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

On April 1, 2024 By Alethea KehasIn A Better World of Books, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light23 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.

Keys to the Heart is Live on Amazon! #fantasyseries #newrelease

On February 7, 2024 By Alethea KehasIn Warriors of Light28 Comments

*Keys to the Heart* book jacket. Book 2 of the *Warriors of Light* series now available in print and Kindle.

The day has arrived! The second book in my middle-grade metaphysical fantasy adventure series is now available on Amazon!

Keys to the Heart follows the journeys of six thirteen-year-old protagonists who are chosen to repair the dragon lines in Earth. In book two of the Warriors of Light series, the teens find themselves sucked back into the magical labyrinth only to be deposited in ancient sites across the globe. In order to return home, they must learn the mysteries of these magical lands and find the keys to save a giant named Albion. A giant who also happens to hold the heart of Earth in his body.

Nothing about the labyrinth is easy or straightforward, and the teens find themselves inside places ruled by ghosts of the past, and pursued by a mysterious being they encountered in their first journey into The Labyrinth.

The Warriors of Light series is intended for audiences ages nine through adult. It is a nonviolent fantasy series filled with the adventures of six friends as they learn the power of friendship, inner strength, and the interconnectedness of life.

I am deeply grateful for the assistance and support I had getting these books into the world, including the dedication of my beta readers, the cheerleading from my family and friends, and the dedication from my wonderful editor, Carol Goff and my cover designer, Sierra Wheeler. It really does take a small village to produce a book, and I am so very grateful for the village that helped birth this series into the world.

Take a Walk with Me & Wonder #joy #wonder

On December 14, 2022 By Alethea KehasIn Classes, Gaia & Elementals, Reflections, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light13 Comments

What does it mean to “walk with wonder?”

Is it a question you have ever considered? Or, perhaps it is your customary way of interacting with the world around you. For most of us who are no longer living inside the bodies of children, I think, living with wonder takes a bit of effort. Or, more aptly put, a fair amount of surrender. It is a mindful act of welcoming the magic of life back into our awareness.

In February, as part of a 4-day a yoga and book club series of events based upon the lessons from my middle grade metaphysical fantasy book, The Labyrinth, I will be guiding a “walk with wonder” at a local hiking spot. This idea has been playing around inside of my mind for some time now. And, as many of you who read my blog on a regular basis will know, it is not a concept that is foreign to who I am. I am an adventurer my nature, and love nothing better than getting outside and exploring the magic it has to offer up.

I can’t say that every moment I spend in nature is an opening to wonder, but when I allow that conscious, mindful surrendering to occur, I am never disappointed. Sometimes the results are familiar, sometimes they are a surprise. You never quite know what you are going to encounter with your senses when they are tuned to the world around you.

And so, as I thought about what it means to “walk with wonder,” I found myself scrolling through some of the photos I have taken during my walks over the last few years. Finding, you might say, the proof in the pictures. You don’t need a camera to capture the wonder around you, you merely need a willing heart. Sometimes, in fact, the camera is a distraction. To fully walk in wonder, it is probably better left at home, or in your pocket if it’s attached to your phone.

Nonetheless, here are a few things you might find when you walk with wonder: