Jan Notzon's Blog, page 17
May 1, 2025
From: Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
Jan Notzon's To Sing Like a Mockingbird
In a world where hope is a rare commodity, one teacher battles against the darkness to find light in the unlikeliest of places About the Book: Justin Kopechne's idealized vision of the world that surrounds him is crumbling.
In the school/reformatory where he strives to teach kids most have given up on, he is faced with a principal unable to face reality, students who are hired assassins and two friends on opposite sides of the illegal drug trade.
When the school is shut down owing to the brutal murder of the student who was the one light of decency, he takes shelter with his brother and sister-in-law to try to eke out some understanding of the bitter dysfunction of his family..
In a world where hope is a rare commodity, one teacher battles against the darkness to find light in the unlikeliest of places About the Book: Justin Kopechne's idealized vision of the world that surrounds him is crumbling.
In the school/reformatory where he strives to teach kids most have given up on, he is faced with a principal unable to face reality, students who are hired assassins and two friends on opposite sides of the illegal drug trade.
When the school is shut down owing to the brutal murder of the student who was the one light of decency, he takes shelter with his brother and sister-in-law to try to eke out some understanding of the bitter dysfunction of his family..
April 26, 2025
Friends
I had a wonderful group of friends over for a party. One brought enough food to feed an army!
It was just what the doctor ordered. More people came than I expected and we just had the most enjoyable time just visiting with each other. As a person and a writer, I've come to realize how important a social life is.
I got to know these people through a neighbor who died last month just 6 months short of her 100th birthday. I got to know her when I'd go on my exercise walks and if she was out, she'd always say, "You're gonna; get a speedin' ticket!"
This group would get together at her house and I sorely missed those get-togethers (not to mention her). Now, we've continued the tradition!
It was just what the doctor ordered. More people came than I expected and we just had the most enjoyable time just visiting with each other. As a person and a writer, I've come to realize how important a social life is.
I got to know these people through a neighbor who died last month just 6 months short of her 100th birthday. I got to know her when I'd go on my exercise walks and if she was out, she'd always say, "You're gonna; get a speedin' ticket!"
This group would get together at her house and I sorely missed those get-togethers (not to mention her). Now, we've continued the tradition!
April 25, 2025
Another Review: Mockingbird
This week’s Story Spotlight is To Sing Like a Mockingbird by Jan Notzon. This book was kindly provided by the folks at Breakeven Books. Thank you!
About the Story:
Justin Kopekne’s faith in the power of education is in danger of being obliterated by experience. Until it closed due to the brutal murder of the one student who had depth and possibly genius, he was a teacher at a school/reformatory in Texas.
He takes refuge with his brother and sister-in-law, the latter considering him a potent threat to the peace of their household as it rests on a mutual pretense of cynicism.
In flashbacks, we are introduced to Justin’s estranged wife, Kathryn, his blindly idealistic principal and two bosom companions from childhood now on opposite sides of the illegal drug trade. The two come together when one accepts the “donation” from the cartel capo to save his reelection campaign.
Justin’s student prodigy, Míriam, is assaulted when she violates the student-assassins rule against class participation. Justin manages to get both perpetrators arrested, and the battle between Justin and his principal explodes.
With pressure from the drug cartel, the two thugs are reinstated, and Míriam learns that they have Justin in their sights. When Justin refuses to believe her warnings, she calls on her experience with men to try to seduce him.
Justin rejects her advances and her only resort is to sacrifice herself by insulting the two heavies, resulting in her murder.
Justin witnesses the brutal deed and will testify, prompting the cartel to plan his assassination.
His drug capo friend and the sheriff come together to try to save him.
Will they be successful?
About the Story:
Justin Kopekne’s faith in the power of education is in danger of being obliterated by experience. Until it closed due to the brutal murder of the one student who had depth and possibly genius, he was a teacher at a school/reformatory in Texas.
He takes refuge with his brother and sister-in-law, the latter considering him a potent threat to the peace of their household as it rests on a mutual pretense of cynicism.
In flashbacks, we are introduced to Justin’s estranged wife, Kathryn, his blindly idealistic principal and two bosom companions from childhood now on opposite sides of the illegal drug trade. The two come together when one accepts the “donation” from the cartel capo to save his reelection campaign.
Justin’s student prodigy, Míriam, is assaulted when she violates the student-assassins rule against class participation. Justin manages to get both perpetrators arrested, and the battle between Justin and his principal explodes.
With pressure from the drug cartel, the two thugs are reinstated, and Míriam learns that they have Justin in their sights. When Justin refuses to believe her warnings, she calls on her experience with men to try to seduce him.
Justin rejects her advances and her only resort is to sacrifice herself by insulting the two heavies, resulting in her murder.
Justin witnesses the brutal deed and will testify, prompting the cartel to plan his assassination.
His drug capo friend and the sheriff come together to try to save him.
Will they be successful?
April 23, 2025
Review by Gina Rae Mitchell
To Sing Like a Mockingbird
Justin Kopechne, an idealist butting up against the real world fights for all he is worth to educate/rehabilitate juvenile delinquents in a reformatory in nowhere, Texas.
Two friends, one a minor capo in a drug cartel, the other a sheriff in Starmount County, cross paths with him as the capo tries to steer him away from getting involved while the sheriff succumbs to help from the cartel to win his reelection.
At home, Justin alienates his wife and locks horns with his cynical brother and sister-in-law.
four-and-a half-stars
Justin Kopechne, an idealist butting up against the real world fights for all he is worth to educate/rehabilitate juvenile delinquents in a reformatory in nowhere, Texas.
Two friends, one a minor capo in a drug cartel, the other a sheriff in Starmount County, cross paths with him as the capo tries to steer him away from getting involved while the sheriff succumbs to help from the cartel to win his reelection.
At home, Justin alienates his wife and locks horns with his cynical brother and sister-in-law.
four-and-a half-stars
April 22, 2025
Gulliver's Review
Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift
12121037
Jan Notzon's reviewApr 22, 2025 · edit
really liked it
I feel kind of strange giving a classic less than a five-star rating. I did thoroughly enjoy it but to say it was amazing, I'm just not sure. It is incredibly creative and a fascinating read. I guess I'd say four and a half stars. I suppose I look for more depth for my five-star reviews.
by Jonathan Swift
12121037
Jan Notzon's reviewApr 22, 2025 · edit
really liked it
I feel kind of strange giving a classic less than a five-star rating. I did thoroughly enjoy it but to say it was amazing, I'm just not sure. It is incredibly creative and a fascinating read. I guess I'd say four and a half stars. I suppose I look for more depth for my five-star reviews.
Review: Mockingbird
©The Strawberry Post
My first impressions of To Sing Like a Mockingbird
This book is an interesting one and I have to say it was more than I was expecting from what I’ve read so far. The book begins with a deep prologue before the story proper begins, separated into six Acts with each chapter being called a scene. There are some important words to think about at the start of each chapter, called a Chorus, and then that chapter begins following different characters. The first character we see is Justin, a teacher at a school in South Texas which has closed due to something brutal happening with one of its students. Justin struggles with having lost his job due what has happened. He contemplates the life of the young student and we find out more about her and what happened a brutally honest way. The book then switches to the next chapter following another character, a former friend of Justin’s. While I read the blurb for this book and anticipated something more of a literary read anyway, and it does take some time to get into it from the beginning (it’s not a fast paced or easy book), however it feels like a visceral read as well as one that is deep and leaves you contemplating, and although I’ve only read a small portion of this book I am keen to see where it goes.
My first impressions of To Sing Like a Mockingbird
This book is an interesting one and I have to say it was more than I was expecting from what I’ve read so far. The book begins with a deep prologue before the story proper begins, separated into six Acts with each chapter being called a scene. There are some important words to think about at the start of each chapter, called a Chorus, and then that chapter begins following different characters. The first character we see is Justin, a teacher at a school in South Texas which has closed due to something brutal happening with one of its students. Justin struggles with having lost his job due what has happened. He contemplates the life of the young student and we find out more about her and what happened a brutally honest way. The book then switches to the next chapter following another character, a former friend of Justin’s. While I read the blurb for this book and anticipated something more of a literary read anyway, and it does take some time to get into it from the beginning (it’s not a fast paced or easy book), however it feels like a visceral read as well as one that is deep and leaves you contemplating, and although I’ve only read a small portion of this book I am keen to see where it goes.
April 13, 2025
Promotion
I just had a marketing professional draw up a marketing plan for my latest novel "To Sing Like a Mockingbird", and my Lord, it will be a full-time job in and of itself.
With my writing and reading (research), I feel like I already have two full-time jobs in those endeavors. Will there be enough hours in the day?
Like most people in the arts, promotion is for me about the equivalent of having a root-canal without anesthetic. I feel like I'm back where I was in my youth, pounding the pavement in New York pursuing an acting career.
Ah well, I suppose they are much the same: trying to hawk my self or my novels and plays. May God have mercy on my soul!
With my writing and reading (research), I feel like I already have two full-time jobs in those endeavors. Will there be enough hours in the day?
Like most people in the arts, promotion is for me about the equivalent of having a root-canal without anesthetic. I feel like I'm back where I was in my youth, pounding the pavement in New York pursuing an acting career.
Ah well, I suppose they are much the same: trying to hawk my self or my novels and plays. May God have mercy on my soul!
April 5, 2025
Aileen's Guesthouse- Eva Pasco
Since I have a pretty strict policy of only giving a 5-star rating to classics or books I think have the potential to become classics, I really struggled between 4 and 5 stars on this one. But all said and done, I did thoroughly enjoy it and highly recommend it to people who like honest stories about believable people that you can identify with.
It is a story of grievous loss, the guilt associated with honest mistakes that cost dear ones lives and how one tries his or her best to live with the loss and the guilt that comes with the sense of responsibility for that loss.
I think it a lovely tale and hope people will give serious literature like this a try.
It is a story of grievous loss, the guilt associated with honest mistakes that cost dear ones lives and how one tries his or her best to live with the loss and the guilt that comes with the sense of responsibility for that loss.
I think it a lovely tale and hope people will give serious literature like this a try.
March 28, 2025
Deeply Skeptical
Really starting to smell like a scam. I replied that I will write the screenplay as soon as I have the 250K in my bank account.
Dear Jan,
I am delighted to inform you that your book "Suffer Not The Mole People" was among the 7 chosen from nine potential candidates during the recent presentation by your team for a book-to-film adaptation. This selection is a testament to the exceptional qualities we believe your work possesses.
Your project received favorable reviews from three out of five members of our selection panel, advancing it to the second phase of our adaptation process. Congratulations on reaching this significant milestone!
I would like to commend your team for the trailer, which effectively captured the essence of your book's narrative. Excellent work!
Moving forward, we are prepared to offer $250,000 for the film rights to your book. Additionally, you will receive 8% of the production costs and 5% of the gross sales. Payment will be processed six months after we complete the necessary production research, which is set to begin immediately.
At this juncture, we respectfully request that the team which presented your title submits a professionally certified screenplay. This screenplay will be crucial for the upcoming stage of production research and is an integral part of advancing the adaptation process.
Please confirm your acceptance of these terms and acknowledge receipt of this email at your earliest convenience. We are enthusiastic about the potential to bring your story to the cinematic screen and eagerly anticipate your prompt response.
Warm regards,
Louie Lopez
OPENROAD
12301 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
www.openroadfilms.co
Dear Jan,
I am delighted to inform you that your book "Suffer Not The Mole People" was among the 7 chosen from nine potential candidates during the recent presentation by your team for a book-to-film adaptation. This selection is a testament to the exceptional qualities we believe your work possesses.
Your project received favorable reviews from three out of five members of our selection panel, advancing it to the second phase of our adaptation process. Congratulations on reaching this significant milestone!
I would like to commend your team for the trailer, which effectively captured the essence of your book's narrative. Excellent work!
Moving forward, we are prepared to offer $250,000 for the film rights to your book. Additionally, you will receive 8% of the production costs and 5% of the gross sales. Payment will be processed six months after we complete the necessary production research, which is set to begin immediately.
At this juncture, we respectfully request that the team which presented your title submits a professionally certified screenplay. This screenplay will be crucial for the upcoming stage of production research and is an integral part of advancing the adaptation process.
Please confirm your acceptance of these terms and acknowledge receipt of this email at your earliest convenience. We are enthusiastic about the potential to bring your story to the cinematic screen and eagerly anticipate your prompt response.
Warm regards,
Louie Lopez
OPENROAD
12301 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
www.openroadfilms.co
March 16, 2025
Justice?
They're Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd
by Liz Collin (Goodreads Author), J.C. Chaix (Goodreads Author) (Editor)
12121037
Jan Notzon's reviewMar 16, 2025 · edit
it was amazing
Oh, boy.
If you don't mind losing all hope in the United States "Justice" system and experiencing rank cowardice in the face of mob rule; if you can stand to watch perhaps the greatest travesty of "justice" since the O.J. Simpson trial, then READ THIS BOOK!
I do highly recommend it, however, for its value in teaching us how such cowardice on the part of those in positions of authority can undermine (and HAS undermined) the rule of law and the very foundations of this country. It is a potent warning of the possible future in store for us if those in charge behave as those in such positions in Minneapolis and Minnesota did in the face of the death of George Floyd.
Yes, it is depressing. But I cannot overemphasize its heuristic value about what the lack of backbone can do to a city, a state, the country and (the United States being the putative leader of the free world) the entire Earth.
I pine for justice. I pine for courage. I despair of the future.
by Liz Collin (Goodreads Author), J.C. Chaix (Goodreads Author) (Editor)
12121037
Jan Notzon's reviewMar 16, 2025 · edit
it was amazing
Oh, boy.
If you don't mind losing all hope in the United States "Justice" system and experiencing rank cowardice in the face of mob rule; if you can stand to watch perhaps the greatest travesty of "justice" since the O.J. Simpson trial, then READ THIS BOOK!
I do highly recommend it, however, for its value in teaching us how such cowardice on the part of those in positions of authority can undermine (and HAS undermined) the rule of law and the very foundations of this country. It is a potent warning of the possible future in store for us if those in charge behave as those in such positions in Minneapolis and Minnesota did in the face of the death of George Floyd.
Yes, it is depressing. But I cannot overemphasize its heuristic value about what the lack of backbone can do to a city, a state, the country and (the United States being the putative leader of the free world) the entire Earth.
I pine for justice. I pine for courage. I despair of the future.
