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.

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100-word stories Books

100 Word Challenge – Week #122

Click on the image to join the challenge

The challenge: 105 words including:

… the blackness just enveloped me…

A New Reality

I woke to total darkness. The blackness just enveloped me. I checked that my eyes were really open. They were. Only one explanation then. I must have gone blind overnight. I would have to get used to a new reality without sight.

I thought of all the things I would never see again except in my mind’s eye. The view from the window. The sunset over the sea. My children’s changing faces as they grew up. Then I heard something. At least my hearing was all right.

First whispering, then giggling. I reached up and pulled something down.

“Who put this blackout sheet over me?”

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Books Israel

Places in NHNT

My novel, Neither Here Nor There, due to be published later this year, describes several places in Jerusalem that I’ve mentioned before on this blog. Like the market, Machane Yehuda.

Machane Yehuda market
Machane Yehuda market

Jaffa Road and the light railway (which has been going for two and a half years).

Jerusalem Light Railway at night
Jerusalem Light Railway at night

The German Colony, which I mentioned here.

House in German Colony
House in German Colony

Yemin Moshe, where I used to live, and which I described here and here and here.

Yemin Moshe windmill
Yemin Moshe windmill

There are some other places in Jerusalem that get a mention in the novel. I’ll have to photograph them, too.

There are also places in London that feature in the novel. I haven’t taken photos of them and they’re a bit far away from me for a quick snapping session.

Place can often drive a novel. It certainly drives mine.

A lane in Yemin Moshe
A lane in Yemin Moshe

Nothing can happen nowhere. The locale of the happening always colours the happening, and often, to a degree, shapes it.

~ Elizabeth Bowen

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Books

I’m an author – I think

In the past, when people asked me what I did, I’d say, “Well, for a long time I was a computer programmer, and then I was a technical writer.” If they looked confused at that – and most did – I’d say, “I wrote manuals explaining how to use software,” and they’d nod, whether they understood or not.

WhatDoYouDo

Then they’d ask, or I’d feel I had to add, “Now I’m at home and I write.” With raised eyebrows they’d ask, “What sort of thing do you write?” and I’d mumble, “Oh, different things.” Then came the inevitable question: “Have you had anything published?” to which I’d mumble, “A couple of short stories in anthologies,” as if they don’t really count – not because I think that’s true, but because they probably do. Their question probably meant, “Have you had a whole book published?”

Suddenly, everything has changed. Now when people ask me what I do, I say, “Ani soferet” – I’m an author. They look at me with wide eyes. “Wow!” And I smile and nod.

But something bothers me about all this. Was it the signing of a contract that turned me into an author? Surely I’ve been an author since I started writing. Why couldn’t I ever say that before?

On the other hand, I suppose I couldn’t say it because I’d have felt I didn’t deserve the “Wow!” that followed.

Anyway, it’s happened now and I’ve taken a big leap and landed in a bed of Cats – Crooked Cats. There is even a catalogue.

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Uncategorized

Revelation Number 2

This is my second piece of exciting news.

On Thursday night / Friday morning, I met Natalie Portman.

Well, I didn’t exactly talk to her and she probably didn’t notice me at all, but….

I was an extra in a film that she’s directing and starring in. I got into it through my folk dancing group. They said they wanted dancers, but in the end there were too many people to be able to dance properly.

We were there – outdoors – from 5 pm to 5 am (except while we were eating). I had to wear a thin skirt, tights and open shoes, and I was freezing. We took part in two scenes, which were filmed several times.

It was quite an experience, although not one I’d like go through very often!

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Books

Revelation Number 1

In my last post, I hinted at two more exciting things that I couldn’t yet divulge.

I am now able to tell you one of them.

For those of you who haven’t seen any of the posts on Facebook and Twitter:

My novel, Neither Here Nor There, is going to be published later this year by Crooked Cat Publishing.

As you can imagine, I’m very excited and looking forward to being a published author.

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Books

Exciting Times

2014 is proving to be an exciting year for me. If nothing else happens, it will still have been an exciting year.

Firstly, Morgen Bailey accepted my three six-word stories for publication on her blog. They will be podcasted on Sunday 22nd March.

When Morgen told me, on the very last day of 2013, that the stories would be published, I thought that might augur well for 2014 and I was right. I have two more exciting things that I would love to tell you, but for now my lips are sealed.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to tell you both of them very soon.

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Uncategorized

The Good, the Bad and the Complex

Occasionally – very occasionally – I feel the need to cross the boundaries I set for this blog.

I’m feeling the need now and have done ever since my friend Gill sent me this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl85AL1l0H0

and also told me that the media in Britain has been very one-sided on the Oxfam against SodaStream topic.

So I decided to post the link. You might say that the video is also one-sided. If it is, I don’t see anything wrong with that because it balances the views that have been promulgated by the ‘unbiased’ media.

While I’m on the subject, here’s a link to an article about something else that probably hasn’t had much publicity over there.

I have turned off comments for this post because I don’t want to get involved in arguments over these complex issues.

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Israel

My First Demo

I’ve always kept away from demonstrations before, but I decided to give this one my support.

Our local supermarket has been charging too much for years. It’s part of a chain, but they manage to charge higher prices by using different names. So the prices in Supersal Deal in a neighbourhood not so far away are much lower than the prices in our Supersal Sheli.

The management give reasons for these differences, but it’s clear that the real reason is that our Supersal has no competition. Also the population of our neighbourhood includes a lot of old people, who are unable to travel far to buy food.

Several of them came to the demonstration.

IMG_0579

So did groups of young people who shouted out the slogans.

IMG_0589

Placards were displayed.

IMG_0584

Someone stood outside the supermarket telling people not to go in, or to buy the bare minimum.

IMG_0582

The Arab woman sold her wares as usual, unperturbed.

IMG_0583

And Michael & Shimrit Greilsammer, a well-known duo, sang and played.

IMG_0588

I hope Supersal agree to lower their prices.

Categories
100-word stories Books

100 Word Challenge – Week #119

Click on the image to join the challenge

I haven’t done this for almost a year.

The prompt is:

… whenever I hear it, I think of you ….

I’m not sure I like my attempt.

Solomon and John

John Smith: Solomon! So glad I found you after all this time. Thirty years, is it?

Solomon Grundy: Forty more like. Isn’t Facebook wonderful? I’ve thought of you over the years.

John Smith: Me, too. There’s this rhyme. Whenever I hear it I think of you.

Solomon Grundy: What rhyme is that?

John Smith: It goes like this. Solomon Grundy, born on Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, grew worse on Friday, died on

Solomon Grundy has gone offline.

“Oh, what a shame. Must be the end of Solomon Grundy. And we’d only just met up again. Back to the Saturday review then.”

Categories
Books Israel

Ayelet Tsabari and Place

Ayelet Tsabari “was born in Israel to a large family of Yemeni descent. She grew up in a suburb of Tel Aviv, served in the Israeli army, and travelled extensively throughout South East Asia, Europe and North America. She now lives in Toronto.”

What better person to run a one-day writing course entitled: Wish you were here; writing about place? That’s what Ayelet did on Thursday and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend it.

These are the main points she made:

  • Research well.
  • Use details to introduce a place.
  • Don’t overwrite. Pick the most appropriate and vivid details and the most precise words to describe them.
  • Use all five senses.
  • Introduce a place gradually.
  • Let the description unfold as the character moves through the scene.
  • Place is deeply connected to the emotions of the characters. Their experience of the place is influenced by their feelings, state of mind, mood and judgment. In describing a place, choose words that reflect the character’s emotions.

All the points were illustrated with examples and there were also exercises. It was a most enjoyable and profitable day.

The Amazon page for Ayelet’s book – The Best Place on Earth: Stories  – contains a link to an excerpt from one of her stories and I can tell you it’s good! You can read it at amazon.com or amazon.co.uk.

On the way to the course, I had my own struggle with place. The course took place in the small town of Beit Zayit, at the home of Judy Labensohn, another writer, who is running the next course in the series, which I’ll be blogging about soon. I decided to drive there via Ein Karem – not such a good idea as it turned out, although I had the best of reasons. I wanted to avoid the morning traffic jams, and the route I chose did look the shortest.

Two unrelated problems held me up. Firstly, the road to Ein Karem, one on which we have travelled many times, was not there. What a weird feeling! It wasn’t that the road was blocked off. It was as if there had never been a road there.

I had to come to my senses quickly enough to decide to turn left and get to the other road to Ein Karem – through morning traffic jams, of course.

Then I missed the road I wanted to take to Beit Zayit. In fact, I think I saw the road but there was no sign on it and it probably isn’t possible to reach Beit Zayit that way. So I ended up in Mevasseret and had to turn towards Jerusalem and turn off at the main road to Beit Zayit. Fortunately, I’d left plenty of time for this journey (or so I thought) and arrived only one minute after the starting time. Next time, I’ll make sure I find the best way of going, and one that exists!

I’ll be blogging about place again, soon – as a guest blog for my friend, Sue Barnard, whose first novel, The Ghostly Father, is about to be released.