The New York Times Joins Effort to Combat Trump’s Anti-Press Rhetoric Excerpted from The New York Times, page B2, August 14, 2018 Sometimes it’s important to stand up and be counted, regardless of whether it’s politically correct or not. Today is one of those times. Today, August 15, 2018, over two hundred newspapers across the country are standing up, very tall, to push back against assertions of publishing “fake news.” Today, these newspapers are publishing an editorial in defense of a free press. I hope you will read this editorial in your favorite newspaper, whether in print or online, and join the Fourth Estate in defending its honor and its rights in America. Because if you don’t, we just might continue down the slippery slope of a censored, politically controlled press. Although you will…
Exploring Literary Trilogies and Tetralogies by Victoria Merkle
Editor’s Note: The trilogy and tetralogy are commonplace in genre fiction: science-fiction, fantasy, mystery. But what of literature? Tori Merkle dissects the phenomenon and helps us understand its often unrecognized significance, not only in storytelling but in an author’s oeuvre. Literary Chronicles: An Exploration of Trilogies and Tetralogies in Literary Fiction by Tori Merkle It’s a fact of storytelling: chronicles sell. Series novels, commonly a trilogy or tetralogy, are especially popular in genre fiction—we sit waiting and watching for the next sci-fi or fantasy saga to top the bestseller list and then hit the box office. Once we get the first luscious taste of a fictional world, we’re ravenous for more. We become attached to the characters as if they’re intimate friends. We’re eager to know what happens next. This is the same energy that…
The Fictional Cafe’s 500th Member!
Last month – actually, the day before our fifth birthday bash on Facebook – the Fictional Café membership rolls hit a magic number: 500. Therefore, we would like to introduce you to Zipporah Kuteesa, our Number Five Hundred member of the Fictional Café Coffee Club! Zipporah was kind and gracious enough to grant us an interview. Read on! FC: Please tell us as little about yourself, Ms. Kuteesa. Z: I live in Entebbe, Uganda. I am 20 years old. I am a student pursuing a B.A. in Mass Communications at Uganda Christian University-Mukono. I work with a humanitarian NGO called Mercy Hands Uganda. FC: Are you a writer, an artist, or media auteur? What do you create? Z: I am a writer, but I also do other forms of art like painting, songwriting, music, and others….
The “Magus Elgar” Contest!!
As promised, here is the “Magus Elgar” contest with real prizes you can win! It’s a simple contest which only requires your having listened – or listening once again – to identify a character’s name. And that character is . . . [drum roll] . . . THE DRAGON! The first Coffee Club member to correctly identify the dragon’s name will win an advance copy of the “Magus Elgar” soundtrack CD <<< and a Fictional Café baseball hat >>> plus some other swag we haven’t quite worked out yet. But it’ll be good stuff, and you’ll want it! This contest is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. If you loved the first three episodes of “Magus Elgar,” and you love Fictional Café, you definitely want to get into this contest! …
Congratulations to Artist Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord!
Fictional Cafe member and former featured artist Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord has an exhibition in Boston at the beautiful Arnold Arboretum Hunnewell Building Visitor Center through July 22nd. Her Spirit Books combine the aesthetics of the natural world with the art of bookmaking. Susan displays these beautifully and spiritually powerful books all across the country. Susan was also recently interviewed on WGBH, the local PBS station in Boston, about her work and its meaning to her. Listen to her on the WGBH “Arts This Week” feature to learn more. You can follow Susan’s work on her website as well on Instagram.