Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
Kennedy’s father, Joseph, was a friend of Chicago mafia boss Sam Giancana, who helped secure union votes for JFK in the 1960 presidential election. Sinatra, the go-between, became friendly with JFK. The friendship ended when Attorney General RFK (JFK’s brother) ordered the FBI to go after the Mob. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
JFK and Sinatra were friends until RFK went after the Mob
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
Anne in L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables longs for “a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul.” She finds one in Diana. Their opposite temperaments – adventurous and imaginative vs. down-to-earth and realistic – cause tension, yet they remain lifelong friends. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Anne Shirley and Diana Barry: Temperamental opposites and lifelong friends
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
My Goodreads and Amazon review of The Sparkler by Alan Humm (Rated 5) – Dancing with Dickens. Some authors claim their characters write themselves. In The Sparkler, by Alan Humm, Charles Dickens’s characters write the famous author. Dickens takes on the personae of the figures — especially the colorful lower class ones — that he strives to put on paper. They bring him to life as much as he gives life to them. Humm’s entertaining fictional biography takes an imaginative dive into the head of the esteemed writer who wants to add “sparkle” to his own circumstances as he navigates the seedy streets of London, juggles his responsibilities to his expecting wife and her younger sister, and indulges his obsession with his mistress. In scenes as vivid as Dickens’s writing, Humm evokes a character who is often clever, sometimes pitiable, and equally baffling to himself and others. As an author myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), who has also written fictional biographies, I admire Humm’s ability to create a false yet wholly believable narrative about a public figure. The Sparkler will delight readers and, were Charles Dickens still alive, the novel would greatly amuse him too.
A “sparkling” fictional biography of Charles Dickens
Why writers read: “Readers live a thousand lives before they die. Those who never read live only one.” – George R. R. Martin
Keller met Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) when he was in his late 50s and she was 14, the same age as his youngest daughter. Twain was impressed by Keller’s wit and intelligence and described her as “the eighth wonder of the world.” They loved to swap stories and exchanged many letters until Twain’s death 15 years later. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Helen Keller and Mark Twain enjoyed each other’s wit and exchanged many letters
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
Kahlo, a 24-year-old Mexican painter living in the shadow of her muralist husband Diego Rivera, met O’Keefe while traveling to the U.S. in 1930. O’Keeffe, twenty years older, the wife of Alfred Stieglitz, and already an established artist, encouraged the younger woman. They admired each other’s work, especially the intense colors and floral motifs. They also bonded over the fact that both had famous, philandering husbands who caused them mental anguish. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
O’Keefe and Kahlo bonded over their vibrant art and philandering husbands
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
In the Curious George children’s books by H. A. and Margret Rey, a mischievous monkey is rescued from his misadventures by his friend and keeper The Man in the Yellow Hat. Though George’s capture would be controversial today, the affection between these characters is timeless. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Curious George & the Man in the Yellow Hat: A classic animal-human friendship
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
Keckley, a former slave who bought her freedom and started a sewing business, was hired as the First Lady’s dressmaker. They became close friends and traveled together to raise money for the war. The friendship fell apart when Keckley wrote a memoir in 1868, revealing their private communications. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Lincoln and Keckley, the First Lady and her dressmaker, were friends until they had a falling out
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Playground by Richard Powers (Rated 5) – Tug-of-War. In Playground by Richard Powers, the characters choose their fields of play and master their respective games. The fields inhabit three domains. At the lowest level, oceanographer Evelyn Beaulieu cavorts with teeming sea creatures. In the middle tier, land-dwelling philosopher Rafi Young writes while artist Ina Aroita makes monumental sculptures with trash washed up on the shore. Hovering above, in the cloud, Todd Keane develops the ultimate game — the book’s title — with the planet’s most sophisticated AI. Yet the novel is far from playful. No environment escapes the wreckage of human meddling. As a writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page, my primary focus is the arc of human nature. However, character development is not why one reads Powers. Rather, his interpersonal conflicts embody bigger social tensions: environmental and human degradation; discontent and death. This tug-of-war is epitomized in a decision that the Pacific island residents of Makatea must make about whether to approve a plan to develop offshore floating cities, bringing promised wealth to their impoverished home while possibly destroying its already fragile ecosystem. The plan was masterminded by Todd, creator of the ultimate AI application, Profunda. The answers Profunda offers the divided islanders raise more questions, much like advances in today’s technology generate both awe and an endless of web of further questions about its potential benefits and dangers. “Death is the mother of beauty,” Rafi quotes a long-dead philosopher. Mortality goads us to appreciate the time we have. Powers asks: If AI defeats death. does it kill beauty? Or, does the infinite game of creation play on?
A cautionary tale
Why writers read: “People without hope don’t read novels. The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience.” – Flannery O’Connor
Prince and Jackson were famous for their feud, not their friendship, a rivalry the media encouraged. During the 1980s, both were major pop stars who crossed the boundaries of race and genre. They hated to be compared and refused to collaborate. Prince mocked Jackson for losing to him in a ping pong game and refused to be on Jackson’s charity album We Are the World. Jackson said “Prince was a meanie and one of the rudest people I ever met.” Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Prince and Jackson were rivals, not friends, who had nothing good to say about each other
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
In J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the friendship of “the golden trio” evolves as they mature. During their years together at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the students form an inseparable unit whose strengths complement one another as they battle the evil Lord Voldemort. Read The Sister Knot about two resilient women, orphaned in WW2, who defy fate to sustain a lifelong friendship. A compelling novel about the power of sisterhood. Learn more about the book in NOVELS.
Harry, Ronald, & Hermione: Hogwarts friends battle the evil Lord Voldemort
Two resilient women, two separate journeys, one lasting friendship
