In EP 59 of the Page One Podcast, Host Holly Lynn Payne welcomes debut author and Peruvian-trained Shaman, Rob Somers, to discuss his book SHAMERGENCE, framed by his stage-four cancer diagnosis, miraculous survival, and a call to service centered on rebalancing divine feminine and masculine energies for personal and planetary healing. Somers explains these energies as elemental forces—masculine as logos, logic and doing; feminine as eros, love, wisdom and the collective compass—and warns of cultural imbalance, linking it to dis-ease within ourselves and the planet. He intimately recounts his earliest encounters with death as a child and decades later, undergoing the dark night of the soul during an egoic dissolution after the breakup of his popular band, The Samples, where he played rhythm guitar for more than a decade. Somer’s death as a rockstar birthed his miraculous new life as a steward of the land and a healer of those seeking to restore their own internal balance. Somers never considered himself a writer, but surrendered to the painstaking journey that he describes as his “daily appointment with Spirit.” Part Hunter Thompson + Don Quixote, Rob Somer’s voice offers a refreshing new perspective on faith and devotion.
Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest author:
Rob Somers is a shaman in the Peruvian tradition and the shaman-in-residence at The Post Ranch Inn, California. Rob finds renewal and continual inspiration in exploring the backcountry of the Ventana Wilderness. He lives with his wife Amy in the mystical redwoods of Big Sur, where the mountains meet the sea, and where he wrote his debut book, Shamergence.
About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup built to help authors succeed. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. She recently finished her first YA crossover novel inspired by her nephew with Down syndrome. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her dog. To learn more about her books and private writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com or find her at Instagram and Twitter @hollylynnpayne.
If you have a first page you’d like to submit to the Page One Podcast, please do so here.
As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU.
After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I’m opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they’re currently writing.
If your page is chosen, you’ll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One’s master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.
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The Page One Podcast is created at the foot of a mountain in Marin County, California, and is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community!
Be well and keep reading.
~Holly~