In the ever-evolving world of book publishing, I’m writing a new chapter, a new kind of book illustrated with animated AI art – one that seamlessly merges the realms of literature, art, music, psychology, and technology. I’m using animated AI generated art in short-form video (as you see on Tik Tok and Instagram) to illustrate a webbook designed to be read comfortably on mobile devices. This kind of book revolutionizes the reading experience, transforming a simple story into a dynamic, interactive masterpiece. Yes, it really is a masterpiece, because not only is the imagery in this book illustrated with animated AI art stunningly beautiful, it’s also set to inspiring music created by my husband Kris Newland – see his albums on Bandcamp. And the story is a first-person psychological journey told through archetypal fantasy characters and deep symbolism that combines psychological theories of archetypes and the unconscious mind with Greek myths and Eastern philosophy. The book is … [Read more...]
Do Book Trailers Sell Books?
Do book trailers sell books? It's hard to say just what makes a book sell, especially when you're doing a lot of different things to promote your book at the same time. An author's platform these days includes Facebook and Twitter and whatever other social media platforms you feel comfortable using, and you need a steady stream of material, of which a book trailer is only one thing you might put out in a day or a week. Videos do get more engagement on social media, however. Their reach on Facebook is much wider than even a photograph, so that makes it worth adding video to your social media content. You don't need one, but it's certainly good if you have one, and it will likely sell your books better than a photograph - so long as it's a video that holds people's attention. Is the cost worth it? If you pay a professional to do a book trailer for you, it's going to cost you, but you'll have a professional product that you can be proud off, one you know will be a good advocate for … [Read more...]
Interview with Visionary Fiction Author Jim Murdoch
Today I'm talking to Jim Murdoch. Hi Jim. First of all tell my readers what kind of books you write. I write metaphysical/visionary fiction. That means to me stories which incorporate elements from the non-physical world. The sub-conscious, the super-conscious, past lives, mystical creatures, a bit of magic all find their way into my stories, as do romance, karma and a mix of characters, some who learn or understand the non-physical world and those who don’t. That's a good definition. Sounds a bit like my metaphysical fiction. Funny that! Haha. Tell us a bit about yourself. I live in Switzerland in a small mountain city with my wife and our four sons and their families. I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I set out on a religious path to help others. I have since widened my horizon to include possible multiple universes, a universal consciousness and an understanding that we are all connected on multiple levels. I work as an IT coordinator in a small … [Read more...]
Best metaphysical fiction: The Man with the Horn.
The Man with the Horn is one of the best metaphysical fiction books I've read. It's unusual, delightfully so. The author is highly accomplished in her craft and weaves an excellent story as well as giving deep insights into the characters. The story revolves around a prostitute, a male friend, a client and a couple of transvestite prostitutes, and such characters always make for interesting reading simply because it’s a world that most of us don’t touch upon in our daily lives. Added to this is the metaphysical aspect which is extremely well handled. Though the word is never mentioned, the central character Passionaria embodies the concept of the sacred prostitute—during sex she communes with her god, Dionysus, and turns the act into a spiritual experience. Following ancient and universal pathways to transcendence, the book deals primarily with the client’s purification and culminates in a ritual of symbolic death and rebirth. The male friend’s frustration and jealousy of the client … [Read more...]
You can order my new steampunk murder mystery/ contemporary romantic mystery NOW!
Having a book published is a very exciting time for an author. It's great to see all those hours of work finally come together into something others can read. So I'm very excited to be able to say that at last The Locksmith's Secret (the second in the Prunella Smith Series) has a publication date (8th of April). AND you can pre-order it NOW and get USD$1 off. Though it's the second in a series, it can also be read first. If you're a Prunella Smith fan, you'll want to snap this up while it's cheap and if you haven't met Prunella yet, then this is a good place to start. It has the same elements that impressed all those reviewers of Worlds Within Worlds. This book is more than just a steampunk murder mystery or a contemporary romantic mystery, it's also a transrealist and metaphysical work of literary fiction. I sum it all up by calling it magical realism, and that's what it is really because it blends fantasy and reality, and uses extended metaphors that become a world of their … [Read more...]
My favorite book of the moment: A review of ‘The Magician of Lhasa’ by David Mitchie
Every now and then people ask what my favorite book is and I can never say, but for now, at least until I find another one, I can say that David Mitchie's The Magician of Lhasa is it. I first came across fellow Australian, David Mitchie's writing with his book The Dalai Lama's Cat, but this book is more dramatic than that and has more of a story in terms of plot. The Magician of Lhasa is the kind of metaphysical fiction that I really enjoy. The metaphysics enlighten the character's situation and provide points of wisdom for contemplation that further the plot, and this is what metaphysical fiction should do. Some works that use the metaphysical fiction handle fail to have much of a plot; they're more a delving into some metaphysical construct than a strong story with the kind of dramatic elements that a good story requires; such books are dull, but not this one. Anyone writing metaphysical fiction should read this and take note. Mitchie is a master of the genre. The Magician of … [Read more...]
News from AIA Publishing
Pop over to the new AIA Publishing website and see the news about Richard Bunning's Spiderworld. Cover design by Rose at http://velvetwingsdesign.com and at a very reasonable price. … [Read more...]
Prunella Smith: Worlds Within Worlds, available for pre-order now.
Pre-order my new release at your local Kindle store now. When the book is released on the 30th of November , you'll get it straight away. My latest novel is metaphysical thriller, and an unusual book in many ways. If you like something different, take a look. Prunella Smith: Worlds Within Worlds Author and editor Prunella Smith inhabits a multilayered reality. Physically, she lives in the Australian bush with her crazy cat Merlin. In her work world, she edits the love story of Kelee, a Magan Lord’s daughter, and in the cyber-world of social media, she’s subjected to slanderous attacks by a disgruntled author. To complicate matters further she sees things through the eyes of a Tibetan Yogi, has strange dreams and relives old memories. Separate worlds, interconnected and complementary, but can they help when Prunella becomes victim to a real life stalker and her sanity is threatened? Worlds Within Worlds has a unique perspective on the nature of creativity. Its touch is light, its … [Read more...]
Delightfully unusual metaphysical fiction: Review
‘The Commons: The Journeyman’ is a delightfully unusual book that spans multiple genres. It takes place in the Commons, a place between life and death, something like purgatory for Christians and the Bardo of Becoming for Buddhists. On the surface it’s fantasy, but, like my own work, it’s also metaphysical fiction and, because of the psychological symbolism, magical realism. “We are the stories we tell ourselves,” is one of the metaphysical gems. This is an example of the best of indie fiction; it’s a bold, brilliant work at the forefront of an exciting new direction in contemporary fiction that is so far out of the box that mainstream publishers would likely see it only as a risk. Books with this mix of metaphysics, fantasy and magical realism are becoming more prevalent—the indies are way ahead of the mainstream here—but few of these books are as well executed as this one. The story follows Paul, a teen, Zach, an autistic five year old and his mother, Annie, after their deaths in a … [Read more...]
Metaphysical Fiction: The Sage
The Sage sat on the mountain top, his heart wide open from years of meditation. He had always sat there and always would. He no longer knew where his heart stopped and the sky began. His mind blended with space and travelled through all of space and time. He saw all things and his heart wept. A mother in Gaza sobs hysterically over the dead body of her child, killed by Israeli mortar fire; a child stares numbly at the burnt out ruins of his home in Australia, hoping his parents escaped the blaze; in India, a husband and wife cling to the roof of a car as floodwaters rush past them; a group of villagers in the Ukraine rush from their homes with a few belongings, wondering where they can go to escape the tanks and guns coming their way. They did not ask for this. They want only to live their lives in peace. He embraces them all, and every other disaster known to beings, be they large or small—birth, old age, sickness and death, change and the underlying dissatisfaction of those who … [Read more...]
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