Friday, March 13, 2020

Val Edwards and a song of praise

Heavenly Vitamins


Heavenly Vitamins by Val Edwards
Edwards Family Publishing, September 2019
75 pp
$5.99 Ebook
$12.00 paperback

Buy on Amazon  US

About the Book
Jesus is our Living Word encouraging us by His Holy Spirit with His Words of LIFE. So here are new songs of affirmation and declaration for equipping us all to be saints in Light. Restorative Spiritual Songs are direct from the Word. They will be tonic with good medicine for the spirit, body, mind and soul that give voice to our Heavenly Father’s Love and Care for us all. An alphabet of simple songs will help us meditate on and remember Our Heavenly Father’s Word with Flowing Grace. Singing them out will cause these truths to positively dwell deep in our hearts and spirits. Offerings of Praise and Thanks to God can be heartily sung round. We may swim, march, dance, prayer walk or simply be, as we sing them heartily. They will do us good and build us up as we sing out and give voice to these Heavenly Vitamins, and share them with each other too.

My review:
This precious book is an intimate look at a relationship among soulmates; between heaven and earth. Filled with loving photographs taken by the author and songs of devotion, Heavenly Vitamins is an alphabet of interactive praise meant to fortify and build up the reader. For the musically inclined, songs are set up in formatted notes, accompanied by Scripture and lovely images. Simple tunes, such as “Praise shall continually be in my mouth, Psalm thirty-four verse one” both offer our adoration and help us memorize verses. Images of creation in seasons, fruit, blossom, wildlife, sunsets, all meld into hallelujah.

Those who enjoy music and photos in a peanut-size coffee table book will love Heavenly Vitamins.

About the Author:
The late Val Edwards of Britain’s South Coast had a degree in molecular sciences. She and her husband Jim have four children and a grandchild.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Extra grammar love today

A little extra Wednesday LOVE from me to you as I start to prepare for Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc.!!! (PS Room for only two more...) One or more of our afternoon sessions will be the gentle art of revision...or MANUSCRIPT BATTLE

FROM*: Quick and Dirty Tips | Grammar Girl 
*Permission granted to repost with attribution

The Top 10 Grammar and Writing Mistakes Even Published Authors Make

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Fun light romance from Mallary Mitchell

Worst Christmas Ever: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

Worst Christmas Ever
Mallary Mitchell

Pelican Ventures LLC, December 2016
Holiday Extravaganza

$1.99 eBook
Also available on Audible
Buy on Amazon

About the Book
After being jilted the day before her Christmas wedding, Sara Jane hates the holidays. Holly and mistletoe are a painful reminder that happily-ever-after isn't for her. Now, this Christmas, her baby sister is getting married. Talk about adding insult to injury! Forced into faux Christmas joy while she helps plan the nuptials, Sara Jane just wants to escape to Athens, Greece--away from the judgmental stares and snickers of her family and friends. God, on the other hand, may have other plans. Maxwell Dixon has secretly loved Sara Jane since they were children. Like so many tragic childhood love stories, however, he was relegated to "friend status" long ago. But when Sara Jane needs him for moral support and to be a safe date at the wedding, Max decides it's time to show Sara Jane what love and Christmas are all about.

My Review
You know it’s going to be a fun story when a wiseacre kid is involved. Worst Christmas Ever opens on Sara Jane tangled in a mess partly her fault, partly her ex-fiancĂ©’s fault and partly her spoiled silly sister’s fault. Sara’s young cousin, whom she’s supposed to be kid-sitting, calls the second-to-last person Sara wants to see while caught up in her predicament. On Christmas Eve, she’s rescued by her friend, the boy next door, and the tone of the story is set.

Neighbor and one-time high school boyfriend Max is willing to give Sara Jane a lot of latitude in their buddy-buddy relationship, as long as it keeps him close and familiar to his favorite klutz. As the years pass and they even go into business together, he realizes that it’s up to him to break out of the neat and tidy box he let Sara build around him. After all, who knows her better than anyone else? With the help of Sara’s wise aunt, mistletoe, and a can of stain remover, Max takes a chance that Sara Jane might be willing to consider his suit in a different light.

Told from alternating viewpoints, this sweet little holiday romance will give you the chuckles as you destress in between holiday activities—or any other time of the year. Much fun for the inspirational romance reader. I listened to the audio and LOVED the narrator, Julie Niblett.

About the Author
Mallary Mitchell lives in the South with her husband and children. She can often be found with a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Friday, March 6, 2020

I am Bocha Posh

I Am a Bacha Posh by Ukmina  Manoori

I am a Bacha Posh: My Life as a Woman Living as a Man in Afghanistan
Ukmina Manoori
Skyhorse Publishing, Oct, 2014
176 pp

$9.99 Ebook
$11.99 Print
$19.99 Hardcover


About the Book
"You will be a son, my daughter." With these stunning words Ukmina learned that she was to spend her childhood as a boy.

In Afghanistan there is a widespread practice of girls dressing as boys to play the role of a son. These children are called bacha posh: literally "girls dressed as boys." This practice offers families the freedom to allow their child to shop and work—and in some cases, it saves them from the disgrace of not having a male heir. But in adolescence, religion restores the natural law. The girls must marry, give birth, and give up their freedom.

Ukmina decided to confront social and family pressure and keep her menswear. This brave choice paved the way for an extraordinary destiny: she wages war against the Soviets, assists the mujaheddin and ultimately commands the respect of all whom she encounters. She eventually becomes one of the elected council members of her province.

But freedom always has a price. For "Ukmina warrior" that price was her life as a woman. This is a stunning and brave memoir about a little known practice that will challenge your perceptions about gender and the courage it takes to live your life to the fullest.


My Review
I am a Bacha Posh is memoir with necessary autobiographical elements. It is not fiction and thus will not have fictional elements of rising and falling tension. Manoori shares her life, the only life she knows, of growing up in a small rural village in Afghanistan during the 1980s. Russian aggression, US intervention, and the rise of the Taliban are experienced through the eyes of a child and young adult who wonders what they ever did to the government or the Russians to deserve the bombing and destruction of their way of life.

As Ukmina saw the disparity in the way women and children were, by custom and religion, treated, she chose, perhaps first in innocence but later in growing conscience, to lead a revolt. Manoori lives out the strange custom of allowing a daughter to dress and act like a boy until puberty to allow the child freedom to travel and work to support the family, and even attend school. When puberty comes, Manoori isn’t ready or willing to give up the freedoms allowed a boy in a Muslim community. Although everyone around her knew she was a woman, she lived a warrior life, taking on the two-faced facets of ethnic religion and politics and forcing the troubled ideologies into the light.

Image result for ukmina manoori
I don’t know that the story makes me rethink gender. Manoori is not a lesbian, or even sexual, self-identifies as a woman, and not transgender. She’s more of an Amazon, a woman unafraid to be a frontrunner in defiance of ridiculous false male dominance. Manoori saw how traditional male and female roles didn’t even pretend to work in a society where men were supposed to take care of their family and women were supposed to be homemakers. When a husband has daughters who are not allowed to be out unescorted in public and traditionally not allowed to work or get an education, he can arbitrarily circumvent society by changing the “norm” and treat a daughter as a son. Manoori learned that her culture did not practice the laws it passed, such as women had the right to vote since the 1960s, and decided to help women—everyone—create a safe and relevant environment in her beloved country.



Told in a haunted voice from her gut, Manoori’s tale is a plea both for understanding and acceptance. It’s a call to action to rise above uncertainty and injustice and to live true.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Far Away Bird by Douglas A Burton

I love this book! read more about it and my review here.

Empress Theodora and the Origin of Women’s Rights
By Douglas A. Burton



There are many currents that flow into the story of women’s rights. Many cultures are recognized for their egalitarian traditions and we have countless examples of great women in power—from the pharaoh Hatsheput to Queen Victoria to Eleanor Roosevelt. But one woman—Empress Theodora— achieved such a decisive victory for women in her time that her relative obscurity is breathtaking.

More than fifteen hundred years ago, Theodora helped influence massive legal reforms aimed at improving the plight of women. During her reign, she influenced parts of a legal codex known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, which included a wave of specific rights for women. Historians credit this body of Roman law as central source material to the legal tradition of Western civilization. Whoa. Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law, and even international public law. It’s rare to see such lofty legalism in the early Medieval era, but rarer still to know the individual woman behind the campaign.


But who the hell is she? What laws did Empress Theodora change? And how could such an influential woman be forgotten?

“Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law, and even international public law.”

Abandoned by most Western thinkers throughout the centuries, Empress Theodora came off as a salacious novelty, a Medieval prostitute-stripper who made it to the top through a lucky marriage. The scandalous gossip[i] of her past, which is handed down to us by a single male source, Procopius of Caesarea, no doubt stirred the imaginations of Western historians through the centuries. The general consensus throughout history is that prostitutes have little historical value and make poor role models. But missing from this harsh judgment is the fact that as a prostitute, Theodora was part of an institutional system that marginalized women to an extreme. Her perspective was necessary for addressing women’s rights because she had firsthand knowledge and experience about the reality for women. She dared to articulate the specific problems women faced at a time when no one cared or listened. Even so, Theodora insisted on designing real-world solutions, defined in legal terms, to fix the problems she knew existed.

Theodora’s personal ideas and solutions became law[ii]. And she didn’t eff around about it.

Under Empress Theodora, rape was made punishable by death. This law extended to anyone present during the rape, regardless of position or rank, and the rapist’s property was even transferred to the rape victim[iii]


Theodora also saw to it that women could own and inherit property[iv], which is quite a breakthrough because it gave daughters and wives real social power. A family’s wealth could now continue through a daughter, and should a woman’s husband die, the wife could claim the property and fortune. This greater legal right alone gave women throughout the empire real power in real terms.

Unlike today, professional outlets for women were severely restrictive. Besides the socially acceptable “work-from-home-and-raise-a-family” jobs, such as weaving, innkeeping, or baking, the very concept of ‘professional women’ as a large and recognizable class did not exist with one exception. A large number of women worked in theaters and brothels. So, although this professional class of women carried a huge social stigma, their industry was one of the few places where women worked publicly outside the traditional family structure and earned real income.

Therefore, laws that addressed legal matters for this lowly and socially powerless group is bold and unashamedly supportive of women in general. Theodora meant to treat the professional women of her society, sex workers though they may be, as professionals. She understood that these prostitutes, actresses, mimes, and singers earned money and could technically sustain themselves independently. But brothel keepers had legal authority over these women. So, Theodora shifted that legal authority back to women.

“These reforms should be regarded as revolutionary since they 
shattered the most powerful class barriers.”

Under the new laws, no woman could be forced into prostitution[v]. If a woman willingly chose prostitution, but later wished to leave the profession, Theodora’s laws made it illegal for a brothel-keeper to stop her. And Theodora followed up relentlessly to ensure enforcement of the laws. When Theodora discovered that brothel keepers undermined the new regulations by making girls swear oaths never to leave the brothels, she responded by rendering such oaths illegal[vi]. She mandated that the provincial governor and the head bishop had the responsibility to enforce this law, giving her direct oversight over a manageable number of men in high positions. She chose two men to enforce, because if the governor, himself, blocked a woman’s departure from a brothel, then the bishop could override the governor. You see, Theodora had once been a concubine in the service of one of these provincial governors. She knew only too well the kind of power these men had over women. She curbed that power at the highest levels.

And Theodora didn’t stop there. She helped to overhaul the marriage laws of her time. These reforms should be regarded as revolutionary since they shattered the most powerful class barriers.

For centuries, there was a ban on intermarriage between the upper and lower classes[vii]. By law, a prostitute could never marry a nobleman. Such a rigid class system was characteristic of a Roman world view that regarded high title and rank as self-evident. Secondly, even under the new Christian perspective, prostitution was regarded as immoral and sinful. Therefore, when Theodora helped to facilitate the removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either the secular or religious tradition. Her personal world view alone guided the legal reform. By removing the marriage ban[viii], prostitutes could now marry into noble houses and gain legal status. Like it or not, this represents unparalleled social mobility for women at the time. It gave women access to power.

By having the marriage ban removed, Theodora saw to it that her sister, her daughter, and numerous other theater friends all married into noble houses. Just like that, several women crossed an impossible barrier and gained incredible social power, and they achieved this change in fortune seemingly overnight.

“Therefore, when Theodora helped to facilitate the removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either the secular or religious tradition.”

Once, Theodora arranged a marriage between one of her theater friends (an ex-prostitute) and a nobleman named Saturnitus[ix]. When Theodora heard that this Saturnitus complained that his prospective bride wasn’t a virgin, she had the nobleman rolled in a blanket and flogged with a cane. She asked Saturnitus just one question: why could he frequent the brothels with impunity and dare demand virginity in his wife? Theodora didn’t believe in double standards.

Other laws, too, applied to all women regarding marriage. In Byzantium, there was a law of ‘mutual consent’ in divorce cases. A divorce was granted only if both the husband and the wife agreed to void the marriage. By the way, this legal concept is still practiced in some countries today. If the wife seeks a divorce, but not the husband, she stays married against her will. You might point out that this law works in both directions. However, if a man was forced to stay in a marriage because his wife vetoed the divorce, especially back then, he could easily visit a brothel, hippodrome, amphitheater, or tavern and enjoy a full life outside the home. Wives did not have this luxury. (They weren’t even allowed on the street without a male escort[x]). So, the law of mutual consent worked disproportionately against women.

So, Theodora had the law of mutual consent struck down.

Secondly, women of the time were expected to offer a dowry to their grooms. By Theodora’s time, the custom had expanded to make it fashionable for men to offer something minor in return. This minor offering was called an “antenupital.’ Under the new laws, the antenupital had to be equal to the bride’s dowry. Equal to the bride. Theodora’s message is consistent and clear.

She also knew that prospective brides could sometimes be pressured into a marriage. A woman might give consent initially when put on the spot, but as the marriage date grew near, she might think differently. Therefore, a new law came out that required the prospective bride to give her consent twice—once at the original proposal, and then again before the marriage took place. This allowed women to change their minds before entering into a lifelong commitment[xi].


Finally, in what I regard as a remarkable example of Theodora’s scope, sympathies, and real-world knowledge, she even dared to protect criminal women. In the Sixth Century, protection for male criminals wasn’t even a concern. That’s why I regard Theodora’s intervention on behalf of criminal women to be truly groundbreaking. If a woman required prison time, the new laws forbade her imprisonment in common jails where she had no protection from male guards who could abuse these women without recourse. She saw to it that criminal women were removed from common prisons and detained in a nunnery (that she constructed), under the supervision of other women.

Empress Theodora was known to hold court in her opulent imperial bedchamber. There, surrounded by a retinue of her most trusted women and eunuchs, she ruled over what has been described as an almost “parallel government[xii].” Many women (and men) came directly to Theodora to plead for justice, and the formidable empress meted out justice with purpose. The scene in Theodora’s bedchambers must have mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine Empire, just a few hundred feet away. In the words of James Allan Evans in his book about the empress, “In the eyes of the upper-class beholder, what Theodora represented was revolutionary.”

What’s more about this incredible woman is that she acted out her beliefs on equality. She inspired an unprecedented partnership with her husband, Justinian. Far from a great woman who ruled in the absence of a male ruler, Theodora ruled right alongside Justinian the Great, who is considered one of the greatest emperors in Byzantine history. When he addressed the Byzantine court in the throne room, Theodora sat exactly beside him, which was not typical. Theodora was free to address whomever she pleased. The emperor did not grow angry when she disagreed with him before the court. Instead, they actively debated the merits of different policies openly. She and Justinian were also faithful to each other. Their relationship was considered bizarre by their contemporaries, but I see it as a shining example for any of us. Theodora insisted on being treated as an equal, and Justinian unapologetically treated her an equal.

“The scene in Theodora’s bedchambers must have mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine Empire, just a few hundred feet away.”

Theodora’s mark on history is a powerful, immovable example for us. The body of laws that came into being during her reign is known as the Corpus Juris Civilis and, according to Wikipedia: “The Corpus continues to have a major influence on public international law. Its four parts thus constitute the foundation documents of the Western legal tradition[xiii].” Uh, wow. If this is true…if the corpus is at the heart of the Western legal tradition, then Theodora stands front and center to the tradition of women’s rights. Official credit goes to Justinian for the Corpus, and he deserves plenty of it. But no historian can doubt Theodora’s presence in the laws that pertain to women. History, it seems, remains uncomfortable with Theodora’s sexualized past. But it’s time to recognize the crucial connection between her early life experiences and the incredible legal reforms she oversaw as an empress.

Our culture is taking a second look at history and rediscovering the many contributions of women throughout the ages. I say, look further eastward, beyond Europe, and deeper into the past. In my view, Theodora should finally take her place among the Pantheon of our greatest women in history.



Web-Douglas_Burton-1723-Edit (1).JPGDouglas A. Burton is on a crusade to introduce Theodora to as many people as possible. His award-winning novel, Far Away Bird, which details Theodora’s early life, is available in paperback (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) and as an amazing audiobook (Audible.com, iTunes, Author Republic). Learn more at douglasaburton.com.

Buy the book
B&N:



[i] The Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]
[ii] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[iii] Codex Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]
[iv] Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10
[v] Codex Justinianus [I.4.33]
[vi] Novellae 51
[vii] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[viii] Codex Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)
[ix] The Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]
[x] Constantinople: Birth of an Empire
[xi] The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27
[xii] Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175
[xiii] Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’
[1] The Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]
[1] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[1] Codex Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]
[1] Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10
[1] Codex Justinianus [I.4.33]
[1] Novellae 51
[1] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[1] Codex Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)
[1] The Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]
[1] Constantinople: Birth of an Empire
[1] The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27
[1] Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175
[1] Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’