STORY MERCHANT CLIENT DIANE MARONEY’S KICKSTART FOR THE IMAGINE PROJECT
A soulful photography/storybook about ordinary people with extraordinary life stories.
Publishers Weekly Reviews Story Merchant Client Dennis M. Walsh's Nobody Walks: Bringing My Brother's Killers to Justice
Nobody Walks: Bringing My Brother’s Killers to Justice
Dennis M. Walsh. St. Martin’s/Dunne, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-2500-0548-9
Walsh, a criminal defense attorney for 30 years, tells the blistering true story of the 2003 murder of one of his brothers, Christopher, who was discovered in a trash barrel in a California storage locker. Despite law enforcement’s reluctance to pursue the case since the author’s father and younger brother were in prison on drug charges, Walsh shoulders the burden and delves into the nadir of the criminal underworld, quizzing thieves, skinheads, Nazi bikers, hookers, and porn queens to construct something meaningful from various lies and schemes. Good leads dead-end and seemingly ironclad confessions crumble, but the author’s resourcefulness and determination to catch his brother’s killers keep this sordid tale moving along at a quick clip. Walsh keeps his law practice operating throughout the ordeal, but still finds time to persuade reluctant witnesses to offer their testimony and cooperate with authorities; after four years of sleuthing, the trial finally begins. The hearing is a real corker, chock-full of twists and turns, and written with passion and an eye for drama. Taut and relentless, this chronicle of a former cold case puts one man’s resolve and the American idea of justice to the test. B&w photos. (Feb.)
STORY MERCHANT CLIENT DIANE MARONEY’S KICKSTART FOR THE IMAGINE PROJECT
A soulful photography/storybook about ordinary people with extraordinary life stories.
Steubenville, OH Looking Forward to Clint Hill's Upcoming Appearance on November 14th
Former proofreader recalls when news of JFK death broke
,
The Herald-Star
NEW CUMBERLAND - Claudia Musick Flowers, a New Cumberland
resident and Weirton native, remembers vividly where she was when she
heard about the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.
"I was sitting at my desk at the Steubenville Herald-Star, where I was employed as a proofreader. The daily paper had already been put to bed, so I was at a slow period of a normal day."
But that quickly changed, Flowers recalled, when her boss, an editor at the paper, "was running toward us, frantically waving copy off a wire service story and yelling, 'The president has has been shot, stop the press!'"
"There were gasps from everyone that turned to a deadly silence as we
quickly collected our thoughts so we could function and do our jobs,"
she said.
Flowers, who was then 19 and had begun working at the paper earlier that year, said, "There were people running back and forth and shouting. It was very tense."
As one of three women who served as proofreaders, she was charged with checking copy for errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar and wording while seated at the center of the busy newsroom and in front of the noisy teletype machine.
"I proofread the short first copy that said very little other than the president was shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in a motorcade in Dallas," Flowers said.
She said Kennedy's visit to Dallas for Democratic Party business was considered minor news locally until word broke of his assassination while riding in a motorcade bound for a luncheon with civic and business leaders in the city.
Flowers said following that first, brief wire transmission, "Copy kept coming, each with more details. Typesetters set the story and reset the story many times as new updates came through.
"Then at 1 p.m., I proofread the heartbreaking news that a priest had announced the death of President Kennedy. Our grief enveloped us as we put the final update into type and sent it to the press," she said.
"In the short span of 30 minutes, a story had a beginning and an ending that stopped the world. Our hands had held it for those few moments of time, and then it was history," Flowers said.
Among the many who witnessed the tragic incident firsthand was Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who ran after the presidential limousine in order to shield first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, whom he was assigned to protect.
Hill and journalist Lisa McCubbin will speak about their New York Times-best selling book, "Mrs. Kennedy and Me," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Steubenville High School as part of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Concert and Lecture Series.
Flowers said the pressure of reworking that day's Herald-Star to include the devastating news seemed to override any questions the newspaper staff had about a motive and to some extent, the sorrow they felt.
"After our boss said 'that's it,' we all collapsed," Flowers said.
When their work was finished, she and other staffers took turns calling family from the break room. She noted in those days there were no cellular phones, and there was a radio, but no television, in the newsroom.
Her husband at the time was a Weirton police officer, and he also was shocked, Flowers said.
"I was a big Kennedy person. There was absolute sadness because he was such a great president," she said. She added she had taken a photo of him riding in a car through downtown Steubenville during a campaign stop before his election, and she was impressed by his public speaking.
Flowers said her favorite Kennedy quote is: "Ask not what your country can do for you -ask what you can do for your country." The statement was part of his inaugural address.
Flowers said despite the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, identified initially as a lone shooter responsible for the president's death, some citizens believed others were involved.
A committee formed by the House of Representatives in 1976 found Kennedy's assassination was likely part of a conspiracy involving others and that earlier investigations by the FBI and Warren Commission - a committee formed by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson - that found Oswald acted alone were flawed.
Flowers said when Oswald was shot and killed by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, she was unhappy, not because of sympathy for him but because it left many questions unanswered.
"It was like you didn't want him dead because you just wanted to know why," she said.
Flowers recalled the sadness she and many others felt while watching Kennedy's state funeral as it was televised live three days after his death.
"It was everywhere. I remember being glued to the TV," she said.
"It just felt like the whole country was crying. When Jackie and the children were beside the casket, and John Jr. saluted (his father), it just broke your heart," Flowers said.
"I was sitting at my desk at the Steubenville Herald-Star, where I was employed as a proofreader. The daily paper had already been put to bed, so I was at a slow period of a normal day."
But that quickly changed, Flowers recalled, when her boss, an editor at the paper, "was running toward us, frantically waving copy off a wire service story and yelling, 'The president has has been shot, stop the press!'"
Warren Scott
LOOKING BACK — Claudia Musick Flowers of New Cumberland, a former proofreader for the Herald-Star, looks at a reproduction of a front page covering the national response to the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Flowers was on the job when news broke of the president’s assassination.
LOOKING BACK — Claudia Musick Flowers of New Cumberland, a former proofreader for the Herald-Star, looks at a reproduction of a front page covering the national response to the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Flowers was on the job when news broke of the president’s assassination.
Flowers, who was then 19 and had begun working at the paper earlier that year, said, "There were people running back and forth and shouting. It was very tense."
As one of three women who served as proofreaders, she was charged with checking copy for errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar and wording while seated at the center of the busy newsroom and in front of the noisy teletype machine.
"I proofread the short first copy that said very little other than the president was shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in a motorcade in Dallas," Flowers said.
She said Kennedy's visit to Dallas for Democratic Party business was considered minor news locally until word broke of his assassination while riding in a motorcade bound for a luncheon with civic and business leaders in the city.
Flowers said following that first, brief wire transmission, "Copy kept coming, each with more details. Typesetters set the story and reset the story many times as new updates came through.
"Then at 1 p.m., I proofread the heartbreaking news that a priest had announced the death of President Kennedy. Our grief enveloped us as we put the final update into type and sent it to the press," she said.
"In the short span of 30 minutes, a story had a beginning and an ending that stopped the world. Our hands had held it for those few moments of time, and then it was history," Flowers said.
Among the many who witnessed the tragic incident firsthand was Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who ran after the presidential limousine in order to shield first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, whom he was assigned to protect.
Hill and journalist Lisa McCubbin will speak about their New York Times-best selling book, "Mrs. Kennedy and Me," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Steubenville High School as part of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Concert and Lecture Series.
Flowers said the pressure of reworking that day's Herald-Star to include the devastating news seemed to override any questions the newspaper staff had about a motive and to some extent, the sorrow they felt.
"After our boss said 'that's it,' we all collapsed," Flowers said.
When their work was finished, she and other staffers took turns calling family from the break room. She noted in those days there were no cellular phones, and there was a radio, but no television, in the newsroom.
Her husband at the time was a Weirton police officer, and he also was shocked, Flowers said.
"I was a big Kennedy person. There was absolute sadness because he was such a great president," she said. She added she had taken a photo of him riding in a car through downtown Steubenville during a campaign stop before his election, and she was impressed by his public speaking.
Flowers said her favorite Kennedy quote is: "Ask not what your country can do for you -ask what you can do for your country." The statement was part of his inaugural address.
Flowers said despite the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, identified initially as a lone shooter responsible for the president's death, some citizens believed others were involved.
A committee formed by the House of Representatives in 1976 found Kennedy's assassination was likely part of a conspiracy involving others and that earlier investigations by the FBI and Warren Commission - a committee formed by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson - that found Oswald acted alone were flawed.
Flowers said when Oswald was shot and killed by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, she was unhappy, not because of sympathy for him but because it left many questions unanswered.
"It was like you didn't want him dead because you just wanted to know why," she said.
Flowers recalled the sadness she and many others felt while watching Kennedy's state funeral as it was televised live three days after his death.
"It was everywhere. I remember being glued to the TV," she said.
"It just felt like the whole country was crying. When Jackie and the children were beside the casket, and John Jr. saluted (his father), it just broke your heart," Flowers said.
STORY MERCHANT CLIENT DIANE MARONEY’S KICKSTART FOR THE IMAGINE PROJECT
A soulful photography/storybook about ordinary people with extraordinary life stories.
Laurence O' Bryan's The Instanbul Puzzle Has Been Short Listed for the Irish Crime Novel of the Year!
I went to a HarperCollins one day workshop on crime writing in late
2010 and met an editor there who asked to see my work. I was lucky. She liked
it.
I was planning to release The Istanbul Puzzle as
an ebook if I didn't get anywhere. It had already been professionally edited
and had won a prize at a writer's conference in California, so I knew it was
good enough to be published traditionally.
The most important thing Harper Collins gave me was a great team
of editors. Two worked on my manuscript. I improved it even further as a result
of their work. They also sold it for translation into 9 foreign languages!
I have however self published a guide to social media, Social Media is Dynamite, as
only my fiction has been traditionally published. Click on either of the links
to read more.
My road started long before that though. I started writing
almost every day in 2000, so it's been a long journey for me, but one I truly
enjoyed.
I even met Ken at a conference in San Francisco in November 2010!
I even met Ken at a conference in San Francisco in November 2010!
Wishing you all well."
Laurence O'Bryan's Istanbul Puzzle has been short listed for the Irish crime novel of the year 2012. You can support him by Voting Here . Votes are accepted internationally. The award ceremony will be televised in Ireland on the 24th November.
Also by Laurence O' Bryan
Laurence O'Bryan's Istanbul Puzzle has been short listed for the Irish crime novel of the year 2012. You can support him by Voting Here . Votes are accepted internationally. The award ceremony will be televised in Ireland on the 24th November.
Also by Laurence O' Bryan
Join Me Tomorrow November 9th at Women In Film Malibu Breakfast
|
An Advanced Review from Booklist for Story Merchant Client Larry D. Thompson's Dead Peasants
Advanced Review
Dead Peasants.
Thompson, Larry D. (Author)
Oct 2012. 304 p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, hardcover,
$25.99. (9781250009494).
Jack Bryant is an
übersuccessful lawyer who decides to retire after winning a huge wrongful-death
case. Jack moves back home to Fort Worth where he can spend more time with his
college-football-playing son. But he’s really too young to be retired, so he
sets up an old RV in a bad part of town, offering free legal help to whoever
needs it, and stumbles upon one of the biggest cases in his career. June Davis,
widow, accidentally discovers that her husband’s former employer had a very
large life-insurance policy, a “dead peasant” policy, on her husband, which
made the employer the beneficiary. A string of seemingly unrelated accidental
deaths are paying off handsomely for the financially strapped business. There isn’t much to the mystery that most
readers won’t figure out in a hurry, but legal-fiction fans will still
appreciate the courtroom scenes. The pacing is fast, the characters well
developed, and the lawyer is likable. Grisham aficionados should be delighted
with Thompson.
— Stacy Alesi
Rediscovering Camelot: As Kennedy Anniversary Approaches, Art Expert Reveals New Theory
Written by Ginny Grimsley
Planning already is underway to mark the 50th anniversaryof the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 2013. Commemorative events in Dallas and in churches across the country are being organized. TV host Bill O’Reilly is set to release a new book, “Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot,” this fall, and a feature movie, “The Kennedy Detail,” is planned for release next fall.
“As people ponder the legacy of President Kennedy and his ‘Camelot,’ it’s a good time to revisit the original Camelot of King Arthur legend, and I have compelling new evidence about where it may have been located,” says art expert Terry Stanfill, author of Realms of Gold: Ritual to Romance (realmsofgoldthenovel.blogspot.com), a novel of ancient history and modern romance that posits her new theory about Camelot.
“The Arthurian legend is so ancient, and yet it has been one of the most enduring interests in Western civilization,” she says. “It’s exciting to think that after all of these centuries, we have a strong case for a real Camelot.”
Educated in Medieval history, Stanfill has traveled extensively through Asia and Europe, particularly France and Italy, and researched the art and artifacts. She offers this primer on King Arthur, including her own surprising theory about the true location of the original Camelot:
• The legend
Arthur as king was first mentioned in “The History of the Kings of Britain” by Geoffrey of Monmouth, 1100-1155. A generation later, Chrétien de Troyes, a French bard and poet, began to weave stories about King Arthur's court, introducing the characters Lancelot, Guinevere and Perceval. He was the first to mention Camelot, King Arthur’s home, describing it as "a place by a river, surrounded by forests and plains beyond."
• The reality
Toward the end of the Roman Empire, circa 450 AD, Arthur Riothamus, King of the Britons, was hired by the Romans to fight off invading Goths and Visigoths. There is documentation from multiple sources that Arthur spent a lot of time in Burgundy, France. He died after a battle near Bourges and was taken by his men to Avallon in France, a town that had existed for centuries. This is fact, not fiction.
• Avalon
While many people believe the mystical Avalon of Arthurian legend was in England, perhaps near Glastonbury, there is no record of a place called Avalon in that country.The Avallon region of France, however, has long existed. It was and still is known for its fruit trees and vines, much like the lush island of legend.
• Camelot
While many presume Camelot was in England, the extraordinary discovery in 2007 of the remains of an ancient community on Mont Lassois in France makes Stanfill wonder if this was actually the true Camelot. The community is near Avallon, and among the buildings unearthed there appear to be the remnants of a palace, including a great hall, where there is evidence of feasting.
“When Chrétien de Troyes wrote of Camelot, this place may have been held in the memory of the locals as a place where peace, prosperity and the good life held a long reign,” Stanfill says. “His vision was a nostalgic tribute to a distant, golden age of tranquility that was on this hilltop.”
Stage director Manfred Flynn Kuhnert, an Arthurian legend aficionado and teaching fellow at Harvard College, says Stanfill offers the most compelling evidence he’s heard for the historical existence of Camelot and its location in France.
“The citadel of Latisco on Mont Lassois -- a site of palatial buildings unprecedented in the Celtic world – is not far from Avallon,” Kuhnert says. “Arthur Riothamus’ time in Burgundy is documented, and we know that the first person to write about Arthur was the bard Chrétien, who lived in the area.
“This place is exactly as he described it: ‘on a hill, a place by a river, surrounded by forests, with plains beyond.’ Terry Stanfill may well have it right.”
About Terry Stanfill
Terry Stanfill holds a degree in English literature with a minor in medieval history. She is an Overseer of the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. An enthusiastic preservationist, she was decorated by the president of Italy with the Ordine al Merito, Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana, and more recently as Commendatore, for her fundraising efforts for the restoration of San Pietro di Castello, the ancient cathedral of Venice. She is a former international representative for Christie’s auction house and former director of Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Calif. “Realms of Gold: Ritual to Romance” is her third novel. Her first two are “The Blood Remembers” and “A Tale of the Fortuny Gown.” Stanfill is married to Dennis Stanfill, former CEO of 20th Century Fox and MGM Studios.
Planning already is underway to mark the 50th anniversaryof the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 2013. Commemorative events in Dallas and in churches across the country are being organized. TV host Bill O’Reilly is set to release a new book, “Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot,” this fall, and a feature movie, “The Kennedy Detail,” is planned for release next fall.“As people ponder the legacy of President Kennedy and his ‘Camelot,’ it’s a good time to revisit the original Camelot of King Arthur legend, and I have compelling new evidence about where it may have been located,” says art expert Terry Stanfill, author of Realms of Gold: Ritual to Romance (realmsofgoldthenovel.blogspot.com), a novel of ancient history and modern romance that posits her new theory about Camelot.
“The Arthurian legend is so ancient, and yet it has been one of the most enduring interests in Western civilization,” she says. “It’s exciting to think that after all of these centuries, we have a strong case for a real Camelot.”
Educated in Medieval history, Stanfill has traveled extensively through Asia and Europe, particularly France and Italy, and researched the art and artifacts. She offers this primer on King Arthur, including her own surprising theory about the true location of the original Camelot:
• The legend
Arthur as king was first mentioned in “The History of the Kings of Britain” by Geoffrey of Monmouth, 1100-1155. A generation later, Chrétien de Troyes, a French bard and poet, began to weave stories about King Arthur's court, introducing the characters Lancelot, Guinevere and Perceval. He was the first to mention Camelot, King Arthur’s home, describing it as "a place by a river, surrounded by forests and plains beyond."
• The reality
Toward the end of the Roman Empire, circa 450 AD, Arthur Riothamus, King of the Britons, was hired by the Romans to fight off invading Goths and Visigoths. There is documentation from multiple sources that Arthur spent a lot of time in Burgundy, France. He died after a battle near Bourges and was taken by his men to Avallon in France, a town that had existed for centuries. This is fact, not fiction.
• Avalon
While many people believe the mystical Avalon of Arthurian legend was in England, perhaps near Glastonbury, there is no record of a place called Avalon in that country.The Avallon region of France, however, has long existed. It was and still is known for its fruit trees and vines, much like the lush island of legend.
• Camelot
While many presume Camelot was in England, the extraordinary discovery in 2007 of the remains of an ancient community on Mont Lassois in France makes Stanfill wonder if this was actually the true Camelot. The community is near Avallon, and among the buildings unearthed there appear to be the remnants of a palace, including a great hall, where there is evidence of feasting.
“When Chrétien de Troyes wrote of Camelot, this place may have been held in the memory of the locals as a place where peace, prosperity and the good life held a long reign,” Stanfill says. “His vision was a nostalgic tribute to a distant, golden age of tranquility that was on this hilltop.”
Stage director Manfred Flynn Kuhnert, an Arthurian legend aficionado and teaching fellow at Harvard College, says Stanfill offers the most compelling evidence he’s heard for the historical existence of Camelot and its location in France.
“The citadel of Latisco on Mont Lassois -- a site of palatial buildings unprecedented in the Celtic world – is not far from Avallon,” Kuhnert says. “Arthur Riothamus’ time in Burgundy is documented, and we know that the first person to write about Arthur was the bard Chrétien, who lived in the area.
“This place is exactly as he described it: ‘on a hill, a place by a river, surrounded by forests, with plains beyond.’ Terry Stanfill may well have it right.”
About Terry Stanfill
Terry Stanfill holds a degree in English literature with a minor in medieval history. She is an Overseer of the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. An enthusiastic preservationist, she was decorated by the president of Italy with the Ordine al Merito, Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana, and more recently as Commendatore, for her fundraising efforts for the restoration of San Pietro di Castello, the ancient cathedral of Venice. She is a former international representative for Christie’s auction house and former director of Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Calif. “Realms of Gold: Ritual to Romance” is her third novel. Her first two are “The Blood Remembers” and “A Tale of the Fortuny Gown.” Stanfill is married to Dennis Stanfill, former CEO of 20th Century Fox and MGM Studios.
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