Happy New Year–2023!

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As this year is approaching its end, I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. I am deeply grateful for my family, including the extended one, and my friends. Additionally, I am extremely 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 value those connections.

To all my blog followers:

Thank you!

Charles F. French

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And I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2023!

Happy New Year!

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The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Please enjoy this excellent post by “Food In Books”!

Food In Books

“The Anjou Wine” is the first chapter in this rollicking adventure tale reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas, the famous French author of The Three Musketeers saga, and plays a starring role in this week’s recipe, too. The Club Dumas, in short, is the tale of Lucas Corso, an antique book dealer who is sent in search of a rare manuscript that can supposedly summon The Devil himself. Corso operates with a very gray and flexible set of morals – or lack thereof – and is one of literature’s more interesting characters. He has a sort of Sam Spade gumshoe vibe that makes him quite endearing, combined with his ability to wiggle out of potentially dangerous situations. I guess you could call him a charming combination of hard-boiled detective, book scholar, historian, spy, ladies’ man and musketeer.

The book Corso is hired to find, The Nine Doors, turns out to…

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A Few Thoughts

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As the year comes to its conclusion, I was considering what I thought might be among the most important daily habits to have, not including work and writing! So, I want to present three suggestions to everyone, and their order is not important:

1) Find a bit of joy every day.

2) Learn something new each day.

3) Show some kindness so that you can make the world a better place.

I don’t think these ideas are either revolutionary or new, but I hope they are useful.

To everyone–be well!

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The True Story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Please enjoy this wonderful post from Jennie, the excellent teacher!

A Teacher's Reflections

As the holiday season of 1938 came to Chicago, Bob May wasn’t feeling much comfort or joy. A 34-year-old ad writer for Montgomery Ward, May was exhausted and nearly broke. His wife, Evelyn, was bedridden, on the losing end of a two-year battle with cancer. This left Bob to look after their four-year old-daughter, Barbara.

One night, Barbara asked her father, “Why isn’t my mommy like everybody else’s mommy?” As he struggled to answer his daughter’s question, Bob remembered the pain of his own childhood. A small, sickly boy, he was constantly picked on and called names. But he wanted to give his daughter hope, and show her that being different was nothing to be ashamed of. More than that, he wanted her to know that he loved her and would always take care of her. So he began to spin a tale about a reindeer with a bright red…

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I Wish All A 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!

A Few Quotations on Kindness

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

                                                           Dalai Lama XIV

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”                                                                      Aesop

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”                                                                  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Let us spread kindness this time and every time of year.”                                                                   Charles F. French

Santa Barbara Wine Country~

Source: Santa Barbara Wine Country~

Please enjoy these wonderful photographs from Cindy Knoke!

I Wish Everyone A Blessed Yule And Happy 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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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

My Favorite Holiday Movies: 3: 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 several 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!