Novel Thoughts blog
  1. James Casper

    A Man Called Dad

    June 17, 2015 11:11 pm 4 Comments

    My first memories of my father are of his absence. World War Two was raging. He was a soldier somewhere in France, or Luxembourg, or maybe Germany. At times, nobody knew for certain until a letter arrived from the warfront. Written three weeks ago, the letter could only tell us… Read more »

    Tags: family Father's Day memory parents

  2. First Chapter: Looking for the King

    June 15, 2015 6:07 pm Leave a Comment

    Read the first chapter of the novel Looking for the King by David C. Downing. If you like what you’re reading, visit the novel’s page to learn more or order! Chapter 1 Glastonbury, England Mid-April 1940 “Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur with his wife, Guinevere.” Tom McCord studied… Read more »

    Tags: First Chapter Inklings J.R.R. Tolkien Looking for the King The Inklings

  3. John Herreid

    Christopher Lee and Morally Serious Horror

    June 12, 2015 2:23 pm 7 Comments

    Christopher Lee as Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Pope John Paul II Sir Christopher Lee was an imposing figure to the end. After news of his death arrived I went online and found a video of a recent interview. Straight as a rail even in his 90s and dressed impeccably, he… Read more »

    Tags: Christopher Lee dracula frankenstein horror

  4. Carl E. Olson

    The U.S. Post Office has just released a new stamp featuring Flannery O’Connor: The description reads: The 30th stamp in the Literary Arts series honors Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964), who crafted unsettling and darkly comic stories and novels about the potential for enlightenment and grace in what seem like the worst possible moments…. Read more »

    Tags: Flannery O'Connor literary criticism

  5. In 1922 a young writer named Myles Connolly wrote a piece for the Catholic magazine America titled “Chesterton’s Cap and Bells”. Connolly had just met the great writer, and he starts off by comparing Chesterton to another Englishman: Charlie Chaplin: When Max Eastman asked Charlie Chaplin what it is he… Read more »

    Tags: Charlie Chaplin G.K. Chesterton great films for kids Myles Connolly

  6. Ignatius Press Novels

    Works of Beauty, Works of Truth: An Interview with Joseph Pearce

    June 1, 2015 1:51 pm 1 Comment

    Joseph Pearce is the author of numerous literary biographies, including books on J.R.R. Tolkien, G.K. Chesterton, Oscar Wilde, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. His passion and enthusiasm for literature is apparent to anyone who has ever met him or read his work. Ignatius Press Novels spoke with him about the Ignatius Critical… Read more »

    Tags: author interviews Catholic literature classics Ignatius Critical Editions literary criticism

  7. Prologue: A Postcard from the Volcano

    May 28, 2015 5:52 pm Leave a Comment

    Read the prologue of the novel A Postcard from the Volcano by Lucy Beckett. If you like what you’re reading, visit the novel’s page to learn more or order! Prologue In the winter of 1961 Max Hofmann was dying. No one said so, not even the doctor, who seemed to… Read more »

    Tags: A Postcard from the Volcano First Chapter Lucy Beckett

  8. John Herreid

    One Weird Trick to Appreciate Art

    May 19, 2015 11:45 am 3 Comments

    “Oh, is that an allusion to the Fall?” “The what?” “The Fall of Adam and Eve.” “Uh, no.” “Is it Persephone in the underworld?” “Who?” It was around ten years ago. I was at an open studio event held in a huge old warehouse in the SOMA neighborhood of San… Read more »

    Tags: art appreciation Bible classics Ignatius Critical Editions

  9. First Chapter: The Last Crusader

    May 13, 2015 2:36 pm 1 Comment

    Read the first chapter of the novel The Last Crusader by Louis de Wohl. If you like what you’re reading, visit the novel’s page to learn more or order! CHAPTER 1 There was no road to Leganés, just a narrow, muddy path marked by occasional imprints of naked feet and… Read more »

    Tags: crusades First Chapter historical fiction lepanto Louis de Wohl

  10. Mother’s Day Is for Remembering

    May 7, 2015 4:11 pm 6 Comments

    Reading with my mother, 1979. My mother never lived to see any of her grandchildren. Each year as Mother’s Day rolls around, I’m reminded again of this fact. She died in the month of May when many of her own children were still young, surrounded by family in the living… Read more »

    Tags: family memory Mother's Day parents

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