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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Friday, November 12, 2021

a beautiful reflection... Ovidius by Karin Mabry


'Ovidius' follows the lives of members of the Ovidius community, a neighborhood surrounding The Ovidius Zoo, home of Worthington the Tiger. 


Description:

'Ovidius' follows the lives of members of the Ovidius community, a neighborhood surrounding The Ovidius Zoo, home of Worthington the Tiger. 

The animals of Ovidius communicate with each other using mental telepathy, unbeknownst to humans. Some, like Godiva the Cat and Sam the Bird, tweak the agreed-upon system to fit their agendas, Godiva, to write poetry, Sam, to wreak havoc. Others, like Philodendrum the Bullfrog and Xavier the human, friend of Godiva, are just trying to figure out who they really are. Written in the fix-up style, ‘Ovidius’ is a beautiful reflection on animals, spirituality and being wild and free.

EXCERPT
Worthington the Tiger

Worthington the tiger’s weariness with captivity was a heavy truth, a reluctant move towards his acceptance of the blatant prejudice of God’s blessing of some animals with autonomy but not others. His family had accepted their lives of salvation denied, agreeing that by divine design, some animals were born condemned to human servitude, such as they, living in a zoo. Worthington fully disagreed.

W could source the beginning of his increasingly dire irritation with his life to the moment he first considered where the misfit animals went. The whole system seemed sinister to him. If an animal didn’t fit in at the zoo, they were taken away, never to be seen nor heard from again. Gone, he thought, annoyed at the idea. Thus began a torrent of curiosities, becoming an irrational pattern of thinking, growing less reasonable every time W considered the options for the rebellious animals.

Godiva and Clarence, the Cats

Godiva was a gloriously magnificent, grey-and-white, part Maine Coon Ovidian cat. She loved poetry, delighted in writing it, relished reading it out loud, even taught other animals of its wonder. Godiva thought that as a genuine purveyor of beauty, she ought to be granted a living for such giving and was slightly miffed that she wasn’t a full-time poet. Instead, she was forced to endure gatherings of animals who knew next to nothing about an authentic voice, who wouldn’t know a real poem if it bit them in the butt. To them, she must reveal her deepest love, her most closely held desires and beliefs which landed on her students’ deaf, but kind, ears, most of the time.

Clarence’s willingness to learn to read endeared him even more to Godiva. No one in her world wanted what she did. It was selfish, really, what she was asking of him. She wanted a partner in crime. She didn’t want to be so alone in the world of words. Breaching her feline self and the one who was so aware of humans and their thoughts, their fears, their doings as well as their plans had stretched her thin. Godiva considered her problem from the lens of addiction- she was paying the price for the ride she wanted to take but she yearned for Clarence’s company.


About the author:
Hi! Hope you are well and taking good care of yourself and loved ones during these challenging times.

Writing 'Ovidius', my first novel, was a game-changer for me. I wrote a series of novellas then combined them into a fix-up novel, becoming utterly enamored of the medium of the short novel in the process. Telling a story with an economy of words means the use of words is precious. I have found my niche and believe that, literally, everyone should write a short novel. It is delightful, with no fear of being crushed by the daunting task of writing hundreds and hundreds of pages. I have mostly read novels in my life, still yearning to understand what Anais and Jack London have to say about it all. I tried, in 'Ovidius', to create five distinctly different novellas that could stand alone yet come together, seamlessly, as one story.

My poetry books, 'Thrive' and 'A Hamlet of Shelter', were delicious to write, that's all there is to it. I love them and so appreciate my Mother, Maureen, for encouraging me to write what I feel, what I believe. I hope you choose to enjoy what came forth when I gave it a chance. I surely do, each story, each poem, perfectly expressing my belief in presence and imagination. Such a blessing to be human and be able to imagine. All things are possible with God, the God within all of us, Our Father, our collective birthright.


Author's Giveaway
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10 comments:

VampedChik said...

Sounds amusing.

CCAM said...

I like the cover and the texts are promising
"Thus began a torrent of curiosities [...]."

Bea LaRocca said...

An intriguing synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like a good read Thank you for posting about this book

Karin said...

Thanks, y'all!! 'Ovidius' is my first novel, the product of an attempt to write a series of novellas. It wasn't until I was done with all five novellas that I realized- wait, did I just write my first book?
I do have to say that the bio up there appears a little unedited but the book has been edited to within an inch of its life. That is from my Amazon author's page.
First book, first day (night) of first online book tour. Not sure what to say other than I loved writing this book. I love the book, but it's mine, so I oughta. My Mom loved it, too, but again, she has to, lol. Let me know any questions you feel like asking or what I can tell you about this book to show you why I love it. I don't think all animals love humans the way all humans think they do. 'Ovidius' is slightly misanthropic, though I didn't intend on it being that way. Will querying, I realized only one of my characters actually liked humans, loved them, in fact. The rest did not hold so high of an opinion for humanity, as a whole.
Am I misanthropic? No, I love humans and animals as well as God, masquerading as The Life Principle in all of us, in all, period.
Take care, y'all!!

Stormy Vixen said...

Karin, your book sounds like a fun read and I can't wait to meet Worthington and the other animals! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a wonderful holiday season!

Debbie P said...

This sounds like a great story. I like the cover.

Flaimingtulip said...

Looks amusing

Laura said...

Such an intriguing choice for the book cover.

Bridgett Wilbur said...

I would love to read your book.

Nancy P said...

Sounds interesting