Author: Don Massenzio

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
March 25, 2019

Death has always been a subject that has tough for me to approach for obvious reasons.  Not only is it a subject that’s tough to talk about in general, but it’s a topic that’s incredibly taboo, but perhaps it shouldn’t be.

Losing two grandparents the last couple of years, and also a few friends, death has been a subject that’s been in the back of my head for quite some time.  Moreover, my last hospitalization was so incredibly daunting that I honestly didn’t think I would make it, but lo and behold, I did thanks to a myriad of circumstances that are too long too discuss here.  That said, the confluence of circumstances mentioned, as well as many others, have made me come to an appreciation of life and the moments I share with others that I never thought I could have.

I am…

I remember 9th grade English. This was the year where my high school began to concentrate on expanding the vocabulary of students. I remember the vocabulary workbooks where we had to focus on the spelling, definitions and usage of words.

We were encouraged to use these newly learned words in our daily conversation and, especially, in our writings.

I learned words like:

Dotard – A person, especially an old person, exhibiting a decline in mental faculties; a weak-minded or foolish old person. (I’m sensitive to this one these days).

Lugubrious – mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.

Prestidigitation – sleight of hand; legerdemain. (Don’t you love it when two other rarely used words are part of the definition of a rarely used word?)

So, why am I going down memory lane to my high school studies? I learned and retained a lot of these…

Sally Spedding is an old favourite of this block, a dear friend of mine and an incredibly talented author. She recently landed a seven book deal and the Lit Fest is privileged to feature her in conversation with Allan Martin when both will talk about historical fiction.

Hankering After History: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hankering-after-history-tickets-57211305555

I picked Sally’s latest book, “Death Knell” and I agree with the critics, it’s a brilliant book.

DI John Lyon Thriller – Book 3- The blurb:

Norfolk, November 1988.

After two life-changing investigations in France, former Detective Inspector John Lyon has moved south from Nottingham to Colchester with plans to enjoy his retirement.
But a phone call from Professor Stephen Vickers, a former student friend, now Dean of History at a university near Diss, disturbs his rest.
Vickers senses he is in danger, having unearthed evidence of a gruesome tragedy in 1920.
The murder of an innocent family…