Alastair Sharp and latest release, “The Book of Consequences”

Veteran iUniverse author Alastair Sharp tells us about his latest release, The Book of Consequences.

Please tell us about your book . . .

This novel is something of a spiritual fantasy, in that it takes an idea that is prevalent in Eastern philosophy and applies it to a western context.  The idea is that on another plane of consciousness, there are beings who watch what we do on this plane and they record everything for posterity. This recording, The Book of Consequences, becomes the total description of all human births, taking into account the notion of multiple births and reincarnation. The narrator of the novel is the watcher who shares who he is following and what they do. Then to his surprise (I guess he is a he but I do not stipulate that) he notices that those souls whose lives he is chronicling are all heading to the same place. Suddenly there they all are, coming from all over the world, in the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris. Why are they there? And how does this apply to the watcher’s role?

And can you tell us a little about yourself?  

I have been a writer all my life. I am Australian and lived and worked as a writer there until 1992. I wrote mostly for the theatre and for television and mostly for young people. Then I worked for a Yoga Foundation in New York for 12 years, before my life took a delightful twist and I married, for the second time, retired and moved to Bordeaux in France. Since my arrival in 2004 I have published 6 novels.

Do you have any particular literary influences?

Having worked with children all my life, both as a teacher, theatre director and writer, and having pursued the path of yoga for more than 40 years, these are the two predominant forces where my writing takes inspiration. I enjoy the confluence of spirituality and young people in my narratives and I have found, in all six novels that the books tend to write themselves. It seems to me as if these characters and these events take place on some subtle level of consciousness and I get to enjoy them and pass them on. There is certain autonomous movement in all this which I find delightfully mysterious and which I have come to trust. I am not driven to write. When there is something coming down the pipeline, I am enthusiastically available to transcribe it.

What is the one message you would like to convey to your readers?  

Live your life to the full, while being aware that everything you do and think has consequences. You create your own destiny.

Are you working on a sequel to your book?

No. I have done sequels in the past, but I don’t see the potential in this one.

Are there any events, marketing ideas, or promotions planned for your book?

I am a terrible marketer and I have no drive to self promote. I have a very loyal circle of readers all over the world who have shared wonderful feedback. These books are not a commercial exercise for me but simply the fruit of something that I have discovered within myself and that I am happy to share. Facebook has been my main means of communication and I do have a little website  www.alastairsharp.com

What was your favorite part of your publishing experience, overall and with iUniverse?

I have used iUniverse for all my books and I like and trust the simplicity of the process and the control that I keep over how the final product comes out.

Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Write. Listen to the inner narrator, pay attention and transmit it with clarity.

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