November 2021 Newsletter

Stephen Brown’s Newsletter

 

Hello

I hope this finds you well.

If you were unable to attend my recent presentation about Stealing Renoir (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CQHJC9Q/), there is a short video at: (https://author.amazon.com/home).

My newest book, Mystery Island (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JX2GNHJ/) is available and I’m “working” on the presentation.  This is a murder mystery and the clues are historical. I’ll be reading excerpts and presenting some of my research at the Northeast Regional Branch Library on Wednesday, Nov. 17, from 7p to 8p. Free!  It’s located at 15 Bellevoir Circle, Louisville, KY 40223, in the Shelbyville Road, S. Hurstbourne Pkwy. area.

I’m in the process of getting my books into the Louisville library system and will have two talks in March, one at the Jeffersontown Branch, 10635 Watterson Trail, Louisville, KY 40299, and one at the St. Matthews Branch, 3940 Grandview Ave., Louisville, KY 40207. No dates yet.

This is great news about the library dates in March because they will help with promotion. It would be a big help if you would leave a review on Amazon. https://author.amazon.com/marketingAndReports/customerReviews

About those historical clues in Mystery Island: there is compelling evidence that Christopher Columbus was Jewish. Part of the motivation behind his voyage to the New World may have been a search for New Canaan. (Two of the characters in Mystery Island borrow the names of the two Jewish men who financed his voyage and provide some helpful clues toward solving the mystery.) 

At the top left-hand corner of all but one of the 13 letters written by Columbus to his son Diego contained the handwritten Hebrew letters bet-hei, meaning b'ezrat Hashem (with God's help). This is also a clue, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

The terms of Columbus’ Will, the Spanish Diaspora, his departure date: some of these are clues, as well.

About Stealing Renoir: thousands of paintings that the Nazis stole from citizens and museums were traded or sold—sometimes for as little as five or ten dollars. It’s estimated about 5,000 pieces went up in a bonfire, including canvases by Gustav Klimt, Camille Pissarro, Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, and Pablo Picasso. Nobody has had more paintings stolen than Picasso, which is why I’m working on “Stealing Picasso.” (Available next year.)

That’s about all the news that fits. There’s more on my website: https://singingrockpublishing.mailerpage.com/

Thank you for your support.

Happy Reading!