Jan Notzon's Blog, page 26
August 29, 2019
Interview
I hope I don't jinx myself but I had a wonderful interview on a podcast with the interesting name of The Something Something Podcast. It it the creation of two filmmakers, Larry Sands and Erick Kaslov, whose company is Something Something Films. I love the name; I can just imagine how they came up with it.
What a great pair! Our conversation was an absolute blast, very relaxed but full of energy and thoughtfulness. They said they want to have me back on. I would be absolutely thrilled. They had wonderfully interesting questions and comments that really gave me the opportunity to delve into my novel "The Id Paradox".
They were also interested in my acting career, how that came about and how the change to writing occurred.
I also hope I'll be able to tune into their other podcasts (have to educate myself a bit technology-wise). They really have a great show! I highly recommend it.
What a great pair! Our conversation was an absolute blast, very relaxed but full of energy and thoughtfulness. They said they want to have me back on. I would be absolutely thrilled. They had wonderfully interesting questions and comments that really gave me the opportunity to delve into my novel "The Id Paradox".
They were also interested in my acting career, how that came about and how the change to writing occurred.
I also hope I'll be able to tune into their other podcasts (have to educate myself a bit technology-wise). They really have a great show! I highly recommend it.
August 19, 2019
Chickens
"Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road (or world) is rapidly agin'.
So get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a changin'".
I remember in my youth how I revered those words of Bob Dylan. How I was so certain that my parents' generation could simply not "understand" how we, the young, had the secret to creating the ideal society. How we were going to solve all its problems; how simple the solutions were and how it was just a question of will.
Now, in my superannuated years, I wonder if and how the young would dismiss my belief that the ideal is unattainable and that solving one problem inevitably creates others--that the human condition is such that life is a matter of trade-offs rather that definitive "solutions".
Have my chickens come home to roost?
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road (or world) is rapidly agin'.
So get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a changin'".
I remember in my youth how I revered those words of Bob Dylan. How I was so certain that my parents' generation could simply not "understand" how we, the young, had the secret to creating the ideal society. How we were going to solve all its problems; how simple the solutions were and how it was just a question of will.
Now, in my superannuated years, I wonder if and how the young would dismiss my belief that the ideal is unattainable and that solving one problem inevitably creates others--that the human condition is such that life is a matter of trade-offs rather that definitive "solutions".
Have my chickens come home to roost?
July 21, 2019
Better Late Than Never
If I were ever foolish enough to write an autobiography that would be the title.
Ironic that at my superannuated age I've only recently realized the importance of relationships. (If you read my first novel "The Dogs...Barking", I think that'll give you a clue as to why. Although I wonder how much of that was actually my fault.)
It was the loss of our ancestral home that my maternal grandmother built in 1915 and was added on to ad infinitum that brought the lesson home to me.
Is it funny, strange or sad (or all three) that I didn't even realize that it meant anything to me until it, and my sister who lived there, were gone?
It is just astonishing to me that I could have been ignorant of what truly mattered, what truly fills a person for such a huge portion of my life.
Well, as the title indicates, there is still time for redemption.
Ironic that at my superannuated age I've only recently realized the importance of relationships. (If you read my first novel "The Dogs...Barking", I think that'll give you a clue as to why. Although I wonder how much of that was actually my fault.)
It was the loss of our ancestral home that my maternal grandmother built in 1915 and was added on to ad infinitum that brought the lesson home to me.
Is it funny, strange or sad (or all three) that I didn't even realize that it meant anything to me until it, and my sister who lived there, were gone?
It is just astonishing to me that I could have been ignorant of what truly mattered, what truly fills a person for such a huge portion of my life.
Well, as the title indicates, there is still time for redemption.
July 13, 2019
Jinx?
I don't want to jinx myself but I've finally made some progress on my fifth novel. It is a very interesting (and frustrating!) exercise since I'm writing about something I know nothing about: Polish immigrants in the 19th century.
Of course I've done quite a bit of research, but history is written about kings, princes, major wars, polities, zeitgeists, discoveries, and events that changed the world. There is no information about what a Polish peasant or sharecropper's life in the 1800s was like.
It's very taxing on the imagination and humbling for sure. What I've written is interesting to me, but I'm not who's gonna be buying it.
Guess all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Of course I've done quite a bit of research, but history is written about kings, princes, major wars, polities, zeitgeists, discoveries, and events that changed the world. There is no information about what a Polish peasant or sharecropper's life in the 1800s was like.
It's very taxing on the imagination and humbling for sure. What I've written is interesting to me, but I'm not who's gonna be buying it.
Guess all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best.
June 28, 2019
How?
It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm grateful for the group "Writers Battling Depression". I don't mean to cry on your shoulders (well, honestly, yes I do), but I didn't realize what having a sister in our ancestral home (built in 1915 by my maternal grandmother) and just having that house, meant to me.
The truth is that I've come to realize how I've neglected family and relationships in general. What a time to realize it! Well, I suppose better late than never. At least I've been blessed with the realization and with time to do something about it. (If you're curious as to why, I recommend you read my first novel, The Dogs...Barking. It's heavily autobiographical (but don't tell my family!)).
I wonder if it's significant that I'm now trying to write a fictionalized version of my paternal family's immigration in the 19th century from Poland. Having only the most skeletal information about them, the process is like pulling teeth. It hasn't helped that I've been battling depression and anxiety at the same time. I suppose the difficulty and the loss of sister, brother and house tend to feed off each other.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, and thank you for putting up with it.
The truth is that I've come to realize how I've neglected family and relationships in general. What a time to realize it! Well, I suppose better late than never. At least I've been blessed with the realization and with time to do something about it. (If you're curious as to why, I recommend you read my first novel, The Dogs...Barking. It's heavily autobiographical (but don't tell my family!)).
I wonder if it's significant that I'm now trying to write a fictionalized version of my paternal family's immigration in the 19th century from Poland. Having only the most skeletal information about them, the process is like pulling teeth. It hasn't helped that I've been battling depression and anxiety at the same time. I suppose the difficulty and the loss of sister, brother and house tend to feed off each other.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, and thank you for putting up with it.
July 5, 2018
Wonder
I wonder about the wisdom of writing about something you know nothing about. Such is my dilemma in trying to write a novel about my ancestors immigration from Poland in the Nineteenth century.
What was peasant life like in Nineteenth century Poland? What were there tasks from season to season? From day to day and hour to hour? Did they have time for contemplation and self-study? To what degree were social roles determined? What was a typical day like? How repetitive was it?
I've been surprised at how sparse research material had been on all these questions.
What I have found that intrigued me is that Father Leopold Moczygemba offered to lead an exodus from Polish Silesia to Texas where he had gone as a missionary in 1852. The response was overwhelming; immediately, over 200 volunteered to endure the trip.
People's hardiness astonishes me. The trip involved an average of nine weeks aboard a ship in steerage below deck. How much did these people know about the travails they would encounter there and once they reached land? Father Moczygemba had acquired land grants, but what would it have been like to move to a country that spoke a completely unintelligible language?
But most of all, what would have been involved in preparing for such a radical change of life?
I wonder.
What was peasant life like in Nineteenth century Poland? What were there tasks from season to season? From day to day and hour to hour? Did they have time for contemplation and self-study? To what degree were social roles determined? What was a typical day like? How repetitive was it?
I've been surprised at how sparse research material had been on all these questions.
What I have found that intrigued me is that Father Leopold Moczygemba offered to lead an exodus from Polish Silesia to Texas where he had gone as a missionary in 1852. The response was overwhelming; immediately, over 200 volunteered to endure the trip.
People's hardiness astonishes me. The trip involved an average of nine weeks aboard a ship in steerage below deck. How much did these people know about the travails they would encounter there and once they reached land? Father Moczygemba had acquired land grants, but what would it have been like to move to a country that spoke a completely unintelligible language?
But most of all, what would have been involved in preparing for such a radical change of life?
I wonder.
June 9, 2018
Review
Here's what one reviewer had to say about my re-write of my first novel:
The Dogs… Barking is a moving, stunning piece of literature that enthralled, entertained and enchanted me from the first page. When I discovered The Dogs… Barking and read the premise I was sold because the description alludes to a strong theme of a character study and I love this in literature! I love following a character on their journey, and that is why I am obsessed with The Dogs… Barking. Everything about The Dogs… Barking is stellar; the characters, as well as the places the reader encounters and the incredible literature courtesy of the wonderful Jan Notzon, made me fall madly in love with this book. The Dogs… Barking is a piece of fiction that will captivate readers from all genres thanks to the many themes that are interwoven between the pages. This book can only be described as a read that should not be missed! If you are looking to read a book that will grasp your attention from the first page and hold it throughout then already I would implore you lovely readers to read this book because it is utterly brilliant!
The Dogs… Barking is a moving, stunning piece of literature that enthralled, entertained and enchanted me from the first page. When I discovered The Dogs… Barking and read the premise I was sold because the description alludes to a strong theme of a character study and I love this in literature! I love following a character on their journey, and that is why I am obsessed with The Dogs… Barking. Everything about The Dogs… Barking is stellar; the characters, as well as the places the reader encounters and the incredible literature courtesy of the wonderful Jan Notzon, made me fall madly in love with this book. The Dogs… Barking is a piece of fiction that will captivate readers from all genres thanks to the many themes that are interwoven between the pages. This book can only be described as a read that should not be missed! If you are looking to read a book that will grasp your attention from the first page and hold it throughout then already I would implore you lovely readers to read this book because it is utterly brilliant!
May 13, 2018
Return from the Dead
I've sorrowfully neglected blogging for the last few months. In that time I've done a few book signings, one of which was very successful, stayed with my brother in the hospital after he was diagnosed with lung cancer and started on a new novel dealing with my ancestors' immigration from Poland.
I am finding it a real slog as it's a subject I know nothing about. But I'm trying to look at it as a challenge rather than getting discouraged. I've found the research fascinating. However, what I've read tends to limit itself to major events and people in the history of Poland and accounts of immigrants once they've arrived in the US, and not what the lives of peasants in 19th century Poland were like. Well, it's going to tax my imagination. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
People who have read my most recent published novel, "The Id Paradox" have been extremely complimentary, one person calling me a "master".
I see the one I'm working on now as the first novel of a trilogy, tracing the family (as fiction) through the latter part of the 19th century to the mid-late 20th.
I'm finding talking about it heartening. Perhaps keeping up my blog is the thing to do.
I am finding it a real slog as it's a subject I know nothing about. But I'm trying to look at it as a challenge rather than getting discouraged. I've found the research fascinating. However, what I've read tends to limit itself to major events and people in the history of Poland and accounts of immigrants once they've arrived in the US, and not what the lives of peasants in 19th century Poland were like. Well, it's going to tax my imagination. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
People who have read my most recent published novel, "The Id Paradox" have been extremely complimentary, one person calling me a "master".
I see the one I'm working on now as the first novel of a trilogy, tracing the family (as fiction) through the latter part of the 19th century to the mid-late 20th.
I'm finding talking about it heartening. Perhaps keeping up my blog is the thing to do.
February 3, 2018
Authors Battling Depression
Some quite intuitive person established this group (on goodreads, if I'm not mistaken). I have been in a funk since November (just coming out of it) and consequently do appreciate the group name.
In 2016 I lost a sister and was stupid enough to sell our ancestral home (the only one I knew till I went away to college). My maternal grandmother built it in 1915. (I know for you people on the other side of the pond that is just yesterday.)
It hit me in November when I realized there would be no family gathering for Christmas.
Well, can't change the past.
I was also making no progress on a historical fiction piece. Perhaps the two were related.
Anyway, I'm coming out of it and have arranged for presentation/book signings in Texas (where my latest novel is set).
I'm uploading it to my facebook/author page just in case you're curious.
Cheers,
Jan
In 2016 I lost a sister and was stupid enough to sell our ancestral home (the only one I knew till I went away to college). My maternal grandmother built it in 1915. (I know for you people on the other side of the pond that is just yesterday.)
It hit me in November when I realized there would be no family gathering for Christmas.
Well, can't change the past.
I was also making no progress on a historical fiction piece. Perhaps the two were related.
Anyway, I'm coming out of it and have arranged for presentation/book signings in Texas (where my latest novel is set).
I'm uploading it to my facebook/author page just in case you're curious.
Cheers,
Jan
November 25, 2017
Thankful
On this, two days after Thanksgiving, I must say I am thankful for my neighbors. One of them has been in a rehab hospital for 16 months. Thanks particularly to one neighbor, he has a clean and suitable home to return to (if he can; he's determined).
This particular neighbor, Alisha, together with her husband, Troy, have spent hours, days and weeks getting the house in shape: deep-cleaning to get rid of mold and mildew, replacing toilets, fixing leaks, throwing out and replacing furniture, etc, etc. And no, neither of them is retired. It just astounds me, the generosity and commitment to someone they hardly knew.
It is an inspiration.
This particular neighbor, Alisha, together with her husband, Troy, have spent hours, days and weeks getting the house in shape: deep-cleaning to get rid of mold and mildew, replacing toilets, fixing leaks, throwing out and replacing furniture, etc, etc. And no, neither of them is retired. It just astounds me, the generosity and commitment to someone they hardly knew.
It is an inspiration.
