Sparks Fly Upward

A young man finds his calling as a doctor in Queen Elizabeth’s court in this Christian historical trilogy finale—a prequel to the House of Winslow series. Neither bold and rough like his brother, Adam, nor headstrong and spoiled like his sister, Adara, young Colin Winslow is a gentle soul with a special love for natural things. His interest in animals and healing brings him in contact with Meg Caradoc, a strange woman who lives in the woods, and teaches him the fine art of herbal medicine. At Oxford, an eccentric but brilliant professor, Dr. Phineas Teague, guides Colin toward a medical career. This formal training, combined with Meg’s herbal remedies, makes Colin an insightful and successful doctor—one with the approving eye of Queen Elizabeth. Colin’s skill quickly earns him many patients, some highly placed in the courts of both his queen and her sister, Mary Queen of Scots. Soon, this once shy young man finds himself amid court intrigue, acting covertly on the queen’s behalf. When Colin faces his most difficult case—curing the wounds his brave brother suffered in battle—he must confront his attraction to Adam’s wife, his unsteady faith in God, and the limits of his ability to heal.

THE STORY: Even in her early days as an obscure radio actress, the natively keen-minded Felicia exploits every opportunity to obtain personal recognition. She meets a young army Colonel, who launches her into the stratosphere of society, and who, a

In Sparks Fly Upward, Katie Spivey Brewster captures life memories and experiences in an interesting variety of poetic forms. The free verse title poem, "Sparks Fly Upward," was inspired by the campfire at the wedding reception of her son, Andrew. "Sensory Seashore" recalls a young child crossing the bridge at the Intercoastal Waterway knowing the beach was just ahead. A summer salad bar prompted, "Pretty Apricots." "C R A B," an acrostic, was written on a lark at the table in Capt Billy's while waiting for her family to finish their crabs while "I P H O N E" came from looking around and thinking. C R A B Crustaceans Really messy All hands on deck Bring wipes. I P H O N E I put it down Pick it up Habitual Over and over Not Even knowing why A snowflake falling to the ground in "Where, oh where?" wonders about its destination while the limerick "A lady of Books" ask if "she can find any good reads to meet her needs?" Poetry friends taught Mrs. Brewster about Haiku and Cinquain, giving her ample reason to write about heliotrope, azure, her hammock, and walking. Sparks Fly Upward ends with "I Came From," one of the first forms Mrs. Brewster encountered in her poetic walk. With the template she provides, Mrs. Brewster invites you to write your own poem and join her in strolling the poetic pathway.

This book is a sequel to Nathan Ron's Erasmus and the “Other.” Should we consider Erasmus an involved or public intellectual alongside figures such as Machiavelli, Milton, Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu? Was Erasmus really an independent intellectual? In Ron's estimation, Erasmus did not fully live up to his professed principles of Christian peace. Despite the anti-war preaching so eminent in his writings, he made no stand against the warlike and expansionist foreign policies of specific European kings of his era, and even praised the glory won by Francis I on the battlefield of Marignano (1515). Furthermore, in the face of Henry VIII’s execution of his beloved Thomas More and John Fisher, and the atrocities committed by the Spanish against indigenous peoples in the New World, Erasmus preferred self-censorship to expressions of protest or criticism and did not step forward to reproach kings of their misdeeds or crimes.

An eclectic collection of fiction, essays, poetry, and graphic work selected by high school students with the help of New York Times best-selling author Edan Lepucki. Over the past year, fifteen Bay Area high school students have gathered each week in the basement of an independent publishing house to pore over online and print literary journals, magazines, books, plays, and graphic novels. They read things they couldn't shake and engaged in deep conversations about how good writing brings people together, no matter what else is happening around the world. With the help of New York Times best-selling author Edan Lepucki they have compiled The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019.

Narrated by both Henry Cockburn and his father Patrick, this is the extraordinary story of the eight years since Henry's descent into schizophrenia- years he has spent almost entirely in hospitals- and his family's struggle to help him recover.