{"id":8218,"date":"2014-04-08T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T18:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/?p=8218"},"modified":"2014-04-08T12:00:41","modified_gmt":"2014-04-08T18:00:41","slug":"faraway-shors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/2014\/04\/faraway-shors\/","title":{"rendered":"Faraway Shors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John

John Shors \u201991<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Graduate and author shares his love for exotic places<\/span><\/p>\n

When most people journey to Agra, India, and drink in the sight of the Taj Mahal, they\u2019re most likely thinking about the graceful form and the intricate surface of the marble mausoleum.<\/p>\n

Not John Shors \u201991<\/strong>. Oh, he admires the structure itself, a world treasure since 1648. But on a 1999 trip, he saw the monument to a great love \u2014 and the people who built it \u2014 and had the idea for his first book, \u201cBeneath a Marble Sky.\u201d<\/p>\n

After earning his English degree at CC, Shors taught English in Kyoto, Japan, for a few years, then traveled through 10 countries in Asia, indulging his love for the people and places.<\/p>\n

He carried that love back to his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, where he became a reporter. In his spare time, he began crafting his story of the Taj Mahal\u2019s beauty and barbarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s arguably the most famous love story in the world behind the Taj Mahal\u2019s creation. Yet no one in the West had ever fictionalized that story, had ever written a novel about it. So I thought there was an opportunity to make a splash with a debut book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal, had multiple wives, but Mumtaz Mahal was the most beloved. When she died in childbirth, the shah was devastated and India was changed forever. The book\u2019s protagonist and their daughter, Princess Jahanara, must navigate court intrigue, family discord, degradation, and soaring love without her beloved mother.<\/p>\n

Somehow, this white man, then in his 30s, wrote convincingly from Jahanara\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put a lot of thought into her and I really tried to get inside her head, just as I try to get inside any character\u2019s head and figure out what makes them tick. I\u2019ve had a lot of conversations, within me, on how to make these characters believable. It\u2019s also important to determine how the characters help move the plot forward and advance the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Beneath<\/a>

Beneath a Marble Sky (cover image)<\/p><\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy \u2014 Shors edited the 400-page book 56 times during the five-year process. He withstood a torrent of rejections from agents and editors before \u201cBeneath a Marble Sky\u201d finally found a publisher; it came out in 2004. Readers around the world responded to its vivid contrasts between rich and poor, love and hate, making it a best-seller in multiple languages and allowing Shors to become a full-time novelist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the human stories to advance the plot, the story, and the setting, the whole novel would be hollow. By pondering the human suffering, the human perspective of the Taj Mahal, I was able to bring the Taj Mahal to life in a very three-dimensional, fulfilling way. I don\u2019t think I could have done that without the human component.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multi-sensory experience<\/h3>\n

Shors used that formula on subsequent books, which include \u201cTemple of a Thousand Faces,\u201d inspired by Angkor Wat, and an upcoming book intertwining a love story with the Great Wall of China. He\u2019s explored about 20 miles of the wall, and that thorough research enables readers to feel they\u2019re walking alongside his characters.<\/p>\n

\"Temple<\/a>

Temple of a Thousand Faces (cover image)<\/p><\/div>\n

We are with Princess Jahanara as the memorial to her parents\u2019 love is completed. Shors writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Taj Mahal was slowly revealed, we each seemed to relish its extraordinary presence with an awe surpassing even our love for Allah, or the Hindu gods. For this presence was tangible. We gasped, reached out, and touched its sweeping sides. We looked skyward and shook our heads in astonishment at the sculpted mountain above. So many of our people dressed in rags and slept in filth. To look at such beauty was beyond anything they expected in their lifetimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also writes about contemporary experiences, as in \u201cThe Wishing Trees,\u201d about a family that lost its linchpin when wife and mother Kate died. Ian, the grieving husband and father, and his 10-year-old daughter Mattie go on a journey prompted by letters Kate wrote as she faced death. At first, the letters are knives plunged into Ian and Mattie\u2019s hearts; by the end they provide comfort, just as Kate did in life.<\/p>\n

Readers experience Ian and Mattie\u2019s pilgrimage through Japan, Nepal, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Egypt; we can almost smell food cooking in a Hong Kong restaurant and feel the swaying of a narrow bridge in the Himalayas. We are with Ian and Mattie as they find their way out of their pain. Shors writes:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Wishing Trees (cover image)<\/p><\/div>\n

He glanced at the sky, debating if the words Kate had written might be true, if she could see Mattie and him as they sat in a tree above the city. If there was a time when she could see them, this time was it. If there was a single moment when he wanted to sense her presence, that moment was now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of Shors\u2019 characters are seeking something\u2014 love, peace of mind, a roof over their heads \u2014 that are basic human needs. Many of the books begin with unimaginable tragedy, and humans\u2019 potential for resilience and recovery is one of his constant themes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife can be horrific and difficult and tedious, but I also think that we\u2019re pretty strong and we can emerge from those depths,\u201d Shors said.<\/p>\n

Well-rounded writer<\/h3>\n

He credits CC with fine-tuning him as an 18-year-old into the man he is today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think CC does a wonderful job with teaching students how to think independently and outside of the box. That definitely benefited as a person, being open-minded. And in terms of my career, I believe it helped build up my creativity, that side of me, while also giving me a strong foundation in academic skills: writing, reading, research. I think my education at CC positioned me to be a well-rounded person, which was beneficial to my writing career.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also fostered his compassionate side: The success of his first book spurred Shors to help alleviate the need he\u2019s seen on travels through 40 countries, often accompanied by his wife, Allison, and their children, Sophie and Jack.<\/p>\n

\"Dragon<\/a>

Dragon House (cover image)<\/p><\/div>\n

Shors finds charities that pair well with his storylines, then promotes them in his books and on his website, and donates to them outright. His third book, \u201cDragon House,\u201d focuses on Vietnam\u2019s street children and benefits the Hanoi-based Blue<\/p>\n

Dragon Children\u2019s Foundation (BDCF).<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never read a more accurate depiction of the life of street kids,\u201d BDCF founder Michael Brosowski emailed from Vietnam. \u201cHe gets all of the details right. There\u2019s a whole lot throughout the storyline that kept me wondering \u2013 \u2018how on earth does John know all this?\u2019 He\u2019s incredibly insightful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A passage from \u201cDragon House\u201d:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNoah knew that the little girl would never have a voice, would never be heard. He knew that she wouldn\u2019t dream about birthday presents, warm beaches, or a beautiful wedding. She\u2019d never know such things, never escape the cycle that she was born into. She\u2019d only grow older, and whatever dreams she had would lose their luster. In time her dreams would evoke only bitterness, and within this bitterness she\u2019d walk until she could walk no more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As of January 2014, Shors, \u201cDragon House,\u201d and its readers have enriched the nonprofit by about $25,000, said Brosowski, who founded BDCF in 2003. He\u2019s increased his staff to 65 people (from 44 in 2011) to help more of the countless homeless children in Vietnam. Blue Dragon\u2019s new center in Hanoi was dubbed \u201cDragon House\u201d in honor of Shors\u2019 book.<\/p>\n

With \u201cTemple of a Thousand Faces,\u201d Shors is changing lives in Cambodia through a charity removing landmines and another supporting a children\u2019s hospital.<\/p>\n

He maintains close contact with the charities and with readers, and spends nearly every evening answering readers\u2019 e-mails. He estimates he\u2019s spoken with about 3,000 book clubs around the world, mostly via speakerphone from his home in Lafayette, Colo.<\/p>\n

Many readers want to literally walk the paths Shors\u2019 characters have taken, and he\u2019s listened to those pleas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they\u2019ve never been to Asia and they\u2019re a little intimidated,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I just thought, \u2018Well, I can go and be a guide. I\u2019ll build this company and I\u2019ll have a couple of trips a year.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers who are interested in traveling with Shors may contact him through his website, johnshors.com. He\u2019ll be happy to lead people on their way to broader horizons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve concluded is that people around the world are a lot more alike than they are different. I believe that the tendency to focus on our differences can be perpetuated by our politicians and by people who are fearful. We have the same sort of strengths and hopes and fears and dreams, and let\u2019s focus on the beautiful and profound fact that we\u2019re similar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Shors\u2019 talent, readers can look inside the hearts and minds of a family struggling for survival in Thailand, a veteran who nearly lost himself in Iraq, even a 17th-century princess \u2014 and know that we are all, in our core, just humans pursuing our dreams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Shors \u201991<\/strong> has traveled the world but always carries with him the CC spirit of curiosity and service to others. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-8218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-april-2014","tag-features"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8218"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8335,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8218\/revisions\/8335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}