Mark Fine's Blog: AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Authors Mark Fine & Pamela Crane Reveal their Lives in Pursuit of the Art of Writing., page 7

BAD KNEES, GOOD BOOK

Or, How my messed up knees contributed to my new vocation as an Author…

It was my MRI, but the mournful expression on the face of the white-coated orthopedic surgeon suggested he was grieving for his own legs. “Bone-on-bone on both knees,” he said. “You have craters where you once had cartilage.”  Now I had an explanation for the excruciating pain that had robbed me of my mobility.

“Okay, doc. What would you suggest I do next?”

Would you like this bionic cyborg device in your body?

THE BLEAK ALTERNATIVE
Ever so proudly, as if he presenting me with a Grammy award, the surgeon handed me a gleaming replica of the Stryker Scorpio knee replacement system. I took one glance at this bionic, slash cyborg, device—more like a prop from the Terminator  movie franchise—and fled, or more precisely flopped away on my two gimpy knee’d legs.
SHEER TERROR AND A LIMITED UNIVERSE

I was terrified. Knee replacement surgery seemed akin to gross amputation. Why the necessity for this traumatic procedure, twice—on each knee, I wondered? Surely this is a simple patch job; the biological equivalent of filling in a pothole?

With certainty I knew this was something I wouldn’t do, but as I searched for an alternative solution the pain persisted and my universe shrunk. No more tennis, and no more walks on the beach, no more soccer games, no more travelling, and even obligatory visits to the grocery store became too taxing. In fact, only vanity prevented me from applying for a disabled placard to allow me to park my car a few yards from my destination.

Inevitably I resigned myself to a future marooned on my bum. At least my bum didn’t hurt…at least not yet.

No! This is NOT a picture of MY bum.

So, what’s a poor guy to do stranded all day on his butt? Watch TV? Tried and done that. And then an absurd notion entered my head, “Why not write a book…”

Now I am not a Luddite. I’m well aware that the earth is round and technology is crazy cool. My resistance to bionic knees was not a foolish quest to invalidate the wonders of modern medicine. Quite to the contrary, I admire medicine. But in this instance, to me, “the punishment did not fit crime” and the recommended remedy was far too draconian. Hence I began the first tentative steps into ‘authordom.’ With computer in hand (or hand on mouse) I now used the wonders of modern technology as my primary research tool.

BOOK RESEARCH FULFILLED A QUEST

Bound to a chair I travelled through the universe and the ages; and visited the arcane and cruel laws of South Africa’s apartheid regime (the topic of my book)—without ever leaving my desk. Google and Bing replaced the library and index card system of yore, and brought all knowledge to my desk seemingly at my bidding. And from this foundation of dedicated research, my romantic-suspense, historical novel “The Zebra Affaire” began to take form and reveal its true shape.

Here’s the obligatory plug of my novel. You are welcome to buy it at Amazon.com and other fine retail outlets. Thank you :)

Now we’ve reached the heart of this story; a “circle of life” thing—that still fills me with wonder—kind of happened. You see the book owed its very existence to the plight of my poor knees, and seemingly in a selfless act of gratitude this same book chose to show pity on my knees and reciprocated in kind.

EUREKA! A SOLUTION

One day when researching the specifics of the bloody massacre of black school children during 1976 Soweto Riots—I was suddenly transfixed by the search engine’s seemingly arbitrary highlight of something called stem cell regeneration of knee cartilage. And so I followed these crumbs of information that my grateful book had offered me. Apparently I had finally found the asphalt patch I’d been seeking for my pot-holed knees.

An innovative medical group, a modest two-hour drive from my home, was pioneering the procedure. They instructed me to bring my MRI (which I then pried from the grasp of the protesting orthopedic surgeon) to the initial appointment.

Anxiety skyrocketed. It was vital I qualified for the program. Fortunately both knees did; I experienced a similar euphoria as if my two knees had graduated college magna cum laude.

WHAT KNEES? LIVING PIN CUSHIONS…

Now I will spare you the gory details (as there were none: no scalpel, no chain saws, no staples, and no sutures). But there were lots and lots and lots of needles (and some sedation). It would be fair to describe my needle-sprouting knees as living pin cushions during the meticulous stem cell “seeding” procedure.

An intimate portrait of one of my two prickly knees. And yes, it did hurt. I was awake during the process…

MOBILITY RECOVERED AND NOVEL PUBLISHED
Twenty months have come and gone since stem cells harvested from my own body were carefully inserted beneath each knee cap. I used the time well, finishing off my novel, and designing both the front cover and the book’s interior. And as I labored the stem cells did their share of the work.

All now is well! “The Zebra Affaire” continues to receive splendid reviews (76 of them to date, Thank you!) for which I continue to be both humbled and grateful:

“I see Pulitizer Prize material here…” readerJeanne Mary Allen

“Intensley dazzling!” Elizabeth Newton, author of “The View from the Sixth Floor”

“Scorching!” Charlie Flowers, author of “Hard Kill”

“If I could, I would give it six stars!” reader Enrico Grafitti

“A masterpiece at All levels…,” Ilana Edelstein, author “The Patron Way”

“A book to savour slowly…I found myself re-reading whole paragraphs, such was the quality of the writing. One of the best books I’ve read this year.” Jean Gill, author of ‘Song at Dawn’.

Clearly my pen is well indebted to my long suffering knees! As for my ability to walk—it is now a joy to be fully engaged, zooming about,  speaking at book clubs and book signings—with barely a twinge in either knee.

A little more about me: here

Introducing you to a remarkable woman of Africa, THANDI LUJABE-RANKOE

Introducing you to a remarkable woman, THANDI LUJABE-RANKOE; Freedom fighter, Senior South African Diplomat and Author. 


Exiled for 33 years during South Africa’s liberation struggle (at the time Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island).

Finally, she came in from the cold and President Mandela appointed, now Ambassador Lujabe-Rankoe, as her free nation’s High Commissioner to Botswana, and then Mozambique.

 “Now it is time for justice to be applied to all.”

Needless to say this courageous woman’s kind words regarding  The Zebra Affaire means a great deal to me. She has lived it, and continues to devote her life to the idea that “it is time for justice to be applied to all.”

IS KINDNESS OVERRATED? – guest blog post by Lexa Harpell

markfineauthor:

Lexa personifies Kindness. Her thoughtful tribute to mothers, “To Mum, Gifts from your Soul” is a reflection of her values.

Originally posted on Anita's Haven:

Today’s guest blog post on kindness comes from an Australian author with a big heart. Here’s what Lexa Harpell has to say about it. Read more about Lexa below her post.

Maybe we should first look at what Kindness means:

‘An act of Kindness is a spontaneous gesture of goodwill towards someone or something – our fellow humans, the animal kingdom, and the kingdom of nature.’

‘Kindness is a behavior marked by ethical characteristics, a pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions.’ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindness

 

Hmmmm is it overrated?

Personally, I believe it is quite underrated. There is immense power in just one small act of kindness – it can change a person’s life – a belief – a decision – history. The beauty and mystery of kindness is that we may never know who or how –…

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FINE REVIEW: “The Price of Silence” by Ulla Hakanson. A Psychological Thriller that Felt All too Real!

The Price of Silence by Ulla Hakanson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Forget chick lit with a Swedish twist, “The Price of Silence” is a psychological thriller that’s frighteningly real. The refined details on every page authenticate this nail-biting saga; and in the process I found myself fully vested in Amy’s plight, and felt great loathing for the vindictive psychopath bent on destroying her.

But “The Price of Silence” is also a balanced tale, refraining from immature rants and gratuitous recriminations. It tells of the foibles of human nature: How a wonderful person can make a single bad decision (in this instance, the choice of the wrong man as a fiancé) and pay dearly for it. How the kindness of strangers may well be life’s greatest gift. How bigotry has no place, ever. How there is always the right time to forgive. How nothing is more satisfying than the self-destructive nature of evil. By no measure is this “a message book,” but author Ulla Hakanson had the writer’s craft to take me to a deeper level at the same time I burned speedily through the pages of her thrilling novel. The author’s Swedish heritage is gently introduced during the narrative, which adds further richness for the reader.

By the way, I found the great outdoors of British Columbia invigorating, as it was so descriptively told, that I am tempted to add a kayak excursion to my bucket list.

“The Price of Silence” is definitely a book to be enjoyed by both men and women.

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3 Ways to Win against Writer’s Block

Originally posted on 8 Great Storytellers: ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ Curl up with a good writer!:

Nothing freaks writers out more than the inability to write. It can happen at any point in a project but most often strikes mid-stream. You are stopped cold, confronted by a startling realization that your story has lost direction and is sinking into an abyss of confusion.

There are countless reasons why writers stumble, lose focus, and end up suffering the paralyzing effects of writer’s block. A few quick fixes:

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FINE REVIEW: “Outsourced” by Eric Gates. A thrilling twist to ‘a pen is mightier than the sword’…literally!

Outsourced by Eric J. Gates

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A friend persuaded me to read ‘Outsourced’, and I’m so glad he did. It was thrilling, topical, unpredictable and after the dramatic climax; an immensely satisfying read. Eric Gates succeeded in taking me to that rare place–the suspension of my disbelief–by making the effort to substantiate his rationale for the deadly artifact at the center of the plot. Without slowing the page-turning high-tempo pace of his thriller, Gates provides a mind-bending primer on quantum mechanics! From that moment I was hooked.

The villain was venal, the authorities were untrustworthy, the leading lady was enigmatic and independent, and the two authors (apparently bitter rivals!) grew in stature and guile as the plot deepened. Gates also succeeded in getting in a few licks against interrogations without due process, unfettered intrusion by the security apparatus in our lives, and a dig or two at the suspect ethics of the traditional print publishing industry. These real world observations grounded ‘Outsourced’ further, feeding this reader’s sense of reality despite what was in fact a deadly pursuit for a mystical device! In short, author Eric Gates provides a thrilling literary twist to the belief that the pen is mightier than the sword….literarily!

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Character Interview: Markus

markfineauthor:

This was a hoot to do! I wasn’t exactly excellent at maintaining a separation between the character “Markus” from my novel ‘The Zebra Affaire’…and my true self. But it did lead to the expression of bolder opinions–whether they be mine or Markus, that’s for the reader to decide.

Originally posted on Pukah Works:

More than a daring, multi-racial romance set in a racist South Africa in 1976 on the cusp of abandoning apartheid the tension is palpable in this character-driven novel. The Zebra Affaire by Mark Fine grips your soul and won’t let go. Never mind zebras, think lions, raw and roar. The Zebra Affaire, a thrilling fusion of romance and suspense, is a gripping love story of the no-no kind. It’s filled with tension as Elsa and Stanwell struggle to avoid the grasp of a cruel racist regime.

Hello again, Mark.  Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to stop by again.  I believe this is your character Markus who’s with you today?

::Both gentlemen nod, and I grin::  By any chance to you have a nickname, Markus?

[I was born] Mark Jeremy Fine, [but people call me]  “Markus” as a single word. Apparently folk prefer multi-syllables in a given…

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Katheryn Caffee’s Interview of author Mark Fine

markfineauthor:

There’s a sense of common purpose among this generation of Indie Authors. In addition to the creative, we are also here to help, nurture and support each other. Egos and envy have no place “here.” Author and blogger Katheryn Caffee personifies this wonderful ethos; and was kind enough to interview me recently. I enjoyed the process very much…

By the way, since conducting that interview I’ve read several more wonderful books from the “indie scene”~ and have already acknowledged them in reviews on this blog. For instance Jean Gill “Someone to Look Up To,” Charlie Flowers “Murder Most Rural,” Elizabeth Newton “View from the Sixth Floor,” Dave Adair “Random Lucidity,” Wolf Schimanski “Meter of Corruption” and Pamela Crane’s “The Admirer’s Secret” are all fine reads.

Originally posted on Pukah Works:

Welcome back to the Author Interview series.  Today, we’ll be meeting Mark Fine.  A gentleman who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and has written a book about his life in that area and some of the atrocities that occur on a regular basis.

With your unique background, did you run into any challenges when you were writing you book?

Not the will to write, but the daily discipline to do it. And coming to the realization that it was more about the quality of a word, rather than the sheer volume of the many words. I learned to appreciate that even if it was a single perfect word added to a previously blank sheet of paper; that was a good day.
The South Africa I lived in suffered under heavy officially enforced censorship, that previously so much of the information wasn’t then available to me. Post Mandela’s administration, I…

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WIP (Work In Progress): My forthcoming novel

I admit to being evasive about my next novel. The gestation process is so lengthy I didn’t want to create any immediate expectations. Today, however, some of my author colleagues have goaded me to reveal my WIP (work in progress). Here’s the working title, and a brief unedited excerpt:

Working title: “The Hyena Affaire”

Three bullets struck her; the hip, the arm and her gut. With the tug of gravity she fell to earth, for the second time. This time the impact was considerably less than the plane crash she’d just survived, but this time the consequences were deadly.

As she bled out she saw the tramp of clay-caked combat boots march her way. Soundlessly, a single boot callously pinned down her forearm. Then the hideously scarred face of her killer entered her teared vision. She would never know his name, yet she knew the coldblooded work of a scavenger.

With bewildered curiosity she watched the Hyena with unexpected tenderness remove the still gleaming three carat ring from her finger. Her last thought was surprisingly that of gratitude; that in his lust for treasure her executioner had refrained from hacking her left hand from her wrist.

Her name was Vanessa, she had just celebrated her 25th birthday, and she was no more.

Copyright © 2015 Mark Fine

FINE REVIEW: “Dangerous Wind” by Alan Cook ~ A thrilling fictional global hunt with a real world warning.

Dangerous Wind: A Carol Golden Novel by Alan Cook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A thrilling global hunt by an alluring woman, suffering amnesia, forced into a mission to track down a former lover she can no longer recall! These are the riddles that make Dangerous Wind such an intriguing read. From the security of my chair I raced pell-mell alongside our heroine, across seven continents, in pursuit of a master mathematician–the alleged villain bent on destroying the Western financial system. Reflecting true life, nothing is quite as black and white as first thought.

And as author Alan Cook’s intriguing story unfolds we witness allegiances change, and in the process motives of the principal characters become better defined; but he is also ringing a cautionary bell about the overreach of big government, the hazards to the world economy by “to big to fail” banking institutions, and the slippery slope spiral of restricted freedoms. Hence, in the spirit of “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” Mr. Cook succeeds in informing us as he simultaneously so ably entertains us.

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