Purple Prose and Passion on the Airwaves

Published November 2, 2018 by rochellewisoff

PURPLE PROSE AND PASSION ON THE AIRWAVES

Wow! Where does the time go? Nearly a year ago I did a radio interview with Dr. Paul Reeves on his Family Talk program. At the time we chatted about writing, Friday Fictioneers and the coffee table companion book I was working on.

A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY debuted the first week in September so Dr. Paul invited me back to discuss my opus. 😉

He has a way of putting the interviewee at ease. I think that particular morning the conversation could’ve continued well into the afternoon. We spoke of the joys of aging while staying young. As we did last year, we talked about Friday Fictioneers which is so much a part of my life. I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed doing it.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 as Dr. Paul invited me back to read a few selections from A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY. It’s tentatively set to air Monday, November 26.

Shalom,

Rochelle

I hope you’ll check out all four books of the Trilogy.

Dr. Paul Reeves

16 February 2018

Published February 14, 2018 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Please be respectful of your fellow writers/readers and keep your stories to 100 words. Thank you and Shalom.

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Once more I’m sharing an excerpt from an excerpt from both FROM SILT AND ASHES and A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY. As I write, I’m making progress with the latter. Thank you for your patience and kind feedback.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

GOODBYE, HELLO

Ulrich held Havah’s letter to his nose and breathed in the aroma of rose water. He pictured her at her table, black waves cascading over her shoulders.

His mind harked back to Rotterdam Harbor where they bid each other farewell. The taste of their stolen kiss lingered on his lips, even as Arel waited on the dock.

“How are things in America?” asked his housemate Nikolai.

Ulrich tossed him the letter. “Read for yourself.”

“They’re happy despite the cold winter. Good for them.”

“Yes indeed.” Biting his lip, Ulrich crumpled the envelope. “I’m delirous for them.”

“Ulrich, let her go.”

Book II of Havah’s Trilogy

Havah at her writing table © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Coming soon!

Ulrich Dietrich © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Dr. Nikolai Derevenko © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

2 February 2018

Published January 31, 2018 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Please be considerate to your fellow writer/readers and keep your stories to 100 words. Thank you.

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The crunch is on. I’ve started putting a manuscript together for A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY. So most of my writing energy these days is going into the short stories and excerpts for the book. The following is a tweaked excerpt from FROM SILT AND ASHES that’s cut down from the version that’s going in the next book. That made perfect sense, right?

Genre: Historical Fiction circa 1904

Word Count: 100

DOORPOST

Havah traced the shin, the first letter of the word Shaddai, Almighty on the weathered tube on her door jamb with her index finger. The mezuzah was one of the few things she managed to salvage from the ruins of her village.

She remembered how David, then thirteen, spent hours carving the wood. Careful not to crack it, he hollowed out a place to insert the parchment scroll inscribed with Torah verses. How had it survived? She brought her fingertips to her lips and kissed them, remembering her brother’s face.

“Sweet David, your words have I hidden in my heart.”

*

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

David and Mendel Cohen Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

19 January 2018

Published January 17, 2018 by rochellewisoff

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“The key to building an audience is reading and commenting others’ works.” Russell Gayer

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

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As the new year has begun, I need to concentrate on my coffee table book. (I hope you’re not tired of hearing about it.)

There are always those scenes on the cutting room floor. Here’s one that didn’t make it into AS ONE MUST, ONE CAN. It’s edited from over 200 words as well. The lesson to be learned here is ‘never throw anything away.’ 😉

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

A TIME TO LAUGH

Guilt niggled Havah for watching Vaudeville at Electric Park on the Sabbath. But didn’t the Book say laughter is good for the soul?

Jugglers wearing gaudy costumes spun plates on sticks. Acrobats in skintight outfits flipped in midair.

Havah marveled when the magician made a pair of turtledoves appear out of nowhere.

“It’s called sleight of hand.” Itzak shrugged. “He probably had them stuffed in his trousers.”

“Who cares? He’s amazing!”

Next the trickster’s dog pointed to letters on cards with his paw to spell out his name—P-I-L-U.

In a stage whisper, Itzak said, “Glad his name isn’t Constantinople.”

Kansas City’s Electric Park circa 1900

Mrs. Havah Gitterman

Itzak Abromovich

Coming soon!

A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY

Published May 29, 2017 by rochellewisoff

For Memorial Day Weekend, Pegman walks through Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.

Feel free to stroll around the area using the Google street view and grab any picture you choose to include in your post.

To enjoy stories inspired by the What Pegman Saw prompt or to submit your own 150-word story, visit the inLinkz button:

For guidelines and rules for the What Pegman Saw weekly writing prompt, visit the home page.

Many thanks to J Hardy Carroll and Karen Rawson for hosting this writing challenge.

A hearty thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we so richly enjoy. May their memories be blessing.

So…this is the photo I chose from the Pegman menu. I confess to being a bit of a renegade on this one. My story has nothing to do with Kanchanaburi or A. Rosenberg. You may recognize the characters in this story if you’ve read any of my books. 😉 However, this piece isn’t in any of them.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 150

A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY

The rabbi shut his prayer book. “May HaShem grant us strength to see beyond our sorrow and may the name of Sarah Tulschinsky be blessed.”

Havah gazed at her sister-in-law’s newly unveiled headstone. Had it really been a whole year since the gentle woman who had welcomed Havah to America succumbed to pneumonia? She placed a large pebble on the marker.

Sarah’s nine-year-old son Jeffrey tugged at Havah’s sleeve. “Auntie, why do we put rocks on graves when Christians put flowers on them?”

Kneeling, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “What happens after you pick a flower?”

“It turns brown and dies.”

“Can a rock die?”

“Huh-uh.”

“A stone is eternal, like your mama’s soul. The more stones you see on a person’s grave, the more he or she has been remembered.”

Jeffrey opened his clenched fist and dropped a handful of pebbles. “I will never forget you, Mama.”

What’s a Little Jet Lag?

Published November 21, 2016 by rochellewisoff

Last Wednesday I set forth from Belton, Missouri to Burbank, California with more than one mission. The primary one was to do a live interview on The Writer’s Block Radio Show. Although I could’ve stayed home and phoned the interview in, when I found out how close my son lives to the studio I made travel arrangements. To read my other two blogs leading up to this Click Here and Here.

Yes, I do have a purple suitcase. Why do you ask?

Thursday night came and with it butterflies in my stomach doing loop-de-loops. My son, Travis drove me to the studio and sat in on the interview.

I felt a little nervous as I sank down in front of the microphone, reminding myself not to say, “Um” or “Er”. However, as soon as we went live, host Jim Christina and his co-host, Russ Avison put me at ease. It seemed more like sitting in someone’s living room having a great conversation than a question and answer interview. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Jim Christina who took the time to research the pogroms in Eastern Europe.

Wearing my magic shoes.

Russ Avison, who read Please Say Kaddish for Me and asked some brilliant questions.

With the interview behind me, I spent the rest of the week getting to know my five-year-old granddaughter, Olive. It happened that her other grandmother Dru was also in town to spend Thanksgiving. I enjoyed visiting with her as well.

We stopped in at the Bookstar Barnes & Noble in Studio City so I could sign two copies of PLEASE SAY KADDISH FOR ME and two copies of FROM SILT AND ASHES.

Even though we weren't able to arrange a book signing, the manager was nice enough to order in my books and invited me to come in and sign them. (I suppose we could call this a book signing. Right?)

Even though we weren’t able to arrange a book signing, the manager was nice enough to order in my books and invited me to come in and autograph them. (I suppose we could call this a book signing. Right? Of course, right!)