I am very much a latecomer to the Irish short-story writer and journalist, Maeve Brennan, only having read The Springs of Affection, a brilliant collection of her Dublin stories from the early 1950s to the early ‘70s. Virtually all of these twenty-one stories were first published by The New Yorker magazine where Brennan worked as a columnist and reviewer.

While I enjoy reading short stories, I often find them difficult to discuss, particularly if there are no apparent connections or common themes across the individual pieces. However, in this case, the situation is somewhat different as almost all of these stories are linked by virtue of their setting, a modest terraced house in the Ranelagh suburb of Dublin – a house featuring the same walled garden with a laburnum tree, the same three steps down to the kitchen, and the same linoleum on the bedroom floor. Moreover, the stories…

Delighted to welcome a new author to the shelves of the Cafe and Bookstore today. Fascinating New Yorkers: Power Freaks, Mobsters, Liberated Women, Creators, Queers and Crazies by Clifford Browder.

About Fascinating New Yorkers

A prostitute’s daughter who got to know two ex-kings and a future emperor; a cardinal archbishop known in certain circles as “Franny”; a serial killer who terrorized the city; a pioneer in female erotica who had two husbands and kept a “lie box” to keep her two lives straight – they’re all here in Clifford Browder’s collection of posts from his blog, people who, some remembered today and some forgotten, fulfilled themselves richly or horrendously in the wild and crazy city of New York. Some of these people Browder knew or encountered briefly, and some he got to know through their works. He relates surprising things about J.P. Morgan and his nose, Andy Warhol’s sex life…

Today, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Wanda Luthman. Let’s get started!

What is your name and where are you from?

Wanda Luthman. I grew up in St. Louis, MO but was born in NC, spent a few years in Florida, and two beautiful years in Hawaii, and now I’m back in Florida.

Hawaii. Okkaay. Are you employed outside of writing?

I’m a High School Guidance Counselor. I have 350 students that I track for graduation and help them with emotional issues as well as career advice throughout their high school years. I love my job, my school, my co-workers, and most especially the children/young adults.

I love it. Any siblings?

I have two siblings—a brother and a sister. I’m the baby of the three of us.

In your own words, what is love?

Love is magic. Whenever you think of love, you know something magical is there…

 K. M. McFarland

is my Guest Author this week

We’ve both contributed to Ghostly Writes Anthologies

which is where we ‘met.’

Karen made her way to the Big Easy in middle school by way of Nashville, Tennessee, and the Florida beaches.

She immediately became intrigued by its ambience. Stories of Voodoo, vampires, ghosts and haunted houses have been her inspiration as well as her fascination with New Orleans’ colourful history.

When she isn’t writing or roaming the French Quarter researching her next book, you will find her spending time with her family, shopping online, or marathoning a good TV series. Photography, music, art, travelling, reading, coffee, and wine are among her favourite things.

What made you choose to write in the paranormal genre?

I live in New Orleans and I have always been fascinated with the New Orleans legends of vampires and ghosts.

Our city was built on a…