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The Secrets of Manhattan #1 Manhattanhenge
This post is part of a series I will be writing in the run up to the launch of The Manhattan Puzzle on October 10th, 2013. They will describe some of the most interesting things I have discovered about Manhattan during my research.
The Manhattan Puzzle is available for pre-order in many countries here.
In 1811 a street plan was adopted for the island of Manhattan that allowed the sun to set directly on the line of the streets twice a year. The cross-street grid was approved by the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 to be offset from true east-west by 29 degrees to allow this to happen.
The effect is spectacular. It has also been described as unique, because the tall buildings of Manhattan create a canyon effect heightened by the un-interrupted views across the Hudson River towards New Jersey.
For 2013 the effect will occur on May 28th and July 13th. On those days the setting Sun will align with Manhattan’s street grid creating a sunset glow directly down each cross street.
John Randel Jr. (1787–1865) was the surveyor who created Manhattan’s grid over what was an undeveloped, hilly island. Randel was a believer in the Enlightenment, new theories, which gave math and science a new role in human affairs.
Randell was most probably a Freemason too, as they were holders of many high offices in the US during the early years after independence.
Manhattan’s street grid is at its most beautiful when the streets align directly with the setting sun. Whether future historians interpret this to mean New Yorker’s worship the sun is another matter entirely.
Emerging Writers: Guest Post #19 – Why poetry, if you can’t stand reading it?
Adam Moursy was born in New York City in 1986. He’s lived in and around the city ever since, with much of his adult life influenced by street culture, heavy drinking, and overall debauchery. To no surprise, he writes what he knows — hard-hitting anecdotes from both the past and present, without many frills. He was first published at the age of twenty-four, and has appeared in several lit mags and poetry journals in the US and UK.
A witty and insightful look at the daily (and moreover nightly) carousals of its author, Slinking Under The Electric Bulb is the first collection of prose poetry by Adam Moursy. From chance encounters with loose women, to struggles with both money and the tameless characters of New York City’s underbelly, the writing remains fast-paced and blunt, in a sort of hit-and-run fashion.
Why Poetry?
I’ve asked myself that question more times than I can remember. I can’t stand reading it, can’t stand the stigma that comes along with it ‒ so why write it? Is it for the quick fix? A means of dealing with a terribly short attention span? Or for the simple appreciation of having a good bathroom book on hand?
The answer is D: All of the Above. But it’s so much more.
Poetry needs a new voice.
Whitman had it. Neruda carried the torch. Bukowski killed it. Now what?
Another change, of course. Poems for the modern day man ‒ void of rhyme and decorum, of senseless fluff. In an age where sex drives us all, where rebellion is openly tolerated (and even encouraged), it’s amazing that the poets of today, both young and old alike, still stick to the formulas of their more than century-old predecessors. We know that the trees are there, that love is a blade, and that the sun rises and sets for each and every one of us, but what about what really goes on? What about that hemorrhoid you’re sitting on, that blowjob you got last week, or hell, even that god-awful guy or girl you met through OkCupid? Here we are, living by the social network, by GPS and text messaging, by designer drugs and complex drinks and convenient everything. We don’t even have pubic hair. So, when will poetry finally catch up?
That’s where I come in. I’ve planted a seed, and it’s called Slinking Under The Electric Bulb. Take the title head-on: I drank and fucked and did so by today’s standards, like a rogue cat creeping down some dingy street of terror, and made sure to write about it while not holding anything back. Yes, it’s plenty vulgar. And, no, you probably won’t regard me as anything more than your dirty little secret. But you will relate, whoever you are, as there’s something in there for everyone ‒ from being held-up at gunpoint, to pop culture and literary references, to living in a broken-down dump in an otherwise flourishing Brooklyn neighborhood. If you’ve already forgotten that it’s a poetry book, you’re on the right track, since each piece reads more like a very, very short story set to free verse. Based on the feedback I’ve gotten thus far, you really can’t go wrong by giving it a whirl, and it’s one you’ll want to go back to again and again.
All in all, take note of what’s going on here, and know that poetry isn’t dead. Also, be on the lookout for me, as I already have a second title in the works and I’m not stopping there. I may not go down in history, but I will go down as the first person to start a piece with “ass-to-mouth.”
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Thanks Adam. I know about irresistible urges and I’m glad you are addressing the forbidden. I wish you well.
This guest post is part of a series in 2013 where I will be showcasing emerging writers on this blog.
You can help by buying their books, sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook and coming back for the next post. You can also follow this site (click the button above right), to be notified by email on who is next in a few days time.
And if you are a writer and want to be featured send me an email lob@yourasms.com and I will send you the submission guidelines.
And please support this site and the promotion of new names in fiction by buying: The Istanbul Puzzle & The Jerusalem Puzzle.
Emerging Writers: Guest Post #9 The power of writing
Charmaine Gordon, our next guest blogger, is a US based author. She is gutsy and determined. Here is more from Charlaine, in her own words:
After years as wife of an Air Force pilot, Strategic Air Command, 301st Air Refueling Squad, part of a Bomb Wing, we became civilians eventually moving to NYC with many kids and dogs. I spread my wings when my daughter was in high school and pursued my own dream of working professionally as an actor.
Not too much to ask for, I thought and found I had a lot to learn. Classes in on-camera and commercials, I took them all determined, not to be a star, but to be a part of a larger pond. And I succeeded; joined three unions necessary to work, freelanced with agents and the girl from Chicago who stayed home to be a good daughter,wife, and mother, got work in the big city all on her own.
Charmaine’s novel, about a woman who fights back when her husband leaves is available here.
Here is Charmaine’s post:
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What is the best thing about writing?
As an actor, I cherished every word in the script with respect to the playwright never thinking one day I’d be a writer. A mother hears her child say, “Read me a story, Mommy.”
Read becomes“Tell me a story, Mom.” And here I am with a publisher, Kimberlee Williams-Vanilla Heart Publishing who calls and says, “Write another new story.”
The best is using the powerful gift of imagination. An idea wakes me from sleep. In the morning I write. Think of what the writer can do with a story. You create a situation, two people meet, maybe fall in love, a misunderstanding, obstacles you throw in their path to prevent an easy solution and at last, love wins. OR an evil presence, a parallel story to collide, illness, death, destruction, misunderstanding and love wins OR. . .Possibilities are endless.
The author is in command OR is she? The characters take over as they often do. The author loses herself, cries, laughs, and writes until The End. You weep some more because your baby has grown up and you want to show her to the world. Then the real work begins. Promotion, marketing. Oh my. All you want to do is write.
Charmaine’s novel, about a woman who fights back when her husband leaves her is available here.
Blurb: Beth Malone wakes up one morning to find a note from her husband of forty years. “Dear Liz, it’s not you, it’s me.” Abandoned by her husband, Beth decides to re-establish herself as the winner she once was. When Frank Malone returns, he’s in for a big surprise!
To read more about Charmaine and download a sampler go here.
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Thanks Charmaine for being our ninth guest post writer. I admire your determination and your willingness to write about what makes us all tick, the power of love.
This guest post is part of a series in 2013 where I will be showcasing emerging writers on this blog.
You can help by clicking through to their sites, buying their books, sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook and coming back for the next post. You can also follow this site (click the button above right), to be notified by email on who is next in a few days time.
And if you are a writer and want to be featured send me an email lob@yourasms.com and I will send you the submission guidelines.
Emerging Writers: Guest Post #8 Divergent Lives – Twins, real sociopaths at the edge
A native of New York City’s “El Barrio,” Minnie Lahongrais is a mother and grandmother who works as a litigation secretary for an international law firm by day. She has always been an avid reader. As a child, she would sneak books to read under her covers at bedtime by the light of a penlight her father secretly gave her.
Her current novel, a psychological thriller entitled “Divergent Lives” was released December 12, 2012. It is the story of fraternal twins born in NYC to immigrant parents. They are separated at birth. One remains with the biological parents, the other is sold on the black market to a couple living in another state. Both grow up to be sociopaths. One is a serial killer.
Minnie currently resides in the borough of The Bronx in New York City.
Divergent Lives is available on Amazon here.
Take it away Minnie.
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The 40-Something Reader
As a voracious reader with a vivid imagination, I read stories that feed my darkest fantasies. My wheels spin. My heartbeat quickens. Depending on where my head is, I can often be found reading more than one book at a time. My tastes run from biographies or bodice-ripping romance and erotica to fantasy, science fiction and everything in between. Many of the works I read in my youth and through my late thirties were not only intriguing, but showed me what I could strive for in life.
Then they began to feel formulaic to me: Young, perky girl, not smart enough to stay out of trouble, fights while wearing spiked high heels (and wins!) but is vulnerable enough to get the hot guy in the end. These stories weren’t geared toward the woman I had become. I rarely discovered heroines or even villains over thirty unless it was some wizened character with no sex appeal, no power. I wanted to see ass-kicking by people MY age. I wanted dark and light to be wrought in the hands of amazing people who have experienced life’s agony, joys, mistakes and passion – and lived long enough to appreciate them all. Many genres could stand an injection of maturity. Along with unexpected twists, they tackle real life issues and attract older, more experienced readers – like me, maybe like you too. That’s why the main characters in my recent release, Divergent Lives, are all near their forties. These characters are believable, relatable, not polished. They are smart, sexual creatures. Like the rest of us, they are flawed.
Divergent Lives is a psychological thriller, a story about fraternal, sociopathic twins separated at birth. Though they never learn of each other, their paths cross nonetheless. You never really know where the story is going or how it’s going to end. These characters carry baggage that affects their logic – or lack thereof. Sometimes they get so caught up in the moment that they don’t take time to think things through and end up making “fatal” mistakes. Maybe you can relate? I know I can.
I write my stories with the “sandwich generation” in mind. You know, those of us of a certain age who are caring for our elderly parents and may also have college kids back home. I believe we’re hungry for engaging, thought-provoking stories; ones with a touch of the mystical, the unexplainable, a little romance, maybe even the deviant. Our stories can have all that, but before we dive in, we need to take a look at the world. Not everyone is young, smooth and still fumbling for a light switch knowing there’s a killer in the house.
Minnie Lahongrais
Author of “Sinner’s Ride” and the newly released “Divergent Lives”
Minnie’s Website
Minnie on Twitter
Like Minnie on Facebook
Pink Diamond Lady Blog
Divergent Lives Blog
Minnie’s Author Page on Amazon
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Thanks Minnie for being our eighth guest post writer. I love fiction with a an edge and admire all writers who want to get close to the reality of our existence
This guest post is part of a series in 2013 where I will be showcasing emerging writers on this blog.
You can help by clicking through to their sites, buying their books, sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook and coming back for the next post. You can also follow this site (click the button above right), to be notified by email on who is next in a few days time.
And if you are a writer and want to be featured send me an email lob@yourasms.com and I will send you the submission guidelines.
