Parlez Moi Blog

Excellent post. It's good to let people know h...

2012-05-26T10:01:20.926-05:00

Excellent post. It's good to let people know how easy it is to make quesadillas.

Now I'm really hungry after reading this!

Thank-you Kathleen, this is beautiful :)

2012-05-26T08:20:33.813-05:00

Thank-you Kathleen, this is beautiful :)

Birdie, everything you write tugs at the heart, in...

2012-05-25T18:36:04.378-05:00

Birdie, everything you write tugs at the heart, inspires all the senses. One of these days we will see you being interviewed on the Charlie Rose show or some other equally important stage and you will be asked when you realized you were a writer. I think the answer would be when you slid from your mothers womb to make the world stand up and take notice. You are amazing and brave and you give, give, give and I thank you!

What an excellent dream to have to inspire a story...

2012-05-24T21:55:56.333-05:00

What an excellent dream to have to inspire a story! I don't usually have dreams in that particular stage of sleep and when I do they are more sensations than anything that provides story material.

Lee
A Faraway View

I'm sure this makes you feel rather nice. Le...

2012-05-24T21:39:12.166-05:00

I'm sure this makes you feel rather nice.

Lee
A Faraway View

Thanks for the invite, Kathleen, and for the beaut...

2012-05-20T19:10:46.521-05:00

Thanks for the invite, Kathleen, and for the beautiful post. Best wishes for this new feature. It's a great idea!

Being of Polish descent, I LOVE dumplings! Pierogi...

2012-05-15T11:08:37.336-05:00

Being of Polish descent, I LOVE dumplings! Pierogi, of course. My gramma taught me how to make them, taught me to roll the dough until it was the thickness of a piece of school paper. She made squash filling, sweet cheese filling, mushroom and leek filling. So delicious.

Thanks for the memories. :)

Dear Kathleen, thank you again for featuring me, I...

2012-05-15T10:00:30.835-05:00

Dear Kathleen, thank you again for featuring me, I'm so glad to make new friends here. :)

Devorah - thank you! What a darling person you are to say such kind things! Please let me know what you think of my books.

Kiana, what a gorgeous story - I bet that those nights with your friend in NYC will always be a big part of your writing life. I can't imagine becoming a writer without having read To Kill a Mockingbird - it has sustained me through so many life lessons. I did find my chid - and she is an adult and looks exactly like me! I have so many more stories yet to tell. Big hugs to you!

What a mind-blowing review of a book! Visceral ...

2012-05-13T15:46:48.588-05:00

What a mind-blowing review of a book! Visceral and rather brilliant. It's a sterling example of how books affect and even direct our lives.

When I was in high-school a teacher told me if I wanted to be a serious writer there was a book I MUST MUST read. It was not WAR AND PEACE, and not MOBY DICK. It was TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, which I now read once a year and make required reading for students.

When I was a struggling writer in New York City for a while I lived with a friend in his car. We didn't always have food, but we had TO KILL A MOCKING-BIRD, and every night we read each other to sleep.

Thanks, Birdie, for reminding us how beautiful a book it is. I'm glad it got your through the dark times. I hope your mother survived and that you found your child.

Alohas, Kiana Davenport

Birdie, your writing is heartstoppingly amazing. I...

2012-05-13T02:29:52.826-05:00

Birdie, your writing is heartstoppingly amazing. I just bought both your books.

What a truly amazing building, and a great setting...

2012-05-11T17:10:35.886-05:00

What a truly amazing building, and a great setting!

Thank you Kathleen for your correction. My mother ...

2012-05-11T11:28:57.048-05:00

Thank you Kathleen for your correction. My mother Ida Maria Putaansuu was in both . Her second husband would commit her for the money. In every time she would be transfered to the Tuberculouses Asylum. Her husband was also a Tuberculouses Carrier. In letter that I demanded from the Gloucester Board of Health I found many written pleads for help . In her last letter she pleaded for a Large House Coat & Slippers. On the bottom of this letter was a written comment. IDA"S WORLD AND ALL THAT SURRONDS IT. She died shortly after 37 years old , 65 pounds , the death certifacate list only Tuberculouses, but I was told Cancer.
My mother second husband would commit her then come back and break her out.
I also found letters pleading to those she wrote too. That she was being beaten everytime she attempted to go beyond her doorway.
The way I found out about this . In 1976 my wife and I were hit & run in Rockport. My wife was thrown through the windshield and she was in a coma for three days. It was about one month later we were in The Causway Lunch. A lady kept staring at my wife. We left and when we got home at 461 Western Ave a Police Cruiser was outsde our home. He informed us that we wedre to report to the Heath Department imediatley. He even followed us in to make sure we did.
We went into the office and the Lady that was staring at my wife was there. The ladies boss whom my wife knew asked her wht she had my wife come in . She told her because my wife had scabbies and was eating at the Causway. It was our luck that my wifes friend knew about our accident. She told the woman she was wrong that the scars were from going through the windshield the night we were hit & run.
The lady however not satisfied with her venting , said to me. didn't your mothr die of Tuberculouses. I answered yes. In which she told me I was required to have a T.B test yearly. I agreed to have it. She said to me and I know it will be positive.
On returning the following week the results were negative. In which this lady says I do not believe , How can this be ? I answered maybe she prayed before she died . I then demanded all my mothers file, and she said I could not have them , but her boss said Give them to him . It was his mother and he is entitled to them.
My last dream of my mother was my mother and this rotten human being of her second husband walking up a flight of stairs , reaching the landing my mother was taken by the right hand of Jesus, and he fell into the eternal knawing flames of Hell

Thanks for participating, Birdie. As I told my Fac...

2012-05-10T20:23:47.248-05:00

Thanks for participating, Birdie. As I told my Facebook fans, your post is one of the most interesting I have ever posted on this blog.

Thanks so much for featuring me, Kathleen! I am ma...

2012-05-10T18:02:51.399-05:00

Thanks so much for featuring me, Kathleen! I am making sure all of my friends and readers check this out as well as take a look at your wonderful books.

Those are some impressive stats on downloads. I am...

2012-05-08T17:57:32.554-05:00

Those are some impressive stats on downloads. I am going to have to check out this cookbook.

Hi Old Guy. Some of us will never forget Sloppy E...

2012-05-06T16:12:41.622-05:00

Hi Old Guy.

Some of us will never forget Sloppy Ed's ans Ed's amazing beer drinking dog. Glad you stopped by.

There were only a couple google hits for "...

2012-05-06T15:02:12.057-05:00
There were only a couple google hits for "Sloppy Ed's" St. Marys It would seem Sloppy Ed's is lost to history. Used to take college buddies up from State College to go drink 5 cent drafts there.

- an old guy who grew up in St. Marys

This book was excellent. It was able to draw me in...

2012-05-06T09:12:08.884-05:00
This book was excellent. It was able to draw me in from page one, yet kept me enthralled and interested in the story throughout the book for multiple reasons. It was weird because I would call the book a noir/romance/mystery...very unusual book..it isn't your normal type of book to be "cookie cuttered" into a genre.

Each Angel Burns washes over the reader, first slo...

2012-05-06T09:05:10.187-05:00
Each Angel Burns washes over the reader, first slowly like gentle waves on a quiet day at the shore and then as fiercely as a killer squall. Valentine is a writer who is as talented with narrative as she is with prose. Her dialogue is earthy, clever and utterly believable while her narrative is breathtakingly beautiful, at times sumptuous. Valentine blends literary fiction with its opposite in a remarkable story that satisfies all of the senses. Gabe, Pete and Maggie are indisputably the story's central characters but Valentine presents a compelling cast of actors who support her main cast brilliantly. Julie, Gabe's brittle angry wife, sucks the air out of every scene she enters and Gabe's father Mick is a crusty old guy smarting from the pain inflicted on him by his dead wife, a woman whom he robbed of her dreams by his all-too-human love. Gabe's brother Mike and his wife Daisy are people who have refused to let personal tragedy destroy them and their strength and love for one another plays out like a beautiful but sad symphony. Zeke, Gabe's dog, is an animal without shame; a brazen whore for affection, Zeke is willing to give as good as he gets and returns love with the generosity of a free spirit as only a dog can do.

This book had everything I love in a story; intrig...

2012-05-06T09:03:09.946-05:00
This book had everything I love in a story; intrigue, love, sensuality, friendship, an amazing setting and very real characters. Maggie is my favorite.

The backdrop to the story is an old abandoned convent on the rural coast of Maine. Maggie has been resurrecting the abbey for three years and
has chosen to live a solitary life as an artist in the abbey rather than wait for her mostly vacant and abusive husband, Sinclair. She has finally found her strength to live her own life with the help of her artwork and her friendship with Father Pete. (which has it's very own back story...)

The folklore surrounding the abbey with it's many underground tunnels, caverns and crypts adds a mysterious layer to the story. While the bubbling cauldron of different love conflicts between friends, wives, past lovers, lovers and God keeps you turning the pages....quickly.

Thank you for this information. I grew up in Kerse...

2012-05-05T21:32:24.857-05:00
Thank you for this information. I grew up in Kersey and
live in Oregon currently. My family and I really enjoy hoagies
when we get back there so now we can make it at home :)

Hi Charles! Good, I'm glad you found it helpfu...

2012-05-05T11:43:46.949-05:00
Hi Charles! Good, I'm glad you found it helpful. I've had several conversations like this one and I keep trying to tell people IT TAKES TIME but they don't want to hear it! Good luck. I have your new book and it is in my TBR pile.

As a fellow author, I find this very informative. ...

2012-05-05T11:06:25.151-05:00
As a fellow author, I find this very informative.
Thanks for sharing,
Charles L. Fields

Thank you very much! I loved creating the monaster...

2012-05-05T09:44:37.951-05:00
Thank you very much! I loved creating the monastery. You might also like the mansion on an island I created for my newest novel, Depraved Heart. It is quite intriguing.

A wonderful story based on great friendships and r...

2012-05-04T20:03:40.419-05:00
A wonderful story based on great friendships and romance. I loved the old monastery - would love to have lived there myself. That's when I enjoy a book the most - when I want to move in with the characters.