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 That's Not Me

Announcing a New Series

Friday is the day for a new and exciting series of posts I’m calling:

“That’s Not Me!”

To start off the series, I’m delighted to host Joan Livingston, author of thirteen books so far, whose post will appear on this blog next Friday, 4th August.

Here are the ideas behind the series:

Why do some writers of fiction get upset at the suggestion that one of their characters might be autobiographical? Do we think that fiction ought to be pure fiction? That every character must be totally made up and not based on ourselves or anyone we know or have crossed paths with? Do we feel it’s cheating to insert a bit of real life into our stories?

And yet, we want readers to see themselves or others in our fiction. Because that will help them to empathise with the protagonists, and empathy will help to connect them to the story. And they’re more likely to see themselves if characters are based on real people.

“Write what you know” is a tip often doled out to writers. What you know can be something you’ve researched well. But more often than not, it’s something you’ve experienced.

What’s wrong with writing about our own experiences? Why do some writers become defensive at the very suggestion?

I think all fiction contains a bit of the writer, whether intentionally or not. I don’t see a problem with that.

Of course, the experience or character that the author shares with their fictional story might be something or someone the author would prefer to keep private. If so, the author would be hard put to answer the question, “How much of xxx is autobiographical?” Even a refusal to answer it could lead to unwanted assumptions.

This is the basis for That’s Not Me, a series of guest posts from writers of fiction.

If you want to contribute a post for the series, please let me know via Contact me above or Twitter or Facebook, after reading the rest of this post.

What can be in a post

  • A personal account
  • A fictional story
  • A historical account
  • A relevant extract from your fiction

What can’t be in a post

  • Politics
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Intolerance
Categories
Holidays

A Much-Needed Trip

Four years had passed since we’d visited the old country. Yet, despite all that had taken place in the interim, England looked very much as it did last time. The countryside, the towns, the weather appeared as we rembered them.

We met up with family and friends, but mostly we hiked around the south of the country, the furthest place being the Isle of Wight, where we struggled against the strong wind. At least, I did; D took it in his stride.

Of all the photos I posted on Facebook, the ones that got the most responses were these:

With the first photo, I expressed my surprise that D put the cream on first and spread the jam on top. Some commenters agreed with me while others sided with D. A few days later, I took the second photo and posted:

I’m shocked! 😲 Today, he put the jam on first, saying he likes to try different ways. Take note, all those who said he was right and I was wrong. He is very fickle. 🤣

Me

If you don’t know what I’m going on about, you must come from outside the UK. The question of how to put jam and cream on your scones is the most serious and contentious topic there. 🤣

Now we’re back in the country that’s continuously changing, with weather we could do without.

Watch this space tomorrow when I will be announcing something exciting.

Categories
Books Reviews

Hunter’s Blood Blog Tour

I’m delighted to be able to participate in the blog tour for Hunter’s Blood, the 4th in a series of crime novels set in Edinburgh by friend and author, Val Penny.

The blog tour is organised by the fabulous Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines.

About the Book

DI Hunter Wilson never has just one problem to solve.

Three elderly women he knows have died in mysterious circumstances. Hunter appears to be the only link.

A little girl goes missing on a cold winter’s night. When his team discovers cocaine hidden at the farm where she was living, the search becomes even more urgent. 

Why did the women die? And what did the child witness?

Hunter must find the answers to these questions to ensure his family and his city are safe.

You can find Hunter’s Blood on Amazon.

About the Author

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. 

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd. 

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

You can find Val Penny on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, on her website and her Amazon Author Page.

My Review

This is a great series. Like all the other novels in the series, this one is easy to read, and even I sped through it. Val Penny has some great ideas and weaves them together into a believable and exciting story, while introducing new characters and bringing back familiar ones. I had no idea ‘who done it’ until the very end, and yet the resolution fitted the plot perfectly.

By the way, Val Penny has appeared on this blog several times and I’m sure she’ll be back soon. She has also been kind enough to host me on her blog.

Categories
Books short stories

Where’s My Trumpet?

Ah, there it is.

HEAR YE!

Do I have your attention?

Right, I have three things to tell you.

Firstly, and secondly, I’m going to blow my own trumpet. Oh, I just did.

I’m delighted to have had two recent acknowledgements of my hard work. The first is from the Australian Writers’ Centre. They run a monthly feature called Furious Fiction. Authors have 72 hours in which to produce an up-to-five-hundred-word story that meets their criteria. It’s not easy to “win”.

This time, the stories had to begin in the middle of something and include the words “locket” “pocket” “rocket” and “socket”. And they featured my story on their site! (You can scroll down or search for me.)

And my fifty-word story was accepted by Vine Leaves Press for their 50 Give or Take feature. These are flash stories that are sent out to subscribers once a day and will eventually appear in their annual print anthology. You can subscribe here.

By my reckoning, my story will be sent out nearly a year from now, and will appear in print in nearly a year and a half. But the acceptance arrived yesterday and I’m up in the clouds, as it happens, literally as well as metaphorically.

The other piece of news is that in August, I’m starting a new series of guest posts on this blog. Those guests I’ve approached so far all agree that the topic is interesting. What’s the topic? I’ll reveal that once I’m down from the literal clouds.

Enjoy your summer if you’re in my half of the world, winter if you’re not.

Categories
Books Reviews Social anxiety

They Don’t Know How

Hello again, all you lovely readers. It’s been a while. In the meantime, I took part in various activities, the most important being our daughter’s amazing and unique wedding.

Recently, I’ve been posting short excerpts from the wonderful reviews for Cultivating a Fuji on social media – Twitter and Instagram. This has caused me to reflect on each sentence. Here’s the one I posted today:

“This is Martin’s story but there are multiple POVs to show not everyone thinks badly or only wants to ridicule him. People want to help… they just don’t know how.”

When I thought about it, I realised this is the whole point. Most people are kind. Most people want to help. But they need guidance, especially when faced with someone like Martin. He will never provide that guidance himself. He’s much too locked up inside himself.

That’s why I became passionate about raising awareness of social anxiety. It’s why I wrote my non-fiction book, Social Anxiety Revealed. It’s why I’ll continue to bang on about social anxiety.

Because the world is full of people like Martin who need help. It’s also full of people who want to help. But help will never be forthcoming unless those kind people find out how to provide it.

Social Anxiety Revealed is one source of useful tips. You can find this book at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and elsewhere.

Thank you for reading this post. One day, the world will understand better.

Categories
Israel memoir memories

A Long Tradition

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. Since 1951, this day in the Hebrew calendar (one week after the end of Passover and one week before Memorial Day and Independence Day) has been set aside to remember the Holocaust.

At ten o’clock today, I stood on the roof and turned towards Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, as the siren sounded and the country stopped for two minutes.

I didn’t want this day to pass without posting something, so I’m going to list three excellent stories that I’ve read, all books containing horrific events but also optimism. After all, Holocaust memories come from those who survived.

  • Alicia: My Story by Alicia Appleman-Jurman
  • The True Adventures of Gidon Lev by Julie Gray
  • My Family’s Survival by Aviva Gat

See you next week.

Categories
Everyday life Israel

Mimouna

I am definitely not the right person to explain about Mimouna. Wikipedia has a much better explanation than I could give, starting with:

Mimouna … is a traditional Maghrebi Jewish celebration dinner, that currently takes place in Morocco, Israel, France, Canada, and other places around the world where Jews of Maghrebi heritage live. It is held the day after Passover, marking the return to eating hametz (leavened bread, etc.), which is forbidden throughout the week of Passover.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimouna

Unfortunately, the celebration in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park was rather a washout, this year, as thunderstorms lasted for most of the day. However, we were invited to the dry quarters of our next-door neighbours, who served muflettas and all sorts of sweet things, and also dressed up for the occasion.

Categories
Everyday life Extraordinary events Israel

Split

Years ago, some visitors to this blog asked me to write more about living in Israel. This worried me. I thought there would be aspects of living here that would be hard to explain. But I decided there must be a few “normal” parts that I could expand on.

So, under the category of Israel, I created a sub-category called Everyday life. I posted a few things I thought would be universally understood. Then, one day, I wanted to post about an unusual occurrence. So I created another sub-category called Extraordinary events. We’ve had many of those, over the years, although I usually don’t mention them here.

Fast forward to the present. I tend to post more on Facebook than on the blog. What have I posted about recently?

  • A video of folk dancing taken ten years ago
  • Holiday greetings to all
  • Cake and other food I made for Pesach – Passover
  • A memory from my sadly defunct writing group
  • A video from last year’s trip to South Africa
  • The discovery that Google translate can now read out text in Hebrew

Finally, as I scroll down, I get to something more serious: my one and only share about the current wave of protests in Israel. The current government is trying to bring in a law that would give less power to the Supreme Court and more to the politicians. In one of the photos in the post, author Etgar Keret holds a sign that reads: “Once I wrote books; today I write signs.”

It’s sad to realise how split this country is – not that we didn’t know before, but now the situation seems worse than ever.

However, one thing that’s guaranteed to bring the Jews together is when terror strikes, as it has done several times recently. When two sisters, aged sixteen and twenty, are murdered and their mother is fighting for her life in hospital, it feels as if this is our family. Yes, we still go out for trips in nature, or to dance, or do whatever else we enjoy, but part of us is grieving for those girls and for the other victims.

95 and still dancing!
Dressed up for Purim

Sometimes, we’re split as a country. Other times, we’re split inside. That’s what living in Israel is like, and always has been. Hopefully, it won’t always be like this.

Update: Sadly, the mother of the two girls succumbed to her wounds.

Categories
Blogging

Fourteen Today

Amazingly, I’ve been blogging for fourteen years.

I know that blogs aren’t read as much as they were when I began, and few readers leave comments, these days, preferring other social media platforms. But I can’t let the blog go. It’s a symbol of all I’ve accomplished in that time. I’m proud of it, and even prouder of myself.

Happy Birthday to An’ de Walls Came Tumblin’ Down. You might not have caused walls to tumble, but you made them crumble and created links in their place.

🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗

Here’s to another fourteen years of blogging. 🍷

Categories
Books

“It’s the weekend; what are you reading?”

Sketch by David Drori.

My social media feeds are full of this question, and it makes me feel…embarrassed, or at least uncomfortable.

That’s not because I’m not reading. I’m actually in the middle of two books, which are taking me forever to read, although both are excellent, well-written stories.

One is on my phone: The Sacred Dog by Joan Livingston. You can read more about this novel in Joan’s recent interview on this blog. Having edited her Isabel Long series of mysteries, I knew I liked her style of writing, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

The other book I’m reading is physical and in Hebrew: Destino (Destiny) by Raya Admoni. I love this story, so far, but I haven’t read a lot in Hebrew. I read it even slower than I do English, and after each chapter, I feel I need a break.

But my main problem with reading is finding enough time for it. With all the competing activities in my life – writing, editing, promoting, housework, family, hiking, dancing and more, reading often gets postponed or completely squeezed out of the daily schedule.

Yes, I can answer the question about what I’m reading. But if I answer it too often, people might notice my answer doesn’t change very often. And that’s what’s embarrassing. Unlike many of the respondents, I’ve never read a full-length book in a day.

What are you reading? Do you spend enough time reading? How do you find the time for reading? Do let me know in the comments or elsewhere.