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Written by Webmaster
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Saturday, 03 April 2010 |
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What’s on your nightstand now? The State of Africa by Martin Meredith, The Forty Years War, by Len Colodny, Your Life is Your Message by Eknath Easwaran, Behavior Traits of the Honey Bee by Vernon Carrier, Dholuo Grammer by Onyoyo, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, Unbowed by Wangari Maathai, and Common Wealth – Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey D. Sachs What was your favorite book when you were a child? The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint Euxpery Who are your top 3 favorite authors? Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad, Barbara Kingsolver Was there a book that changed your life? If so which one and how did it affect you? Ghandi – An Autobiography – After leaving a projected career as a pilot in the Navy, I began to read about the philosophy of non violence and the biographies of those who advocate such action. I have pursued a path of my own in work and writing since that time. Favorite quote from a book? In five or six thousand years, five or six high civilizations have risen, flourished, commanded the wonder of the world, then faded out and disappeared, and not one of them except the latest ever invented any sweeping or adequate way to kill people. They all did their best to kill, being the chiefest ambition of the human race and the earliest incident in its history, but only the Christian civilization has scored a triumph to be proud of. Two or three centuries from now it will be recognized that all the competent killers are Christians. Then the pagan world will go to school to the Christian, not to acquire his religion but his guns. —Mark Twain When and why did you begin writing? In 1971, after returning to the United States from a two year Peace Corps stint in Nepal, I decided against entering law school and instead joined an ambulance company. My life was in a state of flux, pulled apart by a broken romance, loss of identity, and the beginning of the end of the tumultuous Vietnam War era. I needed a form that could transcend the chaos, and writing became the media. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 April 2010 )
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Written by Editor
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 |
 Cancel Christmas
The Plan
“Cindy, this is superb,” Sam said as he finished reading her report. “I can see the editorial changes you made and they have improved it tremendously.” Sam looked directly at Cindy. “Cindy, I’m beginning to realize that your skills are as great as your good looks.” And here, Sam blushed a little.
Cindy was startled. She didn’t expect it, and she suddenly began to realize that she was having an effect on Sam. Inwardly, she beamed, but her smile was very subdued. She was even somewhat demure as she looked down and said, “Well, thank you, Sam. That’s the most wonderful thing you ever said to me.”
They both paused. By force of habit, Sam was almost going to hook his thumbs into his suspenders, but decided not to. It seemed so old fashioned. Maybe it was about time he stopped looking like a buffoon. He had let himself go after his wife died but needed to start taking care of himself and his appearance.
Abruptly, changing to a more businesslike voice, he asked, “Have you any suggestions for this meeting I am having?” He and Cindy had been working for the last two hours going over the report and making minor changes before Cindy printed the final versions, which he now had in his hand. It was 7:30. He continued, “If not, I’ll just mosey down to my office.”
Cindy sensed the opportunity, “Sam, let’s talk about it. You can go directly into Bleakheart’s office from here, you know. Maybe I could give you some ideas on how to present. In fact, I can make us a cup of coffee. Would you like that?”
“Cindy, that would be great.”
Cindy took two cups, put some coffee into them, went over to the water cooler, filled both up with hot water, and handed one to Sam. “I’m afraid it will have to be black. That’s how I keep my figure.”
Sam laughed. “I wish I had a figure like yours- or at least a waistline.”
“Sam, you can. Why don’t you try? It’s easy.” Cindy almost blurted out, “And while you’re at it, get rid of the haircut and suspenders and get a new suit.” Instead, she bit her tongue and just smiled.
Sam sipped his coffee. It had been a long time since he had had black coffee. He certainly preferred it with heavy cream and a lot of sugar, but, thinking of the old Chinese proverb, “A walk of a thousand miles starts with the first step,” he decided drinking black coffee was perhaps the start of getting rid of the gut that was starting to be embarrassing. He was only in his mid thirties and he had taken on the bad habits and slovenly appearance of somebody much older. All of a sudden, he decided that he wanted Cindy to think better of him. He sipped again and said in a jocular mood, and with a rare twinkle in his eye, “How would you approach him? Do I just hand him the report and summarize it for him? Or do I try something else?” Sam was surprised when Cindy took his suggestion seriously. She had more depth than he expected. She was very mature, probably due to growing up without a father.
Cindy looked thoughtful, thinking of her many meetings with Bleakheart and what seemed to turn him on and what seemed to turn him off. While she really hoped and prayed that he would be turned off by the whole project, she was concerned that he must never think of Sam as slacking on the job. She thought for a moment more and then told Sam, “I think you should give him a quick summary and then suggest that you read the report together word by word. You know he is a very thorough man and appreciates thoroughness. Sam, you did a fantastic job in putting together a very strong brief—almost a legal brief—on how to proceed. While I tell you I can’t agree with his motivation, and I don’t know if you agree with him or not, I see that you have an excellent plan.” And Cindy thought to herself that hopefully an even better plan would emerge to counter Bleakheart.
Sam was very thoughtful. He continued sipping his black coffee, thinking about the various meetings he had had over the past four years with Bleakheart, and he saw the wisdom of the approach. Cindy certainly had a brain to go along with her good looks—and ability. Sam began to feel a glow and he wasn’t sure if it came from the coffee or from having spent more time with Cindy in the last two days than in the last two years. “Cindy, I think you’re right and I’ll try it.” He looked at the clock and saw that it was two minutes to eight. He finished his coffee, put the empty cup in the wastebasket, took two copies of the report in his left hand, and walked over to the door to Bleakheart’s office. He turned the handle, walking in as he heard Bleakheart’s clock chime 8 o’clock. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 22 January 2010 )
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Written by Editor
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
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A Virtual Book Review Network Exclusive.... Interviewing author Erik Quisling Lauren Smith: What inspired you to create a work of fiction?  Fables from the Mud Lauren Smith: Do you see Fables From the Mud as a satire, cultural commentary or something more? Erik Quisling: Fables From The Mud is about three little creatures – a clam, an ant, and a worm – all of whom are struggling with very human problems. The stories are satirical but in many ways are simply a cultural commentary on the human obsession with finding meaning in the world. All in all, they are designed to be amusing and to get you to see somewhat the absurdity of taking life too seriously. Lauren Smith: How did you develop each of the fables? Erik Quisling: Each fable was born from its own separate bout of inspiration. In each case, it was a single line of text that came to me that was like lighting a fuse that set the story on its course. Once the fuse was lit, the stories pretty much wrote themselves – I simply had to go back and edit them a little bit. Lauren Smith: Are any of the characters based on anyone – or any type of person - you know? Erik Quisling: I can say that the more I read the stories, the more I learn about myself. But I truly think each character is a reflection of some deeply common human experience – not of any human in particular. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 April 2008 )
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Written by Webmaster
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Sunday, 04 November 2007 |
Lauren Smith: Michelle, tell us about your book?  Confessions of a Catholic Schoolgirl Lauren Smith: So did you go to Catholic school? Michelle Kane: Yes, I myself, did attend Catholic school for nine years. I think it would surprise most people that private school kids are not saints. Also, surprisingly, the character of "Father Fingers" in CONFESSIONS OF A CATHOLIC SCHOOLGIRL is based on my real life pastor, who was recently on our local news for being "sexually inappropriate" with young girls. So...the rumors about him ended up being true. Lauren Smith: What do you think would surprise people most about Catholic schools? |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 November 2007 )
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