It has been almost four months since Israel began its strikes on Gaza, following the massacre of hundreds of civilians by Hamas-led gunmen in the country’s south. Roughly 80 percent of the Strip’s 2.2 million residents have been internally displaced, more than a million of whom are sheltering in Rafah, on the Egyptian border. Over […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/01/27/gaza-two-rights-of-return/
In Harmony: Saga of the Earth, you share with readers your appreciation for nature, its beauty, and the delicate balance between humans and their environment. Why was this an important poetry collection for you to share?
I wanted to share the beauty and gifts that Nature has to give. I also wanted to emphasize the importance of preservation for future generations. The natural world is in a delicate balance that should be cherished for years to come, and it is vital to spread that message.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your collection?
I hope my readers appreciate that the natural world is out there waiting for them, to be both admired and protected. Experiencing wildlife and planet life is part of our lives. Protecting the planet means taking small steps to make it an everyday habit. I hope that this book helps put Nature into a true perspective, inculcating a desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves.
You mention that your love of the outdoors began at an early age. Can you share with us a particularly memorable experience with nature?
I remember visiting Central Park when I was younger. I would look at the trees in awe and roll around in the soft grass, hoping the visit would never end. In the winter, the grass would be covered in delicate flurries and the spring would have the park bursting with flowers and bees. Summer meant playing in the sprinkler, and autumn, my favorite, would cover the trails in orange and gold. This was my first taste of the natural world in a bustling city.
Can readers expect to see more poetry from you soon? What are you currently working on?
As of now, I am focusing my efforts on promoting this book, but I plan on working on another poem book in the near future.
Author Links: Goodreads | Amazon
All of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards charity for environmental protection.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/27/protecting-the-planet/
Research Can Be Murder follows a recently unemployed woman who discovers potentially stolen items in a box of family heirlooms and seeks to discover the truth behind them. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I love history and have always been curious about the stories behind antique items — everything from artifacts in museums to small, miscellaneous pieces I’ve inherited. It all makes me wonder. You know, when you look at an inscribed pocket watch that was presented at a ceremonial occasion, you wonder what that evening was like and who were the people there. Or a letter falls from the leaves of a book, and there is no explanation about who the writer was or why they described their travels so carefully. Then, I start to think, “What if?” What if that letter was in a secret code or that ceremonial watch had a bigger story behind it? And Emma, my heroine, had time on her hands to delve into some of those “what ifs” behind her memorabilia. And from there, the story took off.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story, where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
It’s hardest for me not to overdo things – plant too many clues, include two scenes about a character’s eccentric behavior, when one would do just fine, etc. Otherwise, the plot can lose a sense of balance, and the story can get lost in the weeds.
Are you a fan of the Cozy Mystery genre? What books do you think most influenced your work?
I love to read in general, and I’m definitely a fan of cozy mysteries. So many authors have influenced and inspired me, many of them long before I started writing mysteries — and I guess I’d have to say it all started with Nancy Drew! Anyway, I loved Noreen Wald’s ghostwriter series, Annette Meyers’ Smith & Wetzon books, and Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax adventures. As time has gone on, I’ve been introduced to so many more. Janet Evanovich is one of my favorites since Stephanie Plum’s escapades are pure fun. Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi is always in the middle of an absorbing adventure. And then I’ve just discovered Juneau Black’s very innovative series, featuring animals who interact perceptively to solve mysteries with more creativity than you could ever imagine. I learn so much from reading all of these and many other authors and am continually inspired.
What is the next book you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
Good question! I’m just starting on a sequel to my most recently published mystery, To Sketch a Killer. By early summer, I should have an idea of how it’s all taking shape. Then, of course, the rest will be up to my publisher. After that, I’m already thinking of a possible sequel to Research Can Be Murder. And in the future? Well, the possibilities are always endless and exciting to think about.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/27/what-if-4/
Flames of Flamenco follows a French teacher visiting Paris who falls in love with an artist and dancer and decides to remain in Paris with him. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I had my portrait sketched on la Place du Tertre in Montmartre–the bohemian heart of Paris. The intriguing artist with long black hair and sultry smile was the inspiration for Jean-Luc, the protagonist in Flames of Flamenco. He was also inspired by an intoxicating flamenco dancer named José that I met on a trip to Spain.
Do you believe that “love can conquer all” and that if you truly love someone deeply enough, you can weather any storm that arises, or is this just a dream that makes for great erotic love stories?
I do believe that love can conquer all and that true love can weather any storm that arises. Ella and Jean-Luc’s passion is a testament to that.
One of the challenges with Erotic Fiction is balancing the romance and the storyline; your books do this, allowing the narrative to flow smoothly. Could you tell me how you do this in your novels?
This novella was my first attempt at writing an erotic romance, so I was not at all sure how to balance the two. I wanted the focus to be on the storyline, not the steamy scenes, so I did a lot of research into Paris, Montmartre, la Fête des Vendanges (the annual wine harvest festival), le Musée de la Vie Romantique– as well as the distinct elements of flamenco itself–to develop the plot. I love how it all came together, like a bohemian rhapsody of art and dance, with passion and love at the core.
What is the next book you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I am currently writing a Viking romance between a Celtic priestess from Bretagne–daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy–and her forced marriage to the Viking son of Harald Bluetooth, King of Norway and Denmark.
In the meantime, my WWII historical romance novel, The Witch of the Breton Woods, will be published in the spring of 2024. It’s the story of a traumatized young woman who finds and heals a wounded American paratrooper dropped into France for D-Day. Hiding him from the Gestapo and la Milice– the local French paramilitary organization that collaborates with the Nazis– she introduces him to the French Resistance (of which she is a member), and the two of them join the Allies in the Battle of Saint-Malo.
Author Links: Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon
But a beautiful, beguiling curator invites Jean-Luc to display his paintings as the featured artist in the upcoming L’Art de la Danse exhibit, and the lure of international fame threatens his future with Ella.
Will jealousy and greed extinguish their passion, or will the flames of flamenco endure?
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/27/true-love-can-weather-any-storm/
The B-17 Tomahawk Warrior: A WWII Final Honor is a poignant exploration of a hidden WWII saga, where the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress unravels the untold stories of its heroic crew. Why was this an important book for you to write?
As a young schoolboy watching auxiliary crews retrieving body parts of the deceased crew from the field where the Flying Fortress crashed and exploded, remained as a vivid image in my mind for the rest of my life.
That I had seen horrific scenes during my time in the bombing and rocket attacks on London paled in comparison with this incident. The thought that this plane had almost crashed into my house before exploding about 30/40 seconds later in a nearby field made me think that some of those body parts could have been mine.
While it remained in the back of my mind for many years afterward, and I had mentioned it to my wife and children, I had no compunction to seek further information. However, while researching for another project, I accidentally came across the story of the plane online. It was after I posted information about this story on my Facebook page strange connections were made. The connection with the pilot’s daughter who never knew her father, the navigator’s diary which came into my possession, and whose descendant relatives never knew he had written a diary.
All of this and many other strange coincidences occurred in which it seemed the souls of those nine airmen had waited for me to reach this stage of my life to cause me to want to honor them for their sacrifice. Thus, in my eighties, a book was born.
What research did you undertake to ensure you had everything you needed to write this book?
The research was intensive and never-ending. One can never really have everything one wants to write a book of this sort. There is always that ‘something more’ one feels one must have, but eventually, the story takes shape. I was fortunate in the sense that having many years of experience in my business of consulting, personnel search, and recruiting, I began tracing the relatives of four of the deceased airmen. Additionally, I made use of the 1940 Census for one family. Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) I obtained information about the 8th Air Force and 398th Bomb Group. Delving even deeper, I obtained the specific Secret Operational Records for the 600th Squadron to which the Tomahawk Warrior crew belonged. The major difficulty of tracing relatives was the fact only one of the crew was married. Therefore, only that crew member had any surviving progeny.
Was there anything that you uncovered in your research that surprised you?
There were so many incidents of serendipity that clearly indicated to me we are all linked in this quantum universe. I feel strongly that I was led, not only by my tenacity to find out what happened to this crew but also by some unknown force. While meeting and interviewing relatives, I fully understood the emotional impact I was having on them. After all, I was the last living person on earth who had seen their loved ones and related to the ultimate sacrifice they made that morning.
Among the several corrections to history I made concerning this accident was the solving of the so-called, ‘Frank Snyder mystery.’ Snyder was the tail gunner for the Tomahawk Warrior but did not fly on its last fateful mission. There was never an official explanation. He returned to the USA and nobody ever heard from him again. A local historian said he traced Snyder and published his findings on the internet. I disproved this theory by showing he had identified the wrong Frank Snyder and began my own independent investigation.
The result of my investigation was both shocking and very emotional for me. Without going into the details here but which are fully described in my book, it is obvious this man deserves full recognition for his service as a member of the TW crew. He suffered a violent and unexpected death in an auto-train accident 19 years after the TW crash. He is buried in a small cemetery in California, and I will spend as much time as possible to persuade local veterans’ groups to lay an annual wreath on his grave. I will continue to reach out to surviving relatives and persuade authorities he should be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery with his fellow crew members. Snyder flew on every single mission with the Tomahawk Warrior crew except the last fateful one.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Prior to the Tomahawk Warrior, I had started my memoir, Alliance d’Amour: The Rise of Love and Devotion from the Ashes of WWII.
It would tell the story of my late wife Sophie and I, and our life over three continents and many countries. I had survived the Blitz in London and Sophie had lived under German occupation of France. We met after the war and were married for 62 years before Sophie went to heaven in 2018. I am not sure if at 87-years-old I still have the energy to complete this one.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon
He started his own research and began asking himself many questions about the disaster. How did this plane crash and why, particularly in that location? For what reason was the plane misnamed ‘The Tomahawk Warrior’ through all those years? What strange circumstance led the author to come into possession of the navigator’s diary that no one knew even existed? Why did one airman not take his place on board that day and become a part of the ‘missing airman’ legend?
Despite the coincidence that the plane of the ‘Tomahawk Warriors’ and the plane of Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. crashed on the same day; Huntley revealed a further significant link between them. This incident adds a further little-known aspect about the Kennedy’s in American history.
Based on Declassified Secret Operational Records, analysis of other official and unofficial records, the author’s personal observations on the day of the accident, and his pursuit of other facts, those mysteries became fully resolved. This story provides a distinct understanding of the immense courage those young 20 to 26-year-old American airmen displayed. Mission after mission, they climbed aboard their craft and carried out their respective duties at 28,000 ft in sub-zero temperatures, hoping their electric-heated protective clothing would not short out during the 9 to 10-hour flight. They prayed that flak and enemy fighters would give them that 70 percent chance of getting back home.
The book offers vivid descriptions of those who got shot down, baled out, and died or got captured to spend the rest of the war as POWs.The narrative places its emphasis on the lives of the heroes who served in WWII and their loved ones who have grown up in their shadows. He obtained a posthumous honor to the deceased crew, as well as a Permanent Commemorative Marker, and brought relief and closure to the descendants’ relatives. This is not a post-mortem of wartime machinery, but a window into the lives of some heroes who sacrificed themselves for a cause, as well as a personal insight into the familial relationships with their loved ones at home.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/27/honor-them-for-their-sacrifice/
Actionable Life Skills for Young Adults: 11 Powerful Steps to Achieve Financial Independence and Kick-Start Your Road to Successful Adulthood, by Maya Shine, offers a comprehensive and practical roadmap for young individuals transitioning into adulthood. Shine delves into a variety of crucial topics, ranging from self-awareness and health to financial management and online security. Her approach to these subjects is thorough and encourages proactive engagement in one’s journey towards adulthood.
Shine has a talent for breaking down complex life skills into manageable segments, making the content accessible and relatable. The book is thoughtfully structured into 11 distinct sections, each focusing on a different facet of adult life. These sections are further divided into smaller chapters, providing in-depth discussion on specific elements within each broader topic. One of the book’s strengths lies in its universality. Despite some chapters discussing topics like student loans, which might not be directly relevant to all readers, the principles and insights offered are adaptable to various contexts. This versatility speaks to Shine’s skill in addressing a wide audience.
The book is not only informative but also motivational. It strikes a balance between being realistic about the challenges of adulthood and encouraging readers to be optimistic and proactive. Shine emphasizes the importance of essential life skills such as nutrition, tax management, health care, and financial stability. These skills are presented as foundations for a successful and balanced life, underscoring their value beyond immediate practicality. I found the book to be an enlightening experience. While not every scenario discussed was directly applicable to my life, the overall content was engaging and educational. Shine’s ability to articulate the common experiences and emotions of young adults is particularly effective. It creates a sense of solidarity and reassurance, motivating readers to develop a deeper understanding of themselves and to strive for personal growth.
Maya Shine’s book is a valuable resource for any young adult navigating the complexities of modern life. It’s a testament to her insightful understanding of the challenges faced by this age group and her ability to communicate solutions in an engaging manner. I eagerly anticipate reading more of her work in the future.
Pages: 224 | ISBN : 978-1738203352
