I am the book club's hostess for January as well as the author of the month. We will be reading my novel, Numenon: A Tale of Mysticism & Money. I'm going to set out some introductory material and outline some of the questions/issues I'd like to see us discuss in the coming weeks.

Before I talk about my book, I'd like to tell you my goals for the month. First, I'd like to develop a feeling of  community and warmth that will flow into the Book Club's coming months. I'd like us to get to know each other and have a good time together. I'd like us to learn from each other. I'd like to get a different understanding of my book from you.

My primary intention is that we should have fun reading Numenon. If you don't want to follow the schedule I set out below, forget it. Same with the questions. Don't answer them unless you want to. If you think of other issues or questions, bring them up. This is a time to hang out and examine a very unusual story.

I want to hear from you, too. Would you please tell us a bit about yourself as we begin? What's your background? What attracted you to the book club? Add anything that you care to share.

WHERE DO YOU BUY NUMENON? A number of places. I've got a surprise in point one below: How to get Numenon free.

    ⁃    I've arranged for you to get an eBook of Numenon free through Smashwords. Go to the book's Smashwords page.  Use the coupon code LV94U when you check out and the book will be free. The coupon is good through January 19th, and I can extended the date if people want me to. I believe Smashwords makes books available in almost every eBook format.  
    ⁃    If you'd like a print version, you can buy Numenon here: http://numenon.com This is the gorgeous hardback book that won all the awards. It was originally $24.95. We're selling it for $9.50 plus shipping. I will inscribe the book any way you like, just note what you'd like me to say in the message at checkout.
    ⁃    Numenon is also available as an Amazon Kindle for 99 cents. And it's available as a hardback on Amazon at a bit more than we charge. (We make almost nothing on the hardback when its purchased through Amazon, by the way.)   

Also––I am not a Jungian analyst or professor; I won't be leading this discussion as an academic or psychotherapist. I am an an author. I've got a fairly deep understanding of myself and the writing craft. Both halves of my brain have been educated: I hold Master's degrees in economics and counseling.

ABOUT ME:

If you've got a few minutes, the interview that Bonnie Bright and I did and which is linked here is the best introduction to me and my work. If you don't have time to listen to it, I'll give you a (relatively) short run-through here:

I was born in San Francisco. at the end of WWII. My father, a first generation immigrant, founded and owned what was the 10th largest residential construction company in the USA in its heyday. I grew up on San Francisco's Peninsula, in the heart of what came to be known as Silicon Valley.

Those were intoxicating years. Not only was I surrounded by the cutting edge of corporate culture, I had my father sitting in the family room. That was like having Secretariat parked on the front lawn. I learned about extremely successful people from my father and his friends. They moved at light speed and were more directed and effective than any people I've met since. Mine was a heady and thrilling existence, quite addictive. When I write about the upper end of Silicon Valley society, I do it partially from my own experience.

When I was eighteen, a drunk driver killed my father and my charmed life vanished overnight. I set about defining myself. How I could define myself was limited. Business was the only life-path my father approved. Even though he had passed on, his influence on my psyche was enormous. I majored in economics. I earned two degrees in the subject and worked as an economist for years. I was a doctoral student at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

I left that program, but ended up working for the professor who taught Negotiation and Intervention at the Graduate School of Business. I coached negotiation and active listening with his students a few days a year for twenty years. That was a blast. As a result, I have an abiding love for MBA (Master's in Business Administration) students and MBAs. And negotiation. This shows in Numenon.

I left Stanford and started moving in a direction that better fed my soul. While working as an economist, I earned an MA in MFCC from Santa Clara University. There I learned about Jungian psychology and the transpersonal psychologies. Roberto Assagioli's Psychosynthesis fit my personal experience better than any other theory. Assagioli's egg diagram was almost a snapshot of my inner life. I've had unitive and other spiritual experiences since I was a young child. My first transcendent experiences occurred when I was a young teenager riding my horse through the redwoods of the Coast Range. I began a meditation practice in 1975 which accelerated and strengthened my spiritual development.

Years passed; jobs and professions along with them. In 1993, had a  personal crisis which shattered what I thought about myself and my world. I was devastated. I spent from 1993 to 1995 putting myself back together.

Two major events happened in 1995. I went to a meditation retreat. After that retreat, I had a mystical experience which lead to Numenon and my other work. This is described in the Author's Note in Numenon and in my interview with Bonnie Bright. I also I started writing with a writing group  led by a local poet. Those events changed my life.

When I wrote Numenon, I was dealing with PTSD and trauma-related issues. The book has a darkness that reflects my interior state. I was also trying to get my arms around what had happened to me and explain the nature of evil. Be aware of this as you read.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

You can learn pretty much everything about Numenon through this link to my web site. The linked page offers a synopsis, information about the book's awards, reviews, an excerpt, a physical description of the book and more.

The book's "personal history" may be of interest to you. Numenon was released in 2008; it's been around for a while. Being the book's author has been thrilling. Numenon is my first novel; my second book. We entered it in a couple of book contests as an ARC (advance reading copy). It won the visionary fiction and religious fiction categories in those contests. I entered it in more contests after it was released. It ended up winning four more national awards.

I'm particularly pleased with the Silver Nautilus Award for Indigenous/Multicultural Fiction. The Nautilus Award was established to recognize books that promote spiritual growth, positive social change, and conscious living. Previous Nautilus winners include Thich Nnat Hanh and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Winning the Silver Medal in the IPPYs (Independent Press) Awards was also exciting. The IPPYs are the oldest and largest contest for independent presses. About 4,000 books were entered that year.

As a Kindle book on Amazon, Numenon jumped to the front of books about mysticism, ranking #1 in three categories of mysticism and hovering about the 1,000th level in Kindle sales ranking (out of, say, 900,000 books). It's an Amazon Bestselling book. Numenon also garnered five star reviews for years.

I'm not telling you this to brag: it's a cautionary tale. I didn't realize how extraordinary Numenon's performance was. It kept it's #1 position in mysticism for about a year with absolutely no promotion on my part. I became complacent, expecting the wave to continue forever. This was a mistake. I wish I'd taken a screen shot of its Amazon page when it was at it's peak.

Numenon has dropped in the rankings, but it's the same book with the same heart that was ranked #1.

TIMING:

The book has 448 pages. If we divide the reading evenly over the month, that would mean reading 112 pages per week.  If we do that, we should be on page 112 on January 7th, 224 on the 14th, 336 by the 21st and finish by the 28th.

Don't feel bound by this, if you want to read ahead, please do.  But, if you read ahead, please don't ask questions in the reading group that reveal content that other group members haven't reached. You can message me privately if you want to talk about something.  

QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION POINTS:

Don't wreck  your experience of reading the book by trying to answer these questions while you read. Let the answers and your viewpoints rise to the surface as you absorb the text. Numenon is a piece of art and a gestalt, not material for a quiz.

SOME QUESTIONS:

Compare & contrast Will Duane and Grandfather's psychological development. These are two very successful men in radically different fields. How did they end up so different?

Will Duane's psychic structure. What Jungian concepts do you see manifesting themselves in the book's first chapter? Subsequent chapters?

How would you diagnose Will?

Grandfather has had horribly traumatic things happen to him. How did he come out so well?

How would you diagnose him?

Two shamans exist in Numenon: Grandfather and Great-grandfather. How do they strike you?

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:

Numenon brings up a wealth of issues highly relevant to our contemporary society. The following add greatly to our understanding of the book and what's going on around us.

Recommended reading/viewing:

"Inside Job", the Academy Award Winning documentary film produced, written and directed by Charles Ferguson. I believe that this film, which documents the causes of the 2008 financial crises, generated the "Occupy Wallstreet (and everywhere else)" movement.

The film clearly illustrates how our financial markets caused their own collapse because of greed and lack of discipline and morality. It makes complicated economic concepts easy to understand by use of graphics. It also illustrates the culture of the upper financial echelon, which is of interest to us as we study Numenon corporation.

My character Will Duane isn't based on a real person. He's a composite, partially my dad, partially people in the news. And partially my neighbors. I lived in the Town of Woodside, bedroom to Silicon Valley's finest, for fourteen years. People like Will Duane were all around me.

When I wrote Will and his lifestyle, I thought I was absolutely over-the-top in describing his behavior in every direction. "Inside Job" shows that I under-wrote the character. In all likelihood, Will would have been more flamboyant, ruthless, and immoral than I show him.

The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America by John D. Gartner PhD. This illuminating book explains a lot about Silicon Valley and its "movers and shakers". I'll bring it up in subsequent weeks.

Well, that should be enough to get us going. Let me know what you think/feel about the book and what I've written above.

And enjoy Numenon.  One of the reviewers called it ". . . an amazing trip into two worlds."

Have a good trip! I'll be checking in often––feel welcome to come and hang out. I've got more material for the coming weeks . . .

Sandy Nathan

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Replies

    • IT'S ELIZABETH! Except that she's heavier. Wow, this image captures it all. The snake, the warrior, the rocks. We should make it our logo!

      Oh, the new, brand new, chapter 1 of Mogollon is up at The Bloodsong Series Blog  I would hit command + a few times: the font size on the blog is pretty small. I may change the blog's theme to be more easily read.

      So long! I'll say adios tomorrow.

      Sandy

      http://bloodsongseries.com/
    • Glad you liked the image. It has been on my desktop for a week or so. When I read the snake passage this image was fresh in my mind to make it extra vivid!

      A few more thoughts on the characters:

      Sandy, Elizabeth's "heaviness" could be symbolic of your serious side who tackles "weighty" issues and themes. Presence and stature.

      Interesting though, that you gave your name to "Sandy". Maybe you have a seductress shadow! (I was kind of waiting for everyone to go get it on in the caves!)

       

      I relate to the weakness in the Paul character somehow. I always get into trouble when I try too hard to impress. He is a Judas-type character, his betrayal is what sets things in motion. He is willing to turn his back on his family, and his people, but he hasn't given himself over to evil completely YET. So I am glad to hear that maybe he has a chance at redemption in the sequel, or not. We shall see.

       

      Carlos seems to represent the Western view of evil and I imagine to have occult/ satanist trappings, a cross between Alistar Crowley and Antonio Bandaras. Haha. His wife is Eve as snake. (Is his wife, Will's ex? Just a guess.)

       

      Thank you for sharing your process. I imagine the editing part of writing a novel is difficult, deciding what must stay and what must go. Perhaps the battle from the Mahabharta is another whole book? Thanks for hosating the book club.

    • Hi, Amy! That really is a great image. Wow. I just got an idea. I"m looking for an image for the front of Mogollon that's as striking as the icon on Numenon. I wanted it to be Native themed. I haven't been able to find anything. Your image could be repainted to be strictly Native rather than Eastern as it is. Hmm. I have a daughter who could do that. Zoe Nathan's Web Site/Blog It would probably take her a year, but so may the rewrite . . .

      I really like Elizabeth Bright Eagle. You're correct, she is weighty––serious and very impactful. And very powerful. She's not so heavy as to be impaired in what she does. She's also a great horsewoman, being raised on a cattle ranch in Oregon. I think I created her because heroines are usually skinny in our society. Angelina Jolie, for instance. I wanted to show that a heavier woman can be gorgeous and heroic. (And I am a bit chubbier than I've been in the past. Nothin' wrong with that. Let's acknowledge reality!)

      Sandy Sydney. One of my early editors said, "What are you doing? Naming a monster/seductress after yourself?" She wanted me to change Sandy's name. I didn't because I got a kick out of. I'm so not a demon/seductress and gorgeous blonde. As a former economist, I can say that my "tribe" isn't much given to that persona. We used to compete for worst-dressed woman status at Stanford's Business School. Maybe I'd like to try out Sandy's way of being for a while..

      All the rest I'll have to say, "Wait for the sequel. The stories will all be told. Paul's, Carlos's. I'd better get busy writing.

      The editing is the hardest part of writing. Knowing what to cut. I've got a GREAT editor now. I trust her totally. She cuts out every unnecessary word. I put some of them back in, but the overall effect is a faster moving story with the same emotional impact.

      The Mahabharata story could be a "short" on Kindle. I've got to find it.

      Thank  you, Amy, for participating in the discussion and for all your great insights and sharing. I hope we have the chance to do something similar in the future.

      All the best,

      Sandy

  • Hi, everyone! We're in the home stretch in terms of finishing Numenon and our time together on the Depth Psychology Alliance's Book Club. I've really enjoyed being the hostess and interacting with you. Thanks so much for your support of my work.

    I'd love to hear from you about Numenon's last half. Lots to discuss there. And we'll be calling it a day soon.So let's chat! I'm going to keep going until the 31st, even through we divided the book into quarters and are supposed to be finished reading it now. (Oops.)

    My first question is something you can't know through reading the book: Which character, of all I've written in my books, has received fan mail? Guess. The answer is below.

    I recall someone saying she felt let down because didn't see any female figures around Grandfather. How did everyone like Elizabeth Bright Eagle? She's one of Grandfather's most developed healers and a warrior beyond the best. And she's an archetype. She has a very large role in Numenon's sequel. I really enjoyed creating a character who's a large woman, not a fashion plate thin stereotype, and a woman who is ferocious. (Back story is that she is of one of the Plains Nation's blood, probably Lakota, which accounts for her warrior spirit.)

    I find the end of Numenon the most interesting part of the book. Much of it is pure fantasy, but it has depth psychology currents running though it. Dark currents. I'm going to throw out some questions and not worry about revealing plot.

    Doug and Will in the canyon. What happened there? What was the snake? Why a snake? Who is Carlo and where does he get his powers? In the emergency in the canyon, we see Will and Doug coming into direct contact with evill, and Will fighting it, and losing.

    And in Bud's healing them, we see the Great One and ancestors (of all kinds) intervening. Has anyone had a healing experience like that––maybe not so dramatic, but a healing through spirit?

    What did Grandfather do to stop Will's murder? He passes through space to wound Carlo in his lair in Italy and keep him from killing Will. This is similar to things that Carlos Casteneda describes and imagery that comes to me in meditation. Passing through multiple universes. Any thoughts, feelings about this?

    Grandfather gives a soliloquy about evil and the origins of evil after saving Will. That passage is something my editor would probably cut out, but I felt it very important to include. That's my best shot at explaining evil, after lots of education and experience. Grandfather's character certainly has experienced enough evil to know a great deal about it. What's your take on that passage?

    And what's the deal with Sandy Sydney? Her transformation is very dramatic. What is she turning into? Where does she get her power? If I was going to redo this book, I'd probably make the description of Sandy's abuse––which made her what she is––less graphic. Or should I? Does that add to your understanding of her behavior? Sandy's another achetype. How would you describe that archetype?

    Sandy Sydney is the only character I've written to receive fan mail. Guys really get hooked by her. I know my husband finds her fascinating: an incredibly beautiful woman who's really a demon.

    Horses. What did my discussion of Squirrel Brains and the dun stud teach? Where does Bud's regard for Squirrely come from? She proves herself a good-hearted animal, despite her insanity.

    The ending. I won't reveal that, but I will say that I'm actively working on the sequel and we'll get it out as soon as possible. I found the ending to Numenon satisfying ,because what they've done in Numenon is the groundwork that will allow them to get something at the Meeting. They are ready to begin.

    That's it for now. I'm hoping to hear from you!

    All the best,

    Sandy Nathan

     

    • Hi Sandy. What an incredible month it's been! I have to admit, I fell behind in the reading this last week when I got overwhelmed by so much going on, and so I still don't know the outcome--but feel all the luckier that I still have it to look forward to. And all these comments will stay posted throughout the year so anyone who's in the same boat can always come back and "catch up" whenever they finish the reading or when it suits them.

      I'm still integrating some of the characters but am deeply grateful to your work--both in writing the book and in sharing it with us here. You are truly generous and have been so responsive and willing to engage. I'm sorry to see this forum end--but hope we can do something else together here on the Alliance in the future. Meanwhile, bravo!--I'll be ordering the sequel soon, and I so look forward to reading all of your work.

    • Thank you, Bonnie! I've had a blast. I've loved getting to know  you and the other book club members. What a bunch of insightful people! I very much look forward to doing something on the Alliance again. I'm going to leave a good-bye message to the group.

      So long, but not farewell,

      Sandy

    • Hi Sandy, I finished the book today. I found it a very intense read in the last half, especially when all the characters were facing inner and outer tumoil. I am looking forward to the sequel to find out what happens next.

      As for the female archetypes in the characters, Elizabeth Bright Eagle exhibits the  part of the medial woman or priestess. It will be interesting to see how this character develops in the sequel. Sandy is a femme fatale, a hook for male anima projections. Her baby doll voice and attraction to powerful men are  reminiscent of Marlyn Monroe as is her tragic past and woundedness. Where does she get her power? Maybe from Carlos or the men she seduced and then symbolically castrated with the pins and needles thing. Yow! Or the demon that posesses her.

      I liked the horses in the book. I think they played a role both as individual characters and also as a stand in for the characters' soul. Paul has a fine animal and he himself has some talents. Paul uses them both to get attention and then sabotages and destroys, working against his conscious goals. He punishes the horse for his own failure to impress the Numenon group. Paul's self loathing destroys the animal. Bud accepts the horse that Grandfather has given him and is patient and kind, especially when the horse is wounded. Bud respects animals and their potential to grow with loving care.

      I may have to go back and read the battle with the snake again and also the passage where grandfather stops the murder. I flew through those passages. Nice horror writing.

    • Amy -- I totally agree with you about the female archetypes embodied by the female characters.

      Earlier in the conversation I said that I had not identified with any of the characters ---- that was because at that time we had not yet met Jeff and/or Bud ---- these are two characters I do identify with in the book --- I am always in the background, often having skills/knowledge those around me might be looking for .... but am not considered for one reason or another.

      As for evil --- this is a topic of much discussion in classes.  I do not experience evil as something "out there" -- in fact, I don't look at evil --- or good, for that matter --- as "entities".  Instead, I consider that the forces of good and evil are present as a neutral energy behind actions that become good or evil based on the intent behind them.

      Can't believe the month is coming to a close .....

      Oh, and I did watch "Inside Job" and was not really surprised --- but viewing it did take me to that place of despair when contemplating how so much power is held by those whose only interest is their own selves. This particular reality has been one of the demons I fight when facing suicidal thoughts.

    • Hi, Amy!

      Good to hear from you. Also really good to get intelligent, honest feedback. I'm working on getting two books out now, which should be done within a month. And then my job is to rewrite Mogollon, Numenon's sequel. It's been written for years, but was/is a 240,000 word monster with all sorts of irrelevant, but interesting material. Like a 15 page modern language rendition of the Mahabharata war. What???

      I've started the rewrite and it's going well. Finally some clarity! And self-discipline! When Mogollon is available, I'll let everyone know.

      When I was writing the end of Numenon, images and forces that I couldn't pin down intellectually were bursting out of me. Like Elizabeth. I love her. My first editor said, "Sandy, she's you!" Well, I don't think I'mthatheavy. Hrumph.

      She's such an icon. So tough, so effective and intelligent. So deadly. And good. You'll see lots of her in Mogollon, and its sequels.

      Every woman I've known with the baby-doll voice and seductive, childlike mannerisms has been sexually abused. I don't know too many women like that, but those I've known were dead ringers for Marilyn and Sandy Sydney. I read a book by a psychiatrist treating sexual disorders and abuse. After decades of practice, he said that he'd found the nymphomaniac personality for women and the satyr type for men occurred only where sexual abuse had occurred. I thought that very interesting. Puts a whole new light on "bad girls" and playboys like Will. (What will Mogollon reveal about him?)

      Sandy's life is astonishing. She's almost funneled into contact with pure evil. No matter what she does, she ends up in a more difficult situation. I've seen people like this, too. They  seem to almost attract horrible things.

      Yet Sandy isn't quite like that. She focuses her anger and attacks. Is she the innocent victim, or is she unconsciously choosing where she goes?

      I've created a whole reality of evil that will be fleshed out more in the next book. It's totally fiction, of course, but interesting. Where does evil come from? How do mass movements that destroy millions of people, that destroy our planet, come from? Where did the evil behind the financial meltdown which is shown in Inside Job originate? Is there a source of evil, or do we manufacture it with our minds?

      I don't know, but I've had fun playing with it. Carlo is my masterpiece. Paul is another. Whiny and self-pitying, Paul focuses on outer manifestations, whether of wealth or inner development. Paul is one to watch. And his "accidentally" giving the Numenon crew a bad map, destroying his own chances and putting them in harm's way. He's the personal development anti-hero. And a narcissist of the highest order.

      He's one I've had fun with, too. He has no idea of how evil he is, or what he's capable of doing.

      With the horses, the dun stud is a really good horse. And he has a secret, which will be revealed, yes! In the sequel. (That's why it's 240,000 words!) Paul can't tell a good horse from a flawed one. All he sees is appearance. He has no discrimination or discernment.

      Old Squirrel Brains proves to have more to her than her flawed body and mind. She gives her all to Bud in the race to save the Numenon crew, injuring herself greatly. Bud can see her spirit and worth.

      The snake. When I was writing that scene, I could feel the color leech from the canyon. I could feel the snake materializing. She's very sensual/sexual. Definitely evil. And female. Carlo's wife and dearest one. Foreign from anything human. Huge and deadly. She climbs up Doug, seducing him, but also the perfect punishment for Doug's weaknesses and acting out.

      When I write, I'm  in in the scene.  I become all the characters. I've had a sense of parallel universes, or the possibility of an infinite number of universes. I definitely felt that reality when Grandfather goes through space to reach Carlo.

      All fascinating. Carlo's lair. The movement of the stones deep in the earth, signifying something evil is moving.

      Where did I get this? I've handled some very difficult things in my life, and endured, well, some really bad stuff. Numenon has been a catharsis and healing for me. A way to get to material I can't any other way.

      I'm glad that it translated into good horror writing. I hope to ride that wave and bring out lots more in the next book.

      I have to run, but thanks so much for your participating and insights, Amy.

      Numenon––well, the Bloodsong Series––has it's own blog. The Bloodsong Series Blog It's got a bunch of stuff on it. The first chapter of Mogollon. Well, not the new first chapter, but what I was going to use. The new one's better. I'll have to put it up. Some videos are also on the blog. (It doesn't seem to be working for me now, but I'll work on it tomorrow.)

      Must go. I'll be back in the following days. I'd love to hear from the rest of you!

      All the best,

      Sandy

      http://bloodsongseries.com/
  • Hi, everyone! I've been playing hooky from the book group. Proofreading already proofread manuscripts before submitting them to the printer. Such a joyful occupation. The thing is, if you don't do it, and your readers tell you about mistakes, that's really embarrassing.

    I'll be back with you probably Tuesday with some more discussion topics. The end of the month is a week and a half. We should be moving into the final quarter of the book. Fireworks and brimstone.

    Looking forward to your reactions. Have a great rest of the weekend!

    The 49ers are playing this afternoon! For the first time in years, we've got a good team.

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