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Languages Mythology Paul Andruss Podcast TTT Season 2 Travel Writing

Season 2 Episode 54: Paul Andruss on Myths, Travel, Language & Writing

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in!

I am heading across the ocean to Wales, that beautiful country full of magic, mystery, music, and great writers. I am excited to introduce one of those great writers – Paul Andruss. He was born and reared in Liverpool. The city’s legendary Scouse wit and dogged stoicism has left its mark.

Keen to get out into the world, Paul dropped out of college at 17. A year later he was taking exams at night school, while working in the local Tax Office. Today, we are going to talk about Paul’s love of writing.  

Paul is the author of the Young Adult magical realism trilogy, the Jack Hughes Books, and the forthcoming (very adult) Finn Mac Cool – a mythological saga. He has also written several short stories and novellas.

Listeners, thank you for sharing this moment with Paul and me on Tea Toast and Trivia. I invite your to meet up with Paul on Goodreads and on his website, Jack Hughes Books.  You are only an internet click away from a daring and exciting adventure. Until next time, dear friends, keep safe and be well.

Exciting News Update:

All works, including The Jack Hughes Books Trilogy.  are scheduled for release with exciting new, independent Scottish publisher, Black Wolf Books.

BLACK WOLF BOOKS

http://www.jackhughesbooks.com/

https://blackwolfbooks.wixsite.com/black-wolf-books/our-authors

https://blackwolfbooks.wixsite.com/black-wolf-books

Paul Andruss on Myths, Travel, Language & Writing – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

43 replies on “Season 2 Episode 54: Paul Andruss on Myths, Travel, Language & Writing”

Thank you for listening in, Robbie and for sharing and commenting – very, very much appreciated. I enjoyed meeting up with Paul and am grateful for his generosity in sharing his insights. I was amazed by the clarity of the audio given that we were connecting Vancouver, Canada and Wales. Paul has a resonance in his voice – perfect for reading his books. I am delighted that we have connected, Robbie – looking forward to the conversations that await us….

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You have a wonderful speaking voice, Rebecca. Clear and also interesting which is important. You should read audio books. The line with Paul was good, I had put it down to first world country technology. Ours is good most of the time but sometimes the undersea cable goes down and its a catastrophe.

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I always wanted to be a singer, but alas it was not to be. I remember my dear teacher who finally said, you will be an excellent teacher. I have a low ranch so couldn’t go above a “A” – I would go to falsetto at “C.” What I didn’t know at the time, was that my voice was still a voice that could communicate. Thank you for your lovely comments!

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“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Oh Mary Jo! I have goosebumps just typing the words of Dylan Thomas. Thank you for listening in and for your lovely comments. Hugs and more hugs!

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Thank your for your generosity Rebecca, sharing a delightful conversation. I think you have done a wonderful job with te audio and I am pleased the conversation flowed so well. It was my absolute pleasure talking to you and I would love to do it again. Pxx

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Thank you for your introduction to Paul, Shehanne! I enjoyed our conversation immensely. Paul and I want you to join in a conversation with us. Not certain how that will work out, but Don seems to think there are many possibilities in bringing us together. Will be in touch!

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Thanks Shey- it was daunting but Rebecca is a great hostess. Lovely woman and incredibly reassuring and so warm. Don does a great job with the audio (I actually have the speaking voice of a pipistrelle bat). Every nice word said about you was from the heart- but you know that already.

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Rebecca is indeed a great hostess. Gracious too. Oh, and with a wonderful voice, so rich and warm. And Don does indeed do a great job. I spoke to them both for ages after the interview I did with her. it was like they were both sitting right there in my kitchen.

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I greatly enjoyed listening to your wide-ranging conversation with Paul. One point of the conversation that piqued my interest in particular was the question of how do we get our soul back; can we get our soul back? Despite our disposable approach to popular culture, I firmly believe we will always have the potentional to get our soul back. In higher education, interest in the humanities, including the arts, tends to go in cycles. When people start feeling too alienated from society and from themselves, they look to the humanities to find meaning in their lives and our connection to something greater.

Paul’s comment about how saying “no” shuts down conversation reminds me of my old friend Appreciate Inquiry. The key to finding solutions to intractable problems lies in how was frame the questions, the language that we use.

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Oh, Liz, I love your comments. Here is a couple of questions for you – how do you define soul? And how do we find our souls as an individual and as a community, whether local or global. How do we measure our progress? When I was a child, I loved being with my grandfather. He was a farmer with grade 8 education, but had a remarkable knowledge of the earth and his place within nature and the environment. His soul was intact and he gave me a way to continue my journey. I will never forget our conversations. I love to explore and believe that viewing life through the lens of art, history, literature and poetry is a wonderful way to gain insights and different perspectives. But what I seek is how do we demonstrate our “soul” within community. It is a very interesting subject and one that I love to explore with you. Thank you for adding beauty and joy to my day.

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My father loved Flamenco so I was introduced to the concept of el duende many years ago. It is the spirit of evocation. I understand that an earth spirit inspires and even guides an artist to see that his intelligence has limits. And in so doing, the artist is able to move forward into new realms of understanding and possibilities. It is an “awakening.” There is balance between light and darkness. I haven’t thought of el duende in years. Thank you for the reminder – it brought back memories of listening to Carlos Montoya with my father.

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Liz that is such a brilliant comment you made and if I might say wise too.
We do look to the humanities to find meaning in our lives (I guess the clue is in the word- humanities.
Funnily nough I was reading something today about the philosopher Musonius ( know Rebecca will like this too because she is a big fan of Marcus Aurelius) who saidthe primary care of Philosophy is the care of the soul in order that the qualities of prudence, temperence justice and courage may be perfected in it. This education should begin in infancy and continue throughout life for every member of human society.
this man said this 2,000 years ago and Yet before today I had never heard of him. It is true what George Santayana said. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
Thank you for taking your time to share your insights. It is appreciated and gave me a bit of hope.

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Thank you Darlene for listening in to our conversation. I am very grateful for Paul’s willingness to join me on TTT without any notice. This conversation was unscripted – so thank you to Paul!!! We covered a wide range of topics from travel to mythology to philosophy! So glad that you joined us, Darlene.

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I think you need to take a lot of the credit here Rebecca for your skillful handling and immense personal charm which left me, the guest, feeling as if I had something to contribute. Your magic spell worked. Thank you

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Isn’t it interesting how conversations begin. We were just to meet for the first time and then, all of a sudden, I thought – oh my goodness, we need to record this conversation. We travelled the world in that matter of one hour!!!

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Oh My goodness Darlene. Thank you. I am not pretending to be modest here but I have actually always felt more comfortable with the written word and thought I made a bit of a hash rambling on. Rebecca did a really wonderful job with me, no doubt about it, but to hear you say my imagination and communication skills came through… well, it is more than I could hope for.. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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You have a great voice, Paul. I am glad that you will be looking into reading your books. Thanks again for listening in, Darlene. We are all on an marvelous adventure – so grateful to meet up with kindred spirits!

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So glad you joined the conversation. As Don said to me the other day: “If we stand still, the world will come to us.” So I’m thankful for out technology that allows us to connect. Sending many hugs on the wing.

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Rebecca, I am just finding this blog, I don’t know how it has managed to evade me. It’s spectacular. I love the writing of Paul Andruss and was thrilled to listen in to the conversation. You are a spectacular interviewer and such a lovely voice too…to learn more about Paul was amazing.

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Dear Holly – your visit and comments are very much appreciated. Paul will be coming back to TTT in the “Authors Reading their Books.” I miss the library/book store “meet the authors” event. With everything closed up, I am thrilled that we are able to connect via technology. We have entered a new reality – together we are learning new ways of connecting. Your poetry is exquisite and I’m in the process of thinking about a “Tea with a Poet” post where I pair a tea with 2 – 3 of your poems. Thank you for allowing me to recite your poetry. Many hugs!

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Dear Holly, Thank you I deeply touched by your commoent given that I am such a fan of the way you use language and imagery in your work. It is not something I am given to say often- but you are a real poet. I genuinely think if you tripped over and cussed, a poem would come out.
Rebecca has such a wonderful voice doesn’t she? It would be amazing to hear you featured here.

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I’ve thought from the first time That I read you that you are a brilliant writer that I admire Paul. You kind words are greatly appreciated and I’m honor by such high praise. Take care my friend , wishing you all the success you so deserve.

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