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#SwellBookClub #books #BookReview #AuthorInterview 📚

@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:03

The Pilgrim's Soul by Sam Kane

article image placeholdersamkane
And what really intrigued me about the description of the book is it seems like there's fantasy elements but also historical figures, and there's a lot that has to do with the psyche as well. And so to get us started off and talking about your book and writing and publishing. Sam, I would love if we could hear in your own words how you would describe your book

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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 1:04

How the book got started!

As a result, whenever you pass on your consciousness continues. And from there, the book just kind of took off and it was really fun to write and explore. And it was just really interesting to kind of delve into this idea of consciousness manifesting as something outside of the mind. I mean, outside of the body. And the exploration has really helped me progress as a person. It was just a really, really nice time
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:44

@samkanewriter How did the process from idea to final book unfold?

And so when you said that the idea for this book originated in a conversation, I just started smiling because I really think there is something to that. And I feel like there's often this myth of the artists just always working alone. That isn't always true. And so I wanted to talk to you a bit about what happened after that initial idea. I think a lot about craft because I'm in the middle of revising my first novel, and it's gone through so many different iterations
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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 1:59

Art is a communal pursuit!

And when it was first pitched to my publishing house, it looked very different from the way it is now. The characters were much more archetypal. They were much more like metaphorical, supposed to be representative of other things, and it just didn't smack as authentic. So I had to rewrite it and put a lot more life into characters. And so it became much more of an adventure story, as opposed to just like a philosophical idea that was the origination and the germination of the piece
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:15

@samkanewriter A passage from your book!

And so I'm wondering if when you get a chance, if you would be willing to share a passage or maybe a moment in the book that you really love, or that was really important to the formation of the book in some way, I would love to hear you read some of it
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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 2:16
I would absolutely love to. So this piece was interesting and difficult to write because it's a point in the story where the protagonist is without any form, without any physical body. So having to get to myself into that mental space in order to best describe what it would be like to be just purely a consciousness was a lot of fun and kind of frustrating at times. So this is from chapter One. To exist without form without a body does not truly exist
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:05

This convo is now OPEN! @samkanewriter How did you get started?

Wow, Sam, I love that so much. Thank you for sharing that. I am so interested to read your book because I feel like especially after hearing this passage, because I feel like one of the challenges I imagine you had in writing this is bringing that physicality and movement to the world while still dealing with such philosophical ideas. And I loved how visual and how much action was still there and just that small section, even though you're still very much dealing with the metaphysical, that was awesome
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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 0:57

Love a good series!

Absolutely. So I've always loved books. I've always just found myself constantly immersed in stories. When I was a little kid, I would always carry books in my books sack. And I just loved anything that had series in the name. Right. Right. So Brian Jocksford Wall series was amazing to just disappear into that world. The works of Lloyd Alexander were fantastic
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:29

@samkanewriter Making time for writing

So I know some people have really strict schedules where they get up at a certain time and their writing time is from, like 06:00 A.m. To 07:00 a.m.. Or maybe it's late at night, in the evenings and then other people wherever it's more bursts on the weekend or when they have larger chunks of time. So I would love to hear more just about your practice, how you're balancing everything and made time to write and finish this book
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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 1:31
That's a great question. So I teach English in New Orleans, and I love it. It's amazing. And actually one of the reasons why I started writing a book in the first place was because I was thinking to myself, alright, I would never go go to a doctor who has never actually operated and teaches other doctors, but never done the thing himself herself
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:28

@samkanewriter What's next?

Ah, the procrastination method. I love that. And that sounds very, very effective. So thank you for sharing that wisdom with us. And I know you said at the end currently on book three. Yeah. I was going to ask you about that. So so now that this books is going to be out in the world this spring, what's next for you? What has captivated your mind?
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@samkanewriter
Samuel Kane
@samkanewriter · 1:43

Book three and beyond!

Of course, I would love to. So I'm currently working on book three, which is always interesting because it's the culmination of all these little strings and ideas and thoughts and character development. So they all get to tie together. Now some people are really good at it, and they get to just tied all nice and clean and it's really pretty. And some of us are like Game of Thrones and just kind of have a bunch of spaghetti vomit at the end
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:43

@samkanewriter Amazing! Thank you.

Sam, all of that sounds great. Thank you so much for filling us in on what you're working on. I'm so excited to read the pogrom's Soul once it's out. Congratulations again. And thank you so much for sharing in this conversation. This was super fun. Anyone else who's listening, which I know you all are. Please feel free to chime in with any questions, or we can keep the conversation going about anything that's come up
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