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Trade unions to hold national strike against privitisation of PSUs
Updated : 1 month, 1 week ago IST
New Delhi [India], Dec 14 (ANI): Trade unions, except Bhatiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS), will take part in a national strike on January 8 against privatisation of public sector units and to demand a minimum wage of Rs 18,000 per month.
Left trade unions to stage nationwide strike against privatisation
New Delhi [India], Dec 14 (ANI): All trade unions except the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will hold a nationwide strike against the privatisation of public sector entities on January 8 next year.
Evidence of measures to boost investment reflects in record FDI in
New Delhi [India], Dec 13 (ANI): Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) KV Subramanian on Friday said the evidence of measures to boost investment was actually seen in the record FDI inflows with US dollar 35 billion in the first half of 2019-20 as against US dollar 32 billion during the last correspo
Cabinet approves launch of Bharat Bond ETF to provide more money f
New Delhi [India], Dec 4 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved creation and launch of Bharat Bond Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to create an additional source of funding for Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), Central Public Sector Enterprises
CPI(M) lawmakers protest in Parliament over privatisation of PSUs
New Delhi [India], Nov 28 (ANI): Communist Party of India (Marxist) lawmakers on Thursday staged a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi bust in Parliament over the privatisation of the public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Congress gives adjournment motion notice in LS over PSUs disinvest
New Delhi (India), Nov 27 (ANI): Congress party on Wednesday gave adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over 'indiscriminate disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)'.
Congress gives adjournment motion notice in RS over 'disinvestment
New Delhi [India], Nov 22 (ANI): Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and party MP Manish Tewari on Friday gave an adjournment motion notice in the Lower House of Parliament over "disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)".
TMC MP gives zero hour notice in RS over 'stop privatisation of PS
New Delhi [India], Nov 22 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Dola Sen on Friday gave a zero hour notice in the Rajya Sabha over "stop privatisation of profit-making Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)".
Zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha over privatisation of PSUs
New Delhi [India], Nov 22 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Sanjay Singh on Friday gave a Zero Hour notice in the Rajya Sabha over privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
Disinvestment plan fails to cheer stock market, Nifty closes below
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Nov 21 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices ended marginally lower after a muted trading session on Thursday, a day after the government announced strategic sale in five public sector units and approved the proposal for mitigating financial stress being faced by tele
CPI gives suspension business notice in RS over selling of entire
New Delhi [India], Nov 21 (ANI): The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday gave a Suspension Business Notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 over the "selling of entire stake in five Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited".
Rahul calls Modi `bechendra', accuses him of selling hard-built PS
New Delhi [India], Oct 17 (ANI): Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday coined a new term "bechendra" (seller) to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over proposed privatisation of some Public Sector Undertakings (PSU).


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"We Hear You" // A Reflection on Charlottesville
These three simple, powerful words came from a middle schooler who recently participated in ARTE's two-week arts collaboration with the New York Urban League. During the program, participants learned about the history of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and focused in on the racial injustice and discrimination that permeates our society. Students shared their lived experiences while examining the root causes of human rights violations, such as racial discrimination.
Capturing the essence of our workshop, this particular student gracefully shared why she had included those words as the center of her art work, "There is a lot of pain and violence, and sometimes it feels that nothing will even change. Even though people might feel invisible, this is a reminder that their voices are not forgotten."
In hearing her words and facilitating this workshop, we realized that, now more than ever, we need to continue to amplify the voices of young leaders of color.
The repugnant and despicable violence that occurred in Charlottesville just nine days ago fell during the middle of this workshop. People across the country were aghast by the overt and proud display of Nazi ideology, white supremacy, and violent intimidation that resulted in an act of domestic terrorism. People were also deeply hurt and angered that the leader of their own government was slow to condemn the hatred and white supremacy that still lies at the core of and permeates our country. An entire governmental agency resigned, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; the first White House department to do so.
As many of us, scramble and seek out the courage needed to make sense of this all, it is easy for us to overlook the dire effects of these racist attacks and how they affect our young people. In the aftermath of Charlottesville, in speaking with students, I felt a sense of despair. "Things have always been this way, and nothing's going to change." "What good will anything do?" The truth is our children must navigate their way through a legacy that has been bestowed upon them: one ridden with human rights violations, the trauma of white supremacy, and deep feelings of hopelessness.
However, if there is one thing that has been repeatedly proven throughout all of our work it is that our students are incredibly resilient. As evidence of this, in spite of any feelings of despair, we saw these incredible young people produce powerful and meaningful pieces of art sharing their voice. Resolute and steadfast, our students demonstrated what they had learned about racial discrimination, as well as their talents, with their communities in completing these thoughtful pieces of art.
This is the time, now more than ever, that young people, particularly young people of color, can and will recognize their strengths and agency to make change. ARTE does not accept living in a world where racism is perpetuated and silence is accepted. ARTE will work harder to build a future where young people can realize the best parts of themselves, building a future free of hate, stigmatization, and full of diversity. We recognize that we can not and will not do this alone. We honor the continuing work of our peers in our community. Through education, we will continue to dismantle the white supremacy that destroys the very fabric of our society.
Lastly, through creativity, love, and compassion we will erect new monuments. Monuments that do not look to a brutal and destructive past, but that rather look towards a just and promising future, a future in which, we hope and believe, young people of the future will always be at the forefront.
In loving resistance,
Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario
Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE)
ARTE participates in the first Arts in Action festival!
5 Woman Artivists Breaking Biases
Racial Bias In Digital Art

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home / Features / Featured / Punk Band The Riot Peddlers Debut Track Screaming Fuck Religion and The Caste System [India]
Punk Band The Riot Peddlers Debut Track Screaming Fuck Religion and The Caste System [India]
India's first hardcore-punk band The Riot Peddlers have today announced their brand new EP, Strength In Dumbers, to be released independently on 26 January 2020. Not only that…but the band has allowed us here at UniteAsia.org to premiere a track off of it!
A collection of five songs, Strength In Dumbers is a partly ironic, partly sarcastic, but wholeheartedly a direct statement about the times we live in. "We're all disillusioned by what's happening around us," said Arun Singh Ravi, frontman, guitarist and lead songwriter. "Strength In Dumbers narrates our take on topics and aims to add our unapologetic perspective to the on-going conversation."
The EP starts off with "Therapist", a tale about the plan of two men to rape a woman in her house, only for the plan to go awry once they realize that she's a trained mercenary. "Your Love Songs" is an acerbic take on how the International Banking System, World Bank, and the IMF spend millions funding terrorists and creating social unrest in countries that don't adhere to their policies while selling an image of world peace. "Untitled", the oldest song on this EP, shouts out against the segregation of people based on caste, creed, and religion. "Insects Attack" tells the story of a couple tripping on LSD who come to the realization that some of the people they know aren't any different from the insects in their room. "Muslim Dudes On Bikes" is a satirical statement about Muslims using rash driving on the streets as an outlet to vent their frustration for being continuously oppressed by society.
The five-song EP, clocking in at around ten minutes, marks the on-record debut of the band's drummer, Dhruv Sarker, who joined the band in June 2019. "The EP evolves the band's sound. We've worked hard to make it sound raw, provocative and energetic," said Sarkar.
"Strength In Dumbers" follows the band's debut, "Sarkarsm", released on 15 August 2012. "This EP takes what we did on Sarkarsm, and ups everything to 11," said Animesh Das, bassist.
Engineered, mixed and produced by Apurv Agrawal, the EP was recorded at Island City Studios (Khar, Mumbai), Blue Cassette Studios (Thane), Double Dec Studio (Sion, Mumbai) and Agrawal's home studio. "Strength In Dumbers" has been mastered by Bill Metoyer at Skull Seven Studios (California, USA), and features artwork by Diya Sarker.
https://www.facebook.com/theriotpeddlers/
Strength In Dumbers EP by The Riot Peddlers
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Posted on November 25, 2011 by Sinéadbligh
Continuing in retrospect
Thoughts Concerning the Epistemology of Space and Visual Culture.
This is not a new concept. Irit Rogoff discusses 'In the same way both feminism and post-colonial theory have insisted on the need for a multi-subjectivity, so does the critical process of geography spatialzation insist on the multi-inhibition of spaces through bodies, social relations and psychic dynamics'[1] So if this rhetoric has been called on before, in the very recent past, can it be called on again and insist on a multi subjectivity into the epistemology of space and visual culture?
Art has the capacity to create the visual language to communicate concerns of the epistemology of social relations. In his discussions on Social Space, Henri Lefebvre goes into great detail of the early emergence of sub-urban settlements around Venice and Tuscany in precapitalist Italy leading up to the industrial era, namely leading into the renaissance. With the growth of productive forces such as agriculture, craft, early industry, brought forward by new technologies, a new type of social space emerged. Lefebvre describes that these spaces came about from a surplus in production creating a new social class, which led to luxurious spending on palaces and monuments giving artists and architect freedom (and the money) to express. What emerged from this was a new language for describing space, this 'perspective' first given form by architects and geometers was then 'discovered' [2]by painters. Here changes in spatial perception gave rise to changes in visual culture, not that the two can be distinguished completely as one rotates in motion around the other. One inspiring, then being inspired by the other and here ultimately 'knowledge emerged from practice'[3]
Philosophical abstract thought has many times been be put under analysis to arrive at a concrete conclusion, can Lefebvre's cyclonical motion be employed within contemporary visual culture? Can the thought and questioning of the creation of new social spaces be the impetus to change society? Not the invention of a new built object in which to dwell but a rethinking of the epistemology of space and spatialzations. By introducing questioning of critical epistemology, subjectivity and spectatorship into the arena of spatialzation we move away from the central systems of power to the fringes, Rogoff discusses this and adds another element to the argument, she calls on the development of what she calls the 'curious eye' [4]to counter the old bourgeois term the good eye to communicate a contemporary way of viewing which is influenced by the subjectivity of the viewer influenced by all aspects of visual culture and culture in general. Within visual media the inventions have occurred, new tools in hand, and 'curious eye' employed, what will the artist create?
[1] Irit Rogoff, Terra Infirma, geography's visual culture, (Routledge, London, USA and Canada) 2000 p23
[2] Henri Lefebvre, The production of Space (Blackwell, Oxford and London) 1993 p79
Posted by Sinead Bligh at 04:27
Posted in sound and text	| Leave a reply
Prologue to Blog Postings: Thoughts Concerning the Epistemology of Space and Visual Culture.
What is knowledge, how is knowledge acquired? How do we know what we know? Who decides and normalises that knowledge into common knowledge? And how is Space concerned? These questions call for an exploration into different interpretations of space as a means of analysing and questioning how we draw knowledge from all aspects of contemporary society through social encounter and the effect which that has on social and individual consciousness. Space is integral to this question as this is where we dwell and in which all these social signifiers exist. The nature of space, as discussed in previous blogs, allows for a constant reconfiguring of use and an exploration of the knowledge gained from that process. An epistemological study into contemporary visual culture leads us to reconsider and to remake opinions between Space Place and Public Agency. How people perceive space and how it is ordered into place and therefore think and act accordingly.
These epistemological questions lie at the centre of all fields of study which strive to communicate within social culture. As visual culture and visual media has evolved to encompass vast sways of our lives the need has never been greater to question the epistemology of visual culture and for a critical analysis of the spaces in which it dwells if 'Space is never void of social relations'[1]. This may give a cultural barometer into social structures, opinions and the extent of hegemonic influences which colour our view. Henri Lefebvre argues spatial analysis negates the illusion of transparency which enables hegemonic manipulation of culture. This idea of 'transparency'[2] lulls society into believing its social structure is open and inclusive and therefore society does not need to question excepted norms hence exists within its own individual culturally specific realities. Spatial analysis however allows space to become a vessel in which analytical critical discourses can take place on how we perceive. Can this discourse be taken further to influence the art making process? If we relate to a work of art through our relations to others and those relations are shaped by the spaces in which we dwell, could this participation be seen as the actual process of the making of art, if no object or viewer exists in a void and no thought without forethought?
Integral in art is the viewer. The interaction of the viewer with the object enables agency of the viewer (if they so choose) therefore providing the ability to change how the work is perceived through individual subjectivity expressed in future actions. This may take many forms, be they in conversation, the forming of opinions, blogging or the future making of one's own work (in the case of the artist), even if not in direct reaction to the information assimilated but subconsciously. Therefore under what influences we absorb that knowledge which will shape our future perception, vitally must me questioned on a multi subjective level. Artists generally are aware of this. However can this questioning and theorising of knowledge employed on a more practical level by the artist culminate in the formulation of art practices? Can these art practices then become socially inclusive through the understanding of how social relations are formulated and how we assign Place's to the Spaces in which we place our work and in which we presume culture as a whole can identify. Or do we want them to identify, this culture which supports us and which we should support? Or should we even try in reality to be inclusive when we are making work which after all is a form of self expression?
The Space as an Agent.
A Cut A Scratch A Score: A Comic Opera in Three Parts, The Cooper Gallery, 22nd Oct – 5th Nov 2011
As one who has been witness participant to the previous actions of A Cut A Scratch A Score the feeling of absence envelops you as you stand and view the artefacts from the actions. However I suspect those that have not held vigil to the performances may guess that they are viewing the aftermath of a happening. You are struck by that absence and notice the space between the images and the objects. You consider not just the beautiful things but the positioning of those things around the space; you see how they relate to each other and the viewer. In that action the viewer becomes one of those objects. As you wander around the space you see the viewer's reflection against the projection on the gallery wall. The stage dividing the performative space, interesting as the stage is normally the space where performance is done, you can walk right up to it, the distance between performer and audience is shortened. There is a feeling of playfulness, you again have free reign over your experience.
The script is being typed on projection; you wonder where the writer is, whether this is a live element continued in the work and consider that the writer may be watching you. You are being observed observing. Not the case though, it is a video of Savage's live script writing and she is writing the movements of the artists. Agency of the artist returns. Standing in front of the video projection the viewers shadow appears on the gallery wall and is put back in the action. The silhouetted viewer reoccurring as with previous rehearsals, now giving agency to the viewer.
All these elements feel familiar however unobvious in their new configuration, you try and tick some of the boxes from past experience of the work; sound, movement, live elements, viewer interaction. The fan positioned at the end of the stage is inexplicable. Is it also an artefact from the rehearsal, an object from the making process when the viewer was not present? Does it simulate the outdoors, or is it there to add a live element to the work? It stands like a person in the room humming its tune like the hum from the heating system in the botanic gardens. I went right up to it, invaded its personal space and then was shocked to discover my invasion was being documented. The process of viewing is in fact subverted. You realise you are being recorded by a camera out of view above the entry door, pointed directly at the fan. Did the artist suspect that you would be intrigued by the humming little figure? Or was it being documented as it hadn't been documented before?
The whole experience feels disjoined and unusual, like stream of consciousness, but replayed and repeated, however each time slightly different as a new agent steps into the space and plays its part unknowingly. This space between the image the object and they idea comes into play captivating the viewer. The space holds silent vigil, passive jet nevertheless it is still an agent of the work. Holding charge of its little humming machines (projector, fan, camera) performing their actions rhythmically as the sounds from the performance take centre space. The room plays its role well, reflecting back that action on the brass of its doors. The aesthetic fits; the building designed by Architect James Wallace in 1937 reflecting shapes and colours reminiscent of Kandinsky, performing overlaid with a video of McLean and Bourret making movements; A little nod to modernism.
In the entrance space you sit and are absorbed by the song of The Choir, Lixemburg and Belinfante, it washes over you as you are afforded the space to 'see the music'. Less of a distraction, the discarded shapes and silhouettes, remnants of previous performances, lean against the wall. They feel like ghosts, their energy still vibrant from pervious action. The bench suggesting there is indeed something to sit, view and contemplate. The yellow wall behind and bench below you indicates these objects may seem like an afterthought but on the contrary you are still under the influence of the artists. There's a melancholia to the discarded cardboard cut-outs, cardboard that most disposable of materials. Outside the main gallery they are ignored initially as you travel straight towards the imposing sound, as the viewer spectator was drawn to the action by its audio in those previous public places. As with before the audio completes the enveloping experience. With open gallery doors the sound travels and invites, however the passerby can travel by without interruption this time. It's my turn to be interrupted, two girls chat loudly as they wander passed, jolting me from my experience.
The Gallery Place.
Culminating performance.
Cooper Gallery
Dimmed lights, panorama of projections illuminates the gallery wall, red carpet stage divides the space. Bruce McLean directs from sideline, Adeline Bourret and Lore Lixenberg react to the action from off stage, on and back off again. Sam Belifonte conducts The Free Voice Choir, Emily Savage writes the script as the action occurs, drums continue to roll from stage right. David Barnett documents and replays the action live through projection.
Choir is brought front of stage.[1]
They confront us. An odd confrontation, considering choirs generally do just that, sing on stage, however at the gallery's altar their presence is all the more evident. Some appear uncomfortable. We blink up at them, they down at us, from a wholly unfamiliar perspective. We considered them and them us, a group of artist sitting staring up at another group of artists. We consider them artists but what do they consider themselves?
Herein lays the ever churning concern, the creation of an art identifiable to everyone. Consider the agents of the work, the thoughtfully balanced headlining artists and their carefully contrived plans. In their words the work was designed for 'unintentional intentionality' and deployed it seems, in the spirit of non-hierarchical inclusiveness. Designer, Curator, Janitor, Sculptor, Musician, Actor, Agent, Viewer; what is the difference anyway? The choir know, but equally they are not sure either. Their enjoyment in the previous rehearsals was evident, as I have mentioned in my previous blog, particularly in the Botanic Gardens event. Their interaction was moving, integral to the beauty of the work, occurring in that place which was belonging to them as Dundonian's. In the culminating performance they appear uncomfortable, however the lines are blurred between where the discomfort lies. Is it the choir that is feeling uneasy because of their positioning in the gallery space or that they become an art object in the gallery, or even that they are inside that place at all? Is it the viewer (more so, viewer-spectator in the case of the culminating performance) uneasy at the choir's presence in the gallery? A feeling of spectacle ensues. Yet another oddity when we consider the communally inclusive nature of a choir and of art ideally, one would expect us all to identify with each other more easily.
Do the choir know who the artists are? Certainly they do, by recognising the innumerable social signifiers we all conduct our social relations upon, but are the similarities between the two as apparent as we would hope them to be? Bruce McLean is a non-hierarchical individual. Artists can identify this. They recognise artist's hierarchies but do the public? Did the public realise hierarchies were being attempted to be cast aside; you could deduce not only Social hierarchies but within that hierarchies of Place. Do you know if someone is important in a particular world if you do not know that world? Inevitably the creation of a publicly inclusive 'Live Artwork' leads to the subjectivity of its participants being given free agency, which is to be commended. However within the context of a predominantly insular art world, which places work in the somewhat enclosed walls of a gallery, the insertion of the public into that world as an integral part of the work, for good or for ill, feels odd. Ultimately this leads the artist to question how, why, and for who are we creating and why is it placed, in a 'Place' which is identifiable to a minority if we wish it to be identifiable to the majority?
Irit Rogoff questions 'Can we actually participate in the pleasure and identity with images produced by culturally specific groups to which we do not belong?' [2]
Here images are actions.
[1] The structure used here is normally employed in script writing. This is in reference to the live response of Beth Savage in the performance of A Cut A Scratch A Score, Cooper Gallery October 2011. Savage responded to the action of the performance live, which was projected onto the gallery wall, writing the script as the action occurred.
[2] Irit Rogoff, Terra Infirma; Geography's Visual Culture. (Routledge. 2000) (30)
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By Arthur Etchells·	 1/7/2016, 1:04 p.m.
Honeygrow's original location will close for 5-6 weeks.
When you open seven fast casual stir-fry and salad spots in four years, you learn some things along the way. That has been the case for Honeygrow and now their original location at 110 South 16th Street is showing its age. So they will be closing the location for 5-6 weeks at the end of the month to upgrade the kitchens, update the kiosks and improve the flow of service which clearly was an issue when the popular lunch spot was crowded. The closure will also allow Honeygrow to prepare the space for additional technology updates that are coming later this year.
Before the 16th Street closes on Thursday, January 28th, culinary director David Katz will be hosting a pop-up event featuring special off-the-menu dishes. Katz, who was the chef-owner of Mémé will also host two other pop-ups at nearby Honeygrow locations. Each pop-up will be announced at the last minute via social media and the #hgOffTheMenu hashtag. Loyal customers who manage to attend all three pop-ups will be invited to the VIP friends and family preview of the redesigned 16th Street location and entered to win a $100 Honeygrow gift card.
Honeygrow founder Justin Rosenberg will be relocating workers from the Center City location to other nearby Honeygrow locations and compensating them for their additional travel expenses. He'll also be offering incentives like concert and basketball tickets, Apple gift cards and additional time off to team members who stick out the closure.


Robert Koehler takes a long "second look" at Death of a Cyclist in the summer 2009 issue of Cineaste, sizing up Juan Antonio Bardem's 1955 political melodrama in terms of Spain's national identity and the legacy of neorealism. Check it out on the magazine's website. And while you're there, also worth a read is David Sterritt's web-exclusive book review of Joe McElhaney's Albert Maysles, which examines the idea of Maysles as an auteur.


text:
<?php

namespace IZI\Parser;

use IZI\AssociationRule\TaskSettingRule;
use IZI\Exception\InvalidRuleException;
use IZI\Parser\BBAParser;
use IZI\Parser\ConnectiveParser;
use IZI\Parser\DBAParser;

/**
 * Class TaskSettingRulesParser
 * @package IZI\Parser
 * @license http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Apache License, Version 2.0
 */
class TaskSettingRulesParser
{
    private $ER;
    private $attributes;
    private $interestMeasures;
    private $XPath;

    public function __construct(\DOMDocument $ER, &$attributes, &$interestMeasures)
    {
        $this->ER = $ER;
        $this->XPath = new \DOMXPath($this->ER);
        $this->attributes = $attributes;
        $this->interestMeasures = $interestMeasures;
    }

    public function parseRules()
    {
        $rules = array();

        $CP = new ConnectiveParser($this->ER, $this->XPath);

        $BBAP = new BBAParser($this->ER, $this->XPath);
        $BBAP->parseBBAs();

        $DBAP = new DBAParser($this->ER, $this->XPath, $CP);
        $DBAP->parseDBAs();

        $TSR = @new TaskSettingRule($this->XPath->evaluate('//TaskSetting')->item(0), $this->ER, $this->attributes, $this->interestMeasures, $DBAP, $BBAP); // performance and legacy reasons
        try {
            $TSR->parse($DBAP, $BBAP);
            array_push($rules, $TSR);
        } catch (InvalidRuleException $e) {}

        return $rules;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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The Malaya tragedy
10 April 2015	Print page
If it were not for the rail-thin frame of 42-year-old Krishna Neupane, it would be hard to believe that he had lost 56 kilos during his eight-month detention in Malaysia. From an overweight 94 kilos, he now weighs 38 kilos, which puts him in the category of 'severely malnourished'. But this drastic change in his weight is not surprising considering what he had to go through in detention: arbitrary beating, starvation and constant humiliation. He was repeatedly forced to strip naked, and then made to walk on his bare knees; he was also denied timely food. Neupane, who had entered Malaysia illegally, was clearly in the wrong. Yet that does not justify the inhumane treatment meted out by Malaysian security forces to detainees like Neupane—whatever their crimes—in clear breach of the UN convention against torture. Currently around 500 Nepalis are holed up in various detention centers in Malaysia, for either entering the country illegally or breaching other visa requirements. Another 350 Nepalis are in other Malaysian prisons for crimes like murder and drug smuggling.
The testimonies of those who have had the good fortune of being able to return to Nepal suggest that the practice of torture is pervasive in Malaysian prisons and detention centers. Last October, 270 Nepali migrants were rescued from captivity and repatriated at the initiative of Nepal government and some big Malaysian employers. It might not be possible to bring back those convicted of serious crimes. But prisoners too are human beings who are entitled to dignified life. In the case of the 500 Nepalis in various detention centers for visa-related crimes, Nepal should keep engaging the Malaysian government and major Malaysian employers to work out ways for their safe release and repatriation—as it successfully did back in October. The October return of 270 workers showed that if Nepal is willing to make some noise, Malaysia will be willing to listen.
This is also why, in light of the recently publicized cases of torture of Nepalis in Malaysia, Nepal must make Kuala Lumpur aware of its displeasure and ask it to make amends. It can do so in many ways. Around 700,000 Nepalis are currently working in Malaysia. According to the Nepali embassy in Kuala Lumpur, one Nepali is killed every single day in the Malaya Kingdom; some 3,000 Nepali nationals have died there since 2003. Clearly, something is amiss. But so many Nepalis would not be in trouble if they were not in Malaysia illegally. Many continue to grave risks to get there. It will be impossible to stop them all. But a huge progress would have been made if there could be more transparency in paperwork between employers and workers. Often, the workers are promised far better terms than what they actually get on their arrival in Malaysia. There are so many little things which, taken together, could vastly improve the lives of Nepali migrants workers in Malaysia. Encouraged by last year's success at repatriation of stranded Nepali detainees, Sushil Koirala and his ministers should keep nudging Malaysia to do more to protect and respectfully treat Nepalis there.
Source: Republica


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Q: Linear Algebra: Endomorphism & Projection I was given the following question (taken from Golan's text book on linear algebra,  chapter 7) in a recent exam:
"$\mathbb{F}$ is field. Explain whether there exists an endomorphism $\alpha$ of $\mathbb{F}^{3}$  which is not a projection such that $\alpha^{2}$ is a projection equal to neither $\sigma_{0}$ nor $\sigma_{1}$."
($\sigma_{0}$ and $\sigma_{1}$ are the identity elements for addition and multiplication respectively.)
I would appreciate any guidance on this problem as I failed to answer it correctly and no solutions were provided. Specifically, I'm  confused as to what exactly does a projection have to do with an endomorphism (which I understand). Thank you all in advance.

A: Consider $\alpha =v\mapsto Mv$ with the following matrix
$$M=\pmatrix{0&1&0\\1&0&0\\0&0&0}$$
Then, with $e_1,e_2,e_3$ as the standard basis, we have
$$\alpha(e_1)=e_2,\ \alpha(e_2)=e_1,\ \alpha(e_3)=0$$
Thus, $\alpha^2$ is a projection to $\mathrm{span}(e_1, e_2)$, but $\alpha\ne\alpha^2$, thus $\alpha$ is not a projection.

A: Characterization of projections:

*

*If $V$ is a vector space over a field $F$, an endomorphism $T$ of $V$ is
a projection if and only if $T^2=T$.

Next let $F$ be a field, let $V=F^3$, and let $A\in M_3(F)$ be given by
$$
A=
\pmatrix{
0 & 0 & 0\cr
1 & 0 & 0\cr
0 & 0 & 1
}
$$
Since the minimal polynomial of $A$ is $x^2(x-1)$, it follows that

*

*$A^2\ne A$, so $A$ is not a projection.$\\[4pt]$

*$A^4=A^2$, so $A^2$ is a projection.$\\[4pt]$

*$A^2\ne 0$.$\\[4pt]$

*$A^2\ne I$.$\\[4pt]$
hence $A$, regarded as an endomorphism of $V$, satisfies the specified requirements.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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War air will not stop exchanges between Canada and Kiev
Bruno Lawrence 11 months ago 2 min read
Zenon Potoczny follows the development of the crisis in Eastern Europe from his Toronto office. The head of the Canadian-Ukrainian trade association said he was concerned about a possible invasion by Russia. But he said firm trade between Canada and Ukraine is currently continuing. Even if the geopolitical tensions between Moscow and Kiev inevitably affect international markets.
In 1991, as the founder of NATO, Canada became the first Western country to recognize Ukraine's independence. Since then, bilateral relations between the respective governments have intensified. Until the 1994 Joint Declaration on Special Partnerships recognizing Canada's support for Ukraine's development. The Canadian-Ukrainian community has a population of 1.3 million. In addition to the embassies in their respective countries, the Commonwealth of Commerce represents efforts to reduce poverty in Ukraine by increasing exports from Ukraine to Canada and Canadian investments in Ukrainian territory.
According to the law, the Canadian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, abbreviated to Cucc, aims to promote trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. Founded in 1992, it has 230 members operating in the Free Trade Area between Canada and Ukraine, established in 2017.
Last weekend, as head of the organization, Potoczny contacted the editors of the Canadian newspaper Financial Post to comment on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine from an economic and business perspective. "Investors are standing by the window," he said. "They are worried about what is happening and are waiting for the events to come out. Like us, they hope that everything can be resolved diplomatically.
Ukraine represents a great investment opportunity for Canada, especially in the energy sector. "We have worked hard to bring Canadian oil and gas companies to Kiev," continued the CUCC chairman, who has long experience in the crude oil industry as an entrepreneur. "From an energy point of view, Ukraine is an indispensable market for Canadian companies: not only in research development, but also in the export and sale of equipment."
READ Ice pizzas on a Scottish river, what's that all about?
On January 30, some Canadian citizens gathered in support of Ukraine at Niagara Falls. The people of the North American country are also sensitive to images of columns of Russian tanks with Z on the side moving towards the Ukrainian border.
Bruno Lawrence
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Is this proof smoking lowers your IQ? Study suggests those on 20 a day are less intelligent
By Paul Bentley for the Daily Mail
Updated: 05:23 EST, 30 March 2010
Blowing the braincells away: Those who smoke of a pack averaged an IQ seven points lower than non-smokers
Smoking has long been known to damage lungs and cause heart disease. But it could also lower your IQ, research has found.
Young people who smoke regularly are likely to have markedly lower intelligence levels than those who do not smoke, and, according to the study of 20,000 young adults, the heavier the smoker, the lower the IQ.
Those who smoke a pack or more of cigarettes a day averaged an IQ seven and a half points lower than that of those who do not smoke.
A typical 18 to 21-year-old smoker was found to have an IQ of 94, while non-smokers of the same age averaged 101.
Those who smoked more than a pack a day had particularly low IQs of around 90. An average intelligence IQ score ranges from 84 to 116 points.
Crucially, brothers scored differently depending on whether or not they smoked.
Despite similar environmental conditions, non-smoking siblings achieved higher IQs than their smoking brothers.
The results come from a study of 20,000 young men conducted by the Sheba Medical Center at the Tel Hashomer Hospital in Israel.
Dr. Mark Weiser, who led the research, said it is unclear whether smoking causes IQ levels to drop or whether less intelligent people are simply more inclined to smoke.
'It was really quite a straightforward study,' he said.
'We looked at cross-sectional data on IQ and smoking cigarettes, and looked at people's smoking status and their IQs.
Junk food 'is as addictive as heroin and cigarettes'
'IQ scores are lower in male adolescents who smoke compared to non-smokers and in brothers who smoke compared to their non-smoking brothers. The IQs of adolescents who began smoking between ages 18 to 21 are lower than those of non-smokers.
'It's very clear that people with low IQs are the ones who choose to smoke. It's not just a matter of socioeconomic status - if they are poor or have less education,' he said.
Dr Weiser suggested the results could confirm a previously held conviction that those with lower IQs tend to make poorer decisions regarding their health – that they are more likely to take drugs, eat unhealthy food and exercise less.
The study could also be used to prevent smoking in young people by targeting those with lower IQs, Dr Weiser said.
Researchers found that 28per cent of the teenagers polled smoked one or more cigarettes a day, three per cent admitted to having smoked in the past, while 68 per cent of the young men had never smoked.
In 2004, researchers from the University of Aberdeen first found a possible link between smoking and reduced mental function.
Hundreds of volunteers who had taken part in the Scottish Mental Survey in 1947 aged 11, retook tests 53 years later.
Smokers performed worse than ex-smokers and those who had never smoked.
Scientists cannot yet conclusively explain the link between impaired lung function and cognitive ageing but it has been suggested that smoking could put the brain under oxidative stress, which causes DNA damage.
Is this proof smoking lowers your IQ? Study suggests 20 a day drastically reduces mental capacity
NY and Boston face coldest temperatures since 2019 and up to two feet of snow Tuesday: More than 15MILLION are under wind chill alerts as East Coast temperatures dip 45 below zero


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text:
Q: How can I programmatically access the contents of a Dovecot mailbox in CentOS 7? I just set up postfix and dovecot on a CentOS 7 server using this tutorial.  I am able to successfully create a mail record using echo "TEST" | mail -s "testmail" youruser@localhost && tail -f /var/log/maillog.  But how can I access and work with the resulting email files?
I need to configure a java program to process incoming email, including decomposing and processing attachment files.  This could be done using either mysql or simply raw files.  But I need to know where to have the java program look for the mail.
As per the tutorial, I set mail_location = maildir:~/Maildir in /etc/dovecot/conf.d/10-mail.conf.  But when I type cd /home/youruser/Maildir, the terminal replies with -bash: cd: Maildir: Permission denied.  Similarly, sudo cd /home/youruser/Maildir simply results in the terminal ignoring the command and remaining in whatever directory it was previously in.

A: In general you shouldn't have to manipulate maildir directly. Maildir is not only a directory tree with files but also a set of indexes and other supplementary files. When you create the file in the ./new subdir you, at least, have to recreate the index of corresponding folder.
Recommended way is to use doveadm utility to create folders an subfolders as well as subscribe them. If you want to inject some message to the maidir, you have to use deliver utility that perform injection in the proper way.
If you need to read the content of maildir you have to use some IMAP library that conforms IMAP protocol. I'm not familiar with Java but I'm absolutely sure that more than one library with required functionality exists.
Raw access to the maildir is not recommended.
http://wiki2.dovecot.org/Tools/Doveadm
http://wiki2.dovecot.org/LDA


In this totally tubular episode, we return to the classic era of the TMNT with our friend Mr. T. and chow down on a mega slice of grilled chicken, peppers and sun-dried tomato pizza! Cowabunga!
In this totally tubular episode, we sit back, enjoy a classic cheese pizza and watch TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze!


text:
GUEST POST BY KATE PARKER
Everyone hides secrets. Some provoke murder.
Olivia Denis discovers her father kneeling over the body of a man . . . a man who supposedly drowned in the Channel years before. Olivia wants to ring for help, her father wants to hide the body, but a mysterious phone call brings Scotland Yard to the murder scene.
Olivia can't stand by and let her maddening, disapproving father hang. To prove his innocence – and learn his secrets – she must work with a master spy. The search for clues takes Olivia to the continent and the Kent countryside, Hastings and London, pushing her deeper into the world of danger and deception.
As war between Germany and Britain stalks closer, the hunt for a Nazi collaborator intensifies. With a mounting death toll, Olivia knows she must unmask the killer or be the next to die.
Title: Deadly Deception
Author: Kate Parker
Series: The Deadly Series, book 4
Publisher: JDP Press (March 22, 2019)
In writing historical mysteries, it's always important to remember what was happening in the world at that time. For Deadly Deception, a key event occurring during the four weeks of the story is Kristallnacht.
The bare facts about Kristallnacht are simple enough. On November 7, 1938, a seventeen-year-old Polish-German Jewish student shot a Nazi embassy official in Paris. The student, who had grown up in Germany but whose parents were born in Poland, was angry at the treatment of his family. On October 28, Germany had expelled many Polish-Jewish citizens who were living in Germany, but Poland refused to let them in. Thousands of people were trapped at the German-Polish border, unable to get into either country, left without food, shelter or their basic human needs being met. Winter would soon kill them all by cold and illness. The parents of the student were in this borderland.
The embassy official died of his wounds on the morning of November 9th. In retaliation that night, "spontaneous" attacks, well-organized and led by Nazi SA thugs, looted, attacked, and burned thousands of Jewish owned businesses, homes, and synagogues all over Germany and Austria, which had been annexed into Germany. So much glass was broken from shop windows that it looked like the roads were paved in it, giving the event the name Kristallnacht, which means the night of broken glass.
The army, the police, and the fire brigades all over the country were ordered to look the other way. While many members of these organizations were happy to stand back and let the attacks go on, or where afraid to act against the orders of the Gestapo, some policemen and firemen did try to stop the destruction.
The destruction went on all night and into the next day. When it ended, 91 people were killed and 30,000 males between 16 and 60 were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Hundreds of buildings were burned and destroyed. Thousands of homes were ransacked. All compensation money paid by insurance companies was confiscated by the Nazi government. The government fined the Jewish community in Germany and Austria one Billion Reichsmarks in damages, blaming the Jews for starting the fires.
Since the war had not yet started, newspapers from various countries had reporters in Germany who reported on the violence and destruction of Kristallnacht. Citizens and governments around the world protested against the riots.
This was considered the beginning of the Holocaust. Jewish children were barred from attending school starting November 15, and by December, Jews were banned from most public places in Germany. Jewish newspapers were closed. Jews were no longer allowed to possess weapons. If found in possession of a weapon, the penalty was twenty years confinement in a concentration camp.
In the ten months from Kristallnacht until the beginning of World War II, more than 115,000 Jews were able to leave Germany for other European nations, the US, Palestine, and Shanghai, China. This was despite the resistance from other nations to take in German refugees. The German government was in favor of Jewish emigration because the government would then take everything they left behind, buildings, home furnishings, businesses, to give to their own followers.
Olivia Denis, the heroine of Deadly Deception, is in Berlin to help two older women escape to Britain when Kristallnacht is about to begin. She's warned by a German army colonel she first met in London in Deadly Scandal that they must leave that day. The colonel isn't a Nazi or a fan of their politics, and he is happy to warn Olivia of the coming danger. From the train heading for France, the three women see the fires of Kristallnacht.
Kristallnacht is just one event in Deadly Deception. Olivia's greatest wish is to hurry back to London, because her father has been charged with murder and with the police not looking for another suspect, she needs to prove her father innocent.
The Deadly Series, including the latest, Deadly Deception, can be found in e-books and paperbacks at your favorite online retailers, including:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
Kate Parker grew up in Washington, D C, spent several years along the Carolina coast, and now finds herself in the Colorado front range. All the time, she has been busy plotting to spend more time in her favorite city, London, where her books are set. So far, she hasn't been able to build a time machine, so she has to visit historical sites and books to immerse herself in the details of life in bygone days.
2019 will see the publication of her fourth Deadly Series book, Deadly Deception, as well as a novella, The Mystery at Chadwick House. Chadwick House will both be for sale at the usual retailers plus given away to the readers of her newsletter. It is her first contemporary mystery. Later in the year, Kate plans on publishing the second Milliner Mystery. Her daughter has informed her this year she will also become the servant of a large, exuberant dog.
Connect with Kate:
Posted by A Blue Million Books at 12:00 AM 1 comment:
Labels: Deadly Deception, historical cozy mystery, Kate Parker
FEATURED AUTHOR: MATTHEW WILLIAM
Space-sheriff Joe Corbit may have just found the greatest collector's item in the history of the universe.
He also may have doomed the human race.
When a distress call leads him to the ruins of a lost, alien civilization, he finds an illegal archaeological dig underway. The Chinese Galactic Empire is working alongside the Martian mob in order to smuggle an ancient artifact across state lines.
One deadly shoot-out later and Joe finds himself the sole custodian of the curious relic. His plan is to auction it off to the highest bidder, that is, until he finds out why the Chinese were after it in the first place.
They believe it to be an ancient alien super-weapon.
All Joe has to do is hold off the most powerful space fleet in galaxy, long enough to prove that this whole 'ancient alien super-weapon' thing is being blown way out of proportion.
You see, Joe is hellbent on selling this artifact. Even if it kills him.
Title: The Star Collector
Author: Matthew William
Publish date: March 27, 2019
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH MATTHEW WILLIAM
A few of your favorite things: Sitting by the fire with a little bourbon and my wife and cats.
Things you need to throw out: All my crappy clothes.
Things you need in order to write: My laptop.
Things that hamper your writing: My laptop.
Things you love about writing: Creating new worlds.
Things you hate about writing: Feeling like I have to perform. It's not something you can do mindlessly, it has to be concentrated effort.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Not having to wake up early.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Fear of writing something people will hate – or worse – be indifferent to.
Things you love about where you live: The nature out in the country is really beautiful.
Things that make you want to move: The lack of stimulation that a city can offer.
Things you never want to run out of: Contact lenses.
Things you wish you'd never bought: Usually, it's a bag of chips the moment after I eat the last of the crumbs.
Words that describe you: Friendly. Deep thinking. Kind.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn't: Grumpy. Anxious. Lazy.
Favorite foods: I'm a fan of almost all food, so it's so hard to whittle it down to just a few. I guess sushi would be near the top. Or a spicy curry. Or a good Italian sub.
Things that make you want to throw up: I'm not a fan of carrots.
Favorite music: Indie rock of all sorts.
Music that make your ears bleed: Death metal could probably do the trick.
Favorite beverage: A nice coffee. Cranberry juice. Yuengling beer.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Pickle juice, I guess.
Favorite smell: Tomato plants. There's nothing like that smell, and it brings me back to being a kid.
Something that makes you hold your nose: Having to clean out a liter box.
Something you're really good at: Basketball.
Something you're really bad at: Snowboarding, skateboarding, anything that involves a board and balancing on it.
Something you wish you could do: Speak Chinese.
Something you wish you'd never learned to do: I feel like learning to write in cursive was a colossal waste of time. But, since I was only seven years old, I didn't really have anything better to do, so it's a wash.
Something you like to do: Host dinner parties.
Something you wish you'd never done: Thinking I could sing in front of a crowd.
People you consider as heroes: Single moms and dads.
People with a big L on their foreheads: People who litter. I mean, it's the simplest thing in the world to just put your trash in the bin and it makes everything look so much nicer.
Last best thing you ate: We went over to a friend's house who's a pro chef. He made fish tacos. I almost died.
Last thing you regret eating: When I tried to make the fish tacos myself.
Things you'd walk a mile for: See answer to 2 questions ago.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: See answer to 2 questions ago.
Things you always put in your books: A sprinkling of humor.
Things you never put in your books: Any of the real bad swear words.
Things to say to an author: "I blew through your book in one day!"
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: "Where do you get your ideas from?" I don't really hate that question, per se, but I find it interesting that I get it so often. And I don't really have a good answer for it. The ideas just sort of appear one day.
Favorite places you've been: Amsterdam – perfect mix of cool, pretty and lived in.
Places you never want to go to again: The DMV.
Favorite genre: Anything sci-fi. Old school, brand new, indie authors. I love it all.
Books you would ban: I don't think books should ever be banned. That being said, some of the Star Wars new canon books would be ideal candidates.
People you'd like to invite to dinner: All of my favorite writers, but only one at a time.
People you'd cancel dinner on: The people who made the decision to cancel "Community."
Favorite things to do: Writing. Video games. Watching movies.
Things you'd run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Taxes.
Things that make you happy: My job, my friends, my wife.
Things that drive you crazy: My job, my friends, my wife.
Most embarrassing moment: Some campfire guitar playing comes to mind.
Proudest moment: Unplugging a seriously clogged bathroom drain this past week.
Biggest lie you've ever told: "It's fine."
A lie you wish you'd told: I think I told all the ones I wanted to tell.
Best thing you've ever done: Took the dive to move to another country.
Biggest mistake: Not saving enough when I was younger.
Most daring thing you've ever done: Moved to Sweden when I was 23. I wanted to try out life in another country and had friends in Malmö. So I decided to go for it.
Something you chickened out from doing: I went to do relief work in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when I was 19. I was there for one week and had the opportunity to stay longer, but wimped out. I was too young and didn't really have the courage to be away from home so long. I still regret that one.
The last thing you did for the first time: Played D&D
.
Something you'll never do again: Life's too short to say never. It's also too long to say never.
ALSO BY MATTHEW WILLIAM
The Enoch Pill
Matthew William grew up in the woods of Pennsylvania, reading the works of Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, and other science fiction writers with abbreviations for middle names.
Currently he lives in Sweden and keeps himself occupied with podcasting, expanding his fiction library, and spending time with his wife and two cats. He enjoys connecting with other fans of good storytelling on social media.
Connect with Matthew:
Facebook | Twitter |. Goodreads
Labels: Matthew William, sci-fi, The Star Collector
FEATURED AUTHOR: ANDREA KANE
What would you do if your daughter was kidnapped and given only a week to live?
Lauren Pennington is celebrating her junior year abroad when life comes to a screeching halt. At Munich's Hofbräuhaus, she engages in an innocent flirtation with a charming stranger for the length of a drink. Drink finished, Lauren leaves—only to be snatched from the streets and thrown into an unmarked van. Officially, Aidan Deveraux is a communications expert for one of the largest financial firms in the world. In his secret life, the former Marine heads the Zermatt Group, a covert team of military and spy agency operatives that search the data stream for troubling events in an increasingly troubled world. When his artificial intelligence system detects Lauren's kidnapping, Aidan immediately sees the bigger picture.
Silicon Valley: Lauren's father, Vance Pennington, is about to launch a ground-breaking technology with his company NanoUSA—a technology that the Chinese are desperate for. No sooner does Aidan arrive on Vance's doorstep to explain the situation than the father receives a chilling text message: hand over the technology or Lauren will be "dead in a week".
In a globe-spanning chase, from the beer halls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia, Aidan's team cracks levels of high-tech security and complex human mystery with a dogged determination. Drawing in teammates from the Forensic Instincts team (introduced in The Girl Who Disappeared Twice), the Zermatt Group will uncover the Chinese businessmen responsible, find the traitors within NanoUSA who are helping them, and save Lauren from a brutal death.
Title: Dead in a Week
Author: Andrea Kane
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: A Forensic Instincts/Zermatt Group thriller
, book 7
Publisher: Bonnie Meadow Publishing, LLC (March 19, 2019)
INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA KANE
Q: Andrea, what's the story behind the title of your book?
A: For starters, Dead in a Week introduces a whole new team of international investigators: the Zermatt Group, an exciting "core-four" who work hand-in-hand with member of the Forensic Instincts team to solve a high-stakes global crime. NanoUSA is a Silicon Valley company about to release groundbreaking technology that the Chinese are desperate to get their hands on. Vance Pennington is the VP of Manufacturing there, and his teenage daughter is kidnapped in exchange for the technology—and given only 7 days to live. It's a race to the finish with the clock ticking on Lauren Pennington's life.
Q: Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
A: Dead in a Week is both part of my Forensic Instincts series and, at the same time, the first of the Forensic Instincts/Zermatt Group novels. It introduces a whole new team, one that folds FI team members into the mix. The Forensic Instincts series (which consists of 7 books so far, including Dead in a Week) features a maverick investigative team that operates both inside and outside the boundaries of the law to solve difficult cases. Each team member is unique and brilliant unto themselves—from a behaviorist, to former FBI and military, to a tech-genius, to a claircognizant, to a former pickpocket, to a human scent evidence dog. (Quite an eclectic team, wouldn't you say?)
Q: Where's home for you?
A: Warren, New Jersey.
A: Count your blessings and take life in baby steps.
A: It's private, but not secluded, and nature is everywhere.
A: I call the one cruise we took a natural disaster since Hurricane Felix came with us. The trip was way too treacherous for the ship to have been allowed to leave port, and everyone on it was violently ill. Thankfully, there were no other casualties.
A: Submitted my first manuscript. It was like baring my soul on paper and waiting for it to be judged.
Q: What's one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
A: That the biggest trauma in life is the one you're going through right now.
Q: What makes you bored?
A: People who love to hear themselves talk, but don't have anything interesting to say.
A: Anything that has to do with praying for good health or dealing with doctors.
A: My family.
Q: What makes you scared?
A: The unknown and sometimes change.
A: Typing the words "The End."
Q: Do you have another job outside of writing?
A: My family and my writing are my loves and my jobs.
Q: How did you meet your spouse? Was it love at first sight?
A: We met at college. It was best friendship at first sight. Love blossomed from there. To me, there's nothing better.
Q: Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
A: I hate being lonely, but I couldn't tolerate being an idiot, so I guess I go for door #1!
A: "There are three rules to writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." –W. Somerset Maugham
Q: What would your main character say about you?
A: That I'm as much of a perfectionist as she is!
A: Hanging endings. I want to read a whole book, not one that ends by informing you that, if you want to know what happens, wait for the next book. Sequels are great, but make each one complete. Oh, and I really dislike books that are based entirely on misunderstandings. I keep wanting to shake the characters and saying, "Yoo-hoo, there was a letter explaining all this to you, but it flew out the window five minutes before you walked into the room."
A: That I made a difference in someone's life, whether it was as simple as a much-needed and relished break in their routine or that something in the book or the characters helped them through a terribly difficult or traumatic time.
A: Always, always, the words "The End." Because as much as I'm elated that I've completed my book, I always feel as if I should do more, add more, change more, because nothing is ever perfect—and I'm such a Type A+ perfectionist! I also hate saying good-bye to characters who have become like friends to me. That's one of the reasons I love writing the Forensic Instincts series: I always know that when I type "The End", the FI team will be back.
A: I'm hard at work researching and writing my next Forensic Instincts novel. As always, it's both an overwhelming process and a labor of love.
READ AN EXCERPT FROM DEAD IN A WEEK
Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. local time
Normally, Lauren Pennington loved the sound of her combat boots clomping across the cobblestone apron. But right now, all she could think about was the growling of her empty stomach, urging her to move faster. She was oblivious to everything else—the couple on the corner sharing a passionate, open-mouthed kiss, the guy puking up his over-consumption of beer into the storm sewer grating, and the man watching her every move as he talked into his cell phone in a language that Lauren wouldn't have recognized had she been paying attention.
She walked into Hofbräuhaus' main hall, took a seat at one of the wooden tables, and placed her order. Minutes later, the waitress came over and brought Lauren's food and drink. Barely uttering a perfunctory "Danke," Lauren bit into a pretzel the size of her head and took a healthy gulp of Hofbräu.
The semester had ended, and she was entitled to some carbs and a dose of people-watching at the historic Munich brewery. Pretzels and beer were addicting, but people-watching had always fascinated her. Despite a whole winter semester of her junior year abroad studying art history at the Ludwig Maximilian University at Munich, she still enjoyed playing the tourist. Not at school, but every time she strolled the streets, studied the architecture, chatted with the locals.
Hofbräuhaus was less than a mile from campus, but the brewery's main hall had a reputation all its own. With its old-world atmosphere of wooden tables, terra cotta floors, painted arches, and hanging lanterns, how could anyone not feel a sense of history just being within these walls?
Maybe that's why Europe called out to her, not just here, but from a million different places. Museums. Theaters. Cathedrals. She wanted to experience them all, and then some. She'd be going home to San Francisco in July, and she hadn't been to Paris or London or Brussels. She'd gotten a mere taste of Munich and had yet to visit Berlin.
When would she get another chance to do all that?
Not for ages. And certainly not with the sense of freedom she had as a college student, with little or no responsibilities outside her schoolwork to claim her attention. On the flip side, she felt terribly guilty. Every February, her entire family traveled to Lake Tahoe together. It was a ritual and a very big deal, since her father rarely got a day, much less a week, off as a high-powered executive. Her mother usually began making arrangements for the trip right after the holidays. In her mind, it was like a second Christmas, with the whole family reuniting and sharing time and laughter together.
This year was no different. Lauren's brother, Andrew, and her sister, Jessica, were both taking time off from their busy careers to join their parents at Tahoe—no easy feat considering Andrew was an intellectual property attorney in Atlanta, and Jess was a corporate buyer for Neiman Marcus in Dallas. Lauren was the only holdout. Lauren. The college kid. The baby. The free spirit who always came home from Pomona College to nest, especially for family gatherings and rituals.
Her parents had been very quiet when she'd told them about her plans. Lauren knew what that silence meant. After the phone call ended, her mother would have cried that she was losing her baby, and her father would have scowled and written off her decision as college rebellion. Neither was true. But no matter how she explained it, her parents didn't understand. They'd traveled extensively in Europe, and to them, it was no big deal. But it was Lauren's first time here, and to her, it was like discovering a whole new world—a world she felt an instant rapport with. It was like discovering a part of her soul she'd never known existed. And she had to immerse herself in it.
She'd entertained the idea of flying to Lake Tahoe for the week and then returning to fulfill her dream. Her parents would definitely pay for that. But given the long international travel, the flight changes, the time differences, and the jet lag, Tahoe would put too much of a crimp in the many plans she had for her break between semesters. She'd had invitations from school friends who said she could stay with them during her travels—friends from Germany and so many other countries.
The world was at her feet.
No, despite how much she loved her family, she had to do things her way this time. There'd be other Februarys, other trips to Tahoe. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She was still drinking her beer and lamenting her situation when a masculine voice from behind her said, "Hallo. Kann ich mitmachen?"
Turning, Lauren saw a handsome, rugged-featured guy, gazing at her with raised brows. He was asking if he could join her.
"Sind Sie allein?" he asked, glancing to her right and to her left.
"Yes, I'm alone," she answered in German. "And, yes, please join me."
The man came around and slid onto the bench seat. He propped his elbow on the table, signalling to the waitress that he'd have the same as the lady. The waitress nodded, hurrying off to get his refreshment.
He turned his gaze back to Lauren. "You're American," he noted, speaking English that was heavily accented.
"Guilty as charged," she responded in English. "Is it that obvious?" She gave him a rueful look.
He smiled, idly playing with the gold chain around his neck. "Your German is quite good. But I picked up the American…what's the word you use? Twang."
Lauren had to laugh. "It's my turn to take a stab at it, then. You're French? Slavic? A combination of both?"
"The last." His smile widened. "You have a good ear, as well."
"Your German and your English are excellent. I guess I just got lucky."
"Speaking of getting lucky, what's your name?" he asked.
His boldness took her aback, but she answered anyway. "Lauren. What's yours?"
"Marko." He held out his hand, which Lauren shook. "I'm in Munich on business. And you?"
"I'm an exchange student. I'm on break, and I'm looking forward to enjoying some time exploring Europe."
Marko looked intrigued. "I can give you a few tips." A mischievous glint lit his eyes. "Or I could travel with you for a few days and give you the best taste of Munich you'll ever have."
Lauren felt flushed. She was twenty years old. She knew very well what Marko meant by "the best taste." She should be offended. But she couldn't help being flattered. He was older, good-looking, and charming.
Nonetheless, she wasn't stupid. And she wasn't in the market for a hookup.
"Thanks, but I'm tackling this trip on my own," she replied. "I'm meeting up with friends later, but I'm good as planned."
"Pity." The glint in his eyes faded with regret. "Then at least let me give you some pointers about the best sights to see and the best restaurants and places to visit."
"That would be fantastic." Lauren rummaged in her purse for a pen and paper. Having found them, she set her bag on the floor between them.
She spent the next twenty mesmerizing minutes listening to Marko detail the highlights of Munich and other parts of Bavaria, as she simultaneously scribbled down what he was saying.
"Thank you so much," she said when he was finished. "This is like a guided tour."
"Once again, I could do it in person."
"And once again, I'm flattered, but no thank you." Lauren signaled for her check, reaching into her bag and retrieving a twenty euro bill when the waitress approached the table. "The rest is for you," she told her.
"I'll take care of that," Marko offered, stopping Lauren by catching her wrist and simultaneously fishing for his wallet. Evidently, he was still holding out hope that she would change her mind.
"That's okay. I've got it." Lauren wriggled out of his grasp, leaned forward, and completed the transaction.
"You've been a tremendous help," she said to Marko as she rose. "I'm glad we met."
This time it was she who extended her hand.
Reluctantly, he shook it. "I hope we meet again, Lauren. I'll look for you the next time I'm in Munich."
Still smiling, Lauren left the café and walked through the wide cobblestone apron outside. There were little tables with umbrellas scattered about, with patrons chatting and eating. Sated by the beer and pretzel, she inhaled happily, and then, walking over to the sidewalk, began what she expected to be a thoughtful stroll. Maybe she'd text her parents this time, try explaining her position without all the drama of a phone call.
She was halfway down the street when she heard a male voice call after her, "Lauren!"
She turned to see Marko hurrying in her direction. "Here." He extended his arm, a familiar iPhone in his hand. "You left this on the table."
"Oh, thank you." How could she have been so careless? She protected her cell phone like a small child. "I'd be lost without that—"
As she spoke, a Mercedes van tore around the corner and came screeching up to them.
The near doors were flung open, and a stocky man jumped out, his face concealed by a black hood. Before Lauren could so much as blink, he grabbed her, yanking a burlap sack over her head and tossing her over his shoulder.
"Merr në makinë," he said in a language Lauren didn't understand.
By this time, Lauren had recovered enough to struggle for her freedom. Her legs flailed in the air, kicking furiously, and she pounded on the man's back as he carried her and flung her into the back of the van.
Marko jumped in behind her, slamming the doors shut and barking out something in the same dialect as the other man—neither French nor Slavic—as the stocky barbarian held her down.
Finally finding her voice, Lauren let out a scream, which was quickly muffled by the pressure of Marko's hand over her mouth. She could taste the wool of the sack, and she inclined her head so she could breathe through her nose.
A short-lived reprieve.
Marko fumbled around, then shoved a handkerchief under the sack, covering her nose and mouth. Lauren thrashed her head from side to side, struggling to avoid it. The odor was sickeningly sweet and citrusy.
Chloroform.
Tears burned behind her eyes. Shock waves pulsed through her body.
Oh God, she didn't want to die.
Marko clamped his other hand on the back of her head, holding it in place while he forced the handkerchief flush against her nose and mouth, making it impossible for her to escape.
Dizziness. Nausea. Black specks. Nothing.
"Shko," Marko ordered his accomplice, shoving him toward the driver's seat.
The van screeched off, headed to hell.
Excerpt from Dead In A Week by Andrea Kane. Copyright © 2019 by Andrea Kane. Reproduced with permission from Andrea Kane. All rights reserved.
Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including fifteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane's first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller. She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted, and Drawn in Blood.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Dead in a Week, adds the Zermatt Group into the mix—a covert team of former military and spy agency operatives. With a week to save a young woman from ruthless kidnappers, this globe-spanning chase, from the beerhalls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia will keep readers guessing until the very end. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts' talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence that Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, and A Face to Die For.
Kane's beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart's Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Kane lives in New Jersey with her husband and family. She's an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Otherwise, she's either writing or playing with her Pomeranian, Mischief, who does his best to keep her from writing.
Connect with Andrea:
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Labels: A Forensic Instincts/Zermatt Group thriller, Andrea Kane, Dead in a Week, suspense
FEATURED AUTHOR: J.C. EATON
There's a lot of noir surrounding this rare pinot.
As the vineyards in Seneca Lake, New York, prepare for the seasonal "Deck the Halls Around the Lake" festivities, someone is determined to keep pinot noir off the wine list. Hijacked trucks and sabotaged ingredients have made it a hard-to-acquire vintage for the six local wineries—including Norrie Ellington's Two Witches Winery.
The case of the stolen and spoiled wines gets stranger when Arnold Mowen, owner of the company distributing the wine, is found dead, the apparent victim of a hunting accident. As Norrie tries to find the connections between the pinot's problems and Arnold's death, she uncovers a conspiracy among many locals whose hatred for the wine distributor was bottled up for far too long . . .
Title: Pinot Red or Dead?
Author: J.C. Eaton
Series: The Wine Trail Mysteries, book 3
Publisher: Kensington Lyrical Underground (March 2019)
IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH J.C. EATON
Q: If you could live in any time period which would it be?
A: Ann and Jim – Right here. Right now. We cannot live without hot and cold running water, HVAC, or our TV!
Ann – Ancient Rome in 79 A.D. but nowhere near Mt. Vesuvius.
Jim – Turn of the twentieth century on the French Riviera.
Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: Ann – 1964 in Kingston, New York, when folksinger Phil Ochs, who shared a taxi with her, invited her to join him in Woodstock and meet his friend, Bob Dylan. She refused. Of course, she was only fourteen! Jim – Back to Spain in 1986. Best time ever!
Q: If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
A: Ann – museum curator for antiquities.
Jim- cowboy.
Q: If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
A: Ann and Jim – We've both volunteered at animal shelters and continue to help rescue pets in need of homes.
Q: If you could choose a fictional town to live in what would it be and from what book?
A: Ann – anywhere in the Cotswolds from Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series.
Jim – Salmon Cove, Maine, Lee Hollis's Death of a Lobster Lover.
A: Ann – Salamanca, Spain where they have the best paella in the world.
Jim – The French Riviera, but only if he had a fancy convertible.
Q: 5 favorite possessions:
A: Ann – old Russian samovar, rock collection, Latin club t-shirt that's one step away from disintegrating, Euro pillow, ancient computer.
Jim – old Boston sweatshirt, old Ren-fest sweatshirt (Hmm, seems we've got a theme), rock collection, TV remote, special frying pan.
Q: 5 things you need in order to write:
A: Ann – absolute quiet, computer, chocolate, Coke, dictionary.
Jim – pad and pencil, decent pens, comfortable recliner, comfortable sweatshirt and sweatpants.
Q: 5 things you never want to run out of:
A: Ann and Jim – toilet paper, computer paper, water, chocolate, Tylenol.
Q: 5 favorite places you've been:
A: Ann – Russia, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Peru.
Jim – France, Spain, Mexico, Russia, Puerto Rico.
Q: 5 favorite things to do:
A: Ann – write, swim, hike, eat, talk.
Jim – sleep, write, exercise, walk the dog, go to ball games.
Q: 5 things that drive you crazy:
A: Ann and Jim – Arizona drivers, being put on HOLD, grocery shopping, doing taxes, cleaning the litter box after you've just cleaned it.
Q: What's your all-time favorite movie?
A: Ann and Jim – The Court Jester with Danny Kaye. We love it!
Q: What's your all-time favorite city?
A: Ann and Jim – Ottawa.
Q: What's your favorite meal?
A: Ann – Wonton soup, NY style egg rolls, spare ribs.
Jim – spaghetti and meat sauce.
Q: What's your favorite dessert?
A: Ann – Chocolate mousse, Jim – banana split.
Q: What's your favorite beverage?
A: Ann – Coke.
Jim – Earl Grey tea.
Q: What's your favorite ice cream?
A: Ann – Chocolate chip.
Jim – chocolate-chocolate
Q: What's your favorite thing to do when there's nothing to do?
A: Ann and Jim – READ!!!
Q: What's your favorite candy bar?
A: Ann – Hershey's.
Jim – Milky Way.
Q: What's your favorite movie snack?
A: Ann and Jim – popcorn.
Q: What's your favorite social media site? Would you rather tweet or post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest . . .?
A: Ann and Jim –We'd rather post on Facebook.
Q: What's one thing you never leave the house without?
A: Ann and Jim – our keys!
Q: What is the wallpaper on your computer's desktop?
A: Ann – our cat.
Jim – the default blank screen.
Q: What movie genre do you prefer: drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, or horror?
A: Ann and Jim – all of the above.
Q: What's your all-time favorite place you've visited?
A: Avila, Spain.
Q: What's your latest recommendation for:
A: Food: Shrimp in garlic sauce.
Music: The Band, Rolling Stones.
Movie: The Court Jester, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Dirty Dozen.
Book: Rosemary Simpson's What the Dead Leave Behind.
J.C. Eaton is the pen name for wife and husband authors Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp.
Ann I. Goldfarb
New York native Ann I. Goldfarb spent most of her life in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as a middle school principal and professional staff developer. Writing as J. C. Eaton, along with her husband, James Clapp, they have authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington), The Wine Trail Mysteries (Kensington Lyrical Underground), and The Marcie Rayner Mysteries (Camel). In addition, Ann has nine published YA time travel mysteries under her own name.
James E. Clapp
When James E. Clapp retired as the tasting room manager for a large upstate New York winery, he never imagined he'd be co-authoring cozy mysteries with his wife, Ann I. Goldfarb. Non-fiction in the form of informational brochures and workshop materials treating the winery industry were his forte along with an extensive background and experience in construction that started with his service in the U.S. Navy and included vocational school classroom teaching.
Connect with the authors:
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Labels: cozy msytery, J.C. Eaton, Pinot Red or Dead?
GUEST POST BY KAYA QUINSEY
Valentine in Venice
Valentine Wells returns to Venice. After having visited ten years earlier when she was just sixteen years old, it was where she had impulsively met Lorenzo Dipachio. Her first kiss. Her first love.
Now twenty-six, Valentine is a successful wedding photographer in Chicago. Still impulsive, Valentine is recently divorced after being married for about a minute in Las Vegas. And she doesn't miss the irony of being a divorced wedding photographer. Also dealing with her mother's recent diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's, Valentine's father convinces her that she needs a break.
Now that she is back in Venice, Valentine wants to prove to herself that she's no longer the impulsive, daring girl who got married (and quickly divorced) in Vegas to a man she barely knew. Now, she is living by a new set of rules: planned, cautious, and carefully executed.
But her plan is challenged when she falls (literally) into the path of her first love, Lorenzo. And with Valentine's Day around the corner, will Valentine be able to keep herself from making another big mistake?
A Coastal Christmas
Author Kaya Quinsey returns with her trademark blend of romance and adventure, in this page turning story about a love to remember and a Christmas never to forget.
Successful broadcaster Jessica Beaton has it all: the perfect New York City apartment, high-flying career, and handsome boyfriend. And with Christmas around the corner, she has her sights set on one thing. A ring.
But Jessica is humiliated when her co-host and boyfriend, Brett Fanshaw, almost proposes to her on-air before backing out, leaving her dumped and embarrassed on national television. In the midst of her heartbreak, Jessica leaves to go home to Pebble Shores for the holidays for the first time in years.
While retreating at her family's seaside cottage to evaluate her life, Jessica finds herself butting heads with Dean Adams, the mayor of Pebble Shores, who isn't thrilled to have the media spotlight shed on their small town. Jessica couldn't imagine anyone being more of a Grinch.
Over the Christmas season, Jessica finds herself more enamored with life in Pebble Shores, the community spirit, and to her own surprise, Dean Adams. Can a small-town mayor and big-city broadcaster have the romance that Jessica always dreamed of?
Paris Mends Broken Hearts
Gwendoline Delacroix finds herself fleeing Paris in a desperate attempt to escape the memories that haunt her in her French countryside chateau. Following the aftermath of WWII, she had become a widower and desperately missing her husband, Jean. Although her loyal and quirky staff do their best to keep her afloat, Gwendoline eventually takes charge and in a quick turn of events, finds herself at the Hotel de la Belle Paix - the hotel run by her brother and sister-in-law in the Latin Quarter in Paris.
Over the summer, Gwendoline finds work at an animal sanctuary run by an eccentric aristocrat. With new friends, an elderly cat, and a glass of wine in hand, Gwendoline proves to herself and everyone else that there is life after lost love.
Entertaining? Of course! Joyful? Undoubtedly. Champagne? Bien sur! In Paris, nothing is predictable, and everything is extraordinary.
Title: Love, Amour, Amore: A Collection of Three Love Stories From Around The World
Author: Kaya Quinsey
Genre: Sweet Romance, Anthology
Publisher: Books To Go Now, (February 5 2019)
It should come as no surprise that my books are heavy on the romance. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a hopeless romantic. So when my publishers at Books To Go Now suggested an anthology of my three sweet romance novellas (Valentine in Venice, A Coastal Christmas, and Paris Mends Broken Hearts) be published in time for Valentine's Day, of course I said yes! It resulted in Love, Amour, Amore: A Collection of Three Love Stories From Around the World. And it certainly doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to read about love.
A common thread that runs through my books is a love of food. In Valentine in Venice, on more than one occasion I go into detail about the delicious food Italy has to offer. The same thing goes for Paris Mends Broken Hearts (kouign amann's are to die for) and A Coastal Christmas (who doesn't love gingerbread and cinnamon sprinkled into their coffee?)
I love cooking – in fact, you can find a few recipes tucked away in the back of each of my novellas to date. I'm going to share one of my personal favorites today (it's also a favorite of my fiancés), which I hope you can enjoy with a good book in hand.
Oatmeal-Cherry Tarte
This is an easy, healthy recipe that can be enjoyed with a cup of coffee for breakfast, or as a delicious (and healthy) dessert at the end of the week. Enjoy!
1 cup of whole-wheat flour
½ cup of rolled oats
½ cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
¾ cup of whole milk
a sprinkle of cinnamon
1 cup of frozen (or de-pitted fresh) cherries
1. In a bowl, mix together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, milk, olive oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Pour into a greased baking dish.
3. Top with cherries.
4. Bake at 375 ° for 30 to 40 minutes (or until golden brown).
Check out my Love it Or Leave it Interview with Kaya from January 2019!
Kaya Quinsey is the author of Paris Mends Broken Hearts, Valentine in Venice, A Coastal Christmas, and most recently, Love, Amour, Amore: A Collection of Three Love Stories From Around The World. Her work has sold in seven countries. She holds her undergraduate and master's degree in psychology. Kaya's passion for culture, travel, and psychology blend for a reading style that is fun, full of surprises, and easy to read. A romantic at heart, Kaya's writing offers a contemporary twist to traditional love stories. Through her stories, she hopes to inspire readers to fiercely chase their dreams.
Connect with Kaya:
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Labels: Amore: A Collection of Three Love Stories From Around The World, Amour, Kaya Quinsey, love
FEATURED AUTHOR: LAUREN CARR
It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.
Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad, working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding his late wife's supposed death halfway around the globe. A state department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas.
Nothing is as it seems.
In his most personal cold case, Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair, the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?
Title: Winter Frost
Author: Lauren Carr
Genre: Mystery
Series: The Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, book 2
Publisher: Acorn Book Services (January 28, 2019)
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH LAUREN CARR
A few of your favorite things: Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
Things you need to throw out: Diet and exercise.
Things you need in order to write: A comfy chair and fully charged laptop.
Things that hamper your writing: Family members needing things.
Things you love about writing: Escape from the real world.
Things you hate about writing: Proofreading.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing
.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Taking care of business.
Favorite beverage: Coffee with lots of sugar and mocha flavored cream.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Coffee without cream and sugar.
Something you're really good at: Cooking. I'm a gourmet cook.
Something you're really bad at: Cleaning up the kitchen after cooking a gourmet meal. (That's the only reason I ditched the idea of becoming a caterer.)
Last best thing you ate: Chocolate marble cake with cream cheese frosting.
Last thing you regret eating: Chocolate marble cake with cream cheese frosting.
Things you always put in your books: Four-legged characters. I believe pets are as much a part of families as people.
Things you never put in your books: Explicit sex and graphic violence just for the sake of sex and violence.
Things to say to an author: I love your books so much that I recommended them to my _____.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Attached to this email, you will find a spreadsheet of the grammatical mistakes in all your books.
Favorite places you've been: Cruise of the Caribbean.
Places you never want to go to again: New York City.
Favorite things to do: Horseback riding
.
Things you'd run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: House Cleaning.
Most embarrassing moment: High School.
Proudest moment: Toss up between when my son won the county science fair, graduated high school, or got an article published in a national magazine.
Best thing you've ever done: Marry my husband
.
Biggest mistake: Put mustard on his cheeseburger a couple of weeks ago. (At least, that's what he's been telling me.)
BOOK TRAILER FOR WINTER FROST
CHECK OUT ICE (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery, book 1)
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Thorny Rose, Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries—over twenty titles across four fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Connect with Lauren:
Labels: crime fiction, Lauren Carr, mystery, police procedural, romantic suspense, suspense, thriller, Winter Frost
FEATURED AUTHOR: LAURA CHILDS
Theodosia Browning serves tea and solves crimes in Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.
It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out.
As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.
Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.
Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO's soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO's personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques' dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia's dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?
Title: Broken Bone China
Author: Laura Childs
Series: A Tea Shop Mystery
Publisher: Berkley (March 5, 2019)
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH LAURA CHILDS
Things you need in order to write: Diet Coke, a bit of chocolate, and lots of quiet.
Things that hamper your writing: E-mails and phone calls.
Favorite music: Beach Boys, Rolling Stones. I saw both groups in concert this past year. Have tickets, will travel!
Music that makes your ears bleed: Polka music. Really guys, just really.
Favorite beverage: Good French red wine.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Cheap white wine.
Something you're really good at: Marketing. I have a knack for knowing exactly how to promote a product.
Something you're really bad at: Anything mechanical. Even a mousetrap baffles me.
Last best thing you ate: Truffle pizza.
Last thing you regret eating: 99 cent taco. But not because it didn't taste good.
Things you always put in your books: Dogs.
Things you never put in your books: S – E – X. My cozy mysteries are G-rated, good for girls to grandmas.
Things to say to an author: Hi, will you sign my book?
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in the next book: Hi, when is your book coming out in paperback?
Favorite places you've been: Paris, London, Hong Kong, Bali.
Places you never want to go again: Beijing (because of the dangerous air quality!).
Favorite genre: Mysteries, thrillers, history, art history – basically all books.
Books you would ban: None. I don't believe in banning books.
Things that make you happy: Hearing from all my readers. They are my biggest inspiration to keep coming up with inventive and crazy new plots.
Things that drive you crazy: People who think I really don't have to work at this.
Most embarrassing moment: Not getting picked for softball in 5th grade.
Proudest moment: Making the New York Times bestseller list – then doing it again and again.
Biggest lie you ever told: My agency partner and I were pitching an agricultural account and he told them my dad was a turkey farmer. I didn't deny it. (Yes, we got the account)
A lie you wish you'd told: I wish I'd pitched Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live on my credibility as a comedy writer. (This was when I wrote some United Way public service spots that his cast recorded.)
Best thing you've ever done: Financed a dog training school for a good friend. (It's still going gangbusters after 19 years!)
Biggest mistake: Should have bought more real estate.
Most daring thing you've ever done: I started my own advertising agency when I was 29. All these older art directors and account guys warned me not to – they said it was too risky. At the end of my first year, I was earning twice what they were.
Something you chickened out from doing: Parachuting with my Uncle Bob to celebrate his 90th birthday.
Laura Childs is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of "25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series." In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Connect with Laura:
Labels: Broken Bone China, cozy mystery, Laura Childs, Tea Shop Mystery


We're currently in the midst of a new wave of Harry Potter mania. With its Universal Studios park finally opening, J.K Rowling releasing a written version of the newest stage play (which is book eight for all intents and purposes), and now a big screen version of one of Harry's textbooks, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
This newest trailer premiered during the MTV Movie Awards alongside of Warner Bros' Suicide Squad, and it's definitely the more grabbing trailer of the two. We get a lot more detail than we did with the first teaser, a variation of the Harry Potter theme, Eddie Redmayne being charming finally, and Colin Farrell as a wizard. I had no idea I wanted to see Farrell playing a wizard in 1920s America, but that's kind of all I want now.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them releases November 18th.


I couldn't agree more with this post. Being impeccable with your word should be every salespersons mantra. What you promise the world is more than telling what you will eventually do. If you know that you can deliver on the things you say, than you will walk around more confident knowing you possess a high level of integrity. I think that this leads to more success down the road.