Joshua~

Please enjoy these beautiful photographs from Cindy Knoke!

Cindy Knoke

fit the battle of Jericho,

and the walls,

came tumbling down.

These tumbled boulders,

are in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

Despite Southern California’s endless severe drought,

the Joshua Tree’s are still surviving, although under threat.

The desert desperately needs water.

Only the rocks are unperturbed.

Cheers to you from elegantly jumbled Joshua Tree National Park~

View original post

Terrific Children’s Books – #1

Here is another wonderful post from the excellent teacher, Jennie!

A Teacher's Reflections

Looking ahead to Christmas and gift giving, books are always a timeless and welcome gift.  I have found a few excellent books which I want to share with you.  I had to buy them, as they’re that good.  Children in my classroom heartily agree!

In today’s world children need to develop social and emotional skills now more than ever.  They have been isolated with Covid for a long time, and while they’re (mostly) back in school, it’s just not the same thing.  Masks and required social distancing has taken its toll on what is most important for children. So, when a book is a great story and also a piece of what they need, it’s win-win.

The Rabbit Listened
by Cori Doerrfeld

Taylor builds a magnificent block structure.  Clearly, all of his energy and creative ideas have gone into this building.

Something amazing.  Taylor was proud.

And then… a terrible…

View original post 234 more words

Happy Thanksgiving–2021!

(https://pixabay.com)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2021, while better than 2020, has still been an extremely difficult year for many people, some much more than others, but this is still a time to find something to be thankful for.

Please remember to recognize the positives and the blessings in your lives.

And please remember to give thanks to those who help us in many ways. So many are away from home, friends, and family, and we should all give them a moment of thanks.

Please try to remember those who are less fortunate, and try to find some kindness and to continue to spread it throughout the year.

To my friends, including my many blogging friends, and family, –thank you! I am grateful for all of you.

I would also like to ask all of you:  For what are you thankful?

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Few Quotations on Books

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

                             Marcus Tullius Cicero

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”

                                            Stephen King

(https://it.wikipedia.org)

“We live for books.”

                                             Umberto Eco

“Books are the food and drink for the human soul.”

                                Charles F. French

The Little Folk of Brittany

Here is a fascinating post from bonjourfrombrittany!

Bonjour From Brittany

One of the most commonly found creatures in the rich canon of Breton folklore are the korrigans; a race of capricious magical dwarves who now live underground surrounded by vast wealth and are variously described as blonde haired or black haired; benevolent or malicious; as household helpers but also as fiendish abductors of babies.

The world of magical creatures is notoriously inconsistent and irrational; tales about korrigans differ from place to place in Brittany and, as with all tales, the storyteller omits and embellishes thus altering the tale a little more each time. Such fluidity means that defining the nature and role of korrigans is difficult and even the nomenclature is not without issues. Korr is the Breton word for dwarf and ig–ans are diminutive suffixes, so, literally a small little dwarf but the 19th century folklorist Paul Sébillot noted over fifty names given to korrigans and lutins

View original post 2,403 more words

How Are You Doing With Your Writing?

November is coming to an end, and some of you have been doing NaNoWriMo, and others have continued with a somewhat less frenzied pace.

I am one of the people who tries to write on a regular basis and avoids binge writing. I  I am also continuing to work on what I am calling an historical fiction/romance–imagine that coming from this writer of horror! If I can maintain my current pace, I should be able to finish the first draft soon.

I will also begin revising one of the other first drafts I have completed. By the way, if you are wondering how I manage to do this, check out my book Get The Draft Done! Helping Writers Finish Their First Draft — how’s that for a bit of shameless self-promotion!

So, I ask all of you: how is your writing going?

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Robbie’s Inspiration: A poem – She lives, and yet she’s dead

Here is a moving and powerful poem by Robbie Cheadle.

November 2021 Self-Promotion Party!

Hello to all the writers out there and reading this blog!

It is well into the month of November, so it is time for a shameless self-promotion party; please do not be shy about your work.

Writers need to be their own best publicists, and we should also help each other!

Let the world know about your book(s)!

Promote them as much as you can!

Shout to the world about your writing!

Tell us about your book(s), and leave an image and a link if you can.

Here is my shameless self-promotion: my latest nonfiction book can help writers who have issues with finishing first drafts of their books. If that is you, I offer direct, practical advice on how to Get The Draft Done! Helping Writers Finish Their First Draft by Charles F. French.

In order for as many people to see your work as possible, please Tweet, and reblog this post!

Please remember to be proud of your work!

My latest novel is Evil Lives After: The Investigative Paranormal Society, Book 3.

Available on Amazon

Get The Draft Done! is available here: Amazon.com

Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Please Honor Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, and I simply wanted to offer my thank you to all the men and women who have served or are serving our country in the Armed Forces.

This day began with Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, which ended the First World War. Congress formalized Armistice Day as a national holiday in 1938. After World War II and The Korean War, the day was renamed Veterans Day, and it serves as a time to honor all of those who have served or are serving.

Please let it be a day of honor and thanks, not one of special sales deals. It is a day to recognize the commitment, duty, sacrifice, and service of the men and women who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces.

Quotations on Intellectualism

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

                                                  Isaac Asimov

“In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.”

                                                   George Orwell

“I’m tired of ignorance held up as inspiration, where vicious anti-intellectualism is considered a positive trait, and where uninformed opinion is displayed as fact.”

                                                      Phil Plait

“For democracy to survive, Americans must learn to embrace intellectualism, reject cult-like behavior, employ analysis, understand and use science, and think for themselves.”

                                                      Charles F. French