marcoujor: The Power of His Pen

This past Saturday I published a very special story on my Inspiration Station blog called: 'Tell Skinny I Said Hi.'

I take my comments to heart, am often inspired by them, in and of themselves. My friend, Vicki Warner of WarnerWords, reminded me of this in her insightful remarks, including: 

"...these things are always doubly shocking when they happen to someone you know."


My mind wandered to a friend and writer many of us have held close in our heart and prayers over these last weeks, Vinaya Ghimire.

Vinaya and I became friends after I interviewed him, now more than two years ago, in this very interesting piece if you want to check out: Interview with Vinaya Ghimire.

WarnerWords published A Nepal Update by Vinaya Ghimire this past Saturday with the latest news written from Vinaya himself to inform us of what has been happening since this series of earthquakes and the aftermath.

Vinaya has inspired me beyond belief throughout these days of fear and uncertainty.  Perhaps because of a challenge to 'step up' from his wife, Vinaya is using contributions from friends all over the world to help feed and support his entire community.
 
He is also using the gift of his writing to 'pay it back'.  Specifically, he is giving all of the proceeds from his recently published e-book about the People's War in Nepal right back into helping the people of  Nepal.  How cool is this?
 
I had asked Vinaya for an 'exclusive' well before this disaster.  I had purchased the book for myself and for a couple friends as gifts. It's priced at $3.99 - which is affordable to most budgets.  
 
I was thrilled that Vinaya was able to give us a bit of the 'back story on the story' as I like to say... :)  That gives a book much more meaning for me and I hope it would for you if you decide to purchase this or gift it.

---

Vinaya Ghimire, Author

I would highly recommend this book to my nursing students, especially those I have taught in Cultural Anthropology class.  That being said, I would remind a potential reader of the value "I" see in expanding my understanding of cultural norms and practices outside of Western civilization.  Because of reading this, often difficult to swallow, book I know Vinaya and his community will survive this latest tragedy as well... they are survivors.

---

Vinaya, I dedicate this song to you, your family and community: Cat Stevens' Kathmandu

So, here...right from Vinaya himself, is his exclusive! 

CLICK HERE to get it from amazon.com

Maria: What is the title of your book?

Vinaya: People’s War in Nepal: Songs and Narratives From the Frontline. 

Maria: Where did the idea come from for this book? 

Vinaya: Since a long time I was thinking to write about the pain and sufferings of common people during the height of Communist insurgency in Nepal (1996-2006). I was dillydallying for a long time. However, one day when I was going through my previously written works, I found that I had enough poems and stories about Nepalese civil war.


Maria: What genre does your book fall under?

Vinaya: The book is an anthology of flash fictions and narrative poems.

Maria: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Vinaya: Since the stories and poems collected in People’s War in Nepal are based in Nepal and about Nepalese civil war, I believe local actors would do justice. 

Maria: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

Vinaya: There are three long narrative poems and three flash fictions in People's War in Nepal, which depicts the plight of common people stuck between the security forces and rebels. 

Maria: Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?

Vinaya: I self-published the book through Amazon.
 
Maria: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
 
Vinaya: Actually, I did not sit to write this book. These poems and stories were written randomly and published on different websites and newspapers over the period of seven or eight years. Compiling the poems and stories in one volume and revising them took more than six months.

Maria: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

Vinaya: Many local writers have written fictions and poetry about communist insurgency in Nepal. Some of these books have also own prestigious prizes in the country. However, these books are in local language. My vision could be limited, however, I have not found any books in English language on this line. 
 
Maria: Who or what inspired you to write this book? 
 
Vinaya: I was lucky that nothing happened to me and my loved ones during the ten years of Nepalese civil war. However, I was a witness to the bloody war in my backyard.These are the stories of men and women who were the victims of war. This is not a historical account; however, the characters did actually exist and the incidents actually happened. 
 
Maria: What's next?  Working on any new books / ideas you can share with us...? 
 
Vinaya: I am working on a children story book. The book will be out in a month or two.

Thank you so much, Vinaya - keep in touch when you can, mar

---