Stacey Abrams Presents Coded Justice - A Thriller - AI Provides Coded Support to Veterans... Avery Keene Book 3

 

I need to determine one thing, Avery. Have I built Data, the lovable android, or HAL, the killer computer?

Abrams, Stacey. Coded Justice: A Thriller (Avery Keene Book 3) (p. 38). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO AWARD FOR BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY • AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A prescient new thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Avery Keene series, by nationally renowned author and leader Stacey Abrams, Coded Justice follows Avery down a dark rabbit hole into the breathtaking—and dangerously evolving—world of AI in the medical industry.

Former Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back . . . trying to put the past behind her at a prestigious high-end law firm in Washington, D.C. Head down and focused on a new life, Avery is now working as an internal investigator when a high-profile client seeks her out. Camasca Enterprises has a big problem and a short runway. The tech company has developed a new integrated AI system poised to revolutionize the medical industry. To prove its potential, Camasca’s charismatic founder, retired Major Rafe Diaz, has picked a complicated target: delivering cutting-edge health care to his fellow veterans. The potential is staggering, but their prototype has been plagued by a series of disturbing anomalies—culminating in the mysterious death of a beloved Camasca engineer.

Avery and her colleagues, Jared, Ling, and Noah, are brought into the secretive company to investigate from the inside out. At the epicenter of a burgeoning, controversial industry, and with billions of dollars on the line, their task is simple: to determine whether Camasca’s technical troubles and rising body count reveal something sinister at work. In Coded Justice, Stacey Abrams’s storytelling prowess is on full display—a deft combination of riveting twists and vibrant characters set against the fascinating landscape of the capabilities of artificial intelligence . . . and the moral boundaries that govern it. Coded Justice is Abrams’s most entertaining novel to date.--Amazon

******

If you haven't already read...Intro Discussion...

While I had announced a new nonfiction book about AI, having this novel pop up was a no-brainer for me to read first. There is no way around it. Fiction is so much more intriguing to read than nonfiction. Key for me, is that I learn much through the writings of thousands of writers while having an enjoyable break from reality. At any other time, I would consider this novel a SciFi right out of the X-Files of historical television... And, after checking with Gem about what was "reality" of AI, I learned that, in a significant way, what is happening right now in history was much more dangerous, in my opinion... 

As I read Abrams' novel, however, I was glad to have learned that what I recognized as AI from my years of being a Trekkie--a fan of all movies in any Star Trek series--was NOT what was happening right now. In fact, Gem projected that this could not possibly happen for decades... 

Still I found myself adding "horror" to the multi-genre book Stacey Abrams had written... Simply because people were dying... in a hospital clinic and later, outside the medical facility...

Setting the plot was a natural for this author. Those who met her through her political life which is very active, knows that she is an avid champion for those who are often ignored for one reason or another in our supposed democracy... Which has taken on major efforts to attack those very people... I've come to group it as all other than white male supremacists... together with corporate leaders who value power and whatever can be done to make them richer as the rest of us get poorer...

Latest News - This soldier who had a mental breakdown, is now under investigation by the present federal administration, for possible indictment... OMG, even mental illness is not to be tolerated...in...their war...

As a book reviewer, I've been asked to read a number of books written after the Vietnam War... Only one was able to write about what happened...but he wrote it for his brother... Perhaps because the veteran could not? War is not inevitable in my mind... Yet it continue to keep happening over and over and over... During many of those wars, there were also those who told of the horrors that occurred against troops, as well as those who died by visiting troops... Somehow many will attempt to not consider losses of the "supposed enemy..." No matter who they are... Even if they were those who fought for their own country...

Abrams hones in on those who are targeted because of being considered an enemy... Anybody different than those who fall outside of the "white male supremacist" group--unless they are rich... Many of us remember that anybody from a different race, culture, or sexual orientation often are targeted. But, because of their own cultural physical development, it was medically important that, if at all possible, past medical history would greatly improve how a specific individual might need to be treated based upon hereditary factors. This would be a major investment in data gathering that could one day result in each individual having medications designed specifically for the patient's bodily requirements...

Dr. (and Major) Rafe Diaz, CEO and founder of Camasca, has been an individual who had first-hand experience of not being able to gain medical care... But he was a fighter and became convinced that he could do something to ensure that those who had been traditionally ignored for one reason or another, did indeed deserve the kind of medical care that everybody should have... It was at a point when AI was now in full development and was well beyond those early days when speed and convenience and the novelty of it all was the latest "entertainment" and potential helpful tool to the many who needed assistance quickly. Especially when it involved needing medical assistance... 

As the book opens, we find a completely developed and functioning group who have gained government support and funds based upon Dr. Diaz's proposal. There was indeed a great need that could be provided if only what he was trying would work! All of the data had been gathered to begin. Appropriate levels of AI supporters had been developed and trained and tested... Now the company was ready to try for opening the company up for investors who could help expedite full development as well as expansion of facilities across the world...

Until the team leader of the systems staff was killed... All three of the team had been affected when a ventilation problem seemed to be the cause... The other two were now on leave from the trauma and physical damage they incurred...

Dr. Diaz was not only concerned about what had happened, but that he needed to ensure that as the time for public announcement came that there would be no reason for either the government or the public to question how exactly such an accident could have happened. And, could it really have been sabotage...

Avery Keene had been recommended to Dr. Diaz by a mutual friend who then shared with Avery that she would be contacted... But first, Keene's law firm would also have to be willing to have her accept this job of "internal investigator"--a role that she had never learned about during her law school days.

In essence, this title allowed for, say, a head of a corporation, to have a legal investigation occur--in this case an accident involving a death and multiple injuries through a ventilation problem... By choosing a lawyer to undergo an internal review of what actually could have happened, but still be covered under "attorney-client privilege" could bring about a broader investigation than the police would normally do, but without any type of outside influence or more importantly, disclosure. Interestingly, I could easily see the author also playing the lead in a movie based upon the book... Meaning, that if you've heard Abrams speaking on any issue, you can "hear" her speaking as Avery... I was impressed with this, my own assumption made just for fun..." For Avery speaks and thinks as we have seen the author do on many occasions...

Also Interestingly, was that the characters were not immediately identified racially, even though the book itself was to address the lack of cultural ramifications when people sought medical assistance... Readers do find sprinkled through the book that one character or another happened to be identified by race. But not as being relevant to their involvement defined in the book... Yet, racial bias was indeed part of the psychological component of the story. Again, well-done by the author.

Avery is involved with a former military man who has extensive systems expertise. The other two individuals who comprized her team were one other lawyer--the one who recommend Avery to lead the team. The other was also connected to Avery--her best friend--who was fortunately a medical doctor who would be very important during this evaluation of the medical world, especially related to the Hippocratic Oath... It was clear that Avery needed to trust the team to work with her...

Readers will find that the methodology of an investigation is standard to most mystery or thriller books. Only the characters driving the story is unusual, since AI is involved... And, indeed, got more complicated when a doctor in the clinic using Dr. Diaz' platform was found to have committed suicide, which led to even further questions...

This AI involvement was so deeply entrenched that Avery's team had to demand that they have total separation during the investigation. Why? Because all facilities were completely open to the AI component upon which the new platform for specialized single-patient support was based.

Avery's team was given a time limit by virtue of when the IPO--Initial Public Offering. The investigation was extremely complicated given the AI platform and the interaction of AI with all of the humans involved directly or indirectly. We learn more about the background as the team members interview all those who could have remotely been involved... Readers receive their wanted involvement in solving the murder as we move deeper into the book... A number of suspects were identified and we can begin to make assumptions of those bad guys who could be behind the death... Especially when Avery came just in time to see a similar and potential death scene occur...

There is no way to read this book except as a learning experience as we move forward having AI forced into our lives, especially for things such as medical support which affects each one of us in an extremely intimate manner. While I was satisfied and understood the ending of the book, I did not truly shake the awareness that we are now in the midst of a situation where we KNOW that this administration is forcing movement forward in the present AI format through extortion or by power-seekers who are working for their own benefit. Either way only means that we citizens must be watching ever more carefully...

As a reader, I must say that I would have enjoyed this fantastic book if only I trusted that it was an alternative futuristic history as opposed to how I see medical issues now being handled by this administration... Can you imagine walking into an emergency room, knowing that power-weavers behind the scenes are more in control than your doctor???

GABixlerReviews

“We’ve asked Kawak to understand bias and discrimination, and solve for it. We knew there’d be hiccups in eliminating prejudice in medicine, didn’t we?” In the field of artificial intelligence, one of the steepest challenges was training what was essentially a sophisticated computer system to act like a good human. Teaching people to match their behavior to their values was a task that had bedeviled theologians and ethicists. AI developers called the process alignment, a term of art that sounded better than catechism.

--Abrams, Stacey. Coded Justice: A Thriller (Avery Keene Book 3) (p. 4). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

A Wonderful Family Drama for Boomers, Especially, by Bette A. Stevens - Dog Bone Soup!

"Travel with Shawn Daniels through the guts and the glories of life. You’ll find them all in DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming-of-age saga." Many of us will think of Huckleberry Finn when we consider this book, and it is indeed that type of story, but my first thought was of Opie to play Shawn. Why? well, we boomers will remember him and can picture him as the sweet boy that he portrayed on television. You'll find that same personality in Shawn Daniels, an intelligent young boy who happened to be born into a poor family with a father who drank... and a mother who did everything she could to keep her family together and fed...

Shawn Daniels now in the Army and on his way! But, he already missed his mother and siblings...and couldn't help but think back over his life as he moved toward the future...

There was a brook not far from the cabin. Dad crossed it most every day to cut logs. Sometimes he would take me down to the brook to watch him when he went fishing. It was my favorite place, until that day Mum got hurt. 

I was sitting at the table writing my ABC’s. Mum always had me writing something. She said that education was important. Told me that I was sure to be the smartest boy in my class by the time I got to kindergarten. I peeked over at Willie sleeping on a blanket in the corner. Mum smiled at me from the stove. “We’ll be having hotcakes with maple syrup for breakfast tomorrow. You just keep working on your letters.” I was back to working on my letters and stopped to draw a picture of hotcakes at the top of the paper when BANG— something exploded. 

Mum was in a fit bawling and screaming at me. “Shawn, go find your father. GO! GO, SHAWN!” I just sat there wondering what to do. “Run, son! SCREAM– BLOODY MURDER. Go Get Dad. SCREAM it LOUD and don’t stop screaming.” 

I ran out of the house screaming “bloody murder” at the top of my lungs. I ran and ran and kept screaming until I slid down the bank on the crusted snow and fell through a chance to say a word, he picked me up, put his cap on my head and stuffed as much of me as he could inside his heavy wool jacket. 

He carried me home while I told him about Mum. By the time we got to the cabin, Willie was on his feet thrashing around the room and screeching to beat the band. Dad picked him up and handed him to me. Then he bandaged Mum up and gave her a good bawling out. “Henrietta, sometimes you’re about as stupid as a stick. Don’t you know that a canner with a lid on is for cannin’ stuff, not for boilin’ down maple sap? You got to leave the lid off for that.” 

For a long time after that, Mum and Dad didn’t talk much unless it was about things they didn’t like. Mum didn’t like Uncle Hiram, said he was a bad influence. Dad didn’t like Mum calling him and his family “no damned good.” Mum cried a lot. By summertime, baby Annie came along and Mum stayed at home with her most of the time. 

Dad would take Willie and me down to the brook when he went fishing. He’d have his beer bottle in one hand and Willie hooked to his hip with the other. I was old enough not to need holding. I’d run ahead with Dad’s pole and find my favorite spot along the bank. I’d sit there, listening to the brook sing, looking up into those giant oaks and pines. On real nice days, the sun peeked through the branches and danced on the water. It was pretty much like being in church, only quieter. 

Late that summer, Mum made me my own fishing pole out of a maple sapling so I could fish alongside of Dad. She even made me a fish hook out of a safety pin. I loved that little pole...

~~~

Dog Bone Soup:

A Boomer's Journey

By Bette A. Stevens

It wasn't too long into the story before I began to compare my own background with Shawn and his family. The most telling was my memory of our buying chicken backs and necks in bulk when a local store had a sale... Oh how we hated to clean those chicken parts...But they made wonderful chicken and noodles which we had every Sunday...

So, too, could Shawn look back on the good times when he was younger and his Dad was more involved with the family. Even then, though, he drank a lot of beer and would think nothing of his verbal and, often, physical abuse of his wife...

But there came a time when it was even worse for the Daniels family. They had a small vegetable garden, so Shawn's mother would send him to the local butcher and beg for old bones for their dogs, supposedly... Instead, what she would do it scrape off any meat and cut the bones to pull out the marrow. That would become the stock for soup. No, it was not very tasty, especially when they had it night after night... But it kept them going, though they were still hungry most of the time...

“Tell the butcher we have a bunch
 of dogs and ask him for all the bones
 he can spare.” 
I could feel my neck and face heat up
 when I asked. Those bones stunk
so bad, they nearly made me puke. 
Couldn’t believe I’d asked for those
 stinking things or 
that we’d be eating them....
~~~.

Mainly it all started when Shawn's father decided he wanted to save the money he was paying for rent and he tore down an old cabin and moved to a piece of property and started to build a home...He did grudgingly put in electricity, but there were no indoor plumbing and the water had to be carried from the stream... Until he finally built a well...

But Shawn's mother wasn't willing to have the family live like that and she started to scratch out a little money to save...thus the Dog Bone Soup... But one night Eddie brought home a television and acted as if he had bought it for the family... He had taken the money that was being saved to improve the house...

With his wife's reaction, he changed for the worse and sat drinking beer and watching television most of the time. Soon Shawn's mother was taking part-time cleaning and other jobs. But Eddie just accused her of running around on him...

And Shawn was affected in another way--he was made fun of at school about their being poor with no indoor plumbing... The lives of the other kids was so different to his that he had no ground to begin to develop friendships...

Then Buddy Wentworth and Timmy Doyle started singing, “Shawn has a pee pot, Shawn has a pee pot; a to-i-let, he ain’t got….” Buddy had his arm around Timmy’s shoulder, like they were best friends. Pretty soon, a bunch of other kids joined in. I couldn’t believe Timmy was chumming around with Buddy. Usually it was Buddy poking fun at Timmy...

While most of the kids in school were yackin’ about football games, dances and The Beatles, I kept pretty much to myself. I didn’t have a clue about what those kids were talkin’ about and I really didn’t care...

The only thing that saved Shawn was his determination to work to make a better life. He studied and got good grades and still spent time helping his mother with chores and the other children...

When it got so bad that, as a teenager, Shawn went in and got the rifle to chase his father from the house and protect his mother from further abuse, Shawn had to start thinking what to do. His grades were failing, he couldn't see any options, until... he was willing to risk being sent into the Vietnam War to find his own life...and move toward it...

For Boomers, it will take us back to things happening during this years we were young; e.g., the Kennedy Assassination...

But your age really doesn't matter because once you start reading, you'll be sucked deeply into the story and its characters that Stevens has presented. They are real, they live the life that many Americans have lived during those years, earlier years...and, yes, later years. Poverty and prejudice are not solely owned by Boomers... We all know that! So, I'm going to disagree that Boomers are the only audience... I recommend it highly to individuals who enjoy stories based upon the family... whether it's Little House on the Prairie, Or Blue Bloods... Only the setting has changed... Because it's a story of hope, of tenacity, and of caring for those we love... 

Only one scene disturbed me...when the church brought the foods for a thanksgiving dinner to the family, Mrs. Daniels refused to accept it, indicating they would take no charity. Shawn learned a lesson that day that affected him in later decisions... It was sad, because I was sure that part of her feelings was based upon how her family had been treated by church members during other interactions... Let us remember that everybody sometimes needs a little help...and there really is no shame in accepting... Help!

There is much to ponder, to think about how we would respond...and to help look at life's issues from a different perspective. Enjoy this as much as I did!

GABixlerReviews

Note: Several pics were illustrated by the author...

Inspired by nature and human nature, Bette A. Stevens is an author, retired teacher, wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys writing, reading, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and childhood literacy and for monarch butterflies, an endangered species. Stevens's children's activity book, THE TANGRAM ZOO and WORD PUZZLES TOO!, was first published in 1997 by Windswept House Publishing, Mt. Desert, ME; a second edition was self-published by the author in 2012. AMAZING MATILDA, Stevens's second children's book, self-published in 2012 won a 2013 Purple Dragonfly Book Award (Honorable Mention for Excellence in Children's Literature - Ages 6 and older category) and also placed #9 on The 2013 Gittle List for Self-published Children's Picture Books. Stevens has written articles for ECHOES, The Northern Maine Journal of Rural Culture based in Caribou, Maine. In 2013, the author published her first book for the YA/Adult audience: PURE TRASH: The story, a short story of a boy growing up in rural New England and prequel to DOG BONE SOUP, debut novel released January 2015.

From The Author: 

"I love to walk and enjoy nature's beauty, whether at home or on the go. I'm passionate about the beauty in the world around me and enjoy jotting down notes and composing short poems. The coast is one of my favorite places to relax. I'm a nature collector: everything from seashells to birds' nests. When I was teaching, these treasures filled my classroom and provided inspiration for reading, writing and research. It was hands-on fun and excitement and I enjoyed every moment spent learning with, from and about my students. One thing I learned is that many children don't have an adult to read to them or listen to them read and talk about those books. Many of my blog and facebook posts will focus on how we can improve childhood literacy by reading to the children in our families and communities. My own childhood was filled with books and adults who shared and encouraged a love of reading. I've written some poetry and several short stories. I plan to write some adult fiction, including a coming of age story, and write reviews on some of my favorite books. I'll be sharing some of your stories, poems and tips on reading and writing, too. Let's have fun learning, living, sharing and loving language together." Bette A. Stevens 

Francis Hamit Submits A Perfect Spy, a Segment of His Upcoming Memoir...

Christopher Marlowe

I am a novelist and playwright. I am also a journalist with over 1,000 published articles, reviews, essays, op-eds, and other non fiction published in the last 40 years. I have a background in Military Intelligence and write fiction and drama about people in military, intelligence and similar occupations. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I am a member of the Military Writers Society of America, the Association for Intelligence Officers, The Historical Novel Society and the Military Writers Society of America. I have attended more than 100 science fiction conventions and am often a panelist. I am the co-owner of Brass Cannon Books and a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop (Fiction).

I contribute a lot to other people's blogs. I served in the US Army Security Agency for four years, in Vietnam and then Germany. I spent 21 years in the Security industry which provides some of the background for MELTDOWN.
My produced stage plays are MARLOWE: An Elizabethan Tragedy and Memorial Day. My novel "The Shenandoah Spy" has received over a dozen favorable reviews. My latest novels are "The Queen of Washington" and "MELTDOWN".
We have begun creating audiobooks through ACX.com which will be available on Amazon.com, iTunes and Audible.com. The first four short ones are available now.
A film version of my play about Christopher Marlowe is in pre-production and a "The Shenandoah Spy" is slated to become either a major motion picture or television mini-series in 2014 or 2015.

                                     ~~~

A Very Special Girl - Deborah stayed the night since her dorm had a curfew hour we'd gone past, and there we were the next morning, alone in the room now, looking at each other in dazed wonder. What was this? More than just a roll in the hay, that was for sure. We have amazed each other.

It was spectacular sex, but there was more. We had been in each other's arms all night, and lazily made love again. She was able to scream a bit this time and that made her happy. I suggested breakfast. She looked at her watch and said, "I have a class." She suddenly seemed unhappy to be there, as if it were all a mistake.

She went into the bathroom and pulled herself together. I got dressed, too. She came out, smiling tentatively and said, "I will date you. But there are conditions."

"Okay. Such as?"

"I am not your girl or your honey or any of that nonsense. There will be no P.D.A. Public displays of affection. You will treat me like a lady and not do guy things to me. No pats on the ass. Not even a kiss on the cheek."

I was bemused. "Okay. I'll try to remember all that."

"If you don't, it's over."

~~~

A Perfect Spy:

A Memoir

By Francis Hamit

So why did I flip-flop the author info this time? Welllll, it was just to show Francis Hamit's picture first and draw attention to his "Ornery little grin" which, I must say, reflects perfectly what he must have been thinking as he wrote this short which will become part of his full memoir sometime in the future. 

Hamit claims this book is about when he proved to be the perfect spy in his college town...but then in his Introduction discloses that there is a lot of sexual content and warns potential readers... Actually, there is a lot of sex, but it is not explicit nor pornographic--Hamit is openly sharing what was going on in his life at the age of 20...

I have to say that it was quite, quite different from my life at 20! LOL So I found it fun to read since we are close enough in age that much of the setting he used was familiar to my early years as well...By 18, however, I was already working on a university campus while Hamit was attending college... And at one point squired 3 girls around campus, with everybody assuming he was bedding all of them...

Interesting comparison, I must say, at least from my perspective...

Memories are not always golden. Some are tinged with brownish edges as if they had been left in the sun too long. So it is here. As Bob Dylan said, "To live outside the Law, you must be honest," I am often accused of being too much so.

This is the story of how I became a spy. Not a choice I made lightly and not one I regret. It was one of the several things that happened to me in Iowa City that changed my life...

~~~

I've enjoyed two of Hamit's historical novels: The Shenandoah Spy and The Queen of Washington, as well as Meltdown,  about an attack by domestic militia terrorists on a nuclear power plant in the USA. The historical novels featured two female women war heroes that you may never have heard of--you should since not many are written about... But none of these compare with Hamit's personal life! LOL

This portion of what will be his later memoir is just 119 pages. If you have not read his work yet, this is an excellent way to become acquainted with his writing and at the same time, read his personal "coming-of-age" which turned out to be quite a fun story.

Francis Hamit was the son of a career military man and planned to later join him, after finishing college--his father's dream for him since he had never been able to attend. Because of his SAT scores, however, he wound up at a small Bible College and left as quickly as he could escape, moving on to the University of Iowa. 

He majored in Drama, was assumed to be a homosexual and got the bullying that went along with that assumption. He was able to build sufficient creds to move forward in Theatre and began freelance photography...Somehow all that he was involved in provided a great place to meet girls...

That was the 60s--when freedom was the goal--Vietnam, Civil Rights and,
sexual experimentation...and drugs...

That's when Francis began to see that the partying on campus was "unhealthy...." and volunteered to be an undercover spy to try and reduce the drugs coming into town... No, he was not a CI--he was totally on his own, was not paid anything, and only reported in when he had something to share. In the meantime he was out there in the midst of everything and with his beard and long hair, everybody assumed he was a hippie... So much so that he almost was killed two times and wasn't sure about the third close call on his life! One of his "jilted" (you'll have to find out why!) girlfriends had told what he was doing and the word spread fast!

One bad habit I've always had is falling in love too quickly with the wrong girl. I was far more of a romantic than those cold-eyed sorority vixens who measured every man they met for the role of husband and provider. They were after a "MRS" degree.
I got crushes and often got emotionally crushed as well. So it was at The Alley Theatre and again at the Marin County Shakespeare Festival. Was I needy or horny? Probably both. I liked sex. Being young and naive I mistook it for Love...
I also had a hankering to settle down and wanted a regular girlfriend again. I met girls in lasses and at parties and just hanging out. Everyone was looking for someone but I was going from a sexual desert to an embarrassment of riches and there were girls who enjoyed breaking hearts and teasing men. I learned caution...
The Sexual Revolution started by Hugh Hefner, Kinsey, and Masters and Johnson was under way, and I was eager to enlist. So were many of the girls I met at Iowa, but the terms of engagement had not been set, and this confused everyone. 

~~~

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Folk music, the staple of my high school years, was going away, and the new music more or less demanded drug use. Using drugs made you "cool" and accepted. At least that was the theory. It was a cultural revolution that would soon become political. Unlike almost everyone I knew, I just thought that drugs made people stupid and careless. I did my best to keep them off my stage, too...So, knowing the risks, I stepped ip and made a deal with the cops. Leave my friends alone, and I will give you the dealers...

~~~

And then there was playing poker with Don Justice, his teacher and involved with the Iowa Writers' Workshop, "the oldest MFA program in Creative Writing, which is notoriously difficult to get into, even 50 years later"...

The Thin Man

I indulge myself

In rich refusals.

Nothing suffices.

I hone myself to

this edge. Asleep, I

Am a horizon.

https://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/crossroads/tributes/mark_strand_on_donald_justice/

And where he also came to despise the then famous author, Nelson Algren. Let's just say his remarks reflect that feeling...

Soon after that, he met Helga who was working on her MFA in Costuming and shared that she wanted to change her nature--she wanted to be "liberated..."

And then came the fateful day that Howard Stein suggested he take an upcoming course in fiction writing...which Hamit claims was a "life-changing moment..." And he's been writing novels ever since!

I found it very interesting to learn the details of how Francis Hamit started his writing career. But that is just part of this book. His taking a stand against drugs when it was "the thing" to try them, speaks to his basic character. Those same moral standards are certainly reflected in his novels...

But the one thing most clear is that Francis Hamit loves women. And his flashbacks into those early years is fun to learn about while, I must say, also reflecting his basic humanistic approach to others with whom he has related during his extensive life experiences.

Especially if you have read any of his books, I think you'll really enjoy A Perfect Spy. I don't normally read memoirs as a genre, but I found this book enlightening, reminiscent of a bygone era in which I lived, and a reflection of an author I have come to admire. Into memoirs? Highly recommended!

GABixlerReviews

Must Life Always Contain Both Happiness and Sadness? Olivia deBelle Byrd Explores Question in Save My Place...

In this world we move through shadows

Never sure of what we see

While the truth abides between us

Come and share the truth with me

Take my hand and lift me higher

Be my love ad my desire

Hold me safe in honor bound

Take my heart to higher ground

My stubborn Southern mind was made up. At the ripe old age of twenty-two, I was to become an old maid. Given that fact, I determined it was judicious of me to further my education, so I had taken the graduate exam and applied to the University of Georgia for a master's degree in education. Since the school was incidental to my momentous decision to enter the world of spinsterhood, the University of Georgia was selected based on the sole criterion of a college sorority sister who needed a roommate. This pivotal U-turn in my life was the indirect result of my college boyfriend of three years--the man I was to marry, settle down with in a cottage by the sea, and live with happily ever after--unceremoniously breaking up with me exactly twenty-four hours after my college graduation...

Thus begins the story of Elisabeth Belle Sterling... Based partially on the life of a close friend of the author, Shirley Dunn...

Save My Place
Recently nominated as one of three finalists for the Florida Publishers Association Presidents Awards for Florida Fiction for Adults and Cover Design

By Olivia deBelle Byrd

The only odd thing that
happened was Cameron
told me he never planned
on getting married Since
I had never met a soul in
the world whose future
plans did not include
marriage,  I did not
actually believe him.
~~~

I don't think I've ever known any true Southern girls, who apparently have some type of mystique about them? LOL But as I read Byrd's story, I thought Mary Steenbergen's basic personality might easily play the life of Elisabeth Belle Sterling, the narrator and main character in the first novel by Olivia deBelle Bryd. The story takes place during the Vietnam War and Elisabeth becomes the wife of a military man...

But first, she shares much about her early life and on through college when she decides to remain unmarried and become a spinster. Congrats to her that she did keep her promise to herself not to have sex before married, but no way was she going to remain a spinster after she meets the right man! Of course that was quite awhile after she had fallen in love with Cameron and then got jilted right after college graduation.

Cameron and I both loved the art of conversation. We spent hours discussing a myriad of topics--philosophy, religion, psychology, books and his love, the Beatles. Movies were a fetish for us, and Cameron could dissect a scene or line of dialogue like no one I had ever been around. We cut our teeth on The Graduate, Dr. Zhivago, and Easy Rider...

When I arrived at Jane's that Friday night, I
could not believe it when I met my blind date.
Being an incurable romantic, it was no surprise
the minute I saw the movie Camelot, I was lost.
Guinevere got it all wrong. King Arthur's
strength was like an anchor while at the same
time being gentle and sensual...standing in front
of me was a knight in shining armor. He even
had an enchanted name and a mass of silky hair.
His name was Kincaid. I do not know what I fell
in love with first--that mane of magnificent
hair or his magical name...

I won't say that her story prior to marriage was any different than other young women, perhaps being a little dramatic when she declared she was considering entering a convent since she was having such lousy luck in dating...

Luckily her friend, Mary Kate...dissuaded me of this ingenious idea. Elisabeth," she said, "you are not one for the confines of a convent. You're entirely too feisty. Quite frankly, you make Maria in The Sound of Music look like Mother Superior. Besides you are not even Catholic...

Kincaid and Elisabeth soon became a couple, then married and readers begin to know more about both of them, but Kincaid would never talk about his mother. Elisabeth was tenacious in solving mysteries, but when Kincaid's mother showed up at their home one day, she immediately knew it was upsetting her husband...

Soon Elisabeth was teaching and their life was happy until Kincaid was called to go to Vietnam. Elisabeth was devastated since they had just celebrated their first anniversary... While we listen to Elisabeth's favorite song, I want to share just one of her letters from the book to Kinkaid in Vietnam...

January 16, 1973, Sunday night

Dear Kincaid,

Everyone says I should write positive thoughts so you won't get depressed, but it ain't gonna happen. You know better than anyone that I am an open book.

I miss you so much it hurts physically and emotionally. In case you haven't picked up on it in the last year and a half, I REALLY love sex (note the capital letters). You are an amazing teacher, and I cannot wait until you are holding me in your arms again. I REALLY miss having conversation with you (note the capital letters). I do realize I do most of the talking. Like my mother says, "Is there any thought that does not come out of your mouth?" But when you do talk, you are very wise or very funny. It is no fun laughing at my own jokes, which is a lie as I have not laughed since you left. Also I REALLY hate taking out the garbabe (note the capital letters). It stinks, and I wait so long it gets very heavy.

I also told you, early in our relationship, I dislike martyrs, so it should come as no surprise to you I am a terrible one. I have pretty much whined since you left. My parents have quit taking my calls. Not really, I am their child, so they have to listen to me.

I would write some news, but there isn't any. Oh, yeah, America is fighting a war in Vietnam, of all places. Seven years ago, eight percent of Americans could not even find Vietnam on a map. Now we are shooting at each other. So much for my stab at humor, but I will write news when I get out of my depression and actually leave the house.
Karen misses you terribly too, but I have no sympathy for her as she is still have sex--wonderful sex, somewhat thanks to me and my dazzling, albeit short-lived, career as a sex therapist. Even curt is moping around. There is no one to laugh at his corny jokes as Karen and I refuse to lower ourselves to his level of humor. When I stopped by the other day, Colin kept asking for "K," so of course, I started bawling and had to leave.
Well, that is all the uplifting news I have no now. I am going out this afternoon to spend all our savings on a new emerald and pearl ring to match my incredibly gorgeous anniversary necklace. That should cheer me up.
On a serious note, our last night together was one of the most beautiful nights of my life even with the sadness. I have never felt closer or more a part of you. In your very wise way, your last words to me were uniquely Kincaid--"Save my place."
Your place is saved and I live you deeply, Eliza
P.S. I am not really going to go out and blow our savings on an emerald and pearl ring.

~~~

Elisabeth is funny, romantic and wonderfully in love with her husband and constantly lets him know... But sorrow is coming and Elisabeth will not be able to handle it well...

This is the first book I've read set during the Vietnam War that provides the perspective of the wife left behind to wait... I am sure that any woman in that situation, no matter what war, will find this compelling book a worthwhile read. It literally is full of emotional stimulus--excitement, happiness, sadness... and more sadness... There is a strength to Elisabeth and Kincaid's love, but there just may be a bigger hand holding their lives...

...Grandmother Reid never let me forget that there was a God to give me strength. "Grandmother Reid," I said on one of my more uncharitable days. "if one more well-meaning soul tells me God does not give you more than you can handle, I swear, I am going to put my puny hands around their neck and try to strangle them."

"Child, that saying is just plain hogwash," Grandmother Reid said, "It is the biggest falsehood perpetrated on religion since the days of the Garden of Eden. It happens all the time. But what God has promised is that He will be with us whatever happens to give us inner strength to draw upon. It is up to us whether we let him help us. Some do, some don't. It's a body's choice..."

~~~

Yes, there are so many books out there to read, but I do hope you give this one your consideration... It is highly recommended and may be just what you needed at this time...

GABixlerReviews

AN ACCIDENTAL AUTHOR

It began as a mundane task of cleaning out my filing cabinet. I happened upon a humorous anecdote I had written when my son was sixteen years old. He had asked me a question pertaining to sex that had struck me as funny. Since we Southerners have a penchant for turning ordinary happenings into entertainment, I had written an anecdote about it. My husband and daughter were sitting in the room so I read this anecdote to them and they looked at me with their mouths agape and said, "Honey/Mom, that is really funny!" The truth is they were amazed I could write something other than thank you notes. 

A few days later, I was telling one of my oft repeated stories and my husband said to me in exasperation, "Why don't you write this stuff down?" The Scarlett O'Hara in me, who loves nothing more than a good challenge, surfaced and these two occurrences spurred me to action. Why not write some of these tales down for my children as a Christmas gift? I had a quest.

Since I had been raised by a Southern father and grandmother of uncommon wit, the fabric of my childhood was laced with humor. When I finally put pen to paper, the stories flowed as freely as water drops on a rainy day. The tales would surface in the quiet of church, where it seems much of my book was written on the back of offering envelopes. It would probably be best if my preacher never discovered this little fact. One day I was thirty minutes late picking my daughter up from the airport, where she was perched on her suitcase, hands in face. I had pulled over to the side of the road to write. When I surfaced from this rain storm of writing, I realized I had actually written a book!

With the encouragement and mentoring of two wonderful Southern authors, I began the arduous journey into the world of manuscripts and rejection letters. I had armed myself by reading everything I could on publishing and growing a thick skin, but the rejection letters were growing faster than my skin. Then, miraculously, thirty-one months and fourteen rejection letters later, Miss Hildreth Wore Brown-Anecdotes of a Southern Belle was published by an independent New York publisher. 

Lives have many forks in the road, but this was a U-turn in mine. The world of marketing a book has taken me down many new paths. My readers have made the lost sleep, uncertainty, and long hours worth it all. I have made new friends and renewed old friendships. I have found family I never knew existed. Every time a reader tells me they laughed at my words, my soul smiles. I have been in love with the written word as long as I can remember and to use it to bring pleasure to others is the greatest pleasure of all. 

Olivia deBelle Byrd is a self-proclaimed Southern Belle who resides in Panama City, Florida, with her husband, Tommy. She is the author of Save My Place & Miss Hildreth Wore Brown--Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. 

www.oliviadebellebyrd.com