The Shire, for example, is really just a compound of the place I lived when I was growing up and the years Jude and I spent on the farm at Summer Hill. Sure some of the features were changed, exaggerated or diminished but the novelist has a right to do that to make the story flow more smoothly. It is true that Jude and I lived “off the GRID” and it is also true that when I was a child I lived close by my older relatives and had close relationships with them.

There is nothing simple about living the simple life and I think the greatest shortcoming we experienced on the farm was the struggle to do without all the modern conveniences and also do without a close network of friends and family to support and be supported by.

The Hobbits of the “Lord of the Rings” had a pretty good handle on things– they understood that living simply requires ample access to the gifts of community.

This video includes some further thoughts on the Shire and the GRID and the conflict that develops between them.

The wiki has a good summary of the concept:

Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction[1] in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the “real” and the “fantastic” in the same stream of thought. It is a film, literary and visual art genre.

I admit to being fascinated with the idea that the most magical things are often those that are the most real and the firmest grip on “reality” often includes things that are just plain magical. I should add that by “magical” I don’t mean warlocks and wands and spells (not that there is anything wrong with all that) but rather events that seem supernatural but exist side by side with perfectly natural happenings.

Perhaps some examples might help. It would be an example of magical realism if:

“a character in the story continues to be alive beyond the normal length of life and this is subtly depicted by the character being present throughout many generations. On the surface the story has no clear magical attributes and everything is conveyed in a real setting, but such a character breaks the rules of our real world. The author may give precise details of the real world such as the date of birth of a reference character and the army recruitment age, but such facts help to define an age for the fantastic character of the story that would turn out to be an abnormal occurrence like someone living for two hundred years.”

I like the friction that occurs when something that seems unreal or impossible exists, side by side and without comment with things that are perfectly normal.

Matthew Strecher defines magic realism as:

“…what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe.” This critical perspective towards magical realism stems from the Western reader’s disassociation with mythology, a root of magical realism more easily understood by non-Western cultures.”

Ahhh. Mythology, that’s the thing. In fact, mythology is the tap root of all magical realism. I think that the great myths all had two intertwined objectives. For example,

A) The city was attacked by an invading army and destroyed which is a truth.
B) “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad,” which is a TRUTH.

“Tribes of Eden” blends the ordinary with the extraordinary in an effort to create a mythical story.

I hope you like it.

“Golden Letters is a new programme based in Brenalwood Care Home. Our aim is to create a national and possibly global care home pen pal community, where residents can share stories, make friends and be part of something new. We need residents who are interested in writing and/or recieving letters from their counterparts in other care/nursing homes. the letters can be written by the resident themselves or by a member of their family or the care team. if you interested please go to our facebook page or our website Golden Letters for contact info

Anyone in the real Tribes of Eden interested in sending these guys a note?

As good as I was with memorization, I was terrible— TERRIBLE— with handwriting. I am left-handed and my handwriting was and is, pretty messy. In second grade, that was a very big deal. Check out the video for the whole story. I still have “poor penmanship” but it doesnnnnnnn’t really matter. I sign my name and I write notes in notebooks that only I will ever read. That’s it.

So this is a learning for me. Things that seem to matter a great deal, might actually mattering very little and things that seem not to matter just might become a very big deal. What matters is the willingness to figure that stuff out– to refuse to allow settled preferences and opinions to govern our lives.

I mention this because these experiences helped form the backbone of the “Tribes of Eden” plot line. The Shire, as it is called in the book, is rich in common sense off-the-GRID living and in the letters and emails that have already started coming in from readers, the consensus of which seems to be, “I want to live there!”

Here is another of our continuing series of videos highlighting some “inside” information about the book and the world it envisions.

Hope you like it…

Very nice.

The presenter concluded with the observation that, whenever, disaster threatened to strike our area, the number one selling item at the local Wal-Mart was…

Readers of Tribes of Eden will no doubt guess this right away.

Yep, that’s right.

Strawberry Pop Tarts.

Life and Fiction are hardly strangers.

Submit your question now to be answered during the exclusive live stream video Virtual Book Launch Party, Wednesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. EST. You can post questions in the comments section below, on the Tribes of Eden Facebook Page or Tweet them to @TribesofEden. In addition, the first 100 registered Virtual Book Launch participants will have the opportunity to talk to Dr. Bill in person via webinar uplink during the party. Please have your questions ready and we’ll call on you during the event.

Broadcast live at www.TribesofEden.com from the author’s home in Ithaca, N.Y., the Tribes of Eden virtual book launch party will by joined by participants from the global Eden Alternative nonprofit network, from adopters of The Green House Project across the U.S. and fans, bloggers and readers of the ChangingAging.org Blogstream multi-blog network.

On the run after America’s sudden and utter collapse, a family finds sanctuary in the heart of a community thriving “off the grid.” But when the lure of a virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity’s fate rests with a chosen girl and a surprising alliance between the least powerful — the young and old.

Have you ever wonder what would happen if the economy actually did collapse? If the grocery shelves went bare for good and the pumps dried up, how long before society unraveled?

In his gripping debut novel Tribes of Eden, published April 2, William H. Thomas envisions a world ravished not by zombie pandemics or nuclear holocaust but by the total collapse of an unsustainable culture.

A crossover novel targeting teens-to-elders, Tribes of Eden uses a post-apocalyptic scenario to show how trust, community, and wisdom can overcome even the most tyrannical power and repair a broken world.

On the run after America’s sudden and utter collapse, Tribes of Eden follows a mother and her two children as they find refuge in a singular, self-sufficient community. But when the lure of a totalitarian virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity’s fate rests with a chosen girl and a unlikely alliance between the least powerful – the young and old.

Accordingly, Jude and I have dedicated 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the Tribes of Eden to The Eden Alternative. Now I get to celebrate the book’s entry into the world on Wednesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. EST with a live video broadcast of the Tribes of Eden Virtual Book Launch Party at www.TribesofEden.com.

Be there or be Square.

We are making the book launch into a public event because events and celebrations support and sustain communities. We are all in this together.

This is our story.

I’ve found storytelling to be one of the most powerful tools in changing the culture of long term care. It has long been my goal to tap into that power to change the broader culture of aging in our society. We think that this novel has a shot at reaching and influencing the wider world. It is stories that change the world and we invite all of you to join us in celebrating the Tribes of Eden, its stories and characters.

Let’s ride!