CHRIST IN WINTER:
Reflections on Faith for the Years of Winter
Our daughter, Kathleen
“Katie” Kennedy, was choosing an author photo for the jacket of her excellent YA
book, Learning to Swear in America, published
by Bloomsbury. She asked us to help her choose which photo among the many
proofs should go on the book. Her mother chose # 32, because “It looks most
like you.” Katie protested, “That’s not what we’re going for.”
What we’re going for, of
course, any of us, is something that makes us look better than we are. I would
guess that 50% of lies are spoken for that reason. The other 50% is to get or
stay out of trouble.
The best way to stay out
of trouble, of course, is not by lying, but by refraining from doing bad stuff.
The best way to look good is not a better photo but by being helpful to others
and doing good stuff.
I recently had to provide
a jacket photo for my novel, VETS, about
four homeless and handicapped veterans who are accused of murdering a VA
doctor. I suggested they use a photo of Robert Redford. Much to my surprise and
chagrin, they took it seriously, and explained all the legal ramifications, but
suggested they could have an artist do a rendering that would look like Redford
but not so much that we could be sued. I don’t know why that would be a
problem. Redford always uses my photo.
I figure that letting Bob
use my photo is part of my attempt to be helpful to others and do good stuff,
and part of my refusal to do bad stuff, like lying.
JRMcF
I tweet as yooper1721.
Russian boy genius Yuri
Strelnikov is a 17 year old with a PhD in Physics. The Americans recruit him
when they discover an asteroid is blazing toward earth on a collision course
with Los Angeles, where NASA has assembled the best and brightest to figure a
way out of this deadly impact. Yuri has only a few days to work the math, find
a solution, and then convince those much older to accept his anti-matter plan.
He meets the quirky teen girl, Dovie, and her equally quirky family, and finds
there are more reasons to save the earth than just winning a Nobel Prize.
So goes Katie Kennedy’s
marvelous Learning to Swear in America, published
by Bloomsbury, which also publishes lesser authors, like JK Rowling. It has
received a rare star review from Publisher’s
Weekly and another star review from BCCB [Bulletin of the Center for
Children’s Books]. It’s on B&N’s, Bustle’s, and PopCrush’s “Most
Anticipated” list, and Goodreads “Best New for the Month” list. An IndieNext
pick. Available in print, audio, German, and e-book, from your friendly
independent book store, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.
VETS {all CAPS}
is also available from Amazon, B&N, etc. My royalties go to help prevent
soldier suicide.
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