Thank You and Happy New Year!

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As this difficult and often terrible year is approaching its end, I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. One such thing that I am deeply grateful for are my readers on this blog. You are a disparate group, but you are also unfailingly intelligent, kind, and civil. I have also made several friendships here with people who live far away, and I am deeply grateful for those connections.

To all my blog followers:

Thank you!

Charles F. French

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And I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2022!

Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas to all!  I wish you joy, peace, love, and happiness.

Fröhliche Weihnachten — in German

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Nollaig Shona Dhuit —  in Irish Gaelic

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Boldog Karácsonyt! — in Hungarian

http://gmerrychristmasg.hol.es

These are languages of my background and of my interest.

Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Holidays Movies: 2: The Man Who Invented Christmas

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I have several Christmas movies that carry great meaning to me and that I have loved over many years. I have written about them before in this blog, and I will continue to do so. Now, however, I want to make a new entry into my list of favorite Christmas movies.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is an extraordinary film that was released two years ago. It is a wonderful movie  that explores the creative process of Charles Dickens as he wrote the classic novel, A Christmas Carol. The director is Bharat Nalluri, and this work is marvelous! We get a direct entrance into Dickens’ mind as he struggles with his writing. His characters appear and talk to him, which is an excellent touch.

The film is based on the book by Les Standiford, and the stars are Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, and Jonathan Pryce. The entire cast, without exception, give extraordinary performances. Christopher Plummer as Scrooge is especially brilliant. Dan Stevens should be recognized as one of the finest actors today.

This film delivers the message of Dickens’ masterpiece, that humanity should be the business of everyone, that money should not be the focus of our lives, and that we should all try to help each other. It will capture your heart and soul, and it is a film I recommend completely! On a system of 5 stars, I give it five!

Please, do yourself a favor, and watch this movie!

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Blessed Yule and Solstice!

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I want to wish everyone a Happy Yule and Blessed Solstice–this wish goes to everyone regardless of religious beliefs or otherwise! This is a season of generosity, kindness, and forgiveness. Please try to spread kindness wherever you go.

Also, I am one of the unusual people who loves Winter–I always feel at my best physically and mentally at this time of year. I become more energetic, and I always feel like a child with delight when it snows.

Again–Have a Happy Yule and Blessed Solstice!

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My Favorite Holiday Movies: 1: White Christmas

This season is one of my favorite times of year, and I love doing this series on Christmas movies. Throughout the month of December, I will post on several of my favorite Christmas films.

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White Christmas, the 1954 film about two former soldiers who turn song and dance men and who help their former commander as he attempts to run a floundering ski resort, has special meaning to me. It stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney and was directed by Michael Curtiz. It features the songs of Irving Berlin.  As a major piece of American film history, that would be enough to be of interest to me, but it has a much more profound connection.

My parents were both of “the greatest generation,” which is a description with which I agree. They were born and raised during the depression and were part of the multitudes of America who fought and supported World War II. My father was a Marine, and my mother worked in the Signal Corps.  This group of Americans had a toughness that was forged in the fire of great tumult, both national and international. They understood that the connection to country meant service and a willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Corps_%28United_States_Army%29)

My mother loved this movie, and it was a tradition in our family to watch it when it aired on television, which was, if I remember correctly, every Christmas Eve. If not that night, then it was always on a nearby night. Of course, as a child who was born a while after World War II, it was all ancient history to me then, but for my mother and father, it spoke directly to their lives and to their hopes and dreams.

Both of my parents have been gone for quite a while now, over 20 years–they were married for 48 years and died within 2 years of each other. As I have become older, I have learned to appreciate what my parents did for us, which, I have to admit, when I was young and stupid, I did not. To paraphrase Mark Twain, –it is amazing how smart my parents got as I got older. And I appreciate and try to continue some of the family traditions, including watching White Christmas, but now with my beloved wife. And now my granddaughter is old enough to begin to appreciate and enjoy these films. I still feel the connection to my Mom and Pop when I watch this movie.  This movie speaks to the connection of people, of hope, of joy, of happiness, and of the power of music.

And I wish we would have a white Christmas, and I hope it will happen this year.

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A December Self-Promotion Party!

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It is now almost Winter, and it is time once again for a book promotion party!

I want to offer an opportunity for all writers who follow this blog to share information on their books. It can be very difficult to generate publicity for our writing, so I thought this little effort might help. All books may be mentioned, and there is no restriction on genre. This encompasses fiction, poetry, plays, and non-fiction. If I have neglected to mention a genre, please consider it to be included.

To participate, simply give your name, your book, information about it, and where to purchase it in the comments section. Then please be willing to reblog and/or tweet this post. The more people that see it, the more publicity we can generate for everyone’s books. I will continue to do these parties every few weeks.

Thank you for participating!

Promote your books!

Spread the word!

Keep on writing!

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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

My radio interview:

interview

Available on Amazon

Available on Amazon

Bloomin’ Holler~

Please enjoy these beautiful photographs from Cindy Knoke!

Rain is in the forecast,

for tomorrow.

It will be the first winter storm,

for the parched Holler,

and won’t be nearly enough,

but we’ll take what we can get,

to keep The Holler bloomin’.

Happy Holidays to you from The Holler~

Note: These photos were taken near The Holler, at The Vista Botanical Garden, Ganter Nursery, and The San Diego Safari Park.

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Some Quotations From A Christmas Carol

 

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”(62)

“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.” (108)

“There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.” (92)

“‘God bless us every one!’ said Tiny Tim, the last of all.” (97)

 

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens: The Christmas Books Volume I.

Penguin Classics. New York. 1985.

R. I. P. Anne Rice

The world lost an excellent writer and a wonderful person on December 11, 2021. Anne Rice died at the age of 80 from complications of a stroke, and I grieve her passing.

Anne Rice was most well known for her vampire series beginning with Interview With The Vampire in 1976; this novel revolutionized the image of the vampire and set the tone for many other writers who followed her.

Anne Rice was also a cross-genre writer, and she never shied away from writing about a variety of subjects, including religion, gothic, and erotica. She was an inspiration to many who felt like outsiders and to those who wished to be writers themselves.

She was a best-selling author, and a brilliant writer who should be considered among the best of our time. She will be missed.

R. I. P. Anne Rice

The Library – Reading and Book Bears – Part 1

Please enjoy another great post from the excellent teacher, Jennie!

A Teacher's Reflections

Thursdays at the library are my favorite days.  I get to read aloud to elementary school children.  And, I get to host Book Bears, a book discussion on a book everyone in the group has read.  How could I resist kneeling down and having my picture taken in the window of the children’s room at the library this week?

There is more to my Thursdays at the library than just reading.  What happens is like magic.  This happened a few years ago:

My library reading group is Book Bears.  We read a book each month, and I host the discussion.  These are mostly second graders, eager to read.  We have a full and lively house, until…  Let me back up.  Many things have happened.

When Book Bears first met in September, everyone brought their favorite book that they read over the summer.  I did, too.  I brought “Summer of the…

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