Kenneth Atchity's Blog, page 16
July 19, 2024
9 Powerful Secrets That Will Supercharge Your Fiction
Shhh!
Secrets.
Everyone has them.
Every book must have at least one because secrets are the jet-powered engine that propels fiction forward. Ever notice how many blurbs in the daily BookBub email include the word secret?
Secrets provide motivation, plot, character, even a setting (a haunted house, anyone?) From Madame Bovary to Carrie, from Rebecca to Big Little Lies, from thrillers to romance, from mystery to women’s fiction to sci-fi, every story revolves around a secret.
Secrets ripple outward and can produce unexpected consequences a writer can take advantage of. Secrets need to be protected, denied, defended, and excused. This means they will have predictable (and unforeseen) consequences. These consequences will affect the people who guard them, excuse them, or wilfully blind themselves to their existence.
People with secrets are good at keeping them—until they’re not—or else until some external event spills the beans.
For example: a nuclear leak from a secret underground testing site that becomes a global headline. The slip up—the “tell”—will then become a major turning point in a novel.
In fiction, secrets must be revealed, and the tension secrets create must be resolved. As you plot, plan or pants your book, you will find that a well-chosen secret will provide you with a focus.
That focus will energize your writing—and your book.
1. Secrets With A Silver Lining
Silver lining secrets can work well in romance or cozy mysteries.
What if someone finds out that the Famous TV Chef thinks the local greasy spoon makes better french fries? Yes, better than than the ones FTC makes in her fancy, custom-designed, multimillion-dollar kitchen.
While that might be embarrassing, it won’t kill anyone unless someone adds poison. (That could work in a thriller or a mystery). Of course, that might not even necessarily end the FTC’s career. With shrewd PR, the Greasy Spoon Affair could make that chef even more famous. As long as the FTC doesn’t serve Greasy Spoon fries for $35 a pop in her pricey restaurant and pass them off as his/her own. Then someone might call fraud and costly lawsuits might ensue.
And a cute, sexy lawyer might appear to make all the bad stuff disappear and provide a HEA for our beleaguered heroine.
2. State Secrets
State Secrets are the meat and bones of thrillers from Eric Ambler and John Buchan to Charles McCarry, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré. The plots of spy novels revolve around characters adept at uncovering secrets, keeping secrets, stealing secrets and, in The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon, secretly transformed by brainwashing into a deadly weapon—a sleeper assassin, programmed to kill without question or mercy.
The cast of characters holding state secrets also include—
The spy who can’t be trusted: the treacherous double agent.
The scientist—mad or otherwise—who has created—by accident or on purpose—the formula for a new, population-decimating chemical weapon.
A powerful world leader—a paragon of enlightened leadership or a Stalin-esque dictator—suffering from a fatal disease or destructive neurological condition that must be concealed—or else!
An secret international conspiracy—ever hear of a well-publicized conspiracy?—whose goal is world domination.
A top-secret assassination plot the hero must uncover and stop.
A fatherly-looking but secretly demented, power-crazed lunatic who threatens the stability of international financial markets and, thus, world peace itself.
3. Secret Baby
A classic trope, the secret baby often—but not always—occurs as a romance subgenre. To mention only a few, there are SEAL’s Secret Babies, Vampire Secret Babies, and Billionaire’s Secret Babies. You will find lists of secret baby romance novels at FictionDB, at GoodReads and at SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.
In my novel, Love And Money, (Get it free with the link below…Anne) , the mistress and the wife of a wealthy man deliver babies at almost the same time. The half-sisters, who do not know of each other’s existence, grow up in different worlds, one a beautiful, indulged heiress, the other a wrong-side-of-the-tracks neglected child, a dramatic disparity that allowed me to write about class, envy, privilege, resentment and ambition.
4. Family Secrets
Family secrets take a starring role in sagas and women’s fiction—and in memoirs.
An upstanding citizen who is in reality a deadbeat dad who might—or might not—reconcile with his children.
A PTA shining star but secretly neglectful mom who might—or might not—see the error of her ways.
The sibling who stealthily cheats his brother/sister out of his/her inheritance
The rich/powerful/vindictive/creepy relative no one wants to cross.
A family fortune created through hard work and persistence—or was it?
The alcoholic/mentally ill relative whose erratic, unpredictable behavior affects several generations.
An accidental death that wasn’t so “accidental”
The blurb for Alan Cumming’s #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Not My Father’s Son, refers to “deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.”
5. Dark Secrets
These are the secrets that form the spine of mysteries.
Who-dun-it?
Why’d-they-do-it?
How’d they do it?
How can the MC track down the bad guy or gal?
When someone shoots aging bad-girl rocker Morgan Le Fay and threatens to finish the job in Anne’s The Lady of the Lakewood Diner, people assume the perp’s a fan of Morgan’s legendary dead rock-god husband. However, the real reason for the attack may be a secret buried in Morgan’s hometown where her childhood best friend may be the only person who knows the dark secret that can save Morgan’s life.
Anne uses that one secret to propel the plot forward throughout the book.
6. Open Secrets
Open secrets are the emperor-has-no-clothes, Harvey Weinstein, Jerry Sandusky, women’s gymnastics’ category of secrets. These are the secrets that can be used to ensnare numerous connected characters who might or might not be related.
Open secrets create a Potemkin Village faux reality in which characters who need to protect themselves from exposure—and consequences—pretend not to know what they actually do know. Lost in a web of confusion, deceit, evasion and denial, these characters are forced by circumstances over which they have no control to become liars, hypocrites, and classic unreliable narrators.
“Everyone knows” but no one says anything—until someone does—at which point your plot attains jet speed velocity.
Open secrets can be played for drama—or even for humor.
The Big Boss is a predatory sexual abuser so people who must work with or for him keep their distance, whisper warnings to others, know better than to share an elevator or after-work drink with him, go to great lengths to make sure they are never trapped alone in his office/hotel room with him.
No one admits that Uncle Jim is an incompetent screw-up who can’t keep a job. However, when he wears a suit and tie, he looks like he belongs in a boardroom—until he insults a powerful CEO. At which point, the company’s stock takes off and everyone gets rich by mistake and Uncle Jim is forced to straighten up and fly right.
Aunt Susie has a shoplifting problem but the family pays off stores to keep her out of jail and her “problem” is never mentioned—until she lifts a hundred-thousand dollar diamond ring and, this time, the family can’t afford to pay and all hell breaks loose.
Cousin Bill, captain of the football team, has tried suicide several times, but the family refuses to admit/confront his mental health issues—until he is photographed pointing a gun to his head on the sidelines at the Big Game.
Niece Eileen is about to marry her long-time girlfriend but none of the family will help her pick out her dress or plan her wedding because “everyone knows no one in our family is gay.” Drama, tears, laughter, and hugs ensue.
7. Secrets We Keep from Ourselves
These are the character-driven secrets. In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver unveils a bleak reality as the MC reveals feelings about motherhood, marriage, and family kept secret until her young son murders classmates and she is forced to confront her own possible responsibility.
Other examples:
Your MC is an addiction expert who doesn’t realize his/her own kid is an addict. S/he misses the signs: the switch to long sleeve shirts or blouses, the constant need for money, the requests for “loans” that don’t get repaid, the frequent questions about “when will you be home?” so your MC never sees his/her kid high.
The wife who doesn’t see tip-offs to her husband’s affair although the clues are in plain sight.
In my NYT bestseller, Decades, Evelyn Bain sees signs of her husband’s affair all around her. The unexplained late nights at the office. The way he disappears for weekends for “business.” His provocative banter with his friends about their extra-marital sexual exploits. But she denies their meaning to herself. Until the secret is dramatically revealed and Evelyn’s life is turned upside down.
8. Secret Dreams
Secret dreams provide the skeleton of Cinderella stories. They often lie at the heart of romance in which the couple need to unlock each others’ secrets in order to achieve their HEA.
The girl (or guy) jilted/left at the altar who has vowed never to fall in love again—until s/he meets Ms. or Mr. Right. But they must resolve the injury of the past.
The couple who break up but meet again and must work through the secret anger/misunderstanding that has kept them apart.
The gorgeous guy who has women falling all over him, but who secretly yearns to find The One.
The beautiful, successful entrepreneur who doesn’t have time for romance—but secretly longs to be swept off her feet.
9. Secret Super Power?
Fabulous, fantastic, incredible, killer first drafts.
Read more at Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
This a wonderfully informative and entertaining blog. I recommend checking it out.
July 17, 2024
Love is blooming
I cover the literary world and the publishing business.
There’s a boom in romance bookstores. More than 20 of them have sprung up around the United States in the past few years — up from just two in 2020 — and more are on the way.
They have quirky names like the Ripped Bodice, Tropes & Trifles, Love’s Sweet Arrow, and Kiss & Tale. They’re sprinkled across the country, from Alaska to Maine. They’re largely owned and operated by women, and have become vibrant community hubs for romance fans.
As a reporter who covers publishing, I’ve been following the soaring sales for romance, which is by far the top-selling fiction genre. But the arrival of brick-and-mortar romance stores struck me as something new, and surprising.
For a story in The Times, I visited romance stores in South Florida and Brooklyn, and talked to booksellers, publishers and fans of the genre, to find out why romance bookstores are suddenly thriving.
How readers fell for romanceRomance writers and their fans point out that, about a decade ago, there wasn’t much enthusiasm for the genre in independent bookstores. Even though romance has long been a major moneymaker for publishers, the literary world tended to look down on it as frothy and unserious, or worse, as smut.
Rebecca Zanetti told me that after she started publishing paranormal romance in 2011, it was hard for her to book a signing at a store, even though her novels were best sellers.
“Back when I started out, you’d go into a small local bookstore and they might not even have a romance section, and if I said I wrote romance, they weren’t interested,” Zanetti said.
The current romance craze traces to the early days of the pandemic, when millions of people were stuck at home, bored and anxious, and rediscovered their love of reading. Book sales spiked in 2020 and 2021, and romance in particular saw a steep and sustained rise. Its appeal during times of turmoil and uncertainty is obvious: Romance novels offer comfort and escape, and the stories often land on what fans call an “H.E.A.” — a Happily Ever After.
Many who turned to romance during the pandemic seem to have kept up the habit. Print sales of romance books more than doubled in the last few years, from 18 million copies in 2020 to 39 million in 2023.
On her most recent tour, Zanetti had events at three different romance bookstores in Southern California. And she said a new one — called It’s A Love Story — had just opened in her hometown, Hayden, Idaho.
Looking for love stories. Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times
Judgment-free zonesThe new crop of romance bookstores look and feel different from your typical local independent shop. They carry thousands of books in every conceivable romantic subgenre — historical, L.G.B.T.Q., young adult, romantic suspense, supernatural, romantasy, sports-themed romance — and many carry a wide selection of self-published novels that mainstream booksellers don’t stock. Some customers I spoke to said that they loved being able to shop without feeling judged for their tastes, and that booksellers were happy to steer them toward whatever they fancy: secret billionaire romance, B.D.S.M. erotica, Sapphic vampire romance, polyamorous hockey romance.
A lot of the stores have an unabashedly feminine aesthetic. They are heavy on pink and floral motifs, with bright signs and merchandise that riff on familiar romance tropes — enemies to lovers, forced proximity, forbidden love, secret identity, fake relationships. They’ve become hubs for romance fans, not just to buy books but also to gather for book clubs, writing workshops, trivia contests and cheekily themed craft nights.
Melissa Saavedra, owner of Steamy Lit in Deerfield Beach, Fla., said that even though romance sales were soaring, fans and writers still needed dedicated spaces and more recognition from the publishing world.
“Even though it is the best-selling genre in fiction,” Saavedra told me, “we still have to fight tooth and nail for people to respect the genre.”
July 15, 2024
Story Merchant E-Book Deal
“Smart, witty, funny, painful, honest, brutal, forgiving. Truly amazing and left me wanting more!”
“This was laugh-out-loud funny and relatable. I felt like I was reading my best friend's diary.”
—Amazon Five Star Reviews
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
Maddy Quinn survived being a fat kid and a fat adolescent, but being fat in her twenties is too much. Maddy is a smart, funny, chunky monkey living in a world of skinnies with only an XXL sweater set to keep her safe.
Living at home, Maddy attends a nearby university where she majors in Political Science and Not Being Noticed. Her mother would return her to the womb for safekeeping if only there was room for a 266 1/2 lb. adult, and her grandmother has never met an emotion that couldn't be suffocated with mashed potatoes or chicken fried steak.
Despite the over-love of a nutty family and the support of good, but skinny friends, waddling around campus is getting harder. In an effort to keep daily humiliations to a minimum, Maddy lives by rules she's developed to hide in plain sight.
Fat Rule #2
Never run in front of other humans, even if being chased by a mass-murdering maniac. Better to die with honor than let that jelly jiggle!
But when her birthday turns into Celebration Humiliation, Maddy's best friend, Sam, gives her a dose of tough love that would put an elephant down, setting Maddy on a life-changing course that includes Richard Simmons and a date with a college guy, or two.
July 12, 2024
Jeff Rivera Interviews Kenneth Atchity on Pursuing Your Dreams Later in Life!
As the man who found everything he was looking for in his “retirement,” Dr. Atchity is a shining example of the never-ending potential of dreams and aspirations. In a HuffPost interview with Jeff Rivera Ken outlines many of the problems he encountered when shifting to a new career along with some useful advice for those looking to go down the same road.
Taking into account how the film industry has changed over the past couple of years, what advice would you give today that you wouldn’t have given two years ago?
I think it’s becoming harder to sell anything to big studios because they have become almost entirely married to producing big franchises and pre-sold concepts. Marketing has taken over the entertainment industry. Even in the publishing world, big publishers are only interested in how many copies of a certain book they can sell.
For new voices it can be extremely difficult to get published and this is very much the case in Hollywood. It’s often easier to get your work produced independently or through the MD method than it is to go to the studios. Keep in mind that the big studios used to produce hundreds of movies every year whereas now they produce dozens. Some studios are completing as little as three movies a year, but they’re making $400 million films from pre-established franchises like Spider-Man and Captain America.
There’s a global market for these movies and it’s a safer bet for them to spend a lot of money on one movie and earn it all back plus extra. This can make it even more difficult for new writers to sell their ideas, although I think writers can be proactive in finding ways to draw attention to their stories.
If someone, for example, lived in Nebraska and had a story about a family that lived in a cornfield, would they have any hope of having a studio make that film?
Always remember that if you don’t have hope then you shouldn’t be doing it, and hope is never something that can be analyzed statistically. It comes from within. In any industry, looking at the odds can be more than a little discouraging but if you believe them then you might as well go back to work as a bank teller. You have to think to yourself, what can I do? How can I think outside the box to draw attention to my story?
These days, the internet can be hugely beneficial if you’re looking to get your story out there as it provides millions, if not billions, of people access to you work. If you’re looking to generate interest then the internet is the best tool you can use. Studios have executives who do nothing but trawl through the internet looking for new stories. The Hunger Games is one of the biggest success stories of the last 10 years in this sense.
I think the gatekeepers are becoming predictable because they’re so enslaved to their corporate owners but what the true creative executives are looking for is someone who’s not saying the same thing as everyone else. Anyone who has a following as the result of their work is a potential line of interest. So, if I were in Nebraska facing that dilemma, I would focus on the thing that I have in front of me – that everyone has in front of them – the internet. You just have to find a way to pierce that golden shield.
What specific advice would you give to the person in Nebraska if they had access to the internet? How can they get noticed?
Well, honestly, if I had an answer to that I’d be a billionaire. This is where creativity comes in. If you were putting together a cartoon, for example, you might start putting it into a small book. Books are easier to get to people than anything else. I don’t recommend putting an entire screenplay on the internet but you could try generating interest by creating a website or blog and doing everything in your power to drive traffic to it.
On there you could maybe share stories, although I also like the idea of doing cartoons or animations because they can end up going viral. You can usually find someone to animate or do a cartoon for your story. Remember that social networks are a key part of using the internet, especially sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter which are all vehicles that can reach millions of people. I boosted a post the other day from Naples and over 8,700 people saw it in the first hour. That’s how you get exposure.
Try not to be too shy or humble when promoting yourself. Shakespeare wasn’t shy when he talked the queen into building the Globe Theater and Sophocles and Aeschylus wouldn’t have been remembered today if they hadn’t gotten patrons to sponsor putting their tragedies in the Great Dionysian Festival every year. The most aggressive writers have always gotten their story told and it’s important to push your point across.
As for writers who think “I’m just a writer, I don’t really do marketing and all of that,” you have to snap out of that mindset. As Cher says in Moonstruck; “Snap out of it!” It’s not going to get you anywhere!” No one feels sorry for a poor writer who can’t sell their own work and if you really are that person then you need to find somebody else to sell your work for you.
What about the independent route? Is there a way for a really passionate writer to go out and make the film themselves? How does that work?
In theory, the indie route is always possible because anyone can buy all of the equipment needed to physically make a movie. You can enlist the help of friends, write the script yourself, or do it even without a script as many small pictures have been done. That is the ultimate indie route.
That’s what Robert Rodriguez did with El Mariachi, which is a masterpiece of ingenuity. I heard that he didn’t even give lunch to his actors because he couldn’t afford it; so they had to knock off at noon. Rodriguez also shot all of his scenes so that nobody’s lips were ever facing the camera. He then dubbed all of the dialogue in post-production, completely diverting the chance that any sound problems would crop up during the shoot.
You can find somebody to work with you and to help produce your movie and raise enough money to develop it and so on. There are ways of doing it and every year movies breakthrough that are made unconventionally, but still in a really old-fashioned, pioneering style. If you follow in the footsteps of Robert Rodriguez then you’ve reached a point where you are doing it all yourself because nobody is doing it for you.
Is it true that your company has a division where they do this? They match people with money to producers such as yourself who help in making their films. How does that work exactly?
Yes, that’s correct. We work with writers who have access to resources as well as those who have a great story. Money makes things happen: If they have access then we help them prepare their movie. If you imagine a big conveyer belt with every project that has the potential to become a movie on it, you can see stories, treatments, and even books on the far end of it. These are naked ideas but by the time they reach the front of the belt they’re “fully-clothed” and ready to leap onto the screen.
These movies need to have a professionally prepared budget that shows exactly what the cost of the film is going to be. They need to have that budget bonded by a completion bond company. They will have the locations chosen, along with a director, cast, and start date. They should also have a distributor interested or attached, and so on and so forth.
If you already have the ability to put together some money then you can leapfrog over the other projects on the belt, which is what happens every day, but if you’re on the belt there’s no guarantee that you’ll get to the front of the line because you’ll always be leapfrogged over by another project with better casts, directors or financing. Our goal is to work with people who can find the money they need for their project. With writers have access to funds our goal is to turn them into producers so that they then have control over their project and don’t lose the rights before their movie is made.
If I’m an author that lives in Iowa, or Canada, how can the book that you just released help me turn my 70,000 word tome into a feature film?
Well, that is the exact purpose of the book - sell your story to Hollywood. It’s basically a little handbook that just shows you all the steps that have to happen in order to sell a story. This includes how to get an agent, how to get a manager, how to attract attention of producers, and even how to prepare sales materials that will help you in delivering a short pitch or contacting people via email. The purpose of the book is to provide you with an outline of all the things you have to overcome in order to get the story into the hands of the buyer.
My second aim with the book is to offer some alternative selling methods including some information on making a movie yourself. It gives examples of treatments and other materials that you need to build along the way.
SELLING THE STORY: SIZZLE REELS
What is a sizzle reel and how can someone use one to pitch a reality show or drama?
A sizzle reel is basically a teaser or sampler of a program that’s used as an outline by the creator. The term came out of reality programming because you need a sizzle reel to sell a reality TV show. A sizzle reel is usually three minutes at the most and it’s supposed to be an exciting, well-edited teaser that gives you a vision of what the program is and what it is intended to be. In theory, the reel gives you a strong inkling of how the program will continue and how it will go beyond its pilot episode. Sizzle reels can introduce characters as well as convey the excitement and points of interest within the show.
Knowing how to make a decent sizzle reel is extremely important but very, very difficult because if you’re not actually in show business you don’t know what companies are looking for. Learning how to put one together is an extremely beneficial way of getting into the industry and it’s a great way to show what you have to offer.
If someone had a sizzle reel, would they then upload it on Vimeo or YouTube? Would it also be included in a pitch to a producer?
Yes, it’s important to send it everywhere you can. You can come up with a log line, or short pitch, that would get producers to watch it. Do a short version for Instagram. YouTube is definitely a great tool. People scour YouTube all the time looking for ideas for movies. Facebook is also good. It’s important to send it it in whatever way you can. If you have an email list, send it to everyone. Ask people to share it, pass it on.
GETTING THE RIGHT ATTENTION
For those wanting to enlist your help in producing a project, what’s the best way for people to pursue you? Are you looking for work or simply developing your own projects?
I’ve been in the business for so long now that I’m not really looking for a whole bunch of things. I’m already involved in a lot of projects, but things that do often catch my eye are ideas that I’ve never seen before; new concepts that are truly exciting—and female-driven action, thrillers, and drama.
I recently read a piece on a boy who was born in the US but ended up being taken to Saudi Arabia at the age of seven or eight and raised over there as an outcast because he was half American. He spent his teen years trying to figure out a way to escape and when it finally happened he ended up joining the US marines where, to his amazement, he was treated like an outcast because he was half Saudi. What I loved about the story is that it’s something Americans really need to understand; it’s exactly what Saudis are taught as they’re growing up and what makes a person turn against his country. When I see something that unique and that unusual it captures my attention despite how many things I’m involved with.
If anyone is looking to speak with me then I’m contactable through referrals, emails, and phone calls. Email is the best way to approach people like me and I’d suggest keeping it brief. If an email is longer than five lines long, the chances of me jumping on it are very, very diminished. If it’s only two lines long and says something amazing about you and your story then it will be hard to resist. Use some examples from your work and write-up a short pitch, that’s the best and most respectful way to do it. atchity@storymerchant.com
Jeff Rivera
Writer | Producer
Jeff Rivera is a writer | producer. He began his career as an author, co-author and ghostwriter of nearly 100 books. He has appeared on national television, radio and print in such outlets as Forbes.com, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Right On! Magazine, Rotarian Magazine, TMZ, WABC, WNBC, WCBS, SITV, American Latino and NPR. He has written for Entertainment Weekly, Mediabistro, GalleyCat, Publishing Perspectives, Digital Book World, Examiner, American Chronicle, School Library Journal and the Huffington Post and has been invited to speak worldwide about his rise from American poverty and living in his car to fast-becoming one of the most sought after writer | producers in the nation. Rivera has been on panel discussions for The Library Journal, Authors Guild, the Harlem Book Fair and many others. Rivera has produced social media campaigns, Skype/Google Hangout tours and web content for many high profile people including Mark Cuban, Mark Victor Hansen, Jeff Kinney, Elmore Leonard, Mitch Albom, Stan Lee, Seth Godin, Nicholas Sparks, James Van Praagh, and cast members from from Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Rivera now develops film, television and web content.
July 8, 2024
Yes, Mr. DeMille: At the Right Hand of a Hollywood God
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
Phil Koury was Cecil B. DeMille's "personal representative" since 1946 and stood close as DeMille made some of the most successful movies of his time.
This is a first-hand account of the ups and downs of one of our most controversial Hollywood legends. It covers his legendary qualities, exhibitionism, terrorism as a director, rampant individualism, tremendous public following, and box office success—and the scorn of the critics—and follows his career from the theatre to early "flickers" and on through the talking pictures.
It is not to be missed if you love learning about the mechanics and foibles of the film business.
July 5, 2024
Story Merchant coaching client, Samia Nassar Melchior, has published this salient study in COUNTERPUNCH
Of all the pictures to come out of Abu Ghraib prison, the most striking is that of the naked prisoner standing with his back turned to the camera, arms stretched out and what seems like human excrement covering his well toned body. Facing the man, and the camera, is an American GI, predictably blond, predictably butch holding a menacing stick diagonally to his chest.
Although horrifying in its content, one cannot deny the beauty of the piece. That captured moment of intense humiliation and degradation, pronounces itself with all the drama and contrasting colors of a Caravaggio painting.
Baroque art, although maintaining Renaissance Art’s emphasis on the beauty of the human form in both shape and proportion went a step further, it captured the moment. The best example of that difference can be seen in the sculptural rendition of the biblical story of David and Goliath. Standing with his head turned sideways and his sling nonchalantly thrown over one shoulder, Michael Angelo’s David celebrates the perfection of the human body through malleable stone, but one would be forgiven if one forgets that this is the same Biblical David about to face his overwhelming enemy Goliath. It is Baroque Art’s rendition of the same subject matter by its most prolific artist, Bernini that denotes the difference. Bernini’s David, although as perfectly sculpted as Michael Angelo’s, captures the perils of the moment. Depicting the exact instance when David is about to project his stone, his knees bent, his torso twisted, his arms stretched backwards holding the sling, his jaw muscles clenched and his eyes focused ahead, the viewer is caught in the pinnacle moment of the whole story.
The pictures stemming from Abu Ghraib might prove to be the images that capture the pinnacle moment in this War in Iraq. This distilled moment of high drama may prove to be the moment when the dynamics between East and West irreversibly change.
The best of Baroque art invites the viewer to be part of the artwork. In the case of Bernini’s David, it is the viewer who finds himself cast in the role of Goliath. Looking at the pictures, the West cannot help but feel monstrous. By viewing these atrocious pictures, the West becomes part of the drama, the missing link in the circle of oppression. They are Goliath, they are the oppressors, they certainly are not the liberators.
For the Arab, more used to being talked of, talked over or downright ignored in matters as basic as the land beneath his feet, he finds himself the hero of the piece, the central issue that can no longer be ignored.
Forced to walk in a straight line with his legs crossed, his torso slightly twisted and arms spread out for balance, the Iraqi prisoner’s toned body, accentuated by the excrement and the bad lighting, stretches out in crucifix form. Exuding a dignity long denied, the Arab is suffering for the world’s sins.
These two very different perspectives have predictably resulted in very different reactions. As the western elites were holding their breath awaiting the much-dreaded reaction of the Arab world, they missed the point of these pictures. In seeking to humiliate, the Americans have humiliated themselves.
One should not underestimate the effect of this shift in perception.
Long thought of as unworthy of self rule, the Arab has always been portrayed as having the great fortune of residing on Oil rich land but again cast as unworthy of his luck, hence unworthy of his land, therefore unworthy of self rule (a philosophy that beautifully ties in with Zionism’s claim that the land of Palestine is meant only for the Jews, God’s chosen people, again a people more worthy).
Now with the Abu Ghraib pictures the reverse is true. It is the American that is seen as unworthy of power and unfit to rule. Trying to write off this act as the work of a few “bad apples”, the West does not realize that its credibility had started taking a beating a long time ago, reaching its pinnacle at Abu Ghraib prison.
With Al-Jazeera reporters targeted and killed, it has become obvious to its Arab viewers that the West’s version of free speech is a one sided monologue. Watching Israel steal more Palestinian land unhindered and Sharon, the architect of Palestinian dispossession called “A man of Peace”, whilst in an almost mirror like symmetry, the American military behaving like its Israeli counterpart on Iraqi soil, the once subservient Arab has realized that his resistance is the last stop between the rule of law and the rule of the fist.
Long told that his culture is substandard, his religion mad, his plight the result of his own failings, the Arab is finally standing up, ready to take exception. The West inspired respect when it held up the principles it says it wants to propagate, without them, all that the Arab feels is a heavy boot on his neck.
As the Arab watches the bulldozers at Raffah render the defenseless homeless and the prisoners of Abu Ghraib degraded and humiliated, it becomes obvious to his part of the world that the rights conferred by International Laws, the UN charter and Free Speech are being defended by the Palestinian claiming his rights and the Iraqi protecting the sovereignty of his land. If these now infamous pictures have captured a moment, it is when the world realized that it is not the advocators of human rights that defend them, but rather their victims.
SAMIA NASSAR MELKI is an architect and writer living in Beirut. Email: samianm@inco.com.lb
July 1, 2024
New From Story Merchant Books Leo Daughtry's Talmadge Farm
It's 1957, and tobacco is king. Wealthy landowner Gordon Talmadge enjoys the lavish lifestyle he inherited but doesn't like getting his hands dirty; he leaves that to the two sharecroppers - one white, one Black - who farm his tobacco but have bigger dreams for their own children. While Gordon takes no interest in the lives of his tenant farmers, a brutal attack between his son and the sharecropper children sets off a chain of events that leaves no one unscathed. Over the span of a decade, Gordon struggles to hold on to his family's legacy as the old order makes way for a New South.TALMADGE FARM is a sweeping drama that follows three unforgettable families navigating the changing culture of North Carolina at a pivotal moment in history. A love letter to the American South, the novel is a story of resilience, hope, and family - both lost and found.
June 28, 2024
James Pierre Talks About the Success of his Novel Gambino: The Rise
Having mybook optioned by a major production company is a dream come true. As a writer,you write for yourself, because you can’t help yourself. The characterschatter endlessly in your mind, begging you to bring their stories to life onthe page. So you do, but almost entirely as a means of quieting the voices. Youhope—but never really think—that others will find your characters as intriguingand engaging as you did. So, when in fact others do, it’s a validating feeling.
Available on Amazon Ken Atchitywas the first person to believe in me and in Carlo Gambino, the main characterin my book, Gambino: The Rise. Before Ken, I felt like I was the onlyperson that was interested in crime boss Carlo Gambino and his organization, theGambino Family. Ken opened my eyes to the fact that the general public might bejust as interested in the Gambinos as I was. And he was right. Years afterpublishing the book with Story Merchant, renown Hollywood producer Julius Nassoexpressed interest in the novel, and here we are today. On the precipice of agreat achievement—and what is every writer’s dream—to see their book turnedinto a movie. I cannot thank Ken and Julius enough for this opportunity. It validates the many years of research—and long hours infront of my keyboard—that went into bringing Gambino and his world to life. Ipray that we see this film project all the way through, so that the world willget to meet and fall in love with Carlo Gambino, just as I did. And to all of the aspiring writers out there: never give up on your characters. Listen to them. Then breathe life into them, on the page. And then find a literary agent who believes in them as much as you do, and chances are, at some point, if you remain patient and committed to the process, your characters and their stories will be introduced to the rest of the world, for everyone to enjoy.
James E.Pierre
June 26, 2024
Your Partner in Success with Denise Griffitts Interviews Matt Atchity
Matt Atchity, a multimedia powerhouse with over 20 years of experience shaping the entertainment industry, is celebrated for his transformative role as Editor-in-Chief of Rotten Tomatoes. During his tenure, he established the #Tomatometer rating system as the definitive metric for movie criticism. Beyond Rotten Tomatoes, Atchity has produced acclaimed content across platforms such as Moviefone and TYT Network. His deep understanding of audience dynamics and innovative drive has cemented his status as a leading authority in engaging viewers in the digital age, making his insights invaluable for creators, studios, and fans alike.
At #RottenTomatoes, Matt led a decade-long charge that elevated the site to household name status, pioneering TV reviews and expanding its industry influence. Additionally, he co-founded and co-hosted "What the Flick!?" with Ben Mankiewicz and Cenk Uygur, marking it as the inaugural spinoff show on the TYT network.
Now, Matt Atchity has transitioned to a new chapter in his career, joining forces with his uncle Ken Atchity at Story Merchant - a company that represents and assists storytellers (writers, authors) in getting their stories published or adapted for film and television. Drawing on his extensive background and industry expertise, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge to the company's ventures in Hollywood. His strategic insights, honed from years at Rotten Tomatoes and other prominent platforms, promise to enrich Story Merchant's creative endeavors and expand its footprint in the entertainment landscape. Matt's shift to collaborate with Ken Atchity reflects his ongoing commitment to innovation and storytelling, ensuring his contributions continue to resonate across the industry.
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June 24, 2024
Story Merchant E-Book Deal FREE June 24 - June 28 Gambino: The Rise by James Pierre
Fleeing a murder charge in his native homeland of Palermo, Sicily, in Italy, young Carlo Gambino finds refuge in the United States of America. It is the Roaring Twenties, and New York is a melting pot of decadence and excess. As well as unprecedented violence. The
Volstead Act creates a new and booming black market for booze, one which gangsters of all denominations seek to control.
The Rise will hook readers from the first page to the very last, and its violent, colorful cast of characters will continue to enthrall the imagination of readers long after the book has been put down. Strap in for this bumpy and brutal ride through America’s Age of
Prohibition, where gangsters roamed free and lived by their own code of honor—and blood.
All in the pursuit of the American Dream!
Veteran Hollywood multi-hyphenate George Gallo (“Bad Boys,” “The Comeback Trail”) is attached to direct “Gambino,” a high-end biopic about organized crime boss Carlo Gambino that Gallo is co-writing with two-time Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga (“Green Book”). Julius Nasso producing with Ken Atchity (EP).
