Completion and Chaos #DawnoftheDream #book #ForeverNever #author

Hi Guys,

I have been woefully absent in the past year and I apologize. With all the challenges of my hubby’s health and the traveling we have had to do, along with my book project, I’ve often wonder what I did with my days. For me, the writing and editing were all consuming, and I had little energy left for blogging. I still honor nature, hike when I can and love taking photos. Sometimes just living seems the most important thing that needs doing and it is truly healing. 

BUT, complete the book I did, and as long a process as it was, it is still not the most difficult thing for me. It was a labor of love, bringing all these wonderful beings to life and creating the kind of world and relationship I envision for humans. Their story has only just begun, and I hope you are willing to join their quest to save Domhan as they discover what makes them human and how truly powerful they are.  

The hard part for me is talking about this most personal project and imploring you to share this experience with me. If you enjoy fantasy mythology, long for a deeper connection to the world and its natural magic, and have to will to fight to restore balance within Existence then this adventure is for you. 

The book is available on amazon as paperback and Kindle At this link.  Some of you have already been so kind as to purchase the book and I appreciate you so much. I look forward to your perceptions and thoughts. I’d love it if you have time to visit my Author Page and follow me or leave a review once you’ve read the book. Meanwhile, I hope everyone is living well, enjoying your creative endeavors and dreaming beautifully. 

…M’na’s hand bled where it pressed into the jagged edge of the broken branch, torn from the Tree of Creation by Damanta’s fury.  Her fingers slowly curled around the rough wood, gripping it tightly. Keeping her eyes locked with the serpent’s, she rose quietly with the grace of the feminine warrior she was born to be…

Now, here’s something lovely for you.  

Our town park. My second happy place! 

See? I really do take these photos myself! 😀

This delicious little beauty is a Goldenberry. This is my first time to grow one and I’m so excited. In the states, the plant is known as Cape Gooseberry. It has wonderful health properties and tastes like a little sweet tart plum. 

Oh, snap! Photos from our recent trip home. Here are just a few. One of my sons couldn’t make it but maybe next time. We missed him but it was so good getting together. 

Opening Doors #Thursdaydoors #DawnoftheDream #books

Hello Everyone,

I am currently on a family/medical journey but wanted to hop on board Dan Antion’s #ThursdayDoors train today with a brief post. Please visit his page to meet some other great bloggers and to check out his blog. My post today is a bit of a triple header once again, offering a few doors of my own, as well as a door related sample from my just published book Dawn of the Dream/Book One of the Forever Never Series . This tale has many ‘doors’ that lead to hope and possibility. 

Recently discovered door in Puerto Pedregal, Panama where we had some amazing seafood and a lovely river view. There are some markets there for purchasing fresh seafood as well. Yum! 

So relaxing. They offer fishing excursions too!

This was so delish. Sea bass with shrimp in the most amazing garlic white sauce with sautéed potatoes on the side.

Half my gang. We enjoyed a fun time for burgers at HF Crave. 

Mine was the Plain Jane, but was really good. That honey mustard is some of the best I ever had (besides my own) 

Love you guys! 

My little book collection (the rest are in storage) but two of my favorites are missing. Knuckleheads, the first in Dan Antion’s Dreamers’ Alliance Series is off the shelf being read by hubby. And I am eager to add Book Four/ Secrets Held Against Evil! All of Dan’s books can be found on Amazon and you can check the links Here . If you love adventure, humor and a bit of espionage, you will love his eries. 

My favorite door of all. This one leads to my little porch and perfect back yard. That is where the real magic happens for me. 😊

Dawn of the Dream

copyright CKP 2023

… Naofa’s bag touched the floor and the loosened ties gave way.  When it fell open her eyes went to the precious blue crystal vibrating inside.  She and the boy stared, transfixed by its allure.  She gently lifted the miracle from the bag and once more felt the presence of her friend, and smiled when Dochais reached out to touch the delicately cut stone.  As his fingers caressed the undulating light the chaos around them grew muffled and distant.  The cool light turned warm as he cupped his hand under hers, and when their fingers closed over it, the pulse exploded into radiant light flowing down the steps and over the rock into the water where it rose up like a wall.  

“No,” she whispered.   “Not like a wall at all.”  She looked into the boy’s shining eyes and knew.  “Like a window.”  Naofa looked up at Guia.  “A portal!” she shouted, rising to her feet slowly lest they lose the magic…

A Three Way #SoCS #Thursdaydoors #DawnoftheDream

Hi guys, 

As usual I am woefully behind in posting but hopefully things will change now that I can proudly announce my book Dawn of the Dream/Book One of the Forever Never series is live on Amazon.  It has been over ten years in the creation, and I feel that anyone who enjoys Fantasy Fiction, Spiritual Mythology and just simply the encouragement of the human spirit will really like my labor of love. 

Before you run out and check the Amazon link, I’d like to remind everyone of Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt which runs tomorrow. Her word for tomorrow is run. Linda says to use it any way you like. 

Also, I need to thank our good blogging friend Daniel Antion who has done so much to encourage, support and offer his technical advice during my process. I couldn’t have done this without your help and not lose most of my hair from pulling. Please visit the link to join in his #thursdaydoors prompt for this week and to meet some great writers and bloggers. 

If you want to check out my new novel Dawn of the Dream/Book One of the Forever Never Series it is available in paperback on Amazon.com. Thank you in advance for taking a look.  I hope to have the Kindle version up soon. You can find all the info by visiting my author page Here .

Okay this one won out for my door this week. This boy is a chip off his father’s block.  My son once curled up under an old school vinyl typewriter cover to scare his brothers. 😂😂

Yeah, I’m kind of proud and very excited. 

You can find Dan’s book collection, The Dreamers Alliance, links on his blog No Facilities  It is a wonderful series to read. Full of adventure, intrigue and humor.  Everyone stay safe and healthy out there. Look for the light in your lives and dream magnificently. 🤗❤️

Lies, Lies, Lies

So many reasons to feel this way in our current world condition. Pick a number, any number…

 Nature knows, and yet it continues to be beautiful

 

never forgetting its purpose

enjoying the gift of a new day

finding solace in togetherness..

Don’t despair,

breathe the air

before it is poisoned

 beyond repair.

Plant your feet

on solid ground,

hear the sound

of Nature

crying…

dying,

she weeps,

Where is the light?

the will to fight

for its survival

caught within a tangle

of discarded ideals.

Does anyone feel

her slowing heartbeat?

Behind the din 

of lusty sin

the voice of reason speaks,

but it is growing weak.

As darkness spreads

dis-ease and dread

we must remember 

our tender mercies.

Shout and deny

complacency,

for in its company

there is no honor.

No hope was ever born 

where freedom, scorned,

was abandoned.

The goal of power, futile,

the lesson always brutal

when truth falls like a hammer

On the glamour of its

promise.

‘Balance must be kept,’

and so the bow may bend,

only when the dark and light

remember how to blend

will this downward spiral end. 

Endings, beginnings-

no.

Existence is perpetual

whether humans come or go. 

Although the song below was written as a love ballad, I find it relevant here. 

After all, our life on this planet is a love affair of epic proportion. 

It’s also a very sweet film. Glen Hansard is so talented. 

This post presented as a contribution to Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt Please visit her page to mee some amazing bloggers and follow her blog! 

Opening Doors #ThursdayDoors #ForeverNever Dawn of the Dream Series Excerpt

Hi Everyone,

I hope your respective weeks have gone well and I apologize for being absent much of the time lately. I try to pop in on blogs while working on the final stages of getting my book published. To that end, I must give a heartfelt thanks to our Grand Poobah of #Thursday Doors, Dan Antion of No Facilities . Most all of you who follow either of my blogs already know Dan well. If not, please visit his site for some amazing posts and to meet other wonderfully talented bloggers. Dan is great at bringing people together for doorscursions or just to have a beer on Saturdays and contemplate Stream of Consciousness matters. Dan has helped me and so many of us when we’ve needed it, always without complaint. I am creative but struggle with my technical aspects, mostly because these things make my head hurt. Thanks Dan! 

Be sure to check the links on his blog to his Dreamers’ Alliance series. His first three books are intriguing and fun, following school friends as they journey from awkwardly different and ostracized to sought after for their unique abilities. I can’t wait for the fourth book in this series to be published.

Since I am very close to at last publishing my first book in what has morphed into a series, I wanted to offer a nod to our doors prompt with an excerpt from the book. There are quite a few doors within my story, though not necessarily the ordinary kind. In this piece, a long closed door is being nudged open once more, offering the Protectors of the world of Domhan a chance for salvation while leaving it vulnerable to possible destruction. 

The Door

With a mighty knock and turn of the key 

they open the door in the cave by the sea..

… The Sorceress reached into her soul for the power that was her birthright. She released all judgment to bask in the embrace of unconditional love, knowing that only within perfect love could they awaken the stone’s power to open the portal. She recognized the conflict in her soul for the unnecessary chaos it was. Together they raised this vibration of perfect love until it flowed from them in radiant shards that ignited the stones. The blue crystal flickered to life, pulsing steadily as the energy increased. The stones they held in their clasped hands grew hot, but Naofa locked fingers with his, making it impossible to drop them..

The gazing crystal surged in ocean hues of blue, green and gold, brilliant rolling waves of light moving over the pool and up the cavern walls. At the center of the dark pool a small vortex swirled to life, creating bright circular ripples that whirled around their source. The luminescent rings raced faster and faster, rising as a glowing spout above the water.

Naofa and Laoch were one with the light of the crystal, their figures reflected back on the pool’s surface as two bright stars. The energy between them radiated as they held a single thought. When they raised the call together, their voices echoed throughout the cavern.

“Blessed Mothers, hear our cry!

Lift the veil that covers the truth. 

Open our hearts to accept the truth. 

Guide our steps to protect the truth. 

Open the door that we may see!!”

Biodh solas ann! Let there be Light!

The glowing spout narrowed to a swirling pillar and the cave rumbled. They didn’t move when the rock beneath them trembled and the dark water splashed angrily against the spinning vortex that swallowed it greedily.

The whirlpool thundered... a massive column of water flowing straight up, then curled into a wave that hung over the empty pool, suspended, as though waiting to roll. Naofa raised her hand to the watery wall and the crystal righted itself, rising above her palm. The tempest of energy tore at their bodies as they stood to face the surge…

Stay tuned…

Big City Doors #ThursdayDoors

 Hi hi! 

My consistent excuse for being hit and miss is the book, and once I start the publishing grind I am afraid I might disappear within the land of blips, beeps and hair pulling challenges. 

Meanwhile, we took a business trip to Panama City… Panama, that is. As in Central America. You can’t believe the number of people we interact with who instantly think we are talking about Florida, even after we tell them we live in Panama the country. Combine that with there being a town in our second home of Nebraska named Panama, and we have taken to saying we live in Panama-as in you need a passport to enter. 

So, back to our very quick trip. We had business at the embassy which is very nice, by the way, albeit the uber young manager over the notarizations department didn’t have a clue about what I needed. After a couple of trips in and out of the building, I’m happy to say we got what we got it done. 

With a bit of free time left, we took a side trip to one of the city’s huge malls which was a virtual wonderland. We barely covered a third of it, I’d wager. We also got in some nice meals and I got a few doors pics to share for my talented good friend Dan Antion and his #ThursdayDoors weekly prompt. 

I hope everyone else is faring well in these ridiculously uncertain times. Enjoy a mini view of Panama City, Panama below.

The hotel we stayed in was quite old but nice and the staff very friendly. There was a pool but ditzy me didn’t squeeze a suit into my carry on backpack. 

Hotel lobby with doors. 

Our first food adventure was to a well established Chinese restaurant named Sunly, that specializes in Dim Sum. We ordered from the main menu and the portions were huge, the food was delicious and the value was just incredible

.  

We chose shrimp wontons for an appetizer

Hubby ordered Kung Pao Chicken and we shared this platter of combo fried rice

Me? Tofu and Eggplant for the win. You know, healthy to counter those THREE servings of rice I had 🤦‍♀️

There was a TGIFriday’s attached to the hotel, and while I didn’t take any door photos I can assure you we used one to get inside for this well deserved dessert which we shared. 

No photos of the embassy doors if you want to be allowed to leave without being arrested

. 

I once had a book by Steve Martin titled Cruel Shoes. He must have had the same pair I was wearing that day. One walk up the hill and I had vicious blisters on both heels. And I had to go up twice! 

This little this-and-that store had fun things for kiddos, with lots of doors. My son and grandson would LOVE this car. 

All the grands would love this! Every entrance was themed with a different animal, all represented with life sized replicas. This one was-you guessed it-the D entrance. D is for….

And not only was it a ginormous mouth, it was also an escalator, or escalera mechanica in Spanish. This is a Dinosaurio here. Yeah we had to ride up and, yeah, I took a video but it is so complicated to put a video on a blog anymore, so my apologies. It was fun. 🫢

Doors to the indoor bowling alley! 

There must be something that passes for a door here because I just love carousels and wasn’t not going to post it.  Use your imagination.  I’m pretty sure there’s a mechanics door in the middle. 

SO many stores and so many doors! 

The mysterious entrance to the restaurant we chose for a skyline view of PC.  Looks like a Minecraft face doesn’t it? 

Still uncertain if we’d ducked behind the right metal panel, we headed upstairs. 

Yep! We’re in the right place! 

Even though it was raining we ordered our first of several custom cocktails and settled in to enjoy the view. Mine? The Negroni, of course! 

The rain finally stopped and we could see the city skyline.

There was a hazyview of the canal also. That bird sat there the entire time we were eating.

He chose ribs and I had the pulled pork sliders with patacones

Then the sun set and the lights came on! 👏🏻👏🏻

Next morning we would be leaving so we took another walk around the El Dorado area and found this delightful bakery called 888. 😱🤤So many good things. We ate a few then snagged a box to bring home

There were three of these cases and several cold ones as well. The coffee was great too

These breads were so light and fluffy!

My final door is to the faro, or lighthouse, just outside of Boquete. The sunset was just beautiful as we happily made our way back home. Be sure to visit Dan’s blog to find more great doors posts and join in if you haven’t already! 

Oh duh! I almost forgot the most curious door…

While I’m not certain of its significance, there was a guy selling produce and eggs right beside it. Perhaps it is a secret door to his sprawling mansion. I sure hope so. ❤️