Bookmark Cafe's Weblog

Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown

Bookmark Cafe — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:39:14 +0000

Since I’m deep into Hawthorne’s writings for a course I’m teaching, I thought I might post some thoughts on one of my favorite author. I guess the first questions is: why is he my favorite? I love the allegory. So much of the Bible is allegory and I love when authors put Biblical principles into their writings. If you look at my story A Light in the Darkness at Infuze you will see one of my attempts at allegory. The textbook definition of allegory is: a narrative in which the objects, persons, and actions represent meanings that are outside the story itself. I guess I feel that a story has more take-away when there are deeper meanings. And through allegory, you can see those connections to your own life. Jesus taught through allegory with His parables. When he told the story of the prodigal son, he was talking about so many different things. I believe that is where Hawthorne’s true genious lies. He is the master of the allegorical tale and he can even pull it off in a novel – The Scarlet Letter. Not everything that is written can be allegorical, but I believe it is a benchmark that all writers should strive for in some of their writings. His writings have value for all generations and I pray that he will continue to be taught in classrooms across the nation.

Sushi for One?

Bookmark Cafe — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:43:03 +0000

Lex Sakai’s family, big, nosy, and marriage-minded, is ruled by a crafty grandmother. When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the OLDEST SINGLE COUSIN in the clan, a loathed position by all single female family members.
Lex has not dated for years. Grandma homes in on this fact and demands, bribes, and threatens Lex to bring a boyfriend (not just a date) to her cousin’s wedding.
Lex does not want to date … not since that terrible incident a few years back … but, Grandma doesn’t give her that choice.
Lex’s options are slim because she has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the PERFECT man (and the more she dates, the more she adds to the list).
The one man she keeps running into (and is completely attracted to) doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex loses control and lets God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.

I haven’t read the book, but it sounds very interesting for those who enjoy chick-lit. Tell me what you think.

Camy Tang, CFBA member and first-time novelist

Bookmark Cafe — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:36:59 +0000

Welcome, everyone, to the cafe. Grab a cup of your favorite non-alcoholic drink and have a seat. Tonight the conversation is about Camy Tang, who apparently is a loud Asian chick who writes loud Asian chick-lit. She grew up in Hawaii, but now lives in San Jose, California, with her engineer husband and rambunctious poi-dog. Previously she was a biologist researcher, but these days she is surgically attached to her computer, writing full-time. In her spare time, she is a staff worker for her church youth group, and she leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service.

Sushi for One? (Sushi Series, Book One is her first novel. Her second, Only Uni (Sushi Series, Book Two) comes out in February 2008!
To celebrate the launch of her debut novel, she’s got a huge contest going on. Camy is giving away baskets of Christian novels and an iPod Nano! Only her newsletter YahooGroup subscribers are eligible to enter, so join today.
For more information about the contest, visit her website.
Contest ends October 31, 2007!

The Dead Whisper On by TL Hines

Bookmark Cafe — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:00:52 +0000

The book that gets the honor of being the first discussion is The Dead Whisper On by TL Hines. I was honored to be one of the first to read Hines’ first book Waking Lazarus. It’s great to see his second novel on the shelves and doing so well. In The Dead Whisper On, Candace MacHugh hears her dead father’s voice whispering to her from the shadows. She joins a giant organization that shares the secrets of the dead with our world. But soon she’s sucked into a shadowy conspiracy tying together murders, tragedies, living shadows…and spontaneous human combustion. Is her father really dead? Is she really communicating with departed spirits? And why? If she can’t find the answers in time, thousands of people may go up in flames–with her life the first at stake.

Hello world!

Bookmark Cafe — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:43:33 +0000

Good day, everyone. It’s a new world. This baby has been born and is now ready to join in many conversations around the web. I have a writing blog, but it was being taken over with posts about so many great novels, so I have now broken up the writing and reading. This is where the reading posts will be taking place, but I invite you to visit my writing blog as well. I’ll post a link soon because it’s undergoing some renovations. Come on in and introduce yourself.