Author: Miriam Drori

Author, editor, attempter of this thing called life. Social anxiety warrior. Re-Connections, a collection of short stories, published with Ocelot Press, 15/10/2025.

Categories
Books

About that Competition

The competition I ran for Indie Authors Appreciation Week was won by Cathy Bryant, who will shortly receive a signed copy of Neither Here Nor There. Congratulations, Cathy.

Front50%In chapter 1 of Neither Here Nor There, Esty, as a first step in the process of leaving the haredi (ultra-orthodox) community in which she was raised, has to phone Avi, who volunteers for an organisation that helps people like Esty.

There were two competition questions:

1. How does the person Esty calls on the phone react when Esty tells him that she wants to leave the haredi community?

Cathy answered: “The man on the phone reacts by carefully explaining the risks, and making sure that Esty understands that she can go back – that she still has a choice. He outlines what might go wrong.”

2. Why do you think he reacts in this way?

Cathy answered: “I got the impression that he was trying to make sure that she knew what she was doing and wasn’t acting on impulse – as a representative of his organisation he has to be responsible. After all, she’s taking a very serious step.”

Both answers are correct. But I wanted to point out something else. The members of the organisation must be aware that they could be accused of tempting young people away from their families and their way of life. They need to make absolutely clear to everyone that they become involved only after the person has made that crucial decision.

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Neither Here Nor There is available from Amazon, Smashwords and The Book Depository.

Categories
Social anxiety

Wake Up Me: Living up to Expectations

Before I deal with the topic of this post, here’s a reminder of a competition to win a signed copy of Neither Here Nor There. More information on my Facebook page. You have a bit more than a day to enter the competition.

Edit: Actually it was 2 days. Now it’s one. Until midnight GMT on Thursday night.

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A friend shared this picture from Wake Up World the other day.

Top5RegretsOfTheDyingI’m not thinking of dying anytime soon and neither is my friend, but this got me thinking. I could say four of those about myself. And two of them would go deeper than that.

So I thought I’d explore each one in more detail, starting with:

Top5RegretsOfTheDying1And when I thought about this some more, I decided I do live a life true to myself – now and in the big things. In my childhood, there were many things I’d have liked to have done – things I didn’t even ask my parents about because I knew they wouldn’t agree.

But as an adult, I generally do the things I want – the big things, anyway. With the little things, I try to do what’s expected of me, even without knowing what that is. It’s all part of wanting to be normal, whatever that is.

There’s an easy answer to that: Stop doing what’s expected of you and do what you want.

Absolutely. Good advice. Except that I do it automatically. Without thinking. Because that’s how I’m programmed. And it’s not something that’s easy to change.

Where do you stand on that?

Categories
Books

The View from Heaven – a flash story

As part of Indie Authors Appreciation Week, I’m reposting this story because of its connection to Jerusalem.

They stood, she and he, embracing in the centre of a perfect garden. Flowers all around. Pinks, reds, yellows, purples, whites. Water cascading down the rocks into the pool. Maturing plums and kumquats nested by sun-frolicked green leaves. Sweet, juicy fruit waiting to be gathered and consumed.

Over there, on the same level, stood a large bald prism. One triangular end thrust out through needle-sharp pine leaves. Acute angles pointed and menaced. Inside the prism, as clear as if its walls had been transparent and its position much closer, people wandered in a daze, struggling to grasp the horrifying enormity exhaled by tragic reminders.

“It looks quite near,” she said. “Could we walk there, down into the valley and up the other side?”

“Do you want to?” he replied in question.

“How long would it take?”

“Oh, about seventy years, going backwards.”

She glanced at him with a frowning half-smile. “We’d die before we got there.”

“Just as well,” he said, without smiling.

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Explanation: The beautiful view from our beautiful garden includes the prism-shaped building that is part of Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s Holocaust museum.

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My spot in Indie Authors Appreciation Week is at 5pm GMT today (Sunday). Do join me there if you can.

Indie Authors Appreciation Week PosterI will also be running a competition, which you can find on the event page during my spot and also on my Facebook author page. The prize is a signed copy of Neither Here Nor There, which I will send anywhere in the world.

Categories
Books

Indie Authors Appreciation Week

TomorrowPosterThe wonderful Carmilla Voiez has done an amazing thing. She’s set up a whole week for you to get to know 60 authors and their books. Each author has an hour’s spot, during which they will tell you about themselves and their books, post excerpts, run competitions, answer questions and much more.

On top of that, Carmilla has arranged sponsors for the event, enabling her to offer bigger prizes.

I would never have been able to organise such an event, but I’m delighted to be able to take part. The event starts tomorrow (Friday). My spot is on Sunday at 5:00pm GMT and I’d love you to be there. You can sign up for the whole event at https://www.facebook.com/events/393175627502030/permalink/409764545843138/.

Indie Authors Appreciation Week Poster

Categories
Holidays

People of India

I want to tell you about a few of the people we met in India, starting with Sarat Acharya of Discover Tours, who made our stay in India so pleasant. He arranged our three-week tour of Orissa and Chhattisgahr perfectly. We travelled in comfortable cars with excellent drivers and stayed in some special places, including three palaces. Sarat accompanied us for the whole trip, sharing with us his extensive knowledge. He also brought along two other excellent guides for different parts of the trip.

Sarat

On top of that, he knew how to handle the noisy members of the group. He did his best to accomodate all requests, but was able to stand up to those whose requests were impossible to meet.

Sarat told stories. No, he didn’t just tell the stories. He acted them out, using volunteers. The story for which I volunteered involved Sarat pulling my hair hard. It hurt! But I’ve got over it now. All in all, Sarat provided a wonderful tour and gave me a taste for more. (But I might not volunteer again so readily!)

In the many tribal villages we visited, we were introduced to the residents, who seemed content and happy.

Village peopleSome of them danced for us.

DancersInChhattisgarhAnd some of us joined in.

Then there were all the people who wanted to take our photos together with them.

05GroupPhotoAnd the maharajas and maharanis, whose palaces we stayed in.

IMG_1119Last but not least, the friendly drivers, who also cooked several delicious meals for us.

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Categories
Rhymes

Three Years a Year

Surprise! This isn’t about India. I forgot I’d promised to post this little rhyme I wrote for Crooked Cat’s Christmas extravaganza (see below).

Three Years a Year

I pity the people with only one year,
Who end it all merry, never shedding a tear.
They have to say so many things in one go,
To one year goodbye, to another hello.

They try to reflect on the year that has passed,
While also looking forward to the one that is fast
Approaching… nearly… almost… it’s here!
Resolutions transferred from yesteryear.

In Israel, you see, we celebrate three
And each, in its character, is solitary.
Different, special and unique,
They make us happy, thankful and… meek?

Rosh Hashana is one of those.
With all its rules, it keeps us on our toes,
Requesting forgiveness for our sins.
That’s “our” for humanity; not just kins.

Then we join with the world and celebrate, too,
Although some disagree and think it’s taboo.
Sylvester, it’s called, I used to know why.
It matters not when I’m feeling high.

What, you may ask, is number three?
It’s the one that marks the year of the tree.
Goes under the name of Tu B’Shvat.
We plant more trees, sing songs. That’s that?

Well no, we give presents of nuts and fruit,
And we eat same with much relish to boot.
So whatever New Year is appropriate for you,
I hope it is happy and fulfilling, too!

To see all the other Crooked Cat stories, poems, giveaways and more during the six-week event, join our Facebook group.

Neither Here Nor There, my romance with a difference, is available from Amazon, Smashwords and The Book Depository.

Categories
Uncategorized

News

I have a guest post on the lovely and unique blog of Seumas Gallacher. It may be humorous, but it also poses a serious question: do I need a brand? Any answers?

My next post will, I think, be about the good things of India. Because I prefer to remember them, and I also need to think about these for a forthcoming speech (see below). The less good things will appear in a later post.

That speech. Oh dear. When I agreed to do it, I expected to have more time to prepare. I expected to write it at least a week ahead, giving me plenty of time to practise it. It’s now Friday and it’s due to be given on Tuesday evening, and I haven’t started writing it. I’m getting worried. If I leave it any later, the only thing that can save me is if the snow forecast for Wednesday comes a bit earlier. Any chance of that, powers that be?

Categories
Blogging

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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A big THANK YOU to everyone who commented in 2014, especially the winner: Angela Brown. I… don’t know what she’s won apart from my gratitude and hope that she and all the other commenters will continue to comment in 2015. Do let me know if there’s anything you want to read about on this blog. And most of all, have a great 2015!

Happy New Year

Categories
100-word stories

100 Word Challenge – Week #161

Click on the image to join in the challenge

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I haven’t done this challenge for ages, due to a lack of time, but couldn’t resist this one: the good parts of 2014. Actually, on rereading the instructions, I see this wasn’t exactly what Julia meant. Sorry. I couldn’t leave anything out.

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2014 in 100 Words

On 1st January, I had my hair cut short, hoping this would herald an even better year. It did. Three wonderful holidays, short stories published online and podcasted, two speeches accomplished at Toastmasters, lots of folk dancing, a successful book reading, finding myself in the safest part of the country when things went pear-shaped, the forest fire stopping just short of our house, lots of sunshine and much-needed rain, family healthy and doing well. But the best thing of all: my romance, Neither Here Nor There, published by Crooked Cat Publishing on 17th June. All in all, a fantastic year.

PS My book, like many other Crooked Cat books, is currently on sale on Amazon for a short time only. Here.

Categories
Holidays

Photo Opportunity

Welcome back to my blog, all you wonderful readers! I hope you’ve been having fun without me. I have been away on a very special trip – my third to India.

Our three-week trip was packed full of experiences and included no time for reflection. Now that I’m back – despite my time here being limited, too – I want to go over my notes and photos carefully, and try to make sense of all that I saw, heard, smelled, tasted and felt.

The one point I will mention now is about photos. As always, we visitors took photos. We photographed places and people (with their agreement). As before, children asked to have their photos taken, because they wanted to see their faces on our screens. That cheeky-looking boy in the middle requested several photos.

VillageChildrenBut this time there was a new phenomenon. People approached us to ask if they could take pictures of them together with us. More than ever, we became attractions. Probably we seemed more strange to them than they did to us.

This change came about, of course, because there are now so many mobile phones. In the old days, even those who had cameras wouldn’t have carried them around with them. Nowadays, anyone can whip out a mobile phone and snap away. Even in remote villages that have never had telephone lines, mobile phones are coming into use.

MeAndTheTribe
Dancing together.

The world is changing. Some of the changes are good.