A Mother's Lullaby

Have you ever listened, I mean, really listened to the lyrics of 'Twinkle, twinkle'? The words can truly take on different meanings, which is something I explored in moments of despair and moments of hope in my novel. 

When Ben goes to Sunrise Home to visit his mother, who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's, he wonders about her. Can he reach her, can he evoke some memory in her mind? Her body is intact, but is it now merely an empty shell? He knows not what she has become, who she is... In the background, an old woman's voice can be heard, croaking a lullaby. And somehow, the words take on a meaning of a heart-wrenching farewell:

"Then, to the sound of the thin, painful voice in the distance, breathing the words, Though I know not... What you are... Twinkle, twinkle... Little star, I glance at my mother. 

I wonder if what I am going to say about this or that photograph will make any difference, because now I am starting to lose heart. I doubt we can ever find a way—be it a way back, or a way forward—to connect to each other. 

The time I remember is no more than a wrinkle for her."

In another scene, Anita raises her eyes to the musical animal mobile, which she has hung up overhead, for her baby. She sings the words as she crosses her hands around her body, embracing him. Expecting new life, the lullaby takes on a meaning of hope:

"For now, I mean, until I get a cradle for my baby, it’s hung up in the bedroom window, right in the center, where the blinds meet. 

So at night, when I feel sad, or tired, or just sleepy, I pull out the little string to wind the thing up, which makes the animals go fly—fly like a dream—so slowly around your head. 

And at the same time, it brings out a sweet lullaby, chiming, Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are...

I stand here, by the window under the mobile. I touch the glass between one blind and another, and watch them animals, mirrored. They come in like ghosts, one after another, right up to the surface, swing around, and fly back out, into the dark. Then I gaze at them stars up there, so far beyond, and ask myself if they’re real—or am I, again, misreading some reflection." 

The subject of motherhood is near and dear to my heart, and I express it in my writing and in my art, as you can see here:

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Apart from Love

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Mondays Are Murder

Today I am happy to be invited to Laurie Hanan's MONDAYS ARE MURDER interviews. This is how she opened the conversation: 

"It’s my pleasure to have as my guest today Uvi Poznansky. While she doesn’t write murder mysteries, according to Uvi her characters do harbor murderous thoughts. Here’s what she has to say about them..."

Check out my interview, which she titled Murderous Sparks and Murderous Rages.

A New Showcase of My Literary Work

A new author page now showcases highlights of my literary work: book descriptions, cover images, author's bio, excerpts, links and what not... 

What, you may ask, is AUTHORSdB? Here is a quote that explains it:

"There are very few places where authors are able to add their information, one time, including promoting links to buy their books on all bookseller platforms. A place where authors continue to write while expert SEO people can assist in Social Media Marketing for free.  Authors need an unbiased place to shout out about their creative works without 'big brother's' control—without fear of loosing to unknown algorithms."
-Angel Investor-

Take a look at my new author page and please, tweet or like it: Uvi Poznansky's New Author Page.

Poet and Author from India: "I highly recommend “A Favorite Son”

Aniruddha Sastikar authored two poetry books entitled “Maiden Musings – Vol. 1” published in October 2012 and Vol. 2 in January 2013. He credits learning Haiku Poetry to his dear friend & former Lt. Col Shyam Kumar Sharma, who resides in New Delhi, India. Aniruddha authored a short story book for children – “Once upon a time...” published and released through good friend & Publisher - Brian Wrixon, Burlington, Canada and Blurb Inc., in December 2012 and is working toward writing a fiction. I am honored that he has posted this ★★★★★ review on Goodreads for A Favorite Son. This is what he says:

Writing a review on a book authored by a talented and skillful artist, writer, and poet - Uvi Poznansky, is in itself an honor and privilege for an amateur poet and writer like me.

I am incapable to review work of such an educated, elegant, and accomplished artist, but I’ll try to do so.

“A Favorite Son” by Uvi Poznansky is a wonderful combination and presentation of love, sacrifice, jealousy, fear, hate, hopes, wistfulness, and much more to it. Images through out the book are excellent. They really are captivating and transports the reader to that location, literally; as if the reader is observing the characters, live. I haven’t had read any Biblical tales till date, but “A Favorite Son” introduced them to me. It is noteworthy how a mother (portrayed in “A Favorite Son”) plays a significant role in bringing up her children. Her sacrifices, her love, and her plans. Aren’t all these found in a Mother? Yes. They are an inbuilt characteristics of a Mother anywhere on earth.

There’s no doubt Uvi carries a strong vocabulary and has that ability to create a picture using them, which keeps the reader gripped till the last page. Apart from being an outstanding writer, she’s a first-class artist and sculptor, which is noticeable from the cover art of this book and visiting her blog site.

For those who are looking to read on strong family ties, I highly recommend “A Favorite Son”.

This review can be seen here.

You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Heard Her Singing

I have just read a truly enlightening article written by David Kudler, the gifted narrator of my upcoming audiobook. In it, he draws parallels between two of his recent projects, especially the use of music in both of them. Here is how he opens it:

"I’ve just wrapped recording on my second full-length audiobook this month — David Wesley Williams lyrical novel of sex, family, and rock ‘n’ roll, Long Gone Daddies. As I was listening through just now, I realized that there were a lot of similarities between this bluesy book and my most recently completed (and soon-to-be-released) project, Uvi Poznansky’s Apart From Love. Both books dissect tangled, dysfunctional families featuring deeply fractured father-son relationships, each of which is hiding some very important secrets. And music is very much at the heart of each.

For an audiobook narrator/producer, music is both a joy and more than a bit of a challenge. Audiobooks — for the most part — are not meant to include music tracks (Audible and Amazon don’t like them), and so any music must be created purely by the narrator in the character’s voice. When a song is known, that can be great fun; when it’s created by the author, that’s fun too… but can sometimes take your breath away."

Later, David introduces one of the first scenes in Apart from Love:

"The Kaminsky family in Apart from Love also has a musical soul; unfortunately, that soul belonged to the mother, Natasha. Divorced from narrator Ben’s father, she has disappeared, like Luther Gaunt’s progenitors. Where the Gaunts left behind only an old guitar, however, Ben’s mother left behind a beautiful white grand piano. When Ben’s father Lenny decides to remarry his long-time (and much younger) girlfriend Anita, the new Mrs. Kaminsky decides to use her predecessor’s piano as the stage for a dramatic entrance to the wedding reception. The scene is described here in a letter by Ben’s acid-eyed great aunt Hadassa — and you haven’t lived until you’ve heard an aged Jewish lady singing Bryan Adams..."

Read the entire article here: David Sings the Blues.

Also, here is Aunt Hadassa with her sisters,  in my watercolor painting. Why are the Rosenblatt sisters dressed as cancan girls? Find out here.

★ Love reading? Treat yourself to a family saga ★

Apart from Love

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Barnes&Noble

She Was Air, She Was Music!

"The piano towered over everything. It seemed so massive, so out of place that you had to squeeze around it, or else crawl underneath the belly of the thing. 

But when mom played it, all that did not matter. The walls vanished and so did the clutter, because it was so riveting to watch her. You could see her long, delicate fingers as they went flying over the keys, to the point of turning, magically, into a blur. Her hands became transparent, and her ring, I remember, turned into a glow. She was air, she was music! Even when she stopped playing, those strings inside were still reverberating..."

And here is a quick charcoal sketch I made of her hands dancing in the air. I attempted to impart this same feeling of nobility and inspiration that my text evokes.

★ Love reading? Treat yourself to a family saga ★

Apart from Love

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Barnes&Noble

"An inspiring novel by an amazing woman: a writer, poet, sculptor. 
It spurred me to write again"

Apart From Love in Best Independent Novels

Apart From Love is currently 56 out of 1814 books in Goodreads list of Best Independent Novels. If you have read it and you think it deserves to move up the ranks, please vote for it!

Looking for Gift? Why not Apart from Love!

Looking for the perfect gift? Why not get the print edition of Apart from Love! It has a beautiful cover image (based on my own art) and its audiobook edition is just around the corner... The novel comes highly recommended. So many eloquent reviews--48 and counting! If you ask me which of them I cherish the most, two come to mind.

The first one is not a review but a a testimony. Jt Sather, the author of How to Survive When the Bottom Drops Out, is a dedicated son. He placed Apart From Love in the hands of his mother, and here is what he wrote to me while she was reading it:

Now I sure hope it's not the story that makes her yawn... lol!
The second review I cherish was written by the inspirational writer Dolores Ayotte. It was voted 'most helpful' by readers--not an easy feat to achieve! Here it is: 

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique & Spellbinding!! May 18, 2012

By Dolores Ayotte

Format:Paperback

Author Uvi Poznansky is an artist! There is no doubt about it. As I read "Apart from Love", I was drawn into a masterfully created piece of artwork. This is no ordinary novel. It richly depicts the product of a dysfuntional family and how they are drawn together, yet so repulsed by each other.

There is a quality so deep and raw in "Apart from Love" that it's almost impossible to put this book down. In my opinion, Uvi Poznansky writes like a painter. She starts with a clean canvas and dabs a little paint here and a little paint there as she develops her characters and creates her masterpiece. Her strokes then become broader, more passionate, more vivid and vibrant as she continues to let her characters' stories unfold. She draws you in to a deeper level than you might actually want to go as she ignites the fire to your own love, passions, and fears.

Ben, the 27 year old son grudgingly returns home many years after the divorce of his parents, Lenny and Natasha. He finds that there is a mutual attraction between his father's young wife Anita, and himself. Their stories, along with Lenny's are related in a narrative as each person has the opportunity to share his side of the events that take place. "Apart from Love" reminds me of a movie I enjoyed many years ago...Cat on a Hot Tin Roof because it is a well-written drama that could take place on a stage similar to this movie. In "Apart from Love" Ben states..."In our family, forgiveness is something you pray for, something you yearn to receive but so seldom do you give to others." There is defintely a great need for forgiveness both on the giving end as well as the receiving end in this novel.

Similar to any other work of art, the artist leaves so much of themselves in their work. Author Uvi Poznansky has done just that! Kudos to her on a job well done!

Many Faces of Love

Wow! So happy! Just discovered a new review, which was posted on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads for my novel, Apart From Love. 

5.0 out of 5 stars Many faces of love..., April 19, 2013

By 

Marguerite - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Apart From Love (Paperback)

Free book for review. It is all in this book, love, secrets as well as all the ups and downs in life. A must read.

Tips for Authors

Looking for ways to reach out to readers? Here is a great site: Book Marketing & Selling Tips for Authors.

In a similar vein, here is an excellent article, especially if you are a would be best-seller author in your heart of hearts.. Tells you about Amazon’s Top Reviewers, how crucial it is to find the ones who are passionate about your genre of writing. It is called Get your book reviewed on Amazon and boost your sales.

A Remake with a Twist

Shebat Legion is the author of wacky, off-the-wall entertaining, and hard-to-classify books. Here is her 5-star review for A Favorite Son:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remake with a twist, April 18, 2013

By 

Shebat Legion - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Favorite Son (Paperback)

A Favorite Son by Uvi Poznansky is a modern twist on a biblical tale that takes no prisoners. Witty and yet pensive, Uvi manages to bring the reader into a compassionate state for the protagonist and with well thought out characterization, an unexpected likability is discovered as well. Enjoy!

Audiobooks: What's the New Rave All About?

I awoke to the new rave only three months ago, and then wondered why I had ignored it for such a long time. Audiobooks! The new way to read books--which is also the oldest way: to listen to a story. 

But while our ancestors gathered around the fire and listened in fascination to the shaman, we do it in a variety of different ways nowadays. Some of us use it as a cure for the boring commute. Spending 7-10 hours a week on the road, which is fairly routine for many of us, can easily be transformed to an entertaining time: a time when a gifted voice actor is conjured out of thin air--or rather, out of your smart phone or your iPod. And now, that voice breathes life into enchanting characters, who come to keep you company while you are driving! 

The same can be said about listening while exercising on fitness machines, or walking. Time flies by as you are transported, magically, to a different place and time. And this does not have to be a solitary practice. Unlike reading a book, you can listen together with your loved one, in bed or at the breakfast table, and laugh and cry together. You get to experience a great performance, just like in the theatre, in the intimacy of your own home.

Audible (an Amazon-related company specializing in audiobooks) now offers something called WhisperSync tehnology, which lets you switch seamlessly between reading an ebook and listening to its audiobook. You can learn more about it here.  Also, Audible offers this to you: Get A Free Trial of Audible – Free AudioBook Download – To get your free audiobook sign up for the free trial. If Audible isn’t for you feel free to cancel within 14 days and the audiobook is yours to keep. They will gladly help you--24 hours a day, 7 days a week--to download the audiobook to your preferred device. Here is their help line: 1-888-283-5051 (US & Canada) or 1-973-820-0400 (international.)

The audiobook is already here, take a listen:

★ Love literary fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

A Favorite Son

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Audiobook

What to Expect in ♥ Love ♥

If you are new to my launch events, you may assume the happening is limited to the event date. If so, you are quite mistaken! I roll out the action over the weeks leading up to that date, much like an old-fashioned wedding celebration with wine and delectable treats served every night up to the ceremony!

Don't miss out! Join my launch event ♥ Love ♥ and here are a few hints of what to expect:

•  In the week starting April 21, I will announce a Writing Contest centered on a topic related to my book, Apart from Love. It will be open to all members of the event. 
• In the week starting April 28, I will come up with a Composition Project open to all members of the event. You may ask, What is that? A Composition project? It is something for which we all contribute images and collaborate, to create something with shared experiences, around the central subject of the event. For example, during the launch of my poetry book, Home, we created this Quilt of Memories together. 
• I will let you take a peek behind-the-scenes at the production of the audiobook, share voice clips, do a cover reveal, offer surprises, and more! So please, invite your friends to join too, and stay tuned--it's going to be exciting!

The Quilt of Memories

A Favorite Story of Mine

So glad to discover a new review, written by the author Eleonore Caron. She has written a series of mystery stories for children, the first of which, Gizmo and Ellen Mysteries, has been published recently in paperback. Here is what she said about my book, A Favorite Son: 

5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite story of mine now, April 12, 2013

By 

Eleonore Caron - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Favorite Son (Paperback)

I really liked this story. The author made me feel what the characters felt. There is a biblical connection and also a modern day one. It doesn't pay to be deceitful in the end.
I've come to know Uvi a little more now and she is a great lady with numerous talents from creating art to writing stories and poems.

From Isolation to love

Celebrate Love with me! My highly-acclaimed ★★★★★ novel ♥ Apart from Love ♥ is coming out in an amazing audiobook edition. Take part in a new Writing Contest. Expect fun, action, and above all--the unexpected!

To join, go here: ♥ Love ♥

Ode to the Great Kudler

Springing out of my mind, out of this cage

His words but a whisper, right here on this page

Jacob trembles in shame--not because of his sin 

But because he wears nothing but a sleeve of goatskin 

Lonely and naked, how can he rejoice

Wishing to be wrapped by the warmth of voice

While back in the camp, Eliezer the butler

Croaks out of the throat of the Great Kuddler

Oh please, trust me now, this is no spelling mistake

For his voice can cuddle--but it can also shake

Yes, Kuddler lets you hear the subtle clipclop

Of a camel approaching, Becky perched at the top

And so at long last, by hook and by crook

Jacob speaks loud and clear in this audiobook

The gifted narrator of my audiobook, David Kudler is an author, editor and performer. Since 1999, he has overseen the publications program of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, where he has served as the managing editor of the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series. He lives in Mill Valley, California (the next town north from Sausalito) with his wife, teacher and author Maura Vaughn, their two author-to-be daughters, and their non-literary cat.

★ Love reading? Treat yourself to a gift ★

A Favorite Son

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Audiobook

The Lauch Event Will Soon Come to Its Height! Don't Miss It

The Launch event The Voice Is Jacob's Voice will come to its height Friday, April 9th between 9:00 am to noon PST. Come check it out--you won't want to miss this!

A Favorite Son, a Great Book

To my surprise, A Favorite Son has been received with warm, wonderful praise on Amazon--15 reviews and counting! And to top it all off, today I am thrilled to discover the first customer review of its audiobook, which was published only a few days ago on Audible:

Audible customers get to review the story as well as the voice, which is to say, the performance. This is truly special, not only on behalf of my work--but on behalf of my amazing narrator, David Kudler. He truly deserves this praise, because he is man of a thousand voices. Between us: I hesitate calling him on the phone, because he can bring out one character after another from his throat, and fool his mother, let alone me... 

Passion At Its Finest!

Wow--here is a new five star review, this time from a reader who purchased the paperback edition of Apart From Love!

5.0 out of 5 stars Passion at its finest!, April 7, 2013

By 

Laura - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Apart From Love (Paperback)

A very passionate book! Gripping, riveting, and fascinating! Love this book! A compelling story of love and deception to a man.

A Beautifully Written Book- A Must Read!

Just discovered a new review, this time from a reader who purchased the paperback edition of A Favorite Son! Here goes:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written book- a must read!, April 7, 2013

By 

Laura - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: A Favorite Son (Paperback)

A bitter rivalry between two sons. Yankle wants to be his father's favorite son! Highly emotional and deceptive!! An excellent book!

Who Me? Making You Think? Never!

Here is a new 5 star review for A Favorite Son:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me think, April 5, 2013 By  Betty J. Hairston - See all my reviews This review is from: A Favorite Son (Kindle Edition) This book was comical and true to the bible story however with a twist. It refers back to other bible stories in explaining a why. It was comical in that he says he will never have a favorite son.

The Voice is the Voice of Jacob

Without even looking at the entrance to the tent, without even touching the cold surface of the hourglass, I know: It is nearly empty. The sand is running out. For us, there is no more time. He will never realize who it was standing there by his bedside, overcome and awash with tears.

I let one word escape, hoping that he cannot catch the sound of it—but wishing, in spite of myself, that he would: 

“Dad,” I whisper.

It is then that he raises his hand and with a strength I did not know he possessed, takes hold of my limb. He runs his fingers through the hair of the goatskin sleeve, comes as high up as my heart—and then, loses his breath and lets go. “The arm is the arm of Esav,” he whispers. “But the voice is the voice of Yankle.”

Yankle in A Favorite Son

This is a seminal moment in the story: Isaac, the blind father is on his deathbed. He seems to suspect he is being fooled. Meanwhile Yankle, the son, is torn between his love for his father and an irresistible urge to deceive him, in order to get that which does not rightly belong to him: the last blessing. He stands before his father, arm covered with a goatskin sleeve (so it may feel like his hairy brother's arm) not knowing where to go from here. Will he or won't he? 

★ Love literary fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

A Favorite Son

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Audiobook

"There is so much I enjoyed about this book, that I do not quite know where to begin"