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Mike Mitchell Newsletter                                     November 1 2015

11/9/2015

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Vicky and I spent a special week in Arizona in the middle of October.   We had some very meaningful and memorable visits with family.  We will be back in the Grand Canyon state for Thanksgiving.  We can't wait.  This state was made for writers.  Just to the east of where this picture was taken, in the White Mountains, live the Quero Apache.  I used to fly over this beautiful land, practicing loops and barrel rolls when I was a student in pilot training.  A Quero Apache meditation states, Looking behind I am filled with gratitude.  Looking forward I am filled with vision.  Looking upwards I am filled with strength.  looking within I discover peace. I wish this for you as we enter the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday season.  Happy reading!  More about me at Mike-Mitchell.com
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A quick look at the Past, Present, and what's Coming Soon  
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 Kitab Kabbani  is now published and available in hard copy.  Clickhere to purchase from the printer now.  It will be on Amazon, along with the ebook copy by 6 November.

   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 Hardcopy. Ebook soon!
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I just turned Chinese Circus over to my editor for final review and formatting.  I hope to have a book cover by the mid-month newsletter.  This is the last of the books I have been working on over the past two years.  More to come!

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 mobile, flat, and ever accelerating society, where the battle of dependence, independence, and interdependence rages.  I hope to have this book available for pre-order by late November for an early December release.  More information soon on my website mike-mitchell.com and through my Facebook page. 
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I have launched a new website for my non-fiction works.  Check out the site atMeaningMarketplace.com  I will soon publish the first of 16 booklets on meaning.  These booklets will provide personal application and the research foundation behind each booklet topic.  More soon.  

I also have plans to produce a series of 365 Books. Not 365 books, but books that offer 365 factual touch points--one a day for a year, around a specific theme.  The first book will be 365 Principles and will be published in time for Christmas.  A principle for each day, along with a champion that exemplifies each principle.

I am working on several projects for the new year.  I will complete and publish a speculative fiction novel entitledFinders Weepers, Losers Keepers.

I will sponsor my global treasure hunt to celebrate the launch of Kitab Kabbani.  I hope this hunt will start in late November if I can get the prizes placed by then.  
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15 October

11/9/2015

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Tie Carefully  
     I have a grandson that loves to tie ropes in and around trees and other objects on our property.  They are works of art.   The colors, the variety of ropes, straps, discarded hoses and yarn, as well as the objects selected, are surprising yet natural. I have never watched the process.  He prefers to accomplish the work without spectators. I asked him why he does this and his answer was, “I was helping the tree let me to climb it.  It needed to be that way.  Sometimes I needed to hold things in place.” 
     Here is my take on his work and my translation of his then 8-year old statement.  If the earth turned a little faster, we would fall off.  Do we ever feel like we need to slow things down?  Or tie things down?  Or increase our mass by connection so we overcome the centrifugal force of the modern compartmentalized world?  We all need something or someone to tie ourselves to or we are doomed to the perpetual insecurity of being flung off into the void.  What we tie ourselves to informs our identity, purpose, efficacy, and self-value.  As we daily face the whims and currents of the Zietgiest, we need to tie carefully. 
     Is my grandson's art a product of the social circumstances of the time?  Is his art a reaction to the negative aspects of the zietgiest, a metaphor of his generation's quest for security, or just rope in trees?

Meaning Marketplace Scale:  M--Significant meaning 66

(I will provide the scale in the next mid-month newsletter.  It's not back from my graphic designer in time for this newsletter)

 I have received quite a few requests for a hard copy of version of Conversations Among Butterflies.  It is now available!  Click here to purchase a hard copy. Available in digital form on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Smashwords. 

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“As she said the last words, she looked up and stared directly at Diego.  The room was silent, but full of blushed smiles.  Even Harold was overcome with the simple beauty of the event.  He hadn't understood the conversation which led up to it, but what touched him was that he was here, present, during this intimate occasion.  "This would never happen in the United States," he said quietly.

Consuelo whispered, "This hardly ever happens anywhere.  I am so glad it happened in my home.  I will be able to warm my hands with the fire of its memory for a long time to come."

Conversations Among Butterflies, chapter 19
Purchase

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​Treasure Hunt!  The launch of Kitab Kabbani is only days away.  More about the book here.  Semi-spoiler:On the surface this is a Middle East adventureand race to find a secret book.  I am planning an international launch event where I place a hard copy book in secret locations around the United States, the Far East, Europe and the Middle East.  I can't tell you where because this is a treasure hunt.  More specifics on this event after I get the books in place and hidden!  I am also planning an on-line treasure hunt for a digital copy.  I have had almost as much fun planning and executing this event as I did writing the book.  I will announce the event on my Facebook page, so sign up here if you haven't done so yet.
​This month's pass-along tip is a book for children and adults.   The Forgotten Food Forest is a story written by Educator, Author, and Rock Star Matt Powersand illustrated by well-known Disney animatorAsayo Janice Kubo.  Two brothers living in Morocco get separated from their family during a sandstorm. They take shelter in a food forest and slowly begin to realize that it is both manmade and ancient. They also learn that they are not alone! Adventure, historical fiction & permaculture - all in one. All based on a food forest Geoff Lawton discovered in the 1970s.  This is a book to put on everyone’s list.  The story is entertaining and edifying.  Every page is a work of art suitable for framing.  Pre-order the book by messaging here.
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    Mike Mitchell

    World Traveler Has-Been, Renaissance Man Wannabe.  At times there will be guest blog posts.  

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