fuonlyknew

Author Interview:

When did you come up with the idea for Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree?

When I was a little kid, on the playground of my elementary school. It was a general, very high-level idea at that point, and I certainly didn’t understand metaphysics and universal law anywhere near to the depths that I do now (and I’m still growing each moment in my understanding), but I very clearly had the idea to share universal truth through fiction storytelling.

Even back then, I saw in my mind’s eye that I would use loss as the platform to tell my story, and I also knew the finale of the story. I also knew that I wouldn’t actually write it until much later in life—there were many other things I wanted to do and accomplish first, and I knew that I would need a lot of life experience, seeking answers to deep philosophical questions, before I’d be prepared to tell the story as it needed to be told.

What is the significance of the title of your book?

The original title was Fearless. That title had been in my heart long before I started writing. I knew it wasn’t particularly creative, and I was aware that there were some other books with that title, but my primary goal with this story was always to explain to readers why there is nothing in life to fear, so the title resonated.

I had been writing the story for a few years when I started to feel called to title it something else. I had already written willow trees into my story, as I had always intended, and I started to feel called to change the title. I wanted to shine “light” on the truth as a way to show readers there was nothing to fear. Additionally, the vision for my cover always centered on a willow tree, so my mind started to move in that direction.

Willow trees have represented many important spiritual concepts throughout history and across cultures, including resilience and renewal, healing and support through times of grief, inspiration for personal growth, and a connection to the moon and water. They symbolize a connection to earth and the spiritual realms.

My most creative ideas often come to me while in nature. One day, while I was hiking the trails on the mountain through the woods in our backyard, the title came to me: Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree. As soon as I got home I wrote it in my writing notebook, and I loved the way it looked. I tried a number of variations to see if I liked anything better, but that was my clear choice.

There are many books out there about religion, spirituality, and the purpose of life. What makes yours different? 

As I was pitching my book to literary agents, I was fortunate enough to have a meeting with a very successful agent at a major agency. One of the things he said to me was, “there’s nothing like this.”

There are a number of things that make my book unique. First, there are many non-fiction books that share universal truth and metaphysical understandings, but there aren’t a lot of fiction novels that do the same. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield is an example of a similar approach, but there aren’t many others.

Second, my story has two timelines. There are of course other books with multiple timelines, but they’re usually either across a single lifetime or a family saga, or they include time travel. My timelines are accomplished through the Buddhist principle of the wheel of samsara—the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In other words, reincarnation.

Another thing that is interesting and unique about my book is that there are multiple storylines in the ancient Rome timeline. This makes the adventure even more fun and interesting.

Do you have a favorite book?

My favorite classic is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. My favorite line from the book is “The knight’s sole responsibility is to succor them as people in need, having eyes only for their sufferings, not for their misdeeds.” In other words, and as I understand the message, let’s not think about why a person needs help, support, and love; let’s just help, support, and love them.

Just yesterday I received my quarterly alumni magazine from my alma mater. I never read  them, but as I was I flipping through it as I walked from my mailbox to the recycle barrel, something caught my eye. In big type was a quote that said “Just help people. Just help people that say they need help.” It made me think of Don Quixote. It seems like it should be that simple—imagine the results if we all followed that advice.

What do you hope readers will remember most about your book?

I hope readers will remember that they are eternal and infinite, that there is deep and great purpose to life, and that there’s more going on around us than we can discern with our physical senses. Ultimately though, what I hope readers will remember most is not only that there is nothing to fear, but why there is nothing to fear—and that is the path to inner peace and a world of equity and oneness.