Tej Turner

Here is my interview with Tej Turner

Name: Tej Turner

Age: 30

Where are you from:

Now that is a question… I don’t really have a place I am ‘from’. I was born in Wolverhampton but my family moved away from there when I was a baby and I have no connection to the place. I have since lived in Sussex, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Torquay, Carmarthen, and a couple of other areas. I have spent a bit of time travelling around Asia, too.

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc

I studied Creative Writing at Trinity St Davids in Carmarthen – at both bachelor and masters levels – and when I finished I moved to Cardiff, where I still reside now. I am currently single and living in a shared house.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

I have a new short story coming out soon in an anthology called Existence…

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Paperback version of The Janus Cycle now available!

On Sunday the 5th of April the paperback version of The Janus Cycle was launched at EasterCon 2015 event Dysprosium. Wine was drank, I read out a short extract from the book where people generally laughed at all the right moments (which is always a good sign), and we managed to sell many copies over the weekend.

Released at the beginning of the year as an ebook, The Janus Cycle is my debut novel and it has received a 5* review from the online magazine RisingShadow. A physical copy can now be delivered to your door if you order it online either through Amazon (in the UK, US, and Canada) or directly from the publisher via the Elsewhen Press Purchasing Portal (worldwide).

The Janus Cycle

The Janus Cycle can best be described as gritty, sexy, surreal, urban fantasy.

Janus is a nightclub. But it’s not merely a location, it’s virtually a character in its own right. On the surface it appears to be a subcultural hub where the strange and disillusioned, who feel alienated and oppressed by society, can escape to be free from convention. Underneath that façade is a surreal space in time where the very foundations of reality can be twisted and distorted. But the special, unique, vibe of Janus is hijacked by a bandwagon of people who choose to conform to alternative lifestyles simply because it has become fashionable to be ‘different’ and this causes many of its original occupants to feel lost and disenchanted.

The story unfolds through the eyes of eight narrators, each with their own perspective and on their own personal journey. A story in which the nightclub itself goes on a journey. But throughout, one strange girl briefly appears and reappears, warning the narrators that their individual journeys are going to collide in a cataclysmic event. Is she just another one of the nightclub’s denizens, a cynical mischief-maker out to create havoc, or a time-traveller trying to prevent an impending disaster?

Traveblog#52: Trekking the Himalayas Part 3 (Helambu Trail) – Nepal

To read the other parts of my trek through the Himalayas click on the following links: Part 1 (Langtang Valley Trail) and Part 2 (Gorsainkunda Trail).

18^th-19^th March, 2015

Day 8

In the morning my foot was still a little painful but I could walk again, so it seemed that it was luckily just a sprain. Not wanting to shirk my good fortune, I left Ghopte straight away.

Within an hour and a half I reached Therapati Pass; a village where the Gorsainkunda tail ended. I was on the Helambu trail now, heading south, towards Kathmandu, steadily reaching lower altitudes. The snow gradually faded. Trees became abundant. White-coated mountains became steadily replaced by farms, forests, and rice paddies.

I crossed paths with many people along the way. “Did you go through The Pass?” they all asked me. “Is there still snow?”

I told them that there was deep snow but, as long as they get there before it snows again, there were footprints they could follow. The Pass was open again.

I walked for nine hours that day, but it was generally more downhill than uphill so it wasn’t too exhausting. My body was acclimatised to much higher altitudes, so this new kind of terrain felt like a breeze.

I reached Chipling at around 4pm and had a quick wash before I sat down to eat. Clouds appeared and it began to rain heavily, and thunder. I thought about all those people I met that day who were attempting The Pass, and hoped they had made it safely.

Day 9

At this point I was looking forward to getting back to a nice hotel in Kathmandu so I got up early and left.

I crossed a valley and a few villages that morning, and by the time I reached Chisapani I had acquired an entourage of dogs, who escorted me to the entrance of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park – the last stretch of my journey.

It was a gradual uphill climb for the first hour, through a wonderful forest. When I reached the top there were some spectacular views of the Himalayas – where I had just come from.

And then it was all downhill for a couple of hours until I reached Sundarijal, where my trek ended. Tired, weary, smelly, and carrying a sweaty bag full of dirty clothes, I climbed onto a bus to Kathmandu.

For more photos from Helambu, click here.