Shakespeare and Sleep

 

Shakespeare’s plays have always been fascinating. But do you know of something in particular that adds to their fascination? It is something that even the most avid fan of his plays may have failed to realize. And that is the subject of sleep.

Sleep or, more specifically, the way in which sleep relates to Shakespeare’s plays performs a surprisingly significant role. Through this stimulating book, author Thomas Vail discusses how Shakespeare uses sleeping characters to help move plot situations forward and explores the way in which Shakespeare utilizes certain sleep disorders to help delineate a variety of characters. In addition to addressing the subject of premonitory dreams and the unfortunate consequences that can ensue if such dreams are ignored, he seeks to discover, in spite of Shakespeare’s treatment of sleep as generally troubled, elusive, or akin to death, if there are any Shakespearean characters who actually have a good night’s sleep.
What he discovers may surprise you.

Thomas E. Vail

This multi-talented author is originally from Portland, Oregon. While attending high school, he studied oil painting with the Oregon artist Albert Patecky (1906-1994) and acting at the Portland Civic Theatre School of Drama. After graduation, he attended Portland State College and, later, the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Art Students League.

Over the years, while exhibiting occasionally as an artist, he worked as a professional actor, a lighting consultant to architects and interior designers, and a staff member at Pace University. Currently a member of the Shakespeare Society, he retired in 2002 and devotes his time to writing, painting, and theatergoing.

The Bluebird Flower

 
Letters bring life to a collection of interestingly mysterious stories…
What would you do if you found a bundle of letters inside a trunk in an attic?
Find out what’s inside the letters written by a man named Chuck to a certain Mrs. Ainsworth in author Craig Downey’s The BlueBird Flower.

Open each letter penned by Chuck, a man with a questionable occupation (got an office in town and money to gad about, may be married or bachelor, and lives in some era), who addresses each letter to a particular Mrs. Ainsworth (who may be his aunt, sister, or perhaps just a friend).With a few exceptions, each letter is a story unto itself and mostly in or about Wetowannabee (a town in upstate that is not listed on modern maps or in past land records).

Discover more about the town of Wetowannabee and Chuck as you leaf through this letter collection. Learn about some incidents that he heard about or observed or that someone else has written. He takes no blame or credit for the story as some are merely his observations on a specific condition of life or after life…

Craig Downey

It was my good fortune to be born to a penniless man who’s father had 12 children, was a carpenter, taught school and many other things to feed his family. On the other hand my mother’s family were successful farmers. The great depression was not kind but somehow they muddled through.

I say fortunate because we lived in a pump handle house where the outhouse was a sufficient distance from the back door. Life was tough and I sat on the front row and watched as my parents struggled, I was no stranger to hard work.

Gary, Indiana was the place of my birth and home until I had a family of my own. We struggled but not like my father. Now a retired shuttle engineer I always managed to find a job. I hopped from job to job looking for what would be a job of interest to me. After college I took a job as electrician, then on to the Ford Motor Co. where I maintained the electronics that controlled the machinery that made cars, then it was Union Carbide where I maintained their instrumentation, on I went to General Manager and Head Instructor teaching radio and television and then to calibration of electronics instruments used in the missile launch division of the Air Force.

A year in Fort Yukon as a site representative for RCA and on to California where I worked on the Titan missile installations.

Next was Cambridge, Ohio in a calibration test set up engineer department manager for the calibration lab. Then I hit pay dirt and spent my last 35 years as a calibration engineer and later shuttle electronics design engineer. Just off hand I would say it has been a fun ride.

Violeta Sterner Book Collection

For Kate who’s new in the valley, it was time to fix her head, so they made an appointment with the doctor. Though the results fascinated the doctor, these were not really that alarming.
On the other hand, Gabe has healed nicely after the beating administered by Professor Gilbert, while Gilbert spent time in prison after he recovered from his beating by Ravenwood. When the new DA charged Ravenwood with attempted murder, Ravenwood broke his jaw when he would not keep his hands off Kate.
Witness Ravenwood and Kate as they celebrate their wonderful wedding with Ravenwood playing the violin to surprise her. Kate also learns that she could calm the mares during the birthing process, just as she could calm the family.
And interestingly, get to know Stella, the lady who runs The Moonlight Emporium, home of Po’s Potions, which carried a wide variety of products – and some surprises.

Violeta Sterner

Violeta Sterner was gainfully employed when she was 16 and remained so until 2010 when she was officially declared disabled. She has a Masters Certificate in Project Management, an AA in Liberal Arts, and a Tax Prep diploma from H&R Block. She is experienced with PCs and PC Packages. Also, she is experienced with Mainframe computers, JES2, JESE3, Lotus Notes, and Microsoft Office. Since all of her experience was technical, she decided to write a book.

Book Collection by Mark Vogel

THE DOZEN FAMILY HAS FUN AT THE BEACH

The author shares their family’s fun at the beach in this first book of the author’s “Family” children’s book series, whose characters are all based on the author’s family.

It teaches children about family relationships in a humorous and rhyming fashion. Each family member is discussed and identified in relation to the other members. 12 members of the author’s family were portrayed in this book and there are more to be discussed in future books.

It’s time family relationships are taught to children in a fun and easy-to-read manner. And that’s what this book is about.

THIS FUN FAMILY HAS FUN WITH NUMBERS

In this 2nd book in the “Family” series, the fun family gets to have fun with numbers.

With two new additions in the family, more excitement is about to roll. The book first spells the number and then shows how it is written. It’s time to have fun learning the numbers from zero to twelve. The rhymes keep the story interesting and hold the child’s attention from beginning to end.

THE ADVENTURES OF PROFESSOR POODLE AND AUGGIE

Join The Adventures of Professor Poodle and Auggie as they journey to find all the letters in the alphabet. Accompany them as they meet different letter characters along the way and help solve some of their problems, too, through poetic rhymes.

Find out how Prof. Poodle and his assistant Auggie seek out and find all the letters in the alphabet. Along the way, they discover other characters like Farmer “D” and a Blue “J”. They run into trouble when their Model “E” car breaks down and they have to build “S” and “T” stilts to travel on. They solve a problem in moving a “U” by finding a “W”. In the end, they finish where they started and find the letter “Z” hiding.

About the Author

I grew up in Pinellas Park, FL, where I enlisted in the ISCG and served for 30 years. I currently reside in Chesapeake, VA, where my wife Grace and I raised our 3 sons, Christopher, Matthew, and Adam, along with our English lab, Faby.

I become interested in uniting children’s books in 2011 when I wrote my 1st book, The Dozen Family Has Fun at the Beach, inspired by my own family members.

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Ruth Lampe Book Collection

About Ruth Lampe’s Books

SURVIVING Mental Illness

A story that needs to be told.

It is a story about an incredible love between a man and a woman. Married many years, their life has not been without struggles that originated with the author’s husband’s family that brought a serious genetic chemical imbalance that took the lives of two brothers and a third brother that had continual mental breakdowns for years and never recovered. Ruth Lampe, the author, struggled to get the best care for her dear husband during the 5 bouts of mental depression he had during their marriage. She fought to keep him alive and won each time, through many attempted suicides and care of Psychiatrists that didn’t fight hard enough for his life. She did. Follow the gripping story as she faces these difficult times, but not alone. She had such a depth of faith that she leaned on and it was because of these struggles she wants to share this story with others to perhaps help someone else.

This book offers readers a glimpse into the author’s journey through her early life. Here, Ruth Lampe shares the things that helped shape her being—revealing the many doors that challenged her choices, decisions and commitment and the ease these doors open when knowing the direction you want in life and always evaluating what is important. Through these thoughts and poems, they will see the quiet influence of her mother, the concern, yet strong love, they had with their father, and the belonging they felt as a family. The pages will slowly uncover how the author’s family faces different obstacles, how her parents teach their children how to deal with life’s realities, how to discern the right things to follow, and how to discover life’s true purpose—a journey that taught her many things and guided her through the next phase of her life. Ruth Lampe’s choice, that never wavered, was her walk with God through life. It was so strong in her family and it became her mantra on which she based her life.

Life: Always a Choice of Doors

A glimpse into the author’s journey through her early life.

Ruth Lampe’s first book SURVIVING Mental Illness is a memoir dealing with her marriage and her husband’s family.

“Keep walking with me” may seem difficult but not when you look at it as a challenge and make your choice one that would bring another path, another door.

This now gives a picture of the Author’s growing up days as she lived a life of such faith and devotion to God, regardless of any circumstances, and defines where the Author gets the faith and strength she needed for her life.

It is also the author’s own personal life story and family history growing up in Toledo, Ohio with a family that gave her such strong direction and hope in life, ‘thru it all’.

Both books reveal Ruth Lampe’s love of her husband, love of family, how she felt the strength of her Mother and her Father, and her own strong love of her Lord, Jesus Christ. Her desire is always the same: may her life tell the story.

Sharing the pain, joy, hope and so much more, Life: Always a Choice of Doors invites the readers to learn to make the right choices and discover the true essence of life and family.

Ruth Lampe

Ruth Lampe is sharing the life she has lived in these books she has written. Her desire is to set her own life as a record of living that was difficult at times but yet full of love and joy. Her desire is to share pain with others who are in pain and give some hope to them. If she can make a difference in someone else’s life, that will be reason enough for living this life and surviving it.

She is extremely proud of her two adult children: Beth Lampe Elliott and David Lampe. They are a gift!