Resolved to Read More in 2021?

If you promised yourself to read more this year, add these books to your reading list and resolve to support the independent presses that publish them:

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “You smart kids think you’re invulnerable. Ignorant ones have the good sense to be afraid of dying.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “I was skeptical about whether Tazia could do the work, but she was as strong as any man.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “Just wait until this war is over and you ladies is back in the kitchen.” A probing fiction biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

Read more about each book in NOVELS.

What I’m Reading: Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller

My Amazon and Goodreads review of Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller (Rating 5) – Under Small Tremors an Earthquake of Emotions. Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller is the story of a community anchored by a marriage. At the center is Graham, expansive, enthusiastic, greedy by his own admission, but equally generous. Readers also hear from his first wife Frieda, who still loves him, and their son Lucas; Graham’s best friend Bill, with whom he owns a bookstore in Boston; the many friends who frequent the store and attend Graham’s parties; and Graham’s daughter Sarah, who he had with Annie, his demure wife of thirty years. Ultimately, however, this book is Annie’s story. When Graham suddenly dies (not a spoiler; it happens in the first chapter), Annie a photographer, is plunged into grief. The world she inhabits was constructed by Graham, and despite momentary twinges, she was willingly absorbed into his orbit. How will she exist without him? Months after Graham’s death, Annie discovers he was unfaithful. Her grief is obliterated by rage. As others continue to mourn, Annie distances herself, like a photographer hiding behind a camera. A seemingly small encounter finally allows her to reclaim her grief, and her life. As a fiction writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire Miller’s interweaving of voices, attention to the details that build our individual and shared lives, and above all, her gift for quietly probing small tremors beneath which lie an earthquake of emotions. Monogamy is a snapshot that, when developed, reveals a big picture.

Under small tremors, an earthquake of emotions
Why writers read: “A good book is an education of the heart.” – Susan Sontag

North American Review to Publish “Death, Shmeath”

I’m thrilled to announce that my story “Death, Shmeath” will be published by North American Review, the oldest literary journal in the U.S., with a jaw-dropping roster of authors since its founding in 1815. Here’s the log line: In “Death, Shmeath,” set in 1932 Brooklyn and based on a real character, an Orthodox father struggles with his son’s worldwide fame as the first and only gay Jewish matador. I first read about Sidney Franklin, the real-life matador, two years ago in a series of articles written during Gay Pride Week. I knew there was a story there, but it took a while to figure out who it belonged to. When I decided it was the father, I was ready to write this work of fiction. Read more in SHORT STORIES.

Sidney Franklin, the gay Jewish matador from Brooklyn

Learn History Through Fiction: Outspoken Women

100 years ago today ago, on January 5, 1921, suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst harangued the jury at London’s Guildhall to protest her arrest on the charge of sedition. Pankhurst said she faced death many times for her beliefs and was not afraid to do so again. She was sent back to Holloway prison, and continued to speak out against the suppression of women, fascism, racism, and economic inequality. Read about strong women fighting social norms in an American immigrant family during that era in On the Shore. Order on Amazon. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

Sylvia Pankhurst: Outspoken suffragette and fighter for human rights
Immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when children rebel a century ago

A Writer’s Dream: The Nailed Phrase

Every writer strives to “nail the phrase” that captures an idea or clinches a scene. The writer-as-reader both applauds and envies when another author does. So kudos to Ian Frazier (“Rereading ‘Lolita,’” The New Yorker, December 14, 2020), describing driving down Old Route 66 as an adult: “I’ll see something I remember from my childhood, and the tiny neural address that held the memory in my brain will still be there.” I hope Frazier did a jig when the phrase “tiny neural address” danced into his mind. For more of my thoughts on writing, see REFLECTIONS.

A “tiny neural address” stored in the memory of childhood road trips
Why writers write: “Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.” – Carl Sagan

New Year, New “To Read” List

Looking to expand your reading list for 2021? Look at these books, and check out the libraries of the independent presses that publish them:

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “Something we take on as an obligation can become an act of love.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “She was much wider than when they’d stood under the wedding canopy twenty years ago, proof he’d become a good provider in America.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Workers gather at the window on the ninth floor. No one was able to warn them.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

Read more about each book in NOVELS.

2021 Resolution: Read More Fiction

If reading more fiction is on your list of new year’s resolutions, resolve to visit safely but closely with these:

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “Eighteen, ‘chai’ in Hebrew, meant ‘life.’ He wanted to prove he was ready to give his.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Firemen bang with crowbars outside the locked doors.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “He saw a colorful board game and stepped closer to see the title: Juden Raus, Jews Out! It was like a sinister version of Monopoly.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

Read more about each book in NOVELS.

What I’m Reading: This is How We Leave by Joanne Nelson

My Amazon and Goodreads review of This is How We Leave by Joanne Nelson (Rating 5) – Learning When, and Why, to Stay. Joanne Nelson’s memoir This is How We Leave, is about saying goodbye to a past that was far from good and accepting that the present doesn’t have to be perfect to be good enough. Nelson reveals the ghosts of her childhood with refreshing, and sometimes uncomfortable, honesty. As a writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I appreciated the authenticity of her prose as she invites readers to accompany her on this searching journey. Generations of people in Nelson’s family left: the men physically; the women, including the author, emotionally; and her mother absenting herself in alcoholism. Although her home was plagued by physical abuse and drinking, readers from a variety of dysfunctional families will recognize elements of theirs in Nelson’s childhood struggle to understand why hers differed from that of her peers, and her adult need to belong. Without sugar coating or sentimentality, Nelson’s journey arrives at a satisfying place that doesn’t entail denial, withdrawal, or running away.

A journey undertaken with authentic and skillful prose
Why writers read: “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.” – Maya Angelou

Belated Gifts for Bibliophiles

Missed major holiday dates? No problem. Books make great gifts anytime. Consider these and give a major boost to the independent presses that publish them:

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Your mother never backed away from a fight, but ultimately she desired peace.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “Maybe tall people were at a disadvantage after all. When they fell, they had farther to go.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “Animal tails and human hands flicked away swarms of flies as numerous and agitated as the bustling throngs.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

Read more about each book in NOVELS.

Celebrate Every Day with Books

Books for the holiday, books for the new year, books for every day thereafter. Looking for lasting literary finds? Consider these and the independent presses that publish them will find a reason to celebrate too:

From On the Shore (Vine Leaves Press): “He didn’t know if he believed the words, but for the sake of those he comforted, he spoke with conviction.” An emotionally charged tale of an immigrant Jewish family in turmoil when their children rebel during WWI. Order on Amazon.

From Tazia and Gemma (Vine Leaves Press): “Children don’t judge the way adults do.” The heartfelt and suspenseful story of an unwed Italian immigrant who survives the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. fire and the daughter who seeks her father 50 years later. Order on Amazon.

From A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (Alternative Book Press): “A lifetime of small wounds could leave a mark deeper and more permanent than a single big assault.” A probing fictional biography of the actor who played the Munchkin Coroner in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz. Order on Amazon.

Read more about each book in NOVELS.