I have officially received the Jack London Award from the California Writers Club.
This isn’t a writing award like the Pulitzer Prize, it’s an award to recognize service given to the club, in particular, my 3 years as President of the Sacramento branch of the CWC.
Jack London Award
As President of the Sacramento branch, Bernard Wozny created the Sacramento Book Festival. This flagship program encourages inclusion in the community, attracts new members and promotes the California Writers Club. During his three-year term he also encouraged the branch to be active during the California Writers Week every October.
He built infrastructure such as web site improvements to provide information for the branch. Encouraging the board to work together for the benefit of the branch membership.
Above all, Bernard has always worked with the membership in mind. Everything he did was always for the members of the Sacramento Branch, his slogan was, “It is the members who make the club, I just help them along”. With this in mind he often spent many hours mentoring individuals to get their books in progress, ready for publishing.
That is me receiving the Award from Roger Lubeck Ph.D, statewide President of the California Writers Club.
Don’t forget, there are 21 branches with over 2300 members statewide.
Members always asked me how much I charge to help them. I always say, “I work for wine.” The odd bottle is always nice, but the real kick I get is the help I can give. I’m not rich but I’m happy.
If you have been listening (or reading) what I’m saying, then you will know that I have been searching for a translator to get my book ORP Orzel, into the Polish Market.
Time for my BIG announcement:
I now have a translator! In fact, I have 2 translators, so I can pick and choose. Please let me explain, because this was a real fun journey for me, and there is still a long way to go.
The history of ORP Orzeł is a complex war story, not so much blood and guts, but primarily about loss of nation, the morale of the crew, and as always with submarines, the art of deception.
In Polish culture, the Orzeł is effectively the equivalent to the American Alamo. Small but determined, fighting against huge and awful. Orzeł is more than David and Goliath, because it is David with all sorts of hangups.
Despite the stature of this story, there is little to honor it in formal literature. There is one book published in 1941 in London by Eryk Sopocko. He was a later crew member of the Orzeł but did not witness the main voyages.
ORP Orzel
You may think that finding a translator was easy, all I had to do was find one. Finding one is very easy, finding the right one is a lot more difficult.
There are many books that rose to the top after translation, The Alchemist, The Little Prince, The Vegetarian, and Tomb of Sand to name only a few. On some occasions, the translation was better than the original text. I suppose that depends on the skill of the translator.
OK, I’m obviously a touch ambitious here, but like I said, there needs to be more said to continue this story.
There is only one other book about the Orzeł, published in 1941 in London by Eryk Sopocko. He was a later crew member of the Orzeł but did not witness the main voyages.
I intend to use my novel to promote and reinforce the story of the Orzeł.
With the aim to translate my novel into Polish, I used 2 chapters from the book as samples, that I could use to gauge the caliber of the translator.
The first chapter was about the emotions and moral of the crew.
The second chapter was technical, about chasing a target vessel with the intent to sink it. If these 2 chapters could be translated appropriately and fit with the story, I could then assess the translator.
Bear in mind, I do not speak Polish, let alone read the language. I can order a beer and a sandwich, bid people good morning or goodnight. I have to rely upon native speakers who have read my English version. Only they can relate the quality of any translations back to me.
This is where the plot twists.
Translators are not cheap, they will cost in excess of $1,000, good ones, even more. I am under strict instructions not to break our bank, so I needed a plan B.
Yes, my wife is Polish, as well as many personal friends, but none of them are capable of translating a novel in any real sense.
This leads me onto plan C.
Like I said earlier, I have 2 translators. One is called Claude, the other is called Google.
Beta readers of my sample translations say that this is suitable for publishing. Hardly surprising since my English manuscript was professionally edited.
BUT! This is where the plot twist gets really interesting!
Language is an art. All creatures have language, even if it is only body language. Every word or phrase (or pose) can be interpreted in subtle ways.
I will not debate here which is better or worse, Claude.ai or Google translate. Both are excellent. What is happening, one provides an artistic narrative, while the other gives something more down to earth.
This is a real tough question. Which literary style is more suitable to the reading culture of Poland. And even worse, which style is more suitable to a given type of chapter.
Wait. This journey is not over.
Assume I have a novel translated into Polish.
That is just the start.
Do I have an online presence in Poland?
Can I print on demand or distribute in other ways there?
What about book signings?
Banks, ok, not a problem. But tax?
My head just exploded! You may have heard the splitty BANG!
This is like starting over from something new.
Maybe that will be hard. Maybe that will be easy with the experience I already have
Either way, I’m on my way!
Don’t forget that Orzel is available as a paperback or an eBook available on Barns and Noble and Amazon Kindle, to name a couple. I am ready to launch book 2 of Girl Electric. No date has been set yet, as I still need a book cover. I’m working on that, so I should have a cover and release date ready for my next newsletter. Did I say September will be an interesting month?
This month of June I am underground, underwater, and possibly underhanded.
Underground?
I’m still investigating AI tools. Some of these tools pose a threat. I don’t mean there will be an AI writing program what will write humanity out of existence. Instead, let me give you an example of how AI is affecting writing.
Audio Books – if you read my last blog, you will know that I’m looking towards making an audio book. Many voices in the writing industry have said that audio books are the future. I have tried to listen to audio books, and (personally) I found them boring and bordering on the irritating. I have yet to find a voice that will engage me and draw me into a story. I do not doubt that good and engaging audio books exist, so please enlighten me of examples.
The main markets for audio books strictly exclude AI voices. I can understand why – this is a new technology, and it threatens the jobs of existing (human) book voices.
I take an alternate stance – I think this will create a new set of jobs and a new work force. I have experimented with this technology, and I am (as a technophile) drawn towards it. I think new voice entrepreneurs can use this AI tech to create imaginative books. Let’s move beyond the book to create imaginative audio entertainment.
The Polish Eagle – Orzel
Underwater?
Yes, I have that sinking feeling that all authors experience. My sunken thoughts are trending towards the officers and crew of ORP Orzel.
I am trending to a new launch of my novel ORP Orzel.
Built in Holland, commissioned on 2 February 1939, she was a state-of-the-art submarine for its day. She avoided the Nazi onslaught in September 1939. While landing her ailing captain in the neutral port of Tallinn, the remaining officers enacted a daring escape from Nazi influenced internment. Yes, the Nazi’s wanted this submarine.
With little hope and no resources, they try to continue the struggle against the Nazis. They eventually flee the Baltic Sea to join the Royal Navy.
“The greatest adventure story to come out of the war” – Sir, Winston Churchill.
This is the Alamo of Poland in WW2. This is the Spirit of Poland!
Sadly, they are lost somewhere in the North Sea.
Being half Polish, I had to make this story public. Technically, the writing format I used is called Creative Non-Fiction. That means I researched the history and events and wrote the story as it happens, in the correct timeline.
Underhanded?
OK, this is where I make my confessions.
As they say in the Catholic confessional – “Bless me Father for I have sinned…”
I have a whole bunch of stuff to unload here…
1) I watched Lucifer on Netflix and thought it was really cool (He did NOT make me do it)
2) I’m madly in love with Mazikeen (aka Lesley Ann Brandt) Phwor!
3) I say bad words.
4) Not sure if I want to go to heaven – I hear it’s boring.
5) What the hell is that all about?
6) Lying – do you believe me?
I never did unload my secret desires to a priest. Would you?
Thank you for following me this far.
Keep learning, stay above water, and always play nicely with everyone else.
Bernard
That’s all folks!
As president of the California Writers’ Club – Sacramento Branch, I am working hard to promote our members’ books. Check out our website, in particular a web page I have built to promote Members’ Books.
