Bitroux: High Country

By Jordan Harcourt-Hughes

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GENRE:  Science Fiction

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BLURB:

If Merouac ever thought his life’s work would culminate in leading the metal workshops of the Transcontinental Railroad Project, he was sorely mistaken. 

Now, his true challenge lies in navigating the other-worldly abilities he’s only beginning to understand—abilities that allow him to tune metal to interdimensional frequencies.

While trying to be a guardian to his niece, Evra, he’s realising she may have more to teach him than he ever expected. At the same time, his decision to help an interdimensional race find refuge underground puts him at the centre of an even deeper mystery.

As reality reshapes itself around him, Merouac faces a growing realisation: the world of Ahm is on the brink of a profound transformation, and everything he thought he knew may soon be shattered.

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EXCERPT

There was something about that zone of quiet concentration. It was always somewhere in the middle of those quiet moments where the blue light of the Top Hats had started to appear at the edge of his gaze. It had always been hard to see the things directly in his sight; they shifted and moved and always seemed hazy and insubstantial. He wondered if, in those moments, he had drifted into the Maolfi state without realising it.  

He kept working. The surges of static came and went, heating his body, and then leaving, giving him a sense that his whole body was buzzing, vibrating. He kept moving, concentrating only on the wood. And things started to shift, but not in the way he had anticipated.  

Soon, two piles had been moved and Merouac was starting to feel a welcome feeling of tiredness. He contemplated leaving the last pile of wood for the morning but kept moving instead. Then, something sounded.  

He looked up. Nothing. Had anything made a noise at all? He felt sure he had heard something. All was still. What was it that he thought he had heard? Like someone or something was crashing through the trees, perhaps. He shook his head. Nothing unusual stirred, the flickering lights continued and below he could see hummers and their fluorescent markings shimmering in the trees.   

Then he realised. He hadn’t heard it. He’d felt it.  

He closed his eyes, tried to make his way to the place the Faurin called the Maolfi state. Kii had wanted him to find a place of deep listening. And perhaps what he was just starting to understand was, that you could listen with all your body, and feel sound in other ways than just noise. 

After a time, he opened his eyes again and saw spheres hovering in the air, full of something he couldn’t quite comprehend.  

Reaching out to touch them, they felt full and weighty and yet his hand could partially pass through them. They were not solid, and yet they were full. Like bubbles being blown by some invisible child, they formed and hung in the atmosphere.  

They grew larger, then fuzzier, then collapsed from their own weight, dripping a strange sentience that dispersed back into the atmosphere. Often, they formed again straight away, the same spheres, the same size and colour, the same weight, only to burst and disperse once again.  

Some of the smaller ones were only as large as his hand. Others, twice the size. And then hovering at greater height, larger spheres his whole body could have walked through. They shifted and mutated, formed and faded, pulsed and glowed. They were magical.   

‘This is different,’ he said out loud, and grinned. 

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Article By Jordan Harcourt-Hughes

5 signs you’re ‘stuck’ with your creative project – and how to navigate your way back to a state of flow

There’s almost no better feeling than when you’re in the flow of a creative project. Inspiration, aspiration, drive and imagination all kick in to give you a wonderful vision of what the future could hold with your project out in the world.

But there also comes a time in the project where momentum has slowed and suddenly, other creative work is more interesting. You may not even know the exact point where your attention starts drifting. But if you’re finding that you’re spending less and less time on that project that so excited you at the outset, there’s a good chance you’re reached a point of being ‘stuck’.

Feelings that can accompany a sense of being ‘stuck’

• Frustration and possibly a sense of powerlessness – not actually knowing how to take the next step
• A vague sense of dread, fear or concern, but one that you can’t quite ‘land’ or articulate
• A new sense of nervous energy, accompanied by urges to dive into new work to distract yourself from the work that has stalled.

How to start returning to a sense of flow with your work

We all love it when things are going well. But being stuck probably means that something hasn’t gone to plan, and perhaps don’t know what to do next. These feelings can be confronting, and it means we might have some hard work to do.  Here are my suggested first steps in navigating that sense of being stuck;

Recognise that you are, in fact, stuck. It’s OK. Everyone gets stuck. It’s part of the process, and it’s not failure. It’s just something that might take a bit of extra effort to get past – but you can absolutely do this!

Accept that at this point, you don’t have all of the answers. Consider the fact that to move forward, you might have to do things differently; ask for help, get some advice, coaching or guidance. Try something different. Throw caution to the wind and experiment wildly. (By the way, how fantastic is the opportunity to experiment wildly!)

Take a breath. Take some time out. Try journaling or writing bullet points of what you’ve achieved so far and why it might be that progress has slowed down.

Go back to your original game plan. Where should you be by now? Can you identify the reasons why you’re not?

Phone a friend. There’s nothing like workshopping creative stuff over coffee and getting out of your own head. Ask a friend to help you think through your creative project. You can even email me! I’m always here to help you navigate creative journeys!

Invest! Give your project more time, more energy, outsource stuff, pay to do a course or get coach or bring in help. Learn from the journey and understand that often creative projects need lots of people at different intersections to assist.

Commit to a learning curve: learning, unlearning and re-thinking, often offers an amazing growth opportunity and this is where the value of working on your own creative project truly kicks in. It points you in the direction of becoming better.

Being stuck isn’t fun – but it does offer a great chance to take a step back, reassess and try different things. Good luck!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jordan Harcourt-Hughes  is an abstract painter, writer and communications professional. She’s passionate about all aspects of creativity, life-long learning and personal wellbeing.  Over the last fifteen years she’s led, coached and developed creative professionals across the Asia-Pacific region. 

Jordan’s books, studio workshops, courses, coaching and resources are an invitation to explore the rich landscape of creative experiences open to all.

High Country is Jordan’s second novel set in the world of Bitroux.

Website: https://jordanharcourthughes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordaninthestudio/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordaninthestudio/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10795591.Jordan_Harcourt_Hughes

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