Laura Libricz's Blog, page 18

The Ordered World #mondayblogs

Pieter Lastmann-1614- Susanne und die beiden Alten

Today’s Guest Blogger:

Pieter van Diemen, Amsterdam 1616
Mercenary Soldier, Seaman and Poet
Translated into English by Sebald Tucher

The Ordered World

Faith is a rope swinging from a point unseen
Grab hold and climb always risking a fall
Ambition, a droning motion grinding forward
Fueled by faith—the swinging rope.
Hope—like a pin prick of light that flickers
And dies at the mere touch
Only to repeat elsewhere on the horizon
Never...

Twisted Fairy Tale #mondayblogs

The Three Bears
Once upon a time, there was a little crooked house in the middle of the Wild Game Preservation. Ivy grew up two of the lopsided walls, concealing just how badly the building tilted. Off-center under a bent drain pipe was a great door. Every morning at 7 o’clock, the great door opened, and out came Mama Bear carrying two lunch bags, her purse, dragging Baby Bear by the ear. This particular morning, Mama Bear was at the end of her rope. And the day had hardly begun! She ha...

#FlashFiction Friday

Year 299
Flash Fiction by Laura Libricz

The wind blew the massive oak door open and the page struggled to keep it from shattering against the stone wall. The snow blew vertically into the hall as the king stomped in, shaking the ice from his long black braid. Together, the king and the page forced the door closed, defying the anger of the raging storm. The page relieved the king of his saturated fur coat and threw the coat to the awaiting ma...<![endif]--><!-- [if gte mso 9]>

The Real Witch Story #mondayblogs

Kirche und Teufel

Bamberg, Germany: The Early Modern Witch Burning Stronghold

Throughout the dark ages, Christianity had difficulties setting down roots among the Germanic tribes. Stories are told of saints who came to the German people and destroyed sacred trees and mystical places in order to show the people that their gods had no power. Even after Christianity took hold and the Catholic Church was established in the Germanic territories of the Holy Roman Empire, evidence shows that the Ge...

The Dutch East India Co. #earlymodern

The Dutch East India Company

The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the Dutch East India Company, was a tradingcompany founded in 1602. Considered by some to be the first corporation in the world, the VOC was in any case the largest and most impressive trading company in Europe during the Early Modern Period. The Company ruled the trade zone between South Africa and Japan and was granted authority by the Dutch government to build forts, appoint a governing body and to form an army, as well...

What am I reading? #mondayblogs

Heather Richardson I’m reading Magdeburgby Heather Richardson:
Link to Magdeburg on amazon.com 1631. Germany. As the Thirty Years War rages across central Europe, the Protestant denizens of Magdeburg are holding out against the armies of the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand. Sweeping in its scope and ambition, Heather Richardson’s debut novel tells the intertwining and conflicting stories of the Henning family, their friends, their associates and their enemies. And she’...

Hoydens & Firebrands #histfic

RECONSTRUCTING THE THIRTY YEARS WAR Judging by the images and the books that are popular today, can you imagine how someone 400 years from now will view our society? How will they reconstruct our day in age based on the records we leave behind? That is, if they can even access our information. What impressions will they have of our culture? continue reading…

The Ultimate Ginger Cake #mondayblogs

Felicity’s perfect ginger cake. Photograph: Felicity Cloake

What better way to spend a frosty Saturday afternoon than baking this perfect specimen of a cake? That is, after one has finished one’s writing for the day. Put that vacuum away, forget the windows! Here’s the recipe and a link to the full article by Felicity: Perfect Ginger Cake

I’d add my chaos-comments but I have to finish my blog post for Mslexia. You’ll find mehere.

100g butter, plus extra to grease
100g dark muscovado...

Showtime! The Creative Process #amwriting

Showtime — Or: The Final Hour

(Part 6 of a six-part post)

We’ve spent the last three weeksplanning and practicing a dinner for four unknown guests and writing a short story that has swelled to way more than flash fiction proportions. Together we had an idea, brainstormed and arranged the sequence of events. We’ve suffered the highs and lows of the creative process. We have three courses; a beginning, a middle and an end. Now it’s showtime.Read more…

Dark Night of the Soul #mondayblogs

Despair – Or: Dark Night of the Soul

(Part 5 of a six-part post)

How does one feel when one has invested hours of research, money for materials and glistening bits of self into a project? Add to that the decision to share the project with other mortals. The result: a fruit salad of emotions; grape halves, bananas and pineapple chunks with bits of cucumber and salty ham.

Now the hour has come to bare all. My plan is in place and I’ve practiced the process more times than I am willing to admit....