Where the Wild Walkens Are

Is it just me, or would Maurice Sendak's classic children's book be better with more cowbell?

Project 61 announced at tHP

Spin Me A Tale

Put a new spin on an old favorite!

Deadline: March 31^st, 2012

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Once upon a time... [events occur] ...and they all lived happily ever after. Or do they? Here's your chance to rebuild one of those time-honored fairy tales or fables—make it right, or make it so very, very wrong!. For a brief time, allow your artwork or writing to transform you into a modern-day Æsop, Mother Goose, or brother Grimm... In Project#61 we ask you to create images, poems, or stories which put a new spin on one of those beloved childhood fables, nursery rhymes, or fairy tales. Share with us something that is both timeworn and original. If you can’t write, then draw. If you can’t draw, then write. If you are uninspired, then please take time to offer your comments and constructive criticisms of the work of others.

Remember to have FUN with Project 61
even if there isn't a happily ever after...

As always, the theme and spirit of this edition must be apparent in your story, poem, or artwork, regardless of your chosen genre or medium.  Email your Spin Me A Tale piece to herscherproject@gmail.com.

Premonitions - Closing the Doors

After pausing an entire month beyond the window for submissions (while wondering if my suspicions were correct), I'm now forced to admit that the climate isn't getting any warmer on the anthology front.

Due to a tremendous lack of interest -- both within tHP and outside our walls -- it appears that the planned Premonitions anthology will also be going the way of Paying the Boatman.

It saddens me to consider the apathy that surrounded this anthology, and I can only hope that... someday... eventually... we will get it right with one of our efforts to publish an anthology that features the writings of tHP's members.

The Book of Paradox

The Book of Paradox The Book of Paradox by Louise Cooper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some books, though the details of which are hazy in my memory, remain notable simply because I remember that I enjoyed reading them at the time. Louise Cooper's The Book of Paradox is one such novel. Perhaps, someday, I will read it again to see if it has managed to weather the test of time. Luckily, I shall not have to hunt for a copy. I have kept the copy I read over a quarter-century ago because I enjoyed it so much "back in the day".

Maybe 2012 will be a year for revisiting selected old favorites.

View all my reviews

How Irish Dance Got Started...

The Joy of Books

If you love books, you'll love this video...

The Bishop of Rwanda

The Bishop of Rwanda by John Rucyahana and James Riordan


This is a short clip recorded at Olivet Nazarene University showing author James Riordan speaking of some of the events and tragedies detailed in his book, The Bishop of Rwanda. This is one book I have been meaning to pick up for some time, now, and I keep thinking that I should have upgraded this from "intention" to "New Year's Resolution" as we enter 2012.

Not Only The Dark

Not Only the Dark: 160 Poems on the Theme of Survival by Jo Field

I'm going to go out on a limb just a bit here and recommend this collection of poetry without having read it. Two factors are contributing to my decision:
(1) WordAid says, "Not Only The Dark is our latest anthology of poetry, 160 poems on the theme of survival in aid of Shelterbox...This new and vibrant anthology explores the theme of survival, with poems about war, weather, growing ill and growing old as well as about cities and landscapes, art and music, trees and turtles and the many things that add richness to our lives."
(2) Not Only The Dark includes a poem written by Herscher Project co-owner, Jamie A. Hughes.

I'm looking forward to finding a spot for Not Only The Dark on my shelf of most treasured books.

Profit and Loss

Some disturbing madness was reported in Amazon’s Profits are Small Publishers’ Losses, a blogpost by the U.K.'s Linen Press. I'm a few month's behind with this, but rather doubt matters have improved any in today's economy. Apparently, economic sanity is no better in the publishing industry than in any other.

[Thanks go to author Chris A Jackson for bringing this one to my attention.]

The Blue Angels - Live Cockpit Footage

Blue Angels cockpit footage taken over the Severn River, U.S. Naval Academy, and Andrews Air Force Base (Maryland). In case some don't know this, the Blue Angels always include a U.S. Marine pilot in their precision flight team.