Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 5

Paris Fiction: Mark Pryor’s Henri Lefort series not to be missed, etc.

Talk about rabbit holing! My latest writing project, about World War II France, takes me to new rabbit warrens every day, or so it seems. I thought it only fair to share some of my finds here on “Gherkins & Tomatoes.” And among those finds is novelist Mark Pryor. According to his bio, his background … More Paris Fiction: Mark Pryor’s Henri Lefort series not to be missed, etc.

Dreaming the Mythical France: Paris

Abobe Stock photo (Stockbym) Day by day, I scroll through social media, gazing at photos of Paris. The Paris I see in these glossy portfolios is my Paris. And, again, it’s not. I see few images of the banlieues, Belleville, Drancy, the blocks of high rises flanking the highway from Charles De Gaulle airport to … More Dreaming the Mythical France: Paris

Latinísimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America, by Sandra A. Gutierrez

Long-time readers of this blog know that my love of Latin America sprang first from my college major in Latin American Studies. Food played no part in the formal curriculum but on the ground in Mexico – Mexico City, Veracruz, Mérida in the Yucatán – as a student in Puebla, I discovered a whole new … More Latinísimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America, by Sandra A. Gutierrez 

“Wild Geese,” Mary Oliver’s Paean to Hope

Lately, life seems to be sending me cryptic messages, imbued with a tinge of mortality, infused with the sense of time passing all too quickly. Today, all I can say, all I can think of comes through in Mary Oliver’s “The Wild Geese.” The aura of the poem calls me to remember to stop and … More “Wild Geese,” Mary Oliver’s Paean to Hope

The Nightingale: A Novel, by Kristin Hannah

I was one of those children who’d happily go to bed at whatever ungodly hour my parents wanted us four kids to. Because that meant I could read until my eyelids sagged or the flashlight batteries died, whatever came first. Of course, I’d be cat-tired the next, yearning for a nice warm quilt and sunny … More The Nightingale: A Novel, by Kristin Hannah

Awards!!!

Take a Goose or a Duck: Eclectic Essays on English Cooky Through the Ages – Best in the World in Cookbook History and Writing, awarded May 2023, in Umea, Sweden by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Take a Goose or a Duck: Eclectic Essays on English Cooky Through the Ages – President’s Silver Medal, Adult General … More Awards!!!

Gherkins & Tomatoes -Revived!

Please go to Turquoise Moon Press for the latest updates on my books. You may also head over to Medium.com for some of my latest writings: Cynthia D. Bertelsen I just downgraded this site (Gherkins) and lost a whole year’s worth of posts, not that I’d had all that many from the last year. It’s … More Gherkins & Tomatoes -Revived!

Gherkins & Tomatoes Finale

Please go to Turquoise Moon Press for the latest updates on my books and writing. I just downgraded the site and lost a whole year’s worth of posts, not that I’d had all that many from the last year. Life has suddenly become extremely complicated with a family member’s illness and other things. It’s been … More Gherkins & Tomatoes Finale

A Meditation on Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s “Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace”

I grow old … I grow old … I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. ~ T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock“   Like it or not, once you’re born, you grow old. (If you’re lucky.) The end is inevitable. Think taxes. And Western society views growing old like figures … More A Meditation on Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s “Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace”

J. Elliott Reviews “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti”

  Cynthia and I were booth buddies at the recent Sunshine State Book Festival. When she said she was giving away a few copies of her latest book, I snatched one up and begged her to sign it. When Cynthia said she was writing stories about Haiti, I really didn’t know what to expect, though … More J. Elliott Reviews “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti”