A Movie Review Instead – This Beautiful Fantastic

It has been pouring for two days. What with the rain and the stay at home situation, I have been feeling quite restless. Then last night I found this amazing movie. This Beautiful Fantastic is a 2016 British romantic drama, written and directed by Simon Aboud. Bella Brown was abandoned as a baby in an…

Book Review: The Book of Three

Taran is an assistant pig keeper, but he dreams of leaving the farm, wearing a sword, and becoming a great hero. One day Hen Wen, the oracular pig, escapes her pen, and Taran chases after her. Thus his adventure begins. On the way he will confront the evil Horned King, find unusual friends, including a…

Jay B. R. Wokky Ch. 22.2 — Janine Meets Fritter

Ch. 22.2 -- The wheels of the cart creaked as they crept up the steep road that corkscrewed back and forth up into the mountains. Janine felt sorry for the little donkey that had to pull such a heavy load, so she got out and walked beside him. Sometimes she pushed the mail cart from…

Beyond the Veil

Book Review -- Beyond The Veil, by Lee Nelson (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) This is a three volume set of books about near-death experiences and remarkable dreams, collected by Lee Nelson. Simply told in each person’s own words, the recorded experiences are from ordinary people from all walks of life, mostly from those of…

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo, is a beautiful story, lovingly told, with illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering.  It is the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who loves music, stories, and a princess.  It is also the story of Roscuro, a rat who lives in the dark of the castle dungeon but yearns…

Drawing Out The Dragons

I picked up this book in the bookstore because I liked the dragon on the front. As I began to read, I discovered that Drawing Out the Dragons was about the personal struggles that James A. Owen went through to become a writer and artist, and the advice he gives to groups of children to…

Pioneers

Last Wednesday Utah celebrated Pioneer Day with parades, speeches, and fireworks. We honored those courageous souls who left their old lives behind and crossed the plains to find a new home in the west. They buried loved ones in shallow graves along the trail. They crossed icy rivers, climbed snowy mountain passes, and in summer…

Insomnia, anyone?

Sometimes I sleep just fine. Other times I just can’t seem to get comfortable, or I can’t find my brain’s off switch. Some nights I drop off quickly, but then I wake up at three a.m. after a disturbing dream. Instead of dismissing it, rolling over, and drifting back to sleep, I start wondering what…

To a Friend

I recently read Salvation, by Anne Osterlund. I really enjoyed this book. The story was beautifully told and gave me a lot to think about. She deals sensitively with the hardships of being an immigrant family, loyalty, friendship, and the dream of having a better life, of being more and achieving more than those around…

Characters

Where Do Characters Come From? One of the most exciting things about being a writer is creating the characters. Some characters are carefully planned -- their strengths, their weaknesses, their physical appearance -- based on what your story needs. Some come from dreams. C.S. Lewis had a dream about a faun wearing a scarf, carrying…