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| Clifford Waldman |
TELL YOUR READERS
ABOUT YOURSELF, WHERE YOU GREW UP, WHERE YOU LIVE NOW, WHERE YOU WENT TO
SCHOOL, ETC. LET THEM GET TO KNOW THE PERSONAL YOU.
I grew up very shy, by
the Atlantic Ocean on Long Island, New York. But I had a rich relationship with
the ocean and stars at sunset—with my imagination—and when I was several years
old, a baby sister. When I began High School, my mother insisted I go to a
private school named Woodmere Academy. That was perhaps the one really good
thing she did for me. One doesn’t need a “special” school, but going there and
a student body that respected teachers began to give me feedback that I and my
thoughts deserved to be respected and listened to. That began a journey outward
that is still accelerating. I attended the Height's Bronx campus of NYU for college
but knew their behavioral focus at the time was not for me. I found the
spiritual approach to creative psychoanalytic psychotherapy I was searching for
in my doctoral work in developmental psychology at Yeshiva University's Ferkauf
Graduate Psychology School and then my post-doctoral clinical training at the
Greenwich Institute for Psychoanalytic Training. My doctoral dissertation was
an experiment based upon Carl Jung's notion of psychological types.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO
AUTHOR THIS BOOK?
Like falling in love,
it just happened. Later, you see what was brewing within and without. The
immediate trigger was a visit to Xi’An, China with my Chinese wife. We were
married perhaps four years. We traveled in a family caravan from Beijing to
Xi’An where, among other things, we saw the world-famous Terra cotta Warriors
of Emperor Qin. I was blown away. I immediately imagined this army returning to
our world today and my mind hasn’t been the same since. I asked the guide, “Why
did they bury so many thousands of Warriors to guard Emperor Qin, I can think
of 3 reasons.” “That’s strange,” he replied, “I’ve only heard two theories.” I
replied, “Well, first it would be to guard his mortal remains.” He nodded.
“Second, it would be to guard him as he traveled from here to his next
existence.” The guide said, “Yes, those are the two, now, what’s your third
theory?” I replied, “Perhaps they were buried with him to return to our
World--and help Qin complete a great mission.”
WHERE DID YOU GET THE
INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BOOK'S COVER?
This comes from a
scene in Book 1 where there’s one of the first clashes between the military
genius Emperor Qin and his Terra cotta Warrior Army as they've attacked in the
year 2031 AD by the modern-day Air force and Army of what had been China. In
this scene, 100 Blackhawk Helicopters armed with missiles and machine guns
lowered closer to the 9-mile Xi’An Ancient Wall. It was shaped like an
irregular rectangle. They searched for Qin’s soldiers to kill them--to set an
example. Their radar had seen them there only hours earlier. Now they couldn’t
see that Qin’s Ninjas had created a false stone floor using cardboard that
looked like the natural large bluestones from above. As the Helicopters drew
closer to discover their concealed prey, the ancients fired missiles from
underneath the cardboard as they’d been trained to do just the day before by
modern police and army volunteers. In the “book cover scene,” you see the
ancient and modern armies coming upon each other behind Emperor Qin. In the
sky, you can see explosions and one of the hits, exploding Helicopters. Just
beneath that, you can see Xi’An’s Great Wall.
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WHO'S BEEN THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON YOU PERSONALLY AND AS A WRITER?
I’ve been most
affected by Fairy Tales and the Bible. I very much appreciate the Bible
as an incredibly passionate, enlightening human story spanning many millennia
of generations. So, as a writer, I’d have to say I’ve been influenced by God.
Jung had his moment too.
WHAT STRUGGLES OR
OBSTACLES DID YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME TO COMPLETE THIS BOOK?
I had a curse placed
upon my soul in a past lifetime. The curse was that the men in my family line
could never achieve success. BUT some of the other carriers of my soul have
been so great in their creative and spiritual deeds that they made success
happen up to a point--though the curse would still not let go. So, even
successes were minimized, and the man could never feel at peace and fulfilled.
My greatest obstacle is overcoming of this cosmic curse to see that my words
reach my readers. There’s only so much time left, so--I need your help to find
my readers to share my words.
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TELL YOUR READERS
ABOUT YOUR BOOK.
Who wants to think
about it? But, if you could still focus, not be in bad pain, and be fully alert
for what you knew was probably the final minute of your life, what would your
thoughts be? What would the most important memories or “takeaways” be that you
might ponder? Some might feel sad they’d never have the chance to say this to
so and so or do that or travel there. Now imagine after going through that
nightmare of enlightenment, you are alive again and could make those wiser or
nobler choices. That’s the story of Emperor Qin. Add to that the unique
struggle between his Neanderthal side and his more recently developed
Homosapien side. Add to that how Qin, the first Emperor of China, develops from
the world’s greatest killer to a spiritual healer wanting to reverse slavery by
empowering all subjects and citizens. In the process, he seeks to guide the
people in a way that increasingly resembles the same values and lessons as
those found in the Bibles. Finally, add to that, a very special love affair
between Emperor Qin Shi Huang and his new love, resurrected from a thousand
years after his first life—Yang Yu Yuan. She is considered one of the four most
beautiful women from China.
WHO IS YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE, AND WHY?
Thinkers with
incredible imaginations. People who like philosophical depth combined with
action adventures. Maybe they like Star Trek, Harry Potter, Pokeman, King
Kong, Superman, Indiana Jones, Sinbad the Sailor, Jules Verne, the Twilight
Zone, Tarzan, and Star Wars. They should like fiction and the
supernatural—deeper meanings and plots. They know or sense every great book or
movie involves something important they learn about themselves. My target age
range is perhaps 5th grade and older. Chronological age is less relevant. The
reader should be mature enough to have a concept of self-actualization. The
age, maturity, and mentality of my books’ readers might be like Harry
Potter’s… maybe a year or two older—perhaps a similar audience to Game
of Thrones. People who like military battles and unique strategies that are
realistically portrayed. People who like the camaraderie of soldiers facing
combat and death together—where individual heroism can stand out amidst some
great communal effort. People who love to see if ancient can stand up to
modern. People who like stories that unfold over thousands of years, containing
mysteries & prophesies. People who wonder what the farthest most reaches of
human potential look like. And whatever that looks like, what would the next
step after that be?
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ONE REASON FOR ANYONE
LOOKING AT YOUR BOOK TO READ--WHY SHOULD THEY BUY IT?
It’s the only book I
know that’s been intentionally written in what Freud would call “dream
language” which is the language of our unconscious—the language of our dreams.
The Surrealists based their school of art on dream language. This contrasts
with our normal, more consciously regulated verbal language. In dream language
emotionally charged visual images dominate--and words and the walls of rational
ideas recede, bend and become more fluid.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER
YOUR GREATEST SUCCESS IN LIFE?
I’ve survived to tell a story. I hope to have
grander success to report next time you ask me.
WHAT ONE UNIQUE THING
SETS YOU APART FROM OTHER WRITERS IN YOUR GENRE?
I’m the only one who’s
me.
Also, my fantasies are
all firmly based on science, the Bible, and humanistic psychology. The
universal truths that are woven into the stories Jung would call “archetypal
wisdom.”
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HOW DO YOU OVERCOME
WRITER'S BLOCK?
That used to be a
problem. It isn’t anymore. Now, I never feel blocked getting into the world of
Emperor Qin. No…the problem for me now is my reluctance at times to return to
the world of Cliff Waldman. My direction of blockage has reversed.
WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
DO YOU HAVE FOR NEW AUTHORS?
Your creation is your
child. Giving birth to it is only the beginning. If you’re a responsible
parent, you work to ensure that your children are witnessed and embraced by
many loving, sensitive, and spiritual eyes. To not share your art with a
receptive audience is to dwarf its development.
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WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU
IN YOUR WRITING CAREER?
Two eBooks are
published. An audiobook will be done this month, and the second book’s audio
will be out by the end of July. I’m halfway through Book 3 in the series and
hope for another dozen volumes. I also hope to air the story on a TV series or
in a movie. Finally, all books lead to Emperorqin.com where later, I hope to
create a public forum of empowerment.
TELL YOUR READERS
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE.
My journey won’t be
complete until I find or discover my family. If you get something from my
books, that means you might be a family member. If you share a thought with me,
that might be a clue.
Emperorqinreturns.com
