I am self-isolating, staying at home with my husband and our cats. I am isolated at home but feeling a deep connection with every other person in our world going through the pandemic, having their own experience, their own struggles, their own fears, maybe even points of joy and love and rediscovery. We are in…
I write Visionary Fiction. It’s my passion. I published an article defining it in Writers Journal, May 2009, hoping to promote the relatively unknown genre. In November, 2011, I posted a link to my article on the Goodreads page for the Visionary Fiction Group. From that Goodreads post emerged a small network of author colleagues…
We are pleased to announce that the publication of Brad Swift’s excerpt from his novel is both the first post at our new site, and also the 300th VFA article since we started it all way back in 2012. Serendipity! Thank you to all our regular and guest writers for making this possible.
A Guest Review by Romuald Dzemo originally published at Readers’ Favorite The Hidden Abbey by Jodine Turner is both fantasy and visionary fiction, with a historical setting in the worlds of Avalon and Glastonbury Abbey, split between two separate timelines and skillfully developed to explore two lovers from a distant past reborn into modern day…
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma has a compelling storyline: A rich and successful lawyer drops out and travels to Nepal to find enlightenment. There, he searches for a mysterious group of sages that live high up in the Himalayas in order to acquire their ageless wisdom. This storyline functions as…
A possible dream With almost 3,000 reviews on Amazon for this book, will another make a difference? Likely not so much, but there are certain works that one should not read without leaving the author a note of appreciation for a book well written and thoroughly enjoyed–as has been the case for every Mitch Albom…
Not a happy romp, but still a must-read A no-holds-barred dystopian novel set towards the end of the 21st century, which features the continuation of the perpetual wars of current times, but in reverse: America, in the midst of a 2nd Civil War, is the third-world nation in disarray while a prosperous Middle-Eastern empire provides…
Fiction can be an effective teacher I am an avid reader of Stephan Schwartz’s non-fiction and I follow his opinions on what is newsworthy in his SchwartzReport, which consistently promotes human well being. I also enjoyed his earlier novel, Awakening; so his latest, The Vision: A Novel of Time and Consciousness, was a must-read, which…
A mind-bending look into the magical world of the notorius Simon Magus The Illusionist by Anita Mason is an intriguing fictional novel about a dark fringe figure of Simon Magus from the Acts of the Apostles and other early Christian source documents. Like most characters from that era, it is difficult to separate fact from…
The protagonist in The Winged Bull is Ted Murchison, who served in the war and endured joblessness, and now doubts conventional religion. But this unlikely character has a vision of the Winged Bull in the British Museum. As this is occurring, he encounters his old commanding officer, Alick Brandwyn, who is of course a magical…
The Mystical Qabalah gives the theory, but the novels give the practice. Those who study The Mystical Qabalah with the help of the novels get the keys of the Temple put into their hands. – Dion Fortune, Moon Magic I was browsing in the Theosophical bookstore tucked in a small street off Broadway, in Seattle’s…
Many people are familiar with Dion Fortune as a spiritual teacher in the Western Metaphysical Tradition, the founder of Fraternity of the Inner Light (later renamed the Society of the Inner Light). She was born Violet Mary Firth in Wales in December of 1890. Dion Fortune showed psychic abilities as a child and later reported…
In The Secrets of Dr. Taverner, Dion Fortune’s short story collection featuring the magical adept and psychiatrist by the same name, we met many interesting characters in the throes of mental crisis that have a spiritual cause, or the families of seekers who want to throw their relative who is not behaving according to social…
Teenager, Sydney, has a fatal disease that her mother, Mitsy, won’t name. Mitsy increasingly relies on Pandora, a spiritual advisor to meet the daily challenges of dealing with the illness. Pandora is a likable mystic but fraught with her own personal problems and hang-ups. As the situation grows ever more serious, Aunt Hannah steps in….
What if your neighbor was a saint? This was the question Rea Nolan Martin asked herself in creating this masterpiece of visionary fiction. Her main character, Vera Wright, qualifies for the senior discount but is still working as a beautician. She has a grown daughter and a teddy bear of a husband, living a normal…
Paston fastens on a book about the Eleusinian Mysteries and takes it into his head to evoke Pan. Jelkes is the shop keeper, of course, an adept, who guides him along. Understanding Paston cannot be stopped, Jelkes undertakes his instruction. Paston has become fascinated by some books that might be dangerous to him, as Alex…
Many people are familiar with Dion Fortune as a spiritual teacher in the Western Metaphysical Tradition, the founder of Fraternity of the Inner Light (later re-named the Society of the Inner Light). She was born Violet Mary Firth in Wales in December of 1890. Dion Fortune showed psychic abilities as a child, and later reported…
Ever since beginning to write while still a teenager (rather too many decades ago), the process was always very much a partnership. The concepts, frameworks and key elements seemed to appear unannounced. Sometimes at very inconvenient moments! In recent years, this phenomenon has become even more marked, particularly with the latest book which has taken…
One of Keanu Reeves’ best known movie franchises is also an unacknowledged visionary tale. Its heroes are thoroughly ordinary individuals who learn they are destined to change the future of humanity. The story touches on human potential, defeating a materialist and meaningless existence (as symbolised in a battle against artificial intelligence), and overcoming death. But…
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…
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…
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…
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…