My Writings

Sometime in March of this year, I had become re-inspired to pursue my writing, both my poetry and my continuing story of the Kind. The Kind are a race of shape-shifters some of which poses various paranormal abilites. I started on this novel in September of 2011 but had stopped sometime in November. As I write more chapters (up to 30 now) I learn more about my self as I add to the detail and back story of the characters. I give here a somewhat brief description of my story and where I draw inspiration.


Science fact, fiction and fantasy

Sci-fi and fantasy play a heavy part in inspiring my writing, but I back it up with some science fact, at least on a theoretical basis. I have always been fascinated by the possibility of time travel. You will see a lot of Back to the Future, Dr. Who and of course H.G. Wells inspiration in my work. I love playing with causality paradoxes, alternate history and flashbacks. Mad science also plays a large part in my style. Who doesn't like a bit of classic horror complete with a mad scientists lab full of Tesla coils, weird bubbling concoctions and bizarre machines? The fantasy aspect comes of course from my 25 plus years of playing D&D and watching various movies from the 1980s such as Conan, Legend and Princess Bride. Space Opera enters into the story direct from the works of Mr. Lucas. Finaly, how can we forget how anime has influenced me? Yes. I will admit that my story is HEAVILY influenced by FullMetal Alchemist, complete with the abilities of transmutation as possessed by the story's main character, and his relations. I simply give the alchemists in this story the ability to transmute matter simply by touch. There are no transmutation circles, no clapping of hands, and hopefully nothing that would get me sued. I honor the work of FMA's creator respectfully. It's simply just another power the Kind posses like fire, ice, storms or telepathy.  You can also see a bit of Babylon 5 in the story if you look close enough. And of course there's Harry Potter, Firefly and Farscape. Yep. I'm a geek for sure and just about everything sci-fi and fantasy has influenced me.


Real-world magic and the occult

People who know me know that I am no stranger to magic(k) and the occult. I am a practicing alchemist and magickian. I do not follow any one neopagan path. I am not Wiccan, but I have been in the past. My poetry are in fact incantations and chants to the gods, elementals, or the forces of nature. Some of the rituals performed by the Kind are derived from actual real-world Wiccan, pagan, and hermetic ritual. The underlying theme is that Kind ritual formed the basis of human ritual and magic. Everything from Egyptian funerary rites, medieval alchemy and even Freemasonry is thought to be derived from the ancient teachings of the Kind before man began to hunt them down. The concept of the "Hunting Times" is an analogy to the "Burning Times".

I put A LOT of my own personal beliefs and practices into my work. As I said most poems are  in fact incantations. I follow meter and rhyme and they almost sound like something out of Shakespeare. My work in alchemy and theoretical science is very obvious in the main character's ability to combine both "magic" and science to come up with new abilities on the fly. The rituals detail various moral, ethical and magical beliefs as well.


Locations

England
I am 5 generations away from that blessed isle. My Great x2 Grandfather was born in the Channel Islands in 1831 and moved to NYC some time in the 1850s. I have always felt a connection to the British isles. I suppose I'm a bit of an anglophile. I feel that there is no other place more seeped in magic and legend than in the UK and Ireland. I have never been there in this lifetime, but hopefully someday. And Stonehenge! I so want to see the stones! IN my story I have included Stonehenge and have done research trying to get a good idea how someone in 2006 would be able to get to the stones discretely. To the Kind, the stones are more than they appear.

Alaska and Canada
Nothing shows more sense of the "wild frontier" in the 21st century that Alaska and Canada. Okay yes, Siberia too, but we'll get to that in a moment. As a therian, alaska's wild open spaces, mountains, lakes, and ice call me home. It is here that the wolves run free, at least that's how I would like to see it. The reality for real wolves is grim with all the current huntings. Perhaps I will write ecology and care for our feral cousins in the story at a later time. Second to England is the North of North America. so wild and free. This is the setting for Grandfather's camp and home of the Whitepaw pack.
I have also been inerested in Canada to an extent. They have something we Americans gave up long ago, possibly due to the politics associated with the War of Independance. One of the main characters resides in Vancouver and I am researching the city and culture to get more a feel for it as well.

United States
What can I say. I'm a yank. So I would write about placed I knkow about. I haver lived in Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota and have been in Arizona, Tennesee, Georgia and Virginia. I was born in New York, but lived most of my life in the South. Robert was born English but was sent to America at a young age that he would not remeber it. He was raised by teachers in Florida, so he has a somewhat more 'southern' attitude. Suz is from the hills of Apalachia, and is even more southern. Grandfather and Amber are Alaskans, with a more frontier life attitude.

Russia/Siberia
Having grown up in the tail end of the cold-war, I was taught to fear the Soviet Union. These were the "bad guys" and that the concept of communisim was diametricaly opposed to the American way of life. These guys also had the atomic bomb and could wipe us out in a heartbeat. Yes I watched "The Day After" and "Red Dawn" in the 1980s and as a kid they gave me the willies. But after the Iron Curtain fell, I wondered were these guys really all that bad? I lived in Minnesota in the 1980s and we had quite a number of Russian Jews emegrating at tht time, some of which I befreinded and taught English to in elementary school. As more of Russian culture leaked out in the 1990s I discovered that they are more alike than not. I learned that it's governments and idealologies that conflict, not the people. Russia's Siberia is very similar to the near arctic realms in Alaska and Canada. I have heard the tales of Baba Yaga and of the shamans of the stepes and tundras and wanted to add that somewhere. So the character of Dmitri was created.

Germany
Always had a fondness for Germany, particularly the Black Forest and Bavaria. It is also here that such tales as from the Brother's Grim come from. I do have some German ancestry as well. The character of Heinrich was created from the Black Forest of Germany and also one of the largest packs in the world.

NYC, Chinatown
City of the World. New York City is full of people of many diverse cultures and groups. I've only been in the city as far as the airports. Yet somewhere else I want to go. Chinatown I imagine would be fun to visit as well, especialy during the New Year festivities with Dragons and Lion dances and fireworks.


The Characters

Okay, I'll admit it. The characters in this story are based on real world people. But I must reiterate that they are NOT these people I know personally. They are people whom I would like to be or meet. I know we cannot shape-shift or use magic powers. I have no intention of offending anyone. The only characters that are seriously close to anyone in real life are Robert and Suz. And yes, these two represent myself and my real-world wife as we were when we were in our 20s. The other characters are merely archetypes and totally made up. Just because I say someone is a cousin or sister in my story does not mean they are my cousin or sister in real life.

 
The Kind Race

The Kind race is a race of shape-shifters who have an immortal spirit. Yes, this is based in my personal beliefs of reincarnation and of course therianthropy. I use the word "Kind" as there are many types of Kind such as wolvenkind, catkind, foxkind and yes, humankind. I gave them powers traditionally known to werewolves such as fast regeneration and healing, heightened senses and for some, exceptional strength. Some Kind also possess various powers called "gifts". To use these gifts, they must be in anthropomorphic (or were) form. I declined from having them shred clothes during a shift to having the form "surround" their mortal forms. A full transformation is possible, but only when too much power, or rage, is channeled. There is also the risk of loosing one's "self" when fully shifting. The Kind's fast healing and regeneration ability means that Kind do not suffer the same afflictions as man. Surgery, even elective would not be possible, and is not needed due to the regeneration. This happens even in human form, albeit a bit slower. Kind do age, and do begin to progressively slow down after age 50 or so. The mortal and spirit forms are linked on a physical level, so a Kind that is fat, skinny, short, tall, etc... would also have these characteristics in not only their human, but their anthro and full animal forms as well. Hair colour is consistent as well. A red-fox Kind will generally be a ginger. Polar or arctic Kind will develop white hair at a young age.


Life Lessons and Social situations

Here we come to the story under the story. I deal with may mdern day issues, some of which I have personally come to grips with long ago, and others I am still dealing with even in middle age.

Self Acceptance
This story deals mainly with the concept of self-acceptance. The ability to accept yourself for who and what you are regardless of how human society views you. You are who you say you are, not what others would have you be. Our main character, Robert, is a nerd and he fully accepts it. In the start when he discovers what he is and that "magic" is real, he has a tough time accepting that. Over time, and with a little bit of help with his friends, he grows to accept himself as a Kind and eventually, a leader as well.

Size Acceptance
People who know ol' uncle Arcanus know that he does not hide his preference for the big gals. He is married to a wonderful Big Beautiful Woman (BBW) who has also learned to accept herself. In the story, I have written in 3 heroines who do not fit the average model of a Barbie Doll or anorexic supermodel. Suz is quite plump, Amber is an Amazon, and Cassie is an SSBBW (Super Sized). Each one has learned to accept themselves and their size. Granted their sizes do cause a few problems, mostly in getting into small places and in some respects mobility. Never does the issue of health come up, because the Kind simply do not have the ability to get human diseases. I understand that being seriously overweight in the human world is unhealthy, but this is a fantasy story and I would rather deal with the issues of size acceptance than that of health issues. Who wants to read about someone who is constantly dealing with diabetes or heart disease anyway? No thanks.

Now before you smaller folk get your knickers in a twist I have you in mind as well. I have seen big girls bash on skinny girls before but it was only in jest. But sometimes I know that even skinny bashing is as hurtful as fat bashing. While I personally have a preference for the full figured, I accept that there is beauty in ANY size. We have a skinny girl in the story who starts out being a fat-phobic most likely from being bullied on being a skinny girl, learns to accept people of size, and eventually even herself.

Bullying
The main bad guy in the story is a serious bully. He represents all the bullying I have seen growing up and even in the adult world. Childhood bullying is such as teasing, name calling and trying to taunt and egg people on. But there is also "adult" bullying. Size bullying has been mentioned but there is also ideological bullying, bullying others over their faith and even sexual orientation. My story's main evil deals with bullying and causing people to loose faith in themselves and surrendering to the "dark side".

Morality
Ah yes. The classic battle of "good v. evil". What story doesn't have that classic conflict? We mentioned the evils of bullying, but what about the true nature of evil? What is evil and does it exist in nature? In my story the Kind choose which path they will follow based on the "oroborous" serpent. This is in fact my own belief which is based in qabalah and uses the Caduceus of Hermes as a symbol. The Caduceus, which is the modern medical symbol, includes two serpents entwined about a staff surmounted by wings. The two serpents are the red serpent of severity and the blue serpent of mercy. The staff between them is the grey path of alliance. The wings above are the golden wings of hope. But there is a 5th serpent. A serpent that is not chosen unless you do not accept the other four. That is the black serpent of bondage. It is the dark side of cruelty, subjugation, hopelessness and what most would call evil. It is that which is left when the other four are absent. The Golden Light of Hope is mostly opposed to the Darkness of Bondage. It is the Grey path that mediate all things. Severity is fiery, forceful and sharp. It is the stern parent, but it is not evil. Mercy is the kind and caring parent and the generous king.

Rage v. Control
The Kind are a dynamic race, they are easily swayed by their emotions and personal and internal conflicts are a constant occurrence. It is more intense in them than in humans. A reason is because they are in touch with their inner fire, the source of their power. This is the rage. The rage does not always have to be fueled by hate or anger, sometimes great joy can power the rage as well. Robert has real issues in controlling his anger, being easily manipulated by Red's taunts early in the story. But as he learns more about himself and his path, Robert begins to learn more and more control. Rage is fine, but to let it control you does have consequences. Something I still deal with in real life even in my 40s. Many things cause me to rage, but none so much as man's inhumanity to man and beast.


Most will see many other things in this story. But the main things I want to give to the reader is a sense of suspension of reality, an idea of what the ideas of alchemy and my personal spirituality mean and the fact that not only does love conquer all, but one must also have hope, balance, severity and mercy as well.