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Review of Dante’s Garden: Mystery and Magic in Bomarzo by Teresa Culter-Broyles
Summary: Dante’s Garden is the story of what happens when Frank Farnese, a book collector from 2017, falls through Hell’s Mouth, a strange sculpture in Bomarzo, Italy. In 1570, Lucrezia Romano and famed antiquarian Pyrrho Ligorio welcome him when he awakens in a garden, from what he thinks is a dream but isn’t. Together they…
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Excerpt from A Laughing Matter of Pain
December begins with a snowstorm. Business is bad for a whole week. The advantage to this? I spend more time with Kathy. In the small house, there’s not much room for privacy. Dawson and Betty are never more than a room away. The four of us play cards or listen to the evening radio programs.…
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Excerpt from Hannah’s Rainbow
“Do you think dogs go to heaven?” the girl asked, her voice nearly a whisper in the wind. Hannah smiled sadly. “I’m sure they do.” She put an arm around Irma and drew her close. “Heaven is all things good. Dogs are among the best things in life, so how could it be heaven without…
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Review of Dark Territory by Jerry Hunter
Summary: From the Civil War battlefields of England and Ireland to a mystery lost in the forests of North America, this is both a roaring adventure and a timely commentary on the dangers of religious extremism. Rhisiart Dafydd is a zealous Roundhead who embraces Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and the violence it entails. But…
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Review of Cobwebs of Youth by Rose Auburn
Summary: ‘Cobwebs of Youth’ is a contemporary, romantic novel set in the London suburbs. It tells the story of Lara Cassidy who realises her dream of becoming a children’s book illustrator like her father. Yet her happiness is short-lived and she is plunged into uncertainty as Robert Kennedy, the mysterious stranger she first encountered ten…
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Excerpt from Mile Marker 139 (WIP)
Sarah studies Zelda’s face, the slight frown lines around her mouth and the line between her eyes that’s deeper than it should be for someone her age. Teardrops cling to her eyelashes like dew on grass on a summer morning. Zelda’s olive skin clashes with her reddened cheeks on a thin face cloaked by untamed…
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No Regrets in Life
You’ve heard it said before: have no regrets. You’ve probably also found yourself alone with your maddening thoughts, maddening both as in crazy and provoking anger. Your lovely mind has this magical ability to conjure out of nowhere every past fault, failure, and fracture. But such thoughts do have a hiding place. They lurk in…
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Do you love Christmas enough to celebrate it year round?
A good and dear friend of mine has a blog entitled Yuletide Blessings, which aims to do so. Discussions and blog posts are about traditions, recipes, crafts, books, and more. Please visit the link below to read her review of a Christmas-themed novel and view the website further. My thoughts on Christmas books are also…
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Pay It Forward…A Reminder
‘Tis the season… To be jolly? To go into debt? To give. Because God first gave to us His son, Jesus. In the midst of the craziness of shopping, stressing, overspending, and stressing some more, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters. Whether you’re Christian or not, whatever reason you celebrate Christmas–whether religious, secular,…
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Out-Poured
When darkness claims the day, And sadness won’t go away, When God seems so far, And clouds cover every star, When doubt and fear close in, And you feel you just can’t win, When friends are lost, And you don’t know the cost, That’s when faith can grow, And God’s light will show. It’s…