My fourth novel release, “The Rabbi and the Condemned” coming this year

 

Every year on Yom Kippur, Jews seek atonement from God and ask people to forgive them for the wrongs they’ve done, but what if someone’s life depended on righting your biggest wrong?

My next novel “The Rabbi and the Condemned” takes the theme of atonement to death row, but this isn’t like any prison on Earth.

Here’s the debut of the book jacket blurb from my novel, which will be released later this year by Silver Leaf Books.

 

For 31 years Rabbi Samuel Rabinowitz has known Jameer Pace was innocent of murder and he has the bloody t-shirt to prove it. With his bully of a brother now dead, he finally hopes to tell the inmate in person before setting him free. But in 2053, Florida’s death row is Stark Station in the asteroid belt, where the condemned inmates are forced on deadly missions to mine radioactive rocks.

 

The radiation weakening him by the day, Pace doesn’t have much time left. Rabinowitz quickly realizes that achieving redemption would come at a terrible cost. Setting Pace free would have harsh repercussions for the rabbi, especially from the station’s vindictive warden. Yet, he can live no longer with the horrible secret. Upping the stakes, Rabinowitz tells a journalist that Pace is innocent and shines the spotlight on the abusive practices in Stark Station.

 

The more Rabinowitz sees how Pace has suffered, the harder it becomes to ask for forgiveness. With a near-suicidal mission on deck for the inmates, the rabbi’s gates of atonement may close forever.

 

This will be my fourth novel with Silver Leaf Books, but it’s the first one where a character has religion as a primary motivation. Asking for forgiveness is hard. Not only does it require humility, it often means making yourself vulnerable. In this story, Rabinowitz doesn’t have anyone to protect him on Stark Station. The warden has final say over everything, and anyone who opposes him can take a walk out the airlock.

Why set my death row novel in the asteroid belt? Besides having cool scenes with inmates in space suites bouncing across space rocks with sharp drilling equipment, it enhances the urgency of freeing the inmate. Pace is withering away from radiation exposure, and any mission could kill him.

And, of course, a Shawshank Redemption moment of tunneling to freedom is out of the question.

But there are still tough questions for Pace. Even if he could return to Earth a free man, what’s the point when his body has been ravaged beyond repair? How can a man who has been devastated by the system and spent most of his life wrongly imprisoned find a purpose in the rest of his days? That’s where faith comes in. The rabbi must liberate Pace from both death row and his prison of hopelessness.

Obtaining atonement and asking for forgiveness doesn’t have to wait for Yom Kippur, and it’s not too late if you didn’t seek them this year, or the last 31 years. Whether you’re Jewish or not, there’s never a wrong time to set things right.

Stay tuned for the official release date for “The Rabbi and the Condemned” and a schedule of speaking appearances.

The music that inspired the book: Silence the Living

I knew the story I wanted to tell in “Silence the Living” and I had the characters formed in my head, but I couldn’t put the novel into focus until I found musical inspiration.
One night I was driving from South Florida to Orlando to meet my family at a theme park. I put on “A Star-Cross Wasteland” by In This Moment. From one song to the next, my novel fell into place. The desolate desert imagery became real. The monsters, mutated coyotes and deformed cross-breeds of desert-dwelling species, took life. The pain of the tragic love between Moni and Aaron felt blistering.
I offered my thanks to In This Moment in the opening notes of this book. Even today when I hear their songs, the scenes from my novel swirl through my head.

In my writer's chair and wearing my In this Moment gear with my new novel.

Most of “Silence the Living” was written to music. It helped me visualize the scenes. In some cases, there’s a connection between the lyrics and what happens in these chapters.
What follows is a guide to the songs I listened to, from many artists, for certain chapters.

Prologue - In This Moment, “Standing Alone”

Moni is standing on a mountain and staring at the inhospitable southern New Mexico desert. She should be dying from the heat, but the aliens are keeping her alive. The infection in her bloodstream is so dangerous that she needs to keep away from every living thing. Maria Brink sings: “Now I’m standing here alone. It’s the only way to survive.”

Chapters 1, 3, and 7 - In This Moment, “Just Drive”

Moni and Aaron are forced on a hasty cross country drive. They’re fleeing the aftermath of the invasion in Florida and the pursuit of law enforcement. Meanwhile, Moni’s dealing with frightening changes the aliens are making to her body. How far must they run? Maria Brink sings: “Tonight is the night, let’s get ready to go. Leave your bags behind and let’s hit the road…We will drive no matter how far. Yes we will drive until the ending of it all.”

Chapter 2 - Straight Line Stitch, “Taste of Ashes”

Florida policewoman Nina Skillings is furious at Moni for all those who died in the invasion, especially the police captain who was her mentor. Nina vows to track Moni down and kill her, at any cost. This was the music for most chapters with Nina. Alexis Brown, who screams “Thorn in your side!” is as angry as I’ve ever heard a woman.

Second half of Chapter 4 and Chapter 12 - In This Moment, “The Promise”

After close encounters with people who try to hurt them, Moni realizes that it’s dangerous for Aaron to stay with her. Either she will infect him or the people after her will kill him. Even though she loves him, she tries to convince him to leave her. She doesn’t want to hurt him, but she has no choice. In this duet, Maria Brink and Adrian Patrick (from Otherwise) sing, “No matter what you say or what you do, I know how this will end. So I’m turning away now. I’m dangerous for you…My promise is I will hurt you.”

Chapter 5 - In This Moment, “Comanche”

This is the song I listened to for every chapter written from the point of view of “the mutant.” It’s a misshapen monster lurking in the waterways of Florida that was left over from the first invasion. This song is intense and angry. Needing to shift into the mindset of a monster that kills for pleasure, this did the trick.

Chapter 14 - In This Moment, “A Star-Crossed Wasteland”

Moni walks into the desert by herself for the first time. It’s still and quiet, yet she fears she won’t be safe and she misses Aaron terribly. Maria Brink sings, “The dust is clearing, the desert is calm. The skies are quiet and I can’t make a sound. And I just wait for you.”

Chapter 15 - Otherwise, “Full Circle”

Aaron is out on his own in Las Cruces, hoping to find a way to help Moni. He’s regretful over the mistakes he’s made that have led him to this point, but he’s determined to set things right. Adrian Patrick sings, “I will believe, in spite of me, and what I have become. I’ll find the one I used to be, to bring me full circle.”

Chapter 16 - In This Moment, “Gun Show”

The pitch black nightfall is all Moni can see, but she hears them closing in on her. She can feel their minds. The coyotes are after her. Will she accept the aid of the aliens inside her to survive? This song starts out in such an ominous way, with the sounds of the storm, a wind chime, ravens, a horse trotting, all setting the stage for an Old Western gun battle. Then it just explodes into madness. That’s this scene. I listened to the same song for Chapter 48, another fight that starts in the desert night. Oh, and there are plenty of guns.

Chapter 18 - In This Moment, “The Last Cowboy”

Moni meets Blake, a New Mexico state ranger who patrols the desert. She’s impressed by his rugged outdoor ways.

Chapter 20 - In This Moment, “The Road”

Moni tracks an infected animal through the desert, and eventually into a cold, dark cave. Maria Brink sings, “No matter how dark the road. You’ll light my way. No matter how far from home. I’ll find my way.”

Chapter 29 - Otherwise, “Die for You”

While Moni must confront her own problems, Aaron is forced to chase after an infected animal as it enters a children’s amusement park. So far, he’s pledged to place his life on the line for her, but now he’s about to really put that promise to the test. Adrian Patrick sings, “I would break, I would burn, I would suffer. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do, do for you…You make me feel so alive. So alive I’d die for you.”

Chapter 33 - Avenged Sevenfold “Crimson Day”

Moni and Aaron sit on a mountainside, watching the sun rise over the desert landscape. They both know they must go separate ways. They’re not sure when, or if, they will see each other again. If Moni can’t get this under control, the world my never be the same. They both wish that time could stand still. M. Shadows sings, “The sun came out and brought you through. A lifetime full of words to say, a hope that time will slow the passing day.”

Chapters 36, 38, 40 and 41 - Tool , “Reflection”

A team of Navy SEALs and a marine scientist dive into a pitch black underwater caves of Peacock Springs in north Florida to catch “the mutant.” They worry about running out of air with dozens of feet of rock between them and the surface. While they hurt the creature, it hunts them. Tool’s whole “Lateralus” album was the perfect musical backdrop for operating in such a distorted environment. “Reflection” is so creepy. And the song goes 3:44 before the lyrics start. Pure Tool!

Chapter 44 - Tori Amos, “Marianne”

Yes, Tori Amos music inspired much of the first novel in this series “Mute.” Here, Moni hearkens back to the time when she had to care for an orphaned girl named Mariella and let her down. That's because Moni has now found Ramona, an immigrant girl stranded in the desert. She must find a way to care for the girl without infecting her. Meanwhile, Tori Amos is, “Having thoughts of Marianne. Quickest girl in the frying pan.”

Chapters 55 through 60 - In This Moment, “Blazin”

Soon after Aaron and Moni enter the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico, it comes under siege by a horde of alien mutants. This song is pure adrenaline-fueled violence. Maria Brink sings, “We’re not gonna stop tonight. We’re gonna burn this city down. We’re not gonna stop tonight. We’re gonna blaze till the morning sun.” That’s the invader mentality right there.

Chapter 61 - Volbeat, “7 Shots”

Meet the most twisted, cold-blooded cowboy in the desert land. Volbeat plays amazing Western-themed metal. Michael Poulsen sings, “Playing around with the good and the evil in his mind. Alone in the desert and cold, so cold.”

Chapter 63 - Five Finger Death Punch, “M.I.N.E. (Ends this way)”

Sometimes lovers just aren’t meant to be together, no matter how much they long for each other. FFDP is well known for their thrash metal, but they are underrated for ballads. Ivan Moody sings, “I know I’d hurt you, deserted you. And now I see it clear. I pulled you closer, tighter. ‘Cause I knew you’d disappear. I just can’t compromise, apologize. There’s nothing you can say. We both knew. It would always end this way.”

Chapter 65 - In This Moment, “Iron Army”

Moni prepares for war, and, follows the advice of one Maria Brink. “I build myself a f**king iron army!”

Chapters 70 and 71 - Shadows Fall, “Burning the Lives”

Brian Fair’s opening lyrics, “Soon a darkened pyramid will rise,” gave me the idea for this scene, and the chaos that follows.

Chapter 80 - Civil Twilight, “Human”

Moni feels more alien than ever. When she sees Aaron, it’s the only thing that makes her feel human. Steven McKellar signs, “It’s only love, it’s only pain. It’s only fear, that runs through my veins. It’s all the things you can’t explain. That make us human.”

South Florida book signings set as Silence the Living makes Kindle debut

I’ve been booked at four events in South Florida this fall as my novel “Silence the Living” rolls out.

For over four years, I’ve been imagining the world of his scary science fiction novel and painstakingly crafting it word-by-word. I’m excited to share those words, and to see the thrills, fright and shock of readers as they experience this story.

My novel can currently be downloaded on Kindle from Amazon. It’s available for e-book purchase or for free for KindleUnlimited members ($9.99 a month after a 30-day free trial). The print version is available for pre-order now and will be released on Sept. 10.

After you read the book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads and share it on social media.

My favorite part of releasing a new novel is reading part of the story to an audience and discussing it with them. There are some questions I can anticipate, like “How long did it take you to write this?” and there are always some people who took something from the story that I didn’t even realize.

Here are my upcoming signings for "Silence the Living.”

Oct. 9, 6:30 pm, Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, free, (305) 442-4408. This well-known store will soon have "Silence the Living" available for sale.

Oct. 11, 7 pm, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, 273 N.E. 2nd Ave., Delray Beach, free, (561) 279-7790.

Oct. 24, 11:30 am, Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale at Global Grill at First Baptist Church at 416 NE 1st Street, Ft. Lauderdale, Non-members must pay $25 and first please contact Jaybe Abbate jayea@artserve.org  (954) 462-8190.

Nov. 18, Miami Book Fair, Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 3:30 p.m., Centre Gallery, Building 1, 3rd Floor.

I’m opening to adding more book signings. I’ll update this blog if I schedule more.



Is there a certain passage in “Silence the Living” you’d like to hear me read? Let me know and maybe I’ll read it at a signing, or on a video blog.

My novel to be published in September, featured at Miami Book Fair

Silver Leaf Books will publish my third novel “Silence the Living” on September 10. I’m excited to finally share this heart-pounding story with  everyone.

Want a taste of what’s in store? My publisher’s landing page for my book has the first chapter, where you learn what it’s like for Moni living with an infectious alien life form inside her body. It’s not easy being in a relationship with someone when touching one drop of their bodily fluid might kill you.

I’m super appreciative for the support from the Miami Book Fair, the country’s best literary event and an amazing platform for authors. This will be the third year I’ve spoken there.

The Book Fair hasn’t finalized the schedule yet, but I will likely speak on Sunday, November 18. Now I just have to work on my “act”. Okay, maybe calling it an act is a stretch. I’ll select a thrilling - and not too long - passage of “Silence the Living” to read and then explain my motivation for the book.

There are plenty of other great reasons, besides me, to attend the 2018 Miami Book Fair. See their website for information about other authors participating and to sign up for alerts. The street fair has fun activities for kids and plenty of opportunities for readers looking to unearth literary gems at a good price.

Finally, I have one more update. I’ve written the first draft of my fourth novel. It revolves around a fictional Miami bank that failed during the Great Recession and the mystery of who killed the CEO.

The tentative title: “Save the Bankers."

Cover revealed: Silence the Living

This book release is feeling more real every day. Here’s the cover for "Silence the Living".

My idea was to show our cursed hero Moni Williams in the New Mexico desert at night, staring at an army of glowing purple eyes from beasts that are threatening her.

Initially, I tried to find a photographer with great shots of the New Mexico desert at night. I was really impressed by some photographers in the Southwest, but they didn’t have book cover experience. It was clear that it would take a skilled graphic artist to add the purple-eyed beasts to the cover. Landscape photography and book cover design are different things.

The covers for my first two novels were fantastic photographs, with some design work added. I felt this idea would work better as an illustration.

Taking suggestion of my publisher, I looked over the cover art used by other writers from Silver Leaf Books. I loved the cover for “Day of Vengeance” by Martin Berman-Gorvine. The author recommended that I contact the cover artist, Christian Bentulan.

I was blown away by the dozens of amazing covers on his website, coversbychristian.com. A resident of the Philippines, Christian was persistent in designing the cover just how I wanted it. Yeah, Moni's in a tough spot.

Look for “Silence the Living” to be released by Silver Leaf Books this summer. If it doesn’t scare the hell out of you, you don’t have a pulse.

An action-packed short story will be my next release

I’ve been thrown a curveball in my writing career this year. I hoped to show everybody my second novel Famous After Death but, due to circumstances beyond my control, its release with Silver Leaf Books has been delayed a year.

The bright side of that, for readers especially, is that I’m about to share an action-packed piece of fiction that I wouldn’t have otherwise had an outlet for. Silver Leaf Books has decided to release a handful of short stories on Amazon, among them my roughhousing work – Medical Martial Arts.

The cover art (before title added):

The story was inspired by athletes who continue competing past their prime despite the harm to their bodies because they need that one last run at greatness. Normally, the body has its limits. I use a science fiction theme, yet one not too far from reality, to remove all boundaries. 

Putt up your mitts, here’s the summary:

Cliff "Bones' Bonner lost everything last time he stepped into the cage, his title, his health and his pride. His wife begs him to retire and relish in a successful career, but this mix martial arts fighter won't take off his gloves until he silences his critics. Bones get his chance in the Hardcore Combat League, a bloody spectacle in the Bahamas where stem cell implants and sculpting bones into deadly weapons are as legal as a pair of shorts. Victory in this sport pays well, but it comes with a price.

His first opponent is a four-armed man. One of the more climactic scenes makes use of South Florida’s most overlooked Cold War landmarks. 

As some of you know, I’m a former high school wrestler and a fan of both mixed martial arts and the WWE so I take great pleasure in writing a combat story like this. Individual sports can bring out the best or the worst in you. Losing is such an empty feeling because you can only blame yourself. Winning, knowing that you just physically defeated someone, is such an unbelievable high.

The key to making people care about a fight, whether real or fiction, is selling the characters involved. It’s the difference between seeing two strangers battle in a parking lot and watching your brother fight a bully.

Medical Martial Arts will be available in the coming months. Stay tuned and have your favorite e-reader ready. 

As for my novels, I’m eager to share the breakneck thriller Famous After Death with everybody soon but next year’s the more likely target for it. The sequel to Mute is pretty far along. I’m keeping the plot quiet (he he) to avoid spoilers.

I honestly wish I had more time to write fiction because that’s what I love. I know that sounds funny when I’m talking about all these projects, yet I have so many ideas that I can’t wait to get to next.

And so the fight continues…

My 2014 plans: Book signing, new novel release, big sequel brewing

After reaching so many milestones last year both professionally and personally, I have more groundbreaking writing planned for 2014.

First up, I’m doing a book signing at the renowned Books & Books in Coral Gables on Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. I’ll read a chapter from Mute – I have one in mind but I’m open to suggestions – and then talk about how the story of my novel is a metaphor for my life. The discussion really moved the people who heard it at the Miami Book Fair so I suggest you hear it live.

If you can’t be there in person, Books & Books will stream it online. Go here for more information about the free event.

This fall Silver Leaf Books will release my second novel, Famous After Death, in print and e-book. My publisher already posted a landing page for my novel. How do you like the cover photo? It’s by the same photographer from Mute, El Cesana in Australia. The font for the title will probably change, but I feel the photo captures the shocking nature of the story.

I’m glad there weren't camera phones and YouTube when I was a teenager because a lot of the stupid things I did probably would have been shared, to maximum embarrassment. I’m lucky some of those stunts didn’t go so bad that people got hurt. But what if…

In Famous After Death, three Miami teenagers figure: Everything else has gone viral so why not murder?

This is fast-paced thriller set in South Florida (mostly Miami). The teenagers do terrible things for attention as the trials of their childhoods drove them to dehumanize their victims, and make them famous by posting their deaths online.

Most teenagers who glamorize their violence online are too stupid to hide their identities, but this trio is clever, and they have help from a mysterious hacker with an ax to grind against the police officer tracking them down.

Besides all this, what else could I possibly have cooking? Well, another novel of course. Mute is just itching for a sequel and I’m hard at work on the first draft. I can’t say how long it will take to finish and, especially, to edit. That’s the hard part.

I’ll say this, though. It’ll have more science fiction than the first novel, and more romance. Yet, other parts are pure horror. 

I call it…

Silenced

All set for my Miami Book Fair presentation

One week away from my presentation at the Miami Book Fair International and I’m itching to go.

This speech will be more emotional than anything I’ve ever done. Yes, I’ve spoken to large groups before. Usually the focus is journalism, social media or tips on writing. This time it’ll be personal.

It’s been difficult to talk openly about why I chose the themes in my novel Mute. There are things in my life that I couldn’t talk about for many years. I couldn’t bear even thinking about them. Yet, they fueled the emotions in my writing. 

No more secrets. I’m telling my story. 

Join me at the Miami Book Fair and I’ll tell you how this science fiction murder mystery is a metaphor for my life. Why was the mute girl who needs saving? What is the symbolism behind animals infected with purple tumors? 

Sunday, Nov. 24, Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus(downtown), Building 8, Room 8303 (Third floor) with fellow authors JacintoPires and Preston Allen.

Raising a Golem, and other fun features of Jewish mysticism

Is raising a golem – turning a mound of dirt into a super powerful humanoid – folklore or is it a part of Jewish history? The more I read into it, the more I found a case for the latter.

A friend from Chabad lent me The Golem of Prague by Gershon Winkler, which recalls the stories of a golem raised in the late 1500s to fend off attacks on the Jews, and then cites examples in Jewish texts that show such a thing happened several times before.

A golem is indestructible and incredibly strong. Unable to talk, it follows the directors of its creator, although it does so robotically without using common sense. Ask it to fill a bucket with water and it'll keep going until the house is flooded.

Convinced, I went to my back yard and started crafting a new left tackle for the Miami Dolphins. 

From the 1920 film "The Golem of Prague", before CGI

Turns out I’m probably not qualified for such a task. It takes a Torah sage who understands the process of creation and can use G-d’s true name and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet to infuse a spark of life into inanimate objects. The secrets are part of the ancient Book of Formation, although only a master of Kabbalah could understand how to carry them out.

The stories in The Golem of Prague were translated from the writings of Yitzchak ben Shimshon HaKohen Katz, the son-in-law of the sage who summoned the golem, Rabbi Moreynu HaRav Loevy, widely known as the Maharal. His statue still stands today in front of Prague’s City Hall.

At the time the Jews were being unjustly accused of drinking Christian blood before Passover. Of course this made no sense because the Torah specifically forbids drinking blood, human or animal. The Maharal asked G-d through a “dream quest” (contemplating a question, sleeping with a blank piece of paper under your pillow, and waking up to read a message). He was told to create a golem, so he drew a figure of a man in the mud along the Vlatava River and performed a ceremony that involved three people circling the figure while reciting the Divine Names.

No, he didn’t use a lightning strike. But some scholars believe the golem stories inspired the original Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley.

So what super powers did the golem have besides beating up people who attempted to plant corpses on Jewish property? The Maharal gave the golem an “amulet of invisibility” so he could rescue prisoners and deliver notes. I’m looking at the Judaica store catalog for one of those…

The golem also had the power to see spirits, including angels and demons. In one instance the golem walks through a cemetery and identifies the fresh grave that had a body removed because there wasn’t a spirit hovering over it. Actually, Jewish texts say that animals can see spirits as well. If you’re dog is up all night barking at shadows, or you cat jumps at nothing, maybe they see a mean spirit.

Spirits aren’t always quiet. The book has two instances were spirits of the dead communicate directly with the Maharal, once in a dream and once with a spirit speaking to an entire courtroom during trial. See, there is something they haven’t tried yet on Law & Order.

One of the chapters later in the book explains that Kabbalah isn’t black magic or witchcraft. It is the legitimate way to create miracles with G-d’s will, as opposed to bending the rules of nature to do evil.

Read more about creating Golems here. And if you succeed, please find something more interesting for him to do than yard work.