The Pageturning Report: May 2024

The future of Pageturning, the Little Flower of Lisieux, Godzilla x Kong, and more!

Praise be to God and the Blessed Mother! May seems to be the month of milestones for my creative work: May 1 of last year (on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker), I found out that a publisher had accepted my middle-grade nonfiction manuscript.

Not to be outdone, May 2024 also had a surprise in store for me: Early this month I received a message out of the blue which led to discussions that changed the entire focus and direction of this newsletter!

Collaboration with Father Roderick!

For a long time, I’ve admired the work of Dutch media priest Father Roderick Vonhögen. We’ve never crossed paths at StarQuest, but I’m a fan of his other podcasts, particularly The Walk. I’ve also been supporting his work on Patreon.

So, I was absolutely delighted when

Father Roderick

reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in a coaching session to brainstorm some ideas. He’d been following my work for some time, and wanted to help me develop my career as creative writer. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.

We had a phenomenal discussion (90 minutes!!) ranging from our shared geeky interests, to marketing strategies, to my dreams of becoming a best-selling author. I learned so much!

Fr. Roderick also encouraged me to keep building my brand here on Substack. If you’ve been enjoying my streak of recent essays and reflections about the creative life, you can thank Fr. Roderick, who also kindly featured Pageturning on two recent episodes of The Walk.

I’ve got big plans for the future of Pageturning and I can’t wait to share them with you over the coming weeks. I’d also like to reboot my old Wordpress website into something more up-to-date that better complements my creative mission.

Reading life

I’ve been so focused on my own writing projects this month that I’ve only allowed myself a little down time for pleasure reading.

• The Way of Perfection by Saint Teresa of Ávila — A profound exploration of the power of prayer. I don’t claim to be even remotely close to comprehending the depths of Teresa’s spiritual wisdom. I’m definitely going to have to reread this book a few more times.

• Remembrance: Selected Correspondence of Ray Bradbury by Jonathan R. Eller — Ray Bradbury is one of my literary heroes, and I was not disappointed by his letters. They’re jam-packed with emotion, humor, and insights into a master-writer’s creative life.

New articles

Word on Fire

My friend

Jake Doberenz

put me in touch with Dr. Sarah Law, a Catholic poet and the author of the novel Sketches from a Sunlit Heaven, which chronicles the life and times of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (popularly known as the “Little Flower”) from the perspectives of her siblings and other close associates.

I have a strong devotion to St. Thérèse and as soon as I read Sarah’s novel, I knew I had to interview her about her creative process. You can read our full discussion on Word on Fire’s Evangelization & Culture blog:

Author Sarah Law on St. Thérèse, Literature, and the Sacred

The most surprising thing about the novel [Sketches from a Sunlit Heaven] was how compelled I felt to write it in the first place! I wanted to create a fictional world that brought not only Thérèse into focus as a mysterious yet familiar presence but also explored the perspectives of her close family and other significant contacts, as well as their inner journeys. The idea simply wouldn’t let me go, although as a poet I didn’t feel qualified to write it. It really was a case of answering the writerly vocation so well put by Toni Morrison: “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

Photo by Lena Albers on Unsplash

Podcast life

As usual, I’ve been busy as a badger recording podcasts for StarQuest. Secrets of Middle-earth is still going strong—we’re planning special coverage of Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power Season 2. On Secrets of Star Wars we’re gearing up to cover both The Acolyte and Tales of the Empire. I’ve also got plans to record a few new episodes of Secrets of Movies & TV.

The Secrets of Middle-Earth

As we continue our deep-dive into the Quenta Silmarillion, we discuss Melkor's corrupting influence, Fëanor's tragic complexity, and the symbolism of Ungoliant's hunger. These pivotal chapters set the stage for the entire First Age of Middle-earth.

Discover the surprising influences Tolkien's Middle-earth writings have had on the on the themes, characters, and stories of the Star Wars galaxy!

The Secrets of Star Wars

The penultimate episode of The Bad Batch sets the stage for the big finale! We discuss the hanging plot threads, the evolution of Echo, Emerie's conscience, and Crosshair's loyalty.

Mission accomplished! We review the epic series finale of The Bad Batch! Did it live up to expectations? What about those loose threads? We also spotlight Hunter's fatherly role, Crosshair's redemption arc, and Omega's maturity.

Did your favorites make the cut of our Top 10 Star Wars Characters list? Listen to our surprising inclusions and omissions as well as a few honorable mentions.

Secrets of Movies & TV Shows

Go! Go! Godzilla! The latest installment of the Monsterverse is full of grand spectacle. We also discuss the implications of living in a world with giant monsters, and explore the enduring popularity of monster movies as escapism.

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That’s all for this issue of The Pageturning Report. If you’ve just discovered my little corner of Substack, I invite you to subscribe and to share this post with someone, perhaps a fellow writer who might be interested in my work. This newsletter only exists with the support and interest of my readers and followers.

And be sure to leave a comment! Have you been keeping up with contemporary Star Wars? Have you read The Silmarillion yet? What did you think of my interview with Sarah Law? Are you interested in the new direction I’m taking this newsletter? Please, let me know!

Until next time, take care, God bless, and happy reading!