GAYA Banquet and Ceremony takes place on Saturday, June 27.
The Georgia Writers Association recognizes Georgia's authors of excellence by presenting the Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) Ceremony. The GAYA ceremony has the distinction of being the oldest literary awards ceremony in the Southeastern United States while reflecting the current publishing world. The GAYA honors both independently published authors and those whose books are published by traditional publishing houses.
Prominent winners of the GAYA include David Bottoms, for his poetry collection Vagrant Grace (1999); Turner Cassity, for his poetry collection Devils and Islands (2007); Jimmy Carter, for his essay collections The Virtues of Aging (1998) and Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis (2005); Pearl Cleage, for her novel I Wish I Had a Red Dress (2001; Judith Ortiz Cofer, for her essay collection Woman in Front of the Sun (2000); Terry Kay, for his novels Valley of Light (2003) and The Book of Marie (2007); John Lewis, for his memoir Walking with the Wind(1998); Frank Manley, for his novel The Cockfighter (1998) and short-story collection Among Prisoners (2000); and Philip Lee Williams for his essay collection In the Morning: Reflections from First Light (2006). Poet Bettie Sellers won a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2004.
We are delighted to welcome author Jerry Amernic to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Partners in Crime Tours, which is coordinating his current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find his schedule here.
Jerry's historical thriller is titled The Last Witness
(Story Merchant Books; October 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats)
and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with him talking
about it.
— ♦ —
Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the lead character of The Last Witness.
Photo provided courtesy of Jerry Amernic
Jerry Amernic: My lead character in The Last Witness
is Jack Fisher, a 100-year-old man who is the last living survivor of
the Holocaust. He is a charmer and most sincere, but tenacious and got
that way having been born as a hidden child in a Jewish ghetto in 1939
and then being taken to Auschwitz — and surviving — as a little boy
after losing all his family. In short, Jack is a guy who doesn't give up
and that's what I like about him.
OMN: Will we be seeing him in a sequel?
JA: Well, when your lead character is 100 years old, it doesn't leave much room for a sequel. But The Last Witness is a standalone book.
OMN: How did you go about finding the right voice for Jack?
JA:
Jack is a male and I can't say why exactly, but my last living survivor
was always going to be a man. No particular reason. However, another
major character in the book is his great-granddaughter Christine and
this character was never going to be a male. As for the voice, I find as
a writer that the character "grows" into the voice as you write. The
character grows inside you and pretty soon that character is writing his
or her own dialogue. You are just the conduit.
OMN: The cover of The Last Witness calls it a thriller. Would you agree with that?
JA:
I always have a problem with pinpointing the genre. My books are
definitely historical, but they are also suspenseful and thrillers. But
"thriller" can mean a lot of different things. Maybe it's best to have a
look at the reader. My reader knows history and, if I may use such a
word, is pretty sophisticated. This reader already knows history, is a
student of it, and asks a lot of questions.
OMN: How would you tweet a summary of The Last Witness?
JA:
A historical thriller about the last living survivor of the Holocaust
caught in a near-future world that doesn't know history.
OMN: How much of your own personal experience have you included in the book?
JA:
Every character created is a compendium of both real and imagined
characters. And the situations in my book are all real. They happened.
They have been chronicled. What I do is take these situations and create
characters who twist and turn with the story.
OMN: Tell us a little more about your writing process.
JA:
I definitely let the story develop as I write. If there is a plan it's a
loose one. Here is what I do. I write and write and write. And keep
writing. I go back to the beginning and rewrite. The story evolves and
gets developed like a painting or better still, a sculpture. The writer
sculpts until the thing is finished.
OMN: How did you go about researching the plot points of the story?
JA: For The Last Witness
I made a point of meeting real former child survivors of the Holocaust
and hearing their stories. Some of my flashbacks take place in a Jewish
ghetto so I read everything I could find about that. Other flashbacks
take place in Auschwitz. Same thing there. And with me fact-checking
historical flashbacks is very important. I want my story to be
authentic. I don't bend history. I had a former child survivor proofread
all my flashbacks.
OMN: How true are you to the settings in the book?
JA:
Again, I am not one to bend history and here's an example. At first I
was planning to write about the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Ghetto
Uprising. But no Jews from Warsaw were sent to Auschwitz. They went to
other death camps and I wanted to write about Auschwitz. I settled on
the Jewish Ghetto in Lodz, the next biggest city in Poland.
OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a book, where would it be?
JA:
It depends on the next book. I'm currently in the middle of a novel I
wrote years ago and it's about the Iroquois Indians. I have already been
to all the necessary sites so what I'm doing now is rewriting and
making it better. My most recent novel Qumran
is largely about the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jerusalem. I made a point of
personally visiting all the crucial places myself and inside the cover
there's a great photo of me standing in the cave at Qumran which coughed
up 500 Dead Sea Scrolls.
OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these found their way into your books?
JA:
Absolutely. I'm a student of history and a nut about archeology. If I
could do it all over again I would probably study archeology at
university. And of course people are of great interest to me. We are
indeed a crazy bunch who often do incredible things — both great and not
so great.
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
JA:
My agent gave me the best advice. He said to write over my keyboard in
ten words or less what my book is about. Then he said every page and
every paragraph has to be about that, and if it isn't, cut it. It's not
easy to do this, especially for new writers. The cuts are like
amputations. An arm here. A leg there. But it's good advice. The key is
to remember your reader. The reader is the most important person in the
world.
OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a thriller writer and thus I am also …".
JA: I'm a writer of serious and suspenseful historical fiction for the intelligent reader.
OMN: Have you ever used a pen name?
JA: I've never used one but Stephen King sounds like a good name to me.
OMN: Tell us more about the how the book came to be titled. And were you involved with the cover design?
JA: The Last Witness was previously The Last Child and before that it was The Last Child of Brzezinka.
I'm not making this up. But I got some advice and listened. The cover
was created by the designer and I loved it. They asked for my input and I
gave it. We tweaked a bit and settled on things.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
JA:
If I get emotion I'm happy. One reader said they were up all night
sometimes crying in their bed. Any kind of emotion is good. Even if they
hate it you have triggered an emotion.
OMN: Suppose The Last Witness were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the lead role?
JA: Gee, I'd like to be able to answer this, but I don't really know. The Last Witness
would make a great movie. I've been told that. But I'm still at the
book stage. Let's make it a success as a novel and we can talk about the
movie later.
OMN: Have any specific authors influenced how and what you write today?
JA:
My favorite author is James A. Michener. He wrote historical epics
about a certain place and time with lots of incredible characters. I ate
this stuff up. I would look forward to the evening when I could absorb
myself in his novels. The Source is probably my favorite book of all. But I also like other authors like Ken Follett whose first book, Eye of the Needle, I still think just might be the best thriller ever written.
OMN: When selecting a book to read for pleasure, what do you look for?
JA:
I want to be entertained, but I also want to learn. So when it comes to
historical fiction I pick something that is interesting and that I want
to know more about.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
JA: Let's go with movies. Top Five? Godfather I and II. Ben-Hur. Ghandi. Braveheart. Dances With Wolves. You get the idea.
OMN: What's next for you?
JA: As mentioned earlier, I'm working on a novel called Medicine Man
which is about the history and legacy of the Iroquois Indians. The
Iroquois played a prominent role in the formation of both Canada and the
United States, and don't get nearly enough credit. Hopefully, I can
help.
— ♦ —
Jerry
Amernic is an author of fiction and non-fiction books. He has been a
columnist and correspondent for daily newspapers, and is a contributor
to many magazines. An avid student of history, the sciences, and
archaeology, he is a member of such organizations as the Royal Ontario
Museum, the James A. Michener Society, and International Thriller
Writers.
Nearly 200 people came to the screenplay reading of Leslie Neilan's The Book of Leah. The actors performed 7 scenes from Leslie's screenplay and Holocaust survivor Aaron Elster spoke about the importance of getting the film made. Four Jewish War Veteran were also honored at the event.
Leslie Neilan and Aaron Elster, Speaker/Author at Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
Actors John Judd, Lia Mortenson, Mark Grapey, AC Smith, Claire Cooney, Nina Ganet and Jonah Rawitz performed several scenes from the screenplay. They did an incredible job of bringing to life the characters for "The Book of Leah."
Saudi court upholds blogger's 10 years and 1,000 lashes
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment on blogger Raif Badawi, despite a foreign outcry.
Speaking from Canada, his wife Ensaf Haidar told the BBC she feared his punishment would start again on Friday.
Badawi was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels".
Saudi authorities sent his case for review amidst global protests, after the first round of lashes in January.
For four years Badawi ran the Liberal Saudi Network, which encouraged online debate on religious and political issues.
Ms Haidar said she had held high hopes that her husband was about to be released, but he remained less optimistic.
When they last spoke three days ago he told her not to expect him home in the near future.
She called on the countries and rights groups that had campaigned for her husband's release to mobilise once more. Protests were held following Badawi's first flogging by the kingdom
Badawi received his first 50 lashes in January, but subsequent floggings have been postponed.
A shaky video taken on a mobile phone showed Badawi being lashed by a member of the security forces.
The footage prompted international protests which were repeated every Friday, the scheduled day for the beatings.
In March, the kingdom expressed "surprise and dismay" at international criticism over the punishment.
At the time, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying it rejected interference in its internal affairs.
It is not clear why Badawi has not yet endured a second round though a medical report found he was not fit for the punishment.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent. It has some of the highest social media usage rates in the region, and has cracked down on domestic online criticism.
Those who investigate corruption in the course of their work — police, lawyers, journalists — are probably not shocked with the news that nine senior officials of FIFA, the top governing body of the world’s most popular sport, face numerous charges involving bribery and kickbacks. We are hearing about secret bank accounts in Panama and the Cayman Islands, and $150 million paid out in bribes over the past 20 years. Last year the World Cup was held in Brazil. In 2010 it was in South Africa. The next one will be in Russia in 2018.
Transparency International is a non-profit organization with over 100 chapters around the globe, and it monitors corruption. It is dedicated to a world in which government, business “and the daily lives of people” are free of corruption. Every year it produces a Corruption Perceptions Index that measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption. In the 2014 Index of 175 countries, not one country gets a perfect score and more than two-thirds score below 50 on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). So the higher the number, the better or cleaner you are perceived to be.
For the record, South Africa ranked #67 on the list with a score of 44, Brazil ranked #69 with a score of 43, and Russia ranked #136 with a score of 27.
According to the latest index, the number-one or cleanest country in the world is Denmark with a score of 92, followed closely by New Zealand at 91, and then rounding out the top ten in order — Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and us. Canada. We are ranked number 10 with a score of 81, which means we slipped a notch. In the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index Canada was tied for 9th place with Australia, and in the 2012 Index we were also tied for 9th, but this time with the Netherlands.
Has the FIFA World Cup ever been hosted by a top-10 country, as perceived by Transparency International? Yes. Twice. The 1954 World Cup was held in Switzerland and the very next one, in 1958, was held in Sweden. But with the 2022 World Cup already awarded to Qatar, we will have gone 64 years without a single FIFA World Cup going to a country perceived to be relatively clean of corruption.
The 1986 World Cup — where Diego Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal and what is considered the best goal ever, both in a quarter-final match against England — was supposed to be held in Colombia. But that country cancelled and was replaced by Mexico. Let’s go back to the 2014 Corruption Perception Index. Colombia comes in at number 94 with a score of 37, while Mexico is even lower at number 103 with a score of 35.
The most recent rankings by Transparency International show the United Kingdom at number 14 with a score of 78, while the United States is tied at number 17 with Barbados, Hong Kong and Ireland. They all have a score of 74. China is number 100 with a score of 36, and at the very bottom of the list we have a two-way tie with North Korea and Somalia, both of which score an 8.
The average score overall is 43, which according to Transparency International is nothing to write home about. The organization also does a breakdown which sheds lights on the perceived level of corruption according to region.
The Americas — both North and South America — has an average of 45, and Canada is the highest-rated country for this part of the world with our 81, while at the bottom we have Haiti and Venezuela at 19. The other bottom feeders in the Americas are Paraguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guyana and Guatemala.
Here are the average scores for the rest of the world: EU and Western Europe — 66; Middle East and North Africa — 38; Sub-Saharan Africa — 33; Eastern Europe and Central Asia — 33; Asia Pacific — 43.
In the EU and Western Europe, the least corrupt country is the overall winner Denmark at 92, and the most corrupt is a three-way tie between Greece, Italy and Romania at 43. In the Middle East and North Africa the cleanest is the United Arab Emirates at 70, followed by Qatar at 69 and Israel at 60, and the most corrupt is Sudan at 11.
In Sub-Saharan Africa the best is Botswana at 63, and the most corrupt is Somalia at 8. For Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the top dog is Georgia with 52 and the most corrupt is Turkmenistan at 17. The other countries at the low end of the scale in this part of the world are the “stans” — Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan — along with Russia and Ukraine.
Finally, for Asia Pacific, the results are New Zealand at the top with 91 and North Korea at the bottom.
Ugaz also adds a poignant footnote: “Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries.”
It stands to reason that when an organization like FIFA awards the World Cup to a country low on the Corruption Perceptions Index — make no mistake, this is an event involving a lot of money — it’s asking for trouble. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be interesting to do an analysis of FIFA itself, not to mention the Olympics and even Major League Baseball for that matter, measuring the criteria used by Transparency International to see where they wind up on the corruption scale?
And while we’re at it, maybe the Canadian Senate, too.
Story Merchant Books releases the first ever Arousal Optimization Self-Help Book:
REVIEW
Wow! This book was much more than I was expecting. I thought I was just
getting a book to help me with arousal. Let's face it, as a working mom
and needing to take care of a household, I don't always feel sexy.
Following Sarah White's program changed that.
There is much more to this book then arousal. Sarah White helps in all
aspects of life. The author goes into eight different pillars that the
plan operates under: food, exercise, clothing, living space, sex and
love, work and money, culture, and the power project.
This book looks at all aspects of your life. Some of the tasks in this
book were hard and were a real eye opening experience for myself. This
isn't a book you're going to just sit down and read. Nope, you're going
to have work and take a lot of time reflecting about yourself.
If you're not feeling the spice in life you used to, I would recommend
this book. It's eye opening, raw, and you will see changes.
A Daily Ten-Week Program to Optimize Your Arousal & Achieve Your Goals by Sarah
White - The Naked Therapist
Brooklyn, NY - Based on the research of Dr. Donald Pfaff, Head of the Laboratory of Neurology
and Behavior at Rockefeller University, and the clinical experience of Sarah White (the Naked
Therapist), The Arousal Plan is a daily ten-week self-help program
designed to optimize your “Life Arousal” so you can feel great, get
motivated, and achieve your goals.
The book takes 70 days to complete, and each day contains an Arousing
Inspiration, an Arousing Activity, and an online Arousal Assessment
Form. At the end of the Arousal Plan, you’ll have the skills and
knowledge you need to optimize your Arousal. Susan Krauss Whitbourne,
Ph.D., has said, "Once you find your optimum level of arousal, your
performance will be both flawless and enjoyable."
Arousal is one of the most exciting fields of research in psychology
today in terms of motivation, happiness, and health. The book presents
the following core arousal concepts: The Arousal System - a complex
nexus of brain chemicals that govern Arousal. This system is engaged
through the Three A's - physically Active, mentally Alert, and
emotionally Available. To optimize your Arousal, you need to optimize
the Three A's in the 8 Pillars of Your Life: Food, Exercise, Clothing,
Living Space, Sex & Love, Work & Money, Culture, and the Power
Project. Sarah also teaches you how to link Life Arousal with Sexual
Arousal for maximum motivation.
In the end, the Arousal Plan helps you realize how important Arousal is
to everything you do so you can integrate optimized Arousal into your
physical, mental and emotional worlds. As Sarah says, “Arousal is about
having a balanced baseline of excitement and motivation that influences
you positively in all areas of your life. Until you achieve more
Arousal, you will be forever frustrated in your efforts. In the realm of
human achievement, Arousal is All.”
Sarah White is conducting the Arousal Plan herself, and posting daily
comments about her journey on her Twitter Account. Readers interested in
going through the plan with Sarah can get the book and share in the
adventure with her.
About the book:
The Arousal Plan by Sarah White
ISBN: 978-0990943600
Publisher: Story Merchant Books
Date of publish: January 2015
Pages: 192
S.R.P.: $14.99
About the author:
Sarah White, the Naked Therapist, founded her Naked Therapy practice in
October 2010 to investigate the therapeutic value of arousal in helping
her clients achieve unique, powerful and relevant insights. She and/or
her methods have been featured on hundreds of media outlets, including
“The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, Psychology Today, Vice Magazine, “The
Jeff Probst Show,” CBS and ABC News, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, and many others.
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