Author Fairs are Back

 

I was scheduled to participate in the Hammond Public Library’s Local Author Fair on April 18, 2020. And then I wasn’t. COVID intervened, and our two local library fairs went on hiatus.

Until now. Saturday was the return of the Local Author Fair, and I was one of approximately twenty authors who participated. I sold six books, making my table fee back plus a little more. But my experience with book fairs has been mixed. Sometime I recoup my table fee and sometimes I don’t. It also takes a block of my time as I wait for people to approach my table, and I would rather be researching or writing. So after each fair I wonder whether it’s worth doing again.

In one sense, you could say it doesn’t matter if I make my table fee back since it supports a local public library. Furthermore, there are other benefits of participating, particularly publicity and interaction with potential readers even if they don’t buy a book right then. Still, writing is a business for me, and it’s nice to see a tangible return.

I’m scheduled to do another fair on May 21 at the main Lake County Public Library. That one is called the Creative Arts Summit, so it will presumably include artists working in visual and sound media. The table fee is also less, so it should be easier to recoup it.

But I’ll reevaluate before doing any more.

Easter Joy

 

Once of my favorite Easter hymns is “The Strife is O’er,” and I’ve left instructions to sing it at my funeral. The words are reproduced below. Some versions include three alleluias sung at the beginning and at the end of the hymn.

The strife is o’er, the battle done,
The victory of life is won;
The song of triumph has begun:
Alleluia!
 
The pow’rs of death, have done their worst,
But Christ their legions hath dispersed;
Let shouts of holy joy outburst:
Alleluia!
 
The three sad days have quickly sped,
He rises glorious from the dead;
All glory to our risen head:
Alleluia!
 
He closed the yawning gates of hell,
The bars from heav’ns high portals fell;
Let hymns of praise His triumphs tell:
Alleluia!
 
Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee,
From death’s dread sting Thy servants free,
That we may live and sing to Thee:
Alleluia!

God give you Easter joy.

__________

 The painting at the top of this post is “The Resurrection” by Carl Heinrich Bloch. He painted it in 1881 and it is in the public domain because of its age.

Good Friday Sorrow

 

This is a busy week, so my next two blog posts will use two of my favorite hymns. This week I will concentrate on Good Friday, and next week I’ll do Easter.

“O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken” reminds me that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, not His. It’s an act of love that I find hard to fathom, yet one for which I’ll be eternally grateful. Here are four of the many verses.

O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession,
What dark transgression?
 
Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yes, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.
 
What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.
 
The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted;
God is committed.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

__________

 The picture at the top of this post is a 16^th century painting attributed to Frans Pourbus the Elder. It is in the public domain because of its age.

A Fiery Business

When 12-year-old Julia is sent to stay with her cousin Fannie in Chicago, neither girl likes the arrangement. Then the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 sweeps through the city and separates them. Can they survive on their own?

I am pleased to announce that I just released my third middle-grade historical novel, Inferno, which is available in paperback or on Kindle. If you or your friends have daughters or granddaughters in 3^rd through 6^th grade, please consider recommending it or buying it for them.

Anyone local to Northwest Indiana can purchase Inferno or any of my other books in person at the following events: 

• Saturday, April 23, 2022, from 12–3 p.m. at the Local Author Fair, Hammond Public Library, 564 State Street, Hammond, Indiana; and
• Saturday, May, 21, 2022, from 12 – 4 p.m. at the Creative Arts Summit, Lake County Public Library, 1919 W. 81^st Ave., Merrillville, Indiana.

If you are local, I’d love to see you at one of them.

For readers who can’t make either book signing, Inferno is available on Amazon at this link Inferno on Amazon. It will soon appear on the Barnes & Noble website, as well.