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Food for Thought

In the "Power to Heal," two key events are related to food: 🍪 Chocolate Chip Cookies and 🐟 Fish Fry. A big shout-out to best-selling cookbook author, Jamie Geller for sharing her recipes! You can find more great recipes at her ❤ Jamie's website.

WRITING TIP: Food associations can add another sensory component to storytelling whether through one of the five senses or by triggering a memory.

Tenzin and Blaise meet on the beach every morning. How much does Setting/Place matter in conveying impact and/or importance of a discussion? How important is the beach setting to effecting Blaise's character growth? (Think about environments which are conducive to change)

What does transcendent love mean to the story? To you? Beyond Time, Space, Types of Relationships?

How does the single word, "good" define Blaise's journey? Could another word work as well? If yes, what word? What about the other characters, what word might be applied?

You Asked....

CP READER Q: Each of the characters have distinct personalities - are they based on real people? Do you have a favorite character?

Thank you for your question! In many ways, every character is a reflection of me. I have drawn from real life and people I know, but they're all me. The Chladni Progression story was first conceived after 9/11 a time of great emotion and change, vulnerability, loss, and the gamut of emotions. In that sense, each of the characters is hyphenated to reflect a process, and then their becoming or coming of age.

CP READER Q: "The Power to Heal" is the first in a trilogy - any hints about "The Power to Destroy" (Book 2) & "The Power to Shift Time" (Book 3)?

Thank you for the question! The "Power to Destroy" is on hold for the moment. I explain a bit of the "why" in the bios section. As with "The Power to Heal" where healing applies to the characters as well as to the progression (sound) itself; the same applies to "The Power to Destroy" in this case the destructive force of the progression and its potential applications in the wrong hands, and destroyed relationships. For now, I'm opting to add more darkness into the world. "The Power to Shift Time" (Book 3) poses some of these same issues as multi-dimensional time shifts, but the heaviness of the story can be metered according to the characters' requirements. (I hope that was vague enough)

SF READER Q: You chose to write a semi-autobiographical story. Why?

Thank you for your question! Part of Strange Fire was written in 2019, but the story took on a life of its own after October 7. I wrote it in real time, incorporating events as they happened, including people I met and those whose lives touched mine. If I was willing to share their stories in a novel, my story seemed all the more appropriate to include my own.

SF READER Q: How do you compare your protagonists journeys in the Chladni Progression and Strange Fire?

Thank you for the question and for seeing the connection. The evolution of protoagonists is similar in both Strange Fire and the Chladni Progression. Like Blaise Manning, Joshua is in the process of becoming, i.e. fulfilling his mission even if he isn't quite sure what it is. The parallel in Strange Fire that Joshua's evolution is integrally bound up with Humanity's own changes. Blaise's changes are linked to a revolution in Western medicine to healing and wellness using Eastern practices.

SF READER Q: Any other similarities between Chladni Progression and Strange Fire?

That's a loaded question! Both deal with relative unknowns, the mysteries in life. Whether it's our connection to higher consciousness through sound and vibration in The Power to Heal or the mysteries linked to higher consciousness and the soul through Kabbalah and meditation. There is a convergence or if you prefer a confluence of paths, and always more to discover.