Robert Egby's Blog

 

News Release: October 3rd 2022

Robert Egby: 1-609-351-5878

 

Novel hidden in a box 43 years

Reaps  New York City Big Book Award.

 

PENTADAKTYLOS, Robert Egby’s first  historical novel set in the drammatic last days of British Colonial Cyprus has received a “Distinguished Favorite” Award in the New York City Big Books Awards Program.

“Oh, it’s great. Leaves me stunned. It was a long work and my heart was in it at every step of the way. So I really appreciate the Award. It has taken a long time coming," says Egby.

“Pentadaktylos, like all the places mentioned in the novel, were all  real locations on the Island. The streets, beaches, restaurants, government offices, Government House, they all existed. But times change they may have different names," he says.

“The novel is  a swirling panoramic love and drama story featuring many sides,” says Egby. “The British colonists, the EOKA Fighters, the British Army with 30,000 troops,, the English officer who finds  he has a teenage son—now a <<terrorist>>, the British wife and the American  Foreign Correspondent maintaining an old love affair, an aging Spanish-Greco  assassin whose mission is <<kill at any cost>> and a sergeant who loves the boy’s Greek Cypriot teacher,”

The novel is long with many twists and turns. “To be honest I had admired and studied the works of Ernest Hemingway and I apologize if readers see similarities edging in at times," he added..

Author Robert Egby was an international correspondent, accredited war correspondent  and award winning British news photographer who spent thirteen years in the Middle East, nine of them living on Cyprus where he worked for the Cyprus Mail and freelanced . He experienced first hand the inter-communal riots and killings, and reported on most of the background events narrated in the novel. The typewritten manuscript for this book sat in a cardboard box for forty-three years until summer 2011, when Robert re-typed it into the digital age and re-edited it. And self-published!  All Robert’s 15 books, historical fiction and non-fiction  are available on Amazon and at many local book-sellers.

In making the announcement on behalf of the New York City Big Book award, sponsor Gabrielle Olczak said  2022 was a record year for books awarded due to the high level of quality and diversity of books submitted. NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide.

Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in high numbers.  Entries were received from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.  Cities such as Ann Arbor, Edmonton, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Philadelphia, Santa Cruz, Singapore, Toronto, Vancouver were among the entries.  Winners were recognized from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Malta, Sweden, and the United States of America.”

 "We are elated to highlight these authors' books, recognize their excellence, and share their achievements." said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.  "We look forward to showcasing these titles to a larger audience."

 

To view the list of winners, 

visit https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/2022winners 

and see distinguished favorites listed here: 

https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/team-1   

 You can join the NYC Big Book Awards Program  for Spring 2023, www.IndependentPressAward.com  *  Follow  on Twitter @GabbyBookAwards

 

ENDS

 

By Robert Egby                                                                   September 2, 2022

This is the  story of Betty Lou, an eight-eight year old American and her battle with the Iron Curtain Security Warriors or modern telephone gurus at Verizon and Apple.

It started when her old Apple 6 showed signs of malfunction. At the Harrington DE Verizon Office  where the staff have to go to the shopping center to use the latrines, a young dark lady with sky blue contacts persuaded her to buy an upscale iPhone. No guidance, no training. Just take it and learn.

Unable to make sense of the “beast” as Betty Lou  called the thing, in desperation for help she travelled an hour to the Apple Store in the spacious but  outdated Christiana Mall at Newark, Delaware. Here, a good looking elf of an Apple  woman suggested she needed “Facial Recognition.” Why we never discovered.  

The session lasted less than fifteen minutes and Betty Lou returned home completely dazed by (1) the iPhone and (2) Facial Recognition which somehow wanted her face in all angles before it became anti and very difficult. In the process at home the phone got locked down. Back at Verizon, Harrington, another clerk (the first one with the sky blue lenses had quit) said Betty Lou would have to call Apple for a code breaker.

By now, the iPhone was not just in lock down, it was calling for a complete reboot to manufacturer’s standards, and to Betty Lou’s horror she would lose years of personal photography.

Unable to use the phone except in Emergencies, -- like cops, ambulance and undertakers, we searched and found the Apple Store in the semi-deserted Quakerbridge Mall near Princeton, NJ. Here an Apple assistant took less than five minutes to tell her basically that she knew nothing about the problem.

In most cases someone with a laptop with Windows and a connection line can download any iPhone photos in less time that it takes to explain how to do it. Except!!! Except!!! It does not work on an iPhone that is on big time Security Lock Out.

Betty Lou, now without a phone to call friends, relatives or anyone else with an understanding of  Apple technology and so-call security – which really is like an Iron Curtain – has been without a phone for longer than we can recall – at least three weeks.

Perhaps I can sell this communications blog to AARP. I would use my own phone – an iPhone 6 – but that too is getting old and frequently has critical errors and freezes when you least expect or need it.

Along the way the Apple assistant in Quakerbridge suggested Betty Lou get an Apple SE – it was supposed to help elders combat  a hearing problem. Amazon kindly sent one. I opened it up. It required Finger ID!!!! You have to be kidding!! It went back. For starters, ever heard of “leathery fingers”?  

All we want are simple and easily workable, friendly phones that call, text and tell the weather. NO banking, paying, games, etcetera. Just simple phones with basic security.  But don’t tell this to Apple or Verizon. Their heads are dizzily dancing up in the iclouds leaving millions of elders to become confused and growl at confusing technologies that are in reality little more than high speed commercial promos.

THE END…FOR NOW

Robert Egby –  robertegbyauthor@gmail.com

Books by Robert Egby

 A NOTE ON SPIRITUALISM

by Robert Egby, DHP, CH, Rev. 

On March 31, 1848 the veil between the Earth Plane and the Other World was torn away and intelligible, meaningful communication was established between the two states. It happened in a little hamlet called Hydesville, 20 miles from Rochester in New York State.

 

Reactions were diverse. Fundamental Christians recoiled in either horror or sheer disbelief and hurled abuse. Among the general populace,  the news eroded the widespread belief that the tomb, the graveyard, Boot Hill, constituted the end of life. The birth of Modern Spiritualism confirmed there is no death, but Life everlasting. It created a new dimension in spiritual understanding. It also brought spirit communication to the everyday person.

 

The events at Hydesville with the Fox family must seem to many non-Spiritualists that until March 1884, psychic phenomena and communication with the so called “dead.” was unheard of. That some Universal Power -- God! -- waved a magic wand and psychic powers and mediumship were bestowed upon two young girls,  Catherine and Margaretta Fox  in Hydesville. The truth is that history has known many gifted mediums and psychics. They just haven’t been recognized by the unaware. 

 

The Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, contains many psychic stories. Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Paul all communicated with the Other World, as did founders of other world religions. Prophecies, communications from the Other Side, abound in most sections of the Bible.

 

Paul’s writings contain many references to spirits. “If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body,” he wrote to the Corinthians. In the First Letter of John (ch.4 vs 1) there is advice to those who would be mediums: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God.”

 

The ancient tantras of Tibet and the Egyptian Book of the Dead are full of magical and mystical rites designed to create understanding and good passage for departing souls to the Other World. The ancient civilizations -- Persians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Incas -- all had their mediums, also called oracles. Different civilizations  used oracles, wells, water-holes, trees, rocks, caves, and other objects. Most endorsed a belief in continuous or future life.

 

The primitive Akkadians who inhabited a region in north Babylon (Iraq) -- 2,000 years BC -- said they saw shadowy forms of departed human beings, which led them to regard spirits not as simply vanished, but still existing as shades.

 

When the teachings of metaphysics -- reincarnation, karma -- were banned by the orthodox Christian churches in the sixth century, at the bidding of the Roman Emperor, witches, wizards, and others carried  the higher teachings.

 

As Sybil Leek, a 20th century writer on withcraft wrote: “A witch is a practioner of withcraft--the ancient pre-Christian occult religion which in Europe was called wicca, and Anglo Saxon term meaning the “craft of the wise.”  Leek pointed out there is a vast difference between witchcraft and the Old Religion, and Black Magic which is certainly not a religion but a debased art.

 

Notwithstanding this logic,  in later times witches and non-witches  were hounded and  savagely persecuted by such witch-hunters as Increase and Cotton Mather,  and Matthew Hopkins. Many were burned at the stake, drowned or tortured to death, all in the name of a purported Christianity.

 

Then came the first of the distinct wayshowers -- the modern Prophets, the ones paving the way to Modern Spiritualism.

 Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-`1772), a dedicated scientist, engineer, inventor, author and teacher, suddenly at 56 years became open to what he called “spiritual sight,” and what Richard Bucke describes as “Cosmic Consciousness.”  Swedenborg, who became known as the Swedish Seer wrote “ I have been called to a holy office by the Lord himself...when he opened my sight to a view of the spiritual world and granted me the privilege of conversing with spirits and angels...”

 

Modern Spiritualism owes much to Swedenborg. He is accredited with being the first to explain that death of the physical does not result in an immediate change since the spirit world is governed by the same natural laws and thus ensures a continuity of life and continued progress in the world. Swedenborg passed over into spirit in London in 1772.

 

Just one year later, another wayshower came into the spiritual arena. Austrian Franz Anton Mesmer whose strong beliefs in universal energy, celestial bodies and Earth had prompted him to create a theory called “animal magnetism.”  He was firmly convinced that psychosomatic illness could be cured by animal magnetism and in 1773 he effected the first cures by applying magnetic plates to the patient’s limbs. His fame spread like wildfire, but something more interesting developed. Mesmer discovered that mesmerism, a totally relaxed state, prompted spiritual and psychic manifestations. It was a sensational discovery.

 

Mesmer passed into spirit in 1815. Eleven years later in  1826,  in Orange County, New York, another wayshower was born, who would have direct connections to both Mesmer and Swedenborg. Andrew Jackson Davis, became known as the “Poughkeepsie Seer.” 

 

Another very talented man, Davis was drawn to being mesmerized  and during the trial, was found to exhibit clairvoyance, and in March 1844 became spiritually illuminated. He entered into a superior condition without the aid of a mortal hypnotist and from that time forward his work took on a new aspect Davis wrote many books on spiritual life, the nature of the universe, and even edited a spiritual newspaper. In the space of a mere 14 months Davis gave some 150 lectures and psychic demonstrations. A new spiritiual dawn was being heralded.

 

Davis purportedly had two guides, Galen a Greek Physician, and the other Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish Seer. Later, when the entire period was reviewed, observers gave him other titles. The Rev. W.E. Copeland in 1872 called Davis “The Father of the Religion called Modern Spiritualism,”  and Emma Hardinge, author of “Modern American Spiritualism,” called him  “John the Baptist of Spiritualism,” because he paved the public way for events with the Fox Family at Hydesville. 

 

It is generally acknowledged that without the critical and far-reaching work carried out by Swedenborg, Mesmer, Mother Ann Lee of The Shakers, and Andrew Jackson Davis, the occurrences  at Hydesville might well have been a nine-day wonder and suffered a burial in the cobwebs of time.

 

Ends for some. A new beginning for others.....

The Quest of the Radical Spiritualist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL FREQUENCY? – DISGUSTING!

By Robert Egby

I was trying to read a 1,500 word article in Universe Today in which scientists proclaim that the Universe as we know it is fine tuning itself and other Universal Laws that make human life livable.

Well, I can’t say I enjoyed the piece – mainly because it was scattered by some seven display advertisements (commercials) from all sorts of mundane, almost gutter-type origins. The first was from some legal organization about personal protection. Next was something about Bioscience powers of a State – Delaware, I think, then there was a Newsletter from Fraser Cain whoever he is.

Next a disgusting food commercial connecting eggs for a “foggy brain.” This was repeated 214 words further on by another eggs photo and a heading “Three Foods that Fight Memory Loss.” A disgusting piece that I would like to forget.

Then a commercial for Lays proclaiming “A Little Joy in Every Bag.” The final commercial was a Tourism Commercial for Delaware.

For a 1,500 word article on the Universe,  that’s one commercial interrupting my reading comfort at every 214 words.

This form of Commercialism is disgusting. It’s quite likely that the next edition I pick up of the Holy Bible there will be a commercial in the text for fish and chips just when Jesus is teaching the disciples how to fish on the Sea of Galilee.

It is not the Commercials to which we object, but the frequency!!!  It’s little wonder that people are becoming disgusted with the Internet and Cablevision.

Note: Robert Egby is the author of the Award Winning Historical Novel “The Urkiola Boy.”

Robert Egby Books

 

MATERNITY LEAVE – UK / Canada / Mexico / United States Created from collected notes by Robert Egby (whose granddaughter in Canada is currently on Maternity Leave.)
In UK Eligible: employees can take up to 52 weeks' maternity leave. The first 26 weeks is known as 'Ordinary Maternity Leave', the last 26 weeks as 'Additional Maternity Leave'. ... Employees must take at least 2 weeks after the birth (or 4 weeks if they're a factory worker). Statutory Maternity Pay ( SMP ) is paid for up to 39 weeks. You get: 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks. £151.97 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.
 In Canada: a pregnant employee is entitled to up to 62 consecutive weeks of parental leave. Parental leave starts after maternity leave. This means a pregnant employee can take a leave of up to 78 weeks (1.5 years) – 16 weeks of maternity leave and 62 weeks of parental leave. On top of mandating parental leave, the government offers paid leave for one or both parents through Canada's employment insurance plan. A pregnant employee or new mother can take a paid pregnancy leave of up to 15 weeks. ... Employment insurance benefits are taxable in the same way as wages. 
In Mexico: Maternity leave will be 12 weeks (6 weeks before the child is born and 6 weeks after birth). ... If the maternity leave period is extended, she is entitled to 50% of the daily salary of social security contribution for a period of up to 60 days. Article 164-172 of the Federal Labor Law Pay – During maternity leave, the Mexican Social Security Institute will pay the working mother 100 % of her daily salary as a social security contribution. ... Following the adoption of a minor child, working mothers have the right to paid maternity leave for 6 weeks after receiving the child.
In the United States: U.S. federal law provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a baby, though some employers may provide superior benefits. The US does not have a federal paid maternity and family leave act. Some states, however, include paid leave legislation for family members. ... Paid family leave would also allow low-income families the ability to take care of their family members without having to sacrifice time and money.  (Written as we approach Labor Day -- September 2021)Robert Egby -- robertegbyauthor@gmail.com

 by Robert Egby

October 23rd 2020: FASCINATING STUPIDITY: Some 18 men and one woman in the President's office, appeared just now on the news. The only person wearing a mask was the woman!

Egotistical male idiots brazenly flaunt their false bravery. That's why we are in another deadly Covid crisis slithering like a deadly fog across America. Men without masks are basically Public Enemy #1, almost subhuman.

How America needs women leaders at the top has never been more evident.

Thinking back. The Pentagon Budget for 2020 is over $70 billion. It allows the United States to parade around the globe, aircraft carriers carrying almost 7,000 men and women along with niclear weaponry to soldiers and weapons stationed in 150 countries, supposedly to fight terrorism and protect the American people -- from whom? From what?

Yet with all this protection, the country with its ego-based, wimpy leadership failed to prevent a deadly bug popping in and performing its deadly rituals.

Something is way out of balance.

It's not just the upper echelons that are off. Countless males in public places have been demonstrating their supposed bravado, clustering together en masse and becoming superspreaders of the Covid -- and all for the want of a simple, little mask. It is clearly evident: Only the Brave wear Masks!

Rampant disregard by male egocentrics for human life, demonstrates a lack of cultural and moral discipline, a dangerous situation in international affairs because it generates aimages of a weakened lifeforce, a gross form of civilian mutiny in essentially the Male species of the United States.

Tired of being an egocentric or having a relationship with one? Check my book.

Cracking the GLass Darkly, by Robert Egby

 By Robert Egby

The Sound Healing Summit 2020 was spread over five days. 35 speakers from various parts of the world all talking about their work and achievements in the art of Sound Healing. Betty Lou and I, both accredited sound healers,  watched and listened to eight of them from Jonathan Goldman to Joshua Leeds.

"We were there!" all from the comfort of our home, tea and slippers. It was music composer Leeds who caught our ears with the Covid 19 wake-up call. It's changing the way "social distancing" exists. People getting together in Cyberspace, but in ways unimaginable a year or so ago.

Imagine great musicians around the world all playing the same piece of music at the same time. Choirs, groups, pops -- well, its happening, all through technology that has had its doors opened through "social distancing."

In June 2020 the U.S.Army’s Ambassador Jazz Band – ten or so musicians – stayed in the safety and comfort of their own homes and played in a 40 minute concert that was broadcast over the internet. It gave the impression the group was altogether on a stage at their base in Fort Meade, Maryland. The organizer and pianist was Anthony Pocetti, Betty Lou’s grandson.

Back at the Healing Sounds Summit, both Leeds and Goldman say “this is just the start.” The organizers brought together the 35 speakers all on one channel or one “room”. They could have had several of these cyberspace rooms and I’m sure it will happen.

You've heard of Skype, Zoom? Well, there’s Discord, Google Meet, and a whole lot of others offering various levels of “meetings” in cyberspace. Business corporations have been holding board meetings, planning sessions, marketing discussions between managers and executives for months – mainly because of Covid-19.

The Sound Healing Summit with its 35 speakers, was organized on The Shift Network which, to all appearances is highly spiritual and “New Age.” Browse over to theshiftnetwork.com and see what's happening and you will understand what changes are afoot..

The American Society of Dowsers held their 2020 National Convention on Callbridge, a Canadian company. It enabled members attending and watching speakers, to send in texted questions which were then made available to speakers – in real time.

From big corporate time to stuff around the corner, it’s easy to see how I could hold a drumming circle in Pemberton, New Jersey with no one else physically present: – give a talk and start drumming with all attendees from all over the planet drumming along with me. That’s not future, it’s here and now!  

Technology, prodded forward by Covid-19 is changing the map and business. It is goodbye to the old massive, political and religious conventions. Leaders can sit in the comfort and safety of their armchairs at home and talk to thousands – live and answer questions.  

Attending in person, the five day Sound Healing Summit in Los Angeles would have cost Betty Lou and I hefty travel expenses, hotel accommodation, meals and more. As it happened I paid $99.00 for one subscription, jacked the high definition feed from my laptop to a  large screen TV,  so  Betty Lou and I watched in total home comfort. You don’t need a degree in economics to see how this whole thing is going to switch the money trails.

Good or bad, the old ways are fast disappearing, and a new generation of life is emerging.

Robert Egby. 

August 8th 2020.

Robert's The Healing Experience

Robert Egby Books

FLASHLIGHT CHRONICLES: FLOWERS == HOW TO CREATE STUNNING PHOTOS WITH A FLASHLIGHT 
Gerbera DaisyBy Ken Kishler, Photographer

 you don't need much light to photograph a flower.  in fact, less is better, especially when you want the background to go dark.  
a soft box is too large a light source.  you would have to block the light from falling where you didn't want it.  the same goes for window lighting.
a pocket flashlight, with an opaque film container taped to the front, makes for the perfect light source.  
you can use it to "paint" the light where you want it.  if the flower is large, you just keep the shutter open longer, to give you more time to cover it with light.   


The Gerbera Daisy was stolen from my neighbor's yard, when she wasn't home.  (I hope she doesn't find out)
to bring out the details in the Hibiscus, (below) I passed the light around the edges and behind the flower. trial & error. just as I felt a few drops of rain, I grabbed some scissors and cut this Hibiscus.  once they get wet, they are a sopping mess.
Hibiscus
Anise
Aster
Bee Balm
Dandelion

Geranium
Hydrangea
Lily of the Vallley
Snapdragon

Technical Stuff:
 70mm macro lens - f/10 - 10 second exposure (Hibiscus)                                f/10 -  8  second exposure (Daisy)
light source:  flashlight  The Flashlight with an opaque film container taped to makes for the perfect light source.  



For further information:
Ken Kishler is at manualexposure@yahoo.com(c) Ken Kishler.

Por ROBERT EGBY
Escribir ficción es ser creativo, pero escribir ficción histórica es como jugar a ser Dios. El autor está reorganizando la historia, poniendo en peligro vidas pasadas y creando dudas en las mentes jóvenes de los estudiantes. Así que debo disculparme por El Chico De Urkiola.Desde que se publicó el precursor de Por el amor de Rose en junio de 2014, tenía en mente a Mikel Ybarra. Frank Barbury, el joven productor lechero estadounidense con su amor vasco-estadounidense había desafiado los horrores de la Guerra Civil española en Elgeta y Durango en el corazón de Euskal Herria, la nación vasca.

En la creación de Rose y Mikel, acumulé una colección de más de dos docenas de libros, desde la magnífica biografía de Paul Preston de 1,000 páginas, "Franco" hasta los libros de Adrian Bell y Natalia Benjamin sobre los niños vascos refugiados en Gran Bretaña. El historiador vasco Jon Irazabal Agirre contribuyó a la colección con dos excelentes libros (español-vasco) sobre la guerra en Durango y la región.

Además, durante unos buenos cuatro años, mi compañera Betty Lou y yo pasamos varias veces por un total de tres meses en el País Vasco, haciendo preguntas, escuchando y tomando fotografías.  Cuando tienes más de ochenta años, escalar el Monte St. Anton en Getaria para un complot de asesinato puede ser un poco laborioso para un investigador. Pero la vista es muy gratificante. Photo: Betty Lou Kishler.
Agregue a esto la necesidad de aprender español y conversar en ese idioma. ¿Vasco? Es tan difícil como sus orígenes son oscuros.
De hecho, toda la historia vasca antigua está nublada, escondida en el polvo del tiempo. Cuanto más los estudiaba, más me atraían los sumerios, Babilonia y las historias en las tabletas de arcilla que están escondidas en los museos de al menos seis países. Y así se creó un héroe para el libro.
Las hondas se remontan a los tiempos de Babilonia y a la Biblia, por lo que es probable que los antiguos gudaris vascos estuvieran tan armados. Para garantizar cómo funcionaba la habilidad de las hondas, el autor practicó durante meses, incluida una sesión aquí en las montañas de Urkiola. Photo Betty Lou Kishler.  Mikel era vasco y nació para llevar la marca de nacimiento de los antiguos, especialmente Jubal. Poseía dones y talentos inusuales, entonces, ¿por qué su cuerpo adolescente, casi sin vida, fue arrastrado por una costa inglesa en 1938 cuando la guerra española estaba en su apogeo.

Era necesario tener una historia que avanza y, sin embargo, revela la vida y la lucha de los vascos sin demasiados datos pesados. Es una historia que atrae a la mayoría de las personas que disfrutan de la ficción histórica, especialmente si conoces el norte de España, los vascos e Inglaterra.

Necesitaba crear una imagen de los vascos, sus culturas, su supervivencia bajo la ocupación franquista, cómo fueron tratados y cómo se rebelaron. Además de los hechos, sentí que necesitaba escribir sobre los orígenes extraños y místicos de los vascos y cómo los antepasados ​​habrían compartido sus conocimientos si estuvieran vivos durante el período de la novela, de 1937 a 1943.

Es importante comprender que a pesar de la imagen de guerrero o gudari que a algunos vascos les gusta proyectar y promover, hay otra imagen latente que permanece oculta en su cultura.

Mikel Ybarra, el héroe tiene varios nombres, junto con su amor Uda, es el símbolo de esa imagen latente. Está en su psique, su sangre, su ADN, su cultura. Han nacido curanderos. Tienen los dones, pero el problema existe ¿sobrevivirán al brillo sin sentido y al atractivo de la era tecnológica y la inteligencia artificial?

Sobre el libro: El "hombre malo" de la novela es el Capitán Alejandro Aquino, nacido en La Coruña en 1888, es el amigo ficticio de la vida real Lisardo Doval Bravo. Sombra la vida de Doval y es su secuaz clave para asesinatos despiadados.

Otro "hombre malo" de la vida real retratado en la novela es el dictador español Francesco Franco, que desencadenó la Guerra Civil española en 1936 y gobernó España y ocupó el País Vasco hasta su muerte en 1975. Por algún hilo extraño que data de 1920 Franco tiene la Urkiola Boy como objetivo desde la Introducción a casi la última página donde ordena el asesinato de sus propios soldados nacionalistas. ¿Ficción? Lejos de eso, Franco era famoso por matar a su propia gente.

En esencia, la novela sigue la vida de un adolescente vasco encontrado en una costa inglesa, Selsey Bill, de hecho. Uno de mis lugares favoritos de mis primeros años de adolescencia la. Sufriendo de amnesia, la inteligencia británica lo hace revivir su vida y sus eventos, el bombardeo de Durango, la batalla en Elgeta, y en el proceso descubre que tiene regalos extraños. Uno es el antiguo arte del tiro de honda, otro su extraña habilidad con un rifle ordinario sin alcance.

Mikel busca desesperadamente regresar a España, pero es joven e inexperto. La inteligencia británica lo entrena con varias fuerzas para que se convierta en un comando o gudari, como dicen los vascos. Su misión: asesinar al general Franco. Bueno, Mikel tiene su propia agenda y está escondida en la Cordillera de las Montañas Urkiola, cerca de Durango. Armados con un grupo de más de dos docenas de hombres y mujeres, lanzan incursiones desde esta base escondida en una montaña.

A lo largo de los días, semanas y meses, Mikel entrena a su grupo en el arte mortal de la honda y otras actividades de defensa. Todo el tiempo piensa en Uda, una chica que conoció y adoraba en su adolescencia y también su joven hermana adolescente Zoriona. Ambos son mantenidos cautivos por las fuerzas de Franco.
Kurutziaga Kalea en Durango, el corazón del País Vasco después del bombardeo llevado a cabo por la Fuerza Aérea Italiana el 31 de marzo de 1937. Este es el lugar donde Mikel, el gudari vasco, conoció a Frank, el conductor de ambulancia estadounidense de la novela "Por el amor de Rose ". Los aviones de combate realmente dispararon a civiles inocentes que huían aquí. Crédito: Registros municipales. Si lees mi primer libro "Por el amor de Rose" que hablaba del bombardeo de Durango, Frank y Rose ven a esta pequeña niña en los escalones jugando con una muñeca y es entonces cuando hablan de tener una familia después de la guerra. Más tarde, Frank ve el cuerpo aparentemente sin vida de la niña y quiere ayudar, pero lleva a Rose herida. Bueno, la niña es la hermana de Mikel y ahí es donde existe la conexión con "Por el  amor de Rose". Zoriona es ahora una joven adolescente cautiva en la famosa prisión de mujeres de Les Cort en Barcelona.


En la primera parte de "El Chico de Urkiola" durante el entrenamiento y desarrollo de Mikel, él está en Inglaterra, que jugó un papel importante en la Guerra Civil española. Miles de niños vascos fueron evacuados a varios países. Cuatro mil llegaron a Gran Bretaña y fueron alojados en propiedades que llamaron "colonias".

Un amigo historiador que vivía en Maidenhead / Cookham en Berkshire envió un correo electrónico para decir: "Sabes que había una colonia en Bray Court", e incluyó una foto. Fue deslumbrante. Había pasado los primeros 18 años de mi vida viviendo en Maidenhead y nunca había oído hablar de la Colonia en Bray. Ahora juega un papel en la novela. De hecho, esa es una de las cosas que disfruto escribiendo novelas históricas, usando lugares de la vida real para la acción.

Todos los lugares descritos en el libro, como el puente en Hendaya, el mirador en el Mont de San Anton en Getaria, la estación de policía en Zumaia, la plaza en Elgeta, el campo de batalla, todos son lugares reales experimentados por el autor. El único lugar que el autor no vio fue la mansión Les Cort en Barcelona, ​​que se convirtió en una prisión infame durante y después de la guerra civil y luego se redujo a escombros. Hoy es un centro comercial.

La trama requiere que el héroe Mikel use un arma antigua popular entre los sumerios y otros soldados en Babilonia hace miles de años. Era el tiro de honda, no una catapulta, sino una simple honda con un bolsillo para sostener una piedra o una pequeña roca. David usó uno en Goliat y el arma se menciona varias veces en el Antiguo Testamento. Bueno, soy un gran creyente de que si uno va a escribir sobre una actividad, será mejor que tenga la sensación de volar piedras de una honda. Tomó mucha práctica, pero finalmente pude golpear un árbol a 30 yardas y esa experiencia me permitió escribir partes de la novela. Sí, mientras visitaba las Urkiolas, en realidad practiqué con la honda. Mi compañera Betty Lou grabó el evento tomando algunas fotografías con las montañas de fondo.

El novelista histórico debe luchar por la precisión. Un lector vasco que revisó varias frases en la novela señaló que varios de los personajes tienen nombres que ya no están de moda. "Eso es bueno", fue mi respuesta. “Reuní nombres de fuentes importantes para el período del libro: 1936 a 1943. Los nombres reales deben reflejar la edad de vida en una novela, dije.Una parte importante de la acción en la novela es que la bandera vasca ondea en la cima de la montaña. Para la primera edición en ingles me resultó imposible adquirir una foto del sitio, así que ideé otro plan. Tenía muchas fotos de las montañas para cubrirme, pero necesitaba la bandera, conocida como ikurriña. Amazon entregó una bandera de cinco por cuatro pies y traté de fotografiarla. Paja. Los pliegues del fabricante se mostraron claramente. Betty Lou lo empapó suavemente, luego, cuando estaba seco, usó una plancha de vapor para aplanarlo. Aún así, la bandera parecía bla. Necesitaba una bandera en movimiento.

No es la tarea más fácil hacer que alguien con un mástil enarbole la bandera de un país extranjero, así que me quedé en casa y una mañana, cuando el sol brillaba desde un cielo suave y brumoso con una brisa suave, coloqué la bandera en el césped que necesitaba ser cortado. La hierba era lo suficientemente alta como para que la brisa moviera la bandera. A veces demasiado Otros a la perfección. Para mi foto de portada necesitaba el área alrededor de la cruz. Se tomaron dos docenas de fotos y cada una de ellas se analizó. Uno apareció a la perfección: una bandera con movimiento congelado.

 Esa es la foto que aparece en la portada, ¡encima de Urkiolas! La gente de Jera Publishing, dio los toques finales con un gran título rojo. Se veía genial. Tengo una explosión de la cubierta de 24 pulgadas en mi pared. Pero así es como surgió la portada.

Más tarde expresé mi deseo de amigos en Durango para ver un gudari vasco llevando el Ikurriña con las montañas de Urkiola al fondo. Iban Gorriti actuando como abanderado y fotógrafo Sergio Quero junto con una bandera de Gerediaga Elkartea crearon la imagen requerida en el Euskal Prospekzio Taldea. ¡Qué espléndida tarea! Orgullosamente aparece en la portada de la novela. El Chico estaría orgulloso de ellos.

La foto original producida por el equipo en Durango para este libro. Nuestros amigos de Jera Publishing en Georgia lo tomaron y produjeron la portada. Gracias a todos los interesados. Se mencionan en este blog. Foto: Sergio Quero. Modelo gudari: Iban Gorriti. 
Cuando leas la novela, verás a qué me refiero con la bandera vasca que ondea sobre las Urkiolas. Debe hacer enojar al dictador Franco, donde sea que esté en el mundo espiritual.El libro está dedicado "a todos los seres queridos que perdieron las vidas porque de la Guerra Civil española y a todos aquellos que esperaron en vano a que sus gudaris volvieran a casa"  

Muchas gracias por leer. Cuidate. Robert
El Chico de Urkiola: las aventuras de un gudari vasco: La edición en español está aquí.El Chico de Urkiola  Amazon EE. UU.
El Chico de Urkiola --en Reino Unido

la edición en inglés está disponible:The Urkiola Boy: An Adventure in Basque Time The Urkiola Boy (English in Europe)                                     The Urkiola Boy -- Amazon, London UK                                                 

EASTER SATURDAY, April 11th, 2020On television I just heard a nurse saying, “People should not die alone.” It created a ripple in my day. All through history it has been demonstrated that people never die alone. Society through its one-eyed religious teachings has been taught that death is the end. So, we have a breed of ignorants that are completely and blindly unaware the Spirit lives on.
Ever since the tender age of seven – 81 years ago – I have had good and loving spirits help me with my life – and my books. They come and go like good friends. 
The more you have, the passing out of the physical into the spiritual life is simply an enjoyable journey.  Spirit Life is not bowing and scraping to the Creator, spending eternity on your knees in endless prayer. Far from it. The Spirit/Sole continues its journey of learning and living in harmony.
This excerpt from my book “The Quest of the Radical Spiritualist” may help in these troubled times to breach the stigmas left by the Unknowing Society.     EXERCISE:  LISTENING TO SPIRIT VOICES People often ask: “I feel my mom and dad around at various times. How do I hear what they are saying?”
Here’s an exercise that will help you tune in. Find a place where you will not be disturbed then slip into an altered state and relax. Close your eyes and focus on the center of your head. This is the area of your pineal and pituitary glands.  French philosopher René Descartes described it as the “seat of the soul.” It’s also associated with the sixth chakra and the third eye which is the power for visions, intuition and receiving telepathic messages.
Now, bring to mind a familiar voice from your childhood. Perhaps one of your parents, a brother or sister, uncle, aunt, or someone close. Remember a particular phrase they used time and time again, such as “Eat your dinner,” or “Do your homework,” or “You’ll be late for school.”
Silently, recall that voice and have it played in the center of your head. Listen to it. Repeat it several times. Get the feel of the sound. Pause for a minute or so, then for a change, find another voice of someone in your early life. Practice this for several minutes a day. Get used to it. Then when a loved one in spirit wants to make contact you will be ready.
Incidentally, when that special person does come through, never express surprise or jubilation. Such sudden impulses disrupt the whole energy. Stay cool. 
Infinite Blessings. 
Robert Egby DHP, CH, RevQuest of the Radical Spiritualist