Bøger af John Passfield

Author John Passfield contemplates writing a novel about the mythological figure Cassandra. Suddenly, he finds himself in the presence of her tormentor, Apollo, the god who -- seemingly as a whim -- has brought a catastrophic curse down on the head of an innocent human. John sees Cassandra as a mythical creature whose helpless situation epitomizes all that is wrong on the planet Earth. What a chance to confront a representative of the gods, ask him to explain such actions, and demand an immediate end to all the agony in the world!Special BonusThis edition of Fair Is Fair includes a special bonus -- a 56-stanza poem by "John the Character," in which John reflects on his encounters with Apollo and Cassandra in verses at once humorous, whimsical, and sometimes angry.The Novels of John PassfieldTogether, this novel and the accompanying journal and notebook comprise the thirty-first installment in an ongoing novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download from the author's website.

The year is 1938. With the prospect of another world war looming and faced with overwhelming personal problems, acclaimed Canadian author L.M. Montgomery begins to compose what she has decided will be her final novel featuring Anne Shirley. As she works on the novel, Montgomery remembers the now distant days when Anne of Green Gables became a worldwide literary phenomenon, and the dilemma that she faced at that time: whether to write a series of "Anne novels" in which Anne would forever remain the red-haired girl that the world had come to know and love, or whether she would allow Anne to grow to adulthood, with all the agonizing torments of the one who had given her life---L.M. Montgomery.

While driving his granddaughter home from day care, John -- the very author of this book! -- suddenly finds himself without warning standing in the midway of a carnival of Mother Goose fairy tales! He is greeted by Jack -- of Jack and Jill fame, of course -- who tells John that Mother Goose is expecting him, as she has a role for him to play. But what does Mother Goose really want? And why does she think John is a writer of detective stories? And why when she meets John does she greet him as almost a long-lost son? And for that matter, why do so many of the fairy-tale characters have a different story they want John to write for them, instead of the ones in which they have lived for hundreds of years? John is not a mythical creature -- he's only a human, after all -- but can he save the Mother Goose Carnival? Can he solve the mystery of the vanishing fairy-tales?John and Mother Goose: The Carnival of Tales is complemented by a selection of Mother Goose rhymes, chosen by John himself. Together, this charming novella and the fairy tales make ideal reading for young and old.

Author's Preface Pompeii: Vesuvius Dominus - a novel On the afternoon of AD 79, a white cloud appears above Mount Vesuvius and begins to deposit a layer of ash on the nearby town of Pompeii. Gradually, the people of Pompeii become aware that an awesomely destructive natural force has unleashed its full fury against the lives that they have established in their community. As they are swept up in the destructive experience, three people - Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder and Julia - consider the premises by which they have been living their lives. The Making of Vesuvius Dominus - a reflective journal This journal records my reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel was expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art-form. Planning Vesuvius Dominus - a planning notebook During the writing of the novel, I kept a hand-written notebook which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook - now in print form - reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel-form. The Project Together, this novel, journal and notebook comprise the fifteenth installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which I am exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st Century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.

It happened one cold December morning...Writer John Passfield leaves his home, buys a coffee and drives down to the shores of Lake Erie to perform a Christmas ritual---strolling along the beach at Port Maitland. It's something he's done for many years. But this year is different. This year John suddenly finds himself in the writing room of famed Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, who sets out his new idea for a Christmas tale. Dickens invites John to watch rehearsals for the writing of the story, but as Dickens struggles through contentious negotiations with his amazingly independent characters, John wonders whether A Christmas Carol will ever be written!Together, this short novel and its companion journal and notebook comprise the thirty-second installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. Readers seeking further insight into John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery may enjoy The Making of John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery---A Reflective Journal, which records the author's reflections on the process of crafting the novella, as well as Planning John and Dickens: A Christmas Mystery---A Planning Notebook, which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished. All of the journals and notebooks are available for free download at the author's website.

Glenn Gould's life as a musician begins as a fairy-tale, as his very first recording --- the Goldberg Variations --- skyrockets the young Canadian to the top of the music world, as a must-see and must-hear concert-pianist with sold-out performances all around the world. And then, at the height of his powers and his popularity, he makes a decision about his music and his life which splits the music world right down the middle, and remains controversial to this day.

A charming story of Christmas magic from the author of John Passfield: Saturday Morning, nominated for the 2022 ReLit novel awardAs writer John Passfield is driving home from a December book-discussion meeting and thinking about the Christmas topics that were discussed---in particular, Dickens, who wrote a novella which transformed the world's conception of Christmas---he suddenly finds himself sitting in a sleigh pulled by Rudolph and eight tiny reindeer. What an excellent opportunity to ask San-ta about a seventy-year-old mystery---the mystery of the missing cowboy shirt!

Wracked by fever, tormented by boils, devastated by the loss of his entire family, the wretched Job cries out to the heavens. Why has God forsaken him? Who do such things happen here on earth? Why is the universe so flawed? Why are human beings subjected to such agonizing torments? He shakes his fist at the sky and demands a personal audience. His agony has given him the questions. He insists on hearing the answers from the mouth of God.Together, the novel as well as an accompanying reflective journal and planning notebook comprise the seventeenth installment in an ongoing novel-writing project by author John Passfield in which he explores the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download on the author's website at www.johnpassfield.ca.

Eleonora Duse spends her whole career producing, directing and acting in the great female roles of the theatrical repertoire. She claims that when she is not on stage, she does not exist. A poet publishes a novel in which an aging actress's only role is to be a young poet's muse. The publication of the novel is a crisis for La Duse as the fictional portrait of a pathetic, clinging female threatens to fill the void and become her personal myth in the public mind. But her greatest fear is that the imagery of the poet's book will alter the way she thinks of herself.Together, this novel and the accompanying journal and notebook comprise the twenty-seventh installment in an ongoing novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.

A twenty-one-year-old would-be writer, John Passfield, spends his last few months as a garbage collector on the streets of his home town, St. Thomas, Ontario, in the summer of Canada's Centennial year, 1967. As he works, he captures the imagery of his life so far -- and of his upcoming marriage and pending career as a high school teacher -- to the imagery of the great books he is reading, all while in pursuit of building the perfect load of garbage.

Lord and Lady Macbeth are being stung, not by scorpions, but by imagery, the medium by which human beings think at the deepest levels. And the kingdom which they seek to conquer and control is not just Scotland, but the kingdom of the mind. Imagery enlightens, but it also obscures; imagery is loyal, but it also betrays; imagery is visible on the surface, but manifests itself at hidden depths. Their mutual struggle -- to live in prose while thinking in imagery -- affects the two Macbeths in different ways.The Project Together, this novel and the journal and notebook that accompany it, comprise the twentieth installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st Century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.The Making of Full of Scorpions is My Mind - a reflective journal This journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel is expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art-form.Planning Full of Scorpions is My Mind - a planning notebook During the writing of the novel, the author kept a hand-written notebook which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook - now in print form - reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel-form.

A one-legged boy, Terry Fox, sets himself the task of running a marathon a day across the length of Canada, the second-largest country in the world, in aid of cancer research, because the children are crying with pain in the cancer wards and somewhere the hurting must stop.Together this novel and the accompanying journal and notebook comprise the nineteenth installment in an ongoing novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. All of the accompanying journals and notebooks, as well as more information on the project itself, are available on the author's website, www.johnpassfield.ca.The Making of Somewhere the Hurting Must StopThis journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel was expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art form.Planning Somewhere the Hurting Must StopDuring the writing of the novel the author kept a handwritten notebook which records the day-to-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook, now in print form, reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel form.

A young Canadian doctor, Norman Bethune, sets up a practice which he hopes will lead to money and prestige; however, his social conscience takes him on a journey through the Canada of the Great Depression, the Spain of the Spanish Civil War, and the China of the Chinese Civil War and Japanese invasion. Ultimately, the journey becomes a quest to understand the world in which Bethune finds himself living, to develop a compassionate response to that world, and to discover the essence of himself as a human being.Also AvailableThe Making of The Only Person Alive in the World - a reflective journalThis journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel was expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art-form.Planning The Only Person Alive in the World - a planning notebookDuring the writing of the novel, the author kept a hand-written notebook which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook - now in print form - reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel-form.The ProjectTogether, this novel, journal and notebook comprise the eighteenth installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the twenty-first century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.