I have been described as a world traveler has-been, Renaissance Man wannabe. (See http://www.mike-mitchell.com/about.html) I don’t know about the Renaissance part, but ahhh travel, as Ibn Battuta expressed, “it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a story teller.” I have visited or lived in 72 countries and I have learned there are those times when you’re reveling in big culture shock and there really is no word in English that can fully describe the moment. As a writer I have collected some of those expressions as they relate to books and story telling. Here are a few.
Tsundoku (Japanese): Leaving a book unread after buying it.
Commuovere (Italian): Often taken to mean “heartwarming,” but directly refers to a story that moved you to tears.
Hiraeth (Welsh): A particular type of longing for the homeland or the romanticized past, often in a story.
Dépaysement (French): The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country; being a foreigner.
Fernweh (German): Feeling homesick for a place you have never been to. (The best books do that)
Verschlimmbessern (German): To make something worse when trying to improve it. (My last book draft)
Duende (Spanish): The mysterious power that a work of art or story has to deeply move a person.
Hygge (Danish)Denmark’s mantra, hygge is the pleasant, genial, and intimate feeling associated with sitting around a fire in the winter with close friends or a good book.
Nefelibata (Spanish) One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art. Literally, ‘cloud walker.’
Tsundoku (Japanese): Leaving a book unread after buying it.
Commuovere (Italian): Often taken to mean “heartwarming,” but directly refers to a story that moved you to tears.
Hiraeth (Welsh): A particular type of longing for the homeland or the romanticized past, often in a story.
Dépaysement (French): The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country; being a foreigner.
Fernweh (German): Feeling homesick for a place you have never been to. (The best books do that)
Verschlimmbessern (German): To make something worse when trying to improve it. (My last book draft)
Duende (Spanish): The mysterious power that a work of art or story has to deeply move a person.
Hygge (Danish)Denmark’s mantra, hygge is the pleasant, genial, and intimate feeling associated with sitting around a fire in the winter with close friends or a good book.
Nefelibata (Spanish) One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art. Literally, ‘cloud walker.’
 Kitab Kabbani was published last month in hard copy and ebook. Click here to purchase from Amazon. Initial sales has not been anything to write home about--slow, perhaps because this book followed so closely to the August publishing of Conversations Among Butterflies. I have had a few surprising requests from people for a signed copy which I have fulfilled. The Middle East is spinning out of control, but what does that mean to a simple fast-order cook in Central California? Everything—his family, his love life, his future, his purpose. And it may be that he means a great deal to the Middle East. Some want to kill him and others are willing to risk their lives to protect him. This adventure takes the reader to Turkey, Iran, and Arabia. Themes of historical religions of the Middle East, modern interpretations, truth, understanding, and what the future holds for this volatile region are interwoven throughout the book. Romance and its seeming impossibility provide a metaphor for all that is wonderful about this region, and all that may be suffocating hope. The unspoken question through most of the book asks is something more happening as this adventure unfolds? Purchase Here. |  This is a painting I did that I may use as the cover for my upcoming novel, Chinese Circus. I just turned over the final draft to my editor for review and formatting. I hope to have the completed book cover by the mid-month newsletter. This is the last of the fiction books I have been working on over the past two years. I also plan a book trailer for this book. I will post it on YouTube and let you know about it. This is the working title of a spinning sextet of speculative fiction. As bricoleur, I construct a polyphonic novel through six novellas of alternative history, fantasy, science fiction, and perhaps a few actual facts. These stories initially appear on stage as solitary spinning plates, but join together to celebrate life in our untethered, complex, and ever accelerating society, where the battle of dependence, independence, and interdependence rages. I hope to have this book available for pre-order by December for an early January release. Click here to pre-order. |  This is the cover of the first book in a non-fiction series I call the Meaning Marketplace (TM). The series will consist of 16 self-help booklets centered around the theme of making more meaning in our lives. Each booklet will have two parts. Part One will provide a personal experience and personal application revolving around the subject of that specific booklet. Part Two will provide the research and foundation material for those who want to dive deeper into the booklet subject. I will publish these booklets in ebook form only and if there is enough demand I will publish all in a single hard copy edition in 2017. I will publish all 16 booklets by the end of 2016; the first four coming out in quick succession and thereafter about one a month. They will be priced at 99 cents. I also plan to make the first book free for five days to kick-start the series. I will let you know when the free book is offered. I have created a website at MeaningMarketplace.com to support this and my other non-fiction efforts. This site also houses the explanation on the Meaning Marketplace Scale that I employ in my mid-month newsletter and other topics of interest. I really hope you enjoy this new series. |
RSS Feed