tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41933585453276808342024-03-21T21:31:54.182-07:00Words and their WorldAn exploration of all things related to words and their useBarrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-44465779762694871282022-01-20T10:52:00.001-08:002022-01-20T10:52:55.603-08:00<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Two parallel
worlds<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is about a tale of despair and hope. Of celebrity
superstars at rock bottom struggling to make sense of it all and to recover. It
involves a very public media sex scandal that ruined a career. It’s about a
clash of cultural expressions. It’s about arguments for and against foreign
influence on culture.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sounds like today, doesn’t it? But it is actually the middle
of the 18<sup>th</sup> century—1740 to 1742 to exact. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Musick for the King</i> is the story of how superstar
composer George Frederick Handel scrapes himself off the bottom of
life—battling health issues, poverty caused by professional sabotage, professional
jealousies, attacks against his artistic credibility aided and abetted by the
Prince of Wales and his cronies who wanted England rid of ‘foreigners’ and
their influence on British music. He is being slowly driven from London and
Britain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is also the story of Susannah Cibber, the ‘Lady Gaga’ of
her day. Mrs Cibber was London’s most illustrious singer brought low by a
public lawsuit that exposed a sordid sex scandal—including sexual, verbal and
physical abuse by her husband. It was covered voraciously by the newspapers of
the day and made scintillating gossip for everyone in London, from the Royal
palaces to the squalor the slums. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the midst of all this, an eccentric individual, Charles
Jennens, gives Handel an unusual script, or libretto, called <i>Messiah.</i> In
this oratorio, there are no acting roles, there are no sets, the words are
taken strictly from varied verses of the King James Version of the Bible. It is
unique. It is unprecedented.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Intrigued, Handel takes only 24 days of almost non-stop
writing, to produce one of the most inspirational and celebrated pieces of
music ever. One that even Beethoven later called the finest ever composed.
Imagine, over 2 ½ hours of exquisite, complex orchestral and vocal music,
composed in less than a month! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s a story in and of itself. Never mind the back story of
intrigue and opposition.,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Handel debuted <i>Messiah</i> in Dublin where it was
declared a triumph and Mrs Cibber was praised for her exquisite and moving
contribution.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of that—and more—is historical fact. Throw in historic
figures like King George II, Frederic, the Prince of Wales, and the author of
Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift and you have a cracking good story of deception,
jealousy, dishonesty and planned ruin. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not even the wildest fictional plot can match this one. It
is why I wrote <i>Musick for the King. </i>All I did was add some peripheral
fictious characters to flesh out the story and emphasize the plan to ruin
Handel.<i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My interest began when I attended a performance of <i>Messiah
</i>at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto a number of years ago. In the programme
notes there was a brief mention of this back story. I was fascinated and began
to research it. As I did, I realized that in many ways it was a story that
mirrored modern society, proving that the more things change, the more they
stay the same.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From the heights of success to the bottom of the barrel and
a determined climb back up to the top, <i>Musick for the King </i>is a story
for our times. Particularly as we grapple with the ups and downs, social
battles, and emotional and financial despair of the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Following the debut in Dublin, <i>Messiah </i>and especially
its famed<i> Hallelujah Chorus, </i>steadily gained in popularity and fame. It
became a London fixture by the late 1740’s and remains so today. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Handel himself became a changed man: from an egotistical,
angry, gluttonous man to a generous, giving man (he left the rights to <i>Messiah</i>
to a children’s home in London. They still hold the rights to this day).<i> <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Susannah Cibber regained her status as a London superstar
singer. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I found a fascinating story to tell, with lessons for
our age. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s different from my earlier suspense thriller series where
I ask ‘what if’s’ about various legends from King Arthur to the discovery of
America. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In <i>Musick for the King</i> the plot was already laid. The
tensions and the personal and interpersonal battles were there for me. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All I did was tell the very real story of parallel worlds, in
what I hope is an entertaining and page-turning way. <o:p></o:p></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-55536203934100746872021-09-11T11:19:00.000-07:002021-09-11T11:19:34.258-07:00 A Magnificent Musical Anniversary<p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sunday
September 12 2021 marks a significant milestone in musical history. It is the 280<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of one of music’s most magnificent creations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On that day,
George Frederick Handel emerged from his composing room at 25 Brooke Street in
the Mayfair district of London, holding the musical score for <i>Messiah.</i>
He’d finished the masterpiece in only 24 days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Working from
a unique libretto produced by Charles Jennens, Handel had at first scoffed at
the idea of working a score around a collection of Bible verses. He was used to
working with plots and dramatic scenes for his Italian operas and his
oratorios.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Messiah</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> was different. It told a story, yes,
but it was presented in an unusual way by an unusual man, Jennens. A wealthy
connoisseur of the arts—especially Handel’s music—Jennens considered himself
not only a patron but a musical genius who provided inspiration to those who
created music. And, indeed, he had a point. His libretto for Saul was excellent
and Handel composed around it, leading to a successful marriage between the two
men.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Where in
other librettos, there’d be a clear identity of the hero of the music, <i>Messiah
</i>was unusual. The main character around whom the entire masterpiece is
based, Jesus, is never named, never
mentioned. Yet it is all about him. That alone broke the pattern of dramas and
operas of the 18<sup>th</sup> century!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It took
Handel some time to get his head around Jennens libretto. And even more time to
even consider writing music for it. But when the decision was made, Handel
leapt into it and worked day and night for just over three weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And the
rest, as they say, is history. But is it? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So many of
the elements of Handel’s fight to produce this work is mirrored in today’s
society: cultural battles over artistic works, political intrigue and
betrayals, sex scandals amongst celebrities and more!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
incredible back story behind this work is all told in my latest novel <i>Musick
for the King,</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Handel was beset by a wide variety of issues
from health to financial and was dogged by cultural opposition from part of the
aristocracy to the musical elite of his day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once <i>Messiah</i>
was ready for its debut, he ran into immediate resistance from clerical leaders
within the Church of England who objected to “sacred” music being done in this
fashion and presented in public theatres not churches. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jennens was
shunned by most of society because of his stringent political views. His
immense ego would not allow differences of opinion and often led to fractures
in his social relationships. His intense religious views allowed little
deviation from his set perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Handel’s
chosen key performer, the soprano Susannah Cibber, was the centrepiece of an
enormous and very public sex scandal in London. Sued by her erstwhile husband
for divorce because of adultery, the court case exposed the physical,
emotional, and sexual abuse she suffered at her husband’s hand. It was all
fodder for the press of the day and the juicy details were sopped up eagerly
every day by the London citizenry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All that
began to change with Handel’s twenty-four day stretch of intense composition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, 280
years ago Handel stepped out of the room, score in hand, beaming with delight and
with a musical masterpiece. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He knew he’d
done his best work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When King
George II complimented him on providing such a great “entertainment”, Handel
gently chided the King that he had not set out to entertain people with this
piece. Rather, he said, he wanted to “make them better.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I would
suggest that he succeeded. Messiah is now one of the greatest English musical
masterpieces, loved and performed around the world in thousands of performances
each year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you,
Mr Handel. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">PS. Here’s
a link to part of the audiobook of Musick for the King. Enjoy! </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://vimeopro.com/user10144522/music-for-the-king&source=gmail&ust=1631470036886000&usg=AFQjCNHaWX9AFrfPCOOntBAeSCcTQUaXwQ" href="https://vimeopro.com/user10144522/music-for-the-king" style="cursor: url("chrome-extension://ebpnppaimbgjcmlmofdhjlnhnmepbjha/cursors/cursor.png"), auto;" target="_blank"><span style="cursor: url("chrome-extension://ebpnppaimbgjcmlmofdhjlnhnmepbjha/cursors/cursor.png"), auto;"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://vimeopro.<wbr style="cursor: url("chrome-extension://ebpnppaimbgjcmlmofdhjlnhnmepbjha/cursors/cursor.png"), auto;"></wbr>com/user10144522/music-for-<wbr style="cursor: url("chrome-extension://ebpnppaimbgjcmlmofdhjlnhnmepbjha/cursors/cursor.png"), auto;"></wbr>the-king</span></span></a> </span><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-41027735662941696652021-06-12T08:43:00.000-07:002021-06-12T08:43:01.496-07:00<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A rose by any other name....<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Naming characters in your fictional
works</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">One of the fun things about writing works of fiction is the excitement
of meeting my characters for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Over the period of a year or so, I will meet them, name them, give them
bodies and personalities and watch them develop into viable and, hopefully,
believable people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Some, I will like. Others not. Some will have strange quirks. Others
will be fairly normal, even bland, people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">All will be wound together into a strange and dangerous situation that
will challenge them and perhaps even destroy them. Some will pass the test.
Others will fail. Still others will not survive. Some will be major
protagonists or antagonists while others will be peripheral but perhaps quirky bystanders
who help move the main characters along.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">To me, the naming of the character is critical. The name must be
memorable, give hints of the character and his or her role or background. Even
if the person’s personality is astoundingly normal, he or she needs a name that
will stand out for the reader while also not confusing that reader with a
similar-named character at some other point in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">I find this a tremendously challenging but rewarding aspect of writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">It became even more challenging when I wrote <i>Musick for the King. </i>This
novel revolved around the remarkable creation and presentation of one of the
most acclaimed and loved pieces of music, <i>Messiah, </i>by the composer
George Frederick Handel. My major characters—Handel, King George, the singer
Susanna Cibber, Jonathan Swift and others—already had their names. For me,
naming the minor characters that help the plot along was the issue. In an age
with too many Georges, Thomases, Williams, Marys and so on, it was no easy
task.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The same applies to my suspense-thriller series <i>The Oak Grove
Conspiracies</i>. There, naming characters is compounded by the story settings.
Wales, Italy, Turkey, the US—all requiring believable yet typical names from
those nations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Compounding this is the Welsh penchant for repeating names (Thomas
Thomas, William Williams, Evan Evans and so on) as well as their extreme
refusal to come up with different surnames. Everyone, it seems, is a Jones,
Williams, Jenkins or Davies! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Indeed, the Welsh came up with a unique way of differentiating various
individuals bearing the same surnames. Thus, the storeowner Evans became Evans
the Shop, while the preacher Evans became Evans the Bible and Evans the bus
driver was inevitably Evans the Bus. Plus, of course, Evans the Post, Evans the
Meat and Evans the School. Then too there was Mrs Evans Lamppost (of the four
Mrs Evans’s on the street, she was the one who had a lamppost outside her
front door). There was even poor Evans Bungalow (he didn’t have too much on
top) and Evans Half Step who had one leg shorter than the other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">See my dilemma? Try and come up with some interesting names for a
fictional thriller when facing those challenges. Finding ethnic names for
characters situated in places like Istanbul or Venice was a piece of cake by
comparison!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Sometimes you can create a character and his name just pops out of
nowhere but is perfect because it hints at some characteristic or background
without being too blatant. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">For example, my lead modern-day character in the <i>Oak Grove Conspiracies</i>
series is Bradstone Wallace, known as ‘Stone’. The name implies a stalwart
character—one who strong, resolute and is a ‘stone wall’, resolute and unmoving
in times of danger. Or his intelligence buddy Chad Lawson, whose name quietly
invokes a heritage of law keeping.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Sometimes I envy the novelists of earlier generations who named their
characters blatantly and somewhat ridiculously based upon their overwhelming
distinctive attribute rather than develop names that reflected their era.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Henry Fielding, for example, writes about a character named Mr.
Thwackum—a particularly brutal teacher and clergyman. Charles Dickens was the
master of such made up but infinitely evocative names. Can anyone top Ebenezer
Scrooge, Uriah Heep or Wackford Squeers? Then there’s Fagin, Oliver Twist, the
Barnacle family and Martin Chizzlewit. Memorable, if unusual, names. Certainly
not the norm in Victorian England.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Naming a character means giving them a cloak of identity. It sets them
in a place and in a space that they and they alone can operate in and define.
It expresses their personality or attributes in subtle or not too subtle ways
and gives them parameters in which they will conduct the business of moving the
plot along. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Their name must be a major part of what makes them memorable to the
reader. The reader must remember the evil this individual perpetuates, or the
compassion they display and the passion they evoke.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">The novelist plays with names. You try different first and last names,
middle names, or nicknames in order to find the ‘perfect’ combination. In my
book The Prince Madoc Secret I had fun with one minor Welsh character whom I
named Evan Thomas. He was therefore given the nickname ‘ET” and was the exact
opposite of the movie ET in terms of size and volubility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">I am now engaged in creating and naming a series of characters for the
fourth installment of the <i>Oak Grove Conspiracies </i>titled<i> “The Dragon’s
Legacy”. </i>Some of the main characters will reappear of course, but there is
a new set of bad guys, a whole whack of peripheral characters in various eras
and a slew of historical characters such as Merriweather Lewis (Lewis & Clark
Expedition) and US President Thomas Jefferson, among others. I’ve got my work
cut out for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">There are many memorable characters to be found in novels. People you
get to love or admire; people who make you shudder in fear, or who baffle you
with their wild actions or decisions. There are characters you meet once and
will never encounter again. Others you will come across in a number of books
that become your favourites and valued old friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">What are the names of some of your favourite characters in novels, and
why? Sherlock Holmes? Frodo or Bilbo Baggins? Lucy Pevensie, Hercule Poirot?
How about Harry Potter, Atticus Finch, James Bond, Mary Poppins, Miss Marple or
Winnie the Pooh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">So many to choose from in so many genres—mysteries, fantasy, thrillers,
historical, romance—the list goes on,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">I would love to hear from you. Please comment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-91572355176028789472021-03-03T09:07:00.000-08:002021-03-03T09:07:01.735-08:00<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The non-fiction about fiction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">G. K.
Chesterton: </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Looking
back on a worldly and wasted life, I realize that I have especially sinned in
neglecting to read novels</span>.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s an interesting comment from a man who penned some
great fiction, including creating the priestly detective, <i>Father Brown.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cannot—will not—compare myself with Chesterton, but as one
who has worked in journalism and public relations all my career, I am well
versed in the non-fiction field. I have covered major stories from air crashes,
to Royal Tours, to the return of Vietnam POW’s and (peripherally) the US moon
landings. I know non-fiction. I understand that writing it is critical for the
knowledge and understanding of people today, despite the naysayers who prefer
to stick their heads in the sand, ostrich-like.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I have learned to love and appreciate good fiction. The
great writers have used stories as a teaching tool as much as an entertainment
vehicle. The essence of their work is to show human beings in settings that
test their internal drivers as well as their external circumstances. Well
written stories offer hope even in the worst situations; they provide well
rounded protagonists who show character flaws in the midst of their struggles.
Good fiction also provides the most evil antagonists with good attributes and
show that, from the evil-doers perspective—his or her actions are internally
justified.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me give an example. In my second thriller, <i>The
Lucifer Scroll</i>, I introduce a thoroughly despicable and power-mad killer as
the main protagonist. From his ‘religious’ perspective, ordering his followers
to massacre people is justified because his intention is to bring what he
believes is a better form of leadership to society. After a hard day ‘at the
office’ doing sacrifices and the like, he relaxes by sitting at the piano and
playing some jazz. He epitomizes the authoritarian who has no problem with
believing the ends justify the means, no matter what moral or judicial laws are
destroyed. But hey, jazz is cool! Little things, but I think it brings a dash
of reality to the table as readers assess this character. We all know someone
like this in our workplaces or in our political landscape.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s the same with protagonists. One of my main heroes is a
workaholic who pushes people away. He doesn’t allow people inside the armour
plate that envelops his psyche. He ranges from pride in his work mixed with
depression and insecurity. He struggles with his insecurities but he has a
determination to do his best; he too likes music, but only as a consumer. And,
in contrast with the antagonist in question, he prefers classical. In short,
just like all of us he has his ups and downs, his good points and his bad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All this applies whether you are reading modern fiction,
historical fiction, thrillers, westerns, romances, science fiction, fantasy,
mysteries or avant garde literature. Well written stories in any of those
genres will have the same impact. Bottom line, it will make you a better, more
well founded person.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To me, reading fiction is important to my understanding of
people and why and how they do the things they do. In fact, researchers in the
United States and Britain have shown that fiction contributes incredibly to the
reader’s growth as a human. Here are some of their findings:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Reading
fiction helps develop empathy.</b> Living through a character’s situation
vicariously, stirs empathy for the characters and those impacted by the story’s
plot line. Developing that trait is then easily extended to real life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Reading
fiction develops vocabulary.</b> All of us have a general vocabulary for everyday
use. Fiction exposes us to new words, their meaning, their implications and
their usage. We then incorporate those words into our own vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Reading
fiction helps relieve stress.</b> Nothing is better to relieve stress in a
doctor’s office, for example, than reading a good story while you wait. Your
own worries and needs diminish as you get caught up in the story.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Reading
fiction is a ‘reality simulator’.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pilots learn to fly their planes in times of crisis by training in a
simulator. They learn about all kinds of scenarios and how to handle them. Same
with reading fiction. We see how the characters deal with their situations and
we adapt that for our own all too real lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Reading
fiction keeps us mentally sharp.</b> New worlds, new images, new techniques, new
knowledge can be absorbed through fiction. You can read a step-by-step DIY
non-fiction of course, but fiction can make learning fun as well as keeping our
minds sharp.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are many other benefits to reading fiction in addition
to these.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All in all, reading fiction is nothing more than a
technological update from the times our ancestors sat around fires at night and
listened to the bards tell tales of great derring-do. We learn about heroes to
emulate as our forebears did. Tales of goodness and courage stimulate us now as
they did then. Our society was built on the skeleton of story-telling. Jesus
spends much of his teaching time telling his followers stories—we call them
parables—that taught them how to relate to others and to help strangers and
outcasts (remember the good Samaritan?), <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My Welsh ancestry tells tales of bards going from village to
village, earning their living by singing and telling stories. Such stories
related the history, showed how justice should be applied, how people should
treat others, and nurtured a bond that pulled people together, linking them
with both the past and the future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I write fiction now. I read fiction all the time. I am
richer for it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the old cereal ad said: “Try it, you’ll like it!”<o:p></o:p></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-8740374634576176132021-02-12T09:10:00.000-08:002021-02-12T09:10:55.541-08:00How to apologize<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There
are apologies and there are apologies.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As more and more
organizations and their leaders in our society come under scrutiny for
misdeeds, bad decisions, criminal acts, they are finding that the act of
apology is a critical piece in moving through a crisis and regaining the
reputation they once had.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Reputation management is
what organizations must do if they are to continue their existence. Public
trust and public will can build or destroy those reputations. It does not
matter if you are a celebrity or a small non-profit, your survival depends
greatly on the Court of Public Opinion. Famed financier Warren Buffet once said
that it can take twenty or more years to build a solid reputation. But it only
takes twenty minutes to destroy it!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Apologies to the public
for any transgression are, therefore, critical. It might be for statements made
by employees or leaders, or it might be for actions or decisions made by
corporate entities. Reading or watching the news these days will identify at
least three per week from around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Celebrity X apologizes
for racist remarks. Company Y apologizes for a decision which led to marketing
unsafe products. Nonprofit group K apologizes for not properly supervising an
employee who has since been charged with crimes against the non-profit’s
clients. We see it in our newspapers weekly.,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But apologies can be
tricky things. The aim is to be transparent and reassure the public that the
individual or organization has learned from its errors and is taking steps to
rectify the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However, too often, many
apologies actually do the reverse. They are what I would call ‘defensive’
apologies, as in “I’m sorry you took offense at...”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The message here is, you’re the one with the
problem, not us. You are too sensitive. Our actions were justifiable but we’re
sorry you feel differently. It’s a common response. We see it on a personal
level all the time; an acknowledgement that the other person is upset but the
apologizer is also defending and excusing their actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So it is truly refreshing
when I see an apology that is just that: A heartfelt, deeply contrite apology
that clearly indicates the organization acknowledges its failings, apologizes
for the hurts to known victims, sets out a plan for restoration and change in behaviour,
sets out plans for restitution and opens the doors for other unknown victims to
receive help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the best examples
I have seen is the response this week of the Board of Directors of Ravi
Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) after repeated accusations against
the Christian evangelist and apologist that was brought to the Board’s
attention over the past few years by a number of women.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My comments here are not
about the accusations themselves. The Board’s response deals with that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I just want to commend
the members for dealing with this issue and apologizing in such a profound and
deeply humbling way. I get that it is hard to grapple with such things,
especially when accusations are made against your organization’s leader whom
you admire, support and respect. It is hard to hear negatives. Every fibre in
your being rejects what you are hearing or reading. So when truth emerges, the
realities can be a shock.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It takes real leadership
to acknowledge the harsh realities and especially your own failings in the
process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I commend that RZIM Board
for its forthright and very humble response.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">THAT is an apology!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To read the full apology by the RZIM
Board, click here: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.rzim.org/read/rzim-updates/board-statement"><b><i>https://www.rzim.org/read/rzim-updates/board-statement</i></b></a><b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-30900566447927361282021-01-13T14:27:00.000-08:002021-01-13T14:27:11.784-08:00<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On a quest<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In an
interview recently, I was asked what kinds of books or authors I like to read. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since I have
an extremely eclectic reading taste, ranging from politics, history, theology,
and media in society, to fiction of all kinds from historical to mysteries to
fantasy to sci-fi, I was stumped. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What kinds
of books or authors <b><i>Do</i> </b>I like? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since the question was phrased in the context of my own novel writing (there too, it’s
eclectic) I immediately tossed my non-fiction list aside and concentrated what
kind of fiction I like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I pondered,
I listed such authors as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien among my greats. I toyed
with adding Jodi Taylor’s time travel series <i>The Chronicles of St Mary’s</i>
or Rachel Caine’s alternate universe series called <i>The Great Library</i>.
Others flooded into my mind: Ken Follet’s <i>Pillars of the Earth</i>; Stephen
Lawhead’s <i>Byzantium </i>and <i>Patrick. </i>The flood of favourites
continued as I considered the many varied takes on the Arthurian legends that I
enjoy. I considered my enjoyment of mysteries from Arthur Conan Doyle (no
relation) to Agatha Christie and a host of modern-day authors. Then I trolled
through the various sci-fi novels I’ve read.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I even
considered my own suspense thrillers in the <i>Oak Grove Conspiracies</i>
series. I really like them!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I did all
this thinking, I came to a quick realization. Pretty well every one of my
‘likes’ entailed some version of a quest!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I love
stories that involve overcoming an insurmountable quest. That’s what <i>The Hobbit</i>
and <i>Lord of the Rings</i> entailed. It’s what Lewis was writing about in his
<i>Narnia</i> books. Even Homer’s <i>Odyssey,</i> or Hemingway’s <i>Old man and
the Sea.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I thought
about that, another fact struck me: My entire non-fiction, reality-based life has
actually been that of a quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And so has
yours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During that
quest we have each met challenges great and small. We have battled
giants—financial, employment, relationships—while on our quest. Incredible
people and events have changed our course of action. Sometimes for good.,
Sometimes for evil.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of us
have a clear idea of what that quest looks like. We see financial goals,
retirement, a big house, or travel, as the ultimate end of our quests. Others
have more esoteric and fulfilling quests to improve life and situations for our
fellow human beings. That encompasses those who aimed for and perhaps created
life-changing technologies or medical procedures, or who explored science and
space in search of the answers to life’s basic questions. Come to think of it,
I’d put the many theologians and impactful preachers into that category as
well; people like Lewis (not just his fiction) or Augustine, or the Apostle
Paul and the gospel writers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All were on
a quest. To understand their situation and strive toward a goal that would empirically
change existing understanding or, more impactfully, change lives for the
better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Even at the
simple unspectacular level of life that most of us inhabit, there is still a
quest that we are following. It might be for job advancement, education, better
parenting, or healthier lifestyles. But it is still a quest. Or, rather,
numerous quests. It is what keeps us going day to day, through rain and snow,
through ups and downs, through failures and on to success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Every day we
set huge plans for the next day, week or year with zero knowledge of what those
tomorrows might bring. Or even if they will happen. But we go on the quest
anyway. That is confidence!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I like
quests. I like reading about them. They excite me. They invigorate me. They
frustrate me. They lift me to new levels. They guide me and challenge me to put
the novel down and take on my own quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I read
about Frodo and Sam climbing up Mount Doom, I recognize the frustrations, pain,
and discouragements of my own quests. But I also see the challenge met and
achieved, and it gives me hope and confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In my latest
book <i>Musick for the King </i>I write about the great composer George
Frederick Handel who was on multiple quests at the same time. He was on a quest
for cultural redemption, creative redemption, and financial redemption. His
soloist Susannah Cibber was on a quest for career and social redemption.
Neither realized it immediately, but they were also on a quest for personal
redemption. The libretto for <i>Messiah </i>was the vehicle that would take
them along the ups and downs, challenges, failures and success of those quests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For years I was
a reporter and editor and broadcaster. Later I was a professor. Now I am a
crisis management consultant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But always,
lurking in the background, was the dream of writing a novel. There were a
thousand and one reasons why I should drop the idea. It was daunting. It was a
lot of work. It was not fulfilling financially at a time when I still needed to
generate income. I had limited time to work on something so iffy. Worse, I had
no concept for a plot or characters or situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But I
absorbed the lessons of my fictional friends and accepted the challenge. I went
on a quest. Now, some six years on, I finished my fourth novel and have now
embarked on writing a fifth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What kind of
quest lies lurking in your life? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">They are
there you know. Hiding, waiting for something or someone to ignite them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pick up your
favourite novel—any novel—and see if there isn’t a quest hidden in the story.
Step into the story. See that the protagonist accepts the challenge, strives
forward, is battered, disappointed, seemingly fails and then ultimately
achieves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Watch for
the spark that ignites a quest. Accept the challenge inherent in pursing your own
real-life quest. Embrace it, warts and all, ups and downs, failures and
successes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It makes
life worth living. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I know. I
followed my quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-90036479532810309472021-01-04T11:47:00.001-08:002021-01-04T11:47:23.749-08:00On a Quest. You too!<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On a quest<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In an
interview recently, I was asked what kinds of books or authors I like to read. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since I have
an extremely eclectic reading taste, ranging from politics, history, theology,
and media in society, to fiction of all kinds from historical to mysteries to
fantasy to sci-fi, I was stumped. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What kinds
of books or authors <b><i>Do</i> </b>I like? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since the question was phrased in the context of my own novel writing (there too, it’s
eclectic from suspense thrillers to historical novels) I immediately tossed my
non-fiction list aside and concentrated what kind of fiction I like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I pondered,
I listed such authors as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien among my greats. I toyed with
adding Jodi Taylor’s time travel series <i>The Chronicles of St Mary’s</i> or
Rachel Caine’s alternate universe series called <i>The Great Library</i>.
Others flooded into my mind: Ken Follet’s <i>Pillars of the Earth</i>; Stephen
Lawhead’s <i>Byzantium. </i>The flood of favourites continued as I considered
the many varied takes on the Arthurian legends that I enjoy. I considered my
enjoyment of mysteries from Arthur Conan Doyle (no relation) to Agatha Christie
and a host of modern-day authors. Then I trolled through the various sci-fi
novels I’ve read.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I even
considered my own suspense thrillers in the <i>Oak Grove Conspiracies</i>
series. I like them!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I did all
this thinking, I came to a quick realization. Pretty well every one of my
‘likes’ entailed some version of a quest!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I love
stories that involve overcoming an insurmountable quest. That’s what <i>The
Hobbit</i> and <i>Lord of the Rings</i> entailed. It’s what Lewis was writing
about in his <i>Narnia</i> books. Or Hemingway’s<i> Old Man and the Sea.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I thought
about that, another fact struck me. My entire non-fiction life has been that of
a quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And so has
yours.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During those quests, we have each met challenges great and small. We have battled giants—financial,
employment, relationships—while on our quest. Incredible people and events have
changed our course of action. Sometimes for good., Sometimes for evil.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of us
have had a clear idea of what that quest looked like. We saw financial goals,
retirement, a big house, travel, as the ultimate end of our quests. Others have
had more esoteric and fulfilling quests to improve life and situations for our
fellow human beings. That encompasses those who aimed for and perhaps created
life-changing technologies or medical procedures, or who explored science and
space in search of the answers to life’s basic questions. Come to think of it,
I’d put the many theologians and impactful preachers into that category as
well; people like Lewis (not just his fiction) or Augustine, or the Apostle
Paul and the gospel writers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All were on
a quest. To understand their situation and strive toward a goal that would empirically
change existing understanding or, more impactfully, change lives for the better.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Even at the
simple unspectacular level of life that most of us inhabit, we are following a quest. It might be for job advancement, education, better
parenting, or healthier lifestyles. But it is still a quest. Or, rather,
numerous quests. It's what keeps us going day to day, through rain and snow, ups and downs, and through failures to success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Every day we
set huge plans for the next day with zero knowledge of what that tomorrow might
bring. But we go on the quest anyway. That is confidence!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I like
quests. I like reading about them. They excite me. They invigorate me. They
frustrate me. They lift me to new levels. They guide me and challenge me to put
the novel down and take on my own quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I read about
Frodo and Sam climbing up Mount Doom, I recognize the frustrations, pain, and
discouragements of my own quests. But I also see the challenge met and
achieved, and it gives me hope and confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For years I was a reporter, editor and broadcaster. Later I was a professor. Now I am a crisis
management consultant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But always,
lurking in the background, was the dream of writing a novel. There were a
thousand and one reasons why I should drop the idea. It was daunting. It was a
lot of work. It was not fulfilling financially at a time when I still need to
generate income. research showed me that it was very hard work that got even harder after publication. I had limited time to work on something so iffy. Worse, I had
no concept for a plot or characters or situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But I
absorbed the lessons of my fictional friends and accepted the challenge. I went
on a quest. Now, some six years on, I just published my fourth novel and am now
embarked on a fifth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What kind of
quest lies lurking in your life? They are there you know. Hiding, waiting for
something or someone to ignite them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pick up your
favourite novel—any novel—and see if there isn’t a quest hidden in the story.
Step into the story. See the protagonist accept the challenge, He or she strives
forward, is battered, disappointed, seemingly fails and then ultimately
achieves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I challenge you to go on a quest. Accept the
challenge. Embrace it, warts and
all, ups and downs, failures and successes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It makes
life worth living. I know. I followed my quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-14643089579760548962020-12-05T15:43:00.001-08:002020-12-05T15:43:19.186-08:00Handel's Messiah: Hope for Covid times<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Handel’s <i>Messiah. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hope during Covid <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While Christmas may look and feel a bit different this year
thanks to Covid, we cannot let the pandemic totally control our responses,
emotions and thoughts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are still things that can be done—differently,
perhaps—but still adhering to your “normal” Christmas traditions. Various sites
exist to show how you can have meaningful family times at Christmas, even if
that means more online presence than physical. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We see a surge in awareness of the need to shop local rather
than with massive online retailers or in the giant international big box
outlets. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the great traditions in our household is our annual
attendance at a performance of the great musical masterpiece, <i>Messiah.</i>
Composed in only 24 days by George Frederick Handel, the piece has morphed from
a Lenten composition as he intended, into a Christmas favourite around the
world. Orchestras and choirs present the full piece to millions from Beijing to
Barcelona, Dublin to Detroit. London to Lima and from Toronto to Tokyo. The
resounding and inspiring Hallelujah Chorus is a Christmas staple as is the
chorus “For unto us”. And Christmas for many will be diminished without that
concert attendance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I confess I love and admire this oratorio. A lot. But I had
no idea for many, many years about the incredible back story behind Handel’s
writing this music.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a story totally suited for these pandemic times because
it provides hope in the midst of despair. Handel was broke. He was facing
debtors’ prison. He was surrounded by cultural and political enemies at the
highest societal levels. He had physical illnesses and depression weighing him
down. As an immigrant, he was now hounded by xenophobic ‘patriots’ who wanted
Britain rid of the European influence that was Handel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story of his struggle to present his new work to audiences
was exacerbated by the fact that his favourite lead singer—one of the top
celebrities of her day—was just emerging from a particularly sordid and very
public sex scandal. To consider having her “star” in what was essentially a
religious oratorio raised hackles amongst the leading churchmen of the day. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That back story fired my imagination. I relate all of this
in my book <i>Musick for the King,</i> a novel based upon the historical events
that brought Messiah first to Dublin then to London and now the world.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The book was published earlier this year in the midst of the
pandemic. It meant the normal book launch activities—launch party, book
signings, book fairs—were literally out the window. More, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, along with many others, had no idea that
the pandemic would last as long and have as many ramifications some nine months
in. And the end is not yet fully insight. In fact the short term outlook is
depressing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But as Handel found ways to overcome the obstacles in his
path, I consider that it serves as a model for how we too can deal with
restrictions, obstacles and negativity and turn them into triumph. What those
triumphs are will depend upon you and your individual or family circumstances.
But triumph you will!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cannot go to Roy Thomson Hall this year for the TSO’s
presentation. There isn’t one! So we will enjoy a video version instead.
Hopefully, our close friends who always attend with us will be able to join us
for dinner and <i>Messiah, </i>even if it is in our living room. (Since we do
not live in a lockdown area and are allowed a small gathering that’s our plan
unless restriction change again).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, it won’t be the same! But as Handel showed, we can
overcome even the greatest challenges and threats. It will get better. This too
shall pass.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whether it is something as simple and relatively petty as a
concert, or something as impactful as not having large family get-togethers and
Christmas parties with friends and colleagues. We will overcome. It will get
better. This too shall pass.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It needs a humble but determined approach. Simple gifts from
the heart instead of big-ticket items. A stay-at-home vacation instead of
basking on the beach. (Especially if you designate one day as a ‘beach day’ and
wear summer attire and flip flops inside even it its -20 outside). Traditional
Christmas fare on Christmas Day followed by your favourite “foreign holiday”
fare on Boxing Day. (For me, that would likely be fish and chips).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are many great and fascinating ideas out there to keep
Christmas traditions alive even in these pandemic days. All it takes is a
little imagination and creativity. This is where social media excels—sharing
great ideas, crafts, activities and recipes. Take advantage. This is the key to
opening a door to your eventual victory over the impact of Covid. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And while you’re thinking and creating, take time to listen
to the inspirational music created by Handel, even if classical music is not
your normal genre. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the saying goes: Try it. You’ll like it!<o:p></o:p></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-37092574073004157592020-11-16T14:58:00.002-08:002020-11-16T14:58:41.508-08:00<p> <b style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;">In which the writing of a musical masterpiece becomes the central focus of a novel</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">What sparks an author to write a book? Especially a novel-cum true story like <i>Musick for the King.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoTitleCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Is there something the author wants the reader to know? Is it that we yearn to tell a story? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoTitleCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">In my case, my entire career in journalism, broadcasting and public relations has been spent telling other peoples’ stories. I began my novel-writing career so I could tell my stories; the ones I wanted to tell and, more specifically, the ones I wanted to read. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoTitleCxSpLast" style="margin-top: 12pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">After writing three all-fictional suspense thrillers, I knew I had to tell the story of the musical genius who’d fallen from the heights of fame and fortune to the depths of illness, poverty and despair and how he struggled, fighting internal and external demons to climb back to the zenith and public adulation once again. It was a combination of both telling my story and telling someone else’s story.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Musick for the King </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">is the dramatic tale of George Frederick Handel one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. He was the King’s favourite (King George II) and his rise from the pits back to the zenith is the story of his greatest composition and masterpiece, <i>Messiah</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Messiah</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> is one of the most famous and beloved classical music pieces. People who don't know or appreciate classical music, still are familiar with the Hallelujah Chorus and some of the other powerful numbers in the oratorio. It is performed by choirs and orchestras around the world. It has become a Christmas staple. For many, Christmas would not be Christmas without mistletoe and <i>Messiah!</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">There are so many interesting pieces to the incredible true story. A very dysfunctional Royal family, a huge public sex scandal, obstinate opposition from the official church, treacherous attempts to destroy his reputation and so much more. I wonder if it doesn't reflect our own society—stars created, destroyed and then restored, shunning those you disapprove of and trying to undermine them, a fickle public that bounces from one “like” to another. It’s all there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">When such a dramatic story is handed to you, it is difficult to create a fictional piece around it. The old saying that truth is stranger than fiction is most certainly true in this case. So the fiction in this story is the byplay around the central characters; the juicy real people as well as the supplemental—but equally juicy—fictional individuals who populate <i>Musick for the King.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">I wanted to create a book that takes you back in time not just with words, but with a feel. Thus, like <i>Messiah,</i> the book is broken into three parts. Each part and chapter follows the old-fashioned approach of previewing (<i>as I did in the header to this blog</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">It created an interesting challenge for me as an author. I had to be true to the known facts, to deal with historic people, situations and times. I had to tell a compelling story with real and fictional characters, that would interest and hopefully move and inspire the reader.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">From reader responses so far, it seems I have achieved that, and I am pleased and grateful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">The trouble is that with research, writing, re-writing and editing, <i>Musick for the King</i> took several years, crammed as it all was between my other writing projects.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Handel however, took only 24 days to compose his masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">I’ve got a long, long way to go!</span></p>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-31663181199319813562020-05-12T13:15:00.000-07:002020-05-12T13:15:06.173-07:00How much of "Musick for the King" is real? Questions and answers.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Any time an author sits down to write a novel involving real historical characters as part of the story, the questions come fast and furious. And they are all legitimate. After all, if a reader is investing time (and money) in a story they want, rightly, to know how much is real and how much is fiction.<br />
<br />
I wrote "Musick for the King" which was published this April. And, while the book has been well-received, the questions flooded in.<br />
<br />
Here are just some of the questions and my answers<br />
<br />
.<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 22.0pt;">Q&A
with the author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who is this
book written for?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Musick for the
King is for readers who love cracking good stories. It is for those who love
historical novels, thrillers, intrigue, inspirational stories, novels about
famous people, people who love music and reading about music, fans of classical
music, fans of composers, fans of Handel and fans of <i>Messiah</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Why did you
write this book?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was intrigued
by the incredible back story of this magnificent piece of music. I have
attended many performances of the work but had no idea of the way Handel fell from
the top of his profession to the bottom and then struggled his way back up
with.<i> </i>Then, I learned about the story of his lead singer, Susannah
Cibber, which seemed to mirror Handel’s own—falling from the top of her career
to the bottom, then struggling back up. It was a story that cried out to be
told!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>How much of
this story is real?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b>About 90 per cent! The story of George Frederik Handel and his struggles to survive his
depression and failures is real. The story of how he came to receive the
libretto (words) of the oratorio, the fact that he took only 24 days to compose
the music, the fact that he spent a winter in Dublin performing concerts and
debuting <i>Messiah</i>, is all real. The battle to debut <i>Messiah</i> in
London against fierce opposition is also real. The peripheral characters who
sought to ruin him and the efforts they made to do so, are fictional. But even
then, they too represent reality and truth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who actually
wrote the oratorio <i>Messiah?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Handel wrote
the music for a libretto (text) put together by a man named Charles Jennens.
The entire libretto is merely an arrangement of biblical verses that Jennens
wove into the story of God’s relationship and redemption of mankind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Did Handel
really produce the music in 24 days?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Absolutely!
Hard as it is to conceive, he produced the whole composition in that time. He
ate little and slept little while composing it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Is it true
that the author of <i>Gulliver’s Trav</i>els tried to stop the debut of
Messiah?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yes. Jonathan
Swift, Gulliver’s author, was an Anglo-Irish clergyman, poet, writer and social
critic. He was also the Dean (head) of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The
church is the Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (Anglican). Handel had
arranged to use the Cathedral choir members along with those from Christ Church
Cathedral (just a few blocks away and the Anglican Cathedral for the city of
Dublin). Swift, who was ill and suffering dementia at the time (he died less
than a year later) changed his mind and refused permission for the choir to participate.
Without singers, the oratorio was finished. Fortunately, Swift was persuaded to
change his mind again and the singers were allowed to perform.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who was
Handel’s lead singer and what was her story?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Susannah Cibber
was an actress-singer who was the pop star of her day. She was the 18th-century
version of Lady Gaga, Madonna and Celine Dion together. She wowed her audiences
as she performed in London’s popular operas of that day. She had the West End
in the palm of her hand. A contemporary said that while others sang for the
ear, Susannah sang to the heart. She could move people. She was married to a
brute who physically, verbally, mentally, financially and sexually. She left
him for a man with whom she had an affair. Her husband Theo sued for divorce
and had her charged with adultery. The resulting court case was a very public
scandal, covered every day by the newspapers of that time. At the end, while
she was indeed found guilty, the court showed its scorn and disgust with Theo
by granting him a pittance of five pounds as opposed to the hundreds he
demanded. But Susannah’s career seemed to be destroyed. She too was at the
bottom. And she too strove to resurrect her career.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Q. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What does
this <i>Musick for the King </i>say to 21st-century readers?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think it is a
story of determination overcoming dire circumstances. As we face the Covid 19
crisis today, it shows us that even when things seem bleak, even when we are
isolated, and even when we feel depressed, we can overcome. Through
determination and just plain doggedness, we can meet the challenge head-on and
even in our own small way, achieve great success. It is a reminder to us all, to
never give up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-86640406172822344482020-04-14T11:35:00.000-07:002020-04-14T11:35:23.935-07:00<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">HOW YOU
RESPOND NOW WILL DETERMINE HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO YOU THEN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>This is one of a series of posts providing help to churches and small non-profits cope with the impact of Covid-19 on their operations, image and reputation. More information can be found in an online video certificate course I prepared for Plan to Protect (www.plantoprotect.com). It's an organization providing training and resources for churches and organizations that deal with vulnerable people.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we struggle through the Covid-19 crisis, there are
lessons to be learned whether you operate a major corporation or ministry or a
local church, school or mission. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Simply put, how you deal with the present will determine how
others deal with you in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been interesting to watch major brands work their way
through this crisis. How they respond teaches us all lessons of how, and how
not, to do it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see lots of ads and PSA’s thanking everyone from medical
staff to truck drivers to grocery store clerks for serving us and helping us. That’s
good. And certainly well deserved. One fast food chain has its spokesperson
somberly and trying to do so seriously. Other brands are pumping out positive
messages along the line of “we’ll get through this if we work together.” Still
others brag about how they are sanitizing everything and anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the brands that are beginning to stand out are those
that do more than talk and posture. They are actually doing something tangible
and meeting people where they have needs. Tim Hortons (which has taken some PR
hits over the past few years) has very quietly been sending out vans loaded
with free coffee and goodies to local hospitals to help ER and ICU staff get a
small break from the intensity of their days. A number of major hotel chains—particularly
those with facilities close to hospitals—are offering hospital and medical
staff free rooms, realizing that those people cannot go home for fear of
infecting their families and loved ones. Sunwing Airlines (another brand that
has a poor reputation) offered all its unused inflight meals to local food
banks and shelters after their operations were shut down. Loblaws raised wages
for both store staff, shippers and stockroom staff. Normally they are all minimum
wage employees. Ford is relieving payments for three months and giving another
three months on top for anyone having financial difficulties and struggling to
meet car payments. Even the maligned telecoms have eliminated data overage
charges during the crisis.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All of these had one thread in common: they not only
expressed thanks and care, they acted on it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Part of crisis management is learning from an existing
crisis and then applying the lessons learned to future actions. The goal is to
create or reinforce an organization’s reputation so that it mitigates the
negative impact of any future situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The question is, what are you doing in response to Covid 19?
How are you being perceived by the people around you and the people watching
you? In the online video training I did for Plan to Protect, I talked about
this post-crisis situation and how it really should be a pre-crisis mentality.
My reporter friend Dan Brown of the London Free Press said it succinctly. “If
you are only calling me after the crisis to cover you, or if your first contact
with me is in the middle of the crisis, you have done yourself no good
whatsoever.” As I said in that module, people are carefully weighing your words
against your actions; they want to know if your deeds reflect your values. If
they do, you will gain strong support. If not, you will be scorned and ignored.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Your response in crisis is critical. Pun intended!<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you are just expressing concern and doing online contact
with your people that’s good, but not enough. No matter if you are a
denomination, a local church (large or small), a school, a camp, a multi-site
operation or a small local mission, you need to act. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some churches are stepping up efforts to work with homeless
or vulnerable people, from providing food supplies to buying or creating masks
and other sanitary supplies. Congregation members order food online from local
groceries for pickup at the store; it is then delivered to the receiving
agency. Others are providing assistance and materials directly to front-line
hospital workers or their families, checking in with them, providing support
and encouragement as well as necessary supplies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Letting the local community know and enlisting their help as
well sets a deep impression into the community psyche. Is there equipment, are there
facilities or supplies you could donate to front line services? How can you
provide practical help no matter what kind of organization you represent?<o:p></o:p></div>
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People also watch carefully how you treat your employees as
well as your members, clients or adherents. They find out directly from the employee
or the families how well or how poorly you treated them in the crisis. And the
people remember. We may be a wired society, but the gossip lines are still
potent. It’s just that they are more likely to appear on Facebook, Twitter, and
other social media outlets. And when we’re allowed to gather again, the tongues
will wag.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Financier Warren Buffet said that it can take an
organization 20 years to build a reputation, but it can be destroyed in 20
minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What kind of an image do you have now and what kind of reputation
do you want to have when the world gets righted? Are people going to feel good
about you or will they be turned off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Even as this crisis continues, you have choices to make.
Good leadership is all about not just handling the present, but projecting into
the future and setting things in place to lead your group into a stronger
position where you are better accepted by the community and having a stronger
impact upon it than you did before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Be that kind of leader!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-7463246743980273542018-06-21T13:44:00.002-07:002018-06-21T13:44:24.058-07:00Book locations 6: The Welsh Valleys<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in my books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Part Six: The Welsh Valleys<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the south of the little nation of Wales, not that far from the English border, is a series of valleys stretching up into the mountainous areas of the Brecon Beacons from the flatter coast plain that is called the Vale of Glamorgan. These are the famous Welsh Valleys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-whI5euv-O9OXqwYEQ41xKHsTyr16NPhZjEBrB-KnbaQe028tB2e8roSij1OnadKu1X1g2UDB6TXv2jhUu3lvf_1MiJqu7YUxkLT_evAbPWM_P9Ua6ORrE1HrIT1TnEsvSSr2tSmTVP_/s1600/DSC00769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-whI5euv-O9OXqwYEQ41xKHsTyr16NPhZjEBrB-KnbaQe028tB2e8roSij1OnadKu1X1g2UDB6TXv2jhUu3lvf_1MiJqu7YUxkLT_evAbPWM_P9Ua6ORrE1HrIT1TnEsvSSr2tSmTVP_/s320/DSC00769.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> For many years they were associated with the coal mines that dotted the entire area. Books and movies were made documenting the valleys, most notably the book, later a film “How Green was my Valley.” The coalmines closed—the last one in the early 90’s. The area became woefully depressed and poverty and joblessness was too often the norm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Its not just coal! The Valleys have also given the world magnificent music, wonderful hymns, great physical beauty, some of the best rugby players in the world and a lively, friendly culture that transcends the difficulties and exhibits life in the full.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The names evoke pictures of coal-smeared miners, metal helmets with minion-like lenses, emerging from metal-crate elevators arising from the bowels of the earth: names like Rhondda, Taff, Ebbw, Cynon, Llynfi and others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL20UsAZM_n5px_KDxp0kxzN64ehz9gdA0OLM0czm1xkGosZ0nZpDt9M9s2eVS-2unOIVCu0C8jeHvDRUKNpXiio_w-fqOMsRJmuAQ2TCsZ_gqLtdzEnlz0v4EtMTFhDLBRVMLi0VD9OUD/s1600/DSC00767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL20UsAZM_n5px_KDxp0kxzN64ehz9gdA0OLM0czm1xkGosZ0nZpDt9M9s2eVS-2unOIVCu0C8jeHvDRUKNpXiio_w-fqOMsRJmuAQ2TCsZ_gqLtdzEnlz0v4EtMTFhDLBRVMLi0VD9OUD/s320/DSC00767.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is an area of resourceful people. Tough people. Caring people. It is an area of great beauty. Steep valley sides are dotted with rows of stone miners’ cottages climbing up the valley as it gets narrower and narrower. Once huge piles of coal slag are now emerging as green landscapes because of regeneration projects. Rivers flow. Trees grow. People who once looked out on scarred, coal smoked visages now enjoy verdant green settings and new forests emerging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It was this setting that propelled the stories along. The area is rich in history, dating back well before Roman times and stretching into the post-Conquest Norman period. Warfare and rebellion are embedded in the psyche of the Valleys. Stories abound of magnificent victories over the English invaders. And magnificent losses. But ultimately it is a story of reconciliation and living together, however reluctantly and that marks the Valleys. It’s why the Valleys are so important in the stories. They are stories about centuries-old Christian monks and modern-day faith seekers; stories about diabolical supernatural evil and stories about individuals struggling, reluctantly and sometimes without hope, to save what was important and protect the heritage they were given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My fictional 12<sup>th</sup> century abbey, Cymllyn was set here. The courageous monks Thomas and Owain struggled through this rugged landscape. A hilltop church, based on the one at Llangynydd, becomes a focal point in the battle for Excalibur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just south of the Valleys are the cities of Cardiff, capital of Wales, and Swansea, packed with historic sites, great restaurants, museums and cultural icons are certainly well worth the visit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjiD252ufulqnaaEHfPeBGea3_bbuddOQiN1srto4SzeBS9JhsTF_Myg4YC8AsTaP24TRpp8149AUvS2LJLialdd2y3sO55zNZaS6xxR2eYcY3MhuSgT-JFupiXp73psFeNPgfPfsVPkV/s1600/2010-07-10+14.00.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjiD252ufulqnaaEHfPeBGea3_bbuddOQiN1srto4SzeBS9JhsTF_Myg4YC8AsTaP24TRpp8149AUvS2LJLialdd2y3sO55zNZaS6xxR2eYcY3MhuSgT-JFupiXp73psFeNPgfPfsVPkV/s320/2010-07-10+14.00.06.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But don’t stay in the cities. Explore the Valleys themselves and reward yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mountain tops. Villages. Row houses. Vast moorlands. Picturesque churches and farms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Welsh Valleys. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Well worth crossing the Severn River for.</span></div>
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Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-90891482214677833382018-06-02T11:21:00.002-07:002018-06-02T11:21:38.177-07:00Locations in my books: #5 London<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in my books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Part Five: London<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Samuel Johnson famously once said that if a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgd74Rw6cIXMoeia3oTf0FpLs1sMfjuxUwkl4y1SlPlMli-cOMJ-4cQQEM2RhL66cau2JJvUbCNfIMZb7EaWS0Yp8r-1IQ4HwZIVIE5ySDO1iRwx8eD8EAGbTtP4Qhcc7TrUsUF_pIE8zD/h120/cardiff+and+midlands+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgd74Rw6cIXMoeia3oTf0FpLs1sMfjuxUwkl4y1SlPlMli-cOMJ-4cQQEM2RhL66cau2JJvUbCNfIMZb7EaWS0Yp8r-1IQ4HwZIVIE5ySDO1iRwx8eD8EAGbTtP4Qhcc7TrUsUF_pIE8zD/h120/cardiff+and+midlands+002.JPG" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> What applied in the 18<sup>th</sup> century also applies today in the 21<sup>st</sup>. London is a vibrant city that fires the imagination just by its very presence; you cannot get tired of London because you cannot explore all the city has to offer—history, architecture, art, culture, dining, diversity, markets, business, parks, pageantry—and a whole lot more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> London is a major world city. Its influence and attraction extends beyond the white cliffs of Dover. It is a centre of intrigue, passion, excitement, busyness and colour. You find the world living and vibrating on its streets. It is the heart of democracy—from Magna Carta to the current constitutional monarchy—and is an example to the world of how to “do” democracy—with all its flaws, corruption and failings. (Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that democracy was the worst form of government—except for all the others!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> No wonder London is a prime setting in all three books. It is the heart of government—a government that is under attack from terrorists of all stripes, including my evil Druids. From the pomp and ceremony of the opening of Parliament (<i>The Excalibur Parchment</i>) to the machinations of an egotistical self-centred politician concerned with his own agenda instead of public service (<i>The Prince Madoc Secret)</i>, the stories cannot be set in any city other than London. It brings together the “good guys” and the “bad guys” and gives them a stage to operate on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QFgRDqvTMOf-IS5ydiLo9rXHYWwgRMIqWn8z4VCTSIalF114I-Tml-iKwE93LrHGhexSJAuwcSBXREq8Zfnxxcfw6ZtywGZ3bFwE4li5LANOCbm7RMoR-8IHXyvsyzh0Awol62aiKia4/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QFgRDqvTMOf-IS5ydiLo9rXHYWwgRMIqWn8z4VCTSIalF114I-Tml-iKwE93LrHGhexSJAuwcSBXREq8Zfnxxcfw6ZtywGZ3bFwE4li5LANOCbm7RMoR-8IHXyvsyzh0Awol62aiKia4/s320/052.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The Houses of Parliament rise majestically on the banks of the Thames River (if you go, the best view is from the London Eye across the river) and has been the target of numerous terrorist attacks from the days of Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up Parliament (1605) through to the attacks in 2017. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Not far away is Buckingham Palace, a reminder of the stability of the British monarchy, but also the symbolic home of the Queen and the Royal Family, themselves often threatened by terrorist plots from foreign sources and homegrown alike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Beyond the historic sites like the Tower of London and magnificent churches such as Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, there are many more interesting corners, hidden treasures and fascinating places to grab the visitor’s attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> London is such a magnet that the “real London” often merges in the mind with the fictional London from the thousands of books set in the city or the thousands of movies and television programmes that have been shot on its streets. Baker Street is real—but also, at 221b, the home of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Notting Hill is a real village in the heart of the city, but also where Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant met in a bookstore. The list goes on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Do you fancy shopping or street markets? By all means go to Regent St. and Oxford St.--the main shopping streets/ But don't miss out on the smaller sites. Try Petticoat Lane or Portobello Road. Or go to the Borough Market, Spitalfields Market and Covent Garden. Are shows your thing? The West End theatres feature top hit shows and lesser-known—but equally enjoyable—productions. Don’t miss Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, for example, which opened in 1952 and has run continuously ever since to packed houses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Seeking peace and quiet? How about the many parks where you can rent a deck chair and relax surrounded by green and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James Park, Regents Park, Hampstead Heath—all free and all inviting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> There’s the popular sightseeing London—Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s, the Tower, Buckingham Palace and so on. But there’s also the literary London, the artistic London, the musical London, the shadowy London—whatever interests you have, London provides a bountiful plethora of places to go, things to see and things to do to meet your own particular areas of interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> In short, Johnson was right. There is so much to do and see in London, you can never get bored. Since Roman times it has been a hub drawing people from all over the world and all walks of life. In other words, a perfect setting for a myriad of stories—mine included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> You owe it to yourself to visit this great city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-83894517740178701712018-05-26T11:00:00.003-07:002018-05-26T11:00:46.320-07:00Book locations #4 St David's Cathedral<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in my books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Part Four: St. David’s Cathedral<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Tucked away in the far south west corner of Wales is Britain and Europe’s smallest city, St. David’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> It has a population closing on 2,500 residents, a few shops, some restaurants and pubs and, hidden in a small valley below the city, the immense and impressive St. David’s Cathedral. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The village (because that’s what it really is) is called a city because of the Cathedral. Ecclesiastic law and history determined that no matter how big or small, any place that had a Cathedral was declared a city.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> St. David is known as the Patron Saint of Wales and has an incredible story—worthy of a book—of his service to Wales in preaching and teaching Christianity. Legends suggest that St. Patrick, of Ireland, was taught by David. His preaching was renowned. Thousands gathered to hear his sermons. Miracles were apparently done in his name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> And so, the Cathedral was built to honour him and to hold his tomb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> It’s nestled in a narrow, sheltered valley for a reason. In the so-called Dark Ages (mid 500’s and on), Viking marauders attacked and destroyed churches along the coastline, killing all the monks and sacking nearby villages and enslaving its inhabitants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> St. David’s hidden location saved it from such deprivations and allowed it to prosper. By the time of William the Conqueror (1066), such was the fame of the Cathedral that a Papal decree dictated that two pilgrimages to St. David’s was the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Rome. William himself made a pilgrimage to the Cathedral in 1081.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nWEBjzWVDEzoIgPDGc4udRAYaochOwGwwBprZLTyXWzu4Idr0mcIbg_QsC0gDNNU0aQOajR4M6cg3B6gshmEwhqy5H-QGf-glzY-qpSAX0bL9ttqNxYXzkyX9FayQU1T_9TRXQkOfswy/s1600/StDavid11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nWEBjzWVDEzoIgPDGc4udRAYaochOwGwwBprZLTyXWzu4Idr0mcIbg_QsC0gDNNU0aQOajR4M6cg3B6gshmEwhqy5H-QGf-glzY-qpSAX0bL9ttqNxYXzkyX9FayQU1T_9TRXQkOfswy/s320/StDavid11.jpg" width="213" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Beside the Cathedral itself are the massive ruins of the Bishop’s Palace, indicative of the wealth of the Cathedral in medieval times. During Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries it suffered heavy damage but survived and serves today as an active church and diocesan centre for The Church in Wales (part of the Anglican Communion),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The best view of the Cathedral is from the old stone gateway and bell tower atop the hill by the village. From there you can see the sweep of the valley and the church’s strategic placement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Stained glass windows and decorative features abound in the Cathedral. If you’re lucky and it is not church service time, you still might hear the organist or even catch the Cathedral choir practising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMNydqYJEa5E_jiWnYveZfqyIYHCWQ2D_U8Sxpnth4FSb3eAo2_4mmJhNShHlQwqdUbP9qJ94rAwB59Dl8jchjXt6AxxNROpO-6rInjMY14oHsjAsBfYe-cyA0pBDUpDsrwpHiHMONTKw/s1600/StDavid8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMNydqYJEa5E_jiWnYveZfqyIYHCWQ2D_U8Sxpnth4FSb3eAo2_4mmJhNShHlQwqdUbP9qJ94rAwB59Dl8jchjXt6AxxNROpO-6rInjMY14oHsjAsBfYe-cyA0pBDUpDsrwpHiHMONTKw/s320/StDavid8.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> In <b><i>The Prince Madoc Secret</i></b>, the Cathedral plays a key role. But I postulate that, at the critical time in the novel, the Church and the cultural community have gathered to create a special memorial place for Welsh writers, artists and musicians might have their own ‘Poet’s Corner’ such as found at Westminster Abbey in London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> That is one piece of fiction I’d love to see become reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-82544339217397575622018-05-19T13:40:00.001-07:002018-05-19T13:40:48.755-07:00Locations in my books: Istanbul<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in my books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Part Three: Istanbul<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In <b><i>The Lucifer Scroll</i></b><i>, </i>an archaeological dig unearths a tantalizing document that hints at the existence of a revered icon, the Holy Lance also known as the Spear of Destiny. It was the spear that a Roman centurion thrust into the side of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion. But it became a spear immortalized by future generations as an icon that allowed its holder to rule the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Certainly, Charlemagne and Napoleon believed it and sought it. Adolf Hitler lusted after it. He sent his occult-loving SS chief, Heinrich Himmler, on a search for the spear. Hundreds of thousands of Deutsch Marks were spent on the search, even in the middle of World War II.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my protagonists, Professor Huw Griffiths, flies to Istanbul to help an old friend excavate and interpret and old church building they’d discovered in the midst of a huge industrial dig to create a new subway line in the city.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKtxGBqwS6CEOZNaqkeA6Qz701G9pw0Kc7outggqcmWkmQ8FbJUMDWF6BbQn_oLN7XVhQobNlt930aIF8trt9nlD7BUfywCB9hUG6eb9pEThtzSAaGXKEkLTbQFPsp3OiWqdsCEO-Yzs9/s1600/082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKtxGBqwS6CEOZNaqkeA6Qz701G9pw0Kc7outggqcmWkmQ8FbJUMDWF6BbQn_oLN7XVhQobNlt930aIF8trt9nlD7BUfywCB9hUG6eb9pEThtzSAaGXKEkLTbQFPsp3OiWqdsCEO-Yzs9/s200/082.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Istanbul is an incredible city, layered with history and tumultuous events, magnificent structures dating from Byzantine times as well as Ottoman. The city straddles the Bosporus, a sea channel connecting the Black Sea and the Aegean. The Bosporus also divides Europe from Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Huw’s church dig symbolizes the city’s violent past, dating from its destruction during the Ottoman invasion of 1453. Hidden beneath the marble altar he finds the provocative document that sparks the new hunt for the spear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFwOPF1NUabpFeBG7HwApJEHtlgq8Wt0sahLRYRURGmmsk-KDpWg-qdTJBvk8xy0msA1ZZDJxfcjsY1G_YiJpbKP3J2-Kn2OuBM8JDzES8_xnqaRnXeEM3laaqkXsUAWRj3myOF9v-tjE/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFwOPF1NUabpFeBG7HwApJEHtlgq8Wt0sahLRYRURGmmsk-KDpWg-qdTJBvk8xy0msA1ZZDJxfcjsY1G_YiJpbKP3J2-Kn2OuBM8JDzES8_xnqaRnXeEM3laaqkXsUAWRj3myOF9v-tjE/s200/017.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Istanbul is a city of contrasts. Modern high rise office towers sit side by side with white marble mosques. Crowded city streets open into magnificent park-like squares. Modern shops on modern streets lead to the tumult and noise of the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market. It’s noisy and bustling. And it is quiet and reflective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">High above the old city, on the south side of the famed Golden Horn lies three of the city’s most historic and amazing structures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSkFMeyOl_Px6upYQ11Vhv_L1m35NkiZKgYsEk2vpF7erV-0Cp7YaAanKFe7HIuAOtS5ZMW4jzkHfAguY3CfwDRX0c9hYwckeKsyNANtcXDzFu-8Rpes39DtXhH6YzFePwBLKgS9xr9Ac/s1600/_DRC3377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSkFMeyOl_Px6upYQ11Vhv_L1m35NkiZKgYsEk2vpF7erV-0Cp7YaAanKFe7HIuAOtS5ZMW4jzkHfAguY3CfwDRX0c9hYwckeKsyNANtcXDzFu-8Rpes39DtXhH6YzFePwBLKgS9xr9Ac/s200/_DRC3377.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hagia Sophia, an enormous Byzantine Cathedral draped in magnificent décor and once the largest building in the world. Still amazing to see and walk through some 1500 years later. It passed from the Byzantines to the conquering Ottomans who were so awed by the building they turned it into a mosque. It now exists as a museum, open to the public and delicately showing off both the incredible mosaic work of the Byzantines and the scrollwork art of the Muslim tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hagia Sophia sits between two superb Muslim creations: Topkapi Palace and the famed Blue Mosque which is sparkling white marble. (It’s called the Blue Mosque because of the predominant blue and turquoise décor inside the structure).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Topkapi was the palace of the Ottoman emperors until they moved in the late 1800’s to a newer, more modern structure further north along the Bosporus, called Dolmabahce Palace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Linking Topkapi, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is the park-like Sultanahmet Square which itself also takes in part of the old Byzantine Hippodrome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">History. Culture. Museums. Clashing faiths. Istanbul was an easy choice for a somewhat mysterious, challenging, evocative location to begin the hunt for the Lucifer Scroll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-39602919230662175492018-05-11T15:40:00.001-07:002018-05-11T15:50:03.084-07:00Locations in my books: Tintern Abbey<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in the books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOhxtJvZoMBPjJZsNpr1Rc5BaW1TaJODtADrUH1jffJhnyrE9201AnlAd1BiAmkU5y03LSUf-DwpX0kLPxXKIEeULvfJkhJebd95fAh-X_w8FHsWVlJrEC9UD4EaezBV03Eh1I625omwb/s1600/Wales+by+Darryl+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOhxtJvZoMBPjJZsNpr1Rc5BaW1TaJODtADrUH1jffJhnyrE9201AnlAd1BiAmkU5y03LSUf-DwpX0kLPxXKIEeULvfJkhJebd95fAh-X_w8FHsWVlJrEC9UD4EaezBV03Eh1I625omwb/s320/Wales+by+Darryl+092.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Set in a meandering section of the Wye River valley about ten miles north of the border town of Chepstow, the skeletal ruins of Tintern Abbey evoke a peacefulness and solitude that is at odds with its turbulent past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tintern was the model for the fictional Cymllyn Abbey in The Excalibur Parchment. My monks Thomas and Owain were at the abbey, as was the traitorous Gethin—a Druid leader infiltrating the Christian church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tintern itself was abolished by Henry VIII in his dissolution of the monasteries. The lead roof was removed for its value, but the stone skeleton was left. Over the years the magnificent old church deteriorated but still retained a stark beauty. In 1798, the poet William Wordsworth wrote his famous poem “Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey”. Interest in the old site picked up and it is now a well-restored ruin and a major tourist attraction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the abbey ruins you see the outlines of the various supporting outbuildings—the Abbot’s residence, the infirmary, the monks cells and others. It stands on the banks of the Wye River in a fairly flat area surrounded by hills. It is rich agricultural land and, as you walk around the site, you can easily imagine the hustle and bustle of the monks and lay workers as they tended the crops and animals. You can also understand how this became one of the wealthiest Cistercian monasteries of its age—a wealth Henry was determined to seize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Standing inside the ruins of the magnificent church with its ornate stone decorations and window shells, you can also let your imagination run wild. I deliberately loaded some medieval chants onto my iPhone, plugged in my earpiece and let my imagination wander the monks deep melodious singing hymns accompanying me as I strolled down the nave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But in my mind, I was not at Tintern. I was at Cymllyn Abbey with Thomas and Owain as they served and then found themselves challenged with the discovery that the Abbots of Cymllyn had hidden and protected a tremendous icon for more than 700 years—the mighty Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the ruins, I could see the river down which they escaped. And not too far away, the forested hills into which they fled and, beyond that, the open moorland they had to cross, pursued not only by vengeful Druids but by the soldiers of Lord de Tuberville.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All in all, and evocative, peaceful and contemplative spot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-26121268426655455112018-05-03T10:04:00.000-07:002018-05-03T10:04:15.692-07:00Favourite locations found in my books: 1 Old College, Aberystwyth Wales<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria",serif; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Where are the books set? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A series about locations in my books<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">(The Excalibur Parchment, The Lucifer Scroll, The Prince Madoc Secret)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Part One: The Old College, Aberystwyth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Old College in Aberystwyth was the first university in Wales. Its first home was an old former hotel that had been built on the seafront and then extended, before passing into the hands of those who wanted Wales to have its own institute of higher learning. It became known as The Old College or, in Welsh <b><i>Yr Hen Goleg.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is a key location in <b><i>The Prince Madoc Secret</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Interestingly, it was a forward-thinking university from its inception, offering women the same opportunities for higher education that were offered to men—a distinct change from the normal gender-based thinking of Victorian times. It was also developed partly thanks to the efforts of Non-Conformist ministers across Wales who collected “pennies of the people” to develop a starting fund of five thousand pounds—an enormous sum in those days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As time passed, the university outgrew the existing building. A new, sprawling modern university was constructed in the hills east of the town and today is a renowned school of higher learning. The charming seaside town is also home to the National Library of Wales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But the quirky old building on the seafront remains. At the invitation of some of the university’s leaders—who told me that ‘my professor’ (Huw Griffiths) had to do some of his research at the university. I agreed. And I went to the Old College to take a look when I was researching and writing <b><i>The Prince Madoc Secret</i></b> last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I found a delightful, quirky building that really is an amalgam of architectural styles and construction. A magnificent triangular limestone leads into the substantial wooden doors at the entrance to the College. Inside, a massive grand stone staircase leads up to narrow halls. Circular metal staircases clash with wooden staircases. Halls go nowhere except to another set of stairs (stone, wood or metal) which lead to other halls and other staircases (stone, wooden or metal) leading down half a flight to yet more halls. Rooms, professors offices and lecture theatres feed off the main halls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Along the seafront side is a set of rooms occupied by Prince Charles when he was a student here learning Welsh and preparing for his investiture as Prince of Wales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Old College is mostly devoid of students now. They’ve moved up to the main campus east of the town. Instead, there are plans to revive the Old College as a place for special events and concerts among other things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But it was just the right place for Stone Wallace and Mandy Griffiths to use as a base for their research into the legendary Prince Madoc. It’s a building steeped in history and yet timeless; a place imbued with a sense of learning and Welshness, set in a magnificent location beside the old castle which dates from 1277.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">History, culture, legend, idiosyncratic styles are all gathered at The Old College. It is worth a visit and worth a prominent place in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Old College<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-38924235012334214982018-04-26T14:09:00.002-07:002018-04-26T14:10:05.403-07:00Exposing myself!<div class="MsoNormal">
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If I were to be so stupid as to remove my clothes in public I could be arrested and charged with indecency, exposure and whatever other laws are on the books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But if I publish a novel which reaches into the mind of characters and seeks to illuminate feelings, motivations and thoughts, then the fact that I am exposing myself is perfectly alright. It’s acceptable and no police officer is going to come knocking on my door.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But is it really alright? <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a struggle for me. My entire career as a journalists and communications professional has been spent telling the stories of other people. I delved into their deepest thoughts and examined their actions and motives as well as their beliefs without a second thought. As a professor in a college public relation programme, I taught others how to tell their stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I began to write my novels, and especially when they were published and out in the marketplace, the sense of personal exposure and its ramifications hit home. And, as I send my third novel out to the public this month, the anxiety and hand-wringing gets no easier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In every book, I expose myself, my beliefs, my thoughts, my hopes, my fears, my dark side and my optimistic side. Oh sure, it comes out through the various characters that inhabit the plot, and my characters are an amalgam of people I have met and interacted with, the good ones and the bad ones, mixed with a good dollop of my own ingredients.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I expose myself by putting the work out under my name. I lay it all out there for people to like or dislike, and it’s an uncomfortable feeling. What if they don’t like it? What if, instead of a police officer coming to the door, it’s a negative critic telling the world how bad the book is? <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am vulnerable during this time. My ego is out there waiting for something to happen; hoping it’s love and praise and worrying that it will be disdain, angry dismissal or, worst of all, apathy. Exposure of this kind, to my mind, is just as disturbing as streaking down the main street of a major city in rush hour.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a level of insecurity that rises above the norm. In the moments before a book signing or event that insecurity can make my legs shake, my stomach churn and then tie itself into knots. It is only alleviated by the responses from readers or the delight in people’s eyes as they purchase a copy and then cradle it on the way home. It’s also eased by the first reviews that indicate that, by and large, if I did O or not..<o:p></o:p></div>
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So why do it? Why go through the hard slogging, the days and nights of angst, the days or sometimes weeks of creative block all of which are the agony and ecstasy of writing novels?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Because I am bursting to tell these stories. I want to entertain. I want to engage readers and make them think; to offer them new ways of dealing with the ups and downs of life. I want to take them out of their world and give them hope. I want them to understand that while there is much evil in this world, there is also much good; while there is despair there is hope.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, there it is. Another book in the marketplace. Another round of anxiety and sweating. But another opportunity to expose myself and hope that people will be entertained, challenged and, in the end, satisfied.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A good glass of wine might be in order!<o:p></o:p></div>
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(for information on Barrie and his books, go to www.barriedoyle.com)</div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-85279710471984836192018-02-06T08:06:00.005-08:002018-04-26T12:53:26.406-07:00On writing about history and legends. And Wales.<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I would like to acknowledge the many readers who have commented in person or in writing about my two previous books, <b><i>The Excalibur Parchment </i></b>and<i><u> </u><b>The Lucifer Scroll. </b></i> Your appreciation and rave reviews are extremely encouraging (and a lot make me blush), so I am literally over the moon when you pass along your kind thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Each of the books is a stand-alone story, although obviously they and <b><i>The Prince Madoc Secret</i></b> (published Spring 2018) form an ongoing series. While they are fiction, I strive for as much precision and historical accuracy as possible. Any mistakes are my own, created by my own carelessness or stupidity. History is a story. It is the story of people. As that story is recorded (whether verbal or written) it changes based upon the perspectives of the individual telling the story. History is always open to interpretation. Out of the repeated tellings and re-tellings of a historical event, legends and myths are created. So, in the modern era, my protagonists see historical situations and artefacts through the prism of time and previous interpretations. Truth can sometimes be explained through this. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of <i>Lord of the Rings</i> and <i>The Hobbit,</i> saw this clearly. “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe that legends and myths are largely made of ‘truth’ and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode”</span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> In a day when society is such a tumult, I try to show the personal development of my characters as they struggle with the challenges set before them. Some are weighed down by previous disappointments and loses. Others are meeting real challenges for the first time. How they cope—whether it is anger, fear or faith—is a key developmental factor in the story. I have met great challenges in my life—personal as well as professional. Faith in God is the one constant I have had and has led me through and blessed me each time. For others, that is not a factor and I respect that. Some have great internal strength that takes them through. Others do not and drop into shells, reluctant to face the challenges life throws at them. Yet others react by building a sense of rage and revenge against those who laid the challenges before them. Each reacts in their own way, and I have tried to reflect that myriad of responses in the books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Legends allow an exploration of those challenges in ways that are unique and, normally, outside the ordinary aspects of modern life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I am also amazed at the way today’s news reflects and often jumps ahead of my stories. I say that because when I first started writing <i>Excalibur </i>I thought I had created a thoroughly unprincipled and evil set of zealots as my villains. Then along came ISIS and did more depraved things to humanity than I could ever have imagined. I have tried to explore the supernatural world and evil as it hovers around modern society, especially in <i>Lucifer</i>. Certainly, modern culture seems to want to explore this, particularly in movies and television. Then I see the news headlines and read about man’s inhumanity to man on an individual as well as mass basis so, again, I am trumped by reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Some have asked why my antagonists are Druids. For many, Druids and their ilk are confined to the mists of time. They are banished from our minds as “not modern” when, in fact, both cultural and religious Druids exist today. A simple internet search will show that. The answer to that question ‘why’ is both complex and simple. First, I was sick and tired of reading novels where the villains were always the same generic groupings—corrupt businessmen, politicians or church leaders; Nazis; neo-Nazis; Russian mafia, communists or post-communists. I wanted a ‘new’ group of villains that fit into the framework of the stories. Second, in any religious teaching, there always seem to be those who become brutal zealots violently and cruelly demanding obedience and “their way or the highway.” Since I wanted to explore the supernatural and issues of faith in challenging times, the Druids seemed to fit. I made them a zealous, violent branch of Celtic society where things like the supernatural world are, well, natural. The beliefs in fairies, leprechauns, the thinning veil between the underworld and the current world (especially at Halloween) fit with the themes I was developing, and are still a part of modern Celtic culture and thinking. Druids in ancient times (pre-Roman) were their society’s priests, philosophers, historians, judges, wisdom and bards, or storytellers. Today, in Wales, they are the poets and musicians that keep Welsh culture alive at Eisteffodds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Having or searching for a faith to believe in is an essential component of the motivations of many of my characters. How they make the search and how successful they are, reflects, I believe, the modern search for spirituality in a secular world. For my main protagonists, faith is a critical part of who they are or who they are becoming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Why have I set so much of all the books in Wales? Again, several reasons. Wales is a beautiful but little-known country, especially in North America where, if you think of Celtic nations, Ireland and Scotland come to mind immediately. Wales, not so much. Which is unfortunate because of all six Celtic nation—Wales (Cymru), Scotland (Alba), Ireland (Eire), Cornwall (Kernow), Brittany (Breizh), Isle of Man (Mannin)—Wales is closest to the original Celtic standards than any. (It is indeed little known. Look at any guided tour of Britain and you’ll hit England and Scotland and Ireland, but very few spend any time in Wales.) Yet, Wales is a land of myths and legends (the year 2017 was labelled by the Welsh government as ‘Year of the Legend’). Music and the arts are a core value. Castles and history ooze out of the ground (there are seven castles within a 15-mile radius of my hometown), more than any other nation in the world. History. Legends. Myths. I can think of no better, fresh setting for a novel than this proud nation that, like my protagonists face every challenge with courage, conviction and pride. Perhaps I might intrigue you enough to entice you to visit this marvellous land. I appreciate the ones who have joined me in tours of some of the key sites in the books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> So far, I have explored the well-known legends of King Arthur, Merlin and the mighty sword Excalibur—all fairly well known—in The Excalibur Parchment. The Lucifer Scroll delves into the lesser-known story of the Spear of Destiny, or Holy Lance and its accompanying legends. The Lance was the one used by the Roman Centurions in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to the legends, the one who controlled the Lance would control the world. Certainly, Charlemagne (and his successors as Holy Roman Emperor) believed it, as did Napoleon and Adolf Hitler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Then I came across the legend of Prince Madoc. He was the son of King Owain of Gwynedd in North Wales. As the other sons fought over succession to the throne, Madoc went his own way and turned to the sea. Leaning on the knowledge and experience of both Welsh and Irish fishermen who’d long fished in the western ocean (now known as the Atlantic) and, course, Viking predecessors, Madoc was intrigued by the stories of a fair land to the west. In due course, Madoc sailed west with two ships, found the land and returned to Wales. He immediately outfitted ten ships and sailed west with a colony of settlers. Madoc was never heard of again. But legends grew that he landed in Mobile Bay, Alabama and penetrated the continent. Stories abounded that light-skinned, taller native tribes in the interior spoke a language similar to Welsh. There are excavations of native settlements that, once exposed, look more like stone buildings surrounded by stone walls. European type settlements in places such structures had never before known. More stories abounded. In 1799, six skeletons were found in Kentucky, along with bronze shields supposedly with Welsh coats of arms. The stories were sufficiently strong that President Jefferson (himself of Welsh heritage) charged Meredith Lewis (also Welsh heritage) with tracking down the ‘Welsh-speaking Indians’ as part of the mighty Lewis and Clark expedition. Some historians and archaeologists pooh-pooh all this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> But, as they say, where there’s smoke there’s fire. Because we don’t know something today, does not mean it does not and never did, exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> So, legend and history form the basis for yet another exploration. Did Madoc exist? Did he set out to cross the Atlantic? Did he and his followers land in and explore America, eventually dying or intermarrying with the native tribes, never to return to Wales? Something, I thought, worth exploring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> When I started writing The Prince Madoc Secret, I planned it as the third in the trilogy, I called The Oak Grove Conspiracies. My characters, however, tell the story; I am the mere recorder. They decided that while the story is complete as it stands, it is not finished. What happens with the legend of Madoc in the United States? Did he, in fact, travel into the interior? Did his people integrate with the indigenous peoples? Were they the ones who constructed stone fortifications and towns?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> If I listen to my characters, they still have more to tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-90445611886965699032017-06-12T11:56:00.000-07:002018-04-26T12:54:25.739-07:00The power of reading: it changes lives<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
The Power of reading: It changes lives</h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On Saturday
I spent the morning selling my novels at an author’s event that was part of a
farmer’s market. I (and the other authors around me) were taken aback by the
number of people who brushed us off, proudly proclaiming as they did so that
they can’t be bothered with reading, or don’t read at all, or as middle aged
lady said to me, it’s a waste of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And I
thought of my grandson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Joshua is
nine. He was born with what is called a congenital heart defect. In his lifetime he has had a myriad of health
issues, including a major stroke, and four open heart surgeries plus other
procedures, tests and medical interventions too numerous to mention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Through it
all, Joshua has been a happy child. He has a wicked sense of humour, teases,
laughs, and generally enjoys life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But the
past six months have been difficult for him. He is now beginning to realize the
physical and other limitations place on him by his health issues. Where other kids ran and romped in the
playground, he was ostracized because he was “too slow” and just plain not good
enough. In this sports-mad culture, that’s a huge downer. And he was having
medication issues which caused him to be unfocused. Earlier this month things
got so bad he was taken to the hospital. Our great fear and the cardiac doctor’s
worry, was that his heart was failing yet again. Certainly the symptoms pointed
to cardiac failure. But the echo and other tests showed that there was no
change in his heart; it wasn’t failing. So, what was it? That’s when the
diagnosis of circumstantial depression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> A once happy, funny, smiling kid was now sad,
unfocused, and generally withdrawing from life. But the past week has seen an
enormous change is this fabulously courageous and wise child. <br />
<br />
He discovered the joy of reading. He discovered that being good at soccer and
basketball—as much as he wanted it—was not the all-important thing he thought
it was. Reading was able to take him to new places, to discover new worlds and
engage in living a variety of new lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now I won’t
lie to you. These are kids’ graphic
novels (what we used to call comic books). But they mean the world to him. He devoured first one, then another. And
proudly proclaimed to his mom and dad that these books “changed my life!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But graphic
novels will soon be displaced in his reading lists by regular books. I remember
being entranced as a child by the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur
Ransome. And the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was no
good at sports either. But those and other books opened new vistas for me and
led me into an eventual career in journalism and communications and, in the
last few years, as a novelist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But, just
as with Joshua, it started with one book. One book that led to another and
another, that changed my life and pulled aside the curtain of my ‘normal’ life,
taking me to places I’d never imagined. I met fascinating new people, was challenged
by outrageous villains and saw them conquered. As my reading list grew, I
traveled beyond earth to new universes and I time-jumped from the medieval times
of knights and kings to future visions of what earth would be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A waste of
time? I wish that woman had been willing to engage with me so that I could tell
her this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On Sunday,
I traveled to Toronto where Joshua’s father is the Senior Pastor at a church
celebrating its anniversary. Following the morning service there was an outdoor
BBQ and party with lots of fun for the kids. </span>Reading has
indeed changed Joshua’s life. The sad kid seemed to be gone. He ran around,
played, participated—including getting ‘pied’ in a pie tossing event. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His smile had returned. His world was changed from darkness and sadness to fun again, to
excitement, to participation, to joy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sure, there
are some other factors contributing, including a tweak of his meds. But he
himself knew that it was books that made the magical difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KRiL9dnBaLk6SvC755MDambk_WZaNp2LGt00CQL6KeR-LrrEINx_PUqcADLNlY8_m-_11xGfc06qejYhyvFoV95YYaZROPELs9Nm0Giz9-FGVQ7JUADYO73XMZdVxj7D1fbe42rSTqWG/s1600/Joh+getting+pied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KRiL9dnBaLk6SvC755MDambk_WZaNp2LGt00CQL6KeR-LrrEINx_PUqcADLNlY8_m-_11xGfc06qejYhyvFoV95YYaZROPELs9Nm0Giz9-FGVQ7JUADYO73XMZdVxj7D1fbe42rSTqWG/s320/Joh+getting+pied.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The power
of reading; It does indeed change lives!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-32739628941317325252017-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:002018-04-26T12:57:06.545-07:00Living in a Black and White World<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
A black and white
world<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am living in a black and white
world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am shocked, saddened, and baffled by this. I see the world in full,
glorious God-given colour. But so many of the people around me, particularly on
social media, see only in black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No colour. No shades. Not even
greys. Stark black and stark white. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I see it in the US election
campaign and its aftermath. The black and white view of whatever political persuasion
is quite simply “if you disagree with my
view, you obviously support the other candidate.” A byproduct of that
simplistic viewpoint is that it is always followed by “oh yeah, well your
candidate is worse” followed by a lengthy discourse of so-called facts that, in
reality, are not facts, but merely oft-repeated opinions. It happened when Trump
supporters were challenged: Oh yeah, well Clinton and/or Obama are worse.” It
happened when Clinton supporters were challenged: “Oh yeah, well Trump is
worse.” Discourse and discussion? No. Childish playground arguing? Yes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Black and white. No
acknowledgement that the truth might be somewhere in the middle. No recognition
that one side or the other might have valid positions or arguments. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each side refuses to allow the
other the freedom of speech because they are “wrong” even though, in the next
breath, they pontificate about preserving the principle of free speech. Black
and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not just politics. Blanket
condemnations and opinions are accepted as fact without research or careful,
thoughtful consideration of the alternative arguments. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Climate change is real. Climate
change is a fraud. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Muslims are evil
terrorists. Muslims are peaceful and
trustworthy. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Evangelicals are right-wing
nutbars. Evangelicals are loving disciples of God. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trump is another Hitler, the
devil incarnate. Trump is the Messiah. Black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It even extends to such mundane
areas as sports although that at least is understandable<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I believe in colour, in
nuances, in conversation not confrontation. I have been insulted, called filthy
names, been threatened and even lost friends because they said black and I said
white.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a sad state of affairs and how pathetic that we who live in an age
when information is available to us, are often no more intelligent than
ignorant peasants of the 13<sup>th</sup> century..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I live in a black and white
world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I will speak in colour. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I live in a black and white world but I
refuse to accept it or condone it. I live in a black and white world but I will
bring colour into it.<o:p></o:p></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-752738137891817282016-10-19T11:59:00.000-07:002016-10-19T12:00:17.643-07:00Seduced by power: evangelicals and the election<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Seduced by power</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The increasing tension, bitterness, anger and outright hatred permeating
the US election is a sad reflection of our times.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But it was also predictable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It was predictable the moment a number of prominent American evangelical
leaders determined that political power was the only route to ensuring that
their goals of establishing a “Christian” nation would succeed. The gathered
together and created groups like The Moral Majority. They became involved in
the political system at the grassroots level. They beat the streets for their
chosen candidates at local, state and federal levels. They courted the media.
They raised millions of dollars, aware that the only functional way to gain
access to the higher political spectrum was to create PAC’s (Political Action
Committees) that are the funding arm of any campaign. They aligned themselves
with conservative values not only in social areas but later in fiscal policy
and foreign affairs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As the conservative movement grew in power and prestige, more
zealous—and therefore more dedicated and active—arms began to appear. One such
group called itself the Tea Party after a rebellious action just before the
Revolution. The name symbolized their disgust with the quid pro quo of American
politics and a desire for change.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And as these political groups grew in power and influence so too did their
recognition that they needed a broad power base to draw upon. For a variety of
philosophical reasons they realized that groups like The Moral Majority were,
broadly-speaking, like minded. So they courted the evangelical base in the
United States recognizing that this could be a powerful and influential group.
The two disenchanted wings of American society were growing closer together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Evangelical leaders like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and
others aligned themselves closer and closer with this wing of political
America. They embraced the celebrity it gave them. They enjoyed the power and
influence it gave them. They were at the pinnacle not only of church life, but
at the pinnacle of public prestige and impact. They loved the opportunities to
appear on national television news outlets even though they privately abhorred
the ‘liberal’ media. They actively sought and obtained platforms in the media
to spread their message. And to be fair, a lot of the time it was a spiritual
message. Their words pointed to the disintegration of the family at the hands
of social re-engineering; they emphasized the importance of personal faith in
all aspects of life and called for their supporters to express that faith
publicly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nothing wrong with that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But as that army began to grow, darker forces and attitudes also came
along. Dissent of any kind became a fuse point. The concept of “us” versus
“them” and the need—make that demand that you support “us”—leaped to the
forefront of dialogue. No longer was discussion or debate to be tolerated.
Rather, there developed a lockstep mindset. And out of that grew anger and
discontent. And out of that grew Donald Trump and some of the other candidates
for the Republican nomination.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That same mindset enveloped the Democrats as well. The siege mentality
grew and anger at Trump and the Republicans has grown exponentially.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nobody has come out of this election campaign smelling of anything other
than rotting putrid garbage.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The furor is particularly antagonistic towards the mainstream media with
its largely unsubstantiated charges of collusion, corruption, bias and so on. But I think
the greater finger of accusation should be pointed at social media. Yes, you
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram et al.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You want to see venom? Check out the responses to posts for or against
Trump. You want to see hatred in its purest unadulterated form, challenge a
Trump supporter on Donald’s words and demonstrative behaviour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And, worst of all, is that evangelical Christians are most likely to be
the source of such venom and anger. Don’t believe it? Check out the worst, most
angry posts and then check out the person writing them. Words like “idiot”,
“liar!”, and “brain dead” are the least painful of the insults coming from
supposed followers of Christ.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Instead of reasoned dialogue and debate on issues, the discussion turns
into a childish school yard insulting match; “oh yeah? Well your candidate is
worse.” What a drop of reasoning and intelligence in this age when we are so
supposed to the be the most informed generation ever!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For outsiders like me looking in, the whole campaign is one of
“shake-your-head-I-can’t-believe-what-I’m-seeing-and-hearing !”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What went wrong?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I suggest that those evangelical leaders made an unwise and ungodly
decision to embrace the world’s level of power rather than God’s. They forsook
the future for the now. They were not content with following God’s plan or
God’s timing. They, probably quite sincerely, believed that action by man was
needed. In many ways that’s what many followers of Jesus were expecting him to
do. As the King he was expected to overthrow the Roman occupation. They were shocked to discover that this was never God’s plan
all along. Or how about the Israelites? Not content with waiting upon God despite all the blessings he had bestowed, the Israelites
demanded a King so they could deal with temporal matters themselves.. So God gave them Sau</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">l</span> and what a disaster that turned out to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I say all this election furor was predictable because any time man turns
to and puts trust in man-created power, it is a recipe for disaster. The finest
of goals and hopes may become subverted by others who have far different
motivations and goals. Fame beguiles like a moth to the flame. Its sinewy tendrils
gently, then firmly entrap. Adulation, money, fame and power become an
addicting aphrodisiac. The core motivations begin slipping away into a vague
misty reflection of what was once strong and vibrant.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the blink of an eye, the individual and his followers have been
seduced by power—the world’s power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And for many of those evangelical leaders, the seduction is almost
complete. They are willing to bury or at least ignore, their core spiritual
beliefs to preserve the political path they’ve embarked upon. They downplay or
excuse away behaviour that diametrically opposes all that they believe and have
preached for decades. And which in the past has drawn their scorn and condemnation. The world has become their oyster at the expense of the
ministries they founded and nurtured; their followers are left with two
choices—agree, or fall away disappointed and disillusioned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is the sad reality of what I’ve seen happening in the United
States. Once vibrant and important ministries based on solid Christian
principles and teaching, pulled into a morass of political nightmares. Excuses
instead of loving gentle reproof. Disenchantment grips hold of supporters and
then anger and enmity toward those who disagree as the ministry becomes a pawn
in the “us against them” battle; my leader, right or wrong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I am saddened by this seduction that has taken root in so many good
solid ministries; ministries that so many have looked up to for so long. I very
much fear that these excellent ministries may have suffered irreparable damage
to their reputations thanks to their leaders forsaking ministry for power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No matter who wins this election, surely it is time for to turn away
from the seductive snare of political power and concentrate on the real source
of power, God. Speak up against immorality and sin by all means. Just don’t
become seduced to one political party or philosophy at the expense of your
soul.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I stand back to receive the torrent of anger and
abuse.</span>Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-75111957913496274942016-06-15T06:48:00.000-07:002016-06-15T06:50:06.452-07:00How did you do it? Writing and Creating "The Excalibur Parchment" and "The Lucifer Scroll"<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Interview with Barrie Doyle</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Perspectives on writing </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. What was the inspiration for your first novel,
“The Excalibur Parchment”?</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I have always been intrigued by the
legend of King Arthur, Merlin, Excalibur and Camelot. Historians—who once poo-poohed
the idea of Arthur as a “myth’—are now acknowledging that a mighty warrior king
galvanized the Celtic peoples of the post-Roman era in Britain and led them in
battle against Saxon invaders. So I began to question who, what, where and why
(my journalistic training) these people were. I devoured all the stories and
novels. As the story of Excalibur Parchment began to take shape I added new
elements. I postulated that Merlin was an arch Druid which was extremely likely
given the nature of Druidic faith as well as the power and role of Druids in
Celtic culture. The reality is that the “new” Christian faith was infiltrating
Britain at the time and the old faiths, whether Druidic gods or Roman gods,
were falling by the wayside. I was also intrigued by the current mood in
societies around the world to break away from known national identities and
rework themselves into more compact almost tribal entities. You see it
happening in Canada in Quebec for example, as well as in Turkey with the
Khurdish peoples, and many other groups in many other nations. So the concept
of a rebuilt, rejuvenated, aggressive group determined to reassert themselves
became a premise to develop. The result was modern Druids trying to
re-establish their faith by destroying the one religion that defeated them back
in the Dark Ages. Fold in some modern-day terrorism and link it to the existing
stories of King Arthur and his iconic sword Excalibur and, voila! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Excalibur Parchment.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. So what then, was the inspiration for “The
Lucifer Scroll”?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. With the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Excalibur Parchment”</i> there were
still some loose threads. What would become of Stone and Mandy? Was the Druid
movement finished? Did Huw recover from his wounds? I love history. I am fascinated
by the past and how the tendrils of history waft around our modern day,
impacting our culture and politics and worldviews in ways we don’t even
realize. As I studied the Nazi era I was intrigued by the undertones of evil
and the occult that permeated the Nazi system. The satanic rites and ethos of
the SS, the determined searches for ancient icons such as the Ark of the
Covenant and the Spear of Destiny—Die Heilige Lanze—and other religious
artifacts that the Nazis believed would make them indestructible. The
fascination with the occult driving Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and other Nazi
leaders, underscored a rising, almost unstoppable evil. There are stories that
the “spears” found in the Vatican and a museum in Vienna are fakes and this too
underscored the allure of the Spear of Destiny. Fold in the stories of Nazi
leaders escaping in U-Boats with art treasures and artifacts at the end of the
war. At the same time, history also led me to Istanbul, the city that straddles
two continents and two cultures and that for hundreds of years was the centre
of the world. It was time to put everything together—the characters from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Excalibur Parchment</i>, the intriguing
history of the Nazis and the occult, and the rich history of Istanbul. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lucifer Scroll </i>brings them together
in a unique way, I believe, and tackles the subjects of terrorism, the occult,
and that hostility towards Christianity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Did you outline the books before you started
writing?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No. I never outline. It is, for me,
too structured and constraining. I have heard other writers say the same thing,
but I have now experienced this phenomenon myself: the characters drove the
book and told their own story. I was often as surprised by a plot twist or
development as any reader would be. I remember coming to a point in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lucifer </i>where Stone Wallace and his
American intelligence agent friend Chad Lawson were under attack. (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spoiler
Alert): </i></b>We were in Wales at the time and had plans for a little
sightseeing that afternoon. I remember leaving the story wondering how on earth
they were going to get out of the incredibly tight trap they were in. I had no
idea. When I got back to them the next morning they very gently led me along
and showed me how they did indeed escape. Similarly, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excalibur</i>, I had Brother Thomas and Owain lost on the Welsh moors
in cold wet weather, or wading hip deep in frigid rivers, or hiding in caves.
None of that was outlined. My characters told their stories and led me down
paths I would never have dreamed of if I had outlined the book first. Outlining
works for some novelists I suppose, but not for me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. What made you set both stories largely in
Wales?</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Wales is certainly an important
location, but by no means the only or primary one. Wales is a beautiful,
intriguing, musical, history-filled, castle-filled, legend-filled nation that
sits quietly beside England and its raucous neighbours Scotland and Ireland.
The Welsh are just as feisty, just as proud and just as vocal as their Celtic
cousins. But Wales is also a largely ignored in the pantheon of literature,
particularly South Wales and its valleys. So, as a Welsh-born writer, I had a
virtual blank canvas to work with. The beauty of the land is astonishing. From
the rocky cliffs of Glamorgan and Pembroke to the upland moors and narrow
valleys, the countryside is breathtakingly beautiful. Add in the generous warm
spirits and lilting accents of the Welsh and I can truly answer the question of
why Wales is so prominent in the books with a question of my own: why not?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. What locations, other than Wales, are prominent
then?</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I lived for a number of years in
Washington D.C. which is a city loaded with intrigue, history and excitement.
London, England is my favourite city in the world. I love to walk its streets
and soak in the history and the culture. Venice and Istanbul are locations I
chose particularly because of their historic nature and also because of their
scenic uniqueness. Only twice in my life can I say that my breath was truly
taken away by a sight: once was my first view of the Grand Canyon. The other
was walking out of the railway station in Venice onto what seemed to me to be a
medieval stage set. Istanbul, or Constantinople, is also one of those cities
whose influence and historic nature transcend the centuries and the ebb and
flow of various cultures. It is a city I believe everyone should visit—modern
terror activities notwithstanding—in order to comprehend who we are as a people
and as a culture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Those are all major cities. Anywhere else?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Absolutely. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excalibur</i> there are a number of locations—some identified by their
real names and others by fictional names such as Llanfyron—across South Wales.
Careg Cennan in particular is a lonely, brooding castle ruins in the Brecon
Beacons near Carmarthen. Then we travel to upstate New York on the shores of
the St. Lawrence River, the New Forest in Hampshire, England and the
Broceliande Forest and Paimpont in Brittany, France. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lucifer</i>
I included a number of other locations that enabled the story to be spread over
a wider scope even than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excalibur. </i>So
we wind up exploring the English Lake District, the Austrian Tyrol in the area
around Zell am See, north Wales and in particular, the island of Anglesey. In
North America I was enchanted with the small New Mexico town of Truth or
Consequences. It is a small unprepossessing place in the desert and was named
after a long-gone television game show. But its name elicits all kinds of
delicious irony as the location of an isolated prison. In Canada, the real
beauty of the Georgian Bay area with its blue waters, thousands of islands and
picturesque towns had to appear. So the books really reflect my own travels as
well as the places I’ve lived and enjoyed. I hope readers will vicariously
enjoy these many different and captivating locations and, perhaps, set out on
their own journeys of discovery as a result.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. How accurate are your locations in both books?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Hopefully very accurate. I love to
travel and have visited all these places. I have walked the streets of London
and Istanbul that are described in the books. I have visited many of the sites
identified in them such as Haghia Sofia in Istanbul, the Lido in Venice, and
The Houses of Parliament in London. I have taken trains from Euston station,
ridden boats in Georgian Bay, driven through the New Mexico deserts, walked the
Tyrolian Alps and sailed around Lake Zell in Zell am See. I was speaking with
one reader who cornered me in Wales and said “I know the spot where Brother
Thomas sat and prayed.” She pointed at a particular spot on the side of the valley
and I had to confess that yes that was indeed the place I had in mind when I
wrote that scene. Hopefully those who’ve gone to Venice had the same
breathtaking experience I had when they saw the Grand Canal for the first time.
The same for readers who walk inside Haghia Sofia and take in its immenseness
and grandeur even 1,500 years after its construction. And hopefully they will
agree that I have indeed captured the scene well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. What motivates your characters?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The antagonists of the stories, the
vengeful and zealous Druids, are motivated by greed and lust for power but as
well by a determination to revert to an ancient pagan faith. To them, modern
day religions such as Christianity have too long influenced society, culture,
politics and governance. They see a world that is failing. They see society
breaking down. They see “religion”, especially Christianity, as something to be
despised and disposed of. For them, a return to the pagan gods of the earth,
fire, war, and the underworld is the motivation. They believe if Christianity
is destroyed along with the other one-god religions of Islam and Judaism, the
door will be open for them. As pagan worshippers they will step into the gap
they created and bring the world back under the domination and power of their
ancestors. As believers in the gods of war and the underworld, they are immune
to concepts like mercy and pity. So compromise and accommodation is
unacceptable. It is total war for them with a goal of annihilation of the
Church. Nothing more and nothing less. And that leads to various terrorist
attacks and plots, all of which are allowed, even though it means mass deaths
of innocents.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Sounds like something out of today’s
headlines.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Absolutely. It is this type of
philosophy that motivates ISIS and other terrorist groups. They extrapolate
real or imagined insults or actions into motivation for mass murder. Murder is
condoned, even promoted as in jihad, because the greater good in their eyes
outweighs the pain and suffering of some. It is a total rejection of any sense
of humanity, replaced by an evil lust for power and domination. Concepts of
peace, justice, love, harmony and friendship are anathema. Instead, anarchy is
encouraged as a weapon to destroy whoever is in your way so that in the end the
strongest—you—will survive. A friend of mine read Excalibur and blurted out
that to him it seemed the story was ripped from the headlines. He was quite
surprised when I told him that the bulk of the story was written long before a
group known as ISIS was created. And I believe that ISIS is a deadlier, even
more evil incarnation of Al Qaeda with its tendrils snaking through our
communities and recruiting vulnerable people. Just as the Druids do in my
books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Okay, that takes care of the bad guys but what
about your heroes?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excalibur</i> there are two protagonists in the story that’s set in the
1300’s and there are two main heroes in the Twenty-first Century story. Brother
Thomas, the monk who saves Excalibur, is a particular favourite of mine. He’s a
man who wants to do the right thing but is constantly insecure about his
abilities and unsure of his own strength to carry out what he’s called to do.
He falters and fails. He questions God and the direction he has to protect
Excalibur from the Druids. He leans heavily on and admires his companion
Brother Owain’s calm assurance and strength. The motivations of both are
complex and yet simple. Owain loves a girl and wants to leave the abbey and
return to a secular life. He’s what we would call today a “streetwise”
individual, smart in the ways of the forest and willing to loyally support his
friend Thomas even if he doesn’t have all the information he needs to make a
rational decision. But at the same time his motivation is simple. Even at the
end, his motivation is much more prosaic. He wants to be with his love. Thomas
is simple in that he just wants to be left alone, content with where he is,
wanting to experience life but actually unwilling to put forward the effort.
His goal is an unremarkable life serving God in his abbey. The complexity of
his motives become apparent as he wrestles with the desire to serve God and
tries to learn how to trust God at a time when every solid thing in his life is
stripped away. He struggles to understand God’s call upon him, to learn how to
pray and how to yield to him which, in turn, leads to great growth. He becomes
the man he wants to be: faithful, courageous and even strategic. I think that
anyone who seeks to be a practicing Christian struggles with exactly the same
things. How do you know what God wants? Can you truly trust God? Indeed, is
there really a God at all? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. That’s okay for the monks of the 1300’s, but
what about your modern day protagonists?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Stone Wallace goes through the same
kind of questioning except that he never even starts with the premise that
there is a God or that he even wants to believe in him. Rather, Stone has been
deeply wounded by life and loss and so seeks to wrap himself in his career as a
journalist. The workaholic mindset has left him alone with no family and few
friends. As he gets involved in the search for Excalibur he too undergoes a
metamorphosis. He wants to do the right thing but doesn’t know how. He looks to
the one person who, in some senses, has been a father figure. Huw Griffiths is
a man Stone admires. He’s mentor as well as friend. Most of all Stone admires
Huw’s solid faith despite the losses in life Huw has sustained. From the
sidelines Stone is slowly drawn in to the point where he has to let go all the
concepts and ideas he’s held about religion and faith and look at the impact
Huw’s beliefs have. Stone will struggle and slip and slide as he works his way
through these issues and is soon motivated by a simpler aspect of humanity, the
glimmering of love as he works with Huw’s daughter Mandy. For Huw it is much
simpler. He is motivated on one level by his professional curiosity as a
historian, archaeologist and theologian. He is driven to know, to dig deep
until the mystery is solved. At the same time, Huw has the more complex
motivation of guiding his younger colleague out of his self-imposed armour and
learn to allow himself to be hurt, to be vulnerable as he grows into a deeper
more rounded person. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Both Stone and Huw appear in “The Lucifer
Scroll” as well. Are they still struggling or are they content with the answers
they got in “The Excalibur Parchment”?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly Stone is still struggling. He finally
comes to terms with his father’s untimely death and visits the grave for the
first time since he was thirteen. His mind is still swirling, struggling with
what’s he’s learned in theory about God and about prayer but still unable to
fully trust and still unable to practice what he now seems to want. It is then
that bullets fly by his head and the whole nightmare starts again. Huw is just
as blustery and determined as ever, seeking to get to the bottom of every
mystery put before him. For all that he is a professor though, Huw finds it
much easier to “tell” both Stone and Mandy how to deal with life, love and
faith than he does to model it. So he too, especially I think in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lucifer</i>, is more vulnerable and
therefore more human. He doesn’t have all the answers but plugs on regardless.
And I happen to think that that is a huge strength of anyone, fictional or
otherwise. To me, success in life is the ability to plug on regardless, not
having all the answers and not always being successful, but doing it anyway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Q. Excalibur and Lucifer are part of a trilogy,
“The Oak Grove Conspiracies”. What’s next and how did you come up with that
title?</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The centerpiece of most Druid
ceremonies—their temple, if you will—was the Oak Grove. So that explains the
trilogy title I hope. What’s next is something tentatively called “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Madoc Treaty”</i> which explores the
story that a Welsh prince, Madoc, sailed to North America in 1170, landing in
what is now known as Mobile Bay. In fact the Alabama chapter of the Daughters
of the American Revolution raised a plaque to that effect and had it placed on
the outer banks of that bay. Add to that, one of the underlying tasks President
Thomas Jefferson gave the Lewis and Clarke expedition was to seek out the truth
of a Welsh-speaking Indian tribe. These facts alone were enough to put the
story into motion. But, as I said earlier, where the story goes is in fact up
to the characters to decide. It’s their story. And I will be interested to see
where it leads. Won’t you?</span></div>
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Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-80226146255262980612015-07-22T12:12:00.003-07:002018-04-26T12:58:41.470-07:00Who needs a holiday?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I like holidays. I like celebrations. Bring on Christmas,
Thanksgiving and yes, even my birthday. Any excuse for a party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So I came across a list of holidays for August. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I was a reporter we used to constantly make jokes about
the dog days of August where nothing newsworthy happened and the editors had us
covering the most ridiculous and yet mundane nonsense so the pages of the
newspaper could be filled. I remember one summer week tracking the exploits of
a duck on Grenadier Pond. The duck had picked up a pop can’s ring tab and his
beak was sealed. Would Ringo—yes, that’s what the papers named him—survive?
Would park authorities capture him and remove the tab? Would the crowds coming
to see Ringo be larger tomorrow? Film at 11! So I tramped down to the banks of
the pond along with other ink-stained wretches plus the pretty boys of
television and radio capturing every second of this human drama (except it was
a duck) and racing back to file stories that would be front page the next day.
A similar exploit happened earlier this summer when a peacock escaped the zoo
and there were breathless minute-by-minute reports on which homes and streets
the peacock was visiting. That was in June. And it all ended peacefully when
the peacock flew back voluntarily to his enclosure. Ringo the Duck was visible
amongst the thousands of other identical ducks until one morning he wasn’t
there. Did he die? Or did he escape the clutches of the evil ring tab? We’ll
never know because if he did escape the tab….well one duck looks pretty much
like the thousand others around him doesn’t he?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">All of this to say let’s have some dog day news fun with these
so-called holidays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For example, August 1 in National Mustard Day so bring on
the hot dogs. Nothing like starting a holiday month with a party, which ties in
nicely with the next two holidays because parties are nothing without special
people around. You see August 2 is both Friendship Day and International
Forgiveness Day. Isn’t that nice? Desert must wait, however, because National
Watermelon Day comes up August 3.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After all that hard partying we need August 6, Wiggle Your Toes
Day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My favourite holidays in August are August 9, Book Lovers
Day, which ties in nicely with the next day, August 10, which is both National
Lazy Day. and National S’mores Day! Sounds good to me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">On August 16 we can celebrate a special holiday: Knock,
Knock. Who’s there? National Tell a Joke Day which is followed by, groan, Bad
Poetry Day on August 18.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I must say that I like August 25. That’s National Kiss and
Make Up Day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am troubled, however, by August 5. According to the list,
that’s National Work Like A Dog Day. And here all along I thought that was
every work day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Silly me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193358545327680834.post-67069323827095951552015-06-22T10:34:00.000-07:002015-06-22T10:34:10.971-07:00To 'e' or not to 'e'; why is that the question?
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My novel <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Excalibur Parchment”</i></b>
was published in print last November. In late January it became available as an
Ebook on Kindle, Kobo, Nook and other digital platforms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been interesting to see
the reaction. Some have told me that they held back buying the book until it
was available digitally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Others swear that they will never go the ebook route.
Print books, they say, will never die on you from low batteries or from coffee
dropped on them. And you can store them on shelves ready to read any time you
want. Plus there’s something special about the ability to handle (fondle?) hard
copies of books, underline in them and treasure them. Lastly, you actually own
and can resell your book if you want whereas ebooks are really only technical
licenses to read. You don’t own that copy you bought on Kindle, you only lease
it for (usually) a five year period. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Conversely, the ebook argument
says that you can store your books just as easily and a whole lot more
conveniently. You don’t need miles and miles of shelving (which I confess, I
do) to store your books. You can carry a whole library of books on a plane to
take on vacation with you and it only takes a miniscule amount of your precious
luggage space. And there’s a privacy about what you are reading (you can read
that trashy romance novel in your lunchtime and nobody is the wiser).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are lots of arguments pro
and con. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And believers in both argue
strenuously that their way is the only way to do it; that their particular
choice of reading format is the one that is paramount and thus applies to
everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wonder why? If someone prefers
ebooks, why must I march in lockstep with that mentality? Must I now divest
myself of all my books for a digital future? And if I do, will that format be
superseded in five or ten years by a new as yet unknown technology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Conversely, if a keep to print
only, am I a Luddite dropping farther and farther back into irrelevance and out
of touch with the march of progress and technology?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The choice—to E or not to E—seems
to be there for my decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Certainly the digital format has
advantages. An ebook reader, as I noted previously, is a lot easier to tote
around than ten or twenty books. They are also (generally) cheaper than their
print counterpart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A friend once boasted to me that
digital books are actually an ecological salvation. Think of the hundred of
trees you are saving by not needing paper, he argued. Really? And what about
the rare (and sometimes toxic) materials and petroleum needed to manufacture
the ebook reader? And the energy needed to constantly recharge the batteries,
not to mention the toxicity and danger of the batteries themselves. I have read
unsubstantiated stories of people who fell asleep with their mobile devices
turned on only to discover that the heat from the device had melted and burned
the sheets and pillows overnight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I fall asleep reading my paperback, it is
still there in the morning alive and well and ready for reading.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But digital devices are
convenient, I give you that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The trouble is, I don’t
understand the ‘either one or the other’ arguments coming from both parties.
Why is it essential that I embrace the digital format entirely and forsake
print from this point forward? Or, why must I be in fact, a luddite huddled in my
library, surrounded by acres and acres of books eschewing technology and
deriding those who disagree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It seems to be a common element
in today’s society not matter what the area of disagreement. It is all or
nothing. You either agree with one side or the other; no middle ground. It
applies to politics, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have run into and debated with
young pastors who have embraced the digital world to the exclusion of all else.
In fact they sneer at anyone who still uses such mundane tools as pens, paper,
books and library research. It’s online or nothing for them. I have also run
into older curmudgeons who refuse to go online, sneer at the internet and brag
that they never bother with email. I shake my head in frustration at both
attitudes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I confess that I am a
died-in-the-wool centrist. I see, understand and accept all arguments on both
sides of the ebook disagreement. I have a digital device. I read books on that
device and appreciate all its fine points. I have thousands of print books
(literally) in my library and I love them. I research for my books online and I
also turn to libraries, bookstores and Amazon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was really chuffed, to use that
hardy British expression, when my book<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>first
arrived at my house in print format. I picked it up, flipped through its pages,
felt its heft, smoothed my fingers over the cover and generally loved it. (I
may even have hugged it). </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But at the same time, I ensured
that it also became available in as many digital formats as possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s face it, my protagonist from
the 14<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Century may have preferred print. But my 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
Century characters used the power of modern technology for both good and evil. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I am happy in both worlds,
digital and paper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just don’t understand why the
question to 'e' or not to e' even exists. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In response, I’m going to post this blog online
and promote it via Facebook and Twitter et al. I will also print out a hard
copy for my files.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Barrie Doylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03082693131214568458noreply@blogger.com1