The Art of Writing – Page 20 – Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher

“Diabolical: Three Tales of Jack Thurston and Revenge” is Available on Kindle and in Print

Please go to amazon.com/author/philslattery or Goodreads or any other social media to leave a review.

Jack Thurston is a retired professor of medieval literature and history. He is also a widower and father and a retired sorcerer who has returned to the black arts to exact revenge for the death of his wife, daughter, and brother. He has an intriguing position in the universe at a focal point of life, the afterlife, logic and reason, anger and hatred, the ancient and the modern worlds, grief and his attempts to escape grief through self-destruction. Though he wants to have the peace he once found with his wife, Agatha, he is pulled in many directions by circumstance and by his powerful negative emotions.

I am a fan of the old school horror practiced by such authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Poe, Edward Lucas White, and Arthur Machen. I endeavor to make a story as terrifying and suspenseful for the reader as possible without resorting to gratuitous blood and gore for a simple shock or quick feeling of disgust.

This collection of three short tales is perfect for those who have only a few short breaks to escape into the hidden world of horror, black magic, sorcery, and anger-fueled revenge.

You can find this and other works at my Amazon author’s page: www.amazon.com/author/philslattery.

Currently, Jack has a Twitter account (@jthurston666), where he has attracted a small following and where it has only recently been revealed that he is fictional. Jack has his own blog at jackthurstonblog.wordpress.com (a work in progress) and his own e-mail at jackthurston666@gmail.com.

Information on more social media accounts and other characters (as they are developed) can be found at: philslattery.wordpress.com. Please interact with him at any of his social media accounts as you would with a real person.

Show your appreciation for these stories by leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.

If you enjoy horror, check out my collection of horror short stories A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror: Stories of wizards, werewolves, serial killers, alien worlds, and the damned, which includes these stories.

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Photo of Murray Arviso — Murray Arviso, 2019

Today, I received a link via email about a former (as of August) co-worker of mine named Murray Arviso. Murray is in the Maintenance Division at Chaco Culture National Historic Park, where he has worked for around twenty years. Murray is in a bad health situation and will not be able to walk for a while. His family needs financial help to build a ramp for his wheelchair. Ironically, under normal circumstances, Murray is quite capable of building a ramp. Now that he needs one himself, he is not physically capable of doing it. A ramp is inexpensive compared to a lot of medical needs, so anything you can give will go a long way.

If you would like to help out, follow this link to Murray Arviso’s GoFundMe page, which explains the situation. This condition started a few months ago and has been worsening. Donating even a little bit will help. Here is the note that came with the link:

Hello

I thought you might be interested in supporting this GoFundMe, https://www.gofundme.com/f/expenses-for-home-ramp-amp-home-medical-supplies?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet.

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

Murray with granddaughter? — Murray Arviso

Celebrating International Literacy Day — Mystery Deb

For those who don’t know, today is International Literacy Day. Created by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1966, the purpose of this event is to raise awareness of the important of literacy in communities around the globe. According to one website, 16% of the world’s population, two thirds of them girls, are unable to read or […]

via Celebrating International Literacy Day — Mystery Deb

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

Investing in Visual Literacy — let’s observe

Jennifer is writer. She does not struggle with ideas. She takes a mini-lesson and tries it out in her writing. When presented with the Classroom Slice of Life Challenge this past April. She wrote in school, at home and she told me all about her writing when I would pass her in the halls. During […]

via Investing in Visual Literacy — let’s observe

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

Now Literate — Smell The Coffee

When I was very young, I clearly remember not speaking a word of English. My older brothers would laugh and ask my mum, “What did Viv just say?” I thought they were the odd ones. Needless to say, my mum- being a teacher herself, fixed everything. I read the entire ‘Jack and Jill series, as well as […]

via Now Literate — Smell The Coffee

Literacy and social mobility — Heart Language

Some time ago, I had an interesting conversation with a Ghanaian Christian doctor. He told me about a young doctor he met. When he learned that the young doctor was from the Upper West Region, he asked him if his parents were literate. He asked because Upper West Region has significant poverty rates and low […]

via Literacy and social mobility — Heart Language

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

Living literacy — lit bits and pieces

Every year, my school hosts Literacy Lunch. It is a time for families to come share in the love of reading, writing, and learning in classrooms, followed by a meal together in our cafeteria. Literacy Lunch has sometimes been a vehicle for explaining English Language Arts curriculum, and shifts in standards, to parents. Mostly it’s […]

via Living literacy — lit bits and pieces

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

What the Earliest Forms of Literacy Looked Like — Human Pages

from David Carr’s book on literacy and the creation of literature in the ancient world: … many ancient texts were not written in such a way that they could be read easily by someone who did not already known them well. Indeed, classicists long ago noted that the oldest Greek manuscripts, written as they are […]

via What the Earliest Forms of Literacy Looked Like — Human Pages

Update: GoFundMe account for Murray Arviso

Hello

Even a small donation could help Colleen Arviso reach their fundraising goal. And if you can’t make a donation, it would be great if you could share the fundraiser to help spread the word.

Thanks for taking a look!

If you can’t help out financially, at least spread this word to as many people as you can.

The Literacy Calendar 2019-2020 — Literacy with Miss P

Last year, I created a Literacy Calendar – something I’d wanted to sink my teeth into for a long time. I’ve always felt it would be one of those things that’s incredibly useful to have and to share with staff, yet something we rarely have time to research or create! It proved so popular amongst […]

via The Literacy Calendar 2019-2020 — Literacy with Miss P