When I look at the faces of my dogs, I see innocence and love. I see loyalty beyond comprehension. I see everything good about living in the world; and seeing them each day enriches my life to a degree that is indescribable. I truly believe the sentiments of Schopenhauer are correct:
Mark Rubinstein on “A Book and a Chat”
A Book and a Chat with Mark Rubinstein
Mark Rubinstein was a recent guest on “A Book and a Chat“ on New Visions Radio. Mark spoke with host Barry Eva about his novella, The Foot Soldier, and his other writing projects, including his upcoming Mad Dog Justice. You can listen to the full interview here.
The “Bada Bing” of the Novel
I occasionally read a novel in which there are many references to popular culture in the storyline. This is particularly true in James Hynes’s hauntingly disturbing and must-read novel, Next. Among other popular cultural references, Next reads:
“…so he orders an iced tea.
“With legs?” says the golden blond, absently pressing a key on the register.
“Pardon?” Starbucks is like its own country, you have to know the silly argot.
“To go?” says the fortysomething woman, in a rising Texas singsong. “’With legs’ means ‘to go.’”
Remembrance of Things Past
One spring morning, while entering the nursing home, I held the door open for a middle-aged man who was leaving. As he crossed the door’s threshold, an alarm sounded, and two security guards emerged, then guided him back into the facility. A petite, dark-haired woman approached, thanked the guards, and spoke soothingly to him. I could tell she was his wife.
“He’s new, Doc,” said a guard. “He’s much younger than the other residents and people don’t think he’s a patient. They let him out. So we have an ankle monitor on him.”
Approaching the couple, I spoke with his wife as Charles was escorted to his room. He’d been a resident for only four weeks. At 55, he suffered from early onset dementia which had progressed rapidly.
A Book and a Chat with Barry Eva
I was on Barry Eva’s podcast, “A Book and a Chat.” Bu clicking on the link below, you can hear the entire interview.
Mark, thank you for being such a great guest on today’s program, the show went really well and we both enjoyed it, which is always a very important thing and makes the time just fly by. It was such fun to chat about so many different subjects, thank you so much.
You can listen to the show (as I am now) at this location where all the archived shows are kept
Best Wishes,
Barry Eva
We talk about reading, writing, and about various books.
A Simple Thank you
If I’m walking toward a door at let’s say, the post office and someone holds the door open for me, I would never fail to say, “Thank you.”
It dawned on me that I’ve been remiss by not thanking those who’ve written favorable reviews of my novels. Over the last few months, I’ve been thanking people for taking the time to express their pleasure in reading my books.
To all those who wrote positive reviews before this thought came to me, I want to thank you for your kind words. They are very much appreciated.
Mark Rubinstein
Author of Mad Dog House, Love Gone Mad and The Foot Soldier
“You’re Edgy and Irritable” My Wife Says
Writing is an emotionally draining and solitary business. You spend hour upon hour alone with your thoughts and fantasies, doing your best to order, re-order and transform them into coherent stories people will want to read. Like any other endeavor, you have good days and bad days. Sometimes you feel exhilarated; at other times you feel frustrated and exhausted. As they say, it goes with the territory.
My wife has noticed what she’s called “carryover” from a day’s writing. She can tell if I’ve been working on an intense scene or chapter—one with plenty of action or anger, or one brimming with life-altering (even murderous) conflicts between characters. She picks up on the energy writing has generated within me. It doesn’t simply dissipate when the day’s writing is finished. It carries over for a while.
The Resistance Man: A Talk with Martin Walker
Martin Walker is a senior fellow of a private think tank for CEOs of major corporations. He is also editor in chief emeritus and international affairs columnist for UPI and has been a journalist for the Guardian for many years. He has written five previous novels—all international best sellers—in the Bruno, Chief of Police mystery series. He lives in Washington, D.C. and the Dordogne region of France. His most recent Bruno novel is The Resistance Man.
“Graveyard of Memories”: A Talk with Barry Eisler
Barry Eisler’s John Rain novels are the “Tiffany” of assassin-oriented, suspense thrillers. The recently released Graveyard of Memories is a prequel to the other novels in the John Rain series. At the story’s outset, Rain, 20 years old and fresh from Vietnam, is a courier for the CIA. He suddenly finds himself threatened on all sides: he must survive the yakuza (the Japanese mob) and other imminent sources of danger. He falls in love with Sayaka, a beautiful wheelchair-bound young woman. Balancing love and the horror of what he must do to survive, John learns his trade craft to become a master assassin. We witness his unfolding maturity as he attempts to stay alive without totally losing the sensitive, soulful and remorseful aspects of his persona.
Quoting from Graveyard of Memories: “I was too young to know that some memories don’t fade, or age, or die. That the weight of some of what we do accumulates, expands, coheres, solidifies. That life means coming to grips with that ever-present weight, learning how to carry it with you wherever you go.”
My Day Behind Bars
It looked like something out of a nightmare—the Fishkill Correctional Facility at Beacon, NY. It was a huge, rambling series of buildings surrounded by chain link fences and concertina wire. I shivered at the thought of spending twenty years in this hellhole—amid society’s castaways, extruded from the world. It reminded me of the ninth level of Dante’s inferno.
I was patted down and wanded. I walked through a metal detector. I removed my shoes, which were examined. I was led by a guard down a long corridor.
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