January 2009

 

Take a look at this photo which Elizabeth Miller, a Magruder alum of my wife Judy. It is a stairwell at the Houmas House, a New Orleans mansion.

Yesterday, I confirmed with Anderson News Distributors four book signings for my novel The Ascendancy that I will be doing in South Carolina and North Carolina between March 5 – 8 at AAFES bases. 

March  5, 2009 at Fort Jackson, SC  

 

March 6, 2009 at Seymour Johnson AFB:

March 7 & 8, 2009 at Fort Bragg, NC:

 

This weekend someone who had read my articles on the Mayans, their astronomy, calendars and culture sent me this digital photograph, which he had taken during a tour of a Mayan Ruin.  I have not touched up the photo, neither has he. There are ways of checking, which I did. This photograph has not been Photoshopped or enhanced in any way. In fact, it is still in his digital camera. It was taken at the House of Cenote at Tulum in the Province of Quintana Roo on December 31, 2008. It is not lens flare, nor is it a superimposition with the frame before or after it. See for yourself. It’s pretty remarkable. He gave me permission to use it.

Last night, I started reading A HISTORY OF GOD: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong.  What an incredibly good book. Ms. Armstrong’s narrative is not just easy to follow, but a pleasure to read. It flows so smoothly. Not just her language, but the way she develops and relates complex ideas so simply because she has such an integrated grasp of the material. No wonder it was a New York Times Bestseller. Karen Armstrong, a British broadcaster, commentator on religious affairs and former Roman Catholic nun, argues that Judaism, Christianity and Islam each developed the idea of a personal God, which has helped believers to mature as full human beings. Yet Armstrong also acknowledges that the idea of a personal God can be dangerous, encouraging us to judge, condemn and marginalize others. Recognizing this, each of the three monotheisms, in their different ways, developed a mystical tradition grounded in a realization that our human idea of God is merely a symbol of an ineffable reality. To Armstrong, modern, aggressively righteous fundamentalists of all three faiths represent “a retreat from God.”

Recently, I signed on to the Center for Biological Diversity to receive their newsletter and read their articles. If you care anything about endangered species, exotic marine or land animals, or our global environment, then you need to check out this website to become aware of what is going on in our world. Just click on the above link.

Today, I met with the Boys Varsity Tennis Team and told them that I was no longer coaching the team because of an incredible new writing opportunity offered to me that is directly related to my novel THE ASCENDANCY. To the tennis team, I will miss you, especially this Spring season. To the Girls Tennis Team, I will miss you. I have been most fortunate to have been your coach and teach at the school these past few years. I will miss the students, the faculty and the staff. It is a remarkable school community. Thank you.

Here are some photos from my book signings in Texas at Fort Hood in Killeen at Fort Sam Houston and Randolph AFB in San Antonio.

 Every book sold at all three locations, 300 books in all… 100 copies of The Ascendancy at each AAFES base. I will be signing books at AAFES bases in Georgia, North & South Carolina at the end of February, and in Maryland and Virginia at the end of March.

“What I loved most about doing the book signings was talking with the soldiers and their families. I found them to be incredibly committed and in many ways selfless. It was a moving experience for me.”