Uvi Poznansky - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on bestseller, award-winning author, poet and artist Uvi Poznansky. She is the author of Contemporary and Historical Fiction novels and Poetry.

Author Genre: Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Poetry

Website: Uvi Poznansky
Author's Blog: Uvi Poznansky
Twitter: @UviPoznansky

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Author Description:


Uvi Poznansky is a bestselling, award-winning author, poet and artist. “I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” Her romance boxed set, A Touch of Passion, is the 2016 WINNER of The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards.

Education and work:
Uvi earned her B. A. in Architecture and Town Planning from the Technion in Haifa, Israel and practiced with an innovative Architectural firm, taking a major part in the large-scale project, called Home for the Soldier.

Having moved to Troy, N.Y. with her husband and two children, Uvi received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. There, she guided teams in a variety of design projects and earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

She worked first as an architect, and later as a software engineer, software team leader, software manager and a software consultant (with an emphasis on user interface for medical instruments devices.) All the while, she wrote and painted constantly, and exhibited in Israel and California. In addition, she taught art appreciation classes. Her versatile body of work includes bronze and ceramic sculptures, oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal, pen and pencil drawings, and mixed media.

Books and Genres:
Her two series won great acclaim. Still Life with Memories is a family saga series with touches of romance. It includes Apart From Love, My Own Voice, The White Piano, The Music of Us, and Dancing with Air. The David Chronicles is a historical fiction series. It includes Rise to Power, A Peek at Bathsheba, and The Edge of Revolt.

Her poetry book, Home, is in tribute to her father. Her collection of dark tales, Twisted, and her Historical Fiction book, A Favorite Son, are both new age, biblically inspired books. In addition, Uvi wrote and illustrated two children books, Jess and Wiggle and Now I Am Paper. For each one of these books, she created an animation video (find them on YouTube and on her Goodreads page.)


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Dancing with Air. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

I am so excited about my novel, Dancing with Air. It is a love story set in WWII, between a soldier and a rising star, a pianist. Writing it gave me the idea to create a new boxed set, titled Love in Times of War. I looked at hundreds of romance novels and scores of authors to come up with this unique, wonderful selection. It will include twelve romance stories (a mix of novels and novellas) written by the best and the brightest authors in the genre: Tamara Ferguson, Jacquie Biggar, D.G. Torrens, Angelica Kate, Traci Hall, Jennifer St. Giles, Regina Puckett, Suzanne Jenkins, S.R. Mallery, Susan Jean Ricci, Bridgitte Lesley, and me. This amazing collection even includes stories that have never been published before and are being written as we speak. Release date will be in mid-December 2016, just in time for Christmas gift giving.

The theme of love in times of war is a timely one. It lends itself to historical romance, contemporary romance, military romance and wounded warrior romance, but in all its expressions, this theme invites you into the dramatic events of war, when lovers face the most difficult of obstacles and strive overcome dire challenges, and when love is tested by the utmost trials.

You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?

Thank you for noticing my 24K followers on Twitter. The best way to gain followers is a simple one. Surprise yourself! Every day I publish a blog post about a different topic. Then I share it on social media, and readers come flocking.

What topic, you ask? I go for variety, so a post may be about the creative process, about a voice clip of one of my stories, a back story of what inspired a particular passage in my story, a peek at my art studio, the influence of art through history on my writing, readers’ reviews of my books, a verse or two from poems...

So every morning, when you have your glass of juice or cup of coffee, come visit me at my blog and check out what’s new.

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

My covers are always based on my own art, in all its forms (oil paintings, watercolors, or digital imagery) and they express the same vision as my writing. My art and my writing are two sides of the same coin. I write with a paintbrush and paint with a pen.

As an example of the cover creation process, take a look at my cover design for A Favorite Son. The cover is based on a mixed media painting I painted not long ago. In it I floated various paints on the paper, letting them drizzle and mix, to create an intricate, fiery flow of color. Then when they dried out I came in with a black pen, and drew just a few lines to suggest the figure.

To me, this is what this image means: looking directly at yourself, facing the pain and the ugly imperfections within, without any attempt to mask who you are—even if you find yourself on the verge of a meltdown. Which is the process the protagonist, Yankle, is going through in this story. He finds himself coming to terms with his core being, with how the tension between his emotions and needs has driven him over a lifetime.

As in my previous book cover designs, the font of the book title and the author name casts a subtle shadow over the image. However, One detail is different here: Two of the letters of the author name cast a shadow like all the other letters, but the two glyphs themselves—the objects that cast the shadows--are intentionally missing. Why? For two reasons.

First, because often in my art I discover that the eye is drawn to the unexpected, and the brain rises to the challenge when there is a missing link to resolve. The observer, then, becomes engaged with the art, and in a sense, becomes its creator.

And second, because this missing detail is a symbol, an indication of the flawed character in this story.

By far, the most difficult covers to design are covers for boxed set, because you have to design not only the front cover but also the spines, and then create a perspective of the box. I am truly excited by this graphical challenge. I invite you to check out the cover design for A Touch of Passion.

Many of your novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?

Tales around a fire. That’s how it started… the oral tradition, the first way knowledge was stored and transmitted. Thousands of years later, we’ve rediscovered the power and presence of the human voice in the telling of new tales. Digital technology has made the recording and delivery of high-quality audio narration both convenient and affordable. Now storytellers everywhere are lifting their words from the page (or pixel) and breathing new life into their tales through audio fiction podcasts and audiobooks.

Having worked with several talented voice artists I can tell you that breathing life into a story is an amazing process. It starts with the audition script, which can prove to be a challenge to many actors. Usually I know instantly when I hear the right voice. By instinct I sense the capacity of the narrator to immerse himself in the character, to the point that he can live in her skin. This is the real magic. when author and narrator are giving it all, in service of their characters.

So if you spend a lot of time driving on long trips, or even sitting around the fireplace, you can imagine what a great companion audiobooks can be to spin away the hours. Great narrators make books come alive. Being so close to you, breathing words into your ear, they make the experience both intimate and heightened, with every nuance in the story becoming fully expressed.

You have written several novellas. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work? Do you feel short reads are a product of our email and smart phone age?

The length of a story is never determined by marketing considerations. Rather, it is determined by what the character wants to reveal and the arc of change he or she is undergoing. It takes just the right amount of words to express an idea, no more, no less, and a writer better not skim the story or dilute it.

I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a novel collection called A Touch of Passion , 2016 WINNER of The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other romance authors? How did you put something like that together?

Oh, thank you for noticing our win, we could not have done it without our wonderful readers! We are deeply grateful to them.

Despite being a private person I find myself increasingly engaged with readers and listeners. Why? Because of my characters. Having sprung from my mind onto the page, they might die there, pressed between the front and back covers–unless I make it possible for them to spring from the page to your mind.

I thrive on reaching out to my audience. Every day I discover new ways to create this connection and strengthen it. By far the best way is forging alliances with other authors, whose work is of outstanding quality and whose audience appreciates creativity. To this end I review fellow authors on my blog, which is my way of recognizing their talent. I organize author events on Facebook to showcase our work. I read a lot of novels, note their reviews, and actively seek out book recommendations, all of which allows me to choose the best and the brightest for the most ambitious team projects I created to date: boxed sets. In my mind, they are meant to celebrate excellence in writing. They allow you to discover new authors and from there, it is up to you to read more of their books.

You have put together a set of your novels called Part From Love. (see book list below) What was the impact on your other sales? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?

Apart from Love is my first published work, so it had no affect on any other books, because at that point there were no other books in my backlist. But your question is a valid one, in this respect: readers are always looking for authors who offer a large repertoire of stories. With each new book, there is a chance that your previous books will be discovered by new readers who have embraced your characters. This is especially true about books in series. For example, readers who enjoy new release, Dancing with Air, will become curious to read about the adventures of Lenny and Natasha in my previous novel, The Music of Us. The entire series is designed as a family saga with a touch of romance, unfolding over several generations, told from several points of view.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

Yes, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter, which you can do here: Curious to find out more about my writing and art?

I send a newsletter once in a blue moon, so as not to bombard you, and just like with my blog, I strive to offer quality posts on a variety of topics, and the latest news about my creations.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and helping other writers gain exposure. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?

lol, that’s a question I ask myself a lot, where in the world do I find the time... Striking the right balance between writing and promoting is not an easy feat, ask any writer. For me, promoting is writing, because my blog is at the heart of reaching out to readers.

Even so I often wish I could be cloned so my clones could do some of my work. But if that would happen, each one of my clones would complain that she should be cloned, so that her clones could do some of her work…



Author's Book List
Dancing with Air - Still Life with Memories Book 4
Serving on the European front, Lenny longs for Natasha, the girl who captured his heart back home. He writes bogus reports, designed to fall into the hands of Nazi Intelligence. To fool the enemy, these reports are disguised as love letters to another woman. This task must remain confidential, even at the risk of Natasha becoming suspicious of him.

Once she arrives in London, Lenny takes her for a ride on his Harley throughout England, from the White Cliffs of Dover to a village near an underground ammunition depot in Staffordshire. When he is wounded in a horrific explosion, Natasha brings him back to safety, only to discover the other woman’s letter to him. He wonders, will she trust him again, even though as a soldier, he must keep his mission a secret? Will their love survive the test of war?

In the past Natasha wrote, with girlish infatuation, “He will be running his fingers down, all the way down to the small of my back, touching his lips to my ear, breathing his name, breathing mine. Here I am, dancing with air.” In years to come, she will begin to lose her memory, which will make Lenny see her as delicate. “I gather her gently into my arms, holding her like a breath.” But right now, during the months leading up to D-Day, she is at her peak. With solid resolve, she is ready to take charge of the course of their story.

Dancing with Air is a standalone WWII historical fiction novel, as well as the fourth volume of a family saga series titled Still Life with Memories, one of family sagas best sellers of all time. If you like family saga romance, wounded warrior romance books, military romantic suspense, or strong female lead romance, you will find that this love story is a unique melding of them all.


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The Music of Us - Still Life with Memories Book 3
In 1970, Lenny can no longer deny that his wife is undergoing a profound change. Despite her relatively young age, her mind succumbs to forgetfulness. Now, he goes as far back as the moment he met Natasha during WWII, when he was a wounded warrior and she—a star, brilliant yet illusive. Natasha was a riddle to him then, and to this day, with all the changes she has gone through, she still is.

“Digging into the past, mining its moments, trying to piece them together this way and that, dusting off each memory of Natasha, of how we were, the highs and lows of the music of us, to find out where the problem may have started?”

To their son, Ben, that may seem like an exercise in futility. For Lenny, it is a necessary process of discovery, one that is as tormenting as it is delightful. He often wonders: can we ever understand, truly understand each other—soldier and musician, man and woman, one heart and another? Will we ever again dance together to the same beat? Is there a point where we may still touch?

This is a historical fiction novel about world war II wounded warrior military romance, a young woman love story. It is also one of family sagas best sellers. Do you like this genre, especially when it is tinged with family saga romance, and wrapped with a second chance in love with a strong female lead? Then this family saga series, Still Life with Memories, is for you.


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The White Piano - Still Life with Memories Book 2
Coming back to his childhood home after years of absence, Ben is unprepared for the secret, which is now revealed to him: his mother, Natasha, who used to be a brilliant pianist, is losing herself to early-onset Alzheimer’s, which turns the way her mind works into a riddle. His father has remarried, and his new wife, Anita, looks remarkably similar to Natasha—only much younger. In this state of being isolated, being apart from love, how will Ben react when it is so tempting to resort to blame and guilt? “In our family, forgiveness is something you pray for, something you yearn to receive—but so seldom do you give it to others.”

Behind his father's back, Ben and Anita find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. They take turns using an old tape recorder to express their most intimate thoughts, not realizing at first that their voices are being captured by him. These tapes, with his eloquent speech and her slang, reveal the story from two opposite viewpoints. What emerges in this family is a struggle, a desperate, daring struggle to find a path out of conflicts, out of isolation, from guilt to forgiveness.

Do you like reading a family secrets and romance novel, especially when it is tinged with family saga romance and family sagas historical fiction about the 20th century, with a second chance in love with a strong female lead? Then this family saga series, Still Life with Memories, is for you.


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My Own Voice - Still Life with Memories Book 1
Ten years ago, when she was seventeen, Anita started an affair with Lenny, in spite of knowing that he was a married man. Now married to him and carrying his child, she finds herself condemned to compete with Natasha’s shadow, the memory of her brilliance back in her prime, before she succumbed to early-onset Alzheimer’s. Despite Anita’s lack of education, her rough slang, and what happened to her in the past, Lenny tries to transform her. He wants her to become Natasha.

Faced with his compelling wish, and the way he writes her as a character in his book, how can Anita find a voice of her own? And when his estranged son, Ben, comes back and lives in the same small apartment, can she escape the love triangle? Can she keep the balance between the two men, whose desire for her is marred by guilt and blame?

Do you like reading a family secrets and romance novel, especially when it is tinged with family saga romance and family sagas historical fiction about the 20th century, with a second chance in love with a strong female lead? Then this family saga series, Still Life with Memories, is for you.


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Apart from Love - Still Life with Memories, Volume 1 and 2
Secrets, passion, betrayal...

Coming back to his childhood home after years of absence, Ben is unprepared for the secret, which is now revealed to him: his mother, Natasha, who used to be a brilliant pianist, is losing herself to early-onset Alzheimer's, which turns the way her mind works into a riddle. His father has remarried, and his new wife, Anita, looks remarkably similar to Natasha--only much younger. In this state of being isolated, being apart from love, how will Ben react when it is so tempting to resort to blame and guilt? "In our family, forgiveness is something you pray for, something you yearn to receive--but so seldom do you give it to others."

Behind his father's back, Ben and Anita find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. They take turns using an old tape recorder to express their most intimate thoughts, not realizing at first that their voices are being captured by him. These tapes, with his eloquent speech and her slang, reveal the story from two opposite viewpoints.

What emerges in this family is a struggle, a desperate, daring struggle to find a path out of conflicts, out of isolation, from guilt to forgiveness.


Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store
iTunes Store
Audible


A Touch of Passion - Boxed set - Romance bundle
Lose yourself in a touch of passion. Whether it’s the beauty in a song or the magic of a kiss, the agony of heartbreak or the hunger of yearning, explore ecstasy and desire in these captivating full-length, award winning novels. Written by eight bestselling, USA Today and NY Times authors, this boxed set has it all: Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance, Victorian Romance, Western Romance, Romantic Suspense, Wounded Warrior Romance, Military Romance, and Literary Fiction. These sensual tales of love with a strong female lead will leave you with a smile on your lips and music in your heart.

Thanks to the readers who love the romance novels in this anthology, A Touch of Passion has just become the 2016 WINNER of The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards.

The Music of Us by Uvi Poznansky (Bestselling Author)
Lenny goes as far back as the moment he met Natasha during WWII, when he was a soldier and she—a star. Natasha was a riddle to him then, and with all the changes she has gone through, she still is.

Love Me Tender by Mimi Barbour (NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author)
How could Anne return to Texas knowing that her son would be meeting a father who didn't know he existed? And how could she go back to face the only man she'd ever truly loved?

That Unforgettable Kiss by Tamara Ferguson (Top-10 Bestselling Author, Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Award Winner-New Adult)
Since Kate Callahan will be running the family construction business someday, she doesn’t have time for love. Until fate steps in by way of an unforgettable kiss from architectural intern Michael Murphy.

Concealed in My Heart by Regina Puckett (Bestselling Author, Readers' Favorite Book Award Winner)
Charity Fields is married to her childhood sweetheart and has the job of her dreams—until a terrible lie and a heartbreaking betrayal turns her life upside down.

Perfect for Him by Suzanne Jenkins (Bestselling Author)
As they danced, Jason whispered words of love to Harley, while her oncologist’s terrifying diagnosis kept ricocheting in her skull. To ensure he’d be okay after she was gone, Harley would take matters of love into her own hands.

Nellie by Cynthia Woolf (Bestselling Author)
Saloon owner Blake Malone is a bachelor and likes it that way. Nellie Wallace, a widow, needs a husband but never expected a man like him. Can Nellie and Blake make a marriage out of mutual need, without love being involved?

Ambrosia by the Sea by Traci Hall (USA Today Bestselling Author)
After a bitter betrayal by her late husband, self-taught chef Celia Langdon moved to the sea, where dive shop owner Dax Smith dared her to heal from the heart.

The Single Daddy Club: Derrick by Donna Fasano (USA Today Bestselling Author)
Ex-military man Derrick is solitary and satisfied—until Timmy’s dropped into his lap and Derrick must become a daddy. Fate has denied Anna a family of her own, but she has plenty of love to give, if only someone would notice.


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At Odds with Destiny
Bestselling, critically acclaimed, and notoriously creative authors from across the book continuum join forces to bring you At Odds with Destiny, everything you've wanted in a boxed set but thought you'd never find: full-length, award winning novels brimming with cozy mystery, suspense, romance, and biographical historical fiction. Finding themselves at odds with destiny, the characters in these stories fight to shape their future and define who they are. Come follow them in their amazing journeys.

Rise to Power by Uvi Poznansky Notorious for his contradictions, David is seen by others as a gifted court entertainer or a traitor leading a gang of felons. How does he see himself? Can he control his destiny and strike a balance between ambition and longing for purity?

Double Forté by Aaron Paul Lazar In the deep cold of winter, threats erupt from the dark woods, spinning events out of hand—and Gus, tormented by the unexplained death of his wife, braces for the fight of his life.

Pam of Babylon by Suzanne Jenkins After Jack dies, his wife Pam discovers secrets and lies. Is she destined to succumb to vengefulness against his two lovers, or will she find a different way forward?

Dream Student by James DiBenedetto Everything was going according to plan, until the night when college junior Sara Barnes started seeing other people’s dreams. Is she the only one witnessing the secrets of a serial killer?

Let in the dog and let out the cat, for this boxed set holds dangers of the most rarefied kind!


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The Edge of Revolt - The David Chronicles Book 3
Struggling to find the right balance between loving his sons and upholding justice, David is silent when Amnon rapes his daughter, Tamar, and when Absalom lures Amnon to his death. These crimes go unpunished, because a mysterious change has come upon the king, which his court scribes note even before he does. In the past he had to explain his actions, such as the affair with Bathsheba, to them. Now, they want to understand the opposite thing: his lack of action.

In families other than his, such matters may be a mere matter of gossip. Yet when assault, incest, and murder occur in the king's family, they affect matters of the state. Beset by court intrigue, David is toppled from his throne, and must escape from the son he adores, Absalom.

Even as he finds a way to quell the revolt and come back to the City of David, the road ahead seems unclear. How will he find the right successor amongst his remaining sons, the one who will connect to him and continue his legacy?

This standalone King David novel is volume III of The David Chronicles, one of ancient historical fiction series best sellers of all time about king David's wives. It is told candidly by the king himself. David uses modern language, indicating that this is no fairytale. Rather, it is a story that is happening here and now. Each volume can be read as a standalone novel. Taken together, they put you in the skin of the character from youth to old age.


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A Peek at Bathsheba - The David Chronicles Book 2
Having reached his peak, David makes a serious error that threatens to undo his political success and cost him not only the adoration of his people, but also the sense of being sustained by a divine power. That error is the most torrid tale of passion ever told: his forbidden love for Bathsheba.

When she becomes pregnant, David attempts to cover up the ensuing scandal by sending her husband—who serves him faithfully in his army—to his death. And for the rest of his life, he is tormented by the memory of that moment. Will he find redemption? Will he muster the strength to keep his promise to her and protect their son from danger?

This is volume II of the trilogy The David Chronicles, told candidly by the king himself. David uses modern language, indicating that this is no fairytale. Rather, it is a story that is happening here and now. Listen to his voice as he undergoes a profound change, realizing the magnitude of his sin, and the curse looming over his entire future.

If you like ancient historical fiction about court intrigue, this king David novel has a modern twist like no book you have read before. And among forbidden love books, this one stands alone.


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Rise to Power - The David Chronicles Book 1
Here is the story of David as you have never heard it before: from the king himself, telling the unofficial version, the one he never allowed his court scribes to recount. In his mind, history is written to praise the victorious—but at the last stretch of his illustrious life, he feels an irresistible urge to tell the truth. In the first volume, Rise to Power, David gives you a fascinating account of his early years, culminating with a tribal coronation. Rooted in ancient lore, his is a surprisingly modern memoir.

In an era of cruelty, when destroying the enemy is deemed a sacred directive, the slayer of Goliath finds a way to become larger than life. His search for a path to power leads him in ways that are, at times, scandalous. Notorious for his contradictions, David is seen by others as a gifted court entertainer, a successful captain in Saul’s army, a cunning fugitive, a traitor leading a gang of felons, and a ruthless raider of neighboring towns who leaves no witnesses behind.

How does he see himself, during this first phase of his life? With his hands stained with blood, can he find an inner balance between conflicting drives: his ambition for the crown, his determination to survive the conflict with Saul, and his longing for purity, for a touch of the divine, as expressed so lyrically in his psalms and music?


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A Favorite Son
This story is a present-day twist on the biblical story of Jacob and his mother Rebecca plotting together against the elderly father Isaac, who is lying on his deathbed, in order to get their hands on the inheritance, and on the power in the family. This is no old fairy tale. Its power is here and now, in each one of us.

Listening to Yankle telling his take on events, we understand the bitter rivalry between him and his brother. We become intimately engaged with every detail of the plot, and every shade of emotion in these flawed, yet fascinating characters. He yearns to become his father’s favorite son, seeing only one way open to him, to get that which he wants: deceit

“What if my father would touch me,” asks Yankle. In planning his deception, it is not love for his father, nor respect for his age that drives his hesitation—rather, it is the fear to be found out.

And so—covering his arm with the hide of a kid, pretending to be that which he is not—he is now ready for the last moment he is going to have with his father.


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Home
Home. A simple word; a loaded one. You can say it in a whisper; you can say it in a cry. Expressed in the voices of father and daughter, you can hear a visceral longing, in poems and prose, for an ideal place. A place never to be found again.

Imagine the shock, imagine the sadness when a daughter discovers her father’s work, the poetry he had never shared with anyone during the last two decades of his life. Six years after that moment of discovery, which happened in her childhood home while mourning for his passing, Uvi Poznansky presents a tender tribute: a collection of poems and prose, half of which is written by her, and half—by her father, the author, poet and artist Zeev Kachel. She has been translating his poems for nearly a year, with careful attention to rhyme and rhythm, in an effort to remain faithful to the spirit of his words.

Zeev’s writing is always autobiographical in nature; you can view it as an ongoing diary of his life. Uvi’s writing is rarely so, especially when it comes to her prose. She is a storyteller who delights in conjuring up various figments of her imagination, and fleshing them out on paper. She sees herself chasing her characters with a pen, in an attempt to see the world from their point of view, and to capture their voices. But in some of her poems, she offers you a rare glimpse into her most guarded, intensely private moments, yearning for Home.


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Twisted
In this unique collection, discover diverse tales, laden with shades of mystery. Come into a dark, strange world, a hyper-reality where nearly everything is firmly rooted in the familiar—except for some quirky detail that twists the yarn, and takes it for a spin in an unexpected direction.

This is the reality you will see in hell, through the eyes of a ghost of a woman, trying to reclaim her name by appealing to the devil; the eyes of a clay figure of a woman, about to be fired in the kiln, longing for her Creator; the eyes of a woman in the midst of a free fall, about to become a ghost; and the eyes of a feline creature with cracked fangs, trying in vain to resign herself, by hook and by crook, to being locked. These characters explore their identity, and challenge their fate.

Inspired by her art and by literature, these tales come from different times and places. Yet all of them share one thing in common: an unusual mind, one that is twisted. So prepare yourself: keep the lights on.

If you like to read a horror anthology, with dark fantasy horror about the battle between devil and God, you will enjoy outwitting the devil in this book, because it is a woman, or rather her ghost, that finds a way to outwit him.


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Jess and Wiggle
Written in rhyme, this is a story about a little girl who rarely smiles, till the day she meets Wiggle, an imaginary creature with whom she is having a contest: who will be the one to burst in laughter first?

Once there was a little girl
With the cutest reddish curl
Her name—how could you guess?
It was simply: Jess....

The paintings for the cover and interior pages were done by the author herself. The text is hand-written in a whimsically designed font. When Jess talks, her lines are drawn in a straight line; when Wiggle talks, his lines are drawn on a wiggly curve. Each color illustration is a hand-made collage.

Whether you are looking for a picture book for toddlers or a picture books for kids, a children's books ages 2-5 or a children's books ages 4-8, you will find this book fascinating not only to your child but to you as well.


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Now I Am Paper
Written in rhyme, this is a children's book for all ages, about longing for a child who has gone on her way and left the old tree behind. The tree gives voice to love and loss, fear and hope, death and rebirth in a new form, as it is transformed first to pulp and then to paper, the very paper from which the child reads this story. Sensually told, it brings forth the sounds and smells of the forest.

I remember: a gentler sound,
The forest rustling in the rain
Leaves were swirling all around
I heard soft footsteps up the lane...

The paintings for the cover and interior pages are watercolor on paper, done by the author. She drew the text for each verse by hand, in a ‘Gothic’ font that is as flowery as the tree used to be in its prime. Children would love the highly decorative style of the writing, and the sudden long strokes that express the emotions in this story.

Each verse appears on a paper leaf that floats over transparent paper in the shape of an ellipse, which symbolizes a puddle of tears at the foot of the tree.

If you liked The Giving Tree, you will love this picture book for kids, which mothers and fathers find utterly fascinating.


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