VERSIONS OF NIRVANA
by H.C. Turk
GENRE: Magical Realism
BLURB:
In order to save her family, an 18th-century witch entertains suicide, thereby entering a coma-like trance that lasts 300 years. In this magical state, she reaches into the future to guide other people who long for redemption.
England, 1710. Young Alba knows she is a witch, but the term means nothing until her mother is executed for witchcraft. Then Alba enters a trance that causes everyone around her debilitating emotions, just like Alba’s. The trance, which is Alba’s magic, does not appear again until years later when her mentor is arrested and sentenced to death. Panicked, Alba stabs herself in the heart. Instead of dying, she enters a “false sleep” (coma), a state of spiritual consciousness. Hoping to find peace for others, she seeks similar souls in the future.
Germany, 1942: An American soldier is mortally wounded. In his final moment, he experiences the glory of a beautiful life, if only in his dreams. He enters a spiritual realm filled with warm family adventures, metaphysical escapades that are alternately hilarious and horrific, yet always lead away from anguish. Directed by Alba’s unseen influence, Andrew fights for solace, and wins.
Indonesia, 2003: A young American woman on a Western Pacific island must relive an ancient, tortuous journey through a primitive environment in order to redeem the foreigners in the country. Influenced by a power she can only sense in her heart (Alba), Connie seeks a solution of acceptance instead of rejection.
Told with humor and compassion, the heart of the book is the longing to find peace despite haunting failure, and finding joy in helping others achieve the same.
EXCERPT:
When Jerry next looked behind, he saw the puppet master grimacing while he ran after his artificial, lifeless dummy—which leapt against his sister’s back.
Connie fell to her face and began crawling away, waiting for the attack to continue. Astonished, Jerry could not move until Connie was on her knees; then he shoved and kicked at the puppet, but it already was falling to the street, motionless.
Aided by her brother, Connie rose, the two of them stumbling away while looking around for more danger. Glancing to her right, Connie saw the greater nation. In the distance, she saw marshes, then dense rainforest, the great peak of Monkey Mountain. Connie looked because she saw a flash of dark movement, a group of men wearing nothing but newspaper and carrying spears. But they weren’t in the nation’s center, where they belonged—they were in the city, and were headed for Connie.
A score of inland warriors with sheets of newspaper glued to their skin ran lightly across the street. All were men. They wore no other ornament, not necklaces or shell belts, not even sandals. Each warrior carried a short spear: some tips were metal, some stone, some pointed hardwood. Cars and bicycles dodged them, but they threatened no one, continuing to run, following Connie and Jerry, who could not run fast enough to avoid their own murder.
In a moment of fearless clarity, Connie felt that she would escape them if she just ran into the nearest building. That moment ended as she began flying, because two of the nomads lifted her from the ground.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
H. C. Turk is a writer, sound artist, and visual artist. His novels have been published by Villard and Tor. His short fiction, sound pieces, movies, and visual art have appeared in numerous magazines, websites, podcasts, and film festivals. He used to paint houses (not as an art form.)
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVWKKVS9/
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/4DGy2P
Video Trailer: https://youtu.be/UHr5XHs5kdk?si=nScbZiKK2FjqC_zA
Website: https://hcturk.com
Bandcamp: http://hcturk.bandcamp.com/
Newsletter: https://hcturk.substack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehcturk/
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GIVEAWAY
H.C. Turk will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
https://kingsumo.com/g/1j2k5z3/versions-of-nirvana
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