Lest We Forget – Rememberence Day 11 November 2019

Nov 11, 2019

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the guns fell silent 101 years ago

They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.

Righteous Among The Nations: 92 Year Old Greek Woman Melpomeni Dina Who Saved Jews During WW2

Nov 4, 2019

The years are quickly slipping away and the stories of courage, bravery and the best of humanity will be part of history when the heroes of World War II pass away. The Times of Israel features one such hero, 92 year old Melpomeni Dina from Thessaloniki who saved so many Jewish lives. I’m just finishing writing Enemy at the Gate and it’s a reminder that a real life Zoe Lambros risked her life to save others. Thank you Melpomeni Dina and your family for finding the courage to do what you did. Heroes walk among us who truly deserve to be called Heroes.

The last reunion? In Jerusalem, Greek WWII rescuer, 92, meets the Jews she saved
‘Now I can die quietly,’ says Melpomeni Dina, as she unites with the dozens of descendants of the Mordechai family, in what may be the last-ever meeting of its kind

AP — One by one, the 40 descendants of a group of Israeli siblings leaned down and hugged the elderly Greek woman to whom they owe their very existence, as she sat in her wheelchair and wiped away tears streaking down her wrinkled face.

Clutching the hands of those she hid, fed and protected as a teenager more than 75 years ago, 92-year-old Melpomeni Dina said she could now “die quietly.”
Sunday’s emotional encounter in Jerusalem was the first time Dina had met the offspring of the Mordechai family she helped save during the Holocaust. Once a regular ritual at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, such gatherings are rapidly dwindling due to the advanced ages of both survivors and rescuers and may not happen again. The soon-to-be-extinct reunion is the latest reminder for Holocaust commemorators preparing for a post-survivor world.

Greek World War II rescuer Melpomeni Dina (C) reacts as she is reunited with holocaust survivors Yossi Mor (R) and his sister Sarah Yanai, whom she helped escape in 1943, at the Hall of Names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

“The risk they took upon themselves to take in an entire family, knowing that it put them and everyone around them in danger,” said Sarah Yanai, today 86, who was the oldest of the five siblings Dina and others sheltered. “Look at all these around us. We are now a very large and happy family and it is all thanks to them saving us.”

About six million European Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. More than 27,000 people, including some 355 from Greece, have been recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations,” Israel’s highest honor to those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Greek World War II rescuer Melpomeni Dina (C) poses for a group photo with holocaust survivors Yossi Mor (C-L) and his sister Sarah Yanai (C-R), whom she helped escape in 1943, along with their descendants at the Hall of Names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

The most famous cases are Oskar Schindler, whose efforts to save more than 1,000 Jews were documented in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film “Schindler’s List,” and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who is credited for having saved at least 20,000 Jews before mysteriously disappearing.

The names of those honored for refusing to be indifferent to the genocide are engraved along an avenue of trees at the Jerusalem memorial. Only a few hundred are believed to still be alive.

“This is probably going to be our last reunion, because of age and frailty,” said Stanlee Stahl, the executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which sponsored the event and which provides $1 million a year in monthly stipends to those recognized.

She said her organization has been doing such reunions every year since 1992, but this one was likely the last of its kind and therefore particularly emotional. Similar reunions sponsored by Yad Vashem of long-lost siblings or other relatives also are coming to an end.

“Either the survivor has passed on, the righteous has passed on or in some instances either the survivor or the righteous gentile is unable to travel,” she said, choking up. “You see the survivors, their children, their grandchildren, you see the future. To me it is very, very, very special. In a way, a door closes, one opens. The door is closing ever so slowly on the reunions.”

The Mordechai family lived in Veria, Greece, near Thessaloniki, where nearly the entire Jewish community was annihilated within a few months, in one of the most brutal executions by the Nazis.

When the Nazis began rounding up the Jews for deportation in early 1943, the family’s non-Jewish friends provided them with fake identity cards and hid them in the attic of the old abandoned Turkish mosque. They were there for almost a year, hearing the screams outside of other Jews being rounded up. But, eventually, they had to leave because their health was declining in the cramped, unventilated attic.

That is when Dina and her two older sisters took the family of seven into their own single-room home on the outskirts of the city, sharing with them their meager food rations. One of the children, a 6-year-old boy named Shmuel, became gravely ill and had to be taken to a hospital, despite the risk of exposing his identity. He died there.

Shortly after that, the family was informed upon, and Dina’s sisters and their relatives helped them flee in various directions.

Yanai, the oldest, headed for the woods; another went to the mountains; and the mother headed out on foot with her youngest two surviving children, in search of another hiding spot. Dina and her orphaned and impoverished sisters provided them with clothing before their departure. The family reunited after liberation and made its way to Israel, where the children built families of their own.

Yossi Mor, today 77, was just an infant when his family was taken in, but he said he could still remember a few things, such as when his older brother died and the kindness they encountered from their rescuers — who gave them various forms of refuge for nearly two years.

“They fed us, they gave us medicine, they gave us the protection, everything, they washed our clothes,” he said, before gesturing toward Dina. “She loved me very much.”

Mor and Yanai had gotten together with Dina in Greece years ago. But the younger generation of their extended family, which included grade-school children in pigtails and soldiers in uniform, had never met her before Sunday’s ceremony. The two soldiers proudly pushed Dina and Yanai throughout the complex in their wheelchairs.

A special committee, chaired by a retired Supreme Court Justice, is responsible for vetting every case of “Righteous Among the Nations,” before awarding the title. Following a lengthy process, between 400 and 500 are typically recognized a year and the process will continue and new stories come to light, even for those awarded posthumously, said Joel Zisenwise, the director of the department at Yad Vashem.

“What we see here is moving in the sense that we have evidence of an ongoing relationship of the rescuers with the survivors and the descendants. It is an ongoing form of paying tribute,” he said. “It definitely is moving to see these families coming together knowing that they may indeed be one of the last meetings.”

Originally posted on:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-jerusalem-greek-wwii-rescuer-92-reunites-with-jews-she-saved

Redesigned Book Cover: Where Shadows Linger

Nov 1, 2019

It was time for a refresh! I designed a new cover for my award winning second novel “Where Shadows Linger”.

Click here to buy from Amazon

Eva Muller and Zoe Lambros flee to Australia seeking refuge from World War II ravaged Greece. They struggle in an intolerant society whilst dealing with their haunted war-time memories and hiding their love. With the horrors of the war behind them, Eva and Zoe forge a new life together. The war is over but the shadows from their past emerge to shatter their peace and endanger their lives. They are about to find out the hard way that moving thousands of miles away does not protect them from those that wish them harm.

 

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers’ FavoriteWhere Shadows Linger by Mary D. Brooks is the next installment in the Intertwined Souls series. The story of Eva and Zoe continues as the two lovers and friends travel all the way to Australia, the land of milk and honey. The two of them are looking for a fresh start and to forget about their pasts. They want to begin a new life together that helps them nurture their hopes and dreams.

While Zoe is finally able to live her dreams, Eva is still haunted by her past. But she gives her full support to Zoe so that she can nourish her artistic ability. With new and old friends, past enemies, and a society filled with prejudice, can Eva and Zoe live their lives the way they want to? Or will their love and passion will be consumed by the cruel standards of society?

When I read the first part in the Intertwined Souls series by Mary D. Brooks, I literally begged Brooks for a sequel. I have to tell you the truth, I had huge expectations for this novel and you have no idea how happy I am after reading it. I just love Zoe and Eva. They are such strong characters. In the previous novel, their relationship was just turning from friendship to love, and now they are wholly in love. They are true companions and I love that. They are everything that you wish for in a partner. Their struggles were real and relatable and so were they. I officially adore this series. Another stellar novel that blows your mind. Loved it, enjoyed it!

Reviewed by Danie on Amazon USThis is the second in Brooks’ Intertwined Souls series. The two main characters, Zoe and Eva, are still in this book, but it’s now 1947 and they’ve made it to the Land of Milk and Honey, Australia. As with books set in Massachusetts or Maine, USA, I’m also a sucker for books set in Australia or New Zealand, so I was very excited to read it for that reason as well.

It’s the story of Zoe and Eva getting settled in, finding what they want to do with the rest of their lives when before they didn’t think they had a future, and it’s about them living those lives as best they can in a hard environment (for Greeks, Germans, and Lesbians).

The plot was awesome, with twists, turns, and all sorts of surprises, but it was just the plot. My favorite part of the book were the characters. We got to meet some new ones (like Earl and Elena, I loved their stories, and David, I’m interested to know more about him maybe), and see some familiar faces, like Henry (I literally yelped, saying ‘yay’, when I saw his name), and we also get to see some surprising characters return (won’t spoil it) that I definitely didn’t expect to see.

In a lot of ways I think I liked this book even a little more than the first one. I’m unsure exactly why, but in some ways it resonated just a bit more than In the Blood of the Greeks.

I think what I took out of this novel the most is that Brooks is a good writer (I don’t give five stars easily, all books start at a three for me, if I think it turns out to be amazing then it gets a four, and if it blows my socks off, a five).

I say she’s a good writer for one specific reason regarding this book at least. I kept reading and never put the book down. This was not a short book, and yet I read it through with no interruption. I’ve read many long books in my time, and even when they’re good like Game of Thrones, or Wizard’s First Rule, I still put them down because it’s hard to take in that much fiction and not totally fry your brain. So I’ll read a graphic novel/comic book in between parts or chapters, or a bit of a prose non-fiction book or something. I will say that I considered taking a break with this book too, but, there was some sort of underlying tension or suspense in it that just made it so that I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was next (and what was next was almost always awesome).

Reviewed by Blaire B on Amazon USWhere Shadows Linger picks up where In the Blood of Greeks leaves off. Set in post WWII, we follow the girls as they make their journey across the seas to a new home and what they hope will be a better future. Eva and Zoe are trying to find a way to pick up the pieces of their past and put them back together for their future. Eva and Zoe must find a way to build a new life in a very unfamiliar place. And along the way they encounter both new and old friends. As well as confronting an enemy they thought long since gone.

In pure Mary D. fashion, she will have you doubled over with laughter one minute and in absolute tears the next. You will find yourself completely immersed in the story that is Eva and Zoe. The detail Mary D. puts in her books will leave absolutely speechless. You will find it abundantly difficult to keep yourself from falling in love with these characters.

What I find most appealing about this book and this series is that Mary D. confronts real life issues that we all face today. She is not afraid to bring to light some of the most difficult topics you could ever come across. She does it in a way that leaves you breathless and makes you sit back and think.

What I love most about this edition, it includes some never before seen details about our favorite girls. She gives us, the readers, an more in depth look at Eva and Zoe’s most private moments. As well as giving us more detail than previously offered.

Reviewed by TFL Reader on Amazon USI have been following the story of this timeless romance between Eva and Zoe for several years now. One of my favorite things about this series is that it combines historical fiction, lesbian fiction and several other genres to make an intriguing series worthy of keeping me up nights. I also love that author Mary D. Brooks has made improvements on her series, with several of these books now in their 3rd edition.

“Where the Shadows Linger” is the 2nd book in the “Intertwined Souls” series and takes place in the aftermath of World War II, which is where the two met on opposite sides of the conflict. They have fallen in love and are looking to make a life together. As such, they have decided to make a move to Australia together. While moving can be a great way to make a new start, we also often take our problems with us as the two quickly find out. They do make new friends but Eva continues to struggle with a difficult past. Also living as a lesbian couple in that day and age wasn’t without its difficulties and prejudices, which they come into contact with as well.

I loved this second installment and continuing the journey with these two. The historical elements seemed very accurate to me and I enjoy learning about history while being entertained by an epic tale at the same time. The relationship between Eva and Zoe illustrates some real issues, marred with strong emotion that hit home for me and I am anxious to keep reading these amazing books to find out what happens next. Great read.

Reviewed by Sherly on Amazon US

This isn’t the most customer friendly book out there. What I mean to say is that it doesn’t offer thrills in a manner you would expect considering the genre. You have to keenly observe the writing to pick up many nuances like changes in the mood of the story. You have to have a fresh perspective while reading Where Shadows Linger. Like the old adage says, things are not always what they seem. This book is certainly a surprise pack for readers who are willing to go the extra mile in understanding and uncovering the characters of a novel. The author provides the softer and optimistic side of life with a love story that you will want to work at any cost. And then she also shows the dark side of life and how some people just don’t have it in them to let others live life freely. There are some genuine moments of tenderness and honesty between the two female leads.

Their relationship has been nicely captured and feels real-like. I congratulate the author for making me think through this book about relationships and commitment. Matters of the human heart are never simple and easy and it needed a visceral voice like Mary’s to carve a wonderful story out of it.

 

Reviewed by Michelle Brown | Amazon USI don’t want to talk too much about the story and risk giving away a spoiler. I will say this though. This book is about journeys. Some journeys are literal in nature and ones that take you from one home to another. In other kind of journeys you meet people who end up changing your lives, and sometimes you even meet a different version of you. Someone whom you didn’t know existed before. Here two women, two lovers take an epic journey from Greece to Australia after WW2 has ended. In changing circumstances that are often beyond their control they learn a lot, about the world and themselves.

There are not a lot of twists and turns in this book and yet you will keep turning the pages late into night. The story stays true to the theme of timeless romance and each chapter is a thrill to read. I am glad I read this. It kept me anxious and on edge as I waited for Eva and Zoe to find the peace and tranquility that they so richly deserve.

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