On break with the band…

March 28, 2019

Launch Preparations

While it’s rewarding to feel the momentum building for the launch of The Shaman Chronicles, to be putting together charming little teasers and giveaways for beloved readers, a smart author needs to get away for some R & R for the home stretch. To refill that energetic well, right?

Rehoming Soul Parts

Tonight I hold a private Soul Retrieval ceremony for the angels who will be assisting in the public Soul Retrieval ceremony next week. The energy (plasma storm) that has been pouring onto the planet from last week’s gi-normous solar flare gave last Saturday’s Soul Retrieval ceremony extra power and promises extra potency for tonight and for next week. The spirits are as eager as we are. Thanks, Universe, for the boosts!

Missing in Action!

All these preparations are moving forward nicely, but there’s lots to think about, lots to do, lots of energy being expended. Time for a breather. This girl is going on the band bus! Yep, you heard it right. This weekend I am officially on R&R – going to Vilcabamba with the Paco Blues band to cheer ‘em on at the Mestizo gig on the square in Vilcabamba.

It’s fun to play with everyone’s fantasies! Being a band groupie this weekend will be just as much fun as it sounds, but probably not like it woulda been xxx years ago, when we were all young(er) and stupid(er). There will be none of the sex, drugs and rock and roll that is legendary on band tours. Ummm – there may be sex – wives and husbands will be along – and herbal edibles to keep your spirits high. For sure there will be great music to get our booties shaking. But the 5-hour drive is along the crest of fabulous mountains and the quaint little town of Vilcabamba is in the Valley of Longevity. The weekend will include numerous spa treatments and pampering.

To whet your appetite…

…I’d like you to meet another favorite character from Protectors of the Grid (still listed on Amazon as The Crystalline Vision for a short time, if you’d like a momento of the first run).

Red Fox

The old shaman sat on the front porch of his cabin, steam rising from the coffee in the mug on the floor beside him. His eyes were closed but he smiled when he felt the warmth and light on his face as the sun crested the trees. A sense of well-being burst around him like the sunlight. The tune rumbling in his throat exploded in a song that soared through the trees to join the birds chattering their excitement at a new day. Then a thought crossed his mind that brought a scowl.
That Ben. After all the grief he gave me and Kachi during Kachi’s training years… He was always the most disrespectful, skeptical, rebellious kid around, a lousy influence when Kachi was growing into his gifts.
Red Fox caught himself. Who would have thought Ben would end up a multi-billionaire hot-shot. Best not to think of that now that he’s swallowed crow to beg for the same training.
Red Fox’s thoughts drifted back to his own youth, when he, too, was an arrogant, self-important, terrified and rebellious young man. He laughed to himself. None of his proteges ever figured out how he got onto them, though it should have been obvious that he had been them before Life knocked the pins out from under him.
He felt the air swirl past as a presence swooped by and a message touched his awareness. Humans. Hardly anybody listens until things get gritty.
Red Fox grinned as he scanned the lower branches of the nearer trees. Ah, there you are, old friend. The owl’s golden eyes shone in the shadows. Red Fox waited as a shimmer distorted reality for a few seconds. Then Jha Heya, having shape-shifted back into human form, strode out of the forest, across the clearing, and up the steps.
“Got any more coffee?” he asked.
Red Fox rose, went inside, and came back with another mug of steaming coffee. “Good to see you, my friend.”
Jha Heya sipped carefully before answering. “Likewise, my brother.” Jha Heya took a seat on the steps so he could gaze out into the woods. “So peaceful here,” he murmured.
“Umhmm,” Red Fox concurred. “Things are peaceful now that those kids are gone.”
Jha Heya lifted an eyebrow. “Kids? Grace is 30-something and Ben, Terra and Charlie are all dancin’ around 50-something. You must be feeling old.”
Red Fox nodded slightly, he eyes on the forest as well. “Mebbe. I’d given up on Ben for sure.”
Jha Heya nodded. “Understandable, after all those years of resistance. Now that he’s suitably humble, how do you feel?”
Red Fox was silent for several moments. Then he sighed. “Stretched. Have to forgive him, you know, and now that he’s sincerely asking for guidance and teaching, have to give it.”
“So?” Jha Heya repeated, then waited.
Red Fox snorted. “Now I have to deal with my own resistance to teaching him, my own anger at the wasted years.” He set the coffee cup on the planks of the porch, then smacked his right fist into his left palm. “My own judgment that the years were wasted.” He turned to gaze at Jha Heya. “There’s always more work to do. Damned kid. He’s stretched me plenty.”
Jha Heya smiled but his eyes were compassionate. “Don’t worry, my friend. If it weren’t Ben Boyce stretching you, it would be someone or something else. Growing is never done.”
Red Fox nodded. “I just hope what I taught him will be enough. I suppose we should have expected big trouble, but the slime stayed hidden for so long it was hard to gauge what they were up to.”
Jha Heya placed a reassuring hand on Red Fox’s shoulder. “The Protectors have their work cut out for them. That’s clear. And the enemy is deadly.”
Red Fox laid a hand over his friend’s that still rested on his shoulder. “Yes. The Slavemasters care nothing for life of any kind. Death. Destruction. They’ll resort to whatever violence reinforces their control.”
He was silent a moment, thinking. “It’s probably better that these youngsters don’t yet get that every living thing on the planet is depending on them.”