Father's Day!

 cj Sez: I hope all the wonderful dads out there have a Happy Father’s Day.

  Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has a history that goes well beyond greeting cards. The first known American celebration to honor fathers happened in 1908 at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South in Fairmont, West Virginia. A Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to have a memorial service for the more than 200 fathers who had died in the Monongah mining explosion that occurred on December 6, 1907. Described as “the worst mining disaster in American History,” the explosion left some 1,000 children without fathers.

  Two years later, Father’s Day was formally observed in Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June). It became an annual celebration there and started events in other towns, but did not become a permanent national holiday for decades. Congress first introduced a bill to honor fathers in 1913, but it did not pass. 

  In 1966, Lyndon Johnson used his Presidential Pen to issue a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June to honor fathers. Father’s Day finally became law in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that Father’s Day be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.  

cj’s note: 

  According to a National Review analysis, at the time of the Monongah mine disaster in the early 1900s, fewer than eight percent of kids under the age of ten lived in a household that didn’t include their biological or adoptive father. Today, more than one in four kids under the age of ten have absentee fathers.  https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic

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  My father struggled through a harsh life, was raised by a stern grandfather with little expressions of love. Growing up in Detroit, I don’t remember that we ever said “I love you” to each other but I knew he loved me by the unexpected and thoughtful things he did for me, like when he walked blocks to a drugstore to get me some medicine and spent money he couldn't afford (he'd been laid off his factory job) to buy me a comic book. 

  What I remember most about Daddy are his strong hands, his Swedish accent, his blue, blue eyes, and seeing him dance the schottische around the kitchen on Saturday mornings when he made breakfast for his family. He died many years ago, one month before his 61st birthday, and I miss him and cherish his memory still.   

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  Weather report for the Gulf Coast . . .

 

 

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  By the by, at the risk of repeating myself . . . as the masthead of Lyrical Pens says, if you have a book (new or old) you want to promote with a blog post, drop me a note. We can arrange a blog date…the only caveat is that this site is PG 13.

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  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Prayers going up for your health and safety this year.

cj

P.S.  The Haunted Bookshop has signed paperback copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER my author-graphed books or any book of your choice on-line from an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us   

P.P.S. Pre-signed copies of THE BIG FANG are not yet available at The Haunted Bookshop, but when you order a book from them and want it author-graphed, let them know, and I'll pop down there and sign it for you. Thanks!

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It's Father's Day

 cj Sez:  Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there, and to those who can’t be at home with their family because they are serving our country in far-away places, my prayers go up for your safe return.

   Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has a history that goes well beyond greeting cards. The first known American celebration to honor fathers happened in 1908 at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South in Fairmont, West Virginia. A Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to have a memorial service for the more than 200 fathers who had died in the Monongah mining explosion that occurred on December 6, 1907. Described as “the worst mining disaster in American History,” the explosion left some 1,000 children without fathers.

   Father’s Day was formally observed in Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June). It became an annual celebration there and in some other cities but did not become a permanent national holiday for decades. In 1966, Lyndon Johnson used his Presidential Pen to issue a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June to honor fathers. In 1972 President Richard Nixon signed the law declaring Father’s Day be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.

   cj’s note: According to a National Review analysis, at the time of the mine disaster in the early 1900s, fewer than eight percent of kids under the age of ten lived in a household that didn’t include their biological or adoptive father. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, today 19.5 million children, more than 1 in 4, live without a father in the home.

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On a personal note

Eric and Rosa Wed

   My father struggled through a harsh childhood, and I don't remember that we ever said "I love you" to each other. But I knew he loved me because of the unexpected and gentle things he would do for me. What follows is an excerpt from a personal essay I wrote for the 2008 anthology “Christmas through a Child’s Eyes.” It's my favorite memory of him. It was my first Christmas in Detroit, and I was seven-years old.

“On Christmas morning, I woke to the sound of music I remember hearing when I was little. Daddy was in the kitchen, listening to a radio station that played Swedish music. I slipped out of bed and peeked around the door. He began to sing in Swedish while he stirred a pot of oatmeal, then he twirled and danced a schottische around the kitchen. I was overflowing with happiness at the familiar sounds and sights. Watching Daddy dancing alone made me giggle out loud.

“God Jul, litet dotter,” he said and swept me up in his thick arms.

Merry Christmas, Daddy!” I responded happily.

I held tight to his neck and laughed while he sang, as we spun around the kitchen floor. I smelled his spicy aftershave and rested my cheek against the coarseness of a beard he could never completely shave off.

He's been gone for a lifetime, and I still miss him dearly.

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Son’s photo of a hummingbird, taken on Dauphin Island, AL.

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Writerly/Readerly quotes: 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss

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And now a short message from my sponsor:

   ON SALE NOW . . . $1.99 until June 30:  The Dawgstar from your favorite E-retailer, including Kindle, here:   https://books2read.com/u/3LRRG5

   Buy Death on the Yampa at https://books2read.com/u/bxe1AP   

   The paperback of Death on the Yampa, a homegrown-terrorist adventure, is available on Amazon:    Buy Paperback Yampa

   The paperback of the international thriller The Dawgstar is available here:  Amazon Buy Now   

   If you've enjoyed reading one of my books, or any author’s books, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon or wherever. It shares your joy of reading with others and means the world to the author. Please and thank you.

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A note from The Haunted Book Shop …

  On Monday (June 21) and Tuesday (June 22), take a bite out of prime! Bookshop.org is offering free shipping on all orders. Check out our storefront there at https://bookshop.org/shop/thehauntedbookshopmobile. We do get a commission on any sales you make through us, but also a slice of it goes into a kitty split between all member stores, so shopping through bookshop dot org supports indie bookstores nationwide!

                                                                                §§

   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

   P.S. TO ORDER my books or any book of your choice on-line and support an indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

   If you’d like me to autograph or personalize it for you, be sure to tell them.

   The Haunted Bookshop has re-opened to limited hours (and they have an awesome bookstore kitty, Mr. Bingley), so if you’re in the Mobile area, you can stop and shop, too.

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Fathers Day and review trolls

cj Sez: Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, and adoptive fathers.  

From the Lyrical Pens Archives:

A fellow writer was grieving and questioning what to do about a one-star review on Amazon that complained about something that wasn’t in her novel. Obviously, the reviewer hadn’t even read the book.

   One- and two-star reviews can be devastating, both for future sales and on the author. Wherever there’s an opportunity to post a review, there will be trolls ready and waiting with low ratings—whether they’re warranted or not. I’ve seen reviews by people who purchased an item on Amazon then rated the product one star because they thought delivery took too long. Had nothing to do with the quality of the product.

   So where am I going with all this? It’s to reinforce why comments and reviews need to be put in perspective. Don’t let the naysayers persuade you that your work isn’t good. Hiding within the electronic wafers of the Internet are nameless, faceless, and wretched on-line trolls. (Whew! I feel better now.)

   We can’t realistically expect all reviews to be five-stars (okay, we do, but that’s beside the point). I admit to having desperate pangs when someone dings a story. Yes, it skews the “average,” but then I re-read the good reviews that I do have (some posted, some not) and calm down a bit. I remind myself that I cannot please every reader out there. There will always be someone who dislikes some characterization, challenges some datum, or is offended by a piece of history. Always. Duh. That’s the reason there are a gazillion different stories in multiple genres for the gazillion different readers.

   If you receive a poor review from an on-line troll, consider the source, and please do not respond to the reviewer. That could dig a deeper, darker hole than you want to dive into. For a review like the one mentioned in my first paragraph, perhaps a conversation with Amazon (if that’s where it is made) might get the unjustified/ unfair review removed. Might.

   In the meantime, if you’re like me, you’ll console yourself with a treat, and a hot fudge cream puff works for me.

   Speaking of reviews . . . have you taken the time to give an on-line review for the latest book you read? You might be able to refute some troll.

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Passing along info…

***Call for #submissions!***
Bienvenue Press is pleased to announce a Christmas-themed anthology for charity benefiting the Acadiana Writing Project.
What are we looking for? Romance stories featuring a character who works in the educational system.     https://bit.ly/2Yn0iGX

***

   The following is, or should be, a keeper for your personal “The Craft of Writing” library:  https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/06/power-of-pronouns-part-1

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same, (Sending up prayers for your health and safety.)

cj

   My love story, “Love is Immortal” is one of the short stories in Bienvenue to the Chateau Rouge anthology. 

   I also have a short, short story in the bonus Lagniappe, which is a free download.

5.0 out of 5 stars Another awesome hit from Jolie St Amant

"If you like vampires and spirits, things that vanish into thin air, or even if you don't you will love this book. I have read all her Chateau Rouge book and never get let down."

   The anthology is available through these fine sites: https://books2read.com/u/bpOMw9?fbclid=IwAR3R2NTI8nH5U8JhXwJynbxkbYQhlK4H-sbTFU5YRhGDB2CocTPkdf8TSEE

   TO ORDER my autographed books or any book of your choice on-line from my favorite indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop 

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Father's Day and the Amazing English Language

cj Sez:  First, I want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, step-fathers, great-and-grandfathers, and adoptive fathers. I hope this day is the start of a healthy and happy year.

  I was re-organizing the backup files for my blog the other day, and that means I "had" to re-read every post. I found a few interesting ones, including one about our dynamic English language. So before I delete my comments , I think it’s worthwhile to repeat that 2016 post one more time.

***

…. A friend sent me this quote from a fellow blogger, Sol Sanders:  “Perhaps the glory of the English language is that it so expressive. Its remarkable heterogeneous origins have given it an almost limitless vocabulary. And American English, particularly, has used that tool with an enormous flexibility to make it the international means of communication. One is able with a minimum of linguistic dexterity to capture every meaning, or almost every nuance.”

Read it out loud. It does make sense.

  Mr. Sanders’s comments were part of an introduction to his essay on what today’s journalism and media do with the English language. The gist of his blog is that journalism and media people over-complicate their sentences with words that muddy their meanings—changing nouns into verbs and, perhaps, calling a shovel a “hand-held, earth-moving tool.” (I’ve seen those descriptions in engineering technical specifications papers also.)

  Yes, as a writer, I use nouns as verbs. Yes, I deliberately obfuscate and happily add the disclaimer that it’s for the sake of telling the story. I am drawn to the syntax, symbolism, and syncopation of a well-crafted sentence that is the hallmark of successful mystery/thriller/suspense novelists. It’s using that “minimum of linguistic dexterity to capture every meaning, or almost every nuance” that appeals to me, and, I think, to readers of those genres. They want to try to decipher the code, find the clues, and solve the crime. I like confusing the issue. 

   That said, I do have a few personal dislikes of changing nouns into verbs. One is the word “impactful”—a noun turned into a verb turned into an adjective by adding ful on the end. What the Sam Hill does that mean?

   Did you know that we're also speaking Greek? The truth is that English is a living language. It’s constantly evolving as we create new words and new definitions to compliment new technology. Therein lies a conundrum:  The generations cease to understand each other at an almost exponential pace. Many times I need an interpreter to understand teen-talk, and I think if I texted often (a noun turned into a verb because of technology), I’d forget how to spell.

  Coda:  IMHO, the gloriously expressive English language is what makes the craft of writing so fascinating.

  I’m still working on my craft. How are you doing with yours?

***

  That’s it for this week’s post. I hope you found a nugget in here that you can use. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

DEADLY STAR excerpt (scene is after a plane crash in the desert):  Afraid to stay and afraid to leave, Mirabel began to shiver in the sweltering heat. She knew the rules for a crash. Dan repeated them before each time they flew. Stay with the plane. Searchers can see a plane. A hiker is just another invisible grain of sand. She stared long and hard at the purple haze of sawtooth hills in the distance then kissed his waxen cheek.

     “I have to go,” she whispered.

For your summertime/vacation reading pleasure, stop by my Amazon Central Author Page = https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj  — at the time of this post, CHOOSING CARTER and DEADLY STAR are free on Kindle Unlimited.

To order an autographed copy of DEADLY STAR, CHOOSING CARTER, and THE POSSE, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice.

If you send me a note, I’ll personalize your choice, and drop it in the mail to you (cover price plus mailing).

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Father's day has a history, too

cj Sez: I hope all the wonderful dads out there have a Happy Father’s Day.

   Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has a history that goes well beyond greeting cards. The first known American celebration to honor fathers happened in 1908 at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South in Fairmont, West Virginia. A Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to have a memorial service for the more than 200 fathers who had died in the Monongah mining explosion that occurred on December 6, 1907. Described as “the worst mining disaster in American History,” the explosion left some 1,000 children without fathers.

   Two years later, Father’s Day was formally observed in

Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June). It became an annual celebration there and started events in other towns, but did not become a permanent national holiday for decades. Congress first introduced a bill to honor fathers in 1913, but it did not pass. In 1966, Lyndon Johnson used his Presidential Pen to issue a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June to honor fathers. Father’s Day finally became law in 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that Father’s Day be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.

cj’s note: According to a National Review analysis, at the time of the mine disaster in the early 1900s, fewer than eight percent of kids under the age of ten lived in a household that didn’t include their biological or adoptive father. Today, one in four kids under the age of ten have absentee fathers.

*** 

My father struggled through a hard life, was raised without a father and with little love. I don’t remember that we ever said “I love you” to each other but I knew he loved me by the unexpected, thoughtful things he did for me. What I remember most about Daddy are his strong hands, his Swedish accent, and seeing him dance the schottische around the kitchen on Saturday mornings when he made breakfast. I miss him still.    

That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

5 Star review for Choosing Carter, a fast and exciting vacation read . . . 5.0 out of 5 stars Another Page Turner!    No slow passages in this suspenseful and action-filled novel. The interesting cast of characters and even the rugged landscape (so well described) contribute to the feeling of "being there." Highly recommend this one.

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Father’s Day Info Sources:

 https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/fathers-day-one-quarter-of-kids-have-absentee-dads/

 https://www.almanac.com/content/when-fathers-day