A word from Thomas Merton

Thanks to son Kevin, a word from Thomas Merton.
"The ultimate perfection of the contemplative life is not a heaven of separate individuals, each one viewing his own private intuition of God; it is a sea of love which flows through the One Body of all the elect, all the angels and saints, and their contemplation would be incomplete if it were not shared, or if it were shared with fewer souls, or with spirits capable of less vision and less joy."

I'm reminded that I've failed to write my Cistercian friend, Padre Lorenzo. I had wanted to discuss Cluny, France with him, but now it's too late. Lent is upon us. I'll have to wait for Easter when he will be able to receive mail again.

No word about RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON yet. It's like waiting for a baby to arrive!

Catching Up

As promised: "My clock has parts left over
And I don't know where they go,
But it never ticks and it seldome tocks,
And it's running kind of slow...

I'm reading THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Can't put it down. (Experienced little difficulty putting DAEMON by a guy named Suarez--I think--down) Feeling misery from our 10-20 degree weather, the DRAGON TATTOO story is set in Sweeden where it's 45 below. The protagonist is working on a cold case (literally!) of a missing girl.
The author is a guy named Stieg Larsson.

RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON WILL BE OUT WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!!!

Freezing January didn't make it last!

The Ferry To America is a story about two people growing up on Pawquillet Island in Nantucket Sound. They age physically and emotionally, and as they grow, so grows their love for each other.

Readers are saying they enjoy the read. One said that it's like falling in love again.

The book is available at Amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble. You can purchase it direct from the Strategic Publishing Group at: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheFerryBoatToAmerica.html

Tomorrow, a little bit about PARTS LEFT OVER.

Rain In The Afternoon

Finished reviewing the third galley yesterday, certain that we've got everything right. RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON ought to be hitting the shelves in another couple of months.
Heard from Hunter Smith who served once as a medical missionery in Nigeria. He still hears from people with whom he worked, and some that he saved (perhaps in more ways than one). His good works there live after him, but I was saddened to think that from now on we've got to check their underwear whenever they fly.
Another friend has broken her ribs. Wow, that really hurts! There's an old song: "I Think Of You With Every Breath I Take". Fits the occasion.
Sister-in-law, Edie and nephew Christopher will arrive by train in March. They recently lost my brother, Christopher's dad to transitional cell cancer of the bladder with generalized metastases. Our father died of it; so did our sister--talk about familial traits. A wise oncologist would have prescribed hospice and a comfortable ending. The self-serving idiot prescribed chemotherapy instead, and my brother suffered terminally.
After the loss of three sibs, I'm the oldest, but still the last of the Mohecans.

Weekend's Over

Today I edited the first galley of my next book, RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. I'm filled with hope for it, the hope readers will agree with me that it's a great story. A former Green Baret becomes a missionery in Latin America. He encounters the grinding poverty of his people and the hostile forces of maurading guerrillas and the death squads of a fascist government.

In the days ahead I'll share parts of the story with you. The publication date should be sometime in the next three months.

Meanwhile the snow has stopped and the temperatures are rising--not above freezing yet. That comes tomorrow.

THE FERRY TO AMERICA is available directly from: http://strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheFerryToAmerica.html or at Amazon.com or Barns and Noble.

Snow

SNOW didn't print well yesterday. It's just as appropriate today, printed properly:

The snow falls down in silence
On the cold, bleak winter air,
Lights easy
On the gray and lonesome street
To change the darkness
Of a drab and faded place
Into a wonderland of white.
A small conspiracy it is
From high above--
To cheer a listless heart
And for a lovely hour
Make one glad to be alive,
To see the lovely sight.

There, that's better. It's still commin' down!

Little Christmas

We've celebrated Epiphany, the twelphth day of Christmas,and now it's time to take down the tree, put the ornaments and most of the presents away. I was heartened to learn that copies of THE FERRY TO AMERICA were given as Christmas presents. It's the story of kids growing up, and it's written for grownups.

Bill Crotty read the book and called to ask where I did the research for this story.
Once you have read it you'll get the subtle humor behind his question.

We are up to our ears in snow! Here's a bit about snow from my book PARTS LEFT OVER.

Now snow falls down in silence To cheer a listless heart
On the cold, bleak winter air, And for a lovely hour
Lights easy Make one glad to be alive
On the gray and lonesome street To see the lovely sight.
To change the darkness
Of a drab and faded place
To a wonderland of white. Peace!
A small conspiracy it is
From high above--