The month of August has become a big handle turning exercise. September augurs more of the same.
The reason being is that 35 of the 100 chapters of Soulwaves are now narrated. I make no bones about it, it is a huge task and big ask, with no shortcuts.
While it might sound like a lot of hard work, it does feel I am taking my hands off the wheel and coasting down hill to a glorious destination. Apart from anything, I am really enjoying reading my own book back and remembering things I’d forgotten I’d wrote.
Reading a book out loud is simply the best and most thorough way to proof read a book. Here’s why:
#1. If I can read it out loud, a reader can’t read it ‘in loud’. It won’t scan well.
#2. I am spotting forward references I set up in earlier chapters I wrote many months ago that I can pick up and develop subtly in later chapters.
#3. You spot errors even the best editor/proof reader may not have spotted. I’ve found loads and suspect there are more.
August also saw two weeks off with some family support commitments. Due to ongoing support commitments, I plan to have the next third of the book narrated by the time I blog next and the final third completed by the end of October.
This will lead to print and ebook production in November which in turn means publication should be early December.
One of the tricks I use, which is also one I use in writing, is to record the very ending words first. This is the poem I wrote many years ago to describe the essence of what a Soulwave is. It wraps up the book but there’s no spoiler alert as it gives nothing away about the actual ending. Merely it describes how Soulwaves are the fabric of the Universe.
The two pillars in the High Priestess card in the Tarot represent Involution and Evolution.
Involution is like a winding down, or curling up, and it leads to evolution when it unfolds again.
Reflecting on this natural cycle, the High Priestess sits on a Cube (more on this coming up over the next few months) and holds the scroll of Tora, which contains all wisdom.
It’s no coincidence that this last month has seen much involution as the next phase of evolution is about to arrive.
Just for Today
After nearly four years of writing them, and two years of having them illustrated by the wonderful Siri Stiklestad Opli, the last Just for Today will be posted today. Is that the end of them though? No way! They begat from a meditation and every month going forward I’ll be publishing a new meditation based using the words “just for today” as the seed.
This is the meditation that started them off – eponymously called Just for Today …
You can listen to the others for free on Insight Timer
and just sharing my favourite illustrated JFT again here (must get that T-shirt done!)
Non-fiction to fiction author
Soulwaves will be back from the editor today and I’ll be spending the next three months getting it ready for publication. This will involve incorporating the edits, updating the science (thanks brother John) and narrating the audiobook as the final process of the edit. If I can’t say it “out loud”, readers won’t be able to experience it “in loud”.
I’ve also been learning about how to get a book made into film or TV. This book would need a serious rewrite so I’m looking at either an adaptation, or a new series of sequels/prequels written for telly using the principles of soulwaves as a seed. Black Mirror is my muse!
Surrey to Wiltshire
After over 20 years in our wonderful house in Surrey, this month it came under offer and we’ll (hopefully) be permanently moving to the new ‘passive’ and eco-friendly house in Wiltshire in July. This passing represents a huge transition too, from living in a 100 year old energy inefficient house to one which virtually runs itself and in Summer sends energy to the grid.
With much less energy drain, finances free up too. In addition, my latest courses on Insight Timer are now providing a decent sleeping income. All of which means, I will be free to write 24×7 (ideas come in dreams too).
What goes around, comes around … listen to this podcast for a summary of the journey so far.
NEXT MONTH : How cogs whir when pebbles are dropped in the pod … and you keep a quiet mind to allow the ripples to come back.
This month I did something I have been meaning to do for ages, I had some new photography done for my site.
The wonderful Maria O’Brien of Haiga Photography popped over to my house on a glorious pre-spring day. You’ll find my mugshot on all main pages of the site now, as opposed to me hiding away down somewhere deep.
I am so pleased at what she did and am wondering why I spent so long just hiding behind my voice on meditations, audiobooks and my podcast. Time to be seen, as well as heard.
Now the first draft of Soulwaves, the novel, is in the can – more on that in the next blog – I dusted off The Zone Show podcast this month and started it up again.
In this episode, I chat to Jelena Adzic about her transition from meditator to meditation guide on Insight Timer.
You will hear from Jelena again in the next episode when she turns the tables on me when we talk about said novel … and the next page I am turning.
A Meditator’s Journey
by Tom Evans chatting to Jelena Adzic
Being Heard Even More
I’m thrilled that my new 30 day course, Mindfulness for Busy People, is now live on Insight Timer.
The new course format has allowed me to collate meditations from many sources of mine into the app into one cohesive container. The course contains a mix of remastered existing meditations along with brand new ones that link the whole 30 day narrative together.
The two pillars in the High Priestess card in the Tarot represent Involution and Evolution.
Soulwaves will be back from the editor today and I’ll be spending the next three months getting it ready for publication. This will involve incorporating the edits, updating the science (thanks brother John) and narrating the audiobook as the final process of the edit. If I can’t say it “out loud”, readers won’t be able to experience it “in loud”.
After over 20 years in our wonderful house in Surrey, this month it came under offer and we’ll (hopefully) be permanently moving to the new ‘passive’ and eco-friendly house in Wiltshire in July. This passing represents a huge transition too, from living in a 100 year old energy inefficient house to one which virtually runs itself and in Summer sends energy to the grid.
