tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2850874673720172232024-03-13T03:16:25.090-07:00Manuscript Editing Solutions, LLCThe Blog of www.mesolutions.biz
Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-46217533009943283592019-02-28T15:55:00.000-08:002019-02-28T15:55:30.034-08:00Arclight and Boilermaker Announce Four Film Deal <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">Deadline:</span><br />
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<a href="https://deadline.com/2018/07/boilermaker-entertainment-arclight-films-csi-isan-mary-ting-1202433047/">https://deadline.com/2018/07/boilermaker-entertainment-arclight-films-csi-isan-mary-ting-1202433047/</a><br /><br />Broadway World</div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Boilermaker-Entertainment-Sign-Multi-Picture-Deal-With-Arclight-Films-20180725">https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Boilermaker-Entertainment-Sign-Multi-Picture-Deal-With-Arclight-Films-20180725</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">World Screen:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: black;"><a href="http://worldscreen.com/boilermaker-entertainment-pacts-arclight-films/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://worldscreen.com/boilermaker-entertainment-pacts-arclight-films/</a></span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-78595881487789724342015-09-14T08:11:00.000-07:002015-09-14T08:27:58.395-07:00Global Consciousness For all of my science writer buds, lately, I have noticed a lot of articles that have been written about 'Global Consciousness'. There may be some truth to it. It seems that some scientists are now speculating that dolphins share a collective consciousness:<br />
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3231003/Are-dolphins-psychic-complex-social-intelligence-suggests-animals-share-collective-consciousness.html.<br />
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Concerning mankind, global consciousness, and the noosphere, Princeton University has a very interesting research program going on that from the looks of it seems fascinating: http://noosphere.princeton.edu/homepage4.html.<br />
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What do you think? I would be interested in your feedback.<br />
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<br />Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-81636142838161745272015-05-13T05:11:00.001-07:002015-05-13T05:11:53.354-07:00My Interview with Dr. SreyRam Kuy<div class="article-meta" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d4f51; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Following her</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/04/17/cambodia-surgeon-bombing-landmine-column/25898655/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #96999c; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">story in USA Today</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;">, and with Hollywood executives and publishers pursuing her screenplay and novel, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. SreyRam Kuy about her book,</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;"> </span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit;">. </span></div>
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Below is my interview:</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Forty years ago, my family was driven from our home at gunpoint…”</strong></div>
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<img alt="" class="center" data-loading-tracked="true" height="439" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_750_750/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAMCAAAAJDA1NmQ2MWJmLTFhM2YtNDhiMC05YzZkLTc5OWRlYmMxOWQ5NQ.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 15px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="572" /><img alt="" class="left" data-loading-tracked="true" height="312" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_400_400/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAOcAAAAJDllYjU1MjhhLTdiMDgtNGQ5ZS1hODgzLTg0NGIyM2YyMGI1Yg.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 30px 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="224" />Is <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> a fiction or non-fiction story?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>Forty years ago, to this very month, my family was driven from our home at gunpoint, forced on a mass exodus out of the city along with millions of other Cambodians and herded into the jungles to being a life of slave labor. </div>
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This April is the 40th anniversary of the start of the Killing Fields. My family was living in Phnom Penh, the capitol city of Cambodia at the time. Naively unaware of what lay ahead, we thought this was a temporary trip. We were wrong. It was the first day of a four year journey to hell on earth. </div>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is a true story. It is the story of my experiences as child escaping from the Cambodian Killing Fields, living in refugee camps and coming to the United States. It is the story of my mother’s life growing up in rural Cambodia, her dream to achieve an education in a culture where women were not encouraged to be educated, and then her fight to survive and save her family during the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime. </div>
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The names and some details have been changed, but it is the true story of my family and the extraordinary miracles God has done in our lives. <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is a journey of courage, faith, and forgiveness through one of the worst atrocities in human history. </div>
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What are the Killing Fields? Was it a real event and when did it happen?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>The Killing Fields refers to a number of mass graves in Cambodia where millions of people were executed during the Cambodian Genocide enforced by the Khmer Rouge regime. This was a real event, though now forgotten by many. Under the leadership of Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979, the brutal Khmer Rouge inflicted one of the worst atrocities in human history. Under this regime, being educated was a crime. Anyone who was a teacher, doctor, government official or intellectual was targeted for execution. Cheoung Ek is one of the well-known mass graves from the Killing Fields. Today, it serves as a memorial to this atrocious time in human history. Housing thousands of skulls from the victims of these mass graves, this memorial reminds us of this evil chapter in human history. It is vitally important to never forget these tragedies, whether it is the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide or the Cambodian Killing Fields in order to honor the memory of the millions of human lives lost and to ensure that history does not repeat itself. </div>
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Why did you decide to write this book, <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em>, about your mother and your family’s experience in the Killing Fields of Cambodia?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. SreyRam Kuy:</strong> I wrote this book to encourage others. This book is a testimony to God’s incredible love and amazing grace. He has brought my family through so much. We have seen miracles after miracles in our lives. My message in this book is that despite what obstacles you face, God is greater than any obstacle. Despite how bleak your circumstances, God’s grace is sufficient to enable you to emerge victorious.</div>
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My family lived through a Genocide. At least 3 million people died during the killing fields of Cambodia, either through execution, brutal torture, starvation, disease, or despair and suicide. However, God saved us time after time from execution by the Khmer Rouge soldiers, from starvation during the inhumane conditions of the Killing Fields, and from the thousands of land mines that riddled the borders of Cambodia during our escape. </div>
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If I can inspire someone to have hope through this story, then my time was well spent. Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man who gives each of his servants talents. To one, he gave one talent, to the other two talents, to the last he gave five talents. The one who got 5 talents, put it to work, and earned 5 more. The one who got two talents, put that to work and earned two more. But the person who received one talent, was scared and buried it in the ground. I don’t want to live in fear. I want to have the courage to boldly go out and uses every gift that I’ve been blessed with. That means making the most of every day I’m blessed to live in this incredible land of freedom. Being successful is not determined by how much wealth you amass, but in how many people you help along the way.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em>, is a story about finding hope where there is no hope. It is a story of a woman that refuses to give up no matter how bleak her circumstances are. It is the story of a woman whose love for her family gives her the courage to overcome brutal atrocities. When you have a love and a faith that is deeply rooted, the storms of life may come, but it will not defeat you.</div>
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My hope in writing this book is to honor the legacy of the three million lives lost during the Cambodian Genocide. Their lives need to matter. By remembering this legacy hopefully we can learn from humanity’s tragic history to prevent it from repeating itself. <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is a searing story of courage, faith, and forgiveness through one of the worst atrocities in human history. This is a story that you will never forget. </div>
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What is your mother's best trait?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>Courage and stubbornness. As a young girl living in 1950’s rural Cambodia, my mom was a stubborn child, which was both a blessing and a hindrance. She dreamed of obtaining an education and becoming a teacher. However, her spirited and rebellious nature was a contradiction to cultural norms and her old-fashioned father’s ways of thinking. Her father believed that women should not be educated, as this made them “uppity” and insubordinate to their husbands. However, my mother stubbornly kept going to school despite daunting obstacles. Going to school wearing raggedly clothes, and lacking the money to pay for books and fees, she stilled excelled in school and became a teacher. </div>
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However, just as she began to enjoy the fulfillment of her dream, the entire country of Cambodia hit a political crisis. This started in the early seventies during the Cambodian Civil War and took a ruthless turn for the worst after the bloody war was lost to the communists as the Khmer Rouge takeover of the country. Pol Pot had a savage quest; he ordered the execution of all educated citizens, beginning the systemic murder of teachers, doctors, musicians, artists, government officials. Anyone identified as educated was executed, tortured or enslaved. Being educated was now a crime. The elite become the third class citizens of society and subsequently; the first to be killed. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge were responsible for the slaughter of three million human lives during the Cambodian Genocide. </div>
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After working so hard to achieve an education, my mother now had to hide her identity as a teacher and my father’s identity as a government official in order to save their lives during the four brutal years of the Killing Fields. </div>
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When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, a lot of people gave up in despair. Among those who weren’t executed, some even committed suicide to escape the horrors of the regime. My mother, however, stubbornly refused to ever give up. She faced the Khmer Rouge killers with the same steely resolve that helped her succeed in school. While everyone was starving during communist regime, my mother faced tigers in the wild jungle to find food for her family. When taken to be executed by the Khmer Rouge, she defied them, multiple times, and lived to tell the stories to her children. This book, The Heart of a Tiger, is a collection of those stories I grew up hearing as a child. This is the story of my mother’s incredible courage and stubborn will to survive. I don’t think my mother was fearless. Who wouldn’t have fear living in the middle of a Genocide? However, she refused to let that fear to win. She fought to live, and to save the lives of her family. My mom really does have <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em>. </div>
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What is the message of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em>?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>The first, and most important message of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is that God is greater than any obstacle. Despite how bleak your circumstances, God’s grace is sufficient to enable you to emerge victorious. God has a way out, and up, even when you see no way out. </div>
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Second, never give up. Be confident in the dreams that God has put in your heart. If he gives you the dream, he will give the means to accomplish it. If God isn’t giving up on you, don’t give up on yourself! As a girl, our mom had to fight to get an education. It was not an easy battle. But she refused to give up on her dream, despite the obstacles, and in the end was able to achieve her dream. </div>
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Third, appreciate the people that God has put in your life. When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, and people were driven out of the cities to live in the jungles to work in forced labor, all the money you had was worthless. There were people who lugged suitcases of paper cash with them during the exodus from the capitol city, Phnom Penh, and then learned it was worthless. But it’s the family and friends that we had that enabled us to survive. We took care of each other. </div>
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<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is a story of resilience. No matter what you are going through, or how many failures you have stacked up against you, never, ever give up. Hold on to your dreams, your family and your faith. </div>
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What is your impression today of Cambodia?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy:</strong> Cambodia is a land of gentle, kind people. But beneath that gentle exterior is an extraordinary resilience. A country’s greatest treasure is in its culture and its intellectual capital. Cambodia was robbed of its culture. All artists, poets, and musicians were executed during the Killing Fields. The guardians of the country’s heritage were targeted for destruction. Teachers, doctors, nurses, and other educated people were murdered. And yet, despite this staggering loss, Cambodia endures.</div>
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The Cambodian people are like the ancient Angkor Wat temples. Built by the ancient Khmer many centuries ago, it was magnificent and the crown jewel of Cambodia. However, the country was sacked by invaders, and the Angkor Wat temples sank into ruins, swallowed by the vast jungle. For centuries, only tigers roamed the ruins and the strangling roots of the Banyan tree enveloped the temple, until it was rediscovered hundreds of years later. </div>
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Today, the Angkor Wat survives, breathtaking it its beauty even with the scars from its battles, much like the Cambodian people. The Angkor Wat is stunning in its resilience. This spirit of resilience lives in its people. </div>
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Cambodia is rebuilding from the rubble of the Killing Fields, slowly and painfully. Young people are relearning and reviving the ancient ballets of Cambodia. Schools are being rebuilt and young people are learning to become teachers, nurses and doctors. </div>
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However, the landscape of Cambodia is still pockmarked with ugly reminders of warfare and death. The countryside is littered with landmines. This has taken a severe toll on the people. It is estimated that 4 to 6 million landmines and other unexploded artillery remain in Cambodia. Cambodia has one of the highest rates of land mine associated amputees in the world, with a third of casualties being children. The efforts of wonderful organizations such as the HALO Trust, the Mines Advisory Group and celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, to try to eradicate this lingering cancer on the country are invaluable. Keeping the momentum going is important, as it is estimated that it will take another 10 to 20 years clear these mines. </div>
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As the sun sets on a horrific period in humanity, Cambodia's resilience much like the majestic Angkor Wat, persists in the hearts of its people. Burnished in the fire of a human hell called the Killing Fields, but strengthened by an enduring courage, the people of Cambodia truly do have <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger.</em> </div>
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How has the experience of the Killing Fields shaped your point of view?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>Our family, we’ve known what it is like to not have a penny to our name. In Cambodia, after the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown, and the country was rebuilding, we had nothing to our name except the ragged shirt on our back. We had no food. My mom took my sister and me out to the rice fields, while it was being harvested. We walked behind the workers, trying to gleam any leftover rice. At the end of the day we did not even get a handful of rice. They cleaned it bare. The man loading the rice wagon, took pity on us, he called us over to him. He gave several handfuls of rice to my mom. My mom brought it home, and pounded it down, and we got a can of rice from that. That can of rice was all the food we had. My mom took a small portion, and made porridge for the family. That was life in Cambodia after the war. Knowing where we come from, makes us appreciate all the opportunities here in the United States. America is truly, truly the land of opportunity. That experience was one of the turning points that made my mom decide to leave her homeland, and make the dangerous escape from Cambodia in order to give her daughters an opportunity for a better life. </div>
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Then, shortly after we escaped from Cambodia into a refugee camp in Thailand, we were wounded by a bomb in the refugee camp. We were awakened from our deep sleep when this happened. My mom was the most critically injured, sustaining massive abdominal injuries. I sustained head trauma and my sister had wounds on her extremities from the shrapnel. A German Red Cross surgeon performed a laparotomy on my mom, saving her life and operated on my sister and me. These experiences taught us to appreciate the blessings, the opportunities and the freedom that we have now. And it demonstrated the extraordinary capacity for human kindness to rise in the face of evil atrocities. I am grateful to that volunteer surgeon, who left behind his family, his country, and the comforts of his ordinary life, to come to a squalid refugee camp, and take care of Cambodian refugees. </div>
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Because of his sacrifices and my mom’s courage, I’m alive. Today, as a surgeon myself, I take care of our nation's veterans. What a blessing to be alive, to have the opportunity to live in this beautiful land of freedom, and to have the chance to go after your dreams!</div>
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Where would you be today, if your mom hadn’t managed to escape with you and your sister?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>There are so many different scenarios for that question… None of them very good. Even though Cambodia is actively rebuilding, there is still a great deal of poverty. After Pol Pot was overthrown, and the Killing Fields ended in 1979, the entire country struggled to rebuild. My mom was extraordinarily innovative, and managed to make a meager living walking from village to village peddling wares. However, she realized that that there was no opportunity for her daughters to have a chance at a better life in post-war Cambodia. The entire infrastructure had been destroyed, the people decimated and the landscaped razed. That’s why my mother decided to leave behind her homeland and her relatives, and make the dangerous escape out of Cambodia. We had to evade land mines and armed border patrol, in order to make our way out of the country. Scott Neeson, who runs the Cambodian Children’s Fund has done some amazing work with some of the children living in extreme poverty in Cambodia. This is just one example of the severe degree of destitution in Cambodia. That would have been my life, if my mom hadn’t had the courage to leave in search of a better life for her children. </div>
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Do you feel you are different from most Americans?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. SreyRam Kuy:</strong> My story isn’t that different from most Americans. As Americans, we can trace our ancestors back to a Catholic Irish immigrant escaping the potato famine, a Jewish Polish refugee fleeing Nazi persecution, or a manacled African chained in the belly of a slave ship. The story of America is one of perseverance, ingenuity and a great deal of courage. The story of my family’s survival and escape from the Killing Fields of Cambodia is my story as an American. This story of courage is at the heart of America. As an American, I am proud to contribute to this heritage of courage, perseverance and resilience. </div>
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As a top surgeon, looking back, where did you motivation to succeed come from?</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SreyRam Kuy: </strong>Like countless other immigrants who came to the shores of America seeking the dream of a better like, my mother and our family arrived in the United States; destitute, unable to speak the language, and ravaged by memories of the unspeakable atrocities of the Killing Fields. However, through faith, courage, and the bonds of familial love, my mom found hope and a new life in the US. Teaching her daughters a strong work-ethic, my mother scrubbed toilets as a housekeeper at the local hospital during the day and cleaned houses in the evening. In the summers, our family work in the strawberry fields of the Willamette Valley alongside Mexican migrant farm workers. Embracing the freedom and opportunities of this new country, my mom instilled in her young daughters a fierce passion for life, the courage to face obstacles head-on, and a deep gratitude for the blessing of a chance at a new life. I owe everything I am to my mom. Her courage, resilience and unwavering faith are my inspiration. The fact that I survived, when three million other people lost their lives during the Killing Fields, is astonishing and humbling. I am so grateful to be alive, to live in America, a country of freedom, and to have the opportunity to pursue my dreams. </div>
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I don’t really think I have a motivation to succeed. Instead, I just have a gratitude for the miracles I’ve experienced and the opportunities I’ve been blessed with. That’s the reason why I do the work I do as surgeon. It’s also the reason why I wrote this story. My hope is that <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of Tiger</em> will warm your heart, inspire you to have courage, and uplift you to see the blessings around you. </div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">About SreyRam Kuy:</strong></div>
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SreyRam Kuy, MD, MHS was born in Cambodia during a genocide known as the Killing Fields. After escaping from Cambodia, as a young child living in the refugee camps in Thailand she was severely injured during a bombing. Her life was saved by a Red Cross surgeon volunteering in the camp. Today she's a surgeon herself, taking care of our nation's injured veterans. <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heart of a Tiger</em> is the story of her family’s survival during the Khmer Rouge’s Killing Fields.</div>
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She was sponsored to the United States by a Christian Missionary group. She grew up in Oregon, graduated as Valedictorian from Crescent Valley High School, and attended Oregon State University where she earned dual degrees in Philosophy and Microbiology. She attended medical school at Oregon Health Science University, then finished general surgery residency in Wisconsin. She earned her master’s degree at Yale University School of Medicine. </div>
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Dr. Kuy’s passions are healthcare quality, medical education and underserved patients. As a Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholar, she worked for Senator Tom Harkin, writing speeches and policy briefs on women’s health, coverage for breast cancer treatment, Reauthorization of the Older American’s Act, and health care instrument safety. She was appointed by the American Medical Association to serve as a Board Member on the National Board of Medical Examiners, which governs licensing exams for all US physicians. As a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale, Dr. Kuy completed a prestigious health policy and health services research fellowship. She has published her research in JAMA Surgery, Journal of Vascular Surgery, American Journal of Surgery and other publications. Dr. Kuy’s text, “Fifty Studies Every Surgeon Should Know”, will be released by Oxford University Press in 2016. She also published an editorial in the <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Los Angeles Times</em> and the American College of Surgeons’ Bulletin on physician advocacy for patients. </div>
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Currently, Dr. Kuy serves as Director of the Center for Innovations in Quality, Outcomes and Patient Safety at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Louisiana State University-Shreveport. Dr. Kuy’s work is guided by a deep faith in Christ and a gratitude for the experiences she’s been blessed with, which have enabled her to make a meaningful contribution to her patients and her profession. </div>
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Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-38787026662517123832015-03-23T11:14:00.000-07:002015-03-23T11:14:02.060-07:00<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">
<span style="font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">s there more behind Putin’s move into the Ukraine? Are Merkel and Putin working together? Here is my interview with the Daniela Murphy, author of <span style="font-size: 20px; text-decoration: underline;">U</span><span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;">npredictable </span><span style="font-size: 20px; text-decoration: underline;">P</span><span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;">ast</span>, who was one of the first researchers into the Germany Stasi files.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 22px;">I</span>ntroducing Daniela Murphy — </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIf1Pw7WIeQ9XvyTXvVBtsKQXp4-Dp_ILZ_dFaPzRnuhmqDQHAUwN2I5t8G3jKr_ZT0TYoTtQQ4dBRaXOg66TIQr6MuSR6cp-b4IiGmRJKp__Y4SB1uKamu5WtwkaXiV1vdDM0QZTi6a8/s1600/IMG_20150223_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIf1Pw7WIeQ9XvyTXvVBtsKQXp4-Dp_ILZ_dFaPzRnuhmqDQHAUwN2I5t8G3jKr_ZT0TYoTtQQ4dBRaXOg66TIQr6MuSR6cp-b4IiGmRJKp__Y4SB1uKamu5WtwkaXiV1vdDM0QZTi6a8/s1600/IMG_20150223_2.png" height="200" width="112" /></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Daniela Murphy has more than twenty years of experience in the field of political analysis and contemporary history. Her research focuses primarily on international security and political stability predominantly in Eastern Europe. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Born and raised in Germany, Daniela Murphy studied economics at the University of Lueneburg, where she earned her MBA and obtained her doctorate in Political Science. Her thesis addressed the influence of the East German Secret Service on the economy. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dr. Murphy was one of the first researchers who gained insights and conducted research on the structures, operating mechanisms, and historical impact of the Stasi. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For five years she searched through primary-source Stasi documents at the Federal Commission for the Stasi Records in Berlin. Before moving to the United States, she worked as a Research Analyst at the German Government preparing manuscripts for the Enquete-Commission ‘Processing of history and consequences of the Socialist Unity Party dictatorship in Germany’. She also prepared speeches for members of the German Parliament and worked on the publication of the protocols of the ‘Central Round Table in East Berlin’. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Murphy moved to the United States in 2001 where she worked for many years as a Senior Research Analyst at the Milken Institute. While working at the think tank, she published multiple studies that focused on regional economics. She prepared analysis and preparations on issues and choices facing policymakers. </div>
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<b>Why did you write </b><span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Unpredictable Past?</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the time I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the influence of the Stasi on the economy I had access to historically significant documents; documents that occupied over sixty-three miles of shelf space. I gained insights into the Stasi’s darkest secrets. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Growing up in West Germany with half of my family in East Germany, I experienced how the Stasi probed every aspect of a citizen's life. While trying to escape over the Hungarian border, my parents were imprisoned by the Stasi. My uncle sent a request to the East German Government to leave for the West. He was brutally murdered by the Stasi. My cousin, a former high ranking Stasi officer, is currently in the business of trading weapons. He probably is working for his old bosses. I suspect the Stasi is still alive today in Germany. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The incorporation of my family’s experiences into the story and characters as well as my historical insights shaped my novel's content. For my story, I was especially interested in acquiring Stasi files to understand the Stasi’s foreign espionage operations. I gained critical insights of illegal activities committed by West German engineering conglomerates. I discovered that these companies had hidden training facilities in Munich where Russian and East German employees were given lessons in manufacturing computer chips. American companies fed the Stasi with valuable information and transferred Western technology to the East. My novel details how the Stasi as well as employees of Western companies participated in organized crimes and bribed officials. Corruption of authorities allowed sensitive products to cross borders. The story line of my novel will open the reader’s eyes to how the Stasi infiltrated West Germany even to the top government circles. I found evidence that the Stasi carried out a number of killings on regime critics. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was while I was writing my novel that Putin annexed Crimea, and it led me to take a closer look at the secret Merkel-Putin Pact. I became interested in the historical parallels of Merkel and Putin and their exclusive relationship. Since the escalating crisis in the Ukraine, Putin, who speaks fluent German, had many meetings with German chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, studied in Russia, and speaks fluent Russian. Having insights into the Stasi’s structure, I questioned what is behind Merkel’s relatively mild approach to the Russian dictator. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px;"> </span>Dialogue and diplomatic negotiations, instead of hostility. What does Putin hold against Merkel? Why is she not taking a hard line against Putin, standing united with the rest of the Western World? Does a possible Stasi past cloud her judgment? I learned enough to know that SED (Socialist Unity Party) party members had to be connected to the Stasi. Merkel worked for the communist youth organization FDJ on ‘agitation and propaganda’. Putin’s career rooted in Russia’s KGB. Back in the 1980s, and being assigned to East Germany, Putin relied on the Stasi for help. Does Merkel now rely on his help? </div>
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<b>Why and when were you picked to be part of the first team of researchers to review the files of East Germany secret police?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>Born in Germany, I studied economics at the University of Lueneburg where I earned my MBA and obtained my doctorate in Political Science. I wrote my dissertation on the subject ‘The influence of the East German Secret Service, the Stasi, on the economy’. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After the fall of the wall, my professor established a special research position at the Federal Commission for the Stasi Records in Berlin. </div>
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My professor was a former dissident, who was imprisoned by the Stasi for three years before he got bought out to West Germany. He always told me, “The better we understand dictatorship, the better we can shape democracy. ”</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was one of the first researchers in 1994 who gained insights on the structures, and historical impact of the Stasi. For five years I searched through primary source Stasi documents and had access to historically significant documents that occupied over 63 miles of shelf space. I was in a very unique position. It was more than interesting. I never knew what kind of information I would stumble upon. </div>
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<b>What was the most interesting file you reviewed?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>I gained insights into the Stasi’s darkest secrets. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I discovered several murder plots. I learned how the Stasi was involved in international trade of weapons. I learned from the documents how the Stasi worked with the secret police in the People’s Republic of Angola, Mozambique and Yemen. The Stasi established links with Libya and Iran, they delivered weapons to Nepal. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was especially interested in acquiring Stasi files to further understand the Stasi’s foreign espionage operations. This way, I gained critical insights of illegal activities committed by many West German and American companies. For example, I discovered that these companies had hidden training facilities in Munich where Russian and East German employees were given lessons in manufacturing computer chips. </div>
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<b>Where do you think the leaders of the Stasi are today?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>The life of Stasi agents doesn’t just fade away. They work in civil service jobs as police officers, teachers and administration staff. Some members have risen to high level government jobs. For example, one former Stasi officer is assigned to Angela Merkel’s security team. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Surely, Ex-Stasi officers remain employed at government positions. </div>
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The BStU, the entity in charge of Stasi records, employed at least seventy-nine former Stasi members – isn’t this ironic! The Stasi is still in charge of Stasi documents. You know what this means, the Stasi is still able to destroy its own criminal records. </div>
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<b>Did the Stasi report directly to the USSR?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>The Stasi was set up under the direct guidance of the Soviet secret service. Although the Stasi was granted independence in 1957, collaboration was so close that the KGB invited the Stasi to establish operational bases in Moscow. Mielke also granted KGB officers in East Germany the same rights. For example, KGB officer Putin was based for five years in Dresden, East Germany. The Stasi was a domestic secret service, and foreign intelligence agency and was responsible only to the SED leadership. </div>
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<b>What role did Angela Merkel play in East German Secret Police?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>Angela Merkel lived and worked in communist East Germany for a big part of her life. I learned enough to know that Socialist Unity Party members had to be connected to the Stasi. Merkel worked for the communist youth organization FDJ in ‘agitation and propaganda’. I presume that she also worked for the Stasi. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Having insights into the Stasi’s structure, I certainly question what is behind Merkel’s mild approach to Putin. It makes me wonder, what does Putin hold against Merkel? Why is she not taking a hard line against Putin, standing united with the rest of the Western World? Does a possible Stasi past cloud her judgment?</div>
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<b>Did you write a fictionalized version of what you discovered in the files?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>The incorporation of my family’s experiences into the story and characters as well as my historical insights shaped my novel's content. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Growing up in West Germany with half of my family in East Germany, I experienced first-hand how the Stasi probed every aspect of a citizen's life. </div>
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While trying to escape over the Hungarian border in 1968, my parents were imprisoned by the Stasi. My Dad got moved around 16 times into different prison facilities. That was part of the psychological terror of the Stasi. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My uncle sent a request to the East German Government to leave for the West. He got brutally murdered by the Stasi. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then there is my cousin, a former high ranking Stasi officer, who is now in the business of trading weapons. He probably is working for his old bosses. As you can see: The Stasi is still alive. </div>
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<b>Do you believe that the old Stasi leadership is running Germany today?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>The story line of my novel will open the reader’s eyes how the Stasi infiltrated West Germany even to the top government circles. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know that many East Germans in political life have come to grief after Stasi files identified them as former Stasi agents. Many left-wing politicians inside the Democratic Socialist Party (PDS), now called ‘The Left’, are former Stasi officers. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I strongly believe that the people who were at the top before are still there today. </div>
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Most disturbing, Stasi officers who terrorized victims are now holding positions as attorneys or even judges. I call this a perversion of justice. </div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>I believe that Putin wants to restore the former glory of the Soviet Union. Putin might attempt a repeat of the tactics used in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine against other former Soviet bloc countries such as the Baltic States. Putin’s ambition is clear. He wants to dominate all the former Soviet states to Russia’s south and west. </div>
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He likes to portray himself as the savior of the nation. </div>
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<b>Do you think Putin will stop in Ukraine?</b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b>I believe that his ambitions extend far beyond the Ukraine. I think he will invade all post-Soviet States, maybe even Poland and Romania. Putin made this threat last September. He also said just recently, “If I want to, I can take Kiev in 2 weeks”. I believe that. He already deployed similar tactics in Georgia and Moldova. Last week, Putin has signed an integration agreement with South Ossetia. This could mean Moscow’s annexation of the region. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Definitely, he is trying to redraw the map of Europe by trampling on international law with ‘old thinking’ based on spheres of influence. </div>
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It is not clear that he has an exit strategy. A big question is whether Obama decides to send Kiev lethal weapons. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course, if Putin would invade NATO or European Union members like the Baltic States he would find himself at the brink of a Third World War. </div>
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With Putin sending tanks and weapons from Russia into Ukraine, it seems obvious to me that Putin is not afraid about sanctions or direct action by NATO. </div>
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Putin does not want to damage his political standing at home. His approval rate is reaching incredible heights. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As NATO gets ready to move troops to the Baltic States, it seems obvious that this crisis is a long way from resolution. Putin certainly continues to test us by positioning submarines and warplanes near British territory. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One thing is for sure, Obama and Merkel should contemplate more aggressive financial sanctions, which, in addition to falling oil prices, will deepen Russia’s economic crisis. </div>
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<b>What was the worst class of crimes committed by the Stasi?</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course, Stasi officers carried out a number of assassinations; but I think the worst part was the silent terror of the Stasi. The real strength of the Stasi was to produce the effect that millions of people behave towards one another with suspicion and fear. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like an enormous octopus, the Stasi probed every aspect of life. </div>
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The documents clarify what influence the Stasi had on the people’s destiny. The files showed the resistance in everyday life. If you just consider the oppression of its own people, I believe, that the Stasi was much worse than the Gestapo. They called it ‘Psychological Harassment’. In German ‘Zersetzung’. One in every six and a half East German citizens was an informer. The Stasi effectively destroyed secretly the self-confidence of people by damaging their reputation, by sabotaging their career, and by destroying their personal interactions. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was the inhumanity of the dictatorship. For example, many East German prisoners were forced by the SED party to work in the Chemical Kombinat Bitterfeld. For the cleaning of chlorine, prisoners had to use mercury. Documents revealed how many prisoners were murdered this way. Ventilation shafts in the work place were bricked up with cement. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another example, SDAG Wismut, a joint German-Russian uranium mining company was a top secret operation. The mine workers were not told that they were dealing with uranium. Many suffered and died having had no idea they were handling radioactive material. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The implicit rather than explicit terror of the Stasi allowed the worst of crimes to be committed. There was no rule of law and no protection of human life. </div>
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Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-47073704860965450682015-03-17T07:13:00.000-07:002015-03-17T07:53:27.322-07:00Dinner at Donahoe's Restaurant with Ann Bardach and Gay Talese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ann was in town to do the ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC network circuit to discuss the current Cuba situation. The discussion varied from Ann's articles in the <i>New York Times,</i> <i>Vanity Fair</i> and her books on Cuba to Gay's latest March 7 article on Selma in the <i>New York Times. </i>The reason I am not in the picture is that I was the one taking the photos. Concerning the photo, I think Gay was warning Ann about my proclivity to 'tell a tale', or maybe, not to smile for the camera. Either way, it was wonderful Friday night dinner at Bernie Madoff's favorite restaurant in Manhattan.<br />
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Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-34827080579516172162014-06-19T16:03:00.001-07:002014-06-19T16:05:24.884-07:00Wonderful Dinner with Nick Pileggi, Author of 'Goodfellas', Nan and Gay Talese, and Marina Poplavskaya, Soprano at the Met (May 31, 2014)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlrfYXV2rZpbbWAvXKyugJX_Vvb-xzEXC1GoEZCBWDmWtbJ8dW_lKwbZ8N8he5K7ohVJHxNqRSEco7hG8utWz5kYDSRRIrnRYrJMXO2DYl7ctFJxV3vPmtSNpbhm6Myt-i5UjH2aZmnBv/s1600/IMG_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlrfYXV2rZpbbWAvXKyugJX_Vvb-xzEXC1GoEZCBWDmWtbJ8dW_lKwbZ8N8he5K7ohVJHxNqRSEco7hG8utWz5kYDSRRIrnRYrJMXO2DYl7ctFJxV3vPmtSNpbhm6Myt-i5UjH2aZmnBv/s320/IMG_0281.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
From left to right: Nick Pileggi, Nan Talese, Gay Talese, Marina Poplavskaya, and me.<br />
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I was grateful for the invitation extended to me by Gay for dinner, and I want to say that the food was only exceeded by the great company.Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-72204853874190441252013-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:002014-01-13T09:53:40.578-08:00Looking for a Publishing Deal in 2013?<a href="http://www.mesolutions.biz/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Unicorn10Photographer1.jpg"><img src="http://www.mesolutions.biz/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Unicorn10Photographer1-e1274884543311-211x300.jpg" alt="" title="Unicorn10Photographer" width="131" height="178" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-26" /></a>
<p><B>Editor's Note</B></p>
<p>All you have to do is read the "Rights News and Offerings" section in the <I>Publishers Marketplace</I> to understand that the publishing world is changing. Writers are asking lots of questions to their agents, publishers, lawyers, and managers. Should I continue with my publisher or self-publish? How does my literary agent fit in today's world? What is my agent doing for his or her commission? Now that the big publishing conglomerates have bought some of the self-publishing imprints, what does it mean for me? Isn't there a conflict of interest? What price do I pay for taking an advance from my publisher? What are the pitfalls? Why should my publisher receive eighty percent of the cut?<p/>
<p>On the upside, it is an exciting time with the changing distribution platforms for literary works. It is easier than ever for a writer to get his work to the marketplace. I am amazed by the success of <I>Fifty Shades of Grey</I>, and even more amazed by how it was initially marketed.</p>
<p>Sabrina Ricci, in her January 16, 2013, <I>Huffington Post</I> article, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/why-traditionally-publish_n_2487464.html">"Why Traditional Published Authors Are Going Indie,"</a> who interviewed six authors wrote, "John Harnish said he thinks that downsizing has hurt the traditional publishing industry."</P>
<p>“'Traditional houses have gotten sloppy,' he said, commenting that he saw a lot of typos in a Tom Clancy novel he recently read. 'There are a lot of really good editors, downsized out of a job, looking for freelance work. They’re affordable [for indie publishers].'”</p>
<p>"Kleisny also said she prefers to find her own editors. 'I think that because the times are changing, the better people in the bigger companies leave the companies, and make their own [way].'”</p>
<p>"Marketing was another major reason these six authors decided to go the indie route."</p>
<p>"Kleisny said she was not happy she had to do a lot of her own marketing to promote the books published by traditional publishing houses."</p>
<p>“'Why do they get 80 percent of the income of my book if I have to do it all by myself anyhow?' she said. 'I’m just a number for them […] Just one author. One book. So why do too much for just this one book? But for me, it’s my book. It’s my nights I have spent for this book. And I believe it’s good. I know it’s good.'”</p>
<p>"Freethy said that when she was with a big publisher, her books did not see as much marketing efforts."</P>
<p>“'As an independent publisher, I’m focusing on my books all the time, and I’m not done after three weeks or one month,' she said. 'The book hasn’t gone off the shelf, because it’s digital. So I can continue my marketing efforts over the course of a year or two years.'”</p>
<p>The article goes on to describe the keys to successful self-publishing and some of the benefits of traditional publishing. I believe it's an article well worth reading.</P>
<p>I am sure this year will offer unpredictable opportunities, trends, and riveting bombshells.</p>
<P>Last year was a special year with over fifty percent of our writers procuring publishing deals, and we look forward to greater successes for our writers this year. To help our authors, we are strengthening our relationships with publishing houses, studios, and literary agencies.</P>
<p>We at MES are keenly aware of the treacherous landscape confronting today's writers. If you desire our input, we would be diligent in our efforts to help you assess your market value, representation, management, and the right distribution platforms for your books. We also have the ability to edit, proofread, and format your novel, plus build and market your book's website.</p>
<p>I would welcome the opportunity to work with you, so please give me a call at 917.776.7322, and check me out on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alan-brown/0/316/717">LinkedIn</a> or our <a href="http://www.mesolutions.biz">website</a>.</p>
<p>Alan Brown</p>
Senior Editor Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-58216054053503599072012-07-05T13:17:00.001-07:002012-07-05T15:43:56.183-07:00Quattro Media Inks 'Eden'<br />
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<b><span style="color: #b83a00; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Quattro Media to globally release <i>Eden</i> by
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<b><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">From the Editor</span></b><span style="color: #214352; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Last week, a deal was inked between Rob Reuter
and Quattro Media for the publishing rights to </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Eden</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, which is Rob's first book in the Jack Dunn action-adventure
series. Quattro Media specializes in publishing novels which platform
into films and games.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The story starts as
Jack Dunn and his team from the National Antiquities Foundation (NAF) are
brought in to retrieve lost and stolen ancient artifacts for the
re-opening of the Iraqi National Museum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As an aejej slowly
billows and vanishes against the stark landscape, the sultry, dry, desert calm
of Bagdad is broken when the museum is suddenly rocked by a presumed terrorist
attack. Some rare cuneiform artifacts are stolen, and Jack finds himself
in a web of death and destruction as he tracks the thieves through
Iraq. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The investigation
turns ugly under the watchful eye of a paramilitary group contracted to provide
security. Having to outwit trained military professionals to uncover the
truth, Jack Dunn and his trusted friends are plunged into the dark world of
guns-for-hire, unknowingly finding themselves in the path of a madman searching
for the legendary lost land of Eden and the fabled Tree of Life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Outgunned and outnumbered,
it's a race against time to uncover the truth behind Eden and to destroy it
before it's too late! </span></span></div>
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</tbody></table>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-13254842904447040962012-04-23T09:31:00.001-07:002012-07-05T13:07:45.497-07:00First Look Deal with Quattro Media<br />
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Manuscript
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12px;">Here
is what Paul Elliott, who has </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12px;">five
published plays in the last five years, two world premieres and three
productions scheduled for 2012, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12px;">says
about Alan Brown and Manuscript Editing Solutions --</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: antiquewhite;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12px;">"In
all my years of writing for television, commercials, and theater, I don’t think
I’ve ever met anyone as tuned in to the creative process as Alan Brown. As an
editor, he is a joy to work with because he respects your work, and understands
exactly what you are trying to achieve. With his expertise on your side, your
chances of seeing your project move forward are much, much
greater.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: tahoma; font-size: small;">MES offers a unique service to writers because we have actual work
experience in story development in the entertainment and publishing industry.
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: tahoma; font-size: small;">Let Manuscript
Editing Solutions (MES) help you. We have worked as editors and consultants to
some of the most renowned literary agents and writers in the
industry.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: tahoma; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Having spent thirty years working in storytelling, we know what the
film industry and the publishers are looking for. We are different from other
editing services because we help our clients </span>craft their stories into
marketable intellectual properties. We have also been successful in helping our
clients secure representation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">MES is an editorial service designed to
deliver to the writer a manuscript formatted and edited for agency and publisher
submission. Through regular phone discussions with the editor, and manuscript
change suggestions by email, MES aims to make book editing a valuable experience
for the fiction writer. Our editors suggest changes that focus on story editing.
We analyze characters, character arc, balance of characters, descriptive,
setting, tempo, point of view, and plot points.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><u>A
First Look Deal with Publisher, Quattro Media on the eve of <em>Devil's
Bait</em> widely awaited release! Check out <i>Devil's Bait</i> tomorrow on
Amazon: </u></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><b style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/ad6bc1d943">http://tinyurl.com/6w2tjfj</a></b></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We are pleased to announce we have entered into 'A First
Look Arrangement' for novels edited by Manuscript Editing Solutions with Quattro
Media in behalf of our writers. Quattro has three publishing imprints: Madness
Books, Malevolent Books, and Tinsel Road Books which may be viewed on the
web:</span></span><br />
<br />
Madness Books: <a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/163a38cb0e" title="blocked::http://www.madnessbooks.com/">www.madnessbooks.com</a><br />
Malevolent
Books: <a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/b18970c141" title="blocked::http://www.malevolentbooks.com/">www.malevolentbooks.com</a><br />
Tinsel
Road Books: <a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/e3869c642d" title="blocked::http://www.tinselroad.com/">www.tinselroad.com</a><br />
<br />
Quattro
Media's newest book is the thriller DEVIL’S BAIT by JEFFREY MARIOTTE which will
be available everywhere books are sold on May 1st.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">
"Jeff
Mariotte has written a compelling heroine in banker Jessie Dawn Cutler, whose
well-ordered world implodes when she witnesses a cold-blooded killing by her
biggest client. Now Jessie must pit her courage and resourcefulness against a
remorseless killer whose reach is limitless. In this heart-pounding thriller set
against the glittering backdrop of international banking, Jessie must hold her
own against tremendous odds to survive."<br />
<br />
"Fast-paced and gripping, THE
DEVIL’S BAIT takes you full-throttle from beginning to end. One heck of a
ride!"<br />
<br />
—J. Carson Black, bestselling author of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF
TOWN and THE SHOP<br />
<br />
Follow me at Twitter: <a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/1e9185c215" title="blocked::http://twitter.com/JimStrader">http://twitter.com/JimStrader</a><br />
Linkedin:
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Check
out Manuscript Editing Solutions on Linked In.<br /> </span><br />
<a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/d3050159ea"><img alt="View Alan Brown's profile on LinkedIn" border="0" height="33" src="http://proxy.pcdn.vresp.com/49097f006/www.linkedin.com/img/webpromo/btn_viewmy_160x33.png?__nocache__=1" style="height: 33px; width: 160px;" width="160" />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What people have said about Manuscript Editing
Solutions...
“I would highly recommend
Alan Brown and Manuscript Editing Solutions for your manuscripts. Before you
submit to a literary agent it is essential that your book be in superior
editorial shape with a clear plot, subplots, character development, action,
tone, climax, and an emotional connection for your readers. Alan is highly
experienced in all of these editorials area and he also brings with him the
added experience of working on film scripts, developing story ideas for writers
and excellent editorial work with writers.<br /><br />Jan Kardys, Literary Agent,
Black Hawk Literary Agency, Chairman, Unicorn Writers' Conference” <span class="date">September 7, 2011</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"When I began working with
Alan, my expectation was that he would clean up a few of the static mistakes in
my manuscript and make it ready for a publisher. But Alan did so much more. He
gave me a new bag of tools that transformed my writing forever. His suggestions
were invaluable. Through his expertise I enriched the personalities of my
characters, intensified the plot points of my novel, and polished the sharp
edges of what was once a rough manuscript. His gentle, hand-holding technique
leaves a new writer feeling as if she is not all alone in the cold world of
publishing. Thank you, Alan, for bringing out the confident author that was
inside of me. I will forever be grateful." </span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-Jacquelyn Tripp Lewis, North
Louisiana Regional Editor, The Minute Magazine, LLC. <a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/179c951c32">www.theminutemag.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Words cannot express your imaginative side. You are not
just an excellent editor, but a caring, devoted, and patient one."
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-Mamet, author of <i>Hush Ma</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“I've often heard the saying:
"Novelists make Literature, Playwrights make Art, Screenwriters make
Entertainment and TV Writers make Furniture." Though I am third on this list, I
can honestly say that Alan Brown's keen eye and gentle touch guided my through
the perilous world of screenwriting and on to a higher level of writing. Alan
has an innate gift that he earnestly shares with detail, insight and patience; I
am a better story-teller for it. He has changed my life as a filmmaker, and I am
grateful for the time well spent with him through two complex screenplays. My
only regret is that I did not audio-record our many, many, many
script-conferences -- for there are tidbits of precepts, theory and tenets of
his own that I use and repeat to myself each day; then there are those that I
cannot recall at all. They don't make "them" like this anymore!” <span class="date">August 31, 2011</span></span><br />
<div class="distance deg_1">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://cts.marketingcenter.intuit.com/c/?ManuscriptEditingSol/fa59a867f1/TEST/3348e91006/id=28476554&authType=name&authToken=9NS9&goback=%2Enpv_778627_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1" title="View Frank's Profile">Frank
S Petrilli</a>, <em>Director/Screenwriter/Story Development, Hurricane
Development, LLC</em> worked with Alan at Independent
Film</span></div>
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<br />Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-36864804781433034592011-09-05T08:35:00.000-07:002011-09-07T04:53:41.331-07:00Raptus is no rap!<b><span style="font-size: 16px;">The Editor's Desk </span></b> <b><span style="font-size: 16px;">My interview with Svet D'Naoumov </span></b><br />
<br />
<img data-cke-saved-src="https://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/993086/5b978509525b75da66b2247c6d69bdcb/image/jpeg" data-icontact-resized-width="88" data-icontact-width-flexible="172" src="https://staticapp.icpsc.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/993086/5b978509525b75da66b2247c6d69bdcb/image/jpeg" style="display: inline; height: 130px; width: 88px;" /><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 15px;">I just finished editing a book that deals with the fictional study of violence entitled, <i>Raptus</i> by Svet D'Naoumov. Provocative, scientific, and thought-provoking, the book looks at violence as an organic process spreading from one part of the world to the next. Where evil has a global mind of its own, and mankind is just a biological vehicle. From a global perspective, I found it frightening in its implication considering the present state of the Middle East, the London riots, and the North African violence. Can this global organic process be measured, evaluated, and predicted? Raptus was a page burner for me which was scary as an editor. I found myself reading rather than analyzing. In one sense, I suspect that <i>Raptus</i> was the culmination of Svet's educational and job experience.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"> Besides a law degree, he holds a PHD in economics from Buxton University, U.K.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Svet has worked for such notables as George Soros, and his background includes<span style="font-weight: bold;"> jobs as </span>Program Director for the Resource Center Foundation, funded by the USAID in the areas of: democracy strengthening and economic development. Senior Expert, National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, Committee on Local Self - Government and Regional Policy. Director PMU – World Bank Project “Educational Modernization”. Senior National Consultant, World Bank Cadastre and Property Register Project – Ministry of Justice. Head of Ex-Ante Department, PHARE Implementing Agency, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Head of Programming and Monitoring Department, Directorate General Programming of Regional Development, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Operational Program Regional Development (OPRR) – European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – Structural Fund (funded by The European Union).</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;">Some of Svet's professional associations include an honorary membership in the NATO Defense College Ancients’ Association, Balkan Ethnic Studies Center, Europe Foundation World Law Association, National Youth Environmental Center (NGO) Bulgarian Institute of Peace & Preventative Policy (NGO) – Chair of Board Intercoms Association (NGO),Regional Economic Development & Investment Agency (NGO) – Kardjali, Bulgaria</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><i>Raptus</i> is being submitted to different publishers via his agent as I write this. I was so passionate about the book that I asked both the author and the agent to allow me to write this article and the following interview.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times,serif;"><u><b>Here it is -- My Interview with Svet D'Naoumov</b></u></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>What is <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">Basically, Raptus is a medical term meaning sudden seizure or mass madness in Latin. It is a social phenomenon occurring in closed groups of people or collectives – for example, hospitals, ships, army, prison, etc. In my novel the main character gets the task to examine, investigate, analyze, and report to what extend the phenomenon of Raptus transfers itself from a typical medical illness to a social disease, especially among the leaders of the planet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Did your extensive academic background, from your undergraduate degree in philosophy, a law degree, and a PhD in economics to your work in broadening democracy in Bulgaria play a role in writing <i>Raptus</i>? Was this experiential view of the world the motivation for writing <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">To some extent it did, especially my philosophy background. Moreover, my participation in the transition to democracy in Bulgaria gave me the opportunity to know and meet with a variety of key players, international organizations, and famous figures. It was a period of fast change, and I could observe so many social processes at once – and some of them were productive and progressive, some were destructive and regressive. But my total motivation came from my international, world experience, not just from my experience in Bulgaria.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>What inspired you to write <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">My deepest inspiration came from the powerful thought of seeing the world free from any kind of dogmas, doctrines, cults, or enforced ideas that serve as an enslaving tool for the human mind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>When did you write <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">The idea for the novel came to me one winter night in New York City still in 1991. America is the cultural leader of our world. Whenever something good happens here, it is good at global level. Whenever something goes wrong, it inevitably influences everybody else. It was a powerful impulse. It needed many years to become mature enough in my head. Plus, my life experience added a lot of new aspects. Finally, I wrote Raptus in the period 2007-2008.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Where did you write <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">In my home in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and in New York City.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>What impact on the book did it have working with many of the twenty-first century luminaries like George Soros? Who was the most influential in your mind?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">Most of the characters are a collective synthesis, a product of many powerful personalities. George Soros could be mentioned only as an element in a chain of people, organizations, processes, and institutions which form the contemporary leadership. In my mind the most influential factors were all powerful think-tanks and closed groups who usually stay in the shadow while at the same time they pull the strings of the public institutions and the public figures. They are the masters of puppets.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Why did you write <i>Raptus</i>?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">As a writer and as a thinking person, my duty is to serve to the truth. Moreover, I feel obliged to write with honesty and to try to unfold and disclose to the reader what I feel, what I sense, what I perceive, and what I believe. It is a common task; it is an esthetic partnership between the author and the reader. Together, they take this journey through our contemporary world and find the sources of good and evil.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Is there a message for the world in the book?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">Yes, there is. Our human reason, our mind, is the most precious universal gift for us. If we lose it, we lose ourselves and our civilization and we go backward. Democracy is a complicated process. Freedom demands an everyday struggle. We should never allow our free mind to be enslaved by the ideas of leaders who have lost their common sense during their fight for power.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Thank you for your time</b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">Finis. </span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">If you are interested in contacting Svet's agent, please email me at alan@mesolutions.biz and I will forward on the information.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><b></b> </span>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-40275628607019652652011-09-05T06:31:00.000-07:002014-02-27T10:23:22.096-08:00Unicorn Writers Conference Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxXMT3LiPH5W7wBbf1pktPjQCbOZX-Mv2P3yTp8M7Mf3SaXze7_SLy-0aBBowaD6mNF1NUkIrqa-hWxAFg403_rZv8g8EHJ2wueAH2z42fnpNdojAdGhQsBBjUEB-eE2YKfkzWdk7FoJJ/s1600/Alan+and+Gene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxXMT3LiPH5W7wBbf1pktPjQCbOZX-Mv2P3yTp8M7Mf3SaXze7_SLy-0aBBowaD6mNF1NUkIrqa-hWxAFg403_rZv8g8EHJ2wueAH2z42fnpNdojAdGhQsBBjUEB-eE2YKfkzWdk7FoJJ/s320/Alan+and+Gene.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7Jzmkx-AEp-6Lh5-_nuikhr_J2fcMjwU2K4s5gZP0_BKZuOorifwlxk5HMnbubT6TQUVcEnXMe_AYOJde6bGc8a338S04gHOckAC-7TJtiyf45w7Fmirx_RgvIZFevau1ZFMU2DDiCMh/s1600/Gene+Wilder%232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX7Jzmkx-AEp-6Lh5-_nuikhr_J2fcMjwU2K4s5gZP0_BKZuOorifwlxk5HMnbubT6TQUVcEnXMe_AYOJde6bGc8a338S04gHOckAC-7TJtiyf45w7Fmirx_RgvIZFevau1ZFMU2DDiCMh/s320/Gene+Wilder%232.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3tEB7eCUyau0gonCSbOV3bTh60J-u83_Ae143feSCLH8Zfz8fwXDA69KtB4AgJjghH1P2IZshX9LrskCFcIbbaG1cm9DLa0hyphenhyphen2ZaO2-1BJXIQGj-vLVtIIdIAwGY7Un6C1EfSBQG2GCn/s1600/Gene+Wilder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3tEB7eCUyau0gonCSbOV3bTh60J-u83_Ae143feSCLH8Zfz8fwXDA69KtB4AgJjghH1P2IZshX9LrskCFcIbbaG1cm9DLa0hyphenhyphen2ZaO2-1BJXIQGj-vLVtIIdIAwGY7Un6C1EfSBQG2GCn/s320/Gene+Wilder.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN18bUuLv2XMJRKOseJGFRzzydqmJCFPQhZD3iKaZP_Uj4YIRCf_QxHvkn5l2S791IgAW85rmUTr3q6SBXyOMvuRM8i8XIvdCtxkhIbiqf5-2bDYjTWAuZgdFX0kJxz82jX2liUg93a1HG/s1600/Alan3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN18bUuLv2XMJRKOseJGFRzzydqmJCFPQhZD3iKaZP_Uj4YIRCf_QxHvkn5l2S791IgAW85rmUTr3q6SBXyOMvuRM8i8XIvdCtxkhIbiqf5-2bDYjTWAuZgdFX0kJxz82jX2liUg93a1HG/s320/Alan3.jpg" /></a></div>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-50363801645075712032011-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:002011-08-23T19:52:25.576-07:00Rainy Days and Sundays<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">With a supreme vote of confidence for the future (mass market paperback and foreign rights), Harbor House publisher E. Randall Floyd flew movie producer Alan Brown (upcoming Pat Conroy’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Prince of Tides</i> with Brad Pitt) and the famous director Harry Thomason (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Designing Women</i>) to Sea Island, Georgia for a big media launch party at the Cloister…his cost for that alone must have been staggering. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">One advantage of having your debut with a small publisher is that small publishers are in for the long haul. There are excellent small publishers in the South, including Harlan Publishing, Crane Hill and Pineapple to name a few.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While I have been fortunate to get great reviews like the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Orlando Sentinel</i> that went out nationally on the Knight Ridder wire, both Harbor House and I believe that with a movie upcoming and the mass market paperback rights still up for sale, the best days with this title are yet to come. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><u><b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Rainy Days and Sundays</span></b></u><b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> has been optioned for a major feature film by producer Alan Brown (currently in pre-production of Pat Conroy’s <u>Beach Music</u> starring Brad Pitt). Your novel is extremely visual, but two hours causes limits in scriptwriting novels. What part/element of <u>Rainy Days and Sundays</u> must be captured in the film to do the novel justice? </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I claim no expertise at writing for the big screen but both Alan Brown and Harry Thomason assure me that one of the big pluses for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rainy Days and Sundays</b> is that the subplots unfold as short vignettes which will easily compress into a two-hour timeframe without sabotaging the suspense or sacrificing atmospherics or diminishing the fully-fleshed-out characters of the main plot line(s). Harry Thomason says that when they start casting, his phone will be ringing off the hook with calls from agents of every young female actor in Hollywood wanting to play the four strong women characters in the book. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <img height="197" src="http://www.southernscribe.com/zine/authors/Robert2.jpg" width="575" /> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: navy; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Film producer Alan Brown, director Harry Thomason and author Brewster M. Robertson. </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>As a book reviewer for a national magazine and a member of the Southern Book Critics Circle, how important is it for writers to be well read? How are books with southern themes doing on a national market?</b></span><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></u></div><div class="MsoBodyText3"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">I’m convinced that most good writers are good readers. There is no substitute for reading. I am so lucky to have a day job that forces me to read over 50 of the leading novels each year. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">My aunt Blanche Brewster Pedneau founded the county library system in Roanoke, Virginia. As a child, I read all of Tom Swift and Nancy Drew, but early on I discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs’ <b>Tarzan</b> books and graduated to Hemingway when I was still in grammar school. Of the early novelists, Dickens was the great storyteller. Besides Papa Hemingway, of the pre- and post-Depression era novelists, modern writers owe a debt of gratitude to D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. American writers like Theodore Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, Fitzgerald, O’Hara, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Erskine Caldwell and James M. Cain provide a great legacy. Of post-World War II novelists, I think Norman Mailer and James Jones were just as important as Lawrence and Miller in breaking down censorship. I am a great fan of the crisp prose of hardboiled suspense writers Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, John D.- and John Ross MacDonald and the newer generation Elmore Leonard, Les Standiford and James W. Hall. They get my juices flowing. A new writer that I much admire is John Miller (<b>Causes of Action</b></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">). </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I’m flattered to have been compared to John Grisham, Nelson DeMille and Pat Conroy…but I hope my style is completely my own. I always thought that Robert Ruark must have hated it when critics called him the “…poor man’s Hemingway.” Secretly, I live for the day when someone writes that some fine new novelist writes like Brewster Milton Robertson. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Unfortunately, southern voices and southern themes do not dominate the national bestseller lists. With the publishing powerbrokers located mainly in New York and Boston, it is very difficult to find agents and editors who resonate with southern voices and themes. Southern publishers like Algonquin and Longstreet and small independent presses like Harbor House, Hill Street and Orloff represent a great new hope for today’s southern writer. At the moment, Robert Morgan’s <b>Gap Creek</b> is the only truly southern title on the bestseller list. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>You teach a fiction writing workshop in various institutions in the Carolina Lowcountry. What are the most common problems for aspiring writers?</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This year will mark my sixth appearance at FIU’s Conference (<a href="mailto:leem@fiu.edu"><span style="color: windowtext;">leem@fiu.edu</span></a>) at Seaside, Florida. I think it is important that writers attend workshops and conferences. It is surprising how many successful writers still attend conferences. Most beginners have difficulty understanding the fiction voice. Fiction is told from the viewpoint of the characters—not reported like journalism. The easiest way for beginners to grasp this is to write in the first person. I also recommend that beginners consult a professional developmental editor. I am fortunate to use the services of Cheryl Lopanik (<a href="mailto:clopanik@islc.net"><span style="color: windowtext;">clopanik@islc.net</span></a>) who brings over twenty years of experience editing fiction (novels and short stories) and non-fiction (biography, memoirs, etc.). She not only reads my work for content and structure but also edits for grammar/punctuation. It is very important that editors and agents see only work of professional quality. Modern day editors do not often waste time with amateurs. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoBodyText2" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <img border="0" height="281" src="http://www.southernscribe.com/zine/authors/Robert3.jpg" width="481" /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">In your novel, you give a line to a character that you original heard from Mickey Spillane – “The first line sales the book. The last line sales the next book.” What tips would you give for creating hooks?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">“All morning long Norris Wrenn felt like he was being followed but it made no sense at all,”</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> is the first line of my new novel <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Some Old Familiar Rain</b>. I always try to begin with the promise of trouble or danger…also a hint of romantic complication is good. I believe you have to hook the reader with the first line. For fiction as well as non-fiction, I believe that the reader owes the writer nothing<span style="color: blue;"> </span>beyond the first line. The writer’s job is to seduce the reader line by line from the opening line to the final word. And, I believe that every line should be treated as the “opening line.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Some memorable opening lines are: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (<b>A Tale of Two Cities</b>, Dickens) and “Elmer Gantry was drunk.” (<b>Elmer Gantry</b>, Sinclair Lewis). I also believe that titles should be enigmatic…rather than give the story away titles should entice the reader to take the book from the shelf and read the dust jacket synopsis. The dust jacket copy such be well calculated to make it impossible for the reader to leave the store without buying the book. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Tell us about your next novel.</span></b></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Some Old Familiar Rain</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> is a stand-alone novel, not a continuation of the Buchanan Forbes character. I just completed the manuscript and publishing plans are still up in the air. The dust jacket synopsis reads: </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A sexy, suspenseful saga of the classic archetypal modern Southern agrarian power structure SOME OLD FAMILIAR RAIN examines the underseams of the Graham family dynasty. Thirteen on the Fortune-100 list, Graham/unLimited is more powerful than Phillip Morris/Nabisco. Like the turreted spire of a feudal castle, the forbidding G/uL Tower casts an ominous shadow of adultery, greed, lust for power, felony drug death, blackmail, and the threat of international political scandal over the steamy North Carolina river town of Colonial Hall. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sexy young actress Emma Claire is found dead in a Greensboro motel and alcoholic playboy Trip Graham, the failed generation of the Graham dynasty, is having trouble remembering the events of his lost weekend in the Carolina mountains at Blowing Rock. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Both still in their thirties, Trip’s wife Marilee Bryant Graham, the famous rags-to-riches super model, and Trip’s former college roommate, charismatic wonderboy Norris Wrenn, have come to positions of power in Graham/unLimited by exercise of intellect and strength over the weakness of heir-apparent Trip Graham. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent2"><i><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> Amid all the awesome power, these two alone represent the only real vitality in this otherwise crumbling family system. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent3"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <i>On the eve of being named corporate CEO, Norris, <u>Time</u> Magazine’s Man of Destiny—now G/uL’s charismatic wunderkind—is being courted by the scandal-beleaguered White House. Enamored of Marilee but shadowed by his failure to live up to his youthful ideals, Norris is struggling to rediscover that best part of himself and become his own man again. </i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Marilee, Town and Country’s “Mother of the Year,” realizes she married the wrong man. She means to have Norris for her own. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent3"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <i>Despite sober misgivings and firm resolve, Norris is helpless to resist Marilee’s invitation to meet in New York, away from inquiring eyes. After one matchless night in her arms, Norris whisks her away to Sheepshead Light, his secret island hideaway off the coast of Maine.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Meanwhile back in Colonial Hall all manner of trouble is breaking loose. Unbeknownst to the star-crossed lovers, suddenly the whole world is trying desperately to find them.</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Over the next five days—the Monday through Friday before Mother’s Day—the world will change forever for the opportunistic sensualists. They are about to be presented the opportunity to get away with a perfect murder! </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></span></div><hr /><br />
<dl><dt><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Brewster Milton Robertson’s Official Home Page </span></span></dt>
<dt><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: navy;"><a href="http://www.rainysundays.com/"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">http://www.rainysundays.com</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: navy;"> </span> </span></span></dt>
</dl><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <img align="left" height="140" hspace="12" src="http://www.southernscribe.com/zine/authors/Robert4.jpg" width="93" /><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1891799126/southernscribebo"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Rainy Days and Sundays</span></span></a></b><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">, Harbor House, 2000. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <a href="http://www.southernscribe.com/reviews/mystery_genre/rainy_days_and_sundays.htm">Southern Scribe Review </a> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</span></div>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-42362543613144373182011-08-23T07:24:00.000-07:002011-08-23T07:24:06.363-07:00Variety Article<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5Hb3tbTg83O4Z2G89z6xMgVHYNgLsWVT9IM3qJ-ypkBhCeK9nd23nNph0j8Fx9sj-BTiTjo8LBelh6XSrq90J6G6zc2ksEJ3mrgnkPQfdgoSGYTe-v48q7oa7mGiU8SMtygtfLKHKVFc/s1600/Beach2jpeg+%2528981x1280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5Hb3tbTg83O4Z2G89z6xMgVHYNgLsWVT9IM3qJ-ypkBhCeK9nd23nNph0j8Fx9sj-BTiTjo8LBelh6XSrq90J6G6zc2ksEJ3mrgnkPQfdgoSGYTe-v48q7oa7mGiU8SMtygtfLKHKVFc/s1600/Beach2jpeg+%2528981x1280%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-50200816883563835742011-02-23T08:24:00.000-08:002011-04-29T08:05:22.388-07:00How did you do on the test?Here is the test:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1286165727_49"><b>Grammar (Time, one hour)</b></span></b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1286165727_49"><b> </b></span></b><span class="yshortcuts"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="yshortcuts">1. Give nine rules for the use of <span id="lw_1286165727_47">capital letters</span>.<br />
2. Name the <span id="lw_1286165727_48">parts of speech</span> and define those that have no modifications<br />
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.<br />
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,' 'play,' and 'run'.<br />
5. Define case; illustrate each case.<br />
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.<br />
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="yshortcuts"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>Orthography(Time, one hour)</b> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?<br />
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?<br />
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?<br />
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.<br />
5. Give two rules for <span id="lw_1286165727_50">spelling words</span> with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.<br />
6. Give two uses of <span id="lw_1286165727_51">silent letters</span> in spelling. Illustrate each.<br />
7. Define the following </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.<br />
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.<br />
9.. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.<br />
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of <span id="lw_1286165727_52">diacritical marks</span> and by syllabication.<br />
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<i>This test was part of the 8th Grade Final Exam, Salina, Kansas, 1895.</i></span></span> </span></span></span>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-87039044009593052192010-11-12T06:32:00.000-08:002012-07-05T13:33:03.458-07:00The Best Book by the Best American Author<span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;">On Saturday, I<i> </i>was given the opportunity to have breakfast with<i> </i>Charlie Smith. As I sat waiting for Charlie, eager to discuss his new book<i>, Three Delays</i>, I thought of our first meeting years before. It was at the Low Country Writers Conference, where it was the general <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">consensus</span></span> by the faculty, mostly English department heads of Southern Universities, which included such notables as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/books/30garrett.html?_r=1">George Garrett</a>, that Charlie was heir apparent to William Faulkner.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;">A waitress clanked a coffee cup on the table and woke me out of my daydream.<br />
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"Are you expecting somebody?" the young woman asked in a monotone New York accent.<br />
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"I am," I said as I watched Charlie slowly saunter into the restaurant, a broad smile on his face.</span><br />
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When I saw him, my thoughts drifted back to our first meeting, years before. I had been invited to a conference in South Carolina, where I was to lecture novelists about the pitfalls of translating novels into screenplays. Coming from the non-academic movie side, I felt that I was out of my league. For those who were inside the literary league, it was apparent that the reclusive Charlie Smith had been crowned their king. </span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;">I sat on the veranda of an old southern inn that evening, overlooking the Beaufort, S.C. bay, and I found myself listening to the unanimous agreement that had been reached by numerous professors. Mr. Smith was brilliant, they all said. And they were right.<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;">It was nearing dinnertime on that hot, August evening, when I decided to call a cab and leave the event in search of dinner. Minutes later, my ride pulled up and out of nowhere, a man about my age ran up to the cab and jumped in. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Disheveled</span> and wearing wire-rimmed glasses, he invited me to share <span style="font-style: italic;">his</span> taxi. It was a humorous but fortuitous event. As fate would have it, this was my first meeting with Charlie Smith. Since then, I have read and savored his works and consider Charlie an important friend.<br />
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Years later, I sat at a table in a crowded New York restaurant and smiled at Charlie as he neared our breakfast table. "How are you, my friend..." he said as I stood to shake his hand. We were meeting to talk about his new book.<br />
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By his own account, </span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;"><i>Three Delays</i></span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;"> is his best work. I and many others agree, including <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/books/review/Doerr-t.html"><i>The New York Times Book Review</i></a> and <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/29/entertainment/la-ca-0829-charlie-smith-20100829"><i>The LA Times Book Review</i></a>. <i>Three Delays </i>is a tale of torturous obsession and fate. Charlie's novel lured, coerced and pulled me slowly through a maze of insanity. If you are interested in reading what I consider to be the best book by the best American fiction writer, you should definitely read <i>Three Delays </i>by my friend <a href="http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-534">Charlie Smith</a><i>. </i></span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;">Then you'll see for yourself why he has been called the heir apparent to William Faulkner.</span><span style="font-family: '; font-size: 150%; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span>Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285087467372017223.post-35272423814197279962010-05-12T07:36:00.000-07:002010-05-13T06:14:34.881-07:00How we work?We have set up this blog to answer any questions that you may have about our editing policy or the writing contest.Alan Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649987320753003413noreply@blogger.com5