Review: “The Flying Stars” by G. K. Chesterton

by Carol3 Comments
"The Flying Stars" is one of Chesterton's mysteries featuring Father Brown. It's actually the first of these short stories I've read and I picked it up more because it's a Christmas mystery than to meet Father Brown, even though he is a character I'd like to read more of. The story takes place at an English manor home on Boxing Day. A young lady and the young man who lives next door are present, as is the girl's father, Colonel Adams, a newly arrived uncle and a quite rich godfather. Also present, in addition to the servants, simply because the Colonel likes his company is the local priest, Father Brown. The godfather has brought a gift for the young lady, a set of three gorgeous, large diamonds, which he has tucked away in his coat pocket. The uncle comes up with a plan for the evening's enter, a masquerade play, with costumes and hijinks and jokes. Of course, the diamonds get stolen...
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Christmas Meme

by Carol8 Comments
I found this meme over at Jessica Aspen Writes and I do love Christmas. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Both please! Of course, I drink hot chocolate all year-long, egg nog is a special holiday treat. I never make my own, neither David nor Amber will drink it, but every year my mom makes a batch- delicious. At home, I have to settle for the store-bought king, not nearly as good. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Warps them up of course, at least for the most part. There have been some years when certain presents were just too tough fit in a box or bag, so those just sit out. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We've gone with colored lights, both on the tree and on the house. I got tired of all white, it seemed just too ordinary. Do you hang mistletoe? Usually we have plastic mistletoe that we hang up. I actually can't picture it being hung anywhere this...
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Review: Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett

by Carol4 Comments
"O Jacob Marley! Heaven and the Christmas-time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!" Most of us know the story of Scrooge's redemption in Dicken's A Christmas Carol. AFter being visited by 3 spirits, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, he vows to keep Christmas in his heart all year long and he truly is a new man. But so often we forget the first ghost who visits him, who announces what is to come, who prepares the way for the others Jacob Marley, a man as shrewd and cold-hearted and self-centerd as himself. We don't really know much about Marley aside from the fact that he regretted how he had lived and that he carried chains wrapped around him in the after-life as a result of his sins. Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett seeks to change that. Bennett introduces us to Marley and tells about his childhood and the chance compliment that set...
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Flash Fiction: Falling to Fight

by Carol6 Comments
Falling to Fight Tears streamed down her face as she hacked off her wing, banishing herself from the golden courts, abandoning her place in the chorus. "Fear not," she whispered, gathering her courage. She had a mission, a reason she had chosen to make the fall. For centuries, she had watched as the Father's people had turned their back on Him time and again,  but always He gave them another chance, welcomed them back. Even if she hadn't understood His forgiveness, she had admired Him, respected His choices. Then He had done the unthinkable, sent the Beloved to them, as a baby no less, defenseless, powerless, but she had done her duty, visited the hillside, sang the announcement, the "good tidings of great joy." Then she had watched as He grew, fulfilling His destiny, angering the powerful, uprooting the establishment. And they had killed Him. It had been the Father's plan, the only way to redeem creation, but seeing His anguish and pain,...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Cat on the Doverfjell

by Carol5 Comments
I don't know why, but I've always had a fondness for troll stories, ever since I was a kid. So, when I was thinking about what Christmas tales to feature, I couldn't pass up the Norwegian fairy tale, "The Cat on the Doverfjell," first collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon. A man was bringing a white bear to give to the king of Denmark, and he came to the mountain Dovre on Christmas Eve and asked a man called Halvor for shelter for the night. Halvor told him that he couldn't provide a room, as every Christmas Eve trolls came to the house and made such havoc that the household had to flee them. The man begged to stay anyway, stating his bear could sleep under the stove while the man slept in one of the side rooms. Halvor finally agreed. The household prepared everything for the trolls, laying out...
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Guest Post: Greg Messel, author of The Illusion of Certainty

by Carol7 Comments
Today, I'd like to welcome Greg Messel to my notebook. He's sharing a little about the characters in his novel, The Illusion of Certainty, and how their experiences reflect a lot of Americans'. COPING WITH THE ILLUSION OF CERTAINTY BY GREG MESSEL In a bygone time there was certainty regarding your career, your job stability and plans for the future. If an individual worked hard and was a good employee at work, there was a good chance they could be there for life. There were certain things that could be assumed. Those assumptions were the underpinning of your life. An employee could reasonably expect that income would steadily increase each year, the stock market would provide a steady rate of return which would provide opportunity for home ownership, college education for your children, annual vacations and eventually, a comfortable retirement. Those assumptions seem to be relics of the 20th Century. Now most employees work 10-12 hour days and are married to their job. Wild swings...
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