About Forrest Rivers:
My name is Forrest Rivers and I am a writer, speaker, and teacher who lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I am the author of two books: The Hippie Revival and Collected Writings and COVID-19 and Humanity's Spiritual Awakening. I spend a great deal of time in nature and draw much inspiration from living in the mountains. I have a great interest in Eastern religions and believe that when we all work on ourselves the whole world awakens! I try(key word here!) to communicate the themes of personal awakening and higher consciousness in all my writings.
What inspires you to write?
Nature inspires me to write. When I go walking in the mountains words just seem to flow out of me. To me, the Earth is sacred and I believe that we are all part of something greater that is so beautiful and wondrous. I try to channel this sense of interconnectedness or oneness in my writing. When my heart is open and receptive to the spirit(this is almost always the case when i am in nature) I feel blessed to be able to create.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
This is a tough question because there are so many amazing authors! But here it goes….
Non-fiction authors:
Ram Dass(I absolutely love any inspiring work by this late and beautiful spiritual teacher)
Alan watts
Gary Snyder
Aldous Huxley
Can't beat the writers of the hippie counterculture!
Fiction:
Paulo Coelho(the master of spiritual adventure stories!)
Hermann Hesse
Aldous Huxley(He makes both lists for me! Absolute greatness)
Kahlil Gibran
Tell us about your writing process.
I am definitely much more of a seats of the pants writer. Usually my writings take form spontaneously out in nature and then I take the ideas of what I channeled and develop it further once I return home on my computer. This process is equally true for both my fiction and non fiction pieces.
What advice would you give other writers?
This may sound cliché, but never stop writing! Keep believing in yourself and don't lose hope. If you write because you have a love for it and your soul compels you to create you will never fail. Truly. My other piece of advice would be to treat your craft with great reverence. By this I mean, try to write about themes that uplift others and that brings positivity to the world. Don't sell out the higher spiritual dimensions of writing to create some trashy or violent piece that may draw readers to your work but leaves you feeling dead inside. Like all forms of creative expression, writing should communicate the essence of truth and oneness that is the living spirit. Also, commune with the natural world as much as possible when you want to feel inspired to write. From my personal experience, I have found that the Earth is the greatest muse of all. Finally, write with your own authentic voice and create until your heart is content!
How did you decide how to publish your books?
When I decided to publish my first book, The Hippie Revival and Collected Writings, it almost felt like a mission to share what I had learned during a period of living in near seclusion after moving from the city of Nashville, TN to the southern Appalachian mountains. For this first book I decided to go the road of self-publishing to maximize author autonomy and freedom. The choice to publish my new release, COVID-19 and Humanity's Spiritual Awakening, is an entirely different story. I decided to seek out an independent publisher in order to reach a wider audience with what i sincerely believe is an urgent and uplifting message for these very challenging times: the immense suffering that this pandemic has inflicted on the world has opened a potential window for self-empowerment and spiritual awakening. My advice to those who have never published before: there is no "right" path to publishing. For some authors and projects self-publishing is the way to go. Yet, for other authors and projects a more traditional publisher is better suited. I sincerely believe that one can find success with either avenue as long as your intentions are pure and you are willing to work hard to move and engage readers.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the future of publishing is definitely moving more online and toward self and independent publishing. I hope that this movement toward greater author autonomy has the effect of empowering authors and unleashes a new wave of soulful creativity for the world that winds up benefiting all of humanity.
What genres do you write?: self help, spiritual/religious/inspiration
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Forrest Rivers Home Page Link
Link To Forrest Rivers Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
YouTube
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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