Merry Christmas !

Time for a little blogging break over the holidays  - and while I move my office.  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! 

 

Me playing Santa for Great Pyrenees Rescue group

Newest Book Now Available in Paperback on Amazon

Cover for my latest book - I shot the cover photo

My newest book, Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart, is now available in paperback on Amazon.  

Of course it is also still available as an e-book on Amazon.

Cover for my latest book - I shot the cover photo

Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart.

My second book is now available as an ebook on Amazon.  The paperback version will be available next week.

Visiting Hours is a collection of five short stories and two previously published articles.  The stories are rooted in the heartland - and in the heart. The short version of the title story won the Manny Award for Best Short Fiction at the 2011 Midwest Writers Workshop. Click HERE to link to Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart on Amazon.

The stories that are bound together by telling tales of simple events the impact us at every stage of our lives.  The lead characters are a young boy growing up in the 1950's, a 14-year-old girl in post-WWII Tennessee, a 42-year-old man at mid-career, a mid-50s Midwestern farm wife at the turn of the century, and an elderly man facing a final life crisis.

For those who have read my novel Stars Fall, this book is about as different as one can imagine.  The writing style is more conversational and the pace is easy.  No corrupt judges.  No chase scenes. No armed confrontations. (Click HERE for link to Stars Fall on Amazon)

Here's a brief summary of the stories included in Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart.



Visiting Hours: Sarah is a turn-of-the-century farm wife. Her children grown, she feels the melancholy of aging and isolation, exacerbated by the death of an elderly aunt. Her brash cousin Maude insists that Sarah come with her for a visit. The tragic death of a young Negro girl and an old wives' tale prompts Maude to insist that the two cousins go to the calling for the dead girl. But what awaits them will change both their lives.

Christmas 1948: Life is tough in the hills and hollers of post WWII Tennessee. It is particularly so for Cassie Mae. Her father still deals with the emotional scars of serving in the Pacific during WWII. Her mother has all she can do to keep the family clothed and fed. So at age 14, Cassie Mae tries to make Christmas special for her five younger brothers and sisters.

Tending Roses: Facing failed relationships, a stalled career, and an estranged teenage daughter, a man makes an obligatory visit to see his aging aunt. As they walk through the aunt's carefully tended rose garden, he learns something of life and himself.

Rabbit for Breakfast: It's the first weekend of rabbit season in the mid-1950s. A young boy and his father go to relative's house for a breakfast of fried rabbit and homemade biscuits. The boy deals with a loving aunt, a quirky uncle and a distant father.

Somewhere In Time: A man faces the cruel truth of being told that he has Alzheimer’s.

Riding the Rails: An article exploring the soul-soothing qualities of traveling by train.

Sunday Morning Coming Down in New Orleans: Reflections on a trip to New Orleans seven months after Hurricane Katrina left 80% of the city underwater. Despite all the damage done, the article finds that the soul of New Orleans is still there, unchanged.

Favorite Movies of 2012 - So Far

A boy and a tiger - and a boat:  Life of Pi

I'm a huge movie fan.  I like to see them in the theater, in the dark, sitting dead center, in the first row in front of the entrance aisle.

So as the holiday movie season gets in full swing, here are my picks for the best movies I've seen so far this year.  Many of them are still in theaters, so put them on your "must see" list.

The top Baker's Dozen - so far

1.  Argo - Great movie making. Tense drama, edge of your seat suspense even though you know the ending - and a little humor thrown in, too.

2.  Skyfall - Bond is back, and at his best

3.  Lincoln - Daniel Day Lewis is sensational, but its still a bit pretentious.

4.  Life of Pi - wonderful 3-D movie making that will give you plenty to think about when you leave the theater

5.  End of Watch - Best cop movie in a long time. You really care about these guys.

6.  Bernie - a quirky comedy with Jack Black, Shirley McClain and the scene-stealing people of Carthage, Texas.

6-year-old Hushpuppy & the ancient auroch - one of stunning images from Beasts of the Southern Wild

7.  Beasts of the Southern Wild - Remarkable performance by 6-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry as her dying alcoholic father. Whether you fully understand it or not, the immagry is visually stunning.

8.  Moonrise Kingdom - Star-crossed teen lovers and great quirky performances by Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton & Frances McDormand

9.  The Avengers- Superheros squabble among each other then take on the bad guys.

10. The Dark Night Rises - The Dark Night trilogy concludes.  Not as powerful as Heath Ledger's Joker, but a good film.

11. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Veteran actors plying their craft in a delightful light entertaining movie.

12. Brave - Surprisingly delightful animated movie

13. Flight - Denzel Washington deals with disaster and addiction  in a wrenching movie that doesn't go the direction you might expect from the previews.

Movies I've missed that I will have to see on DVD:   Looper, Ted,  Perks of Being a Wallflower

Movies on my Must See list that are now showing or will be released by the end of the year:  not yet in general release.

Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
The Sessions
Silver Lining Playbook 
Django Unchained
The Hobbit
Wreck-It-Ralph
Killing Them Softly
Hitchcock