Guest Bloggers

All You Need Is Love

Today’s Guest Blogger, Lindsey Crittenden, muses about fiction and decides to take a risk. A few weeks ago, early planning started for an upcoming fiction class during which I’ll be giving a talk: What Is Fiction? Yes, it’s a question both daunting and exhausted. Nothing I can say here that’s particularly new. And I’m wary of definitions that suggest fiction is any one thing. Escapism? Moral duty? Truer than truth? Totally amoral? A pack of lies? All of the above. But the more I keep thinking, the more excited I get. Examples tumble out like toys from a cupboard, begging my attention—and they surprise me. I’ve taught fiction long enough to have the anthologized standards at the ready. You know, those classics with clear, dramatized change manifested in action or image: “Barn Burning,” “Araby,” “Roman Fever,” and, for a more contemporary example, a terrific Dagoberto Gilb story called “Uncle Rock.”…

Prompts

Forgive. Prompt #519

Invictus is a 2009 film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The story is based on the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation about the events in South Africa during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.   After spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was released and elected as South Africa’s first black president, he preached reconciliation. When he decided to support the country’s rugby team — long a symbol of white oppression — his countrymen were stunned. “Forgiveness liberates the soul,” Mandela explains to a crowd. “That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” Prompt: Forgiveness. Write about the concept of forgiveness or absolution. Write about someone you could forgive, or someone who might forgive you.

Book Reviews

Taking Root by Brenda Bellinger

Brenda Bellinger’s Taking Root is an engaging story with believable characters that drew me in, welcoming me to join them. Taking up residence in this community is like biting into a warm blueberry muffin and sipping a hot mocha . . . warm, endearing, and nurturing. I look forward to reading more of Brenda’s books. — Marlene Cullen, Editor, The Write Spot Books “From the very first page I was drawn into Delaney’s unfortunate life of coping with panic attacks while trying to become independent at the tender age of seventeen. With no family support and a relentless elderly woman and young music store owner who befriend her, she is determined to change the course of her life but a startling discovery from her past threatens to destroy her success.  I found myself cheering for Delaney on every page!”  — Janet Pierce, Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in the…