My creative daughter

Hannah has been home for the holidays. Tomorrow she returns to Kent State and the second semester of her third year begins Monday. Since she's been home, Hannah has delighted us with two significant creations. The first is a terrific love song that she wrote as a gift to her boyfriend. It's called I Found You. Hope you'll check it out! The second creation was her website which Hannah designed herself (she actually wrote the code!) Have a look at her artwork, etc., in your spare time. Pretty cool stuff. Here's the link: hannahfowlkes.com

Enjoy! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and creative 2012!!

Cantaloupes in the Can - a slice of Rochester life

I was pleased to learn that one of my earliest essays, "Cantaloupes in the Can," was accepted by a panel at Writers & Books to be part of Rochester's "Story Walk" series. You can read my essay below. Or, if you'd like to hear me read it to you, just click HERE for the audio version. Enjoy.

Cantaloupes in the Can

     From my front porch swing, I gaze out over the hills of Egypt, New York, hoping to see the world go by. But there’s not much action on this country road. Before long I'm reminiscing about the good old days when I came to live in Rochester just out of college. I had an apartment on Meigs Street then, with a front porch that overlooked a constant parade of Rochester characters. I used to walk to the Genesee food co-op, earthy and warm with its wood floors, its grain-filled bins and secondhand paper bags. Hmm, I muse, I could still shop there. So I get in my car and head for I-490 west.
     As I enter the familiar co-op, housed in the old firehouse building on Monroe Avenue, a mongrel cat rubs against my leg (all kinds are welcome here). I select a decent-looking bag and start filling it with fresh produce and the block of tofu that I've managed to fish out of a deep tub. At the checkout counter, the cashier is wearing a gentle smile on her face and a sleeping child on her back.
     I return to my car with a renewed sense of serenity and glide more slowly than usual onto the expressway. But my mood is soon jolted by the driver beside me who, for no apparent reason, is honking his horn and pointing mysteriously upward. Suddenly there’s a crashing sound and my groceries are scattering across the road. Two cantaloupes roll eastward, toward home. I pull over, shaking with disbelief. A motorcyclist comes by to ask if I’m okay. But I just burst into laughter and tears, right there in the Can of Worms, while my fellow travelers dodge cantaloupes.

Good news - Paternity is an e-book!

Finally, finally my novel Paternity is available as an e-book! Okay, it's only on the NOOK right now (Barnes & Noble's e-reader). But that's a start, right? Here's the link: Paternity on the NOOK. My publisher says they're working on the Kindle version, which most people seem to prefer.

Personally, I still like my books the old-fashioned way - printed on paper. I like pulling them off the shelf and turning their pages as I read. I like burying a beloved bookmark between the pages before closing the book, and then glancing at the binding to see how far I've gotten. Most of all, after I finish reading a wonderful novel, I like handing it to a kindred spirit, knowing she will love it too.

On the other hand, I'm beginning to see the advantages of e-books. You can enlarge the print easily, which is a plus for those of us with aging eyes. And you can search on words or phrases. I really like this idea. Being in three book clubs (maybe 2 1/2), it's not uncommon for someone to bring up a particular passage of interest or controversy during our discussions. Trying to find that passage again is often, well, trying. E-books are great for that.

Whichever format you prefer, hope you're enjoying your reading life. I know I am!

A Perfect Confluence (my short story - published on-line)

 You can read my short story at: A Perfect Confluence.

I originally wrote this story for a contest called The First Line. (Sometimes, as a writer, you need a little kick start). Well, I didn't win that contest. But maybe it was just as well because later I discovered a new on-line journal, started in Canada by Dr. Nora Gold, called Jewishfiction.net. And I submitted my piece there. Then a couple of weekends ago, as I was on my way to Cleveland, I received an unexpected call saying they had accepted my story for publication. What a nice surprise! And now, it's featured on their site. The theme of A Perfect Confluence seems to recur in much of my writing. (It featured prominently in my novel, Paternity). And that is the idea of different cultures coming together in one family. In the case of A Perfect Confluence, the cultures involved are Jewish and Muslim, each in the midst of an important religious holiday. This year, with Ramadan recently ended, and Rosh HaShanah just ahead, let us all hope for, and work toward peace and understanding between the peoples of all cultures and faiths.

And to all my Jewish readers, may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.

My mother's memoir

What a great time we had this past weekend in Cleveland! About 80 family members gathered at the Embassy Suites Hotel to celebrate the publication of my mom's beautiful memoir entitled "Helen," the story of her mother's life - from her tragic childhood in Hungary, to her journey to America, to her family life during the Great Depression, to her untimely death at age 52. The evening was a double celebration really, as my mom will be turning 80 years young later this month.

Pictured above are: my sister Nancy, my mom (with eyes closed!) and me (the designated emcee for the evening). As requested, my daughters Hannah and Helen (named for her great-grandmother) sang a couple of songs. This one is called "I Will Remember You." What could be more appropriate than that?!

"Helen: A Memoir" can be found in Cleveland at the Maltz Museum as well as at the Fireside Book Shop (in Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Hope you'll pick up a copy!