Amazon Breakthrough Novel Round One Winner – The Cornuta Curse.

The Cornuta Curse, Book One in the Love Locks series by A.Scott.

Indie Author, A. Scott’s debut novel, “The Cornuta Curse”, Book One in the Love Locks series, has been announced as a Round One winner in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest for 2014.

Up to 10,000 novels were entered into the competition across five different categories: General Fiction, Mystery and Thriller, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction. The top 400 novels in each category will now proceed to Round Two, including The Cornuta Curse, which celebrates its position among the best entries in the Romance category.

 

The romantic suspense novel is a cross cultural; from Australia to Italy, and across time; from today back into the 1500s, journey of one woman's determination to break a curse that may be responsible for generations of adultery in her family.  

Entry into Round Two puts The Cornuta Curse on track to follow the path of last year’s grand prize winner, “Timebound” by Rysa Walker, who was awarded a contract with Skyscape Publishing and is currently ranked number one in several Amazon Kindle Best Sellers lists.

Past recipients of this award also include “Fresh Kills” by Bill Loehfelm, “Bill Warrington's Last Chance” by James King, “Farishta” by Patricia McArdle and “Sign Language” by Amy Ackley, who all went on to secure publishing contracts with Pengiun.  

Novels entered into the competition are judged by a range of expert reviewers from Amazon, CreateSpace and Publishers Weekly, with the finalists also judged by Amazon customers. Open to unpublished and self-published novels only, A.Scott, explains the importance of the Contest, to new budding authors,

“The world of self-publishing can be daunting, thrilling and almost always completely overwhelming. One day you’re lost in the world of your characters, for me this means following Mara in her journey into the medieval world of pirates, adultery and murder in the Cinque Terre in Italy, and the next, designing book covers, drumming up sales and analysing book rankings. I have to admit there have been occasions when I have signed off correspondence to readers with Mara’s name not my own!

“The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest offers Indie Authors the rare opportunity to share their imaginary worlds with a range of influential publishing experts and most importantly, avid readers. It’s one of the best bookshelves in the world to be on and I am thankful that The Cornuta Curse has been granted a spot on the romance shelf for Round Two of the competition.”

The next round will see the top 100 entries in each of the five categories advance to the Quarter-Finals on April 14, 2014. Other key dates include the customer vote between July 8 – 18, 2014 and the Grand Prize winner announcement on July 21, 2014.

The four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with an advance of $15,000, while the Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with an advance of $50,000.

More information on the Contest and full lists of the round two entrants can be found here.  

To have your say on The Cornuta Curse visit Amazon and write a review.

 

New Novel Inspired by the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera – The Cornuta Curse.

The Cornuta Curse, book one of the Love Locks series by A. Scott.

 

One in four men cheat. But what if their betrayal is inevitable? What if, the women are cursed? Cursed by a 500-year-old love lock. If you were the one in four, would you try to break the curse?

 

Inspired by the nature, people and history of the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera in Italy, A. Scott’s debut novel, The Cornuta Curse, explores the old and new world of infidelity and one woman’s determination to break a curse, which may be responsible for generations of adultery in her family.

But Mara doesn’t believe in curses. She believes in facts: the women in her family are the one in four, just like 800 million other women in the world.

Until one night of tragedy changes everything and Mara must confront the  Cornuta Curse, whether she believes in it or not.

Armed with an heirloom key and a fireside tale of a botched up love lock pact, Mara arrives in the medieval fishing villages that are set among the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera in Italy. Colourful tower houses nestled into cliffs that plunge down into the glistening sea: at first glance it is a tourism mecca of spectacular beauty.

However, within moments Mara is lost in the folds of an old world village, where a dark history of pirates, murder and betrayal still reigns – the Cornuta Curse at the root of it all.

On meeting Saro, part time barman, part time pirate, Mara starts to believe in the verity of the Cornuta Curse and the possibility of true love. But as the curse promises wealth, love and even life to all involved, will Saro help her break the curse, or will he kill to keep it alive?

This romantic suspense novel is Book One of the Love Locks series. Indie Author, A. Scott, who has spent time living in the Cinque Terre explains the motivation behind the Cornuta Curse,

“The Cinque Terre are the world’s most well preserved medieval fishing villages, which results in a spectacular fusion of the old world with the new, not just in the landscape but also in the people and their traditions. I am constantly in awe of the way history dictates what is done in everyday life here – there are behaviours, work practices, traditions and celebrations that are carried out today just as they were over 500 years ago.

“While The Cornuta Curse is a fictional piece, it does draw on real superstitions and traditions from the past and present as I have understood them. The term cornuto or cornuta, meaning cuckold or cuckquean, dates back to medieval times and is still used here. There is a hand gesture for it and even a party. The party is held on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – those who follow Mara’s journey and practise her gestures will understand why it is held on this date.”

The Cornuta Curse is book one in the Love Locks series by A. Scott. It is available on Amazon Kindle, iTunes, Diesel, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble in ebook format and more information can be found at http://www.thecornutacurse.com.

---ENDS---

For more information or interviews with the author A. Scott. contact: thecornutacurse@gmail.com.

Passport pains of the Internationista

Photo from British government site. Framed by Internationista

As an Internationista, one who has and continues to live in different countries around the world, I was revolted yet admittedly not surprised, to discover the costs of renewing a British passport differ greatly depending on which country you live in.

The fact that the end product is the same: a little burgundy book, the service is the same: renewal of passport and the buyer is the same: a British citizen, leaves one to question why one British citizen should pay more than another British citizen based on their current location?

Perhaps it is a question of postage? Though the discrepancy in fees does not match postage fees, in some cases those closer to the UK pay more, and additionally, according to the British government site the renewal of passports is processed in regional passport centres so perhaps international postage costs are irrelevant altogether?

So here's a quick look at the wide discrepancies for the same service and same product with very different charges. A British citizen wishing to renew their passport living in:

• UK pays just £77.50 (€93.86)
• Italy (€185)
• Australia $267.66 (€211.15)
• USA $243 (€186.03)
• Afghanistan $266 (€203.71)
• Serbia (€185)
• India (€160.92)
• Japan £147.86 (€179.10)
• Ireland (€185)
• Venezuela VEF1144 (€203.65)
• China £147.86 (€179.97)
• Nigeria NGN40,800 (€198.24)

So why does a British citizen living in Australia pay more than one living in Japan? Why does one in Afghanistan pay more than one living next door in India? And why does one living mere meters away in Ireland pay more than one living in another continent in China?

For Internationistas around the world shouldn't we have a fair system where all British citizens pay the same price (excluding delivery costs) for their national passport regardless of where they choose to lay their tweed hat or fancy fascinator?

George Clooney speaks Italian in new TV commercial

George Clooney in Fastweb commercial. Framed by Antonia Scott.

"Immagina." "Imagine."

One small word but a world of possibilities spring to mind when it's George Clooney asking you to imagine, and in Italian no less.

You may remember that George Clooney is the face of Italian internet provider Fastweb here in Italy so every so often we get treated to an Italian George Clooney - could it get any sexier?

If you missed the first few here they are some to enjoy:

George Clooney in Fastweb advertisement destroying a cupboard.

George Clooney and other hollywood celebrities speaking Italian in advertisements.

Much like his other TV commercials in Italy his lines in the latest Fastweb TV commercial are few:

"Imagine."

"Imagine, you can."

And much like the other, a few words from George Clooney is all that is needed. Check it out for yourself here on youtube.

Don't worry George, we can all imagine....hmmmmmmmmmmm............. Um, sorry, Fastweb who?

Best TV commercial in Italy stars Garibaldi

Best TV commercial Italy stars Garibaldi. Framed by Antonia Scott.

Yet again the TIM mobile phone advertising crew has come up trumps.

You may remember at the end of last year they ran a serious known as the History of Italy according to TIM where we saw a fusion of Italian history with the present mobile phone world topped with a splash of humour. If you missed them here are a few translated commericials for your enjoyment:

• Italian History according to TIM mobile starring Christopher Columbus
• Italian History according to TIM mobile starring Leonardo da Vinci

So the same group of actors are now coming together to recall the colourful historical character, Giuseppe Garibaldi, a General who was instrumental in the unification of Italy 151 years ago.

Here is the first in the series for you to enjoy with the loose translation below. La Storia di Italia seconda TIM starring Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Translation:

While Giuseppe Garibaldi studies plans on how to unify regions into one unified country, which will be known as Italy, his mother enters on the mobile:

Mother: "Giuseppe has been here all day playing with puzzles."

Giuseppe "It's not a puzzle mamma."

Giuseppe "Finish the call mamma, it will cost a fortune."

Mother: "Don't worry. I can speak to everyone anywhere in Italy for just €2 a week."

Giuseppe: "But Italy doesn't exist yet."

Mother: "Well what are you waiting for? Do it for mamma!"

Giuseppe: "This is what I am trying to do!"

Mother (turning back to the phone): "Excuse me, at the moment Giuseppe is at that difficult age. He's answering back."

Religion is a passport to god not land - the Jewish and Palestinian land battle



The Promise. TV series on land battles in Palestine. Photo from libcom.au.



So here's the thing - since when did one's religion give one the power over land rights?

As an Internationista I own more than one passport and have the rights enter and settle down in more than one country. As an atheist I have no right to enter or settle down in any country.

So why in the world would land rights be given to a group of people based on their religion alone? Religion is a passport to god not land.

I'm new to the land battles in Palestine and Israel, but I get the sense my recent increased exposure to it, like this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, which looks at the Bedouin people being forced out of  their properties by Israeli expansion, and this recent TV serious on the issue on SBS: The Promise, suggest that the situation is reaching a new level of intensity.

In response, my first thought was that of my mother's preachings when me and my sibling fought over a new toy: if you two can't learn to share then I'll take it away from both of you.

Then I started thinking about our responses which would fall on deaf ears: "but it's mine", "but I had it first", "dad said I could have it".

The end message was always: learn to share!

And if we didn't we'd either end up breaking it or mum would confiscate it all together.

Then I learnt that before World War II the Jewish people and Palestinians, made up of Muslims and other religions had lived side by side in relative harmony for years as they do today in many other countries in the world. However, when the United Nations granted the Jewish people, many of whom had been persecuted in the war, access and rights to settle in the area, the balance was thrown.

And so it would.

Just think if all the Catholics in the world had rights to the Vatican or Italy? All the Anglicans land rights in England? All Islamic people rights to settle in Saudia Arabia?

Following this ethos, which country should atheists have rights to?

Taking it one step further, if I started a religious group tomorrow, much like King Henry the VIII in the 1500s, and stated our holy land was Bondi Beach, Australia, could me and my followers have the land rights to Bondi Beach?

Better still, I am an internationista, believing in a world without borders. Can I claim land anywhere?

I've had many dinner discussions over whether being Jewish is a religion or a race. I believe Judaism is a religion just like all the others and struggle to understand why people would consider it a race?  

According to Wikipedia Jewish people are a "nation" and "ethnoreligious group".

Though contradictorily, in Wikipedia’s description of a nation it doesn't mention religion as being a defining agent.

As for an ethnoreligious group (or ethno-religious group)? This is presumably an ethnic group of people whose members are also unified by a common religious background. Along with Jewish people Wikipedia includes the Druze of the Levant, the Copts of Egypt, the Yazidi of northern Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran and India and the Sikhs of India.

The term ethnoreligious is quite a modern one, with countries like Australia only adding it to its anti-discrimination laws in 1994. So what were they before then? Could I hazard a guess and say just religions?

And if the Jewish are an ethno-religious group couldn't we say Italians are also? Italians all look the same, eat the same, speak the same, come from the same place of origin and 91 per cent are Roman Catholic. 

Spending a lot of time in Australia I understand the importance of land rights. The aborigines are the original inhabitants of the land. They have rights to the land not because they believe in the Dreamtime but because they are from this land, they are of this land, dating back at least 20,000 years. I get it.

What I don't get is how someone thinks is connected to the right over their land. I know great Jewish people. They used to be South African Jews and now they are South African/Australian Jews. Not Israelis. They have never even been to Israel.

Since the United Nations are the ones who got us into this mess it's up to them to fix it up.

A two minute solution from someone who knows very little about the topic would be eradicate this new foggy window which blurs race and nationality rights with religion and transform that area so that it operates like most other countries in the world. Nationalism and land rights are based on your place of birth or ancestry. If you are born in the area or you can prove your ancestors were you are entitle to access and permanency, if you are not and cannot, you are not of that land and therefore need to apply for residency just like all other immigrants wanting to start their lives in a country that is different from their place of origin.

Religion is a state of mind not a nationality. It's a passport to god not land.

Though I could have it all wrong?

E-nnoyed - insight into an E-Bay customer service live chat

 

Being an Internationista, moving home is part of my life. Seven cities in the past seven years, across four different countries. This means lots of removalists, lots of packing and unpacking and most importantly lots of selling of houseware items too big or expensive to move from one city to the next.

A couple of years ago, while in one country, instead of the old fashioned garage sale I decided to go all high tec and sell my items on E-Bay. Fortunately for me I had already opened up an E-Bay account a few years back, when the whole E-Bay phenomenon hit our screens, while living in another country. Unfortunately, as my account had been set up in a different country to the one I was currently in I was unable to reorganise my account to work in my new country so after some correspondence with E-Bay and some disgruntled comments airing my disappointment over how an international online operation did not cater for international users, I started working on my garage sale placards.

Now two years later another move is on the cards in yet another country and once again I have many an item to sell. After having obvious selective amnesia over my last encounter with E-Bay I spent a few hours taking photos the measurements and descriptions of the items and went to log on to my E-Bay account. Once in I was unable to access the Sell section without another security number. 

After two days of trying to find customer support as my searches through the E-bay site kept flicking me through to the E-Bay sites in the various countries I have previously lived I found help through the live chat in the country I am currently in.

The live chat that followed was this:

Thanks for waiting and welcome to eBay Australia LiveHelp! My name is ....How can I help you today?

Hi I seem to be having trouble with my log on. I can log in but then when I go to the sell section it asks me to log in again and I don't seem to have the number they are requesting. When I click for them to resend me the number a: we are experiencing technical difficulties, comes up. I have a feeling that I am not completely registered.

I understand that you are having trouble working on your eBay account as you are constantly asked to sign back in.

No worries, let me help you out.

Aside from this, is there anything else that you want me to look into?

Well while I have you I might as well check something else. I originally set up my account when I was living in the UK and now I am living in Australia and have an Australian address in my account details but every now and then it clicks me through to the UK ebay section - eg: I think I've been trying to contact the UK customer support over past two days. Can I set my account to Australia only?

I will discuss this with you once I'm done investigating your account. May I ask for 2 minutes, please?

No problem. Thanks

Thanks. I'll be back in a moment.

Thanks for waiting.

It seems that your account has been dormant for a long time and that is why it has been closed on our end.

The best option I can offer you is to create a new eBay account. But you will have to use a new email address as well as User ID.

I don't have another email account. Is there a way of just disabling my old account and starting a new one using the only email address i have?

No, as the old account has been closed with the email address, you will have to create a new email account to be able to register with eBay again.

It's actually easy to create a new email account.

I’m sorry I'm not going to create a new email account just for ebay. This seems strange. Can you imagine if all online operators acted in the same fashion. How many different email accounts would one person need?

Chat Session Ended, Goodbye. (5009)

Aside from the absurdity of having to open up a new email account every time you are away from your E-Bay account for an extended period of time, along with the concern that despite deactivating my account E-Bay still keeps my personal email details on record and as I can't log in to the specific section, it won't allow me to remove or change my personal contact details, ow, and not to mention the appalling customer service that ended without resolving any questions and the loss of a customer for life, this does seem to be yet another example of the online world being as useless as tits on a bull.

In this case not just for an internationista but also for anyone who doesn't buy or sell items on E-Bay regularly. Time and time again I get annoyed and disappointed when accessing an online service or product in replace of the tangible. Not only do I get annoyed about not being able to obtain my desired outcome, above all I get annoyed that the experience almost always ends up being completely contrary to the promoted ethos of online living - convenience, time saving and cost saving. Instead, it’s simply useless.

Or perhaps the E-Bay method has nothing to do with being useful or useless perhaps it's just a way of penalising users when they don't buy or sell enough? Wasting our time and money to make more money.

Whatever the reason, until these online outlets are regulated by some kind of industry standards we will be forever doomed to useless consumer processes and services that are unlikely to have been experienced by any generation before the internet.

In the good old days bad customer service and ineffective processes would mean companies would be out of business. Today, the bad new days, it just means living online.

Right, best get back to creating some new garage sale placards!