Who is CJ?

I write CJ’s autobiographical stories.

Some of you may not have any idea about Christopher Janus, CJ, so here goes.

Who is CJ?

CJ is a contemporary designer, an American, born in the Midwest, raised in New Mexico—a hard worker who found his muse in the landscape. 

At university he grew to embrace—with humanitarian, environmental and spiritual sensibilities—literature, all the fine arts and their roots in the landscape. Those humanitarian and environmental sensibilities drove his thoughts and explorations.

Underneath it all he had questions about his purpose in life. In other words, he was just like many of us.

Drawing upon his fine arts history, CJ becomes obsessed with his experiences in nature and the landscape—experiences beyond the five senses. Beyond the five senses? The paranormal? You can decide.

But what does he design? 

Christopher Janus studied landscape architecture in university and graduated; but they did not teach him about landscape. He learned landscape from the hardest, most unfortunate events in his life.

CJ was studying the large scale landscape and the fine detail of plants and gardens to uncover the essence of design. He did that internationally as he worked in the strangest cultures and most exotic landscapes. Christopher Janus had adventures in and was inspired by the landscape.

You may ask what is the landscape? To which he would answer, “When we get out of bed in the morning and put our feet on the floor, we are in the landscape”. You might rightly ask again, what… my apartment, my flat, my house, my town, my city? To which CJ would simply answer, “they all sit in the landscape”.

CJ chases nature, its landscape and plants to their existential roots. He describes his interactions with cultures, landscapes, gardens and plants of the world—where the unexpected and downright strange become daily facts of life.

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Interested?

Join my email list for discounts on new releases as CJ goes deep into Cairo, Istanbul, Vienna and the Swiss Alps via this link:

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Tangier Gardens

For a limited time only…

It’s the year 2000. CJ needs a break. 

Been there? But have you done that?

He has been busting his hump full time six years at university with one more class till

graduation–a term abroad design study.

CJ’s studying landscape architecture, into pedestrian towns 

and warm sandy beaches.

He’s on his way to Tangier, a town with sandy beaches on the Med 

and a historical pedestrian district, the medina. 

But, it didn’t quite work out. 

When the West meets the East… there is always turbulence.

Tangier Gardens

For a limited time only, Tangier Gardens e-book is FREE on Smashwords at:

https://bit.ly/3SIAfma

Pick it up!! Did I say the e-book is FREE!!

If you like it, leave a short review, please. Thank you.

Na, Na… …Na, Na

Every morning, around 8AM, I would be awoken by shouting from a man walking down the street outside my apartment window. Where was this? Ville Nouvelle in Meknes, Morocco.

He was yelling NaNa, NaNa…with a lot of nasal. He, wearing qadrissi pants (characterized by a wide and low crotch that reached to the knees), was walking with his donkey. And the donkey’s two saddlebags were chock-full of freshly cut mint clumps for making mint tea at home.

Fresh mint–the only way to really enjoy it is the Moroccan way. Grab a bunch of freshly picked mint and just add a pinch of black tea, too much white sugar and a sprinkle of orange blossoms on top. The water should be too hot to touch, too hot to drink. Got to slurp it. Hospitality without words.

This is local-agriculture-home-delivery. I had seen it once before in the early 1950s where I grew up on the East Side of Detroit. Then it was a local baker–up and down neighborhood streets. What kind of neighborhoods then? One car per family used by father to get to and from work. Neighborhoods sized by cars–not by pedestrians–no walking–only driving. But late 20th century–Meknes, Morocco. It was walkable and local. I loved it.

Had to tell that story–thus CJ was born. Read about his experiences in Morocco. He wrote about them in Tangier Gardens: Out of the classroom into real life… via plant portals.

The ebook is FREE now at Smashwords via this link.

Mediterranean Sun, Sand and Palm Trees

La Baie de Tanger–the beach at Tangier with the medina and Kasbah in the background. No wonder CJ thought he had it made for his term-abroad design study.

What could possibly undo the beauty of this landscape, its plants, its gardens, its sun and sandy beaches?

Or is the question, rather, what could enhance this outstandingly beautiful landscape?

CJ had his hands full.

He tried to explain it in a series of short stories about his six months in northern Morocco. He called his very short stories tales. 

Tales? 

Tales because in Morocco, for the first time in his life CJ couldn’t distinguish between fiction and fact.

CJ’s tales are the reveal.

***

Those very short stories are, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve.

The first three episodes are FREE and 16 tales have already been posted. Find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!!

All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

***

If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, FREE on Smashwords here: https://bit.ly/3SIAfma

ENJOY!!

Dragons’ Blood Trees

Dracena cinnabari and Dracena draco, found on the islands of the Socotra and Cabo Verde archipelagos.

These dragons’ blood trees are found naturally in only two places, both in the Tropic of Cancer. These two places are separated by a continent and 8,000 kilometers.

The mature dragon’s blood trees regularly have four meters or more clear trunk before the branching and leaves. They are rare and unusual–magnificent trees to behold.

More surprisingly, different cultures, separated by oceans and thousands of kilometers, agree on the paranormal curative properties of the dragons’ blood trees.

***

In the La Montagne region of Tangier, CJ was on his way to visit the old residence of the Portuguese ambassador, now a private villa, named, “Loins du Monde Real”, (far from the real world), when he encountered not one but a forest of dragons’ blood trees. He was reaching his first plant portal—it was real but there was nothing normal about it.

CJ had no idea what was a plant portal until he visited with the Russian and British horticulturists now living in the “Loins du Monde Real” villa. The strange culture, the North African landscape and Mediterranean gardens were not what he expected.

CJ tells about his adventures in his short stories, his tales. Those tales are, for the first time, being released on Vella everyday between now and Christmas Eve: find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

***

The first three episodes are FREE and they include SIX tales. Find them here=http://bit.ly/3B9rJXE

ENJOY!!

***

All 43 tales will be found under one ebook cover titled Curious Tales and via KDPselect will be offered for FREE on the day of launch likely in the first half of 2023. Sign up here to be notified of the launch date to get all 43 tales for free=https://bit.ly/3q5lcaq

***

If you wonder what actually happened during CJ’s six months in Tangier, pick up the eBook, Tangier Gardens–out of the classroom into the real world–via plant portals, here: https://amzn.to/3HLrtyv

What do you have to lose?

My Town of Birth

Detroit

The great and prosperous 1950’s USA cities are now, 70 years later, looking more often like this.

Decaying, falling down, not habitable. The big tree of hard working people, families and jobs that supports great and prosperous cities–cut down in its prime. Sad.

***

But what about cities that still thrive after centuries–like Tangier, Morocco? Check out Tangier Gardens for an inside look–the ebook is free at Smashwords.

Thank you.

Les Arômes du Maroc

Mimosa and narcissus.

Balancing, cleansing, energising, relaxing, uplifting…we can all do with some of that.

Acacia dealbata–it grows like a native in the northern third of Morocco; and, in spring, you can always find its cut flowers, fresh from the bled (countryside), being sold by Rif ladies in Tangier.

But CJ had another take on mimosa when he got this close to it.

CJ reckoned when you get this close to a flower, it is because the flower has invited you. That invitation is the key that unlocks a portal–a paranormal portal.

Don’t believe me? Read his story, his take on plants in Tangier Gardens.

Tangier Gardens ebook is FREE TODAY.

Get it!!!

Find out about the magic of plants and their flowers at the Hibiscus House.

Tangier riad?

This is a Tangier medina riad.

Get Tangier Gardens.
It’s FREE TODAY on Amazon.

A small courtyard garden, as we in the USA would say. A garden surrounded by the house–your home.

In CJ’s view, it is an excellent, safe and intimate space to get close to plants.

Traditionally it is a practical place for edible plants, medicinal plants, fragrant plants, beautiful plants–and it doesn’t require much water. What’s wrong with that?

Want to learn more about CJ’s discoveries in Tangier riads?

Get Tangier Gardens.

It’s FREE TODAY on Amazon.

Did I say the ebook Tangier Gardens is FREE TODAY?

Go for it!

Tangier Gardens-IT’S FREE TODAY

Get it, share it, review it!

Weaving culture with horticulture…

That is the beginning of the arcane magic that instructors introduce to students of landscape architecture.

But what happens when those students emerge into our contemporary real life dystopic world?

That is indeed what I wrote about in Tangier Gardens

My ebook, Tangier Gardens, is FREE on Amazon TODAY.

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