Paulo Coelho's Warrior of the Light - The day I turned 60

Warrior of the Light
Issue n°159
The day I turned 60

In a recent interview I said that turning 60 is the same as turning 35 or 47: a birthday cake, blowing out candles, and so on. But it’s not quite the same, and I would like to share with my readers how I decided to commemorate that date.

I normally celebrate my birthday on the 19th of March, the feast day of my patron saint, Joseph. One day in February this year, I was reading my blog, looking at my readers’ souls, and was seized by an impulse: why not invite 10 people to my birthday? I wrote the message and said that the first ten to write me would be welcome. It so happens that on the next day the first ten answers came from the most varied places on the planet: Brazil, Japan, England, Venezuela, Qatar and so on. The party would be at Puente La Reina, on the Way to Santiago – in other words, far from airports or normal means of transportation. On the other hand, I wasn’t certain that the readers had quite understood the message: I was inviting them to my party, but wasn’t paying for their travel expenses.

I sent an e-mail explaining the situation. All ten said they had understood perfectly well. I felt an immense responsibility, but kept my word, and I think that they all had a good time and enjoyed a very special evening - at least I know that I did! They all still communicate with one another.

Time passed, and soon it was the eve of my birthday. My plan was to do what I always do, and that’s what happened. At 23:15 on the 23rd of August I went to Lourdes so that at exactly 00:05 of the 24th, the moment I was born, I could be at the grotto of Our Lady to thank her for my life up to that moment and ask her to protect me from that moment on. It was a very powerful experience, but while I was driving back to St. Martin (where I have a small mill to spend the summer) I felt extremely lonely. I said so to my wife. “But you’re the one who chose it to be so!” she replied. Yes, I had indeed made that choice, but now I began to feel bothered. We were both alone in this immense planet.

I turned on my mobile phone. It rang immediately – it was Monica, my agent and friend. When I arrived home there were other messages waiting for me. I went to bed happy, and the next day I saw that there was absolutely no reason for me to feel the oppression of the night before. Flowers and presents began to arrive at the house. Communities of people over the Internet had done some extraordinary things using images and texts of mine. In most cases, this had all been arranged by people I had never seen in my life – one exception being Márcia Nascimento, who did some magical work and it gives me pleasure to say that I am a writer with a fan-club - and she is world president!

At that moment I understood two very important things. The first is that no matter how famous you may be, you will always have the feeling that you are alone. The other is that no matter how unknown you may be, you will always be surrounded by friends, even if you have never seen their faces. Even when I was unknown, there was always a hand held out to me when I needed it.

So I let Kahlil Gibran - with his unique mastery – describe this sentiment (which I have adapted because of the size of the column):

“Your friend is the field where you sow with love and harvest with gratitude. He is your home, he is your table”.

“Even when he is silent, two hearts continue to talk”.

“When you have to leave him, don’t suffer, for you will see the importance of the friendship all the better because of this absence, just as a mountain climber sees the landscape around him better when he is far from the plains”.

“May you be able to share with your friend all that is good”.

“Let him know and share not only your moments of joy but also your moments of sorrow”.

“And know that a friend is not by your side to help you kill the time, but rather to help you enjoy life in all its fullness”.

Copyright @ 2007 by Paulo Coelho
Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication

Selected Warrior of the Light issues are available as free e-books (PDF format) from the Smink Works Books site

Milan Kundera wins prize from country that banned his books

Milan Kundera has been awarded the Czech State Prize for Literature for his famous work The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which was only published in his home country last year, 22 years after it first appeared in bookstores in other countries.

His books were banned by the communists in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and 80s, and even now many of his books are not available in the Czech language as Kundera insists on translating his works from French himself.

Readers swamped Czechoslovakian bookstores when the book was released, although the author attracts some criticism from within his home country for writing his books in French and not releasing them in Czech.

Kundera, 78, has been living in France since 1975 and became a French citizen in 1981. He wrote The Unbearable Lightness of Being in French in 1984. Kundera left Czechoslovakia after being expelled from the Czech communist party. Just prior to being expelled he was involved in reformist activities with other creatives, called 'Prague Spring', which was crushed by Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Atlas Shrugged film in development with Jolie as star

A film version of Ayn Rand's iconic tome, Atlas Shrugged is in development with Angelina Jolie set to star.

According to a Wikipedia entry,

Atlas Shrugged is a film in active development by Baldwin Entertainment Group and Lions Gate Entertainment. Based on Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, a two-part draft screenplay written by James V. Hart was developed into a 127-page screenplay by writer-director Randall Wallace.

Angelina Jolie has been confirmed to play the role of Dagny Taggart, and Brad Pitt is rumored to be cast as either John Galt or Hank Rearden. Both are fans of Rand's works. Lions Gate Entertainment has picked up worldwide distribution rights. The film is expected to be released in 2008.

As of September 29, 2007, IMDb.com lists the film as being "Back in development".

Lionsgate has hired director Vadim Perelman to direct the film.

It is the 50th anniversary of the book, which was first published in 1957.

Over at The Atlasphere, Robert James Bidinotto expresses reservations on whether a film can capture the essence of the book and Rand's philosophies, and deliver according to fan expectations.

Alchemist film brewing

Much-loved allegory The Alchemist is well on its way to becoming a film. Laurence Fishburne has finished writing the script and he'll produce the film with the same producer who did the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. So if that's any indication of the end result, Paulo Coelho's tale of a young Spaniard's quest could be an adventure of epic proportions.
Source: Variety

Witch of Portobello - Read a third of the book online

Paulo Coelho is posting a third of his latest book The Witch of Portobello online for people to read and comment on.

The novel unravels Athena’s mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs…
Athena, who has been dubbed ‘the Witch of Portobello’ for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure.

Start here, then navigate through the chapters. Five have already been posted.

The Witch of Portobello will be released in the UK on 4/23/07, in India on 4/18/07 and in the United States in May of 2007.

Pilfered Lewis Carroll letter turns up on e-bay

A stolen letter written by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll was recently discovered being auctioned on ebay, according to Associated Press.
It was noticed by a librarian at Yale University, where the letter was supposed to be kept but had been missing for years - the Utah-based collector who was selling the letter had apparently bought it from another seller without knowing it was stolen.

Read the article

Some enlightenment with your coffee?

You've heard of the book shop that started a cafe to attract customers, well Starbucks is trying it the other way round - the coffee store will sell Mitch Albom's new book in October from 5,400 US locations, there will be book discussion sessions in some cities with Mitch himself visiting.
Albom is the author of the bestsellers Five People you meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. His upcoming book For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
In a press release, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz said: "Our goal is to support the discovery and enjoyment of Mitch's new book by leveraging what is so special about the Starbucks in-store environment -- the feeling of community and the interaction of customers with one another, our baristas and the quality products we so carefully select for their enjoyment."
Well I'm not so sure about the community environment, but Albom books are definitely worth reading and if selling them in a coffee shop increases the number of readers in general and the number of readers of books like Albom's that can really change lives, then that has to be a good thing.
Plus, Albom has requested that Starbucks donate $1 per book sold to Jumpstart to promote reading and literacy, which is extra good. I'll have venti latte with literacy and enlightenment thanks.

Gabo's town stays book-bound but Love emerges as a film

A move to change the name of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's birth town to the fictitious town name in one of his books has been abandoned.
Even though 93 percent of the votes were in favor of the name change of Aracataca to Macondo, the name of the town that features in Marquez's famous book One Hundred Years of Solitude, not enough people turned up to vote - Only 3,600 of the required 7,400 people voted.
The idea had been introduced by the banana-growing town's authorities who predicted the name change would increase tourism and so bring in money to make improvements. The town, located near the Caribbean coast in Colombia doesn't have a hotel and only half of its streets are paved.
Marquez, who now lives in Mexico and hasn't been back to Aracataca for twenty years, says he got much raw material for his books' unique magic realism from the town.
Marquez, 79, may not see the name of his birth town changed, but he will see one of his literary classics made into a film in the near future.
Stone Village Pictures and New Line Cinema are producing a film version of Marquez's beautiful novel Love in the Time of Cholera. The film is currently in pre-production.
Benjamin Bratt and Oscar nominees Catalina Sandino Moreno and Javier Bardem are set to star in director Mike Newell's adaptation of the novel.

As you like it - Shakespeare on demand

Google's Book Search now includes Shakespeare's full repertoire. Google invites users to "Search within Hamlet for "to be or not to be" to read the rest of his famous soliloquy. Find out who called the world his "oyster" and why. Browse through a familiar play – or follow your curiosity to discover a new one."

Full access to the plays is available ... but only for some. Copyright restrictions mean in some countries readers can search a text, but not read the entire work since print versions of Shakespeare's plays are not in the public domain everywhere in the world.

Perhaps the biggest attraction is the integrated links to Shakespeare-related media - literary research, Internet groups, and videos of theater performances of Shakespeare plays, even "a literary field trip" to London's Shakespeare's Globe Theater on Google Earth (Google Earth combines satellite imagery of the world, maps and a search engine)

Journey with Coelho

Smink Works Books is a big fan of Paulo Coelho and his insights, and so we are following his current journey with interest.
Coelho is currently traversing from the Ukraine to Bulgaria (and further) to celebrate the 20th birthday of his first pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, which he took in 1986. He is logging his journey in a blog
He is travelling through Tunisia, Italy, Bulgaria then on to Moscow, where he will take the Trans Siberian train and stop in the cities of Novosibirsk, Irkutsky and Vladivostockhe and is holding surprise book signings - announced one day in advance -along the way.
We are particularly looking forward to some soccer-inspired insights since he ends his pilgrimage in Germany to see the opening match of the World Cup and all the Brazilian matches ;)

Mitch Albom's new book tackles divorce and regret

Author of the lauded Tuesdays with Morrie and Five People you meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom's latest book will be out earlier than expected.
Albom's publisher, Hyperion, announced this week that the new book, entitled For one more Day will be in US stores after September 26.
"In this new book, Albom explores the themes of family, divorce and regrets, and the wish that we could have one more day with a lost loved one. He also writes tenderly about the unique and sometimes difficult relationship between mothers and sons, following the story of a boy who was forced to choose his father over his mother, only to see his father abruptly disappear a few years later," Hyperion said in a press release.
"Mitch has topped himself with this amazing new novel," Hyperion president Robert S. Miller said. "It is a deeply moving and hopeful story that we believe will touch millions of readers this fall, and for years to come."
When asked about the book, Albom said: "So many people have told me --
often fighting tears -- what they wish they could say to a father or a
mother if they only had one more day with them. I wanted to write a story
about someone who gets that chance."

Can you rewrite your life?

In her latest article, SWB author Georgiann Baldino asks whether fictionalizing your life can be therapeutic - if you write about your experiences perhaps you can edit out traumatic events, or even just look at something from a different, perhaps more positive perspective. The experts certainly agree there are benefits to writing about your experiences. Baldino, for one, is aiming to 'write out' her worries.

Read the article
Read Georgiann's blog about therapeutic writing

New author blog advocates writing for therapy

The Nursing Home Fugitive author Georgiann Baldino considers writing as a means of therapy in her new contemplative blog begun this week.

The first open and insightful posts reveal how she wrote a book against a background of good and bad experiences - including being treated for cancer - and reveal some solid advice for cancer sufferers.

"Putting [your] feelings down on paper has a healing quality," she says, adding that it is "hard to understand until you try it."

Read the blog here

Thoreau Trust seeks funds for author house restoration

The Thoreau Farm Trust is seeking funds to restore the house where Walden author Henry David Thoreau was born.

The Trust is aiming to amass $40,000 as part of its annual fund campaign in order to restore the house for use as an educational center and community meeting resource.

The house needs $800,000 work and funds are used to build advocacy, seek grants and raise the extra money needed.

Thoreau Farm Trust

Scoliosis creates titanium superheroine from business analyst

By day, she’s a mild-mannered business analyst, by night she’s the Titanium Maiden - superheroine dedicated to triumphing over evil in the form of serious curvature of the spine known as Scoliosis.

Author Kremena’s fight against Scoliosis evil is detailed in a new novel from Smink Works Books entitled Sex, Scars and a Superheroine with Scoliosis.

Under the superheroine disguise of business analyst, Kremena wrote most of the quirky semi-autobiographical book on Post-It notes in an office toilet cubicle.

But this superheroine’s weapon of choice? Life philosophy. The novel is peppered with more than 200 of Kremena’s own quotes about life. “I silently asked myself pseudo-philosophical questions about my life and everyone else's,” she says.

Indeed, the Titanium Maiden has gathered valuable lessons and become a stronger person by fighting Scoliosis - but she's not about to admit that out loud. After all, it might sound schmaltzy.

Download a free chapter from the Smink Works Books website.

Out December 1

Change your Destiny surpasses 4000 downloads

There has been more than 4,000 downloads of Brazilian author Alfredo Karras's Change Your Destiny since it was released last year.

The life philosopher and political cartoonist shares his unique wisdom in the e-book of short insightful quotes. The collection of quotes reveals Karras' thoughts on human existence and how people should live and act in order to experience the best life possible.

His insights are expanded in the full-length novel BE. Available in English and Portuguese, BE is a modern allegory that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Knight Henrique. The lessons Henrique learns are vitally important lessons that can change your destiny.

Download Change Your Destiny

Paulo Coelho's latest book banned in Iran

Paulo Coelho's latest novel The Zahir has been banned in Iran.

Iranian intelligence agents seized 1000 copies of the book at a book fair in the Iranian capital Tehran, after the government became displeased with the increasing popularity of Coelho books in the country.

The Iranian publisher who has the license to print the books in the country, Arash Hejazi had applied for a permit from the government to print the book. He said he was informed Coelho's work was now banned in Iran.

Short fiction explores prolonging life by extraordinary means

In light of the controversial death of American woman Terri Schiavo, SWB has released insightful short fiction that deals with end-of-life choices.

The short story Connections by The Nursing Home Fugitive author Georgiann Baldino prompts further thought about prolonging life by extraordinary means.

Available free from Smink Works Books, the story dramatizes what happens when Richard dies before his family can make end-of-life choices.

After his father's untimely death, Paul becomes a paramedic dedicated to saving lives. When a victim wants to give up, he works harder than ever to keep her alive. His mother, Martha, shares this belief in the sanctity of life. If Paul and Martha had been given a choice, they would have prolonged Richard's life at any cost. Though they understand Richard is not coming back, Connections to him still inhabit their daily lives.

Georgiann Baldino is the author of three novels and numerous short stories. When asked about her story she said, "Words are inadequate to describe the loss of a loved one. So I had Martha call Paul and play music over the telephone. They don't talk. The words won't come, and the music fills a void they are not yet equipped to handle."

Download the free short story here
Read about Georgiann Baldino
Read or download the first chapter of the The Nursing Home Fugitive

SWB book a real bestseller

The Nursing Home Fugitive is a "real" bestseller according to a new reading list posted by the e-book directory Knowbetter (http://www.knowbetter.com)

The reading list, which features 12 titles, was compiled by the site after asking independent e-book publishers for their best-selling titles.

The list also includes Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

The real bestsellers of 2004

Marquez rewrites novel ending to thwart pirates

Nobel prize for literature-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has taken an unusual step to combat piracy of his latest book, his first in 10 years.

The author of Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude changed the last chapter before it was officially released, in order to thwart pirates distributing copies in his native Colombia.

Called Memorias de Mis Putas Tristes, or in English Memories of My Melancholy Whores, the new book reportedly deals with the love felt by an older man.

Written in Marquez’s native language, Spanish, it is anticipated that the book will be available in English next year.

Book draws attention to dilemma of elderly missing persons

Across the globe thousands of elderly people go missing every year. Often confused or suffering from Alzheimer’s, these older missing people wander away from their caregivers, putting themselves at risk due to delicate health and age itself, and leaving their families with worry and a race against time.

Clive Parisi, the main character in Georgiann Baldino’s latest book The Nursing Home Fugitive, suffers a stroke that robs him of his short-term memory. He walks away from the nursing home, and his fretful stepdaughter, Arlene, drops everything to find him.

But The Nursing Home Fugitive is a positive look at this situation, where both Clive and Arlene make some essential discoveries about each other and life.

Baldino began writing the book when her husband’s grandmother faced her final illness. Faced with the realities of the nursing home and the diminished capacity of her family member, she wrote a positive book of a human being’s final journey. “By wrapping life’s challenges in humorous and thoughtful language I hope to make difficulties easier to face,” she explains. “Stories help and stories heal in ways that should be shared. My hope is that patients and their caregivers will use the book to facilitate discussion. By asking each other how they feel about what Clive did, they might find it easier to talk frankly about their own choices and how they would like to face them.”

Smink Works Books publisher Suzanne Male says the book is a beautifully written, compelling and engaging story. “The novel is one of those rare reading experiences that provokes not just laughter and tears, but thought as well,” she says.

The Nursing Home Fugitive is now available in e-book format
Read or download the first chapter of the book
Read about Georgiann Baldino

Brazilian author tackles life questions

Brazilian author Alfredo Karras is used to taking on big issues. As a newspaper cartoonist his political cartoons have often drawn the ire of the military in Brazil.

In his first book, entitled Be, Karras turns his attention to major life questions, delivering an insightful and enlightening novel. The moral allegory tracks the powerful journey of Knight Henrique who discovers life is a consequence of choices. "We make choices every moment, every second, often not realizing what we are doing ...The small choices we make each moment lead us to big ones; crucial moments in which we must decide which way to go," the book states.

What emerges is life wisdom in the tradition of Richard Bach and Antoine de Saint-Exupery. “I want to help people to discover the power that exists in their souls,” Karras says.

The book also includes beautiful illustrations created by the author. With limited access to water colors, Karras used a mixture of color pens and water to create them. "When you are poor, you must to be creative," he says.

Be is the first book to be published by Australian publisher Smink Works Books. Publisher Suzanne Male says the book stood out because of its positive and innovative content. “Without giving away too much, I like the fact that it completely eliminates regret; that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, you can still change and have a positive impact on society.”

“It is a book with a great deal of depth. It has obviously come from the hand of a very thoughtful man who has spent much time musing on life. That really shows in the book; it doesn’t just revise theories already in existence, it goes beyond that.”

Be is available in both English and Karras’s native language, Portuguese. (Smink Works has created a special Portuguese site at http://www.sminkworks.com/br). The novel is currently available as an e-book in Microsoft Reader, Adobe Reader and Palm formats and will be available in print in the near future.