This is the text of a press release I recently sent out to announce my new book, which will be blogged on the internet day by day from June 23, 2006 into February, 2007.
Odyssey of the 8th Fire – An American Epic
– Creative Nonfiction in Online Evolution –
Santa Fe, NM – Author Steven McFadden has announced the publication date of his new non-fiction book, Odyssey of the Eighth Fire. The book, which is a journal of a cross-continent walk, will be published day-by-day as an internet blog starting June 23, 2006, and running through February, 2007.
The manuscript will evolve online over the months of the project at http://www.8thfire.net — and then be published between covers.
Journalist McFadden, the author of seven other nonfiction books, has already published two segments of the Odyssey journal online: the Prologue and an account of Day Zero of the walk. Once the regular publishing rhythm gets underway on June 23, the blog will flow with daily journal entries for more than 225 days, leading into February, 2007.
Odyssey of the Eighth Fire tells the true tale of a long American prayer walk with Algonquin Keepers of the Seven Fire teachings. In 1995-96, over the course of eight months, a group of about 40 people – of all colors and faiths — walked from the Atlantic to the Pacific, attempting to live out the original instructions of North America.
With a degree in journalism from Boston University and 30 years of professional experience, McFadden kept a daily journal during the walk. In the years after the walk he enlarged and enriched the journal so that it might serve also as a compendium of sacred teachings of North America — as embodied in the stories shared by the learned elders the walkers encountered as they made their way from ocean to ocean.
This epic story of spiritual adventure involves untold U.S. and world history, pressing environmental and social issues, a convoluted web of personal relationships, and a wealth of spiritual insight with direct relevance for our present era.
Because of the nature of the story and the challenges the walkers faced, Odyssey of the Eighth Fire also represents a metaphor for the larger journey – or pilgrimage — that the whole world is making from an old time to a new time.
According to McFadden, that’s why he is publishing the massive work now, and making it available as a giveaway for every interested reader.
McFadden has created a web site for Odyssey of the Eighth Fire. He will blog (publish) the developed journal day by day for eight months on the Internet, from June 23, 2006 until February, 2007, and simultaneously archive the content so that it is accessible and searchable.
Readers are being invited to come along on the Odyssey of the Eighth Fire through the Internet, traveling day by day across contemporary America, guided by the ancient teaching traditions of our land.
The Eighth Fire website has the potential to be highly interactive, and thereby to serve as the nexus for an online community.
Readers will be able to follow the adventures and misadventures of the journey day-by-day across the back of Turtle Island (North America), while also having a place to interact, to discuss, and to apply what they are learning.
Odyssey of the 8th Fire
http://www.8thfire.net
– END –
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