Incarnation (a sneak peak!)

Here’s a little taste of my upcoming book (which I’m planning to have ready in September!). Enjoy:

Incarnation (excerpt)

Lucy’s grandfather, Vladimir Lubczyk, was a Ukranian who had fled from ever-decaying conditions in Stalin’s USSR to nearly as bad conditions in Mussolini’s Italy. The year he spent in a small port town on the Adriatic provided him two valuable assets: a passable knowledge of Italian and connections with people who had connections in America. He made his way to Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn in 1939 with two buddies who worked the docks with him; they were slipping out just before the realities of war began spreading beyond Italy’s urban areas.

Vlad’s Italian, albeit with an accent, and his paisan’ traveling buddies granted him welcome in the tightly knit Italian immigrant longshoreman community that served Brooklyn’s bustling docks. He met his boss-to-be over grappa at Francesco Trattoria the weekend he arrived in town and impressed him by drinking half the regulars under the table. That Monday, Vlad was unloading raw materials from an African freighter for nearby parts manufacturers. Continue reading “Incarnation (a sneak peak!)”

Writing Good Dialogue

Ibsen used to say, about writing plays, that in the first draft your characters are strangers. In the second draft they are friends, and by the third they are close family.

– Charles Harris, from 9 Steps to Writing Dialogue with Rich Subtext.

Charles Harris has a lovely piece on writing dialogue that has subtext. I always liked my dialog, so I’m going to have to try his guidance on and see if I can add some more depth! The quote above really inspired me.

Judge me, please!

Write reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and your book site!
Write reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and your book site!

While I’m a firm advocate of leaving judgement off the yoga mat, in the publishing world, reviews by readers are essential. If you happen to read one of my books, please do me the honor of commenting about it on the book’s page at Amazon.com, goodreads.com, or your favorite source for books.

It helps more people become aware of the books, so they can decide if it would be interesting for them to read.

Thank you!

Smiling this week

We’ve been smiling all week in class, using the ISHTA Inner Smile meditation. Come join me in asana classes or Saturday morning for meditation. Or if you’re a guy intimidated by all the flexy girls in classes, check in on Sunday for my Man to Man: Yoga for the Average Guy workshop. You’ll be lookin’ like the Buddha!

Here’s a treat: Ron Gutman’s TED Talk on the power of the smile.

And then there’s the trilby

I’ve been doing a little research on James Bond for a new book (no not a spy thriller), and learned the name of the hat everyone has been wearing for the last four years: the trilby. Here’s a fun blog post about them, and why everyone shouldn’t be wearing them. Except, by the author’s critique, me.

Here’s a photo from the awesome web site, thesuitsofjamesbond.com
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On the Washington Metro

a short story, by Peter Ferko

On my subway car in the Nation’s Capital, I face ahead as a man behind resists belligerent calls from a fellow passenger to release the doors and much harrumphing from my car mates. The recorded voice once again presumes cooperation as it states, “Doors closing,” while in fact, they open, allowing a recently-coiffed man in a stylish — rather than the more typically conservative — blue wool coat to sneak in the doors ahead of me; then they shut again, catching the sneak by the arm like a strict aunt. Continue reading “On the Washington Metro”

KG does yoga

Screen Shot 2015-01-04 at 1.21.26 PMBrooklyn Nets star Kevin Garnett uses yoga, even though he can’t do some of the poses. Wanna give it a try in a nonjudgmental setting? Join my workshop 6/14 in NYC. Sign up here (or get your guy to come): ISHTA Yoga.