Author Thomax Green: 'I began seriously writing ten years ago after awakening from my coma'

Thomax Green was born in 1972. After waking from a coma 10 years ago, he says he “was finally freed of the devilish manifestations that plagued me with a life of sorrow.” In addition to being a writer, Thomax is a visual artist. His media includes painting, drawing, and photography. He has published a previous novel titled “C.O.W.: Creatures of War.”

His latest book is The Shu: The Gnostic Tao Te Ching.

Visit his website at www.thomaxgreen.com.

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life, Thomax. Can you tell us how long you’ve been writing and how your journey led to writing your latest book, The Shu The Gnostic Tao Te Ching?

Thank you for asking, I began seriously writing ten years ago after awakening from my coma. The experience changed my life in many ways. But almost as soon as I realized I was going to live miraculously I knew that my one true purpose in life was to bring the world this book. I also write fiction and comic books, but it is this singular book for which I am alive.

Q: How did you choose your title and was it your first choice?

The title of the Shu is Chinese for the Root, for me and I hope for others this book will be their tree of life.

Q: We all know that publishers can’t do all of the publicity and that some lies on the author. What has your publisher done so far to publicize the book and what have you done?

Right now I am seeking an agent in New York for The Shu. I really don’t think it is going to take that long this time around. There is a huge interest in this book especially in other countries. I tested it for one day on my Facebook Like Page and it got over 80,000 hits and 1500 likes. One of the biggest selling points of the book is that 50% of the royalties are going to UNICEF to help children in need. Besides that this books really does answer age old questions we have been asking since the dawn of time. After reading it you will walk away with a sense of bliss in your heart. So at this point I am waiting to see which publisher comes knocking on my door.

Q: Open to a random page in your book. Can you tell us what is happening?

The meanings are personal to each of us so I will quote the page for you all to take something from it:

Chapter 2

When you classify someone or something as beautiful,

Their opposites become ugly.

When you judge something as good,

You classify something else as bad.

Being and non-being grow from the same tree.

Difficult and easy complete each other.

Long and short become the definition of each other.

High and low cannot exist without the other.

Each side of the coin cannot be independent of the other.

Therefore the Enlightened,

Does without doing,

And teaches without trying.

Life happens and she lets it come;

She never claims ownership to anything or anyone.

She guides without controlling,

Achieves without the need of glorification.

When a task is done, she lets go of it.

That is how she is immortalized.

Q: Do you plan subsequent books?

Well I have also published a science fiction comedy similar to the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I have written two other novels I haven’t published yet because I want them illustrated. And I am really hoping DC Comics picks me up soon with the story ideas I have for them. So yes, I am a writer through and through.

Q: What is the one thing you learned about your book AFTER it was published?

That there is a great interest in it in the Middle East and India and people want it translated into many languages. Hence the reason I need a New York Publisher soon. There is only so much I can do on my own.

Q: What is your most favorite time of the day or night to write?

I wake up at 6am every morning and get up to make my wife breakfast, pack her a lunch and get her out the door. Then I sit down for several hours writing in the early morning. Sometimes when the juices aren’t flowing I will go to the gym first.

Q: What is usually better – the book or the movie?

Hollywood can make some fantastic renditions of books these days but they always leave out so much of what happen between the pages. So if I have a choice I will watch the movie first and then read the book. If I do it the other way around I am always let down.

Q: You’re about to write your next book. What did you learn from your previous book to help you write your next book?

I prefer to write fiction and right now I am writing a fantastic book about Amelia Earhart. I had to read two biographies and a book she wrote herself first before I could even start. Research is key to making a successful book fiction or not.

Q: Finally, what’s your best tip you can give to writers who want to be published?

Enjoy the writing part of the process; that’s the easy part. Because after you are done you may be like me who spent seven years trying to impress New York only to have to swallow the hard pill of rejection over and over again. Network when you can, and never ever give up if you are a true writer.

Q: Thank you for your interview, Thomax. Do you have any final words?