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.
To make up for my recent lack of attention to this blog, I’m posting thoughts about Chanukah for each day of the eight-day festival. Today, I’m talking about:
SUFGANIYOT
They say that every Jewish festival can be summed up like this: They tried exterminate us; they failed; let’s eat. Chanukah follows the pattern.
Sufganiya (plural sufganiyot) is Hebrew for doughnut and shares its root with the word for sponge, due to its texture. Most are filled with jam. We prefer the ones with dulce de leche. Chocolate is also a popular filling. Some have exciting toppings.
Then there’s levivot (latkes) and other items from the various Jewish communities.
What all these foods have in common is that they’re fried in oil, linking them to the miracle, which I recounted on Day 2.
And yes, they’re all delicious and unhealthy. Fortunately, Chanukah lasts for only eight days!
To make up for my recent lack of attention to this blog, I’m posting thoughts about Chanukah for each day of the eight-day festival. Today, I’m talking about:
SEVIVON
Sevivon is Hebrew for spinning top. In Yiddish, it’s called a dreidel.
Don McLean wrote a song about it.
On the each of the four vertical sides of the spinning top cube is a single letter that stand for a word in a sentence:
נ – N
נס – Nes
miracle
ג – G
גדול – Gadol
big
ה – H
היה – Haya
was
פ – P
פה – Po
here
In other words: A big miracle happened here.
But that’s only in Israel. In other countries, the last letter is ש – Sh, standing for שם – Sham, meaning: there.
I’m not sure I’ve ever played with a sevivon, but there’s a tradition of playing with it while the candles are alight, usually trying to win chocolate money or low denomination coins.
To make up for my recent lack of attention to this blog, I’m posting thoughts about Chanukah for each day of the eight-day festival. Today, I’m talking about:
MENORAH
What do you call that thing you stick the candles into?
In the UK, where I grew up, we always called it a menorah. But that name is wrong and should be reserved for the seven-branched candelabrum that stood in Jerusalem’s Holy Temple.
In modern-day Jerusalem there’s a menorah, created by Benno Elkan (1877-1960) that depicts “29 formative events, figures and concepts from the Old Testament and the history of the Jewish People.”
In Israel, we stick the candles into a chanukia. It has nine branches, one of which is set apart from the rest. The candle on that branch is called the shamash and is used to light all the other candles.
To make up for my recent lack of attention to this blog, I’m posting thoughts about Chanukah for each day of the eight-day festival. Today, I’m talking about:
STORY
Do you know the story of Chanukah?
The generally accepted (though disputed) story took place in the middle of the second century B.C.E (or B.C.) when the Second Temple stood in Jerusalem. The ruler of the Land of Israel at the time, Antiochus IV of Syria, led his soldiers to massacre thousands of Jews and desecrate the Temple. A rebellion was led by Mattityahu (Mattathias) and later his son, Yehuda (Judah) the Maccabee. The Jews drove the Syrians out of Jerusalem and set about cleansing the Temple.
The seven-branched candelabrum, representing knowledge and creation, was supposed to be kept burning every day, but there was only enough olive oil to burn for one day. By a miracle, the flames kept alight for eight days, leaving the people time to find a fresh supply of oil.
Jerusalem: a light show on the Old City walls.
The festival of Chanukah concentrates on the miracle and not on massacres. It’s a fun festival and also a minor one. In recent times, its proximity to Christmas (this year they coincide) has raised its status.
To make up for my recent lack of attention to this blog, I’m posting thoughts about Chanukah for each day of the eight-day festival. Today, I’m talking about:
SPELLING
How do you spell it? I saw this list, today:
There are many more variants in Latin script. French speakers, for instance, tend to place an o before the u. Fortunately, there’s only one spelling in Hebrew:
חנוכה
Possibly, it’s significant that the topic of spelling comes up each year. The story of Chanukah involves a ‘spell’, which is called a miracle. I’ll write more about that on another day.
Whatever you’re celebrating at this season, enjoy it.
My job was to announce the occasion on social media and respond to well-wishers, as well as sharing various guest posts that bloggers had kindly posted for me.
I did just that – in the morning. And then, after lunch, I went to Tel-Aviv. Why on earth…?
The publication date had been fixed for 27th October when our musician daughter asked if we’d like to go to a birthday performance by singer Ronit Shachar, held in a garden in Tel-Aviv. We couldn’t turn that down – we knew it would be good. Besides, I reckoned that after spending the day with my novel, it would be all right to go out in the evening.
Daughter got the tickets for the four of us. Then there was a suggestion that as we were all going to be in Tel-Aviv, we could meet earlier and do other things. We ended up meeting in Yarkon Park, where we went for a longish walk, then walking by the sea around sunset and eating some delicious vegan food in a restaurant called J17.
The concert, which also included other performers like Corinne Allal, was excellent and even worth the cramped seating on damp fake grass. And the proceeds went to an animal sanctuary.
After the performance, we had to collect a rather large electric piano which was hard to fit in our van. It was after 2 a.m. when we returned home.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to do the driving, and I spent the journeys trying to catch up with all the kind posts and comments about my book launch.
On the subject of blog posts, here’s what I’ve written about various aspects of Style and the Solitary:
Style and the Solitary has come out of its temporary hiding place and is sitting proudly on Amazon, where you can pre-order it ahead of its 27th October release.
This is edition 2, with small improvements but still the same story. The next novel in the series will follow.
There will also be a paperback of Style and the Solitary. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.
No one can work entirely alone. We all have friends, colleagues, partners in crime. Even authors, whose work is notoriously solitary, get advice from other authors and eventually connect with agents, publishers and readers.
That’s the message of my story, Teamwork, in Dark Venice, the new and wonderful anthology of short stories from Darkstroke.
Image by Sasin Tipchai from PixabayOriginal image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The two women in the story are thrown into a situation where their only chance of extricating themselves lies in pooling their abilities.
Image by Ramon Perucho from PixabayPhoto by David Drori
I have visited Venice three times. It’s a unique and fascinating city. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend going there. And in the meantime, read these dark and delightful stories. Click on the link.
Still here? Read some hints of what you can find in the book.
Anna Legat Veni Vidi Perivi
Hundreds of years from now Venice has sunk to the bottom of the sea but it is still capable of seducing a random traveller with its hypnotic charm. And there is a price to pay for feasting on its beauty.
Anne-Marie Ormsby Night Call
A young woman searches Venice after dark when her best friend disappears, but the investigation is haunted by disturbing calls from the missing girl’s mobile phone.
Cathie Dunn The Girl in the Lagoon
In the early 20th century, when fascism is gathering support across northern Italy, the discovery of a young woman’s dead body in a lagoon reveals a sinister plot way beyond Francesco di Luca’s imagination.
Christopher Stanfield A Rose By Another Name
Reunited with her best friend Cindy Nix, notorious serial killer Apple Rose settles in the beautiful city of Venice. But a specter from the past returns and it won’t be long before they have to reckon with a bloody choice made long ago.
Cory Maddalena And Venice Slept
While on her honeymoon in Venice, a young newlywed navigates the city’s winding streets and canals. The last thing she expects is to be haunted by an insidious entity known only through folklore as the poverella.
Donna Cuttress The Tarot Reader
A Tarot card reader reluctantly becomes involved in deception, smuggling and murder.
GJ Scobie The Inference Machine
While in Venice celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary, Greg leaves Sally to spend an afternoon by herself in the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, where a mysterious invention reveals secrets about her marriage she had never dared to contemplate.
Jenna Morrison Devil’s Town
For years, Venice Harbor has been rumored to be cursed, and it is now known as Devil’s Town. An epidemic hit the island and Doctor Harvey Hardy is chosen to treat the natives of Devil’s Town; however, strange things begin to happen as soon as he arrives, which ultimately places his life in jeopardy.
Linda Conn Amstutz Enough
When you have experienced this kind of love, nothing, not even death, can change it.
Mary Kendall Paradiso Perduto
Simone stumbles upon a couple violently fighting in a dark Venetian alley one night which triggers haunting and painful memories best left forgotten. Can she reconcile the woman she has become with a younger self who had been brimming with brazen moxie and big dreams?
Miriam Drori Teamwork
Two women – a British pianist and her Venetian tour guide – are only just getting to know each other when calamity strikes. Neither can extricate them from the situation alone, but together there might be a chance.
Ross Alexander State of Love and Trust
A restaurant owner with a troubled past plans drastic actions to prevent a troubled future.
Sue Barnard La Serenissima
A young writer travels round Italy in search of inspiration for his work. On arriving in Venice, what he finds will change his life for ever.
In another month or so, my murdery mystery, Style and the Solitary, will be republished under the Ocelot Press banner.
I thought this would be a good time to tell you what the novel is about, tweaking a post I first wrote for friend and author, Jo Fenton.
NathalieAsaf
Belief in Another Person
The story of Beauty and the Beast was first written in 1740 by a woman called Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. It wasn’t intended as a children’s fairy tale, but rather as a tale with a moral. It is Beauty’s belief and love for the Beast that turns him back into a prince. Similarly, Nathalie’s belief in Asaf will help him in his attempt to become the person he was meant to be.
The similarity of my novel to Beauty and the Beast is, of course, the reason for its similar title.
Loners
People who shun society are considered strange by the rest of society. Sometimes, they might even be thought dangerous, due to a tiny minority of loners who have turned to violence. This gives vulnerable people, who probably only chose to live their lives alone because of bad experiences, less of a chance of ever returning to society.
Friendships
We all need the help of friends. Nathalie gets her two flatmates on board to help her solve the mystery. Other friendships crop up in the story. Even Asaf, the “loner”, acquires some friends, eventually.
Immigration
The process of fitting into a new place can be long and difficult, especially when it involves a new language and culture. Nathalie has some advantages. She’s young, sociable and good at languages. Still, she struggles sometimes, and also misses her family and her home town of Strasbourg. Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market brings a bit of France to her.
StrasbourgFrench and other cheeses in JerusalemBaguettes and other bread in Jerusalem
The Law and its Failures
I was moved by a documentary I heard once, in which a woman wanted to testify against her rapist, but found herself struck dumb when standing in the witness box. Asaf is similarly worried about being tried in a court of law. He thinks he’ll find himself incapable of answering questions in such a setting. He’s probably right.
I do think laws fail to protect those who can’t speak or who freeze in certain situations.
Jerusalem
Why is the setting a theme? When I wrote my first novel set in Jerusalem (Neither Here Nor There, currently unavailable), I was worried people wouldn’t be interested in it because they’d expect a story set in Israel to include war and conflict. I was glad to be proved wrong; the book sold well and was appreciated. Yet, with this current novel, perhaps due to the timing, I’ve had questions like, “I wondered if you were deliberately setting out to show Jerusalem as a modern ‘Western’ city compared to the views we normally see on TV, or just reflecting life as you live it.” My response is that it absolutely reflects life as I live it and as most of the residents live it. People go about doing normal activities and talking about normal things. On the TV, they like to show everything in a different light. They seek out extremists and do all they can to exacerbate conflict. But even those extremists do and say normal, mundane things most of the time. And the rest of us go about our normal lives as much as we’re allowed to, which is most of the time.
I’m not suggesting murder is normal. But this murder is not the sort of abnormal you might expect from Jerusalem.
Secrets
Many stories thrive on secrets and Style and the Solitary is no exception. But I won’t reveal any secrets here. You’ll discover them when you read the novel.
What would Asaf think of the book?
Asaf would consider himself unworthy of having a story written about him, just as he feels unworthy of having Nathalie in his life. He blames no one but himself for his woes. Being suspected of murder is admittedly unfortunate, but anyone else would have succeeded in clearing all suspicion long ago.
The new Style and the Solitary will be out soon. Watch this space.
The Strasbourg image is by Monika Neumann from Pixabay. Nathalie’s photo is by Andrea Piacquadio and Asaf’s is by fauxels.
And you’d be right. I’ve been quietly busy and remiss in telling you about:
Ocelot Press
Dark Venice
Following the Lead
Ocelot Press is a co-operative of independent authors, and my series of Jerusalem Murder Mysteries will be published through them, starting in a few weeks with Style and the Solitary. You can read more about Ocelot Press here. I’ll be posting more about the novel.
Dark Venice, the next in the series of charity anthologies of dark stories from Darkstroke, will be published on 1st October. My story is called Teamwork. I’ll be posting more about this.
Following the Lead is the next in the Isabel Long Mystery Series by the accomplished author, Joan Livingston. I had the pleasure and honour of editing it. In fact, I edited all the novels in this series and thoroughly enjoyed the process. I love these stories and I’m sure you will, too. Five are available on Amazon (just search for her name). Following the Lead is due out on November 3rd and ready now for pre-order. You can read more about it here on Joan’s blog.
Miriam Drori, Author 