Remy Benoit writing on all things

Posted: August 22, 2013 in Books in general
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If you are seeking stimulation in the literary, arts and humanitarian fields, or just in life generally, allow me to introduce you to ‘Remy Benoit writing on all things’ – a new blog site guaranteed to stimulate.

Miz’ Remy, as she likes to be called, is an historian, author and long time veteran advocate from the USA’s deep south.

Here’s a smattering (excerpts only) of topics covered on Mis’ Remy’s blog. To view them in their entirety go to: http://remybenoit.wordpress.com/

remybenoit

writing on all things

Attention: Children and grandchildren of Viet Nam Veterans

Please look into this, file this form, post comments and make the powers to be understand the legacy you have been left with. Responsible action must be taken.

Visit with Agent Orange Legacy, now, please!

http://agentorangelegacy.blogspot.com/2013/05/important-message-to-children-of.html

This time stand with the Nez Perce

When I used to teach about the fight between the cavalry and the Nez Perce, the young people would be outraged at such senseless destruction over a 1500 mile range of pursuit and fighting. Chief Joseph made a speech that went to the heart of the matter amidst the cold snow, ice, and slaughter:

Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.

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Chief Joseph

An Interview with Robert Foley: The Consequences of Playing God

Mr. Foley has written a seminal work on the state of education in our country. It is a book everyone who cares about our children and their education should read. As I turned page after page of his exquisite writing, my mind kept going back to two decades as a teacher and remembering people and situations so close to the tale he is telling and you should be reading. You will find his book and my review here. Do put it on your must read list! Consequences of Playing God.

Now, to the interview with his publisher at XLibris.

Robert Joseph Foley is a retired teacher. He spent 34 years teaching in an urban school district and for most of those years was an active representative of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers. He has previously published a poetry collection – “These Little Poems of Death and after Life” – and is currently working on securing production for two as yet unpublished plays. He currently works as a free lance writer and proofreader for several independent publications.

Do you have any particular literary influences that help you develop writing in your genre, subject, and style?

I cannot pinpoint any particular writer who has influenced me; actually, I have developed what I think is a unique style that is probably the sum of all my reading experiences. Favorite writers range from Joyce Carol Oates back to Dostoevsky and Charles Dickens.

Who is Miz’ Remy?

Hello,

Like all of you, I am many things.

A mother.

A writer, editor, publisher. http://www.niquahanam.com/writing

Editor for the West Point Class of 1968. Two volumes: Both Sides of the Wall Reflections of the West Point Class of 1968

An historian.

A long time veteran advocate. http://www.welcomehomesolider.com

A book reviewer.

A gardener.

An activist who treasures life on this planet for which we are caretakers.

Do yourself a favour and visit ‘Remy Benoit writing on all things’ blog at http://remybenoit.wordpress.com/   –Lance

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English peculiarly capitalistic? 1.5 million English language books can’t be wrong.

Posted: August 21, 2013 in Books in general
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English has become a peculiarly capitalist language, according to The Guardian columnist Owen Hatherley, author of Militant Modernism.

In a recent article in The Guardian, Hatherley says researchers at the University of California Los Angeles proved there has been an ever-increasing use of particularly acquisitive words in the English language.

Picture of Owen Hatherley

Owen Hatherley

Here’s some excerpts from Hatherley’s article:

They (the researchers) used the somewhat blunt instrument of feeding 1.5m English-language books into Ngram Viewer, a tool that catalogues phrase usage, in order to count the frequency that words were used. The results proved that over the last 200 years there has been an ever-increasing use of particularly acquisitive words: “get”, “unique”, “individual”, “self”, “choose”; while over the same period “give” and “obliged” decreased.

The pattern was only broken briefly in the relatively egalitarian years between the 40s and 70s. For the researchers, this shows the results of the English-speaking countries moving from “a predominantly rural, low-tech society to a predominantly urban, hi-tech society…

…What has happened over those 200 years was the rise to dominance of capitalism, which obviously changed, and changes, our language and thinking. The researchers discovered a more algorithmic and superficial version of something that the Welsh socialist writer Raymond Williams had already tried to uncover – the way that English had become a class language, where loaded words (and, as he often pointed out, pronunciations) were accepted as “standard”.

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In Culture and Society (1958) Williams forced the reader to think about certain keywords whose meaning was usually assumed: “class”, “democracy”, “art” and “industry” were old terms which had acquired almost entirely new meanings. Over the same 200 years studied by the LA researchers, “artist”, for instance, had gone from meaning “a skilled person” to signifying “a special kind of person”, working in the “imaginative” or “creative” arts.

In The Long Revolution (1961), Williams left literature behind to find the roots of class discourse in the English language itself, where French and Anglo-Saxon words were always weighted differently: “we can trace the minor relics of class prejudice in the lasting equation of moral qualities with class names: base, villain, boor and churl for the poor” – mostly terms suggesting “low” birth – while “gentle”, “proud” and “rich” were aristocratic terms of French origin (from gentil, prud and riche)…

…Even a word as central to the current debate as “austerity” comes with its own bias: originally from the Old French austerite meaning “harshness or cruelty”, it carries in Britain also a positive meaning, being associated with the self-restraint at the expense of the public good which was required by the wartime economy, when nowadays it is used to justify policies that effect the exact opposite. But to reveal the pernicious assumptions behind these professedly innocuous words will take more than a sophisticated search engine.

 

For the full article go to: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/11/capitalism-language-raymond-williams

 

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Teaser trailer for 3D feature film SILENT FEAR – shooting in London in 2014

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Here’s our teaser trailer for SILENT FEAR: http://youtu.be/Ll9O9dedd44

When you can’t hear……death comes silently.

Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at London’s Wandsworth University for the Deaf. Her investigation coincides with a student contracting a deadly flu virus, which results in the university being sealed off from the outside world. When more deaf students are murdered, it’s clearly the work of a serial killer. The stakes rise when Valerie becomes the killer’s next target and the deadly virus claims more lives.

The video teaser above is a re-enactment of the first brutal murder.

Inspired by the murders of two deaf students at America’s Gallaudet University for the Deaf in the early 2000’s, SILENT FEAR is a chilling, claustrophobic thriller set in London. The screenplay is by Lance & James Morcan, of Morcan Motion Pictures.

New Zealand producers Brent Macpherson, of Stretch Productions, and Ronel Schodt, of Shotz Productions, are aiming to shoot SILENT FEAR on location in London as a likely 3D production in 2014.

The producers welcome expressions of interest from experienced British producers interested in collaborating on this highly commercial feature film project as well as A-List directors.

http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1935228/

http://stretchproductions.co.nz/

www.shotzproductions.co.nz

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Video  —  Posted: August 20, 2013 in Morcan Books & Films, Morcan films
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Okay, so now Area 51 officially exists, but what about all those UFO sightings?

Posted: August 18, 2013 in The Orphan Uprising
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After decades of accusations that the conspiracy theorists are nutters, the US Government has finally admitted the famed Area 51, in Nevada, does exist.

Wfm area 51 landsat geocover 2000.jpg

A satellite image of Area 51

The top secret cold war test site adjoining Nellis Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, has long been fodder for speculation the authorities have covered up reported sightings of UFO’s and aliens. Until now the government has denied its existence.

Nellis Air Force Base

Now a newly declassified CIA document confirms the existence of Area 51. The document states the contentious zone was used as a testing range for the government’s U-2 spy plane during the Cold War.

However, there’s no mention of the controversial Roswell incident, which UFO believers claim was an alien space ship that crashed in New Mexico in 1947 and not a weather balloon as the authorities insisted. Supporters of the theory allege that Area 51’s hangars were used to hide evidence of alien bodies recovered from the ship.

The CIA asserts government secrecy surrounding Area 51 was simply about ensuring a new spy plane – the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft – remained hidden from prying Soviet eyes. Plausible considering it was designed specifically for high altitude snooping on the Soviets.

The report explains the “tremendous increase in reports of unidentified flying objects” as an “unexpected side effect” of high altitude testing of the U-2. Also plausible considering the U-2’s silver wings reflected the rays of the sun.

However, that doesn’t explain the Roswell incident or the many other reported UFO, and indeed alien, sightings in and around Area 51 over the years.

It’s easy to dismiss the reports as the ramblings of zealous conspiracy theorists. However, in the wake of the US Government’s belated and official admission that Area 51 does exist, maybe those reports shouldn’t be dismissed quite so readily.

We visit Area 51 and Nellis Air Force Base in The Orphan Uprising, book three in our conspiracy thriller series, The Orphan Trilogy. Be warned, it raises more questions than answers – questions we’ll probably never know the answers to.

The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3) is available via Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/

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‘The Orphan Trilogy’ books rate highly with Amazon reviewers

Posted: August 17, 2013 in The Ninth Orphan, The Orphan Factory, The Orphan Trilogy, The Orphan Uprising
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The latest reviews are in for our conspiracy thriller novels – all 5 Stars! Excerpts from these reviews, together with the novels’ average Amazon reviewer rating, follow below…

The Ninth Orphan – Average reviewer rating 4 Stars

“This book was absolutely one of the best books I have read in my time, it’s extremely engaging and exciting. During the time I was reading the trilogy I struggled to put them down for five minutes!!!” -Book Addict

For full review go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC

 

The Orphan Factory – Average reviewer rating 4.7 Stars

“…..The second book gives Nine a history, what created the man you meet in the first book… A very well written, multi-faceted book that is a joy to read.” -S.J. Hailey

For full review go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/

 

The Orphan Uprising – Average reviewer rating 5 Stars

“I can’t say enough about this international conspiracy thriller series. Fast paced action and an extremely thought provoking premise.” -Phoenix

For full review go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/

 

If you’re a conspiracy thriller fan, you may be interested to know The Orphan Trilogy is available as a discounted box set – average Amazon reviewer rating 4.4 Stars.

The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising) available via Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/

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Looks like New Zealand is part of US spy network – like it or not

Posted: August 15, 2013 in The Ninth Orphan, The Orphan Trilogy
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In the wake of whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations it seems there’s little doubt that New Zealand is part of the US spy network.

Ah well, I guess it had to happen. Down here in God’s Own (New Zealand, or Newzil as we Kiwis call it), buried as we are at the bottom of the world, it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security – to believe our isolation protects us from terrorism, Big Brother and snooping spy agencies.

While our Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) refuses to say whether it transmits information from American spy satellites to the US, information leaked by former US National Security Agency contractor Ed (Snowden) suggests our listening stations are indeed  used to collect data from American spy satellites overhead.

Protestors at Waihopai spy base, New Zealand

It was NZ Herald reporter Isaac Davison’s article of August 6 that first got my interest over this whole sorry business. He reported security experts fear GCSB’s Waihopai base (here in NZ) is used to process data from an American mass surveillance program – a program “which is capable of secretly accessing emails, online chats and internet browsing histories from around the world”.

The article quotes computer forensic investigator Daniel Ayers, who founded IT security firm Special Tactics, as saying the leaked documents showed the global scale of the US spy program.

Here’s more from the article:

…New Zealand’s spy bases were already used to collect intelligence from the South Pacific and relay it to Five Eyes intelligence alliance partners – the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Mr Ayers said the leaked document hinted that New Zealand could be a conduit for data intercepted by US spy satellites.

“Does that red dot on the map signify that Waihopai is being used to ‘downlink’ intercepted data from other countries? If that’s the case, then it’s pretty big news because I don’t think that’s been publicly discussed by the Government. It means our role in this is greater than we knew.”

He said it also raised the possibility that US agencies were intercepting New Zealanders’ communications.

Former GCSB senior adviser Damien Rogers said the revelation that an XKeyscore server was located in New Zealand was not in itself significant. But it prompted questions about where data from the mass surveillance programme went and who had control over it…

For the full article go to: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/privacy/news/article.cfm?c_id=546&objectid=10908642

We raise many of the concerns highlighted by Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange before him, in our conspiracy thriller series The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising). Yesterday’s blog at https://morcanbooksandfilms.com/ highlights some of these.

We set the tone in The Ninth Orphan, book one in the series. Here’s an excerpt from The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1):

“…The emerald green eyes that stared back were full of strength and determination. They were also tinged with sadness – for a life their owner had never experienced.

Studying his reflection in the safety of his hotel room, Nine noticed the mirror had flecks of mold on it as well as fingerprints from other guests.

Lamenting his foiled transaction with the Chinese in Kensington Gardens earlier that morning, he still didn’t know which agency had interfered. It had been a serious setback for his plans. He knew there’d be another opportunity to trade with the Chinese, however.

After he’d given the police the slip at Saint Yeghiche Church, he’d gone to the East End. Then, once satisfied he’d shaken his pursuers, he had checked into this inconspicuous hotel and immediately set about establishing a new identity for himself.

Nine knew, without a shadow of a doubt, the Omega Agency would already know he was in London. He was only too aware Omega had people planted on the inside of all Western intelligence agencies. It was a no-brainer his fellow Omega operatives would be coming for him.

The contents on his flash drive were far too valuable for the agency to give up on.

The fugitive agent reminded himself it was imperative he presented a different face to the world each time he ventured out.

He made a silent vow to make good use of his vast array of disguises. Be like a ghost and they’ll never catch you.“

The Ninth Orphan is available as a trade paperback and kindle ebook via Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC

 

P.S.  I liked one wag’s comment on TV last night. He said our GCSB is a misnomer and should be renamed GCBS…and we all know what BS stands for!

Happy reading! –Lance

 

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Pardon whistleblower Ed Snowden? Someone thinks so…and he may have a point!

Posted: August 14, 2013 in The Orphan Trilogy
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In today’s issue of Truthdig.com, columnist Robert Scheer asks “How do you justify criminally charging a government contractor for revealing an alarming truth that the public has every right to know?”

Scheer claims, “That is the contradiction raised by President Obama now that he has, in effect, acknowledged that Edward Snowden was an indispensable whistle-blower who significantly raised public awareness about a government threat to our freedom.”

Scheer says it’s unfortunate the president didn’t have the grace and courage to concede that precise point and remains committed to imprisoning Snowden instead of thanking him for serving the public interest. He reckons WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange nailed it when he (Assange) said, “Today, the president of the United States validated Edward Snowden’s role as a whistleblower by announcing plans to reform America’s global surveillance program”.

                                        

                                               Edward Snowden                                   Julian Assange

Here’s some of the more telling excerpts from Sheer’s Truthdig.com article:

While boasting, “I called for a review of our surveillance programs,” Obama avoided the obvious fact that this review was compelled not by a sudden burst of respect for the safeguards demanded by our Constitution but rather Snowden’s action in making the public cognizant of the astounding breadth and depth of the National Security Agency’s spying program.

Once again, Obama managed to blame not those responsible for government malfeasance, himself included, but instead the rare insiders driven to do their duty to inform the American people. “Unfortunately, rather than an orderly and lawful process to debate these issues and come up with appropriate reforms, repeated leaks of classified information have initiated the debate in a very passionate but not always fully informed way,” he said.

How disingenuous, to put it mildly. Without the leaks, there would be no reforms. We, the voters, couldn’t initiate a debate about the wisdom of this extensive spying because the government officials who authorized it, from the president on down, kept us in the dark.

For Scheer’s full article go to: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/restore_honor_and_pardon_edward_snowden_20130813/

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of Snowden’s actions, or Assange’s for that matter, Scheer does have a point when he asks how Snowden can be condemned for revealing information “the public has every right to know”. But, hey, maybe I’m missing something here?

We’d like to know what you think. Drop a line or leave a message on our blog.

It is a tricky one this ‘freedom of speech vs national security issue’ and I know there’s no simple answer. We raise some of these very issues in our conspiracy thriller series The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising).

           

Here’s some relevant quotes from The Orphan Trilogy:

* “Factual reporting is all too often propaganda designed to provoke certain reactions from the masses.”

* “Each administration sold out on the most lucrative issues – oil, banking, drug trafficking, arms sales.”

* “The Omega Agency had infiltrated the highest ranks of the CIA.”

* “The only salvation for civilization lies in the creation of a world government.”

* “Kentbridge was certain all of the US presidents since JFK had been puppets.”

* “One could place a monkey in the White House Oval Office and everything would run just fine.”

* “Why else do you think we are permanently at war in various regions all over the world?”

* “Why is it the citizens of this country, one of the richest on earth, get poorer each year?”

The Orphan Trilogy box set is available via Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/

Happy reading! –Lance

  

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Some highly recommended reading on Goodreads’ reader popularity lists

Posted: August 6, 2013 in Books in general
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All three books in our conspiracy thriller series, The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising), figure prominently – alongside  the works of such greats as Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson, Robert Ludlum and John Le Carre – in readers’ popularity lists on the huge Amazon-owned literary site Goodreads.com

Our historical adventure-romance Fiji: A Novel also comes in at #3 in the Best Action-Adventure Novels category. (The Orphan Uprising is #1 in that category).

Here’s the top performers (as at 6 August, 2013) in Goodreads “Intrigue Book Lists”. Hope you agree there sure are some great books in this list…

The Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonAngels & Demons by Dan BrownThe Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg LarssonThe Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Thrillers    1,187 books    —    1,677 voters

The Bourne Identity by Robert LudlumThe Hunt for Red October by Tom ClancyTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le CarréThe Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le CarréNonofficial Asset by William Sewell

Best Spy Novels    489 books    —    513 voters

The Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownAngels & Demons by Dan BrownThe Ninth Orphan by James MorcanThe Orphan Trilogy by James MorcanThe Orphan Factory by James Morcan

Conspiracy Fiction   667 books    —    286 voters

The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsCatching Fire by Suzanne CollinsCity of Bones by Cassandra ClareHarry Potter Boxset by J.K. RowlingWater for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Best Gripping Books   354 books    —    281 voters

Jurassic Park by Michael CrichtonThe Ninth Orphan by James MorcanThe Andromeda Strain by Michael CrichtonThe Hunt for Red October by Tom ClancySphere by Michael Crichton

Best Technothrillers Ever   344 books    —    251 voters

The Orphan Uprising by James MorcanAgainst The Tide by John F. HanleyFiji by Lance MorcanIce Station by Matthew ReillyPatriot Games by Tom Clancy

Best Action-Adventure Novels   254 books    —    231 voters

For Nothing by Nicholas DenmonRemembrance by Michelle MadowEntwined by Heather DixonSilence by Becca FitzpatrickThe Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Intriguing book covers   322 books

Wild Hearted by Lea BronsenThe Orphan Uprising by James MorcanBurden of Sisyphus by Jon MessengerStorm Front by Jim ButcherMonster Hunter International by Larry Correia

Best violent action novels   63 books    —    120 voters

The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussThe Wise Man's Fear by Patrick RothfussA Game of Thrones by George R.R. MartinThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienHarry Potter Boxset by J.K. Rowling

my Favorite Fantasy books   161 books    —    114 voters

The Name of the Rose by Umberto EcoThe Pillars of the Earth by Ken FollettWolf Hall by Hilary MantelPope Joan by Donna Woolfolk CrossWhen Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman

Medieval and Renaissance historical fiction   42 books    —    54 voters

Front Page Fatality by LynDee WalkerLowcountry Boil by Susan M. BoyerBrides of the Storm by Amanda Albright StillEchoes of the Storm by Amanda Albright StillTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Best Southern Mysteries   26 books    —    33 voters

The Ninth Orphan by James MorcanTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le CarréThe Boys from Brazil by Ira LevinFalse Impressions by Sandra NikolaiThe Zombie Room by R.D. Ronald

Tight Plot Novels   22 books    —    25 voters

The Man She Married by Dani SinclairA Woman of Mystery by Charlotte DouglasUnforgettable by Cassie MilesLover, Stranger by Amanda StevensOne Night Standoff by Delores Fossen

A Memory Away… – Harlequin Intrigue

For the full list go to: http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/intrigue

Happy reading! –Lance & James

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The Great White answers the call of the Shark Caller in ‘Fiji’

Posted: August 5, 2013 in Fiji: A Novel
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Fiji highlights ancient customs.

The mystical powers of Shark Callers ensured they were held in high esteem among the native peoples of 19th Century Fiji – as these excerpts from our historical adventure-romance, Fiji: A Novel, show:

Within the crowd, Nathan watched with interest as the onlookers’ ranks suddenly parted to reveal the Shark Caller being escorted from the village to the beach by Joeli. The onlookers dropped to all fours and bowed their heads as their respected ratu and the equally esteemed Shark Caller approached.

Pausing to adjust a pennant-like piece of masi, or tapa cloth, attached to a post, the Shark Caller then waded out into the sea. The old man stopped only when the water reached his neck then he began chanting. It was a shrill, haunting chant unlike any Nathan had heard. The onlookers watched this ancient ceremony in awe…

… The chanting continued for so long Nathan was ready to return to the village. Then it suddenly stopped. The onlookers collectively gasped as a huge fin sliced through the water toward the Shark Caller.

Pointing the fin out to Nathan, Susannah whispered, “That will be the Great White.”

Nathan couldn’t take his eyes off the drama unfolding out in the bay. The fin veered away only yards short of the Shark Caller. The old man resumed chanting as the shark began circling him. More fins appeared, smaller than the Great White’s. They, too, circled the Shark Caller, who appeared oblivious to the danger. Wild cheering broke out among the onlookers. Nathan could hardly believe his eyes.

Susannah, shouting to be heard, said, “The Great White answers the call of the Shark Caller. It brings other sharks with it.”

Men waiting aboard canoes in the shallows began paddling furiously out from the beach to intercept the sharks. In the lead canoe, Joeli and Waisale reached down and hauled the still-chanting Shark Caller from the water. The crews of the other canoes set about killing as many sharks as they could. They used nets to snare the sharks and then they speared them, but they were careful not to harm the Great White. The sea in the immediate vicinity quickly turned red with blood. A feeding frenzy followed as sharks turned on one another.

One of the men in Joeli’s canoe fell overboard. Willing hands hauled him back on board just before the sharks could reach him.

On the beach, the onlookers were cheering and sea shell horns blared out as the men aboard the canoes began towing their catches back to shore. Despite the danger still posed by live sharks, villagers waded out to greet them. They helped pull the captured sharks up onto the beach, taking care to avoid their gnashing teeth.

Before long, the carcasses of thirty or more sharks had been lined up in rows on the sand. Smiling villagers used hunting knives to carve strips of flesh from them while others cut off the highly valued fins. Slaves carried the spoils back up to the village.

A beaming Joeli surveyed the scene proudly. He announced, “Tonight, my people eat well!”…

… Nathan turned his attention back to the scene on the beach. Beyond the villagers he saw the Shark Caller. The old man was now further down the beach, away from the others. He was kneeling beside a lone shark carcass.

Nathan approached the Shark Caller. As he neared, he heard the old man chanting softly while looking into the eye of the dead
shark.

“Great hunter of the sea, you have lived a noble life,” the Shark Caller intoned in his native tongue. “You have served your purpose. Now you will perform one last act. You will give me your eye so that I can see all things as you do.”

Although the words were foreign to him, Nathan felt he understood what the Shark Caller was saying. He looked on as the old man used a shell to cut out the shark’s eye. The Shark Caller held it up, offered another chant, then popped the eye into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

 

Shark calling is just one of many ancient customs highlighted in Fiji: A Novel. As one Fijian reviewer with Suva-based Random Writings Book Reviews says, “I give it 5 stars because that’s the maximum allowed.”  

Fiji: A Novel is available via Amazon as a trade paperback and kindle ebook. To order this novel, or read sample chapters free of charge, go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

  

Happy reading! –Lance & James

  

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‘Sex and the Citadel’ – an intimate peek into the sex lives of Arabs by first-time author

Posted: August 4, 2013 in Books in general, Morcan Books & Films
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Activist-writer Shereen El Feki’s first book, Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World, provides an intriguing insight into the customs, laws, attitudes, history and sex lives of the citizens of six Arab countries.

TED reports: Ms El Feki has spent years traveling throughout the Arab region to listen to people’s stories about sex. Stemming from her own work as an HIV/AIDS researcher and activist, the project has been a way for her to reconnect with her own background. Half Egyptian, she grew up in Canada, and she wanted to better understand her own origins. As she adds, “if you really want to know a people you start by looking inside their bedrooms.”

Author Shereen El Feki

In Truthdig.com this week, book reviewer Tracy Quan says, “Family flashbacks are the most surprising (and delicious) revelations in El Feki’s book.”

Excerpts from her review follow:

When Shereen El Feki’s father was a 9-year-old boy in Cairo, he would sneak onto a tram that ran through the city’s official brothel quarter. Clinging to the side to catch “a boy’s-eye view of the action on Clot Bey Street,” he saw change overtake a historic red-light district. The closing of those licensed bordellos as he came of age would be part of a much longer story about hypocrisy and political power in Egypt…

…Raised in Canada by a Welsh mom and Egyptian dad, she’s a cosmopolitan enigma, dividing her time between Cairo and the Kensington district of London (“conveniently close to Heathrow”). When I caught up with her on Skype, during a hectic book tour, she spoke about the soft power associated with her father’s birthplace.

“If we could get a more open discussion around sexuality in Egyptian media, and get some of these themes into a few Ramadan soap operas, that would have huge impact,” she said. “Get something to work in Egypt, and you have a better chance transferring this to countries in the Gulf, like Qatar and UAE. Or even Jordan.”

Chapters on “summer marriage” (an Islam-approved way to profit from sex without breaking the law), modern hymen repair (a steady gig for doctors) and gender bending might make you feel like an armchair Orientalist. Hetero girls dressed as boys, with painted lips, drawing moustaches on their faces in ninth century Baghdad? These early Islamic hipsters, known as ghulamiyyat during the Abbasid caliphate, would confound the uptight Kuwaitis who six years ago passed a law against “imitating the opposite sex in any way.”

For the full review go to: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/sex_and_the_citadel_20130801//

 

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