I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE MAGICAL JOURNEY OF JOHN AND ADELE by Ancius M. Murray Blog Tour
hosted by Rockstar
Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Ancius M.
Murray
Pub. Date: January
28, 2024
Publisher: Troubador
Publishing
Formats: Hardcover,
Paperback, eBook
Pages: 280
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-MAGICAL-JOURNEY-OF-JOHN-AND-ADELE
John and Adele have been together for
over two decades and have a son. Their relationship has been on a downhill
trajectory for many years.
One evening, en route to their annual
holiday destination, they run out of fuel in a remote location. To whom can
they go for assistance? Suddenly, in the darkness, their lives take an
unexpected turn. They meet three mysterious but benevolent strangers who offer
to help them. In observing Adele and John, they pose to the couple an unusual
challenge that seeks to address the core problems in their marriage. John and
Adele find the proposal odd but intriguing. While it may have advantages, it
could be risky and dangerous. But unresolved emotions and unhealed wounds, as
well as long-buried memories can also have hazardous and unpredictable
consequences. Will they dare to accept this challenge or not?
This unique novel, while aimed at
taking a fresh perspective on relationships, is uplifting, relaxing, and is
meant to be enjoyed.
The story of Ancius M. Murray
– An Irish-Lithuanian trio using
collaborative storytelling to provide a
toolkit for improving relationships
HOW THE AUTHORS MET
Marija and
Mary Catherine were nominated by the Lithuanian and Irish governments to attend the prestigious French Government
School to study public administration in
Paris. At the same time Darius was working on his doctoral thesis in the
Commission for Atomic Energy there. They
came together at an international reception and a strong connection was formed. Each of them had an
interest in cultural exchange outside of
their work and this cemented their friendship.
DECIDING TO WRITE
When they
had finished their studies, they returned home but still stayed in regular contact. They had a strong desire to work on
an interesting artistic project as a team,
again outside of their professions. Twelve years later, inspiration
struck. They hit on the idea of writing
a novel together. They would write a story about an ordinary couple deciding to address once and for all the very
serious problems in their relationship.
Everyone has
observed couples who are no longer happy in each other’s company. Many separate without realizing the potential
of their relationship and are quite often
left feeling very sad or bitter. The writers were sensitive to this and
felt they had something to say on the
subject.
But at the
same time the three writers wanted the story to be soothing and pleasant, where the characters’ only stress was
confronting their own relationship. The dream-like context of the novel supports them in this
goal, but the readers have no idea if the
couple will stay together.
THE WRITING PROCESS
The next
step was embarking on the practical aspects of this writing project.
Linguistic considerations were to the
forefront. The authors used French as their working language in speaking to each other on Zoom since the
friendship between them had been
established in that language, and then wrote in English. Editing and
developing a recognisable and relaxing
literary style was their challenge.
All three
wrote simultaneously in diOerent countries with a general theme decided on
in advance. The writing was done on
weekends and evenings after work. Sometimes they travelled to each other’s countries to bring
the chapters together and read to each
other. They analysed everything together line by line to be sure it
represented the ideas they wanted to
communicate to the reader.
Darius was the designer of the novel’s
setting and gave direction on chapter content. He was also responsible for the computer work
and all the technical details concerning the
manuscript.
Marija’s expertise with legal texts assisted
greatly in avoiding repetition and in creating a smooth, believable narrative. Making sure
that character motivation was clear and
logical as well as in line with toolkit guidance being provided was her
domain.
Mary
Catherine provided
the descriptions of nature and the scents and sounds perceived by the characters. She created the
emotional atmosphere for the different
scenarios in the story and reviewed the literary style evolving within
the text.
This work
has lasted four years.
It was
definitely not an easy task. They experienced writers’ block, as well as
obstacles in the story route. Sometimes
they found it difficult to find a way through for the characters to the novel’s conclusion that was
meeting everyone’s expectations.
Then, after
a break in the work and coming back to it with a fresh perspective, one of
the three writers would suggest a new
direction that would resonate with the other two. That was when they felt the magic of combining
their contributions and moving forward, as
any single author would who pens a story and has no doubt of its value,
direction, and purpose.
Some
chapters of this book were written individually by each author. After
reviewing them together, they were
incorporated into the main story. Other chapters written as a group were knitting sentences word by word
into the tapestry that is now their novel,
'The Magical Journey of John and
Adele’, a mixture of mystery, fable, and relationship guide.
Excerpt:
1
In the Dark
The beams of two headlights
crossed the darkening sky which hung over the motorway. An old silver
hatchback streamed through the hills rising towards the mountains, and
through sparse woods. The traffic emerging from the city had been
left behind hours before, and occasional passing cars were the sole
sign of human civilization in this remote countryside.
Two passengers in their late
forties, a man and a woman,
were travelling in the car. Their
boredom and the silence between them seemed to be in tune with the
monotonous sound of the raindrops that were beginning to fall from the
grey sky and onto the windscreen. A brochure on the back seat,
depicting a luxurious spa nestled in a sunny mountain valley, seemed
in sharp contrast to the dull and dreary atmosphere inside the car.
“John, there should be a filling
station in a mile or so,”
said the woman. “Are you sure
we’ve enough fuel to get to our destination?”
“Don’t worry, Adele,” the man
replied automatically, obviously lost in thought. Then, looking at her, he
said mockingly, “Why don’t you just tell me the truth? You want to
stop to buy some useless trinket, like a fridge magnet for your endless
collection, or one more coffee mug that says, ‘I love Paris’. You want to
do that, don’t you?” He smiled sarcastically.
Adele did not want to venture
further into territory that would lead to an unpleasant argument. She
turned her head to the window.
Ten miles later, John took an exit
heading to the mountain
road. “Look, there we are. Only
fifty miles before we reach the paradise promised in your precious
brochure,” he announced in a bored tone.
They continued to drive, observing
the still, melancholic
landscape. The disappearing light
as the sun set made it seem even sadder and more forlorn.
Adele leaned towards John and
looked at the dashboard.
“Hold on, doesn’t this small
yellow light mean that we’ll run out of fuel soon?” she asked.
“Don’t worry,” John said once
again, firmly this time. But he
was unable to hide the anxiety in
his voice.
The steep and winding road seemed
to be intent on
exhausting the worn-out car and
its nearly empty petrol tank. A second light, this one red, lit up on the
panel.
“Damned car!” yelled John. “This
old engine burns petrol
like a monster!”
“John, I told you we should have
filled the tank at the last
station we passed! Why is it
always like this? Can’t you deal with a simple problem? You fill the
tank; you drive the car!” Adele crossed her arms and fixed her angry gaze
on the road.
“This so-called ‘simple problem’
could have been solved
if you hadn’t dragged your feet
over buying a new, more fuel efficient car, and despite us getting several very
good offers, you didn’t want to sell this thing!” John cut in, unwilling
to admit his negligence in not planning ahead for petrol.
He accelerated, determined to
continue the journey to its end. But the end came more quickly than he had
planned: it came at the next corner. The car spluttered several times
before John managed to pull it into a small area off the road. Then
it stopped still. They had run out of fuel.
About Ancius M. Murray:
Ancius M. Murray is a collective pen name for an Irish-Lithuanian team (a
physicist, a lawyer, a creative writer) who met by chance, and collaborated on
this novel over the course of four years.
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Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours, International.
Ends October 15th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
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9/30/2024 |
Excerpt |
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10/1/2024 |
Excerpt |
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10/2/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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10/3/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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10/3/2024 |
IG Post |
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10/4/2024 |
IG Post/TikTok Post |
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10/4/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
Week Two:
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10/7/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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10/7/2024 |
Excerpt |
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10/8/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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10/8/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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10/9/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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10/9/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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10/10/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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10/10/2024 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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10/11/2024 |
IG Review |
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10/11/2024 |
IG Review |
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