tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69447688403684904812024-02-07T11:16:41.485-08:00MY TIME TO SAY HELLOAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-9217321012245243582016-02-17T22:39:00.002-08:002016-02-17T22:40:51.056-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Britain was once
great. Now is the time for Britain to prove it can be great again, by getting
up off its knees and refusing to be brow-beaten by Brussels and its cohorts and
leaving the EU. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Only the people of
this Nation can make that happen. Only the people of Britain can show Cameron
that we are not fooled by his ridiculous personal pantomime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Why should the
British taxpayer who goes out to work every day have to pay Child Benefit to
children who do not even live in this country - children of Eastern Europe
migrants. Why should our highest courts be allowed to be over-ruled by European
Courts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Only the British
government was elected by the people of Britain. We were never given a vote or
allowed to have our say on whether we should be ruled by a European Parliament
of unelected dictators in Brussels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Like Blair, who
took us into a war based on lies told to the British people, Cameron also has
his sights set on his own later high position in the European Parliament<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.5pt;">We don't need to
take to the streets in an 18th century Revolution - we just need to vote NO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-78976651388909935412014-09-13T06:21:00.003-07:002014-09-13T06:22:58.682-07:00THE PISTORIUS FIASCOToo many questions were left unanswered in Mazipa's judgement of the case.<br />
<br />
<i>Why</i> did Reeva NOT answer Oscar from the bed when he first spoke to her - allegedly telling her to phone the police?<br />
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<i>Why</i> did Reeva NOT answer from the toilet when Oscar entered the bathroom?<br />
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If Reeva was in the bed, <i>Why </i>did she not speak at all when she saw Oscar lifting his firearm?<br />
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No woman, under these circumstances, would have lain there and said nothing.<br />
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But Reeva was not there in the bed - she was in the toilet.<br />
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So <i>Why </i>did she <i>NOT </i>speak when Oscar was walking down the corridor - allegedly shouting "<i>Get out of my house! Get out of my house! </i><br />
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And <i>WHY </i>did Reeva have her cell phone with her<i> </i>if she had merely slipped out to the toilet for a pee?<br />
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And even then, within the toilet --WHY did Reeva not tap out the 3 digits to call the police when Oscar was shouting allegedly at perceived intruders.<br />
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These questions have not been answered - questions any reasonable jury of strangers would have been asking each other again and again in the jury room. Yet the judge has glossed over them.<br />
<br />
Whatever celebrity and disability Pistorious has to live with - Reeva Steenkamp has no life at all now -- he took all that away from Reeva -- and Reeva from her family.<br />
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I hope the State and the the Prosecution Team appeal against this judgement on points of law. Many of her mistakes were elementary.<br />
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And,one cannot help thinking there is something "<i>not right"</i> about this judgement.<br />
<br />
At times I have felt very sorry for Oscar Pistorius, but always I have felt more sorry for the dead Reeva Steenkamp, and the awful suffering of her family.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-42494189525330831042014-02-15T12:40:00.002-08:002014-02-15T13:12:33.043-08:00TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS<br />
So this time last week I saw my novel, <b>TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS,</b> hit the second page of Amazon.com's (US) overall <b>Top 100</b>, as well as reach <b>#1</b> in four <i>Best Seller </i>Categories - it's still at #1 in three of those categories - so my thanks to all readers who bought it, whoever and wherever you are.<br />
<br />
Gretta x<br />
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http://www.amazon.com/TREAD-SOFTLY-MY-DREAMS-Irelands-ebook/dp/B008J2AQ32<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-49865740313561178652013-12-31T12:31:00.001-08:002013-12-31T12:31:51.006-08:00MY TIME TO SAY HELLO: HAPPY 2014 EVERYONE!<a href="http://grettacurranbrowne.blogspot.com/2013/12/happy-2014-everyone.html?spref=bl">MY TIME TO SAY HELLO: HAPPY 2014 EVERYONE!</a>: And a great one to all my lovely readers! So here we are again, at the end of another year, looking back and wondering what we would have ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-63114898914850902792013-12-31T12:21:00.000-08:002013-12-31T12:29:47.950-08:00HAPPY 2014 EVERYONE!And a <i>great one </i>to all my lovely readers!<br />
<br />
So here we are again, at the end of another year, looking back and wondering what we would have done differently ... and certain we will be doing the same things all over again in 2014.<br />
<br />
But who knows? Life has a trick of occasionally surprising us when we find ourselves moving in a totally different direction to the one we started the new year on, so whatever it is you want in 2014, don't give up hope, don't lose your nerve, keep going.<br />
<br />
Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: "<i>God never gives you a desire he does not mean to fulfil, whether it be tomorrow or next year, one day that desire will be fulfilled."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
And in my own experience, it always happens when we least expect it.<br />
<br />
So all good wishes for 2014.<br />
<br />
Gretta<br />
<br />
www.grettacurranbrowne.com<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-68206443526297666472013-10-02T08:32:00.000-07:002013-10-02T09:12:58.744-07:00THE WAYWARD SON - JUST PUBLISHED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY PUBLISHED BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF <i>TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS</i> and<i> BY EASTERN WINDOWS</i></b></div>
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A “stand-alone” novel in its own right, THE WAYWARD SON is
the 4th and final book in “The Macquarie Series.”</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">THE WAYWARD SON</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 20pt;">THE WAYWARD SON</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Set on the beautiful Island of Mull, on the estate of ‘Jarvisfield’ owned by Lachlan Macquarie Junior – a young man deeply unhappy with his lot in life.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">In love with Beth Jarvis – the young girl of mixed blood whom he believed would not be accepted in Scotland’s high society, leading him to marry someone else, now much to his regret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Beth – who has love for no other man but John Dewar, the young naval officer who loved her and left her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">John Dewar – tied to his duty in the slave prevention squadron in West Africa – finally returning to Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A beautifully told dramatic and moving story of a young couple in love, and a young couple in hate, and the people around them who observe it all.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Based on the true story of the three families of Macquarie, Jarvis and Dewar, <i>The Wayward Son</i> is filled with wry humour and stirring drama as it tells their story,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> leading to a tragedy that results in an unexpected and heartbreaking loss.</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-55478487598853830712013-08-03T14:06:00.002-07:002013-10-06T14:09:29.906-07:00JUST PUBLISHED -- "JARVISFIELD" -- Book #3 of The Macquarie Series<div style="text-align: center;">
JUST PUBLISHED -- "<b><i>JARVISFIELD"</i></b> -- Book #3 of The Macquarie Series</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu6Vk2J_qjMlGF76c6YwAjDnwQV9qNVaGRSH2JQ0gzWWJXtZiVGciYqNN8XcwndUUEvbkUcs8oKRa8MohdMCGQfkOn4pAZvxQAkKw51eOLa70k7-K-6OI_h-D1reK3XNN8DzHbht95aE/s1600/Jarvisfield+-+Kindle+-+3Aug13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu6Vk2J_qjMlGF76c6YwAjDnwQV9qNVaGRSH2JQ0gzWWJXtZiVGciYqNN8XcwndUUEvbkUcs8oKRa8MohdMCGQfkOn4pAZvxQAkKw51eOLa70k7-K-6OI_h-D1reK3XNN8DzHbht95aE/s320/Jarvisfield+-+Kindle+-+3Aug13.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;">A complete Stand-Alone Novel and Book #3 of
The Macquarie Series</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><br /></div>
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A mixture
of the Arabic blood of her father, and the English blood of her mother,
Elizabeth (Beth) Jarvis grows up on the estate of Jarvisfield in Scotland. A
dark-haired, dark-eyed girl of uncommon beauty who enslaves the hearts of two
young men, while loving only one.</div>
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Lachlan
Macquarie Junior, rich and golden, and the heir to his famous father’s estate,
is the joy of his mother’s heart, until she finally realises that the only man
her son is capable of respecting, and the only one who can control him, is
Beth’s father, George Jarvis.</div>
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Based
on the true-life stories of the Macquarie,
Jarvis and Dewar families, and set in
the natural beauty of the Island of Mull.<br />
<br />
Amazon.com<br />
<br />
http://www.amazon.com/JARVISFIELD-Book-Macquarie-Series-ebook/dp/B00FKA012M<br />
<br />
<br />
Amazon.co.uk<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/JARVISFIELD-Book-Macquarie-Series-ebook/dp/B00FKA012M">http://www.amazon.co.uk/JARVISFIELD-Book-Macquarie-Series-ebook/dp/B00FKA012M</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-43816406476943694712013-07-05T13:30:00.001-07:002013-07-05T13:30:46.606-07:00FIRE ON THE HILL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK59aIrw3e383jMJGncp8OBIFZ0TshtTMwuOQ0hSgTGPV0LFaMj9Kabsoc2vzt54v_buGPd66cJrVWK888-UUCBUtiDuOA62Gg9uHxkoErdJKiT4j8WAdMA351Sdz3-BPB4-RuEhNEh30/s1600/FOTH+-+Waterfall+-+PGB+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK59aIrw3e383jMJGncp8OBIFZ0TshtTMwuOQ0hSgTGPV0LFaMj9Kabsoc2vzt54v_buGPd66cJrVWK888-UUCBUtiDuOA62Gg9uHxkoErdJKiT4j8WAdMA351Sdz3-BPB4-RuEhNEh30/s320/FOTH+-+Waterfall+-+PGB+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Until 8th July - Free</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A COMPLETE STAND-ALONE NOVEL </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(and Book 2 of The Liberty Trilogy)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR of "TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS"</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">`Here is a real blockbuster, magnificent, passionate, poignant.’ Books Ireland.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">`A powerful historical novel.’ Guernsey Evening Press</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">`Fire On The Hill' to blaze a trail! Highly recommended.’ Irish World</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">`Powerful! A love story which endures more than half a century and spans two continents.’ Brecon and Radnor Express</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">`Browne has a talent for drawing us into her characters and situations.’ Irish News</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* * *</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In her historical `faction’ novels, Gretta Curran Browne tells the story of actual people and actual events and, apart from using a few minor fictional characters, she does not change history or distort the true stories of the worthy people she has “reclaimed” from history to bring to a present-day audience</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-84978069936704388922013-06-10T04:29:00.001-07:002013-06-10T13:36:14.950-07:00SPECIAL ONE WEEK PROMOTION<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></h1>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;">An Epic Novel From Ireland’s Past (Robert Emmet’s Story)</span></em></strong></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">“We were taught nothing
about Ireland or its history in school, </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">and when I did later learn of the part we played in that struggle,
I felt shame. The world should know about young men like Tone and Robert
Emmet.”</span></em></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oscar-winning actor COLIN FIRTH<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Sunday Times Magazine 2012)</span></span></div>
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JUNE 9<sup>th</sup> to 17<sup>th</sup> - US $1.99 – GBP £1.49</span></b><br />
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</span></b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-23471778825964366112012-12-01T14:16:00.002-08:002013-01-02T09:00:48.450-08:00From BY EASTERN WINDOWS to THE FAR HORIZON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaeb1nT50hvvv5xs5C5b-q328HKTLJ-i0HCfJwXFUbf_RBFZk-0r8qihPlMQkOk1WTZalC5yIocz57z6m-ptgdkEcqYffNgpknyBDFksJX1QqkVGKq51uF-4HLOx5O1UrJ_c0dwKBJV0/s1600/BEW+-+127x198+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaeb1nT50hvvv5xs5C5b-q328HKTLJ-i0HCfJwXFUbf_RBFZk-0r8qihPlMQkOk1WTZalC5yIocz57z6m-ptgdkEcqYffNgpknyBDFksJX1QqkVGKq51uF-4HLOx5O1UrJ_c0dwKBJV0/s200/BEW+-+127x198+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" width="126" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzaNOjC2MsklO4hGfX0JGQ5Mt9pgID9LgrMcj6Tn9NodeXnv2lfZNkwCiuJaPUUe6xBJ8DX-Ai1ojpKQ8-hU5efS34tDKqL3u87VAFwZoF8quSnusv2IfDa48P_y-a2mCFlFlwK8Yt4Y/s1600/TSOMD+-+PGB+-+Final+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzaNOjC2MsklO4hGfX0JGQ5Mt9pgID9LgrMcj6Tn9NodeXnv2lfZNkwCiuJaPUUe6xBJ8DX-Ai1ojpKQ8-hU5efS34tDKqL3u87VAFwZoF8quSnusv2IfDa48P_y-a2mCFlFlwK8Yt4Y/s200/TSOMD+-+PGB+-+Final+-+lrge+GCB.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R2qkUdnDO9x9zpmfdV0lJBQ7_NYoZyxxJpnE6FUoDp7Z5lh5RL5CtqBqfLjZwUbsu33a5MD8mR7PARBT810yRMcjG1gRICLFtzJsqPJ_u4yE7QcY8Cor8qFP72HWHgcITosmDHGLVGU/s1600/The+Far+Horizon+-+final+cover+-+front+-+blue+title+-+large+GCB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R2qkUdnDO9x9zpmfdV0lJBQ7_NYoZyxxJpnE6FUoDp7Z5lh5RL5CtqBqfLjZwUbsu33a5MD8mR7PARBT810yRMcjG1gRICLFtzJsqPJ_u4yE7QcY8Cor8qFP72HWHgcITosmDHGLVGU/s200/The+Far+Horizon+-+final+cover+-+front+-+blue+title+-+large+GCB.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<br />
Hi everyone, <br />
<br />
It's taken me a long time to update my website but it's been a busy year with two new books being published, <em>BY EASTERN WINDOWS</em> and <em>THE FAR HORIZON</em> and the third in the trilogy (Macquarie Series) about to be started in January after the Christmas break.<br />
<br />
My sales on Amazon have been excellent since the first Ebook in my backlist went up for sale and I want to say thankyou to all my readers, especially those who have taken the time to send me their compliments and write such good reviews about my Irish series, THE LIBERT TRILOGY.<br />
<br />
<em>TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS</em> seems to have have had a major impact on a number of readers, including two separate screenwriters who have expressed interest in turning it into a film, but we will see. I'm not just accepting any offer. It's a very special story and needs a screenwriter with passion and <em>visual</em> vision - not just the story and dialogue lifted straight off my written pages. But I'm delighted at the response to my novel about Robert Emmet's life story, which makes me think of a statement recorded by another unique man about Robert's story, ten years after the events:<br />
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<em>'It's such a pity it all happened so near my own time, because it would make a wonderful historical novel.' (Lord Byron)</em><br />
<em></em><br />
Of course, Byron knew all the details because he was a close friend of the Irish poet Thomas Moore, one of Emmet's best friends at Trinity College.<br />
<em> </em><br />
I'm also over the moon about those readers in Australia who have contacted me about the first two books in the <em>Macquarie Series.</em> I always knew the Australian readers would be my true test of whether I had done a good job in writing - based on detailed research - my interpretation in novel form of Lachlan Macquarie's life story - a man I knew nothing about, and only discovered him when I was researching Michael Dwyer's story for the ending of <em>FIRE ON THE HILL -</em> strange how - the stories and people in them being true - one book just naturally seems to lead to another. <br />
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Anyhow my darlings, thank you all again, and here's wishing you all a great Christmas break and a happy and wonderful, dream-fulfilling new year of 2013. <br />
<br />
Gretta<br />
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<a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/">www.grettacurranbrowne.com</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-33867693917664472402012-09-19T01:57:00.000-07:002012-12-03T00:19:52.940-08:00ARE THE SCARS ON THE HEART IRISH OR ENGLISH?<br />
Many readers have contacted me lately to know if my own childhood experiences in an Irish orphanage were my own real back-story now written as Marian's back-story in my novel GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT. <br />
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I've got to be honest, the answer is - hell no. <br />
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Goldenbridge, where I suffered, is now known as one of the most notorious orphanages for girls in Ireland, and now famous for its unbelievable cruelty to the children it had in its care. So much so that the Catholic Church and the Irish Government itself has now publicly and personally apologised to every one of those children, me included.<br />
<br />
But Marian - no, her story was very different to mine. First, she was brought up in an English orphanage, <em>Barnardos , </em>which, I discovered in my research and also when I went down there to Barnardos in Barkingside when writing the book, to be more like a holiday camp in comparison to Goldenbridge. There has never been any complaints about cruelty in <em>Barnardos,</em> and it seems that although the conditions were strange and no substitute to a child for a loving<em> family</em> home, the people working there really <em>did</em> care for the children and the conditions were not bad. <br />
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Even now, <em>Barnardos</em> is still doing wonderful work helping homeless teenagers and those suffering with drug problems.<br />
<br />
Marian Barnard is quintessentially <em>English</em> in every way, in the nice and polite way she speaks, in the very well-mannered way she behaves, but in GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT - in the short flashbacks to her earlier life - the only similarity I wanted to convey was the innate <em>loneliness </em>suffered by such children - no matter their age, even the very young children, and no matter how caring their "House Mothers" -- they all <em>know</em> they have been abandoned to the care of strangers, some never knowing or ever finding out the reason why.<br />
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In Marian, we also see the vulnerability of these children when they become young adults, their lack of knowledge and savvy in dealing with the smart people in the world outside, and ultimately their innate sense of inferiority from the outset, which only a very lucky few manage to outgrow.<br />
<br />
But it surprised me that so many readers were caught up in Marian's story and wanted to know how authentic is her back-story in relation to my own. Marian's story forms only the first third of the novel, so I was less surprised by those French readers who wrote to me about "Jacqueline".<br />
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The title GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT is in no way related to anything ghostly or supernatural, but is a metaphor for the things and people that haunt the back of the mind.<br />
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For Jacqueline, it is the shadow of the people and events she experienced during her time as a young and hate-filled teenage sabotage commando in the French Resistance after the invasion of her beloved Paris by Hitler and his Nazis. But unlike Marian, who is a naturally sweet and innocent girl, Jacqueline becomes incapable of feeling any regret for anything she has done in the past, not even her direct and personal cold-blooded murders.<br />
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For Marc, the young American who is Jacqueline's son, it is Marian, the girl he truly loves but is forced to leave behind when he is sent out to fight in the Vietnam War.<br />
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For Phil, the main protagonist of the second half of the book, it is all of them - Marian, Marc, Jacqueline and all the others involved in their personal lives. His seeking of vengeance is as determined and as cold as Jacqueline's, yet he possesses a lot of Marian's good heart and love within him. <br />
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As one critic stated, <em>"It is a multi-layed novel set in London, Paris, Massachusetts, Rome and Stockholm, impossible to sum up in a few sentences ..."</em> And after its first publication GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT went on to be bought and translated by six European publishers and is currently under negotiation in Japan.<br />
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But back to the real basis of my point in writing this - as a writer of true and factional novels, as well as those novels simply with authentic backgrounds such as GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT, my wish is for the readers to give no thought to me personally when reading my books - I have always believed that the story is all, the characters are all, and the author should simply be a name on the binder. <br />
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And finally, to those readers who have contacted me, and given me so many compliments about my work - I send you my thanks and appreciation, and much love. <br />
<br />
Gretta<br />
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<a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/"><span style="color: red;">www.grettacurranbrowne.com</span></a> <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-54769304799604421652012-08-02T08:11:00.001-07:002012-08-02T08:11:26.757-07:00MAEVE BINCHY - WHAT A LOSSShe was great, she was lovely, she was the least pretentious author in the business of books. <br />
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I remember when I was in Ireland about 10 years ago, there to do a book signing tour, my Irish publisher told me that a number of radio stations wanted to interview me. I went into meltdown - terrified - knowing I would be so nervous I would probably babble away non-stop and go way off the focus and the topic of the question, and ultimately make a hash of it all.<br />
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Then later that night, I saw Maeve Binchy as a guest on <em>The Late, Late Show ...</em> Ah, Maeve Binchy I thought, if only I was like her I would be able to face all interviews with utter confidence and panache; after all, at that time Maeve had sold tens of millions of books and was a literary Irish treasure. <br />
So finally, on the show, Gay Byrne gave her a great introduction and Maeve came on and took her seat, all in a fluster. <br />
Gay asked her a question about her latest book and Maeve responded by babbling on and on about the driving test she had just taken that day. He eventually attempted to interrupt her and bring the subject back to her book but no, Maeve was still in a fluster, assuring him she was fine now because she had prayed before the driving test to St Jude - and as everyone knows, Maeve informed him, St Jude was the patron saint of all things wanted and needed that appeared to be `<em>impossible'</em> to achieve on one's own. <br />
From then on, she was just a joy to watch, to listen to - a<em> real</em> and lovely woman who had never bothered to learn how to act like a celebrity. <br />
<br />
My home is full of her books, lovely, long, gossipy books filled with real people in real situations that every woman can relate to. Of course, as well as being a lovely person, Maeve was also as tough as old leather boots - that's why her characters were so down to earth and real - Maeve never put any frilly sweet icing on her creative cakes.<br />
<br />
It's sad to think now that she has left us. Ireland will miss her, because Ireland and all the Irish were so proud of her. <br />
<br />
But she has left behind a library of good books for us to read, and re-read again and again, because reading a Maeve Binchy book is like sitting down and relaxing with a good friend. <br />
<br />
God bless you, Maeve. As long as we have your books, you will always be with us. <br />
<br />
Gretta<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-50418280797784027032012-06-20T13:54:00.000-07:002013-08-22T14:50:21.608-07:00FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF <em><strong>TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS</strong></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">`Part
thriller, part love story, it’s hard to resist turning the pages.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belfast Telegraph<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now a young woman,
Marian Barnard is an orphan in search of her true identity. She meets a
handsome young American who becomes the love of her life — unaware that waiting
for her is his mother’s cold callousness, and a killer’s blasé indifference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Set primarily in
London and Massachusetts, <em>Ghosts in Sunlight </em>is graphically honest in
its description of both overwhelming passion and deep hatred. A love story that
suddenly changes gear and takes a startling change of direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><em>`A fast-paced tale
involving vast sums of money, immense power, women both wounded and wounding,
and a variety of credible male characters from the traumatised Vietnam Veteran
Jimmy Overman to the seedy publisher, James Duncan… an excellent book.’ </em></span><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em>IE
BOOK REVIEW</em></span></div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15714778"><em>htt</em>p://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15714778</a></strong><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/">www.amazon.com</a></strong><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/">www.amazon.co.uk</a></strong><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/">www.grettacurranbrowne.com</a></strong><br />
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<strong><em><br /></em></strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-54671279069239979592012-06-14T14:42:00.000-07:002012-06-20T14:07:43.368-07:00JUST PUBLISHED - BY EASTERN WINDOWS<br />
<strong>JUST PUBLISHED - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TREAD SOFTLY ON MY DREAMS</strong><br />
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<strong>Ebook and Paperback.</strong> <br />
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<strong><em> BY EASTERN WINDOWS</em></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><em>“Fabulous and heartbreaking … fresh and authentic in every detail …<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it has to be the best book I have read about the British in India since M. M. Kaye’s `The Far Pavilions’ – </em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr Aileen Keegan.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;">Set in the beauty of Scotland, the magic
of India, and the hostility of China, peopled with memorable characters of all
races, <i>By Eastern </i>Windows is the story of a young British soldier,
Lachlan Macquarie, posted to India where he meets Jane Jarvis, a young girl
from the Caribbean – beautiful, different and exciting – who becomes the
greatest love, and the greatest tragedy, of his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;">It is also the story of the young men who
travelled with him, far from home, serving their King in a country they came to
love, while coping with the complex differences between East and West.</span></span><br />
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<strong>Ebook and Paperback.</strong> <br />
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I'm so excited about the publication of my new book. It took me so long to research in foreign climes that I had to write two contemporary books inbetween. Anyway it's done now, a true story told in novel form, and I wish it well. I'm already working on the sequel. It went up on a FREE promo this morning for a few days and it has already reached #<strong> 18</strong> in Historical Fiction bestsellers list - the FREE list - so hopefully all you lovely guys will eventually put this new novel in the PAID list. If you do, I will love you all forever - but also if you do, and more importantly, I hope you get great enjoyment reading it.<br />
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Gretta</div>
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</o:p></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-58490492286314443442012-04-28T06:52:00.000-07:002016-06-04T14:07:55.944-07:00MUHAMMAD ALI -- WHEN WE WERE KINGS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi30GhwovOHz-X8q-1SXo7YoI9nQifad5sQfgqImRfIdPxuJV8MNcBc5Q1678646goI71KKCoCcZRAGJkkGphBWWHl51-auO0SJ8MBF3MkO0QQaT6utdT9WOsdZiBa0ANKRMUNpMBpXI/s1600/Muhammad-Ali-ap_1468665c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi30GhwovOHz-X8q-1SXo7YoI9nQifad5sQfgqImRfIdPxuJV8MNcBc5Q1678646goI71KKCoCcZRAGJkkGphBWWHl51-auO0SJ8MBF3MkO0QQaT6utdT9WOsdZiBa0ANKRMUNpMBpXI/s200/Muhammad-Ali-ap_1468665c.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="display: none; font-family: "times new roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;">(So sad to be republishing this tribute to a great man - four years after first writing it and posting it - Farewell Ali, RIP - 4th June 2016) </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;">.................................</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;">Was packing to move
home recently, sorting out boxes of old stuff, and throwing things out.
Wondered if I should just bin the VCR that had had been shoved away under the
stairs when the DVD player took its place – who watches videos these days?
Nobody I know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Behind the VCR was a
cardboard box of old videos – old recordings of old programmes that held no
interest anymore – most of them had probably never even been watched, just
recorded and stored for a rainy day and then forgotten.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;">Sifting through the videos I was hoping there was none I
would want to keep, because that would mean I would have to keep the VCR – so
much junk in life, just want to get rid of it all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then I saw one video
with a name written on the label and I knew straight away I would have to keep
the VCR. Fifteen years have passed since I had recorded the event on the tape –
a very special event – on the night of Monday, March 24<sup>th</sup> 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ten minutes later I
had set up the VCR, plugged in, and replayed the tape, which brought a lump to
my throat as it all, came back to me so clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Like most other
insomniacs here in the UK, on Monday March 24<sup>th</sup> 1997, I watched the
69th Oscars all the way through until 5.30.a.m on Tuesday morning. We all knew
– because the experts had already told us so – that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The English Patient</i> was going to pick up an Oscar in nearly every
category, so it promised to be a boring and predictable night. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Was I in for a surprise! It happened about
an hour into the show; the nominations for `Best Documentary Picture.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Suddenly the music and
the fast rapping singing of <i>The Fugees </i>thundered out at the same time as<i>
</i>the backdrop screen showed a series of shots of a young man in a boxing
ring – a dynamically beautiful young black man who still has one of the most
recognisable faces in the world. It was a face that took me straight back to
the early days of my youth, straight back to dream city when anything was possible
and our heroes really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> great. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back then there were no
fake celebrities with minimal talent who spent most of their time peddling
stuff in TV commercials – but there were a lot of <i>stars </i>– real<i> stars </i>of
their professions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The five nominations for `Best Documentary
Film’ now over, Tommy Lee Jones opened the red-sealed envelope, and smiled his
approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When We Were Kings</i>, made by Leon Gast and David Sonenberg, had won
the Oscar. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The applause was good, but not rapturous.
Maybe, like myself, many people were puzzled by the title, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When We Were Kings</i>, because for so many of us, the boxing world has
only ever had <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">king – </span>a man who was more than just
the greatest boxer of his time and perhaps all time – three times heavyweight
champion of the world – Muhammad Ali.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone listened patiently as Leon Gast
stood at the microphone and gave thanks, deservedly, to everyone involved in
the making of the film. But when he finally said those two magical words – “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Muhammad Ali” – </i>the applause thundered,
followed by the entire audience rising to a tumultuous standing ovation as THE
MAN himself walked slowly onto the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was 55 years old,
back then in 1997, and Ali was no longer the man he once was, impaired as he is
by failing health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where the punches of
so many boxers couldn’t catch him, Parkinson’s syndrome finally did. Some of
the audience were crying as they choked back the emotion, but I knew it was not
pity or sadness they felt as they stared at this monument of a man with awe and
reverence. They knew they were in the presence of a man who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deserved</i> to be honoured. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When We Were Kings</i> helped to do that, helped to remind people of
just how great Muhammad Ali was, then I hope it broke sales-targets all over
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The story of Muhammad Ali is not just the
story of a great athlete; it's a story of courage, of determination, and a man
who possessed a firelight magic of wit and charm that warmed up the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">If you never knew him, if he was not a part
of your world, or if you have just forgotten him, then let me remind you who he
was, and who he still is. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1954, at the age of
twelve, Cassius Clay, a black kid from Louisville, Kentucky, suddenly realised
that he was never going to be able to buy the American Dream. His parents had
no money, so nobody was going to hand him the good life on a plate for free.
Also, his grades in school were no better than average, so it was unlikely he
would end up a whiz-kid lawyer or financier on Wall Street either – even in a
firm that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> hire black people, and
in 1954 many of them didn't. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But like James Brown, Cassius Clay was
black and he was proud, and if he couldn't buy the American Dream then he would
just have to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">earn</i> it – by the pursuit
of excellence in the game he played best.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">By
the time he was fourteen he was training hard and relentlessly at his local gym
and telling all his friends, `<i>See me, Cassius Clay, one day I'm going to be the
heavyweight boxing champion of the world.'</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After that he went on to win six Kentucky
Golden Gloves championships, two national Golden Gloves tournaments, and in
1960, at the age of 19, he went to Rome and won the Olympic Gold Medal for
America. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Less
than four years later in Miami, on February 25th 1964, Cassius Clay beat the
previously "indestructible" Sonny Liston in seven rounds. At the age
of 22 Cassius had fulfilled his dream and become the heavyweight-boxing
champion of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ten years thereafter he
was the most famous man on the planet, and possibly one of the richest. By that
time he had discarded what he regarded as his "slave name" of Cassius
Clay and had become the legend known as Muhammad Ali. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To fully understand the
magic and impact of the man, I suppose – as that song says
– `<i>Guess you had to be there,</i>' –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>when every young guy seemed to be perpetually
raising both fists triumphantly in the air and chanting the Ali boast – </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">`<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am the Grrrrrrr-eatest!</i>' <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some older
journalists will tell you that more words have been written in newspapers about
Muhammad Ali than any other public figure in history. But if that's true, it
was because Ali was a reporter's dream. He never stopped talking. He took care
of his own publicity and promoted every one of his fights by upgrading bragging
into an art form. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"<i>Man, I'm so great, I impress even
myself</i>." <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>`Would you consider yourself a good role
model for children?' a reporter once asked him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>`I'm a perfect role model for children,' </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Ali replied sincerely,<i>
`because I'm good looking, clean living and modest.'<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>`Modest?'<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>`<i>Well, you know, it’s hard to be modest
when you're as great as I am.'</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there were his poems, hundreds of
them; some say he made one up for every fight and one for every reporter he
ever met. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>This is the legend of Muhammad Ali<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The greatest fighter that ever
will be<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He talks a great deal and brags,
yes indeed<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of a powerful punch and blinding
speed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ali fights great, he's got speed
and endurance<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 42.55pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you sign to fight him, increase your
insurance<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ali's got a left, Ali's got a
right<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he hits you once, you're
asleep for the night.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inside the ring he had speed,
grace and magic, a champion's champion. Outside the ring he was a non-stop
entertainer, and it was the entertainer that all the females loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took the sport of boxing from the back
page and put it on the front page. He turned the fight business into
showbusiness. And when Ali stopped, all that stopped too. And the void he left
behind has never been filled, not by anyone. As Ali himself used to say about
his opponents,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>"I'm the
greatest, they're just the latest."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boxing has returned to the back pages and nobody gets very excited
anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until, that is, on Monday night, 24th
March 1997, when Muhammad Ali walked onto the stage of the 69th Academy Award
Ceremony to receive the Oscar for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When We
Were Kings</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching the recording again tonight, I saw all those stars
standing up in ovation, I saw James Woods simply mouthing the word “Wow” and
other top actors biting their lips with emotion as they clapped and clapped their
hands for the man who so deservedly was the star of the film “<i>When We Were
Kings.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">And it wasn’t just empty or vainglorious
emotion, no; because all of that audience <i>knew </i>that the awesome man
standing up there on the stage was a true and great fighter, not only in
boxing, but also in heart and in spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">They had all seen the proof of that only a
year earlier, along with billions of people all over the globe, when Muhammad
Ali, as ill as he was, had forced himself forward with every step until he
finally and determinedly reached the flame and lit the torch for the start of
the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, holding the flaming torch high, not just
for America, not just for the entire world – but for every young athlete who
was preparing to take part in those Olympic Games, just as he had once done in
his own youth, and won Gold.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sure he was an audacious
bragger about himself. Sure he said terrible things about his opponents before
every fight, but a lot of it was just talk to create a buzz in the media and a
frenzy amongst reporters so the fight would begin in the newspapers long before
he and his opponent even stepped into the ring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; tab-stops: 36.0pt 72.0pt 108.0pt 144.0pt 180.0pt 216.0pt 252.0pt 288.0pt 324.0pt 360.0pt 396.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He later explained they were just “<i>promotional
insults</i>” and so they may have been, because every opponent of Muhammad Ali
immediately received a worldwide fame and riches that might never have been
theirs if Ali had never entered the boxing world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The opponent who
suffered the worst of those<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i>promotional
insults</i>” was Joe Frazier – his opponent in the big fight screened all over
the world and labelled “<i>The Thriller in Manila.”</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet, when Joe Frazier died only five months
ago in November 2011 from cancer, Muhammad Ali, much frailer now, but showing
the same heart and determination as he had shown in Atlanta, forced himself
with every step to attend Joe’s funeral.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Another opponent, the one he hurt the most
with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>defeat in the ring, was legendary
fighter and champion George Foreman who was beaten by Ali in Zaire, and
although it took George Foreman seven years to finally forgive boxing’s biggest
icon for beating him, he went on to become Ali’s close friend, paying tribute
to him just three months ago in January when speaking about Ali’s illness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“<i>I
don’t feel sorry for him; I feel proud that I even know him. All those years
ago, Ali didn’t fall in love with being young and doing that dancing shuffle in
the boxing ring, he fell in love with life.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">“I don’t feel sad about his illness, because the guy is
still a hero. He’s still living, he doesn’t hide himself away, he’s above pity.
He’s still beautiful to me.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 24pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the world of boxing, Muhammad Ali is still regarded
as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“the greatest,” and not even his
increasing burden of suffering from Parkinson’s syndrome will ever take that
title away from him. Along with the Olympic Gold Medal he won for America at
the age of 19, he won that title fair and square, in the ring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">(When We Were Kings – A documentary film about
Ali’s winning fight against George Foreman in Zaire, labelled “The Rumble In
The Jungle”)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">© </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Gretta
Curran Browne 2012</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ali Image (C) The Telegraph<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">www.grettacurranbrowne.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-24771687422194037892012-04-06T04:23:00.000-07:002012-04-11T14:53:21.772-07:00UH-OH - JODI PICOULT SAID IT WRONG!The other night I read somewhere on Joe Konrath's Blog that Jodi Picoult has also said in a TV interview that authors should NOT SELF PUBLISH. <br />
<br />
Why not? <br />
<br />
With trade and legacy publishers sacrosanctly allowing an author to publish only one book a year, and with all publishers themselves publishing a limited amount of "choice select" books every year - what are all the other talented writers to do with their talent? <br />
<br />
Believe they don't have any talent because some numpty in a publishing house said so? <br />
<br />
Bury that talent and do something else?<br />
<br />
Or keep all their rejection slips from their mostly "unread" scripts to line their coffin at a future date? <br />
<br />
For any "choice select" author to tell or warn all new and aspiring writers NOT to self publish is no different to telling them to <br />
<br />
TAKE THE BUS -- DON'T LEARN TO DRIVE A CAR YOURSELF. <br />
<br />
All this stigma and high-nose sneering about self-publishing Indie authors is fake anyway. And it's the trade and legacy publishers themselves who have come out of the dark and proved how fake it is -by trawling through Amazon and paying millions to sign up self-pubbers like Amanada Hocking and others.<br />
<br />
So if she's so good - why was Amanda Hocking rejected so many times over so many years by publishers which led her to self-publish and PROVE that she was good and worth reading by so many readers.<br />
<br />
What if Amanda had decided to keep waiting to see if another bus came along? She would still be standing and waiting and waiting as yet another bus and another bus drove by with the FULL sign up. <br />
<br />
I have been published by three major publishers. GHOSTS IN SUNLIGHT has been sold to and translated by six European publishers and ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL to even more including Japan - and I wasn' even a "choice select" author who got all the push and publicity either. Yet all I got from all those sales was pennies in comparison to what the publishers and bookstores got from the sales of those books created and written by me.<br />
<br />
So when nicely-cushioned published authors like Jodi Picoult, and others like her, tell new and aspiring writers NOT to self publish - remember just two words - AMANDA HOCKING. <br />
<br />
Oh, PS: In one of my own genres, Historical Fiction, I see that today, Easter Saturday, April 7th, the <em><strong>#1</strong></em> bestselling book is that large category on Amazon's Kindle store is by a <strong>self-published</strong> author - "<em>The Girl Who</em> <em>Came Home"</em> (A Titanic Novel) by Hazel Gaynor. It is also <strong>#1 </strong>in two other categories.<br />
<br />
So all I can say to that Indie authors is, congratulations and well done!<br />
<br />
Good luck to all Indies<br />
<br />
Gretta<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/">www.grettacurranbrowne.com</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="zg_itemImage_compact">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/FIRE-THE-HILL-Book-ebook/dp/B007R6A7KI/ref=zg_bs_157059011_13"><img alt="FIRE ON THE HILL (Book One of FIRE ON THE HILL)" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iKGbPSN9L._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_SL135_.jpg" title="FIRE ON THE HILL (Book One of FIRE ON THE HILL)" /></a></div>
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<span class="zg_rankNumber"><strong>10.</strong></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/FIRE-THE-HILL-Book-ebook/dp/B007R6A7KI/ref=zg_bs_157059011_13"><span style="color: #004b91;">FIRE ON THE HILL (Book One of FIRE ON THE HILL)</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gretta-Curran-Browne/e/B001K7XS92/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1"><span style="color: #004b91;">Gretta Curran </span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-In-Sunlight-ebook/dp/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_40" target="_blank"><img alt="Ghosts In Sunlight" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Lx-BT9XoL._SL100_.jpg" title="Ghosts In Sunlight" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-In-Sunlight-ebook/dp/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_40" target="_blank"><span style="color: #004b91;">Ghosts In Sunlight</span></a></div>
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Gretta Curran Browne </div>
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<span class="ecxcrAvgStars"><span class="ecxasinReviewsSummary"> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_cm_cr_acr_img?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1" target="_blank"><span class="ecxswSprite ecxs_star_5_0 " title="5.0 out of 5 stars"><span style="color: #004b91;">5.0 out of 5 stars</span></span></a> </span>(<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #004b91;">8</span></a>)</span> </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-69649415127216486412012-03-27T05:01:00.002-07:002012-04-08T07:43:04.527-07:00JODI PICOULT - SAYS IT BEST ABOUT eBOOKS<br />
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On this
morning’s television show of <i>The Wright Stuff, </i>best-selling author <i>Jodi
Picoult</i> gave her views on the current debate about the pricing of eBooks,
pointing out that the main reason that readers do not believe they should pay
as much for an eBook as they would for a print book is because `it’s not a book
– it’s just a `file' transmitted to the buyer’s eReader.</div>
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`But what
readers don’t realise,’ Jodi went on, `is when they buy a book, it’s not pulped
paper they are buying – it’s a work regarded by law as the author’s
`intellectual property’. Just as real in law as any bricks-and-mortar property.
Hence, the copyright notices on all editions – just as real in law as the deeds
to your house. </div>
<br />
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On the same
panel, ex-MP’s wife, <i>Christine Hamilton</i>, opined, `Yes, but there is
nothing quite like <i>holding</i> a book.’ </div>
<br />
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Is that
really what readers are paying for – to hold a heavy wad of paper? I always
thought the same main rule for Hollywood applied also to books – `<i>What’s the
story?’<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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When I first
started reading books as a youngster, the wad of paper I was holding meant
nothing – the story was all. The story took me into other lands and other times
and each book was like a holiday away from it all. </div>
<br />
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Of course I did not realise way back then, that all my
little holidays away from it all were due to the talent and hard work of the
authors who had written the books. All my appreciation went to the local
Library who let me read them for free. </div>
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Okay, eBooks are just ‘a file’
transmitted onto an eReader – so let’s look at the actual cost of both. The
last traditionally printed novel I had published cost £2,500 for the first 2000
print run and every 1000 copies printed after that cost 23 pence a copy. </div>
<br />
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In the bookstore the buyer paid £7.99p, of which the
bookstore took 50% of the selling price – the publisher took 42.5% – and the
creator of the product (the author) got 7.5% of the publisher’s cut<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>= 26 pence. And out of that 26 pence per
book, the author’s agent takes a further cut. </div>
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No wonder 90% of all authors struggle to make a living
from their work – although for decades they <i>have</i> been making a very good
living for publishers, bookstores and agents who live off the sweats of their
work.</div>
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Then along came the techno experts and changed the world
in so many ways, including the world of books. Now, thanks to those geniuses,
the ‘content provider’ of the book (author) can sell directly to the ‘content
consumer’ (reader) without having to support all those ‘main beneficiaries’ in-between.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
Everyone is moaning and complaining these days about how
publishers rip off authors, but hey – why is nobody complaining about the
disgraceful way <i>bookstores</i> – especially the <i>chain </i>bookstores –
are ripping off both publishers AND authors? </div>
<br />
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Some chains are now demanding 55% - 60% of the selling
price from publishers, some even demand more than that. And worse, they also
demand the right to <i>return </i>all copies of books they do not sell.</div>
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So publishers and authors are filling the shelves of their
stores at no financial risk to the bookstore. If it doesn’t sell after 6 months
– they can just fling it back to the publisher. In most cases, the cover is
just torn off and sent back, because the books have been handled by book
browsers and are no longer in the new and pristine condition sent by the
publisher.<br />
<br />
In what other business would this be allowed? Hey, fill your shop
with my designer clothes and any you don’t sell you can fling back.</div>
<br />
In any other business?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No way!<br />
<br />
Bookstores have though, in the last few years, attempted
to remedy the situation to some extent – by bringing back <i>apartheid </i>to
the world of books. <br />
<br />
Now they will only stock <i>best-selling</i> brand-named
authors on their shelves. The top 10% that are pushed and publicised to the
hilt, no matter how bad their latest novels have become; and the other 90% can
go and stand forever outside the huge gates locked to them. <br />
<br />
The reader, of course, is not given a chance to discover
anything new, although they don’t yet realise that their choice has long been
censored by the bookstores. <br />
<br />
What many of us book-lovers are now wondering, if this
no-risk strategy of bookstores continues – where is the new generation of
brand-name authors going to come from? Or is it their plan to occasionally open
the locked gates a fraction and let the odd apartheid author inside in order to
help build up the stock?<br />
<br />
No wonder book chains like Borders have crumbled and died,
and others will follow – the blind leading the blind over the cliff to doom. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
But back to eBooks. They really are going to be the best
way of reading in the future. I learned this just a few months ago while in
Australia and got pneumonia and was confined to bed for over a week. The sun
outside was blazing and my husband and son had gone off sightseeing, but I was stuck
in bed. I tried to read a novel but it was heavy, and at the beginning I needed
two hands to hold the first pages back, so I threw it down, too weak to be
bothered.</div>
<br />
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Then my daughter handed me her new Kindle and told me to
order any book of my choice from Amazon. I ordered `<i>The Help`</i> and the
story was there for me in less than a minute, and the Kindle was so light I had
no problem lying back and reading the story with one hand.</div>
<br />
And `<i>The Help</i>` was everything a novel should be –
it took me to another country and another time and was so engrossing and so
entertaining I actually got better while reading it! <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
For me now, eBooks are my new way of reading – but a
problem still remains: which brings me back to Jody Picoult’s comment on TV
this morning that readers feel they should not have to pay as much for a
transmitted `file’ as opposed to a paper book. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
I agree with the readers – they should not have to pay as
much for an eBook edition, because the costs for travelling Publisher’s reps and
greedy bookstores has been cut out – but it is also unfair for readers to
expect the price of eBooks to be <i>dirt</i> cheap. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
After all, readers are getting the same novel, the same
intellectual property belonging to the author, as they would in a print book,
and authors of books are just as entitled to be paid a fair rate for their work
as they are in any other profession.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
Sadly though, some people think writing a book is as easy
as reading one. And that dumb bunch of people seems to also include a lot of
publishers who make their living from the work of authors.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
The eBook has to go through the same formatting and
editing processes; a cover still has to be designed and made; and the
technology of uploading an eBook is not that much different to the same process
used by traditional printers. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
So, readers are getting the same stories to read, but in a
different container to the hallowed wad of pulped paper – and those piles of
pulped paper do seem a bit outmoded in this congested and lack-of-space world
most of us now live in. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
Bookstores have been riding on the King’s white horse for too
long. Amazon and others have opened the gates and put an end to their system of
discriminatory and literary apartheid. The ‘content provider’ and the ‘content
consumer’ of books have a free road with no gatekeepers blocking the way or
censoring their choice.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
But to believe that eBooks must be <i>dirt </i>cheap in
comparison to the print edition? Cheaper than a cup of coffee?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, that’s just being <i>mean</i>!</div>
<br />
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So eBook or paper, whichever
you choose, happy reading.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
Gretta <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-In-Sunlight-ebook/dp/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_40" target="_blank"><img alt="Ghosts In Sunlight" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Lx-BT9XoL._SL100_.jpg" title="Ghosts In Sunlight" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghosts-In-Sunlight-ebook/dp/B0074B52MO/ref%3dzg_bs_362259031_40" target="_blank"><span style="color: #004b91;">Ghosts In Sunlight</span></a></div>
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Gretta Curran Browne </div>
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<a href="http://www.grettacurranbrowne.com/">JODI PICOULT SAYS IT BEST ABOUT eBOOKS</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6944768840368490481.post-37951322931525276372012-03-03T02:44:00.000-08:002012-09-13T14:17:17.622-07:00MY TIME TO SAY HELLO: Gretta– An Independent SpiritOne thing I love abo...<br />
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<b><i>Gretta
– An Independent Spirit</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One thing I love about having my own blog and
website is that I can now connect directly with my readers, and thank them
sincerely for all the lovely letters I have received over the years about my
books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m also delighted to now
have my novels published as eBooks, so all those readers who have written to me
from Australia, New Zealand and the US will not have to wait for weeks for
delivery by snail-mail, but will get them as fast as a click on a button – and <i>snap</i>
– there it is! Those great techno experts have changed the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
also looking forward to the reprinting of all my books in paperback, because
I’m seeing a lot of ludicrous prices being asked for “used” copies out there on
various web sites – $150 to $329 – one of my “used” paperbacks sold a few weeks
ago for $999 ! Only a true fan would pay that, but I reckon all readers should
have to pay no more than a reasonable price for a book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As you will see, I have
written two “tie-in” books for a movie and a TV series, both commissioned by
their production companies, and I hope to do more; but now I am excitedly
preparing for the publication later this year of my new Historical novel, </span><span style="font-family: Algerian; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By
Eastern</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Algerian; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Windows</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Bye for now. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Edwardian Script ITC;">Gretta<o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17770281857128121625noreply@blogger.com0