He describes the book as “a modern tale that harkens back to the myths of antiquity. It takes you on a remarkable journey, while exploring the themes of healing, redemption, forgiveness, sacrifice, and ultimately…peace within.”

The publisher summarises the plot thus: Joseph Connell is a gifted high school athlete from Montana, loved deeply by his family, yet tormented by nightmarish visions he can neither explain nor escape. He believes the answer to what threatens to crush him can be found in the knowledge possessed by a mystical old wise man who lives deep within the remote Himalayas of India. If Joseph is ever to find the peace he so desperately seeks, he must get this wise old man to reveal what he truly knows, but that will not be easy…for this sage knows far more than he admits.

Welcome Paul. Thanks for dropping by during your blog tour. Let’s get started, shall we?

How do you go about making the setting come alive for the reader?
PM: I literally read dozens and dozens of books on northern India, and the Himalayas in particular, but while that gave me interesting information, it didn’t help me bring it “alive”. To do that, I had to travel them personally. Truth be told, it was a gruelling experience. Over several weeks I would often spend up to twelve hours per day in the car, which wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I travelled to literally the highest mountain peaks in all of India, where the roads were more often than not narrow and filled with hairpin turns every fifty feet or less. In some places there wasn’t even a “road” in the traditional sense, and very often we had to navigate around cattle and Holy Men trekking to temples as old as the 8th Century A.D. So for me, travelling as my main characters did was the most authentic way to make the area come alive for the reader.

How do you introduce them to a place they may not be familiar with?
PM: I like to start with details and descriptions so that the setting feels tangible and real. Once the physical setting, especially such an unfamiliar and exotic one, has been established, it makes for a more powerful reading experience.

How do you transport them there through your writing?
PM: I made sure the reader felt as if they were traveling along with my characters, which is exactly what several readers and reviewers said.

Why did you choose this setting?
PM: I chose this setting to enhance the magical and mystical experience for the reader.

How is it a fundamental part of your overall theme?
PM: The setting of the Himalayas adds to the sense of spiritual journey.

What inspired you to write this book?

PM: I am often asked that. While I always knew I wanted to share with the world a deeply meaningful tale, I also knew I wanted to deliver one that recognizes that our lives are permeated and guided by forces beyond our control, forces more powerful than us, and very often with designs not of our choosing that will challenge us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I believe that Life itself is a spiritual journey, often a painful one, yet persevering through that pain can lead to powerful wisdom and healing insights. For me, the most engaging spiritual stories are the ones that tap into the mythical dimension that resonates deep within the collective unconscious of us all, which is why I chose to write a modern tale that harkens back to the myths of antiquity.

I was also most certainly inspired by the events of my own life, which gave my novel its singular sense of intensity and purpose. Sometimes I think I have endured more in this one lifetime than some people might endure in ten. I have been paralyzed from the neck down in a severe spinal compression accident, though fortunately I made a full recovery.

I was beset in the decades that followed with multiple painful joint reconstruction surgeries, Hashimoto’s Disease (thyroid), Gilbert’s Disease (liver), Crohn’s Disease (intestinal), and Addison’s Disease (adrenal). I still must take more medications each day than most people take in vitamins in a week’s time. I made a searing film about my life, A Life Unfinished, which screened in The Hamptons International Film Festival.

It was this lifetime filled with unrelenting hardship and penetrating adversity that severely tested my inner strength, resolve, belief system, and infused me with the creative drive to craft a novel that is a distinctive mix of enlightening spiritual journey with the intensity and power of the ancient mythological archetype.

I actually started writing Lifting the Wheel of Karma, 25 years ago while I was still in high school. To be candid, I tried repeatedly to abandon it, because it was so difficult and demanding and taxing to “get it right”. But fortunately for me, the work refused to be forsaken, and in time I realized that writing this story was my Dharma – my duty in life.

Thank you, Paul, for visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us a bit about Lifting the Wheel of Karma. The book is available in paperback and ebook forms from booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Readers can learn more about the book and how to purchase it on Paul’s website and also on the book’s Facebook page.

About the Author: Paul H. Magid started writing his debut novel, Lifting the Wheel of Karma, twenty-five years ago while still in high school. It took him so long to complete because he tried repeatedly to abandon it, but the work refused to be forsaken. Along the way he has worked as a Wall Street financial analyst, a waiter (not a very good one), a Hollywood Agent Trainee, a real estate developer, a summer day camp director, an award winning screenwriter, and independent filmmaker—including his autobiographical film, A Life Unfinished, which screened in The Hamptons International Film Festival.

Sorrow and sadness are not part of our concept of the Christmas season. Grief and heartbreak are incompatible with the jollity expected of us throughout December. But we can’t banish the problems and heartaches that beset us because it’s Christmas. So I’ve been thinking about of how difficult this season is for those who are suffering emotional pain. In the midst of the festivities I’m aware that not everyone feels like celebrating. Someone said to me this week that we never know what problems those we meet each day are facing. So tonight I’m very aware of the importance of caring and compassion in our dealings with others, especially at this time of year.

I may not be brimming with hearty Christmas cheer tonight but my Christmas greeting to readers, friends and family is warm and sincere. I hope you have a peaceful, safe Christmas with those you love and you will find a bright horizon in your New Year.

Here’s what Suzanne has written:

Do we really recovery from heartbreaks? I don’t think so, at least not 100%, but this is only my opinion.

I believe as enough time passes we get used to carrying around the broken pieces. Every now and then we replace them with distractions, temporary or permanent, but it does not take much to remind us that we have or had a broken heart. A name on a sign, a smell, a place, photos, gifts or a favourite sweater are all triggers that can bring memories back to us and it can feel as if the fall to the floor is happening all over again, even if we have become involved in another relationship.

Broken hearts are most often associated with the end of a relationship but we know it can be most devastating when someone we love dies. That to me is the most severe heartbreak we can ever experience. When it is this kind of heartbreak we have no choice but to come to terms with the fact the person we loved is never coming back, they have died, we bury them and in time, we can have closure.

When we are not grieving the death of a loved one but grieving the death of a relationship it can be confusing. The person is still walking around, living their life, but doing it without us. Unless we are the initiators in ending the relationship, knowing they are still engaging in normal activity without us when all we want to do is be with them, continues to add more pain and we compound the heartache by adding other emotions we confuse with heartache. These emotions can be jealousy, loneliness, self doubts and self loathing and many other emotions we feel are inflicted upon us because of our broken heart.

In so many instances the reason for the heartbreak can make it so much heavier than it should be. Disloyalty is among the top reasons; just no longer compatible is the opposite but still hurts if we thought we were so compatible.

Finding your way without “that” person can seem insurmountable, especially when we did not want it to end. Coming to accept that fact that, “it’s over” can takes a long time if you refuse to believe it’s over.

Sure we have to have the grieving period and during that time we will experience emotions we thought would never happen to us and do things we never normally do, after all, “we had the best relationship ever.” But obviously we did not and as I have had a great opportunity to look around, even the most solid relationships can suffer heart aches and disillusion and that disillusioned me! Is there just one example out there for us to follow? God I hope so, but I have not seen one yet.

EGO

It was a constant battle to break the habit of contact, not to pick up the phone when I wanted to speak with him, just to discuss day to day issues; it was what we did, it’s what we all did, even you. At some point I even refused to believe it was over and he will be calling me…he never called. This refusing to believe it was over…was my ego. After all who wouldn’t want to be involved in a perfect relationship? It was perfect to me, and I was pretty sure it was perfect for him, again ….my ego.

Recovery

Eventually it became apparent to me and to everyone around me I was detaching and I could not stand the impression I was leaving, it was dark, sad and consuming and no one wants to stay in that environment for very long, I was sending my friends running. I was just waiting for someone to say to me, “Enough Suzanne! Get over it already!” And those were words I never wanted to hear. So I made a decision, I was going to take some time to be alone, truly alone to get over, come to terms with and accept the demise of my relationship.

Not everyone is in a position to be alone for extended periods but almost everyone is in control of their own thoughts enough to make the decision to explore their emotions and decide they are no longer going to feel so sad anymore.  Once that concrete decision is made, and it has to be a true desire or it will take longer, it will take conscious effort to keep working on that decision until one day you realize you have woken up and that you actually slept longer than you did the night before and the pain is less, it is suddenly bearable.

From that moment of awareness, every day after that you become stronger, more in tune, more in control of your emotions, and you will find you do not want to pick up the phone just to say “hi.”  That is the moment we think will never come but it does, I promise, it does come.

I equate my recovery like I am an alcoholic and he is my drink of choice. Every day that goes by and I do not have contact with him is like one day without a drink. Every now and then he will text me or calls me and to me it is like being handed a drink. Now it is my choice whether I take the drink or not and sometimes I do take the drink but like all addicts, I have remorse and guilt and I start all over the next day…day one. Soon many days will pass and I am proud of the fact that I have not poured myself a drink by contacting him or accepted one when he contacts me.  I hope that makes sense.

I have no doubt the feelings I have had since day one of no drinking, no contact is withdrawal, the emotions are wild, out of control at times, but I get through the day and I thank “What Ever Gods May Be” for my strength not to drink because I know I am better without it.

What do we need to do to recover? I am not a therapist or an expert of any kind to be able to give professional advice but what I am is an expert at experiencing heartbreak, I have allowed too many to affect me for profound periods of time, believing it was going to work out, he would come back and all will be fine. Well even when they do come back, often it is too late, the damage has been done to us and we are rarely the same again.

Many people have told me that when they did get back together it soon ended again and this time they were the initiators of it because it was not as they remember it, but at least it gave them time to be in the relationship again and they could settle their emotions down and they felt in control of the breakup which is a twisted way of being manipulative and controlling but I can attest, it does feel better to be the one doing the breaking up especially after they have broken my heart. It is not spite or revenge that I ended it “my way” it was accepting the fact that it was right to end it and perhaps I did not see it the first time around.

When we are in recovery mode, most often we find ourselves wanting to be alone, even with family and friends around we find ourselves looking for space. We want to be alone to wallow in our sorrow, it keeps us attached to the reason or the person we are sorrowful about. I know I was this way, when I was alone I could cry, sleep, dream, read old texts and e-mails and it felt better in a weird way. It felt as if we were still connected, I could procrastinate on reality. Eventually I stopped doing that too, it got old and I felt ridiculous even pathetic with my behaviour. But there is no question I had to go through the pain to feel better.

Awareness of your pain and acceptance of the situation, whatever you have to do to get there with your dignity in tact you must do it. It will increase your self esteem and help propel you to another level of living again; a higher level and this will happen I can promise you as well. One day at a time and time will pass.

About Suzanne Gravelle: Suzanne Gravelle is 49 Years old and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren who live in Nova Scotia.  At the time this book goes to print she is single and homeless by choice, still travelling, seeking that place of comfort she will eventually call home.

She spent most of her life living in Nova Scotia but her formative years aged 10-25, were spent living on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She resigned as a Real Estate Agent in Nova Scotia, to embark upon this most incredible journey, driving, exploring Canada and writing this book.

For more information about Unfinished by Suzanne Gravelle, visit http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Suzanne-Gravelle/dp/192700506X. You can also follow her journey on her blog – http://ontourwithsuzanne.blogspot.com.

During the past couple years I have interviewed some of their authors and also reviewed a couple of their titles on Ascroft, eh? Today I’ve invited Nicole here to tell us a bit about the change in direction which the company is taking. Welcome Nicole.

Why the change into e-books for young adults?
NL: Our main reason is the explosion in popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle, Nook and iPad. Over the course of 2011, we’ve watched our ebook sales outpace our print sales by 2 to 1. The under $5 price point of most of our titles and the ease of purchase and delivery are surely contributing factors. No one age group integrates technology into their daily lifestyles like teenagers. They are constantly plugged in and connected 24/7 either by smart phone, electronic tablet, laptop, etc. They “get” ebooks.

How are you taking submissions?
NL: We’re accepting submissions via email.  Our email address is: info@tribute-books.com

What are the requirements for submission?
NL: We’re looking for Microsoft Word documents with a maximum of 350 pages of text with no photos, charts, illustrations, graphs, etc. Manuscripts that have already been professionally edited will receive greater consideration. Our preference is to work with authors who have already been published through a royalty-paying press and who know the ins and outs of book promotion. An established social media platform is a must, and we will not consider writers who do not have a well-followed blog, Facebook page or Twitter account.

What kinds of young adult titles are you interested in?
NL: Our preference is for damn good writing, the particular topic is secondary in importance. However, books written with a series in mind or those that delve into the paranormal will have a slight edge.

Where will these ebooks be available?
NL: The ebooks will be available through Kindle, Nook, iPad, Smashwords and as PDF downloads through Tribute-Books.com.

Thank you for dropping by today, Nicole. Good luck with your new direction. Readers can learn more about Tribute Books by visiting their website: www.tribute-books.com. 

Here’s how the publisher describes the book:

“Dublin. Good Friday. 1916.

Kidnapped and held at gunpoint by his former IRB comrades, Bulmer Hobson, the misunderstood antihero of 1916 denounces the ill-fated Easter Rising he had tried to prevent.  While his captors joke about shooting him and dumping his body on the railroad tracks, his terrified fiancée roams the chaos-ravaged city in search of him. Fifteen years of political rivalry, international conspiracy, botched love affairs, and taunting promises of glory culminate in a bloody showdown. Once branded ‘the most dangerous man inIreland’ by the police, Hobson is about to be deleted from history.

Based on historical accounts, Martyrs and Traitors, is an intimate glance into the conflicted and shattered heart ofIreland’s discredited patriot.”

I’m always interested in novels that present well known slices of history in a new light. So, I’d like to hear more about Martyrs and Traitors, Marina.  If I may,  I’ll ask you a few questions about the novel.

Firstly, would you tell us about your novel.

MN: One of the critics described “Martyrs & Traitors” as “Easter Rising noir”.  It is a sequel to a short folkloric satire “Brendan Malone: the Last Fenian”. “Martyrs” was written in 4 months and is about 450-pages long. I wrote it on one breath, at a very trying time in my life, when I was extremely stressed out. It explores the political and intimate travesties ofIreland’s discredited patriot Bulmer Hobson.  I found that the subject matter bewildered many people.  They would frown and ask me: “Why him?  He’s so … obscure!”  And that is where I raise my index finger and correct them smugly: “He’s not obscure.  He was forced into obscurity due to his unpopular decision to oppose the Easter Rising.  He is one of the greatest Fenians to come out of the North.”

What prompted you to write about this historical event?

MN: Shortly after I got my short novel “Brendan Malone: the Last Fenian” accepted for publication, Bulmer Hobson came to me in a dream and reproached me for having given him so little “screen time”.  He said that without him there would’ve been no IRB revival and expressed hope that I would explore him and his contributions more extensively in my next book. Of course, I woke up with heart palpitations and started writing.  I devoted an entire novel to him. You can tell I am completely infatuated with the man.

 How closely did you stick to the historical facts? If you used them loosely, how did you decide whether to deviate from them?

MN: I stuck to the historical facts quite accurately.  With 1916 there is no need to embellish too much.  The facts are mind-boggling enough.  The emotional element is where I took liberties.  In reviewing witness statements from various survivors, I had to read between the lines and try to imagine what the mental state of a particular individual was.  Those statements were mostly terse.  The speakers stuck to the facts and did not elaborate on the emotional aspect.  And of course, time plays tricks on our memory.  The way we remember events 10 years after they happened and the way we remember them 50 years later can be very different. 

What research did you do for this book?
MN: I talked to professors, authors and history enthusiasts. I have acknowledged all those people who contributed to my research.  I cannot say enough about their generosity with their time and information. 

You use a mixture of historic figures and invented characters in the novel. Which is more difficult to write? Which to you prefer to write and why?
MN: Even if you are writing about a historical figure, you are reinventing him/her.  My goal was to avoid giving any historical character a purely encyclopedic portrayal.  In “Martyrs & Traitors” the vast majority of characters are real historical figures.  There are two heroines who are composite characters, meaning they were based on several historical figures.  For instance, Isabel McCormack, a fictitious love-child of Countess Markiewicz, was based on Eveleen Nicholl (Pearse’s alleged love) and Iseult Gonne Stuart. 

In an historical novel you must vividly re-create a place in a bygone era. How did you bring this place you are writing about to life?

MN: A historical novelist has to be careful not to sound like an apt history pupil who’s done his/her homework diligently.  Yes, it’s important to incoporate various elements that mark the era you’re right about, but it’s important to do so seamlessly.  You don’t want certain passages to stick out like blocks copied straight out of Wikipedia.  You have to think of your characters are normal people, who have the same feelings, fears, needs and instincts as your contemporaries, even though their manner of expression or their conflict resolution tactics might be different.  I also find it helpful to read literature from that era.  I confess, I did not revisit Joyce.  But I did read Eimar O’Duffy’s “The Wasted Island”.  That novel was written in 1919, just three years after the Rising.  It was a totally subjective account, but it was authentic. It gave me tremendous insight into the morals and manners of the era. 
 
There often seems to be more scope in historical novels for male characters rather than female characters. Do you prefer to write one sex or the other. And, if so, why?
MN: I have always been fascinated by the dynamics in a predominantly male society.  Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” and Jack London’s “The Sea-Wolf” are among my favorite novels.  When men are cut off from women and the rest of the world, whether within monastery walls or on board of a ship, all sorts of intellectual and physical conflicts emerge. This is why I wanted to study the Irish Republican Brotherhood.  The reality is, in the previous centuries/decades men had enjoyed more freedom and therefore had more opportunities to get into trouble.  The theme of a woman disguising herself as a man to penetrate an exclusively male world is very common in historical fiction.  It is important for me as a writer to create female characters who are not just romantic interests or distractions for the male protagonists.  The early 20th century was a truly exciting time for girls.  The Irish revolutionary women were rebels on more than one front.  They fought simultaneously for women’s rights, for Irish freedom and, in Helena Molony’s case, for the rights of workers.  When you get in that avenger state of mind, it’s hard to pick and choose your battles. 

Thanks for telling us a little about Martyrs and Traitors, Marina.  Readers can learn more about the novel and Marina at www.marinajulianeary.com

About the author: Marina Julia Neary is an award-winning historical essayist, multilingual arts & entertainment journalist, novelist, dramatist and poet.  Her areas of expertise include British steampunk, French Romanticism and Irish nationalism.

You can get a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fermanagh-Miscellany-2011-ebook/dp/B005ZE50P6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319656037&sr=8-1

I’ll let me fellow member, Vanessa Couchman, tell you more about the book: “The anthology takes as its theme food, drink and recipes from around the world. It is a tantalizing collection of fiction and non-fiction, full of spice and flavour and sprinkled with mouth-watering recipes. The wide-ranging, sometimes bittersweet, contributions show how adaptable an ex-pat has to be to leave familiar dishes behind and venture into the culinary unknown. 

This is the second anthology published by Writers Abroad. All the contributors are, or have been, ex-pats living in places around the globe.  Alexander McCall Smith, acclaimed author of The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series and himself an ex-pat, has written the preface. 

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to The Book Bus, a charity whose aim is to bring literacy and the joy of reading to children in the developing world.  Information about the Book Bus can be found at www.thebookbus.org “      

 Foreign Flavours is released today and is available from Lulu http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/foreign-flavours/ , price £9.60 (€10.99)

Well, I’d better stop here. I’m heading over to Lulu to get my own copy of the book. I’ve had a sneak peak at the contents when I critiqued a few of the contributions to the book. Now I intend to get comfortable and read the rest of the stories and articles in it. My mouth is watering already…

It wasn’t a run of the mill event, by any means – definitely an unusual poetry reading. You can read more about it – here.

Dianne dwarfed by Portora Castle