Book: Tao’s Way
Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
My name is Christine Meyers, and my life has been an adventure filled with magic, imagination and love. From a young age I have had a backpack full of short stories that I wrote, mostly inspired from my dreams. As I developed more mature writing skills, I continued to utilize writing as a major expressive tool through poetry, short novels and journal entries. I dove more and more into the literature side of creative writing and fell in love with the concept of interpretation of literary works. As one who loves puzzles, I saw this as a mystery to uncover, reading through HP Lovecraft, Margaret Atwood, Plato, Taoism, Buddhism, George RR Martin and many more. I was addicted to uncovering what the author was teaching through the illusion of a story. This curiosity, and passion to uncover, opened something in me that I hadn’t felt in years. A desire to create, to express, to remember my childlike self. I remembered all of my favorite books growing up, and how they left such a major impression in my adult life. I carried those impressions with me for years, looking at the world through lenses I didn’t know I had. The art of storytelling, and the images to paint those words a live, are one of the most precious of gifts through time. Through my children’s books, I strive to create a magical adventure, that dives deep into the human experience in a light-hearted manner. Life is not all serious, and children’s book help to deliver a rich message, in the form of dessert. That dessert is delivered in my children’s philosophical/spiritual book series. These have no order to them, so they can be read in any way. I wanted to create a series that was connected, not by time, but through characters. Characters, and philosophical views, merge between books, creating an interconnected world of imagination, adventure and experiencing the magic in the world around us. I also wanted a way for adults to be introduced to these philosophical views in a new age way, so that as their children grow in discovering, they too can continue to grow and discover more of the world around them.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Tao’s Way’ book?
I believe that anything that is done from the heart is not only a gift to share but also one that comes with many challenges. That is true for this book. The challenges that I faced with writing Tao’s Way came mostly in the after stages of the writing. Not to say that writing wasn’t challenging, as there was a 5 year gap between writing the story and taking initiative to make it into a book. The challenge there was myself, I wasn’t sure anyone even wanted to read what I had to write or that it was important and the self can be the biggest challenge we face in standing in the way of our passions. The beginning of writing creation is always so exciting, and everything is a spark because it’s bringing this idea that was imagined and birthing it into a real, physical thing to be shared. Once the story is created and out there, then comes the steps to develop it so that end product fits the vision aesthetically. Finding an illustrator to capture the images in my mind was the longest part of this process for me and the most challenging. As someone who didn’t have any background in the process, I assumed this would be easy, that the words I wrote would easily translate into images, ‘but I was wrong. I spent years finding someone who saw what I saw and could tell my story in picture form the way I desired it to be told. Platforms like FIVR were extremely beneficial in assisting in this process as well as the nitty gritty work, such as having the story edited and critiqued. The whole process presented many challenges, but challenges are just opportunities to grow and learn and so I really appreciated having to have gone through them because all of them really did strengthen my belief in the work as well as push me to commit further into making the end something tangible.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
With Tao’s Way, the book that most influenced me to write this story was the Tao Te Ching. After reading it, for the first time, I felt so connected to myself and the world around me in ways I didn’t know I even could be connected. This connection allowed me to see the world differently, more compassionately and peacefully and I thought “Wow, does anyone else know about this book? How can I share it with the world?”
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
This is a tough one for me because my soul thrives off of adventure and I hold a lot of places near and dear. One of my most favourite spots in our country, I would have to say, is western Colorado (Telluride/Ouray/Durango). The magnificence there is what sticks with me. It feels like I’m in a magical wonderland whenever I visit those mountains and every hike is challenging but so incredibly rewarding with what nature has to teach, and what a gift to be part of something so beautiful. That part of the country reminds me that life and nature are powerful and gentle, and that we are a small piece of the magic all around us.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
I’ve always had quite an imagination so when an idea does present itself, I find it rather streamlined to write a story because I can see the scenes in my head as they are happening. Most of my ideas come from play, which for me is a very fertile place for the mind to create and grow. That being said, having that playfulness, the stories kind of write themselves and I feel more of a vessel to share them rather than to creating them.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Tao’s Way’ book?
As I said, it was a long process between writing and transitioning the words into a book but the writing portion was quick. I sat down with my idea and wrote it out. I eventually did have to edit and tweak the words because I began learning the protocols for children’s books with page lengths and word counts but the core of the book was solid and there for me to work off of.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘Tao’s Way’ book to buy?
Interested readers can find Tao’s Way on amazon and Barnes and Nobles’ website.
https://www.amazon.com/Taos-Way-Christine-Meyers/dp/0578672820/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Taos+way+childrens+book&qid=1628718529&sr=8-1
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taos-way-christine-meyers/1137342789?ean=9781735746425
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Tao’s Way’ ?
The book cover for Tao’s Way really presented itself when I began working with the marvelous Sarah Leigh-Wills on illustrations. We had talked at length on what my goals were for the book and after chats, Sarah created the first round of images of my vision. We worked together on details such as I wanted the map to say “home” because that is what Tao’s whole journey was about, finding his way home. I also wanted Taoism visually represented which is why I asked that Tao was carrying the ying and yang symbol instead of a traditional sack on the end of a stick.
The title of the book comes from a play on words. Tao, means The Way, so I wanted the title to represent the Way of the Tao or the Way’s Way. Essentially meaning that we all have our own way to get through life and this was Tao’s Way.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
When I’m writing, I’m mostly writing to create a puzzle that is interlinked for the reader. I thoroughly enjoy bringing large, difficult concepts into simple forms and making everything connect back to the original idea. In this case, I wanted everything; the names of the characters, the scenes, the language, the actions, to tie together. The freshness came from me putting together this visual and verbal puzzle so that everything was the related to Taoism in a fun, interactive way that was not hyper obvious unless the reader knew, or dove a bit more into the philosophy itself.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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