“Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain.” - Saadi

 

 

February 18, 2010

 

Well, a lot has happened since I last updated this journal. My book, the Dawn of Saudi, was released, is a finalist in Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards and has been receiving some decent reviews. Iran is still in turmoil and may be moving toward becoming a military state. Saudi Arabia is still struggling between the old values and a more progressive thinking. And in America, we are losing many of our freedoms as the Supreme Court turned over a 63-year-old ban in favor of Corporations. The big pharma has taken over our food industry and is jeopardizing our health, the renewal of the Patriot Act is pushing forward and scanners at airports strip us of our privacy and in the process cause health issues due to all the radiation.

On the positive note, people are losing their naiveté and are more aware of what’s happening. They are learning to take better care of their health, to spend money more wisely and to connect to each other from all over the world in order to keep the communication channels open. I have met many wonderful people from all walks of life on the social media without ever needing to travel anywhere. However, I still prefer getting together with people in person, going to the beach instead of doing a virtual tour and shutting down all my electronics and opting for a walk somewhere green. It’s difficult sometimes because everything we do is digitized nowadays, but if possible, it’s so much better and healthier to limit our time on the computer and the internet. Ironically as I say this, I’m on my PC, typing this journal.

I suppose what’s daunting is at some point we will completely stop reading actual books as we download them on our electronic gadgets. Most of my friends still prefer grabbing a book with their cup of coffee and plopping down on their sofa to relax but how much longer will that last before they too will change? And what about the new generation as they learn that paper is so yesterday. As for me, I sometimes make myself handwrite a note as I did today to thank a reviewer. I found myself having to rewrite it because my penmanship isn’t what it used to be and my spelling…well…let’s not go there…

 

 

June 23, 2009

 

It has been horrific two weeks watching Iranians get killed like flies by people who do not respect life. I haven’t slept much since the Iranian government started to brutally assassinate people. My new book, The Dawn of Saudi, on which I worked so diligently is supposed to come out this week but I don’t care. Everything is so unimportant to me compared to what’s happening in Iran. I have read so many stories of how they torture people.

One person said she was walking and heard people crying. She stopped to see what was going on as she stepped into a pool of blood. Then she saw something which looked like an animal had been sacrificed for religious reasons. When she looked closer, she realized a man’s throat had been cut open.

Doctors had to do many eye surgeries because when the guards broke into the student dormitories, they beat them hard with clubs. Then they used the end of the club to poke their eyes. When they got to the hospital, their eyes had to be removed and some had broken bones beyond repair.

A nurse told someone on June 20, “Saturday Night, they brought many people in the hospital. “So many that I thought they were passengers on a bus that had an accident because they looked as though their bones were hammered, covered in blood and seemed as though they were to die any second. One of them said on a street the guards handcuffed them and then ran over them back and forth with trucks. The rest were beaten so badly that their bodies were torn to pieces. On one person the bullets had not been removed, the body was covered in blood. They were all escorted by revolutionary guards. A nurse sneaked in a photo with a mobile. Plus more than ten were already dead. One person was screaming loudly, begging me to let everyone know what they did.”

And there are many more stories, pictures and images on youtube that will give me nightmares for years to come. I feel so guilty and helpless that I’m not there. The only thing that makes me going is the unity of the people around the world  - Iranians, Americans, Canadians, French, British, Australian, Austrian and many other countries coming together supporting them and letting them know that they are watching closely and that they care immensely.

 

March 3, 2009

I finally finished my manuscript and now I am working on promoting my work. It is sad to see so many newspapers and magazines going out of business due to the diminishing advertising dollars. Other sectors are suffering as well. I see it everywhere when I walk down a street in my neighborhood. Businesses with for lease signs, restaurants with few patrons and eager retailers who want to sell you a shirt or a jacket that you can do without.

Thanks to the past eight years of corruption and chewing away at the American tax dollars, the middle class is disappearing as well. A few people I know have been laid off and others are worried about the possibility of losing their jobs. This stagnation is specially hard on families with children.

But we must all push forward and work harder to pull out of this mess that was created by the very people who are now sitting back and enjoying their leisurely lives. We cannot wait for our government to turn things around. We must do it ourselves by thinking out of the box, working longer hours and providing value and a better service. On the positive note, it is always possible to thrive in any economy. All we have to do is put our mind to it and we will eventually succeed.

 

July 16, 2008

It’s another warm sunny day in L.A. Earlier I was taking a shower when all of the sudden there was no water. Apparently the water department had forgotten to give notice about doing work inmy area. I came out of the shower covered with suds. I was not a happy camper.

I have been working hard for the past three years on my second book and truly miss traveling. I wake up thinking about my work and go to sleep dreaming about it. There are no “oh it’s a Monday and I have to go to work,” or “Thank God it’s Friday,” or I can’t wait for a three day weekend.” For me, it all blends in together into a blur as I sit in my office in front of  my monitor, checking my emails, researching a ton of  data, writing for hours until my eyes are tired, take a break and go at it again.

I finally finished my second draft and gave it to my editor. I have no idea when she’s going to give it back. I know what you’re thinking – now I can relax – BZZZZ – there is no such a word. The saying ‘if you snooze, you lose’ is a fact in the book industry. Now, I look for reviewers, contests, advertising and marketing ideas. I check out regional book shows, go to seminars and catch up with my 1000 emails that I had neatly categorized in separate boxes because I didn't have the time to read everything earlier. You see, when I work, I really have to stay focused. My laundry piles up, I only pay bills that are urgent, I don’t file anything away and instead dump everything in a plastic bag, my room becomes a mess, my car starts to look shabby and friends and family complain about me not keeping in touch.

I am trying to be better and stay more organized now that my manuscript is out of the way but I also have to start research for my third book. I have no idea how some writers claim that they have written 80 books. I guess my question to them would be, did you write it yourself or had ghost writers? Are they good books or only 2 out of 80 are decent? I mean I can’t judge how other writers do it, but writing is incredibly time consuming and yet, according to an article by Dan Poynter, some 3000 books are published daily. So when my next book comes out, I take no comfort in knowing that mine is only 1 out of 3000 books for that day.