Victor E. Smith's Blog, page 2

The Impact of Visionary Fiction on the Real World – W. Bradford Swift

I asked myself a question recently: Can a book of fiction make any significant difference in the real world in which we live? I didn’t get around to asking that question until after thirty years of being a professional author and having published a couple of dozen books. Still, my perspective on writing began to change in 2019. I contribute that change to two key factors:

I became much more interested in the upcoming presidential election that’s due to take place on November 3, 2020, especially when I learned that author and spiritual leader, Marianne Williamson had entered the race. That spark of interest was fanned into a flame when I started listening to her message and vision for America and the world.
I also began to participate with an international organization, Landmark Worldwide. This educational organization had made a profound difference in my life in the late eighties and nineties. I even met my wife in a Landmark course, but then we stopped participating until 2019. Through participating in their Curriculum for Living, I became re-energized that I could make a difference in the world through my writing.

[image error]Here is why I decided I had to write my next book of visionary fiction entitled, The Fringe Candidate (Book One of the Amberica Series). The current state of our political climate is one of tremendous division between our two parties here in the United States with Independents caught in the middle. It’s a climate where many of our leaders are more interested in maintaining their political careers than serving the citizens who elected them. It’s become so bad that it’s … Continue reading →

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The Hidden World of Wysteria – a Film – Owl Willows

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Owl Willows has just released a silent film on YouTube, based on her novel series of the same name. This film focuses on the two main characters from Book Three: Beneath Rain and Stars.

Edgar and Aleka are two misfits who find each in a very unusual, magickal way. They find Wysteria through a mysterious tree, and decide to leave Earth and go beyond the stars to live in Wysteria. It is in this world that they are accepted by understanding spirits who love them.

Directed by Owl Willows and created by the author and her family, this film tells the story of Edgar and Aleka and of their journey into Wysteria. We wanted to tell this story in a way that was abstract and relaxing, in a way which embraced the loneliness of Earth that Aleka experienced, and the magick that Wysteria held. The story explores New Age concepts in a peaceful, thoughtful manner. Filming took place in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and in the Seattle area.

The Hidden World of Wysteria novel series is available at at Lulu  and Amazon.

[image error]About the author

Owl Willows is a New England author who now lives on the West Coast with her significant other and their lovably kooky cats. She loves nature, … Continue reading →

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Christmas Special offer from debut sci-fi author Mark Dowson

[image error] ReCo2gnition-Oxygen Debt is available now for only £1.19 ($1.47) in ebook format from Amazon US and UK. The book is also discounted by 25% in softback at Book Depository.

If you’ve already bought a copy from Amazon, do please upload a review. A few select reviews of this book also appear below.

Best Wishes and I hope you enjoy reading my book!

Merry Christmas & Best Wishes,

Mark

Select reviews

 If you like crime, mystery and romance all wrapped up in a sci-fi thriller this is for you. Mark has also introduced today’s global concerns as a crucial theme and if that isn’t enough he’s cleverly focussed on mental health too. You’ll need to concentrate but that’s its magic.
– Graham Miller, television presenter, broadcaster and journalist

An intriguing juxtaposition of science fiction, science fact and fast-paced dramatic plot development set against the backdrop of one of the greatest challenges of our times – Climate Change.  A hugely entertaining, relevant and stimulating read.
– Dr. Volker Buttgereit, world renowned Wind scientist and lecturer at Imperial College London

 Prepare to become a fan of Mark Dowson; in his debut novel he’s created Science Fiction for the well-read. Mark skilfully interlaces subgenres’ taking the reader through a mix of Thrilling Science Fiction, Political machinations, and Romantic Time travel. Buy this book now!
– Dennis Woods, Command Sergeant Major USA (retired) and author of Black Flag Journals

About the author

Mark Dowson’s own inspiration to write the trilogy of books has come from his … Continue reading →

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How – and why – was this book written?

[image error]Ever since beginning to write while still a teenager (rather too many decades ago), the process was always very much a partnership. The concepts, frameworks and key elements seemed to appear unannounced. Sometimes at very inconvenient moments! In recent years, this phenomenon has become even more marked, particularly with the latest book which has taken me into uncharted visionary waters. Here is a brief account of the main stages in this fascinating chain of events.

The initial “capsule” arrived perfectly formed on 21 May 2018 as Venus gleamed in the sky one hour before dawn. A natural, predestined sequel to the monumental “Genesis Antarctica” completed the previous year. The title of this new work was self evident: “Revelation Antarctica“, and there was enough in that initial delivery to shape some 10% of the material during the following two months.

Work in earnest was taken up again in October and immediately assumed a whole new dimension. Within a few weeks of adding more chapters and polishing the earlier content, a new phenomenon became part of the equation.

This began one morning in early November, with an awakening just before 5 a.m. and an urge (or was it a command?) to start writing immediately. Plus a “directive” to do so every morning until 8 or 9 a.m. for as long as it would take to complete the mission. This routine was strictly adhered to for the next nine months, with no more than ten “exceptions” in all that time.

… Continue reading →

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Advent Giveaway Day – Pilgrimage on the Path of Love – December 8 2019

A second giveaway from VFA member Barbara Briggs! Here is another chance to win a copy of Pilgrimage on the Path of Love by Barbara Ann Briggs, courtesy of Kindred Spirit magazine. It’s a beautiful uplifting journey of discovery all can enjoy!

[image error]An Ocean of Silence (a passage from the book)

“It took some time before … I was ready to begin my morning meditation. I crossed my legs in lotus position and closed my eyes. Gradually, the outer world faded away as my breathing settled down. As the body relaxed, breathing became as if suspended and the thoughts loosened their grip, spreading out into a formless, amorphous mass like clouds blown apart by the wind. The faint almost imperceptible impulse of the mantra appeared and disappeared like a fine golden thread weaving the rippling fabric of the mind into a more integrated pattern of inner clarity and peace. My heart seemed to melt into an ocean of silence, which erased all sense of time and space. As the rippling fabric of the mind became more and more transparent, the light of the inner sun shone through, igniting the fibers of awareness with light. Then the clouds passed, covering the sun and flickering images like flocks of wild birds flew across the canvas of the mind shadowing the light with their wings.”
(pp. 31-32) from Chapter One

Enter at Kindred Spirit’s Facebook page.

Winners will be picked at random on Sunday, December 8th at 6 p.m., UK time.

[image error] Continue reading →

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The Importance of a Well-Written Book Blurb

[image error]The book blurb is also known as the description. It is the key to maximizing potential sales of your book.

In the past, perusing book stores to discover the latest and greatest book to add to your collection was an experience unto itself. The atmosphere. The exploring. The smells. The displays.

We’d pick up a book and first enjoy / read the cover. This is the FIRST element in selling your book. But after the cover grabbed our attention, we’d flip the bock over and read the book blurb. The blurb would draw us in further and make the sale.

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This is SECOND element in selling your book, and some would say the most important. The blurb is where you grab’em and sell’em. The book blurb has 4 key notes to hit to be successful. Who. What. Why. And, Why you?

Start out with the obvious, your main characters. We don’t want the entire backstory of your characters, just the exciting / terrifying / dramatic bits. For example “Alene Baron is 38 years old and over seven years divorced from her philandering husband. Alene is also an avid reader of mysteries.” or “Sage Blackthorn revisits demons from her past and confronts a multitude of new ones when she returns to her childhood home to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.” Now we’re hooked. We like the main character and quite possibly relate.

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Next, tell your potential reader what the conflict is. What’s the problem, the challenge, the adventure the main character has to experience? For example, “Sage is confronted with a flood … Continue reading →

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Excellent! The Lighter Side of Visionary Fiction

One of Keanu Reeves’ best known movie franchises is also an unacknowledged visionary tale. Its heroes are thoroughly ordinary individuals who learn they are destined to change the future of humanity. The story touches on human potential, defeating a materialist and meaningless existence (as symbolised in a battle against artificial intelligence), and overcoming death.

[image error]But I’m not talking about The Matrix.

The first time I saw the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) as a kid, something about it captured my imagination. At the time I couldn’t explain what that something was, but today I know I was drawn to its visionary elements.

The Matrix trilogy (1999 onwards) shares some of these elements, but not to the same degree. I admit that Bill & Ted is not exactly an obvious candidate for visionary fiction. While most would be more likely to think of The Matrix trilogy, I personally think the Bill & Ted franchise is a better fit.

The Good Ending

Most visionary fiction writers and readers take this genre very seriously. After all, it’s about the growth of human consciousness. It brings in teachings from spiritual faiths and/or enlightened masters. It contains a higher message, and more often than not, suggestions on what we need to do to ensure we reach our potential, while avoiding self-destruction. Of course, this is no laughing matter. But is all visionary fiction so serious?

Once upon a time in ancient Greece and Rome, a comedy was not a story that makes us laugh, but a story with a good ending. Most of us also expect visionary … Continue reading →

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Review: The Gnostic Jung

The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead by Stephan A. Hoeller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stephen Hoeller’s Gnostic Jung is an invaluable resource, a veritable meditation text as another reviewer noted, for those ready and willing to take a dive into a mode of spiritual/psychological development that is not for those only looking only to feel “better.”

Early in Carl Jung’s career and shortly after his traumatic falling out with his mentor Sigmund Freud, he wrote a cryptic text, a short series of reflections he called “The Seven Sermons of the Dead.” Through it, maintains Hoeller, professor of comparative religions, Jung outlined the spiritual and psychological direction his life work in human development would follow.

Those familiar with Gnosticism, not a prerequisite as Hoeller explains it well enough in the book, as a Christian heresy of the second and third centuries, will require some viewpoint adjustment to see this belief system as the Gnostics themselves and Jung viewed it. “Earlier than any authority in the field of Gnostic studies,” Hoeller writes, “Jung recognized the Gnostics for what they were: seers who brought forth original, primal creations from the mystery which he called the unconscious.” This fascinating conjunction of an ancient religious system, Gnosticism, with a modern scientific one, Jungian psychology, is only one of the fascinating aspects of The Gnostic Jung.

It contains many stunning observations on modern social and spiritual conundrums that the Gnostic/ Jungian combination seems to resolve. I underlined dozens of lines in the text, so many beautifully written too, for future reflection. As an example, here is a paragraph, even though it might offend some, that I found worth savoring:

“To Jung, life has always two movements: one upward, the other downward. To the Pollyanna optimism of the spiritual adolescents, there is only one direction or motion, and this is up. Whether we look to the so-called “born again” Christianity with its once-popular slogan “one way,” or to the nineteenth-and early twentieth-century New Thought schools with their near-obsession with the concept of evolution and the power of positive thinking, this false optimism seems to be prominently represented. It is to be doubted whether genuine spiritual growth is possible under such circumstances. Suffering accepted, darkness recognized, and sorrow understood are great assets to the authentic life of the spirit. Composure, serenity, and authentic psychic strength all arise from the recognition and acceptance of the reality of evil and darkness and not from their denial due to false optimism. Heedless cheerfulness, on the other hand, almost inevitably changes eventually into sorrow and discontent, for it denies the reality of one important aspect of life.”

If the opposition between good and evil in the world yesterday, today, and likely tomorrow still makes you highly uncomfortable, treat yourself to this book.

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Review After the Diagnosis…a Guide for Living

After the Diagnosis…: A Guide for Living by Reverend Thomas F. Lynch

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A dear friend of mine, who has not only experienced the harsh reality of sustained illness that has left her on death’s door multiple times but has also enjoyed the personal and pastoral comfort of Fr. Thomas Lynch, sent me a copy of his book After the Diagnosis…a Guide for Living a few weeks ago. Without this personal recommendation, I likely would not have looked at it twice much less read it carefully, taking much of its advice into consideration. At first, it struck me as too narrowly religious (Catholic) in approach. Then the subject matter, as presented in its subtitle, The Transformative Power of Love During Sickness, Dying and Death, is, well, morbid, at least in part. I’ll admit that the desire to better understand and help my friend in her condition started me reading it. But it was to understand and help myself (now healthy but in my seventies) that I read it through and incorporated it into my daily meditations.

This is a practical manual prepared by a duo of authors who have spent face time at the bedsides of many ill and dying people where words without solid truth behind them wilt faster than cut flowers in the desert sun. Coming through with clarity is their intention to support and comfort those human angels, professional and familial, to whom it falls to care for the sick during the final vigil. Their advice to be applied in the most critical of life situations is delivered with exquisite care and reverence for both patient and caregiver. That Rev. Lynch and Barbara Mariconda succeed, as the numerous testimonials proclaim, puts their book in that growing and vital library , which includes the works of the likes of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Eben Alexander, which addresses the supremely important but largely avoided subject of our mortality.

One reservation for the non-Catholic : in the book’s Introduction, the authors, while acknowledging that the book “is written through the lens of the Catholic Christian faith,” claim that “the ideas, insights, and practices point to the universal core truths that make them applicable to all religious traditions.” I was disappointed that this thread of inclusive Universalism, which underlies the deepest religious/spiritual urge in all humans, was too frequently limited to explanations and practices of a single tradition. An opportunity missed.

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Review: The Lost Way, Stephen J. Patterson

The Lost Way: How Two Forgotten Gospels Are Rewriting the Story of Christian Origins by Stephen J. Patterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For anyone intrigued by the origins of Christianity but frustrated by the limitations of the historical documents available to the layperson, Stephen J. Patterson’s The Lost Way: How Two Forgotten Gospels Are Rewriting the Story of Christian Origins is not only a valuable resource (it includes the author’s translation of the two documents under discussion) but also a fascinating and inspirational read that will resonate long after you put the book down.

Speaking of the still-prevalent ideology of Doomsday, he writes in summary, “The apocalypse never came, and it’s not going to come. This idea belongs to the world of ancient mythology, and it wasn’t a very good idea to begin with. In it the Jewish God of shalom becomes a violent overlord, and the Prince of Peace becomes a supernatural warrior, a fire-breathing monster who lays waste the earth, its forests, its animals, and all but a remnant of its people—the chosen few. How many have believed they were the few!”

But his conclusions are not all reductive. Underneath the canonical books that end with the fire-and-brimstone of Revelations, Patterson discovers a message of the benevolent teacher of the ancient Wisdom tradition: “Jesus was saying and doing things that moved people. He was a sage and a prophet. In Q and the Gospel of Thomas we recover something of that original modality of Jesus—wisdom. This was the lost Way. When you see it in texts that feature it, like the wisdom gospels Q and Thomas, it is easy to see.”

If you can approach an area as tried-and-true as Scripture with the idea that there is more to them (and more of them) than meets the eye, I can vouch that The Lost Way will prove to be a valuable learning and growth experience.

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