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My newest novel, “The Shaman”, is due out 30 Sept ’23 – Care to review it?

  • First, my newest novel, The Shaman, will be published 30 Sept 2023. You can get a taste of The Shaman on my blog.
  • Second, you can pre-order The Shaman on Amazon (I’d be thrilled if you did. So would all the words in the book. And the characters. The story itself, even!)
  • Third, from 30 Sept to 15 Nov The Shaman will be on promo (99¢ Kindle, $17.99 Print). Be sure to get a copy for yourself, several copies to give as gifts for the approaching holidays, and tell everyone you know it’s available and it’s a great read!
  • Last, would you like a free The Shaman PDF or ePub ARC in exchange for a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub? You would? Then respond to this email letting me know you’d like either a PDF or ePub ARC and when the review will go up (The Shaman is ~450 print pages). I’ll email the ARC ASAP within a day or two of receiving your response.

The rest of this email contains The Shaman early reader comments (which are front matter in the book. Your comments could join them if you get them to me before 26 Sept 2023) and blurbs.

<BEGIN HYPE>
Early Reader Comments
The Shaman is Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey writ large in the modern world.”

“The story is a primer for spirit work, thank you.”

“Although, as usual in a Carrabis story, some parts of this novel are uncomfortable, I enjoyed it very much. Gio needed to experience those things to learn and grow.”

“It’s uplifting to read about a character having experiences similar to some of mine. I don’t have his power or training, but the sensitivity and awareness are familiar. This will be another healing book and perhaps a training manual for empaths and light workers.”

Blurbs
“Gio Fortuna, a boy spurned by his parents for being “slow,” is raised by his grandfather in the ways of the Practice, a rich esoteric discipline drawing upon mystic traditions passed down over thousands of years from a multitude of cultures. Written in five parts chronicling Gio’s life, The Shaman sees Fortuna embark on a journey from initiate to adept, young boy to old man, as he navigates a network of teachers, each with their own unique lessons and challenges. Steeped in wisdom applicable to all, The Shaman is an inspiring story that proposes a unique path to self-discovery and growth unlike anything written before.”

The Shaman is a metaphysical memoir, the diary of Gio Fortuna (‘John Chance’ in English), who embarks on a decades long search to discover his own purpose and meaning in life, to answer “Why am I here?”
Gio, misdiagnosed as mentally deficient while a babe still in diapers, is about to be institutionalized by his parents. His grandparents, known and respected around the world as Guardians and Keepers of The Practice, a collection of mystical traditions developed, secreted away, and now known only to a few, rescue him and, not believing what the doctors have said, begin training him in their ways.
The novel follows Gio on a quest much like the hero in Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, and is his first person account of recognizing there’s more to the world than modern society recognizes, his discoveries while on that quest, and his return to the modern world to use what’s he’s learned wisely.”
<END HYPE>

A Jaunty Young Man

We grow older and so do they.

Albeit The Wild ages along different timelines than we do.

I’ve often wondered about versipellics (shapeshifters). I’ve known a few and when they shift they don’t become an animal the same age as they themselves before the shift.

Makes me wonder why, when they shift back, they don’t return to human form the same age as the creature they’re shifting back from.

Or if they could shift to a younger…

Or older…

version of themselves.

Could they shift into a version of themselves prior to learning how to shift?

(excuse me.

i feel a story coming on…)

 

“Those Wings Which Tire, They Have Upheld Me” now in Best of Penumbric Speculative Fiction Mag, vol vi

It’s amazingly gratifying when editors and publishers consider one’s work worthy of “Best Of” status, and I’m quite proud of The Wings Which Tire, They Have Upheld Me for many reasons:

  • The haunted house I mention existed (never learned if it was haunted) about half a mile from where I grew up.
  • I knew Lenny in grade school. He was a gifted scholar who didn’t fit in because of family issues, parental and societal neglect, and what we now recognize as “learning difficulties.” (I so wish people were more aware…hell, even partially aware…of such challenges when I was a child).
  • Most people know I was legally blind most of my life (which means “needed glasses so thick if he didn’t have them he needed a dog and a cane”), and yes, much of the main character’s experiences are based on my own.
  • Lenny and I were voracious readers of books and on topics of which our teachers were unaware.
  • Kevin also existed and tormented me through most of my grade school years. The “I can’t SEE” chant is directly his.
  • My childhood safety existed in my imagination, and not knowing what I was suppose to see and not see, I envisioned the most amazing things (still do!).

Enjoy!