To the Editors: In her flavorful review of Albert Camus’s Travels in the Americas [“Camus on Tour,” NYR, November 23, 2023], Vivian Gornick touches a bit cavalierly on the writer’s wartime life. Gornick writes that “when the war started [Camus] joined the Resistance and soon became the editor of Combat.” But the Resistance publication Combat […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/02/22/camus-in-wartime/
A grim silhouette looms on the prow of a ship: “Door-without-hinges…a meager frame with a set square, an inverted gable, a black triangle, and fixtures of cold beveled steel.” The year is 1794, and a guillotine is on its way to the island of Guadeloupe. In Alejo Carpentier’s riddle-like opening to his 1962 novel Explosion […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/02/22/scrupulous-extravagance-explosion-in-a-cathedral-alejo-carpentier/
When fire broke out in the royal palace in Munich in 1729, it destroyed a painting of the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin made by Albrecht Dürer between 1507 and 1509. This is the “lost masterpiece” of Ulinka Rublack’s title. It was the central panel of the Heller altarpiece, commissioned for the Dominican church […]
Original source: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/02/22/in-search-of-the-rare-and-strange-durers-lost-masterpiece/
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
Another week with this lingering funk. To complicate matters, my grandson got a stomach bug and passed it on to me. We spent the day together Thursday & Friday as he was too sick for school. Today my son, our middle child, turns thirty-one. It made me feel old until my grandson Clayton reminded me I am 50 years older than him! He also told me I am the bestest Nonna and not old, so there is that. In January I mostly listened to audiobooks and finished 17. Stay Caffeinated.
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A special thanks to Avon Books, Tantor Audio & Random House Publishing.
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Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2024/02/sunday-post-613-happy-birthday-son.html
Wishes Are Free: Rose O’Reilly and Grandpa follows a ten-year-old girl whose best friend moves 2000 miles away, and she worries she will never have another friend like her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for Wishes Are Free came through the back door. It began as short stories I wrote for fun and read to my neighbor who is developmentally disabled. She loved them and I thought, I might have something here. I strung those stories together and added more, and the result is Wishes Are Free.
I knew I wanted to write a story about friendship. Losing your lifelong best friend would set the quest for a new best friend in motion. I thought it would be cool for Rose to discover, on the way to finding a new best friend, that marginalized kids make excellent friends too.
Rose learns that there are different kinds of friends in each person’s life, grandparents, classmates, and even animals. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Empathy, Kindness, and Acceptance. Wishes Are Free is part biographical. As children often are, I was misunderstood at times, as Rose is when she wants to help a classmate who suffers abuse at home. I drew on those memories, those feelings of frustration when my motives were misunderstood.
I hope that young readers will recognize themselves in Rose’s acts of kindness, in her acceptance of kids who are different, and feel validated.
Rose is autonomous, too. Grandpa shares his wisdom but always leaves it up to her what to do with his advice. I want kids to identify with Rose’s struggles and present a model who seeks help but believes in herself, as well.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Rose’s friendship with Grandpa demonstrates how talking out your problems is a positive, results-oriented path to finding solutions. Asking for help is good practice for adulthood, and I hope readers will discover how you can grow close to family members when you ask for help. And encourage them to ask for help.
Wishes Are Free spotlights kindness without preaching. Rose’s big heart leads the way, and ultimately kindness pays off. Maybe not in the way you expected but it always pays off.
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?
The next book, Be Careful What You Wish, follows Rose into summer vacation and her quest for the third wish (a dog of her own), the only wish that didn’t come true in Wishes Are Free. It introduces Rose’s nemesis, Bea Buffett, the neighborhood fussbudget. The target date is Christmas 2024.
Author Links: Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/04/empathy-kindness-and-acceptance/
I Love How introduces children and their caregivers to the growth mindset praise principle, and how this method benefits and helps children to thrive. Why was this an important topic to write on?
I Love How is the first book in a collection. It was important for this book to be the first as it lays the foundation for a growth mindset, which is a cornerstone for the subsequent books. A growth mindset is the key to unlocking the potential to learn and master the skills presented in the rest of the collection. For benefits from the concepts in my books to be optimized, the parents will also need to be involved and model the behavior. A growth mindset empowers parents and children to embrace the idea that they can continually learn, evolve, and enhance their lives, influencing how they perceive and interact with the world.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
Well, that depends on what you mean by research and where you draw the starting line. I spent over 6 years conducting a study on the relationships between grit, success, and retention. Part of that was reviewing the existing literature on those three variables. My Ph.D. specialization is in performance psychology, and my M.Ed is in counseling. I have also spent over 15 years as a therapist, behavioral specialist, school counselor, and coach. So I have been studying, researching, and putting these concepts into practice for close to two decades.
I Love How is the first book in a collection that originated from a training/lecture of mine on psychological skills to help adults thrive. These skills are a collection of well-researched concepts that when practiced regularly, have potent benefits. I adapted some of the key concepts of the training into a collection of short baby books. The books are designed to appeal to very young children and to make parents aware of the benefits of incorporating these concepts into their lives.
So the short answer is the research and preparation were done over a long period and synthesized into a lecture. The books themselves were completed pretty quickly because I already had the concepts ironed out in my head.
As for the design and publishing, that was also pretty fast. My wife is very quick and savvy with design software. She was able to help generate the design that I was going for as well as teach me how to navigate the software. I have also been through the very rigorous process of publishing peer-reviewed academic research which made this process seem much less intimidating. Once I put an idea into action I can usually complete the manuscript and cover files in about a week. I have young children myself so I typically work on projects in the evening after everyone goes to bed.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from I Love How?
My hope is for all of my books to be a valuable resource for both parents and children. While the formats of these books are tailored towards babies, the underlying concepts hold significant benefits for adults. In I Love How, I invite readers to recognize that abilities and intelligence are not fixed attributes; rather, they can be cultivated and enhanced over time through dedicated effort, continuous learning, and perseverance. I hope that readers grasp the impact that fostering a growth mindset can have on their child’s learning journey, realizing the compounding effect it can bring to their overall development. On a more simple level, the books are short and contain images of other young children, this was intentional to appeal to both the reader and the baby. I hope this makes my books a favorite go-to at storytime.
What topic will the next book in that series cover, and when will it be published?
Since the release of I Love How, three additional books in the Growing Minds collection have been published. The second book is titled I’m Grateful, which is about establishing a regular practice of gratitude. The third book is titled Another Great Day, which is about the practice of noticing and savoring the positive things in one’s life. The fourth book is called Reframe, and it is about the skill of taking potential negative situations and shifting one’s perspective into a positive and constructive outlook.
Author Links: Goodreads | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon
The visuals in this book have been intentionally designed to appeal to very young children but it can be enjoyed by older children as well.
About the Author
Dr. Isaiah Varisano is a highly skilled educator, therapist, coach, athlete, and parent. With over 15 years of experience working with thousands of children and students, as well as hundreds of collegiate and professional athletes, Dr. Varisano brings his expertise in performance psychology to help parents and caregivers establish healthy mindsets and communication styles to support children’s thriving development.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/04/a-growth-mindset-is-the-key/
The Fires of Rubicon follows a Police Lieutenant and his team who take on a complex case involving the disappearance of an employee at the Rubicon Steel Corporation. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Interestingly, I imagined this as a love story, or more aptly, a lost love story. I saw Anton, the missing worker, as the central figure. But during the first few days of writing, I realized that Seazy, Anton’s friend, was far more interesting because he, too, had lost the woman he desired and he had far more issues in his life than any other character I could have imagined. Then, although perhaps I’m the only one who sees the connection, Lt. Wesner, the police investigator, is almost an older image of Seazy with many of the same issues — lost family when young, lost love, sensitive soul. Since I spent a few summers during college working in the steel mills of Cleveland, the setting was a foregone conclusion.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
Each of the characters has significant personality flaws. All of the major characters have lost the love of their life or their family, or they soon will. Each struggles with how to resolve their conflicted feelings. Rowden lashes out murderously. Benny tries to ensure his wife’s love with expensive gifts. Lt. Wesner hides his pain deep inside, masquerading as a church pastor, until it is revealed he is weighed down with a dark aura. Georgie wears a mask which she momentarily drops for Wesner causing her to flee what might come next.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
This story is broken down into a day-by-day view of the investigation and the antagonist’s reactions, almost like reading a diary. As such, we should expect a new revelation each day, and therefore an accompanying plot twist.
Do you have more mysteries planned for Police Lieutenant Alex Wesner, if so when can your fans expect the next story?
Originally, I saw this as a stand-alone story, with characters who lived only during the telling of the story. But there have been questions from readers which may require a response. Will Wesner and Georgie ever meet again? Can she help him in future Private Eye cases? Did Seazy really end his life? Did Anton and Jessica ever patch things up? Perhaps a few of those questions should be explored further.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/04/a-lost-love-story/
The Secret of One-Eyed Cogburn: The Dreaded Pirate Captain follows three friends on summer vacation who mysteriously find themselves on a pirate ship in the ocean. What was the inspiration for your story?
I have written six novels so far, but I have never written a children’s book, and since I have grandchildren I wanted to do something for them. I wanted it to be a fun, entertaining children’s story that would also send a good message to them and other children who would hear the story that using your imagination is a good thing and also being kind is important.
Then, of course, I had to find just the right artist to bring it all to life and I think that Nestor Taylor was just the right man for the job. He drew every picture by hand and then meticulously colored them, and Sergio put it all together.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Fostering good friendships. The use of imagination. Being kind to one another and others, and always being honest are wonderful attributes we want to encourage in our children and youth. I feel that it was important to teach these principles to my children, and maybe it is even more important to mirror these fundamental principles now.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Nestor Taylor?
Nestor was AMAZING. I gave him my suggestions in the beginning and all along the way. We discussed everything from hair and eye color. We talked about the ethnicity of the children. I wanted flamboyant and colorful, and he caught my vision and delivered. I searched for the right artist for a long time. And when I say a long time, I mean seven or eight years.
I was actually given the name of a friend of Nestor’s, a famous Disney artist, who will go unnamed, who was going to do the work. But when I described what I had in mind for this book, let’s just say he didn’t do that kind of artwork. But he was kind enough to introduce me to his friend, Nestor. Nestor and Sergio are both from Spain. We emailed back and forth, and the entire process took more than a year to complete, but I think the outcome was well worth the wait.
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?
I really haven’t thought that far ahead. I am just hoping that the book sales will be successful, and I can work with these talented artists again. The book is also being released in a Spanish version, “El secreto de Cogburn, el tuerto El temible capitán pirata.”
Perhaps our adventurous trio could go on Safari to Africa or visit the pyramids and run into a mummy. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | GoDaddy | Amazon
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/04/imagination-is-a-good-thing/
In The Skirmishers, author Mick Green expertly crafts a narrative that transitions from the battlegrounds of Afghanistan to the urban landscape of London, exploring the complex challenges faced by Major Mike “Sharpie” Sharp and his unique military unit, the Skirmishers, as they adapt to civilian life. The story ignites when a member of their squad, Tommy, is assaulted in a Shoreditch pub, compelling the unit to reconvene and seek justice on their own terms.
Green effectively sets the stage with an initial glimpse into the group’s military prowess, providing a solid foundation to understand the key characters and their dynamics. This initial exposure becomes crucial as we later encounter these characters in a starkly different environment – the heart of London. Here, the novel morphs into an engaging blend of action and crime thriller. The plot is enriched by the underworld elements, striking a balance between high-octane sequences and the introspective journey of characters like Mike and Steph. Particularly notable is Mike’s internal struggle, which adds depth to his character beyond the archetypical action hero.
The narrative of The Skirmishers also showcases an ambitious portrayal of the team’s capabilities, occasionally stretching into the realms of the extraordinary, particularly with Mike’s near-omniscient traits. While the book introduces us to the full team, it thoughtfully focuses more on the development of key characters, allowing for a deeper connection with them. This approach does mean that some characters, like Tommy, who plays a pivotal role in the story, have a more understated presence in the second half of the book, adding an element of intrigue to the narrative.
The Skirmishers is a compelling read, especially for those intrigued by the intersection of military precision and urban crime dynamics. The novel delves into the psyche of soldiers transitioning to civilian life, against a backdrop of suspense and action, offering a fresh perspective on the genre.
Pages: 269 | ASIN : B0CQWCTX2T
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/02/04/the-skirmishers/