Shakespeare Meets the Buddha received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with authors Edward Dickey.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Shakespeare Meets the Buddha went live on Amazon in July 2020.
What is the book’s first line?
Let us imagine that we could bring the Buddha and Shakespeare together for a meeting of minds.
What is the book about?
Written for the general reader in twenty short chapters, Shakespeare Meets the Buddha brings a unique perspective to the works of Shakespeare and the teachings of the Buddha.
At first glance, they would seem to have nothing in common. The Buddha taught his followers to transcend the world by doing no harm, training the mind, and benefiting others. Shakespeare wrote plays about romantic love, sex, royal power, war, deception, jealousy, murder, and revenge. But the most remarkable connections appear where we least expect them. The timeless works of Shakespeare illustrate transcendent truths taught by the Buddha, including truths about the mind, impermanence, death, illusion, interdependence, karma, suffering, and qualities that offer a path out of suffering to happiness and ultimate freedom.
What inspired you to write the book?
Hours after returning from a Buddhist meditation retreat, I attended a thoroughly absorbing production of Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. Inspired by Shakespeare and the teachings of the Buddha, I began my search for connections.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The book relates Shakespeare to Buddhism in ways that should fascinate lovers of Shakespeare, Buddhists, the spiritually curious, and anyone who wants to gain insight into universal truths about the human condition.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Although writing has always been one of my chief creative outlets, this is my first book.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Several years ago I retired from my career as a program director at the National Endowment for the Arts, where I had worked for almost 30 years.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I have spent as much as twelve hours a day while developing a new chapter. Otherwise, I may spend around an hour editing and polishing.
What is the best and hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is knowing I can get the book I want to write into print how and when I want. Since I am not a natural self-promoter, the hardest part is getting my book into the hands of readers who might enjoy it.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Don’t be in too big a hurry to publish your book. When you think the book is finished, set it aside for a while. Then go back to it and see what improvements you can make, and then set it aside again, and then go back to it again. Continue in this way until confident that your book is as good as you can make it.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yes, if a publisher came calling I would be interested. I would welcome the help they could provide with marketing.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I am motivated by the creative process and the joy of developing and sharing ideas on subjects that fascinate me.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Shakespeare.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Of the books I have read in the past year, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.