Books by John Passfield

Lord and Lady Macbeth are being stung, not by scorpions, but by imagery, the medium by which human beings think at the deepest levels. And the kingdom which they seek to conquer and control is not just Scotland, but the kingdom of the mind. Imagery enlightens, but it also obscures; imagery is loyal, but it also betrays; imagery is visible on the surface, but manifests itself at hidden depths. Their mutual struggle -- to live in prose while thinking in imagery -- affects the two Macbeths in different ways.The Project Together, this novel and the journal and notebook that accompany it, comprise the twentieth installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st Century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.The Making of Full of Scorpions is My Mind - a reflective journal This journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel is expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art-form.Planning Full of Scorpions is My Mind - a planning notebook During the writing of the novel, the author kept a hand-written notebook which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook - now in print form - reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel-form.

A one-legged boy, Terry Fox, sets himself the task of running a marathon a day across the length of Canada, the second-largest country in the world, in aid of cancer research, because the children are crying with pain in the cancer wards and somewhere the hurting must stop.Together this novel and the accompanying journal and notebook comprise the nineteenth installment in an ongoing novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the 21st century. All of the accompanying journals and notebooks, as well as more information on the project itself, are available on the author's website, www.johnpassfield.ca.The Making of Somewhere the Hurting Must StopThis journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel was expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art form.Planning Somewhere the Hurting Must StopDuring the writing of the novel the author kept a handwritten notebook which records the day-to-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook, now in print form, reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel form.

A young Canadian doctor, Norman Bethune, sets up a practice which he hopes will lead to money and prestige; however, his social conscience takes him on a journey through the Canada of the Great Depression, the Spain of the Spanish Civil War, and the China of the Chinese Civil War and Japanese invasion. Ultimately, the journey becomes a quest to understand the world in which Bethune finds himself living, to develop a compassionate response to that world, and to discover the essence of himself as a human being.Also AvailableThe Making of The Only Person Alive in the World - a reflective journalThis journal records the author's reflections on the process of the crafting of the novel as it evolved through the stages of planning, writing, editing and polishing. It constitutes an effort to be as conscious as possible of the process whereby the single idea that suggested the topic of the novel was expanded into a complex work of art. Topics range from the nuts and bolts of novel-building to the nature of the novel as an art-form.Planning The Only Person Alive in the World - a planning notebookDuring the writing of the novel, the author kept a hand-written notebook which records the day-by-day development of the novel as it found its shape and style. The notebook - now in print form - reveals how a vast cluster of thoughts was sifted, selected, structured and polished into novel-form.The ProjectTogether, this novel, journal and notebook comprise the eighteenth installment in an on-going novel-writing project in which the author is exploring the concept of form and meaning in the novel, and of the novel as a form of expression in the twenty-first century. All of the published journals and notebooks are available for free download at www.johnpassfield.ca.