Meet the Author:
Robert Owings is an explorer of consciousness. His recently released novel Call of the Forbidden Way is a spiritual plant-medicine thriller and the first book in a forth-coming trilogy published by Cosmic Egg.
- Who are you and what do you do?
I’m still trying to figure this out. On the surface I’m a writer, questioner, metal artist, oenophile, talent-poor musician, and child of Spirit. I suppose I live a rather ordinary life while holding to a very non-ordinary awareness of the Cosmos. Needless to say, it’s a challenge on the ontological front, but on the other hand, not that boring.
- Name of your book and brief description?
My novel is titled Call of the Forbidden Way; it’s the first book in the trilogy. It’s the story of a documentary filmmaker who ineluctably gets pulled into the radically unfamiliar world of Native American medicine men, a Shakti shaman, a Himalayan god, and some ominous hyper-interdimensional beings from beyond our ordinary world. It’s a shamanic, plant medicine, visionary psycho-thriller. Fundamentally, it’s a hero’s journey that pushes contemporary shamanic work up against a galactic threat.
- What do you hope the reader will get from reading your book?
The book brings to the forefront the prospect that the human species might one day face a challenge from another form of consciousness—possibly an alien one. It takes the reader into the world of plant medicine practitioners from the perspective of indigenous cultures as well as contemporary western urbanites. My hope is that the reader becomes activated to the idea that there are entire unseen realities that function alongside our mundane world; forces indigenous people have recognized for millennia that we, as a modern culture, need to come back into relationship with.
- As a child, what did you think you might do with your life?
I was always uncomfortable with this question. Despite having the privilege to pursue my aspirations, I just couldn’t sense anything out in the world that felt like me. I lived in a world that was infused with magic and wonder, which, as a child, I was forced to repress and told I would grow out of later. That never happened.
- Was there a point in your life where your view of the world/universe changed?
It wasn’t so much a single event during which a “change” occurred but rather numerous events when I experienced affirmation that my innate, arguably inchoate, worldview had always been true, or at least for me.
- What do you hope to be remembered for most?
Helping us all get home, meaning transitioning into the death realms with grace and gratitude.
- With whom, living or dead, would you most like to have a conversation?
Jesus in his mid-twenties, before he became the archetype Jesus Christ.
- What key piece of advice would you give to your 16-year–old self?
Life is short, so take your time. I know that’s a paradox, but that’s how the Universe works. And, oh yeah, a little mantra from a Dylan song that will stead you well: “Don’t follow leaders and watch your parking meters.” Now, go clean up your room.
- Has there been a key teacher in your life?
Yes, several, all of the non-human variety, ranging from dogs to ethereal beings.
To continue writing and to contribute to the cultural tapestry in some meaningful manner.
- Do you think thrillers and politics can make good bedfellows?
Speaking only for myself as a writer, I cannot imagine doing anything of worth that doesn’t have threads that affect political dynamics.
- What drew you to this genre?
It’s the perfect storm—an opportunity to write with freedom and creativity while being open to these extraordinary spiritual domains. I found a home here.
- Any interesting and powerful anecdotes from you own “consciousness exploration”?
Many, many—well at least interesting to me. I use those experiences to inform what’s found in my books. The question is too complicated to unravel here without writing another chapter for a book.
- What do you say to people who just say, “It’s all your imagination,” when referring to spirits and other realities?
I fully understand why one would dismiss my assertions as figments of my imagination, while possibly harboring suspicion that poor Robert suffers from bad brain chemistry. I get it. My response would be that although I cannot empirically prove such things exist, you cannot prove that they do not. However, if a person has been paying attention to Quantum Physics discovers suggest that the Universe functions in ways that model what numerous indigenous cultures have described for ages. Still, we all don’t have to think alike.
Want to know more about Robert Owings, visit his website here.
Interested in his book? Get your copy of Call of the Forbidden Way today.
Blog Tour Hosted By JHP Fiction
Raven C. Eckman 