Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 242
June 22, 2013
Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone... Just between us...
Later this summer, when the audiobook is nearly ready, I will invite everyone to party in a new launch event on Facebook, to celebrate all three editions of Twisted. But right now, if you love books in print, and you appreciate an artistically design book cover, and on top of all this, if you have read my work and enjoyed it, I have this to say:
Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone... Just between us: The print edition of Twisted just came out. Be the first to get it:US & India, UK, Barnes and Noble
June 19, 2013
The Woman Behind the Voices of Twisted
Today I would like to introduce the narrator behind the voices of my new collection of dark tales. I have already worked with her on narrating my novel, Apart From Love. She was such a natural, that no one can call her Anita a 'performace'. Working with her was such joy! So I had to hear the lovely, intimate voice of Heather Jane Hogan again, this time for Twisted, where the challenge--and the fun--would be to find a different voice for each one of the four tales.
Take a listen to a voice clip from her audition:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this.
I find her self-depracating humor quite touching. Here are a few things she says about herself:
"I sing in the car. Loudly. I’m that woman you see on the highway, belting out tunes as if she were on stage somewhere and blissfully unconcerned that other people on the highway can see me." "I love roller coasters. The more twisty-turny-upside-down-back-and-forth-hair-raising, the better.""In 1999, I went skydiving. I’ll never forget it. It wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would be exhilarating; that I would land and shout something like, “WOO HOO!!”… but… at least for me, it was more of an overwhelming experience. Afterwards, I just wanted to sit and contemplate my belly button."In 2003 and 2004 I won the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), hosted by http://www.nanowrimo.org. They host a challenge every year during the month of November for you to write a novel. It doesn’t have to be good, no one reads it for proof (the contest is honor-based) – but you have to write 50,000 words in one month (the definition of a novel). It’s a great and challenging exercise, even if you’re not a writer.
Download the new collection: tales from the dark side Twisted
Audiobook and print editions coming soon
Take a listen to a voice clip from her audition:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this.
I find her self-depracating humor quite touching. Here are a few things she says about herself:
"I sing in the car. Loudly. I’m that woman you see on the highway, belting out tunes as if she were on stage somewhere and blissfully unconcerned that other people on the highway can see me." "I love roller coasters. The more twisty-turny-upside-down-back-and-forth-hair-raising, the better.""In 1999, I went skydiving. I’ll never forget it. It wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would be exhilarating; that I would land and shout something like, “WOO HOO!!”… but… at least for me, it was more of an overwhelming experience. Afterwards, I just wanted to sit and contemplate my belly button."In 2003 and 2004 I won the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), hosted by http://www.nanowrimo.org. They host a challenge every year during the month of November for you to write a novel. It doesn’t have to be good, no one reads it for proof (the contest is honor-based) – but you have to write 50,000 words in one month (the definition of a novel). It’s a great and challenging exercise, even if you’re not a writer.
Download the new collection: tales from the dark side Twisted
Audiobook and print editions coming soon
June 18, 2013
With father's day just passing, there's honor in this tribute
Just discovered a new review for Home: a big thank you to the reviewer, whose pen name SMFD stands for Suzzette Dawes, the Jamaican-raised author of The Collection, Adventures in the Courtyard, and Tortured Souls. This is what she wrote:
5.0 out of 5 stars a lot of emotion is shared and conveyed, June 17, 2013By SFMD - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Home (Kindle Edition)A book with beautifully written poems and prose. It opens with a daughter writing about her father and some special memories attached to the armchair. I like the rhyme pattern and the flow of the poetry
It reveals, it unveils a clue (from Muse)
Essay - A Sentence Unfinished - is a heavy read. Uvi describes a scene where her father sitting in his armchair remembering his escapes from the Nazi to Spain to Israel. The other chapters follow with her father as a child (I guess she has heard the stories over the years). His family running from invasion during World War 1 abandoning their home town (German invasion).
With father's day just passing, there some honor in her translating her father's poems. Then there is her father's poem "Bent over Memories" reminiscing on his daughter when she was younger while looking at children playing in the park:
No longer will I carry you in my arms, little girl" and
"Now I am alone.
Supported by memories...
Sitting in the park for hours
Watching someone else's children."
Verse conveys strong feelings - daughter far away but the children playing reminds him of time spent when his daughter was younger.
Overall a good read that out pours the emotion and provides some insight on life:
"I Plucked a Wildflower" - Funny but morbid to write about own funeral, the mourners you don't know and the debt you left behind. Humor that no interest on the other side. Take that banks!
If i had to choose a favorite, it would be "We Pass" due to the contrast of fall and spring, how we are now and how we used to be (symbolized by the couple who passed embracing). Fall (when leaves separate from the trees) and fail relationship - the comparison noted.
Sorry for the spoilers but I enjoyed reading Home.
5.0 out of 5 stars a lot of emotion is shared and conveyed, June 17, 2013By SFMD - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Home (Kindle Edition)A book with beautifully written poems and prose. It opens with a daughter writing about her father and some special memories attached to the armchair. I like the rhyme pattern and the flow of the poetry
It reveals, it unveils a clue (from Muse)
Essay - A Sentence Unfinished - is a heavy read. Uvi describes a scene where her father sitting in his armchair remembering his escapes from the Nazi to Spain to Israel. The other chapters follow with her father as a child (I guess she has heard the stories over the years). His family running from invasion during World War 1 abandoning their home town (German invasion).
With father's day just passing, there some honor in her translating her father's poems. Then there is her father's poem "Bent over Memories" reminiscing on his daughter when she was younger while looking at children playing in the park:
No longer will I carry you in my arms, little girl" and
"Now I am alone.
Supported by memories...
Sitting in the park for hours
Watching someone else's children."
Verse conveys strong feelings - daughter far away but the children playing reminds him of time spent when his daughter was younger.
Overall a good read that out pours the emotion and provides some insight on life:
"I Plucked a Wildflower" - Funny but morbid to write about own funeral, the mourners you don't know and the debt you left behind. Humor that no interest on the other side. Take that banks!
If i had to choose a favorite, it would be "We Pass" due to the contrast of fall and spring, how we are now and how we used to be (symbolized by the couple who passed embracing). Fall (when leaves separate from the trees) and fail relationship - the comparison noted.
Sorry for the spoilers but I enjoyed reading Home.
Mini-interview about writing A Favorite Son
Lia London, the author of full-length novels in a variety of genres, is a woman on a mission. On her website, she is building up collection of Clean Indie Reads, opening the doors for independent authors who write books can be considered "clean." I am thrilled that she has invited me for a third mini-interview on her site. This time, her questions focused on A Favorite Son. She wanted to know how did this retelling of a famous story come about? What was the process?Check out the mini-interview, here: A Favorite Son by Uvi Poznansky.
June 17, 2013
Blasphemy: Is it?
The moment I have dreaded for quite some time is upon me... I have been charged, and with words none too kind: "Awful. Abysmal blasphemy."
It was a risk I took when choosing a character from the bible for my story A Favorite Son. I knew I would be in trouble when I chose to portray Yankle not as a hero, and not as a patriarch of multiple religions, but rather as a flesh-and-blood, cunning young man, at the point when he is about to commit a sin. As you can imagine, his thoughts at this point are far from being holy.
I take the charge seriously, and I respect the opinion of the reader who leveled it at me. I do understand where it is coming from. Perhaps it is hard to see your idol, a legendary figure in your religion, being handled by a stranger in a somewhat precarious manner...
Now, I thought it would be a sensitive moment for me, because for the most part, I have been spoiled: my work has been embraced and loved by so many of you. Strangely, I find this moment thought provoking. So let me ask you, do you this is blasphemy? Perhaps so... I could get away with it if I said that it is my character who thinks these appalling thoughts. I will not. He is my responsibility, because it was my pen who wrote his words:
"I admit, mine is a strange family. You might call it dysfunctional. How it became the cornerstone of multiple religions is quite beyond me. If all those believers out there are as obnoxious as I am, they should take those scriptures with a grain of salt.
And another thing: How my name became the cornerstone of that notorious chain of restaurants, which we here call, with great fondness, the Yankle-in-the-Box establishment, is a complete mystery to me. I guess it happened in honor of my stew. Here in the wilderness, every edible nugget—regardless of where it came from—is considered a delicacy."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
It was a risk I took when choosing a character from the bible for my story A Favorite Son. I knew I would be in trouble when I chose to portray Yankle not as a hero, and not as a patriarch of multiple religions, but rather as a flesh-and-blood, cunning young man, at the point when he is about to commit a sin. As you can imagine, his thoughts at this point are far from being holy.
I take the charge seriously, and I respect the opinion of the reader who leveled it at me. I do understand where it is coming from. Perhaps it is hard to see your idol, a legendary figure in your religion, being handled by a stranger in a somewhat precarious manner...
Now, I thought it would be a sensitive moment for me, because for the most part, I have been spoiled: my work has been embraced and loved by so many of you. Strangely, I find this moment thought provoking. So let me ask you, do you this is blasphemy? Perhaps so... I could get away with it if I said that it is my character who thinks these appalling thoughts. I will not. He is my responsibility, because it was my pen who wrote his words:
"I admit, mine is a strange family. You might call it dysfunctional. How it became the cornerstone of multiple religions is quite beyond me. If all those believers out there are as obnoxious as I am, they should take those scriptures with a grain of salt.
And another thing: How my name became the cornerstone of that notorious chain of restaurants, which we here call, with great fondness, the Yankle-in-the-Box establishment, is a complete mystery to me. I guess it happened in honor of my stew. Here in the wilderness, every edible nugget—regardless of where it came from—is considered a delicacy."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
June 16, 2013
You May Have Heard Those Rumors About Me
"You may have heard those rumors about me: How I escaped by moonlight; how I hid inside each one of the seven wells of Beersheba, with nothing in my possession but the shirt on my back; how I eluded my enemy, my brother; and then, how frightened I was, how alone. I’m afraid you have been, at best, misinformed; or, more probably, mislead by some romantic foolery, some fiction and lies, the kind of which can easily be found, and in abundance I might add, in the holy scriptures.
I insist: It was not moonlight but rather, high noon; I was wearing no shirt whatsoever—nothing, really, but a goatskin sleeve. There was only one well in which I could hide, not seven. And most importantly, I was hardly alone; for the entire camp—all the maidservants, the shepherds, the guards—stood aghast all around me. So now, you must see that I could not, despite my best intentions, escape stealthily out of there; nor could I elude anyone.
Instead I was flung out, kicking and screaming, with tugs and pulls loosening the remaining shreds of my clothes, and whacks and smacks coming at my bare back from all directions. My left eye swelled up to such a degree that out of necessity, I resorted to use the right one—only to discover, once I raised my head from the dirt, that my brother was standing right over me. His foot could be seen coming straight at me, at an easygoing, unhurried pace, until it turned into a full blown kick."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
"Compelling", "Entertaining", "Like a kaleidoscope"Download the highly praised story A Favorite Son
I insist: It was not moonlight but rather, high noon; I was wearing no shirt whatsoever—nothing, really, but a goatskin sleeve. There was only one well in which I could hide, not seven. And most importantly, I was hardly alone; for the entire camp—all the maidservants, the shepherds, the guards—stood aghast all around me. So now, you must see that I could not, despite my best intentions, escape stealthily out of there; nor could I elude anyone.
Instead I was flung out, kicking and screaming, with tugs and pulls loosening the remaining shreds of my clothes, and whacks and smacks coming at my bare back from all directions. My left eye swelled up to such a degree that out of necessity, I resorted to use the right one—only to discover, once I raised my head from the dirt, that my brother was standing right over me. His foot could be seen coming straight at me, at an easygoing, unhurried pace, until it turned into a full blown kick."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
"Compelling", "Entertaining", "Like a kaleidoscope"Download the highly praised story A Favorite Son
June 13, 2013
The Woman Behind the Voices of Home
I am truly honored to announce that a prolific performer, Kathy Bell Denton, will be reading the poems and prose for the audiobook edition of my book, Home. Since this book is in tribute of my father, the challenge for her is to express my voice in the first half of the book, and his voice in the second.
Kathy is an actress, singer, and voice over artist. You can view an impressive list of her film and theatre roles, here: Now Casting.
Her regional credits include work at International City Theatre (StageScene Award), The Old Globe, Kennedy Center, The Gem (Dramalogue Award), Sierra Rep and four seasons with Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara. Local credits include Sacred Fools, The Classical Lab, The Odyssey, Theatre West, The Unknown Theatre, Vox Humana, Malibu SummerStage, and West Coast Ensemble. Her TV/Film credits include: Southern DysComfort, Someone Marry Barry, Murder in Retirement, Bitch (Sundance), Poor Mrs. Sobel, Kadis, I’ll Pick the Flower You Love, Appleville Eats Its All Stars.
To my surprise, I found her voice reading Sonnet 99 of the Bard. In this reading she uses her easy flowing, lovely Southern accent (actually very close to Elizabethan accent) which is only one of her many accents. First, here is the sonnet, written by the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, in which he expresses his love towards a young man.
The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
If not from my love's breath? Thy purple pride
Which on thy soft cheek for complexion dwells
In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dyed.
The lily I condemned for thy hand,
And buds of marjoram had stol'n thy hair:
The roses fearfully on thorns did stand,
One blushing shame, another white despair;
A third, nor red nor white, had stol'n of both
And to his robbery had annex'd thy breath;
But, for his theft, in pride of all his growth
A vengeful canker eat him up to death.
More flowers I noted, yet I none could see
But sweet or color it had stol'n from thee.–William Shakespeare
Now listen to her beautiful interpretation, and you will appreciate why I am so delighted to work on this upcoming project with her:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this.
"HOME is an homage to her father...
poetry that's never been placed before the public until now"
Download the highly praised, ★★★★★ poetry book
Home
Audiobook coming soon
Kathy is an actress, singer, and voice over artist. You can view an impressive list of her film and theatre roles, here: Now Casting.
Her regional credits include work at International City Theatre (StageScene Award), The Old Globe, Kennedy Center, The Gem (Dramalogue Award), Sierra Rep and four seasons with Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara. Local credits include Sacred Fools, The Classical Lab, The Odyssey, Theatre West, The Unknown Theatre, Vox Humana, Malibu SummerStage, and West Coast Ensemble. Her TV/Film credits include: Southern DysComfort, Someone Marry Barry, Murder in Retirement, Bitch (Sundance), Poor Mrs. Sobel, Kadis, I’ll Pick the Flower You Love, Appleville Eats Its All Stars.
To my surprise, I found her voice reading Sonnet 99 of the Bard. In this reading she uses her easy flowing, lovely Southern accent (actually very close to Elizabethan accent) which is only one of her many accents. First, here is the sonnet, written by the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, in which he expresses his love towards a young man.
The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
If not from my love's breath? Thy purple pride
Which on thy soft cheek for complexion dwells
In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dyed.
The lily I condemned for thy hand,
And buds of marjoram had stol'n thy hair:
The roses fearfully on thorns did stand,
One blushing shame, another white despair;
A third, nor red nor white, had stol'n of both
And to his robbery had annex'd thy breath;
But, for his theft, in pride of all his growth
A vengeful canker eat him up to death.
More flowers I noted, yet I none could see
But sweet or color it had stol'n from thee.–William Shakespeare
Now listen to her beautiful interpretation, and you will appreciate why I am so delighted to work on this upcoming project with her:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this.
"HOME is an homage to her father...
poetry that's never been placed before the public until now"
Download the highly praised, ★★★★★ poetry book
Home
Audiobook coming soon
What are my guilty pleasures?
The author of the highly rated book Jaded Hearts, Olivia Linden, also provides services to self publishing authors: ghost writing, book covers, and book reviews. This morning she invited me for an interview on her blog, Check out the interview: Olivia Linden interviews author Uvi Poznansky! She opened with an ice-breaking question about my guilty pleasures...
June 12, 2013
Do You Set Them Free, Or Do They Dance Around in Your Mind?
M.C.V. Egan is the author of a love story and a mystery book titled The Bridge of Deaths. The story came about through a lifelong obsession to solve the MYSTERY of her maternal grandfather's death in faraway Denmark. In it, fictional characters travel through the world of past life regressions and information acquired from psychics as well as Archives and historical sources to solve “One of those mysteries that never get solved”. So I feel truly honored to connect with her. She has just posted an interview with me, and I found her questions particularly insightful. Her first question was this:Once a character is fully developed do you set them free or do they still dance around your mind?
Check out the interview here: Interview with Uvi Poznansky
A Big Spike in Bestseller's Rank! A Little Thank You Nod...
Today was a good day for me! Fifty eight readers bought the ebook edition copies of Apart From Love: it shows up in the book best seller's rank as well as in the Amazon author's rank:
A big hug to all of you who downloaded it today! My characters, Ben and Anita, are giving you a little nod...
A big hug to all of you who downloaded it today! My characters, Ben and Anita, are giving you a little nod...
