Did the Protestant Reformation improve the quality of the lives of wives? Or did it make it worse? When the Anabaptist Swiss immigrated to the U.S. during the 17th and 18th centuries, what three faiths did they bring with them? Why did the Anabaptists believe that the powers of church and state should remain separate?…
Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, Historical Fiction, New Words Learned, Words
The Brothers Path – a Review
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• •The Protestant Reformation was not a time of peace. Travel back to the years 1524 and 1531 to a village in Switzerland near Zürich. This tumultuous time of change makes its presence known firsthand to the Schneebeli household in 1524 when the latest baby arrives two months early and leaves this world only a few…
Book Reviews, Dark Fiction, Fiction Writing, Horror, Mystery, Suspense/Thrillers
Itsy Bitsy Spider: Emma Frost #1 – a Review
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• •Fiction Writing, Writing Prompts and Exercises
The Black Death and Ring Around the Rosie
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• •Nursery rhymes are written for little children, so they should be sweet and innocent, right? Little children should not have experienced the horrors and reality of life yet, and these rhymes made to entertain them should not talk about them either. But not all nursery rhymes have innocent meanings. “Ring Around the Rosie” is one…
Book Reviews, Fantasy, Humor, Mystery
My Grandfather’s Pants – a Review
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• •Author Interviews, Publishing, Writing
K. Hollan Van Zandt Interview – The Great Library, Slave Trafficking, and the Emerald Tablet
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• •What was the inspiration for this book? How long did it take the author to research all the colorful history woven into the story? Who was her favorite character? What are the author’s thoughts on self-publishing? What was your inspiration for this book? Many slender threads begin with romance and synchronicity, and so I started…
Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, Historical Fiction, New Words Learned, Romance, Suspense/Thrillers, Words
Written in the Ashes – a Review
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• •Fiction Writing, Halloween Articles, Writing Prompts and Exercises
Danvers State Hospital & Waverly Hills Sanatorium
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• •Have you ever thought about using a mental hospital in your story? The reasons people were admitted to these institutions suggest many different story ideas. The cruel and inhuman way many of them were treated can also fill one’s head full of ideas about the patients, those who “cared” for them, and those who had…
Fiction Writing, Halloween Articles, Writing Prompts and Exercises
More Creepy Crawlies
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• •Here are eight more creepy crawlies that live way too close to us. Wasps—paper wasps, yellow jackets, and boldfaced hornets—nest in rotten tree stumps, crevices in rocks, and in mud. A person can develop an allergy to their stings without warning. The daughter of a friend of mine, who had never been allergic to their…
Collective Nouns, Halloween Articles, Writing Prompts and Exercises
A Lunacy of Werewolves
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• •From the brilliance of the phoenix to the brutality of the sphinx and the magic of the unicorn, these mythological creatures are amazing. Would a burning conservatory of phoenixes turn the sky red and gold? How crazy is a lunacy of werewolves? Do you think a flurry of yeti and a yearning of sasquatches could…