Exploring the Divine Code: David Courtney’s Trinity, Infinity Divinity

NY Weekly Staff on January 13, 2026

By: Paul White

In a literary landscape crowded with surface-level spirituality, Trinity Infinity Divinity by David Courtney stands apart as a deeply personal and intellectually engaging exploration of faith, numbers, and divine order. Blending theology, numerology, mathematics, and biblical interpretation, Courtney’s book invites readers into a world where numbers are not simply symbols, but are proposed as potential sacred keys.

Originally conceived more than a decade ago and refined over years of study and contemplation, Trinity Infinity Divinity was officially released on Amazon on December 26, 2024. The book represents the culmination of Courtney’s long-standing interest in writing and his evolving journey into numerological theology.

At the heart of the book is a thought-provoking numerical framework. Courtney suggests a coded system in which numbers are interchangeable in specific triads and groupings: 1, 4, and 7; 2, 5, and 8; and 0, 3, 6, and 9. According to the author, these numerical relationships are not random and appear to form a hidden structure embedded across timekeeping systems, religious calendars, and sacred texts.

Through 29 chapters, Courtney explores how this numerical code may appear consistently across the ancient Hebrew calendar established by Hillel II, as well as the Gregorian, Julian, New Julian, Enochian, and both civil and sacred Hebrew calendars. Regardless of how a seven-day week is organized, he argues, the same numerical patterns seem to emerge. For Courtney, this consistency may suggest divine design rather than coincidence.

The book’s spiritual foundation is evident. Courtney attributes the origin of his insights to divine inspiration, expressing his belief that Jesus Christ guided him toward uncovering these patterns. Biblical references are woven throughout the text, particularly the recurring theme of light versus darkness. Rather than portraying them as simple opposites, Courtney explores them as mutually defining forces, each revealing the absence of the other.

One of the book’s central ideas revolves around the number 888, which Courtney describes as a symbolic gateway to understanding divinity. In Greek numerology, 888 is often associated with Jesus. Courtney extends this symbolism further, demonstrating how numerical calculations, letter values, and linguistic interpretation might align to reinforce his faith-based conclusions. For readers attuned to numerology, Kabbalah, or symbolic theology, these passages offer significant challenge and fascination.

David Courtney’s path to writing Trinity Infinity Divinity was anything but conventional. A writer, poet, and musician from a young age, he did not initially foresee authoring a numerology-focused theological work. His interest evolved after studying Kabbalistic texts such as The Universal Language of Cabalah by William Eisen and The Mystery Religions and the Seven Seals by David Lane. These works sparked an intense engagement with numbers that gradually reshaped his creative direction.

Courtney is candid about his process. He describes a tendency to obsess deeply over patterns and meanings, an intensity that permeates the book itself. This unfiltered honesty adds to the work’s authenticity. Trinity Infinity Divinity does not attempt to simplify its ideas for mass appeal; instead, it speaks directly to readers who are willing to engage with complex concepts and spiritual questions.

The author’s message is ultimately one of faith. Courtney hopes readers come away with a strengthened belief in God and an appreciation for how numerical order may reflect divine truth. For him, numbers are not simply abstract concepts but could be seen as evidence of sacred intention woven into reality itself.

While Trinity Infinity Divinity may appeal most strongly to readers interested in theology, numerology, Kabbalah, and metaphysical mathematics, it may also resonate with anyone drawn to unconventional perspectives on faith. It is a book born from conviction, persistence, and a desire to explore the unseen structures that might govern belief and time.

David Courtney continues to write and create, with future projects including poetry and music-focused works. For now, Trinity Infinity Divinity stands as his most ambitious and revealing publication to date.

Readers interested in learning more about David Courtney or connecting with him directly can find him online at www.facebook.com/geneticphrenetic or reach out via email at geneticfrenetic@yahoo.com.

FATALISM: A Millennium-Spanning Screenplay Exploring the Nature of Destiny

NY Weekly Staff on January 13, 2026

By: Lois R. Hernandez

What if the most crucial events of your life were not the result of free will, but the inevitable consequence of a secret hidden a thousand years ago? This is the gripping premise explored in FATALISM, the published screenplay from THREE DOGS PRODUCTIONS and the collaborative minds of Marcello Intraligi, Francesco Giampietro, and Wayne Shepherd. More than just a script, this is a masterclass in cinematic suspense, inviting readers to become both audience and detective in an epic narrative where the past is not merely prologue, it is destiny.

FATALISM is a story split across a millennium, opening with chilling intensity in Northern Europe, AD 1005. In a bleak, underground cavern, the elderly Father Timothy is subjected to brutal torture by the formidable Warlord Ahrman. The Warlord’s obsession is singular: extracting a secret the priest is sworn to keep, a dark and potent truth so dangerous it must be concealed for a thousand years. This desperate, violent confrontation sets the clock ticking on a monumental historical mystery, establishing a chilling sense of predestination that permeates every subsequent scene.

The narrative then executes a daring leap into the present day, shifting to the desolate, atmospheric ruins of King Galen’s Castle. Here, the story introduces its modern protagonists: Katrine, Nicholas, and Ronim. These three individuals appear to be undertaking a simple exploration, but fate has already sealed their roles in a story spanning centuries.

The play’s true core is revealed through the character of Katrine. Marked by a distinctive bird-wing birthmark, a visual motif that underscores the screenplay’s themes of flight and fate. She makes a monumental discovery. Unearthing a hidden canister, she recovers a single, exquisite gold ring. This is no ordinary trinket; it is the very artifact Father Timothy risked his life to hide in the year 1005.

The discovery of the ring acts as a historical fulcrum, wrenching the modern characters into the ancient conspiracy. The screenplay skillfully layers moments of profound grief, loss, and spiritual mystery as Katrine realizes her life, and the lives of those around her, are not accidental occurrences but the culmination of a millennium-old plan. The tension is palpable as the modern trio must now navigate the sinister forces that have been lying in wait since the Dark Ages, forces determined to exploit the secret the ring represents.

For readers, FATALISM provides a unique and engaging experience.

As a published screenplay, it provides an unvarnished view of the creative process, showcasing the economy of language, the precision of visual direction, and the sheer narrative architecture required for a high-stakes thriller. The meticulous attention to detail in each scene offers insight into the complexity of storytelling. Readers can appreciate the layers of tension and atmosphere that are carefully crafted, reflecting the collaborative efforts of its creators.

Enthusiasts of cinema will appreciate the script’s taut pacing and visual intensity. At the same time, lovers of literature will be drawn into the rich thematic exploration of free will, historical consequence, and the enduring power of sacrifice. The script balances moments of high drama with introspective depth, making it a compelling read for those who enjoy both visual storytelling and thought-provoking narratives. Its complex characters and layered themes create an immersive experience that resonates on multiple levels.

Ultimately, the play is a polished, compelling work that achieves a balance few narratives manage: it is both an exciting, time-traveling mystery and a thoughtful examination of what it means to choose your path when destiny insists on choosing for you. The seamless blending of past and present creates a narrative that challenges perceptions of time and fate. As the characters grapple with their roles in this grand scheme, the screenplay invites the audience to reflect on their own relationship with destiny and choice.

Coming to Africa: How Gbitee Doryen Gbitee Reframes the Birth of Liberia as a Transatlantic Human Story

NY Weekly Staff on January 12, 2026

History is often told in terms of institutions, policies, and dates. But the deeper truth of history always revolves around humans. It is shaped by people who make difficult choices in uncertain times and take steps that can alter the fate of multiple generations. In Coming to Africa: Historical Figures in the Founding of Liberia, Gbitee Doryen Gbitee invites readers to revisit one of the most complex chapters in Black Atlantic history through the human lens.

Gbitee takes a unique approach when talking about Liberia and its history. Rather than presenting its foundation as a political project or a colonial scheme, he stresses that it was a convergence of longings, fears, ideals, and contradictions carried by individuals. He effectively portrays the hopes of freed Black Americans who were seeking dignity and autonomy at a time of high politics and racial discrimination.

What makes Coming to Africa especially compelling is its insistence on complexity. Gbitee does not give in to the urge to write plainly about heroes and villains. Instead, he shows how the same movement could be seen as containing both emancipatory potential and coercive logic. The Back-to-Africa idea provided some Black Americans with a chance to imagine political self-rule for the first time, even as it emerged from a society unwilling to accept them as equals, where deep racial divides and systemic oppression shaped the context in which these ideas were born and spread.

Gbitee’s background as a former production and circulation manager of a leading newspaper in Liberia is evident in his writing. He has worked with editors in the newsroom to produce objective news articles. His goal was to strive for balanced and factual news stories. Currently, he is a history student and researcher, deeply committed to uncovering diverse perspectives and exploring untold narratives. As a result, he has used thorough and careful research techniques in his book to trace how merchants, missionaries, politicians, and African leaders became participants in a shared, if uneven, historical moment that shaped Liberia’s development.

Another important point this book covers is the repositioning of Liberia within global history. Liberia is often treated as a marginal or exceptional case of African and American history. Gbitee works to challenge that framing by showing that Liberia’s story may reflect the larger questions about freedom, race, migration, nationalism, and belonging, which continue to resonate in contemporary global struggles. The founding of Liberia may reflect the unresolved contradictions of the 19th-century Atlantic world, where competing ideologies of freedom and Power were in constant conflict. As a result, the book has significant contemporary relevance. Gbitee writes with clarity and restraint, allowing the truth of the history to be clearly set forth. His prose is measured, accessible, and grounded in evidence, ensuring that readers can engage with complex ideas in a straightforward manner. The book’s 115 pages are not filled with jargon. In contrast, they offer valuable insight to the readers, prompting reflection on both past and present struggles. Each chapter builds patiently toward a more layered understanding of what it meant and still may mean to imagine a Black republic in a world structured by empire and inequality.

In doing so, Coming to Africa has become more than a book that offers a look into Liberia’s formation. It is a valuable depiction of how nations are born from the hopes and compromises of ordinary people, realizing when the time is right and taking action.

Moreover, Coming to Africa stands as an important contribution to African, African American, and diaspora studies. For readers who are keen to learn about the origins of Liberia and the transatlantic forces that shaped it, Coming to Africa: Historical Figures in the Founding of Liberia is an essential and informative read.

Richard Bruce and the Unlikely Grace at the Center of Sometime Child

NY Weekly Staff on January 12, 2026

By: Melody Wolf

Richard Bruce’s Sometime Child opens in a place of rupture rather than reassurance. A violent encounter in a New York City alleyway brings three strangers into sudden and irreversible proximity, setting off a chain of events that resists easy moral categories. From its first pages, the novel establishes itself not as a conventional story of crime and consequence, but as an inquiry into how people shaped by vastly different circumstances might still find moments of understanding, accountability, and change.

Bruce makes no attempt to soften the entry point. He introduces upheaval before context, forcing readers to sit with discomfort before insight arrives. His intention, he explains, was to establish a ‘before’, without hinting at the fact that the lives of each of the characters would change in unexpected ways as they interacted with each other. At that stage, he adds, he did not expect readers to feel “much in the way of hope for either of the assailants.”

That lack of early hope is central to the novel’s emotional architecture. Transformation, when it comes, feels hard-won rather than inevitable.

Although Sometime Child is fiction, its emotional truth is shaped by Bruce’s real-world experiences. In 1999, he volunteered with a program serving teenagers navigating unsafe neighborhoods, unstable home lives, and under-resourced schools. One early relationship proved especially formative.

His first student warned him that visiting her home would not be safe. “As I spent time with her, I came to understand the difficulties she faced firsthand,” Bruce recalls. Encounters like these did not translate directly into plot, but they informed the novel’s ethical center, an awareness of how quickly children are judged for circumstances beyond their control.

At the center of Sometime Child is an unlikely connection between a successful attorney and two teenage boys whose lives have unfolded along sharply divergent paths. Their relationship becomes a means of examining class not as theory, but as lived experience, one that quietly influences opportunity, expectation, and self-perception.

Bruce is explicit about what he hopes readers will see: that young people, regardless of circumstance, “have the same dreams and hopes.” The novel asks what might become possible if individuals from “wildly different backgrounds” were “willing to spend the time and place to listen to each other.”

Listening, in Bruce’s view, is not passive. It is an act with consequences. “Those who have so little may find ways to improve their lives, while those with so much can find ways to be kind to others,” he says, “so it can be a win/win.” In the novel, connection operates not as charity, but as mutual reckoning.

Forgiveness runs through Sometime Child, but Bruce refuses to romanticize it. Forgiveness does not erase harm or absolve responsibility. Instead, it is framed as a choice to release what corrodes from within. “Holding grudges is an extra weight that serves no purpose,” he says.

New York City is more than a backdrop in Sometime Child; it is an unspoken force. Bruce portrays a city where physical proximity does not guarantee understanding, where people can live minutes apart yet inhabit entirely different realities. The setting “allowed me to portray my main characters living or working just minutes apart but in totally different environments…environments that put a mark on their lives…good or bad, that can be difficult to shed.”

The title Sometime Child carries both ache and promise. Children raised in poverty are constantly confronted with what they lack, through media, culture, and daily exposure to lives they cannot access. Yet, Bruce emphasizes, their aspirations are no different from those of any other child. He chose the title to reflect the belief that “SOMETIME their dreams will come true,” and that there is “a path that can make a child’s dreams come true.”

While Sometime Child does not shy away from violence, inequality, or loss, Bruce was intentional about resisting despair. “Despite all the turmoil and challenges in the world today…I wanted my book to be upbeat,” he explains, “but at the same time, I wanted my book to be based in reality.” His aim was to “walk that line between evil and goodness,” trusting readers to grapple with both.

In essence, the novel extends an invitation rather than a verdict—to pause judgment, to practice empathy, and to recognize shared humanity where it is least expected. As Bruce puts it, he hopes readers will come away understanding “how important it is to avoid pre-judging and be empathetic to troubled children born into environments they would not have chosen had they been able to do so.”

Sometime Child is available now on Amazon.

The City of Gods Delivers a Story That Pulls You Under

NY Weekly Staff on January 12, 2026

Jason Patterson’s The City of Gods does not rush to claim your attention. It earns it over time, through careful pacing and a steady confidence in its own world. The novel unfolds without urgency, yet it never feels idle. Instead, it draws readers in quietly, allowing the city and its tensions to take shape before asking for full investment. By the time that investment arrives, it feels natural rather than forced.

From the opening pages, the city at the novel’s heart feels alert and watchful. Patterson builds it through accumulation rather than exposition. Streets, courts, and places of worship carry the residue of past decisions. Power is present everywhere, but rarely visible in a single source. There is always something operating just beyond the reader’s view, a sense that control shifts in subtle ways before anyone openly acknowledges it. The tension remains steady, growing as characters begin to understand how exposed they truly are once long-standing balances start to tilt.

This is not a story driven by shock or spectacle. Patterson resists the temptation to rely on abrupt turns or dramatic reveals. Instead, he lets small moments do the work. A warning offered too late. A conversation that ends without resolution. A decision made in confidence that later proves costly. These moments echo forward, shaping conflicts that feel earned rather than engineered. The pleasure of the novel comes from recognizing how early choices continue to matter long after they are made.

Character work remains one of the book’s strongest elements. Patterson writes people who feel shaped by their environment rather than elevated above it. They carry doubts, private loyalties, and fears they do not always name aloud. Survival often matters more than honor. Control matters more than truth. These priorities give the story a grounded quality that many fantasy novels lack. The conflicts feel real because the motivations are recognizable.

Patterson also understands the power of restraint. Some of the effective scenes unfold without confrontation or explanation. Two characters sharing a space in silence. A pause where a truth almost surfaces and then disappears. These moments invite the reader to participate, to read between the lines rather than wait for instruction. Much of the novel’s emotional weight lives in what remains unsaid.

As the plot advances, the city itself becomes more than a backdrop. Its structure begins to influence the direction of every action. Alleys funnel people toward danger. Courts reward obedience while punishing curiosity. Temples offer comfort while reinforcing hierarchy. Patterson uses the setting to show how history narrows choice, and how belief can guide behavior while quietly limiting vision. The city does not simply host the story. It shapes it.

Midway through the novel, the larger design begins to surface. Threads that once seemed incidental start to connect. Characters who lingered on the margins gain relevance. Power shifts not through spectacle, but through accumulation. The sense of inevitability grows, and with it, a quiet tension that carries the reader forward.

By the final chapters, the novel gains clarity and force. Patterson does not rush the conclusion. He allows consequences to land where they must, trusting the groundwork he has already laid. The ending feels considered rather than dramatic, which suits the story it completes.

The City of Gods Delivers a Story That Pulls You Under

Photo Courtesy: Jason Patterson

The City of Gods is not a loud book, and it does not aim to be. Its strength lies in atmosphere, consequence, and the slow pressure of choices that cannot be reversed. For readers who value patience, structure, and character-driven tension, Patterson offers a story worth sitting with. It lingers after the final page, not because it demands attention, but because it has earned it.

The City of the Gods is available now on Amazon. To learn more about the book and its author, head over to The City of Gods. 

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and reflects the author’s personal views on The City of Gods by Jason Patterson. It is not intended as legal, financial, or professional advice. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no warranties are made regarding the completeness or reliability of the information. Use of this information is at your own risk.

Between These Walls: A Gripping Journey Through History’s Darkest Corridors

NY Weekly Staff on January 11, 2026

By: Paul White

History has a way of hiding its deepest secrets behind closed doors and within silent walls. Some stories remain buried for decades, waiting for the right moment to emerge and demand to be told. Between These Walls is not merely a work of historical fiction but a profound exploration of identity, survival, and the unbreakable bonds that connect generations across time and tragedy. Written by Michael Newman, this compelling narrative weaves together threads of war, persecution, and redemption into a tapestry that seeks to captivate the reader’s heart and mind.

A Tale Woven from Three Families

In the summer of 1988, New York art curator Daniel Singer receives a mysterious package from West Berlin, sealed with security tape that may shatter everything he thought he knew about himself and his family. What begins as a simple delivery transforms into an extraordinary odyssey that spans continents and decades, pulling Daniel into a labyrinth of secrets that have been carefully guarded for over forty years.

Newman masterfully constructs a dual timeline that oscillates between May 1945 and July 1988, creating a narrative bridge across generations. In the dying days of World War II, on the American-occupied side of Germany’s Elbe River, US Army Medical Corps Colonel Samuel Singer comes upon the shot-up wreck of a smoldering SS staff car. Inside: a badly injured driver, a dead German Army officer carrying the ID of a Nazi war criminal, and a young blonde woman, also dead in the back seat. This haunting discovery sets in motion a chain of events that will echo across four decades.

The story sweeps across the battlefields of World War I, through the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, into the founding of Israel, and through three Middle East wars. Each historical moment is rendered with meticulous attention to detail and emotional authenticity.

The involvement of the Mossad, Israel’s legendary intelligence agency, adds layers of intrigue and suspense to Daniel’s quest. As he uncovers shocking truths about his heritage, Daniel must navigate a treacherous landscape where the past and present collide, where old wounds remain fresh, and where the consequences of long-buried secrets may threaten to destroy everything he holds dear. Following one American family and two German families, Newman crafts a narrative that explores not just acts of evil and callous indifference but also acts of heroism, generosity, and love in the time of Adolf Hitler’s rise and eventual defeat.

A Labor of Love Rooted in Personal History

Newman’s research was exhaustive and deeply personal. He traveled throughout Europe, visiting the actual locations that appear prominently in the book. He walked the streets of Berlin, discovering the stolpersteine, the engraved brass plaques embedded in the cobblestone streets marking where Jewish families lived before the Nazis deported them to their deaths in Auschwitz. He ventured to the Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden near Munich, Hitler’s wartime summer home perched high in the Bavarian Alps. Most significantly, he visited Mauthausen concentration camp itself, where his own father had been imprisoned by the Nazis in 1944-45.

“My visits to Mauthausen, Berlin, and Hitler’s summer home at Eagle’s Nest were the motivators for me to write Between These Walls,” Newman explains.
 “These places provided me with the inspiration and ideas for the plot and premise of the book. With the global rise in antisemitism, the words ‘Never again’ seem more urgent than ever.”

The book’s website features a compelling gallery of images from Newman’s travels, including photographs of historical documents and the actual locations featured in the story.

The Author Behind the Words

Michael Newman brings an unparalleled authenticity to Between These Walls because he writes not as a distant observer of history, but as someone whose life has been indelibly shaped by it. The son of Holocaust survivors, Newman has always had a deep interest in the Second World War, not as an academic pursuit, but as a personal mission to understand and honor the experiences that defined his family’s existence. He received first-hand accounts of what happened during WWII in the concentration camps, particularly Mauthausen, where his father was imprisoned.

Newman’s mother, aunt, and grandmother were hidden by Righteous Gentiles in Budapest during World War II. His father fought in the Hungarian Army, dug trenches in a forced labor battalion near Stalingrad, and later endured eight terrible months at Mauthausen in Austria. In 1956, at age twelve, Newman himself became a refugee, slogging through mud and snow, dodging guard huts to escape into Austria after the crushed Hungarian uprising against the Soviets.

Years later, as a successful self-made real estate magnate and founder of InterRent, a real estate investment trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Newman could have allowed his professional achievements to define him. Instead, he chose to honor his heritage by telling a story that needed to be told. He has since taken his wife, three children, and one granddaughter on trips to Mauthausen, ensuring that the next generation never forgets.

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, concerned over what he perceived as one-sided news coverage against Israel, he had the opportunity to travel, surreptitiously, to Israel. Using a connection with an Israeli intelligence colonel, Newman spent a week in the war zone, visiting bomb shelters, air raid command centers, and troops in the field. This experience became a model for a character in his book who helped Israel fight for independence in 1948.

“I am not a religious person, but I do identify myself with what happened during the Holocaust and I am very much a Zionist and support the founding of Israel,” Newman says.
 This conviction breathes through every page of Between These Walls, giving the novel an emotional authenticity that resonates with readers across all backgrounds.

Today, Newman lives on Toronto’s waterfront with his wife, Dixie, and their Morkie, Mia. Surrounded by five children and eleven grandchildren, he has transformed the pain of his family’s past into a gift for future generations. Writing books, as Newman admits, is “a career change I wasn’t expecting to make at this stage of life. It’s been gratifying for the ego.” He is currently working on a sequel with the working title A Daughter’s Revenge, and has hired a screenwriter on spec to craft a six-part series based on his first book.

Between These Walls: A Gripping Journey Through History's Darkest Corridors

Photo Courtesy: Michael Newman (Author Michael Newman, his wife Dixie, and their beloved Morkie, Mia)

Critical Acclaim and Distinguished Recognition

Between These Walls has garnered significant recognition from the literary community and continues to win the hearts of readers worldwide. The book was honored as a Distinguished Favorite in Historical Fiction at the prestigious 2020 NYC Big Book Award. It has also received recognition from the Whistler Independent Book Awards, which praised it as a “good, unique and worthwhile book,” noting that “the different times and places over which the story takes place were well realized and distinct.”

Kirkus Reviews lauded the novel’s meticulous research: “The historical authenticity of the work is admirable; the author’s research is scrupulously rigorous, and much of the book is enjoyably edifying.”

BookLife offered high praise: “Each narrative is richly drawn, revealing the characters’ emotions and motivations while adding the perfect amount of historical background. This powerful novel will likely appeal to any reader of historical suspense fiction.”

Reader reviews have been equally enthusiastic, with many noting the book’s “next level” historical detail, “relentless” twists, and praising how Newman “nails the dual timeline storytelling.”

Between These Walls: A Gripping Journey Through History's Darkest Corridors

Photo Courtesy: Michael Newman (Michael Newman presenting a copy of his novel to Mosab Hassan Yousef, also known as the Green Prince and Son of Hamas, at a Jewish National Fund event in Toronto in 2025)

More Than Historical Fiction: A Mirror to Our Times

What sets Between These Walls apart is its refusal to treat history as a distant, academic subject. Newman understands that history is not made of dates and events, but of people. Real people with families, dreams, fears, and impossible choices. The three families at the center of this narrative, one American and two German, could be any families, which is precisely what makes their story so powerful and so necessary.

The novel explores themes that remain painfully relevant: the nature of identity, the cost of survival, the weight of secrets, and the possibility of redemption. Newman offers nuanced portrayals of various characters rather than flat depictions in black and white, thus illustrating the complexity of acts that are both heroic and heinous. The title itself references the hiding space occupied by the members of one family for nearly a year and a half, a powerful metaphor for the walls we build to protect ourselves and the walls that imprison us.

Discover the Truth Behind the Walls

Between These Walls is available for purchase through multiple platforms, making it accessible to readers worldwide. The novel is available in both paperback and Kindle editions.
Links: 

For more information about Michael Newman, updates on the forthcoming sequel A Daughter’s Revenge, visit: Michael Newman Official Website.

Why the Army was Hesitant to Commission Black Officers: A Colonel’s Analysis

NY Weekly Staff on January 11, 2026

By: Leanna P. Malloy

When we think of the military, we think of strategy. We think of using every resource to achieve a vital objective. During World War I, the objective was clear: win. So why would the United States Army, in a time of urgent need, actively resist creating more officers from a willing and able population? The answer, explored with valuable clarity in Thomas Bradley’s book Marching Without Applause, goes beyond simple racism. It was a notable failure of strategy. From the viewpoint of a retired Army Colonel, the opposition to the Fort Des Moines training camp was not just a social injustice. It was a considerable doctrinal and command crisis that potentially weakened the entire force.

The United States needed leaders. The war in Europe would consume junior officers at a significant rate. Yet, when presented with a solution, a pool of educated and patriotic Black men, a substantial part of the Army’s establishment hesitated. They created obstacles, delayed orders, and imposed harsh scrutiny. In professional military terms, this is difficult to comprehend. You do not refuse a reliable new source of ammunition in the middle of a battle. But that is precisely what happened with leadership. The threat was not to the nation’s security, but to a rigid social order within the Army itself. The military is a hierarchy. It functions on clear lines of authority and tradition. For many white officers and officials, the idea of Black men holding command authority was seen as challenging social norms. It posed a risk to destabilizing the very chain of command as they understood it. They feared a loss of control, questioning whether Black officers were capable of leading in combat and whether they would likely degrade the officer corps as a whole. This was a potential failure of command imagination, placing outdated social doctrine over battlefield necessity.

This fear created a direct conflict with another core military principle: unit cohesion. The Army insisted on segregating Black soldiers into separate units. This was a policy of separate but equal. However, by refusing to give those units Black officers, they created a second, more significant problem. They were forcing those soldiers to be led by white officers who frequently held deep prejudices against them. This is a clear formula for poor morale, distrust, and ineffective performance. A good commander understands that trust is the bedrock of a fighting unit. The War Department’s policy consistently destroyed any chance for that trust to form in these Black regiments. They chose the illusion of racial hierarchy over the proven military requirement of mutual respect between leaders and their troops. Thomas Bradley, through his decades of service, understands this contradiction at a visceral level. His analysis in Marching Without Applause shows how this choice was detrimental, not just to individual soldiers but to the overall strength of the Army.

The cost of this failure was measured in wasted talent. The men who arrived at Fort Des Moines were the best and most talented in America. Most were graduates of prestigious universities like Howard and Tuskegee. Others were veteran non-commissioned officers from the Buffalo Soldiers, with years of field experience. The Army had a ready-made solution to its leadership shortage, yet it placed immense energy into building barriers instead of harnessing this strength. This is the ultimate strategic error. You identify your asset, and then you utilize it to its full potential. The Army identified the asset but was reluctant to use it. That hesitation, those delays, and secret evaluations reveal an institution at war with its own best interests. The characters in Bradley’s narrative did not just face personal prejudice. They were supported by some highly respected Army officers, but even they were confronted with a system that saw their potential as a problem to be managed rather than a resource to be empowered.

In the end, the story of Fort Des Moines is a lesson in a shift in strategic vision. The Army finally overcame the perceived risk of integration and understood the certain consequences of failing to develop all of its leadership capital. The brave men who finally earned their commissions, against this resistance, did more than break a color barrier. They demonstrated a command principle. They showed that leadership is found in character and competence, not in skin color. Their victory was a correction to a critical strategic blunder. Thomas Bradley’s account is essential because he diagnoses this failure not merely as a historian but as a senior officer who understands the potentially catastrophic cost when prejudice overrules sound military judgment.

To fully comprehend this change in leadership vision and the courage it took to overcome it, one must read a definitive account. Learn the critical lessons of leadership and the courage to change institutional bias in Thomas Bradley’s authoritative work, Marching Without Applause.

The Life and Loves of an Artist: A Family’s Creative Legacy

NY Weekly Staff on January 8, 2026

By: Paul & Gail King—Author of The Life and Loves of an Artist

Through a world that often does not give us time to pause, we never take the time to question how past lives silently define who we will be. We marvel at completed things, books, sculptures, and performances without thinking of the legacy of memory and discipline that has gone into them.

However, no artist biography is constructed as much before the initial celebrity as a result of family, history, and instances of never giving up, which seldom feature in headlines.

What occurs when the transfer of creativity is not imposed by prestige but experience? When art becomes memory, and memory becomes legacy?

A Creative Biography Rooted in Family History

The Life and Loves of an Artist is a highly textual creative biography that follows the lives of two artists, Nora Puntin and Roy King, who moved through continents, wars, and cultural change.

The story is a work of both an artist’s biography and a family history, examining how art can be hereditary and how it is made through sacrifice, endurance, and love.

Instead of portraying creativity as an accident or something isolated, the book presents it as something developed over time, and the loss of the individual and the forces of history mold artistic identity in subtle ways.

The Life and Loves of an Artist: A Family’s Creative Legacy

Photo Courtesy: Paul & Gail King

Book Edited By:
BN Publishing Services

The World That Shaped an Artist’s Legacy

An artist’s legacy can only be understood within the world in which it was made. To Nora, this world extended from the beginning of the twentieth century in Canada to Broadway. Her childhood was characterized by instability and survival, including her escape from the devastating Regina Cyclone in 1912. These formative experiences made her know dance not as performance, but as a discipline and a source of emotional comfort.

Dance was her protest and her statement as she sought to pursue a career in art at a time when women were rarely allowed to be independent. Her travels to Canada, London, and New York are indicative of an awakening of cultural awareness, self-denial, and goal-setting within a limited frame.

These experiences make the book deeply rooted as a historical biography because they show the reader that creativity usually thrives not with privilege but with perseverance.

Art as Inheritance, Not Accident

In its purest form, the book is a professional biography that breaks the myth of art success without any effort. The mentorship, family pressure, and undeterred training contributed to Nora’s emergence, culminating in ballet training and Broadway revue performances.

Her experience is similar to Roy King, whose career was influenced by the loss at an early age. After his father’s death, Roy found art as a purpose and a direction. His educational works, such as his training at the official Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, show that misfortune made him even more determined.

Together, their stories position the book as an overcoming hardship memoir, where creativity and adversity are deeply intertwined.

Love, Art, and Intergenerational Stories

When Nora and Roy meet in New York, their relationship becomes more than a romantic partnership; it becomes a creative anchor. Their union reflects how love can stabilize artistic lives shaped by uncertainty and movement.

Through their shared life, the narrative expands into an intergenerational story and memoir, showing how values, discipline, and artistic vision are passed down within families. The story ultimately becomes an emotional memoir of family hardships, illustrating how ordinary lives navigate extraordinary historical moments.

Why This Family History Still Matters

At a time when readers are seeking meaning, continuity, and perspective, The Life and Loves of an Artist speaks directly to those interests. As a family history book, it reminds us that personal stories are inseparable from cultural history.

It also resonates with readers drawn to books about Broadway history, early American art movements, and the lived realities behind creative achievement. The book invites reflection not only on art, but on the legacies we inherit and those we leave behind.

A Lasting Contribution to Nonfiction Biography

A Sustaining Assistance to Nonfiction Biography. The book, as a nonfiction work, has found a discerning place in the minds of readers seeking a nonfiction biography, one with historical insight and emotional lucidity.

 It is attractive because of its humanity, which conveys the idea of how creativity can be sustained across generations. This narrative is an emotional yet subtle experience for readers drawn to historical nonfiction lists that focus on the personal and cultural histories of people.

A Reflective Closing

The Life and Loves of an Artist is an ode to memoir, strength, and art’s heritage. It demonstrates that, long before it is known how creativity is formed, family, history, and love leave a permanent mark on the work artists produce.

The final command of this artist biography is to ask the reader to look at what they have inherited and what memory can be made out of it.

The Life and Loves of an Artist is available now.

About the Author

Paul and Gail King, authors of The Life and Loves of an Artist, bring family history to life by blending facts, personal stories, and rare photos. They celebrate creativity, art, and legacy, highlighting the lives of Broadway dancer Nora Puntin and artist Roy E. King while inspiring readers to honor their own family stories.

The Journey of Deborah Chester: How Losing Everything Became the Beginning of Everything

NY Weekly Staff on January 8, 2026

By: Deborah Chester

BA dream transformed my life.

In the dream, two tornadoes rolled in from the sea as my two young daughters and I stood in the office of our beautiful beachfront home, which overlooked the ocean. At the time, I was sure of my destination, but things were about to change. What we now understand as a warning was unfolding before me. It was as if the dream were a genuine premonition; it felt real, overpowering, and filled with fear, all rolled into one. I awoke trembling and sweating, as the dream had been absolute. I knew it was a warning, and that it was only the beginning.

The dream came true just a few weeks later.

Our home and everything we owned were destroyed in seconds when two tornadoes ripped through our seaside town in New Zealand. My girls and I survived because of that dream. All we had with us when we escaped were the clothes we were wearing and one another. In a matter of seconds, we went from having everything as a family to facing complete uncertainty.

The journey began at that very moment, when our lives changed forever.

When Faith Is All You Have Left

Losing everything reduces life to its most basic components. Routines, status, and belongings all vanish in an instant. The people you love, faith, and resiliency are what’s left. Following the tornadoes, my family quickly realized that people had different definitions of what it means to survive. For us, survival required paying close attention to our faith, intuition, and the subliminal messages that we are frequently too preoccupied to notice.

Dreams had always given me instruction, but after the tornadoes, I discovered that I shouldn’t ignore them. Dreams had kept us alive.

Why wouldn’t they direct what happened next??

A few weeks after the tragedy, my husband Chris had a seemingly unremarkable dream involving scuffing the car’s wheels. The concept for RimPro-Tec Wheelbands, a worldwide automotive innovation currently covered by more than 100 patents and trademarks, sprang from that straightforward image.

We were aware of the irony that, while losing our home, we had acquired a concept that would help us reconstruct our future.

The Law of Attraction: In Practice, Not Theory

Adversity is not eliminated by faith; instead, it is reframed.

Challenges increased as our company expanded, including dishonest partners, patent issues, copycats, and years of costly legal proceedings. My family dealt with PTSD, relocation, and the emotional burden of starting over at the same time. There were times when perseverance did not “win the day,” times when fatigue, anxiety, and uncertainty were persistent companions.

But every failure taught us something. Every setback improved the way forward for something bigger.

I started to feel that the universe rewarded bravery rather than ease.

From Kitchen Table to Global Brand

Late at night, around kitchen tables, where fear and hope coexist, some of the most revolutionary ideas are produced, not in boardrooms. That’s how we constructed our inventions: with perseverance, hard hours, and an unwavering faith that something significant was happening.

The Journey is more than just a memoir. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to start a business from scratch while also rebuilding a life. It speaks candidly about the cost of creativity, burnout, and sacrifice, particularly for women entering male-dominated fields.

I discovered that success draws both opportunity and resistance.

Listening When Life Speaks

Life is constantly communicating with us through dreams, intuition, coincidence, and challenges, which is one of The Journey’s most powerful lessons. Whether or not we are listening is the question.

My story explores the fine line between fate and coincidence, from philosophical encounters and prophetic warnings to moments of tremendous grace. Did dreams happen to save our lives? That was when we had nothing left, an invention came? That assistance showed up when it was most needed?

Why I Wrote The Journey

I wrote this book for dreamers who question whether faith still has a place in a chaotic world, families dealing with grief, entrepreneurs on the verge of failure, and anybody who has felt broken by life.

The Journey is evidence that destruction and fate may coexist, that adversity teaches resilience, and that miracles frequently take the form of catastrophes.

If you’re going through a difficult time, remember that losing everything isn’t the end. Occasionally, it signifies the start of something far bigger than you had anticipated.

Connect with Deborah Chester: LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

The Remarkable Journey of Pianist John Bayless

NY Weekly Staff on January 8, 2026

By: Paul White

John Bayless’s life has been a testament to resilience, reinvention, and his deep passion for music. His memoir, One Hand, One Heart: My Life, My Music, is less a traditional story and more a reflection on the power of perseverance, the healing power of art, and the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

Bayless’s journey began at just four years old, when he first pressed his tiny fingers against the family piano. Music came to him with ease, as natural as walking. “I heard the music and wanted to recreate it,” he recalls. “I played by ear, and my mother was my first teacher.” That natural gift would become both his refuge and his purpose through decades of both triumphs and challenges.

Young John grew up in a modest Texas home and endured a series of painful health conditions that led to multiple surgeries before his teens. Yet amid all the loudness of the hospitals and the hush of small-town life, he found sanctuary in sound. By the age of 13, he was the youngest church organist in the state of Texas—a precocious artist who played not for applause but for connection. The congregation saw talent; John saw a path forward.

He made music his compass, and he let it guide him toward greater horizons. Scholarships took him to Aspen, where he studied under legendary pianist Adele Marcus, and eventually to The Juilliard School in New York City. There, the rigor of elite artistry mixed with his Texan charm gave shape to his creative voice. It was also at Juilliard that he caught the attention of one of the greatest musical minds of the 20th century: Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein saw in him the rare blend of talent, humor, and emotional depth that audiences around the world would soon recognize. To be called Bernstein’s protégé was both an honor and a calling.

By 25, Bayless was performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at his Carnegie Hall debut, captivating critics with what The New York Times called “an evocative piano sound and considerable pizzazz.” His career blossomed internationally, with acclaimed recordings such as Bach Meets the Beatles and Happy Birthday, Bach blending classical mastery with pop-culture wit. He toured across Europe, collaborated with icons, and carved a niche as one of the earliest musicians to blend genres. He remains a virtuoso known for reimagining musical pieces, even playing Moon River as Tchaikovsky might have imagined it.

But just as his star reached its zenith, fate struck an unexpected chord.

In 2008, Bayless suffered a devastating stroke that paralyzed his right hand. For a pianist, this could have been the final curtain. However, Bayless approached this challenge as the start of a new movement. “Never give up hope,” he says simply. “You can’t go forward if you don’t put one foot in front of the other. You have to walk through it.”

When it came to rehabilitation, it was a grueling process. Even simple tasks like tying a shoe and signing his name became daily battles. Yet rather than surrender, Bayless quickly re-learned how to play with his left hand. This was a truly humbling yet transformative process. “Playing with one hand brought a new simplicity and sincerity to my music,” he writes. “Stripped of the need to impress, I could finally feel every note.”

This transformation was the heart of his documentary, Left Alone Rhapsody: The Musical Memoir of John Bayless, which was directed by Stewart Schulman. The film talks about the resurrection and tells a story of how art can transcend physical limitations. One of its most awe-inspiring moments captures Bayless performing Rhapsody in Blue with one hand, a feat of discipline and imagination that moved audiences to tears. “He started rewriting and orchestrating Rhapsody in Blue with six hands,” Schulman recalled, “and then he played it with one. That gave me the title Left Alone Rhapsody.”

For Bayless, the performance was emotional catharsis as much as it was a technical triumph. He discovered, through love and loss, what he calls “the truest form of music; when the notes come not from your fingers, but from your heart.”

One Hand, One Heart brilliantly weaves together these experiences with warmth, humor, and honesty. This book touches on his early struggles with illness, personal identity, his decades-long partnership with Emmy-winning producer Bruce Franchini, and his courageous approach to life after the stroke. The prose sings with rhythm and reflection, alternating between the intimacy of confession and the grandeur of a concerto. His anecdotes remind readers that genius is made of both perfection and perseverance.

Today, Bayless’s take on teaching and artistry remains grounded in compassion. “Learning the notes is one thing,” he tells young pianists, “but after all is said and done, throw that away and just play from your heart and your soul.” He embodies that same philosophy while dazzling audiences and mentoring aspiring musicians. As Artistic Director, he helped launch the competition’s Junior Division, offering young artists the same opportunity he once received: a stage, a chance, a belief.

When you look behind the concert lights, you’ll see that Bayless’s story is also deeply human. He writes candidly about love and loss, particularly the passing of his beloved husband Bruce after 26 years together. “It was as if the light had been turned out,” he admits. “But even in darkness, music found me again.” That resilience, grace in grief, and strength in vulnerability are what make his memoir so profoundly moving.

Today, John Bayless continues to compose, perform, and inspire. His life’s story stands as a testament to the idea that art is perseverance in action. With every note he plays, he makes a prayer. He reminds us that no matter how broken the instrument, the melody of the soul endures.

The readers of One Hand, One Heart are sure to be enthralled by the elegance of his writing as well as the moral clarity of his message. It’s a book that invites reflection on courage and on faith. It forces one to ponder the mysterious ways creativity can transform suffering into a symphony. In every chapter, Bayless reminds us that even when life takes something away, it opens up a door to create something new.

As one reviewer put it, “John Bayless’s journey back to the concert stage represents the highest form of human strength.” His brave life proves that art not only flows from hands but also from the heart.

Get Your Copy Now

One Hand, One Heart: My Life, My Music is a memoir and a masterclass in resilience. This book teaches us that beauty can be born from limitation, and melody can rise from silence. For anyone who has ever faced a challenge, John Bayless offers the message: “Never give up hope. Persevere. Because the music never really stops, it just changes hands.”

Connect with John Bayless: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook

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