Expanding our Creative Horizons

"Highly recommend to all with a desire to expand their creative horizons -- The Creative Soul: Art and the Quest for Wholeness."

review by Mel Mathews

"Who we most deeply are is mirrored in our artistic work. Our need for mirroring simultaneously attracts us to and repels us from our creative callings and relationships. It is one of life’s great dilemmas.

"Artist’s block and lover’s block flow from the same pool. Often, we fear deeply the very thing needed to create original art, to experience intimate relationships and to live authentic lives: we are frightened by the impulse to be fully revealed to ourselves, and to others, as this most often entails exposing the unacceptable shadowy aspects of our humanity and risking rejection.

"Mirrors in all their manifold guises permit us to safely see and experience ourselves in reflection and become better acquainted with the rejected, ostracized aspects of our personalities. In The Creative Soul: Art and the Quest for Wholeness, Lawrence Staples explains how creative work is one of the few places where we can truly express, witness, and reclaim lost aspects of our authentic selves.

"Within us a treasure beckons. This is what we spend our lives pursuing. What slows and distracts us is not the object we long for, but where we search. To find this precious gem, we must eventually return to our own creative spirits. I highly recommend The Creative Soul to all with a desire to expand their creative horizons."

The Creative Soul: Art and the Quest for Wholeness is available from your local bookstore, from a host of online booksellers, and directly from Fisher King Press: The Creative Soul: Art and the Quest for Wholeness by Lawrence H. Staples / ISBN 13: 978-0-9810344-4-7 / Publication Date: Feb-2009 / Order your copy at www.fisherkingpress.com or call +1-831-238-7799.

In addition to being the artist who painted the cover image for The Creative Soul, Mel Mathews' book reviews have appeared in many syndicated publications and he is the author of several novels, including The Malcolm Clay Trilogy. His books are available from your local bookstore, a host of on-line booksellers, or you can order them directly from his website at: www.melmathews.com or www.malcolmclay.com

"wise, clever, earthy..."

by Grady Harp

"For those who have had the pleasure of discovering Mel Mathews through his first two books, 'LeRoi' and 'Menopause Man', the wandering, questing central figure of Malcolm Clay has become a new literary icon. The promises so obviously made in the first parts of this (to date) trilogy happily have come to fruition in 'SamSara' - a novel of sophisticated writing, thoughtful ruminations, keen humor, informative explorations of themes from religion to traits of visited countries, and so many clever double entendres - that Mathews' place in the ranks of fine contemporary writers is assured.

"Mel Mathews has developed a style of interlocking his many characters, placing them strategically throughout the three books whether in flashbacks or dreams or weighing comparisons, of narrating in first person with his 40-year-old protagonist who has waded through a life of addiction, child abuse, frustrated love affairs, the success and boredom of being a tractor salesman, to the point of confrontation with his basic inner demons that prevent his success with women. In 'SamSara' he has reached a plane where he is seeking spiritual guidance, rolfing, and ultimately joining a group of twenty women in a trek to Florence, Italy for a seminar "Exploring the Images in Word and Art of Mary Magdalene: central to the theme is developing one's inner image of the feminine psyche". That is how committed to change is Malcolm Clay!

"From Carmel, California to Zurich, to Florence for the seminar (a period in which Mathews details so much interesting information about the feminine aspect of Christianity, Gnosticism, the concept that Mary Magdalene as the Holy Grail bore a child named Sara Kali by Christ and escaped to a French village Saintes Maries de la Mer where the annual celebration of Sara AKA the Black Queen still exists), to France, and to Ireland Malcolm Clay writes in diary fashion, emails, and in dreams shared about his progress in dissembling his dysfunctional approach to women and in the process finding the validity of his own existence. 'You know, there's something about becoming more aware of what unconsciously runs a person. Awareness is a thief. It's robbed me of an illusion; it's robbed me of the belief that the only way a man can make love to a woman is by physically penetrating her.' And from this stance Malcolm grows into an enlightened man, forgiving his past, and getting in touch with his internal masculine and feminine counterparts.

"One of the uniquely beautiful aspects of Mathews' writing is his ability to explore these thoughtful (even profound) topics with a effervescent sense of humor and a gift for communicating details of living in Florence, struggling with the French attitude, and seeking out the funky little eateries and Internet cafes in Ireland. For after all, the main reason for this meandering journey to Europe is to follow-up on a brief but meaningful encounter with a lass named Kelli whom he met in Carmel and agrees to meet in Ireland in hopes that he has finally found his perfect mate, hopefully with the added growth of his own sense of self. But the ending leaves some unanswered questions that suggest we may still be following Malcolm Clay through future novels!

"After reading three books by Mathews, growing with his developing facility with construction of a novel, with his finessing of his style, the gifts of this author become increasingly apparent. He is wise, clever, earthy, and has many surprises up his sleeve. Example: 'SamSara' as a title for this book references the Hindu/Buddhist word for 'cycle of rebirth, of flowing together from this life into a reincarnation, an ignorance of True Self', yet it also is the name of the Irish pub where he comes to an awareness of his plight with Kelli, and in separating SamSara with the capital 'S' he also pulls in the name 'Sara', the product of Mary Magdalene coupling with Christ. That is the pleasure of reading Mel Mathews - he takes the reader on an engaging journey of self realization peppered by countless chuckles and observations of the human condition. He is an important author: he deserves to be widely read!"

Grady Harp's reviews appear in a host of syndicated publications and he is an Amazon.com Top Ten reviewer.



To learn more about the Malcolm Clay series, visit www.malcolmclay.com.