Robin Brande, Author, Dog Lover, Coffee and Chocolate Addict. Living an Interesting Life.

Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

For writers, readers, and independent thinkers–book and story reviews by writers and readers, writers’ motivational articles, war stories from the publishing trenches, literary trends, religious controversies, free chocolate, and more.

Archive for the 'Religion' Category

The Unicorn Museum

Saturday, September 15th, 2007

Seems fair.
Just so you know, the King James Version of the Bible really does refer to unicorns in Job 39:9-12. Modern translations have changed that to “wild ox.”
It’s a common complaint critics make about fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible: if you take some of it literally, you have to take it all.
Some of […]

Tuesday Book Club

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

Back to reading three books at once, but at least I finished one this time: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra. What I love about Deepak’s books is that as a medical doctor he always combines his spirituality with science. As you’ll see from my upcoming novel, I’m particularly […]

Bar Mitzvah to bikinis

Sunday, April 29th, 2007

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a Bar and Bat Mitzvah for four 18-year-olds. My friend Amy Hirshberg Lederman (who, by the way, just won the Rockower Award, which is the Jewish version of the Pulitzer–yowza, Amy! Smokin’!) taught a year-long class in Judaism at our local university, and the culmination was […]

I’ve been talking for 14 hours straight

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

I don’t even know if I can stay awake long enough to type this, but I’ll see what I can do. I am so exhausted, but thoroughly happy with this fantasy writer day. It was so way better than I even expected.
It’s about 10:30, and I just got back to the room from […]

Guess why I bought the Sunday New York Times?

Monday, February 19th, 2007

Because I’m going to New York, baby! This week. And it’s a little ritual of mine to buy the Sunday Times before I go so I can pretend to myself that I’m even halfway in the know.
Not that I’m going to have any extra time AT ALL on this trip to go see […]

Think this guy will buy my book?

Sunday, February 18th, 2007

Just when you wonder whether the whole evolution vs. God debate might be cooling down, you get a guy like this.
I’ll be setting aside a few extra copies of Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature for him to give his grandkids. And I might have to do a home visit.
Sheesh.
Technorati Tags: […]

“Condoms don’t belong in school, and neither does Al Gore.”

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

Dang. I said I wasn’t going to post anything new until at least eight more lurkers stepped forward and said hi, but this is just too juicy to keep to myself.
I don’t know where to start. Is it the fact that once again a school district has bowed to pressure like […]

Just when you think you’re making it up

Friday, November 24th, 2006

As you may know, the novel I have coming out next year deals with the fight over teaching evolution in a high school.
Some people have asked me if the kind of discussions that go on in the classroom in my book really happen still in the real world.
As of this week, yes. Read […]

Jesus Camp

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

I just saw the documentary Jesus Camp. Anyone else seen that yet?
Some of you may know I grew up in a fundamentalist church, and so seeing those children–and they really are children, some of them only 5 or 6–sobbing about what sinners they are, and learning to speak in tongues and writhe on the […]

Swear words and the afterlife

Friday, October 6th, 2006

Finally, we got to the important stuff in sign language class last night–a short list of the most useful swear words. Now I can go on Howard Stern.
Do any of you remember that movie Children of a Lesser God? Remember when Marlee Matlin cussed out William Hurt, her hands flying and gesticulating? […]