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Carla Rieger has written a compelling story, inspired by true events in her own life.
After her father’s death, Carla Rieger found the journal she had once given him and discovered he had filled it with details about the secrets of his past.
This discovery became the catalyst for The Change Artist, a semi-autobiographical journey of discovery, in which Fran, the heroine, uncovers her father’s two hidden lives, discovers a sister that she never knew she had, and frantically searches for the truth.
Rieger has mastered the art of the page-turner; as the narratives of different characters intersect and diverge, the reader is compelled to find out what happens next. Written in a style influenced by Dan Millman and Dan Brown, The Change Artist is a mythic journey that blends fiction with truth, offering lessons in creativity, spirituality and history along the way.
The Change Artist is Rieger’s first novel and a winner of the Books & Authors 2009 Award for “Fiction Inspired by True Events.” It is also a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards and a finalist in the USA Book News Awards.
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Linda Naiman, founder of Creativity at Work, is known internationally for pioneering arts-based learning in organizations. Linda leads retreats, facilitates creative strategy meetings, speaks at business conferences, and conducts workshops on creativity and innovation in North America, Europe and Asia. She also coaches leaders, managers, and artists on finding creative solutions and achieving their goals.
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To get a copy of the book click here.
This story came into being when I found a box of hidden photos and documents after my father died suggesting that he had lived out other identities in his life. I had been a creativity and innovation catalyst working with the public and with organizations to help them be more creative especially in uncertain times. Bringing my father’s story to light in the context of what I teach seemed an interesting challenge.
Genealogical Research
I spent 10 years and did all kinds of genealogical research, hired researchers, went to Europe, wrote letters, made phone calls and tried to piece together the story. Some information was available, some wasn’t. On this journey I uncovered so many fascinating stories of that time in history I chose to weave several of them together into one epic story of interweaving characters, places and events.
What the book is about
Fran, a change-averse accountant, is overshadowed by her elderly father’s demanding and eccentric ways. Thinking she would be set free when he dies, Fran finds herself tangled in a web of betrayal and confusion. Her inheritance in jeopardy and her father’s true identity threatening her future, Fran must find an inner strength she never knew she had. From Vancouver to Vienna of today to the Sahara Desert and carnival entertainers of the past, Fran fights to uncover the truth both to save her father’s legacy and find the secrets that will unlock her soul. What she discovers will change her life forever.
Also you can buy the book on this website, read the blog, see discussion questions, read book reviews and check out sample chapters at http://www.thechangeartistbook.com/.
Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist of the 20th Century, often talked about stories as a form of medicine. People often ask why I wrote The Change Artist since it was such a huge amount of work to research, write and publish. I did it as a way to heal generational shame in my family and to help reconnect to my roots, and to inspire other people to do so. It had a profound healing on me and seems to have affected many readers in that way, too.
Also, the theme of the book is about being the source of your own creativity. I speak, consult and write about that, so I thought it would be more congruent to make the writing format as artistic as possible. I also have a strong background in myth, storytelling and Jungian archetypes and the power of story as a form of medicine. Those are the reasons I chose a novel format rather than a step-by-step, analytical textbook.
Non-fiction often brings up memories of school, college and cramming for finals for people. Whereas, stories are associated more with leisure, enjoyment, being able to relax the left brain and surrender to a more fulsome whole brain process.
People most attracted to my book are Boomer aged people who feel challenged by change and who want to expand their creativity as leaders, to find the courage to take a step in a new direction; plus those whose fathers and mothers were affected by World War II on both sides of the conflict, Gen X & Y folks who are seeking a way to reconnect to a more tribal, artistic and community-oriented way of living within the confines of modern disconnecting living.
