- Tell me about yourself.
Originally from New York City, I currently live in Southern California and love the lifestyle and the weather. I always felt that this is the place in which I should reside. Prior to living here, I lived in Miami for ten years and before that in Houston for six years. I actually lived here in Los Angeles once before in the early 80’s and always felt that I would return and did so ten years ago. I am divorced and have no children. But I do have a little Maltese and he’s my little love bug. Hopefully one of these days I will meet a companion with whom I can share my life. Marriage isn’t necessarily a priority for me, but having someone in my life with whom I can share things and travel is important to me.
2. How were you inspired to write Lightbearers?
I would have to say it’s a combination of my belief in reincarnation, my faith in the spiritual world and my fascination with ancient Egypt. They all came together one evening and it was as though someone was piping a message into my ear. Oddly enough, the end came first, it was just a seed of an idea, two weeks later, the middle and, shortly thereafter, the beginning came, again as seeds of an idea and it took off from there.
I had a very other worldly experience in the NY Public Library when I began my research. I was walking through the Egyptian section and there was no one else around when suddenly a book fell off the shelf and landed at my feet. It was the story of Akhenaten, about whom I eventually created a fantasy. He was light years ahead of his time as was his wife Nefertiti, and they became my inspiration.
3. What inspired you to write?
Many years ago, I read a book that I thought would make a wonderful movie and decided to adapt the book to a screenplay. I did not reach out to the author until I finished it I wanted to see if I could see it through and I did. Unfortunately, the author himself was also a screenplay writer and was in the process of trying to market his script. He was very complimentary to me and encouraged me to continue writing. It was at that point that I decided I would have to write a book.
4. What is something interesting about you not many people know?
I am able to tap into my dreaming mind to reveal to me solutions to writing challenges when I cannot make something work. If I meditate on it and ask my dreaming mind to reveal a solution, it usually provides me with one. I’ve also experienced out of body experiences where I projected myself astrally. You see I really believe that if we tapped into our minds on a higher plane, we are all capable of astral projection, telepathy and psycho-kinesis.
5. What genre do you like to write in?
I consider my genre to Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance and my goal is write a trilogy. I have worked outside of my genre in the form of Screenplays. A few years ago I was accepted in the UCLA Master’s Screen Writing Program. They only accept eight writers a year. It is a genre I do enjoy and very different from writing a book. I will probably explore that further after I finish The Lightbearers series.
6. Have you ever encountered writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it?
How do you overcome writers block? I have found that meditating and asking my dreaming mind to reveal an answer to something when I can’t connect the dots usually works for me.
7. Summarise your novel.
The Lightbearers is about an ancient Egyptian King & Queen who have been reincarnating together for the past 3300 years and is based on the lives of Akhenaten and Nefertiti about whom I created a fantasy. As Lightbearers, their mission is to be guardians of the human race and I have ascribed to them the powers of astral projection, psycho-kinesis and telepathy. They were mentored by another Lightbearer – a being from a more advanced civilization. They must try and influence anyone whose path they cross to become Lightbearers as well and hopefully raise the collective consciousness of the planet. In the 21st century they discover a terrible secret for which they are assassinated and must return to resolve the conflict. They can determine when they return and their genders, but they cannot predetermine their identities so they have to pick a place a time and a signal by which they can identify each other. They decide to meet in 20 years to resolve the conflict. He will sit under a tree near the computer science building at UCLA singing “Imagine” by John Lennon. They find each other but not without a hitch and their journey continues.
8. Tell me about your characters.
Nefertiti was an amazing woman who very much believed in her husbands’ cause of trying to create a mono-theistic form of religion. She was in complete support of his decision to leave Thebes which was the capital of Egypt at the time and move further north along the Nile to build a new city. It was probably the first Utopia ever created and she was very highly regarded and loved by the Egyptians who chose to follow them.
9. Tell me about your publishing journey.
I wrote the first draft of The Lightbearers 30 years ago and without an agent or a track record, I couldn’t get anyone to read my book. I picked it up again about 15 years ago because I discovered I could self -publish and did another rewrite. I also hired an editor who I thought had done what I hired him to do. I subsequently discovered that he didn’t when I picked it up to begin working on the sequel. I pulled the galley back from the publisher and did yet another rewrite. I also found another editor who came very highly recommended and this time I reviewed everything he did with a fine tooth comb. Additionally I had another cover designed. As a result I’m getting mostly 4 and 5 star reviews.
Writing, Health, and CBD 