Well, it's been
a while... over a full circuit of the Earth around the Sun! As usual, I've been
neglecting “The Horizon Keeper” Blog for reasons both real and imaginary (I’d
rather be writing than writing about writing – if you see what I mean). My
immodesty forces me, however, to troll, tip, toot, and tout the virtues of my
book. Who else will, right?
All good books
deserve readers. Good stories should be read. The more literature and literary
stories become part of our culture, the more ideas are absorbed into the
consciousness of the people, the better people we’ll all become. Too
Pollyannaish for you? That may be. But can anything else arrest our slide into
pure cultural decadence?
Call me an
optimist, but I think Art is redemptive, and thus humanizing. Assuming
Literature is Art (I know Poetry is), then it follows that good books are
likewise endowed with this special quality. There’s a mysterious link between
the written word and us human beings. Something echoes within our hearts (or
souls, if you will) when we read words that are put together well. When we fall
under the spell cast by the author, we are, in a sense, “elevated.” We are
taken “out of ourselves” and our daily grind and transported into the “fictive
dream” created by a good book (as James N. Frey calls that magical spell).
When written words
take on meaning for us, and they become sentences, paragraphs, pages of a
chapter in a gripping tale, and we savour them inside us, then we have fallen
under the spell. Like a person hypnotized, we follow along as the author
“guides” us farther into the story. As the words become mental pictures and
flow through our mind, they actually take on form (that’s what we “feel”) and
then become “living ideas.” Living ideas are what makes us what we’re meant to
be – human beings!
Seems
straightforward enough – human beings have been storytellers, and listeners of
stories, since we were conscious of our own ‘self’ as individuals within our
environment, and that was some time ago... And when one thinks about how –
especially since Guttenberg’s invention – the stories in books, and the ideas
in them, have been absorbed across the world, in order to become intelligible
to millions, one has to stop and think about the power words still hold for us.
If I may be so bold as to claim that we still have anything like “culture” left
on this planet, then words that become ideas are responsible and what enrich
our existence.
While as an
author I may have a dearth of readers (in spite of the fact that I have a great
story to tell), nevertheless, I’d like to believe that someday other people
will have and share these ideas in common... I’m not holding my breath.
In any case, I’d
like to thank each one of those brave souls – especially on Smashwords and
GoodReads – who have taken up the gauntlet and downloaded my novel “The Horizon
Keeper.”
I’m especially
grateful for those who have made a monetary commitment; i.e., put their money
where their mouth is (or wherever physiologically appropriate appendage it
might be) and thus keep the unoiled wheels of civilization grinding on... just
in case we have a future as a “culture” or civilization (a rather dubious proposition,
if you ask me). But without these forward-thinking people, we have no hope at
all (climb onto the lifeboats and don’t get sucked under when the ship gurgles
and heaves before it vanishes under the surface!).
Naturally, it’s
from tiny seeds that great oaks grow, and from a first step that great journeys
are undertaken. In that spirit, I want to thank all the readers that have given
of their time to travel in their hearts and minds back in time to the
frighteningly beautiful world of Ancient Egypt, where Neruamun and all the
Black People live. I’m grateful to all of you who have read through a
challenging text. I hope it was a trip worth taking for you as well. It’s hard
to find tickets to travel that far these days – at any price!
Consider it a “one
of” deal, since the modern world has become so small and narrow (minded) that
Literature hardly stretches one’s imagination anymore.
Well, back to my
shameful attempt at self-promotion. But I really have no other way to express
my gratitude to the fearless readers who have purchased and downloaded “The
Horizon Keeper,” except indirectly, through my Blog... It’s a half-measure, I
know, but since most of my readers wisely remain anonymous, there’s really no
other way. Even though the book is only nine months old (oddly reminiscent of
human babies), “The Horizon Keeper,” has a strong pair of legs and has risen up
in the “Historical Fiction” genre on Smashwords. So again, THANK YOU!
What am I
prepared to do to thank these courageous people? I’m willing to begin selling
the book to them online. Now that’s an offer you don’t hear every day!
Moreover, Akhet
Publishing has reedited the volume and produced a “deluxe” edition of “The
Horizon Keeper” – suitable for framing! What’s more, the special edition is
going on sale this month!
Now, both the
bold and the wary may go ahead and purchase “The Horizon Keeper” online at
Smashwords, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and all the other eBook
distributors. If enough copies of the novel are sold, so I can pay the rent and
feed my kids, I can keep writing – otherwise... Well, the alternative, due to
its unpleasantness, would best be left undisclosed.
My hope and
desire is that new readers help out the old – the trailblazers – and together
we can continue to tell the story of Neruamun (North Wind), Sadeh, Na’ahma, and
Lord Rekhmire. It’s really “our” story, if you think about it. Therefore, if
you’ve enjoyed “The Horizon Keeper,” it’s high time you had your very own
deluxe edition on your eBook reader (until the paper edition comes out).
And don’t
forget, the story continues... Book II is on its way!
