The world of Ahm is on the brink of a profound transformation. Bitroux: High Country a Science Fiction Novel by Jordan Harcourt-Hughes Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway

 Bitroux: High Country

Jordan Harcourt-Hughes

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GENRE:  Science Fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

If Merouac ever thought his life’s work would culminate in leading the metal workshops of the Transcontinental Railroad Project, he was sorely mistaken. 

 

Now, his true challenge lies in navigating the other-worldly abilities he’s only beginning to understand—abilities that allow him to tune metal to interdimensional frequencies.

 

While trying to be a guardian to his niece, Evra, he’s realising she may have more to teach him than he ever expected. At the same time, his decision to help an interdimensional race find refuge underground puts him at the centre of an even deeper mystery.

 

As reality reshapes itself around him, Merouac faces a growing realisation: the world of Ahm is on the brink of a profound transformation, and everything he thought he knew may soon be shattered.

 

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EXCERPT

The two men were slow moving, graceful, each with a high mohawk of golden straw-like hair, and heavily decorated with neck jewels. The neck-ware was gnarled, twisted, fibrous, fragments of plant stems dried and interwoven with beads and fresh flowers, trussed with other leaves and organic material, and embedded with strange jewels that seemed to glow and fade, changing colours across a spectrum of blues to greens and then back to blues.

 

Tundra inclined his head, made a small gesture and a bow.   

 

‘He greets you,’ Kii translated. ‘Tundra does not speak very much, and so I’ll translate for him.’  

 

‘How do you know what he wants to say, then?’ Merouac asked.  

 

‘I can see it, or sense it, in the atmosphere,’ Kii explained.  

 

Merouac watched in surprise as the Tundra gestured again, imparting information through the aether which Kii seemed to easily recieve and decipher. 

 

Tundra then eased himself into a crouching position and cleared a patch of grass. He shook his head and determined it would not suit, and looked for a sandy patch. He moved over to another, more suitable, patch of ground and beckoned the other two to join him. He went through the same process of clearing the ground, and then used his fingers to trace lines into the sand. He was silent as he did so, but then looked at Kii expectantly, and Kii nodded.  

 

‘Tundra said you did the right thing with the race that was escaping their imploding planet. They are safe, and they will rest in the core of Ahm now. Tundra was just drawing a map for me, to show me where they are.’  

 

Merouac felt a shock run through him. ‘How does Tundra know about the Helara?’ he asked Kii.   

 

‘There are things that can be seen in the energetic environment. He is able to perceive the place where the Helara now rest. It is under the power grid, deep below Suron. There is a cave network, and catacombs with very deep canyons. Below those canyons, this is where you found a place for the Helara to enter the core of the planet. It was the right thing to do,’ Kii said, translating as he watched Tundra’s fingers work in the sand.   

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Gemstones in the sand – how building a reflective practice can help you be a better creative practitioner

“Reflection is a deeper form of learning that allows us to retain every aspect of any experience, be it personal or professional — why something took place, what the impact was, whether it should happen again — as opposed to just remembering that it happened. It’s about tapping into every aspect of the experience, clarifying our thinking, and honing in on what really matters to us.”

–  Geil Browning, Ph.D.

Picture this: the perfect start to a creative project

Picture this; the sun is shining. The water is sparking and fresh. The air is clear and crisp. You bound in and out of the ocean, submerging yourself in the water and then emerging to skip or walk along the sand. Life is good. The creative work starts to flow. And the sand under your feet is golden and smooth, like a luscious natural carpet.

Then; pebbles.

After a while, the sand becomes a bit harder to walk on. As your creative project gets further along its unique path, pebbles emerge underfoot. The sand just isn’t as smooth as it was when you first started out. In fact, the pebbles are distracting, and making it harder to enjoy the serendipity of creation. I like to think of these pebbles as gem stones in the making.

Those pebbles are of our own creation. And they are a natural part of the creative process. They form in the way that any natural stone forms – through heat and pressure. The pebbles are there to slow you down and make you uncomfortable. Don’t fret – its part of the initiation into the process of creative and personal growth. The pebbles are signalling it’s time to slow down. To reflect. They’re telling you that you’re moving through Learning Ground.

But they will remain pebbles until the initiate works their own magic on them. That means it’s entirely up to you as to what these pebbles turn into gems. But if you’re willing to do the reflection, processing and integration that comes as part of the journey, they can swiftly change into stones of beauty and value.

Finding meaning in your experiences

The art of reflective practice can work well if you want to reflect on your own creative work, or if you’re a leader of creative people. Reflective practice can be applied in many contexts such as:

• Creative practice – the doing of a piece of work as an individual or as a team

• Creative direction – bringing a creative concept to life through others

• Leading people: how have you grown the creative capability of others?

• Integration of personal values and creative work – how did you work on something that was really meaningful to you and what came up when you did.

Pebbles into gems: what is reflective practice?

 Creative work is, in the best sense of the word, about setting an intention and embarking on a journey to see bring that intention into being. Things don’t always go to plan though – which is why reflection is such a big part of our learning. A regular, self-led reflective practice helps us to get the most out of those learnings when they come up. To sit with the experience, to understand the learnings, to see how they can help you grow as a creative practitioner and leader. The richness comes from what happens when you get to know yourself better, when you observe how you respond to certain triggers, to stimulation, to setbacks, to challenges and thinking.

Questions to ask when pebbles start to appear

Gemstones can absolutely be transformed from the pebbles that appear underfoot throughout your creative journey. But you have to put in the work to understand what they are, and what they mean.

These could be questions such as:

• What’s the situation?

• What’s my sense of my pebbles are turning up?

• When did I start noticing them?

• How bit are the pebbles and how uncomfortable are they?

• What are the possible reasons why things are getting rocky – and what’s my contribution to that?

• How am I feeling about everything?

• What are 5 things I could do to address the pebbles?

• What are some things that the pebbles might be indicating?

• Having implemented some adjustments, am I getting back to smooth sand – and have I gained a gemstone in the process?

• With new gemstones in my pocket, what does the return to a smooth, sandy beach look like – and how am I richer for it?

• How does this relate to my larger creative and leadership goals?

All the best with your reflective practice – I hope you find it as valuable as I do!

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 Jordan Harcourt-Hughes  is an abstract painter, writer and communications professional. She’s passionate about all aspects of creativity, life-long learning and personal wellbeing.  Over the last fifteen years she’s led, coached and developed creative professionals across the Asia-Pacific region. 

 

Jordan’s books, studio workshops, courses, coaching and resources are an invitation to explore the rich landscape of creative experiences open to all.

 

High Country is Jordan’s second novel set in the world of Bitroux.

 

Website: https://jordanharcourthughes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordaninthestudio/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordaninthestudio/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10795591.Jordan_Harcourt_Hughes

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0DTFLKY97

 

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GIVEAWAY 

 A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.

  

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