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Portal Fantasy 1 – Was Alice the First?
I recently came across a compilation of the 100 best fantasy books of all time, assembled by a panel of contemporary fantasy authors for Time magazine. It’s a tremendous compendium, the books listed in chronological order, starting with The Arabian Nights (9th century) and ending with Woven in Moonlight by the American/Bolivian writer, Isabel Ibañez… Read more
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Cartoons
The other day I was discussing cartoons with my ten-year old grandson. To my surprise, he told me his favorite cartoons are from The Far Side series, especially the one where Col. Sanders reaches Heaven, only to discover that God is not what/who he expected: I’m delighted to discover that he and I share such… Read more
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Starting Over
Who has experienced starting over in mid-life? Some such changes go from A to Z (from painter to actor, or musician to carpenter or vice-versa) and proceed rapidly; some are more of an evolution. I’d say mine was the latter. Some months back, while listening to NPR (National Public Radio), I caught an interview with… Read more
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A World In Crisis: Russia and Ukraine
Readers and friends will know that I was a foreign service officer and/or worked in the area of international relations for much of the 1970s and 80s. This domain has never ceased to be of interest to me, and I regularly follow evolving diplomatic crises and developments. Today, we are confronted not only by the… Read more
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Music to Write By: Domenico Scarlatti
This is the fourth and final post about the music I listen to while writing, editing, researching or, let’s be honest, napping. I’ve previously talked about listening to nature music (rain falling, waves lapping on a beach, the sounds of a tropical jungle) and the composer/musicians, Deuter and R. Carlos Nakai. Both compose in what… Read more
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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
To all my faithful readers and fans of The Ravenstones,I wish you the best of the seasonand a most successful 2022. 2021 may be one of those years we’ll never forget, for good and bad. So, for a change of pace, here’s a poem for Christmas. My contribution to this collection follows below. It may… Read more
