I don’t believe in coincidences. I’m much more inclined to imagine there’s a reason for things, a bigger picture. And that includes why we’re alive. It’s not a new idea, of course. Aristotle wrote that we all have purpose and the meaning of life is to try and attain that purpose. We’re still trying to…
When my feet first touched Indian soil in 1986, I felt as if I had finally found my home. Since that time, my destiny has led me back to India time and time again, first to study sitar in Shimla, then to study Sanskrit in Varanasi and then to live here continuously from 2001 until…
The Goodreads Lists feature is a great way to raise awareness of your books among readers they will appeal to. Let’s say you’ve written a visionary science-fiction novel with a strong female lead character. Readers who’ve enjoyed other sci-fi or visionary novels with a memorable female lead are more likely than the average reader to…
Promoting your book is a form of marketing called “content marketing.” In other words, you really aren’t selling a product, you are selling a feeling, an experience, you are creating content, not potato chips nor adult diapers. The key here is to think … “Where else can I put my content?” Here are a few…
Awakening Alchemy is the over-arching theme of my blog series, which is one of the visionary concepts I’ll talk about a little later. As for Spirit of Prophecy, it’s a metaphysical and visionary crime mystery featuring Rosetta Barrett from the Psychic CID, who works undercover for the Elite Paranormal Intelligence Services [EPIS], but perhaps the…
By Ellis Nelson Rea Nolan Martin is an award-winning author of visionary fiction novels. She has also written numerous short stories and poetry published in national literary magazines and anthologies. Her inspirational blogs have been published in HUFFPOST and SIVANA EAST. It is my pleasure to introduce you to two of Ms. Martin’s novels. One…
If writing and publishing our books is one of the most exciting things we do; then getting them sold is frequently the most challenging. We’ve spent months toiling over words, plot, and character; fixing pacing problems and plot conundrums. Then we, have a great cover designed and a gorgeous interior layout. We get out books…
KEY TO VISIONARY FICTION AS A GENRE Here’s a few of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with the newly emerging genre of Visionary Fiction. For me Visionary Fiction is Soulful writing. Why? Because this type of writing emerges from a very deep place within the author. I know from personal experience. Its writing requires an open heart, open mind–so very open that one…
Theresa Crater and I are both members of the Visionary Fiction Alliance and that’s where I became aware of her work. A short blurb introducing her novel, called The Star Family, convinced me I had to read her book. Who could resist this? “Whoever holds the key decides the future of humanity… Jane Frey is…
FINDING A GENRE FOR CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY In the productive solitude of your artistic woodshed, the only language needed is the silent understanding of your thoughts, the only public a very receptive audience of one. Here, the critics may be harsh—but at least they share your taste—and the imagination has no limits or prescriptions save what…
Editor’s note: New members are always asked to post about the Visionary Fiction Alliance on their own blog site. We are featuring one of our newest member’s post to show the diversity within the Visionary Fiction genre. It is with great pleasure that I recommend a website that just came into my awareness. The Visionary Fiction…
Editors note: Author Monty Joynes was a fore-runner of Visionary Fiction. I’ve admired and respected him for a long time. In his tribute to his best friend, Bob Friedman, he relays the story of the beginnings of modern-day VF. ~Jodine Turner I met Bob Friedman in 1962 at the first creative writing class ever offered…
Lately I’ve been thinking about the overlaps between historical fiction (my main genre), fantasy, Visionary Fiction, and metaphysical. There is a new term emerging in publishing that describes such overlaps as cross-genre writing or genre-blending. All three of the genres I mentioned are present in the stories I write about ancient Mayas, whose culture blended…
I first met John Crye through a media company in Los Angeles. He has deep roots in theater and film, which covers experience as a writer, producer, actor, and director. For more than a decade, John was Creative Director of Newmarket Films, working in the development, acquisition, production, and distribution of such independent classics as Whale…
Since The Paperback Writer of Central Park, I have self published two more novels in The Hidden World of Wysteria Series, with more to come. They are Into Wysteria, and Beneath Rain and Stars. When I first wrote The Paperback Writer on my old Thinkpad computer, I did not imagine it would be the first…
While selecting from among big-list-best-sellers for the VFA bookstore, I grappled with the question: What books are appropriate to the visionary fiction category? In order to resolve my query and narrow my choices, I relied on the expertise of three people familiar with the genre: John Alegeo, lecturer and writer in the Theosophical world; Hal…
The copious comments and suggestions that greeted my post, “Visionary Fiction for Readers” of December 2, 2018, shows that the suggested sea change of emphasis from authors to readers on the our website is both necessary and welcome at this point in our genre’s evolution. I apologize that I did not follow up with the…
Editor’s note: We are re-posting an article originally published in 2014, one worth repeating in that it encourages visionary fiction readers and writers to take heart. Good works of visionary fiction can—and do—become word-of-mouth hits. ***************** What if I were to tell you that one of the best selling books in history is visionary fiction? Say what? Yep, The…
Editor’s Note: We are posting this repeat of one of our readers’ most commented upon articles, with some new additions. We invite you to share your thoughts and continue the discussion! ************* Have you ever thought about the power of place, of setting, in writing your Visionary Fiction novel? In The Writer’s Chronicle, (Vol. 51,…
From the first posts on VisionaryFictionAlliance.com in August 2012 until the present, emphasis has been on defining Visionary Fiction and exploring the art and craft of writing it. In the beginning, we were not sure what content rightly belonged in the genre and what writers were actually or potentially producing genuine Visionary Fiction.
There’s an old Bushman (Khoi San people of Southern Africa) saying that there is “a dream dreaming us”. I first came across that quote in Laurens van der Post’s books and Joseph Campbell also talks about it in his writings: that this dimension we call reality is no more real than a dream. Science has…
Part Three of The Mater’s Series An Alternate View of What Comes Next Gary’s eyes were large, way too large. As he awakened from surgery they appeared to be swollen, waterlogged marbles about to burst open. Around the two of us the recovery room was sparse and barren. Standing beside the gurney, I waited for…
In Part One of this blog, I covered World Building, the use of a Sacred Force, Time, and Location. Part Two begins with Settings. SETTINGS Interiors can help establish the mood of your novel and support the emotional landscape of your characters. My novel Time Blade follows the main character, Sky Hunter, through several incarnations. In…
It is said that to sit at the feet of the master is to walk across heaven. Writing visionary fiction comes with its own wonder-filled process. (Because my own visionary works are most familiar to me, I will draw my examples from them.) Recently, an interviewer asked if I had a favorite character in my…
The following is a post by Tom Hoffman about his experience with producing an audiobook for Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds. FOUR MONTHS BEFORE TOM BEGAN: “Hey, I should produce an audiobook for Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds. I wonder how that works?”
Writers should attend a writing conference at least once in their writing career. The networking, experience, and information presented enhance our craft, and these riches transfer into our written words. I had the pleasure of recently attending the Willamette Writer’s conference in Portland, Oregon. Attending was a last-minute opportunity and I grabbed it, even though…
Part Two of The Mater’s Series Love, Loss and Resurrection Mahogany-brown eyes gazed back at me from across the table. Aaron’s eyes. Sipping rosé I absorbed his soul, drawing it unto my own, hoping somehow to keep it there forever. Shades of love wavered in from the past, shades I had known as experience transformed…