National Day Calendar

Today's selection -- from Crude Nation by Raúl Gallegos. Through years of profligacy and mismanagement, Venezuela suffers from increasing levels of hyperinflation. A surreal and sometimes nightmarish life is the result: "The arepa, a thick, round, tortilla-like patty made from corn flour, is tradi­tional fare in every Venezuelan meal. People eat arepas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and as a snack after a […]

Today's selection -- from A Short History of Charleston by Robert Rosen. The Civil War had begun with a Confederate attack on Charleston's Fort Sumter, and with the fall of that fort into Confederate hands. The legend of Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts would be indelibly written on the pages of that war's history in a July 1863 attempt by the […]

I was giving a keynote at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference several years ago and I mentioned this book and movie and got blank stares. The book isn’t that great actually. It reads like a manifesto and lecturing. One of the few times the movie is better than the book. You’ve got Burt Lancaster and […]

15 March is a significant date in history, but not just for the event of 44 BC. It’s also the date in 1917 that the last Tsar of Russia formally abdicated, which I submit might be the most significant event of the 20th Century, given what followed and is still happening. It’s also the date […]

Prepare to be taken to the edge of the unexplained.Continue reading

Join me for Weekend Music Share; a place where you can share your favourite music. This week, songs that were a 'first'.Continue reading

Originally posted on eternamenta: Esteemed Readers, today I would like to present you a mysterious tale, which might be successfully enlisted as a thriller story. It contains all the necessary elements: mystery, killing, blood & other creepy things. Savage tales are rather popular in the Russian mythology. All of them show, on one hand, a difficult…

Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine: The R’s of Life – Chapter Twelve – Rejection – A Fact of Life One of life’s certainties is that at some point you are going to be rejected personally or professionally. It can happen at any age and because it is a certainty, it does pay to prepare…

sonder – n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. — THE DICTIONARY OF OBSCURE SORROWS – John Koenig       — kerrytown, ann arbor, mi, usa – march 2019

Here we go with excerpts from a new book.  It started with War of Nytefall: Loyalty and now we’re on to volume 3, War of Nytefall: Rivalry.  This is the opening scene of the new book, which I still hope to release in … Continue reading →

Very pleased to welcome a new author to the Cafe and Bookstore with here books.. Ann Chiappetta has just released a collection of poems, essays and flash fiction: Words of Life About the Collection In this new collection of poems, … Continue reading →

Several readers complained that the last two picture puzzles I posted were too easy, so here’s one that’s a little more challenging. (Yes, there really is a frog in there. I recommend enlarging the image.)

Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1945) composed his Romanian Folk Dances for piano in 1915, and later arranged it for orchestra. It has since been arranged for any number of different instrumental groupings. Here it is in a version for string ensemble, played by the strings of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

I haven’t written a post about Andrew in a while, leaving the highlights of his life mostly in the background, while he finished up grad school at Lee University, in Cleveland, Tennessee. But sometimes he does something amazing and it’s hard to keep it under wraps when he makes us proud. After auditioning at five […]

How I came across the video Keeping Mentally Fit I'm not quite sure — pretty sure it's a combination of my own YouTube content and Safiya Nygaard's decades videos — but when I first saw the video in my recommended feed, I naively expected it to be filled with such out-of-touch advice that it would […]

The Cardinal and I are back on the high seas! Well, back on England’s canals, at least. The weather forecast … More

Mr Stove remains on 24/7 duty, since Storm Gareth also remains on 24/7 duty. The winds and rain are due … More

"I had an old typewriter and a big idea."Question: Who said that?Answer: J. K. Rowling.Wow, what an idea she had.Yes, I'm talking about that J.K. Rowling.She's, of course, the British author of the Harry Potter series which happens to be the bestselling book series in history with more than 400 million copies sold.That book series […]

My grandfather had a saying for every occasion.In the spring, he liked to chuckle and say, "Spring fever is when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love.Look up spring fever in the dictionary.You'll see it defined as "a feeling of languor or yearning brought on by the coming of spring."Romance and YearningRomance authors […]

Social Media have become a dominating force in our lives over the past decade.  Just look at these mind-blowing statistics: The average person has 5 social media accounts The average person spends 1 hour 40 minutes per day on social media Facebook has over 1.4 billion users 50% of all Internet users are on Facebook […]

"Jacqueline Cochran was looking for WASP.  They told me I would have to be interviewed and they would contact me when they came to the Wichita area.  But I didn’t wait for that.  I went down to Houston for my interview, to speed things up.  And I think that’s one of the smartest things I […]

"My first flight was with a barnstormer at the age of five.  I loved it!  I also tried to 'fly' out of the barn loft with an umbrella.  This was less than successful..."  WASP Jean Terrell McCreery, 44-10 The indomitable Marguerite Jean Terrell Moreo McCreery has "...slipped the surly bonds of Earth. And danced the skies on […]

Welcome to the Minstral Show, the podcast that spotlights the very best music from around the world, made exclusively in the 21st century.Today’s program features Alternative, psychedelic and progressive rock in 3 excellent sets of music by ten excellent artists, featuring: David Gray, Adam Ezra, Dustin Prinz, Holiday Murray, Caesar’s Psycho Machine, Night Beats, The […]

I am looking for a children’s book, I believe it was a 1/2 page type flip book (not where you open up a small flap).  I read it to our son when he was about 2 years old.  He was … Continue reading →

The Feel Good Factor by Lauren Blakely Narrated by Erin Mallon and Joe Arden Standalone but Related to Best Laid Plans The Feel Good Factor just proves that Lauren Blakely doesn’t need the fancy full cast of narrators or duet narration to make an amazing audiobook. But we knew that already, it was just a […]

Infobesity is a word created by James Morris of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science. Even though it’s a “made up” word, infobesity, the tendency to keep reading, visiting social media, and scanning the internet for more, more, and more information is a very real thing. Infobesity is caused by FOMO, the Fear […]

I thought I was considered a lunatic because I’m a big fan of the moon, but I guess not. .. Continue Reading → The post I thought I was a lunatic…. appeared first on The Authors' Billboard.

We are excited to give away an Amazon Gift Card worth $20 to one of our lucky visitors. We will be doing many more of these in the future. This is the first one we have done in a while. To enter, please follow the instructions on the giveaway app below. Good luck! a Rafflecopter […]

We love introducing Prolific Works readers to great stories and big ideas. Take a chance on new authors and try great stories from old favorites. See it first every day with Prolific Works and be free to discover authors you’ll love. We’re thrilled to share the latest and greatest from our mystery, thriller, and crime […]

September 1938. "Coal mining community near Welch, West Virginia." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.

Every few years, it is nice to book a full blow-out of a vacation where you pitch up somewhere for a week and just take the time to chill. While there are a million and one things to plan and organise, there are some things you should always think about doing. Here are our top […]

Dog Brush Buying Guide There are many benefits to brushing your dog on a regular basis. We have listed these benefits below. Distributes natural...

It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is a weekly reading roundup is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. This is technically a weekly meme but I don’t read fast enough to make that worthwhile so I generally post it every two or three weeks but sometimes more often depending on how many books I’ve […]

Dye based, watersoluble artists colors that can be used as watercolor paints or ink. An all natural product, free of synthetic preservatives. “Engaged by the promise of artist colors from natural pigments, Judi has been on the alchemical journey ever since. She forages, purchases or grows the materials for the art materials as mindfully and […]

Flowing clothing for women with gorgeous tradition design—apparel, kaftans, kimono, and oversize scarves. I just want to order everything, it’s all so beautiful and easy to wear. “Maelu is an ethical women’s apparel line handmade in India using traditional artisan techniques such as block printing, hand weaving and screen printing. We focus on sustainable textiles […]

With spring upon us in Central Florida, it’s time to harvest the cabbage. Cabbage is one of our cool season crops, meaning we plant it from about September through January. Planting when too warm will yield poor crops and lead to bolting, or the production of flowers. Not good, when you’re looking forward to that […]

Cabbage and peas are friends in the garden. Cabbage are heavy feeders and need lots of nitrogen to produce their big beautiful leaves. Legumes help “fix” nitrogen into the soil which helps make it readily available to the plants. Awesome. However, cabbage does not like to be near pole beans. Or strawberries. So keep those […]

These natural clay cleansing bars are made with nourishing butters, oils, clay, and oatmeal, and are best suited for normal to dry skin. I started working on this clay cleansing bar recipe a while back, and after quite a few experiments fine-tuning the amount of oils, butters, and clay, I finally settled on a ratio […]

A ONE POT meal made in your pressure cooker with homemade meatballs (not frozen!). Still so quick and easy to whip up! There’s something so cozy and homey about spaghetti and meatballs. It’s just one of those dishes that screams comfort food like mom used to make. Except I almost never make it at home. […]

Celebrate March Food Holidays National Fresh Celery Month National Noodle Month National Flour Month National Frozen Food Month National Nutrition Month National Peanut Month National Hot Cross Bun Day (Good Friday) National Sauce Month National Caffeine Awareness Month Daily Holidays  March 1  National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day – March 2 National Banana Cream Pie Day – […]

Baked Vegetable Frittata is the easy way to make frittata – just pour everything into a baking dish and pop it in the oven! It tastes like a crustless quiche, and it’s just as great fresh out of the oven as it is 4 days later. Loaded with herb garlic roasted vegetables, take this to... […]

Second Chance Her Billionaire by Therese Beharrie (Billionaires for Heiresses book 1) Contemporary romance released by Harlequin on March 1, 2019  From “I don’t”… To “I do”? In this Billionaires for Heiresses story, Summer Bishop knew her parents’ anniversary party in stunning South Africa would be hard. Spending the week with her gorgeous ex-husband, Wyatt […]

Hi friends! I’m so excited to welcome back Beth Kery! Her most recent release is Swim Deep, which I even reviewed (a rarity!) We also had an exclusive excerpt of the book which you can check out if you missed it earlier. I think this post really helps sum up how I felt about the […]

I read Henry David Thoreau's book "Walden" a summer go and the book resonated with me in many ways.The below quotes, modified to fit my own message in Italics, hope to convey why I'm trying to throttle things down in terms of blogging and social media.Thoreau:“As for Clothing, to come at once to the practical […]

Over the last few days, I've been puttering in the garage as the weather is quite cold.Rides have been short but did manage to get a ride in for each motorcycle in the garage: Fiona and Mount EvansBrigitta at the Westlands Park entrance Yagi at SunsetSpeaking of Yagi, I'd noticed the battery she came with didn't seem […]

Advertisements

IN THE DOGHOUSE is loaded with what I expect from author, Teri Case–heart and hope. But DOGHOUSE contains a lot of humor too. Skip, a rescued Wolador (a wolf-lab mix), reacts to the breakup of his pack with his own brand of well-articulated dog logic. He feels sad and lonely and worries that he is […]

The smell of the wet fall leaves are the only thing bringing me peace right now. I can’t believe I even decided to come out here in the first place. Did my father really think that a treasure hunt was … Continue reading →

Dear Don, I seem to have been fighting a constant battle with slugs since I read about the slug trails on the suit, you know… In fact, it seems as if there is a lot of tampering with realities going … Continue reading →

At his third Chiefs of Defense conference, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it’s not about winning the war against violent extremism - it’s about winning peace. Read More

Part 4: DoD beneficiaries enrolled in the soon-to-be-ending TRICARE Retiree Dental Program now have access to FEDVIP for 2019 dental and vision coverage. Read More