What makes Chekhov stories so wonderful? When did the humorous anecdotes he wrote for money become great art? And at what point did Chekhov appreciate his talent? Bob Blaisdell’s new book, Chekhov Becomes Chekhov, focuses on the years when it became evident, first to others and then to Chekhov himself, that a literary genius had […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/the-master-of-toska-chekhov-becomes-chekhov-blaisdell/
Luke Harding, a journalist for The Guardian who spent several years as a correspondent in Moscow before being expelled in 2011, was in Kyiv the night before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, having dinner at the home of the famous Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov. While the guests enjoyed borscht and honey vodka, Harding […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/putins-folly-invasion-luke-harding/
Charisma, like pornography, is easier to recognize than define. Max Weber’s attempt borders on tautology: A certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. Later social scientists did no better, though […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/longing-for-reconciliation-jacob-taubes/
The earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6 killed around 40,000 people in Turkey alone, destroyed or severely damaged 200,000 buildings, and left around 1.5 million people homeless. Miners, construction workers, and other volunteers converged on the stricken area to pull survivors from the rubble, while across the country people lined […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/04/06/erdogan-in-the-ruins-gonul-tol-de-bellaigue/
I first visited Iraq in October 2002, barely a year after the United States attacked Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. I went there as a photojournalist, invited by the government of Saddam Hussein to cover the presidential referendum in which, according to Iraqi officials, 100 percent of the population voted to extend his […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/03/19/collide-collude-confront-iraq/
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
What a weather week. We had temps in the 70s before plunging into sub-zero temps, with snow & high winds. My butt was dragging all week from the time change. I don’t think I stayed up past 9 pm on any evening. I am most seriously annoyed at Facebook and Audible. Saturday I got a notice that 18 of my posts on Caffeinated Reviewer’s Facebook page were flagged and removed for copyright infringement. The reporter: Audible Inc. for the audiobook cover images!!! WTH. The fair use act ensures we can use the cover when reviewing. In my twelve years of blogging, I have never heard such twattle. Am I surprised given what authors in KU are going through thanks to Amazon bots? Nope, but if they get me banned from Facebook we will have words. I will have to fight each report through DMCA. Stay Caffeinated.
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Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2023/03/sunday-post-567-sun-snow-wind.html
Jetsam follows a divemaster collecting water samples who stumbles upon terrorists and smugglers putting her life in danger. What was one of the hardest parts of this novel for you to write?
My concept for the series has always revolved around evolution. Each book takes place in a new setting (first, Palau in Micronesia, then Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and now in Thailand and Myanmar), brings in both new characters and prior characters in expanded roles, and, most critically, Ricky Yamamoto’s evolving personality and ability to interact with others. In this book, I chose to bring some of Ricky’s vulnerabilities to the forefront. This series is written in the first-person, requiring I put myself into the head of a narrator struggling with a crisis of confidence. It was an uncomfortable space to live in as I wrote and refined the book.
Some events in the book were chillingly similar to real-life events. Did you take any inspiration from real life when developing this book?
I love to research. I spent quite a bit of time researching the various locales, issues, and people before deciding where and when this story took place. Each book in the series weaves some sort of environmental or social issue into the story line. In the case of Myanmar, I had so much to choose from. As I wrote, and deepened my research, the story changed dramatically to integrate what I found to be a more interesting and less publicized aspect of the events of the past decade.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
As often as not I’m also shocked by the plot twists. Although I tend to loosely block out the book, I seldom know which character will be taking a given action and how others will react. That often leads to twists I never expected. I try to let the story write itself and I enjoy going along for the ride. So, yes, absolutely, they are the same thing — at least when it involves a Ricky story. I seldom know what that woman is going to get into next.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
The fourth book, Lagan (it is a real word and related to Flotsam, Jetsam, and Derelict as a term related to shipwrecks), finds Ricky back home in Hawai’i. But her itchy feet lead her on a deep adventure to the bottom of the Bikini Atoll, a Cold War scar, site of dozens of nuclear tests, and resting place for a ghost fleet of ships committed to the deep during those tests.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/19/a-crisis-of-confidence/
Song of the Sea follows a young mermaid princess who rescues a human prince and together they try to save their kingdoms from evil. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I hoped to write a story featuring disability representation and introduce characters who are often overlooked in literature. Therefore, the story, while a fantasy, explores the importance of every individual and the potential that so many people have to offer the world. Being blind myself, I love any stories featuring diversity, and there is simply not enough of that representation, particularly in the fairy tale genre.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
My favorite character to write was Prince Reginald. He holds a very special place in my heart. I love his determination, his inner struggles and his ultimate heroism when he is finally able to take a stand for justice. I also had tremendous fun with the character Glissando because he is multi-layered and, to my mind, complex in his own way.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I explored the theme of leadership and what makes an effective ruler through this retelling. With the political upheaval in our society, Song of the Sea was a cathartic writing experience for me and enabled me to sort through some current events that have made me ponder an individual’s role and the role of our leaders in society.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am working on a book entitled Wind Charmer. I hope to have it published early in 2024.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Aria has heard this saying all her life, but it has little to do with her. She knows that her destiny is written
in the Song of the Sea. She will marry, birth children and, occasionally, sing the Death Journey songs to
guide lost souls to their final resting place. She knows that the Treaty of Separation prevents merkind
and humankind from interacting except when misfortunes occur at sea. Aria is content with her life and
is preparing to embark upon the journey of courtship and matrimony. A chance encounter will force Aria
to question where she truly belongs.
Prince Reginald struggles with feelings of self-doubt, a debilitating spinal injury that causes him constant
pain, and his father’s harsh treatment. After an unexpected accident places the burden of kingship on
the prince’s shoulders, he embarks upon a sea voyage and is attacked by an unexplained malevolent
force. Rescued by someone he cannot see, Reginald is thrust into an unexpected adventure.
Aria’s and Reginald’s stories combine in unforeseen ways as they must confront an evil that possesses
an unquenchable thirst for vengeance. Surprising allies and deceptive falsehoods battle, and the fate of
two kingdoms hang in the balance. Will the Song of the Sea be silenced?
Song of the Sea is a story of momentous decisions, forbidden love and self-discovery. For fans of fairy
tales with a sprinkling of whimsy, a dash of darkness and a dollop of courage.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/19/stories-featuring-diversity/
Islanders: The Pacific Chronicles (Book 1) follows a brother and sister who, while on a hike, develop magical abilities and make new friends. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My brother and I knew we wanted to capture what it was like to explore the tropical forests, grassy hills, beaches and lava fields of the Hawaiian Islands so that was the core and heart of the story. Quickly we realized that so much of what we discovered as adventure when we were kids was a combination of our imaginations and the education about Hawaii we had received. My wife and daughter are very much Kilikina — a fascinating combination of both reserved and natural leaders. People are drawn to them and frequently they both wonder why, but the rest of us around them know. Kaimana is a combination of both my boys: more outgoing, impulsive and energetic. And finally, my brother and I had always longed for a huge, epic tale about Hawaii that involved the rich history, mythology and lore that we thought was so amazing, but we never could find it. So as adults, we decided to write it.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
We wanted to capture the age, perspective and experiences as a pre-teen and teenager would. The book is intentionally less descriptive and detailed in its world-building and more observational and theatrical because that’s how most kids that age see the world. They’re engaging with it, not necessarily taking in every aspect of their surroundings to remember and describe it later as adults most likely would. Also I have ADHD so it was morally important to me that this is not a boring series. We are committed to being sincere and authentic with our portrayal of our home State while also taking many creative and exciting liberties that keep kids (and adults) with a wide array of attention spans fully engaged all the way through. We promise if you or your children read these books they will learn far more about Hawaii than you would expect, and have a blast the whole time.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The biggest theme in this book is a positive association with what it means to defend what is right and good. We believe if kids are entertained, made to laugh, emotionally connect with and understand the value of respecting and protecting indigenous plants, animals, ecosystems, history and mythology/legends, they will naturally do what all kids do when they love something: defend it. To abruptly shift gears, many people don’t realize Hawaii has an unique and powerful culture that values quick banter and jokes even in many of the most formal or serious settings. The Menehune, animals and sea creatures all have that local-style sense of humor and reflect Hawaii’s real-life culture. We want kids to come away having experienced some of what makes Hawaii so special. And lastly, a major theme throughout every book is that we promise you won’t know what is coming next almost the whole time. Try us. If we’re wrong, let us know and we will absolutely give you a refund.
Can you tell us what the second book will be about and when it will be available for fans to purchase?
This is the first time this information will have been made public. Book 2, Kaimana (the older brother) steps into a critically supportive role and we will be first surprised then fascinated as an 11 year-old girl executes an incredible wartime leadership role defined by her compassion and command of a complicated large-scale military defense. It’s been wild to capture but I absolutely believe that is what would happen if my daughter was put in the same position. The bad guys are very bad, the good guys are good, but nothing comes easily and there are loads of surprises alongside many, many laughs. We’ve incorporated the native Hawaiian language, food, authentic historical armor and weapons (scaled down for animals) and military tactics. Several ancient Hawaiian myths are retold and integrated in a way that builds into a huge, epic, never-before-seen original tale. I’m also crushed to say: a character we met in book 1 won’t survive to the end of book 2. One thing to note: as a father of four with a fifth on the way, we will keep this and the subsequent books appropriate for all ages. If you enjoy Islanders and submit your email on our website, we’ll send you the first few chapters of Book 2 shortly!
Mākaha: The Pacific Chronicles (Book 2) will be made available on digital and softcover on May 15th, 2023 and is available for digital pre-order now at this link. Mahalo Literary Titan for your thorough and gracious review and excellent interview questions!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/19/a-huge-epic-tale-about-hawaii/
“Cobra Pose” follows a solicitor turned yoga instructor and her photojournalist love interest as they race against time to stop a group of hackers from destabilizing financial institutions worldwide. What were some new ideas you wanted to explore in this book that were different from book one?
We have been fascinated with the concept of hacking for almost ten years. We started researching various groups that were involved in hacking, as well as their methods. Hacking often leads to theft, fraud, or other scams, and often appears more efficient and less costly than other methods. We also wanted to know what counter measures were available to prevent hacking. To us, it was always a race, a contest if you will, between the two opponents. Just when one method seems to be the solution to prevent hacking, hackers come up with means to overcome the countermeasures. It’s the ultimate chess game. The stakes are high, and we have definitely seen an uptick in the volume hacking over the years.
We wanted the reader to become immersed in both sides of the hacking equation. We developed a stable of characters who are orchestrating the hacking, as well as a counter-group trying to prevent or at least control the outcomes of the hacking event. We also identified the White Hat Hackers that hack for justice and Black Hat Hackers who hack for gain and disruption.
As it turns out, just when we were in Australia ‘ground-truthing’ all the locations for Cobra Pose, our communications company was hacked. It was such a massive hack that half of Australia was affected (about 12 million people). Driver’s licenses, streets names, phone numbers etc were up for grabs. We happened to be two of the people that were affected.
As writers we do love irony, and we thought this was the greatest irony of all.
What were some challenges you felt were important to developing Elaina Ric’s characters in this book?
Our books focus on classic literary fiction writing. We spend a considerable amount of time working on the plot of one book, while we may be writing others in the series. Since the characters and books have plots and direction that may overlap, it becomes a tracking process which includes spreadsheets, tables and lists. The plots are paramount to us as they become the coat hangers on which we fashion our characterizations. However, we also have a specific issue or flaw that our characters work on during the course of each book. As we have two main characters, we alternate who is the ‘lead’ or protagonist for each book. Occasionally, some of the sub-characters will feature in a strong way and down the track line have a book of their own.
The challenge of course is to make each character seem real and multi-faceted. We actually try to make each character have small characteristics that allow them to be visualized in the mind of the reader. We rely on the readers imagination to form the construct of what our characters appear like and act like. The word-smithing plays an important part in this.
Writers have the delicious opportunity to use a smorgasbord of options at their fingertips when building a character. Just like any artist they can dabble in one method and then switch to another if that isn’t working.
Knowing the right balance can be a method of trial and error where we work at something over and over again until it reads and sounds right. Sometimes the character comes to life with little or no effort, like they are ready to jump out from the computer keys onto the page. Those are the magic moments every writer loves.
Many of our characterisations are based on people we have met and interacted with over the years.
We hope people enjoy the many characters we have created in both Dead Man’s Pose and Cobra Pose. Our books are the combination of a wide variety of quirky characters and a well-crafted plot.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
For us, it is hard to choose one scene over another, as our writing is very layered. Working separately and then together as a team, then apart again, we tend to go back and forth on the various scenes within each book.
This includes both reading the book ourselves, and then reading to each other. In Dead Man’s Pose, when twelve characters come together in The Crime Solver’s Potluck, we basically acted out what we wanted each character to do and say.
You can imagine what occurred when someone came to our front door, and we were dressed in an array of clothing and hats to quickly go from one character to another.
In Cobra Pose, we ground-proofed each of the streets, locations, and areas we wrote about as we did in Dead Man’s Pose That means we walk or drive, take a boat or a plane to get to where the characters are going to move around.
If there isn’t a building that meets our needs, we do have the ability to create one, as we did with The Observatory. However, in this case, we both have about 20 years of emergency management experience each, to build our ideal of what a multi-agency operations centre might include. So that combines the mix of: years of experience, within the plot developed for that book, with the creative need for the actions envisioned.
The scene that stands out in Cobra Pose is near the end. Of course, we aren’t going to give away any spoilers away, but there is a massive response effort that takes place. It was complex and exhilarating to write and gave us an adrenalin rush just reading it to each other.
What can readers expect in book three in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series?
Book 3 in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series is Tree Pose. In book 1, Dead Man’s Pose we explored the theme of corruption, fraud and justice, along with a budding romance. In book 2, Cobra Pose, we explored the theme of hacking and a potential collapse of financial institutions.
In a similar manner, for book 3, we have chosen an ‘overarching’ theme which we have explored along with the individual flaws and themes of our main characters.
We interweave all this with romance. What’s not to like about that? We often think there is something universal about love that makes it so very compelling to write about. So, the reader will see this overarching theme played out as well.
By the way, for those wondering how far we are going with the series, buckle up. We have book 3 – Tree Pose, drafted; book 4 – Warrior Pose drafted; book 5 – Half Moon Pose drafted. Our goal is always to try and maintain a quality fiction approach, so we spend a lot of time perfecting each one. We hope this gives the reader a desire to ‘read that one again … and again’.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
It’s not just a rippling ‘scam’ job. Has Australia been infiltrated at levels they’ve never known?
Elaina Williams uses a Cobra Pose in her Yoga studio to boost her energy – she will need it! Elaina’s father, Edward, is in trouble. He’s disappeared.
As a solicitor and now yoga instructor, Elaina drags Ric, a man she’s fallen for, into the bursting web of techno-thrilling intrigue.
Ric Peters has just returned from a disastrous trip to Indonesia. Ric bills himself as a photojournalist. Elaina suspects he shoots more than just photographs. Ric has insight into the journey he and Elaina must take. He knows Elaina isn’t ready for what’s going to happen. There are too many moving parts for him to control.
Time is running out before The Cobra and The Wolf strike with their heist. They are extending their fangs towards Australia’s ‘golden coastline’ to bite into and destabilise financial institutions worldwide.
The sparkling sub-tropical city of Brisbane, Queensland, is the epicentre of this hacking tsunami of the century! But these hackers are good at hiding. They make a living out of it. They are submerged Phantoms leaving no tracks.
Can the burgeoning amateur sleuth Elaina piece this puzzle together before her father’s fate is sealed? How far is Ric willing to go in deciding to save Elaina … or Australia?
Cobra Pose is the suspense-thriller and second novel in the Yoga Mat Mysteries series. This book is filled with a snappy plot, dynamic prose, witty dialogue, and slow-burn chemistry. You’ll love Susan Rogers and John Roosen’s atmospheric whodunit. Click Cobra Pose to stretch your sense of adventure today!
The first book, Dead Man’s Pose, is available online. Next in the YMM lineup is Tree Pose – coming soon!
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/03/19/both-sides-of-the-hacking-equation/