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Showing posts from September, 2014

Loyola Writing Retreat - Day 2: Writing to Remember

Here is my assignment for Day #2 : Writing to Remember . I could have written about a lot of painful memories, but I chose a happy one. There's enough pain in the world.  It’s dark outside and it feels late, but it is winter, near the solstice when the days are shortest, and it is actually only late afternoon. I’m a little girl - three, on the cusp of four - in the living room of the small ranch home where I grew up. Christmas is right around the corner and I’m brimming with excitement. The Christmas tree is on the other side of the room, against the faux brick wall with the bricks that periodically fell off, requiring my father to reattach them with rubber cement. There are presents already wrapped and under the tree, waiting to be opened. Even that young, I know there is no Santa. My parents give me my gifts. I still look forward to them and enjoy shaking them, eager to figure out what they are.  I’m sitting next to the orange-brown couch, circa 1960s, no doub...

Loyola Writing Retreat Day 1 - The Hope Chest

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This week I'm taking part in an on-line writing retreat put on by Loyola Press. It's being directed by Vinita Hampton Wright, author of The Art of Spiritual Writing: How to Craft Prose That Engages and Inspires Your Readers Today's topic is Writing to Pay Attention .  Today’s assignment was to pay attention to an object that had some significance to you. I live in a home brimming with objects, many of which I am quite comfortable with. They are old, familiar, and like me, showing some wear and tear. But I am not a “things” person. I’m constantly trying to cull, to remove unnecessary objects from my environment. Therefore, this task posed a challenge. I had to choose an object that mattered.  I perused my home. I ruled out photos, which I do value, because they are not prized because of what they are, but rather what they represent – the moment of time preserved by dots of ink on a piece of paper. I did the same with art prints which are like old friends to me, ...

For Those Who Hate E-Books

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I finished reading The Heroes of Olympus - Book Three: Mark of Athena today. My eleven-year-old son had asked me to read it, and given the number of books I ask him to read, it's only fair that he gets to pick one for me once in a while. Rick Riordan is a great writer who has made reading and learning about the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods cool and I've read several of his books, but his books really aren't my preferred genre. Still, I came across the following passage and reading the whole book was worth it! For the record, I don't hate e-books. I understand their usefulness and why some prefer them. Still, I do prefer to read an actual book. "That is not a book," Achelous insisted. "He gave you that just to get under my skin, didn't he? He knows I hate those things." "You hate . . . .books?" Piper asked. "Bah!" Achelous's face flushed, turning his blue skin eggplant purple. "That's not a book."...

New Catholic Fiction Writing Contest - Aquinas Award for Fiction

The first Aquinas Award will be announced in the Fall of 2015. The winning author will receive a specially designed award and a cash prize of $1,000 . Any works of fiction (novels and collections of short stories) published since January 2014 are eligible. Books should be sent to me at the following address: Joseph Pearce Aquinas College 4210 Harding Pike Nashville, TN 37205 The books will be judged by an independent team of reviewers. Any books published in 2014 up to the deadline for receipt of submissions (June 30, 2015) are eligible. At present, e-books do not qualify. New editions and reprints are not eligible. The judging criteria will be at the discretion of the independent panel of judges. I will not be on this panel. Anyone is eligible to submit a work of contemporary fiction (i.e. novel, novella or collection of short stories), including those who have self-published.