Category: Life and Other Odds & Ends

The Gomorrah Principle: Judge’s commentary from the Writer’s Digest Book Awards

It is always good for the writer’s heart and soul to receive positive commentary, whether it be from readers or professional sources. Below is such a commentary from a judge representing the Writer’s Digest Book Awards. If you’ve read The Gomorrah Principle, send your comments as well, or better yet, post your review on Amazon, and GoodReads or the retailer’s site of your choice. Meanwhile, back at the ranch: The prequel to The Gomorrah Principle is Melody Hill. Already receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, this story begins in the fictional east Tennessee town of Melody Hill and tells the story of Duff Coleridge. If you have already read The Gomorrah Principle, fret not. You will not be disappointed. As several reviewers have written, either book can be read first.

Additionally, out in February of 2016, Raeford’s MVP is somewhat of a departure from the military fiction thriller genre inasmuch as it delves more into a veteran’s life after Vietnam. Only the first six chapters actually take place there, with the bulk of the story devoted to combat veteran Billy Coker’s journey as he searches for meaning in his life after the Vietnam War. Raeford’s MVP is a love story, a war story and a story of redemption all rolled into one. It’s guaranteed not to disappoint.

Here are the comments from the Writer’s Digest Book Awards:

The Gomorrah Principle, a Vietnam Sniper’s Story, by Rick DeStefanis is a riveting tale written with the skill and precision that is necessary for the topic. Anyone who has ever served the country will appreciate the deft hand and heart, combined with the hard, cold reality of how war affects the human soul. The opening scene gives readers an inside look at the conflicting emotions of the main character. In this genre blend, DeStefanis proves that he is a force to be reckoned with in the literary world. There are no glaring technical errors that would pull the reader out of the story. The plot is well crafted, and the pacing is spot-on…. Once people read it, I think word of mouth will make DeStefanis a must-read for anyone who enjoys recent history, war stories, mysteries, and romance.

-Judge, 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

The Gomorrah Principle wins the Silver Medal Readers’ Favorite Award

The Gomorrah Principle has won the Silver Medal Readers’ Favorite Award for Military Fiction. This prestigious international award holds particularly strong meaning for authors because it comes, not from the writers’ community, nor from a commercial entity, but from you the readers-in my humble opinion: those who matter most. My deepest appreciation and thanks go out to the Readers’ Favorite Award organization and to you the readers for this award. It is an honor, and one that I will cherish.

If you have read The Gomorrah Principle and wish to leave your personal comments on Facebook, Amazon or GoodReads they are always welcome. As a matter of fact, your positive comments and reviews help with sales, and as with starving artists….starving writers need love as well.

And now available are three more novels by yours truly, Rick DeStefanis books, including Melody Hill (the prequel to The Gomorrah Principle), Raeford’s MVP and Tallahatchie, a new novel to begin my Southern Fiction Series. Check them out. I don’t believe you will be disappointed. As always I enjoy hearing from my readers. Got to the blog page and leave your comments, or ask questions. I will do my best to provide you with a personal response.

 

 

 

 

 
Rick DeStefanis

Political Correctness and Manners are Polar Opposites.

June 2014: Manners, those common every-day social graces, are more important to the survival of a civilized society than most people realize. Political Correctness, on the other hand, is a mechanization that denies truth. 
-Rick DeStefanis, Notes and Other Odds and Ends, 2014

Our society is imploding because we cannot speak to one another in a respectful manner. We hide behind a facade of of political correctness while pummeling one another outside the ropes of that phony safe-zone. In this particular instance I speak of rational discussions involving politics, literature or whatever subject matter that may create a difference of opinion or conflict of ideas. I sit back and listen. Civil discourse is dead. We no longer seem to have the ability or the will to carry on rational discussions employing basic respect for one another as fellow citizens, or even as fellow human beings. We do not listen to one another. Our minds are closed. We no longer discuss. Hell, we don’t even stop at the level of hearty debate. Rather, we attack those with whom we differ with no logic and a vicious verbal venom with code words such as racist and justice, and that is often grounded in nothing more than “feelings.” It’s something called political correctness, and may God help the poor bastard who crosses that line.

We have no respect for alternative viewpoints outside our realm of righteousness, progressiveness, liberalism or whatever philosophical bent to which we subscribe. We as writers, authors, readers, people are hell bent to send those that differ with our “humble” opinions to eternal damnation in a flaming shower of indignant and vitriolic rhetoric.

That is not to say I don’t have strong opinions on most subjects, because I do. I will not, however, level the barrel of my verbal shotgun and blow you away if you do not subscribe to my way of thinking. I will not take some phony highroad of political correctness and attempt to label you. I will listen. If I find discussion possible, I will listen first, and I will inquire. I will try to understand, and discover in what fact a difference of thought is grounded. And when I find that fact, I will think about it before stating my viewpoint. And if I recognize that mine is irrevocably different in such a fundamental manner that there can be no common ground, I will give you the basic respect you deserve as a fellow citizen or human being.

I will not take the coward’s route and hide behind the anonymity of social media or attack you with the comfortable insulation of email.  And please do not confuse this with political correctness, because that is on the opposite end of the spectrum that allows civil discourse. It completely eliminates it through intimidation. In the face of political correctness, and if you insist, I will allow you to shout me down. If you must, I will allow you to ridicule my idea or to proclaim me stupid and uninformed, but I will not attempt to stifle or take away your right of free speech. But someday when you find yourself shouted down, ridiculed or denied employment because of your opinion, understand that this is the world you created through your poor manners, or worse your adherence to the hypothetical Utopian concept known as political correctness.

You may also enjoy: The Nature of Things in Mississippi and The Sexual Revolution on Steroids