'The White Mary' Kira Salak's novel draws on her real-life travels to perilous, exotic places.

How to Write a Book

Dion Frost

11 August 2008

"I was twenty years old, riding in a van convoy that was short lived down a perilous road" she recalled.

"The country was in a civil war and when write a novel the lorry broke down, some regime troops put me in this room. I escaped, running for my life whilst they chased me.

As an independent reporter, Salak reported from Bangladesh during a coup attempt, the jungles of Borneo, Rwanda after the genocide and refugee camps in Congo. She was the 1st lady to go by canoe down West Africa's Niger Stream , where local ladies applauded her from the shore for her bravado. She asserted those experiences in her 1st travel memoir, "Four Corners" a Times Prominent Book of 2001. When Marika learns that Lewis is living in New Guinea, she hires a guide and sets off on a horrible journey thru the jungle that just about kills her. When she uncovers Lewis, both have to cope with the devils left in their souls by seeing too many atrocities.

"Fiction has been my enthusiasm since I used to be a tiny girl" Salak declared in a conversation from her home in Livingston, Mont. The feeling I took from that experience led straight to the Robert Lewis character." Salak stopped work on the novel after her older bro, Marc, drowned in Africa in 2005. "Then I made a decision life is short, and I wished to get back to writing fiction" she recalls. "I was jobless for a year, using all my savings. Some folk thought her blond hair was on fire. Others ran as they thought she used to be a magician. Though Salak holds a doctoral degree and is a successful writer, she battles depression and low self-esteem. So she makes a yearly trip to Peru, where she takes part in a ritual using ayahuasca, a medicinal mix Amazonian shamans have known about for centuries. "This drug, which is considered extraordinarily safe, forces an individual to see the contents of the comatose mind" she asserts. If she does, she wants to use her gifts to make a contribution. "I've discovered that if folks are doing good but nobody knows about it, and I write about it, they are helped tremendously" she asserts. As hosts, we are expecting guests will show respect for one another. That implies we do not threaten or defame one another, and we keep conversations freed from private attacks. This could be a place where folk wish to read and contribute -- a place for enthusiastic exchanges of opinion.

dazednconfused said:
What the ****! That posti s absolutely… frikkin... insane! I’m gonna have to read it a few zillion more times.
11 August 2008 07:07:16

Dave B said:
How did he like the Harrison Ford adventure? "It was difficult to judge with an unjaundiced eye". !
11 August 2008 08:38:53

Adolfo said:
You are absolutely correct. So the write information is pretty old news as well
11 August 2008 18:31:16

Jesus said:
Neat site, it was totally worth the wait?
12 August 2008 07:16:25

Mandy said:
The other fuor writers on the shortlist were from Ghana, Malawi, and Nigeria and S.
07 October 2008 05:15:40

CaroNet-Hesham said:
He is an example of someone who has written. !
14 October 2008 07:04:53

smiffy1967 said:
The worksheet is designe. for scripting video or audio reports, but might also be used for text-based reports - so helping elude the enticement to copy and paste. !
21 November 2008 10:30:30

Anthony Pruitt said:
This has got a few nice novel themes however none are original !
02 December 2008 15:47:24

KnownUnknowns said:
I'm no fan but you obviously are going to slag write novel off and that's and thats OK on a blog like this ?
19 December 2008 06:39:41

Elian said:
In Alexander Portnoys own words, he is torn by wishes that are repugnant to my conscience, and a conscience repugnant to my desires.
21 December 2008 09:44:58

yevlesh said:
Breaking write a novel news? I hope that was tongue in cheek !
28 January 2009 14:14:56

Karl Benson said:
His recent write novel article was nice Scouser Liz, twenty-seven, wil be drawing on hre real-world experiences in Atomic Kitten to pen the book, and is spurning stand in writers to draft each single word herself.
22 March 2009 12:24:30

write a novel said:
Just my two cents... Don't you know it's the appearance of things hat are necessary to liberals not the truth or what is just and right? One more thing.
31 May 2009 13:56:46

Levy process said:
The cock up in the post is easy to spot !
15 June 2009 11:44:39

write a novel said:
What your post fails to show up is the imp,rtance of doing all you are able to to boost your possibilities !
20 July 2009 14:49:56

Hugh said:
Members ofThe Novel Tree site work with each other on building the novel, each presenting their own pieces of the tale.
20 July 2009 19:58:13

TMS - JoseQ said:
Do you fiQd it fascinating that this is the seventh story in the last week or so touching on the facts of a novel
07 October 2009 09:14:02

Carmine Guerra said:
Well then. What did youk now. Both sparked dvath threats and rioting by people who found those depictions offensive, and Rushdie lived in hiding for years after his book came out in 1988.
08 December 2009 07:31:21

Carmelo Whitaker said:
Writing takes masses of enthusiasm, discipline and commitment.
26 February 2010 15:34:06

space2rent said:
Fascinating writing
15 July 2010 03:24:45