What I teach is literary criticism and comparative literature and so on and that's my function, but from time to time it's possible for me actually to help a writer. I read something and something strikes me then, I feel I can talk to that writer about it.
He said his friend Victor called it a lucky charm, and that it kept him safe in Iraq. " She felt her pulse pick up tempo, and she brought her face close to Ben's. "Did you say Victor called it a lucky charm?" "Uh-huh. " Ben nodded. "That's what he said. " "Are you sure?" "Of course I'm sure. " Beth stared at her son, feeling at war with herself.