Introducing...
About Paul
Paul H. Magid started writing his debut novel, Lifting the Wheel of Karma, twenty-five years ago while still in high school. It took him so long to complete because he tried repeatedly to abandon it, but the work refused to be forsaken. Eventually he realized that sharing this story with the world was, in fact, his Dharma.
Along the way he has worked as a Wall Street financial analyst, a waiter (not a very good one), a Hollywood Agent Trainee, a real estate developer, a summer day camp director, an award winning screenwriter, and independent filmmaker—including his autobiographical film, A Life Unfinished, which screened in The Hamptons International Film Festival.
--Quoted from the Novel's Website
And his novel:
The Blurb
Joseph Connell is a gifted high school athlete from Montana, loved deeply by his family, yet tormented by nightmarish visions he can neither explain nor escape.
He believes the answer to what threatens to crush him can be found in the knowledge possessed by a mystical old wise man, who lives deep within the remote Himalayas of India.
If Joseph is ever to find the peace he so desperately seeks, he must get this wise old man to reveal what he truly knows, but that will not be easy...for this sage knows far more than he admits.
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A Guest Post by Paul Magid
My novel, LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA, is set predominantly in India. The story takes readers on a magical and mystical journey and you might say the fabric of the story is the history and culture of India. But while it would be fair to say that the story focuses on the culture of India, I think it would also be fair to say that it focuses on the universal concept of Karma.
Karma as an idea certainly originated in India, but it has been so universally disseminated to people and cultures around the world, that I would say, and I think the people of India would agree with me and be happy with me for saying so, that Karma is now a universal concept.
Each person is on a journey –of self-discovery, of purpose, of meaning, of understanding, and how a person conducts herself or himself will determine the direction that journey takes.
What makes my novel unique is the position that forces, well beyond our control, affect, guide, even determine the course of the events of our life, as needed, to continue to push us forward on our journey. Many times these forces and events are not pleasant, even painful –quite painful as the main character in my novel surely discovers.
But it is by going through these experiences that we progress, not just mentally and emotionally, but spiritually, which ultimately is what I believe each one of us is doing here.
My novel deals with many themes –healing, redemption, forgiveness, but also ones such as sacrifice and loyalty, all of which can lead to a fulfilling and spiritually valuable journey. I believe there are many paths to a spiritually fulfilling life and it was my goal in crafting this story to appeal to as many readers as possible by sharing with them a story that they could relate to their own lives.
It’s very interesting to me to hear different responses and emotional reactions that readers have had. One reader said it made her stop and think about not only the actions, good and bad, that she had done, but the bad ones she was thinking about doing.
Another said she was brought to tears by the love story –albeit an unusual one, at least in the way that the words “love story” are traditionally employed, between two brothers, in particular the unwavering love that an older brother has for his younger brother, no matter the commitment, because he feels it is his duty to protect his baby brother.
I have many goals I hope to achieve with readers of LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA and so far, so good. As to the question of why I believe in Karma, real life experiences and all, it is because I have lived a life of, to be candid, incredible pain and suffering, and that has caused me to explore not only life and its meaning, but the questions of what we are supposed to learn while we are here.
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You can see the full tour schedule HERE. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks Yet Peng for hosting Paul. You have such a beautiful blog.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Nicole, right? And thanks for the compliments!:D
DeleteValuable info. Fortunate me I discovered your site accidentally, and I’m stunned why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to receive this book as I was going through probably the roughest patch I've had to tread through in a long, long while. To say it centered me and prioritized what is important in one's life, wouldn't give it enough justice. I can only hope more people are lucky enough to make friends with this book.
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