Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 197

All her love, all her loneliness

"She locked herself in and started writing letters, some of which were never sent, for fear of revealing too much of her loneliness. Other letters she embellished along the margins, with a hand heavy with years but with the manner of a schoolgirl: She embellished them with pink flowers and long sequences of X’s and O’s for kisses and hugs, and then she sent them to that foreign sounding address, so that her grandchildren, who rarely came to visit, would know she loved them.How would a doorknob feel to be barely touched, its latch rarely released, the lock always bolted shut? How would it feel to be in the grip of rust? She glanced at the doorknob. Would it retain a memory of her touch, even when she is gone? Would it keep, in its own transparent ways and despite all that polishing, the layers upon layers of all their fingerprints?She wanted to write about her life, and tried to remember who she was, to whom she was writing, and for what purpose; but if she were to put down even one letter—even one mark—all her love, all her loneliness, and all that bitter disappointment that this was all life had to offer in the end, would come rushing out, and nothing in the world could hold her together any more."
Take a listen to the beautiful narration by Kathy Bell Denton:
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This is an excerpt from a short story titled Even One Mark, in my book Home. The inspiration for it came from what I heard on a phone call from the other end of an ocean, from Israel: it came on my birthday, so for a moment I thought that congratulations and good wishes would be the topic of the conversation--only to learn that unfortunately, my mother-in-law had just passed away. In the early days of my marriage I perceived her, as most young brides do, as a formidable force, and it took me many years to look past the power game. To my surprise I found out not only that I appreciated her strength and her knack for survival, but that I loved her dearly. And so, I wrote this story to reveal the softer, most volunrable side of her character. 

This is how the story ends:

"The wind whipped the pages out of her lap. They flew around her, some settling to the ground, some flipping higher, flapping into a big clutter in the air, then floating dreamily away across the landscape. In years past she would get up, catch them one by one and stack them back, with a strict attention to order; but now she didn’t care anymore. For a moment she thought she could see that page, the one she had marked X with a trembling hand. There it was, a white glimmer soaring out of reach above her in the wind. And then, in one puff, it was over. Somewhere inside, a doorknob broke. A door flew open."

I drew this charcoal sketch a couple of weeks ago with a similar feeling of  loss.
★ Love the music of words? Get this book ★Home★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★"HOME is an invitation, a very personal one, and should not be passed over"

A must read. This was an astounding experience

Short and sweet review of Apart From Love:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, July 15, 2014By Barbara L King (Redwood City, CA United States) - See all my reviewsVerified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Apart From Love (Kindle Edition) This was an astounding experience. The book is painful, yet lyrically and honestly written. I highly recommend this.

We’re packing our suitcase for the journey ahead

We’re packing our suitcase for the journey aheadCheeze, grapes, wine, and a long loaf of breadWe’ll give gifts to the winners, share plenty of foodSo excited to meet you, such is our mood!
Train tickets are ready, each one with a stub Let’s pack Donna’s series: The Single Daddy ClubBarbara’s Wendy Darlene Comedy MysteryAaron’s cozy read, The Gus Legarde Mystery
Here's the Gladstone series by John, and at the extremesHere’s James’s what-if kind of series about Dreams Last but not least, The David Chronicles, about a great kingThese are our books, which to you we will bring!

Hop Upon a Train of Stories And join to win our books!

Yay! Got 10,000 followers on Twitter!

This is great! Today I passed the 10K threshold: @UviPoznansky

King David brought to vivid life

Oh what a lovely review of A Peek at Bathsheba!

5.0 out of 5 stars King David brought to vivid life, July 11, 2014By Laurel S. Gord - See all my reviewsVerified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: A Peek at Bathsheba (The David Chronicles Book 2) (Kindle Edition) Uvi Paznanski has brought the story of King David to life, giving us a very human David with human feelings and struggles, which I might point out, in response to a previous review, have not changed much over the millenia. Her work is informed by her deep knowledge of the biblical story and commentary, as well as art history and she does a masterful job of weaving the psalms into the story. She gives David a contemporary voice, which I like. After all, when people speak to each other during any time period they sound contemporary to themselves and each other. At the same time, the richness of her descriptive language, to me, evokes a sense of majesty that seems, well, biblical.

Not a frivolous book, but a romance with real life

What a thoughtful, great review of Apart From Love:

5.0 out of 5 stars A romance with real life, July 13, 2014By Amazon Customer "lokhos" (USA) - See all my reviewsVerified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Apart From Love (Kindle Edition) "Say anything, apart from love." That's the mantra of this book, the heart of it. I'm not commonly a romance reader, but I am a literary reader, and Uvi Poznansky's deft prose and fresh eye showed me corners of the human soul that few novels convey.

A passionate tale told by two people: Ben, a twenty-seven year old student, and Anita, spunky, uneducated, the new wife of , Ben's aging father.

The two, Ben and Anita, feel a dangerous attraction to one another, and the story is off... taking you with it, into secret realms of desire.

Other secrets are soon revealed, about Lenny, Ben's father, and Ben's mother, stricken with early-onset Alzheimer's.

And there is a tape recorder... I won't tell you the part it plays in this journey from grief and guilt to forgiveness and love.

Uvi Poznansky is a thoughtful, talented writer. Her work brims with nuance. This is not a frivolous book, but it is a romance with real life, and a fine one.

A kiss through a handkerchief

"It was a childless marriage, childless by choice; his choice. A choice about which she had no misgivings, usually; or, if she had any, Edna would soon forget them in his arms. Leaning her head against his broad shoulders, she would take in his smell, a mixture of shaving lotion and a trace of sweat, and think herself happy.But tonight she was lonely. Ethan was not there. Edna tried to imagine him coming close, even whispering some sweet nothings in her ear. She waited for the whisper to dissolve, then tried to force another one—but again, the voice was vacant. She rose to the tips of her toes, as if longing for a kiss. She could almost feel him. His embrace was tight, she nearly fainted—but there was no breath, no warmth in his lips. It was, to her, like a kiss through a handkerchief."

Take a listen:

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An excerpt from Home
Have you ever wanted to go back to your youth, to reverse the flow of time? For you, is it tempting thought? It would take some kind of magic, which I describe in my story A Heartbeat, Reversed, included in my book Home. In it I use a silent movie projector as a device that allows my character, Edna, to rewind her life. She can control time, or so she wants to believe. 
"At first, it stirred into motion, casting a glowing, larger-than-life face into the darkness. The eyes sparkled, and from the lips came a laughter. It was giggly, yet utterly silent. Edna smiled back at this girl, the spirit of her youth. The eyelashes fluttered and then—with a sudden stutter—something took over the machine; for stuck on that single frame, it started rattling uncontrollably."
Edna watches her long-forgotten wedding event flickering on the wall. The sequence, which is so formal we all know how it ought to be arranged, is reversed. Starting from the moment he carries her across the threshold, we go back through events:
"Ethan and the bride had just separated out from a kiss and stood still, facing each other. The silvery light could barely filter through the wedding canopy. Gathered around them were members of both families. They bore witness, in a serious and ceremonious manner, to the unravelling of this union. Edna could see clearly how he kept tugging at that ring on his finger, as if it did not fit, no, it did not feel quite right, now did it. Finally the bride took back her vows and set him free. With great gentleness, she recovered his ring. Ethan, in turn, recovered hers."
How far will she allow this magic to take her? Will she lose control over it, and what are the risks, the repercussions of denying the normal flow of time? Will Edna go back to being a young woman? A girl? A baby? Will she lose her mind? You can reverse a sequence of numbers, but when you get to a single heartbeat, no longer in the context of a sequence, would it matter anymore which way it is played, forward or backward?


Love the music of words?Get Home
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Let me introduce you to my author friends

One car after another, the train is approaching
One book after another, a life is unfolding
A story unread is a pleasure denied
Come to the station, join us for the ride! 


My author friends have joined forces with me!We bring you not only stories—but collection of them. Our characters live on from one book to another in the same series.Click the profile image of each one of us to learn about our work.  Hop Upon a Train of Stories And join to win our books!
Uvi Poznansky
"I paint with my pen, and write with my paintbrush"@UviPoznansky
Donna Fasano
"Romance that warms the heart"@DonnaFaz
Barbara Silkstone
"There is no second chance at first love."@barbsilkstone
Aaron Paul Lazar
"Addictive, award-winning fiction. You'll fall in love with the characters and love to hate the villains.”@aplazar
James DiBenedetto
"What would you do if you could see other people's dreams?"@JJDiBenedetto
John A. Miller
"I write with a vivid imagination that has no limits."@JohnAMiller7

The affair that rocked Biblical times...

Here's a lovely new review of A Peek at Bathsheba:

5.0 out of 5 stars The affair that rocked Biblical times..., July 5, 2014By Amazon Customer "lokhos" (USA) - See all my reviewsVerified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: A Peek at Bathsheba (The David Chronicles Book 2) (Kindle Edition) "Forget love," says Bathsheba, coldly. "It's what got me in trouble in the first place." Yes, she's talking to King David. Yes, David and Bathsheba have an affair that scalds with its heat. Yes, he sends her husband to his death. And yes, you're going to love this Biblical romance. Second in Poznansky's "The David Chronicles," written in an accessible but lyric style, Poznansky has found her niche with these stories of one of the greatest rulers of Biblical times, his trials, his tribulations, his passions, his Bathsheba. A fit follow on to her "Rise to Power."

Enjoy the heat.

Anything goes! A lovely radio chat with Bennet

Here is my conversation at the wonderful Arts and Media radio show Anything Goes, with the great host: Bennet Pomeranz. He asked great questions, some of which readers and listeners had asked him about my work. I was elated to hear that he read my books, and to hear his impressions about them. 

Take a listen:


New Entertainment Podcasts with BennetPomerantz on BlogTalkRadio