M.K. South's Blog, page 2

October 1989

The Government of East Germany closed the country's border with Czechoslovakia to prevent emigration of its citizens to the West, following a swelling exodus in the previous months. The next day, this measure was extended to Bulgaria and Romania.

This measure was proverbial the last straw that led to mass demonstrations across the country which forced the GDR Council of Ministers to lift the "temporary ban on travel without passport or visa" to Czechoslovakia on October 27. The lift meant citizens of the GDR could cross the border to the CSSR again with their identity card only.

Upcoming Blog Tour and a Walk through the History of the End of the Cold War

Hello, friends!

I’m starting a blog tour ahead of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why? Because my novel Of Our Own Device covers this period back in 1989 in quite some details. November 9th, 1989 was the point of no return at the end of the Cold War, when the Soviet bloc that had been cracking at the seams in the months leading to it finally crumbled and fell. I witnessed some of the events, as, I think, some of you did too.

So, I welcome you to join me on this little walk through the history and the memory lane. Feel free to post your memories about that time, wherever you were at the time, as well as pictures and links to related materials.

(Also on my FB page here which you're most welcome to visit and leave your thoughts: M.K. South on FB )

Of Our Own Device available on NetGalley

For those who are interested: for the next 3-4 days, Of Our Own Device is available for download and comments on NetGalley.

NetGalley link to Of Our Own Device

Enjoy!

Of Our Own Device on StoryRocket

I've placed my book on StoryRocket, a site where producers check out books and other materials in search for content for their future TV series and films ;)

Of Our Own Device @StoryRocket

Cinematic book trailer for my book

I'm thrilled to present the newly minted book trailer for my novel, done in the movie trailer style!

Please leave a note if you like it :)

Of Our Own Device cinematic book trailer

Credits: Directed and produced by Jonny Knowles, with Pete Grimwood as Jack Smith, Alex Lincoln as Eton May-Volkonsky and Erick Hayden as Joe Coburn. Script by MK South, Director of Photography Gavin Edson, Production Assistant Millie Whitehead, Sound Liam Gilchrist, Music by Chris Brett and Jonny Knowles, Sound Design by Tom Griffiths.

A Review from a reader of non-romance genres :)

... and she has picked up on the parallel between the MC of the opera Evgenii Onegin which starts the book and Jack, the MC of OOOD -- very incisive! :)

5 of 5 stars
Part spy novel- part romance set in 1980’s Soviet Union
By E. McGheeon
July 9, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

M.K. South’s novel “Of Our Own Device” is part slick spy scenario and part delectable forbidden love story. From the first ever Live Aid concert to the falling of the Berlin Wall, history heavily frames this novel. Full of steamy scenes and plenty of action from the very first chapter, it appeals to a broad audience.

The book opens in Moscow in 1985 as a performance of Tchaikovsky’s opera Evgenii Onegin unfolds. A tale of a selfish hero who soon regrets his rejection of his young lover is some powerful foreshadowing for our hero Jack Smith. Life is complicated in the Soviet Union for our easy to smile, handsome American spy. Being an openly gay man is a crime in the country he lives and works so his life as a secret agent is boundlessly more dangerous. His striking blue eyes latch on to a handsome Soviet stranger and the young man is much more than he seems. 21 year old lithe Eton is a musician, future nuclear physicist, and son of a disgraced American NSA codebreaker. Mysterious and intoxicating, Jack has a difficult time ignoring his feelings for the Soviet student when suddenly his superior officer (and ex- lover) informs him that his new mission includes turning Eton into an informant by any means necessary. Disaster ensues at Chernobyl and the AIDS epidemic rages as our hero struggles to find a place where the Soviets “hid(e) their guileless idealistic hearts.”

The overriding love theme is beautifully and sentimentally conveyed. South’s writing style is occasionally poetic with plenty of pop culture references. The message is a poignant one; Even when you already know what your dream is, the right person can elevate that dream in brilliant ways. There is a deep humanity in South’s tale plus a dreamy love story... set to the Eagle’s song “Hotel California.”

A review from a gamer

I got this review on Amazon and, albeit I'm quite flattered, it mystified me a little. I'd never heard of Metal Gear Solid, so went to checked it out on YouTube...
Hhmmm, there is parallel, rather thin one... But well, ok, I suppose that's how gamers see the world and I should take it as a big compliment. So, thanks a lot, Bernard! Much appreciated. :)


Bernard
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that did a great job on a not so well explored genre
July 7, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This book was a blast to me in so many different senses I wouldn't know where to start. First of all, spies CIA, KGB, or anything related to topics like the Metal Gear Solid, which has been one of my favorite games and playstyle of all time. I have spent countless hours playing the games from the series and I couldn't tell you how happy I was to find this book. It was the first time I ever considered that it was such a good idea to have books on this genre read, but before that I never even thought of it. I was always so sad when I finished any metal gear game because I feel like there are not so many games, books, or even movies that cover this genre in a very satisfying way.

So, figuring out that the book idea is a great one was the first step. But now, would the author make a good job in this genre that is definitely not easy to do so? I must say he surely did.

Jack is a very smart man, with is hard past, certainly an admirable man, and he's gotta deal with the fact that he's gay in a definitely not very accepting environment. I gotta say I was truly satisfied with the way the author carried the book out. I think he brought in the necessary detailing to make us enter in this beautiful, and to my knowledge, not so much explored genre.

Great book, portraying a genius like type of spy, just the way we like them.

Review of One-Two by Igor Eliseev

One-Two by Igor Eliseev

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Written in the best tradition of what I call “Russian noir-realism”, Igor Eliseev's One-Two paints a raw and lurid picture of the life of Soviet and post-Soviet outcasts, people whom the society rejected, denied an opportunity to be part of the “normal” life -- whatever this “normal” was, as the Soviet Union crumbled, fell and disintegrated. Told in her head by a conjoined twin to her sister, it is a story of their growing up unwanted and unloved at the bottom ladder of the society, but never quite losing Hope and Faith (the names of the twins).

One-Two is a painful and at times depressing story, but one that demands to be told, one that makes people pause to think, one where disgust (with some of the characters and situations) gives birth to compassion—with those who are forced to endure the bleakest of existence that fate has dealt them.

While some readers may think this novel is written in too simplistic a language (not a native language for the author, either) and style for a literary fiction, we should remember that the story is narrated by very young girl with the best of the education she got is from reading whatever books available in the library of an unwanted children home. Simple and naïve in the beginning, the readers witness her slow maturity through the story she tells, her observations of their miserly surroundings, the way she poses philosophical questions and draws lessons, as she and her inseparable sister go through their desolate life.

While I rate the story as exceptional, I thought the editors of the book could have done a better service to it by conveying better some nuances of Russian culture and the language, perhaps in more colloquial English (as opposed to straight forward translation of some words, which lost them their vernacular feel in English). As it is, I’m afraid, some of them will be lost on English language speakers, which is a shame. Therefore, I give this book 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.



View all my reviews

Of Our Own Device on Sale

Hurry up, friends (esp. those who has OOOD on their want-to-read list), the book is on sale at $0.99 on Amazon till May 27!

Here's the Amazon.com link: Of Our Own Device

Thank you for your interest and support!

MK

1985 - The Year of the Spy

A bit of history -- most of those mentioned in the article also feature in 'Of Our Own Device'.

1985 The Year of the Spy

Interestingly, several CIA case officers were busted the same year and the entire Moscow Station was expelled the next year.

All that and more in 'Of Our Own Device' !!