I chose to review “Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning” by Philip Kennicott for two reasons. I’ve been in mourning since my husband died in April 2019 and I love baroque music (JS Bach is the master). The author is a gifted writer. Philip Kennicott is the chief Art and Architecture Critic of The Washington Post. Kennicott won the Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s awesome co-hosts for the IWSG are T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff! This week I will be recounting my writing journey as I answer the optional question for January 8, 2020:“What started you on Read more…
I was thrilled to see that the next offering in the True Colors Series (Historical Stories of American Crime) is “The Gray Chamber” by Grace Hitchcock. I loved the first book in the series, also by Hitchcock, “The White City.” “The Gray Chamber” lived up to my expectations and more. (Read my review of “The White City.”)Edyth Foster and Nellie Read more…
“The Tenant” by Katrine Engberg is a fast-paced mystery/thriller from Denmark. The novel debuts detectives Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner as they set out to catch an elusive killer in Copenhagen. After a young girl is found dead in her apartment, with a strange symbol drawn on her face, detectives search for clues as to why she was killed.Esther, the Read more…
“Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era” by Jerry Mitchell was a startling look back in history. Because of the terroristic threats imposed by the Ku Klux Klan, backed up with a willingness for violence and even murder, in the 60’s justice wasn’t blind. Some of the most notorious racially motivated murders Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to the December 4 IWSG co-hosts: Tonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, and Tyrean Martinson! Today we will explore living the dream: the life of a writer, as I answer the IWSG question for December 4th:“Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. Read more…
“When We Were Vikings,” by Andrew David MacDonald is one of the most engrossing books I’ve read in a long time—and I read a lot of good books.
As someone who is a beginner to Church history, this series has been an exciting eye-opener. I’ve often heard of various heresies and subsequent ecumenical councils that were convened to clear them up, but it was difficult to keep all of them straight. “The Church and the Roman Empire” lays everything out in easy to understand language with a dramatic Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to November 6th’s IWSG co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie! Today we will look at my internet search history, as I answer the optional IWSG question for the month:“What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching Read more…
As I read “The Early Church: St. Peter, the Apostles, and Martyrs,” by James L. Papandrea, I was reading an exciting family history. Names I have heard many times became attached to stories of the real people who were part of the Church’s beginnings.The Early Church Made ApproachablePapandrea’s background is theologically rich and deep, yet, “The Early Church” was very Read more…
Lori Erickson is an Episcopalian deacon, as well as a travel writer. Her latest project has fused her love of spirituality and global travel in “Near the Exit: Travels with the Not-So-Grim Reaper.” For the last year, I have been reading a lot about death and the ceremonies surrounding our farewell to this life. “Near the Exit” seemed like an Read more…
“Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me,” by Adrienne Brodeur is a fascinating memoir about a daughter and her mother and the unhealthy dynamic between them. We get our first glimpse of their relationship the night that Malabar, Adrienne’s mother, wakes 14-year-old Adrienne to tell her, “Ben Souther just kissed me!” Ben Souther was the best friend of Malabar’s Read more…
From the very first line, I was drawn into this book. “I am going to use the cheese wire on you.” Wow! “I Will Make You Pay,” by Teresa Driscoll was everything I hoped it would be. I’ve read “I Am Watching You” and “The Promise,” and loved both. Like those novels, “I will Make You Pay,” takes place in Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to October 2nd’s IWSG co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor! Today we will look at whether it’s better for writers to read or not to read, as I answer the optional IWSG question for Read more…
In our last Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson, we learned about similes. Today we are going to look at another type of figurative language, closely related to the simile: the metaphor.Metaphor vs. SimileA metaphor is similar to a simile in that it compares one thing to another. The two things being compared, of course, must have something in common. The big Read more…
Today I thought I would do something a little different and answer 25 Not-Too-Scary Life Questions from Karen Hume’s blog, Profound Journey. Profound Journey is based in Canada, so those aren’t spelling errors in the questions, but rather the Queen’s English (which I am rather partial to, myself).Even though these questions are “not-too-scary,” I’m not always comfortable plumbing the depth Read more…
There are thousands of phobias and fears in the world. Most of us only have one or two, and they are as individual as we are. I once knew a woman who was petrified of cotton balls. I’m not joking. I witnessed one of her employees trap her in her office by simply putting a cotton ball on the office Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner! Today I’ll be taking you to the House on the Rock as I answer the optional question of the month:If you could pick one place in the world Read more…
Today, guest blogger Amanda Lasater shares how to become a morning person.No matter who you are or where you live, you undoubtedly have a friend, coworker, or neighbor who seems to absolutely beam in the morning time, as if they were just made for it. Well, the truth is that they actually were made for the morning, as are most Read more…
“Once More unto the Breach” by Meghan Holloway is yet another book in the popular WWII historical fiction genre. But this novel definitely stands on its own. It is as much mystery and suspense as war and romance.The plot of “Once More unto the Breach” was intricate and completely original, as was the cast of characters: Rhys, a Welsh farmer Read more…
