Indie author spotlight – Uvi Poznansky

By J.J. DiBenedetto | December 10, 2013 | Comments 1 comment

I’ve got a fantastic indie author for you today – I’ve read some of her work, and it’s amazing, and she’s also had audiobooks recorded (using the same narrator as I did – the wonderful Heather Jane Hogan).

So here’s Uvi…

Uvi Poznansky is a California-based author, poet and artist. Her writing and her art are tightly coupled.
“I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.”

She earned her B. A. in Architecture and Town Planning from the Technion in Haifa, Israel. During
her studies and in the years immediately following her graduation, she practiced with an innovative
Architectural firm, taking part in the design of a large-scale project, Home for the Soldier.

At the age of 25 Uvi moved to Troy, N.Y. with her husband and two children. Before long, she
received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she guided teams in a variety of design projects; and where she
earned her

M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S.
degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

Her versatile body of work can be seen on her website, which includes poem, short stories, bronze
and ceramic sculptures, paper engineering projects, oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal, pen and
pencil drawings, and mixed media. In addition, she posts her thoughts about the creative process on her
blog.

Author Links:
Blog:
http://uviart.blogspot.com
Art site:
http://uviart.com
Amazon page:
http://tinyurl.com/uvi-amazon
Audible page:
http://tinyurl.com/uvi-audible
AUTHORSdb:
http://tinyurl.com/uvi-authorsdb
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/UviPoznansky

Here are her books…

Apart From Love (published 2012) is an intimate peek into the life of a strange family: Natasha, the
accomplished pianist, has been stricken with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her ex-husband Lenny has never
told their son Ben, who left home ten years ago, about her situation. At the same time he, Lenny, has
been carrying on a love affair with a young redhead, who bears a striking physical resemblance to his
wife—but unlike her, is uneducated, direct and unrefined. This is how things stand at this moment, the
moment of Ben’s return to his childhood home, and to a contentious relationship with his father.

Home (published 2012), her deeply moving poetry book in tribute of her father, includes her poetry
and prose, as well as translated poems from the pen of her father, the poet and author Zeev Kachel.

A Favorite Son (published 2012), her novella, is a new-age twist on an old yarn. It is inspired by the
biblical story of Jacob and his mother Rebecca, plotting together against the elderly father Isaac, who is
lying on his deathbed. This is no old fairy tale. Its power is here and now, in each one of us.

Twisted (published 2012) is a unique collection of tales. In it, the author brings together diverse
tales, laden with shades of mystery. Here, you will come into a dark, strange world, a hyper-reality
where nearly everything is firmly rooted in the familiar—except for some quirky detail that twists the
yarn, and takes it for a spin in an unexpected direction.

Rise to Power is the story of David as you have never heard it before: from the king himself, telling the
unofficial version, the one he never allowed his court scribes to recount. In his mind, history is written to
praise the victorious—but at the last stretch of his illustrious life, he feels an irresistible urge to tell the
truth.
With the exception for her new release, Rise to Power, these books are available in all three editions
(audiobook, print and ebook.)

I hold my breath until she lulls herself back to sleep. Faint shadows start dancing on the wall. I read
the shapes, trying to invent someone, a listener.
You.
I whisper, Come in… Call me insane, who cares? Who the hell cares if you refuse to trust me, if you
insist on clinging to your kind of reality, which is as dull as it is solid… Mine, I insist, is not a dream.
But even if it is… Even so, it is true! How can you deny it? Here is my story. I am opening it up to you.
I can see why at first glance what you see here—these letters which I jotted here, on these papyrus
rolls—may seem scattered, even scary. I understand why you step back from my door, why you look over
your shoulder to find the guard…
Come in! Will you? Will you read these scribblings? Can you see my sword, which I have drawn here,
look! Can you see it the way I do, lifting out of the ink and into the air, turning magically over, around
and around, right here in the center of the space?
If you can, then—by the flash of it—I shall take you along, to leap with me into the surface of the
steely thing. Down into its depths. Into my reflection.

And here’s an interview with Uvi…

How do you describe your writing style?

I strive to make the story as direct and accessible as I can, which I do by
using present tense, so you can experience the story moment to
moment. Also, I write in the first-person narrative, which makes the
story telling an intimate exchange between the character and you. Here
is how my writing is described (in a review of Apart From Love) by
Dolores Ayotte (a top Amazon reviewer):
“In my opinion, Uvi Poznansky writes like a painter. She starts with a
clean canvas and dabs a little paint here and a little paint there as she
develops her characters and creates her masterpiece. Her strokes then
become broader, more passionate, more vivid and vibrant as she
continues to let her characters’ stories unfold. She draws you in to a
deeper level than you might actually want to go as she ignites the fire to
your own love, passions, and fears.”
Why should we read your book?
This is David’s story as you have never heard it before: from the king
himself, telling the unofficial version, the one he never allowed his court
scribes to recount.
If you could exchange lives with any of your characters for a day
which character would you choose and why?
I would exchange places with Anita, the heroine of my novel Apart From
Love, because I love her Southern twang, and the way she explores a
way out of a tight place in my novel, Apart From Love.
“What matters is only what’s here. I touch my skin right under my
breasts, which is where the little one’s curled, and where he kicks,
‘cause he has to. Like, he don’t feel so cosy no more. Here, can you feel
it? I reckon he wants me to talk to him. He can hear me inside, for sure.
He can hear every note of this silvery music.
It ripples all around him, wave after wave. I can tell that it’s starting to
sooth him. It’s so full of joy, of delight, even if to him, it’s coming
across somewhat muffled. Like a dream in a dream, it’s floating inside,
into his soft, tender ear.
I close my eyes and hold myself, wrapping my arms real soft—around
me around him—and I rock ever so gently, back and forth, back and
forth, with every note of this silvery marvel. You can barely hear me—
but here I am, singing along. I’m whispering words into myself, into
him.”
Beatles or Monkees? Why?
Beatles! I love their experimentation with different genres, and their
songs bring back the feel of the 60’s, which is such a transitional period
in my life.
Who should play you in a film of your life?
Meryl Streep. Readers often write to me that we look alike, which to me
is a great complement. I love the elegance about her, and her complete
immersion in the characters she plays.