Annus mirabilis

I have written before about the influence my year abroad as a student had on me. Numerous of the “Diverse” feuilletons deal with that year and the other decades I spent in Europe, mostly in Vienna.

Today I want to link to an extended interview I recently had with my

Young man abroad

Vienna alma mater, the Institute of European Studies (IES) for their “Alum of the Month” publication. As I state in the interview, “Outside of my family, IES Vienna was the single biggest influence in my life. It made me what I am today, it opened the world for me, it allowed me to see possibilities I never knew existed. It was in Vienna that I decided to become a writer. I stayed on for a number of years and learned my craft there and also found a subject that I have mined over and over in nonfiction and fiction: the amazing renaissance of Vienna 1900.”

Here is a great big DANKE to IES for changing my life. And in case you missed the link above, here it is again!

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Laurence O’Bryan’s “Puzzle” Thrillers

Irish writer Laurence O’Bryan is the author of three fast-paced, international conspiracy thrillers, The Istanbul Puzzle, The Jerusalem Puzzle, and The Manhattan Puzzle, which was just published. The books feature Isabel Sharp and Sean Ryan as they unravel mysteries in each of the locales and have been favorably compared to the work of Dan Brown and Robert Harris. Of the first book in the series, the London Telegraph noted: “A brisk plot…which draws the reader into a conspiratorial rapport.” The Irish Independent also had praise for The Istanbul Puzzle: “This stylish conspiracy thriller is a Turkish delight…combines plenty of stirring action with fascinating historical detail.”

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