Real Dreams Featured in the Foreign Service Journal

dreamscoverThe Foreign Service Journal has featured my book Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories in its annual “In Their Own Write” compilation of books published by Foreign Service-affiliated authors in 2012. The Foreign Service Journal writes of Real Dreams (p. 49):

Mike Edwards wrote these 15 short stories over a period of 30 years, beginning in his youth. He covers a wide variety of themes and topics inspired by dreams and experiences over those years.

These stories encompass a boy’s fantasies and an adult man’s maturation. A young boy finds himself the protector of genetically modified army ants that have escaped from the military. An old woman considered to be mentally ill may have reason for her outbursts, while a prisoner of war writes letters of hope from his Nazi concentration camp during World War II. And a gloomy maintenance man turns out to have a terrifying history.

 

Real Dreams is a collection of stories I wrote between 1981 and 2011. Each reflects changes in my writing style and interests over time. I wrote the earliest story, “How Little Big Chief Calmed the Mountain,” as a young student, and the latest, “Evil | Live,” three decades later. The book is a story sampler rather than a cohesive anthology. The stories are grouped by genre. You will find some common themes, including hope, dreams, light, darkness, perseverance, and spirituality, wrapped up in some novel ideas. In some stories, the reader is left to ponder their deeper meaning. I hope you enjoy these diverse and timeless works three decades in the making.

Thank you, Foreign Service Journal, for including Real Dreams on your 2012 list. I am grateful that my book joined other superb works written by Foreign Service colleagues and alumni. I encourage readers to browse the books featured in “In Their Own Write” and read the Journal to learn more about the Foreign Service.

Real Dreams is available to purchase as an e-book or in print from these booksellers:

U.S. Booksellers

dreamscover2Available to purchase as an e-book for US$2.99:

Amazon.com for Kindle

Apple iTunes for iPad/iPhone

Baker & Taylor for Blio e-reader

Barnes & Noble for Nook

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Available in print for US$8.99:

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International Booksellers

Available as an e-book or in print (prices vary by format and local currency):

Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)

Amazon.fr (France)

Amazon.de (Austria and Germany)

Amazon.it (Italy)

Amazon.co.jp (Japan)

Amazon.es for Kindle (Spain)

Available as an e-book:

Barnes & Noble for Nook (United Kingdom)

Visit my websitefor a complete list of booksellers.

 

About the Foreign Service Journal

The Foreign Service Journal covers foreign affairs from an insider’s perspective, providing thoughtful articles on international issues, the practice of diplomacy and the U.S. Foreign Service. The Journal is published monthly (July/August issues combined) by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA). The November issue features its annual “In Their Own Write” compilation, the largest edition yet, with some 90 new books by Foreign Service-affiliated authors. The list spans almost every conceivable literary genre: from history and foreign policy to memoirs and biographies, and from novels and short stories to mysteries and how-to books.

About the American Foreign Service Association

Established in 1924, AFSA is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With close to 16,000 dues-paying members, AFSA represents over 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees of the Department of State, Agency for International Development (AID), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), and International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB).

Click here to read the original post on my blog, World Adventurers.

dreamscoverM.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories and Alexander the Salamander, a children’s story set in the Amazon. His books are available to purchase as an e-book and in print from Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted without the written consent of the author.

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Thoughts & Sayings (August 2012)

Here are some thoughts and sayings I posted on Twitter and/or Facebook in July. To my knowledge, I made these up (for better or for worse). Sit back, relax, and enjoy the write!

Encouraging Words

  1. I’ve worked out the perfect system for getting everything done. Unfortunately, it’s prone to break down when a wrench gets thrown into it. gears
  2. Destiny is 1/4 chance and 3/4 preparation.
  3. Is it just me, or am I still who I am?
  4. Whoever put the cat in the bag really should let it out.
  5. If you are trapped in convention, you will always be conventional.
  6. Did you miss me? I didn’t. I’ve been with me the whole time.

Twisted Words

  1. stopIf you’re bored, what wood you do?
  2. It is better to be pronounced than verbose.
  3. Speaking of witch, a which can’t spell.
  4. When people ask me my sign, I usually answer, “Stop.”
  5. I do things by the seat of my pants. Sometimes I wish my jeans would quit taking so many risks.
  6. A police chef is the officer in charge of preparing the food.

Holidays & Events

  1. Perhaps the mascot of this year’s Summer Olympics in London should be “Sunshine.”
  2. Happy July 4th + 10! Thank goodness I enjoy the freedom to wish you a belated happy American Independence Day on Bastille Day.
  3. cameraGotham, Wisconsin looks nothing like it’s portrayed in the “Batman” movies.
  4. Word has it that the sequel to Pixar’s animated film “Brave” will be called “Even Braver.”
  5. Rumor has it that in the sequel to “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire will duke it out over whose girlfriend, Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane Watson, is more awesome.

Random Musings

  1. Every place in the world looks like someplace else.
  2. Spotted at the Customer Service counter of a major retailer: “Many happy returns.”
  3. I’ve thought about being a stand-up comedian, but I prefer to sit down.
  4. Why do subtitles say “English for the Hearing Impaired” when every other language is listed by name only?
  5. One literary benefit of Twitter is that it teaches one to be succinct.
  6. I can get 50,000 Twitter followers in 2 minutes! Ask me how, but please don’t expect an answer.
  7. twitterFollow me and get 5,000 Twitter followers instantly! Never mind that I only have 3,000. You can borrow some if you’d like.
  8. Prolific tweeter seeks tweeters for long-term follow on Twitter. Must tweet good content. If interested, press the “Follow” button.

In Its Own Write

26. I probably should write something now. “Something.” There, that should do it.

writing

Images courtesy of Microsoft and Twitter.

Click here to read the previous batch of Thoughts and Sayings.

buythumbM.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

© 2012 Brilliance Press. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted without the written consent of the author.

Vichy

A French prisoner struggles to survive in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. “Vichy” is a first-hand account of Jean-Marie Daubert, an assistant deputy of finance of the French Ministry of Finance, who was captured by the Nazis in 1942, convicted of treason for his collaboration with the Free French Resistance, and imprisoned in Gurs, France. Daubert was transferred by cattle car in January 1943 to Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Lower Silesia (now Poland).

“Vichy” is a sobering story of love and loss told through letters from Daubert to his beloved wife Corinne and son Jean-Luc. It’s a story of survival and resolve. “Vichy” is one of 15 stories in Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories, a collection of short stories written over three decades with themes ranging from adventure, fantasy, mystery, spirituality, mythology, to love and war.

 Vichy

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Books by MG Edwards,Real Dreams

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