Daniel Wetta's Blog, page 11
September 19, 2014
Smashwords: iBooks Launches Worldwide Book Bundles Promotion, Features 40 Smashwords Box Sets and over 200 authors
Importantly, with the release of iOS8, now Apple devices for the first time come pre-loaded with the iBooks app so that finding books to read on the devices is easier than ever for Apple users. I am excited by the reviews for my novels, The Z Redemption and Corvette Nightfire (written with Robert Selfe), and double excited because now these are easier to find in the iBooks store!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-z-redemption/id721962231?mt=11
September 6, 2014
Let’s Protect Those Who Protect Our Freedom!
September 3, 2014
written by
Diana Villiers Negroponte
Freedom House Trustee
In late August, six Mexican journalists and a few colleagues from Freedom House gathered around the table at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Torreón, State of Coahuila, to discuss their freedoms to write and express their opinions. Since 2008, these rights have been seriously limited. The infiltration of organized crime in security and justice institutions, mostly at the local level; the militarization of public security; and the virtual collapse of the justice system are largely to blame for this. Mexico is now one of the world’s most dangerous and complicated places to practice journalism.
The journalists spoke of fear in doing their work as crime reporters. They had received frequent threats from one or another of the competing drug cartels, gangsters, and the authorities. In February 2013, three of their colleagues from the newspaper El Siglo de Torreón had been kidnapped. They were later released unharmed, but all at last month’s gathering were aware that the same could happen to them. Facing this threat, the journalists sought training in security measures and the support of media proprietors.
National outlets with regional correspondents and some regional newspapers had the resources to train their staff, but journalists working with community radio stations and freelancing were left alone to face the threats. Dead animals were left at their doorsteps, their cars were painted, or verbal abuse was hurled through their cell phones. The latest report by Freedom House on press freedom in Mexico states that 76 journalists were murdered between 2000 and 2013, and an additional 16 have disappeared since 2003.
In the face of intimidation, several journalists sought a transfer from the crime beat to less controversial sections of the newspaper, such as culture and sports. However, braver souls continued to cover crime, removing all identification that would expose them as journalists. They consulted Article 19, the London-based international organization for the protection of journalists. They formed networks to share experiences with others. Meanwhile, many editors took assassinations off the front page and printed little more than the police bulletin in the lower corners of inside pages. They restricted their coverage to the minimum to give the impression that security had improved.
This tactic, intended to protect both journalists and editors, infuriated readers, who complained that newspapers were hiding information. At our university meeting, the editorial coordinator for El Siglo de Torreón admitted that he received strong criticism, saying, “The paper was meant to be a defender of people, but it no longer defends anyone.”
Proprietors are shaken by threats to their journalists, but have so far done little to protect them. Apart from an attack on the publisher of the national newspaper La Reforma, there are no published assaults against media proprietors. Instead, it is investigative reporters who bear the brunt of attacks. On August 11, Octavio Rojas, a crime reporter at the newspaper El Buen Tono, was murdered outside his house in Oaxaca. His report on the local police’s confiscation of 16,000 litres of stolen fuel, found in three trucks belonging to the municipal police chief, had been published 48 hours earlier. According to Article 19, Oaxaca is the third worst state in Mexico for attacks on journalists, with 139 assaults between January 1, 2007, and the first quarter of 2014. Mexico City’s Federal District is considered the most dangerous state for journalists, followed by Veracruz.
In 2011, the government of President Felipe Calderón introduced far-reaching constitutional reforms to protect human rights by incorporating international treaties and standards into Mexican law. Current president Enrique Peña Nieto’s Pacto por México also contained a robust chapter on the legislation required to make constitutional safeguards a reality. A growing awareness exists in Mexico of the need to protect human rights, including the rights of journalists. But there is serious resistance and considerable reluctance to enforce such legal provisions, especially from the security and justice sectors.
In pursuit of its legal obligations, the Mexican interior ministry, known as SEGOB, is currently creating a federal protection program for journalists and human rights defenders. A journalist whose complaint of harassment is brought before SEGOB can obtain federal protection. However, his or her capacity to carry on as a journalist with that police protection is dubious. One senior writer expressed the general sentiment when he regretted that federal protection was a ticket to retirement.
What is the solution? First, journalists in Mexico recognize their need to become more professional. The years of payments for favorable stories have led to bullets for unfavorable press. Pride in the profession and recognition that a functioning democracy needs independent, truthful journalists must be stressed. Journalists should not belong to anyone: corporate interests, real-estate managers, federal and local authorities, or criminal enterprises. The old dependence on private and government support has resulted in vulnerability to the current power brokers, namely the cartels that ship illegal drugs to the United States.
Second, the federal government, in respecting its constitutional reforms and international obligations, must defend journalists as citizens and protectors against the abuse of power. The Mexican government needs independent-minded reporters to investigate corruption so that the newly formed Anti-Corruption Commission can do its work. Also, SEGOB needs to make its mechanism for protecting journalists and human rights defenders both credible and effective. The new mechanism may lead some journalists into retirement, but that is preferable to the graveyard.
Finally, journalists must support one another. They should increase collaboration with professional associations and civil society to provide technical assistance on how to confront the major obstacles facing their profession. They should not retreat from dangerous stories, because citizens depend on journalists to investigate events, dig out corruption, reveal scandals, and report accurately on murders, kidnappings, rapes, and robberies in their communities. Silencing crime stories will not make the criminals go away. Furthermore, in the absence of responsibly investigated stories, citizens will rely on rumors—a far more inflammatory form of news.
To facilitate mutual support among journalists, a new website, Journalists at Risk—with an interactive crowdsourcing map to both identify sites and register assaults against journalists—is being created. (An initial version is available atPeriodistasenriesgo.crowdmap.com.) Journalists can post their own stories, which are then verified by the website’s editor, Javier Garza. Bloggers, photographers, and journalists are reporting assaults and forming a professional network. Journalists at Risk also provides legal advice, security protocols, and links to international organizations that are committed to protecting the right to voice political, cultural, social, and economic opinions and dissent. This type of network is well placed to protect journalists and give them the confidence to continue investigative reporting into crime and corruption, as well as to provide useful professional knowledge.
In addition, the International Center for Journalists holds annual workshops with journalists and editors to impart skills related to investigative reporting, security protocols, cybersecurity, and mobile and digital journalism in order to build their professional capacities. This autumn, a virtual workshop will take place over five weeks for journalists from Mexico and other Latin American nations. The purpose is to create an atmosphere in which journalists can work and democracy can strengthen.
Mexico has much to accomplish in its transition to a democratic society. It is strengthening its rule of law, building credible police forces at the federal level, and creating independent regulatory commissions to check abuse and assure transparency. Journalists can participate effectively in this transition by working together and adhering to their own professional responsibility to report the truth, but the state can also do more to keep them safe.
Diana Villiers Negroponte is a trustee of Freedom House and a member of the Board of Advisors at the Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Photo Credit: Gabriel Saldana
ISSUES:
Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom of Expression, Media Freedom, Rule of Law
REGIONS:
Americas
COUNTRIES:
Mexico
Tagged: crime, drug cartels, freedom of press, liberty
Texas-Chihuahua-New Mexico Regional Economic Competitiveness Forum | Mexico Institute
The combined natural and human resources of our two great countries would make a powerhouse international impact benefiting the world. If the drug cartels see this and use it for bad, shouldn’t the rest of us consider the possibilities for the good?
Texas-Chihuahua-New Mexico Regional Economic Competitiveness Forum | Mexico Institute.
June 28, 2014
More Trivia from The Z Redemption Trilogy
Here is more from Robert Selfe’s article on trivia from the trilogy. This excerpt pertains to the writing of The Z Redemption (the first volume of the trilogy):
“David Wilson James’ apartment was based on Daniel’s apartment in Monterrey .
David Wilson James and Daniel Joseph Wetta share the same initials but in different order.
David, Daniel, and Robert share a birth year: 1949.
Daniel and Robert both attended St. Bridget School, Tuckahoe Junior High School, and Douglas S. Freeman High School and were roommates at the College of William and Mary.
David’s roommate at William and Mary was Donald Austin Blair, future President of the United States.
When Daniel first moved to Mexico, he began referring to Robert as Roberto, and the character name in The Z Redemption was an ironic nod to that.
While writing The Z Redemption, Daniel did extensive research to give authenticity to the vehicles, weapons, etc. mentioned in the novel. Daniel even flew back to Monterrey to scout a possible location for the headquarters of the fictional Z Foundat ion.”
June 26, 2014
Guest Article: Courage, Heart, Corazon ~ Daniel Wetta
Thanks to Cate Agosta for posting my article on her blog, June 26, 2014:
http://catesbooknuthut.com/
Originally posted on Cate's Book Nut Hut:
Courage, Heart, Corazon
By Daniel Wetta
My depression, usually situational, no longer afflicts me for weeks or months. It is because I have taught myself finally to think with my heart instead of my head. I am a heart person, but I tried to be a head person. That disconnect might have killed me. Since I am a born story teller with a living imagination, I am also a good actor. I had everyone fooled for years. People at work thought I was happy. After working eleven hour days or more as CEO of a hospital, I went straight to bed when I got home and pulled the sheet over my head. Classic.
This piece is not about depression. It is about finding courage. If you are a depressed person, there is no doubt that you feel completely discouraged by the world around you. It seems that everyone else…
View original 1,555 more words
June 23, 2014
Trivia from The Z Redemption Trilogy
Robert Selfe, the editor of the books in The Z Redemption Trilogy, has written an interesting article of trivia about the writing of the novels. In the near future I will post the entire piece on the author website. I think the growing number of readers of these two (eventually three) novels will very much enjoy Robert’s notations. Here is a brief excerpt:
“When The Z Redemption was finished, it was too long, so several chapters were shortened and combined. One chapter was left out of the book but posted on line as “Awakening from the Golden Sleep.”
Originally, the second novel was supposed to be a prequel, and Robert had begun research on Pablo Escobar, the Columbian drug lord. Escobar, like David, was born in 1949, and the novel was intended to parallel the life and career of these two men. After a few months, Robert asked for a new direction for the sequel because the story of David’s descent into a dark place was just too depressing.
Daniel came up with an alternate story. He envisioned a character named Corvette Nightfire walking into a casino just as a beautiful woman comes running out and, after shoving a duffle bag into his arms, runs off. That’s all there was. The rest of the story grew from there….”
Tagged: best selling thrillers, Corvette, DEA, drug cartels, FBI, Las Vegas, Mexico, Monterrey, poker, romance
June 19, 2014
Corvette Nightfire Give-Away: Just Enter to Win!
“Buckle up!…this book is as likely to break your heart as it is to send it racing…”
“This book will challenge you to think about what will happen next and wonder who is going to come out on top. Excellent read!”
“A triumph…a vivid love story. I highly recommend this compelling thriller.”
“The action was so fast-paced and well-built that I had to read the novel in one sitting.”
(Excerpts from book reviews of Corvette Nightfire, the five-star romantic thriller that will sp
ice up your summer reading!)
ENTER TO WIN! I am giving away 15 copies through a Goodreads contest:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/96078-corvette-nightfire
June 16, 2014
Start It Up! Enter to Win!
Romance, exotic places, and heart-stopping thrills missing from your life? Do you really want another summer of slow? Juice it up with Corvette Nightfire, a five-star thriller guaranteed to work! Hey, enter to win the beautiful, glossy paperback! I am trying to make this easy for you! Just click the book to enter. Share with your friends…they need a life too!
Tagged: Barbados, Corvette, crime, Las Vegas, Mexico, Monterrey, poker, romance, suspense, Texas Hold 'Em, Texas Holdem, thriller, World Series of Poker
June 11, 2014
Enter to Win!
Enter to win one of 15 copies of Corvette Nightfire on Goodreads! Put this five- star crime thriller on your bookshelf…but it won’t stay there long! Your friends will want to borrow it. Simply click the photo to go to the Goodreads page that lets you sign up for this beautiful 6″X9″ glossy print edition that will be mailed to your home if you win!
June 2, 2014
Excerpts From Reviews of “Corvette Nightfire!”
“”Corvette Nightfire’ quickly establishes that this book is as likely to break your heart as it is to send it racing…A fabulous read, ‘Corvette Nightfire’ is high stakes and fast paced all around and the reader is all the better for having taken the ride!” 5 stars. (Paige Mitchell, Goodreads reviewer).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/918650971?book_show_action=false&page=1
“A triumph…The settings, the language and the depiction of both professional gambling and life inside a cartel all feel authentic. Wetta’s first book was more about the struggle in Mexico against drug cartels. This book continues that theme, but adds new protagonists, a new setting and a vivid love story. I highly recommend this compelling thriller.” 5 stars. (Nancy Stancill, author of “Saving Texas”).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/954358296?book_show_action=false&page=1
“Fast-Paced Suspense Novel with Romance, Drug Cartels, and Plenty of Action.” 5 stars. (E.Lucas, Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer).
“Great read!…The action was so fast-paced and well-built that I had to read the novel in one sitting.” 5 stars. (Oana Ilasi, Amazon reviewer).
“Fascinating read that makes you keep turning the pages! This book will challenge you to think about what will happen next and wonder who is going to come out on top.” 5 stars. (K.R., Amazon reviewer).
Celebrating publication of the print edition of Corvette Nightfire, I encourage readers who enjoy suspense, romance, strong characterization, and a gripping style of story-telling to consider reading my second novel written with Robert Selfe. Please click the photo link for more information:
Tagged: 5 stars, best selling crime thrillers, Corvette, drug cartels, Las Vegas, Mexico, Monterrey, poker, Texas Hold 'Em, Texas Holdem, World Series of Poker
