The Third Floor Window by Colleen Spiro

The Third Floor Window is the story of Colleen’s journey of healing from child sexual abuse. After years of trying to forget her past, Colleen thought she had dealt with her past once and for all. Then the clergy sexual abuse crisis in her beloved Catholic Church hit the newsstands. Colleen was devastated by the memories and buried emotions bubbling up to the surface.

Feeling driven to help other survivors, Colleen decided to share her own story. So she set out to teach the world about the long term effects of child sexual abuse. What she found along the way was healing and hope.

Now the third floor window is more than a symbol of pain and fear. It is a symbol of Colleen’s journey from darkness to light.

A Message from the Author About the Book:



I was inspired to write this book during the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. I was so tired of hearing the same old question - why did it take so long for the victims to tell? I knew I needed to write about the long term effects of sexual abuse. I felt the need to educate, to inform and to encourage other survivors. The hardest part was digging deep for those painful memories from my childhood, but I love the hope and encouragement that my book gives to other survivors.

I am working on putting together some of my published articles into another book. The articles are about how I have seen God in my everyday life.

Souls at Rest by Charlotte Ostermann

Souls at Rest is a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of Sabbath for contemporary Catholic readers. The restful, poetic tone of Souls at Rest provides a counterpoint to the speed and noise of today’s world – a cure for its primary woes. The ancient, worldwide understanding of cyclical rest is blended with the formal Jewish Sabbath law, then made intensely new and relevant in the light of the Eucharist. Readers are invited to cultivate interior freedom by designing a contemplative, personal, non-legalistic Sabbath practice. Avoiding a bullet-point, sound-bite style in favor of a layered, conversational approach, Ostermann draws forth a genuine, meditative response from her reading audience. Book discussion groups are sure to appreciate the truly thoughtful questions in the Study Guide. If you think Sabbath is a dry, old, narrow – even over-done – subject, think again. In Souls at Rest we find a Sabbath refreshed by sacramental understanding, shining new light into surprising corners – evangelism, education, poetry, and community, for instance. Even the experienced Sabbath-keeper will find some new insights in Souls at Rest.

Direct order link:
http://www.lulu.com/holyleisure



What inspired you to write the book?

Years before I wrote, I encountered Josef Pieper's "Leisure, the Basis of Culture", and began to yearn for the capacity for leisure he describes. Easier said than done, however! Not until 2005, when my family was blessed by an extended sabbatical in Europe, did I experience the deep restedness and wholehearted comprehension of the source of this capacity - the Eucharistic Sabbath. Yes, we were Catholic, and yes, I was prayerful - even involved in a comtemplative Carmelite studies group - yet God apparently needed for me to have nine months of 'be still and quiet and wait on the Lord' before I could fully grasp His message for me! My book is an attempt to give Sabbath back to the Catholic soul, and interest others in the kind of cultural change this makes possible.

What was hardest about writing it?

The process of completely rethinking all my notes and proto-books and homeschool workshop notes and how-to-change-the-world thoughts with Sabbath as the central, unifying core of it all was wonderfully difficult. I say 'wonderfully', because the Holy Spirit seemed to help and guide at every step, inviting me to let my whole being be 'reorganized' by this one theme. We have five kids still at home, and hit the ground running when we returned from Europe, so finding time seems impossible, but God made a 'way where there is no way' (as He says in Isaiah) for this book to happen.

What do you love most about it?

I love the fact that I've seen my own priest respond to it so enthusiastically. He tells people he's a 'convert' to real Sabbath rest, and I've heard it in his preaching and seen it in his much more relaxed demeanor. Also, I love the fact that I still am reading and responding to it - needing its message as much as anyone else, and real-izing it daily more and more.

What do you hope readers will get from it?

Karina, I long for people to get even a hint of what is possible in their interior life - the life of the soul, mind, creativity - if they will enter into the the Sabbath rest of God. The Eucharist is ALL, and Central - the sine qua non - but, as I point out in SAR, it is like a jewel that needs, or is beautified and realized more fully, in the setting of Sabbath.

What's next for you?

I have a 'plethora of projects'! Next on this front is the rest of the Sabbath story. In "Souls at Work" I want to write about the development of interior freedom and the capacity to bear tension - the struggle to work out our salvation that is another facet of the soul at leisure. In "Souls at Play" - the last in this series, I want to discuss the cultivation of desire and imagination, the risks of creativity, and the need for a foundation in truly human leisure to support the promulgation of beauty in arts, relationships, cultural change, and evangelization. There is a taste of each of these next books in SAR. I have two children's books written - beautiful stories that need a publisher/midwife! I'd like to self-publish a collection of my poetry (most already published individually) with essays reflecting and expanding upon them as we do within my "Living Poem Society". I am writing "Sabbath Simplified" for those without the wherewithal to
read/study/question on the level of SAR. I have a fun book going out as a free serial just for the delight of sharing it: Elizabeth of the Epiphany - about a year in the life of Epiphany...a liberative arts university.

Finding Faith by Chet Galaska

Chet Galaska was an atheist who became a Christian in his early fifties. It took several years of learning about the faith for him to shed his skepticism and become a believer.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World covers subjects that once stood between him and faith. As he searched, he found that his skepticism was based on shallow perceptions he’d accepted at face value. One by one, troublesome issues were explained and they became reasons for belief instead of doubt.

It was as though he had a scale, with reasons for skepticism on one side and reasons for belief on the other. When he started, there was far more weight on the “skeptical” side, but it gradually shifted and became counterweight on the “belief” side. Eventually, the evidence for faith far outweighed the arguments for disbelief, and the case for faith became overwhelming.

Some chapters deal with matters of faith such as prayer, redemption, salvation and sin. Others address issues like Christian hypocrisy, why bad things happen, miracles, Satan and the Christian view of war. Some are about the seemingly contradictory relationship between science and religion that are discussed in chapters on scientific perception, creation and evolution. Other subjects like the sometimes violent and cruel history of Christianity, “Born Agains” and the Christian view of the Jewish people don’t fit neatly into any category. The common denominator is that each addresses an issue that can be misunderstood and create a distorted, negative view of the faith.

The book was written with the intent of providing brief shortcuts for curious unbelievers, those seeking faith, those new to it, and for Christians who may not be familiar with some of the ideas covered. The author realized that a book like this would have been valuable in helping him come to faith. Since none was available, he wrote Finding Faith in a Skeptical World to share the things he learned in a reader-friendly, direct and concise way

Read an Excerpt:

Spirituality—especially Christian spirituality—is disdained by those who don’t understand it and refuse to even try. This bias can cause skeptics to dismiss the idea that God is the creator out of hand. But there are many scientists with open minds who see the Mind of God in the workings of creation and who have come to faith because of it. In fact, a survey of biologists, physicists and mathematicians found that about 40% “believed in a God who actively communicates with humankind and to whom one may pray.”22 Unfortunately, they don’t get attention like the cynics and we’re given the false perception that the scientific community is universally skeptical about the existence of God.

In the end, whether science proves God’s existence depends on who is viewing the evidence. Even those who rely solely on empirical evidence but who have open minds, like Albert Einstein, see God. Those who close off God up front don’t see him because they refuse to. In TV programs, textbooks, museums, the media in general, and other politically correct venues,23 the central player in all of existence is missing. And by this absence we’re given the subtle, false message that science has determined God isn’t necessary and doesn’t exist.

About the Author:



C. William “Chet” Galaska was born in 1951. He began his college education at Drew University in Madison, NJ and graduated from the University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He co-founded a company that grew into a multi-million dollar enterprise and was its President for 24 years. He also served as Chairman of the New England Chapter of the American Foundry Society. In 2003 he sold his interest in the company and now invests in real estate.

Chet is a former unbeliever who became a Christian after years of investigating the faith with an open mind. His first book, Finding Faith in a Skeptical World, is a down-to-earth explanation of what he learned. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Massachusetts. They have two grown sons, Jon and Drew.

Your Guide to Spe Salvi- Saved in Hope by Barry Michaels

Spe Salvi means "saved in hope. This month, Barry is hosting a festival of hope on his blog. Learn how other writers use the theme of hope in their books and their lives at http://barrymichaels.wordpress.com/.

If you are considering a journey through Pope Benedict XVI’s second encyclical, Spe Salvi, you will find no better companion than Barry Michaels. Spe Salvi is a challenging but nonetheless truly rewarding endeavor for any reader. Michaels’ convenient guide breaks down each of the encyclical’s complex topics, providing essential background information and clear explanations. An essential reading companion that makes the profound thought of Benedict XVI simple and accessible for readers everywhere.

What Are People Saying about this Title?
"Is it possible to make the writings of Pope Benedict XVI simple? If not, at least Barry Michaels has succeeded in making Spe Salvi simpler, more user-friendly. Particularly helpful are the guide’s reflection questions, prayer prompts, and suggestions for “putting it into practice” found at the end of each chapter. I highly recommend Your Guide to Spe Salvi to the interested individual reader but especially for use in an Adult Faith Formation small group setting. I hope (which is different from wishing, as the reader will learn) that you enjoy this companion to our Holy Father’s second encyclical letter."
— Rev. Joseph M. Hennessey
Parochial vicar at St. Julia Parish, Weston/Lincoln MA.

“There are two men, two Apostles of Hope, whom Pope Benedict XVI loved, and who enriched his meditations on hope. They are John Paul II and the late Cardinal Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan. Indeed, in Spe Salvi Pope Benedict XVI wrote that Cardinal Van Thuan became ‘for people all over the world a witness to hope—to that great hope which does not wane even in the nights of solitude.’ “Barry Michaels’ step-by-step guide through the complex teachings of Spe Salvi is most useful, especially for those of us who attempt to speed-read the encyclical. We would miss everything if we did not meditate on every line of Pope Benedict XVI’s illuminating exhortation to embrace hope.”
— Andre Nguyen Van Chau
Author of The Miracle of Hope: The Life of Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

About the author
Barry Michaels lives with his wife and children in central New York state, where he works as a high school teacher. His previous books include Eucharist: The Church’s Treasure, At the School of Mary, and Saints for Our Times.

Order from the Catholic Company.
OR Amazon: Your Guide to Spe Salvi: Saved in Hope

AND Get Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict

Christian Fiction and NOT Writing Just What You Know

I've had some interesting comments on Rob's and my latest anthology, Leaps of Faith. This is a collection of 14 stories of Christian science fiction. While I didn't fully itemize each faith represented, there are Anglican, Catholic and Christian stories and one Old Testament Biblical.

However, I've gotten a couple of comments to the effect that Leaps is a Catholic exclusive book. "written by Catholic writers" "a Catholic anthology" "I'm not Catholic but I enjoyed it." And the one that, frankly, insults the non-Catholic Christian contributors, the Christian publisher and my husband and me: "My only problem with this anthology is that uncomfortable feeling that the Catholics are the only people of God."

I'm not going to argue that here--you can check out the reviews on Amazon to see what people think about the mix of Christian and Catholic themes. What I want to talk about today is the ironic fact that many of the "Catholic" stories in Leaps--and some in Infinite Space, Infinite God, for that matter--were written by non-Catholics. In fact, we never asked anyone their denomination when we read the stories, and sometimes have been surprised ourselves to find out who practices what faith.

I'm always ticked at how that amazes and even scandalizes some people, even fellow writers. We think nothing of a housewife writing a detective novel or a computer technician writing a chick lit. Guys write romance with female protagonists while women write military sci-fi with predominantly male characters. Yet a person writes honestly about a particular faith, and people immediately assume the author practices that faith. Why is that?

I'm sure some people believe that to do anything different is to blaspheme in some way. I don't agree. To me, writing the faith that is right for the story is staying true to the creative talent God gave me. As long as I'm not glorifying a heresy or encouraging a sin, I feel safe in exploring other ideas, whether it's an atheist being pursued by a vampire or nuns living in outer space.

So what about writing what you know? I think writers that limit themselves to that do not go very far. There's such a wealth of adventure out there, some of which we will never know about first-hand. But we learn. I don't know asteroid mining--but I'm learning about it as I write Discovery. I didn't know Norse mythology until I started writing Live and Let Fly--and as I learned more, I had to change the story. That's what I love about writing. That's why I do it, even when I don't make the big bucks or get yet another rejection letter.

One person e-mailed me that he believed I preferred Catholic stories because that's what I'm more "comfortable" with. That's not true, not for me, not for a lot of writers I know. I'll stick with me, however. First off, I don't read a lot of Catholic fiction. (Yes, my fellow Guildies, I have not yet read Chesterson or Flannery O'Connor. They're on my list.) I read about wizards and aliens and serial killers and all kinds of non-comfortable things. I've written a story about a psychic teen who was mentally tortured. I've tortured one of my favorite characters while her best friend was forced to watch, and I have a scene for an upcoming book where the main character has to fight off a rapist. Think these were comfortable? Not at all, but they were disturbingly interesting to write and necessary to the story.

If I were to write what I "know" and what is "comfortable," I'd be putting out stories about how my kid didn't want to wear his jacket in the blizzard. That's about as much angst as I get in my life and believe me, I like it that way!

So it is with writing faith--not all my stories are Catholic. In one trilogy, the alien planet is Deist, and the other has its own odd mix of faith. They each had their own salvation stories, too. My Faerie world has what is called a Catholic Church, but "catholic" means "universal" and while it's similar to the Roman Catholic, there are enough differences that it is a unique religious organization. I could have (and maybe should have) called it the Faerie Church; I'm betting I take some heat from both Catholics and non-Catholics for it as time goes on. But if I do, I know it's because I've written a convincing world.

I'm starting to ramble here, but my point is that writers with real talent do not need to be limited by their current knowledge or beliefs. Imagination can take us to many exciting--and sometimes uncomfortable--worlds, and writing talent can help us share those worlds convincingly with others.

That's what the writers of Leaps of Faith and Infinite Space, Infinite God did. That's why I'm proud to have edited these anthologies.

Igniting the Moral Courage of America by Dean Kilmer

The moral landscape of America is eroding. The values of "The Greatest Generation" have been replaced by greed, selfishness, and a widespread disdain for the traditional moral values on which this great nation was founded.

Dean Kilmer, author of Igniting the Moral Courage of America, challenges individual Americans to take action to reverse the tidal wave of negative values that is destroying the greatness of America. It must begin with a personal commitment to integrity. "Integrity, however, cannot become the norm in our nation’s people until good people become courageous people."

When individual Americans commit to becoming courageous people of integrity, they will intentionally spread that commitment to their families, schools, communities, and ultimately to our nation as a whole.

It is not too late to reverse the tidal wave of negative values that has been robbing America of its moral strength for half a century. It is not too late to restore this great country's commitment to traditional moral values. That restoration will happen when America, one person at a time, steps forward with renewed moral courage to make it happen.

Will you accept the challenge?

Get it at Amazon.

Faith-Filled Fiction: An Educational Resource

If you're a fiction writer wanting to add a religious element to your characters and worlds, but aren't interested in preaching or promoting stereotypes, this FREE e-zine is for you. Each issue has tips on writing, an educational article about a world religion written by someone of that religion, and an testimonial about how faith influences one's writing. Totally non-denominational, the purpose is to learn to understand different religions before we write about them.

Quarterly magazine. Next issue comes out in October.

Don't fall back on stereotypes that may insult the reader or take them out of your story. Check out Faith-Filled Fiction. http://faithfilledfiction.karinafabian.com

A Genie in the House of Saud: Zubis Rises by Kellyann Zuzulo

Zubis, a powerful djinni awaits a final wish to be free and unleash his vengenace on humans. Bethany O'Brien, bound to Zubis by an ancient betrayal, is the one person who can stop him. But she must first confront her past. When a power struggle for the third wish erupts in the House of Saud and spills across Iran and into Great Britain and America, Bethany is forced to flee Washington, DC. Zubis lures her across Europe and into the heart of the Middle East, where she must discover the secret of the Sumerian Rite of Djinn Destruction and the ultimate power of her own belief before she confronts the Genie in the House of Saud.

The novel is available for Kindle download from Amazon.com, as an e-book from Mystical Publishing at www.zubisrises.com and on CD from eBay