October 2025

Keeping with the spirit of Halloween and All Saints Day.  Let’s talk about a guy who has to know Halloween.  Mr. King. Stephen King doesn’t just write books. He builds worlds. Worlds that keep us awake at night. Worlds that creep under our skin.  And then there are times when he builds worlds that make […]

Have you ever stumbled across something so strange or so unsettling that you can’t look away?That’s how I feel about the Dictionnaire Infernal.What exactly is it? Well. Back in 1818, Jacques Collin de Plancy decided the world needed a proper guide to demons.  That’s right. This Jacques Collin de Plancy guy decided we had to

And the second day of those huge houses. We all know about the cost of living.  In our abodes. Many of us are busy worrying about mortgages or rent, or even home repairs in the place we own. But some Americans in history had very different concerns.  They were thinking about things like where to

People have always liked to build grand things. Take the Taj Mahal, for instance. That is pretty grand. Or how about Versailles in France? The Winter Palace in Russia? Even here in the United States, we have our own monuments to ambition, like the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.Some of these places are lovingly maintained,

I’ve only been on a riverboat twice.  The first time was for the Stacks event in Cincinnati.  I don’t remember too many of the details from that day.  It was more than 25 years ago, back in the days when I still drank an alcoholic beverage or two, or nine, or fifteen.  I do remember

Take a moment to notice yourself.  Notice yourself in a good moment.  See how grounded and centered you feel every time you take a moment for self-reflection and acceptance.  Be still. When we do this, it’s almost like the world pauses with us. The troubles of the day seem to soften.  When we stop and

Birds By Linda Stowe Eagle. Owl. Canary. Peacock. Stork. Vulture. Six kinds of birds and each has a story so distinct that an image immediately comes to mind. And the store is far from empty. Dove. Raven. Cuckoo. And on. What is it about birds? I cannot think of any other animal that has such

Writers. Go figure. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. But what happens when they go to the “without them” category?Those who went to the other side.  It seems like writers often dream up strange deaths for their characters. But sometimes, their own endings turned out to be even stranger than fiction. Well how