Stories collected Title Originally published in The Mist Dark Forces (1980) Here There Be Tygers Spring 1968 issue of Ubris The Monkey November 1980 issue of Gallery Cain Rose Up Spring 1968 issue of Ubris Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut May 1984 issue of Redbook The Jaunt June 1981 issue of The Twilight Zone Magazine The Wedding Gig December 1980 issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Paranoid: A Chant Previously unpublished The Raft November 1982 issue of Gallery Word Processor of the Gods January 1983 issue of Playboy The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands Shadows 4 (1981) Beachworld Fall 1984 issue of Weird Tales The Reaper’s Image Spring 1969 issue of Startling Mystery Stories Nona Shadows (1978) For Owen Previously unpublished Survivor Type Terrors (1982) Uncle Otto’s Truck October 1983 issue of Yankee Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) Previously unpublished Big Wheels: A Tale of The Laundry Game (Milkman #2) New Terrors (1980) Gramma Spring 1984 issue of Weirdbook The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet June 1984 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction The Reach November 1981 issue of Yankee Overview The collection features 22 works, which includes nineteen short stories, a novella (“The Mist”), and two poems (“Paranoid: A Chant” and “For Owen”). In addition to the introduction, in which King directly addresses his readers in his signature conversational style, Skeleton Crew features an epilogue of sorts entitled “Notes” wherein King discusses the origins of several stories in the collection. The stories are collected from science-fiction and horror anthologies (Dark Forces, Shadows, Terrors, and New Terrors) genre magazine publications (Twilight Zone, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Startling Mystery Stories, Weirdbook and Fantasy and Science Fiction) and popular magazines (Redbook, Gallery, Yankee and Playboy). Although published in 1985, the stories collected in Skeleton Crew span seventeen years from “The Reaper’s Image” (King’s second professional sale when he was just eighteen years old) to “The Ballad of The Flexible Bullet” which was completed in 1983. Skeleton Crew is critically held as showing King as a maturing writer with greater breadth and depth than his previous short works . The collection also features some more personal works, including “For Owen”, the poem he wrote for his son, and “Gramma” a horrific tale from an eleven-year old boy’s perspective that seems to recall King’s own horrors living with his invalid grandmother . Of one of the stories in the collection, King says: “As far as short stories are concerned, I like the grisly ones the best. However the story “Survivor Type” goes a little bit too far, even for me.” Adaptations Film and television “The Raft” was adapted as a segment of the 1987 New World Pictures anthology film Creepshow 2, with a script by George A. Romero, and directed by Michael Gornic. “Word Processor of the Gods” (1984 Laurel TV, directed by Michael Gornic) was a 22-minute episode of Tales from the Darkside. “Gramma” (1986 CBS/MGM-UA, directed by Bradford May) was a 21-minute episode of The New Twilight Zone written by Harlan Ellison. The Mist (2007 The Weinstein Company, written/directed by Frank Darabont) was adapted into the film The Mist, which was released on November 21, 2007. Dollar Baby adaptations The following stories have been adapted as Dollar Baby short films: Here There Be Tygers (1988) by Guy Maddin Paranoid (2000) by Jay Holben Here There Be Tygers (2003) by James Cochrane The Jaunt (2007) by Todd Gorman Other media adaptations The Mist was adapted into a text-based computer game by Mindscape Software. The Mist was adapted as a 90-minute full-cast audio recording in 1986 in “3-D Sound” from ZBS Productions, released by Simon & Schuster, Inc.. References ^ King, Stephen, “Introduction” to Skeleton Crew, Putnam Press 1985 pp. 13 ^ Collings, Michael R., The Annotated Guide to Stephen King, Starmount Press, 1986, pp.25 ^ Beahm, George, The Stephen King Companion, Andrews and McNeel, 1989, pp. 271 ^ Spignesi, Stephen J. The Essential Stephen King, New Page Books, 2001, pp. 232 ^ Grant, Charles L. “Interview with Stephen King ” Monsterland Magazine, May/June, 1985. See also Dollar Baby v d e Skeleton Crew by Stephen King The Mist “Here There Be Tygers” “The Monkey” “Cain Rose Up” “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” “The Jaunt” “The Wedding Gig” “Paranoid: A Chant” “The Raft” “Word Processor of the Gods” “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands” “Beachworld” “The Reaper’s Image” “Nona” “For Owen” “Survivor Type” “Uncle Otto’s Truck” “Morning Deliveries (Milkman No. 1)” “Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman No. 2)” “Gramma” The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet “The Reach” v d e The Dark Tower series by Stephen King Novels: The Gunslinger The Drawing of the Three The Waste Lands Wizard and Glass Wolves of the Calla Song of Susannah The Dark Tower The Wind Through the Keyhole Short stories: “The Gunslinger” “The Way Station” “The Oracle and the Mountains” “The Slow Mutants” “The Gunslinger and the Dark Man” “The Little Sisters of Eluria” Comics: The Gunslinger Born The Long Road Home Treachery The Sorcerer The Fall of Gilead Ka-tets Roland Deschain Jake Chambers Eddie Dean Susannah Dean Oy Father Callahan Cuthbert Allgood Alain Johns Jamie De Curry The Red Crimson King Randall Flagg John Farson Mordred Deschain Rhea of the Cos Eldred Jonas Other characters Patrick Danville Stephen King Bryan Smith Sheemie Ruiz Blaine the Mono Calvin Tower Dinky Earnshaw Andrew Quick Steven Deschain Ted Brautigan Races Can-toi Old Ones Slow mutants Taheen Vampires Places All-World Devar-Toi Lud Calla Bryn Sturgis Organizations North Central Positronics Sombra Corporation Tet Corporation Glossary Ka Slo-Trans High Speech Related books ‘Salem’s Lot The Stand The Talisman Skeleton Crew It The Eyes of the Dragon Insomnia Rose Madder Desperation The Regulators Bag of Bones Hearts in Atlantis Black House Everything’s Eventual From a Buick 8 v d e Works of Stephen King Novels Carrie (1974) ‘Salem’s Lot (1975) The Shining (1977) The Stand (1978) The Dead Zone (1979) Firestarter (1980) Cujo (1981) Christine (1983) Pet Sematary (1983) Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub) It (1986) The Eyes [...]
Archive for August, 2010
Comic Books in the Middle East
A multi-national civil rights organization, also known as the American Islamic Congress, was inspired by a comic book. An old comic book was written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to celebrate his life, ideas, and achievements. The American Islamic Congress had the comic translated into Arabic so that people in the Middle East could read it. The director of the American Islamic Congress for the North African division, Dalia Ziada, was in charge of translating the comic from English to Arabic. They handed out the comic to over 2,000 people throughout the Middle East. The comic book written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came out during the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. The comic, titled “The Montgomery Story,” describes the events that took place during the Montgomery bus boycott. Another well known activist, Rosa Parks, also participated in the bus boycott. The Montgomery bus Boycott had an everlasting impact on our society. It was one of the major steps in ending segregation, and was the sole reason for ending public transit segregation policies. Not only is the bus boycott written about in our history books, but it was also made into a comic book. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. promoted and practiced non-violent resistance. This is the hope for the Middle East by the American Islamic Congress. Translating and republishing “The Montgomery Story,” is an action of non-violent resistance. They are showing violent groups and people that knowledge of a different way of life is possible and the freedom to express their appreciation for the Civil Rights movement. Teaching a new way of life goes against what many leaders in the Middle East would approve of. The American Islamic Congress is also a civil rights movement group. Their Civil Rights movements are taking place in the Middle East. The group has a lot of young individuals promoting passion, moderation, religious tolerance, women’s rights, freedom to express, and conserving different cultures. Using comic books is one way they are promoting their movement. The Montgomery Story in many ways parallels what the Middle East is going through with terrorism. They are hoping that people who read the comic book will learn from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s thoughts and ideas about equality. Comics are making their mark in our history. They are promoting literacy, change, tolerance, and good conquering over evil. Perhaps in the near future we will be reading comics about the peace in the Middle East as a direct result of the 2,000 Arabic copies of “The Montgomery Story,” being distributed.
About Rf Online
Rising Force Online is a Science Fiction MMORPG developed by CCR inc and re-released by Codemasters. RF Online includes of PVE and PVP experiences, very similar to RvR. RF Online allows players to join one of three primary warring factions known as; Accretia, Bellato and Cora. WEach race has many different unique traites which makes RF online a much diversified game. The main core of the game is to PvP, not dueling but more of a group raid type of action. Very similar to an old game known as Dark Age of Camelot. You have to plan your battles and use great tactics to win. The key element to RF online takes the form of Race Wars, when all three factions take part in battle which occurs several times a day. Each race battles to take control of the Talic Mines, where rare materials can be extract from the earth. From levels 1-29 is a training sstem in which you will learn more about the game and what it has to offer. Upon reaching level 30 you will get to choose a class which has unique abilities and functions for victory in the Mine Wars. RF Online is a fast paced game with very little downtime. The key element to the battles are potions. This allows you to take on power creatures easily. Winning a battle really depends on who has the most potions and that is why one on one combats is nearly impossible considering the fact that you can recall back home and fee from death. There are certain high end leveled bosses that will require group of players to take down. Killing these bosses will yield its benefits with great items and valuables. Taking a high end boss alone is nearly impossible so making friends in the game is another key. The Accretia race does not use magic, they use power rocket launchers. The tree class for Accretians include of the Warrior, ranger and the specialist. The Cora are the second to enter the war, known as the holy crusade against the evil accretians. They rely on magic as their primary damage. They consist of 4 classes which warrior, ranger, spiritualist and the specialist. The last and final face is the bellato, smallest and weakest of the three races but yet the smartest.They rely heavily on their Massive Assault Units (MAUs). They can use a combination of both heavy arms and magic. Their races include of the warrior, ranger, spiritualist and specialist as well. RF Online does not have a ver advanced armoring system. Almost all high end gears are similar in look and function. In ways this can be a great benefit for those who prefers to spend less time gearing up and more time just PvPing. One of my personal favorites. Enjoy and good luck in the Mine Wars.
Understanding Point of View in Fiction Writing
Point of view one is of the fiction writer’s most powerful techniques. Writing from your character’s POV means that you get inside the main character’s head, heart and gut –literally see the world through the character’s perspective. So, for example, when you are in the “bad guy’s” POV, be true to that POV. An excellent example of this is Crime and Punishment where Raskolnikov thrusts an ax into his landlady’s head. Thus begins one of the greatest novel ever written. Did Dostoevsky have to put an ax into anyone’s head to write this? Clearly not. And neither do you. But Dostoevsky needed to experience Raskolnikov’s physical journey as a murderer as well as his emotional journey from darkness to redemption. William Faulkner wrote: “… the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself… alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the sweat and the agony.” Faulkner has given us a tough assignment, yet it is an assignment at which we much excel as fiction writers. The best way to succeed at this is to leave behind what you believe to be “true” and open yourself to the vast possibility of life experiences outside your own. For it is not true that we can only write what we experience. As writers, we access the imagination, that cosmic place where everything is possible and the great expanse of human emotions resides. One of the best ways to experience the power of point of view is to write an emotionally strong scene between two people who, when they tell their story, have very different versions of the experience. For example, write a fight between two people, perhaps a mother and a daughter or a father and a son. A fight has built in tension, which makes the scene easier to write. You also have opportunity to use dialogue – when people fight, they usually have a lot say! Begin by asking yourself what is the issue between the mother and daughter (or father and son, or any two people). First write the scene from the daughter’s point of view. This means you get inside only the daughter’s head. The reader can hear what the mother says and see how she acts, but cannot know her thoughts. This exercise brings you totally inside the daughter. The only inner thoughts you use belong to the daughter. Then put the daughter’s story aside and write the scene from the mother’s point of view. You need not have the exact same dialogue and almost certainly the story will be very different from the mother’s point of view. This time around, you show the reader only the mother’s inner thoughts. The daughter speaks and acts but we do not know her motivations other than by what she says and does. This is a great eye opener of an exercise geared to deepening your understanding of the writer’s technique of point of view. It also encourages dialogue. Even if you’ve never written dialogue, give it a try. I’ve worked with a lot of people who think they can’t write dialogue — only because they’ve never tried. The truth is everyone can write dialogue So can you!
Silver Age of Comic Books
Origin of the term Comics historian and movie producer Michael Uslan traces the origin of the “Silver Age” term to the letters column of Justice League of America #42 (Feb. 1966), which went on sale December 9, 1965. Letter-writer Scott Taylor of Westport, Connecticut wrote, “If you guys keep bringing back the heroes from the [1930s-1940s] Golden Age, people 20 years from now will be calling this decade the Silver Sixties!” According to Uslan, the natural hierarchy of gold-silver-bronze, as in Olympic medals, took hold. “Fans immediately glommed onto this, refining it more directly into a Silver Age version of the Golden Age. Very soon, it was in our vernacular, replacing such expressions as … ‘Second Heroic Age of Comics’ or ‘The Modern Age’ of comics. It wasn’t long before dealers were … specifying it was a Golden Age comic for sale or a Silver Age comic for sale”. History Background Superman, as depicted in a 1941 Fleischer Studios cartoon, was created during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Spanning World War II, when comics provided cheap and disposable escapist entertainment that could be read and then discarded by the troops, the Golden Age of comic books covered the late 1930s to the late 1940s. A number of major superheroes were created during this period, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America. The brief so-called Atomic Age followed, between 1945 and 1956, but in subsequent years comics were blamed for a rise in juvenile crime statistics, although this rise was shown to be in direct proportion to population growth. When juvenile offenders admitted to reading comics, it was seized on as a common denominator; one notable critic was Fredric Wertham, author of the book Seduction of the Innocent (1954), who attempted to shift the blame for juvenile delinquency from the parents of the children to the comic books they read. The result was a decline in the comics industry. To address public concerns, in 1954 the Comics Code Authority was created to regulate and curb violence in comics, marking the start of a new era. DC Comics The Silver Age began with the publication of DC Comics’s Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), which introduced the modern version of the Flash. At the time, only three superheroesuperman, Batman, and Wonder Womanere still published under their own titles. According to DC comics writer Will Jacobs, Superman was available in “great quantity, but little quality.” Batman was doing better, but his comics were “lackluster” in comparison to his earlier “atmospheric adventures” of the 1940s, and Wonder Woman, having lost her original writer and artist, was no longer “idiosyncratic” or “interesting.” Jacobs describes the arrival of Showcase #4 on the newsstands as “begging to be bought”; the cover featured an undulating film strip depicting the Flash running so fast that he had escaped from the frame. Editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino were behind the Flash’s revitalization. Julius Schwartz, an instrumental figure at DC during the Silver Age. With the success of Showcase #4, several other 1940s superheroes were reworked during Schwartz’s tenure, including Green Lantern, the Atom, and Hawkman, as well as the Justice League of America. The DC artists responsible included Murphy Anderson, Gil Kane and Joe Kubert. Only the characters’ names remained the same; their costumes, locales, and identities were altered, and imaginative scientific explanations for their superpowers generally took the place of magic as a modus operandi in their stories. Schwartz, a lifelong science fiction fan, was the inspiration for the re-imagined Green Lanternhe Golden Age character, railroad engineer Alan Scott, possessed a ring powered by a magical lantern, but his Silver Age replacement, test pilot Hal Jordan, had a ring powered by an alien battery and created by an intergalactic police force. In the mid-1960s, DC established that characters appearing in comics published prior to the Silver Age lived on a parallel Earth the company dubbed Earth-Two. Characters introduced in the Silver Age and onward lived on Earth-One. It was established that the two realities were separated by a vibrational field that could be crossed, should a storyline involve superheroes from different worlds teaming up. Although the Flash is generally regarded as the first superhero of the Silver Age, the introduction of the Martian Manhunter in Detective Comics #225 predates Showcase #4 by almost a year, and some historians consider this character the first Silver Age superhero. However, comics historian Craig Shutt, author of the Comics Buyer’s Guide column “Ask Mister Silver Age”, disagrees. Shutt notes that when the Martian Manhunter debuted, he was a detective who used his alien abilities to solve crimes. Although he did ultimately become a charter member of the Justice League of America, originally he was just a “quirky detective”, like other contemporaneous DC characters who were “TV detectives, Indian detectives, supernatural detectives, [and] animal detectives.” Schutt feels the Martian Manhunter only became a superhero in Detective Comics #273 (Nov. 1959), when he received a secret identity and other superhero accoutrements. Said Schutt, “Had Flash not come along, I doubt that the Martian Manhunter would’ve led the charge from his backup position in Detective to a new super-hero age.” Another hero that predates Showcase #4 is Captain Comet, who debuted in Strange Adventures #9 (June 1951). Comic Book Resources columnist Steven Grant considers him to be the first Silver Age superhero. Marvel Comics The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), the cornerstone of Marvel Comics. Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and unconfirmed inker. DC Comics sparked the superhero’s revival with its publications from 1955 to 1960. Marvel Comics then capitalized on the revived interest in superhero storytelling with sophisticated stories and characterization. In contrast to previous eras, Silver Age characters were “flawed and self-doubting”. DC added to its momentum with its 1960 introduction of Justice League of America, a team consisting of the company’s most popular superhero characters, Martin Goodman, a publishing trend-follower with his 1950s Atlas Comics line,note 1 directed his comic-book editor, Stan Lee, to create a series [...]
Ipad Media-Unlimited Ebooks For The Ipad!!
Looking for downloads for your new Apple iPad? Well, you’re not the only person. The Apple iPad is one of the hottest gadgets out at the moment and has the ability to display eBooks and more in wonderful high-definition quality. Unfortunately, it can be very costly to fill it up with multimedia, and with each digital book costing around $12, it can all add up. However there is a solution! MyPadMedia is a new site which allows iPad owners to download hundreds of eBooks, Comic Books and more directly to the iPad! No limits, no delays, and no expensive bill at the end of the month! They provide books in all sorts of genres including fiction, non-fiction, crime, mystery, romance, and more! And these aren’t books you have never heard of, they are some of the best-selling novels which are selling in the stores for $20 each! MyPadMedia also provides members with hundreds of comic books which can be downloaded to the Apple iPad. Popular titles include Spider-man, Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and much more! Plus there is a ton of manga and anime as well! MyPadMedia membership also enables members to download hundreds of worldwide newspapers each and every day with the touch of a button! There’s also a heap of other extra bonuses for your iPad which will definitely come in handy when using your device. Become a member of MyPadMedia by visiting the site today. The customer support team is there to assist you 24 hours a day with almost anything!Check them out at here !
What is a Virtual Book Tour?
This is one of the many questions I’ve had to answer since starting on my nationwide virtual book tour on November 1, 2006 November 30, 2006 to promote my first self-published promoting eBook, “A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook.” Because I feel that this is a wonderful way to promote your books, whether they are in print or electronic format, I feel that we need to know just what is involved so that others can benefit from this wonderful promotional venue for getting the word out that your book (or eBook) exists. Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc (http://www.amarketingexpert.com), best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert claims the Virtual Author Tour, which is her biggest Internet program, is the single MOST effective way to promote a book because it actually works. And, it does work. If you want to start your own virtual book tour, you can, but there are some things you need to think about to get the most exposure. The first thing you need to do is line up interested blogmeisters who would be willing to host you. To find them, put your topic in any known blog search engine, and pay them a visit. Don’t spring it on them all at once, but visit their blogs, comment and let them get to know you first. Build up their confidence in you. The main thing you need to think about is to find those blogs which get a creditable amount of trafficand hopefully, updated dailythat would be interested in hosting you. The blogs that might be interested would be, of course, those interested in your topic. Once you get your virtual book tour established, start announcing it on all your blogs and websites. You need to get people interested, and create a buzz before the big day. To help explain the virtual book tour better, here are a few questions and answers that better explains. How long should my tour be? I’ve seen tours last for an entire month, but that’s entirely up to you. It depends on how much time you want to devote to it. I chose a month-long tour, and it’s turning out to be quite successful. Why should anyone want to do this? Should I offer incentives? Sure, incentives really work. I offered a copy of my eBook in exchange for a review, but you have to be very careful with this. If the blog or website has low traffic, it may not be economical to do. When this happens, offer them a sampler of the eBook so at least they know what it’s about. How are sales after something like this? The thing is, a virtual book tour is just like any other book tour. Yes, the goal is to make sales, but that will happen. What you will want to do with this is get your selling page on as many blogs and websites as possible so the search engines will link up to you. Long after your tour is over, you’ll find people visiting your site, and buying your books (or eBooks). Why can’t I just comment in people’s blogs about my books instead of going through all that? Because you’ll come off as spam. No one wants to go to their comment section and see someone else promoting their books. The virtual book tour may require more effort, but people will see how much effort you are putting into this. Leaving your book information in the comment sections of blogs is a big no-no, and opens you up to being condemned from ever posting there again. Not only that, but a virtual book tour is so much more personable, and gives you a chance to answer questions that others might have questions about. Setting up your own virtual book tour takes commitment and you need to be very organized, but once it gets going, you’ll enjoy the tour. In order to get those sales which is what the virtual book tour is all about, it’s just like any other book tour, but without having to leave the comfort of your own home. If you would like to follow me along on my first ever virtual book tour, visit my blog at http://selfpublishedebookpromotion.blogspot.com/2006/10/virtual-book-tour.html. Use the Internet to your advantage, and start your own virtual book tour! © Dorothy Thompson
How to Perform Your Own Free Reverse Cell Phone Lookup Search
Even though many sites offer you the service of the execution of reverse cell phone lookup searches very rarely one of these free. You’ll probably have to pay a fee to the information you need and depending on the site is perhaps a search or it may be a single membership is free to retrieve. However, there is a way for you to make your own cell phone reverse lookup to perform without ever paying anything. All you have to do is follow the instructions in this article. Get Best Reverse Phone Number Trace Service I suppose if you like anyone you may visit the Internet Yahoo, Google or another search engine or a very frequently used. Search engines browse through the Internet constantly indexing new websites and web pages in their database by exploiting the power of the Google database of your own free reverse cell number search. People all over the internet and mobile phone numbers secret on various websites. Why? Well, there are one million reasons. Maybe someone lost their pet and a local classifieds ad posted on their websites. Some will even subconsciously do as many newspapers post their ads on the Internet department is making all the phone numbers on it. Many users place their mobile phone numbers to various websites during registration or when participating in forum discussions. It could be anything, but what matters is that you now have their phone number on the internet, located by a search engine spider and available for search. Get Best Reverse Phone Number Trace Service Now, how a free cell phone reverse search using search engine databases? Simple, first find the phone number you want to check. You can try to use different sizes of people to write their songs such as adding a hyphen or a space or maybe even a post once three digits. There are several formats that can be, you will have to try to search for as much as you can. Although it takes time and patience to find what you want, but chances are you will eventually find. When we were testing this, we found that it worked 40-50 percent of the time. Now, once you get a hit on the number you were looking for the next step is to examine the site of the number was listed. This gives you clues about the identity of the owner of the mobile phone. This is not always the required results and sometimes you get nothing once you only one name, but there are chances that you find everything you need. The person’s full name, address and maybe even more. This is a painstaking task that much patience. It can take hours to find what you want but if you do not spend the money to pay for this service websites, this is how you conduct your own free cell phone book search. Get Best Reverse Phone Number Trace Service
Mozart’s Sister – Genius Denied
Maria Anna Mozart, beloved nicknamed Nannerl, was the elder and only sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As children, both were considered gifted musical prodigies and their father, Leopold, arranged tours to display their talents to the masses in the grandest capitals of Europe. Both children could play the most challenging pieces and could compose into notes any song they heard. They enjoyed a pleasant childhood, indulging their musical creativity and creating their own childish kingdom. As Nannerl and Wolfgang’s musical genius progressed into composition, her adoring younger brother greatly praised and encouraged her work. At a concert, when he announces that the piece he has just played was written by his sister, Leopold is incensed. He orders Nannerl to never compose music again because in the 18th century, women did not become composers. Thereafter, Leopold focused all his attentions on Mozart, not Nannerl. He refused to allow her to study the violin and composition. Leopold announces Nannerl must remain at home when he takes Wolfgang on tour and obliges her to give piano lessons to wealthy students to finance her brother’s Italian tour. Her dreams shattered, Nannerl complies, but falls into a deep depression. Victoria, one of her students, becomes her protégé. Through Victoria, Nannerl’s passion for music is re-awakened. When Victoria’s father becomes interested in her, he rekindles her spirit. Her relationship with Mozart, however, is plagued by years of separation and the preference of their father for his son and not his daughter. Nannerl struggles not only with the loss of her hopes and dreams, but also with the ever-growing estrangement with her brother and her father who refuses to recognize her talents because of the laws of society which will not allow a woman to enter the wold of musical composition. Even her choice of suiters were one-by-one turned away by Leopold. In 1784, she married the magistrate Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg (1736-1801) and moved to St. Gilgen. Nannerl returned to Salzburg to give birth to her first son and left the newborn there in Leopold’s care. Nannerl grew ever more distant from Wolfgang, especially after his marriage to Constanze Weber. They resumed corresponding briefly after the death of their father, but by then, their affection for each other had all but disappeared and Mozart’s brief letters to her dealt almost exclusively with the disposition of their father’s estate. When Wolfgang dies, Nannerl re-awakens to life and makes it her purpose to honor her brother by collecting and assembling all his compositions and erecting monuments to honor his life. After her huband’s death, Maria Anna returned to Salzburg and supported herself once again by giving piano lessons. She died on October 29, 1829, and was buried in St. Peter’s cemetary. Mozart’s Sister by Rita Charbonnier is a heartwrenching tale of great genius denied. It tells of great triumph and equally great descent and the strength of one woman, Nannerl, to overcome the pain of living her life in the shadow of her brother. Rita Charbonnier brings to life the brilliance of the 18th century with its tight social expectations, sex scandals, and brilliant personages. Her well honed theatrical and musical background is evident in the spectacular descriptions of the music and composition characteristic of Wolfgang Mozart. It is a compelling read, not only for those who love classical music, but for those who love sweeping historical tales of strong women. Brava Rita! Encore! Encore!
Mamata: A Firebrand Agitationist With Gentle Soul And Magic Brush
DIPAYAN MAZUMDAR New Delhi, (DMA Newsdesk): The name Mamata Banerjee triggers a range of feelings amongst various sections of the Indian populace. To some, she is just a well known firebrand politician from Eastern India while there are many who perceive Mamata as someone who allows her heart to rule her mind. For some she is a gutsy agitationist and leader with mass appeal known for her humble lifestyle. My encounter with Mamta Banerjee was like one with a girl down the lane. A simpleton who started a conversation the moment I was introduced to her at the International airport. She was clad in a very ordinary cotton sari with bathroom slippers. Of course I was tempted to advice her wear proper chappals or a sports shoe which would be more appropriate for her. Mamta constantly spoke with a smile on her face about the Heritage Wing she had recently introduced to the Indian Railways, the importance of talks with the Maoists (endorsing Mr. Chidambaram’s views on the recent insurgence) and how she was torn between interest of the State and the Railways at the Centre. In other words, a very unconventional politician per se! Her hasty decisions regarding political alliances, her venting of anger in the Parliament, her supercharged oration have all contributed to the perception. Brand Mamata for some evokes sarcasm while for some she is a demigoddess. Despite a range of emotions elicited, one characteristic of hers that is quite dominant is her power to bounce back, her willpower and her determination. Just like Sourav Ganguly, the ‘Dada’ of Indian cricket fraternity, the 54-year-old ‘Didi” of Kalighat in South Kolkata has undoubtedly carved a niche for herself in Indian politics. During this flight from Delhi to Kolkata I had the chance to witness the side of Mamata Banerjee which very few people know of. She completed five poems over three glasses of tea because “I skip breakfast and Lunch though I eat well for dinner.” “Is that how you have managed to loose so much weight and look really slim & trim?’ “No, it was the hunger strike”, was her quick response. In her first collection of English verse Motherland, released six years ago, Mamata craves the reader’s avid appreciation for “their simplicity and emotional content”. She is not too far from the truth, especially where simplicity is concerned: “India is our Motherland,” goes the title poem, “Friendship with other countries is our stand/everybody loves their Motherland as they love their mother/But selfish people have some selfish fathers/they can’t tolerate the happiness of others.” Are you aware the twenty seven books of her poems have already been published? Her poems are in great demand. Her books were among the Best Sellers during the recently concluded Kolkata Book Fair. Not surprisingly, Mamata’s verse is now out of print. But her publisher in Calcutta, Sudhansu Dey, is delighted with her prose. Mamata’s first book, the autobiographical Upalabdhi (Realization) was a bestseller, according to Dey. “It sold over 30,000 copies in no time, which could well be a local record.” Encouraged, Mamata began to churn out a book a year: Ma (Mother), Janatar Darbar (Court of the People), Pallabi and Manabik (Humanistic). Her only book of non-fiction, Why Trinamul, can also be classified as fiction, according to a Bengali wag, “because Trinamul ideology is fiction”. Banerjee was instrumental in scripting one of the most unthinkable performances for Trinamool Congress in West Bengal which is otherwise known to be a strong and impregnable fort for the Left and their allies. Many of us in Bengal feel that at the end of the day it has been the hard core honesty, humility and straightforwardness of Brand Mamata that has emerged victorious.
Posted in Historical Fiction Books 
Tags: Agitationist, Brush, Firebrand, Gentle, magic., Mamata, Soul 
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