The Civil War and Thanksgiving The history of this quintessentially American holiday provokes and challenges each year when I take time to ponder this oxymoron: The civil war and thanksgiving. Can anyone think of a less opportune time to declare a national holiday than in the middle of a war? Specifically a war between Americans? …
November: The Month of the Dead Each of the first eight days of November, my husband John and I find a local cemetery and then walk through the tombstones while saying prayers for those who are buried there. Morbid? Bizarre? Or practical? Whether we know it or not, we are all-immortal souls- headed somewhere after …
If we are not frightened by brutality are not my words, instead, they are those of St. Augustine as he wrote about the serene, loving and Christlike words that poured from the mouth of the brutally tortured and dying martyr, St. Vincent during yet another of the successive regimes of persecution against Christians in the …
We would need to be comatose to miss the fact of the upcoming elections: No one can say it better than Solzhenitsyn. The lure of socialism is growing. Understandable in a country, indeed a world, where it feels like only the very rich keep getting more. And those at the bottom of the heap less and …
Angels- Bible Fantasy or Real? The Christian liturgy celebrates the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Rafael on September 29th. Three days later on October 2nd, we celebrate our Guardian angels. Catholics were brought up believing, even trusting, in their Guardian Angels. For the rest of us, the notion of such heavenly beings was fitting …
Revisiting the Three Rules for Writing A Novel As I close in the completion of my latest book, I, Claudia, I need to review this wonderful quip of a writer far more well-known than I. “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” I love quotes like this …
How Machiavellian are you? Never thought about it? Since the word Machiavellian is defined as unscrupulous, underhanded and crafty the question of ‘just how Machiavellian are you?’ isn’t something that pops into the head of the average bear. Unless you’re a cop, or lawyer or have had sufficient experience with the justice system to know …
At least for those in search of wisdom and truth. Those responsible for the university curricula have capitulated to a minority- it always is a minority- who claim that the dead white guy be absented from their studies. I write ‘calamitous’ because a million years ago, while working my way through my undergraduate degree in …
Despite the bad reviews, the 15:17 to Paris is worth your time. Before you head out to see it however, you should know the reviewers were right in more than a few of their critical comments. None of the three young men playing himself is in danger of a nomination for Best Actor. The beginning …
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Author interviews, why do them? I read they are an excellent marketing tool for authors who sell less than hundreds of thousands of their books. Like me. This latest one had some unusual questions, consequently, replying to them was an intriguing exercise for me. More on that in a few minutes. First, the latest …