What They Are Thinking...

Under Philadelphi Road has embarked on its journey through the maze of the publishing world. The hard part starts now. The waiting. And believe me, if the cliché or proverb (or whatever you want to call it) ‘patience is a virtue’, has ever been more relevant, it is here and now. Literary agents, bless their souls, are extremely busy people. They read most of the manuscripts that land on their tables at night after work and on weekends. In addition, they have their own current author clients to deal with on a daily basis and other administrative tasks. So, waiting for a response can take months. Frustrating, but totally understandable. And, of course, when the response does finally arrive it can either be yay or nay (obviously). Oh yes, and some agents respond only on manuscripts that interest them.

They say the best way for a writer to remain sane in this type of situation is to keep on writing. In other words, not to wait but to forget the waiting and to put that energy into writing. Aptly, in my case, I have started my third novel of the paranormal genre. All three of my novels are each of a different genre. It’s how they have come out, born that way. I am writing the stories that are sitting in my soul and that need to be written. I 'm not going according to a strategy or a commercial plan i.e. sequels, a series of the same tale. I just write what my soul calls on me to write and this is also, coincidentally, how I bide my time creatively as I try not to think what ‘they’ are thinking…

Short Story Published!

Just between the lines, a news flash: My short story, Be My Guest, has been published in The Arlington Literary Journal. To read it, please click on this link, www.arlijo.com

Where is Philadelphi Road?

Hi all,

Firstly, my profuse apologies for the lull in the writing of posts and the updating of my blog. Life is hectic, as you well know, and time does not pause for any man. The first draft of Under Philadelphi Road is complete and editing and copywriting is underway. Actually, it's going quite swiftly, at this stage anyway, due to the fact that the reason it took almost 4 years to complete the draft is that I have already spent hours, and sometimes even days, on a single paragraph, a sentence or a word, not to mention the Everest of research I was required to do for this challenging, but most satisfying, work to date.

A question posed by several people around me, and at a distance, has prompted me to write this first post about my upcoming novel. I am thankful for questions and deeply appreciative of feedback as I write not only for myself, as a necessity, but for you the reader, who indeed insists to excel in and forever develops the curiosity and want for knowledge, understanding and literary quality. And quite rightly so.

The question and interest that has come up regards the title of the book, which some think has to do with Philadelphia, USA. This could not be furthest from the truth. Firstly, it is Philadelphi (with an i at the end). So, where is this so-called Philadelphi Road and what is it's importance to the story?

The Philadelphi Road or Route refers to a narrow strip of land, 14 km in length, situated along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Under the provisions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979, the buffer zone was controlled and patrolled by Israeli forces. After the 1995 Oslo Accords, Israel was allowed to retain the security corridor along the border. One purpose of Philadelphi Road was to prevent the movements of illegal materials (including weapons, ammunition and illegal drugs) and people between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians, in cooperation with some Egyptians, have built smuggling tunnels under Philadelphi Road to move these into the Gaza Strip. The 1979 Egypt-Israeli peace treaty, in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai in exchange for peace with Egypt, stipulated that the border with Egypt would follow the border of the Palestine Mandate. The main border exchange would be in the town of Rafah. (info from Wikipedia).

Rafah is where the story begins but this is for another post. Above then, you have the explanation of what and where Philadelphi Road is. The reason for the title, well, this is also for a following post :)

Thanks for your time and stay tuned.

Warm regards.
SR

Interview in The Cape Chronicle

Hi all,

The October edition of The Cape Chronicle is out and in it is a great interview which I'm very happy with.
To see it, please click here.
It's on page 10. Thanks so much to Tali Barnett for setting it up so beautifully.

Hope you like it :)

SR

Watch The Book Trailer!

The Second Novel

Given that I am reaching the end of the writing of my second novel , I am proud and glad to announce for the first time its name:
It is called Under Philadelphi Road. It is written in the first person from the eyes of Ismail, a Palestinian boy who together with friends digs a tunnel under the border between Israel and Egypt in order to smuggle out goods to earn some money. When the tunnel collapses, Ismail is trapped on the other side of the border, in Egypt. As he takes the reader on his life's journey, the reader starts to understand that Ismail has been born for a very special purpose.

I will be creating a separate blog for Under Philadelphi Road so please stay tuned :)

Blessings!

The Week of Interviews and Book Reviews

Yes, this week appears to be the week of the interviews :)

Yesterday I was interviewed by Suchitra Chaudhary of Gulf News in Dubai for their magazine Friday. The interview will appear on 3rd June. Today, Marjolein Balm, book blogger and reviewer extraordinaire, interviewed me via skype. Her review should appear tomorrow on her blog. Last week, I was interviewed by Tali Barnett, the editor of The Cape Jewish Chronicle. That article will be published in their next edition.

I'll keep you posted!

Blessings