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

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

In addition to the Writing Contest in my launch event I am announcing a new fun activity. If you have partied in my previous events, you have seen such activities: The Quilt of Memories, Our Family Tree, And Figures on the Battlefield.

So what will it be this time, you ask? Well, because now we are talking a lot about sound and voice, here is the new activity:

http://uviart.blogspot.com/2013/04/jo...

Now that the first of my books is out as an audiobook--doing the happy dance!--I'm wondering if anyone here is a member of audible.com?

Wow! Just got this email about my audiobook coming out:

"Congratulations, A Favorite Son is now on sale at audible.com. And we plan to make it available on iTunes and Amazon.com within the next few days."

A Favorite Son

Angela wrote: "I didn't realize that David Kudler did all of those voices for A Favorite Son! How talented he must be! Can't wait to hear it!"

He is a man of a thousand voices... His wife must be very confused every time she calls him...

Angela wrote: "Mesmerizing-excellent word to describe Home! Quite true of its power to reach into the soul. Fabulous review!"

Thank you so much, Angela!

“Are you jealous?” I tease him. “I can’t believe it!”
To which he roars, “You do nothing, you! You cook, you hide. Coward! Aha, coward you!”
He takes one step forward; I take two back. The arrows slung over his shoulder clink against each other. It is a steely, menacing sound. With one blow of his hand, he smacks down the canvas; and, on the double, the entire tent is flattened into a lopsided mess, collapsing upon itself; its pegs flying clear out, bouncing over and over, over the soft sand.
He gets in my face; we are standing nose to nose. The moment I have dreaded all my life is suddenly upon me, and there is no way to withdraw. I have to face him, which forces me to examine him closely...

This excerpt, in Yankle's voice, captures the beginning of a dialog between him and his twin brother Esav, who is coming back from a day of hunt utterly famished, and tested to the limit of his wits by the smell of the lentil stew. Here is this snippet in audio:

To listen to this audio excerpt, click the link
http://uviart.blogspot.com/2013/03/ar...

Gloria wrote: "I guess the moon got to you too Uvi :)"

lol... It must have!

Wow, love your poem! Very stirring, in an eery sort of a way!

As part of the launch event The Voice Is Jacob's Voice, I am announcing a Writing Contest for all who join me in the celebration. Read the rules here: Writing Contest

Gloria wrote: "Hi, I am Gloria. I write during work breaks especially evenings/nights in the cosiness of my day bed. Since 2006, I have attempted to have a mantra of publishing one book a year. I also write snipp..."

Hi Gloria! Great to hear your voice here! That is quite a mission, to come up with a book each year. btw, lovely blog, and a timely post for Easter! I am looking forward to a creative exchange, please feel free to post about your work and your creative process!

I am so excited to invite you! Come celebrate with me: My book, A Favorite Son, is coming out in two new editions: audiobook and print. We will have a writing contest, fun activities, and surprises for all. Stay tuned!

https://www.facebook.com/events/31888...

"I imagine my father standing right here, in my place at the foot of the bed. I step back and in my mind, picture him taking a step forward, lifting the edge of the blanket, which is still settling over her.
His hands go in, searching playfully for her feet, touching the creamy skin, fondling her toes, rolling each one of them ever so slightly between his fingers; which makes her arch her back, stretch out her arms, and twist her body around until she is turned over, on her back. She points her toes towards him with a cry of pleasure.
Anita utters a groan as he applies gentle pressure to the soles of her feet, caresses the arches, the heels, the ankles. Her knees spread open and fall apart, until she takes control of herself and brings them together—only to have them spread open again.
I close my eyes because this way, I can see with greater clarity. The entire blanket is coming alive, folding and unfolding, stirring with their passionate tangle. From time to time the ripples rise to mark the line of his back, or the curve of her embrace."

Ben in Apart From Love

Get the print edition of this highly-praised novel, in time for Easter!
46 Amazon reviews, ★★★★★
http://www.amazon.com/Apart-Love-Uvi-...

What is the working title of your story?
The title of my story is A Favorite Son. Sounds familiar? Maybe because its Kindle edition has been published a couple of months ago. To my surprise, the story was received with great acclaim. So now there are two great developments which I would like to share with you: first, the story just about to come out as a paperback book! And the second--even better!--it is just about to come out as an audiobook!

Where did the idea come from for the story?
I have long been fascinated with the story of Jacob and Esav, which to me, captures several layers of emotions which we all go through in our families: a rivalry between brothers, the way a mother’s love, unevenly divided, can spur them to action, to crime, even; and how in time, even in the absence of regret, a punishment eventually ripens.

What genre does your story fall under?
The best definition I can offer for a genre is this: it is a new-age-biblical-twist genre, set in the twenty-first century, in a primitive camp of tents at the frontier of the desert in Canaan, in what seems, at first, to be an innocent fable.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I am going to change the question... Why, you ask? Because when your book is picked up for a major movie deal, this success--incredible as it may be--usually comes with a caveat: your work will be used by the screen writers merely as a suggestion, so it remains to be seen how much of the original text is retained in the final cut... However, when your book is picked up for narration, every sentence, every turn-of-a-phrase, every breath and pause in the original text is not only retained, but comes to life in the voice of the narrator.

So let me rephrase the question as follows: which actors would you choose to play your characters in a narrated rendition? Ah! What a great question! I would choose an actor with a great literary skill, one that can interpret the layers of meanings in my story, and one that has versatile voices in him. In short: David Kudler, and I had my heart set on him the moment I heard his audition.

David has been a voice and stage actor, a writer, and a book editor for over twenty years. Since 1999, he has been in charge of publications for the Joseph Campbell Foundation. As you can see, he is a man for all seasons... As a narrator, he has a warm, versatile voice, and a great ear for character and dialect. For A Favorite Son, he plays Yankle, Esav (Yankle’s brother), Isaac (Yankle’s father), Becky (Yankle’s mother) and Eliezer (Becky’s butler.) For each one of these characters, there is a distinct voice!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your story?
This is a present-day twist on the biblical story of Jacob and his mother Rebecca plotting together against the elderly father Isaac, who is lying on his deathbed, in order to get their hands on the inheritance, and on the power in the family.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My book--in its paperback and ebook editions--will be self-published. I enjoy every aspect of the publishing process: the cover design most of all, as well as the interior design. Once my book is written and edited, I have an quick turnaround time to having it published--usually within a week. The audiobook edition, obviously, takes longer, because it involves a creative exchange of ideas between the narrator and me.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Start to finish, this book took me six weeks. But it had been brewing in me for several years before that. Being an artist, I expressed it through sculpture. So here you can see Yankle and his mother Becky, plotting to cheat the father, and unable to look each other in the eye as they are doing so.

"After a while I whispered, like, 'Just say something to me. Anything.' And I thought, Any other word apart from love, ‘cause that word is diluted, and no one knows what it really means, anyway. Then he kissed me—even without the ice cream—and said my name, like, he tasted it in his mouth, and rolled it on his tongue, which made me awful happy. And we started our dance again..."

Anita in Apart From Love

To hear these words breathed out in her voice, click here: http://uviart.blogspot.com/2013/03/an...

"And as soon as I hear me say, Don’t be stupid, I remember being six years old. I remember having the same sense of panic, and trying to calm myself in the exact same way, when mom went to the hospital, saying, “Be a good boy for daddy, and how would you like me to bring you something, a little surprise?” I remember then, that she came back empty-handed. I was careful—very careful—not to ask her where my surprise was, because I could tell that she had no answers. Mom laid in bed many days, with eyes red and swollen with tears. And later—when she finally got up, and by accident she saw the baby carriage, my old, crooked baby carriage which dad had fixed up and cleaned and polished, and from which he had removed all the rusty spots—then a shudder passed through her. And she turned away and went back to her bedroom. It was there, through the keyhole that I saw her, folded up on the bed, as if there was a great pain in her."

Ben in Apart From Love

No prob!

Get the print edition of this highly acclaimed book, Apart From Love (46 reviews, ★★★★★) just in time for Easter! Audiobook coming soon...

Here is a timely excerpt, especially for Passover, 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—"

"I imagine my father standing right here, in my place at the foot of the bed. I step back and in my mind, picture him taking a step forward, lifting the edge of the blanket, which is still settling over her.
His hands go in, searching playfully for her feet, touching the creamy skin, fondling her toes, rolling each one of them ever so slightly between his fingers; which makes her arch her back, stretch out her arms, and twist her body around until she is turned over, on her back. She points her toes towards him with a cry of pleasure.
Anita utters a groan as he applies gentle pressure to the soles of her feet, caresses the arches, the heels, the ankles. Her knees spread open and fall apart, until she takes control of herself and brings them together—only to have them spread open again.
I close my eyes because this way, I can see with greater clarity. The entire blanket is coming alive, folding and unfolding, stirring with their passionate tangle. From time to time the ripples rise to mark the line of his back, or the curve of her embrace."

Ben in Apart From Love

Ah! Suh a sensual quote... But it is from my next novel, David, as he is looking at Bathsheba...

Eleonore wrote: "Thank you, glad you liked it."

Sure did... And in a way, that's what fables are for: to allow us to talk about hidden meanings in a safe way... I do something of the sort with A Favorite Son.