their books signed. He spread his arms, taking it all in, and he said three words. “Isn’t this great?”
Yes, Pat Conroy, this is great. On a wet, overcast, SEC football Saturday, at day’s end, people still discuss books (post-humanism and all), they still buy books, and they still line up to have their favorite authors sign those books.
A good day for the book? It was a great day for the book.
Pat Conroy was the keynote for the book festival and had been signing books for two hours before we got there. And there he was, still talking to authors and fans, and chatting with people like me, like we’re family. Then he said something I’ve always thought when attending this festival but never expressed. He looked out over the tables with authors from other sessions and the lines of people waiting to have their books signed. He spread his arms, taking it all in, and he said three words. “Isn’t this great?”
Yes, Pat Conroy, this is great. On a wet, overcast, SEC football Saturday, at day’s end, people still discuss books (post-humanism and all), they still buy books, and they still line up to have their favorite authors sign those books.
A good day for the book? It was a great day for the book.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Jocko Lee hospitalized
John Edwards, aka Jocko Lee, author of Buffalo Island, Glass
Wind Chimes and Tar Kyler: Time Traveling Mercenary
has been hospitalized for the third time since August. Having gone in for a
knee replacement, he developed blood clotting issues and also had heart
failure. He is in need of our prayers and support. If you would like to send
him “get well” wishes, please do. jockolee51@yahoo.com
http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/jocko-lee/
Prodigious Savant by JJ White October 19—Marilyn’s Musing Blog
Prodigious Savant by JJ White
October
19—Marilyn’s Musing Blog - Event: Guest blog http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
There
are fewer than one hundred reported cases of prodigious savants in the world.
Those few who possess the savant syndrome all have an island of brilliance that
allows them to excel in some remarkable talent. Unfortunately, they all share
various developmental disabilities; some bizarre, others violent.
In
1962 Vermont, seventeen-year-old Gavin Weaver survives a horrendous explosion,
six hours of brain surgery and thirty days in a coma to awaken possessing not
just one savant talent, but several: art, music, mathematics, and memory, and
all without suffering any of the usual mental disabilities associated with head
trauma…except one issue he keeps hidden from all.
His
newly acquired abilities thrust him into the public eye as the amazing ‘Whiz
Kid from Burlington;’ a moniker he detests. His genius, paranoia, and increased
hallucinations result in some strange and extraordinary encounters with the
icons of the ‘60s, including Bobby Fischer, Nikita Khrushchev, Edward R.
Murrow, John Chancellor and even a tragic meeting with John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
He also catches the eye of a neurologist who is unique in his own right, and is
most interested in the young man’s brain—for many reasons.
Gavin’s
odds are slim that he will survive not only his external trials but also his
inner conflicts; keeping him from the one thing he desires most, the girl he’s
loved since childhood.
White has written over two hundred short stories, had
articles and stories published in several anthologies and magazines including, Wordsmith, The Homestead
Review, The Seven Hills
Review and The Grey Sparrow Journal. His story, “The Nine Hole League” was recently published
in the Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Magazine, #13. He has won
awards and honors from the Alabama Writers Conclave, Writers-Editors
International, Maryland Writers Association, The Royal Palm Literary Awards,
Professional Writers of Prescott, and Writer’s
Digest. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short piece in The
Grey Sparrow Journal. His other two novels, Deviant Acts (2015) and
Nisei (2015) will also by published by Black Opal Books. www.jjwhitebooks.com
Published by Black Opal Books www.blackopalbooks.com
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
White events:
- October 28 –Anne K. Albert Blog - http://www.anne-k-albert.com/
- November 13 – Fran Lewis Radio Interview - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork/2013/01/10/book-discussion--
- December 29 -Note: Mason Canyon Blog - http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com/
Friday, October 17, 2014
New Ideas
The Weakly Post
New
Ideas
A new idea is a stick of
dynamite. It can get you killed, especially in small towns. Little-town
memories of my youth include this oft-recited axiom: “A new idea and a cold drink of
water, taken together, can kill you.”
Ideas swirl in the Georgia
red-clay dust devils that transplant the topsoil. They shimmer in the heat
monkeys that rise from asphalt roads that turn liquid in the stifling summer
meltdowns. It’s preached on every corner and in every church. Not so much
in words, but in the winks, the nods, the habits and thought patterns inbred into
generation after incestuous generation.
Ideas are dangerous. Why?
Because new ideas step on toes. They change things and tend to upset the status
quo, the perceived, predictable and traditional ways of doing things. If anyone
is foolish enough to attempt to upset a small-town status quo or the existing
power structure, fresh rope suddenly appears. The hapless innovator receives
swift recompense administered by local vigilantes.
A hot air balloon
rises from a field in France. It’s observed by Alexander Graham Bell and a
friend. It floats over some trees, coming to rest in a field tended by peasants
with pitchforks. Immediately it’s violently assaulted, collapsing lifelessly in
the loess.
The friend asks, “Dr. Bell, now what good came from
that hot air balloon experiment?”
Dr. Bell replies, “What
good is any new-born baby?”
My mother was always trying
new ideas. Like tricking me to eat liver. She pleaded in her best logic, “But
son, it’s good for you”. She
soon learned that logic is not the best motivator of stupid kids.
Her last attempt to trick
me into eating that foul meat went sideways. Its malodorous stench hung in the
humid air for blocks in our neighborhood. People fled their homes, gasping for
breath. Those horrendous episodes finally broke her will. She abandoned all
further ideas and efforts of trickery.
My grandmother had better
luck with squash. She baked it in lemon skins, and it was terrific, to which I
said, “Jewel (her
name, and she was one!), this is the best baked lemon I
ever ate.” Like I said, kids may be stupid, but good food
overcomes logic every time!
One Sunday, with my mother
in tow, I revisited the little Methodist Church of my youth after some 20
year’s absence. We sat in the second row left, near the altar. After the
service, two elderly ladies rushed up to me, saying, “We barely recognized you…you were
not in your usual place.”
I remember saying, “Uh, where is my usual place?”
“Why, your
regular place was always in the back right, not the
front left.” There
you have it…the status quo, alive and well. I’d now become a revolutionary
iconoclast!
Maybe it would have been
good to have told them that during my absence I had swallowed a new idea that
seems to be working. Repentance is one of those ‘new ideas,’ you know. It
always has an Audience. It sometimes takes hard knocks to change one’s mind.
Now I sit up front, lower left, as close to the fire as I’m willing to get.
Thomas Edison experimented
with over 1,000 gas combinations to find one that worked in the electric light
bulb. Before success arrived, he was asked, “Dr. Edison, have you
failed?”
He replied, “No,
I have succeeded in finding 1,000 combinations that won’t work.”
You’re reading this now because his new idea continues to explode in the face
of the darkness of status quo.
Historical events often
don’t create new paradigms as much as they reveal new eras, pregnant with
possibilities. It begs question of what might happen if we swallow some new
ideas. History is waiting for our actions, not our words.
The choice is ever before
us: nurture the new, or rot in the ruins of a crumbling status quo. We can’t do
both. Do you have a new idea? Light the fuse…change history!
Bud Hearn
October 17, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Words from Pep The Reflection in Your Eyes
Words
from Pep
The
Reflection in Your Eyes
I see you in the eyes of every
creature, hiding there, back in the darkness, wondering if anyone will notice.
I see you peering around the sharp edge of each leaf, gazing out into the world
through the cracks of stone and bark. Your longing desire to be seen, your
passion to merge with another, held in check behind the misty tear of patient
love. Humble beyond knowing, you wait hoping for that fleeting glance of
recognition, that momentary pause when you might become one with your beloved.
In that perfect eternal instant when the seed of revelation ignites the soul, I
am consumed in your adoration, swept away, embraced in the silent fire of your
love. There is no higher state, no greater light. Aloneness, for you and for
me, evaporates, replaced with belonging and communion. In this higher state,
from the voice of every insect, every bird, from the rustle of grass and the
sound of my steps you are heard and seen. There is no more hiding. We have
become one, completed, fulfilled. You are the meaning of my existence and I am
yours. This is the life eternal, your embrace, recognized, received. Infused
with this love, running over with the peace of knowing your nearness, my heart
grows, expands to accept all things and experiences. Fear flies away allowing
my true self to arise and I see my reflection in your eyes. Hand in hand we
walk together across the stage of your creation celebrating our union – Lover
and Beloved - Creator and Created. www.theteacherwithin.com
--
ONE WORLD - ONE FAMILY OF MAN - ONE CREATOR OF ALL
ONE WORLD - ONE FAMILY OF MAN - ONE CREATOR OF ALL
I believe God wants you to know that God is talking to you every minute of every hour of every day.
I
believe God wants you to know that God is talking to you every minute of every
hour of every day.
You are never alone, or without help or guidance, counsel or advice. You need but purely and earnestly
ask a question and God will answer you, directly and immediately.
The answer may come in an unexpected form, but it will come.Your only job then will be to not ignore it;
to see it for what it is. For all you know these very words may be an answer to your question about whether God is even listening to you or offering you guidance. www.CWGPortal.com
You are never alone, or without help or guidance, counsel or advice. You need but purely and earnestly
ask a question and God will answer you, directly and immediately.
The answer may come in an unexpected form, but it will come.Your only job then will be to not ignore it;
to see it for what it is. For all you know these very words may be an answer to your question about whether God is even listening to you or offering you guidance. www.CWGPortal.com
***
Consider
the red flags, the “I don’t think sos” and the nudgings. When you think of
people, He may want you to call or email them or even send flowers. Guilt about
not doing something you should or doing something you shouldn’t. We are all one
with God. Therefore, what you do or do not do will affect those around you or
even on the other side of the planet. Remember to do without expecting anything
in return, but when you do get something (a smile, a “thank you” or even
something tangible) be thankful and humble. Think, say and do positive things
at all times!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Na ‘aumakua at Dusk
Na
‘aumakua at Dusk
By Vicki
Levin, author of Just Keep Your Panties On: A Playful Book about Food
and Erotica for the Bedside Table
Photo
Courtesy of Hawai'i Forest & Trails
While our forests and
grasslands here on Maui are not populated by many mammals, birds are quite
another story. Last night at dusk we found ourselves outside under a fingernail
thin sliver of a crescent moon. As the Western sky began to lose its swath of
pink, we watched a bird of prey swoop low to the grasslands that sit on the
edge of our gulch as we reside up against 50+ acres of watershed. Back and
forth he glided, hunting the thick brush and scrub that leads to the forest.
The light was getting low and finally he was a mere shadow in the darkness.
The Pueo or Hawaiian owl is a
subspecies of the short-eared barn owl. It is endemic to Hawai’i as it is not
naturally found elsewhere, but evolved here. Apparently the Hawaiians found it
here upon first contact.
This rapidly declining avian
is considered ‘aumakua or an ancestor spirit in Hawaiian culture. One doesn’t
see them too often as our eco-systems are constantly in flux with development,
even here in the rainforest on the road to heavenly Hana. Here’s an excerpt
from Kamehameha Schools about Pueo:
The pueo is considered
a sacred creature, having a special place in Hawaiian mythology, and is
recognized as a kinolau (physical manifestation) of 'aumakua
(ancestral guardians). It was believed in ancient Hawai'i that following the
death of an individual, the spirit of that individual could still influence and
protect the remaining family members through the use of a body such as that of
an owl, shark, turtle or other animal. As an 'aumakua, the pueo
is often attributed as a protector or guardian, and was specifically skilled in
battle. In legends and stories, the pueo is credited with providing
guidance and direction, and as in other cultures, is recognized as a symbol of
wisdom and knowledge.
As we sat sipping our wine, I
pondered the idea of ‘aumakua from a modern, non-Hawaiian perspective. I often
think of lessons my parents taught me and how those lessons now ‘protect and
guide’ me from making serious mistakes. So while I may not believe in the
afterworld, I do believe that I am affected by my ancestors and what I’ve
learned from them. Occasionally when a problem comes up I will ask myself,
“What would Mama do in this instance?” She’s still a guide to me, although long
gone from my physical life. While this isn’t a physical representation such as
a turtle, shark or Pueo as is believed in the Hawaiian culture, perhaps this is
my form of ‘aumakua? In which case, we all have this opportunity to remember
what we’ve learned and make it useful to our daily lives. www.vickilevin.com Represented by Loiacono
Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
What Makes a Hero?
What Makes a Hero?
By Maris Soule
Stop by and see what my personal hero is doing.
Maris
soulem@aol.com
www.marissoule.com
A KILLER PAST, published by Robert Hale Ltd., to be released March 2015
THE CROWS and AS THE CROW FLIES, Five Star Mysteries. And also from Five Star Mysteries, EAT CROW AND DIE, available June 2015.
soulem@aol.com
www.marissoule.com
A KILLER PAST, published by Robert Hale Ltd., to be released March 2015
THE CROWS and AS THE CROW FLIES, Five Star Mysteries. And also from Five Star Mysteries, EAT CROW AND DIE, available June 2015.
Medical Arrogance and Ignorance in the mid-19th Century
Medical
Arrogance and Ignorance in the mid-19th Century
In Shanty Gold’s mid-19th
century time period, many women died during or immediately after childbirth
from something called “childbed fever.”
Since this was years before
Louis Pasteur discovered the existence of germs in 1888, the physicians of the
day would blithely go from an autopsy to a delivery room without washing their
hands or instruments. Any suggestion that they could be part of the problem was
met with arrogance and disdain.
When Mary Boland became a
midwife, she asked Mr. Mendel, the brilliant apothecary owner who employed and
taught Kamua Okafor, if he knew of any way to lessen the incidence of childbed
fever.
He told her of a Dr.
Semmelweis in Austria who felt that cleanliness was at the root of the problem.
He gave her special soaps and chlorine and advised her to keep her instruments
and hands as clean as possible.
This caused problems with the
arrogant Boston Medical Association who felt threatened by her ability to
deliver more safely than they could in the hospital.
Mary would not quit! Her
birthing clinic, Kathleen’s Haven, opened in 1853.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
I believe God wants you to know that you cannot make a mistake, you can only make a decision that will be your next best step.
I believe God wants you to know that you cannot make a mistake, you can only make a decision that will be your next best step.
There is no reason to hesitate when you know that you have nothing to lose. And losing is not an act of God, it is a thought in the mind of humans.
Get rid of the thought and you get rid of doubt. Ride your Wisdom to Victory.www.CWGPortal.com
There is no reason to hesitate when you know that you have nothing to lose. And losing is not an act of God, it is a thought in the mind of humans.
Get rid of the thought and you get rid of doubt. Ride your Wisdom to Victory.www.CWGPortal.com
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