So many months have passed since I smelled fresh air

She stares at me, terrified.

As well she should be. Yes, both of us know, all too well: she is the stranger around here. She would be gone before the day is over. I am the one who never leaves. 

“Really,” I insist, over her silence. “There’s no such thing as nine lives.” 

She leans back, sinking deeper and deeper into the frayed cushion, not doing much of anything except breathing heavily. Naturally, it annoys me. Hell, it sucks the air out of my lungs. The danger of oxygen deprivation does not occur to me at first. But if there is one thing I have come to hate more than her breathing heavily, it is me, having to hold my breath. 

So many months have passed since I smelled fresh air. Come to think of it, it must have been years since I crossed the threshold, since I stepped outside, into the sunlight, which—as I remember—is so warm, so gloriously magnificent. Yes, it must have been decades since I sunk my paws into the moist ground outside, or lifted my eyes to the blue sky, or chased birds. I remember how, having caught them, I would ruffle their feathers, and lick their throats ever so playfully. 

Being locked here I have managed to squash these memories. I have grown quite resigned, somehow, to the stale perfume rising here, from these blankets, which she now gathers around her. 

★ Love Horror? Treat yourself to a thrill ★

Twisted 

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"A sensitive melding of poetry, prose, and art"

Continuing the travels through the portable museum!

Author of War Songs, Grady Harp is an artist representative, gallery owner, writer of essays and articles on figurative and all Representational art for museum catalogues and for travelling exhibitions, and an Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer. He describes himself as being ever on the alert for the new and promising geniuses of tomorrow. So I am deeply honored that he has posted this five-star review for my art book, Inspired by Art: Fall of a Giant:

5.0 out of 5 starsContinuing the travels through the portable museum!

ByGrady HarpHALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon February 25, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Uvi Poznansky dons another Technicolor coat in this latest series of books, always raising the bar for her high standard previous achievements. Originally from Israel where she studied Architecture and Town Planning then moving to the US where she studied Computer Science and became an expert in Software Engineering, Poznansky managed to combine the design elements of two studies into unique formats. And she has accomplished the same with the other side of her brain - making visual her ideas (she is an accomplished painter, drawer, and sculptor who has enjoyed exhibitions both in Israel and in California, her present base) and making words in poetry and in short stories and children's books.

Uvi has published an absorbing book series – The David Chronicles – and now is curating art collections to enhance the pleasure of her books’ stories. This volume, FALL OF A GIANT, follows her previous installment FIGHTING GOLIATH and is again one of the most complete collections of art from ancient through renaissance to contemporary is drawings, paintings, sculptures, etchings – works by Mantegna, Giorgione, Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Cagnacci, Pietro Novelli, Massimo Stanzione, Guercino, Jacob van Oost I, Tanzio da Varallo, Girolamo Forabosco, Simon Vouet, Bernardo Strozzi, Feti Domenico, Valentin De Boulogne, Claude Vignon, Johan Zoffany, Giovanni Lanfranco, Paul Cadmus, Gustave Doré, Rembrandt, Castiglione, Ghiberti, Johann Liss, Antiveduto Grammatica, Hendrick ter Brugghen, Fra Filippo Lippi, Spinelli, Manfredi, Vaccaro, Matteo Rosseli, Poussin, and Chagall.– some well known, others – discoveries. The art is arranged not by artist but instead by the blow by blow action of the story of Dave heading Goliath. It is a majestic, learned, beautifully designed book that carries a lot of instruction, entertainment, as well as visual pleasure. But then that is what Uvi is all about! Grady Harp, February 17

He wanted so badly to hold her, kiss her, smell her hair

Our worlds didn’t match, Brayden longed to say. Those Skype calls were harder and harder to take when he wanted so badly to hold her, kiss her, smell her hair, taste her skin, feel her arms around him. 

“It was work, Brayden, but I loved you. We made it work. Then something changed, and you wouldn’t tell me what.”

Brayden stilled, disquiet buzzing madly in his mind as his body remained immobile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He would never tell her. What happened was too ugly. He would protect her, shield her, from the worst of himself. In a way, this visit was a test to see if he could handle being a civilian.

“You are lying.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “Secrets kill relationships. There has to be trust, Brayden. Even if you were to tell me that you can’t talk about it, or that it’s something you’re working through, I could accept that. You don’t have to tell me everything, but don’t lie.”

His gut knotted.  He started to apologize. He exhaled and let her see the truth in his eyes. “It’s something I’m working through.”

Her shoulders drooped forward. “Okay.”

“I,” he quickly reburied the memories. “I don’t want to be a problem, Zoe. Despite what it looks like,” he touched his hand to his hip, “I’m in decent shape.”

“You look great to me.” She tugged at the collar of her pink polo. “You have no idea what I imagined. I had to stop watching the CNN videos of injured men.  Each one became you.”

Excerpt from Returning Home by the Sea by Traci Hall

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"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

I sense a change in him, which starts with the scent of his aftershave

Tonight—the first moonless night of this winter—I can sense a change in Lenny, which starts, for me, with the scent of his aftershave. 

It’s Aqua Velva. It’s been a long time since I’ve caught it on him, and I can get a bit tipsy just by tipping over, like, to take it in. He grips the faded armrest and gets up, with some effort, from his corner, and puts on his fingerless leather gloves, with which he can type, especially on cold nights. Then he goes out to the balcony, and I can see him fumbling for something there, in the drawers of his desk. Finally he brings back a handful of tapes—I hope none of them is mine—and the tape recorder, which he sets up across from me, on the floor next to Beethoven’s bust. 

From down there Lenny turns to me, and I see the question in his eyes, like, Is it too late already, for the two of us? 

And aloud he says, “Anita? Want to dance?”

Over the last couple of months he hasn’t given voice to no anger, and neither have I, which I figure can’t hardly be bad, ‘cause without words any feeling—even rage—can peter out, so that one of these days, it’s gonna be left there, dull and limp, somewhere behind us. It can happen, ‘cause his son isn’t here between us, and time passes. 

Like ma used to say, Time heals all wounds. Which sounds pretty stale, but it must be true, ‘cause I’ve stopped thinking by now about my youth going to waste. Instead I’m thinking about the fact that I’ve stopped thinking about that. 

So in the end, we’re back where we started, almost. Lenny’s my man. He’s mine. Me, I’m his. All’s clear. Nothing gets confused. 

“Well?” he murmurs. “Do you?”

I reckon the reason he’s talking to me, like, under his breath, isn’t only because he’s unsure of me, of what I’ll say after the long, icy silence—but also because he can’t stand the echo, which seems to have moved in here with us lately. 

So I whisper, as soft as I can, “I do.” 

He inserts one of them tapes, and sets the tape recorder to Rewind, then Play. At first I almost expect my voice to come on, but then, by the spring in his step as he’s coming over, I figure it’s gonna be music. He reaches out to me, so I peel off his glove, and his touch feels nice, it’s warm and strong, the way I remember it. 

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My Own Voice

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Awaken to the beauty of art

At no other season are our senses so acute as in spring. What better time to enjoy this new collection: series of six art books, available in a way that Grady Harp, the Hall of Fame Reviewer, calls A Portable Museum. It contains a collection of art throughout the ages, around the story of David from youth to old age:

• Inspired by Art: Fighting Goliath
• Inspired by Art: Fall of a Giant
• Inspired by Art: Rise to Power
• Inspired by Art: A Peek at Bathsheba
• Inspired by Art: The Edge of Revolt
• Inspired by Art: The Last Concubine

Besides being an artist and having worked as an architect, she taught art history, and this collection served as the basis for a study course analyzing the contrasts in viewpoints around the biblical story. 

This collection is arranged not by artist, nor by artistic style or era, but rather by moment-by-moment in the story, blow-by-blow, as imagined by various artists: Michelangelo, Bernini, Dali, Adrea del Verrocchio, Donatello, Titian, Rembrandt, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Rubens, Degas, and Barry Moser, to name but a few.

★ Love art? Treat yourself to a gift ★  

Inspired by Art: Fighting Goliath

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Inspired by Art: Fall of a Giant

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Inspired by Art: Rise to Power

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Inspired by Art: A Peek at Bathsheba

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Inspired by Art: The Edge of Revolt

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Inspired by Art: The Last Concubine

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Was he going to kiss her?

When she and Zach reached up at the same time, to grab a handful of prepackaged ornaments, Beth found herself nearly wrapped within his arms. And there it was again, Beth thought, when she searched Zach’s eyes. 

She held her breath. Was he going to kiss her?

Zach broke the spell when he abruptly pulled away. “Sorry.” Kyle was beginning to wander down the next aisle, and Zach scrambled to catch up with him.

Why was she suddenly feeling so disappointed? She barely knew the guy, Beth admitted to herself, halfheartedly. After counting out a half a dozen ornaments, she took in a shaky breath, before strolling over to where Kyle and Zach stood waiting near the checkout counter.
Before long, they were back on the road, with the radio switched onto a channel exclusively featuring Christmas music.

Excerpt from Two Hearts Unspoken by Tamara Ferguson

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"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

This winter it’s something new every day

This winter it’s something new every day. Today at sunrise I find Natasha in the closet, which is crammed with dozens of her old, glamorous gowns. Having sneaked into it, she stands there wide-eyed and completely nude, shivering slightly in the morning chill. 

A vein is pulsing on her breast. It’s blue, and so are the tips of her long, delicate fingers as she pulls a bunch of dresses down. Most of them slip off her arm, except for the slick, silvery dress, which she wore on her recital appearance in Paris, back in 1945, when both of us celebrated not only the victorious end of WWII but also our wedding.

Now, fascinated by the silky touch, she tries to put it on: first backwards, then inside out. In frustration, she drops the thing to the floor and starts thrashing around, kicking it, becoming entangled as fallen metal hangers clink furiously against each other. Her eyelashes flutter over her pale cheeks as she listens to the mad rhythm. 

I turn on the bedside radio and rotate the knob this way and that, in an attempt to find something, anything that will distract her from that noise. Oh, how about this: a song is playing, and to the sound of it I find myself rolling back into the dent of her body on the sheets.

I hug you softly, I kiss you in your dream

Your breath is warm, my lips are trembling

Let me wake you, are your eyes agleam?

I whisper your name, can’t you hear my heart breaking?

I reach to hold your smile

Here it comes, so sweet in the morning light

Love, let’s wait, wait for a awhile

Let’s cling together till the morning light

Hold me holding you

Burning, burning

Someone’s crying

Someone’s crying

Someone’s crying

And I think it’s me

At last, when all is quiet, she opens her eyes, turning her attention to something else: shoes. There are dozens of them, most with high heels, all strewn carelessly across the floor, remnants of times gone by.

“Don’t,” I say, hating myself for having to control her. “You can't wear these anymore.”

And she asks, “Why?”

I hesitate to tell her that nowadays she cannot walk in them without losing her balance. With a stubborn glint in her eye, she puts on a pair of stilettos and holds her breath, just standing there like a child, afraid to move. 

“Here,” say I, rising from the bed to set a pair of flats before her, so she can step into them. “They look like ballet flats, don’t they? With these, you’ll be able to move about. Want to dance, Natasha?”

“I do,” she whispers. “I so do.”

★ Love romantic suspense? Treat yourself to a thrill ★

Dancing with Air

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"The imagery in this book is incredible and outstanding... Anyone who has been involved in a passionate romance will be able to feel the power of the romance between these two lovers."

-USN Chief, Ret..VT Town, Top 500 Reviewer

These classic works of art inspired the author to write The David Chronicles

A new review for my art book, Inspired by Art: Fighting Goliath:

5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent, February 15, 2017

By 

Riley

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Inspired by Art: Fighting Goliath (The David Chronicles Book 4) (Kindle Edition)

These classic works of art inspired the author to write The David Chronicles. The first is the novel Rise to Power, which focuses on David's battle with Goliath, using the art pieces in chronological order as the battle took place. My favorite pieces are by Barry Moser because he depicts David as a young man instead of a the muscular prime specimen of a human body of the Michelangelo David.

The Inspired series is a wonderful accompaniment to the David Chronicles.

We’d never kissed before

Looking up at the sky, the lights of the nearby city obscured the stars, and I was about to say something when he leaned in to kiss me. We’d never kissed before. Putting his hand up on the back of my head, threading his fingers through my hair, he kissed me like we were lovers. My hands slid around his body meeting in the middle of his back. I could feel his chest expand and contract with each breath as I held him, the warmth of his body flooding me with desire. Smoothing my hair back, he did the same thing, embracing me, his arms encircling my body.

It took my breath away, the intensity of it, I wanted him so badly. I would have gone all the way right there on my mother’s back porch if he’d tried. But he didn’t go any further than the kiss. Pulling away from me just enough, his lips slid down my neck and stopped. I held my breath.

“I’d better go,” he said, muffling a sigh. 

Excerpt from Mademoiselle by Suzanne Jenkins

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

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"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

Wishing to surrender to temptation and at the same time trying to resist it

“What’s this?” I asked.

And she said, “Just something I wrote. I want you to have it. Something to remember me by when you go back to London.”

I dropped to one knee at the side of the bed and raised my eyes to her, watching her long fingers as they smoothed over the flap of the envelope to make sure it was sealed. 

“Let me read it, then,” I said.

“Oh no, Lenny. Not now.”

“At least, give me a little hint, Natashinka. Tell me what it’s all about.”

She blushed. Then she touched her cheek, trying to calm herself down, because now she was blushing over having blushed before. Meanwhile I noticed the silky fabric of her camisole. The edge of it came into view briefly, peeping out under the scarlet bow, right here at the lip of her sweater blouse. Then it disappeared.

At last she said, “It’s a page from my diary. It’s where I record my thoughts.”

“Is it about last night?”

“Oh no. It’s about the first time we met.”

I was moved, and told her so. Her eyes widened as I took the notebook out of the pocket of my jacket and opened it to look at the envelope. On the back side of it there were only two letters, N for Natasha, L for Lenny. They were drawn together in a fancy pen stroke. I touched my lips to it and put the envelope back in place without losing a beat and without trying to pry it open. 

“I shall save it for later,” I said. 

“And for always,” said she.

“Yes,” I promised. “For always.”

Natasha smiled, bouncing happily between one pillow and another. Wave after wave, her hair unfurled around face, her neck. She turned over to lie on her belly, swinging her feet back and forth in the air.

“Here, I brought you a little something,” I said, presenting the chocolate box I had bought for her. 

She found it charming. I opened it. Inside were Liliput confections in red, pink, green, and black, each one hand-made: whipped, rolled, filled and ornamented. We looked at each other, wishing to surrender to temptation and at the same time trying to resist it, because at first glance, these sweets were too precious to eat. But this craving was stronger than both of us, and the only question was, would she yield to it before I did? 

And another thing: how long could I hold myself back from making love to her?

Natasha leaned closer to me with a playful glint in her eye and reached over to pick a miniature chocolate ball, which she let melt on her tongue. She gave away a little moan, as if her delight came from the gut and couldn’t be expressed in mere words.

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The Music of Us

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"Uvi touches us with a tenderness that unites her skill as a writer with her gifts as a visual artist and once swept into her fictional account of the 'us' of this book the story will long be remembered." 

- Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Reviewer

Inspired by Art: A Peek at Bathsheba

My new book, a collection of art throughout the ages, which depicts the love affair between David and Bathsheba through the eye of famous artists, is already here:

Inspired by Art: A Peek at Bathsheba is a collection of art throughout the ages, around the story of David. This volume focuses on the most torrid love affair ever told: David’s forbidden love affair with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it up. 

These amazing sculptures, paintings, etchings, and manuscripts inspired the author to write The David Chronicles, a series of three volumes, the second of which is A Peek at Bathsheba, where she imagines the love affair and the ensuing scandal. Besides being an artist and having worked as an architect, she taught art history, and this collection served as the basis for a research course analyzing the contrasts in viewpoints around the biblical story. 

This collection is arranged not by artist, nor by artistic style or era, but rather by the story moment-by-moment, blow-by-blow, as imagined by various artists. Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Chagall, Picasso, and Jan Steen to name but a few.

★ Love historical fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

Historical Fiction with a Modern Twist...

The complete series:

The David Chronicles

Volume VII:

Inspired by Art: A Peek at Bathsheba

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