Today it is my honor and pleasure to interview author, Feng Shui master and world traveler Lada Ray! I recently read and reviewed her latest book The Earth Shifter which I thoroughly enjoyed and while I wait for part two I thought I’d reach out and ask Lada for an interview. She kindly obliged and so here it is. Introducing Lada Ray!
Rohan: Hi Lada, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview! It’s my pleasure to be able to share your work and experiences with an ever increasing number of people.
Lada Ray
Lada: Hi Rohan, it’s so wonderful to be a guest at your positive and uplifting blog! Your posts always put a smile on my face.
Rohan: Thanks for the kind words, I’m glad my blog can have that effect! So I’ve just finished your latest book The Earth Shifter, which I really enjoyed, but I know this is by no means the first book you’ve released. How many books have you written in total? And when did you start writing?
Lada: I started writing fiction several years ago, when the idea of The Earth Shifter first popped into my head. So far, I’ve written 1 epic novel: The Earth Shifter; 2 full size novels: Gold Train (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure) and Stepford USA (Accidental Spy Smalltown Adventure), as well as 2 novelettes, Green Desert and Catharsis (Earth Keepers Chronicle 1). In April I’m releasing 2 more Earth Keepers stories: Lemurian Crystal and Atlantis.
Rohan: Wow, that’s a very cool system! It’s kind of like the visual artist who first creates the outline and then fills in the rest of the details of the painting. Haha, I know what you mean about the orgasm, it’s often that way with creative works, the creative tension builds up until it must be released
Lada: Yes, the Russian meteor was a fantastic coincidence indeed. As to the other predictions: I make predictions on my blog about presidential elections and economy. We had a number of elections in 2012 and all my predictions came true. You can check them out on my blog: Predictions 2012 and beyond.
I will be posting more predictions on my blog throughout the year, and I’ll also discuss some of them during my upcoming interview on the Vinny Eastwood Show on 3/18 at 6pm EST. I’ll post the video of the interview on my blog, so stay tuned! I am also planning on writing a comprehensive book of predictions for this decade and beyond, and I’ll hopefully get around to it this year.
But since we are at it here are some personal predictions for you, Rohan. Ready?
Rohan: Yes Please!
Lada: Okay, here goes:
I will make one more global prediction here. According to the secret Chinese Theory of Long Cycles, which I learned from my Asian Feng Shui Masters, and which I use in my predictions, we are currently in the Period 8, which lasts for 20 years. The last period was called Period 7 and it lasted from 1984 to 2003. Period 7 was the period of the West. During that time, we saw the unprecedented rise of the West, including USA (compare the US in the 1990s and now), UK (Look at the difference: the UK looked like heaven on Earth in the 1990s and look at it’s problems now), Western Europe, and incidentally, also Ireland , which is the quintessential West of Europe. Period 8, lasting from 2003 to 2023 is ruled by the Northeast, which means in global terms that the countries rising and dominating will be Russia and China (since they occupy the Northeast of the world and of Asia).
This is all very fascinating stuff and I have a lot more to say. I’ll try to post more predictions on my blog, as well as cover it in my future books.
Rohan: Wowee! Where do I start?! First of all both of my parents are Oxen as well. I work closely with them on writing and music so that’s a great sign, they’ll be happy to hear your prediction too
So speaking of all things Asia, you have lived and worked in Malaysia studying Feng Shui. I’m jealous! I’ve been to Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand but only on short stopovers traveling from Europe to Australia or vice versa. I’ve always had a fascination with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai history and culture. What was it like living and traveling in Asia? What was your most memorable experience?
If you look real close you can see Lada
Lada: I love Asia, and one of my goals is to return there and travel more extensively. I have a lot of books to write first, so this idea is on hold for now, but my biggest dream is to end my days in Tibet, meditating high in the mountains, where I could be one with all (however, there’s still so much to do and so much to say, that it’ll be a while
My husband’s family is from Hong Kong and he was born there, although he grew up in the USA. The Asian joke about Hong Kong and Singapore is that there are so many people crowding a small space in these two metropolises that if you move just slightly people will start toppling into the sea. Hong Kong is very crowded, noisy, and expensive, but it still has that very special charm, and there are still hidden gems there if you
Kuala Lumpur
know where to look. What I loved most in Asia: Malaysia with its capital Kuala Lumpur, where I studied with my feng shui teacher, Lillian Too, and where I made some very special friends, and Bali, where I seriously considered moving at one point. I’m planning a post on my blog about that sometime this year.
Rohan: Malaysia looks incredible, it looks like it would be a beautiful and inspiring place to live and write. And I like your dream of ending your days in Tibet, that would be wonderful
Lada: Cuba and its capital, Havana, are amazingly beautiful. The sea, the beaches and the palm trees are nice. Cuba’s beauty stems not so much from say, architecture, which is quite worn out and dilapidated, but from that special intangible quality of its people. The people are simply fantastic! Warm, inviting, they never fret and are always helpful—all that, despite the fact that they are pretty poor by any standards. They don’t have much, but what
Havana, Cuba
they have they use resourcefully. Of course, the long-standing American economic blockade doesn’t help, but all other countries already do business with the island quite nicely, bypassing the archaic American restrictions. That includes US’ next door neighbors, Canada and Mexico, as well as South America, Russia, and Spain.
Cuba has an excellent educational system, the best in Latin America, and one of the best health care systems in the world. Cuba is also famous for its night clubs, and Cubans can dance till Madrugada (dawn), then go home, have a short nap—or not—and back to work.
Rohan: Yes, he’s an incredible and important historical figure, it must have been fascinating to see him in person knowing what he’s been through and achieved under such scrutiny and pressure. Very cool!
Now, you’ve written a number of books, you’ve gone through the whole process from inception, through writing, to editing, proofing, working on cover design and finally publishing and promoting. As an aspiring author myself, and for all the others reading this, I want to ask you; what is the most important lesson you’ve learned about the writing process? If you could go back in time and tell younger Lada something about writing that would help her out, what would it be?
Lada
One practical piece of advice for the new writers: make sure your novel is professionally edited before releasing it.
Rohan: Yes, it’s definitely a personal journey of discovery and overcoming the challenges that are presented to the author. That’s true, it’s a good idea to get your work proofed and edited by as many qualified people as you can. I want to ask the same question, but this time about publishing and marketing your books. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about the business side of being an author in the modern age?
Lada: Treat your writing as a real business! Be disciplined and driven, but don’t forget to keep writing! Tip: make sure your formatting is top notch. It is tricky and I personally outsource it to a professional. Eventually, you want to outsource as much as possible, so you could dedicate more time to writing.
Rohan: That’s great advice Lada. Many aspiring authors have to do the bulk of the work, but it’s best to delegate wherever you can and focus on what you do best, write. So when can we expect part two of The Earth Shifter Trilogy? I’m very much looking forward to continuing the adventures of Sasha and co!
Lada: I am working on The Earth Shifter 2 and will start revealing the title and other interesting details in the spring. Anticipated release of the sequel is winter 2013-14. I want to make sure the second book is as interesting and suspenseful as the first one. I have many surprises and revelations planned and I promise my readers a wild ride!
Rohan: Ooh, can’t wait to see how things develop! And what else do you have planned for 2013? What other writing projects are you working on?
Lada: I’m incredibly happy and excited to report that The Earth Shifter paperback is coming out ahead of schedule, in the end of March. Simultaneously, I’ll be releasing Stepford USA as paperback, and second edition of the Gold Train paperback as well. It’s busy times – but it’s all good
Look for all these new editions from March 18th onward!
Also, to add to the earlier question about writing and publishing advice, I will reveal my secret: I’m currently working on a series of online courses for aspiring authors, which will provide a full blueprint for writing, publishing, formatting, marketing and promotion of their books. I’ll be unveiling these courses later this year. Stay tuned, much more is coming!
Last, but not least, it is my pleasure to announce that on March 18th, at 6pm EST, I’ll be a guest on the Vinny Eastwood Show which is broadcast on American Freedom Radio. Watch it there, or at vinnyeastwoodshow.com and guerillamedia.co.nz. I will also post the show on my Youtube channel and blog (find moreof my links below). Please tune in to listen, ask questions and comment! Hope you enjoy it, and please stop by to let me know what you think!
Rohan: Wow! So much going on. I look forward to continuing the Earth Keeper Chronicles and the Vinny Eastwood will be great, can’t wait for that! Thanks so much Lada for taking the time for this interview today, I wish you all the best going forward this year with all your books and projects