High Tension

High Tension

Of all the elements that go into a story, pacing is among the most misunderstood. Most writers think they know what makes a book feel fast-paced. A majority of them are wrong. Stringing short, clipped sentences into wall-of-text paragraphs within rapid-fire chapters doesn't always give readers a sense of speed.…
April 4, 202312 Comments
Pope Francis Puffer

The Cure for Francis Derangement Syndrome

Just as it is incumbent upon every son to defend his mother and father from spurious insults, it is every Catholic's duty to defend Holy Mother Church and her visible head on Earth, the Holy Father. In that regard, an ongoing project of this blog has been refuting the steady…
April 3, 202320 Comments
Swords & Maidens

Swords and Maidens

Announcing the new fantasy anthology from authors JD Cowan, Alexander Hellene, and grand master John C. Wright: From magic battlefields where horses fear to tread, to flying fortresses, fantastical otherworlds, a planet infested with eldritch abominations, and lands ruled by fear, heroes will fight for what is worth fighting for.…
March 31, 2023
Pokemon Cards

And the World Laughs With You

"Safety" is a major sacred cow of the secular cargo cult that has seized control of the West. Of course, twisting ordinary, benign words to have peculiar liturgical connotations is the primary way in which Cultists signal their religious affiliation to other Cultists. So they don't mean "safety" as normal…
March 30, 202314 Comments
John Wick 4

John Wick Chapter 4

A flaw common to the first three John Wick movies is that their scripts are all a couple drafts short of the sweet spot. That's especially true of Chapter 3, which dropped the ball on numerous levels. The main complaint you hear about part 3 is that it was unnecessary.…
March 29, 20236 Comments
Tobit

In Defense of the Deuterocanon

Yesterday on Twitter a friendly ecumenical dialogue developed around the Witch Test. The biblical Deuterocanon came up, and the resulting discussion struck me as a perfect teachable moment. If you're not familiar with the Deuterocanon, it refers to the parts of the Bible that Catholics and Orthodox accept as divinely…
March 28, 202318 Comments
Short Story Format

Standard Format

When I first started out writing and submitting short stories, I spent a lot of time and effort learning how to format my manuscripts. Here are all of the short story formatting guidelines I use, collected in one place for your convenience. Cover Page The margins should be one inch…
March 27, 20236 Comments
Sidearm & Sorcery

Sidearm & Sorcery Volume Two

Presenting a  gripping new supernatural anthology featuring some of newpub's finest! Supernatural evils lay hidden, deep in the shadows of society. Be these dangers man or beast, they will strike at unsuspecting, everyday people. What if there are no selfless wizards around when a demon steps from the alley? What…
March 23, 20235 Comments
Financial Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu-Jitsu

It's often said that God can draw straight with crooked lines. And He can bring greater good out of even the worst evil. By any measure, a government that cracks down on religious dissidents, outlaws church attendance, and indoctrinates kids into the ruling party's demonic ideology meets the criteria for…
March 22, 202314 Comments
John Wick 3

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

This blog covered the surprise hit actioner John Wick. Then I handed the wheel to you guys for John Wick: Chapter 2. Keeping promises to my readers takes high priority, so without further ado, here's your review of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. First, the title. Man, these titles…
March 21, 20236 Comments