Bill Kassel's Blog

Occasional reflections on religion, culture, politics, and anything else that comes into my mind...

bill kassel

Online Reading No. 1

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HERE’S AN EXCERPT FROM
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER

Electronic publishing is rather ephemeral. At least it seems so to me. I’m working real hard to figure out how to market an eBook. And it ain’t easy.

MBK CoverFor instance, how can you do a book signing with nothing to write your name on? I’m told there’s software that allows you to personalize a Kindle file, but I don’t see how it might work.

Well, the one thing I can do is read from the text. Whether rendered in ink on paper or pixels on a screen, words come alive when you hear them interpreted aloud.

So here’s li’l’-ol’-me reading the first of four excerpts from my novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER.

This should give you a taste of the book, and (one hopes) make you want to read the whole thing.

From the first chapter — Joachim, father of Mary, visits the home of Joseph with the temple priest Zacharias. They recount Mary’s experience as a servant in the temple, and prepare to ask a favor…

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Book Talk in the Afternoon

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MY RECENT INTERVIEW
ON AVE MARIA RADIO

Kresta in the PM LogoA couple of weeks ago I was interviewed on “Kresta in the Afternoon” by my old Ave Maria Radio colleague, Al Kresta. Here’s an audio track of that discussion…

 

It was fun being on the air again, something I don’t get to do very often these days. And — even better — it was great to introduce my new novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, to listeners of the more than 300 stations that carry “Kresta in the Afternoon,” AMR’s flagship daily talk show.

Give it a listen, and get back to me with your thoughts.

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The Virtues of St. Joseph

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JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL

Reni's St. JosephOur extended family was enlarged last week when my wife’s niece, Jessica, gave birth to a baby girl.

This occasion brought to our in-box the requisite photo of grandparents, Chris and Joe, framing their daughter reclining in hospital bed with little Emily Anne in her arms.

Jessie bore the classic new-mother expression that blends joy with exhaustion (it was a long labor). Chris’ and Joe’s faces were all pride.

I was particularly struck by the image of Joe, who is considerably older than Chris and struggling with severe health complications. The family prayer during those months of Jessie’s pregnancy had been that Joe might live to see his grandchild.

Praise God, he made it.

Joe’s birthday is March 19, which on the liturgical calendar is the feast day of St. Joseph, for whom he was named. His patron saint also receives recognition on May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, which was established in 1955 by Pope Pius XII to provide a Christian alternative to the May Day labor celebrations promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale.

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Stubbornly Complimentary

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THE JOURNAL STUBBORN THINGS
HIGHLIGHTS MY BROTHER’S KEEPER

MBK CoverStubborn Things, a popular online journal to which I’ve contributed several articles, has posted a review of my new novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER.

The piece is by Diane Osbourne, a lay religious education instructor who has a deep love and extensive knowledge of Holy Scripture. For many years Diane has conducted adult Bible study classes at St. Anthony Parish in Hillsdale, Michigan, developing her own curricula and instructional materials. She very kindly provided advice when I was writing my book.

Here are her complimentary reflections…

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Simply Hers

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THE WOMEN’S ANGLE
ON MY NEW NOVEL

Simply Hers CoverI was delighted to find that Nancy Ryan, book reviewer for Simply Hers, a regional women’s magazine covering south-central Michigan, fairly bubbles with enthusiasm for MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, which she describes as…

“a book of history, and, yes, entertainment. Even though we all know how it will end, I can’t put it down! It’s one of those stories you find yourself thinking of when you go about your daily routine.

“The author has matched the biblical account with historical writings from the first three centuries. He used Bible lore and writings of the early Christian period, including ‘gospels and testaments’ not contained in the sanctioned Bible.”

Nancy explains that the story is “told through the eyes of James, the older half-brother of Jesus,” and quotes my author’s reflection at the back of the book in which I note that my goal is…

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First Responses and Reviews

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REACTIONS TO MY NEW NOVEL
ARE BEGINNING TO APPEAR

MBK CoverReviews and customer comments on my new novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, are starting to turn up. Reading those first reactions is always gratifying to an author.

By the time you reach the point where people can evaluate your work, you’ve been absorbed in your story and characters for years — writing, rewriting, polishing. You can’t be sure if what you think is good about the book might not just come down to familiarity.

So it’s reassuring when other people say complimentary things.

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My Brother’s Keeper

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A NOVEL ABOUT JESUS’ RELATIVES
AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THEM

MBK Cover“What if your brother was the most controversial figure in the history of the world and your job was to protect him?

“That’s the challenge faced by the Rabbi James of Jerusalem — whom the Bible identifies as ‘the brother of the Lord’ — in MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, an inspired retelling of the Christian story by author Bill Kassel.

“What can James do to fulfill a deathbed promise to his father, Joseph, and save Jesus, the Nazarene prophet who is stirring debate and contention among the Jewish religious leadership and the Roman occupiers?”

Sound provocative?

I hope so, because this is the lead copy on promotional materials for my new novel that is finally — finally — out.

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Why was Jesus Crucified?

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CHRIST MAY HAVE DIED FOR OUR SINS
BUT THERE WERE WORLDLY REASONS TOO

Despite its status as the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Easter has never had an impact on American life that comes close to the annual, all-pervasive social and economic supernova of Christmas.  This is probably explainable by Easter’s limited potential for commercialization.  Chocolate bunnies and died eggs can’t match the buying and gift-giving frenzy of Yuletide. Even shopping for that new spring outfit — to the extent people still dress up for Easter in our over-casual age — barely nudges the gross domestic product.

Easter just remains so stubbornly…religious.  It’s also kind of demanding.  Grasping the joy, or even the concept, of resurrection takes faith.  What does it mean that Jesus rose again?  For that matter, why did he have to die in the first place?

Now, there’s a question even believers often ask.  To reply that Christ died for our sins is to express a theological insight arrived at after the fact (and one which folks who have trouble making the leap to a Christian point of view can find a little off-putting; “I didn’t ask him to die for my sins,” they’ll say).

But let’s go back 2,000-or-so years.  What were the conditions at the time which prompted Jesus’ execution? Or to frame the question another way:  Why would anybody want to kill someone who went around preaching love and offering a lot of uplifting homilies?  And healing the sick to boot!  What’s not to like about all that?

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