Via Judy Aron,
Consent of the Governed
Thursday, March 13, 2008
What To Say To The Cops, Besides Lawyer, Name, I Don't Consent To A Search ...
Via Judy Aron,
Consent of the Governed
New Thriller By Pam Lewis [of Poets & Writers For Avery]
PERFECT FAMILY
"Pam Lewis is the literary equivalent of a forensic scientist. In her compelling second novel, Perfect Family, Lewis pulls the body of a beautiful young woman from a lake, then, layer by suspenseful layer, unpeels and reveals a well-to-do family's secrets, lies, and hidden heartaches. I was riveted."
--Wally Lamb, New York Times bestselling author of author of She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True
"Lewis skillfully lures the reader through her narrative maze with plenty of plot twists."
--Publishers Weekly
Few authors manage to combine the page-turning suspense and emotional intensity of a riveting thriller with the fine qualities of literary fiction. Acclaimed author Pam Lewis did exactly that with her debut novel, Speak Softly, She Can Hear, which garnered rave reviews, formidable sales, and a substantial following. Readers loved her powerful blend of literary fiction and heart-pounding action; the New York Post called it "gripping…with a freshness that sets it apart from the thriller genre…Once begun, it's a hard book to let go of." Her sophomore effort, PERFECT FAMILY (Simon & Schuster, April 8, 2008, $25.00), the tale of an upper-class New England family besieged by tragedy and deception, will prove to be an equally provocative literary page-turner about a proper New England [West Hartford] family and the dark secrets that undo them.
The Carterets are an established industrialist family coasting on their declining wealth, but still in possession of a high opinion of themselves. Headed by patriarch Jasper, they are a close-knit clan, used to official family meetings and secret agreements. Though he maintains a strained relationship with Jasper, William, the eldest of the four adult children, is close to sisters Tinker, the family caretaker, and Mira, the moody, thoughtful one. However Pony Carteret-the lovely, headstrong, youngest member of the Carteret family-has always been his favorite. Happy-go-lucky, vibrant and athletic, she's also known as the family's strongest swimmer. So when she is discovered drowned at the family's summer home on Lake Aral, Vermont, her red hair tangled in an anchor chain and her baby abandoned on shore, her family is stunned by disbelief.
As the police conduct their investigation, Jasper, calls an urgent family meeting to address his doubts about Pony's death. Why had she been swimming away from shore when her infant son Andrew lay unprotected on the beach? How had she managed to drown in a lake she knew so very well? And who was the stranger that their neighbor, a teenage boy, had seen with her on shore? Had any of her siblings known that Pony would be at the house that day? Was she having personal problems, was she depressed? Had she ever revealed the true identity of her baby's father?
Ultimately, the police rule the drowning an accident. Unsatisfied with the official explanation, William sets out to discover the truth of Pony's death. His investigations quickly lead him to a new and more daunting series of questions, not only about the mysteries in Pony's life but also about the shadowy details of his deceased mother's past and even his own. Before long, he has opened a Pandora's box of family secrets, including one dangerous fact his mother has kept hidden for a generation.
His two surviving sisters keep their own secrets from the rest of the family. Tinker is called on to look after baby Andrew, but meanwhile her marriage quietly dissolves; Mira, lost in a fugue of sadness, becomes entangled with a disturbing friend of Pony's. Even the revered Jasper proves to hold a mysterious past. William's probing ultimately casts doubt on his own parentage, and the entire edifice of family unity and privilege begins to crumble. Beneath these deceptions lies the secret of Pony's death, a secret which may claim William's life as well. In a frantic, pulse-racing finale, William must confront a demon from a past he never imagined and choose a future that may hold an entirely new existence.
Pam Lewis's PERFECT FAMILY is a masterful, atmospheric tale that delves into ways in which family secrets, no matter how long they're buried, can wield tremendous power. Keenly observed and carefully plotted, this novel is an explosive new entry into the literary thriller genre. Pam Lewis wowed critics and readers alike with her first novel and is sure to win new fans with this extraordinary second book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pam Lewis lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Rob Funk. Her lifelong fascination with water and with family secrets is at the root of Perfect Family. Since 1991, she has worked as a freelance writer of business and marketing communications. She is the author of the novel, Speak Softly, She Can Hear. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and various literary magazines.
ABOUT THE BOOK
PERFECT FAMILY
By Pam Lewis
Published by Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
ISBN-10: 0-7432-9145-X; ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9145-3
Price: $25.00
Author Photo & Jacket link at publisher
Simon & Schuster
"Pam Lewis is the literary equivalent of a forensic scientist. In her compelling second novel, Perfect Family, Lewis pulls the body of a beautiful young woman from a lake, then, layer by suspenseful layer, unpeels and reveals a well-to-do family's secrets, lies, and hidden heartaches. I was riveted."
--Wally Lamb, New York Times bestselling author of author of She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True
"Lewis skillfully lures the reader through her narrative maze with plenty of plot twists."
--Publishers Weekly
Few authors manage to combine the page-turning suspense and emotional intensity of a riveting thriller with the fine qualities of literary fiction. Acclaimed author Pam Lewis did exactly that with her debut novel, Speak Softly, She Can Hear, which garnered rave reviews, formidable sales, and a substantial following. Readers loved her powerful blend of literary fiction and heart-pounding action; the New York Post called it "gripping…with a freshness that sets it apart from the thriller genre…Once begun, it's a hard book to let go of." Her sophomore effort, PERFECT FAMILY (Simon & Schuster, April 8, 2008, $25.00), the tale of an upper-class New England family besieged by tragedy and deception, will prove to be an equally provocative literary page-turner about a proper New England [West Hartford] family and the dark secrets that undo them.
The Carterets are an established industrialist family coasting on their declining wealth, but still in possession of a high opinion of themselves. Headed by patriarch Jasper, they are a close-knit clan, used to official family meetings and secret agreements. Though he maintains a strained relationship with Jasper, William, the eldest of the four adult children, is close to sisters Tinker, the family caretaker, and Mira, the moody, thoughtful one. However Pony Carteret-the lovely, headstrong, youngest member of the Carteret family-has always been his favorite. Happy-go-lucky, vibrant and athletic, she's also known as the family's strongest swimmer. So when she is discovered drowned at the family's summer home on Lake Aral, Vermont, her red hair tangled in an anchor chain and her baby abandoned on shore, her family is stunned by disbelief.
As the police conduct their investigation, Jasper, calls an urgent family meeting to address his doubts about Pony's death. Why had she been swimming away from shore when her infant son Andrew lay unprotected on the beach? How had she managed to drown in a lake she knew so very well? And who was the stranger that their neighbor, a teenage boy, had seen with her on shore? Had any of her siblings known that Pony would be at the house that day? Was she having personal problems, was she depressed? Had she ever revealed the true identity of her baby's father?
Ultimately, the police rule the drowning an accident. Unsatisfied with the official explanation, William sets out to discover the truth of Pony's death. His investigations quickly lead him to a new and more daunting series of questions, not only about the mysteries in Pony's life but also about the shadowy details of his deceased mother's past and even his own. Before long, he has opened a Pandora's box of family secrets, including one dangerous fact his mother has kept hidden for a generation.
His two surviving sisters keep their own secrets from the rest of the family. Tinker is called on to look after baby Andrew, but meanwhile her marriage quietly dissolves; Mira, lost in a fugue of sadness, becomes entangled with a disturbing friend of Pony's. Even the revered Jasper proves to hold a mysterious past. William's probing ultimately casts doubt on his own parentage, and the entire edifice of family unity and privilege begins to crumble. Beneath these deceptions lies the secret of Pony's death, a secret which may claim William's life as well. In a frantic, pulse-racing finale, William must confront a demon from a past he never imagined and choose a future that may hold an entirely new existence.
Pam Lewis's PERFECT FAMILY is a masterful, atmospheric tale that delves into ways in which family secrets, no matter how long they're buried, can wield tremendous power. Keenly observed and carefully plotted, this novel is an explosive new entry into the literary thriller genre. Pam Lewis wowed critics and readers alike with her first novel and is sure to win new fans with this extraordinary second book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pam Lewis lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Rob Funk. Her lifelong fascination with water and with family secrets is at the root of Perfect Family. Since 1991, she has worked as a freelance writer of business and marketing communications. She is the author of the novel, Speak Softly, She Can Hear. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and various literary magazines.
ABOUT THE BOOK
PERFECT FAMILY
By Pam Lewis
Published by Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 8, 2008
ISBN-10: 0-7432-9145-X; ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9145-3
Price: $25.00
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Big Read
-
The enduring 'Falcon'
Oline H. Cogdill
Mystery columnist
South Florida Sun Sentinel
March 4, 2008
It has been called the greatest private detective novel. While that sounds like hyperbole, few mysteries have rivaled Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon since it was published 78 years ago.
Hammett's novel has spawned three movies, including the classic 1941 version; plays for radio and stage; comics; numerous reference books; several spoofs and thousands of essays. This month, The Maltese Falcon will attract renewed interest in 15 communities across the United States as part of The Big Read, a program launched by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Florida Center for the Book in Broward County will focus on The Maltese Falcon with countywide events, including book and film discussions and cultural programs.
The Big Read is a fitting honor for The Maltese Falcon, which hasn't been out of print since its publication in 1930. With its flawed hero, interesting (and unusual) villains and intricate plot, The Maltese Falcon set up a template that still endures in the private-detective genre.
The story encompasses three of the major mystery plot motivations: greed, power and lust. Sam Spade, a tough-as-nails private detective with dubious ethics, is pulled into the hunt for a jewel-encrusted statue of a falcon that dates to the Crusades. Whether the statue exists or is merely a myth adds layers of duplicity and betrayal to the tale.
The Maltese Falcon remains as modern as ever — a timeless story equally at home in two centuries. It's rooted in the era in which it is set — 1928 — yet also seems a part of the 21st century. The novel's San Francisco locations not only still exist, but several current walking tours will take visitors to the sites mentioned. A strong sense of sexuality — both straight and gay — permeates the tale, which paradoxically also seems downright chaste because there are no graphic sex scenes.
Coming after World War I, the novel reflects a new fascination with exotic locales, a realization that the world was getting smaller and that travel to Asia and Africa was within anyone's grasp. The falcon's heritage — steeped in the myth of knights, holy wars and icons — is a forerunner of today's thrillers wrapped around historical lore, right up to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.
The Maltese Falcon has some of the genre's most quoted lines. Yet the most famous of them — "the stuff dreams are made of" — doesn't appear in Hammett's novel. The phrase, adapted from Shakespeare's The Tempest, is only uttered by Humphrey Bogart at the end of the 1941 movie, yet it perfectly sums up the story.
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was called "the dean of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction" in his New York Times obituary. Hammett himself would have made a good character for his novels; the Times obit quotes an unidentified writer who said "Hammett's work was not fiction but 'life magnified.'"
Hammett spent eight years as a Pinkerton agent. He suffered from a lung ailment — the result of tuberculosis contracted while serving overseas in World War I — yet he was a chain smoker and an alcoholic. During the 1950s, he spent six months in jail for contempt of court stemming from his affiliation with several left-wing causes. His refusal to cooperate during Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee led to 300 of his novels being removed from State Department libraries around the world. The books were returned after President Eisenhower said publicly that they should not have been removed.
Hammett's clean, lean prose often has been compared to Hemingway's, and vice versa.
He wrote only five novels, all published within five years, as well as scores of short stories and novellas. His most famous character, Sam Spade, appeared only in Hammett's third novel and, later, a few short stories.
Pre-Hammett, the genre was filled with upper-class sleuths or little old ladies who dabbled in detection. Hammett moved the genre from the urbane drawing rooms to the gritty urban streets, a trend that continues.
But stereotypes of women and gays that would take some 40 years to unravel abound in The Maltese Falcon. In Spade's world, women are either pure — and sexually unattainable — or sexually active and therefore suspect.
The view of homosexuality is even more troubling. In the novel it's quite clear that villain Joel Cairo is gay, and his sexuality is subject to ridicule and pejoratives. Genre experts maintain that the word "gunsel," used to refer to the young gangster Wilber, had two meanings — a gun-toting felon and an inexperienced homosexual.
Those stereotypes persisted until Joseph Hansen introduced an openly gay detective in 1970's Fadeout,and Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller invented strong women private detectives during the early 1980s.
Hammett didn't invent the hard-boiled style of mysteries, but he did make readers take notice of it. And The Maltese Falcon is still making readers take notice.
Oline Cogdill can be reached at ocogdill@sun-sentinel.com; blog at Sun-Sentinel.com/offthepage.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Aldon Hynes To Blog Doninger Free Speech Hearing In NY Tuesday
A Little Bit About Aldon ...
Aldon Hynes first started programming computers in the late 60's. In the early 80's as a consultant to Bell Labs he first got on the Internet.
Most of his career he has been providing information technology to Wall Street firms. During his time on Wall Street, Aldon became interested in the group dynamics of organizations. In particular, he is interested in Group Relations tradition of Wilfred Bion and Tavistock, how this all relates to group psychology and especially how it plays out in online communities.
Complete Article
Justice Denied: the View From New York
Second Circuit Judge Lineup For Doninger Free Speech Hearing Tuesday
Aldon Hynes first started programming computers in the late 60's. In the early 80's as a consultant to Bell Labs he first got on the Internet.
Most of his career he has been providing information technology to Wall Street firms. During his time on Wall Street, Aldon became interested in the group dynamics of organizations. In particular, he is interested in Group Relations tradition of Wilfred Bion and Tavistock, how this all relates to group psychology and especially how it plays out in online communities.
[guest March 6] Judy Aron short bio & NOTE
Judy Aron is Research Director for National Home Education Legal Defense
NHELD www.nheld.com
and is legislative liaison for CT Homeschool Network
http://www.cthomeschoolnetwork.org/
Ms. Aron is a long time homeschooling activist and has been heavily involved in protecting the rights of parents: particularly homeschoolers.
She has written numerous articles about homeschooling teens and preparing for college as part of "College Corner" in the CT Homeschool Network monthly newsletter, and she has also written extensively for NHELD. Some of her articles have appeared in Home Education Magazine, Journal of College Admissions, RadioFree West Hartford, online blogs and websites, as well as various newspapers.
Ms. Aron has been a frequent guest on several radio and cable TV shows speaking abouthomeschooling, parental rights, mental health testing, and a host of other issues. She currently authors her own blog : "Consent of the Governed"
www.yedies.blogspot.com
and produces a West Hartford Cable TV show entitled "What You Should Know". Ms. Aron ran for CT State Representative in November 2007, and enjoys being actively engaged in the democratic process.
PLZ TAKE NOTES
GIVE THE SPEAKER THE CUSTOMARY COURTESY AND ATTENTION
THINK ABOUT WRITING AN ITEM FOR YOUR BLOG ABOUT WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY
I HAVE ASKED JUDY TO TALK ABOUT:
who you are
what you do on the blog
how you do it
what kind of feedback you get
what kind of impact you have
what's fun
I TOLD HER THE PRESENTATION
could be 15 or 20 minutes or more depending on her read of the audience.
we'll encourage dialogue and questions.
there is some interest in home schooling and failure of schools to deliver services while going beyond their roles in other areas [intrusion, civil rights violations, etc.]
REMEMBER, THE BEST WAY TO SHOW APPRECIATION FOR A GUEST IS TO BE PREPARED AND TO SHOW THAT BY ASKING AGGRESSIVE AND THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS.
Consent Of The Governed
National Home Education Legal Defense
Connecticut Homeschool Network
NHELD www.nheld.com
and is legislative liaison for CT Homeschool Network
http://www.cthomeschoolnetwork.org/
Ms. Aron is a long time homeschooling activist and has been heavily involved in protecting the rights of parents: particularly homeschoolers.
She has written numerous articles about homeschooling teens and preparing for college as part of "College Corner" in the CT Homeschool Network monthly newsletter, and she has also written extensively for NHELD. Some of her articles have appeared in Home Education Magazine, Journal of College Admissions, RadioFree West Hartford, online blogs and websites, as well as various newspapers.
Ms. Aron has been a frequent guest on several radio and cable TV shows speaking abouthomeschooling, parental rights, mental health testing, and a host of other issues. She currently authors her own blog : "Consent of the Governed"
www.yedies.blogspot.com
and produces a West Hartford Cable TV show entitled "What You Should Know". Ms. Aron ran for CT State Representative in November 2007, and enjoys being actively engaged in the democratic process.
PLZ TAKE NOTES
GIVE THE SPEAKER THE CUSTOMARY COURTESY AND ATTENTION
THINK ABOUT WRITING AN ITEM FOR YOUR BLOG ABOUT WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY
I HAVE ASKED JUDY TO TALK ABOUT:
who you are
what you do on the blog
how you do it
what kind of feedback you get
what kind of impact you have
what's fun
I TOLD HER THE PRESENTATION
could be 15 or 20 minutes or more depending on her read of the audience.
we'll encourage dialogue and questions.
there is some interest in home schooling and failure of schools to deliver services while going beyond their roles in other areas [intrusion, civil rights violations, etc.]
REMEMBER, THE BEST WAY TO SHOW APPRECIATION FOR A GUEST IS TO BE PREPARED AND TO SHOW THAT BY ASKING AGGRESSIVE AND THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Letter Re: "The World According to Zell"
Dear Editors;
I am a former investigative reporter for The Hartford Courant. I worked there for 39 ½ years before retiring in late 2005 to become a freelance writer. I am happier and more inspired as a writer now, but I am sad for the paper that was once my home base.
As soon as The Tribune took over Times Mirror and The Courant, all the Tribune’s officers ever did was cut reporters' and editors' jobs and make more money for themselves. At the time of the sale eight years ago, The Courant was a highly successful newspaper. But gradually it became a shadow of what it was with advertising stickers and advertising on page one, a domination of ads over news content inside with half or less of the news pages it once contained.
When Sam Zell purchased The Tribune, he promised independence for The Courant’s publisher and editors and those in other Tribune newspapers. He pledged he would create Tribune papers with more robust news staffs. Within weeks, his promises went up in smoke. The Tribune began following the same old depressing path. Its officers for the third of fourth time fired the top editor of the Los Angeles Times because he, like his courageous predecessors, failed to go along with staff cuts and news cut backs.
Here is what I wrote Zell back in January. “I really think you need to take a good hard look at the officers and managers at the Tribune! You have purchased a huge outlet of news in this country. It is an outlet whose journalistic prowess has declined measurably since it purchased Times Mirror eight years ago. I don’t know what happened before then, but I have observed fairly closely what happened since then, first hand as a Courant staff reporter and retired staff reporter. The Tribune needs some really professional journalists at the top of the corporation to make sure it doesn’t continue to cut the heart out of its news operations nationwide.”
Obviously, he ignored me (no surprise) and he deserves all the negative editorial comment and insulting cartoons that David Horsey can muster.
Very Sincerely,
Thomas “Dennie” Williams
Freelance Writer
Litchfield, Ct.
I am a former investigative reporter for The Hartford Courant. I worked there for 39 ½ years before retiring in late 2005 to become a freelance writer. I am happier and more inspired as a writer now, but I am sad for the paper that was once my home base.
As soon as The Tribune took over Times Mirror and The Courant, all the Tribune’s officers ever did was cut reporters' and editors' jobs and make more money for themselves. At the time of the sale eight years ago, The Courant was a highly successful newspaper. But gradually it became a shadow of what it was with advertising stickers and advertising on page one, a domination of ads over news content inside with half or less of the news pages it once contained.
When Sam Zell purchased The Tribune, he promised independence for The Courant’s publisher and editors and those in other Tribune newspapers. He pledged he would create Tribune papers with more robust news staffs. Within weeks, his promises went up in smoke. The Tribune began following the same old depressing path. Its officers for the third of fourth time fired the top editor of the Los Angeles Times because he, like his courageous predecessors, failed to go along with staff cuts and news cut backs.
Here is what I wrote Zell back in January. “I really think you need to take a good hard look at the officers and managers at the Tribune! You have purchased a huge outlet of news in this country. It is an outlet whose journalistic prowess has declined measurably since it purchased Times Mirror eight years ago. I don’t know what happened before then, but I have observed fairly closely what happened since then, first hand as a Courant staff reporter and retired staff reporter. The Tribune needs some really professional journalists at the top of the corporation to make sure it doesn’t continue to cut the heart out of its news operations nationwide.”
Obviously, he ignored me (no surprise) and he deserves all the negative editorial comment and insulting cartoons that David Horsey can muster.
Very Sincerely,
Thomas “Dennie” Williams
Freelance Writer
Litchfield, Ct.
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