Novel version. Four university professors invite a Brujo from the Sonora desert to explain shamanism. He guides them into an alive, creative world which turns out to be both seductive and dangerous. They try to return to their safe, familiar world but it's too late. When they invite the Brujo to return, he uses guided fantasies to begin their adventure into the nature of reality. Beyond time and space they slowly become aware of their true identity. The reader is invited to participate in the drama.
Adult language, especially when one of the professors finds himself dressed in black and white stripes, working on a chain gang.
_____________________
The bi-weekly meeting of the Prolific Professors of the Sun Coast has just begun. As usual it is held at night in Ralph’s study. Ralph, Jean, Bill and Johnny sit around the table sipping an Australian Merlot that Ralph recently discovered. A Mozart sonata is softly playing in the background. Bookshelves full of book line the walls, and research papers are piled here and there. Not much color in the room. Mostly tans and grays.
The group is stiff and formal. Ralph is a big bear, who much prefers to go along to get along. The woman, Jean, is slender and has the look and manner of a bird of prey. Bill is tall, serious, self-confidant and has very sharp fangs. Johnny prides himself on being open-minded and multi-dimensional, and is intolerant of those who are not.
“A toast to our newest full-professor,” Ralph said, raising his glass to Jean. “No one deserves it more. Your book analyzing the effectiveness of different therapies on rape victims was outstanding. May the power and glory lie softly upon your shoulders. Or is the word lay? Never could keep them straight.”
Everyone chuckled politely.
“Thank you. I’m so lucky to have such decent people as friends. They are hard to find these days.”
“You had something Johnny?” Ralph asked.
“Yes. I want to bring a guest to our next meeting. A magical man who will amaze and Delight.”
Bill rolled his eyes, “I don’t know Johnny. That theologian you brought last time didn’t exactly amaze and delight.”
“You and Jean were all over that poor guy.”
Jean grinned, “We were just testing his sainthood---he didn’t pass. I didn’t know human faces could get that red.”
Everybody laughs.
“Well, the man I want to bring isn’t a saint either, but I doubt you can get his face red. He’s not a theologian, not a philosopher not a physicist. He’s a shaman, a Brujo from the Sonoran desert.”
“Oh my God Johnny,” Jean said, “you have to be kidding. Is he that creepy character out of Castaneda? Or just an old fashioned guru, gulling the gullible as he drives another Jaguar into his garage?”
Johnny laughs again but is becoming irritated.
“That is for you to decide. I just hope that he can get past your iron-plated skull.”
“No problem, if there is any merit in what he has to say. But, I don’t waste time on nonsense. And, you shouldn’t either”, Jean said, with a slight trace of condescension.
“How can you evaluate an idea before you hear it?”
“You do it by playing the odds. You know in advance that ideas coming from some people are just not going to be worth wasting your precious brain cells.”
“I felt sorry for that poor theologian.” Ralph said. “We never gave him much of a chance.”
“He didn’t deserve a chance.” Jean said, “He still lives in the middle ages. And this shaman still lives in a cave, somewhere far out in the wilderness of the Sonoran desert. Stones talk to him as he walks by, and the friendly crows he meets are smarter than he is.”
Johnny felt even more irritated and a little sad, “And now the stones are dead, and crows are just big, black birds. Science sucked the magic and mystery out of life, and left us with what?”
“Your safe, easy life for starters. You’d rather eat cactus grubs and live in a cave?”
“Some days that is exactly what I’d like to do. But, you’re right, Jean, I love my computer and microwave too much for that. And, so sad, I lost the magic and wonder of my childhood a long time ago. I know how T. S. Eliot felt when he wrote, ‘I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing for me.’”
“Yes, it is sad. I loved the fairy tales of my childhood too. My mother used to put me on her lap in front of the fire and read wonderful stories of beautiful princesses and ugly goblins. But now I prefer to live in the real world, not one of make-believe.”
“But, how can you be so sure what is real and what is make-believe?”
“You can’t be sure”, Bill said, “but Jean’s right. You play the odds. And the odds are way against the fantasies created by people who believe in the supernatural. You can bow before those wondrous worlds if you like. I bow to facts and logic.”
“Bloodless wonders of the Western World.”
“I don’t see you kicking those bloodless wonders out of bed, Johnny.”
“No, but I don’t bow to them either.”
Adult language, especially when one of the professors finds himself dressed in black and white stripes, working on a chain gang.
_____________________
The bi-weekly meeting of the Prolific Professors of the Sun Coast has just begun. As usual it is held at night in Ralph’s study. Ralph, Jean, Bill and Johnny sit around the table sipping an Australian Merlot that Ralph recently discovered. A Mozart sonata is softly playing in the background. Bookshelves full of book line the walls, and research papers are piled here and there. Not much color in the room. Mostly tans and grays.
The group is stiff and formal. Ralph is a big bear, who much prefers to go along to get along. The woman, Jean, is slender and has the look and manner of a bird of prey. Bill is tall, serious, self-confidant and has very sharp fangs. Johnny prides himself on being open-minded and multi-dimensional, and is intolerant of those who are not.
“A toast to our newest full-professor,” Ralph said, raising his glass to Jean. “No one deserves it more. Your book analyzing the effectiveness of different therapies on rape victims was outstanding. May the power and glory lie softly upon your shoulders. Or is the word lay? Never could keep them straight.”
Everyone chuckled politely.
“Thank you. I’m so lucky to have such decent people as friends. They are hard to find these days.”
“You had something Johnny?” Ralph asked.
“Yes. I want to bring a guest to our next meeting. A magical man who will amaze and Delight.”
Bill rolled his eyes, “I don’t know Johnny. That theologian you brought last time didn’t exactly amaze and delight.”
“You and Jean were all over that poor guy.”
Jean grinned, “We were just testing his sainthood---he didn’t pass. I didn’t know human faces could get that red.”
Everybody laughs.
“Well, the man I want to bring isn’t a saint either, but I doubt you can get his face red. He’s not a theologian, not a philosopher not a physicist. He’s a shaman, a Brujo from the Sonoran desert.”
“Oh my God Johnny,” Jean said, “you have to be kidding. Is he that creepy character out of Castaneda? Or just an old fashioned guru, gulling the gullible as he drives another Jaguar into his garage?”
Johnny laughs again but is becoming irritated.
“That is for you to decide. I just hope that he can get past your iron-plated skull.”
“No problem, if there is any merit in what he has to say. But, I don’t waste time on nonsense. And, you shouldn’t either”, Jean said, with a slight trace of condescension.
“How can you evaluate an idea before you hear it?”
“You do it by playing the odds. You know in advance that ideas coming from some people are just not going to be worth wasting your precious brain cells.”
“I felt sorry for that poor theologian.” Ralph said. “We never gave him much of a chance.”
“He didn’t deserve a chance.” Jean said, “He still lives in the middle ages. And this shaman still lives in a cave, somewhere far out in the wilderness of the Sonoran desert. Stones talk to him as he walks by, and the friendly crows he meets are smarter than he is.”
Johnny felt even more irritated and a little sad, “And now the stones are dead, and crows are just big, black birds. Science sucked the magic and mystery out of life, and left us with what?”
“Your safe, easy life for starters. You’d rather eat cactus grubs and live in a cave?”
“Some days that is exactly what I’d like to do. But, you’re right, Jean, I love my computer and microwave too much for that. And, so sad, I lost the magic and wonder of my childhood a long time ago. I know how T. S. Eliot felt when he wrote, ‘I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing for me.’”
“Yes, it is sad. I loved the fairy tales of my childhood too. My mother used to put me on her lap in front of the fire and read wonderful stories of beautiful princesses and ugly goblins. But now I prefer to live in the real world, not one of make-believe.”
“But, how can you be so sure what is real and what is make-believe?”
“You can’t be sure”, Bill said, “but Jean’s right. You play the odds. And the odds are way against the fantasies created by people who believe in the supernatural. You can bow before those wondrous worlds if you like. I bow to facts and logic.”
“Bloodless wonders of the Western World.”
“I don’t see you kicking those bloodless wonders out of bed, Johnny.”
“No, but I don’t bow to them either.”
Ernest Kinnie once again challenges the reader’s imagination and boundaries. The bruja, invited by the four university professors to explain shamanism, whisks them to an imaginative, innovative world where the professors discover they don’t know how to leave. The bruja dares the professors to discover their true identities through this world, in a sense, he also challenges the reader. The reader will enjoy getting to know each character as individuals, he/she will enjoy following their development through the novel. The imaginative world will feel more and more real to the unsuspecting reader. This novel is truly a page-turner. The plot will never be found in any other novel; Ernest Kinnie is truly an original in this way. The dialogue is easy to follow and enjoyable to interpret. Almost akin to a Dr. Seuss novel for adults, both adults, teens, and young adults will enjoy this fun, inspired novel.
Paradox-The Angels are Here: Patti Roberts
A little girls world is turned upside down by a visitor, the Angel of Death. She finds herself trapped in a nightmare, consumed by her paralyzing loss and overwhelming grief. Haunting visions and the untimely deaths of others are a constant reminder that life and death are only a heartbeat away.
She eventually befriends the unusual little girl who moves in next door with captivating violet eyes and a profound knowledge of things that far exceeds her tender years.
"Masks camouflage the faces of both good and evil. Keeps hidden what is a truth and what is a lie."
Lives - bound together by blood - forge an unforgettable trail of heartbreak, loss and betrayal spanning over centuries to the present day.
She eventually befriends the unusual little girl who moves in next door with captivating violet eyes and a profound knowledge of things that far exceeds her tender years.
"Masks camouflage the faces of both good and evil. Keeps hidden what is a truth and what is a lie."
Lives - bound together by blood - forge an unforgettable trail of heartbreak, loss and betrayal spanning over centuries to the present day.
Amazon Summary
This novel will have the reader at the first page. The reader will enjoy Patti Roberts’ view of guardian angels. The main character, a little girl-Grace, has the power of sight. The very same guardian angels sent to protect her father protect her; her father perishes and leaves the little girl and her mother on their own. Grace conveys her deep sadness and hopelessness to the reader with extreme clarity. The angels watching over young Grace are meant to be “good”, however, there are two factions of angels-ones who destroy and ones who seek to help and are “good”. Grace’s story is interwoven with this important fact that the reader must remember in order to fully understand this novel. Grace puts the emotion into the novel, the angels build the structure. The reader will be introduced to a world of angels and their background, very interesting and intriguing. The reader will enjoy the conspiracy, good, and evil parts of the novel. The ending is a somewhat surprising, but satisfying conclusion. Patti Robers writes clearly and evokes an emotional reaction as well as deep thought in her readers, clearly an amazing writer. The reader will look forward to the sequel of this novel.
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I had to stop by to say thank you for stopping by the blog, following, and joining in on the Splash into Summer giveaway. :)
I see you have Katie Salidas's new book listed on your side bar. I just finished both the first two books and liked them. :)
Thank you!