Last night (April 22), I went to the Yellow Door to hear author Steven Manners, one my former mentors, read from his latest novel Valley of Fire. I was piqued by the passage he read, so I bought his book. It tells the story of John Munin, a rational and gifted psychiatrist who believes that the soul and psyche are interesting only in dissection. Penelope is Munin's star patient. She suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and is particularly susceptible to Munin's searching analysis. Munin… Continue

I'm often asked about the story behind Flaherty's Crossing and to be honest, it's not an easy one to tell. My father was a hard-working Irishman who aside from expecting dinner on the table promptly at 5pm never had much to share or complain about. There were disappointments, of course, since money was often tight. But my dad was content working his blue-collar job, reading the nightly newspaper, watching sports, and visiting occasionally with neighbors. My only interaction…

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