About the author:

Marilyn lives and writes in Paris. She writes whatever takes her fancy: spoof news, book reviews, posts for her website, gossip about showbiz stars and royalty, short stories, poetry – and books. She also reports crime. She was born in British Colonial Africa and is a British national. Eight years ago she became interested in the Second World War French serial killer, Dr Marcel Petiot, and she researched him for two years and then over the next two years she wrote her true-crime book DIE IN PARIS. Next, setting murder aside, she wrote the novel BELLA … A FRENCH LIFE, an emotive love story set in Paris and the beautiful Normandy coastal region of France. Russia, a passion of hers, she has planned For the Love of a Poet for at least ten years.

About the book:

‘I have been obsessed with this man for years. My parents say I have a crush on him. I have been telling them it is not a crush. It is reverence. Reverence not only for the man but so too for his talent: his poetry. If anyone asks me whether I have a wish, I will say, if only I can meet the poet Beretzkoy.’ These are the wistful words of Tanya Brodovskaya. Her wish comes true, although the poet is a married man and the father of two sons, and soon a heady, passionate love affair begins. In a small, dilapidated dacha in a village south of Moscow, played out against a grim backcloth of Stalin’s demonic rule of Russia, Tanya and her dissident poet live their love to the full, stealing precious and wonderful time, finding happiness in each other’s arms although he continues to live with his wife and sons. But black clouds gather. The Man of Steel’s policies threaten the couple’s idyll. Their love will survive; they know it will. But will they?

A Russian love story.

Gerald Lombard, is on a mission, he is searching for Tanya Brodovskaya, he knows how to recognise her, and so he goes to Red Square, after all, he’s been told, she is always there ‘on any Wednesday.’ Then he sees her, just as she had been described to him, and she agrees to tell her story, and so the biography begins...

This is the story of the love between an older man, and a naive young girl whom he met, in 1931, when she worked at the offices of Pravda in Moscow.

Tanya Brodovskaya, had been infatuated with the poet Boris Petrovich Beretzkoy, for a long time, however, on that day, when he took her hands in his, their lives were about to change forever.

As they say, love is blind, and when one is in such a state, nothing else matters, barriers such as age and marital status are overcome in the bat of an eyelid. Thus began their love affair, one in which Boris shaped her life, and she accepted the restrictions, making sacrifices, and giving up on dreams, freely, as only a woman who is in love will do.

It is Russia, Lenin has just died, and Stalin has taken over the reins of this enormous, harsh country. It is a country which is in a state of political unrest and turmoil, its people living in fear for their lives never knowing when they are going to be dragged away and interrogated, or deported to Siberia, some never to return…

Life for the Russian people is hard. The country is suffering from terrible famine, and pandemics ravage the country’s population, who are already weak and living in terrible conditions.

As you read this book, you realise that not only are you following the lives of these two lovers, but you are also being given an insight into this turbulent period in Russian history.

The book I believe, is based on two real people, although the names have been changed. Through meticulous research, the author has written a very thought provoking and fascinating story, which lovers of modern history will enjoy.

I am informed by the author that a French translation is available.

Reviewed by Susan Keefe

(28 May 2014)

The Beauty of Africa

Whenever Africa is mentioned, most people think of roaming animals and jeep safaris. Whilst Africa has much more to offer than animals, the beauty that nature has bestowed on this continent cannot be overlooked. The animal inhabitants of Africa are amongst the most varied and beautiful in the world. Most of us know that Africa is home to the magnificent giraffe and the impressive cheetah. However, there is also a wider range of animals that live in Africa.

These include gazelles, crocodiles and the mighty hippopotamus. In some desert parts of Africa there are camels that roam freely. The image of these animals is a common feature in African films.

When you think of Africa you think seriously large. From the continental land mass to its individual parts, the scale is massive. Besides having the second largest continental surface area, containing 54 nations within its boundaries, it is also home to the River Nile, the longest river in the world, and also some very large lakes. As well as huge deserts, rivers and lakes, the continent also has high mountains containing igneous rocks and large swathes of ecologically important rain forest.

The Sahara desert is Africa's best known and biggest desert.

In fact, it is the most expansive arid region on the planet.

The African continent is home to more than 700 million inhabitants, who speak more than a thousand different languages between them. Many Africans have a low standard of living and in some countries suffer serious food shortages.

Tropical diseases such as yellow fever and also AIDS are a major problem.

Because of the African continent's sheer size and varied geology, a wide variety of important metal ores and also diamonds are mined. Many African nations are well known, from Morocco in the north through Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania to South Africa. South Africa, which is more developed than many of its neighbors, is making real efforts to develop its tourist trade. Abundant wildlife and areas of natural beauty, as well as availability of affordable high quality local wines makes South Africa attractive to visitors from Europe, Canada and the USA.

As if Africa does not have enough in its favor, it is also centrally located and most of the countries have a warm climate throughout the year. The South has a milder temperature which makes it an ideal place to visit in the summer months.

safari delAfric is the webmaster and operatorof safari africa inc information which is a premier resource for africa information. For more questions or comments about this article, please visit: http://www.safariafrica.com

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The FIRST Essential Ingredient for Business Success

You had 24 hours yesterday. So what did you do with them?

Did you fritter them away in mindless and pointless activities? Did you vegetate in front of the TV? Did you go out for dinner with your lover? Did you work for 8 hours making someone else rich? Did you work on your business so that it grows and achieves for you the dreams you dream of?

The most precious commodity we have is time. When you are young, it seems like it comes in an endless supply. Yet as we get older, we realise how fleeting it is - and how much more valuable than even gold or silver.

Time marches relentlessly onwards. Tick, tock, tick, tock, the seconds pass, even as you are reading this article.

You have this life only once to live... is it all you wanted it to be? As Rudyard Kipling says in his poem "If", are you filling each unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run? Because, to me, it seems the greatest tragedy of all is to waste those precious seconds on things that are of no importance to us.

Why? Because that leads to REGRET. And regret, I believe, is possibly the saddest and most pitiful emotion to live with - to look back on your life not with warm glowing memories, but with a leaden ache of regret. "If only I had..."

My friend, if there is one thing I wish for you is that on your dying day you can look back and say "I have no regrets. I have lived a full, and happy, and satisfying life."

So how do you achieve that? Make sure you fill each unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run. "Running where? Doing what?" Doing what is important, that's what. But it is what is important to YOU that matters, not what is important to anyone else.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I am not talking pure hedonism. I don't say you should fill every moment with self-indulgent pleasure. But I do believe that (as much as is humanly possible) every second should be filled with what is *important* to us.

What do I mean by that?

As I see it there are two types of "important". The first is the higher goal: those things that are "an end" in themselves. Those things that we dream of, and seek after.

They are the things we would do if we had no "necessity" of doing them - i.e. if we had no money worries, no chores, no commitments. They are the things we will look back on, and smile about. The things we will say, "I wish I had done more of that".

They are different for everyone of us, but for me the list would look something like this:

• Spending time being intimate with my family and friends - enjoying each other's company.
• Spending time doing the sports I love, and visiting the places I enjoy.
• Spending time helping other people to be successful (it excites me to see people succeed).

But, the reality is that I am not (indeed I doubt anyone is) in a position to do these all of the time. So there is a second rank of "important" things that I do. These are important because they help me to have MORE time to do the first rank. These are important because they are the "means" to the end. They include such things as:

• earning money
• paying bills
• keeping fit
• maintaining and looking after my possession (e.g. the car) and, above all
• building my business so that it runs itself

If I fail to do these then, before to long, I will have no time at all to do the really important things. And, even in this list, some things are more important than others - building my business (which will provide me with much free time in the future) I rate as more important than doing hourly consulting (which pays the bills, but does not buy me time in the future).

Everything that does not fit into the above two categories is UNIMPORTANT - to me, anyway. In fact, they are worse than that - they are distractions that use up my precious time and take me further away from the important things.

Life is too short, my friend, to fritter on the unimportant.

So tell me, what did you do yesterday? No, not in vague generalities; what did you actually do, hour by hour, minute by minute? In fact, why not get out a piece of paper, right now, and just run through the day from the time you woke up, to the time you fell asleep.

Then, go through them, one by one, and ask yourself, "Why did I do that? Was that the best use of my time? Did it take me closer to my goals? Or was it just a big distraction and time waster?"

Finally, learn from the exercise. Look at tomorrow's agenda. What do you need to eliminate? What do you need to do more of? How can you make tomorrow 'count'? Days add up to years, years add up to a lifetime. Make your lifetime count. Seize today, cast out the trivial, and major on what is important. Do the right things, not just the easy or convenient.

"Sunrise, sunset ... swiftly flow the years ... One season following another, laden with happiness and tears" goes the song from Fiddler on the Roof. Whatever you do today, time will pass. But it is what you do, today, that will determine which is greater: the happiness or the tears.

Nyall Bakk knows how to send quality targeted visitors to your website. To learn how to effectively advertise your internet business, visit his website http://www.advertisingww.com. To get more articles about advertising go tohttp://www.advertisingww.com/articles

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Anxiety Disorders - Distinguishing the Types of disorders

People suffer from a variety of anxiety disorders, each with their own set of symptoms and recommended treatments. These disorders are clustered on a spectrum of overall anxiety, with some that affect the overall quality of life and others that are very specific. At one end of the spectrum is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Individuals who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder will experience a overall tensions or anxiety that with their ability to lead a normal life. Even the smallest things incite low levels of anxiety, even when there is no apparent reason or this worry or stress. People with this disorder worry about all aspects of their life - money, family, work, their health and the health of family and friends.

Those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder are often exhausted and cranky, since they are unable to relax. Also, they usually experience other mental health disorders, such as depression and substance abuse.

Another type of anxiety disorder is a panic disorder. People who suffer from a panic disorder will have frequent panic attacks that cause them to have an overwhelming and unnatural fear that they are in some type of danger.

During a panic attack these people may experience certain types of phobias that include a specific phobia to a certain condition, social phobia, or agoraphobia. All of these phobias are an unnatural, uncontrollable, and most times unstoppable fear of a certain situation, object, or action. People that have this type of anxiety disorder will go to any length to avoid the source of their phobia.

People affected by social phobias will go to any extreme to avoid a social situation - usually because they fear it may trigger a panic attack. These social situations include meeting new people, speaking in public, or even being at a busy place where they are expected to interact. Agoraphobia is a fear of being in an embarrassing situation or a fear of being unable to escape a situation. In the extreme case, an agoraphobic will be fearful of leaving their home, the home is the only place they feel safe. A person with anxiety disorder sometimes develops a specific phobia around an object or thing, such as a fear of spiders, snakes or dogs.

They may even realize their fear in unfounded but still are unable to deal with the feeling of their fear.

Yet another anxiety disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Symptoms include having irrational thoughts that cause the person great anxiety. They obsess about things such as germs and constantly wash their hands. Or they may check the stove over and over in fear of having left it on. These people also know that they are acting in irrational ways, but without medication or other medical attention, they will be unable to stop behaviors. People suffering from OCD will often develop rituals that they carry out in a compulsive manner. Many times these compulsive rituals will take the person over an hour or two to complete each day creating a great deal of upheaval in their life.

Any type of anxiety can cause and individual to feel great distress. However, proper treatment and management of the symptoms are available. If you are someone you love suffers from anxiety, don't be afraid to consult with a professional, such as a doctor, psychologist or therapist.

Helen Peters is the webmaster for Free Anxiety, the web's premier resource for information about http://www.freeanxiety.com. For more articles on Anxiety visit: http://www.freeanxiety.com/articles

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Great Resources For Publishing Your Works!

Are you the next great budding novelist among us? What story have you written that you can't wait to tell? Are you passionate about a hobby and want to share your knowledge with fellow enthusiasts? As a writer, you share one thing in common among each other: the pursuit of a means to get your written works out to the general public. When large publishing houses once dominated the book market, a literary agent was needed to promote your works. This needed to be established before an editor would consider your writings.

Due in part to the popularity of the Internet and affordable desktop publishing software, today~s marketplace is much more open and broad. Today's writer has many reliable resources for publishing their compositions and marketing their own material.

Are you a writer looking for a resource to self-publish your works through a small publishing company? The Small Publishers Association (SPAN), an independent non-profit trade association, is comprise of authors and small publishing houses that want to promote their books. SPAN's main goal is to keep the entrepreneurial spirit of independent publisher alive and vibrant. SPAN's mission, according to its website at http://www.spannet.org, has remained 'to help small publishers sell more books, increase profits, and create more successful businesses'. In Denver in October 2005, the association will host a conference to focus on marketing and public relation issues that are relevant to small publishing.

Another resource for finding small independent publishing houses is PMA. PMA is a trade association for independent publishers with over 3900 members. The association focuses on marketing and education for its members. To see a complete listing of publishing houses that are members of PMA, visit PMA's website at http://www.pma-online.org. You can search within this list for local independent publishers by state or by a particular topic.

According to conventional advice, you should never pay anyone to publish your book. Why pay for this yourself when a publisher should bare the risk of producing and promoting the book? When the publisher sets the parameters to follow ~ such a mandatory length or rewriting for portions of the book, the author then is at the mercy of the publisher.

However, an author who's willing to stick his neck out on the line and publish the book independently can total invest in his book and wording, even if the author also has to incur self-publishing expenses. This freedom allows the author to remain in total creative control.

After the publishing part of a book is completed, the book must then be marketed. Some small publishers also tender marketing and advertising venues for the author. These publishers, in a way, are also supplying a market for the published works. An astute first-time author should seek out a publishing house with these comprehensive marketing services.

Since the popularity of e-books is growing, this method of publishing may work and fill many authors' needs. A large number of companies have a website and are willing to publish your e-book. You can easily find these sites through a simple search on the Internet.

Copyright 2005 Celine Vorster. All rights reserved.

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iPause - Take a Break Before You Break Down by Aneeta Sundararaj and Rohi Shetty

You are in trouble. Your back is aching; so are your shoulders and wrists. Your mouth is filled with painful ulcers. You feel mentally drained and emotionally numb and you can't remember the last time you didn't feel stressed. But you can't take a vacation just yet because you are working on a tight deadline. You wonder whether you will burn out before finishing your book project.

Does this scenario seem familiar? It’s time to take a break.

Here are five suggestions to minimise the chances of a physical or mental breakdown caused by prolonged working hours:

1. Work in 30-minute slots

Think about it – when you were at school, each lesson lasted no more than 40 minutes: 5 minutes to settle down, 30 minutes for the actual lesson, and the last 5 minutes on winding up. Later, college lectures lasted longer but never for more than an hour at a time. Any longer and you hit the downward spiral of diminishing returns.

Therefore, work for 30-minutes and then take a break. One way to remind yourself to take a break is to set a timer or alarm every 30 minutes. You can choose to record your progress every 30 minutes, which is an effective way to boost your productivity. While taking a break, you can even opt for the best scented candles because it promotes relaxation.

2. Take a real break

According to the new PGi infographic, Screen Fiends, the average American spends over 12 hours every day in front of a screen—laptop, desktop, TV, tablet or smartphone.

The 30-minute-break we talk about above must be a real break. Don't spend this time checking your email. Give yourself the gift of "screen freedom." This means give your eyes a complete rest. For additional bonus points, do stretching exercises or take a micro-nap. You can also check out the top flower brands because studies have shown how hemp flowers are extremely beneficial to one's health.

3. Exercise daily

The novelist Haruki Murakami has run a marathon a year for over 20 years. In an interview, he says, "I try not to think about anything special while running. As a matter of fact, I usually run with my mind empty. However, when I run empty-minded, something naturally and abruptly crawls in sometime. That might become an idea that can help me with my writing."

Some form of physical exercise is absolutely essential for writers, since they spend hours at their desks. Exercise not only helps them to keep physically fit, but it's also a great way to bust stress. Several recent studies have found that even mild exercise such as taking a ten-minute walk substantially boosts creativity. That's probably why Nietzsche said, "Only thoughts reached by walking have value.”

4. Write standing

Ernest Hemingway wrote standing by placing his typewriter on a chest-high shelf. Other writers who did the same include Thomas Wolfe, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, and Fernando Pessoa. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote his legal opinions while standing at a lectern and remarked “Nothing conduces to brevity like a caving in of the knees.”

If you choose to stand while writing, at least part of the time, it will help you to correct postural imbalance caused by prolonged sitting. In fact, a school in Britain is conducting a study where children are required to stand while taking their lessons. The aim of the study is to assess the impact on concentration of sitting for long periods of time - and what effects it can have on children’s health.

5. Gift yourself a holiday every week

According to the Bible, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work." Then He created Chuck Norris. :)

Jokes aside, you need to take a weekly holiday and recharge your batteries if you want to avoid burnout.

What is your favourite way to overcome stress and fatigue? Let us know in the comments below.

Aneeta Sundararaj is a published author and established writer for magazines, newspapers and journals. She undergoes a 'technology detox' on a regular basis as part of her rejuvenation exercises.

Rohi Shetty is a freelance writer who riffs about the importance of humor, mindful mojo, and creative entrepreneurship at http://rohishetty.com. He is also a star student of Danny Iny’s Audience Business Masterclass. And he has now taken to working while standing up.

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Having been in the publishing industry for more than ten years, I’ve come across and worked with many people. Some have said things to me that I could never in a thousand years come up with in fiction. A common one, though, is that I am ‘just the writer’. I’ve learnt to laugh when people say this. However, if you are someone who doesn’t want to join the legions of terrible clients that writers have to work with (and sometimes work for), here are five things you should never say or do to a writer. 1. Don’t treat writers as though they’re dumb

“Are you OK?” I asked the man seated across from me. We had agreed to meet for coffee. He looked preoccupied and I was concerned for his welfare. He took a deep breath and said, “I’m OK now. I’ve come back to my equibilirium.” I struggled to keep a straight face because I knew he meant ‘equilibrium’, but didn’t point it out so as not to offend. There was only so much I could take, though. “I’m sorry,” I said, “but can you tell me what that word means?” His widened his eyes. “You mean, equibilirium? Shouldn’t you know? You’re a writer, isn’t it?” When I shook my head, he continued with, “Equibilirium is when you have supply on the one hand and demand on the other. When you put them together, you get equibilirium.” I bit my lip because I was about to burst out laughing. “Some writer you are,” he said. I smiled and left him alone to pay the bill.

Not only did this man not know the correct word or how to use it, he then insulted me by implying that because I’m a writer, I should know every word in the dictionary. Don’t ever underestimate the writer’s intelligence, just because he chooses to be a writer. [caption id="attachment_11263" align="alignleft" width="300"] A writer is never 'Just a writer'. Heard the saying, 'The pen is mightier than the sword'?[/caption] 2. Do not pit one writer against another One morning, I received a phone call from a man who wanted ‘help’ with his book. I knew immediately that ‘help’ was code for, “I want you to do all the work, but I won’t pay you.” Still, I listened to him say that the writer who had prepared his manuscript for him ‘hadn’t put a few things in’. When I said that since I knew this writer, I would discuss this with her and see how we could make the manuscript better, he became flustered. The call soon ended and we’ve never spoken since. It was all the confirmation I needed that he was trying to pit the other writer against me and see what kind of ‘bargain’ he could come up with. Even with the vast world-wide web, we writers are a small and tight-knit community. We often know each other and if we don’t, we will know ‘someone who knows’ and it’s just one email to enquire about potential clients. 3. When a writer has already given you a discount, don’t ask for more Writers, like all other professionals, have their schedule of fees with discounts offered for various sorts of people. For instance, if I know that the group I’m writing material for is a non-profit organisation, I might consider giving them a considerable discount on my fees. It’s awful when a client (who happens to be driving the latest BMW) says, “I know I’m not in that organisation and I know you’ve given me a 20% discount, but, why can’t you give me the same discount as that non-profit organisation?” 4. Don’t expect your writer to do everything Here’s something I hear on a regular basis: “We don’t need an editor. You’re the writer. You can also edit.” In any organisation, chances are there will be external auditors who ensure that everything is in order within the organisation. I’ve never heard of an external auditor doubling up as the bookkeeper within the organisation. Likewise, an editor is crucial to any written project. A good editor will give you honest and constructive feedback which will be of benefit to your book and make it better. Cut corners by refusing the services of an editor and you will risk a bad quality book being published. 5. Do not bring sex, religion or politics into the negotiations for a book project Instead of my fee to write a speech for the guest speaker at a fund-raising event, I was asked to accept a ‘table’ at the event, the idea being that I could invite nine friends and none of us would have to pay for a ticket. The cost of this ‘table’ was 1/10 my fee. As a bonus, I was told I could network with some rich politicians and, he actually said, “You never know, Aneeta, you may find your dream man there.” There’s an old saying that you should never discuss sex, politics or religion in polite company. Similarly, don’t offer a writer something grotesque instead of the fee he has named. Do this and risk the writer being impolite … in writing. As we writers share our ‘disaster’ stories with each other, we find that the common denominator among them all is this: respect, or lack thereof. We’re not shown any respect because we are ‘just the writer’. The fact of the matter is that if you respect us, we will respect you. Treat us as ‘just the writer’, though, and we will treat you as ‘just the client’. And if you don’t understand how harmful it is when a writer treats you as ‘just the client’, you’re in serious trouble. *** Aneeta Sundararaj is the creator of a popular website, ‘How to Tell a Great Story’ (http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com). One of the stories, ‘Negotiations’ is featured in a series of eBooks, ‘Stranger than Fiction’ (https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/12162). In this story, she fictionalises a hilarious account between her and a potential client when they negotiated the fee for a writing project that, mercifully, never came to be. (24 March 2014)

You are free to publish this story, email it to your friends, share it on Facebook or circulate it in any media. All I ask is that you keep it intact. If you choose to edit it in any way, please say that you've done that. And, I will appreciate it if you inform me you're editing it. All comments are welcome.

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The Semantics of Democracy

[This essay was written last year, after the revolution in Egypt. It seems apt to post it now, seeing how Egypt has elected a new President.]

***

In the wake of the dramatic political events in the Middle East in February 2011, there are many who wonder if some countries there will now embrace democracy. Indeed, since the revolution in Egypt, there is analysis of how fast its citizens were able to start the revolution to oust the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Also, there has been debate about the blueprint for democracy that Egypt will now adopt. From a writer’s perspective, however, one question remains strangely unanswered: what, actually, does the word ‘democracy’ mean?

Let’s start with the events in Cairo, Egypt, by referring to the story told by Umapagan Ampikaipakan, a columnist with the New Straits Times of Malaysia: approximately two months before the revolution commenced, Mohamed Bouazizi was a 26-year-old man who had a university degree. When he could not find work, he decided to start a small street stall to sell vegetables. Without a licence, the police stopped him from doing business. Frustrated and angry, the young man committed suicide by setting himself on fire. Furious, the citizens of the town rioted and there were clashes with security forces. A few days later, another disillusioned man ‘climbed an electricity pole, shouted "no for misery, no for unemployment", touched the 30,000 megawatt wires and electrocuted himself.’ These were men who had nothing to live for. The response of the authorities was as expected: although they regretted the incidents, they thought that people had taken them out of context and were using them to reach unhealthy political ends.¹

Mr. Ampikaipakan also states that, ‘… the idea of democracy, that practice of social equality, that notion of "by the people, of the people", has long been considered to be the last best hope. Because it places the responsibility, the burden -- even the eventual guilt -- in the hands of the many. Because it forces the individual to think with the collective; like a collective.’ ¹

Khor Swee Kheng, in his letter to the New Straits Times, adds to the story of the political drama in Egypt by saying that the attention of the world was more focused on the angry young men and their internet tools than maintenance of democracy. He believes that democracy is the least ‘imperfect system of governance, and (in combination with capitalism) probably the vehicle that has done most to eradicate poverty, raise living standards and improve "happiness" levels worldwide.’ ²

Mr. Khor makes the statement that an entire nation of angry young people coming together and using technology to revolt against an autocratic government does not necessarily bring about democracy. He argues that, in the absence of large middle class, the template for proper government does not contain essential elements for democratisation. For instance, the people must be aware of their rights, have the intellectual and emotional courage to fight back and the tools to organise such a fight. In addition, leaders of a democratic nation should have the ability to govern the people. Finally, there should be democratic tools such as ‘a free media, a working legal system … and independent universities.’ In the absence of all these, when a country moves rapidly from autocracy to democracy, there is chance that it will be much harder to build an effective civil service as ‘we hardly can expect the brave leader of the revolution to automatically be a competent minister of roads, and his underlings to also happen to be trained civil engineers.’

Karim Raslan, a columnist with The Star, somewhat echoes Mr. Khor’s sentiments when he writes as follows: ‘When people invoke “democracy,” they mean much more. They mean freedom, prosperity, good governance, social justice and peace … At the same time, democracy … isn’t just a simple process of calling elections and voting. In order for the process to work, there needs to be a media that is free and fair as well as counter-veiling institutions – NGOs and law courts that are objective and above the fray. It’s also important that there should be a 50:50 chance that the present bunch in government can be thrown out of office: otherwise why bother?’ ⁴

Mr. Raslan goes on to argue that democracy also depends on the culture, religion, history and politics of a nation. In the end, he makes a plausible conclusion that because human nature is such that we are always evolving, (in other words, we always want more), ‘democracy allows for this constant evolutionary process, responding and adapting to popular sentiment.’ ⁴

The point that democracy is constantly evolving was illustrated very well by the chart that Anup Shah created in his article, Democracy. He starts by explaining that the word ‘democracy’ literally means ‘“rule by the people”, taken from the Greek terms, demos (meaning “people”), and kratos (meaning “rule”).’ Then, he plots the development of democracy and its application throughout the ages from Ancient Greece (where democracy was only practiced by citizens who were male and had completed military training; women and slaves were excluded) and Ancient India (where a less rigid form of the caste system practiced a type of democracy that was similar to the kind practiced in Ancient Greece) to England of the Middle Ages (with the introduction of the Magna Carta and eventual establishment of the parliamentary democracy) and Post World War II which saw the overthrow of corrupt dictatorships and transitions of so-called Third World Nations to democracies.⁵

Here’s the thing: only four writers (three in Malaysia and one from the US) have been highlighted above. While all of them have used the word ‘democracy’ liberally, each person seems to have his own definition of the word, how a country will achieve democratic status and how democracy should be practised. No doubt, there is some overlap in their views, but consider this: if one were ask for the views of people from other parts of the world, there is bound to be confusion when trying to define an ideology that is as seemingly simple and universal as democracy. No one makes this point better that George Orwell in his essay, Politics and the English Language: ‘The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning.’³

Mr. Orwell points the crux of the matter when he writes that, ‘Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.’

Where, then, does that leave Egypt and other countries who are on the path to democracy? Decidedly, it is only proper that the citizens of a country revolt against an unfair regime that denies them basic rights and causes them to suffer such imaginable hardships. It is proper to be rid of leaders who ignore human rights abuses, are uncaring and corrupt. Once a revolution has been successful, to rebuild a nation, it is wise to take the cue from Mr. Orwell: whatever ideologies or system of government this new nation would like to adopt, its leaders must be honest at all times. In other words, when drafting the rules, regulations, constitutions or any other instrument of government, every effort should be made to ensure that the words used should not be ambiguous, confusing or subject to semantics. Such a task will take time and patience and cannot be rushed or coerced.

Ultimately, if one were to take all of the above into account, and add some flexibility to the equation, the task of nation-building will probably be less fraught with tension and uncertainty. Perhaps, such genuine effort on the part of new leaders will go some way towards showing people that they now have something to live for.

****

Footnotes:

1. Ampikaipakan, Umapagan. One Step At A Time On The Road To Democracy. New Straits Times. 15 February 2011 (Accessed 21 February 2011) < http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/17umia/Article/>
2. Khor Swee Kheng. Democracy May Not Take Hold. New Straits Times. 14 February 2011 (Accessed 21 February 2011) < http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/18revo/Article/>
3. Orwell, George. Politics And The English Language. First published by Horizon, UK. April 1946. (Accessed 21 February 2011) < http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit>
4. Raslan, Karim. Democracy Can’t Be Imposed. The Star. 15 February 2011. (Accessed 21 Febraury 2011)< http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=ceritalah&file=/2011/2/15/columnists/ceritalah/8064797&sec=Ceritalah>
5. Shah, Anup. “Democracy.” Global Issues, Updated: 30 November 2008. (Accessed 21 February 2011) <http://www.globalissues.org/article/761/democracy>

By Aneeta Sundararaj

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About Tegon Maus:

I was raised pretty much the same as everyone else... devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends I could conjure. Not that I wasn't friendly, I just wasn't "people orientated". Maybe I lived in my head way more than I should have, maybe not. I liked machines more than people, at least I did until I met my wife.

The first thing I can remember writing was for her. For the life of me I can't remember what it was about... something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after that. I spent a good number of years after inventing games and prototypes for a variety of ideas before I got back to writing.

It wasn't a deliberate conscious thought, it was more of a stepping stone. My wife and I had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. "Be as detailed as you can," we were told.

I was thrilled. If there is one thing I enjoy it's making people believe me and I like to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an out right lie mine you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn't be sure if it were true or not. If I can make people think "it could happen," even for a moment, then I have them and nothing makes me happier. When I write, I always write with the effort of "it could happen" very much in mind and nothing, I guarantee you, nothing, makes me happier.

About the book: 

Jack Laskin is an ordinary man. More than ordinary according to some. Running the family hardware store and a life that would bore a snail, nothing exciting ever seems to happen to him.

Then, at his mother’s urging, he tries on a pair of his late grandfather's old pants and everything changes -- most importantly his emerging love life. It's not long before his mother and her meddling friends get involved.

When an old friend of his grandfather’s tells Jack he has something she wants, his new-found life takes another turn. Having no idea what he is supposed to have, Jack looks to his girlfriend, Connie, and her brother, Robert, for help. In the end, the answers will all be found in his 'Grandfather’s Pants'.

***

Jack Laskin is just an ordinary man; he has a girlfriend, looks after his mother and runs the family hardware store. When, one day his mother gives him a pair of his grandfather’s pants, he doesn’t really want them, but she insists they’ll be perfect for him.

Being a good son, Jack dutifully wears them, then he discovers things change, suddenly those around him treat him differently, it’s almost as if he’s become someone else...

As the magic continues, he discovers family secrets beyond belief, and when a ghosts from the past come wriggling out of the woodwork, he find himself committed to solving a mystery which spans generations.

This story is fantastic! It is totally different to anything I have read before. As the storyline unfolds, it is sexy, humorous and very entertaining – absolutely brilliant!

Reviewed by Susan Keefe

(14 February 2014)

The ‘Delete’ Button and a Writer

Writer 1: I received an email from X. She said she’d read this blog post of a man who thinks one of my books is horrible.

Writer 2: Oh. What were his exact words?

Writer 1: I don’t remember the exact words. Don’t make me go back and read them. Please, I beg you.

Writer 2: But who is he? Writer 1: Actually, I don’t know anything about him.

***

For anyone who has been in the writing world long enough, they might have been Writer 1, Writer 2, counselled several Would-Be-Writers-1, or even been advised about how to avoid such situations altogether. Many times, the advice given and received can be distilled into one simple sentence: press the ‘Delete’ button. Here are five different scenarios of what can happen in such situations.

Scenario 1

Writer 1 goes into a tail-spin of misery because the Blogger’s words are hurtful, malicious and painful to read. He withdraws from the world to lick his wounds. Five years later, he emerges from his self-imposed exile from the publishing world and realises that, in truth, many others had disagreed with what the blogger wrote, but didn’t have the courage (or couldn’t be bothered) to let him know. Writer 1 regrets the years spent being depressed and wished he’d pressed the ‘Delete’ button when he first received the email.

Scenario 2

Writer 2, seeing her friend in such misery, decides to investigate the matter further. She makes discreet enquiries and finds out that the Blogger has been doing this to many other writers. All the other writers have ceased to have any contact with the Blogger and she advises Writer 1 to mentally press ‘Delete’ and forget this Blogger ever existed.

Scenario 3

A Commissioning Editor at a publishing house happens to read the blog and becomes amused at how ridiculous the Blogger sounds. As a person who knows neither Writer 1 nor the Blogger, the Editor is completely objective in her opinion and decides that the Blogger is ‘crazy’. Then, as the universe often conspires to have some fun at the expense of us mere mortals, the Editor receives a submission from the said Blogger for a novel he’s written and wants the publisher to look at. The Editor is not going to risk taking on such a ‘crazy’ person and presses the ‘Delete’ button.

Scenario 4

When the email first arrives, all Writer 1’s friends rally around him. They meet up for coffee and have a good gossip. Five years down the road, Writer 1 is invited to an international writing festival. The other writer friends are furious and envious in equal measure. They insist that Writer 1 refuse the invitation. Writer 1 ignores them and goes to the festival anyway. A year later, he publishes a new book, but when he sends out the announcement about it, all this friends press the ‘Delete’ button as they feel he betrayed them.

Scenario 5

Two years after the conversation above, Writer 1 and 2 are no longer in contact as one has moved away to a different country. Writer 1 reads about Writer 2’s success and is genuinely happy for his friend. The problem is that Writer 1 also notices that Writer 2 is now in contact with the Blogger. Writer 1 is left wondering how to deal with this situation. When Writer 1 does receive an email from Writer 2, panicked, he presses the ‘Delete’ button. He worries that Writer 2 may have told the Blogger all his secrets and Writer 1 chooses to withdraw into the safety of his cocoon. ‘After all,’ he reasons with himself, ‘a writer’s life is a lonely one.’

Other than the ‘Delete’ button, the common denominator in all these scenarios is the element of risk that a writer takes. John Coates, in an article called, ‘Risk Factor: How biology can explain what drives banks to the brink of disaster’, writes about what happens when traders take on too much risk. Although his article is completely unrelated to the writing world, he analyses that element of risk-taking and the biology behind it. If one were to paraphrase what Coates writes and put a publishing slant to it, a new premise that may emerge is this:

When writers are put into a stressful situation, their response can go into overdrive. They are in crisis mode and feel completely uncertain. They feel anxious and remember disturbing memories. They certainly feel hopeless and the need to ‘run away from it all’ becomes paramount. To others, this may seem like an irrational response, but their judgment is completely impaired.

If you look at all the scenarios mentioned above, you’ll recognise who gave a considered response and who was irrational. Coates solution is to ask banks to get their risk managers to learn to manage traders’ exuberance, fatigue and stress. In an ideal world, the writer should have someone they can turn to, someone they can trust completely to help them in such situations. Unfortunately, many writers don’t have such a luxury. Perhaps, that is the lesson for all writers: to find a suitable risk manager. In this way, when a possible crisis arises, if and when the ‘Delete’ button is pressed, it will the right thing to do.

Aneeta Sundararaj created, developed and managed her website, howtotellagreatstory.com on her own. You can learn from her strategies (and mistakes) by downloading her FREE eBook, Website Makeover. Visit howtotellagreatstory.com to know more.

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