My review of John Dufresne's My Darling Boy at Goodreads

"I received from WW Norton an Advanced Reading Copy of this incredible book. We read about opioid addiction every day. In this novel, John Dufresne takes it down to the personal level. Olney is a modern-day father whose son Cully becomes addicted after an injury. Cully likes being addicted, something that's hard for his family, indeed, for any straight people to understand. The numbness of the drugs can actually seem an improvement to the numbness and despair of living in these troubled times. Read Burrough's book JUNKY to see this from another angle. Olney struggles to save his son, now grown and on his own going from one fix to another. Olney's quest is America's quest, to rescue our children from the turning away of love and understanding. In the wonderful Dufresne fashion, we encounter normal environments full of crazy people, often hilarious, sad, and endearing. Treat yourself to a novel you'll always remember. Available in January 2025. Pre-order now."

 

Interview Anita Mitchell

Welcome home, Abbas Karimi. Read about him in Anita Mitchell's book, and in this interview we did before the Paralympic games.

WSVN did this story Sunday. Click on his name to get there

Abbas

Back in March, I interviewed Anita Mitchell about her amazing book on the Paralympic swimmer Abbas Karimi, who has no arms. I'm happy to report he has win two Silver Medals for Team USA.

Abbas  Click here for an update.

10 Questions for Anita Mitchell, whose new book came out April 17. It's the incredible true story of a man born without arms who became a champion swimmer. Click on the link to buy at Amazon.

God Took My Arms But He Gave Me This Gift

BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK: The future looked bleak for Abbas when he was born. With so many other problems in Kabul, people with disabilities are a low priority. If Abbas wanted to excel with his unusual skill as a swimmer, he knew that he had to leave his large and close family. How he left, how he traveled through Iran, how he petitioned the UNHCR to come to the United States, how he made the Tokyo refugee Paralympic team. How he became a US citizen and what complications ensued in his life is a beacon of triumph and a salute to the human spirit.  Abbas is a role model not only for people with disabilities, but he is also a role model for anyone with a lofty goal that comes with detours along the way.

 

WHAT DOES THE TITLE  “GOD TOOK MY ARMS BUT HE GAVE ME THIS GIFT” MEAN?  When I first did a short blog piece about Abbas, he told me this  line and I said, "Abbas, that could be the title of your book”…and it is. Abbas is an observant Shiite Muslim and although he was born without arms, he believes that he was given the gift of becoming a swimmer.

 

HOW CAN SOMEONE WITHOUT ARMS BECOME A SWIMMER?  Abbas was soothed by the water as a kid growing up in Kabul. He says he is reborn every time he swims.  Strength in swimming comes from abdominals and legs..and mostly from your desire to do it. Although Abbas was born without arms,  through expert professional coaching, he has learned how to propel through the water at a championship level. A winning mentality is something Abbas always had, whether it was  how he played marbles,  performed martial arts or eventually excelled to world class levels in Paralympic swimming.

WHERE DID THIS STORY COME FROM?  I am also a member of  Swim Fort Lauderdale (SFTL) masters swim team .  In our weekly newsletters from Coach Marty Hendrick, he told the team that we were getting a new swimmer. This new swimmer was training for the Tokyo Paralympics,. He was coming from Portland Oregon where he had lived and trained for four years.. Abbas was brought to the United States  by the  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  He was from Kabul, Afghanistan and spoke very good English . He lived in Turkish refugee camps before being chosen to emigrate to the United States.  

      I had just retired from 26 years at WSVN7 as a field producer and assignment editor.  I knew that this was  an incredible story.  I underestimated just how special this story and this person is. 

 

BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK: The future looked bleak for Abbas when he was born. With so many other problems in Kabul, people with disabilities are a low priority. If Abbas wanted to excel with his unusual skill as a swimmer, he knew that he had to leave his large and close family. How he left, how he traveled through Iran, How he petitioned the UNHCR to come to the United States, how he made the Tokyo refugee Paralympic team. how he became a US citizen and what complications ensued in his life is a  beacon of triumph and a salute to the human spirit.  Abbas is a role model not only for people with disabilities, he is a role model for anyone with a lofty goal that comes with detours along the way.

 

WHAT ARE THE PARALYMPICS:  The Paralympic Games are a series of multisport events with disabled athletes. The games are held immediately following the Olympic Games in the same host city.  

 

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND:  I have been a Broward County high school English teacher,  a field producer/assignment editor at WSVN7, a blogger, a book editor and now an author. I graduated from  Michigan State University.

 

ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING THEIR LITERARY CAREERS  Write whatever you can that people will see;  you never know where that will lead.  Keep writing what you love every day: you will get better and faster.  I  have written restaurant menus, event programs, wedding toasts….anything that let people know that I write. Through this, I was approached about this book

 

WHERE CAN THE BOOK BE PURCHASED? Amazon.com, soon Barnes&Noble

 

WHAT I DO WHEN I AM NOT WRITING  I am swimming, training in the gym for better swimming, cruising garage sales, talking to people who are important to me and relaxing at my keyboard with my cat.

 

 The Man With Two Roosters

I have written and published at Amazon two different versions of the same story. Don't do that! is what I've been told but since I'm not an Artificial Intelligence robot, I do what I want. 

 The Barricades of Heaven was the first Rooster novel. Written in first-person POV, it tells the story of Rooster, and Johnny Fallon's return to Miami rocking his world. This was written to be the beginning of a series of Rooster novels, Rooster being the good guy and handling the bad guys in dramatic fashion

Smuggler's Return is also the story of Rooster, and Johnny Fallon's return to Miami rocking his world. It was written in third-person Point-of-View, and has a different ending all together. I call this the Literary Rooster novel. The bad guys handle Rooster in dramatic fashion. This was written as a stand-alone.

Last night at Friday Night Writers, I showed the group the red cover The Barricades of Heaven novel, which I like, since I did the formatting and cover myself. Alina Matas, who bought and read Smuggler's Return and liked it, asked me if this was the first Rooster novel. Yes, I explained, and she wanted to buy a copy to compare. I was delighted to give her a copy to hear her opinion of the two versions. What seemed like a financial blunder, producing two Roosters, at least now seems like an artistic adventure. In a day where cranking out novels every 90 days seems the way to be a successful writer, I revert back to my roots, and snatch financial disaster from the jaws of financial success. And I like it.

 South Florida Writers Association has created a literary anthology that's going to the moon as part of the Lunar Codex. This incredible accomplishment was spearheaded by Mort Laitner and Howard Camner, whose drive and determination successfully brought the whole SFWA team into action. Congratulations all!

Samuel Peralta had this to say at Facebook:

The SEA OF TRANQUILITY anthology is one of only a handful of literary anthologies commissioned by the #LunarCodex, to be archived in our POLARIS collection.

In addition, this anthology has now been accepted in the archives of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and the archives of the American Space Museum & Space Walk of Fame.

Excelsior!

SEA OF TRANQUILITY - A Literary Anthology

- Edited by Howard Camner and Mort Laitner

- With thanks to Monica DeZulueta, Travis Laitner, and Neil Crabtree

- Cover illustration by Regine Fisher

- Preface 'Mare Tranquillitatis' by Samuel Peralta

- Introduction by Howard Camner

- Epilogue by Mort Laitner

- Featuring works by

Jonathan Rose Cathy Lowen (art) C.V. Shaw Mark Bonaparte Barbra Nightingale Linda M. Campbell Cynthia Uzzolino Dale Alan Young Brian Shaer Mark Lew Jen Karetnick Keiana Morgan (art) Lenny DellaRocca Jo Avent Joanne Sherry Mitchell Mary Greenwood Mikaelo Perez Raining Deer aka Jeanette Stephens-El C.V. Shaw Susana Jiménez-Mueller Ricki Dorn Jonathan Rose Carla Albano Richard J. Frost (art) Gail S. Tucker Griffith Carolyn McBride Joanne Sherry Mitchell Cara Nusinov Swati Bagga Geoffrey Philp Charles Maxim Bernstein Cynthia Uzzolino Mort Laitner Anita Mitchell Richard Frost (art) Beverly Melasi-Haag Howard Camner Neil Crabtree Billy Jones Gladys A. Barrio Howard Camner Charles Maxim Berstein (art) Steve Kronen Christina Moss Mayo Connie Goodman-Milone Pat Bonner Milone Pat Bonner Milone Monica DeZulueta Geoffrey Philp Meg Nocero Richard Frost (art) Mort Laitner