Marriage as a Ménages à Trois

"Goodreads" just send out by email a February newsletter in which several authors suggest books to read within certain categories.

Katie Kitamura, author of the recent novel "A Separation," listed five of her favorite books on the topic of marriage.

Trump Seeks To Insulate Himself From Blame if Terrorits Attrack

"I, The Donald," our so-called President, has sought to insulate himself from any blame should terrorists attack the country.

You might think this strange since he is, after all, the Commander in Chief, but then the first notable military action during his regime was a complete fiasco.  The raid in Yemen killed many women and children, resulted in the death of a veteran U.S. special forces combatant and the loss of a $70 million U.S. helicopter.  Our forces retreated without achieving their objective.

Not a great start.

"Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk" by Kathleen Rooney

In an earlier post,  I wrote about Kathleen Rooney because she teaches a course entitled "The Writer as Urban Walker" at DePaul University in Chicago and my novella "Manhattan Morning" falls squarely into that genre.

To see how Ms Rooney handled the task, I just finished reading her novel "Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk," which fulfilled my expectations in most ways, but fell a bit short in one respect.

We Could Do Without Courts "I, The Donald" Suggests

So-called President Trump's authoritian tendencies were on display yet again as he railed on Twitter against the legal obstacles that have arisen to his intemperate immigration ban,

Remember that TV series about one of the worst Roman emperors, entitled "I, Claudius?" Well, how about "I, The Donald?"

Time and Distance as Devices of Literary Style

There is obviously a well-understood relationship between time and distance: it takes a certain amount of time to go a certain distance, and since we understand that, the notion that these two concepts go together is a comfortable one.  A character travels and time passes.

We're also familiar with the often circular nature of travel. A character sets off for a particular destination and then returns home. The end of the trip is also the end of the story. It's a satisfying relationship -- everything neatly tied up.

Another Tweet From Our So-Called President

First, let me say I wish I could identify what follows as fiction.  That's what this blog is supposed to be about, right?  But real life intrudes.

As most if not all readers already know, a federal judge appointed by former president George W. Bush, a Republican, and confirmed by the Senate without opposition, issued an order that has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's recent ban on entry into the U.S. by citizens of certain countries.

Or perhaps we should more accurately refer to him as "so-called President Trump."

Humpty Dumpty, Lewis Carroll and Donald Trump

In earlier posts, I've talked about how fiction can be used to predict the future, or perhaps foreshadow what is to come, citing George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four" as particularly noteworthy when it comes to trends in the United States and perhaps elsewhere.

Today, in the same context, I want to turn to another British author, who went by the pen name of Lewis Carroll.  When "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" proved to be overwhelmingly popular, Carroll wrote a sequel called "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There."