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Showing posts from April, 2018

Discuss the story: technotheists

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This blog post is devoted to exploring technotheism, one of the three prominent branches of theology in Prison Break and the Unholy Trinity series. This is a post I've been very excited to write, as the technotheists are one of the elements of Prison Break 's world that I most loved. They're one of the elements that drew me back to write Judas Kiss . So what, exactly, is a technotheist? A technotheist is a practitioner of one of the major strains of technotheism -- a branch of theology that posits that the pursuit of better, purer technology is either the path to divinity or the source of divinity. As with either of the other two branches of the Unholy Trinity, there's plenty of division among technotheists; but on one thing, they can agree: technology is the next step on the path to human evolution, whether traversing that path or reaching an endpoint is the goal. So aside from seeing technological pursuits as a good in and of themselves, what do the techno

Read Prison Break for free on Kindle

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Special promotion: own the Kindle edition of Prison Break free between now and midnight!

Discuss the story: changing tides

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This blog post is devoted to exploring 'changing tides' facing the characters of Prison Break and the Unholy Trinity series. What "changing tides"? There are a lot of different forces in the Unholy Trinity series exerting various pulls on the protagonists and other characters. And, of course, there's the ups and downs of life, the "wheel of fortune", that we all experience. But these are exacerbated by the structure of the world, and the extremes that dominate it: extreme wealth and poverty, extreme privilege and want, extreme "justice" and exceptions. When society is so stratified, the ups are much higher and the downs much lower. As Prison Break and later Judas Kiss tell the stories of people far nearer the bottom of society's pecking order than the top, the downs are pretty low. How low? Imprisonment and death sentence low, for starters. In the world described, how can the 'tide change' for the protagonists? This

Discuss the story: what is the Unholy Trinity?

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This blog post is devoted to the series' religious ruling power, the Unholy Trinity  What is the Unholy Trinity? A powerful conglomerate of the three prominent branches of belief, and the myriad subdivisions within each branch - monotheists, polytheists and technotheists (more on them in another post). This union is state sanctioned, and in turn exercises considerable control over the state. This particular confederation, sans any separation between church and state, proves dangerous - deadly - for those whose beliefs fall outside the mainstream, approved systems. It is the primary source of conflict in Prison Break , necessitating the titular event, and will resurface in the next book, Judas Kiss (in progress) as well. The trinity's ability to function is driven by its cooperation, but its power - and danger - comes from its influence over government. What is the inspiration for the Unholy Trinity, and it's impact on the world of Prison Break? There are a lot

#AmazonGiveaway - enter to win a free copy of Prison Break!

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I'm hosting an Amazon Giveaway - if you're not familiar with it, it's a type of contest that Amazon offers, where they host everything (no third party links, no additional sign ups or accounts, or anything of that nature!) and I set the criteria (just follow my author profile on Amazon!). And all you have to do is click & hope you win.  (In this case, your odds are pretty good - 1 in 5 will. :) ) Click here to try your luck - and may the odds be ever in your favor ! And if you do win, and you like the story, please let me know with a review! :-)

Houston, we are go for launch!

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Which is to say, Prison Break is live and available for order on Amazon.com . Get your copy today , and please leave me a review letting me know what you liked (or didn't -- but I think you'll enjoy it! :) )

Discuss the story: exploring interfaith friendship in Prison Break

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This blog post is devoted to exploring one of the key themes of Prison Break and the Unholy Trinity series: interfaith cooperation, especially among the marginalized.   How does interfaith friendship impact Prison Break , or the Unholy Trinity series? Interfaith cooperation and friendship is really the backbone of Prison Break and the series. Without delving too deeply into the world (that's another post), the series takes place in a universe of limited and strictly sanctioned intellectual diversity -- and it's dangerous to hold beliefs that fall outside of that spectrum. One of Prison Break 's protagonists is non-religious (Agata) and the other is a priest (Father Edlin). Both hold beliefs that are decidedly outside the mainstream, but it's Father Edlin whose beliefs actually land him in trouble. How? Father Edlin sees the church as a mission from God, a calling to serve the people. Edlin believes that faith is justified by works, and that the state-sanction

New release: Prison Break

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As promised, dear readers (all 15 of you! 😁 ), a special announcement about an upcoming release! Mercy is weakness. Forgiveness is blasphemy. Sin is crime. The unholy trinity - monotheists, polytheists and technotheists - rule in unison. Justice is not blind, but soulless. In a city of stratified wealth and endemic poverty, Father Edlin tries to make a difference. His little church and free clinics provide a flicker of hope to the downtrodden populace. But not for long. The men with guns show up, and it's only a matter of time before a forced confession of heresy is extracted. Now Father Edlin sits in a cell, awaiting the fulfillment of his death sentence. But somewhere in the night, a friend lurks, waiting for the chance to pay off an old debt... Available April 10th. Available for pre-order now !

Hello world

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Hello world! Welcome to my inaugural author blogpost. I will have some special announcements up shortly, but for now I'll just mention that I am working on a few projects, both fiction and non-fiction. I will be releasing news about one of the fiction projects shortly. Stay tuned! In the meantime, if you're interested in picking up an insanely addictive craft, check out my book on Viking Wire Weaving .