Kimberly Cain | Author, Musician, Artist

HEAVEN, a novel (& music CD) by Kimberly Cain 2010

Heaven is a novel about the nature of God as seen through the eyes of an exotic dancer.
It is a story of healing the perceived separation between the sacred & the sexual self.

The modern-day Eve is intent on questioning accepted religious norms and presenting her unique ideas about humanity’s relationship to the Divine.

What if the mythical Serpent was really a savior, inviting humanity to awaken from a mindless existence?

What if Eve was a heroine, courageous enough to buck the system and take the Serpent up on his offer to bust out of the cage?

Eve discovers her power to discern truth from falsehood at the hands of her religiously abusive foster family.

She chooses to release her light into a dark world by combining her love for music and dance, stripping naked as a symbol of fearlessly unmasking her true Self.

Her passion for challenging society’s labels as representations of “truth” brings controversial and dangerous repercussions from club patrons, cops, and religious zealots.

Eve rises above the confines of extreme moralism, tempting all of us to live our own divine truths, free from shame and guilt.

I am often asked how I came up with the idea for this story & why I chose a stripper as the main character. As is the case with many authors, I did not “come up with” the story; the story came down into me.

Certainly, there are aspects of the story that mirror my life experiences & that of others I know.

However, it came about more as a response to the “why” questions I often ask.

Why do people so commonly use the word “bad” when referring to sexuality (i.e. “bad girl”)?

Why has religion typically painted sexuality as a lower form of human nature?

Why do many people who engage in open expressions of sexuality have a distaste for topics involving God?

Why does it seem that a person is often considered to be spiritual or sexual, but not both?

Although I enjoy a good tale of the supernatural (Ann Rice), a compelling mystery (Dan Brown) or a beautiful parable (Paulo Coelho), I am a more avid reader of nonfiction.

I love engaging with authors on ideas about Consciousness, healing & the human condition, spirituality, sexuality, science, transformation & metaphysical topics of all kinds.

My natural curiosity about life & Consciousness is always in sync with my art.

I knew that, as I began to intuitively receive answers to my questions, I would be writing a fictional story to carry a nonfictional message. Eve presented herself to me & I knew she was the one who would pose & answer these questions.

She was the one who would introduce me to others who would tell me their stories, so that I, in turn, could fashion them as part of her journey.

I have been a singer/songwriter for most of my life, so the new medium of the novel was a bit like writing a long extended song! In fact, the novel has a very musical feel to it.

I wrote the whole thing to a soundtrack I fashioned just for my writing sessions.

During my designated writing time, I would use my soundtrack to set the mood, to transport me to an altered state of consciousness.

I included lyrics to several popular songs in the book in order to convey this feeling to readers.

I also realized, early in the writing, that I wanted to include a CD of original music with the novel.

Music is such an integral element in my own life & in the life of Eve, that it became very important to share this aspect with readers as well.

The complimentary music CD contains original songs by myself & other artists to continue the sexy, spiritual feel of the novel.

Heaven synthesizes the things that are often relegated to separate quarters in our culture.

The idea that the various aspects of our human nature can actually be separated is an illusion.

We are, as life is, simply a delightful mix of the sacred & the profane! It’s what makes us Whole. Recognizing ourselves as whole, we find we are Holy.

The novel is written in first person – the most intimate form of communication between character & reader.

Some readers may certainly find this a cause for discomfort, especially in a few scenes which are sexually graphic, spiritually intense or both.

There was never another choice for this story, however. I wanted the character of Eve to share a message of personal empowerment as inspired by Divine power & for me, there is nothing more intimate than the connection of body, mind, soul & Spirit.

Readers can purchase the novel (with CD) from the website – http://www.HeavenTheNovel.com & on Amazon (http://amzn.to/awA14E)

Music samples are available on HeavenTheNovel.com

Visit the Naked Prayers Blog (http://www.KimberlyCainBlog.com) to read more from Kimberly Cain