Catherine Wilson

"In Book II, Tamras moved from her home into the lands beyond its border. In Book three, the stage widens further: she deals with the struggles of whole peoples. Caught up in intrigues that would once have been far above her, the heroine risks everything unless she can not only learn to swim in treacherous waters, but to master them. The heroines inner journey continues to match her outer one. She must confront the meaning not only of personal love, but the love that extends beyond oneself and those we hold dear. Catherine Wilsons skill at tackling the big issues of love, meaning, and humanity is so deft that it all seemed, to me at least, to flow naturally from her narrative in a way I found technically quite breathtaking."--from a review by Charles Ferguson on the Goodreads website"Being the third and last volume in a series I enjoyed immensely, I knew that I could expect this last book to deliver a happy and satisfying ending. What I didnt expect was the intricate and daring storyline of this last volume. It is bigger and broader than what has come before, and it is spectacular. this time the story unfolds on to a whole new level. More characters, more intrigue, greater losses, wonderful reunions. Theres no taking the easy road herethe story opened up into unimagined dimensions to tell a tale that really is that of a hero." When Women Were Warriors manages to blend mythic storytelling with characters who feel so real you could imagine stepping into the pages and having a conversation with them. A Heros Tale skilfully weaves the questions of love, faith and fairness into a dramatic story; not only of a relationship between the main characters, but of a quest so much bigger it takes the breath away. There is everything you could wish for here power struggles, forces for good and evil, dramatic tests of faith, daring rescues, fatal rivalry, but it is managed with such a deft hand that in the end it is all one beautiful story. What else is there to say? This is not just lesbian fiction, but a story about being human. Its not to be missed.--from a review by Kate Genet on the website, Kissed By VenusIn Book III of the trilogy, Tamras must make her own heros journey. She ventures into the unknown and encounters a more formidable enemy than any she has ever faced. Character is destiny, and the destiny of Tamras and all her people will depend upon choices that come less from the skills she has been taught than from the person she has become, from her own heart.

"A Journey of the Heart [Book II] shows the same strong storytelling ability of the first book. The language is still almost musical and wraps its sweet spell around you. Storylines that were just starting to grow in the first book are also very well developed here. Intrigue and conflict are fleshed out and take some surprising twists. All that I had hoped for, reading the first book, begins to bloom."--from a review by Kate Genet on the website, Kissed By Venus"Catherine Wilson creates a magical sense of place, and of belonging to that place. Within that, she also tells how it feels to not belong. Ms. Wilsons is a tale of bone wisdom. It whispers of what we remember when we sleep at night and dream. It calls us to remember that women had, and still have, a wise and powerful place in the world."--from a review on the blog, The Rainbow Reader, by Baxter Clare Trautman, author of The River Within"In this book we see Tamras world open from the House of Merin and its immediate environs into the lands beyond its borders. She meets other peoples, whose ways are different from those she knows. Similarly Tamras inner life expands as well: the feelings within her blossom into the romantic love that will be the linchpin her life will hinge on"--from a review by Charles Ferguson on the Goodreads websiteIn Book II of the trilogy, Tamrass apprenticeship as a warrior isnt turning out quite the way she expected. Her unconventional choices lead to her crossing swords, almost literally, with Vintel, the war leader of Merins house. She finds herself embroiled in a power struggle she is doomed to lose, but the loss sends her on a journey that will change her destiny and decide the fate of her people.

Winner, 2010 EPIC Ebook Award for fiction in the Mainstream category."Breathtakingly gorgeous writing a multi-layered tale of such depth, breadth and insight that it was very nearly a spiritual experience"--from a review by T. T. Thomas on Amazon.com"reminds me of Le Guin, of Cecelia Holland, and something of Rosemary Sutcliff It made me feel as I did when I was a child reading authors like those Once again I was in a magical place"--from a review by Charles Ferguson on Amazon.com"theres no ring of power or glowing sword of specialness; the magic, like the tone of the book, is quiet. It feels real."--from a blog review on livejournalWhen she was a child, the author of When Women Were Warriors happily identified with all the male heroes she read about in stories that began, "Once upon a time, a young man went out to seek his fortune." But she would have been delighted to discover even one story like that with a female protagonist. Since she never did find the story she was looking for all those years ago, she decided to write it.In Book I of the trilogy, Tamras arrives in Merins house to begin her apprenticeship as a warrior, but her small stature causes many, including Tamras herself, to doubt that she will ever become a competent swordswoman. To make matters worse, the Lady Merin assigns her the position of companion, little more than a personal servant, to a woman who came to Merins house, seemingly out of nowhere, the previous winter, and this stranger wants nothing to do with Tamras."Both men and women of all persuasions seem to love these books... Very rare. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!"--from a review by T. T. Thomas on Amazon.com"Think Beowulf--only comprehensible and with girls."--from a review on the blog, The Rainbow Reader, by Baxter Clare Trautman, author of The River Within

The Spokane Serial Killer: Robert Lee Yates Jr. and the Geography of JusticeBetween 1975 and 2000, decorated U.S. Army helicopter pilot Robert Lee Yates Jr. murdered at least fifteen women while maintaining an impeccable facade as a family man and military veteran. Operating primarily in Spokane, Washington, Yates targeted vulnerable sex workers, driven by severe paraphilic disorder including necrophilia. His double liferespected pilot by day, predator by nightexemplified the compartmentalized psychopath hiding in plain sight.Yatess April 2000 arrest came through forensic breakthroughs: fiber evidence and DNA analysis linking his white Corvette to multiple victims. But his prosecution revealed profound flaws in Americas capital punishment system. Spokane County accepted a plea agreement resulting in 408 years for thirteen murders, while Pierce County pursued death sentences for two murdersthe same defendant, same crimes, different outcomes based solely on geography.His case became central to Washingtons 2018 abolition of capital punishment in State v. Gregory, where Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst cited statistical evidence proving death penalty was "imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner." Yatess death sentences were commuted to life without parolethough he was already serving a life sentence.Now seventy-three, Yates remains imprisoned at Washington State Penitentiary, his case a study in serial murder, forensic evolution, prosecutorial fragmentation, and justices uncomfortable compromises.

The Vesterbro Baby Burner: Murder, Reform, and the Making of the Welfare StateBetween 1913 and 1920, Dagmar Overbye murdered at least nine infants in Copenhagen, operating as an "Angel Maker" who accepted illegitimate children from desperate unwed mothers before strangling and cremating them in her apartments masonry heater. This meticulously researched historical account traces how one womans systematic infanticide exposed catastrophic failures in Denmarks unregulated adoption system and absent civil registration, ultimately catalyzing the 1923 Act on Supervision of Foster Children and the 1924 National Population Register that became foundational to the modern Scandinavian welfare state.Drawing on trial transcripts, psychiatric evaluations, and contemporary sources, this book examines not only Overbyes crimes but the social conditions that enabled them: the economic desperation of working-class women earning barely survivable wages, the complete absence of support for unwed mothers facing social death, and registration systems so inadequate that children could disappear without generating official inquiry. The narrative explores how Karoline Aagesens determination to recover her daughter finally exposed crimes that might have continued indefinitely, and how the resulting public horror translated into comprehensive reforms that fundamentally restructured the relationship between Danish families, vulnerable children, and the protective state.

In our troubled world, looking back to ancient wisdom can shed light on fresh solutions. For years, many of us have upheld the Stoic belief in no pain, no gain. But when the pace of modern life and the demands of jobs and family overwhelm us, punishing exercise regimes, productivity apps and early morning starts may not be the best solution. According to the pleasure-centric philosophy of Epicureanism, life can be good without great sacrifice. By consciously practicing choice and avoidance by being strategic about our recreational, professional and familial pursuits we can live with less fear and regret. By understanding our place in a world that came about by chance, we can gain greater perspective on our role within it and where our priorities should lie. No honest philosopher can give you a formula for happiness, but in The Pleasure Principle, Professor Catherine Wilson explores how Epicureanism can provide a framework for thinking about lifes key issues, including family, death, politics, religion, wealth, science, and love.

The Hamamatsu Deaf Killer: Seisaku Nakamura and Wartime Japans Systemic FailuresIn 1938, a fourteen-year-old deaf boy named Seisaku Nakamura began a four-year killing spree that would claim at least nine lives in wartime Japan, including members of his own family. This meticulously researched historical true crime narrative examines how a mathematically gifted student at a school for the deaf transformed into a serial killer, revealing the catastrophic convergence of disability stigma, familial abuse, and state-sanctioned violence that characterized Japanese society during the Pacific War.Drawing on police records, psychiatric evaluations, and contemporary newspaper accounts, this book traces Nakamuras trajectory from his birth in 1923 through his execution in 1944, situating his case within broader patterns of juvenile delinquency that contradicted wartime propaganda about social cohesion and moral virtue. The narrative explores how the suppression of crime reporting enabled his violence to continue, how the Wartime Criminal Special Law stripped away juvenile protections to ensure his swift execution, and how his case illuminates persistent patterns of ableism in Japanese society from the concept of spiritual pollution to the 2016 Sagamihara massacre. This is a story about what happens when disability meets stigma rather than support, when law serves state power rather than justice, and when societies suppress uncomfortable truths about their own failures.

A diferencia de la filosofía estoica, de la que se ha escrito mucho, nuestra percepción del epicureísmo suele ser errónea, pues tendemos a confundirlo con el hedonismo. Esta falsa percepción, basada en el ideal epicureo del placer como bien supremo, en nada representa a esta filosofia, que fue una de las cinco grandes escuelas grecorromanas, junto con el platonismo, el estoicismo, el escepticismo y el aristotelismo. Dadas las malas interpretaciones, vale la pena preguntarnos hoy en que creian Epicuro y sus seguidores, y como podemos hacer uso de sus lecciones en nuestro dia a dia. Basandose en una sabiduria antigua que reflexiona acerca de la naturaleza, la sociedad y la vida personal desde el optimismo, pero actualizando estas enseñanzas para el publico contemporaneo, Catherine Wilson nos revela el pensamiento epicureo a partir de los principales temas de la existencia. Como ser un epicureo es una guia sobre la importancia de mantener las amistades, vivir con menos miedo y arrepentimientos, saber que actitud tomar frente a las adversidades y descubrir cual es la principal fuente de placer en la vida.