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C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call–Poetry

The assignment for C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call is:

Your assignment is to post a poem in a form unique to a particular country, an example would be the sijo (Korea), haiku (Japan) or American Sentence (this is a single line of 17 syllables like a haiku. Created by Ginsberg).

Another option: post a favorite poem by a poet of color. Tell us a little about the poet and the poem.

Last option, post a poem that celebrates a particular country or culture. Tell us why you enjoy this poem.

Please cite the collections for your entries. Let us know if you own the collection containing your feature.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and post one of my previously published poems, which is in cinquain form, which is an American, five-line form inspired by Japanese Tanka and Haiku.

Baccantes
by: Serena M. Agusto-Cox

Red moon
burns in afternoon.
Char the meat upon ice,
Grin like frozen peas in the night,
and dance

Published in LYNX XVIII:3 SOLO in 2003.

What forms of poetry are your favorites and what makes you want to read them?

For me, Cinquain and Haiku are challenging because they are short and require a syllable count. Restrictions can sometimes help me think outside the box, while at the same time critically thinking about how I can fit images and ideas into a constricted space.

Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary, here and here.

Guest Post: Renee Hand, Author of The Crypto Capers

I’d like to welcome Renee Hand, author of The Crypto-Capers, to Savvy Verse & Wit to talk about her writing process.

Her latest book The Case of the Missing Sock, for ages 9-12, is a story of two siblings, Max and Mia Holmes, and their good friend Morris and their flamboyant Granny Holmes as they unravel crimes by solving cryptograms left by criminals. Mia is the expert puzzle solver, and Max has great deduction and reasoning skills. Morris happens to be a computer genius, and granny is the “muscle” of the group. In this caper, the group heads to Florida and are hired by Mr. Delacomb, and readers have a chance to help these detectives solve the case through cryptograms and puzzles.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“FIVE MINUTES! JUST FIVE MORE MINUTES,” said Max Holmes quietly as he surveyed the dark room in front of him.

This should be the last place to reach, the highest test of his skills. He switched off his flashlight. He faced a rugged stone wall. From somewhere far above him, a crack let in a single, narrow beam of sunshine. It hit about the middle of the wall, barely lighting up a recess, an indention shaped into a rectangle, slightly taller than wide. A box could fit in there, Max thought, and he grew just a little nervous.

“Did I come here for nothing?” he asked in frustration as he glanced more intently at the wall. “Did I pick the wrong way?” For just a moment, he reviewed his route to this stone box of a room. No, he had made each choice carefully. “This has to be the right place. It has to be here!”

Without further ado, here is Renee and her writing process:

My writing process is interesting. I really just let my ideas come to me. I have a favorite tool that I use in my writing. I have what I call “an idea wall.” Whenever I get an idea I write it down and stick in on my wall for future consideration, as well as to remind me of things that I want to make sure I incorporate into my stories. In writing a series, there is so much that I have to remember, so I use my idea wall to help me remember these things. I also use it to help me when I get stuck on an idea. There are times when I am not sure where to go with an idea so I write it on my idea wall and refer back to it throughout the day as I am doing something else. This is a tremendous help to me and my idea wall has not failed me yet. I use it for many things in my writing.

My stories usually develop on the fly, which works great for me and my creativity. I write at my own pace the way that I want to write. If I felt that I was being pressured to write a certain way or at a specific time every day, I wouldn’t enjoy it as much. I make writing as fun and enjoyable as possible because I love to do it.

When developing my stories, I usually know what I want to have happen; all I have to do is find a great way to get there. I do a lot of revision and editing but when I begin a story I first just concentrate on getting my ideas down on paper. I don’t beat myself up if everything is not perfect. I just get my ideas down all the way to the end of the story. Once I have a base, which I must have, then I will go back and fine tune and develop the story better. I will do lots of research along the way to add more detail and description, or I will take a vacation somewhere to help aid in the experience and relate it in my story. What I start with usually always changes and becomes ten times better by the time I finish it. I will lay out certain ideas in a specific order at times, depending on the scene in my story and where I want it to go or what I need to have happen. So, certain ideas in my story are planned out to be in a certain way, but after that I let my creativity take me where I need to go.

By the time I am finished with my story it is in the best shape I can possibly make it. I am finding that with each story I write, I become a better writer. I am always improving and I can see it with each book that gets published. I have 4 to my credit, two of which have won awards.

Thanks, Renee for stopping by Savvy Verse & Wit and taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your writing process with us.

Check out Renee’s site, here. And if you’re interested in these capers for your kids, check out The Case of the Missing Sock, here, and The Case of Red Rock Canyon, here.

About the Author:

Since my first novel has been published I have done over 70 events. I have been on radio, TV, and have been in over 40 newspapers. I have experience talking in classrooms about writing. I have presented at various libraries, have
done several booksignings and many other venues with more going on in the future.

My family has encouraged my talents and creativity and I couldn’t have gotten this far without their support and love. Having Magic Hearts published really was a dream come true and I am thankful to God for all of the blessings in my life.

I have also received an award for Magic Hearts for Best 2006 Fantasy Romance. I am thrilled. My second novel Seduction of the Lonely Heart has won a National Literary Award for Best Romance of 2007. I am thankful for these two awards.

I have also ventured in writing other genres. I have a new children’s detective series that will be coming out. The first book of the series, The Crypto-Capers in the Case of the Missing Sock, is currently released. This story is filled with adventure and heart. With relateable characters and you, as the reader, are apart of the story, helping the detectives solve the case. Book 2 The Case of Red Rock Canyon, is also currently available. Book 3 will be out in the fall.


Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary, here and here.

Wow, Did You Change That?

Savvy Verse & Wit has undergone some cosmetic changes, but now I am adding functional changes to the site as well. I’ve decided to try out some book affiliate programs, including the one from Amazon, Powell’s Books, and IndieBound. I’m not expecting to generate a ton of sales or income from these programs, but every little bit will help with my husband out of work.

For Amazon, I’ve popped a “Best Of” Widget in my right sidebar under the Google Translator, so if you want to purchase any of the books I’ve really raved about, you can click through that widget. Some of the current books listed are Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly and The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris.

For Powell’s Books, there is a search box in the left sidebar under the link to me and site feeds, which will allow you to look for titles and purchase them from Powell’s. On the right sidebar under the photo slide show, I also have a Powell’s link directly to the Savvy Verse & Wit Bookshelf at Powell’s.


For IndieBound I’ve created a widget in the left sidebar under the followers with all the books I’ve read in 2009. If you are on IndieBound, please feel free to friend me.

In the non-affiliate arena, I’ve added a new “SEARCH” Widget to allow users to search this blog’s content. The widget is in the right sidebar above the blog archive pull-down menu, and I titled it “Find Savvy and Wit Here” Let me know if you use the widget and if its useful.

I think that’s enough announcements for one day, but look for more changes as I add to the Verse Reviewers section. There’s already a button available for those interested in reviewing poetry, grab the button and display it on your blog.

Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary, here and here.

Secrets to Happiness

2-Year Blogiversary Quote Challenge

As part of the continued celebration here at Savvy Verse & Wit for my second blogiversay, I wanted to pinpoint some of my older posts.

Let’s start with a couple of poetry posts where I examine a few poems published in Poetry magazine, here and here.

Also check out this post, here, for a couple poems from Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Coney Island of the Mind.

OK, now for another chance to enter the 2-year Savvy Verse & Wit blogiversary. Just leave a comment with who said the following quote:

“My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music.”

Also, I wanted to show you some of the goodies that have been added to the giveaway prize list:

If you missed the first quote entry, check it out here.

Deadline for the giveaway is July 11, 2009, 11:59 PM EST

What you need to know:

1. Comment on this post with the answer to the quote.
2. Comment on this post about why you follow/read this blog.
3. Comment on this post about when you first started following this blog–an approximation.
4. Leave a link on this post to one of your favorite Savvy Verse & Wit posts.
5. Stay tuned for a new quote each week for another chance to enter.

Also, you have about 24 hours to enter the Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn giveaway, go here.

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel’s Last Night in Montreal, a debut novel, reads like sketched notes in a private investigator’s notebook. With chapters that alternate between the past and present and a variety of characters, readers will feel like they are investigating a child abduction case, while garnering a better understand of human motives and emotions.

“She’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay.” (Page 9 of the uncorrected proof)

Lilia Albert is abducted by her father, and as they move around the United States in and out of hotels, her sense of home is vanquished. She no longer knows how to stop and settle into a “normal” life. As an adult she continues to move from place to place, carrying with her the only photograph from her past that she has–a Polaroid of her and a waitress. Lilia is a complex character, her emotions deep below the surface, and she meets a variety of people along the way–Eli, an art gallery salesman working on his thesis; Erica, a girl from Chicago with blue hair; and Michaela, an exotic dancer and part-time tightrope walker from Montreal.

“She came out all dressed in black, as she almost always did, and carrying the three pieces of plate that had fallen off the bed the night before; it was a light shade of blue, and sticky with pomegranate juice.” (Page 2 of the uncorrected proof)

Mandel peppers each chapter with just enough description and information to keep the pages turning, as readers strive to uncover the moment when Lilia’s life changed and why it changed. But this mystery is more than what happens to Lilia, it’s about how an obsession can rip apart a private investigator’s family, encourage an ex-lover to step outside his comfort zone, and the myriad ways in which humans react to disturbing events from the past.

“Lilia’s childhood memories took place mostly in parks and public libraries and motel rooms, and in a seemingly endless series of cars. Mirage: she used to see water in the desert. In the heat of the day it pooled on the highway, and the horizon broke into shards of white. There was a map folded on the dashboard, but it was fading steadily under the barrage of light; Lilia was supposed to be the navigator but entire states were dissolving into pinkish sepia, the lines of highways fading to gray. The names of certain cities were indistinct now along the fold, all the borders were vanishing.” (Page 7 of the uncorrected proof)

Readers will itch to reach the resolution of this abduction case, not only to discover why Lilia’s father took her from her mother and brother, but also to see Lilia recover many of her earlier memories settled behind the dust kicked up by her continuous travels. The one minor drawback could be the chapters featuring the private detective and his obsessive pursuit of Lilia and her father even when he no longer desires their capture; these chapters dispel some of the suspense built up in previous chapters. However, Eli, Michaela, and Lilia’s story lines twist and mingle throughout the novel, and Mandel does well shifting between points of view. Last Night in Montreal is not a typical mystery, but still satisfying.

About the Author:
Emily St. John Mandel was born on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, in 1979. She studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York. She lives in Brooklyn.

Check out this video for her book.

If you missed Emily’s guest post on Savvy Verse & Wit about her writing space, please check it out, here.

Also Reviewed By:

Violet Crush
Bookfoolery and Babble
Care’s Online Book Club
Everyday I Write the Book
She Is Too Fond of Books 
Musings of a Bookish Kitty 

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel’s Last Night in Montreal, a debut novel, reads like sketched notes in a private investigator’s notebook. With chapters that alternate between the past and present and a variety of characters, readers will feel like they are investigating a child abduction case, while garnering a better understand of human motives and emotions.

“She’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay.” (Page 9 of the uncorrected proof)

Lilia Albert is abducted by her father, and as they move around the United States in and out of hotels, her sense of home is vanquished. She no longer knows how to stop and settle into a “normal” life. As an adult she continues to move from place to place, carrying with her the only photograph from her past that she has–a Polaroid of her and a waitress. Lilia is a complex character, her emotions deep below the surface, and she meets a variety of people along the way–Eli, an art gallery salesman working on his thesis; Erica, a girl from Chicago with blue hair; and Michaela, an exotic dancer and part-time tightrope walker from Montreal.

“She came out all dressed in black, as she almost always did, and carrying the three pieces of plate that had fallen off the bed the night before; it was a light shade of blue, and sticky with pomegranate juice.” (Page 2 of the uncorrected proof)

Mandel peppers each chapter with just enough description and information to keep the pages turning, as readers strive to uncover the moment when Lilia’s life changed and why it changed. But this mystery is more than what happens to Lilia, it’s about how an obsession can rip apart a private investigator’s family, encourage an ex-lover to step outside his comfort zone, and the myriad ways in which humans react to disturbing events from the past.

“Lilia’s childhood memories took place mostly in parks and public libraries and motel rooms, and in a seemingly endless series of cars. Mirage: she used to see water in the desert. In the heat of the day it pooled on the highway, and the horizon broke into shards of white. There was a map folded on the dashboard, but it was fading steadily under the barrage of light; Lilia was supposed to be the navigator but entire states were dissolving into pinkish sepia, the lines of highways fading to gray. The names of certain cities were indistinct now along the fold, all the borders were vanishing.” (Page 7 of the uncorrected proof)

Readers will itch to reach the resolution of this abduction case, not only to discover why Lilia’s father took her from her mother and brother, but also to see Lilia recover many of her earlier memories settled behind the dust kicked up by her continuous travels. The one minor drawback could be the chapters featuring the private detective and his obsessive pursuit of Lilia and her father even when he no longer desires their capture; these chapters dispel some of the suspense built up in previous chapters. However, Eli, Michaela, and Lilia’s story lines twist and mingle throughout the novel, and Mandel does well shifting between points of view. Last Night in Montreal is not a typical mystery, but still satisfying.

About the Author:
Emily St. John Mandel was born on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, in 1979. She studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York. She lives in Brooklyn.

Check out this video for her book.

If you missed Emily’s guest post on Savvy Verse & Wit about her writing space, please check it out, here.

Also Reviewed By:

Violet Crush
Bookfoolery and Babble
Care’s Online Book Club
Everyday I Write the Book
She Is Too Fond of Books 
Musings of a Bookish Kitty 

Guest Post: Emily St. John Mandel, Author of Last Night in Montreal

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Last Night in Montreal, was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to share with us her writing space. She even included some great shots from her space for this tour.

Without further ado, here’s Emily and her writing space.


I do most of my writing in a small white room, typically with at
least one cat on my desk. I’ve thought about repainting (the room, not the cat), because off-white is pretty unadventurous, but I’m typically paralyzed by indecision when I visit paint stores and I have to admit, there’s something restful about the pallor of the room.

There’s a small desk and a wooden chair, a lamp, two bookshelves and two filing cabinets, a lot of books, and several uncontained avalanches of loose-leaf paper. Above my desk there’s a window; when I’m working I can’t see much above the air conditioner, just sky and a neighbor’s ancient TV antenna, but if I stand up there’s a landscape of Brooklyn rooftops and fire escapes. The room’s very quiet. There are neighbors who play bad music in a garden below the window on Sundays, but that’s what noise-blocking headphones are for.

There are photographs on the walls—street and subway photography from New York, Rome, and Montreal—and also two images from Google Maps that I find particularly gorgeous; both are satellite images of the north coast of Russia, improbable greens and deep blues and frozen lakes like silver mirrors. They remind me of stained glass. There’s also a particularly nice letter from my agent, which I keep on the wall for encouragement purposes; a poster for La Femme Nikita; and the most famous section from Raymond Chandler’s essay The Simple Art of Murder written out on a piece of scrap paper (“In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption . . . ”)

Just above my desk there are innumerable little scraps of paper taped to the wall, containing notes of varying depth and legibility related to whatever project I’m presently working on. This is because my note-taking system isn’t particularly organized or actually even really a system, and there’s always some risk of losing whatever idea just occurred to me (see paragraph 2: “avalanches of loose-leaf paper”) if I don’t immediately stick it on the wall in front of my face.

I’ll occasionally become desperate for a change of scene and go work in the living room by the windows, looking down over the avenue four stories below, or I’ll go out and lose myself for a while with a stack of manuscript pages in the pleasant din of a local café. But this room is my oasis, and I spend a shocking percentage of my life working between these four walls with the door closed.

Thanks again to Emily for sharing with us her writing space. Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of Last Night in Montreal.

Until then, check out this video and this post by Emily at Powell’s Books.

Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary

Secrets to Happiness

Mailbox Monday #34

Welcome to an edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by The Printed Page, on Sunday! Yes, I have a book tour scheduled for Monday, so you get to see my little stash today instead.

I’ve also got a treat for you as well . . . a picture of the line outside the Germantown Library Sale.

Ok, so these are the books that came in the mail:

1. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, which I won from Diary of an Eccentric

2. The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes, which I received from Sourcebooks for review in October.

3. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant, which I received from Shelf Awareness for review in July.

The local Germantown, Md., library has book sales pretty often, usually about once per month. June 13 was the latest book sale that Anna, The Girl, and I swooped into to get some good books. $1 for hardcover, 50 cents for paperback, and kids hardcovers were 50 cents, and kids paperbacks were 25 cents. The last book sale we went to, we arrived after 10 AM, and the sale began at 9 AM. We decided to get there when it opened to see if there were better books at that hour. Well, we got there and found a line already had formed before 8:50 AM. Crazy. I took a shot with the camera phone.

Here’s what I got at the library sale:

4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

5. Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle–a collection with gold-edged pages and a nearly pristine, green hard cover.

6. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

7. Stone Cold by David Baldacci


8. Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters; this one is for my mom, who loves biographies.

9. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam by Robert S. McNamara

10. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

11. We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway

Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary

Secrets to Happiness

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris does not read like a debut novel, but like a well-engineered corkscrew ride through the African heat and the deep recesses of our humanity and morality.

In the early 1990s, civil war began in Sierra Leone–a former British colony ripe with diamond mines–as rebels recruited students and children to fight against the government for more than a decade. The brutality present in the nation at this time comes across vividly in the pages of The Secret Keeper, which readers can easily attribute to the author’s personal experience. It is apparent that those images stuck with Harris as he was writing his debut novel.

“Suddenly he thought of the unopened letter in his pocket. The thick air of the tube took on a tropical whiff. It was close and stifling, clinging to the skin like it had always done back in Freetown, impossible to escape its damp hug. Danny began to sweat.” (Page 9)

Danny Kellerman is a journalist in London whose first foreign assignment takes him to war-torn Sierra Leone. Once in Africa, he is immersed in the haphazard warfare between the Sierra Leone government, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and eventually the British government. Danny meets Maria Tirado, falls in love, and breaks the story of a lifetime about saving former child soldiers, but once the assignment ends he must return to his London life. His content existence is soon disrupted by a hand-written letter from his lost love, Maria, who begs him to return and help her. Along the way, he reconnects with some of his old acquaintances, including his driver Kam and Ali Alhoun.

“‘I’ve been all over Africa,’ he said. ‘And there’s one way to judge if a country is in trouble. Is the brewery closed? I’ve been in the deepest bits of the Congo and they always had beer. That Primus may be shit, it may kill you if you drink two bottles, but they make it. That country will be okay.'” (Page 48)

A synopsis cannot do justice to this well-crafted novel about a war-torn nation and the impact it has on its own inhabitants, the world, and the individuals caught in its web. Readers will find themselves biting their fingernails as Danny digs deeper into Maria’s secrets. But she is not the only character with secrets in this novel. Danny and the nation of Sierra Leone have a number of secrets for readers to unravel, stare at in astonishment, and almost wish they were left hidden.

“With little or no political ideology, the RUF became a vehicle for Sankoh’s personal goals. It took over Sierra Leone’s inland diamond mines and recruited members by brutalizing the children of its victims. Its calling card was the ‘long sleeves or short sleeves’ method of cutting off people’s arms: short sleeves were above the elbow; long sleeves were above the wrist. Young boys were forced to kill their own families and then join. Their crimes meant they could never go back to their villages. The RUF became their only way of survival.” (Page 43-44)

Harris’ The Secret Keeper will have readers reaching for the “oh-shit-bar” as they rapidly make their way through this drama. Danny’s moral compass is tested time and again, while Ali and others stick to strategies that ensure not only their survival but that they come out ahead of others. The Secret Keeper is one of the best novels I’ve read this year, and it will twist readers’ emotions, ring them out to dry, and soak up the remainder of their tears.

Is the old conundrum of “sacrificing one for the benefit of the many” the way in which societies should operate? Should we determine our best course of action from this starting point? Read The Secret Keeper to find out how Danny Kellerman and his compatriots resolve these questions.

Paul was kind enough to take time out of his busy journalistic schedule to answer a few interview questions. Please give Paul a warm welcome.

1. How would you describe yourself or your writing style to a crowded room of admirers who were hanging on your every word?

I would describe myself as ‘humbled’ and also ‘very surprised’ if I were ever to find myself in a room with such a large group of admiring people. 😉 Then, having recovered from the shock, I would I say that my writing style tries to be accessible in getting across the emotions of people in often extraordinary circumstances. I would hope that it conveys the fact that people are morally complex; even the best and the worst of us. That few things are ever black and white. That the best of intentions can lead to great wrongs and that sometimes a wrong can make a right. But, above all, I would say that I hope I can simply tell a good story.

2. As an author and journalist, which hat do you find most challenging to wear and why?

I would say being a journalist is more challenging. Writing fiction is actually tremendously liberating. You just sit in front of a laptop, create a blank document and let your imagination run riot. It is fun. It is hard work, for sure. But it is enjoyable, easy hard work (if that makes any sense). With journalism there is often such a huge amount of logistics to get through. The writing part of journalism is the easy bit. The tracking down of sources, the deadlines, the trips into strange places and the understanding of complex situations in compressed periods of time is the hard stuff. Even equipment failures play a role. There is nothing worse than having a great story but not being able to file it because of a computer collapse or the fact that you are in the back of beyond or because the deadline has gone by. That never happens with fiction.

3. Do you listen to music when you write or do you have other habits/routines that motivate you?

I cannot write very easily in a place of complete solitude. I need something to distract me a little. Usually that means I write in a café near my apartment or on a hotel balcony if I have squirreled myself away somewhere for a while. I tend to write in thirty minute bursts and then need to stare into space for ten minutes when it helps to be able to people watch as a way of rebooting. The Secret Keeper was mostly written on vacation where I would disappear for two weeks at a time and just blast away at it. I am trying to develop the habit of daily writing for my second book. It is hard.

4. What’s one of the best pieces of writing advice you’ve received and how did it help you?

Write what you know. But I think I gave that advice to myself. I had first tried to write a very ambitious, very literary, magical realism novel. Looking back, it was a bit of a shambles. I gradually realised this but, instead of giving up, I decided to follow this maxim. I just looked at what I had experienced myself in my life and what I cared about and then tried to craft a story from that. It felt like cracking the code and suddenly I could see how I could really write something that would work and I could be proud of.

5. Finally, what have you been reading lately, and do you prefer fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or other genres?

I prefer non-fiction. I think as a journalist you have just often have an insatiable appetite for knowledge about the world and so non-fiction books are my first choice. I also tend to avoid a lot of fiction out of a fear that subconsciously I will end up lifting scenes or ideas and styles. I want my fiction to be my own not my version of someone else’s. But I did recently read Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, which I enjoyed but did not love. I do, however, love Annie Proulx and I don’t fear stealing her style because it is so wonderfully unique.

Thanks, Paul, for your insightful answers about your writing process and your inspiration.

About the Author:

Paul Harris is currently the US Correspondent of the British weekly newspaper The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper. He has held the post since 2003. Prior to that he reported from Africa for the Daily Telegraph, the Associated Press and Reuters. He has covered conflicts and trouble spots all around the world, including Iraq, Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. In 2003 he was embedded with British forces during the invasion of Iraq.

The Secret Keeper was inspired by his reporting on events in 2000 in Sierra Leone as that country’s long civil war came to an end.

Paul now lives in New York and is happy to have swapped the dangers of the front line for the less obvious perils of writing about American politics and culture.

For more information about Paul Harris, visit his website.

Click here to see the rest of Paul and The Secret Keeper‘s tour stops.

Also Reviewed By:

Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage

Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books

My Friend Amy

Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Maw Books

Jen’s Book Thoughts

Don’t forget my current giveaways:

2-year Blogiversary

Secrets to Happiness

Winner of Holly’s Inbox

Thanks to all of you who entered to win Holly’s Inbox by Holly Denham. Out of 78 entrants, Randomizer.org was tasked with selecting one winner.

The number selected was #66 and the winner is:

Lisa of Books Lists Life

Congrats to Lisa; I’ve already sent your address to the publisher.

Still interested in some giveaways, check out my 2-year blogiversary giveaway, here, and the Secrets to Happiness giveaway, here.