Interview With Author Ben Jones
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a musician, poet and writer, who is interested in the nature of self and reality and explores truth, love, creativity, beauty and consciousness. I have written a number of books, but my first release, Ash and Truth, has been the beginning of my publishing journey. It is the first book in an ongoing series named The Path of Ash.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called Ash and Truth, and it is the first book in an ongoing series which lives, breathes and evolves with me. It is inspired first and foremost by the exploration of the nature and depths of my own experience. Two books come to mind when speaking of what inspired the writing, they are The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche. This style was nurtured at a young age from reading books like the Tao Te Ching and other mystical books on the shelf at my dad’s house.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Perhaps the most unusual part of my writing—and indeed, my thinking—is that I often use words I didn’t consciously know the meaning of at the time. After looking them up, they almost always turn out to be perfect for the phrase. Sometimes, they’re words I didn’t even know existed.
In terms of my writing process, often words often come fully formed, expressing something I didn’t know I knew. Other times, I spend hours finding the right phrasing for something I do want to express—sometimes only to end up with a single line or paragraph.
And then there are moments when everything fires together, and I know what is arising as it arises. Occasionally I also use automatic writing, which I later decipher—and it always reveals something unexpected about myself or life.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rupert Spira, Jane Austen, Lao Tzu, Osho, Nietszche, Shelley, Gurdjieff.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my book series, The Path of Ash. Book 1 has just come out, and books 2 and 3 are close to finished!
What are you reading now?
I’m on a Jane Austen binge. Currently on Sense and Sensibility.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Find ways to let the work – which I have lived and breathed for so long – to emerge into the world, and become something others can form their own relationship with.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tao Te Ching. Mansfield Park. Cultivating the Empty Field. Ash and Truth.
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