Anne Faye

Another National Novel Writing Month is in the books - I hope all of you who undertook it achieved at least some writing progress. My project for this month (plus a few days in December) was to work on two book projects. After I had finished The Rose Ring , my boys wanted me to write an action/adventure story with them. It took over two years of working on it every once in a while, and then it needed to be edited and formatted. This was really their story - I served mostly as a scribe and editor. The story ended up being about 20,000 words. During the past month, I did the final edits, proofread and formatted and gave them each a copy on St. Nicholas' Day as an early Christmas present: One of them wants to write a sequel. I don't know if that will ever happen, but it was one of those projects that was fun to do and I'm glad that they can have a physical reminder of the experience. As for my own project, my task was to revise the novel I finished several months ago. ...

Seven years ago, I embarked on my first National Novel Writing Month Adventure, writing a story that would ultimately become my first novel, Through the Open Window . In that novel, librarian Lucy Lyons finds a flyer advertising "National Novel Writing Month" at the East Longmeadow, MA library and decides to take the plunge. There is a writing group that meets at the library regularly during the month, which is led by Mike, who soon begins to take an interest in Lucy. At the time that I wrote that novel, there was no such group at the library, nor has there been in the intervening years. But, yesterday, as I checked out my books at the East Longmeadow library , there was a National Novel Writing Month flyer right by the circulation desk. They are having free coffee and writing hours on Friday, November 6; Saturday, November 14; and Thursday, November 19, from 1 - 3 pm, as well as Mondays, November 23 & November 30 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. I couldn't help but smile! ...

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Each month, the Catholic Writer's Guild chooses one book to "Book Blast" - featuring it on blogs, tweets, etc. This month, "The Rose Ring" was the lucky winner! But you don't need to be a member of the writer's guild to take part. If you'd like to help promote my book, please share a tweet or Facebook update or write a blog post to run this Saturday 8/22/15. I'd be so thankful! Here is the relevant info to share: It has the Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval Tweet or FB share: The Rose Ring - A heartwarming love story about the power of forgiveness. http://amzn.to/1IUDPkU ‪#‎Catholic‬ ‪#‎fiction‬ ‪#‎romance‬ Currently on sale on Amazon - $7.99 on paperback and $.99 on Kindle My website is: http://annefaye.blogspot.com/ The full description of the book: Left at the altar by Zach Richards ten years ago, Julia Manning has buried her pain by leading a quiet life working at a bookstore, helping her sister, visiting resident...

Libraries (Roads Reflections) is a visual delight for anyone who loves libraries. An oversized coffee table book, it contains few words - only a paragraph about each library rendered in several languages, but the incredible photos do a great deal of talking. Libraries from around the world from times medieval to modern are featured, with an emphasis on the unique architecture of each one. One can't help but wish it were possible to step into the pages and actually visit these beautiful locations. It definitely could prompt a bibliophile to add to one's list of dream places to visit in a lifetime.

In the romantic comedy The Rewrite , Hugh Grant plays a screenwriter who won an Oscar fifteen years ago, but now is unemployed and broke. His agent arranges for him to take a job teaching screenwriting in a university in upstate New York. It's the last thing he wants to do, but he has no choice. There, he gets off to a bad start, sleeping with one of his students and insulting a tenured formidable member of his department, played by the amazing Allison Janney, by telling her he hates Jane Austen, her area of expertise (a fact made all the more funny due to Grant's prior role in the Austen classic "Sense and Sensibility"). He then meets a single mom played by Marisa Tomei who both challenges him and brings out the best in him. While it definitely has some morally questionable moments, this is a laugh-out-loud funny movie, filled with great supporting characters, and is ultimately a story of redemption. Those who have ever dreamed of becoming a screenwriter will find...

"Novel Living: Collecting, Decorating and Crafting with Books" is a treasure for anyone who loves books, both to read and as an artistic object. Lisa Occhipinti discusses collecting books, creating a library, preserving and conserving, and crafting with books. The accompanying illustrations add to the beauty of the text and will have any bibliophile smiling with delight. I like that she advocates both keeping books and giving them away. "A book on your shelf is tangible, finite, and yours alone, and keeping it is the surest way to preserve its power." She acknowledges, however, that a personal library is a "living thing, always evolving, growing, and shedding, only to expand again. Thinning out is a necessary part of collecting books and maintaining a library. I loved her various ideas on how to shelve and display books and while I don't have the energy to take on the book art projects she describes, I'm now eager to find some book art to liven up...

With so many people complaining about a certain movie currently in the theaters, Erin Cupp has challenged Catholic bloggers to post their lists of recommended books/movies on Shrove Tuesday a.ka. Mardi Gras with the hashtag #ShowUsYourList. "Blog a list of at least three works of quality fiction that illustrate truth, beauty and goodness.  These can be books, movies, podcasts, whatever, but they MUST BE ENTERTAINING" and then challenge those complaining about the current state of fiction to promote what is good! So, these are my picks:   Rachel's Contrition (Chisel & Cross Books)  - by Michele Buckman - winner of the Catholic Arts and Letters Award a few years ago, this is hands down the best Catholic fiction I've ever read. I read it twice and both times was riveted. Rachel Winters had nothing, won it all, and then lost everything After the death of her daughter, grief-spawned delusions cause Rachel to lose her husband, her home, and custody of her ...