Category: A Better World of Books

What’s Happened to the Last Month (Striving for Balance) #writerslife

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light21 Comments

April has arrived already promising mischief. This week, the temperature is determined to plummet twenty degrees by mid-week and bring with it snow. Yes, you read this right, snow. The last time we had an April Fool’s snow storm was a quarter of a century ago. I remember that day vividly, as I had to drive my little Honda from Mansfield, MA into Providence, RI to attend my grad school classes and labs. Several feet of snow dumped on my path that day, and I am hoping this storm that is due to strike between Wednesday and Thursday will be kinder.

But I digress. This post was supposed to be about what has happened to this past month and why I am determined to bring balance back to my life. At the end of February, I started a per diem job as a patient care coordinator at a nearby family health center. When I took the job I promised myself it would bring my life more balance. And, in some ways it has. I have increased my income and my interaction with the world beyond my home and screen, but per diem quickly turned into every day, and I am finding it is not so easy for me to make time for writing.

Several days ago my husband asked me how book three in the Warrior’s of Light series is coming along, and I had to tell him “it’s not.” It still isn’t. It’s hovered around fifty pages for months now, and I really don’t have a great excuse as to why. If I have time to watch “All Things Great and Small” on my PBS app in the evenings, I have time to work on my craft.

What I have done, aside from creating semi regular TikTok posts on yoga and books, is to gather up, sign, package, and start distributing my pre-Covid/pre-updated copies of The Labyrinth (book 1) into Little Free Libraries I encounter during my forays out into the world. This has been incredibly satisfying for me, even though I have no idea what happens to the books after I nestle them among their peers in the tiny libraries.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. I like to play with wonder when I release the book into the world. I take joy in gripping the dragon pen my husband spontaneously gifted me (to match the dragon theme of book 2), opening the uncracked covers, and spreading words of light across the title page, before I wrap the book with an elastic attached to a soapstone animal that matches the character whose page I have bookmarked.

I like to image a labyrinth of light spreading across the land with each deposit into the libraries. A seed of hope implanted into the heart of a young reader. A thread of promise.

Some of the little libraries where The Labyrinth and its Warriors of Light have found homes.

Not Your Ordinary Love Story #KeystotheHeart #lovestories

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light20 Comments

A few months ago, I came across an article that said middle-grade and YA readers are now seeking stories about strong friendships rather than romance. Perfect, I thought, because the bond of friendship threads through my middle-grade Warriors of Light series. It is, you could say, a rather non-traditional love story. The six young protagonists are driven by their philial love for one another, as well as their filial love, and their love for Earth.

A giant in the land that helped to inspire the character Albion in Keys to the Heart. Photo taken at Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park in 2018

A year after visiting Arbor Low, I journeyed back to England for another weekend of Silent Eye adventures, and to partake in my graduation ceremony. “You need to come to this one,” Sue had urged me. “It’s all about the ley lines and the hexagram star.” Once again, while exploring the ancient landscapes of England, I would discover more insights about the stories that had been whispering their secrets onto my pages.

These sacred waters were the site of my graduation rites

We spent a very busy day following the ley lines (aka dragon lines) in the pattern of a hexagram star, hopping from church to church to feel into their energy. Many of the ley lines/dragon lines in Earth follow geometric patterns and connect to sacred sites. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, churches were frequently, and probably not coincidentally, erected atop ancient sacred sites and dragon lines (it makes one wonder about religious images of dragons being slain or “tamed” in paintings and church windows). Truthfully, the day for me was mostly unsettling. To me, the energy of the land beneath these religious edifices feels not so much sacred, but deadened in an attempt to exert power and control. 

Sue standing beside one of the churches we visited that is situated on a hexagram of ley lines

So when we journeyed away from the churches to visit ancient sites that still feel alive in the landscape, I felt much more at home. One of our stops was to visit the chalk giant embedded into a hillside in the Cerne Valley. Legends tell that the Cerne Abbas Giant, with his erect phallus, was a fertility god of sorts. Couples would (and perhaps still do, although it is now fenced in) flock to the hillside to make love in the hope to conceive.

The fertility giant in the background of a “Hardy” sign.

But I was more interested in the idea of a love story about the land itself. The carne giant, as well as a giant I saw a month later in the landscape of Acadia National Park (see above photo), helped inspire me to created the character Albion (whose name is derived from an old name for Great Britain) who appears in book two of the Warriors of Light series. The giant Albion, whose body is comprised of the British Isles, holds within him the heart of Earth. So Albion became part of the love story I was writing. A giant whose body is a part of the body of Earth. The two, like the yin and yang energy that exist inside all of us, cannot live without each other. Keys to the Heart is not the love story of romance novels, but about the love that threads the life into the veins of Earth and all of her children.

The Story of a Water Dragon, a Fire Dragon and a Circle of Stones #dragonlines #dragons #leylines #alchemy #arborlow #fantasyseries

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, Travel Adventures, Warriors of Light5 Comments

On the front cover of my metaphysical fantasy book Keys to the Heart, a fire dragon descends to meet a rising water dragon over a hexagram filled with the alchemy of their union.

The front cover of Keys to the Heart, designed by Sierra Wheeler

On the back cover of the book, a blurb appears inside a circle of stones. The stones, if you look closely, resemble the heads of dragons. Out of the circle, the tails of the water and fire dragons emerge. The scene wrapping the book tells its origin story.

The back cover of Keys to the Heart, designed by Sierra Wheeler

A story inspired, in many ways, by my visit to Arbor Low in Derbyshire, England nearly seven years ago with Sue, Stuart, Deb, and Nick during a Silent Eye outing. Arbor low is a Neolithic henge monument complete with a crown of stones that sits atop a hill that is now owned by a farmer. I sometimes wonder if the caretaker, who charges a mere one pound/person to visit the ancient site, knows how lucky he is to live amongst the dragon stones.

As soon as I exited the car in the lot below the mound, I felt the pull of the stones even though I could not yet see them. Deb and I helped Nick up the crest of the hill, but when we reached the top, I released him to Sue and Stuart. Sue understood how the energy magic consumes me when I visit the ancient landscapes, and here, before me, was a scene of absolute wonder. On the edge of the mound, I stood at the gateway, letting it fill my cells with memories as time slipped through space.

The stones at Arbor low are arranged in a recumbent circle, with two recumbent stones in the center. Some people think the stones once stood, and I saw the center stones as pillars; a doorway to the stars, while the ones on the ring rose up from the mound watching, protecting. The heads like dragons in wait for the Fire and Water to reunite to seed light back into the sacred womb of Earth.

I chose my path by the pull of my cells, taking each turn between the stones as though I were walking through time. “Like a clock.” When I completed the circle of the face, I was filled with a vision of magic that felt so alive I could not contain it. I felt like a lost soul finding home, once again, in the vast sea of the universe.

It was here, in Arbor Low, where I found the essence of the narrative that had been weaving its labyrinth inside of me.

As a writer, I am often asked about my process. Usually I keep the answer simple, “I am not a plotter, I let the story guide me.” The truth is, quite often I cannot explain what I write until I experience it for myself. Images and names will come to me, and sometimes entire scenes, and I will put them on the page only to discover later, why.

Standing at Arbor Low, nearly seven years ago, my body was re-awakened to the alchemical energy of the universe. Here, I experienced the magic of natural forces concentrated in the land. An energy so strong it transcended time and space. Arbor Low, like other ancient sacred sites, is a place where the complex theories of physics and math make sense. It is a place where magic is tangible and achievable without fantasy.

By the end of the day, I understood why I was so driven to write a story about six thirteen-year-olds who were drawn into a mysterious hexagram filled with broken lines of light to save a broken planet and a broken mother. By the end of the day, during which I visited three ancient sites with the Silent Eye group, I felt the wholeness of reunion in away I had never experienced in this lifetime. Inside of me joy danced with sorrow like I had finally come home.

So while I may have written two books, with a third in process, that are in the genre of fantasy, their essence is the magic of life through the lens of my own experiences. I have a feeling this is how many stories arise through us. We may doubt their origins, but the seeds they sow thread truth in an attempt to bring us home to ourselves.

“I Will Send You Birds” #lifeafterdeath #signsfromspirit

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, Animal Messengers, Reflections, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light28 Comments
A robin nesting in a lilac outside my window. I did not take photos of the robins two days ago. I just watched them in wonder, flying and gathering on the holly bush outside my window. Too many to count.

There were many moments after Sue Vincent passed away when I allowed myself to slip into the agony of the mundane. You might think agony is a strong word to use for the mundane, but let me try to explain why I chose this descriptor.

I believe we are birthed opening our eyes to wonder. We leave the vast infinite expanse of connection to experience individuality, but with the hope of holding onto the magic of being. We are not simply cells collected into a body to experience a finite existence, we are being itself. The most basic laws of physics tell us that our energy cannot be destroyed, yet how often do we allow ourselves to slip into the agony of the mundane doubting the magic of our infinite existence?

There are many things that remind me of this slip. Facebook’s algorithm pops up old photos and quotes from the years when I was wrapped in the magic of wonder. Blog posts reappear on my sidebar reminding me that the magic of life I recorded received more likes than the agony of the mundane. And, most importantly, the constriction of the cells within my body remind me that I am a body of wonder waiting to be expressed, again. Over and over again.

This is life.

Sue was, in many ways, a gateway to wonder for me. We met through wonder. I dreamt of the cosmic eye, and then she appeared. Soon after, I saw a vision of a hexagram, and it was Sue who nudged the opening of its magic. Sue came into my life at just the right moment. I needed a teacher and a guide to help me open to the labyrinth of light that threads through life, and together we traveled through time to find that connection. Sue was, literally, a gateway to magic. And when she passed, I mourned her with a fierceness I had not expected. I didn’t want to let that magic go.

And, of course, I didn’t have to. 

When I was working on the first chapters of Keys to the Heart I sent a passage to Sue for her input. The only thing she suggested I change was the use of the phrase, “of course.” I heeded her advice and erased the phrase each time I had used it, and made sure I omitted the impulse when it arose as I continued to write the book after her passing. With one exception, the dedication page.

“For Sue, of course.”

I can see her smiling. I can see that wrap of feathers she wore lifted into wings. I can see the wren, and the owl. The raven and the kite. And, two days ago, when I revealed the cover of my new book, I saw robins. Dozens of them. The most I have ever seen gathered together. In the middle of January. Outside my window. All day. Robins. The bird of birth and spring. It could not have been more fitting.

“I will send you birds.”

After Sue passed, and I began to question whether the thread of our connection still existed, Sue appeared to me during meditation. “I will send you birds,” she told me.

And so she has.

Of course.

Keys to the Heart Cover Reveal #newrelease #fantasyseries

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light14 Comments
Keys to the Heart cover reveal. Book two in the Warriors of Light metaphysical fantasy adventure series and the sequel to The Labyrinth by Alethea Kehas

I am thrilled to present to the world the cover of my soon to be released book, Keys to the Heart, which was created by the talented graphic designer, Sierra Wheeler. You can find her work on Instagram @wheeler_sierra. She did a remarkable job capturing the concepts I wanted to convey. And, the timing of it all coming together could not be more perfect. After all, it is the year of the dragon!

Keys to the Heart is book two in my Warriors of Light metaphysical (visionary fiction) fantasy series, and the sequel to The Labyrinth. It follows the adventures of six thirteen-year-old protagonists as they continue to carry out their mission to repair the lines of light in Earth. These lines of light are sometimes called ley lines, and sometimes called dragon lines…

Can you guess what might be happening on the cover of the book?

The Hexagram Star as a Labyrinth of Connection #labyrinth #hexagram #fantasyseries #warriorsoflight

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light12 Comments

The star and the labyrinth have been worldwide symbols throughout history (and most likely, prehistory), but they are not commonly combined. So why did I choose to merge the two in my metaphysical fantasy series, Warriors of Light?

To answer this, we need to explore the metaphysical origins of both. Let’s start with the star, and why I chose a hexagram.

Typically stars, when used in the realms of magic, contain five or six points. Five pointed stars are often associated with witchcraft or sorcery, and although my series is filled with “magic,” it is not the type of magic that comes from spells and wands. Instead, I wanted to explore the magic of creation. The magic that that feeds and threads through all life. And, I wanted my readers to explore their own journeys of connection. Therefore, I needed to use a six pointed star.

Otherwise known as the hexagram.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay This image illustrates the balancing of yin and yang, or masculine and feminine energies that are explored in the series.

The hexagram star is widely known and utilized as a symbol for both secular and nonsecular purposes. I was particularly interested in the hexagram as a symbol that predates religion. I wanted to explore it in its “magical” elemental form. To examine its individual components (in particular, the elements that overlap and join into one). I wanted to break down the whole into the essence to form the whole again. Herein lies the origin of the labyrinth as a hexagram.

Image by Mauistik from Pixabay Commonly known as the “Star of David,” the hexagram has origins that thread throughout the world. I was particularly interested in the components of balance it offers.

Sound confusing?

Let me try to explain by switching for a bit to the labyrinth as a symbol. A labyrinth is often defined as a maze-like structure, but in the metaphysical world the maze becomes a pathway the individual takes to learn about the inner self. It is, in essence, and a journey that begins on the outside and leads to the inner core. One travels upon it to gain spiritual insight and clarity, as well as a sense of connection to Life.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay Not quite the labyrinth that is commonly used for spiritual exploration, but similar…

According to the Labyrinth Society, the labyrinth as a spiritual symbol has been around for at least 4,000 years. It has a defined structure that resembles more or less ordered pathways that lead from the outer to the inner, rather than a maze intended to confuse and disorient. The labyrinth as a maze looks more like this:

Image by DigitalShards from Pixabay Labyrinth as a maze.

For the purposes of my series, I chose to combine the maze of confusion with the labyrinth as spiritual pathway. I wanted it to be both a journey that could trap and disorient, as well as a means to reach the central core of Life. To be more like everyone’s journey. Most of us don’t find balance and connection without a fair amount of setbacks (or traps in the case of my characters), as well as a great deal of mucking through the darkness of the shadow self.

Which brings me back to the hexagram star and the “key of balance” (that comes more into play in book two of the series, yet to be released). In the Warriors of Light there are six warriors on the cusp of adolescence, at the age of thirteen when the child self dies to make way for the adult. These six warriors must not only walk individual outer paths to get to a deeper and more mature (or wiser) understanding of themselves, they must also intersect their pathways to heal the origins of Life itself.

Therefore, I needed a symbol of balance with six starting points for each of my six warriors. I needed a star with six points (of light) that joined and overlapped. A hexagram star.

The hexagram as labyrinth as used in Warriors of Light

The hexagram as a spiritual symbol, like the labyrinth, predates organized religion. Although it seems unclear exactly where its origins lie, or for how long this symbol has been used, the hexagram has a history across the globe. And, as a magical symbol, represents harmony and balance. Two equilateral triangles overlap to form a star. One pointing above, one pointing below. In elemental terms they are often viewed as representing water and fire (and sometimes combined with earth and air). A balance of yin with yang. Masculine and feminine energies merging into one.

My six warriors are not only a mix of “males” and “females,” within each of them is a predominance of one or more elements, as well as ethnicities. And, as a group, there is a balance of yin and yang energies that don’t necessarily follow societal norms. Together, they are tasked with a mission to restore balance to the world. A balance that has been broken by the impacts of the human race. To restore this balance, they must navigate the broken pathways of the labyrinth as a hexagram and restore the light of connection. And so, therein lies a story of the hexagram as a labyrinth.

Why do Good Books (and Films) go “Bad?” #amwriting #ethics

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, Dreams, Reflections, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light37 Comments
Image by Peter H from Pixabay

We are, here in the USA, residing in the aftermath of another horrific mass shooting at a school. It has become a normalized discomfort. A discomfort that does not have to exist, but yet, here we are, again.

I’m not going to blog about the need for gun control and legislation, because it’s a fact that we keep repeating without doing anything about. I keep voting and signing petitions, I keep practicing and teaching yoga. I keep trying to do my part to change what feels like the unchangeable. But, it’s never enough. There is always more to be done. The simple and obvious start is to enact those laws we refuse to enact as a nation. I do not hold a position of public office, I’m merely a voter, but I’m also a citizen who engages with and creates entertainment in the form of books (which, one day, I’d love to see recreated on screen).

Last night, I wrapped up my engagement with the Blood & Bones series on Netflix by watching the final two episodes. And, just as I did after seeing the series You through to its latest episode, I found myself wondering why I had allowed myself to endure it. I am a sucker for seeing things through. I rarely put a book aside, no matter how much it pains me to finish it, and I often do the same with films. But, I’m done with You and I’m done with Blood & Bones. Why? Because even though the writing and creative execution is, at times, beautiful and even brilliant, I have decided not to torture myself any longer waiting for the good to prevail over the bad. And, let’s be clear, there’s a whole lot of bad in both of these series.

We wonder why we are obsessed with violence in this country, but we cannot seem to break the cycle. Rarely do we see fantasy series created without an over-abundance of violence and we keep churning out thrillers filled with murder and horror that push the edges of extreme in the name of entertainment.

When will we decide we’ve had enough? When will we decide that maybe, just maybe, we benefit more by spreading the good we are capable of, over the bad?

After waking up at 2am this morning from dreams laced with the violence from the last two episodes of Blood and Bones, I renewed my vow to do my part as a creative to spread the good over the bad. Violence is not a prerequisite for fantasy, nor is it for drama. We do not need blood and gore to keep the page turning, or the viewers locked to a screen. We need a good story. And, dare I say, a story about good. Conflict need not turn to violence, and when it does, it behooves us to ask why? Why are we writing it? Why are we reading it? Why are we watching it?

I know when I engage with it on the screen or in a book, I am always waiting for the bad to turn back to the good. But, as we see in the series mentioned above, it never stays good for long these days. We have normalized violence, and we can’t be too surprised that we are seeing it normalized in our schools. If we want change, we must be the change.

And so, I’ve decided to put aside those two series and focus on creative that brings me hope and joy, which is also how I engage with writing. If it doesn’t educate me through historic violence, I see little need for engagement. I know through personal experience with writing fantasy and adventure books, that violence need not dominate the prose. It need not be a means to keep the viewer locked to a page or a screen with a rush of destructive adrenaline. Why torture ourselves with the bad when we always have the choice to bring forth the good?

“World Gone Good” Episode 88: “Alethea Gone Good” #podcasts #writing #healing

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, Memoir, Warriors of Light, yoga8 Comments

Episode 88 of “World Gone Good”

My journey into the world of podcasting continues with episode 88 of Steve Silverman’s “World Gone Good” podcast. I had a wonderful time chatting with Steve about healing, writing, reiki, yoga, and following your joy. Some of the highlights include our Jodie Foster stories, how we healed our stomach aliments through mindfulness, and how we channel our inner truth through writing.

It was a genuine honor and pleasure being on “World Gone Good.” If you have thirty minutes to listen to episode 88, you can find it here. Better yet, start following Steve’s awesome podcast!

The Transformative Effects of Kindness and Why I Have Made a Vow to Write Non-Violent Books #bethechange #kindness #middlegradebooks

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light16 Comments
Book 1 in the Warriors of Light Middle-Grade Fantasy Series

“Warriors of Light: The Labyrinth, was a great story to read with my daughter. From a young age, she was aware of the suffering of humans and our disconnection from Mother Earth. Recently, it has been more palpable as we had to leave our beloved homestead because our water was contaminated by application of forever chemical (PFAS) filled sludge on our neighbor’s farm. When I asked her if I should have shielded her better from what is going on in our broken relationship with Earth, she told me that she was grateful that I talked about these things with her and what we do to be transformation because she could plainly see that the relationship with Earth is out of harmony. Initiation is a personal path that leads to the universal story, and seeing that there are guides and paths to healing, it is not an easy or straightforward journey. It takes grace, forgiveness, acceptance, courage, honesty, bravery… There is power, too, in that we are not the only ones on the paths of the labyrinth, but others are making their way and our stories interconnect.“

When I showed these words to a friend of mine, she told me she wished there we more dads in the world like this one. I replied, “If there were, the world would be a vastly different place.”

After I read the email from the father of a young reader, my heart filled with hope, and my eyes, tears. We are living in a world of extremes as we individually and collectively struggle to control the chaos that we have co-created. The irony is that, for the most part, we seem to have forgotten that we have, indeed, created the hatred, violence, anger, injustice, and degradation of life that we so desperately are trying to find a way out of. Instead of kindness, compassion, and empathy, we too often point the finger in blame. We rage. We fight. We struggle for control.

And, we and all life on the planet suffer because of our actions (and inactions), including the living planet itself. Our struggles to be right. To hold onto limiting belief systems and ways of living are inhibiting us from living in harmony with life. How telling it is that a 9-yr-old child knows this innately, but somehow the vast majority of us have forgotten this Truth.

What we reap, we sow. Years ago, I made a vow to “find the light behind the story.” We are all bodies of stories, and together we share the stories of our history. We are long over-due to change the narratives. Read the words of the father in quotes once more. Feel them in your bones. What are they saying to you?

For me, they are a reminder of why I write what I do. The only way to change the narrative is to rewrite it. By rewriting it, we Do Not erase. Instead, we dig into our shadowland and find the light, and the light is what we grow. Our very lives depend upon it. If you are in doubt, ask a child who has not yet forgotten.

I Talk about Writing, Publishing & My Middle-Grade Series, Warriors of Light, with Barney Smith on his Story Comic Podcast #authorinterview #writinglife #storycomic

On By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, Warriors of Light10 Comments

Watch the interview at storycomic.com

Last night I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Barney Smith of the Story Comic podcast. It was truly a fun-filled hour that flew by. We talked about the writing life, self-publishing, the emerging field of visionary fiction, and why I wrote the Warriors of Light series to empower today’s youth.

I’d be honored if you checked out the interview, which is also on YouTube. Barney interviews all sorts of creatives, and more of his podcasts can be found at Storycomic.com.