Nothing Like Mom’s Cooking

As I type this blog, Mom is furiously working in the kitchen, putting the final touches on the turkey before it’s slid into the oven. I take that back, I just put the 20 pound bird in the oven for her. She’s done with her Thanksgiving meal preparations…for now. Later she has to prepare the lima bean cassorole and candied sweet potatoes. (Can you say, YUM?!?!) Oh, but there’s still breakfast she’s planning to make in the mean time!

When I was younger, I probably didn’t realize how much work went into preparing her Thanksgiving Day feast. And I wonder how many times I actually thanked her for the time she put into making Thanksgiving such a special holiday.

When I moved to Florida after college, there were plenty of Thanksgivings that I had to spend apart from my family. I could afford to fly home for Christmas, but not Thanksgiving as well. Fortunately, I had various friends and co-workers who always invited me into their homes and made me a part of their family and traditions. And although I was always thankful for the company, it just wasn’t the same without my family…and Mom’s cooking!

That’s right, there’s nothing like Mom’s cooking, especially on Thanksgiving. Every other Thanksgiving meal I had experienced outside of her kitchen, the stuffing wasn’t as moist, the turkey not as tender, the potatoes not as thick, and the sweet potatoes not as sweet.

Am I biased–yes, I’m sure I am. Just as the rest of you are partial to your mother’s or wife’s cooking. But seriously, Mom’s cooking is pretty darn awesome.

I’m lucky to be spending this Thanksgiving with my parents, now that they’ve retired to Florida, and be treated to Mom’s cooking once again. I’d like to take the time to say, THANK YOU, MOM! For all the hard-work, slaving in the kitchen over the years. And thank you for always making Thanksgiving a special holiday for me.

I love you,

Jay

 

A Mighty Wind: A Photo Recap of My Time at the 2011 Halifax Art Festival

This past weekend, the 2011 Halifax Art Festival was held on Beach Street in Daytona. I was invited to join a table with the Florida Writers Association and sell my books, and since I’d never participated in an art festival before, I thought it was worth a shot. I wish I had more time away from our table to walk around, because there was some extraordinary artwork being displayed along Beach Street, between Bay Street and Orange Avenue. Quite a stretch. Aside from art, there were book and jewelry sellers, food vendors, and live music.

Chairperson, Doreen Armstrong, was kind enough to find us an extra tent, since we didn’t have one for our tables and Saturday was turning out to be quite a windy day. There was no way we could’ve kept our handouts, business cards, brochures, and lighter books from blowing away without it.

It was a cool, breezy, and overcast day. The strong winds weren’t supposed to come until the afternoon, but they crashed the party almost as soon as the festival started, only increasing in strength throughout the day. We had gusts up to 30 mph. Since we had to keep the sides of our tent down to protect our products, we were like a sailboat caught in gail force winds. My co-leader for the Palm Coast Chapter of the FWA, Michael Ray King, and I were forced to hold the tent down, so it wouldn’t blow away and roll into our neighbors’ tents, leaving a path of destruction that we would ultimately be blamed for.

We kept making jokes that a major gust was going to blow us into the air like Mary Poppins. Not only did we have to hold the tent down, we had to hold the tent together!! The leg started to buckle and break after being hit be a series of strong gusts.

All four corners of the locking post (above) begin to tear. The struggle to keep the tent up and lack of traffic (I think we were a source of amusement more than anything) drove me to the beer vendors, where I found me some Guinness (below.)  

About mid-afternoon, wind conditions only because worse, and Mike and I realized that to save the tent, we’d have to roll up the sides and back of the tent…which also meant that we’d pretty much have to pack up everything except for some of our heavier books. Our two tent mates, author Mary Custureri and her writer friend, Lynn, decided to call it a day. Mike and I followed soon after, but not before what little was left of my double-Guinness was blown over by the wind and drenched one of my copies of Flight From Fear.

Sunday morning was supposed to be warmer, sunnier, and not nearly as windy. Mike and I were curious if our tent had survived the night. We arrived to this:

The left front leg — the one I was holding up on Saturday — completely snapped in half and the right front leg was about to break. We’d be tentless on Sunday. I helped the festival’s crew to tear down the tent and move it from harm’s way.

It actually worked out for the best. Sunday was a beautiful day and Mike and I moved our table onto the sidewalk. We were right there with the people traffic and got the interaction that we had missed the day before.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay very long on Sunday and had to leave before 2:00. It wasn’t the ideal book selling venue, but it was quite an experience. And I did get to network with some talented writers that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. A writer in the tent next to us, Kathleen Beales, was selling her debut novel, A Return to Innocence, which is a tale of self-discovery that I’m excited to read.

Regardless of the venue or weather, there’s always something positive to gain from the adventure. However, next time I’ll be looking for an indoor event!

The Rogues’ Bridget Callaghan to Debut Her Artwork

By now you’ve probably heard me go on and on about The Rogues Gallery Writers’ writing projects, but the members of our mastermind group have many creative talents. This Friday (October 7th,) fellow Rogue, Bridget Callaghan, will have her art debuted at the St. Augustine art gallery Simple Gestures. This is part of St. Augustine’s Friday Artwalk, and the main viewing period will be between 6:00-10:00 Friday evening.

But this isn’t any typical artwork, Bridget paints pictures with needles and thread, as opposed to paint brushes. Instead of using paint, she uses pieces of fabric, and the results are stunning! The finished products are beautiful and easy to get lost in. I’ve included a couple samples of her work in this post.

So please come by and support a local artist, and a Rogue, during her special night. Simple Gestures is located at 4 White Street East, St. Augustine, FL 32080. There will be refreshments, music, and appetizers from the Purple Olive.

In other Rogue news, last night we officially launched our Method Writers project on Kickstarter, where our mockumentary, Behind the Prose, is available for viewing. You can read the full write-up written by our Roguefather, Michael Ray King, at: The Method Writers Kickstarter Project. Please spread the word–we need all the support we can get!

Thank you

To Plank or Not To Plank…..

When the season premiere of The Office introduced “planking,” I thought it was a clever piece of fiction, an invention by the writing staff. No, it turns out that planking, or the “lying down game,” is some kind of craze that has been popular on social media sites for years!

The Art of Planking

For those of you who are as oblivious as I was, the game is simple: you lie face down in an unusual location (the more public, the better) with your body straight and rigid and your arms pressed against your sides. Have someone take your picture and then post it on the internet. That’s it.

Earlier this year, planking was taken to the next level by people posing and balancing on top of more dangerous places, such as business signs, poles, fences, basketball rims, and chimneys. What won’t people do to get their 15 seconds of online fame?

My initial reaction to this entire phenomenon was….this is stupid! But the more I looked at pictures and thought about the reactions that posers must get from strangers around them, the more I liked the concept. No, I haven’t been intrigued enough to plank in public yet, but it could happen!

I did a little more digging around and found out that several other posing games were inspiring by planking, such as “owling,” where

Batmanning

the poser squats down like they’re taking a sh—I mean, like they’re acting like an owl. And “batmanning” where, you guessed it, posers hang upside down like a bat. And by the look of some of the photos I’ve seen, I think there will soon be an increase in head injury cases. There’s also “teapotting” and “horsemanning,” which weren’t as interesting to me—but feel free to look them up.

All this got me thinking—what’s next?! Maybe it’s time to bring in props. “Rafting,” where people sit in an inflated raft in unusual places. Or “air-mattressing,” where people can pretend to lie down and sleep; bed sheets and all. 

Or will people go out and pose in pairs, mimicking various sexual positions? I can see it now: “spooning,” “missioning” …. “69ing”! If so, I take full credit for inventing them.

I believe I’ve convinced the Rogues to join me in creating our own unique pose. So be on the lookout for “Roguing,” whatever that ends up to be.

Finally Able to Write About 9/11

Just over ten years ago, my father and I were discussing various issues with American politics and society over coffee after a Sunday morning breakfast my mother had prepared at their South Florida condo. We talked about how Americans in general seemed to be acting rude and inappropriate to each other. On a whole, we were becoming egotistical and confrontational. Materialistic and self-consumed.

And as these things often are, this negative trend seemed to be a trickle down affect from the actions of our government and the role of our media.

My father and I also talked about how our government was letting everyone and anyone into the country without any concern about their background, their education, and their motives for entering the country in the first place. I remember being in total agreement about the fact that not only was a terrorist attack on the United States possible, it seemed imminent.

A mere two days later … was the morning of 9/11/2001.

Originally, the bulk of this post was about my personal 9/11 experience. Where I was, what I’d felt. But when reading it back, it seemed meaningless, petty, and insignificant. Especially when considering the experiences of those in lower Manhattan that day. The pure terror and pain. Senseless loss of life. Extreme heroism and bravery.

What I can say about my experience that compares? Sure, I was horrified. Scared, confused, and worried.

But so was our entire nation.

You couldn’t call yourself an American without 9/11 affecting you in some profound way. We were a wounded, terrified nation who banded together and became one, remembering how special it was to be an American.

One of the positives that came in the weeks and months following 9/11 was the renewed sense of patriotism. Not only were Americans wearing red, white and blue again, but we were treating our fellow countrymen like loved ones; not strangers, not nuisances. People were patient, kind, and friendly. Less egotistical, less self-consumed.

I remember trying to write about 9/11 in the following days, weeks, months….but I just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t get my thoughts together and make any sense of them. And not only couldn’t I write about that tragic day, I found that I couldn’t write at all.

In the years leading up to 9/11, I had faced a lot of adversity. I was in a bad car accident and suffered injuries that I still battle with today. I lost my best friend, who passed away long before his time. I was facing my third layoff in only the past two years; situations where I’d been deceived and lied to by my employers. I’d become very jaded, very cynical. I’d lost my way, my faith in God. I was angry at our society, at the world.

So there was plenty that I had planned and wanted to write about. Bitter, angst-ridden subjects that I wanted to scream about and lash out at the offenders. I couldn’t possibly find enough free time to say all I’d wanted to say.

But 9/11 humbled me.

I surrendered a lot of those negative feelings. And as a result, I couldn’t write.

Over time, that block was lifted and I could write again. I still wrote about issues I was passionate about, but I had a new viewpoint, a new attitude about them.

Was I saved by 9/11? I don’t know about that. But I was forever changed. I believe that we all were in some way.

The renewed patriotism we’d experienced in the time following 9/11 has unfortunately faded over the years. I’m sure the general displeasure with the long, expensive, and misdirected war efforts in the Middle East has had something to do with that. As well as our seemingly insurmountable national debt. Our failing economy. The collapse of the housing market. Our recession.

Yes, as Americans, we’ve had plenty to be unhappy about in recent years.

But today, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, let us forget about our nation’s problems and revisit that sense of patriotism we had ten years ago. Let us greet each other with smiles and kindness. Let us respect the innocent souls who we lost in the towers that day and honor the heroes who gave their lives trying to save them.

Although today is the first time I’ve been able to write about 9/11, it still doesn’t feel comfortable to me. A feeling I’m not used to in terms of writing.

To the victims and heroes, their friends and families, to all of us affected. May we never forget. God Bless you all.

J.S.   9-||-11

Music to Write to

When I first began to write creatively in the mid 90’s, it took a lot for me to focus on the images, characters, and scenes in my mind, and how I was going to somehow translate them into the written—or typed—word. I would sit in my apartment in absolute silence. Music would totally blow my concentration, and the TV could only be on if the sound was nothing more than white noise.

At some point that all changed, and the quiet emphasized the isolation and desperation of a young writer struggling to find his voice. I needed a change in my writing environment and soon.

I needed writing music!

I knew that I couldn’t listen to anything too noisy, like heavy metal or rap. Nothing to rhythmic, such as pop or club music. It dawned on me one day while watching A Clockwork Orange that classical music may just be the right touch of sound without being distracting. And since I was fond of the music from that movie, I decided to invest in a little Ludwig van.

After all, classical music is supposed to help stimulate the mind, according to the Mozart Effect theory. I started with the 9 symphonies of Beethoven and was soon amazed by my improved ability to, not only focus, but to produce work of a higher quality. I became a Beethoven junkie—what writer wouldn’t after results like that?—and gobbled up other of his works like his piano and violin sonatas and concertos.

Over time, I found that I could write to other types of music too. Radiohead, my all-time favorite band, seems to use just as many complex structures as classical music and they quickly became my replacement for Beethoven when writing.

But now, I can write to almost any kind of music, even rock ‘n’ roll. It all depends on my mood and my writing topic. Sometimes certain pieces of music just seem to go with the subject matter I’m writing about, like a movie soundtrack. In fact, I can see how directors are inspired by certain songs, and how some music even inspires work that writers produce.

I remember reading an old interview with Chuck Palahniuk  where he explained how he listened to nothing but Nine Inch Nail’s Fixed while working on a horror novel. There was something in that album that struck Chuck as being perfect for the tone of his novel.

Music became such a big part of my writing process that I’d even created a soundtrack for my still-unfinished South Florida coming-of-age novel, Such A Dreamer. Actually, I must’ve created four or five different versions of that soundtrack over the years. I would listen to it in the car if I was going for a long drive and wanted to brainstorm about my novel. The various songs related to scenes or themes from Dreamer.

Considering my initial inability to write with music on, it’s a bit ironic that I’ve become so dependent on it to help me in my writing process. In fact, I’ve been listening to a wide range of singles while writing this post.

How important is music in your daily activities? Please leave a comment and share your own stories, including the type of music that inspires or drives you.

“One of these days I’m going to get organezized”

“You mean organized?”

That’s one of my favorite bits of dialogue from Taxi Driver and every time I look at my cluttered desk I think of that memorable exchanged between Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) and Betsy (Cybill Shepherd.) Here’s the entire exchange: Get Organezized

Travis Bickle and Betsy discuss the finer points of getting organezized

Yesterday at our FWA Palm Coast Chapter meeting, we discussed goal-setting. Actually jotting down our goals (writing, personal, or otherwise) for the year, and making a plan of action to get them accomplished. I had focused on my writing goals, and had realized that with so many different writing projects on my plate, I’ll really need to be able to locate information, documents, contracts, etc. when I need them if I’m going to reach my goals and complete writing projects on time.

I need to get organezized!!!

For the most part, my apartment is neat and clean, but my desk is a cluttered mess! And it’s a big L-shaped desk with a hutch and all. Stacks of papers, magazines and notebooks are everywhere, and there’s no rhyme or reason as to what all is located in each stack. There could be writing critiques (mine or someone else’s), invoices, research material, scribbled down ideas, and bills (both pain and unpaid!) I have smaller stacks too; smaller in regards to the dimensions of the objects in them, that is, not the height of the stack. Those stacks have business cards, sticky notes (with all sorts of invaluable information written on them,) CDs, software, and so on. Nowhere in these stacks are wads of cash unfortunately.

Yesterday afternoon ended up being “One of these days,” and I began the painstaking task of organizing this mess. I spent most of the afternoon and evening doing so with decent success, completing about 80-85% of my task. I know this is going to make my life much easier in many ways, whether it be related to a writing project, disputing a bill, or finding that important business card of someone I’d networked with.

Once finished, the real challenge will be maintaining this level of organization and not slipping back into my cluttering habits. I’ve made this promise to myself before, but this time I intend to keep it. I’d better–I’m broadcasting my intention to the entire world wide web! And I certainly don’t want to become a world wide failure.

Good luck to you and any goals or promises you’ve made for your 2011/2012!

The Method Writers

I’m sure by now most of you have heard me tease about the Rogues Gallery Writers’ new project, The Method Writers. But now I’m going to take a few minutes to tell you how it came to be and what it’s about:

Last October, The Rogues Gallery Writers released our first publication, and short story collection titled, Writing is Easy. For more information on that project as well as the Rogues, check out an earlier post of mine: http://jeffswesky.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/introducing-the-rogues-gallery-writers/.

So when we got together the end of last year to discuss our new project, our fearless leader, Michael Ray King, envisioned us taking it up a notch and going in a different direction for our follow-up collaboration. This time we were going to do a group novel! All the Rogues were excited and instantly on board. Our next meeting was to brainstorm ideas for the group novel, and you can get an idea of how The Method Writers was collectively born from the inaugural post on The Method Writers‘ blog: http://themethodwriters.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/introductions-are-in-order/.

Dictionary.com defines method acting as “a dramatic technique in which actors identify as closely as possible with the character played by correlating experiences from their personal lives to the character.” The Rogues come up with the concept for a novel where a group of writers apply the method acting technique towards researching the characters and subject matters they plan to write about. 

Each of the Rogues have created their own 1st person character for this concept, so each of the four characters in this novel will not only have a distinct and unique journey, but a their own voice as well. And these writers are already working on some juicy projects: a bank heist novel, escort service industry expose’, vigilante revenge novel, and an erotic thriller. You can probably already imagine some of the bizarre situations that their “method” research gets them into. But since these four writers are friends and in a writers group of their own, their stories intermesh and they become caught up in each other’s capers.

The Rogues recently finished the first draft of The Method Writers, and are currently having it reviewed by their “first readers.”  Starting the beginning of September, we’ll be in full-on editing mode with the goal of having a completed, published novel by October of this year! Be on the lookout for future posts and teaser videos both here and on www.TheMethodWriters.com. The latter will also be introducing both author and character biographies as well as some other fun, cool content. So please subscribe to these blogs to make sure you don’t miss out on the latest and greatest!

Good Morning, Herr Mueller

Early on, when I was meeting with then 88-year-old Rabbi Samuel Cywiak to ghostwrite his Holocaust memoir, he kept insisting that I include a Holocaust story, which he called the “Herr Mueller” story. It was about a good-natured rabbi who always greeted every man, woman and child he had encountered during his morning walks, and how a person’s spirit and treatment of others will be rewarded. Rabbi Cywiak liked to tell this story to the Flagler College students every time they came to the synagogue to hear about his own experiences.

The only problem was that Rabbi Cywiak couldn’t remember where he had heard the story from; if it was only a verbal tale that had been passed along over the years or if it had actually been published somewhere. I tried to do some research on it, but wasn’t having much luck for some reason. Besides, “Herr Mueller”, although a great story in itself, really did not fit in with the Rabbi’s personal journey or the tone I was working to create.

Recently, something made me think of the Herr Mueller story though, and I did a little more searching on the internet. This time I found it. It was a published story, part of a collection by Yaffa Eliach called Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust.

You can read the entire “Herr Mueller” story here: Good Morning, Herr Mueller. The story is quite short, but contains a powerful message. Enjoy…

And a GOOD MORNING to all of you wonderful people out there! Have a blessed day!

The 2nd Edition of Flight From Fear

 

With the original edition being just about sold out, the 2nd edition of Rabbi Samuel Cywiak’s award-winning memoir, Flight From Fear, is now available for pre-order. Books should be available by mid to late June 2011.

This new edition corrects some mistakes found in the original edition and features a more professional looking cover and layout. It will also include additional details from Rabbi Cywiak’s time spent in Venezuela and will contain many photos and documents that were left out of the first edition.

To preorder the 2nd edition of Flight From Fear, please visit: www.flightfromfear.com