Author Katherine Cobb from south central Virginia splits her time between being an author and her boutique marketing communications agency. She wrote short stories, beginning in junior high. She started writing professionally in 2002 when she landed an editorial column which she wrote for 15 years, earning her a Best Lifestyle Columnist award from the […]
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Across the Fence: Gemütlichkeit
Who doesn’t know the Germanism Gemütlichkeit in the English language?! Gemüt (approximately pronounced ga-‘moot) has a bunch of meanings: mind, soul, disposition, feeling. You might recognize that the English term mood is related. Gemütlichkeit (approximately pronounced ga-‘mootlih-kite) means coziness, snugness, homeliness. The concept of Gemütlichkeit seems to have developed during the German era of Biedermeier […]
In the Book Nook with … Terry Persun
Author Terry Persun from Port Townsend, Washington, owns a marketing services agency. He has been writing since he was in grade school. His first published poems came out in the early 1970s, his first novel in the early 1990s. Terry has received multiple awards, including two Book Excellence Awards, a Silver IPPY Award, a Star […]
Across the Fence: Sprachgefühl
We all know the power of gifts as well as of weapons. But let’s ponder that of words. Because there are so many nuances to what has to be ascribed to something Germans call Sprachgefühl (approximately pronounced ‘spruh-ga-fool), the feeling for language. This term has actually made it into the English language because it describes […]
In the Book Nook with … Tennison S. Black
Author Tennison S. Black from northwest Washington State works as a writer and the managing editor at Sundress Publications and at Best of the Net. They have been writing poems and stories as a kid as well as “lexicons,” long lists of words, grouped by theme. In 1995, they wrote a novel but the agent […]
In the Book Nook with E.C. Murray
Author E.C. Murray from Fox Island, Washington, works primarily as a writer but additionally is a creative writing instructor at Seattle Central College. She started keeping a journal at fourteen and wrote her first play at eight. She began taking her writing seriously in 2007 after her first writing class. E.C.’s first book was a […]
Across the Fence: Stolperstein
They are square (ten by ten centimeters) and made from a brass plate fused with a concrete block underneath. They have been all over Europe since 1997. Usually, they are engraved with the name and birthdate of a person. And with a date that tells passers-by about their fate. They are not random persons; their […]
In the Book Nook with …Monica Devine
Author Monica Devine is from Eagle River, Alaska. The retired speech/language pathologist traveled to many Indian and Eskimo villages in Alaska, evaluating and creating educational plans for kids with speech and language disorders. She always carried a notebook and pencil in her pocket, and recorded observations and experiences while she traveled. Journaling has always been […]
Author Susanne Bacon Sends Military Spouse Sleuth to France
Have you met Emma Wilde, née Schwarz already? Emma is a German journalist who works for a small daily paper in a fictional suburb of the Southern German city of Stuttgart. Though she is supposed to work on cultural and social topics only, she happens to stumble across incidents that involve criminal activity. Emma’s curiosity […]