Here is a section from the original The Love of Devotion which has returned in my latest re-edit. It includes some family history.
Little Oakey
My grandfather, Michael John Pope, was a pioneer farmer in outback New South Wales, Australia. He built his small, four-room home, Little Oakey, from the creek-stones of the area. Behind the house was a wattle and daub (clay) kitchen and cellar. In that little home, with his wife Mary Jane, he raised five children in, what would be considered by today’s standards, primitive isolation. Continue reading “Simple Pleasures – Home”
Here is the final part of Pittown (Book 5 of the Waldmeer Series).
Chapter 36: Barcodes of Life
In Store Creek
The winding country road between Store Creek and the highway was the best part of the two-hour drive to the city. Merlyn watched the morning light skip along the trees. The thin branch-shadows on the road looked like a long line of barcodes. The mysterious barcodes of life, thought Merlyn. She felt content because, after all, who could not be at peace on such a beautiful morning? She remembered an Edgar Cayce saying that Enid often quoted,
Pittown (Book 5 of Waldmeer) is now published. I have loved writing the series. When I started it, 4 years ago, I had never written fiction or had the inclination to do so. However, I have found that story-telling is a wonderful outlet for expressing all sorts of emotions and thoughts. I once listened to an author who said, “I feel sorry for people who don’t write because what do they do with all the stuff that happens to them?” In the end, I tell myself that if I come away from what I have written feeling encouraged then there is the possibility that others will too. It’s all about healing; every word of the 160,000 in the series. We are in this together; for better, for worse, for healing.
When Ben was at Store Creek, he often drove to the gym in the nearby seaside village. Being an ex-dancer, he looked after his body. This morning, as he pulled up at the gym, he looked at the aging sign, Waldmeer Warriors. Yes, that’s right. The coastal town was Waldmeer. Continue reading “Pittown: Return of the Warriors”
Here is the next part of Pittown – Silent Order. A big change is coming. We are at a tipping point.
Chapter 25: Elements of Life
It was only the first month of autumn but already the mornings in Store Creek were cold. Ben’s grandmother’s house was not climate-controlled like his city apartment where inside living was so monotone that you couldn’t even tell what the outside temperature was. In Nanna’s House, there were holes everywhere – between the floorboards, around the windows, and, essentially, wherever there was a join of some sort. In fact, Ben thought that there were so many holes in the house that he was practically living outside. Continue reading “Pittown – Silent Order: Hidden Entrance”
“There is a great deal of fantasy in real life and real in fantasy.” Introduction
The Garden “Fragility is the mask of mastery.”
Commentator re Amira’s rebirth as a flower spirit in Farkas’s garden in Waldmeer.
“We strengthen in ourselves what we give to others.”
The Head Gardener of Garourinn, in the North Country, to Verloren.
“Anything that is held in secret cannot be healed. The light cannot reach that which is locked away in the dark.”
Milyaket, guide of the Vastandamine Forest, in the interdimensional world of the Homeland, to Farkas. Continue reading “Quotes from Waldmeer: Part 1 – Video”
Dr Apollo sat on the middle rock in the Botanic Gardens meditation area as if it had been put there especially for him. The Silent Order had its meetings there during the summer. Nearby, a theatre company who performed regular productions of Shakespeare in the Gardens was beginning, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The breeze intermittently carried the actors’ voices into the fern gully where Merlyn and the small group listened attentively to their teacher. Continue reading “Pittown – Silent Order: Lovers, Fairies, and Fools”
Merlyn was pleased. It was a surprise that was a year in the making. After last year’s birthday ballet lesson, Ben never did text Merlyn another lesson time as she had requested. A few reminders and some disappointment later, Merlyn pulled herself together with the thought that if she wanted to dance then it was unrealistic, unfair, and burdensome to expect Ben to facilitate her wishes. So, she embarked on a training and education regime which she had consistently stuck to for the whole interim year. Continue reading “Pittown – Silent Order: Store Creek”
Continuing from Pittown (Part 1), here is the first part of Silent Order (Part 2).
The silence is constant. The noise is temporary.
Chapter 18: The Dream and Dr. Apollo
A few months ago, when Edgars Lake had resigned itself to winter and the six cygnets had grown and flown, Merlyn had a lucid dream. It was as real as reality, at least, until normal life had a chance to claim the day. In the dream, Merlyn lived in a female hermitage. The inhabitants wore long gowns, although, clothes were neither here nor there because everyone was translucent and shining. Whatever needed communicating was done telepathically. Strange as it sounds, Merlyn spent nearly all her time in one room. Seven years passed in this way. One would assume that one would get very bored being stuck in a room with nothing to do for seven years. Yet, that was far from the case. It was exquisitely beautiful, but not in a way that can be explained in words. At the end of the dream, Merlyn was told that although there were no similar places on Earth, there were many watered-down versions taking numerous forms. The dream was not, could not be, forgotten. Continue reading “Pittown – Silent Order: Joe-Joe’s Apartments”