Corridors of the Absurd: Sinister tales from the Deep Halls of Power and Dreams by Kenneth Francis

Corridors of the Absurd: Sinister tales from the Deep Halls of Power and Dreams by Kenneth Francis

Corridors of the Absurd: Sinister Tales from the Deep Halls of Power and Dreams

by Kenneth Francis

Following on from his anthology of dark tales, Cities of the Absurd, Kenneth Francis presents us with more sinister stories from the deep halls of power in the various Estates in society. From corruption in politics, to bestiality in a corporate skyscraper, to suicidal situations in academia. A fallen world where robots roam the halls of dark courtrooms and toothless, soy-boy Millennials sit around in their mother’s attic telling tales of the Great Twitter Wars of the Anti-MAGA Revolution.
 
Paperback: $12.95 | Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“Kenneth Francis peers into the corridors of power with a morally serious, razor-edged imagination—satire as warning, art as examen. Stark, unsettling, and often darkly funny, these tales expose idols and awaken a hunger for truth.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Victim Soul in the Dark Night of Nosferatu

​ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kenneth Francis is the current Editor of Mind Matters and a Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications, as well as a university professor in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and TruthThe Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd (with Theodore Dalrymple), and Neither Trumpets Nor Violins (with Theodore Dalrymple and Samuel Hux). His most recent books are Theology in Music: How Christian Themes Permeate Classic SongsTheology in Film: How Christian Themes Permeate Classic Movies, and Cities of the Absurd: Strange Tales from the Dark Metropolis and Corridors of the AbsurdSinister tales from the Deep Halls of Power and Dreams

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Dr. Gerry Turcotte at his book launch on February 10, 2026

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TESTIMONIALS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerry Turcotte is an award-winning teacher and writer. He served for eleven years as President of St. Mary’s University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is currently President and Principal of Corpus Christi College and St. Mark’s College, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is also the author or editor of 23 books, including the novel Flying in Silence, shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year in Australia.
 

Creative Works

  • The Ghost Wilderness and other plays
  • Flying in Silence 
  • Ridgedon’s Fowl: a novel
  • Border Crossings: Words & Images
  • Winterlude (poems)
  • Neighbourhood of Memory (poems)
  • hauntings: the Varuna poems

Academic Works

  • The Oxford History of the Novel in Australia, Canada, New Zealand & the South Pacific (with P. Sharrad & C.A. Howells)
  • Peripheral Fear: Transformations of the Gothic in Canadian and Australian Fiction
  • Unsettled Remains: The Postcolonial Gothic in Canada (with C. Sugars)
  • (Shortlisted for the Gabrielle Roy Prize for Literary Criticism)
  • Literary and Social Diasporas: An Italian-Australia Perspective (with G. Rando)
  • Canada–Australia: 1895–1995: Towards a Second Century of Partnership (with L. Foster and K. Burridge)
  • The Sum of All Things: Essays Old and New
  • One Last Thing: Reflections on Hope and Resilience
  • Big Things: Ordinary Thoughts in Extraordinary Times
  • Small Things: Reflections on Faith and Hope
  • Compr(om)ising Post/colonialism(s): Challenging Narratives and Practices (with G. Ratcliffe)
  • Jack Davis: the Maker of History
  • Masks, Tapestries, Autobiographies
  • Jack Davis: the Maker of History
  • Writers in Action: The Writer’s Choice Evenings

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The Dark Side of the Valley

by Virginia Lee Bliss

Julianna is the assistant church music director in the Massachusetts Pioneer Valley. When an altar boy disappears, she is drawn into the mystery by her friendships with wildlife biologist Andrew and police detective Raj. At great risk to herself, she searches for answers. Will a cave provide the solution to the mystery and the resolution to her romantic dilemma?
 
Paperback $TBA| Kindle $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

TBA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Virginia Lee Bliss brings the perspective of a traveler, teacher and biologist, to her published works. Her experience of living in Scotland and Poland appears in her books, as do her years of teaching college biology. She lives on a lake in Central Massachusetts, where she’s inspired by the history and beauty of New England.

 

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Jennifer Ristine interviewed Liz Tabish, the actress who plays Mary Magdalene on The Chosen. Click play on the video below.

Becoming Magdalene: The Transforming Journey of a Disciple

by Jennifer Ristine

Jennifer Ristine’s extensive contact with sacred scriptures, research into multiple historical sources, personal prayer, and first-hand ministry in the Holy Land, particularly Ancient Magdala, give credibility and foundation to creative license as Mary Magdalene’s transforming journey unfolds.
 
Hear the echo of your own heart as you encounter this enigmatic saint. Witness existential tensions in the search for identity and belonging. See her struggles with relationships as she overcomes wounds, defense mechanisms, and false perceptions of self and God. Step into the messiness of life that has potential to reconcile rifts and fulfill grand and noble desires. Listen for interior movements of the heart, indicative of multiple influences at play as she walks with her Rabboni.
 
Join Saint Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the Apostles, as she discovers God’s providential hand guiding her toward authentic freedom and love. It is a path to which we are all called. And it invites a continual response. Read it for fun, for inspiration, for spiritual reading, or make use of it as an ongoing personal retreat. Wherever you are on your journey of faith, you will find a companion here.
 
Paperback $24.95 | Kindle $9.99
Interviews about Mary Magdalene with other people: Living Heart of an Apostle: Interviews
 
News pieces:
Blogs/Articles:

TESTIMONIALS

“What a remarkable biblical, traditional, and creative exploration of the life of St. Mary Magdalene! I met Jennifer Ristine numerous year ago in Magdala, where she offered my pilgrimage group an inspiring tour of the excavations and prayer spaces of the Magdalene’s chosen city. Jennifer’s years in Magdala, and her journeys to Bethany, Jerusalem, and southern France, have prepared her contemplative heart to produce this imaginative historical novel. I love Mary Magdalene and I devoured this remarkable book. Order it, read it, and fill your imagination with holy, intimate imagery of Jesus and his dear friend and disciple.” – Stephen J. Binz, founder of Threshold Bible Study and author of Holy Land Pilgrimage, at http://www.Bridge-B.com
“I feel like I just met the Magdalene. What a beautiful blending of biblical and pious traditions with profound spiritual and psychological insight, the work not only of good scholarship but even more a true contemplative!” – Dr. Anthony Lilles, St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, Menlo Park, CA, co-founder the Avila Institute of Spiritual Formation
“Jennifer Ristine brings Mary Magdalene to vivid life, revealing the childhood wounds that shaped her into the woman we encounter in the Gospels—and how Jesus transformed her into the model of a female disciple. Weaving biblical scholarship with Ignatian spirituality, Ristine creates an original retreat experience. Following the “apostle of the apostles” through her story, familiar Gospel scenes come alive in startling new ways, while you discover the deeper terrain of your own wounded heart in need of divine mercy. A reading experience that becomes a spiritual journey—where Mary Magdalene’s story of redemption becomes a mirror for your own.” -Dr. Nina Heereman, author of Athirst for the Spirit: Biblical Wisdom for Desert Times

“Jesus Christ is the greatest storyteller of all time. HIStory is the one which matters most. “Becoming the Magdalene” highlights this reality by brilliantly retelling the story of Jesus through the eyes of Mary Magdalene. Followers of Christ never tire of hearing the words of scripture. Jennifer Ristine is obedient to hierarchical biblical accuracy, as she uses historical facts and recent archaeological findings, with a vibrant imagination, to give spiritual insights on the relationship between Mary Magdalene and her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Readers are brought back to the first century where they will visualize the life and times of Jesus as they pore over every word He speaks in the Gospel. Ristine further explores the complexities and difficulties of the first century Apostles. This book invokes one to utter the perfect prayer with their lives. Through Mary Magdalene’s humility, and her title “Apostle to the Apostles”, we give thanks and praise to Our Lord Jesus Christ. We reflect in self-awareness, which leads to repentance and reparation. And finally, we commit our lives to the service of God.” – Mary Driscoll, Script Analyst/Writer

“I loved reading Becoming Magdalene: Historical Fiction. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres because it lets me learn while still getting lost in a story; and Jennifer Ristine does this so well. The history felt alive, and the storytelling pulled me in from the start.” – Fr. Anton Vogelsang, LC, author of Génesis: Crimen, castigo, bendición and El Éxodo: Conversión y regreso a casa

Becoming Magdalene is a luminous work that blends fidelity to Scripture with imaginative depth. It invites readers into Mary’s journey with Christ, stirring the heart toward deeper faith, love, and discipleship.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Ristine is a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi, which is a Society of Apostolic Life in the Catholic Church. She consecrated her life to God in 1997 and has been engaged in faith and spiritual formation primarily through teaching, writing, conferences, retreats and spiritual direction. She has been a contributor for RC Spirituality, epriest, and an instructor for the online Spiritual Director Certificate course at Divine Mercy University in Virginia. She is the author of Mary Magdalene: Insights from Ancient Magdala and Nine Days with Mary Magdalene. She served for 12 years as a teacher of pedagogy, theology and spirituality classes at Mater Ecclesiae College, and served from 2014-2018 as the Director of the Magdalena Institute and the Visitors’ Center Coordinator in Magdala, the ancient hometown of Mary Magdalene, a first century Jewish site and Christian pilgrim center. She has obtained degrees in Special Education from Western Illinois University, Pastoral and Religious studies from Regina Apostolorum in Rome, a Masters degree in Theology from Catholic Distance University in Virginia, a Masters in Ignatian Spirituality from the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain and has studies in the Masters in the Mystics from CITeS and the Catholic University in Avila, Spain.

 

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TESTIMONIALS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Tiny Goddess by Nirvana (paired with Albert's Toe)
Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty (paired with Times Square on a Wet Afternoon)
Season of the Witch by Donovan (paired with Eulogy for Roderic)
Are 'Friends' Electric? by Replicas Tubeway Army (paired with Lift to the Twelfth Floor)

REVIEWS

O’Leary, Denyse. (August 30, 2025). “AI Can Even Turn Ghosts to Glitches.” Mind Matters. Click here to read the review.

TESTIMONIALS

“The anthology has been noted for its unique blend of horror and philosophical inquiry, appealing to readers interested in the darker aspects of human experience. Critics have praised its imaginative storytelling and the depth of its characters. Overall, Cities of the Absurd offers a thought-provoking exploration of modern life’s complexities through a lens of absurdity and darkness.” — Barnes & Noble

Cities of the Absurd ignites a surreal, darkly comic blaze through memory, madness, and modern decay. A vivid, Poe-meets-Kafka meditation on absurdity, haunting, and the strange beauty of ruin.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Victim Soul in the Dark Night of Nosferatu

​ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kenneth Francis is the current Editor of Mind Matters and a Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications, as well as a university professor in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and TruthThe Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd (with Theodore Dalrymple), and Neither Trumpets Nor Violins (with Theodore Dalrymple and Samuel Hux). His most recent books are Theology in Music: How Christian Themes Permeate Classic SongsTheology in Film: How Christian Themes Permeate Classic Movies, and Cities of the Absurd: Strange Tales from the Dark Metropolis and Corridors of the AbsurdSinister tales from the Deep Halls of Power and Dreams

OTHER CATHOLIC LITERARY WORKS

The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte

The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte

Dr. Gerry Turcotte at his book launch on February 10, 2026The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte The Space Between by Gerry Turcotte is a wry, tender novel that explores faith, failure, love, and longing through a series of sharply observed episodes. Moving from boyhood...

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The Dark Side of the Valley by Virginia Lee Bliss

The Dark Side of the Valley by Virginia Lee Bliss

The Dark Side of the Valley by Virginia Lee Bliss Julianna is the assistant church music director in the Massachusetts Pioneer Valley. When an altar boy disappears, she is drawn into the mystery by her friendships with wildlife biologist Andrew and police detective...

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The Wonderful Wizard of Lies by Neal Flesher

The Wonderful Wizard of Lies by Neal Flesher

The Wonderful Wizard of Lies by Neal Flesher The Wonderful Wizard of Lies is a dystopian allegory, reimagining The Wizard of Oz in a world ruled by economic illusion. Dorothy and her companions navigate a surreal financial landscape dominated by debt cycles,...

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Clarisse, or The Folly of Caprice

Clarisse, or The Folly of Caprice

Clarisse, or The Folly of Caprice by Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP This is a libretto inspired by Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa; or, The History of a Young Lady. Set in a fictionalized 18th-century backdrop, the work condenses Richardson's sprawling narrative into a...

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Maria’s Dynasty and Songs of her Family by George Luvisi

Maria’s Dynasty and Songs of her Family by George Luvisi

Maria's Dynasty and Songs of her Family by George Luvisi Amal, Maria's younger son, learns the profound cost of ambition and the loss of familial and moral grounding in the pursuit of material success. He realizes the value of love, relationships, and humility after...

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Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love by Glenn Morrow

Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love by Glenn Morrow

Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love by Glenn Morrow We are not meant to travel through our lives alone. These are tales of the sustaining power of love. Whether we are descending into the Grand Canyon on muleback or lost in Venice with absolutely no sense of...

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Center Camaraderie by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

Center Camaraderie by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

Center Camaraderie by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden In the first part of this book, Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden, Ph.D., Psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Holy Apostles College and Seminary, summarizes, extends, and reflects upon...

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Things Beloved: Two Short Novels

Things Beloved: Two Short Novels

Things Beloved: Two Short Novels by Glenn Morrow The Better Boat Wandering the coast, 12-year-old Anthony comes upon a man kicking a sailboat. The derelict boat is stranded high on the shore, so the man sells it to Anthony for a dollar. In an idyllic Rhode Island...

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Nkar: The Village of Myths and Legends

Nkar: The Village of Myths and Legends

Nkar: The Village of Myths and Legends by Fr. Eugen Nkardzedze Fr Eugen Nkardzedze has provided a vindicating account of the juiciest myths and legends of Nkar that does justice to history, culture, religion, and the general anthropology of the people of Nkar. Very...

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Masters of Interior Space

Masters of Interior Space

So Shine is the debut album by brothersister  10 new original Catholic Christian songs Music & Lyrics by Fr. Lawrence Edward Tucker, SOLT“‘So Shine’ strikes an excellent balance between Catholic hymns and classic rock.” – Check out the review at Aleteia.orgMasters...

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A Sword Will Pierce by L. Blosser-Medley

A Sword Will Pierce by L. Blosser-Medley

A Sword Will Pierce by L. Blosser-Medley L. Blosser-Medley offers her readers a love story, showing the great love Mary has for God, always saying, "God's will be done" and doing His will, always trusting fully in Him. Our Blessed Mother became the first and most...

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True Love: 12 Christmas Stories, My True Love Gave to Me

True Love: 12 Christmas Stories, My True Love Gave to Me

True Love: 12 Christmas Stories, My True Love Gave to Me by Ben Bongers Let’s face it, life is messy and so are emotions. But, as Hellen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”...

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Goat-Song and Other Stories by David Ross

Goat-Song and Other Stories by David Ross

Goat-Song and Other Stories by David Ross Goat-Song and Other Stories is a collection of one novella and two short stories. The novella, Goat-Song, concerns an exclusive theatrical production, and the two people involved, one alive, the other dead. One short story,...

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The Saint Nicholas Society by Ben Bongers

The Saint Nicholas Society by Ben Bongers

Ben Bongers reading from his book at Catholic Gifts and Books at 13397 Olive Blvd., Chesterfield, MO 63017. See https://catholicgiftsandbooks.com/The Saint Nicholas Society by Ben Bongers Fred went from having it all—the girl, the car, the mansion—to being on the...

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“Empty Nest” and Other Stories

“Empty Nest” and Other Stories

"Empty Nest" and Other Stories by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden The place of the dream, of the inner life that connects to others, where literature touches the unconscious, where Spirit moves and speaks through the material world, has a language and inherent meaning....

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Obsidian Mirth by Thom Brucie

Obsidian Mirth by Thom Brucie

Obsidian Mirth The characters in Thom Brucie’s Obsidian Mirth fall into a dilemma where loss and betrayal entangle the need for forgiveness and love. Their choices reveal what distinctions lie between knowing one’s self and knowing another, choices that expose that...

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Saynt Lachmi

Saynt Lachmi

Saynt Lachmi A young street child named Lachmi is whisked into prostitution, rescued, and led by her spirit and providence through the use of her extraordinary gifts to the brink of sainthood. The body, she shows us, is a prism, revealing through its gradations the...

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La Redención de San Isidro

La Redención de San Isidro

¡Una gran noticia! En los Premios de la Catholic Media Association (CMA), la edición original en inglés de... La Redención de San Isidro... ganó el tercer lugar en la categoría Novela Católica; también ganó el tercer lugar en la categoría de Mejor Portada.So Shine is...

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A Quienes El Corazón Decidió Amar

A Quienes El Corazón Decidió Amar

¡Una gran noticia! En los Premios de la Catholic Media Association (CMA), la edición original en inglés de... A Quienes el Corazón Decidió Amar... ganó el segundo lugar en la categoría Backlist Beauty.So Shine is the debut album by brothersister  10 new...

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Coda

Coda

Senator Bob HillCoda: American Politics, Personal Loss, and Recovery A Novel by Dick Bishirjian Senator Bob Hill (R-PA) is sentenced for involuntary manslaughter for an accident in which he was driving under the influence. Prior to completing his sentence in jail, the...

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The Rebirth of Nicodemus, authored by Rick Akins

The Rebirth of Nicodemus, authored by Rick Akins

Special congratulations to Rick for his being awarded third place in the 2020 Catholic Book Awards contest for best Catholic novel. The Rebirth of Nicodemus by Rick Akins As the Romans prepare to destroy Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 A.D., the Apostle John visits the...

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Children of the Breath: A Dialogue in the Desert

Children of the Breath: A Dialogue in the Desert

Children of the Breath: A Dialogue in the Desert by Martin Chervin Martin Chervin, Ronda’s husband, became a Catholic at the age of sixty, after decades of struggling with doubt. His way of resolving his doubt was to ponder the battle between Satan and Christ during...

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Ties that Bind: The Story of a Marriage

Ties that Bind: The Story of a Marriage

Ties that Bind: The Story of a Marriage by Ronda Chervin January 4, 1984 would be a day to remember for Margo Kemperdick. It began when the thirty-five year old woman walked out of her dilapidated, wooden frame row house in the South Bronx one morning to get her mail,...

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Sisters Karamazov

Sisters Karamazov

Sisters Karamazov by Natalie Karamazov “So what kind of a title is that Hmmph! The Sisters Karamazov? So you think you’re a female Dostoevsky? Isn’t that more than a little arrogant?” Let me explain. The idea for writing this fictionalized account of my life came in...

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Eye of the Tiber

Eye of the Tiber

Eye of the Tiber by S.C. Naoum Reporting Catholic news as it happens, when it happens, and before it happens, Eye of the Tiber has been delighting readers online since 2012. Now, it provides a book that can be thrown! The only news source brave enough to report...

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The Table

The Table

The Table by Dcn. Dennis Lambert First century Christianity and present-day musical aspirations meet in the story of a miracle table built by the grandfather of Jesus Christ.  The table is placed in the hands of a Centurion named Cornelius following the death of the...

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To Whom the Heart Decided to Love

To Whom the Heart Decided to Love

Great news! To Whom The Heart Decided To Love won 2nd place as a Backlist Beauty in the 2021 Catholic Media Awards!So Shine is the debut album by brothersister  10 new original Catholic Christian songs Music & Lyrics by Fr. Lawrence Edward Tucker, SOLT“‘So Shine’...

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