‘Tristan und Isolde’, a Five-hours Long Trial by Fire

Tristan and Isolde. “I know of some, and have heard of many, who could not sleep after it, but cried the night away.” Mark Twain, after watching the performance.  He couldn’t be accused of being an overly sentimental person. French composer Emmanuel Chabrier heard it in Munich in 1880 and broke down during the prelude, sobbing […]

Is a Novel about and by a Cardiac Surgeon Better than One Written by a Layman?

    I’ve never liked reading fiction novels. Always thought it was a waste of time. I could learn much more from a good non-fiction book and quite often immediately apply the knowledge into my everyday life. Then I discovered John Grisham’s novels. They were not literary novels, but their plots were compelling, the action […]

The Greatest Massacre in the European History

During the process of learning how to write a novel, one is urged to study how to begin the story. The opening of the novel is said to have the ability not so much to break it, as is seen as a chance to raise it to the memorable level. These first sentences are analyzed, […]

I am back!

It’s been close to six months since my last post. It was not a time of inactivity, just the opposite. I was working on my first novel. It’s almost done, only last revisions and polishing has to be completed. And then send it to the world. Very exciting and fun. The process of writing was […]