Listen to this great interview with Dan Rea on Boston's NightSide.
NightSide – Clint Hill And Lisa McCubbin, Authors Of “Mrs. Kennedy And Me” Were In Studio « CBS Boston
My Book Addiction Reviews Aries Fire by Story Merchant Client Elaine Edelson
Available at Barnes & Noble
SOURCE: Received for an honest review from the author.
Overview(from author’s website)
The Roman Empire. 415 AD. Renowned scholar Hypatia of Alexandria is brutally murdered. Why? And by whom?
Hypatia’s death leaves her 17 year old bastard daughter, Seira, fleeing for her life…herself a target for extermination. Alone and homeless, Seira is thrust into a life of struggle and survival amidst the rise of the Catholic Papacy and the savage Roman battles with the Huns.
So begins Aries Fire, an epic historical fiction spanning three continents and two decades during the surgent Roman Christian campaign to swallow the Eastern and Western European territories.
During her seafaring escape from Egypt to Ashkelon, the sea captain and protector Alexander falls in love with the young Seira. But once in Ashkelon, the rabbinical scholar Isaac and wise ‘seer’ Kiki take Seira under their tutelage, conceal her identity for her safety, and immerse her in medical studies and mysticism.
The fates relentlessly test Seira’s mettle as she searches for her mother’s murderer and her father’s identity.
In Spain, Seira is found out and becomes the target of a Hun political kidnapping gone awry. She saves the life of the great Khan, Attila, who befriends her. Attila–seeing the rage consume Seira and her bitterness with the world and her fate–channels her anger and shapes Seira into a commanding warrior and strategist. Attila is enraptured by Seira as he discovers what a strong, independent, and willful woman she truly is.
Seira is now torn between Alexander and Attila, lovers who vie for her affection and attention. Two great men, one powerful woman.
Her epic journey across Europe and the Middle East throws Seira onto a never ending precipice of conspiracy, war, passion, mysticism, initiation, and self discovery. What Seira ultimately discovers could cost her her life. It’s a secret that can destroy an empire and change the tides of history.
Hypatia’s death leaves her 17 year old bastard daughter, Seira, fleeing for her life…herself a target for extermination. Alone and homeless, Seira is thrust into a life of struggle and survival amidst the rise of the Catholic Papacy and the savage Roman battles with the Huns.
So begins Aries Fire, an epic historical fiction spanning three continents and two decades during the surgent Roman Christian campaign to swallow the Eastern and Western European territories.
During her seafaring escape from Egypt to Ashkelon, the sea captain and protector Alexander falls in love with the young Seira. But once in Ashkelon, the rabbinical scholar Isaac and wise ‘seer’ Kiki take Seira under their tutelage, conceal her identity for her safety, and immerse her in medical studies and mysticism.
The fates relentlessly test Seira’s mettle as she searches for her mother’s murderer and her father’s identity.
In Spain, Seira is found out and becomes the target of a Hun political kidnapping gone awry. She saves the life of the great Khan, Attila, who befriends her. Attila–seeing the rage consume Seira and her bitterness with the world and her fate–channels her anger and shapes Seira into a commanding warrior and strategist. Attila is enraptured by Seira as he discovers what a strong, independent, and willful woman she truly is.
Seira is now torn between Alexander and Attila, lovers who vie for her affection and attention. Two great men, one powerful woman.
Her epic journey across Europe and the Middle East throws Seira onto a never ending precipice of conspiracy, war, passion, mysticism, initiation, and self discovery. What Seira ultimately discovers could cost her her life. It’s a secret that can destroy an empire and change the tides of history.
BOOK TRAILER FOR ARIES FIRE AT: http://youtu.be/2_WduawzEHM
My THOUGHTS:
ARIES FIRE by Elaine Edelson is an exciting historical fiction set in 415
AD Roman Empire. This is an action packed,fast paced non-stop adventure
with intrigue,suspense,romance,and tragedy.
The Empire Roman may be at
risk and they will do whatever and harm whoever gets in their way.The
Catholic Papacy,Romans savage battle with the Huns,a
kidnapping,rape,brutal battles,the need for survival and the struggle to
survive,the heroine,Seira has her life laid out before her. While,
Seira,is torn between two men Attila,the Hun, and Alexander,the Sea
Captain,she is determined to find the truth of her mother’s tragic death
and who her father is,why he is determined to be rid of her and her
mother. A fascinating look into the world of the early Romans,the
Huns,the Catholic church,and Christianity in the early years.
A must
read! This author has gathered a wealth of information,with characters
who not only capture your heart but who will also have you turning pages
as you go with these characters on their flight for survival during the
turbulent years of the Roman Empire. An epic journey of
sacrifice,love,and war as Seira travels across Europe and the Middle
East with a secret that could very well turn the tides of history. I
enjoyed “Aries Fire”from the first page to the last page. Received for
an honest review from the author. Details can be found at the author’s
website,Merchant,and My Book Addiction and More.
RATING: 4
HEAT RATING: Mild
REVIEWED BY: AprilR
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MYSTERIES
by Oline Cogdill
As a Hollywood screenwriter, Dennis Palumbo credits include My Favorite Year (one of my favorites) and Welcome Back, Kotter.
Palumbo is now a licensed psychotherapist and author of Fever Dream and Mirror Image, mysteries that naturally use psychology. Palumbo's novels center around Dr. Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist who consults with the Pittsburgh Police. His specialty is treating those who are traumatized because they were victims of violent crime.
Mystery readers will find much food for thought in one of Palumbo's recent column "Hollywood on the Couch" for Psychology Today. Here, Palumbo maintains that characters, more than clues, are what we remember from mysteries written for the movies and TV.
What he says, also goes for the printed word.
As Palumbo says, "In the movie version of The Lincoln Lawyer, what was the mistake Ryan Phillippe made that proved he was guilty?"
Or, he asks, "In the more recent film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, what led Blomkvist to identify the serial killer?"
Palumbo doesn't remember, and, even though I loved both novels and films, neither do I.
For me, it's also the characters who live on long past some red herring has been dangled in front of me.
For me, it's also the characters who keep me coming back to a series, or praising a book, or, yes, giving a negative review.
Palumbo shows the meaning of this quote by Michael Connelly who said "The best mysteries are about the mystery of character."
Palumbo is now a licensed psychotherapist and author of Fever Dream and Mirror Image, mysteries that naturally use psychology. Palumbo's novels center around Dr. Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist who consults with the Pittsburgh Police. His specialty is treating those who are traumatized because they were victims of violent crime.
Mystery readers will find much food for thought in one of Palumbo's recent column "Hollywood on the Couch" for Psychology Today. Here, Palumbo maintains that characters, more than clues, are what we remember from mysteries written for the movies and TV.
What he says, also goes for the printed word.
As Palumbo says, "In the movie version of The Lincoln Lawyer, what was the mistake Ryan Phillippe made that proved he was guilty?"
Or, he asks, "In the more recent film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, what led Blomkvist to identify the serial killer?"
Palumbo doesn't remember, and, even though I loved both novels and films, neither do I.
For me, it's also the characters who live on long past some red herring has been dangled in front of me.
For me, it's also the characters who keep me coming back to a series, or praising a book, or, yes, giving a negative review.
Palumbo shows the meaning of this quote by Michael Connelly who said "The best mysteries are about the mystery of character."
'Hysteria' Turns the Vibrator Into Inspirational Cinema
- Robert Levin writes about film and other entertainment topics for
amNewYork, Inside Jersey, Backstage, and elsewhere. He is a member of
the
New York Film Critics Online guild.Tanya Wexler's film about the sex toy as medical device works as drama, comedy, and feminist critique.
![[optional image description]](http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/culture_test/takeglasses.jpg)
Remarkably, filmmaker Tanya Wexler has made a movie that manages to be all that at once, wrapped in an appealing populist package. An assemblage of shifting tones and complex ideas, Hysteria is a warmhearted film about a risqué subject. Wexler and screenwriters Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer mainstream things without sanitizing them, reconstituting taboo fodder as the stuff of inspirational cinema.
Wexler uses the lighthearted baseline to get at a deeper and more substantial look at the currents of change sweeping through Britain at the time.
Hugh Dancy stars as headstrong London doctor Mortimer Granville, whose determined attitude and modern notions about germs get him fired from a clinic. Soon after, he's offered employment by Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce) at a practice that caters to high-society women experiencing various forms of "hysteria," which is basically any overt emotional behavior. The "treatment" they're offered, to put it delicately, leaves Granville suffering crippling hand cramps and desperate for an alternative method.
Wexler toys with the amusingly racy set-up, offering funny scenes of patients experiencing what were known as "hysterical paroxysms." The movie has its share of tongue-in-cheek, farcical visual humor, with copulating animals serving as a running motif. At the same time, much is made of the prudish cluelessness of Granville and Dalrymple when it comes to the female body. The doctors dryly and matter-of-factly discuss the medical ramifications of helping women have orgasms. Their delighted patients sing arias and experience other forms of unrestrained joy when their treatments conclude.
The satire places the film squarely within the tradition of Oscar Wilde and other witty late-19th-century playwrights. The movie is so rooted in Wilde's tradition, in fact, that it gives some of its meatiest comic lines to Rupert Everett, playing Granville's best friend and benefactor. Everett, of course, has starred in more than one cinematic adaptation of the master's plays and is set to direct The Happy Prince.
In classic Wildean fashion, though, Wexler uses that lighthearted baseline to get at a deeper and more substantial look at the currents of change sweeping through Britain at the time. In that vein, the real heart of the movie can be found outside the doctors' office. It's embodied by Dalrymple's eldest daughter Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a headstrong and rebellious woman who has tossed away her wealthy, privileged background to become a full-time worker/resident at a settlement house.
Charlotte stalks the edges of the central narrative, emerging at inopportune times and loudly, forcibly demanding that her father and his underling see what's really going on outside their front doors. As sharply played by Gyllenhaal, Charlotte slices through the polished air enveloping the clinic to highlight the absurd, backward wastefulness of the doctors' pursuit. A powerful disruptive force, empathetic and admirable, she's an effective surrogate for the audience, expressing our incredulousness at the overwhelming ignorance on display inside the medical clinic.
In a sense, Charlotte represents the dawning of a new century, one that would bring extraordinary advances in medical science and a powerful, meaningful social movement that achieved sweeping gains in equality for women. She is thoroughly ahead of her time and made into a social outcast for it, but the movie derives much of its emotional resonance from its portrait of her society taking heed and gradually catching up.
Some critics have derided the movie for including Charlotte's story, with the Christian Science Monitor's Peter Rainier writing that, "It's as if they felt they had to work all that socially conscious stuff into the mix in order to justify the risqué humor." But making Hysteria just a libidinous film about 19th-century women and their orgasms would be the easiest and least effective possible route for Wexler.
Instead, the filmmaker deserves ample credit for fashioning her eye-catching conceit, centered on sexual taboos, into a rich and meaningful social chronicle. And given that women's health issues are still a major part of the public conversation, as proven by this year's Sandra Fluke/contraceptives flap, it's a timely one, too.
Guest Post: Finding the Love, Laughs, Tears, Beers and Joy in Caregiving
Suddenly, things like getting to work on time, sleeping through the night, going to a movie on a whim and even exercising went from habits... to rare luxuries. I was thrown (off a third-floor balcony) into not just the role of full-time caregiver, but spy in charge of uncovering the mystery of missing perishables, money, beer (she liked beer!), eyeglasses, hearing aids, jewelry, T-shirts, etc. It was also my job to hold Gram's hand every time she rediscovered her husband was dead. This happened monthly, sometimes daily. And, I was in charge of "keeping Gram's clothes on." She seemed to put 'em on and take 'em off at the most inopportune times. And doors? She didn't even know they were there anymore. When she did dress herself for the day, she often had a thing for my stepson's clothes. You should've seen her sport an Abercrombie & Fitch T. It was hilarious. They should consider broadening their demographic.
For the first year, I played the role of the lowly hermit, thinking, surely I must have been a bank robber or auditor for the IRS in a past life to be trapped in this stranger-than-fiction scenario. Then one day it hit me; it was time to reach out (and also do some damn yoga). Now, this is going to sound like I'm poorly paraphrasing the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra or Anonymous himself, but if you don't take your own happiness seriously, it's impossible to create a harmonious environment around you. So, "adapting" became the new plan of attack against this incurable illness. By 2009, after two near escapes, four lost hearing aids, several unsuccessful adventures in anti-depressants (my adventures) and more fights over the debate of "to bathe or not to bathe" than I'm capable of counting, creating a safe, fun and content environment became the only solution to successful survival.
So, finally, I hired a part-time caregiver; incorporated a date night; and prioritized practicality over aesthetics in my home. I called it, The Alzheimer's Friendly Joint -- with our three baby gates, a dozen night lights and child safety locks on all exterior doors. And the "joint" also became riddled with signs:
"Bathroom This Way"
"Please do NOT feed the dog. He Will Die."
"Gram, I will be back in 5 minutes. Love, Lisa"
"No Beer Cans in the Microwave. Thanks"
"Gram, your little boy is NOT lost, he is safe with me. Love, Lisa"
These simple changes saved everyone's sanity and the life of our tea cup poodle, Beau. (You're welcome, Beau.)
Through it all, I still managed to write like a mad woman, but now my words had purpose. In fact, our story, the memoir, As Nora Jo Fades Away, gave us both purpose. Incorporating my gram into that process also gave her a real sense of value, something that was slipping away with her memory. We became deeply involved with our local Alzheimer's Association, too. At age five, my daughter, Jazz, was their youngest volunteer "on the books." Last year, I was lucky enough to go to Maria Shriver's March Against Alzheimer's in Long Beach, California. I came back with so much energy (could have been the break!), that I started interviewing Gram and filming us. 14 DAYS With Alzheimer's was the result of that new adventure. The documentary has been in over a dozen film festivals across the country and incorporated into several universities' medical programs, including Columbia's, since its August 2011 completion.
This illness has opened my eyes and heart to a world that was previously foreign. I'm over seven years in and still a pup, a newborn looking on in amazement and sadness by the oddities of dementia-related illnesses. There are days when I still curse and cry, but truth be told, I've always been a bit of a potty mouth and a drama queen, so that might just be me.
Thanks to my gram, I now communicate through books, blogs, film and speaking engagements to the growing community of caregivers in this world who feel alone. I finally "let go" and found freedom in compassion, and realized, I was merely honoring a woman who was my idol, my Oprah. All I did was "pay it back." We (caregivers) remind our spouses, siblings, parents and grandparents of who they are, or were, just by being there for them, whether they know our name or not.
Joy is the ultimate feeling of success. Joy for me was caring for her. She woke up every morning for three years safely in my home, and with a joyous grin she'd say, "Good morning, Lisa. Good morning, Pete. Good morning, Jazz. Good morning, Bart." And okay, so my stepson's name is not Bart, it's Brock, but three out of four wasn't bad!
My daughter, Jazz, finds joy in drawing, dance, puppies, destroying every lipstick I've ever purchased and opening doors for the elderly. My husband has ESPN, exercise, the kids and cooking. My stepson, Bart/Brock plays guitar, basketball and did a stellar job of "grinning and bearing it" when Gram went off on a rant every time she caught him eating (yes, eating). And he's 6'6," so he gets hungry. Yet, she could never figure out why this Bart guy kept hanging around the kitchen and "taking" all our food.
My gram lost her son, her husband, her home and her mind. But she never lost us. Not even on "shower day," when she really, really wanted to, there we were... taking care of business.
Lisa Cerasoli is the author of On the Brink of Bliss & Insanity and As Nora Jo Fades Away, with foreword by Leeza Gibbons, and the director of "14 DAYS With Alzheimer's" (a 29 minute documentary short). Check out You Tube Channel: LisaMarieCerasoli for the movie trailer.
This Blogger's Books from
Seven Ways To Die Highlighted in Atlanta Magazine
SEVEN WAYS TO DIE by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity AEI/Story Merchant Books Before he died in 2006, Diehl (Sharky's Machine and Primal Fear) had written more than 400 pages of his tenth novel, about a captain in the NYPD on the trail of a serial killer in Manhattan. Using an outline and notes that Diehl left behind, Atchity finished the thriller, staying very true to the fast-paced, screenplay-ready plot that was the author's trademark. It's a fitting posthumous tribute to the former journalist-and first managing editor of Atlanta magazine who left his day job in his fifties to pursue his dream of writing fiction.
FIRST LOOK: As always his psyche was mamentarilyaskew. He perfarmed each autapsy compassionately. They were constant reminders of the finite line between life and death, between the human body and a corpse without a soul.
Guest Post: How to Increase Your Newsletter Visibility by 100%
Penny C. Sansevieri
Newsletters are a great way to stay in front of your
audience, but I'm amazed by how many people still have no idea how to manage
their own newsletter. I see sloppy copy or newsletters that haven't been edited
(am I really going to buy from someone who doesn't have the time to edit their
newsletter or make it look nice?). I also see newsletters that veer off topic
so much that I instantly unsubscribe. And, my absolute favorite: how on earth
did I ever end up with this newsletter in the first place?
If used correctly, newsletters can be a great way to get
your message out there, offer helpful advice, and keep people in your marketing
funnel. We've had our newsletter for ten years and it's been a solid way to
stay in front of our audience and educate them about their market and what we
do as a company. Candidly, I would consider getting rid of a lot of things, but
never our newsletter. It's often the single biggest business driver to our
company. It's not easy, it requires work, but the rewards are tremendous. Here
are some ideas for enhancing your newsletter and growing your audience:
Know your
audience: While this might sound trite and a bit "duh," it's actually
more important than you might think and, ironically, quite overlooked. Many
business owners who put out newsletters write more for themselves than for
their audience. This is a huge mistake as you can imagine because most of the
time, your consumer won't care about things the way you do. Speak to their
pain, their needs and their hot buttons and most important, know exactly who
they are before you start cranking out newsletter copy.
Other
newsletters: It's important to know what other folks are putting out there in
regards to newsletters. This will help you learn what you like, what you don't
like, and what might work for your market. Also, you want to really understand
your space and other experts who share your arena.
Subject lines:
This is probably the most important part of any newsletter. They need to grab
the reader's attention, and if you know what your audience wants, the subject
lines shouldn't be hard. But they must speak to the needs of your reader. Of
all the things going on in their lives, as it relates to whatever you are
selling, what's their biggest need right now? Answer that and you've got a
perfect subject line.
Who cares?
Whether it's a newsletter, a blog post, or a tweet, ask yourself: "Who
cares?" If you can identify the person as your reader and the content
important enough to get them to care, then you have a good topic. Remember,
it's not about you - in fact when it comes to creating great content and
newsletters that rock, you don't matter at all. Keep that in mind, and
understand that this is about putting together a message that 100% benefits the
people you are writing to.
Personal notes:
What prompted this article was an email note I got this morning. The subject
line said "A personal request" which prompted me to open it. When I
did the email started out with Dear... and a bunch of spaces after the word
"dear" because I had not entered my name into their system. Be really
careful of this. Not everyone enters their name into your email list when they
sign up; if they don't, you want to try and avoid these types of emails because
they look a bit odd to the recipient. A subject line that said "A personal
request" along with an email that was anything but personal caused me to
unsubscribe right away.
Length: A lot
of people say that they prefer shorter emails to longer ones. I say it really
depends on your market. Our newsletter is pretty long but it's packed with
content and I hear from authors all the time that they keep these issues, often
printing them off. Your market will dictate how long or short your newsletter
should be and if you are following others in your market, this will tell you a
lot.
Colors vs.
text: I'm still a big fan of text-based newsletters. I know that folks will say
that color works best but I still think that color newsletters can be harder to
read on your phones and often wind up in spam filters.
Frequency: How
often you deliver your newsletter will generally depend on your consumer, but a
good rule of thumb is once a month at a minimum and once a week at a maximum. I
would not recommend sending your end-user too many announcements and
newsletters. Also, it's a lot of content to create, so keep that in mind. If
you build a loyal following you can often create special blasts with more
frequency and not lose readers, but keep in mind that we're all inundated with
emails so many times, less is more.
Editing: Please
make sure your newsletter is edited, this is so important. Remember that
everything is your resume. I used to know a guy in publishing who put out a
newsletter that said "this is not edited." I felt like it detracted
from his message, especially when he backed up that statement with typos. Not
good. Everything is your resume. If you don't have time to send out an edited
newsletter, you should consider whether or not you have the time for it at all.
Appeal to the
"skimmers": Most people skim email these days, so appeal to that. Use
short paragraphs, bullet points and strong headlines. That way your reader can
glance through the newsletter without having to sift through endless copy and
get to the heart of what they are looking for.
Promote or not?
I'm not a fan of a newsletter that's all heavy promotion. You know the ones I
mean, they scream "Look how fabulous I am" and then contain a lot of
sales copy and special offers. I unsubscribe from those pretty quickly. Ideally
you want to strike a balance. Clearly you are doing this to promote yourself
and you want your readers to know what you do, what your message, book, or
product is about and how they can get it. You can and should talk about this in
every issue but keep in mind that a healthy balance is 95% information and 5%
sales. You'll build customer loyalty much faster this way.
Having a solid base and a consistent way to communicate
with your audience can really help to optimize and increase your bottom line. A
newsletter might seem like a lot of work, but in the end if it's done right it
will pay off in some pretty amazing ways.
A Book Signing with Clint Hill - May 23rd - JFK Presidental Library!
Wednesday, May 23,
2012
11:00am - 2:00pm
Jacqueline Kennedy’s Secret Service Agent, Clint Hill, will sign copies of his
new book, Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir in the Museum Store
of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
Hill is a former United States Secret Service agent who was in the presidential
motorcade during the John F. Kennedy assassination. Hill remained assigned to
Mrs. Kennedy and the children until after the 1964 presidential election.
Also joining Clint Hill is Lisa McCubbin, co-author of Mrs. Kennedy
and Me. Ms. McCubbin is an award-winning journalist who has been both a
television news anchor and reporter.
Copies of Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir will be on sale in
our Museum Store.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Visit/A-Book-Signing-with-Clint-Hill.aspx
Crime Fiction Collection Reviews Story Merchant Client Dennis Palumbo's Fever Dream
Book Review - Fever Dream
By C.J. West
Fever Dream by Dennis Palumbo is the second Daniel Rinaldi mystery. Palumbo is building a series that goes well beyond the mystery in each book by deepening our understanding of a wide ranging cast of characters.
Daniel Rinaldi is a consulting psychologist to the Pittsburgh Police Department and as an outsider and a mental health professional, he gives us interesting insights into the struggles facing the cops that begrudgingly call him to work for them. Rinaldi is also affiliated with a psychiatric hospital and meets with patients and former patients that give us an unvarnished view of characters suffering from mental illness. For the writers here, Palumbo's characterization of characters with mental illness alone is reason to study his work.
Fever Dream opens with a bank heist that spins out of control and becomes a hostage situation. In the first two dozen pages, Palumbo displays his mastery of the genre by planting the seed that a twist is coming, even this early in the book, and then delivering it in a way that is at once unexpected but also foreshadowed. The plot continues to twist, deepening with each turn. The possibilities seem endless as the book nears its conclusion offering connections to several characters with plausible links to a crime that itself morphs as the story unfolds.
Palumbo’s work as a licensed psychotherapist gives him insight into human relationships that really sparkles in his writing. In Fever Dream the relationship between Treva Williams, one of the victims in the bank heist, and Eleanor Lowrey, one of the detectives investigating, was so strongly done I had to stop reading and consider how well the reveal had been written.
Here is another example of a relationship splendidly portrayed:
In the passage above, Palumbo describes a heart-rending longing between Rinaldi and a former coworker that is so poignant you can’t help but feel his angst. Relationships deepen in this second novel, and Rinaldi's pain is visceral even as he works to help solve the bank heist and treat Ms. Williams, his emotional struggles bubble to the surface. Palumbo masterfully manages to deepen numerous series characters while telling a story that can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.
Seasoned writers talk about focusing on character and allowing the story to grow out of character. Fever Dream displays Palumbo's mastery of both. He delivers a great mystery with characters that really sparkle. I highly recommend Fever Dream, and Mirror Image, the first Daniel Rinaldi mystery.
If you’re looking for more from Dennis Palumbo, you can find him at www.dennispalumbo.com. You can also listen to my Blog Talk Radio interview with him as we discuss his books, Mirror Image and Writing from the Inside out.
Fever Dream by Dennis Palumbo is the second Daniel Rinaldi mystery. Palumbo is building a series that goes well beyond the mystery in each book by deepening our understanding of a wide ranging cast of characters.
Daniel Rinaldi is a consulting psychologist to the Pittsburgh Police Department and as an outsider and a mental health professional, he gives us interesting insights into the struggles facing the cops that begrudgingly call him to work for them. Rinaldi is also affiliated with a psychiatric hospital and meets with patients and former patients that give us an unvarnished view of characters suffering from mental illness. For the writers here, Palumbo's characterization of characters with mental illness alone is reason to study his work.
Fever Dream opens with a bank heist that spins out of control and becomes a hostage situation. In the first two dozen pages, Palumbo displays his mastery of the genre by planting the seed that a twist is coming, even this early in the book, and then delivering it in a way that is at once unexpected but also foreshadowed. The plot continues to twist, deepening with each turn. The possibilities seem endless as the book nears its conclusion offering connections to several characters with plausible links to a crime that itself morphs as the story unfolds.
Palumbo’s work as a licensed psychotherapist gives him insight into human relationships that really sparkles in his writing. In Fever Dream the relationship between Treva Williams, one of the victims in the bank heist, and Eleanor Lowrey, one of the detectives investigating, was so strongly done I had to stop reading and consider how well the reveal had been written.
Here is another example of a relationship splendidly portrayed:
“She noticed me then, too, and we exchanged brief, sad smiles.
And not just because of our shared grief about Andy’s death.
It was more or less the way we always greeted each other
other, no matter how much time had gone by.
And probably always would.”
In the passage above, Palumbo describes a heart-rending longing between Rinaldi and a former coworker that is so poignant you can’t help but feel his angst. Relationships deepen in this second novel, and Rinaldi's pain is visceral even as he works to help solve the bank heist and treat Ms. Williams, his emotional struggles bubble to the surface. Palumbo masterfully manages to deepen numerous series characters while telling a story that can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.
Seasoned writers talk about focusing on character and allowing the story to grow out of character. Fever Dream displays Palumbo's mastery of both. He delivers a great mystery with characters that really sparkle. I highly recommend Fever Dream, and Mirror Image, the first Daniel Rinaldi mystery.
Palumbo works with writers to help them overcome writer’s block and
other mental obstacles to producing their best work. For the writers who
regularly visit CFC, you’ll want to check out his book, Writing From The Inside Out.
This is a great resource for writers to understand how their emotions
and their perspective on their own work affects their productivity.
If you’re looking for more from Dennis Palumbo, you can find him at www.dennispalumbo.com. You can also listen to my Blog Talk Radio interview with him as we discuss his books, Mirror Image and Writing from the Inside out.
Yale Club event for MRS KENNEDY AND ME
With Bob Sparks and Richard Ramos Co-Producers of THE KENNEDY DETAIL feature
With Nina Reznick, Lisa McCubbin, and publisher Louise
Burke.
 |
THANKS TO DAVID SKINNER FOR THIS GREAT HIT!
A Star Who Was Born, Sparkled and Fell
‘End of the Rainbow,’ on Judy Garland, at Belasco Theater
End of the Rainbow, with Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland, at the Belasco Theater.
By BEN BRANTLEY
As befits a play about JudyGarland, a woman known for liberally mixing her pills, Peter Quilter’s “End ofthe Rainbow” is a jolting upper and downer at the same time. After watchingTracie Bennett’s electrifying interpretation of Garland in the intenseproduction that opened on Monday night at the Belasco Theater, you feel exhilaratedand exhausted, equally ready to dance down the street and crawl under a rock.
In other words, you feelutterly alive, with all the contradictions that implies. That’s what comes fromwitnessing acting that is this unconditionally committed, not to mention thissensational — in every sense of the word.
Set in 1968 in a London hotel suite and a nightclub, where a shaky Garland has arrived foryet another of her fabled comebacks, Mr. Quilter’s play is in some ways yourstandard-issue showbiz pathography, a lurid account of the twilight of anall-too-mortal goddess on the eve of destruction. Yet while it includes detailsthat would have been greedily consumed by readers of Confidential magazine,“End of the Rainbow” is revealing in a way that tell-all bio-drama seldom is.
For that you can thank Ms.Bennett, who, as directed by Terry Johnson, is giving one of the most completeportraits of an artist I’ve ever seen. More than four decades after Garland’s death at 47 in1969, her persona (like that of Marilyn and Elvis) remains one of the mosteasily identified and imitated in American culture.
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Clint Hill Discusses Mrs. Kennedy and Me on My Fox New York
Clint Hill, a retired special agent with the Secret Service, talks about his new book, "Mrs. Kennedy and Me." Mr. Hill was assigned to Mrs. Kennedy from 1960-1964. He is the agent who jumped on the limo when President Kennedy was shot.
From the publisher
In MRS. KENNEDY AND ME (Gallery Books; On-sale: April 3, 2012; hardcover; $26), Clint Hill gives a firsthand account of the four years he spent as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's Secret Service Agent.
In those four years, Hill was by Mrs. Kennedy's side for some of the happiest moments as well as the darkest. He was there for the birth of John, Jr. on November 25, 1960 and for the birth and sudden death of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy on August 8, 1963. Three and a half months later, the unthinkable happened.
Clint Hill is the agent who courageously ran onto the back of the presidential limousine in the midst of the shooting on November 22, 1963. While he was too late to save the president, he positioned himself on the back of the car in such a way as to ensure that any remaining shots would hit him instead of the First Lady and the already fatally wounded president.
Hill is best known for the role he played that dreadful day, but the story of his earlier time alongside Jacqueline Kennedy is rich with amusing anecdotes from within the Kennedy compound, abroad in locations like India, Pakistan, Greece, and Italy, at the First Family's country home in Middleburg, VA, and everywhere else the First Lady traveled during that time. He was there for it all.
Written with award-winning journalist Lisa McCubbin, MRS. KENNEDY AND ME gives context to many of the countless iconic images of Jacqueline Kennedy as Clint Hill was there, behind-the-scenes in most cases. Some of the highlights and revelations from the book involve: a conversation President Kennedy had with Hill regarding Aristotle Onassis prior to a trip to Greece in 1961; Jackie's attitude towards taking shelter during the Cuban Missile Crisis; JFK's last birthday party, aboard the U.S.S. Sequoia; and many other never before told stories of funny happenings and tender moments.
An intimate memoir of their unique relationship, MRS. KENNEDY AND ME offers insight into the Jacqueline Kennedy few people knew.
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