Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 250

Behind the Scenes Look: How To Become Young Again

When I sculpt a figure, such as here, in one of my earliest pieces, I let it age and become young again, adding and reducing wrinkles as the piece is being formed. For me, working on the audiobook of A Favorite Son is no different, and let me tell you why...



My work was lucky enough to attract the attention of an amazingly gifted voice actor, David Cudler. He is a man of a thousand voices. He says, "It's nice to let them out of my head from time to time." This story provides a great challenge for him, because it starts in the voice of Old Jacob, then as he plunges into the depth of his memories about a crime he committed in his youth, it continues in the voice of the young Jacob. Listen to 'take 1':


Problem is, the transition between the two voices, the old and the young. Because it happens 'turning on a dime', the listener may think that a new character has just stepped onto the scene. So, here is a different transition, where the voice of old Jacob trails off to a whisper, at the same time that the voice of young Jacob comes in from a whisper to full volume. Listen to 'Take 2: 


Maybe I'm too picky, but I felt uneasy with 'take 2'. I figured, it is crucial we arrive at a good solution, one that does not jar the ear, one that invites the listener to the journey, so she takes a plunge into the past or rises out of it into the present, together with the character. It is also crucial because we will have more transitions coming up in the next three chapters of the book, so the same solution will apply. It will, in fact, become an audio motive of sorts. 
What i envisioned in my mind was this: with no technological 'gimmick' (such as the double track of voices in 'Take 2'), David will start the transition being old, and gradually, word by word, become young! This may be a great acting challenge, because all the listener has to go on is your voice--there is no visual clue such as the incredible hulk changing color to green, and bursting out of a body of a small little guy, whose clothes hang in tatters by the end of the transition. Take a listen to 'take 3', which is the final take, and let me know what you think:


  ★ New! Get the paperback editionA Favorite Son
★ New! Get the audiobook edition:
A Favorite Son

Couldn't Have Done It Without You

I wish to thank all my friends and supporters, without whom my books would not have reached the ranks they reached by Saturday midnight:

A Favorite Son
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,416 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Biblical



Home
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > World Literature >  Jewish
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry >  Anthologies


Apart From LoveAmazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)#14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction >  Family Saga #53 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance >  Romantic Suspense

The morning after :
Home
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,620 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)#70 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry >  Anthologies
A Favorite SonAmazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,388 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)#11 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction >  Biblical Fiction #14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction >  Biblical

Wow! My Audiobook Is Coming Out!

Wow! Just got this email about my audiobook coming out: 

"Congratulations, A Favorite Son is now on sale at audible.com. And we plan to make it available on iTunes and Amazon.com within the next few days."

A Favorite Son

My Surprise Gift to You: All Three are FREE!

Time to find a quiet placeHold my books in your embrace

All three are FREE!!!March 30, 2013Get my ebooks here:Home: US & India, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain. Apart From Love:US & India, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain.
A Favorite Son: US & India, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain(No Kindle? No Problem! Get a FREE Kindle app for your computer from Amazon)  

Are You Jealous?

“Are you jealous?” I tease him. “I can’t believe it!”
To which he roars, “You do nothing, you! You cook, you hide. Coward! Aha, coward you!”He takes one step forward; I take two back. The arrows slung over his shoulder clink against each other. It is a steely, menacing sound. With one blow of his hand, he smacks down the canvas; and, on the double, the entire tent is flattened into a lopsided mess, collapsing upon itself; its pegs flying clear out, bouncing over and over, over the soft sand. He gets in my face; we are standing nose to nose. The moment I have dreaded all my life is suddenly upon me, and there is no way to withdraw. I have to face him, which forces me to examine him closely. 
This excerpt, in Yankle's voice, captures the beginning of a dialog between him and his twin brother Esav, who is coming back from a day of hunt utterly famished, and tested to the limit of his wits by the smell of the lentil stew. Here is this snippet in audio:


 This excerpt is from my best-selling book, which has received 13 ★★★★★ reviews so far, in its Kindle edition. It has just been published in its paperback edition, A Favorite Son. Audiobook coming soon!

The Paperback Edition Of A Favorite Son Is Now Available!

Exciting news: First, the Kindle edition of A Favorite Son continues to climb the ranks. It is currently in 16th place in Biblical and in Biblical fiction categories! And who do I have to thank for it? You! You who read it, you who reviewed it, you who is celebrating its launch in my launch event, and even you who is helping me spread the word!

Second, the paperback edition has just become available on Amazon, just in time to celebrate Passover and Easter! I am working on uploading the information for the Look Inside feature (which exists in the book page for the Kindle edition but not yet for the paperback edition.)
So to get this ★★★★★ highly acclaimed book, with a beautiful cover and 13 eloquent Amazon reviews, click the cover image:

The Voice Is Jacob's Voice

I am so excited to invite you! Come celebrate with me: My book, A Favorite Son, is coming out in two new editions: audiobook and print. We will have a writing contest, fun activities, and surprises for all. Check it out: The Voice Is Jacob's Voice


Print and Audiobook editions coming soon!Get this highly recommended, best-selling book in Kindle edition:A Favorite Son

The Next Big Thing: A Favorite Son in Print and Audio

What is the Next Big Thing? It is a way to 'pass the baton', if you will, between the new writers of today, allowing each one of them in turn to give an insight about his or her upcoming work, then tag her fellow writers to do the same. This time I was tagged by my dear friend, the inspired writer Deborah Batterman. So here is a glimpse into my upcoming work:
What is the working title of your story?The title of my story is A Favorite Son. Sounds familiar? Maybe because its Kindle edition has been published a couple of months ago. To my surprise, the story was received with great acclaim. So now there are two great developments which I would like to share with you: first, the story just about to come out as a paperback book! And the second--even better!--it is just about to come out as an audiobook!
Where did the idea come from for the story?I have long been fascinated with the story of Jacob and Esav, which to me, captures several layers of emotions which we all go through in our families: a rivalry between brothers, the way a mother’s love, unevenly divided, can spur them to action, to crime, even; and how in time, even in the absence of regret, a punishment eventually ripens.  
What genre does your story fall under?The best definition I can offer for a genre is this: it is a new-age-biblical-twist genre, set in the twenty-first century, in a primitive camp of tents at the frontier of the desert in Canaan, in what seems, at first, to be an innocent fable. 
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?I am going to change the question... Why, you ask? Because when your book is picked up for a major movie deal, this success--incredible as it may be--usually comes with a caveat: your work will be used by the screen writers merely as a suggestion, so it remains to be seen how much of the original text is retained in the final cut... However, when your book is picked up for narration, every sentence, every turn-of-a-phrase, every breath and pause in the original text is not only retained, but comes to life in the voice of the narrator.
So let me rephrase the question as follows: which actors would you choose to play your characters in a narrated rendition? Ah! What a great question! I would choose an actor with a great literary skill, one that can interpret the layers of meanings in my story, and one that has versatile voices in him. In short: David Kudler, and I had my heart set on him the moment I heard his audition. 
David has been a voice and stage actor, a writer, and a book editor for over twenty years. Since 1999, he has been in charge of publications for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. As you can see, he is a man for all seasons... As a narrator, he has a warm, versatile voice, and a great ear for character and dialect. For A Favorite Son, he plays Yankle, Esav (Yankle’s brother), Isaac (Yankle’s father), Becky (Yankle’s mother) and Eliezer (Becky’s butler.) For each one of these characters, there is a distinct voice!
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your story?This is a present-day twist on the biblical story of Jacob and his mother Rebecca plotting together against the elderly father Isaac, who is lying on his deathbed, in order to get their hands on the inheritance, and on the power in the family.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?My book--in its paperback and ebook editions--will be self-published. I enjoy every aspect of the publishing process: the cover design most of all, as well as the interior design. Once my book is written and edited, I have an quick turnaround time to having it published--usually within a week. The audiobook edition, obviously, takes longer, because it involves a creative exchange of ideas between the narrator and me.  
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?Start to finish, this book took me six weeks. But it had been brewing in me for several years before that. Being an artist, I expressed it through sculpture. So here you can see Yankle and his mother Becky, plotting to cheat the father, and unable to look each other in the eye as they are doing so.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?The Red Tent. 
Who or What inspired you to write this story?When I read the biblial story, the characters presented themselves before me. But beware: when reading my story, do not seek clear distinction between heroes and villains: no one is wholly sacred, because--like Yankle, the main character here--we are all made of lights and shadows, and most of all, doubt.
What else about your story might pique the reader’s interest?Perhaps, an excerpt? Here is Yankle’s description of the last moments he has with Becky, his mother, which they spend plotting how to deceive Isaac, his father.
“By and by, a perfect calm comes upon me. I have no thought in my head, no clue that this is to be the last sunrise, the last morning that I spend with my mother; no premonition that our time together is running out, and that I should kiss her, and hug her, and bid her farewell. Yet for some reason, glancing around me, I commit to memory every aspect of this scene, every detail: The vivid pattern of the rug, spread across the dirt floor. The embroidered silk pillows, leaning against the woven headrest. The little blemish, barely visible in the corner of the blanket. The silver thread coming apart, at one point, at the bottom of the canvas. The jug of water, half hidden behind the curved leg of the bed... This hour is so intimate; so sweet, and it is fast coming to its bitter conclusion. And the only thing that disturbs me, the only thing that stands here between us, is not being able to look each other in the eyes, during the last moments that remain to us.”
Now it’s my turn to tag people. Please visit their blogs. They will be publishing their answers to the same questions next week.Sherri ChristianRichard WeatherlyTom Ufert
And now, the small print: a message for the tagged authors and interested others: 
Rules of The Next Big Thing:Use this format for your post Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:What is the working title of your book?Where did the idea come from for the book?What genre does your book fall under?Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?Who or What inspired you to write this book?What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.Be sure to line up your five people in advance.

And Then She Left him

"And then she left him.He looks at the line. It is written in blue ink, pressed into the sheet of paper—vigorously here, faintly there—with his usual stroke, a stroke that drives through the spikes and valleys in the shapes of the letters at a steady slant. The line reaches the margin, where it is punctuated, unexpectedly, by a red stain. Blotting it is bound to leave fingerprints, and so Mr. Schriber  decides to leave it alone. He lifts the paper by its corner—and a drop bleeds down; he lays it down on the desk—and the stain goes on spreading. Going back to his writing, he applies too much pressure on the pen—and the pointed nib digs into the paper. Taking a deep breath, he tries to compose himself. The pen is his weapon. The simple act of pulling it over the soft, white surface has never failed to calm him down. Letter by letter, mark by mark, it will soon draw him into a different state of mind."
So starts a short story in my book, Home. Mr. Schriber tries to sort out his life, the reason why his wife left him, by going 'into the zone' to write about their relationship. Beside the obvious difficulties he has sorting out his life, this story is great opportunity for me to capture some of my own thoughts about the act of writing, and the art of it.

Looking for an Easter gift?Get the print edition of my highly praised book, Home 12 Amazon reviews ★★★★★ "The poetry is heart touching, the stories fascinating"

And We Started Our Dance Again...

"After a while I whispered, like, 'Just say something to me. Anything.' And I thought, Any other word apart from love, ‘cause that word is diluted, and no one knows what it really means, anyway. Then he kissed me—even without the ice cream—and said my name, like, he tasted it in his mouth, and rolled it on his tongue, which made me awful happy. And we started our dance again..."
Anita in Apart From Love



I never use the word Love lightly; it appears only three times in my novel. Because of this scarcity, the word has a powerful effect once it is pronounced, so that the expression 'Apart From Love' becomes shaded with different meanings, all of which are explored. At times it means, except for love--other times it means, disjointed, yearning from afar for a connection, for a touch.


Fall in love with AnitaDescribed in a ★★★★★ review as "A diamond in the rough"Get the print edition of Apart From Love