Fragments of Perception

I have some exciting news to share with you! My first book, Fragments of Perception and Other Stories, is due to be published on 4th November 2017: that’s just over 3 weeks from now! The cover has been designed by the fantastic Natasha Snow and I’m so pleased with it because I think it really captures the mood of the book. You guys are the first to see it:

 It will be available from Amazon worldwide, Kobo, iBooks and my own website which will be going live in the next week or so. It is also listed on Goodreads already, so if you have an account please do look it up!

My Genre

I’m also pleased to say I have finally found the genre I fit into: Metaphysical and Visionary. It is a small niche, but a perfect match for my writing style. It is described as:

“A literary form that illustrates the process of growth in human consciousness. While it contains an all-inclusive spiritual element and often makes use of paranormal modes of perception, it employs story elements like plot, character and setting to immerse the reader in a drama of evolving awareness – rather than an exposition of specific teachings or practices.”

The word ‘visionary’ in this context seems to have originated in the works of Carl Jung, who some of you will know has had a huge influence on my worldview. He described it as “a strange something that derives its existence from the hinterlands of man’s mind” as opposed to psychological works which “take their materials from conscious human experience in the vivid foreground”.

The metaphysical part of the genre name is for “fiction in which a significant proportion is devoted to a discussion of the sorts of questions normally addressed in discursive philosophy.”

The genre is all about bringing forth gems of wisdom in story form in such a way that the reader experiences it for themselves without being preached to, and that is above all what I set out to do with my work.

 

My Two Hats

Over the last couple of weeks all of my spare time has been taken up with my publishing start up, formatting, editing, proofing, setting up various online accounts and a lot of reading to push me up a steep learning curve. I 100% stand by my decision to be an indie author, but it is a lot of hard work in the beginning. These sorts of tasks are what I have come to call ‘manager tasks’ that require a ‘manager hat’: a very different mindset to the one coming up with ideas and flowing words.

Although I do enjoy wearing this hat, I’ve learned that I can’t do it to the exclusion of my writer hat. I find it stressful and bad for my mental health if I don’t keep the flow of writing going alongside: that is, after all, the whole point. I’ve been researching a whole lot, I’ve noted down ideas for flash pieces, and I’ve put some time into plotting out another novel. But most of that is putting things into my head, and I’ve not been setting time aside for letting things flow out of my head.

So, once Fragments of Perception is out in the world, I’m desperately looking forward to dusting off that ‘writer hat’, doing what I love the most for the foreseeable future, and reclaiming the feeling of balance it gives me.

 

One More Piece of News

This morning I got the wonderful news that a story I wrote a few weeks ago has been selected to appear in an anthology, due for publication early in 2018. This means a lot to me, because not only is it the first thing I have submitted anywhere ever, but it is to appear alongside some hugely talented writers I admire. I’ll give more details on this when I can!

 

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