My latest contemporary fiction, Silent Heroes, looks at the War in Afghanistan from a different perspective: that of the soldiers taking part in it and of the Afghan people caught in it. Because there are always two sides to a story. Part of my research was listening to music. I’ll share with you a few songs that now remind me of the courageous Afghan people.
Continue reading “Songs that Remind me of Silent Heroes: the Afghan people”Valentine’s Day in Romanian Folklore: Dragobete, Ziua Indragostitilor #Im4Ro
Romanian folklore is a rich source of fairy-tales and traditions filled with wisdom and symbolism and bearing witness to a millennial culture, such as Dragobete, the Romanian version of Valentine’s Day, Ziua Indragostitilor and celebrated not on 14 February, but on 24 February.
Continue reading “Valentine’s Day in Romanian Folklore: Dragobete, Ziua Indragostitilor #Im4Ro”Medieval Sighisoara and the House where Vlad the Impaler was Born #Im4Ro
What turns a house into a home? Is it the light that peeks inside through its windows? The scents rising from the kitchen? Or is it the people, the mingle of generations, of shared laughter and tears?
While we visited the house where Vlad the Impaler, Vlad Tepes, was born, I asked myself: what was the light like inside? What street noises reached every morning to little Vlad’s room and woke him up? What childhood memories he kept locked in his heart that reminded him of his mother and home – while imprisoned by the Turks? Or when he was fighting them, surrounded by the sights and the stench of war?
I’m Gonna Love Me Again, Elton John, Oscar Winner
I’m Gonna Love Me Again, Best Original Song from Rocketman, composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin adds an Oscar to the long list of accolades – Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Award, Satellite Award, Golden Derby Awards, and plenty more!
Continue reading “I’m Gonna Love Me Again, Elton John, Oscar Winner”Emperor Aleodor, Romanian Folktale #Im4Ro
Emperor Aleodor, Aleodor Imparat, is a Romanian folktale gathered by Romanian folklorist and writer Petre Ispirescu in 1875 and translated into English in 19th by historian and linguist Robert Nisbet Bain.
Continue reading “Emperor Aleodor, Romanian Folktale #Im4Ro”