Sydney Avey's Blog, page 12
July 3, 2015
Meet Local Authors
Sonora Public Library
2 Green Street
Sonora
June 29, 2015
Book Review: The Opposite of Art
The Opposite of Art: A Novel by Athol Dickson
I’m always on the lookout for literary fiction with a Christian theme. To see the world through the eyes of a painter intrigued me. Dissatisfaction with his work and a quest for artistic perfection send the artist on an intense spiritual journey that ultimately brings him to “the poverty of self-awareness.”
At once a spiritual travelogue and a sophisticated fable, the story line grounds us in the everyday (people have to eat), whisks us to exotic...
May 26, 2015
The Price of Eggs
A chicken castle
Do you suppose there is a connection between the price of eggs and the proliferation of chicken mamas? My daughter-in-law studied up and built a chicken castle for four lucky ladies who pay 120 eggs a month’s rent. My niece recently arrived at my sister’s house for a weekend visit with her five children, a dog, a rat, and a retinue of 17 chickens. The babies were still in the brooder and she couldn’t find a chicken sitter.
Apparently there is more to keeping chickens than tos...
May 5, 2015
Moral Character: A Book Review
In a pluralistic society where people disagree on standards of behavior, discussions of moral conductcan beuncomfortable. Good news for novelists. What gets us into trouble at a cocktail partyplays well in story form.
Moral ambiguitypossesses all the tension and conflict writers need to tell great stories. Show mea character who struggles to applyethicsto a confusing life situation. She will bechallenged to draw on all her mental and moral qualities, and practice active faith. That is what bu...
May 1, 2015
Got the Grumbles?
Nothing gives me the grumbles like the feeling that my time is not my own. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a book that hit a nerve. The World Beyond Your Head: On becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction by Matthew B. Crawford. It’s about the in-your-face attention grabbers that rob you of your time and your peace of mind.
I have made some decisions that help me feel a little less like a ping pong ball in someone else’s game.
Things I never do
Fill out customer satisfaction surveys....April 22, 2015
On the road again
When we returned from Arizona to Pine Mountain Lake I promised I would stay put for at least six months, but in May I’m on the road again (not for long). Judith Gregg, head librarian at the Los Altos Library, did this lovely flier to advertise a local author event. I’m on the program.
Can I say I’m local even though I no longer have an address in the area? If home is where the heart is, I would say that my grandmother’s house in Los Altos was my emotionalhub. My love of orchards, oceans, and...
March 21, 2015
The Tree of Knowledge
Whateveris lovely
Partaking of the internet is like eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Where once we were relative innocents, we now know the unfathomable depths of horrific evil that pervades the earth, in epic scale.
In a class I am taking, Jesus the Jew, Rabbi David Davis lamented, “Our knowledge has increased, but our hearts have not changed.” There in a simple sentence is the problem I have long pondered.
We have made great strides in science and technology that enab...
March 5, 2015
The Lyre and the Lambs audiobook is here
Now available in audio. Click here to hear a sample.
Narrated by Lynne Parrish, order the unabridged audiobook from Audible.com
7 hours, 16 minutes, $19.95
The post The Lyre and the Lambs audiobook is here appeared first on Sydney Avey.
March 3, 2015
The Family Tree
Charting a family tree provides a record for future generations, but sketching the leafy branches in story form is far more revealing. At first glance, your tree may appear to be a uniform sample of its species, but move your gaze though its branches and you will likely find broken limbs and odd grafts.
Unless it is a well researched biography (non-fiction), a family saga is an intriguing mix of fact and fiction. To tell a good story, historical fiction writers have to make up what they don’t...
February 22, 2015
Rabbit Holes
Because I’m off my feet now recovering from foot surgery, I have lots of time to go down rabbit holes. The terrain is so full of holes, I’m beginning to wonder how the ground under our feet holds together.
I clicked on an article that sounded an alarm over the demise of sardines (my husband will be glad to hear that) and declared that the domino effect will be the loss of huge populations of sea creatures. Makes sense.
Pondering that, I scrolled down to a meme that screamed at me, Now do you be...
