A New Touch of Honey Teaser Sample and Free Book Offer

by Gamal Hennessy

Teasers, trailers and samples are an expected part of modern entertainment. Movies, games and TV shows try to build up excitement by offering a sneak peak of new releases. Well, what’s good for them is good for me. I want you to get excited about my new novel A Touch of Honey, so all this week I’m offering a sample chapter to get you ready for the release on March 17th. 

You can find Part One Here, but if you already read about the handcuffs and the international spy operation, please feel free to jump into part two.

Enjoy… 

Part Two

Nikki wanted to say something to end this torment. She wanted to scream or lash out at Baker’s intense and animated face. She couldn’t handle his fascination with her nightmares. She couldn't listen to this, but she couldn’t open her mouth to stop him. 

Baker must have noticed the pain on her face. His tone lost its enthusiasm, but he continued. "Unfortunately, Nikki had a problem. Actually, she had three problems. First, her case officer was a man named Christopher Carpenter. That was a problem because Carpenter is mentally and emotionally unstable, completely unfit to run field operations. He'd gone so far off the reservation a Congressional committee considered investigating him for acts of genocide. And Carpenter wasn't really interested in the op. His obsession focused on controlling Nikki more than anything else." 

“I don’t want to hear anything about him.” The nausea churned in Nikki's stomach at the word genocide. The idea of sharing a bed with a mass murderer made her feel like she’d bathed in blood. She didn’t challenge Baker’s accusations. She'd seen Chris’ true nature on video. He revealed his demonic passion and used Dominique as his disposable prop. 

"Ok. The second problem involved Dominique. Nikki fell in love with Manuel’s wife. That made the mission of betraying Cruz Maritime almost impossible. Finally, Dominique presented the most complex problem of all. She claimed to be an agent from another intelligence service who also wanted to spy on Manuel. Based on unconfirmed reports, Dominique might have worked for British, French or even Russian intelligence. Near the end, the operation went sideways in a big way. Every op hits some kind of snag, but this was fucked beyond all recognition. Do you want to know how it ended?"

"I know how it ended." Nikki's voice sounded so tiny in her ear. She didn't want to admit anything, but she couldn't listen to Baker talk about the night Dominique died. 

Baker's voice became a whisper to match hers. "Then you know how important that drive is. A lot of people suffered for that information." 

The emotional manipulation took its toll when she snapped. "If you know what happened, then you know the USB is useless." 

"Why do you say that?"

Nikki let out a long breath in an attempt to focus. "When Manuel died, Cruz Maritime became compromised. The assets were seized and Argentinian authorities started a full investigation. Any smuggling Cruz might have been doing died when he did. You can't use what's on that drive." 

Baker gave Nikki his inside joke smile again. "Luckily for you, compromised assets can still be useful in the right hands."

"What the hell does that mean?"

He shrugged.  "It means that if you still have the drive, then it is possible for us to form a relationship based on mutual exploitation."

"And if I don't have it?

"Then we both have a problem."

A Touch of Honey will be available for all major book platforms on March 17th, 2015. If you’d like to get my first novel Smooth Operator for free while you’re waiting, just click on this link to get your e-book.

Have fun.

Gamal

When it Comes to Dating, You Might Want to Get Out of the Cold

by Gamal Hennessy

A recent Match.com survey suggests "warm" or "hot" approaches (initial connections made through mutual friends, interests or online dating) beat "cold" approaches (initial connections made with strangers) by a factor of ten to one.

Singles in America and the Future of Love

“Fisher and her research partner found that 31% of singles met their last first date online, while 25% met through a friend, and 6% met in a bar or club.”

— Krista Tippett: On Being

The moral of the story is if you want a relationship in the 21st Century, you probably need to come in out of the cold.

Have fun.

Gamal

A Touch of Honey Teaser Sample Part One

by Gamal Hennessy

Teasers, trailers and samples are an expected part of modern entertainment. Movies, games and TV shows try to build up excitement by offering a sneak peak of new releases. Well, what’s good for them is good for me. I want you to get excited about my new novel A Touch of Honey, so all this week I’m offering a sample chapter to get you ready for the release on March 17th.

Enjoy… 

Part One

"So I'm hoping you still have the flash drive you acquired from Cruz Maritime."

Baker opened the cuffs and dropped them into his lap in one smooth motion. Nikki rubbed her wrists to project an image of pain. They didn't really hurt, but she needed to do something with her hands to stall for time. She held his gaze for an extra beat to reinforce her sincerity then shook her head and lied.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a bartender at a strip club, at least I used to be, before you got my attention."

Baker nodded. "I understand what you’re trying to do. You want to stick to your cover story as long as possible. You’ll deny everything that doesn't fit your legend. That's your first line of defense. It's interrogation resistance 101. But if you were going to work that angle, it would have made sense to act more frightened back in the alley." Baker smiled as if teaching tradecraft to an eager student over drinks. "Let me play along. I’ll tell you a little story and pretend to put things in perspective for you. Does that make sense?"

"It's your car."

"Actually, this is a company car. I prefer to drive something much nicer than this on my own time." 

Nikki shook her head in spite of herself. "Whatever."

Baker smiled back "Whatever. Approximately nine months ago, a woman named Nikki Siriene attended a Christmas party in the resort city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. The host of that party was one Manuel Cruz, former President of Cruz Maritime. In the days following that party, Nikki became an intimate acquaintance of both Manuel Cruz and his wife; a French painter named Dominique. What do you think of that picture so far?"

Nikki's jaw clenched as she forced out a response. "A high profile international threesome sounds pretty hot."

"It was, but it got hotter." Baker shifted in his seat to face her. His interest and excitement in the story filled the whole car. The memories he exposed forced bile into her throat. "You see, Manuel didn’t know Nikki had been sent to spy on him." Baker let those words hang in the air for a moment as if to savor them. "Prior intelligence suggested Cruz Maritime might be smuggling illegal weapons into Mexico. It was Nikki's job to steal the data that could prove or disprove that suspicion."

A Touch of Honey will be available for all major book platforms on March 17th, 2015. If you’d like to get my first novel Smooth Operator for free while you’re waiting, just click on this link to get your e-book. 

Have fun.

Gamal

We Are the Enemy

By Gamal Hennessy

As pundits debate the utility of the Department of Homeland Security, it might be helpful to consider the actual threats to American lives since 9/11.

I'm sure several plots have been deterred or stopped due to the efforts of American intelligence and law enforcement. But when I compare terrorism deaths to firearm deaths over the past ten years, I think we're focusing on the wrong thing.

• Number of Americans killed in domestic terrorist attacks, 2002-2011: 30
• Number of Americans murdered by firearms, 2000-2011: 115,997

In America, we are more likely to be killed by an angry neighbor or a police officer than a member of ISIS. Children in America are more likely to be gunned down in a school shooting than kidnapped by Boko Haram. Maybe we shouldn't be discussing disbanding Homeland Security. Maybe we should use all that money and manpower to deal with the real threat to American lives.

Have fun.

Gamal

The Decline of Romantic Love in the Modern World

by Gamal Hennessy

The modern concept of love and romance is closer to a contract than an emotion.

Today, love is a commodity and we are all speculative investors. Consider this:

• Our depictions, expressions, songs, and concepts about relationships are closer to business terms than seductive language.
• Dating has been reduced to a process resembling due diligence instead of growing personal connection.
• Sex is often just an asset available for barter or trade.
• Attention is a scarce resource.
• The size and cost of our gifts are seen as more important than the sentiment attached to them.
• Marriage is a contractual merger or an aggressive acquisition.
• Certain behavior or personal traits are referred to as “deal breakers” by those in the “market”.
• Some women choose the features of their wedding rings before they consider a wedding partner.
• Many people consider the prestige that a person will add to their social status, instead of the joy they bring to living.
• The appearance of our relationships online are given more focus than the way lovers treat each other from day to day.

I will admit that these concepts might be more rational and more appropriate to the age of personal branding we currently live in. Romantic love may not have a place here. Unconditional love might be foolish; a waste of time and resources better spent making money, binge watching TV or trolling social media to get more followers.

But Love is not rational. Love is not fair. The lover surrenders himself to the loved one, in spite of all hardships, in spite of rejection, and in the face of impossibility.

Today, most people may never feel this type of love. Perhaps they simply won’t know what it is when they encounter it. Or they won’t admit to feeling it out of fear of appearing weak or being hurt. This is tragic for those who miss or reject romantic love, but for the hedonists fortunate enough to meet people who can inspire that unconditional surrender, we have glimpsed both heaven and hell. We have experienced something that makes life worth living.

Summarized from The Double Flame by Octavio Paz

After Fifty Shades of Gray, Why Is Erotica Still the Black Sheep of Fiction Genres?

By Gamal Hennessy

“Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand — a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods — or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.”

— Willa Cather

This Valentine’s Day marks the release of the Fifty Shades of Gray film. Based on one of the most controversial books over the past few years, it has been credited (or blamed for, depending on your perspective) a new exploration of sexual expression in the mainstream.  “Mommy porn” has become a viable subgenre of erotica, but In spite of the popularity of Fifty Shades and the deluge of BDSM erotica riding its long tail, erotic writing is still a repressed art form in America, snickered at or openly rejected by the masses.

Why?

The American Relationship to the Erotic

The lack of quality in the prose of Fifty Shades isn't the reason erotica gets rejected. It's our own collective agitation with the subject. According to Sallie Tisdale in her amazing book Talk Dirty to Me, We are trapped between our Judeo-Christian Protestant morality and our obsession with sex as a tool of commerce and power. We willingly exploit the concept that “sex sells” but reject any insightful public discussion about seduction or sexual expression. Our collective response to sincere sexuality is avoidance, disdain, ridicule, silence or backhanded suggestions of mental imbalance.

“American society is adolescent; there is no other word for our restlessness and finger shaking. We live in a world filled with the continual proliferation of sexual images outside context. Still, we find it almost unbearable to openly talk about sex. The result is cultural puberty: lewd, leering, intensely curious and ashamed and prudish all at once. ”

— Sallie Tisdale, Talk Dirty to Me

Thankfully, when I released A Taste of Honey, a book with a distinct erotic element, the negative reaction wasn’t aggressive, but it was disconcerting to discover the people in my life conform, to one extent or another, to the same attitudes towards sexual expression as the rest of society. This made sense to me over time. My circle of friends and family are functioning members of the community they live in. It is understandable that they share the general beliefs of the wider group. I had no reason to expect anything different but somehow I hoped it would be.

Controlling the Image

I don’t have illusions about the way people interact with each other. I know that each of us holds onto an image of every person in our lives. We project attributes, titles and values onto the people that we know and then assume those qualities will be fairly consistent over time. Any information that alters or upsets the image we create is resisted and rejected. If a revelation doesn’t conform to our defined social relationship then we don’t want to hear about it. By and large, most of your family, friends and co-workers don’t want to know anything about your sexual expression, because it upsets their image or you and falls outside the realm of acceptable information. Reading or writing erotica can be a revelation about your sexual expression and your sexual philosophy. It opens up a subject most people do not want to discuss or explore. In the 21st Century, only a total stranger online or an intimate confidant in bed is willing to learn about your sexual dispositions. No one else you know has any interest in the subject.

I’m not trying to invite everyone to know every sexual moment of everyone else’s life. Mystery and taboo are important aspects to the sexual experience. At the same time, my sexual expression is a large part of the definition of who I am as a person. To push that part of me away or to repress it would be rejecting a facet of my life that I’m not ashamed of. Inserting erotica into my work makes as much sense to me as including humor, wit or complexity. It is fundamental to my art and to my life. If I didn’t put it in because other people weren’t comfortable with it, then my writing wouldn’t be mine anymore. My life wouldn’t be mine anymore.

Pushing Boundaries through Art

Just before I started releasing my work, I read a book from Susie Bright called How to Write a Dirty Story. The book was quite good, in part, because it helped me see my role as a writer both in terms of erotica and in terms of other aspects of writing. Her advice, like Ms. Cather’s above, was to use my craft to push the boundaries of society and not just relax within the comfortable framework of acceptable commercial work. I have no interest in writing the most shocking, perverted or controversial book ever. Marquis de Sade already did that. My goal is much more insidious. I want to embed the erotic in other types of stories so deeply that one can’t be separated from the other. I want to construct scenes that are arousing not because of their graphic imagery, but because of their realistic intensity. My goal is to see the film version of A Taste of Honey become a blockbuster not just because of the sexual controversy it creates, but because of the quality of the story on the screen.

Have fun.

Gamal

When Turning on Your Phone Turns Off Your Partner

Psychology Today makes an argument that "technoference" (where technology disrupts romantic relationships) can cause negative mental and emotional reactions over time.

http://bit.ly/1MaoVck

In other words, when you decide to look at your phone instead of your significant other, they could be taking that time to look for someone else.

The Cover Reveal and Release Schedule for A Touch of Honey

On March 17, 2015, I’m going to release my new novel of Crime and Passion.

A Touch of Honey will mark the return of characters from both Smooth Operator and A Taste of Honey as well as a ruthless new enemy invading the New York nights.

To celebrate this release, I’m planning several related events:

• A sample chapter from the book will be available on the website on February 17, 2015.
• A prelude story called The Replacements will be available for free in the Nightlife Publishing Store on February 24, 2015
• Pre-Orders for A Touch of Honey will begin on March 10, 2015

There’s still time to sign up for your advanced review copy. You can find out more information here and get the book before anyone else. Until then, remember you can always get two of my other stories for free at the Nightlife Publishing store .

Stay warm until then.

Have fun.

Gamal

What to Do When Bullets Start Flying (Reacting to the Active Shooter)

By Gamal Hennessy

I write about fictional crime and violence, but in my research I often come across things we can used in real life, especially when you consider recent events.

The news over the past year has emphasized the idea that brutal massacres are not limited to war zones or ghettos. They are happening in summer camps (Norway), movie theaters (Colorado) churches (Wisconsin), offices (France) and over the weekend, department stores in midtown Manhattan.

While the mainstream media might trot out the usual suspects from the pro and anti-gun lobby, it is unlikely that meaningful debate or change will come out of the latest crime. There will be no major change in American gun laws because there is no political will to enact such a law. Even if a more stringent law could be passed, there is no practical way to collect and manage all the firearms in circulation. It would be easier to find and confiscate everyone’s iPhone at this point than take away their gun.

Our society is not moving toward a period of fewer guns. If anything, recent events will inspire more amateurs to arm themselves in the naïve belief that a weapon alone will make them safer. This means more people will be armed on a regular basis. The standard response by government authorities and corporations is to implement armed security to respond to future threats. But armed security is only a deterrent to a rational actor. Many lone domestic terrorists or suicidal members of society are not rational and will not be deterred by security. They will simply find a new less secure target.

As members of an armed society with potential murderers who could strike at any time, we are faced with two choices; hide in our homes or adopt principles that can help us avoid danger that might occur. This essay is meant to be an introduction to concepts of escaping an active shooter and increasing your chance of survival.

Defining an Active Shooter

In this essay, an active shooter is any individual firing repeatedly into a crowd. He is not threatening to shoot. He has already started shooting. He is not shooting at someone specific (as far as anyone can tell). He is simply trying to kill as many people as possible. There are other concepts for other scenarios, but I’m going to focus on the scenario that has popped up with more and more frequency.

Preparing for an Active Shooter

If a gunman can appear at any time in any location then it is impossible to be completely safe at all times. But there are preparations you can take to increase your ability to get out of danger.

1. Get your body used to moving: If you never run you can’t expect to instantly become Usain Bolt if bullets start flying. We can get a certain amount of adrenalin and energy from fear, but the more you learn how to use this energy, the better off you will be. The type of running I’m referring to isn’t the jogging you do in the park to fit into your skinny jeans. This is running as if someone is shooting at you. Periodically sprinting (and not in a straight line) will give your body more exposure to the type of movement it has to do in an active shooter situation.
2. Dressing for a retreat: The lady in the super tight skirt with the six inch heels and two purses isn’t going to be able to move very fast. The guy with the heavy backpack and the gym bag strapped to him on the train is in the same boat. I’m not suggesting that you only leave the house in Under Armor and track shoes, but you have to balance your wardrobe and luggage with the reality that you might have to leave it behind, assuming you actually have a chance to get rid of it. Lighter is faster and faster is better.
3. Decide where you are going: Being able to move isn’t very helpful if you don’t know where you’re going. Trying to find the exits in the chaos of a human stampede trying to escape an active shooter is challenging at best. Whenever possible, it is prudent to locate the exits in your surroundings before you settle into whatever activity is on the agenda. This is also a good time to figure out if there are multiple exits or just one. If trouble occurs you can move yourself and your loved ones to the exits without any discussion or thought.

Reacting to the Active Shooter

The best writing I have found on this subject comes from a site called No Nonsense Self Defense. Violence expert Marc MacYoung has identified three main steps in avoiding an active shooter.

1. Get out of the line of fire: move to a place where the barrel of the gun isn’t pointing
2. Get out of the shooter’s field of vision: move to a place where the shooter can’t see you and will be less likely to aim at you and put you back in the line of fire
3. Get out of the area where the shooter is located: move so far away from the shooter that he cannot continue shooting at you.

Becoming the Rabbit

In their seminal book On Combat, Dave Grossman and Loren Christensen divide the world into three types of people using the analogy of a sheep herd. The civilians who are potential victims are sheep. The criminals who prey on society are wolves. The police, military and first responders who have to deal with the criminals are sheep dogs.

It is difficult to determine where the wolves will strike next. The sheep dogs can’t be expected to be everywhere we need protection so we need a new script. I’m not suggesting increasing the number of armed civilians and creating a society of wolves. I am advocating a different model all together. Instead of lying down like sheep waiting for the slaughter, we can choose to become rabbits. We are not involved in committing or stopping crime. We are only interested in getting out. Hopefully it is a set of skills we will never have to use.

Of course, following these steps cannot guarantee your safety if you encounter an active shooter. There are many variables that could hinder your escape including your own paralysis, a lack of exits, a lack of warning or a combination of all these factors. But consciously deciding how you will react and preparing for that reaction increases your chances of living through a horrible incident.

The Darkest Side of Rejection

White male privilege, a warped sense of entitlement and a persistent rape culture has lead to a teenage boy trying to kill 3 Women "because he's a virgin"

I've argued in earlier posts for the importance of building seductive skills in society (See Love in the Time of Smartphones). There might not be any form of education or intervention we can use to prevent men suffering from autistic spectrum disorder from trying to kill, but the more we can do to reduce the anxiety of sexual frustration the fewer men will be compelled to turn to violence when faced with rejection.

The Hypocritical Motivation Behind Female on Female Slut Shaming

By Gamal Hennessy

The concept of slut shaming is often associated with an inequality between male and female sexual expression. Men are praised for high levels of sexual activity while women are maligned. The majority of this social warfare was thought to be a product of male bias, but a new study suggests slut shaming is a powerful social tool for women to use against other women.

Researchers observed and interviewed college-aged women in a campus setting. They found slut shaming to be a form of abuse women from affluent families used to disparage women from less fortunate social circumstances. Shame was about income, not sex although sexual expression was the target of the attack.

“Viewing women only as victims of men’s sexual dominance fails to hold women accountable for the roles they play in reproducing social inequalities. By engaging in ‘slut-shaming’ women at the top create more space for their own sexual experimentation, at the cost of women at the bottom of social hierarchies.”

— Elizabeth Armstrong, Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan

This isn’t a new phenomenon. The upper classes in societies throughout history have engaged in broad types of sexual expression and denied the same activity to lower social groups. Erotica and manuals of sexual techniques have been hidden away in private libraries. Only the rich could afford the services of concubines, courtesans or prostitutes. In modern eras, both the church and the state impose a sexually restrictive morality on the general population as they indulge in any and every sexual option imaginable.   

This systemic sexual repression is a form of class warfare designed to restrict upward mobility. Erotic capital, like financial, social and intellectual capital are transferable, giving a person with one type of capital the ability to trade it in for other types of social currency. (See Erotic Capital by Catherine Hakim) The difference between erotic capital and other forms is its distribution. Beauty, sex appeal and physical ability can’t be hoarded by certain classes and passed down through generations. In theory, anyone from any class can achieve a high degree of erotic capital. If society allowed free transfer of this currency, social mobility would suddenly be within reach of a wider section of society. Suppression of erotic capital through techniques like slut shaming reduces the utility of erotic capital for those who need it most.

Sexual intelligence and independence in sexual expression could be effective counter measures for this type of social warfare, but few women of any class have the training to develop those traits. (See Love in the Time of Smartphones) Until we treat sexual expression as a fundamental dynamic of society, tactics like slut shaming will continue to have a detrimental effect on everyone.

Have fun.

Gamal

Hedonistic Inspiration for Your Weekend and Beyond

Just a thought to put things into perspective...

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to you. No matter what your position in life, there are moments of joy and happiness to be had. You can go out and create them, or you can sit and wallow in a state of self-perpetuated misery. If you have a dream you should commit to it. If you find a vocation you love and you want to be the very best, good luck to you. But wherever your journey leads you, remember that life is not an assignment. It is not a contest. It is an experience and] an adventure that can be filled with beauty, bliss and above all, pleasure.”

”

— Michael Flocker: The Hedonist Handbook

Have fun.

Gamal

An Advanced Review Request for A Touch of Honey

I'm currently looking for advanced reviewers for my new novel, A Touch of Honey.

If you're not familiar with the advance review process, don't worry. All that means is that you get an early copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review that you post on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be a good review. An honest review of your reaction is better for other readers and for me.

The first 20 advanced reviewers for this book will receive their choice of a free copy of A Taste of Honey or Smooth Operator as a thank you for your support. 

So if you enjoy adult crime thrillers, consider this premise: 

In seduction, control is surrender and surrender is control…

Nikki Siriene uses her sexual charms to manipulate men and steal their secrets, but she lives in constant fear because the man who used to love her is now trying to kill her.

Desperate for protection, she agrees to a relationship of mutual exploitation with a mysterious fixer named Warren Baker. He agrees to protect her from her enemies if she agrees to help take down a sex slave operation in New York. 

Entering into this world of depravity and pain pushes Nikki to the edge of sanity. Can she escape with her freedom and her life, or will she become just another human trafficking statistic?

I’m planning to run the review period from early February to mid-March 2015. If you're interested in being an advanced reviewer for this book, please send an e-mail to gamalhennessy@gmail.com and I'll give you all the dirty details. 

Have fun.

Gamal

Breathing is Fundamental (Why Cops Love the Chokehold)

By Gamal Hennessy

“Protect Your Neck”

— Wu Tang Clan

As passive outrage online shifts from Eric Garner to Charlie Hedbo and Boko Haram, a disturbing tradition continues to thrive among the NYPD. According to a recent story in the New York Times, chokeholds are still a preferred tactic among police officers despite their illegal status.

Despite Scrutiny, Chokeholds Persist in New York City

It’s not difficult to see why this type of deadly force is preferred by law enforcement:

• Chokes serve the short and long term goals of the officer using the technique (See Who Watches the Watchers?)
• Chokes are an effective means of achieving those goals. It is difficult to physically or verbally challenge someone when you have no blood and/or air going to your brain.
• The likelihood of meaningful punishment for officers who use the chokehold is low. See Eric Garner and Anthony Baez before him.

The technique isn’t designed to kill, but it can lead to death, especially in the middle of a violent uncontrolled confrontation. But in the collective mind of the police the potential for a suspect’s death is not a justification to abandon the technique, because the antagonistic relationship fostered between elements of the police and elements of the community creates an environment where lethal compliance is easy to rationalize. When the police feel justified in turning their back on the mayor and are willing to manipulate arrest rates to make a political point, the subculture of policing threatens the health of the city. Chokeholds are only a symptom of the disease. (See Police Departments and Power Games)

Chokeholds may be illegal, but laws on their own are not the key to improving society. (See Laws Don’t Improve Society, We Do). Improvements in police/ citizen relations will come on an individual level, encounter by encounter, block by block. Until then, the Moscow Rules and a bit of luck might be our only protection for surviving a police encounter. (See Women, Minorities and the Moscow Rules)

Have fun.

Gamal

Laws Don't Improve Society. We Do.

According to Foreign Policy Magazine, the rape culture of India isn't being reduced by public calls for castration, mob violence and harsher anti-rape laws. The problem might be getting worse. 

India Doesn't Understand It's Rape Problem

“The obsession with punishment “deflects attention from the accountability shared by the state” — its failure to address social norms that lead to sex crimes against women. These norms often emerge from legal and educational institutions that place little to no premium on gender equality. India’s preoccupation with capital punishment gives “individuals a way to distance themselves from potentially sexist beliefs they may themselves hold.”
”

— Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of the advocacy group All India Progressive Women’s Association

The problem isn't limited to India or our present issues with police brutality in America, pseudo religious extremism in Europe or mass murder in Nigeria. Governments can pass laws and crackdown on segments of the population, but our problems will continue until we change our individual perspectives and attitudes.

“The Holocaust was legal. Slavery was legal. Segregation was legal. If you use the state as a metric for ethics, you’ll end up disappointed.”

— Lex Loper

Consider the ongoing experience America is having with the LGBT community. Prior to the Stonewall Riots, homosexuality was a lifestyle shunned, attacked and rejected by mainstream society. They were blamed for HIV and accused of undermining the fabric of American society. In 2014, challenges still exist, but gay marriage is legal in a majority of states, same sex relationships in entertainment and advertising is on the rise and the mainstream has watered down gay culture in order to absorb it. 

This didn't happen because laws were changed to compel people to change their views. Views changed when anti-gay people understood some of their friends, family and colleagues were gay. Views changed when the two groups looked past the labels and started dealing with the people. Once the views were altered, the door to progress could open and then the laws changed. Of course, there are some people still fighting progress and other parts of the world are just as bad as they ever were. But change is happening among people first. Changing the law comes second.

If we want change, then we have to change. We can't just call for laws to be passed, demand people be fired, and wait for other people to change around us. Rape culture, racism and religious extremism are all macro level problems we can begin to reduce on an individual level. We won't be able to eradicate any of these problems, but changing individual attitudes can create a cultural shift and that kind of change can have more impact than passing a random law.

Have fun.

Gamal 

Reading Goes Back to the Future

Are serialized podcasts the future of books? Will they become as popular as e-books and create new opportunities for both readers and writers? Is this an evolution in creativity or a return to historical forms of storytelling like the spoken word traditions of Africa, the Bardic tales of Medieval Europe or the radio dramas of the 1950's? 

James Atlas explores this question in his Opinion column for the Sunday Review:

Hearing is Believing 

Have fun.

Gama

Whose Life Matters?

“The ability of man to inflict suffering on another man is boundless.”

— David Morrell The League of Night & Fog

Boko Haram and the Nigerian Army appear to be trading massacres on the eve of the presidential elections. No matter who wins, the people lose.

Boko Haram's Massacre in Nigeria: What Happened and Why (Vox)

Are You Willing to Die for Your Art?

My network of friends and associates includes a lot of artists. I know actors and dancers, photographers and writers, comic book artists, comedians, fashion designers, musicians, DJs and filmmakers. All of them bring passion to their craft. Each of them has made sacrifices for the chance to express themselves. I often feel humbled comparing my novels to their work. But the news over the past few weeks has forced me to think about the limits of creative dedication. I wonder how many of us would risk our lives to pursue our art?

The Sony hack over The Interview and the terrorist attack in Paris, are the latest examples of attacks on expression. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Totalitarian regimes, extremists and insecure people of every type and class have used censorship, intimidation and violence to suppress art throughout history. Our perspectives and opinion shape our expression. Those who don’t agree with an opinion and feel threatened by its existence have a tendency to lash out in anger. Every artist risks retaliation the moment they expose their creations to the public.

I don’t expect masked gunmen to kick in my door and shoot me down over the books I write. My current work doesn’t focus on the political or religious maniacs who hide behind AK-47s. Some people might not enjoy my depictions of sexual expression or my attacks on misogyny, but most people don’t care so I’m safe for now. The worst attack I face is a bad review or an inane comment on my wall.

But if I wasn’t safe, would I stop? If I had to risk more than time, money and what little reputation I have, would I give up publishing? If I started getting death threats or survived a real attack, would I keep writing? I can’t answer these questions with any honesty because I’ve never been in those situations. I like to see myself as an artist willing to sacrifice for his craft, but until the moment of truth comes, who can tell?

I don’t know if my artist friends are willing to die for their art, but the relationship between expression and retaliation is inherent in the world we live in. The spectrum ranges from benign online trolling to murder but artistic expression is not a safe lifestyle. We all risk something when we expose ourselves to the world. Maybe the decision to sacrifice security is part of the creative condition. Maybe our passion is what makes us so threatening. I don’t know. But I respect every artist willing to put themselves out there, whatever risks they face. The most respect goes to those who know they are in danger and continue to create in spite of, or perhaps because of the threats against them.

Have fun.
G

A New Year, a New Website, a New Sale and Free Stories for You

I’m trying to get my act together this year and offer you a one stop shop for the world of Crime and Passion.

http://nightlifepublishing.nyc

The website still needs a bit of polish, but I’d like to invite you to my new virtual home by offering a few gifts.

First, I’ve got two short stories available for free wherever ebooks are sold. 

Broken Glass is the story of a Wall Street bartender who gets caught up in corporate conspiracies and murder.

The Fall of King Richard is about a banker who tries to leave his mistress before his wife and the Russian Mafia catches up to him.

Second, I’ve cut 20% off the price of my first novel Smooth Operator to celebrate the new site. Smooth Operator is a collection of stories about a crippled spy and the mysterious people who work for him. This book was a top new release on Amazon, so I think you’ll enjoy it.

The website also has my thoughts on relationships, police brutality and creativity. You can also sign up for the RSVP List to stay informed on new stories I write. If all that wasn’t enough, my baby pictures are also on the site somewhere, so you can see me when I still had hair.

In the next few weeks, I plan to announce an early reader offer for my next novel A Touch of Honey, but I hope you’ll visit the site and enjoy it until then.

Have fun.

Gamal

Treating Creativity Like a Disease

I often get the impression that society uses the government, the mainstream media, priests, and psychologists to enforce the concept of normality. They claim, without any real authority, the power to define what is normal. They use surveys, statistics and selective historical trends to create the illusion of a “typical” man or woman. They preach that normal is inherently good and that all of us should strive to fit our bodies, hearts and minds into the mold that they dictate. Everyone who is willing to forge a new path or question the conventional is discouraged, punished or rejected. This perspective is supported by an article suggesting the new DSMV IV (the manual used to diagnose mental illness) now classifies above average creativity as a mental disorder. (See Non Conformity and Free Thinking as Mental Illnesses).

“All of this is a symptom of our over-diagnosing and overmedicating culture. In the last 50 years, the DSM-IV has gone from 130 to 357 mental illnesses. A majority of these illnesses afflict children. Although the manual is an important diagnostic tool for the psychiatric industry, it has also been responsible for social changes. The rise in ADD, bipolar disorder, and depression in children has been largely because of the manual’s identifying certain behaviors as symptoms. A Washington Post article observed that, if Mozart were born today, he would be diagnosed with ADD and “medicated into barren normality.””

— The Mind Unleashed

he rationale for the sudden explosion in mental disorders isn’t hard to understand. It is easier to make money from people who have mental problems than people with independent personalities. Patients can be medicated, sent to therapy and studied for years without results. Free thinkers are not a profit center.

At the other end of the spectrum artists, dreamers and hedonists resist this process. We reject what is normal and forge paths that are often bizarre, disturbing and completely fascinating. They are often misunderstood or unappreciated but the power of their voice is undeniable. For better or worse, artists fight against the tide of normal in an attempt to forge new paths and create a new reality.

Society changes and grows because individuals reject the current order and forge their own direction. The mainstream often follows because they are fascinated, inspired and motivated to think and dream. I’m glad I’m too old to have someone crush my creativity to sell a few pills. The potential artists who come after me might not be so lucky.

“To be nobody-but-yourself—in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.”

— E. E. Cummings

Have fun.

Gamal