“…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Yeah, that kinda day. <:(
Pray for me and mine. No, nobody died. Just a bit of hope faded for something yesterday, and I’m feeling down about it. <:(
Thanks,
JDM

I had a wonderful time, being the speaker for Theology on Tap! The venue, a place called the Lucky Labrador in Portland, OR., had good beer, great food, wonderful hosts from Metropolitan Catholic Fellowship, and my besets-buddy, Kelly Ewing, buying my kids pizza and pop and telling them what a lousy dancer their dad is.

Heh! The topic: When Good Catholics are Bad People: How to Forgive When Hurt By THose in the Church.

God used me being called to this topic, in fact ,to motivate me to mend a few fences in my own life that needed it.

Went great! Hope I get called in again.

God bless, and pray for another potential speaker gig in the works!

Seriously, folks.

I’m doing Theology on Tap tonight in Portland Oregon, and I’m hoping to get another speaking gig in SouthEastern Oregon sometime at the end of June, if all goes well.

I’m listed with CMG Booking, but you could also email me here as well. We’re trying to move 6 of our 7 little ones back into Catholic education, and a few income-added chances to spread God’s word would help tremendously in this venture.

I’m listed with CMG Booking, but you could also email me here through a comment or something similar.

We’re trying to move 6 of our 7 little ones back into Catholic education, and a few income-added chances to spread God’s word would help tremendously in this venture. The books I write are nice, but most Catholic authors will tell you that writing Catholic fiction mainly gets you burger money once every six months.

I travel from Portland, Oregon. I do ask for travel expenses, but the rest is negotiable.

As far as topics, thus far I pretty much make my talks to order. Most recent ones are:

“Mary and Joseph, or Barbie & Ken? A Biblical look at Love and Relationships.” (plays well to the High school/Young Adult crowd)

“When Good Catholic’s Are Bad People: How to Forgive When Hurt By Those In the Church” (Teen to Adult)

“Your Mother Wears Combat Boots: Mary and the Church Militant Today” (All, esp the Apologetics/Catholicism in daily life folks)

(Note: I give credit where credit is due. The above title was cribbed from an old FUS college friend. )

…plus, generic Apologetics talks showing the Biblical and Historical roots of Catholic doctrines, done to order, adapted for my audience and spoken with enthusiasm!

Thanks all, and God Bless,

John McNichol

Hey, Everyone!

Well, I’m clacking away at the pages of Where the Red Sands Fly, the third novel in the Young Chesterton Chronicles series.

I’m asking if folks could please say a prayer (or a whole Rosary, or a Novena…I’m pretty flexible…) for my family. We’re making a number of educational decisions for our kids, and could use all the prayer support we can get.

I had someone ask recently (Hey, Kelly!) what my biggest influence was on my writing. Next to my family, I’d have to say it was my alma mater, the Franciscan University of Steubenville. The creative-while-orthodox Catholic atmosphere it had in my youth and continues to have for its students inspires me even today.  While there, I learned how to balance a full faith life with a lot of fun and (once I got my act together) pursue academic excellence all at the same time.

Plus, I met my amazing wife there, too!

In short: if you want to do your best at a creative pursuit, immerse yourself in a positive, creative environment where creativity is appreciated and nurtured, in a context of love for God and His Church.

Worked so far for me, eh? 

God bless. And get praying for my family, please!

JDM

…yay, folks! I got another great review for The Emperor of North America!

Not sure if this’ll work, but click below if you want to read it:

The Emperor of North America-1

This time, the review comes from Chris Chan, a contributor from the good folks at Gilbert Magazine, the official mag of the American Chesterton Society! Yay!

Yes, I know they won’t ALL be positive, but it’s always nice when someone like Chris Chan, a member of the new generation of the ACS writers, connects with & ‘gets’ what I’m doing.

God bless, all, and please pray for my family as we seek God’s guidance re. educational options for our kids.

John McNichol

—————-

FIRST REVIEW of THE KING’S GAMBIT! …Well, kind’ve.

It’s on a Mommy knitting blog, but it’s positive so far, so I’m happy with it.

Here, check it out:

http://www.marygildersleeve.com/tag/the-kings-gambit/

Enjoy!

….On January 21st, at 4:32 pm, Pacific Standard Time, I wrote the words “THE END” on the first draft of Where the Red Sands Fly, the 3rd and final novel in the Young Chesterton Chronicles trilogy.

Salut! Thank you God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Blessed Mother, Sts. Jude and Francis De Sales, my beautiful wife Jeanna, my kids, family, and the Young Chesterfans who have been so supportive over the past decade that this series has been rolling through our lives together. Thank you, THANK YOU!

Oh, yeah…now I need to type in the fifty or so pages I handwrote while Jeanna and I were in Maui this summer. Yipes!

Alright, six more weeks, maybe punch out another project, and then I can start editing.

God bless, thank you all, please pray for my family, my country, and our culture.

John D. McNichol

Hey, all! Great news!

The King’s Gambit, my latest novel, is now available from my publishers over at Hillside! Great, eh?

Drop on over! It’s unrelated to theGilbert series, and is aimed at the 9-12 year old reader.

God bless, and Merry Christmas!

John McNichol

…While I have been told Mr. Ahlquist, head of the American Chesterton Society, did not enjoy my books to the degree the younger GKC fans did, I must say that I was moved to a surprising degree by his conversion story:

http://www.chesterton.org/explore-the-acs/dale-ahlquist/conversion-story-dale-ahlquist/?fb_action_ids=10151123989462047&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Enjoy! I always did like Larry Norman, ever since Don Wood, one of my old Legions of Angels Household Brothers at Franciscan University of Steubenville intro’d me to his stuff …funny how God makes those connections, eh?

…and here it is. Enjoy!