Saturday 18 December 2010

CHRISTVS REGNAT - Short Story Special Issue


This special short story issue of the journal of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association is now available here. Past issues are also available for download here.

Included in this issue are the following short stories:

  • Letter from the Pontiff A Short Story by Revd. Deacon Raymond Tucker Cordani
  • The Trail Before Cell Phones A Short Story by Kathleen Culligan Techler
  • The Liturgiologist and the Antiquary An ecclesiastical tale by Ritualist
  • The Guild A Tale of Old Dublin by Des Hannon

    Revd. Mr. Cordani was born in Torrington, Connecticut and earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Literature with a minor in Creative Writing and Theater from the University of New Hampshire 1995. In 2002, he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He had been a working journalist since 1993, having written for the Associate Press, Catholic News Service, Columbia Magazine, Our Sunday Visitor, and the National Catholic Register. Between 2002 and 2007 he taught English at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

    In 2007, he entered Blessed John National Seminary near Boston, the result of a long discernment to priesthood. He is sponsored by the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, and, God willing, was ordained to the diaconate on Saturday, 27th November, 2010. Currently he ministers in a parish called Immaculate Conception, “a hardscrabble assignment in the Puerto Rican and Dominican barrios in Western Massachusetts.” His Sacerdotal Ordination is scheduled for Saturday, 4th June, 2011. He adds that writing while in the seminary has been difficult, more than a labor of love but a “dual vocation,” as Merton said of his own vocation to writing and service of God in the Church.

    www.tucker-cordani.blogspot.com

    Kathleen Culligan Techler decided decided in second grade to become a writer, although she was to became a physical therapist, wife, mother of five, and grandmother of nine, before actually writing her first book. For Shalom, Mary: Letters the Blessed Virgin Mary might have written, (2001) thoughts came to her in church during a Christmas sermon and wouldn't leave her alone until she wrote the book. The ideas for Barriers (2001) and The Secret of Pirate Key (2004) came from the barrier island off the coast of Florida where she and her husband have a vacation house. Her time as a "skating mother" sitting in a cavernous old auditorium gave her plenty of ideas for Summer Ice (2006). She has also written in Holiday Hearts a collection Christmas Short Stories for her regular publisher Diskus Publishing. When she is not writing or reading she delivers Meals on Wheels, knits hats for newborns, and tutors second graders in reading.

    www.ktechler.tripod.com
    www.diskuspublishing.com/kathleenculligantechler.html
  • 7 comments:

    Shandon Belle said...

    I got my copy on Monday. Really great stuff. The amount of effort you put in is really amazing. Thanks guys!

    Virgo Potens said...

    I would be very interested in subscribing to this journal.

    Chevalier de Malte said...

    A really interesting production. I have known Karl Erikson's earlier work and it is always well presented and provoking. You did very well to commission him for your journal.

    JTS said...

    Anyone who is interested in innovative and edifying original writing should certainly try to get hold of a copy of this issue. I was held by Kathleen Teckler's story for quite a while before I realized how the story was twisting. Karl Erickson's story was well crafted and thought provoking. I was really engaged by the story by Deacon Cordani and I've been over to see his blog, which I can recommend to anyone. Whenever Ritualist's name appears I go directly to it. This story was hilarious. I wonder if any Churches were really built like that. Des, you've got a new job, if you ever settle down to it! This was the best read I've had for a long time. I'm going to dig into the regular issue while I'm recovering from Christmas.

    Rathlin Child said...

    I see that Doc H is keeping up his secret identity ;-) I thought his story was the best. Could be another Dan Brown without the rubbish.

    Anonymous said...

    I want to thank the editor for bringing together this excellent collection of stories. I have rarely found a collection at once so well crafted, varied and accessible.

    JSB

    Donnelly's Hollow said...

    I read the two magazines over Christmas. A massive amount of good catholic reading. I cant believe how much work has gone into every new copy.