Authors and Books
Using History to Change the Future
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -- novelist George Santayana (1863-1952) Those words have been repeated innumerable times in countless variations. Authors are in a unique position of bringing history to the masses, not in...
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe is subtitled A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. It is very rare for me to ignore everything around me and become completely immersed in a book, no matter how great or suspenseful it is, but that is exactly what...
The House by the Lake – A Tale of Love During the Rise of Hitler
The House by the Lake by Ella Carey is historical romance, mystery and in many ways, a reminder of a past that can too easily be repeated. Watch the video below or at https://youtu.be/umxbkxOpuXU or skip below the video to read the full review....
The Drowned Village – A Classic Tale
Some books have the power to remain with the reader forever; The Drowned Village is such a book. If there is one lesson to be learned from this story, it is that none of us can expect to have complete control over our lives. There is always the possibility that we...
The Forgotten Secret
In The Forgotten Secret by Kathleen McGurl, Clare Farrell is approaching her 50th birthday. For half of her life she has been married to a narcissistic man who has systematically cut her off from everything and everyone that did not center around him. So when Clare...
Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart
I just finished reading Mary Stewart’s book, Wildfire at Midnight. The book was originally published in 1956 and was re-released in 2011. Reading it was such a pleasure that it reminded me why Stewart’s books landed on the New York Times and other bestseller lists...
A Wee Murder in my Shop – The Perfect Escape
I’d like to tell you about a book I just read by Fran Stewart called A Wee Murder in my Shop. For the past few years there has been a constant slate of hard-hitting news stories and sometimes it’s necessary to escape into a different type of drama, one that is far...
Mourning Dove – Memphis, Tragedy and a Bygone Era
I purchased Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton for two reasons. First, I had read Dancing to an Irish Reel which takes place in my favorite place—Ireland—and thoroughly enjoyed it so I knew I enjoyed her style of writing. Second, Mourning Dove takes place in Memphis in...
The Shadowy Horses – Ghosts, Scotland and Romance
In The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, archeologist Verity Grey begins an excavation in Scotland. The Ninth Roman Legion was rumored to have camped there as they marched north from York to fight the Scots, and the owner of a remote manor house is convinced his...
Minor Characters and Decisions Made
I’ve devoted several articles to the journey of the hero, but often what makes a book so memorable are the peripheral characters. Years ago when I was developing software, I created a program for working with brain injured patients; part of their successful journey...