Suzanne Strong's Blog, page 14
March 3, 2020
Hey guys,
I was excited to see that my book h...
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Hey guys,
I was excited to see that my book had reached number 3 on Action Manuscript of the month and is Number 4 – Action Manuscript of the year.
This is on coverfly which is a database for screenwriters to host their screenplays or manuscripts.
“Our goal is to become the most efficient way for writers to be discovered by the entertainment industry, and the most trusted guide for emerging writers to achieve their goals…In addition to hosting your projects for free, Coverfly uses your project’s reviews from submissions to top-tier festivals, competitions, fellowships and coverage services to provide a measure of our confidence that an Industry professional would be interested in your screenplay.”
So, it is nice to have this opportunity to have my book up on this site. 
February 28, 2020
A lovely review..
A vivid account of the ‘lionesses’ fighting for Kurdish autonomy
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2020Format:
Kindle Edition
Verified Purchase
Kurdish women have played a central role in Kurdish society and politics despite the fact that they live in a male-dominated world still plagued by profound challenges with regard to women’s rights, forced marriages, honor killings, and even in some areas female genital mutilation. Nonetheless Kurdish women have served as chiefs of tribes and rulers, in some instances described as ‘lionesses,’ for their bravery and determination. Meanwhile, in the last decades in particular, Kurdish women in Iraq and Syria have served as outstanding, courageous, and relentless fighters in the struggle against Isis. When the Sun Rises offers a stirring fictionalized account of the struggles faced by these remarkable women, true lionesses.
The story begins in Kobane, situated at the border between Turkey and Syria, in 2014, when the city was under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Daesh.
The protagonist is Karin, a medical student at university who together with her best friend Roza decides to join the fight against Daesh in the desire to defend their home and their families. Both Karin and Roza experience heartbreaking losses which push them toward making the difficult decision to join up despite the sacrifice of having to leave their families and, in Roza’s case, even a child behind. The two women try to stay together throughout their training in the Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ) and in battle. They also form strong bonds with other women in their unit as well as a few men with whom they interact.
The writing is vivid and believable with colorful descriptions of family life in Kobani and the sounds and scents of Kurdish life which makes the destruction wreaked by the war even more devastating. The author provides compelling insights into the various complex emotions experienced by these women who reach their decisions to join up for a range of reasons, but are united in friendship and affection until the end.
The book ends on a positive note, with a glimpse of a recovering city and the sense of life resuming.
As a bitter coda to this moving account which was released in October 2019, just at that time, the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria led to the Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone Agreement and forced Kurdish military forces to withdraw from Kobane while the city was placed under the control of the Syrian army and the Russian military police. My heart goes out to the fictional Karin and all her sisters who have been fighting so valiantly for autonomy.”
February 15, 2020
“I love a sunburnt country…” Dorothea MacKeller
…I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us
We see the cattle die
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze …
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand
though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
Dorothea Mackeller
This is perhaps the most perfect poem that expresses how most, if not all, Australians feel about our country. This poem connects us to our feeling about our country. I cannot even add words to the beauty and expression of the poem, so I won’t. It expresses how all of us have felt watching the burning bush and the driving floods recently, that has provided some relief from drought. There are many more areas to our country than this, that are not affected by floods or droughts but our whole country feels the pain of these areas. It is like a breathing organism, a body, if one part suffers the whole body feels it. There are many landscapes in this land, our breathtaking, pristine beaches and peaceful, rainforest regions as well as ranging mountain areas. Australians are not always patriotic, but I believe we love our land. I am a European Australian but I do feel connected to our land here, and I always will. That’s all I can say. Suzanne
"I love a sunburnt country…" Dorothea MacKeller
…I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us
We see the cattle die
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze …
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand
though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
Dorothea Mackeller
This is perhaps the most perfect poem that expresses how most, if not all, Australians feel about our country. This poem connects us to our feeling about our country. I cannot even add words to the beauty and expression of the poem, so I won’t. It expresses how all of us have felt watching the burning bush and the driving floods recently, that has provided some relief from drought. There are many more areas to our country than this, that are not affected by floods or droughts but our whole country feels the pain of these areas. It is like a breathing organism, a body, if one part suffers the whole body feels it. There are many landscapes in this land, our breathtaking, pristine beaches and peaceful, rainforest regions as well as ranging mountain areas. Australians are not always patriotic, but I believe we love our land. I am a European Australian but I do feel connected to our land here, and I always will. That’s all I can say. Suzanne
Robert Frost…
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”
–Robert FrostI totally live by this…in my writing. This is very true.
February 12, 2020
My book semi-finalist… Screencraft Cinematic Book Contest
Hey guys,
I just wanted to share some exciting news about my book Where the Sun Rises. I submitted it to the Screencraft Cinematic Book Contest late last year and I have made the semi-finalist list.
February 4, 2020
No. 1 in three categories…
Hi guys, I just wanted to note this, as this hasn’t happened before for Freedom Writing. But it is Number 1 in three categories on Amazon Australia. If you are interested in this book, it is about the power of writing therapy and how to free yourself from unwanted emotions and stress. Have a great day! Kind regards, Suz
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February 2, 2020
Best Seller List Amazon
Hey guys,
Just excited as Freedom Writing was number 2 on Amazon USA this morning and the other day Where the Sun Rises was number 2 on Amazon Australia.
Thanks for reading, have a fabulous day.
January 30, 2020
Map of battle in Where the Sun Rises
This was the battle for Kobane – 2014-2015 and the grey you can see is Daesh closing in. There are many landmarks that are within my novel.
It is difficult to enlarge the image enough.
But this was the reality of what the Kurdish women and men faced when defending their city.
If you are interested in reading about the phenomenal women that fought in this battle, or about two best friends and their loyalty and devotion to each other, Where the Sun Rises will appeal.
January 26, 2020
Creative beginnings…
Hey guys, I have been recently pondering about how there are countless ways one can start a novel. At the moment I am working on my next novel and I am enjoying exploring this process of creating different beginnings for the book. I am also experimenting with first and third person.
The thing is with the beginning of writing a novel we have to experiment and start writing so that we can work out what we think will be best. We need to not get paralysed by the thought of so many options (haha). This is a hazard isn’t it? When you get frozen by choice. So, don’t do this, just start writing.
Beginnings are so important – and another good thing to do is to read other books you have enjoyed the opening of. Work out why you love these and think about whether you can incorporate this into your work.
So, enjoy the process too. I am enjoying the creative process and simply exploring options at the moment.
If you are curious about my current book it is available for sale on Amazon, and all online outlets as well such as Book Depository, Barnes and Noble and other outlets.
