Hi! I’m Marella Sands, author of books like Restless Bones and Through a Keyhole, Darkly. I finally looked at this site again and realized I hadn’t posted anything since…(drumroll, please)….2013!
Needless to say, I’m not a very good blogger. So, let’s try this again.
First: I now have a YouTube Channel. Go over there and subscribe, why doncha? I’ve got videos featuring me and Pastor Brian Antonio discussing the theology of the TV show Lucifer; I’ve got videos of people reading the first chapters of my books and some of my short stories; I’ve got videos of me and my friend Anne discussing horror movies; and more.
**Learn how to make a Gooey Butter Cake (a St. Louis thing) of the maple variety, topped with candied bourbon nuts. If you want to make a basic cake, here is one easy recipe. You can find multiple stories about who invented the Gooey Butter Cake and when, but it definitely happened in St. Louis.
**Listen to Aaron AuBuchon of Webster University discuss horror fandom.
**Know anything about West African languages? Here’s a video where Steven Awiba (aka Yaw) discusses his online efforts to spread knowledge of Twi, an Akan language of Ghana. Do you know what your kradin (soul name) would be in Twi? Mine is Akosua. Watch this video from Yaw to learn yours. Yes, it’s a video on the days of the week, but your soul name comes from the name of the day on which you were born, so don’t think I’ve sent you to the wrong video.
**Hear Michael Long of Webster University discuss writing radio dramas.
**Watch a short compilation of some of the amusing signs I saw on our 2008 trip to Britain.
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Also, I’m going to be putting an online store on this site in the near future. With everything shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic, our church has had to cancel all of our fundraising efforts. We are a tiny congregation just trying to scrape by while doing our part for the community. Our congregation is Open & Affirming (that’s United Church of Christ talk for accepting everyone, regardless of gender, sexuality, or gender expression); we currently host a food bank in the basement; and we are always looking for more ways to help. Unfortunately, due to our size, we can’t help as much as we used to. There simply aren’t enough hands to go around. But we still need to meet our operational expenses. To that end, we were going to have a “Taste of Zion” event in March, an Easter Breakfast in April, and a vendor show in May. The first two are definitely canceled; the third is likely to be. I was going to sell things at the vendor show, but now I think I will do that online. So buy pretty things and help us out a tiny bit in these chaotic times. Thanks!