What Do You Believe?

It’s a pretty good bet a lot of you are getting ready for the holidays, right? 😊

Of course, for many Christians like myself (as well as a hefty chunk of Americans who aren’t Christians but celebrate our biggest and most popular holiday anyway) it’s about Christmas. The year-end festival devoted to commemorating Christ’s birth. But by holidays this year I really do mean what I say, because the last 3 weeks have been Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthday all rolled into one!

Thanksgiving we visited my sister in Oklahoma, as I mentioned last newsletter, and while there we went to see a Christmas lights show and did some ice skating. There was a small rink with very rough ice on the outskirts of the light displays, so the four of us sisters had a lot of fun there. For two of us, including me, it was a first to ever try to put on skates and hobble around the rink as true beginners, gripping the sides for support. I fell on my right side when I got going a little faster and developed a big bruise over the next few days. Lol My married sister said she’s still pretty bad at skating but it appears her husband is a natural—although he didn’t join us to skate that evening, so I didn’t get to see for myself.

Next day they gave me an early birthday gift while attempting to visit a park with a waterfall—Turner Falls. Unfortunately, it was closed. Only 2 days in the year it’s closed and that day was one of them. But I got some really nice pics of the scenery from a distance, climbing around some rocks, and spent some quality time with family as we posed for group pictures. We used to do this years ago, but have not got together to do it for a long time.

Then this Wednesday was my birthday. Yes, I was born the day after Pearl Harbor Day and it seems, from anecdotes, that the doctors who delivered me discussed Pearl Harbor while I was being born. Go figure. 😊 Monday was very close to the day and there was a lovely concert of religious music held at Baylor University by a small student choir. They perform this every year in the Armstrong Browning Library, a simply gorgeous little building dedicated entirely to the poets Robert and Elizabeth Browning. I snapped a few pics of the room and the singers (who are DIMLY VISIBLE in the extreme front of one shot) although the pics just really don’t do it justice. It was a beautiful place and a perfect evening.

Here's a link to a video I took while riding in a horse-drawn carriage. It really captures the sights and sounds of the Christmas lights show.

And here are a few pics from various places I went.

Which brings me to the point—during this holiday season, which is centered around an event meaningful to a particular religion, the thought at hand for everyone is “what do you believe?” Because everyone has a philosophy or religion of some sort. I won’t be presenting any review copies this week since I doubt anyone has time to review for the next couple weeks. But I’ve done a nice, snappy little overhaul of the interior formatting and descriptions for all 11 books. I also added little 5-page teaser scenes about the next installment in the backs of the Palladia Trilogy books, something I'd been needing to do for a while. And I’ll leave you with thoughts about Facets of Fantasy, a book that is all about what the characters believe morally and philosophically. 😊

​What do you believe? When it comes to Karl, Don, & Juranai, that's never been in any doubt. Until they run into situations that challenge their beliefs to the core.

For Karl Kallai, like all Medosans, following a path of destructive glory seems inevitable. He's going to chase down the ancient Golden Belt of the Kings no matter what. Visiting the enemy city of Niferna on a diplomatic tour isn't nearly as interesting as searching for magical artifacts. Until the darkness within the things he seeks is challenged by the last person he expected.

Don Tachimant, born in the intergalactic world of the far future, is a skeptic. He believes only in family and government—and as a lawbreaker and a runaway from home, increasingly doesn't believe in those either. When he's dragged back to his family's military school on a secret mission, he finds that great spiritual power is flourishing right under his nose.

Juranai, a grandson of the Wolf-King Thazan, is able to change his form from human to wolf. For enchanted beings like himself, it's natural to believe in the mythical kingdom of Tsayan. But all that is very much in the shadows for Violet Vail, a human from modern Renari. These legends are about as improbable as King Arthur's sword—until a run-in with Juranai leads her straight into the past.


And there will be more updates.