Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Blog it Forward

Some authors who have written a book, or are writing a book, and who are currently blogging have been participating in a chain letter to help promote some of their favorite bloggers.  It’s called, The Next Big Thing Blog Tour.  I have included information describing it in more detail below, but it involves creating a blog post about your book (see specific questions below) and tagging five more authors/bloggers at the end of your post.  The authors I tag will (in theory) post a similar note to their blog and tag five more people in their post by next Wednesday.  Feel free to start your own Blog Tour if you haven’t been tagged. Georganne Spruce is the one who tagged me, and her blog post (http://awakeningtothedance.com) serves as a good example of what this project is about.

Questions for Author:

1) What is the working title of your next book?

A Seeker’s Guide to Inner Peace: Notes to Self, by Trey Carland

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

It was inspired by a life altering diagnosis with Epilepsy in 2004 that led me to a search for what’s really real.  A series of revelations and insights followed over the course of several years, which were recorded as blog posts and eventually turned into a book.  A deep desire to spread the word took over, and I shared the depths of my personal journey in the hopes of igniting a similar desire for truth in others.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Spiritual, Autobiography, Self-Help

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

There is really only one character (me) who narrates the events in my life, and all of the roles could be played by any number of actors.  How about Johnny Depp or Dustin Hoffman?

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Knowing what you truly are, beyond your thoughts of who you are, is the key to unconditional peace, and this book sets out to illustrate that in a very personal way.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self Published

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Though the book was written one chapter (blog post) at a time over the course of 6 years or so, when I finally decided to compile them into a book it took a couple of months.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The Power of Now and A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle; Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy, by Byron Katie.  There are countless other teachers and books that have influenced me, but these two teachers have been the most influential.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Once I learned about enlightenment, I had no choice but to write about it.  “It” wrote through me.  You could say that the Universe inspired me to write this book because every single thing that I have experienced has brought me to this point in my life where sharing through writing is not an option but a necessity.  Also, everything that I have ever experienced could not have been without everything that came before I was ever born, traced back to the beginning of time (assuming there is such a thing).

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

If you are at all curious about the teachings surrounding enlightenment, or would consider yourself an active seeker, then this book will most likely resonate with you on some level.  Most people have told me that they can really identify with the search and find the pointers I share in the book very helpful.

Blogger/Authors:

Here are just a few authors that come to mind.  For a complete list of teachers that have been influential in my life, please see the Teacher Resources blog post, which is also a chapter at the end of my book.

Katie Davis
http://www.awakebykatie.blogspot.com/

John Sherman
http://www.justonelook.org/library/index.html

Karen Richards
http://karen-richards.com/writings/

Ramesam Vemuri
http://beyond-advaita.blogspot.com/

Scott Kiloby
http://www.kiloby.com/writings.php

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