Hi,
Well, today I answered the foreclosure summons I received on the 16th of January. Everyone involved at the courthouse was very nice. I have never been this close to losing my home and yet I am filled with a profound sense of calm... it can only be God, because I really can't afford to be homeless, and there are times when I ask myself inwardly if I shouldn't be more afraid, more panicked... my daughter even mentioned it today. The entire family feels this warm sense of calm in the face of our foreclosure... it's weird. No, no, we haven't given up or resigned ourselves to losing our home, we still intend to give it our all in the attempt to save our home (such as the Answering of the Foreclosure Service today), but I think that we have all really placed this in God's hands.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
And so it goes...!
Okay, I'm getting ready to leave work. I'm beat... tired... Not from the job, but from the rigors of life. I usually enjoy a good fight, but the constant battles I've been engaged in for the past three years have taken their toll... and I'm tired. I don't really see a way out of my current dilemmas, and I was ready to just stick my head in the sand and just call it a night. But I have maybe one more idea... maybe I can make something happen to save me financially... we'll see. But it's not just finances... there have been family illnesses, deaths, the deaths of friends and acquaintances - too many - , negative family drama, my own failing health, the non-interest in my novel, the recent failure of a job interview, and so many more things... like the possible foreclosure on my home, the loss of my car... ah well, everyone's got problems and I guess I should stop whining about mine. Thanks however, to those of you (if there's anyone out there at all) that have stopped to read my words. Take care and God Bless. Ciao.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Scary stuff!
Earlier this week I received a letter from a law office stating that unless I pay off my house in FULL, it will go into foreclosure! I'm at a loss... I have to admit that I don't know what to do!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Poor Christmas
Ah-h-h... well, this is going to be a poor Christmas for me and my family. I'm having money trouble, but in this economy, who isn't? A good thing is that my kids are all grown up now so a lot of the pressure I used to feel to buy them stuff for the holidays is minimized. This year everyone gets a card, a hug, kind words, and a warm, home-cooked meal. This all sounds so good, it's almost hard to believe that in the old days I'd go nuts with all the shopping, card mailing, decorating and stuff... not having any money can be kinda liberating - ya know? I still harbor pangs of guilt at not being to at least buy them something, but I assuage that guilt with the knowledge that it honestly can't be helped, and that it's not their or my birthday anyway. Putting the Christ back in Christmas should be the priority, and it's a shame that it took this long to better see that. It's Jesus' birthday afterall, and it's He who should be getting all the gifts... gifts of praise, love, faith, peace, harmony... and charity. Once again, please don't forget those less fortunate than you. Merry CHRISTmas and God bless.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Have a happy...
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May all of your hopes and dreams come true, may all of yours needs be fulfilled. Please don't forget those less fortunate and remember them in your prayers... and please... write!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The Holidays
As we move into the holidays, I can't help but think of those who are worse off than I am... people that have lost their jobs, their homes... Americans that are going to bed hungry... I almost lost my own job about a year ago and it was scary. Financially, I'm still struggling to get back on my feet. How do those that have lost their income make it? I can only pray for them.. and for me. Still, I'm writing and reading, and hoping that maybe something that I write will make some money.
Happy Holidays everybody, and God bless.
Happy Holidays everybody, and God bless.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Interview with Ella of EDC Creation's Black Pearls Magazine
Intimate Conversation with Arnold Wolf
Arnold Wolf was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York (East New York/Brownsville to be exact) about half-a-century ago, but now makes his home in Queens, New York where he has lived with his family for about 14 years now. He is employed as a manager with the MTA in New York City. As well as writing, Mr. Wolf is an artist and photographer. As a writer he’s sold articles to Railway Age magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, and Reptile & Amphibian magazine; scripts to Archie and Personality Comics; and short stories to Neo-Opsis magazine, Lost Souls e-zine, and various Sci-Fi and/or horror newsletters and fanzines. Arnold Wolf considers as his major influences the people and places he's seen and interacted with in New York City over the years. As far as the writers that he feels that have influenced him the most, they are - in no particular order - Ernest Hemmingway, Robert E. Howard, Lawrence Sanders, Harry Turtledove, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.
Ella: Where are you from? How did you start your writing journey? I'm from Brooklyn, NY. I've always enjoyed reading and writing, my first published work being when I won a writing contest in D.C. Comics.
Ella: Arnold, introduce us to your book Chickenhawk. Tell us the Intimate Details.My novel is Chickenhawk; Genre-Crime Fiction; ISBN# 1-4241-7491-0. Synopsis: Eddie Ramos is a cop. He and his partner, Tommy Cucitti, are detectives in the elite squad known as Manhattan North Homicide. Eddie’s an old-fashioned kind of cop; heck, Eddie’s an old cop period. He’s a proud man; proud of being a cop, of having been a cop for a long time, and he’s proud that his marriage has survived the rigors of the job. All of these things, the things he’s proud of and considers important however are put to the test when young men and boys start winding up dead all over his town, young men and boys that share a common source of livelihood…they’re all prostitutes.
Eddie Ramos doesn’t like cell phones or computers; he trusts paperwork, procedure, and his instincts. He’s been married to his childhood sweetheart for 30 years, he’s a family man, a church-going Catholic, and he still carries the same 5-shot revolver they gave him when he graduated from the academy. Tommy Cucitti is younger, brasher, more of a hothead and usually in trouble. He knows computers and always carries his cell phone. He’s single and lives with his street-wise Armenian girlfriend; Daphne. Tommy and Eddie are two different kinds of men that are the same kind of cop; dedicated, hardworking and resourceful. They’re after a serial killer that manages to stay below their radar while the body count keeps climbing in a city that’s turning into a powder keg.
Theodore “Paki” Pakidorapopulos is a successful and well-known writer and columnist for a popular and respected New York City magazine. He has an impressive house in the trendy section of Eastern Long Island , a beautiful wife, two adorable children, and the respect and admiration of his family, friends, and fans. He also has a secret. He has sex with boys and young men.
Paki is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of seemingly happy and satisfied married men that nevertheless troll the streets of New York City searching for young men and boys to satisfy their sexual needs before going home to their unsuspecting wives. Paki, like the majority of these men, does not consider himself a homosexual and in fact he is well known for his conservative views and has regularly ridiculed gay causes in his column. He is of course discreet since this particular night-time activity may not sit well with his tony neighbors or the other members of the country club.
Paki’s discreet and genteel life are threatened however when he becomes ill. He’s never felt so bad in his life and he suspects that he knows what it is. He fears that he has contracted the AIDS virus from one or more of the young men that he’s paid for sex. Paki never thought that he’d get sick. Now everything he’s worked for, everything he’s built will come crashing down around him in a wave of humiliation, mistrust, and accusation. Paki is incensed and he vows that if he is cursed to die so ignoble a death, then he will take those responsible for making him sick to the grave with him. Paki’s vow becomes a plan, the plan then becomes action, and people start to die.
Ella: Who are your two main characters and what do you like most about them? My main characters are Eddie Ramos and Tommy Cucitti... they're cops. I like the way they react to and with each other throughout the book.
Ella: What makes your book stand out and would entice a reader pick it up?My novel is very realistic. In fact a former producer from Forensic Files lauded my novel's realism in an email to me.
Ella: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?I want them first and foremost to be entertained.
Ella: What is the most surprising thing you have learned in creating books?I learned how hard it is for a writer of color to get an agent interested in their work.
Ella: What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? Finishing my novel; Chickenhawk.
Ella: What advice would you give a new writer?Write, just write, no matter what.
Ella: Would you change anything about your journey?Yes. I'd write more and more often.
Ella: Name 3 things that it takes to make a successful author, in your opinion?Lots of reading, writing, persistence and talent.
Ella: What can we expect from you in the future?More crime novels of course, but I'm also working on a fantasy novel, a couple of non-fiction books about terrorism, and some short stories in a variety of genres.
My website addresses:www.authorsden.com/arnoldwolf www.myspace.com/arnoldwolf
www.blackauthors.ning.com/arnoldwolf
www.facebook.com/arnoldwolf
www.goodreads.com/arnoldwolf
This is my book trailer on YouTube
Checkout my reading list on Goodreads - where you can see what your friends are reading.
Arnold Wolf was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York (East New York/Brownsville to be exact) about half-a-century ago, but now makes his home in Queens, New York where he has lived with his family for about 14 years now. He is employed as a manager with the MTA in New York City. As well as writing, Mr. Wolf is an artist and photographer. As a writer he’s sold articles to Railway Age magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, and Reptile & Amphibian magazine; scripts to Archie and Personality Comics; and short stories to Neo-Opsis magazine, Lost Souls e-zine, and various Sci-Fi and/or horror newsletters and fanzines. Arnold Wolf considers as his major influences the people and places he's seen and interacted with in New York City over the years. As far as the writers that he feels that have influenced him the most, they are - in no particular order - Ernest Hemmingway, Robert E. Howard, Lawrence Sanders, Harry Turtledove, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.
Ella: Where are you from? How did you start your writing journey? I'm from Brooklyn, NY. I've always enjoyed reading and writing, my first published work being when I won a writing contest in D.C. Comics.
Ella: Arnold, introduce us to your book Chickenhawk. Tell us the Intimate Details.My novel is Chickenhawk; Genre-Crime Fiction; ISBN# 1-4241-7491-0. Synopsis: Eddie Ramos is a cop. He and his partner, Tommy Cucitti, are detectives in the elite squad known as Manhattan North Homicide. Eddie’s an old-fashioned kind of cop; heck, Eddie’s an old cop period. He’s a proud man; proud of being a cop, of having been a cop for a long time, and he’s proud that his marriage has survived the rigors of the job. All of these things, the things he’s proud of and considers important however are put to the test when young men and boys start winding up dead all over his town, young men and boys that share a common source of livelihood…they’re all prostitutes.
Eddie Ramos doesn’t like cell phones or computers; he trusts paperwork, procedure, and his instincts. He’s been married to his childhood sweetheart for 30 years, he’s a family man, a church-going Catholic, and he still carries the same 5-shot revolver they gave him when he graduated from the academy. Tommy Cucitti is younger, brasher, more of a hothead and usually in trouble. He knows computers and always carries his cell phone. He’s single and lives with his street-wise Armenian girlfriend; Daphne. Tommy and Eddie are two different kinds of men that are the same kind of cop; dedicated, hardworking and resourceful. They’re after a serial killer that manages to stay below their radar while the body count keeps climbing in a city that’s turning into a powder keg.
Theodore “Paki” Pakidorapopulos is a successful and well-known writer and columnist for a popular and respected New York City magazine. He has an impressive house in the trendy section of Eastern Long Island , a beautiful wife, two adorable children, and the respect and admiration of his family, friends, and fans. He also has a secret. He has sex with boys and young men.
Paki is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of seemingly happy and satisfied married men that nevertheless troll the streets of New York City searching for young men and boys to satisfy their sexual needs before going home to their unsuspecting wives. Paki, like the majority of these men, does not consider himself a homosexual and in fact he is well known for his conservative views and has regularly ridiculed gay causes in his column. He is of course discreet since this particular night-time activity may not sit well with his tony neighbors or the other members of the country club.
Paki’s discreet and genteel life are threatened however when he becomes ill. He’s never felt so bad in his life and he suspects that he knows what it is. He fears that he has contracted the AIDS virus from one or more of the young men that he’s paid for sex. Paki never thought that he’d get sick. Now everything he’s worked for, everything he’s built will come crashing down around him in a wave of humiliation, mistrust, and accusation. Paki is incensed and he vows that if he is cursed to die so ignoble a death, then he will take those responsible for making him sick to the grave with him. Paki’s vow becomes a plan, the plan then becomes action, and people start to die.
Ella: Who are your two main characters and what do you like most about them? My main characters are Eddie Ramos and Tommy Cucitti... they're cops. I like the way they react to and with each other throughout the book.
Ella: What makes your book stand out and would entice a reader pick it up?My novel is very realistic. In fact a former producer from Forensic Files lauded my novel's realism in an email to me.
Ella: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?I want them first and foremost to be entertained.
Ella: What is the most surprising thing you have learned in creating books?I learned how hard it is for a writer of color to get an agent interested in their work.
Ella: What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? Finishing my novel; Chickenhawk.
Ella: What advice would you give a new writer?Write, just write, no matter what.
Ella: Would you change anything about your journey?Yes. I'd write more and more often.
Ella: Name 3 things that it takes to make a successful author, in your opinion?Lots of reading, writing, persistence and talent.
Ella: What can we expect from you in the future?More crime novels of course, but I'm also working on a fantasy novel, a couple of non-fiction books about terrorism, and some short stories in a variety of genres.
My website addresses:www.authorsden.com/arnoldwolf www.myspace.com/arnoldwolf
www.blackauthors.ning.com/arnoldwolf
www.facebook.com/arnoldwolf
www.goodreads.com/arnoldwolf
This is my book trailer on YouTube
Checkout my reading list on Goodreads - where you can see what your friends are reading.
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