Some Halloween Stories

Delightful read-alouds:

The Old Witch

by The Brothers Grimm

Shippeitaro

by Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

Hansel and Gretel

by The Brothers Grimm

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

by Washington Irving

Burg Hill's on Fire

by Elizabeth W. Grierson

The King of the Cats

by Ernest Rhys

The Strange Visitor

by Joseph Jacobs

The Benevolent Goblin

by Gesta Romanorum

The Phantom Knight of the Vandal Camp

by Gesta Romanorum

Good and not good writers

"From my close observation of writers...they fall into two groups:1) those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and2) those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review."

--  Isaac Asimov

Teach a man to fish . . .

1. Teach a man to fish and he will kick your ass and steal your fishing pole.
2. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.
3. Teach a man to fish, and you can sell him a ton of accessories.
 4. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. 

A Gift You Can Rant About

THE CHINA-AFRICA PARALLAX: A RYAN AND GILLIAN MYSTERY, by Larry K. Andrews. (Action-Thriller. Author ˛House, ISBN 978-1-4520-1765-5)The China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery describes how representatives of China and Africa are conspiring to steal research data from major US universities. They will kill anyone who gets in their way in order to achieve their ultimate goal: China’s economic and military domination of the world. This is a fast-moving mystery with an emphasis on today’s geo-political issues and economics. Ryan Graves and his wife, Gillian Davies, characters introduced in Songs of Sadness, Songs of Love, assume perilous, key roles central to the FBI strategy to thwart the devastating conspiracy.

Available at amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Or, order e-books direct from amazon.com and Barnes & Noble or the Kindle Store.

Shopping for a thoughtful gift?

This book is a great fall reading gift, especially when paired with a dram of single malt, a cup of espresso, or a glass of Chardonnay.

1. SONGS OF SADNESS, SONGS OF LOVE, by Larry K. Andrews. (Mystery-Romance. Author House, ISBN 978-1-4567-1595-3) This is the story of Ryan Graves, a young boy growing up with the usual fears of adolescence, and a physical disability that causes him even greater agony and heightened fears and of being rejected by his peers. The reader empathizes with this young man as he goes through middle school, high school, and the university with new emotional challenges at each level. This is a study about how people respond to challenging experiences in their lives; some people are overwhelmed and defeated by their challenges while others accept and accommodate them, moving onwards to successful adulthood