(Give a big welcome to Sue Vincent! She has a lot to say, so we’ll get right into it!)
We never set out to write a book. We were just a couple of friends who fell into an incredible adventure… an adventure we didn’t even begin to understand for quite some time.
Even that first weekend was an ‘accident’… we had been supposed to attend another gathering that had been cancelled; an event to mark the coming into being of the Silent Eye, a spiritual school we were helping to bring to birth. We decided that, rather than waste the time off, Stuart would travel the two hundred miles south to my home. From there we could visit Wayland’s Smithy, a burial mound, over five and a half thousand years old… and possibly take in a few of the other sacred sites of England. You might call it a bit of spiritual tourism. But there was more to it than that.
When the white owl flew up at us from the roadside in broad daylight, mere feet away, we knew it was unusual… but even that didn’t alert us to what was about to happen. And then, there were the Hellfire Caves and the red kites… and the Dragon. Yes, honestly. A Dragon. And a trail of synchronicities that led us through an ancient and mysterious landscape, delving through myths and legends on a quest for understanding… and that was before we saw the rainbow coloured light… though it would take a while before we fully realised the magnitude of what we were seeing.
“We could write a book…”
“No-one would publish it…”
“We could…”
“No-one would read it…”
“Does that matter?”
“No-one would believe it…”
“And..?”
So, we wrote the first book; The Initiate. But the adventure continued, joining the dots in weird ways as we went, leading us between knowledge and understanding. So we wrote another… and another… and now there are seven in the series, with two more planned, as well as graphic novels and our own books.
We wrote the stories as fictional accounts, to allow us a little more freedom, but the events and stories are true. The conversations between ‘Don’ and ‘Wen’ are as they happened, many of them word for word. We wove ancient tales and legends through the story. We wrote of visions seen with the inner eye, of magical rituals and shadowy forms glimpsed in the half light. It is only at the end of the sixth book that we introduced a purely fictional element to frame the adventure… and that is probably the most believable bit of the book.
We always knew that we were writing for a niche market, even though the books are accesible. We took a decision to provide both ebooks and print, even though the cost of full colour printing meant we had to set a higher price than we would like. We have never even found an accepted genre into which they fit, one of the first rules of book-marketing… which makes it difficult to ask for help publicising them. Knights Templar rub shoulders with ancient shamans at the Round Table, Merlin walks side by side with standing stones through sacred hills where fairy tales are echoed in stained glass and medieval church paintings.
The books are entertaining and informative, bringing glimpses of the Otherworld into everyday life and questioning ingrained beliefs that we take for granted, but they are not your usual fiction. We break a good many rules; the point of view changes frequently, we mix time periods, explore pan-religious iconography and spirituality both ancient and modern, while encouraging the reader to go out and explore for themselves. We began with a riddle and end each book with a gazeteer that tells you nothing and everything.
We’ll never make a million from these books… there are no vampires, there is no sex… well, apart from the story of Father Fish… and the violence is all historical. But the books have changed our lives and opened up a whole new vision of the world for us. I don’t think you can ask much more than that… except perhaps, a few reviews from those readers who enjoy them enough to keep coming back for more!
Our favourite line from a review reflects exactly what we set out to achieve… and I hope we did. “Although a very mature, serious and in many ways learned study and in no way to imply a simplistic form, there is also about it the originality, freshness, zest and sheer joie de vivre of some of the much beloved adventure stories of my childhood – an irresistible and all too rare combination.”
Stuart and I would like to thank Charles Yallowitz for giving us the opportunity to talk about our adventures.
The writing partnership of Stuart France and Sue Vincent has a peculiar alchemy of humour, scholarship and vision that has given birth to several books, including the six volumes of The Triad of Albion and the Doomsday series.
Stuart France – writer and mystic; author of ‘The Living One’ and ‘Crucible of the Sun’ has a deep and practical knowledge of the Western Mystery Tradition, having followed a Path that has taken him hopping through the branches of the Trees of Knowledge and Delight. His astonishing work with symbolism and the interpretation of myth comes from a profound understanding and love of life and humanity. After gaining his BA in Philosophy and Literature, and his MA in Writing, he studied with OBOD, AMORC, and the Servants of the Light and is now a Director of The Silent Eye School of Consciousness.
Sue Vincent is a Yorkshire born writer and Director of The Silent Eye. She has been
immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintains her Daily Echo blog and is co-author of ‘The Mystical Hexagram’ with Dr G. Michael Vasey as well as a number of other books. Sue lives in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there some years ago due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She has a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. She is currently owned by a Small Dog who also blogs and gets all the fan mail.
The Silent Eye is a modern mystery School, founded by Steve Tanham, that seeks to bring the magic of personal awareness to everyday life. The school operates as a not-for-profit organisation, offering regular workshops and a course of individually supervised experiential study, with students worldwide.
Books can be found on Amazon in print and ebook format.
Stuart France: UK. US. France. Germany. Japan and India. Sue Vincent UK. US. France. Germany. Japan and India Or visit your local Amazon site.
Follow Sue: Twitter @SCVincent, on Facebook, Google+ , Goodreads, Pinterest and Tumblr and on Amazon.
You can also visit the blogs: Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo, Stuart France and The Silent Eye.
Legends of Windemere 
Thanks so much for having me over Charles:)
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You’re welcome. Enjoy your weekend.
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You too, Charles 🙂
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Reblogged this on Daily Echo.
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What an inspiring post! I love that the series took on a life of its own, becoming bigger than Sue and Stuart first imagined. How cool! I appreciate a series that includes graphic novels. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂 We love living the stories that make these books come into being… and the little graphic novels are great fun to do. 🙂
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Great post, Sue, and fascinating in its uniqueness! One special review can mean a lot to an author and validate the very essence of what he/she wanted to do. Best wishes for much success and many more books to come! Will share! ❤️
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Thanks, Janice. A lot of our books are sold direct so reviews don’t make it onto Amazon or Goodreads unfortunately, but when you get one like that, where the reader really ‘gets’ what you were doing, it is all worthwhile… even though, with these, just the writing of them has been enough.
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Wish I had art skills. A graphic novel would be cool. Maybe there is a future post in how to pull that off.
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Judicious use of a camera, a conversion programme and a bit of original artwork mixed in… it works for what we need, as much of what we do uses symbolism anyway. It isn’t the kind of artwork that would rival the big guns, but the overall effect is pretty cool 🙂
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Very cool.
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
The origins of the successful writing collaboration between Stuart France and Sue Vincent – guesting with Charles Yallowitz..
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Thank you so much, Sally 🙂
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A marvelous account of the evolution of a fascinating series. You and Stuart knew the rules, but broke them on purpose. I have to admire that. And the review says it all. Your writing inspires me. Thanks for hosting, Charles. Sue is one of my most favorite writers in the blogosphere.
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We are waiting for what happens next as much as our readers 🙂 I’ve never really been one for doing what I’m told ‘just because’. I wish there was a better way to offer the colour print, but at least it is out there… as to the rest, the best advice so far is to ‘write the book you want to read’. So we did 🙂 Thanks Susan…and for the reblog too 🙂
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Reblogged this on S.K. Nicholls and commented:
Sue tells of her writing adventure in a guest post hosted by Charles.
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Thanks for sharing this amazing adventure with us. What a crazy ride! Wishing you both continued success.
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Thanks, Jill. If it is a ride, we are not planning to get off any time soon 🙂
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On my To Read list. Sounds amazing.
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Thanks, Natalia.. I hope you enjoy 🙂
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Thank you, Kim 🙂
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My pleasure
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Excellent interview, Sue. I am so in awe of your endeavors and absolutely love the ‘story’ behind the story! Congratulations to you with much success to you and your series in the New Year!
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Thank you, Kim. I’m glad Charles gave me the chance to waffle about it a bit 🙂 The story behind the books is one I hope will not end. 🙂
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No, that in itself is magical.
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I think so 🙂
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The stories sound fascinating, both your real account and the “fictional” one. It also sounds like because you didn’t worry about “the rules,” you were able to give a fuller picture of the events. I’m intrigued.
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Thanks, Sue. If reality could bend the rules so we could live the story, we could break a few to tell it 🙂
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Love the back story to your spiritual adventures and the writing afterwards. Life is full of surprises and you seem to have captured a wonderful bushel full with fascinating books to share.
Happy New Year, Sue. May 2016 buzz lots and lots of book sales for you. 🙂
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Happy New Year to you too, Tess. We’ve had our fair share of adventures, and it isn’t over yet… nor, I think, will it ever be now. I hope not, anyway 🙂
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Thank YOU, Sure. ❤
I double your adventures will ever fizzle out. 😀 😀
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x ❤ x
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Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs: and commented:
Lovely to learn a little more about you!
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Thanks, Judith 🙂 x
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Reblogged this on firefly465.
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Thank you, Adele 🙂
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Reblogged this on Stuart France.
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