Writing is Observing the Humans Around Us

Sharon Hart-Green’s debut novel COME BACK FOR ME is a gripping story of trauma, loss, and the redemptive power of love set in the aftermath of World War II. It was chosen as the inaugural fiction offering of The New Jewish Press (a new imprint of the University of Toronto Press). It was released on June 1, 2017 (paper) and Jan. 2020 (ebook).


Sharon received her PhD in Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and has taught Hebrew and Yiddish literature at the University of Toronto. Her first book NOT A SIMPLE STORY (Lexington Books) was a study of the work of Hebrew novelist S. Y. Agnon. Her second book, BRIDGING THE DIVIDE (Syracuse University Press), is a compilation of her translations of the Hebrew poems of Hava Pinhas-Cohen.


In addition, Sharon’s short stories, poems, translations, and reviews have appeared in a number of publications, including Midstream, The Jewish Review of Books, and JewishFiction.net.


She is currently at work on a second novel, about the mystical inclinations of a young man in search of love.

Come Back For Me, Sharon Hart-Green

The Space Between Time, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden

Moshe Mikanovsky, Writer, The Resurrector, Story-Power Eps. 33 and 37

Beth Henson and Ceci Lewis, The Douglas Oral History Project, Story-Power Ep. 24

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin, PBS Mini Series (2002), Benjamin Franklin (April 4, 2022 PBS) A Ken Burns film

John Adams (2008) Mini Series, on HBO Max Book, David McCullough

A.D. Trosper, Story-Power Ep. 28, Stacy Bennett, Story-Power Ep. 29

Elizabeth Strout, Writer, Olive Kitteridge, Mini Series, (2014) 

  Amy and Elizabeth

Jhumpa Lahiri, Writer, 

  Whereabouts, The Lowland, Unaccustomed Earth, The Namesake

Jane Austen, Writer,

  Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, and more

Charles Dickens, Writer,

  A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and more

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Writer,

  The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and more

Leo Tolstoy, Writer, 

  Anna Karenina, War and Peace, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and more

Gustav Flaubert, Writer,

  Madame Bovary, The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller, The Temptation of Saint Anthony, and more 

Honore de Balzac, Writer,

  Pere Forint, Droll Stories, The Human Comedy, Lost Illusions, and more

The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling

Eleanor, David Michaels

George Eliot, (Mary Ann Evans) Writer,

  Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, Silas Marner, The Mill on the Floss, and more

Sharon’s Website: https://www.sharonhartgreen.com, LinkedIn, Facebook

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger D. Schank, Cognitive Scientist

Stories From Around The World

Dr. Ellen Frankel served for eighteen years as Editor in Chief and CEO of The Jewish Publication Society.  She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Princeton.  

She is the author of eleven books, including The Classic Tales; The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols; The Five Books of Miriam; The Jewish Spirit; and The Illustrated Hebrew Bible. With Rabbi Goldie Milgram, she co-edited two volumes of Mitzvah Stories: Seeds for Inspiration and Learning; and was a contributor to Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran, edited by Brian Arthur Brown.

Dr. Frankel has published three books for young people. Her JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible, won the 2010 National Jewish Book Award.

Dr. Frankel travels widely as a storyteller, lecturer, and scholar-in-residence. 

Several of Frankel’s portraits of biblical women were set to music by Andrea Clearfield in her oratorio, Women of Valor, commissioned by Hadassah of Southern California and premiered by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony in 2000. She and Clearfield later added a new piece, “Hagar.” She was also commissioned to write the libretto for Clearfield’s oratorio, The Golem Psalms, which premiered in Philadelphia in 2006. Dr. Frankel’s first opera, Slaying the Dragon, with music by Michael Ching, had its world premiere in Philadelphia in 2012. Her second opera, The Triangle Fire, premiered in New York in 2017. Her next work, Beyond the Binary, with Andrea Clearfield, about robots, artificial intelligence, and gender, will premiere in Philadelphia in Spring 2022.

Dr. Frankel is currently at work on a new series, The Jerusalem Mysteries, featuring Israeli intelligence agent, Maya Rimon. The first two books, The Deadly Scrolls and The Hyena Murders, will be published in 2022.

Dr. Frankel lives in Florida and Maine with her husband. She has two grown children and three grandchildren.

Ellen Frankel’s Books

The Classic Tales

The Deadly Scrolls, Ellen Frankel (pre-order drops in May 2022)

The Hyena Murders, Ellen Frankel (book 2 of The Jerusalem Mysteries, drops November 2022)

Children’s Bible, Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols, A Woman’s Commentary on the Five Books of Moses 

Dov Noy, Jewish Virtual Library, Hebrew stories of refugees to Israel after WW II, Ellen working on publishing those stories Librettist for composer, Andrea Clearfield, (Facebook, Apple Music) Opera, Women of Valor, based on Ellen’s book, The Five Books of Miriam

Robert Ludlum, Author, The Bourne Identity series.

Beyond the Binary Opera about AI, Robots, and Gender with the Mendelssohn Choir, Philadelphia, PA

Slaying the Dragon Opera Philadelphia, based on “Not by the Sword”, (author) to be revived by Michael Ching in 2023

Opera based on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Patchakanak, Peruvian Folk Tale (check spelling)

Opera Philadelphia, David Davan

McDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire

Folk tales of Western Africa, Uncle Remus stories, Native American Tales, The Illiad, The Odyssey

The Space Between Time, Lucinda Sage-Midgorden

#PodMatch

The Jewish Publication Society, Jewish Braille Institute International

audible.com

A.D. (Audra) Trosper, Stacy Bennett, authors of fantasy novels, Story-Power episodes 28, 29.

Julee Balko, The Things We Keep

WSIRN, episode 307, Allison Fallon, The Power of Writing it Down, Find Your Voice website

Elizabeth George, mystery author

DigDeep Navajo Water Project, Charity:Water, Mercy Corps, Water and much more

Books discussed

Migrations, Charlotte Mcconaghy

Finding the Mother Tree, Susanne Sigard

Overstory, Richard Power

Robert Crummey, Bedlam, etc.

Louise Penny, author, Inspector Gamache series

Daniel Silva, author Gabriel Allon series

Ann Cleeves, author The Two Rivers series

Code Breaker, Steve Jobs, Walter Issacson

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry

Apeirogon: A Novel, Colum McCann

Caste, Isabel Wilkerson

H is for Hawk, Helen Mcdonald

Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings series

Moby-Dick, Herman Melville

Caribbean Literature

Sherlock Holmes stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist

Movie Making, Martial Arts, and Mentoring

Gedaly is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and content pro. He loves Shakespeare, Kung Fu movies, and geeking out about technology.

He’s the co-founder of Working.Actor, writer of adventure movies, and occasional singer. One day he hopes to become a mad scientist!

The Marx Brothers Movies 

Charlie Chaplin, Favorite Director, Films, 

  City Lights (1931) Charlie Chaplin, Director and Writer

  The Great Dictator (1940) Charlie Chaplin, Director and Writer

Burgled (2020) Short, Gedaly Guberek, Ruben Guberek, Directors, Gedaly Guberek, Writer

Jackie Chan, Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema, Producer, Actor, Stunts, (Favorite Director)

Jet Li, Beijing, China, Actor, Producer, Martial Artist

  Fearless (2006), Ronny Yu, Director, Chris Chow, Christine To, Writers

Cirque du Soleil, Entertainment Company, Las Vegas

Kung Fu forms mentioned: Choy Li Fut, Wing Chun, Tai Chi,

Japanese form mentioned: Sun- style T’ai Chi Ch’uan

Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) Alfred Hitchcock, Director, Ben Hecht, Writer

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Robert Wiene, Director, Carl Mayer, Writer

Martin Scorsese, Producer, Director, Actor

working.actor.com

Foundation TV Series (2021 – ) Josh Friedman and David S. Goyer, Creators, Issac Asimov, Novels, Podcast 

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

#PodMatch, How I met Gedaly and many other great Story-Power Guests

William Shakespeare plays mentioned

  As You Like It

  A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less Greg McKeown

The War of Art:Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles Steven Pressfield

Gedaly’s Personal Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube

“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist

Taking A Break

Astronomical Clock

Even though I have not had to teach this first eight weeks of the semester, I find that I’m quite busy with Story~Power duties and other creative tasks. Which has made me realize I need to set this blog aside for awhile to find some balance. 

This is something that I don’t like to admit, but have had to face in the last few weeks. I put off certain tasks when I feel overwhelmed or inadequate to the task. I get emails from groups I signed up for in the beginning of my novel writing and podcasting careers that give tips for how to market, promote and make money doing both. But when I get the emails, I usually take a cursory look at them and put them away in a folder to look at later. I’m to the point where I can’t procrastinate any longer on learning some new things about the business side of my business. That is what I have created whether I like it or not.

I’m also to the point where I can’t procrastinate on finishing Time’s Arrow, my second book. Since I’m not a good multitasker, I have to drop something to make room for these things I’ve been putting off.

I hope you will continue to, or begin listening to Story~Power every other week. I have had fantastic discussions with some very interesting and inspiring people. I think you might enjoy listening to their stories.

I’ll see you here in a month or two.

Blessings,

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2022

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.

Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.

Life Informed Art

Lala Drona (b. 1988) is a Venezuelan-American painter and videaste, born in Denver, Colorado. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado, Lala Drona has since published and exhibited her work internationally.  Most recently, her videos and paintings exploring digital spaces and the female gaze, were shown at the Cite des Arts de Paris.  Inspired by her experience of growing up with a unilateral breast agenesis, her paintings, videos, and writing explore “transitions between the virtual and the real” and “women in the digital world.”  The totality of her artwork contributes to, and exists within a fictional universe and mythology established online and then recontextualized in the physical world through paint on canvas, performance, and sculpture. 

Lala Drona is currently creating a documentary which recounts her experience growing up with a unilateral breast agenesis.  The documentary follows her through her final reconstructive surgeries in her adult life.  Topics cover “shame,” “secrets,” and the role of the human body in our everyday social interactions.

Lala Drona dealt with her secret body by creating a fictional universe from a young age, one in which she still uses today for creative inspiration http://www.basedonafact.com

See her paintings and videos www.laladrona.com

Lala’s YouTube Channel, Instagram, Website, Facebook, Twitter

Exhibition at Powerhouse, Lousanne, Switzerland, March 8, screening her art video for the opening.

Unilateral Breast agenesis

Stephen Hawking 

Amazonian Myth

Visit Paris, France

  The Louvre

  Musèe d’Orsay

  Notre-Dame Cathedral

  Chartre Cathedral

  Cathedral of Sainte-Croix, Orléans

Sedona, Arizona

Visit Greece, home of the myth of the Amazons

Ivan Bodley, Story-Power Ep. 35 “Am I Famous Yet”

Now, Voyager (1942) Irving Rapper, Director, Olive Higgins Prouty, Novel, Casey Robinson, Screenplay

Foundation TV series (2021 – ) Josh Friedman, David S. Goyer, Creators, Alex Graves, and 5 other, Directors, Issac Asimov, Novel series

Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands