Uvi’s Comments (group member since Apr 09, 2012)

Uvi’s comments from the The Creative Spark with Uvi Poznansky group.

Just finished reading Jackson and Eva and here is my review:

This tale is a delicious concoction, liberally salted with spicy horror and a dash of humor. It is to be consumed with a a generous compassion for the endearingly villainous vampires, who makes me suspect one of two things: either they are human, like me, or I am one of them. Either way, I loved that the characters, both the mortal and the immortal ones, have faults, which makes them so close that the smell of blood is palpable. Jackson and Eva love to hate each other, and the two vampires, Mr. A. and his wife Elizabetta are non more loving. The pain of divorce can be felt on both sides of the divide.

The author continues to explore the universe she has created in earlier works, but this time it has blossomed into a full length novel, written with quirky wit and originality.

Five stars.

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★ Apart From Love ★

★ Rise to Power ★

★ A Favorite Son ★

★ Twisted ★

★ Home ★

Somewhere at night a string sings out
All's dark, silent, filled with doubt
I'm alone, and you?
Out there, in the cold, a string sings out

To read the poem, and to listen to the beautiful narration by Kathy Bell Denton, click here:
Forgive me, ma

“But my music—”
“It awakens something in me,” he groans, pressing a hand against his temple. “Something I wish to ignore. An unspeakable sort of pain. There’s a demon in me, and I know—I just know he’ll break loose, he’ll take over, the moment I’ll let myself soften.”

To read more, and listen to the narration by David George, click here:
The other side of obedience

Here is a timely excerpt from Apart From Love, a flashback to Passovers past:

"If I were to focus strictly on my parents, ignore the entire background of this place, and let the clutter and the smell of it just fall away, this could take me back to a different time, a time in my childhood, when our kitchen table was set for the Passover meal. What comes back to me first is the tinkle, as my father finished blessing the wine, and clinked his glass against hers, against mine.
I remember: the table was draped, all the way down to the floor, with mom’s best, rarely used tablecloth, made of the smoothest ivory satin you ever touched. Dad sat at the head of the table, mom to his right, I opposite her.
All day long she had been cooking, which infused the air with a wonderful aroma. In it you could detect a sharp whiff of horseradish and of gefilte fish and sweet brisket and red cabbage and roasted potatoes, all of which made my stomach growl. It went on growling until he finished reading the long, archaic text in the Hagadda, which meant little to me, except a vague notion of the utter futility of patience.
I remember: my mother ladled the clear, golden chicken soup and set it here, steaming before my eyes, with three matzo balls floating inside, which was her way of giving. “It’s hot,” she said. “Make sure to blow on it first.” Yes, the smell of her cooking was good, but then, the taste! Just wait till you took the first bite—"



Treat yourself to a gift:
APART FROM LOVE
★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★

Happy Passover!

Need a gift for the holiday? Check out the rave reviews
Here are but a handful of the reviews

★ The miracle of Uvi Poznansky's writing is her uncanny ability to return to old stories and make them brilliantly fresh. At times startling, as times awe-inspiring, and at al times fine reading, this is a welcome addition to the growing library of one our more important writers. -Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Reviewer
★ What a treat to have the story of David presented in such an intellectually stimulating manner. -Christoph Fischer, Top 500 reviewer
★ A tale of madmen and kings, youth and old age, prison cells and freedom's ring. It's drawn from Biblical history, enjoyed through the eyes of modernity, and it vividly recreates character and place. -Sheila Deeth, Top 1000 Reviewer
★ Written for a smart and perceptive reader, who is not afraid to let her imagination fly. -Oleg Medvedkov, Top 500 reviewer
★ Dark, intense, entertaining, thought-provoking and emotional, these stories each hold their own brand of magnetisim that lasts long after the last word is read... A wealth of depth in few words. -Dii, Top 1000 Reviewer



RISE TO POWER
★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★

A FAVORITE SON
★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★

TWISTED
★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★

He turns to me with a sly look. To my surprise, his smile—even with those sharp fangs—is quite endearing.
“Job’s wife, I presume? Hallelujah! I have been expecting you for quite a long while,” says Satan. His voice is sweet. He must have sung in a choir in his youth, because in some ways he sounds as pious as my husband.

To read more click here:

Don't miss this opportunity! A select group of authors has joined forces with me. We bring you amazing historical fiction stories. Let us whisk you away to a different time and place. Come listen to our stories. You may win one of the ebooks!

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In a word: Fabulous!

Christian Ashley is an author of Historical Romance, Paranormal Fiction, and Erotic Fantasy. All of her Historical Fiction novels, Rose of Gwynedd, In Daddy's Arms, and Dignity, came to her through dreams that evolved with ample research into the historical period being presented. I am truly honored that she posted this review for for the audiobook edition of Rise to Power:

Overall ★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★

What made the experience of listening to Rise to Power the most enjoyable?
Uvi Poznansky combined her superb knowledge of Biblical history and her amazing sense of humor to create David’s story. In Rise to Power, David is looking back on his life and telling not only his story, but how he thought and felt at the time.
Because Rise to Power is told in first person by the protagonist, David, his-story literally comes to life!

What did you like best about this story?
With David at the center during a time of war and constant upheaval for the people, his story, as written through Poznansky and narrated by George, made me laugh out loud more times than I could count. Rise to Power in many ways, makes sense of some of the difficult to understand and nonlinear parts of the Bible.

What about David George’s performance did you like?
George was expressive, articulate, and engaging. Very professional - serious when he should be and appropriately amused when called for.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I would have liked to listen to Rise to Power for it's entirety but did it over a few nights.

Any additional comments?
Of all the audiobooks I've listened to thus far, Rise to Power has been my favorite.

Sherri Christian

Just finished listening to The Seacrest and here is my review:

Exquisitely told in the manly voice of Finn McGraw, and charged with intrigue and emotion, this is a story of love, wrapped up in a riddle. The closer we come to solving it, the more reachable is the promise of gaining a second chance at that first love. It is that combination—the soft, romantic note and the sharp, quick one of finding a way to solve that mystery—that is essential in the story telling of The Seacrest. At the romantic mode, Aaron Paul Lazar infuses his descriptions with sensual details, such as the scent of the sea. “A fresh breeze laden with the scent of the sea rustled blue flowers…” At the mystery writing mode, he sounds a shrill note of alarm, for example in the very first sentence: “Life can change in the blink of an eye. This blink came when…”

The story keeps alternating between two frames: the past, when Finn first fell in love with Libby and lost her, and the present, when his wife, Cara and his brother Jax are found dead as her car goes off a cliff. Are these events, separated by time, connected? Can Finn put together the clues and gain an understanding, perhaps even redemption, so that love can blossom over the ruins of his past, as once it did? “I held her, realizing with a start that in spite of the horror of what happened, our future now lay open…”

I was first drawn to The Seacrest because of its cover, which is unabashedly romantic. Against the golden background of a sea suffused with golden light, the silhouettes of two lovers are just about to kiss, and the letters of the title are just about to embrace each other. Aw… So lovely—and so is this story.

Enjoyed the voice of George Kuch as Finn. After listening to him reading Seacrest I checked out some of his other work, and I can hear that even when he does non-fiction, such as in Write Like the Wind: Volume 1 and Volume II, he can be lift the text from the page and make it personal, even intimate. That, to me, is the mark of good narration.

Five stars.

And so, slowly climbing the path, nearly collapsing under the weight of my trophy, I let the troops follow me. At last I arrive at the top, bringing the battle to the Philistines. They gape upon the dismembered head of their champion, and when they notice that it is coming at them, they start gasping and shrieking in fear. A great number of them leave their shields and weapons behind, because the lighter they are—the faster they can bolt from this place.
What happens next seems like a daze to me. Having been a child entertainer up to this point, I have never been to a battlefield before, let alone in this new role, this odd public capacity as half David and half Goliath. Constantly advancing I feel the earth rumbling under my feet as the Philistines flee in fright before me.

I sense heat, the heat of battle, sizzling in my veins. I hear a flourish of metal, the swoosh of arrows flying back and forth on all sides. Without looking down I step over the bodies of the fallen, the wounded, the weak… Guided mostly by a sense of touch I am unable to make any distinction between theirs and ours.

And for a minute I think I spot someone out there, a tiny outline of him back there on the ledge, on our side of the valley. I know it must be Saul, because the sun hits a metallic thing on his head, and at once it comes aglitter.

Then the sweat runs into my eyes, and I can no longer find him out there, nor can I locate his crown.

David in Rise to Power

My story is greatly inspired by the differences in depicting the story by artists throughout the ages. Here, for example, the way David is presented in Barry Moser's art. His is a young shepherd, a modern character, one that may be living right now, perhaps in a third-world country. Ambition is burning in his eyes. He wants to become larger than life. His look is directed at you. You become part of the scene. You are Goliath.

Compare this to the the wood engraving by Louis August Gustave Doré. His David is an iconic hero, with a great, dramatic flair suggested in the folds of his tunic. At his moment of victory, he indeed becomes 'half David, half Goliath' as I suggest in my story. Here, David is more than a character--he becomes a symbol of the possibility of the weak defeating the mighty, with a glorification of war, and with the help of God.


David by Barry Moser


David slays Goliath by Dore

The Leprechauns are coming,
They want to stay a while
See what they are bringing?
Take their gifts, and smile!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Just finished reading The Duck That Didn't Know and here is my review:

Hatched out of an egg that was unusually heavy for mother goose, a duck appears. Brought up by her, he has no friends of his own feather, and no notion that he can swim. As your child and you read this book I imagine that both of you would be tempted to tell him, Go ahead already! Test the water, you can do it! You’re born for it!

This is a story of how his friends, Toady and Patsy, can encourage him to become who he is meant to be, of how thrilling he finds his new existence, and the ways he uses his new capacity to swim to rescue his mother, to her great surprise.

I love that the author thought about conveying the hissing sound of the snake (a minor character in the story) which tells me that she is thinking of the way you would be reading this aloud to your child:
“What are you ssstaring at?” inquired a ling slimy snake.
And later, Sssome sssily duck you turned out to bezzz.”

The illustrations are colorful and endearingly heartfelt, a perfect complement to the text.

Five stars.

Here is a lovely new audible review, written by Aaron Paul Lazar. Aaron is a mystery writer, and many of his books have audiobook editions. I am thrilled by what he says about the narration of Apart From Love:

03-13-14
Overall ★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★

"A Literary Masterpiece!"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I already have, several times actually. This book is totally out of my usual genre (mysteries/thrillers) and probably falls most squarely in the literary fiction category, but I was completely blown away by its beauty and pathos. The quality of the writing is absolutely top notch, and when that is coupled with two supremely talented narrators, the combination is riveting.

What did you like best about this story?
I loved the current tense in which the vignettes were told, alternating between Anita and Ben, and the immediacy of the sensations one experiences when listening. The voices are so authentic, the dialog just perfect. I am so in awe of David Kudler's ability to interpret the written word. He is astoundingly good. And Heather Jane Hogan is equally as talented - her Southern accent was impeccable! I've become instant fans of both narrators.

Which character – as performed by David Kudler and Heather Jane Hogan – was your favorite?
That's really tough, because I loved Anita, Ben, Lenny, and the three aunts. But I guess if I was forced to choose, I'd pick Anita. She was so honest and real, no pretenses. She'd been through so much. My heart broke for her in many scenes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
So many moments... but I think one of the most moving was when Ben went to visit his mother in the nursing home. So sad, so heartfelt...

Any additional comments?
I really loved this book, and I think it should win lots of literary fiction awards. It's just so powerful. But I didn't like the ending! Too much was left open, and I didn't get that warm, fuzzy feeling I crave. (Okay, so I'm a happy ending kind of guy). I think it could have ended shortly after Ben was kicked out of the house - this might have been a good point if there was not to be a happy ending! Aside from being disappointed that I didn't get to see the characters living happily at the end of the story, this book, its amazing narrators, and the beautiful scenes will stay with me for many years to come.

Just finished reading Flashback and here is my review:

The cover of Flashback features a flash of lightning tearing the night sky, intercepted by a white strip of paper, over which the letters of title, Flashback, cast a subtle shadow. Such is the poetry in this book:

It turns the noise of life into listening for a meaning, into the gentle rumination of a poet, a young woman with a great capacity of observation at the world, and most of al at herself. In eight short lines, the opening poem, Going and Staying, makes a transition between a declared determination to leave and an admission of her failure to do so. It is crisp and profound. Another poem that touched me was Who Will Listen To My Songs? It is a premonition of what will happen to her poetry in the future:

Who will listen to my songs
When I am gone?
The twilight will hold you
In her loving arms
And you will pine and long
To find the meaning
Hidden in my songs

And she goes on to ask:

Who will listen to my songs
When you are gone?
The long endless night
Wearing the veil of the starry sky
Will smile at the spaces
We left behind, and allow
The storm to steal my melodies
And show them the morning light
Lest they are forgotten overnight.

If you enjoy poetry, you will enjoy the voice of Jaspreet Mann Kanwar. Who will listen to her songs? Will you? They will touch you in the most subtle, delicate way.

Five stars.

"I do not trust a single one of the Kish clan—not even Jonathan, who declares he loves me.
I keep him at arm’s length, and give careful thought to what his motives may be when he says things like, “My heart is knit with yours.” Being Saul’s eldest son, he is the heir to the throne, so what does he want with someone like me, an outsider?

To read more, and take a listen, click here: My heart is knit with yours? What does that mean? Behind the scenes discussion

"Holding the sword upright over the head of the Philistine, and shaking a little on my feet, I know one thing for sure: by the rules of engagement, the outcome of this battle has already been decided by his fall. Now I have little time before they arrive here, I mean, our soldiers. They are sure to leap down into the valley, uttering wild battle cries and aiming their weapons at the backs of the enemy, who would be dispersing in confusion.
And time is dear, time something I need. I must finish the job quickly, because when a giant falls you take no chances. What if he has merely fainted—only to rise to his feet again in a few minutes, and come at me? And what if he is simply faking it?
So I take a deep breath. The sword feels ferociously heavy over me. Then in one fell swoop I bring it down with all my force, cutting deep into his throat.
This is the moment when I decide that in the future, I must refrain from describing all the gory details, I mean, how my victim coughs and sputters as the flesh starts tearing apart... How his arms flail, trying to reach for me, to yank the hilt of the sword out of my hold... How the color seems to be draining from his skin... How blood spurts from the wound, gushing from the sliced vein... How it shoots from his neck all over the blade, and all the way up to the palm of my hand.
This, I say to myself, used to be the hand of a musician. Is this the hand of a hero? A warrior? A killer? It seems to move by its own will, as if it belonged to someone else.
Who am I now?"

David in Rise to Power

I love it when my character says that he will refrain from describing all the gory details, only to go ahead and do it anyway, in full, vivid color, holding the dismembered head directly in front of our faces, so we can almost smell the blood, just the way artists have done over the centuries. There are countless paintings of David with the head of Goliath.


David with the head of Goliath by Caravaggio

Are you curious about how a narrator goes about his craft, how he goes through the process of becoming the character, and lifting him from the text to life? I know I am! Take a listen:

Becoming David

During the production of Rise to Power I learned one thing about David George, the voice talent for the audiobook edition: he is a man of few words. He lets his thoughts resound in his voice, in the reading of the text. I indicated to him what passage I would choose for the audio sample (which is what you'll listen to on the Audible/Amazon product page), saying I loved the way he read it, teasing out notes of comedy at the beginning, followed by quick action, and culminating with deep, profound ruminations.

So when he asked me--once again--what passage I prefer for the voice sample, I knew he had a different passage in mind, only he would not say it outright...

To read more, click here: A madman is in the house

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Secrets, passion, betrayal… Find a path from guilt to forgiveness
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