If I live, someone should sculpt me in this pose, just so

"I must have lost my mind, because I leap over the brook and run quickly towards him. And I put my hand in my bag and take out one of my pebbles and sling it. 

It is now that time starts slowing down. With sharp, heightened senses I feel morning the breeze playing with my curls, brushing them this way and that, down to the nape of my neck. Here I am, twisting over my legs, wringing my body in a tortuous effort to gather momentum, to let a pebble fly. This, I tell myself, is no dream. This is for real. I am aiming to slay a giant. 

If I live, someone should sculpt me in this pose, just so.

Now I aim at his head, because it was the only exposed part of him. I close one eye, so I may focus better. 

Then I take my shot."

The subject of Bernini's sculpture is the biblical David, about to throw the stone that will bring down Goliath, which will allow David to behead him. Compared to earlier works on the same theme (notably the David of Michelangelo), the sculpture broke new ground in its implied movement and its psychological intensity.

It is greatly influenced by a much earlier sculpture, the Discus Thrower by the Athenian sculptor Myron, which is depicted about to release his throw. The energy expressed in this sculpture's tightly-wound pose, expressing the moment of stasis just before the release, is an example of the advancement of Classical sculpture from Archaic. However unlike Bernini's sculpture, the torso of the Disk Thrower shows no muscular strain. 

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Rise to Power

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"She writes with exquisite prose and elegant style, 
yet delivers piercing truth and insights into the human psyche on the way. 
A wonderful read."

A diamond short, a decade late

A diamond short, a decade late
I come to stand outside your gate
Unlock and open, let me in
Forgive me, love; what is my sin?

I fled from you across the land
But now I ask you for your hand
A decade late, a diamond short
I can't imagine why you snort

My limbs are frail, my breath is cold
I must admit I may look old
I fall, I kneel, why—I implore
You are the woman I adore

I feel so weak, I feel so brittle
Don't touch! I may be impotent a little
You loved me once—or so I thought
Stop! Take your fingers off my throat—

I painted Late Lover from the point of view of the girl he had left behind. She and you, the observer, are one. He is yearning to come back home. A blue cape is flung around his shoulders, which allows the eye to stay with him, rather than drift off to the background, seen in the spaces between his flimsy ribs. More importantly, you can see the withered flowers he lays at your feet, and the ring being cast off your finger, straight onto his head. The words 'A diamond short, a decade late' are carved into the door frame, perhaps with your fingernails, scratching letter after letter over the long-drawn-out years of waiting for him... 

Having painted him all day, the voice of Late Lover came to me at night. The next morning I wrote his poem down in a single breath, and never made any corrections, never replaced a word or adjusted the rhythm--because it came to me completely ready.

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Home

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"HOME is an invitation, a very personal one, and should not be passed over"

Radio chat on World of Ink Network

Marsha Casper Cook is the author of six published books and eleven feature-length screenplays, a literary agent with fifteen years experience, and the host of the blog talk radio show A Good Story is a Good  Story. So I am thrilled that Marsha invited me  to be appear on her show a second time, together with my author friend Brenda Perlin, to chat about writing and marketing. 

Take a listen:

Online Writing Radio at Blog Talk Radio with WorldOfInkNetwork on BlogTalkRadio

Twisted like a pretzel...delicious!

Bonnie Bernard is the author of paranormal/weird fiction, with several books including Road Rash, Rest Inn Piece, and Backfire. I am thrilled to find her review of Twisted:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted like a pretzel...delicious!, March 3, 2014

By 

Bonnie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Twisted (Kindle Edition)

Twisted is a series of shorts...all being "my favorite". The stories are about cats, dead wives, Satan sticking his horns where they don't belong, and even some amazing statuesque beauty. If you've read Uvi's other books...well, you know how much you're going to love this one...you don't need me to tell you. If you haven't yet read anything by this brilliant wordsmith, do yourself a favor.

Five stars and then some. I recommend this for all readers, especially those who appreciate the "twisted" word. You'll see what I mean when you read the book. ;)

Just say something to me. Anything

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

I never use the word Love lightly; it appears only three times in my novel. Because of this scarcity, the word has a powerful effect once it is pronounced, so that the expression 'Apart From Love' becomes shaded with different meanings, all of which are explored. At times it means, except for love--other times it means, disjointed, yearning from afar for a connection, for a touch.

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Apart from Love

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Audiobook

"It's so refreshing to read a novel with lyrical beautiful writing"

Becoming David

Are you curious about how a narrator goes about his craft, how he goes through the process of becoming the character, and lifting him from the text to life? I know I am!  Here are a few thoughts, written by David George, the voice talent for Rise to Power, highlighting the process of becoming David.

On Narrating Rise to Power (The David Chronicles, Vol I)

Looking over the text initially, I see that Uvi Poznansky had chosen to retell the Old Testament Story of King David in modern English - colloquial even.

So my first task was to find the voice that would both respect the ancient classic legend  from the Old Testament and also fit the modern approach Uvi uses to retell it.

Uvi wanted an British english voice. I was raised in London, England so no problem there for the court of King Saul. But the slaying of Goliath was coming up - what was I going to do for the Philistines? Since we were using British English and Philistines today are synonymous with the "uncouth", I chose to go with the British "class" distinctions to separate the tribes. I chose to use a lower class voice to distinguish the Philistines from David and the court of Saul.

I grew up in the East End of London.

We were an immigrant family from Acre, Israel, arriving in London in 1955. When I was five years old we  experienced what I imagine most immigrants do on arrival to a new country.  As small a country as the UK is, there seem to be millions of accents incubated over a long history prior to the industrial revolution and the arrival of modern travel.  We were born British subjects and always spoke English, but you had to have a good ear to survive and we became really good mimics of the accents of the children we were trying to assimilate with.

So...back to my point. The Philistines would sound like "Cockneys".  No offense, some of the best and smartest people in the world are from the world's working classes but this was a way of using prejudices and preconceived notions to differentiate the "Philistines" from the court of Saul.

I like to act the parts of dialogue in a variety of characters because I think droning on in one's own voice for 8 -11 hrs can be tedious for the listener.  

For me, having the opportunity to narrate a novel is a huge issue of trust on the part of the author.  In order to respect that trust, I have to find a way to bring as much passion as I can, to match the author's passion in having taken on the work in the first place. 

I have to love the work. 

I liken this to a singer who finds their own way with a song in order to respect the writer's work and yet bring their own truth to the interpretation. Doing a narration is no different.

What about female characters?

Some writers have women protagonists and prefer a woman to narrate their work. Makes sense.  

People want to know "what do you do for a female character?" For me a slight shift in tone to "feminize " the voice without going into caricature works well.  With Bathsheba in Rise to Power - I chose to read all her lines as an invitation to stay and make love with her - even when she tells David to  "Go away!" the subtext is "Please, stay".  There are many different women with different histories and motivations and all of that needs to find its way into the delivery of the line.

Personally, making an audiobook come alive for the reader is like making a movie with a small cast or a cast of thousands! A hybrid of a stageplay/movie/Radio Drama .  All...with one voice.

I hope you will enjoy the audiobook version of The Rise to Power - The David Chronicles - Vol1 by Uvi Poznansky narrated by David George

★ Love historical fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

Historical Fiction with a Modern Twist...

Rise to Power

Paperback ★ Hardcover 

Audiobook

“I am still in awe just how much there is to the story of King David”

Twisted

A lovely review, which I have just discovered, on Amazon UK for Twisted:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted 21 Sep 2013

By judy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The poems and short stories here are not the usual. They take you down a whole different path. A new spin on known characters, unexpected bravery and beauty you would not expect to find in the settings. Riveting, she is a master at woodcraft.