Ever since I began writing, I wished for a local writers group. The only ones I’d found were in Virginia Beach, maybe half an hour from our flat during off-rush-hour traffic. Not all that bad, you might think. But if I was going to take a few hours away from my keyboard, I didn’t want…
Month: February 2018
What Not to Do
(Caveat: It is not my habit or intention to belittle another author’s writing. That said, I don’t always like everything I read. Do you? The statements herein are my opinion only. Your mileage may vary.) This is not a book review. I just want that clear right up front, because in this post I want…
A God In Ruins
By Kate Atkinson Back Bay Books, ISBN: 978-0316176507 Paperback, ©2016, 480 pages Ex-bomber pilot Teddy, a.k.a. Edward Todd, has settled into an expected post-war role of husband and father, living out his days in small-town mediocrity with enigmatic wife Nancy, unlikeable daughter Viola, volatile grandson Sunny and pragmatic granddaughter Bertie. He is content to write…
GodSeed
Last week I gave a presentation on the Pagan/Wiccan holiday of Imbolg to a small interfaith group whose members are mostly Christian and Jewish. It wasn’t the first time I’ve shared aspects of my faith with this loving group of people. My views are always accepted with open hearts and not a little curiosity. Though…
Up the Tension
I’ve read it over and over, heard it in workshops and plenary sessions. A good story isn’t about any one character or group of characters. Instead, it’s about those characters doing things. Striving, reaching, hurting or being hurt, trying and failing and trying again, coming, going, living, learning. It’s about the events that happen to…