Eva Hnizdo's Blog, page 8

Misunderstanding

This is not a blog post, just a note. For some reason, several people asked me if there is a fee for subscription to my blog.

OF COURSE NOT! I don’t know what in the wording of my FB and emails made people think so.

A very simple summary of the historical background of my novel.

Photo by Pierre Blachu00e9 on Pexels.com

1918-1945

Czechoslovakia became independent after the breakup of the  Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918 when the WW1 finished.

It used to be an independent kingdom of Bohemia but despite still keeping the name, it was ruled by the Austrians since 1620.

Czechoslovakia after 1918 was a prosperous democratic republic.

Prague had a long history of Jewish inhabitants, and the Old New Synagogue in Prague , built 1270 is the oldest active synagogue in Europe. Prague was a cosmopolitan city with  the often-bilingual Czech, Jewish and German intellectuals living together. There was a large German minority, in the country since 11th century. The Jewish population was very assimilated, and to a large extent secular. Comparing to many other Central European countries, anti-Semitism was relatively rare.

My novel starts in 1938 and covers 1938-2006 in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, UK, USA and partly Israel and Grenada.

In September 1938, in Munich agreement Britain, France, Italy and Germany changed the border by accepting Hitler’s demands to annex the Czechoslovak border regions with the majority of Ethnic Germans to Germany. This was an appeasement strategy meant to preserve “ A peace in our time”- quote from Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister. This was meant to be the last Hitler’s territorial demand .

Of course, the peace didn’t last long.

On 15th March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, and the Slovak part of the country split, forming independent and fascist Slovakia.

For the Jews, the situation became gradually worse, starting with discriminatory laws, later leading to deportations and killings.

1945-1948

After the war, there was a short time of return to democracy, and re-joining of Czech speaking part and Slovakia. The communist party was very successful in the post-war elections, still within the democratic parliamentarian democracy, but in 1948, there was a communist putsch supported by Stalin, and Czechoslovakia joined the Soviet bloc.

In 1952, 13  high-ranking Communist bureaucrats (10 of whom were Jews) were arrested and charged with being Titoists and Zionists. Many were executed.

1968

In the sixties, there was a gradual democratisation of the society, the censorship was relaxed, and in 1968, there was an attempt to change the system. They were still speaking about socialism, “Socialism with a human face”. Reforming communism didn’t work.

On 21st August 1968, Soviet and other armies from the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia, followed by a return to totalitarian state oppression.

1989

The Velvet Revolution changed the country to a democracy again.

1993

The Federal Czechoslovakia split into Czech and Slovak republic.

2004

Both countries joined the European Union

With a book cover, the book suddenly seems real.

I didn’t like it, but everybody else does, so I must be wrong. I got used to it.

I had correspondence with the marketing team from my British publisher and found out that they will only do trade and media marketing in the UK. That was a bit of a disappointment. So I will need to use some of my contacts and social media. Both paperback and e-book will be available on Amazon.

I am trying to build my mailing list. I am not planning to send lots of newsletters.

Just some brief comments about the characters and maybe historical background of the book.

And some giveaways and information about time of the publishing.

Are you interested?

If yes, here is my signing box. Come on, sign it, you know you want to! LOL: And yes, I know I should not use LOL at my age!

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/b6h2u4

This is the cover of my book:

My book is not done but already added on Goodreads

So my fiction based on family history is getting closer to publishing date. It is a bit like pregnancy, with the baby growing. It is now on Goodreads and has an ISBN, but not a cover yet.
i am doing the last edit, the tyoesetting will happen soon. Then cover, trade marketing, then media marketing, and some nonsense marketing done by me.
And the Estimated Date of Delivery- EDD as we medics say is 29th September 2021.

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...

/b6h2u4Why didn't they leave?

Why I never liked Czech and Slovak Easter and it won’t change. Still true in 2021.

Of course, we all know that the Christians cleverly took over and adapted pagan holidays and changed them.

I don’t know anybody in Czech republic , and not many people in Slovakia who celebrate Easter in church.  Easter has very little to do with Jesus over there.

Statistically, Czech republic is the most secular country in the world. I like it. But I do not like those old pagan customs that appear every Easter.

Easter Monday means hordes of young boys and men walking around with birches made of willow, decorated by ribbons, and looking for female victims to spank them.

Hard to believe? Google it!

The spanking is not supposed to hurt, but it often does. The girl or woman is supposed to be grateful for the spanking – allegedly being spanked in the spring by fresh willow branches brings vigour and fertility. So as a reward, the boys get either decorated Easter eggs or chocolate ones.

In Moravia- the Eastern part of what is now Czech Republic and in Slovakia, the men get plum brandy or other alcoholic drink. After visiting several households, those men are often drunk which can make the spanking too enthusiastic and painful.

One of my friends from Brno told me she often ended up with welts.“Why did you let them do it?” I asked “It is a custom, they would get offended”.

Hmmm.

In Slovakia, instead of spanking, women get thrown buckets of cold water on them, in exchange for eggs and alcohol.

Once, visiting Slovak relatives for Easter, I was rather surprised to look out of the window and see young men, dressed in suits, carrying aluminium buckets full of water.A friend told me that the women had several change of clothes ready.

Easter weather in that part of the world can bring frost and snow.

Call me a spoilsport, but I think those habits are barbaric. I never liked it, even when I was still living in Prague.

I remember before Easter ,all the men were joking about Easter Monday, how we will all get a proper spanking.

I recently spoke about it with a good Czech friend of mine.  She sees it as a nice innocent folk tradition, in my eyes, it is a demeaning ridiculous custom that should have stopped years ago. But when I said this, my friend replied:

“I cannot believe you say this, that is so ridiculous, you are like those stupid politically correct Americans! It is only once a year, and it is fun. They spank me, I pretend to run away and squeal, it is a folk tradition.”

I do not allow it.  I will not get splashed by water or whipped with willow branches so that I” do not shrivel”.  I am rather grateful for that, although I found out after talking to several women of various ages that some enjoy that tradition, claiming it is fun.

The Easter eggs are beautiful, I admit that. The rest is not.

There might be some young women who enjoy the attention- the more young men want to spank you, the more popular you are.

But nope, it is not for me, never .

Last year, I read an article in Czech newspaper saying the EU is abolishing those Easter custom. There were articles from psychologists, saying it makes children think abuse is acceptable, and various EU regulations coming into place. I thought ” Great” till I realised the date. It was 1st April. I was most likely the only gullible person that fell for it.

It would be nice, though!

My family being Jewish, they celebrated Easter differently. No, we never celebrated  Passover, or any other religious holiday, Jewish or Christian.

My parents spread around chocolate eggs round the apartment or garden, and let me look for them. It started with my mother shouting” Wow, I think I saw a bunny running and he dropped something!”So we looked if the Easter Bunny dropped something. He always dropped chocolate eggs or little chocolate rabbits and chicks. I did it with my children,too, even when we moved to England.

I think this might be a German custom.

Well, call me unpatriotic, I prefer that.

Happy Easter, everybody! 

mailing list

I am collecting subscribers to a limited mailing list. I might send a maximum ( but probably less) one email per month.
Mostly this list would be to let people know when my books are getting published etc.

You can always unsubscribe.

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...

Funny Of The Week

This is funny!

estherchiltonblog

I’ve booked my mum and dad in for next week…

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Haiku

The image and poem is beautiful

About the Jez of It

Form: Haiku

lead the way and smile
like the sun rising to shine
set new horizons

©JGFarmer2021

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Mailing list or no mailing list?

Am I too old for this? The problem is definitely between the monitor and the chair.

I have been trying to create a subscription widget for an ocassional newsletter and for letting people who are interested know when my books are published. Maybe they can even pre-order.

Well, they can’t , I haven’t mastered the technology. So wish me luck and look for a widget to subscribe ( only if you want to) in my future posts.

My son tells me any idiot can do it. Maybe I am not an idiot.

Maybe I will manage by Easter, that is why the image.

Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels.com

Social media presence…hmmm

My book is going to be published in September. I am doing the last copy editing and will hopefully soon get the cover draft. It is exciting. My publisher is going to do most of the marketing, but everybody is telling me that I need to do some, too.

So after spending most of the time writing the book, I am now working on my “ social media presence.”

Good luck to me. I have no business brain.

I listened to lots of webinars run by people who know what they are doing. That night help, or not.

I have lots of ideas, some of them undoubtedly silly.

One is to introduce my main characters.

Another is explaining the history a bit.

So watch this space.

Today, after listening to all those webinars, I can only write a pointless article like this one.

Theresienstadt

So I will at least tell you about a lecture I heard yesterday. it was very interesting, and topical for my book, because it was about Theresienstadt, where my book takes you in the first part. Dr Anna Hajkova is a historian, from Czechia, but living in the UK. Like me.

https://www.jw3.org.uk/whats-on/new-history-theresienstadt