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Author: CAstfalk

Carolyn Astfalk is a wife, mother, and author of contemporary Catholic romances, including her latest, All in Good Time. She formerly worked as a communications director and now works just to keep her head above water. Find her books on Amazon and her other words scattered around the blogosphere and social media.

Interview with YA Fantasy Author Cece Louise

Published by CAstfalk on 07/20/2020

The Forest Tales heroines are spunky and sassy, definitely not helpless damsels in distress yet quite feminine. How important is it to strike that balance in a culture that, perhaps, has a tendency to see those attributes as mutually exclusive?

I personally find that balance between strength and femininity fascinating to explore. As a culture, it sometimes feels like we’ve forgotten how to celebrate what it means to be feminine. Biologically, men and women are different. One is not better or worse than the other, but there is a difference that our culture seems to want to ignore. I love to read and write characters that show these differences and celebrate them. We do a disservice to our young female readers if we paint a picture that to succeed in life or be strong, they need to forgo their femininity and act like men. On the contrary, women have many strengths that come more naturally to them than men. For example, studies have shown that women tend to be more empathetic than men. That is a huge strength that is important for leaders.

Because I write to a young adult audience, I try to keep in mind that many of my readers are going through puberty, which can be confusing and scary. We are seeing a huge rise in gender dysphoria in our teens, especially in girls, and I think part of the reason is that girls are not being taught to value their femininity anymore. Young girls are being told that femininity equals weakness and they need to stifle it, leaving them feeling confused and like strangers in their bodies. Instead, we should be teaching girls the true value of their femininity and how to understand and embrace it.

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Three Last Things: New Fiction from Corinna Turner

Published by CAstfalk on 06/29/2020

About the Book:

“Love doesn’t exist. And Fr. Jacob is right about one thing. 

Without it, life is utterly meaningless.”

NO LOVE. NO NOTHING.

Carl Jarrold, a convicted assassin, believes that all human relationships turn on what one human being wants from another: that there is no such thing as love and thus no meaning to life. Prison chaplain Fr. Jacob, the closest thing he has to a friend, has struggled for three long years to convince Carl how wrong he is—to no avail. But the day of execution has finally arrived, and nothing goes quite as Carl expects. Soon it’s shaping up to be the strangest day he has ever had. But will it prove the worst day of his life…or the best?

This tense, “psychologically-compelling,” spiritual thriller is a standalone novella from the Carnegie Medal Nominated author of the award-winning I AM MARGARET series. Described as “beautiful,” “fantastically good,” and “one of the most moving stories I have ever read,” this is a race against time for the highest possible stakes.

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“My Captain” by F.P. Astfalk

Published by CAstfalk on 06/26/2020

What good is a blog if I can’t publish my own children’s work? My twelve-year-old daughter recently received an honorable mention for this short work,”My Captain,” in The Hershey Story History Contest for Young Writers.

Next week, a short award-winning piece by her older brother.

Boom!

I struggled to keep my balance. Captain would kill me if I dropped this bag.

Boom!

This was worse than the thunder.

Boom!

I scrambled up the steps.

“Where’s the powder monkey?” Master Gunner called.

I raced to the gunners, handing them the fine powder.

This is the most thrilling job I’ve ever had. The only drawback is that I’m on one of the most wanted vessels in Spain.

Boom!

I tripped on the steps. Getting up, I grabbed another bag of gunpowder.

“Boy! Hurry up!” Master Gunner called, yet again.

I repeated the same motions over and over. To the orlop, down the steps, grab the powder, up the steps, deliver, repeat. If I weren’t in the middle of a heated battle, I’d drop dead of boredom. This wasn’t the first time I’d done this though. Many a time I had delivered the powder over and over again. So many times I wondered if we were breaking the law. All this raiding would pay off eventually and probably be quite profitable. If it didn’t, I’d rip my hair out. After all, I’d have to show Mama something. She thinks I work for a whaler.

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