Anne Faye

Like many Jane Austen fans, I was horrified to hear that there is now an erotic version of some of her books. As if the whole Pride and Prejudice and Zombies thing wasn't enough. Poor Miss Austen must be rolling over in her grave. One of the virtues of Victorian literature (and the movies based on them) is the sexual tension between the main characters. The dialogue is outstanding - the facility with language is far beyond anything one might experience today. It never ceases to amaze me the way an Austen character can deliver an insult or proffer a challenge while being unfailingly polite. It certainly beats the base language we tend to resort to when we are annoyed or angry today. But, beyond the dialogue, it is what goes unsaid that often has the most power. Supposedly, in the new version of Pride and Prejudice , Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy are ripping off their clothes at every opportunity. (Truly, I don't even know how this fits into the story, seeing as they don...

St. Anne's Day by Janice Lane Palko, 2012 Just in time for St. Anne's feastday (July 26th) comes "St. Anne's Day," a debut romance novel by Janice Lane Palko. Anne Lyons is a fiery-tempered twenty-nine year old nurse and has no interest in meeting a man when she is hired by handsome bar owner Gerry McMaster to care for his mother, Peg, who is recovering from triple-bypass surgery. The older woman and Anne quickly bond and she encourages Anne to start praying to St. Anne, "Dear St. Anne, get me a man as fast as you can." She had prayed that prayer to find her own husband and trusts in its power. St. Anne seems to quickly get on the case as men start knocking on Anne's door. There is Luis, the cook at the bar, who flirts with her and even names a dish after her. There is Craig Love, a former classmate and plastic surgeon who comes back into the picture, and then there is womanizer Gerry, who is all wrong for her, but who dominates her thoughts. ...

A while back, I took advantage of an introductory offer and purchased a $5.95 version of Huckleberry Finn from Easton Press . The press is dedicated to creating high-quality leather bound books. Truly, they are the anti-ebook company. These are books for people who love the feel and look of fine books lining a shelf. They offer a surprisingly wide variety of books, from the classics, art books, and histories that one might expect, to those one might not expect such as the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia or a signed copy of The Help . Truly, there is something for everyone. Sadly, the prices are quite steep. I think that compiling any sort of collection of these is out of reach of most people, myself included. But, choosing one might make a great gift for the book lover in your life for a special occasion. In any event, their catalog is beautiful to look at, and it is comforting to know that such appealing books are still being made. 

Most writers (myself included) dream of having a large audience reading one's work, and hopefully being impacted by it in some way. But at the end of the day, it is possible to impact the world with just one reader. I know this blog doesn't get a lot of followers and my novel hasn't sold a lot of copies, and my next novel probably won't either, but I am incredibly thankful to each and every person who has used some of his or her precious time on this earth to read something I have written. I hope it was worth it! Every creative effort makes an impact on the world. If we bring the best we have to our efforts, that is all we can do. The rest is really out of our control. God will use our work as He wills, and we may never know how something we said or did changed someone's life. Kris Radish wrote an article for the July/ August issue of Writer's Digest , "An Audience of One." Radish tells of a booksigning where there was only one person in the audien...

A while back, I saw an ad (maybe on Facebook?) for Reader's Favorite , which offered to review books. All you had to do was send a copy. You could pay for a quick turnaround - the free service took about 12 weeks. There is no guarantee of a good review, only a review. The service seemed valid, and I had nothing to lose, so I submitted a copy of my book. I was very pleasantly surprised when I received the following review this week: "Through the Open Window" is a heartfelt romance with all the ingredients to make it a wonderful tale. Doubts, uncertainty, attractions, and the exes are all well played out in this intelligent plot. It is a sweet romance that is worth your time and money. I was attracted to the sensible plot and characters from the beginning and loved it all the way to the end. Mike Duncan and Lucy had had their hearts broken before when those whom they loved had left them. The last thing they want is to find someone to complicate their present circ...

My hometown of Springfield, MA, has a wonderful treasure in its museums. We are fortunate to have two art museums, a science museum, history museum, and Dr. Suess sculpture garden, all located in one central area in downtown. I was there just recently and enjoyed two special exhibits - a LEGO castle exhibit and one featuring breathtaking Tiffany glass lamps and windows. For those who want to volunteer giving tours in these museums, they have a wonderful docent training program. For free, you can get a great education in the items held in the Springfield collections. The museums are currently recruiting new docents. For more information, please visit the Museum website at Docent Programs .

The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe. The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique with professional editors and writers. Some participating publishers are Ignatius Press, Ave Maria Press, Christus Publishing, Tuscany Press, Ascension Press and Servant Books. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site. This year's conference w...