Character Study – Valerica Dietrich

Published January 15, 2016 by rochellewisoff

Although she [Havah] had dusted it many times, a faded photograph in a silver frame caught her attention. A woman with pale curls around her face smiled at her from under a lace bridal veil. She lifted the picture from the table beside the piano.

“What was she like?”

“My Valerica.” He took the picture from her. Then, holding it to his chest, he propped an elbow on the piano and rested his head on his hand. “Kolyah introduced us.”

“Dr. Nikolai?”

“She was his wife’s best friend. Do you believe in love at first sight, Havah?”

Not waiting for an answer, he continued. His spirit seemed to travel to a distant time and place. Tears shimmered in his eyes. “Valerica Dietrich. She was always the picture of fashion. But, if you ask me, she could’ve worn flour sacks and still have turned heads.

~~From Please Say Kaddish for Me

“Have you heard from your professor?”

“I got a letter this morning.” Havah took an envelope from her pocket. “How is he?”

“He’s so lonesome. Oh, he doesn’t say so, but I can tell by the way he talks about his wife and how much he misses her. She’s been gone thirteen years. It’s a pity he never remarried.”

~~From From Silt and Ashes

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

It was for his Romanian wife, Valerica that Ulrich moved to Kishinev, Moldova. Her death in childbirth dealt him a terrible blow from which he has never recovered. In Please Say Kaddish for Me, to keep her memory alive, Ulrich still has all of her belongings and refuses to sell the house they shared.

However, after experiencing anti-Semitic oppression and the carnage of the pogrom, he can no longer bear to remain in Kishinev.

As From Silt and Ashes opens he has sold the house and moved to London where he teaches at the Royal Academy of Music. Valerica’s wedding photo is ever by his piano for, as he’s told Havah, “She had music in her eyes.”

The Sequel to

Both Available at

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Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs or my website RochelleWordArt.

Character Study – Sarah Tulschinsky

Published December 21, 2015 by rochellewisoff

Sarah Tulschinsky, Arel’s older sister, fascinated Havah. Her crooked-toothed smile eclipsed her hollow cheeks. Skinny, with a thatch of kinky black hair and round eyes, she lacked Shayndel’s physical attributes.

Arel said he could not recall ever hearing Sarah raise her voice, until seven years ago. Always the dutiful daughter, she did whatever she was told until her father arranged for her to marry a man twice her age. With shrieks of rage that shocked everyone, she stuffed her few belongings into a carpetbag and left home. The few kopeks she had scrimped together from mending clothes paid her passage to America.

Amid stench and disease in the ship’s steerage, she met her beloved Wolf. Married soon after their arrival in New York, they followed their dreams to Kansas City where they lived in a flea-infested shack among the impoverished unwashed in a settlement known as McClure Flats. Side-by-side, she and Wolf established his tailor shop. Within two years, they saved enough money to move from the slums into a two-story home.

~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff – Fields

Sarah Tulschinsky is a gentle presence in both Please Say Kaddish for Me and From Silt and Ashes. In the first book the family in Svechka looks forward to her letters telling of her life in America. Although Yussel, who feels that he drove her away, wrestles with his guilt and worries that she hasn’t forgiven him.

Sarah is the first to welcome Havah to Kansas City. However, when she sees how Yussel dotes on Havah, she feels twinges of jealousy. In the end a close bond forms between the two women.

McClure Flats in Kansas City, MO. circa 1911

Published 15 December 2015

The Sequel to

Both Available at

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Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs or my website RochelleWordArt.

18 December 2015

Published December 16, 2015 by rochellewisoff

FRIDAY FICTION CONCRIT SUBGROUP

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The next photo is the prompt and is from Yours Truly.

PHOTO PROMPT- © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

get the InLinkz code

Genre: Teaser

Word Count: 97

LUCID NIGHTMARE

“Police! Open the door!”

Her body shook, more from horror than cold. She drew up her knees, cowered in a corner of the room and stared at the bloodstains on the floral wallpaper. The back of her head ached where he had yanked her hair and dragged her to the floor. A bitter wind blew through the broken window. She shivered. Her knuckles smarted from a large gash across them. She wrapped her nightgown hem around her hand.

Tears burned her eyes and she shut them tight, leaning her head against the wall. “Will it ever end?”

****

A bit of self-promotion today as my second novel From Silt and Ashes debuted this week. The “story” above is the opening of book. I hope it drew you in and made you want to know more. 😉

Now available on Amazon.com

Character Study – Havah in America

Published November 27, 2015 by rochellewisoff

Picking up a letter from his desk, Ulrich held it to his nose and breathed in the aroma of rose water. He pictured Havah sitting at the kitchen table, pen in hand, munching raisins, black waves cascading over her shoulders.

Nikolai walked to the desk, picked up the envelope and squinted. “‘Kansas City, Missouri. U.S.A.’”

“The postman delivered it yesterday afternoon.”

“What does she have to say?”

“Here, I’ll read it to you.

Friday, 29 January, 1904

Dearest Ulrich, my angel and friend,

I am hoping happiness for you. You, above all people, deserve it.

I miss hearing you play. Perhaps one day you will come here for a concert. Can you understand it, my writing?”

For a moment he stopped to study her even letters. The memory of her battle with her knife-slashed hand still pained him. No longer able to perform simple tasks such as writing or even holding a spoon, she forced her left hand, with unyielding diligence, into submission. After all of that, she still had impeccable penmanship.

~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published (December 2015) by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Havah Cohen Gitterman – Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Following tearful goodbyes to Ulrich and Nikolai, Arel, Havah and Arel’s family immigrated to Kansas City. Ulrich, who had already secured a teaching position at the Royal Academy of Music in London, talked Nikolai into joining him.

At the beginning of From Silt and Ashes Havah maintains her friendship with Ulrich through letters. Thanks to Arel’s income as a tailor, Arel and Havah have purchased a new house and are adapting to American life as they anticipate the birth of their first child.

Although she’s comfortable in her new home, Havah suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress and worsening physical disability. No longer an adolescent, she’s a young married woman who faces challenge after challenge with tenacity and courage.

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs or my website RochelleWordArt.

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Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

Character Study – Katya and Evron Abromovich

Published September 21, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“Evron, open up. It’s your baby brother.” Itzak pounded his fist on a wooden door that looked like it might split in half at the slightest touch.

While she waited between Gittel and Shayndel for someone to answer, Havah rubbed her sore neck. She had slept in the wagon most of the way to Kishinev in a most uncomfortable position.

Finally the door swung open and a man who looked like Itzak, only taller, beckoned. His laughter even sounded like Itzak’s. “You we’ve been expecting, Little Brother. But we had no idea you’d be bringing all of Svechka with you.”

Havah followed Gittel and Arel over the threshold into the small house. Although not much larger or better constructed than Tova’s shack it was warm and welcoming. Garlic and onion aromas made her stomach grumble.

After the brothers embraced and exchanged back slaps, Evron pulled back and winked at Shayndel. “We haven’t seen your lovely wife since she was a little girl with yellow braids. And now look at her. She’s a rose in full bloom.”

Evron’s wife Katya, a bony woman with buckteeth, slits for eyes and beak-like nose, hugged her blushing sister-in-law. “Never is a woman more beautiful than when she carries life inside.”

~~Taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

***

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

When Evron signed the marriage contract with Katya, Itzak Abromovich felt sorry for his brother who was forced to marry such a homely woman. But he never needed to waste his pity for Evron sees only Katya’s inner beauty and is deeply in love with her.

Their tiny house is already full of children–two girls and two boys–and there hardly seems to be enough space for them, let alone five houseguests. Havah soon learns that Katya and Evron always have room for friends and family.

When Gittel introduces Havah as an orphan Katya embraces Havah and says, “I don’t see any orphans. Do you? I see only mishpokha, family.”

Havah finds love, hope and a safe haven in Katya and Evron’s humble Kishinev home.

.

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs.

Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

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Character Study – Anzya

Published August 10, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“‘Stir the stew every ten minutes, Princess. Don’t let it burn.’ With a threatening scowl Anzya shoved past her nearly upsetting the laundry. Her mouth made a thin line under her narrow nose. She secured a black shawl over her kerchief.

“The sour woman seldom spoke and never smiled. Perhaps she had no teeth. When Havah asked Ulrich about her he said she was as much of a mystery as when she first came to work for him a year ago.”

~~Taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Ulrich’s kitchen is completely Kosher because he’s given his Jewish cook, Anzya, free rein. For reasons Havah, doesn’t understand, he is compassionate toward the bitter woman even though she returns his caring with animosity.

Anzya regards Havah with disdain and sarcastically calls her Princess.

At one point in the story, in a fit of anger she asks Havah, “How can you be so friendly to him? How can you let him touch you?”

“Ulrich? Why don’t you like him?”

“He’s a goy. Isn’t that reason enough?”

Anzya will soon understand that Ulrich isn’t just another gentile, nor is Havah a pampered princess.

***

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs.

Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

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Character Study – Hershel Levine

Published July 20, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“A thin stream of smoke issued through Hershel’s pursed lips. ‘Practical wisdom is one thing, Rebbe, but study of the Holy Writings is quite another. Some things are not meant to be. I ask you, if we start sending our daughters to Heder, who will cook and take care of the home?’ He wagged his finger under Arel’s nose. ‘Would you want your wife studying at your side instead of raising your children?’”

~~taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

In the beginning of the story, Cantor Hershel Levine’s ideas about women seem rigid and traditional. While his arranged marriage to Fruma Ya’el is a union of mutual tolerance, the demons from his past keep it from being a happy one. He finds his greatest joy and treasure in their daughter, Gittel whom he refers to as the sweetest of flittering birds.

As a firm believer in tzedakah, religious and moral obligation, he readily takes on the role of Havah’s legal guardian. Nothing like Gittel, Havah challenges his convictions and eventually wins his heart.

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

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***

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs.

Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

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Character Study – Tova Gitterman Resnick

Published June 30, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“Finally Havah raised her head to glare at the other woman. Under different circumstances she would have pitied her. At thirty-one Tova looked closer to fifty. Years of abuse had worn lines into her face. Childbearing had left its mark on her slight frame, curving her spine and bowing her shoulders.”

~~taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

TOVA GITTERMAN RESNIC - Original artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

At the age of fourteen, Arel’s sister Tova Gitterman, Yussel’s second eldest child, was a dark haired, grey eyed beauty. Feivel Resnick, then seventeen, fancied himself in love with her and begged the rabbi for her hand. However Yussel informed him that she was already promised. Not to be refused, Feivel stalked her until the day he cornered her doing laundry at the river.

When Tova was found to be pregnant with Feivel’s child it rendered her betrothal agreement null and void. Rabbi Yussel felt he had no choice but to sanction the marriage for honor’s sake.

Instead of the fulfillment of his dreams, Feivel feels trapped. He is an abusive drunkard who squanders his meager earnings on drink and takes out his frustrations on Tova. As Please Say Kaddish for Me opens, Tova is pregnant with their fifth child.

After the baby’s birth, Tova signs an agreement for her eldest to marry the shoemaker who is twice the girl’s age. Havah is indignant and accuses Tova of selling her daughter into slavery for a pair of shoes.

As time passes, Havah learns that life isn’t always a simple matter of right and wrong. While she may never agree with Tova’s decision she does come to respect the woman’s inner strength.

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs.

Trailer by Kent Bonham

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Character Study – Itzak Abromovich

Published June 21, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“Itzak reminded her [Havah] of a bear cub, short and stout with black, curly hair. His beard seemed to be as unruly as the young man himself. His dark eyes shimmered like midnight stars.”

~~taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Itzak Abromovich is a cabinetmaker by trade who is also a gifted woodcarver. Because his uniquely crafted furniture is sought after by certain Kishinev aristocrats Itzak has been issued official papers granting him permission to travel beyond the boundaries of Svechka.

He’s not only a skilled craftsman but a talented fiddler as well which endears him to Ulrich Dietrich, the pianist. Often furniture deliveries will end with an evening of music in the wealthy German professor’s mansion.

At first meeting, Havah points out that Itzak is the embodiment of his name, pronounced in Hebrew ‘yitz-khak’ which literally translates, ‘he will laugh.’ In nearly any given situation, no matter how bleak, he can find a kernel of humor.

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

You can find it here or here.

Feel free leave a review at either site or both sites. 😉

Thank you and Shalom,

Rochelle

Character Study – Shayndel Gitterman Abromovich

Published June 20, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“Shayndel’s knee length hair shone like honey in the sun and her round cheeks glowed. Havah felt shriveled and pale next to her.”

~~Taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Shayndel Gitterman Abromovich’s marriage to Itzak the cabinetmaker was arranged when they were still children and, as Itzak tells Arel, “it was meant to be.” Like her brother, Shayndel has never questioned the traditional roles of Jewish men and women within the shtetl. In Itzak, Shayndel has found her beshert, her soulmate.

Although Havah sees Shayndel as being too accepting and Shayndel sees Havah as rebellious, an unbreakable bond forms between them.

You can read more about Havah, Arel and Shayndel here:

PSK Cover with border Which you can find here.

If you’ve already read Please Say Kaddish for Me, please leave a review on Amazon.

Thank you.

Shalom,

Rochelle