Today is the Feast of Saint John of Capistrano. He is famous for helping John Hunyadi break the Siege of Belgrade in 1456. And then dying of the plague spread in the aftermath. This lovely altarpiece from the Walters Art Museum, titled Saint Louis of Toulouse, Saint Francis, and the Blessed John Capistrano, was constructed [...]
I'm trying to write a short story based on true events. The last story like this took three and a half months and will be published in an anthology, probably in November. My contract says that I will promote the anthology on my blog and I will! When it's out! What concerns me right now [...]
“Apples, heigh-ho,” said Trumpkin with a rueful grin. “I must say you ancient kings and queens don’t overfeed your courtiers!” Prince Caspian. C. S. Lewis. Harper Collins. 1951. At this point in the book, Prince Caspian, the protagonists have had mostly apples to eat for the last forty-eight hours. They started with a few sandwiches [...]
For reasons I did not initially understand I’ve been doing a mental checklist of activities and accomplishments, this past year. Most people think this is an occupation for New Year’s Day. I happen to think the first week of December is a good moment, being the beginning of the church year. My brain is marking [...]
In 1857 the Steam Ship Central America sank off the coast of the Carolinas. I'm writing a short story based on this and went to find some art. The Steamship Erie was a wooden paddlewheel and sailing vessel that traveled on the Great Lakes. It sank in 1837, one of the worst ship disasters on [...]
