We are living, as we know, through a global water crisis. Climate change has brought droughts to large areas and floods to others; water scarcity has led to the privatization of this precious commodity in some countries, and with it an increased economic burden on the poor; factory runoff and aging lead pipes contaminate drinking […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/drowned-worlds-nineteen-reservoirs-lucy-sante/
Kafka wrote bedtime stories in the sense that he wrote about the terrifying things that might happen in bed. No sooner has the father in “The Judgment” pulled the covers high over his shoulders than he condemns his son to death by drowning; the doctor in “A Country Doctor” is tucked in by the villagers […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/descriptions-of-a-struggle-the-diaries-franz-kafka/
One evening in 2015, the writer Michael Frank rushed in late to a lecture at the Casa Italiana, the home of New York University’s Department of Italian Studies in Greenwich Village. As he plopped into the sole remaining seat around a long table, the elegant older woman next to him asked, in a thick Italian […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/an-exceptional-witness-one-hundred-saturdays-stella-levi-frank/
What counts as eccentric in the garden, and what counts as a folly? As a child I used to be taken on Sunday walks to the Needle’s Eye in Wentworth, South Yorkshire, a kind of sharp pyramid of stone some forty-five feet tall and pierced by an arched passage. It was erected in the early […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/heres-looking-at-yew-english-garden-eccentrics-longstaffe-gowan/
In the Review’s April 6 issue, Alejandro Chacoff reviews a collection of crônicas by the novelist Clarice Lispector, mostly written for the Jornal do Brasil in the 1960s and 1970s. “The Brazilian crônica,” Chacoff writes, “is a maddeningly elusive genre. The difficulty lies not so much in identifying the form’s attachment to the mundane…, but […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/03/18/lispector-cronista-alejandro-chacoff/
“Yes I Can!” shares your life experiences growing up with conditions that other people consider a disability that you turned into a positive experience. Why was this an important book for you to write?
The incredible adversity we face — whether an illness, injury, divorce, physical or mental challenges, or other trauma — can be an opportunity for personal and intellectual growth. We first develop a path to rise above these obstacles, replace self-doubt with confidence, and realize our potential. Most of us sadly define ourselves by the adversity we face, not how we rise above them. Many teens, young adults, and parents of special needs kids become frustrated, anxious, or depressed because they often feel so alone when, in reality, they are loved more than they can possibly know. This is essentially a book about self-love and loving others unconditionally: the greatest gift we can share in our lives! Every chapter ends on an uplifting, even triumphant, note that demonstrates the ways our lives can also be fantastic dreams.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
My own experiences with bullying was, surprisingly, one of the more difficult anecdotes for me to write. When the bully dumped me in the garbage can and then paraded me around the high-school cafeteria, I learned to love, forgive, and eventually make friends with those who once bullied me. Rather than stooping to his level and responding in anger and frustration at the moment, I felt empathy inside and chose to bring the former bully up to my attitude. I would not have been able to do this without the love and self-discipline infused in me by my parents and family. The important lesson is to learn and change from our mistakes. Sharing this experience with audiences and now readers, even with all its horrors, has been enriching.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that changed your life?
Mom and Dad taught me the benefits of wanting to learn about others. Our grandparents and elders are filled with a wealth of life stories and wisdom which we don’t often appreciate until they are sadly no longer with us. Children and teens who walk through the school entrance each morning represent more than themselves during the school day; they also represent their families and perspectives. When we learn about our differences, we become more comfortable around those who are different from us in culture, heritage, and disability. The accompanying fear can be often transformed into love, respect, and even admiration! As I shared in the book, letting go of this fear, in effect, ushers in a future of hope.
For example, in college and graduate school, I would scan around the dining hall and choose to dine with a fellow student who was eating alone (but whom I did not know) and inquire about their hometown, major, classes, and interests. I often knew what it felt like to eat alone and did not want others to experience the accompanying negative emotions. We were students at the same university and even living in the same zip code for four years, so why did we need to be strangers? So the next time when they see me eating alone, they often come over with their friends and join me for a meal. Learning about the experiences of others teaches us about our own lives and perspectives.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
Their positive attitude can change the world. In the closing chapter, I emphasize the importance of ensuring the sun rises and sets with YOU. In other words, never let your attitude become a disability. Your sun, high in the sky, represents those times when your future looks so bright and promising. But realize that there will be other moments when your sun abruptly sets, ushering in a period of nightfall accompanied by looming feelings of frustration, depression, or despair. At that time, you cannot allow your self-esteem to plummet, losing sight of the future. Keep your gaze focused towards the east, for the sun has to rise again. This is your incredible life journey and it can be an uplifting experience of growth and optimism!
If your readers feel renewed and inspired upon reading this book, it’s no surprise. I have been a motivational speaker for the past 42 years, since age 10! Reading this self-help memoir is like experiencing one of my presentations first-hand. Your emotions are taken on a roller-coaster ride, from frustration, reflection, humor, joy, and ultimately, triumph. This is the triumph of the human spirit, and I hope every reader can experience this.
Many thanks to Literary Titan for their generous review and interview questions.
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website | YouTube Interview
Have you wondered why dreams seem to be running away from you and into the arms of someone else? When an illness, injury, disability, divorce, or other traumatic experience forces us to re-evaluate our future as we walk an uncertain path, we often find ourselves asking, “Why me?” How do we overcome the darkness and feelings of fear, doubt, and anxiety?
Paul Wichansky has cerebral palsy and a hearing loss. Conquering these challenges to lead a confident, productive life, he shows, by example, how we can transform such obstacles into opportunities for growth. His disabilities have not only inspired him to rise above tremendous adversity, but also achieve beyond what others believed he could do.
Each chapter focuses on a principle of self-improvement, such as self-love, a positive attitude, support group, self-esteem, perseverance, resilience, and empathy, which he embeds in captivating anecdotes. For instance, the chapter on positive attitude recalls moments of optimism and laughter that have helped him reject the effects of his disabilities by developing complete confidence in his abilities. Though written from a first-person point-of-view, he switches to the second-person narrative near the end of each chapter to offer readers strategies to adopt that guiding principle into their lives.
A master storyteller whose anecdotes combine character, optimism, and heart, he shows his readers, by example, how to face adversity and become the Heroes we all know they can be. Only then can we become the epic version of ourselves.
Let this book be a worthy addition to your home or school library. For shining your light is spreading your love.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/18/a-book-about-self-love/
Spiral follows a teenage boy grieving his mother’s death who has his entire life uprooted twice and heads for a life of self-destruction. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Though Spiral is certainly a work of fiction, I must admit that there are some biographical events woven in. I think most writers can be at their best when they are writing from experiences that they have had, or had witnessed personally. I also enjoy tossing in a bit of history to season the place and the time, as a way to add more flavor into the body of the story. The inspiration began after emptying out a box I had found in the attic. It had stacks of old punk vinyl records in it. In the process, a floodgate of emotions and memories began to stir, or perhaps it was a hornet’s nest that had burst open, either way, I go into greater detail of that moment on my website at jmfisherauthor.com.
Is there anything about Michael that came from yourself or your life experiences?
Yes, for sure. I think that happens a lot when writing an authentic Coming of Age story. Michael and I do have a lot in common. We both are from California and love to surf. We went to Catholic high schools and we were both uprooted to Utah and attended Weber State. And, we both like classic punk music. That is about it. Michael started writing his own story from page one and I just sat back and held the pen. I had wonderful parents; he had a nightmare.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Certainly, the lumps, bumps, and hiccups of adolescence, discovering what love is, perhaps could be, and what it’s probably not, the insane pressure of religion on young people and the existential leftovers that can linger on for the rest of their lives. Friendships, betrayals, and the pursuit of trying to be cool. These were all the necessary ingredients for a perfect storm called “Spiral.”
Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?
Thank you so much for asking that! Spiral does leave you hanging. However, readers will find an invitation to my website at the end of the book. When you come to visit and hit subscribe, I will send you the new cover art for Flux and a free copy of Chapter I, “Dead Man’s Curve.” This will also allow me to keep in touch, send release dates along with a special preorder price for Spiral/Flux subscribers.
Book II, “Flux” starts right up where Spiral left off. An event happens at the end of Spiral and it carries over into book II. Dead Man’s Curve begins again with our hero rising from the ashes only to find himself in a state of, you guessed it, Flux. Who is Tony and Sarge really? What is going on with Dave? Will our hero ever find “The One”? There has been a murder, somebody is going to jail, the cops are swarming, there are cartels moving in the distance, and somehow the boys find themselves in Costa Rica in the middle of the Contra War. Find out how, and the choices that got them deep into the jungles of Flux. This action-packed book is planned to be released before Christmas 2023.
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/18/an-authentic-coming-of-age-story/
Her Lover’s Face follows the widow of an abusive man who starts putting her life back together only to discover her new boss looks like her late husband. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
“I used to work the night shift and it was often very quiet, so I started reading romance novels to help quell the boredom when I was in my mid twenties. After reading one, I was like, “hey, I can do that.” Writing was always a passion of mine, but I hadn’t yet written a full-fledged novel.
It wasn’t long after that, that an idea hit me full force. What if a woman’s abusive husband died, and she ran into a man who looked exactly like him? What would she do and how would she respond? The inspiration for the idea came from my high school days where I dated someone who was a twin. He became my muse as I wrote the story.”
Laryssa and Alex both have a lot of baggage to work through in this novel. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
“For Alex, he’s a gentle honorable man. Honor drives him to do what’s right even if that puts him in harm’s way. Honor and need were what drove him to provide for Laryssa, even if that meant stepping into a hospital for the first time since he lost someone special in the past. He’s a gentle soul, even though much of his soul is tormented, and he responds to his pain in ways that could be mistaken for callousness.
Laryssa spent so many years suppressed by a cruel man and vows to never be treated that way again. So she’s learning how to make her own choices again, but ends up having to do that around a man who looks like her abusive husband. This causes her to find strength and power in her convictions to never ever be treated like she was before. But like every mother out there, sometimes you don’t learn how to grow for yourself in your mindset, until you have someone you’d give your whole life for. In an attempt to give her kids a good life, it forces her to grow in her own self-worth.”
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
“The biggest theme that I based my novel around was to never let pain define you, your life, or your decisions. That pain doesn’t have to control you and you can rise above it. People have a tendency to close themselves off to things that can make them happy when they don’t think they can handle any more pain if things don’t work out.
Some people throw themselves into their work, becoming work-a-holics, to avoid the pain of their past and never truly facing what they went through…never growing as a person, choosing rather to avoid life. So this was the concept that I decided to explore because life is wrought with pain, but it can also be full of beauty if we know how to look for it and be willing to step outside the cocoon that we sometimes build around us.”
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
“I’m currently working on a psychological thriller romance duology which follows a young woman as she experiences just how horrible the world can be at the age of 19th when she gets pulled into a nasty game in the middle of the woods. The working blurb for book one is as follows:
“In the middle of a forest, in an unknown location, is a game. A psychological game designed to play with the mind until it breaks.
The man responsible wants fresh meat. Someone who hasn’t experienced the horrors of the real world. He wants to see how long it would take to make them fall apart, to make them wish for death.
Combing the city of Surrey, he spots his next target…a young librarian named Jenna McCay.”
The cover has been created and the story is going through its last round of editing, so I’m aiming to have the first story out June 1st. Book One is called “Her Prison, His Game,” and Book two is called, “Beneath His Hands.”
I do have a number of irons in the fire, including book two of “Her Lover’s Face,” which is currently with my publisher and will hopefully be released in the near future as well. It’s called “His Sweet Addiction,” which follows the lovely Joanne from the first book.”
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website
Alexander Richards doesn’t expect to catch an unconscious woman in his arms on his first day of work, nor does he envision himself willingly setting foot in a hospital again, reliving his painful loss. But that’s exactly what he chooses to do when Laryssa needs his help. Why?
She has a story to tell. He has a mystery to solve. In the midst of danger, passion sizzles between them, taking them by surprise. What will happen when all is brought to light? Will they be able to overcome their traumatic pasts and find love in each other, or will their ghosts have the final say?
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/18/he-became-my-muse/
Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case follows an 11-year-old girl who discovers a dead body, becomes the suspect in her death, and has to prove her innocence. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
BeforeSparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case, I wrote a short story, “The Monkey’s Ghost” that appeared in History and Mystery, Oh My! an anthology of short historical mystery stories that went on to become an FAPA President’s Book Awards Silver Medalist. That story stayed with me, and I felt there was more to tell about the kids in Depression-era Los Angeles who snoop into the mysterious goings-on in an old mansion. I ended up changing a lot from the short story. Sparky is a new character, along with Tootsie and Gilbert. On advice from the publisher, Mystery and Horror, LLC, I made the child characters older. Instead of eight, Sparky is eleven and Bobby is twelve, which I think works better for the novel. I kept the idea of a strange old house, but transformed it from a Victorian mansion, to silent film star Tootsie’s Art Deco mansion. Fiction works best when characters are put to a test, which Sparky certainly is when she is accused of murder and must solve the crime in order to prove her innocence. The victim, found alone on a park bench, is a girl who is like Sparky at the beginning of the book: alone with no family or home. Sparky’s empathy for the victim goes against the tough-girl image she likes to project. At heart, Sparky wishes to belong to a family.
Why choose this place and time for the setting of the story?
I was always drawn to the Bunker Hill area in downtown Los Angeles, and only later discovered its fascinating history. In the late 1800s, the wealthy built their mansions on Bunker Hill to escape the heat in the downtown flatlands and to enjoy the amazing views. By the 1930s, Bunker Hill had been in decline for years. The severe economic downturn of the Great Depression only added to the woes of the residents. Many of its fancy mansions were converted into rooming houses. Though it was home to many regular working people, it was also a refuge for the world’s castaways and misfits. Bunker Hill in 1932 is where homeless Sparky feels like she belongs. Decades later in the 1950s and 1960s, long past Sparky’s time, Bunker Hill was completely redeveloped. Unfortunately, the people who lived in old Bunker Hill, including many retirees, were displaced. Instead of Victorian mansions, it is now covered with skyscrapers, museums, and concert halls. It is still a hill, but is shorter than it used to be. Certainly, it is a picturesque area, and I love the music and art spaces. But Bunker Hill looks nothing like the bustling, funky working-class neighborhood that it used to be. I would have liked the old Bunker Hill, and I wish I’d seen it back in Sparky’s day.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
The heart of the story is about friendship and family. Sparky, who was orphaned and later abandoned by the relatives who were supposed to care for her, has developed a tough exterior. She is used to fending for herself and thinks she can handle anything. That is, until she is accused of murder and must hide from the law. Solving the mystery is something she cannot do without the help of Bobby, Tootsie, and Gilbert. She must learn to trust them and rely on them. In the process, she finds a home with Tootsie and Gilbert in their strange mansion, and they become the family she always hoped for. She learns that family can be found anywhere, and all that really matters is loving and caring for one another. I think the book’s themes are why it has a wide appeal, not just to young adult and middle-grade readers, but also to grown-up readers.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?
Yes, Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case is the first in the Sparky of Bunker Hill mystery series. The next book is Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cannibal Caper, where Sparky finds herself in one crazy pickle after another. Cannibal Caper has missing jewels, a peculiar pet shop, tommy gun trouble, and who’s that gourmet cannibal? Can Sparky untangle this murder mystery mess? The rub: it may be all Sparky’s fault. I am very excited about Cannibal Caper and hope that readers will feel it has been worth the wait. I don’t have a release date yet, but my revisions to the draft galleys are back with the publisher, so it’s coming! Readers who would like updates, plus bonus short stories, and giveaways can subscribe to my Readers Club here: https://rosalindbarden.com/join-readers-club/ I always love new subscribers!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website | Newsletter | BookBub | Instagram
There may be something to this 13th business. That’s my birthday, and I’m learning to dread seeing it roll around. My mother died on one birthday. The cousins dumped me on my last. This year, 1932, I found a dead kid on a park bench. It’s my eleventh birthday, and the day me, Sparky, ended up on the run, wanted for murder.
If the dead girl wasn’t enough, the dirty newspapers pinned every body in LA on me, and even blamed me for the Great War. I wasn’t even born then. The price on my head got bigger by the day.
It was up to me to find out who killed the girl and why I got framed, before I ended up dangling from the hangman’s rope.
Humorous, fast-paced murder mystery for readers of historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, 1930s mysteries, and mysteries with amateur sleuths. Enjoyable for middle-grade, young adult, and adult historical mystery readers!
Firebird Book Award 1st Place Cozy Mystery Winner, Author Academy Top 10 Mystery Winner, and Critters Readers Poll Top 10 Finisher for both Best Mystery and Best Young Adult Book.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/18/alone-with-no-family-or-home/