Talking with author Jordan Harcourt-Hughes:
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Caramel. And possibly licorice. I don’t think people appreciate licorice as much as they should. Although admittedly, it is a very distinct flavor. I’m currently loving licorice-flavoured chocolate as well!
Describe
your writing space. I mostly write in cafes, actually. One day I’m going to attribute a
book to all of the cafes and baristas who have kept me caffeinated in the early
hours of the morning!
What’s one of your biggest beefs in life? By far the thing I find most challenging is incongruence. I don’t like it when people aren’t incongruent in their actions and behaviour. You see this when people say one thing and then go and do something completely contradictory. Or, when people are saying one thing and their bodies are sending a different signal. I find it truly exhausting, and I wish humans didn’t feel the need to do it so much!
Why do you think this kind of behavior is so prevalent? I think a lot of it is fear-based. People want to be seen to be doing the right thing, and saying the right thing, even when they don’t feel fully aligned with it. And, people can also be scared to be judged by others. So, we act in a way that won’t raise eyebrows, even when those actions aren’t in line with our personal values.
How does this impact you in daily life? I find that I really gravitate to people with very little personal ‘noise’ around them.
This means that they say what they think and do what they say they
are going to do.
This kind of congruence is, to me, very healthy.
I find it really joyful to have this kind of clarity when I’m
engaging with someone, and it makes me feel very comfortable and relaxed.
I don’t have to spend
energy trying to read between the lines, and I’m not picking up on any
dissonance – which is where there are mixed signals creating a confusing
environment.
How do you explore this in Bitroux? I wanted to explore a type of communication that doesn’t rely on words. That’s why I started looking at the potential of hahma current (a type of electricity in the books) as a conductor of frequency.
Then I started playing with the idea of different frequencies
having the ability to carry particles of intelligence that can be intercepted
and translated by our bodies. As we digest these particles, they make their way
up through our subconscious, into our conscious awareness, as knowledge and
insight.
In this way, data is processed in an individual way for everyone,
and completely bypasses our logical brain – which is where so many of our
judgement and control mechanisms sit.
I think that if we could be more intuitive in our communication
with each other, we could also be more congruent, and less motivated by fear of
what others think and fear of how we are being perceived.
Bitroux: High Country
Author: Jordan Harcourt-Hughes
Genre: Science Fiction
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.
There was
something about that zone of quiet concentration. It was always somewhere in
the middle of those quiet moments where the blue light of the Top Hats had
started to appear at the edge of his gaze. It had always been hard to see the
things directly in his sight; they shifted and moved and always seemed hazy and
insubstantial. He wondered if, in those moments, he had drifted into the Maolfi
state without realising it.
He kept
working. The surges of static came and went, heating his body, and then
leaving, giving him a sense that his whole body was buzzing, vibrating. He kept
moving, concentrating only on the wood. And things started to shift, but not in
the way he had anticipated.
Soon, two piles
had been moved and Merouac was starting to feel a welcome feeling of tiredness.
He contemplated leaving the last pile of wood for the morning but kept moving
instead. Then, something sounded.
He looked up.
Nothing. Had anything made a noise at all? He felt sure he had heard something.
All was still. What was it that he thought he had heard? Like someone or
something was crashing through the trees, perhaps. He shook his head. Nothing
unusual stirred, the flickering lights continued and below he could see hummers
and their fluorescent markings shimmering in the trees.
Then he
realised. He hadn’t heard it. He’d felt it.
He closed his
eyes, tried to make his way to the place the Faurin called the Maolfi state.
Kii had wanted him to find a place of deep listening. And perhaps what he was
just starting to understand was, that you could listen with all your body, and
feel sound in other ways than just noise.
After a time,
he opened his eyes again and saw spheres hovering in the air, full of something
he couldn’t quite comprehend.
Reaching out to
touch them, they felt full and weighty and yet his hand could partially pass
through them. They were not solid, and yet they were full. Like bubbles being
blown by some invisible child, they formed and hung in the atmosphere.
They grew
larger, then fuzzier, then collapsed from their own weight, dripping a strange
sentience that dispersed back into the atmosphere. Often, they formed again
straight away, the same spheres, the same size and colour, the same weight,
only to burst and disperse once again.
Some of the
smaller ones were only as large as his hand. Others, twice the size. And then
hovering at greater height, larger spheres his whole body could have walked
through. They shifted and mutated, formed and faded, pulsed and glowed. They
were magical.
‘This is
different,’ he said out loud, and grinned.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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/
5 comments:
Thanks for having me on the blog!
We appreciate you featuring BITROUX today.
What does your writing process involve?
I really like the cover.
This looks like a great read. Thanks for sharing.
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