A discussion of ideas, thoughts, philosophies and life in general.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Interview with historical fiction author Jack Durish
1.
What is the one book you want us to read
(title, genre, and availability).
Rebels on the Mountain: Historical Fiction available in all ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes.
Rebels on the Mountain: Historical Fiction available in all ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes.
2.
Give us a one sentence synopsis.
Nick Andrews, a U.S. Army spy assigned to unwrap the mystery of diplomatic failures in Cuba, avoids being entrapped in Castro's Revolution until he is forced to bury his friends and fight.
Nick Andrews, a U.S. Army spy assigned to unwrap the mystery of diplomatic failures in Cuba, avoids being entrapped in Castro's Revolution until he is forced to bury his friends and fight.
3.
Who are the main characters and who would
you like to see portray them in a movie?
Fictional
Nick Andrews: A U.S. Army Ranger and Korean War Veteran who has made a career of reconnaissance patrols behind the Iron Curtain – possibly portrayed by Stephen Amell
Lucia Comas: An American-educated, island-born mulata, daughter of the second wife of don Carlos Comas, a Cuba sugar plantation owner, and love interest of Nick Andrews – possibly portrayed by Christina Milian
Emma Regan: An American socialite whose husband, a retired pediatrician operates a free clinic on the sugar plantation she inherited, and sister to the don Carlos Comas' second wife Sigourney Weaver
Real
Fidel Castro: The charismatic leader of the revolution that overthrew the Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista – possibly portrayed by Jsu Garcia
Che Guevara: The Argentinian doctor who became one of Castro's most notorious lieutenants and his executioner following Fidel's rise to power – possibly portrayed by Guillermo Diaz
Ernest Hemingway: Nobel Prize winning author and Havana resident who mingled freely in the halls of power in Havana and purportedly supported Castro's revolution – possibly portrayed by William Hurt
Fictional
Nick Andrews: A U.S. Army Ranger and Korean War Veteran who has made a career of reconnaissance patrols behind the Iron Curtain – possibly portrayed by Stephen Amell
Lucia Comas: An American-educated, island-born mulata, daughter of the second wife of don Carlos Comas, a Cuba sugar plantation owner, and love interest of Nick Andrews – possibly portrayed by Christina Milian
Emma Regan: An American socialite whose husband, a retired pediatrician operates a free clinic on the sugar plantation she inherited, and sister to the don Carlos Comas' second wife Sigourney Weaver
Real
Fidel Castro: The charismatic leader of the revolution that overthrew the Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista – possibly portrayed by Jsu Garcia
Che Guevara: The Argentinian doctor who became one of Castro's most notorious lieutenants and his executioner following Fidel's rise to power – possibly portrayed by Guillermo Diaz
Ernest Hemingway: Nobel Prize winning author and Havana resident who mingled freely in the halls of power in Havana and purportedly supported Castro's revolution – possibly portrayed by William Hurt
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_18H8c7W6tsDZBn8pvBYojBXo8SZLil3VkB4A52L_dyVmON-VY76B2VbBN0EDfxQ3enqndxlDOvIpRfhSrI0WW7zBIWUPEuMQwt5ku1rAYYN3RyTfIjbQRlLv0eHLqjyX5hS-ZM3c82Zg/s1600/Rebels+cover.jpg)
Nick Andrews uses the cover of a pleasure trip with friends, the Regans – a retired doctor and his socialite wife who own an estate in Cuba – to infiltrate the island from its halls of power in Havana to the rebel camp in the mountains at the eastern end of the island. Unexpectedly, he rekindles a childhood crush with the island-born niece of the Regans, and makes friends with a loyal Fidelista rebel. Romance, rum, rumba, and revolution layer themselves into a thrilling tale of intrigue, action, and suspense.
5.
What inspired you to write this book and
how long did it take?
I was slated to pilot a vessel from Galveston Bay to the Chesapeake, with a stop in Havana, when I was a young sailor, but the trip was canceled due to several factors including the fall of the Batista government in Cuba. I suppose that I never let go of the disappointment of missing that adventure. Thus, I followed events in Cuba closely and studied the history of the island and its people during the intervening fifty years. I spent another two years cataloging and studying my research, and another year and a half to write and edit the manuscript.
I was slated to pilot a vessel from Galveston Bay to the Chesapeake, with a stop in Havana, when I was a young sailor, but the trip was canceled due to several factors including the fall of the Batista government in Cuba. I suppose that I never let go of the disappointment of missing that adventure. Thus, I followed events in Cuba closely and studied the history of the island and its people during the intervening fifty years. I spent another two years cataloging and studying my research, and another year and a half to write and edit the manuscript.
6.
What other books have you written?
Dream Pirates – Fiction for young readers with impaired reading skills and new English speakers
WordPerfect: Creative Applications – Technical manual
Infantry School: A Soldier's Journal – Personal memoir
Vietnam: A Soldier's Journal – Personal memoir
Trifles: Literary Dessert – A collection of short stories to be published soon
Dream Pirates – Fiction for young readers with impaired reading skills and new English speakers
WordPerfect: Creative Applications – Technical manual
Infantry School: A Soldier's Journal – Personal memoir
Vietnam: A Soldier's Journal – Personal memoir
Trifles: Literary Dessert – A collection of short stories to be published soon
7.
Which authors inspired you, your style?
Many including...
Ernest Hemingway: Voice
Mark Twain: Irony
Charles Dickens: Memorable characters
Many including...
Ernest Hemingway: Voice
Mark Twain: Irony
Charles Dickens: Memorable characters
8.
Where can we learn more about you and
your books?
Http://www.jackdurish.com contains my personal blog as well as my biography, a synopsis of all my books and links to them, and recommended websites for anyone interested in reading
Http://www.jackdurish.com contains my personal blog as well as my biography, a synopsis of all my books and links to them, and recommended websites for anyone interested in reading
10. Is
there anything else you would like us to know?
I am currently working on my second novel featuring Nick Andrews as a young soldier in the Korean War. Also, I have been posting to my blog a series of articles built from my research into Cuba with special emphasis on the love-hate relationship between the island and the United States. Most expect a change in US-Cuban relations when Fidel Castro dies, and Americans will begin looking forward to visiting this Caribbean paradise which has been off limits for so many years.
I am currently working on my second novel featuring Nick Andrews as a young soldier in the Korean War. Also, I have been posting to my blog a series of articles built from my research into Cuba with special emphasis on the love-hate relationship between the island and the United States. Most expect a change in US-Cuban relations when Fidel Castro dies, and Americans will begin looking forward to visiting this Caribbean paradise which has been off limits for so many years.
Farewell 2012, Hello . . .?
NASA Sunspot Number Predictions for Solar cycle 23 and 24 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In just a few hours the year 2012 will be fodder for
historians. We’ll then have to hunker
down and begin the effort of facing 2013, and whatever the new year has in
store for us.
I’ve spent most of the morning wrestling with what
to write in my final 2012 blog. Should I rehash the momentous events of the
year about to pass? Were there, in fact,
even any momentous events?
We had a historic election. The nation’s first black president won
reelection; not with an overwhelming mandate, but with a comfortable enough
margin of victory to make it more than a mere fluke. But, he’s still faced with an implacably
hostile House of Representatives; populated with enough hard core Tea Party
activists to make getting rational legislation passed a task not to be envied,
and a Senate that has a minority that will, from the difficulty we seen in
getting a sane fiscal policy passed, continue to pose obstacles. Horrific acts of mindless violence, such as
the slaughter of innocent children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Connecticut, were a blot on us as a nation, and the response of the gun nuts
just made it worse.
We saw 12/12/12 pass without notice, and the so-called
Mayan Calendar Apocalypse predicted for December 21, 2012 was a nonevent.
Should I, instead, focus on what we could or should
be doing for the coming year? Will it be
better or worse? That would,
unfortunately, involve making predictions; and, predicting is something I’ve
never been good at. Life has a way of
making fools out of those who would have the arrogance to do such a thing.
I don’t even plan to make any New Year’s
resolutions. I haven’t done that for as
long as I can remember. Making promises
to myself for one day out of the year always struck me as a useless
exercise. I’d much rather resolve every
day to do better than I did the day before.
You might say that makes me sound like a supremely self-centered person,
and you’d be right. I am
self-centered. The emphasis here is on ‘centered.’ Not in an egotistical sense, although I
recognize that there’s a large element of egoism inherent in this philosophy,
but, just the acceptance that it’s only my own actions and thoughts that I have
any control over.
So, for me, 2013 will just be 2012 continued; and,
hopefully bettered. That’s a resolution
I plan to make each day. I will continue
to try and write 1,000 words a day – actually, since I retired from government
service in September I’ve managed to do three times that, so maybe in 2013 I’ll
up my game and shoot for 3,000. I
started working on improving my Spanish language skills; for no specific
reason, it just seemed like an interesting thing to do. I began to get to know my new granddaughter,
Samantha. Being in Zimbabwe for most of
the first year of her life, I was a stranger to her at her first birthday
party. I hope that she and I will become
friends in 2013. She’s such a smart kid;
reminding me a lot of myself as a child.
And, I recognize that she, and all the other children, are the world’s
future, so I have a responsibility to help her achieve her dreams – or at least
get her on the road to doing that.
Maybe, in 2013, I’ll try and stretch my writing
wings; maybe take a stab at adding to the genres I dabble in. I have a long list of to-do writing projects,
so the year will be busy.
I’m rambling, I know, but, that’s the way I feel at
this moment. I just ramble until I
stumble across something that interests me.
Always have and I always will. So,
I bid a fond farewell to 2012 and a hearty welcome to 2013. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I think the
journey will be fascinating. I hope all
of you will come along with me.
Related articles
Friday, December 28, 2012
A New Way to Promote Your Writing
Buffalo Soldiers recreators 03 (Photo credit: Joe Mabel) |
There's a new site, though, that just might be of benefit to any writer who wants to get a buzz going on his or her work. Ganzy.com is in its Beta phase, so it hasn't been proven yet, but it's probably worth a try. It's easy to showcase your work, and enables direct purchase links to wherever your books are found on the Internet. Ganzy also allows you to imbed any video trailers you have on YouTube, making it a pretty complete promotional product.
Here are two examples of my books, one from my mystery series, and one from my YA historical series:
"Dead Men Don't Answer" by Charles Ray on Ganxy
"Buffalo Soldier: Incident at Cactus Junction" by Charles Ray on Ganxy
Related articles
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The National Memo » 5 NRA Members Who Quit In Protest
The National Memo » 5 NRA Members Who Quit In Protest Better late than never. I gave up my NRA membership in the 1960s - yes, that's how long the NRA has been off the rails.
The National Memo » WATCH: Norquist Upset That Obama Has ‘Not Been Negotiating’
The National Memo » WATCH: Norquist Upset That Obama Has ‘Not Been Negotiating’ Good old Grover, pulled his head out of you know where to make these stupid claims.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Holiday Greetings
Scrooge's third visitor, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. With Illustrations by John Leech. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. First edition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
You don’t have to be Christian, or even believe in
Santa Claus, to believe in the specialness of the Christmas season. As someone who believes in peace and goodwill
as a way to mitigate a lot of the violence and chaos that infects our world, I
think any holiday that emphasizes peace, love, and understanding, is okay in my
book. Of course, it’s also a time when
families, so often pulled apart by the incessant demands of our consumer
society, have an excuse to get together and renew their bonds.
I talked, for instance, to my older brother
yesterday. We hadn’t spoken for more
than three years, not because of any estrangement, but my travels and the
demands of his business just kept us apart.
As I write, I’m waiting for my youngest daughter and her husband to
arrive with my first grandchild, Samantha, in tow. Sammie’s 15 months old now, and this will be
the first Christmas we’ve been together that she’s old enough to remember, so
that makes it sort of special regardless of my beliefs.
Anyway, I’d like to wish all my readers a happy and
safe holiday. May you renew the bonds of
love with your family and have all the happiness you deserve; and, may the
upcoming year see a greater effort to make a dent in the world’s problems.
Related articles
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Check Out My Latest Video
Tried my hand at a video highlighting the Al Pennyback mystery series. Check it out at
http://animoto.com/play/i1PB0taqXUHZCQw1wTMGHg. It's also on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnjtErpf1FM
http://animoto.com/play/i1PB0taqXUHZCQw1wTMGHg. It's also on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnjtErpf1FM
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Might of the Pen: Editorial Cartoons from the 1970s
From 1977 to 1980, I was editorial cartoonist for the Spring Lake (NC) News, a weekly paper in a small town just outside the gates of Fort Bragg, NC (actually, the town was surrounded by Bragg and nearby Pope Air Force Base) where I was stationed. Below are some of the spots I did each week. They are printed without comment, in the hopes, that they still speak for themselves.
Related articles
Friday, December 21, 2012
In the Wake of Sandy Hook: Political Posturing Unhelpful
Westboro Baptist Church members from Topeka, Kansas protesting in front of RFK Stadium located in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Commenting on tragedy is something that is hard to
do in the immediate aftermath. For that
reason, I have avoided comment on the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary
School, in which a deranged gunman took the lives of 20 students and 6
adults. I have, however, followed the
comments by others – and, some of the comments that have flooded cyberspace
have left me shaking my head in dismay.
Anyone who might wonder about my position on
religion and politics; I try to steer clear of the former and have a strong
feeling of disgust for the latter; has but to read some of the commentary to
know why. The puerile political
posturing by some former politicians, like former Arkansas governor Mike
Huckabee, who blames the shooting on a combination of lack of prayer in
classrooms, homosexuals, and contraception are too dumb to even attempt a
response to. Huckabee, perhaps realizing
how inane his comments sounded, has since tried to back off them a bit, but it’s
a case of too little, too late. The
initial statements are engraved in stone, and no amount of scratching will
remove them.
But, it’s the statements by those who try to portray
themselves as ‘religious’ leaders that has really left a bitter taste of
bile. Using this senseless tragedy as a
vehicle to push their far out agendas has further validated my decision decades
ago to look at Western religions with a sense of caveat emptor. Take William
J. Murray, son of former anti-school-prayer activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair,
who brought cases that spurred the Supreme Court to get prayer out of
schools. Murray, now a convert to
evangelical Christianity, has gone on record as saying, “lack of
school-sponsored prayer led to this tragedy.”
Like beginning the school day with a Christian prayer would have
dissuaded Adam Lanza from his killing rampage.
Murray needs to get real.
As if Murray’s ridiculous statements were not
enough, Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, joined the chorus,
claiming on American Family Radio’s AFA
Today that the Sandy Hook shooting was due in part to ‘God being taken out
of our schools.’ James
Dobson, considered the number one right-wing religious leader in America,
went even further. He had the audacity
to claim that letting gay couples get married, among other things, caused God
to let children be killed at Sandy Hook.
Finally, we have the nutty congregation of Westboro
Baptist Church, a fundamentalist Christian church from Topeka, Kansas,
threatening to stage a demonstration at the funerals of the victims of Sandy
Hook, declaring that God sent the shooter.
These so-called ‘religious’ leaders would have us
believe that their God approves of the slaughter of innocent children in
retribution for treating all people with dignity regardless of their politics
or sexual orientation, or for policies that put religion where it belongs; in
the home and church; or, for teaching children rational science rather than
religious fantasy in school. This isn’t
even the Old Testament God, but something from a sci-fi horror novel. If there are people out there who buy this
drivel; and I fear that there are many; I can’t sign on to such a religion.
My heart goes out to the families of the
victims. We might never know what
motivated this deadly event, but, the pulpit pronouncements from these
foam-at-the-mouth prophets of doom aren’t helping. I find it strange that none of them seem to
want to venture a comment on the ease with which disturbed people can get
high-powered automatic weapons in this country has contributed to the
continuing slaughter. There are some
sane voices out there. Let’s hope that
they’re not drowned out by all this insane patter.
Related articles
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Public Reading of "Wallace in Underland"
Author Virginia Phiri reading from "Wallace in Underland" |
Every writer wants his or her books to be read, and
hopefully enjoyed. One of the ways of
getting your work noticed is through public readings. In November, I had that experience vicariously
when Zimbabwean novelist Virginia Phiri read my book Wallace in Underland at one of Zimbabwe’s secondary schools. Virginia, one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent
writers, had previously read and reviewed the book, and when she was invited to
do a reading at the school, asked if she could read my book. Well, of course, I said YES.
I’ll let Virginia’s own words describe the event:
I have just come back
from a successful Masiyephambili Junior School Readings. The students, their
teacher, the School Librarian and I had a lot of fun!
Wallace in Underland was a hit with 12 and 13 years olds. This was both boys and
girls. During the questions, answers and interaction sessions the students
seemed to have picked up the bullying aspect by Jamal and his friends and the
abused pets sentiments. It was clear that the students were able to relate the
topics to their environments.
This is a different
style of writing from what they are used to but they enjoyed every minute of
the reading.
It looks like there will
be more of these readings in other towns and at the Book Fair.
Thank you for letting me
read Wallace in Underland.
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