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About Metamorphosis

3/29/2017

 
I find myself in an awkward place when considering promotion for Metamorphosis. The middle of anything is tricky, and this book doesn’t stand on it’s own because understanding it completely depends on having read Progenitor. And here I thought writing a trilogy was tricky. It is, but it turns out that promoting one, especially when you’re in the middle of it, is even trickier!
 
Another issue: I usually do blog hops and interviews, but one problem I ran into last year was that they wanted to talk about me and my experiences, and not about the book. That didn’t result in many sales, because let’s face it: readers don’t care about the author; they care about the book and how it speaks to them. Once a book is published, it becomes the readers’ and they should be free to take from it what they wish. If I’m telling them what it’s all about, then why bother? It leaves no room for perception or imagination.
 
So this time, I’m taking a different approach. Instead of doing “drop in’s,” I’m going to talk about Metamorphosis right here in my own blog, and the general theme. That way, you have the basic framework of the novel’s structure and theme, and are free to consider what it means to you as you read this adventure.
 
Metamorphosis picks up where Progenitor left off. As you can probably tell from the cover, we’re making a shift from the protagonists introduced in Progenitor to the antagonists that will continue to move this tale forward. The prologue introduces us to Hailey Reed, an Arizona lobbyist who was rendered unconscious during the massive nanotech surge at the end of Progenitor, as she has a vision of the cybernetic alien race that hacked Earth’s nanotech satellites. Hailey is a mid-forties woman beat by life: she lost her father to Parkinson’s disease shortly before being diagnosed with an early stage of the same disease, and depends on nanotech to keep the Parkinson’s at bay. Her husband left her shortly after her diagnosis to escape her tragic life for a new life with a younger woman, leaving her with the nanotech keeping her alive, and her career.
 
Another character we meet is Jane Hanniley, a sixty year old woman in Murrells Inlet, SC. She’s recently widowed, and recovering from an unsuccessful suicide attempt after her late husband’s daughter (by a former marriage) had his will altered to take most of the inheritance and leave Jane with the basic necessities to get her out of the way. Jane has nothing left but her home, her dead end career, and her son, who’s a lawyer in Washington D.C. with his own problems and little patience for his mother’s drama.
 
Hailey and Jane are the conduit where we learn about another alien race from Alpha Centauri, who want to come to Earth. They’ve been watching Earth for a while, and see us as their best chance at survival. The only problem is that the planet isn’t completely compatible with their cybernetically enhanced bodies, and it must be terraformed to support them. No problem – humanity now has nanotechnology, so all they have to do is replace our implants with their own, and both races can live in harmony. There’s just one problem: it will force humanity to evolve at a faster pace than nature intended. Add to that the energy alien presence already on Earth, and you have a three way battle for the planet.
 
I’ve said in previous interviews that The Earthside Trilogy is, at its core, about how people deal with pain. Progenitor spoke to the confusion that pain can cause, and Metamorphosis continues this theme by showing how this confusion can lead to anger. Anger is a natural emotion, and when handled correctly it can lead to good realizations and breakthroughs that can help us improve our lives and relationships. Unfortunately, it’s also a powerful emotion, so it usually isn’t handled right and often leads to more damage and problems. Not only is it hard to think rationally when you’re angry, but people are usually uncomfortable with it, so they’re more inclined to repress it or flee from it because they so fear it. This is dangerous, because if you don’t deal with your issues, then they follow you wherever you go and influence everything you do in negative ways. You can run, but you can’t hide. Anger can blind people, and emotions have a tendency to take us to places we have no conscious intention of going to. Anger and fear are closely related and are powerful motivators, but they aren’t positive motivators. The results they get are usually in favor of others manipulating those emotions, and they rarely garner long term loyalty. In fact, they can lead to deception and betrayal, especially when things inevitably unravel.
 
This is a theme I invite you to explore with me in Metamorphosis. We’ve all had experiences like Hailey and Jane, when the world is beating us down, and all we want is some relief so we can get control of our life again. It’s easy for emotions to blind us to right action and truth, and to search for any quick escape we can find instead of doing the hard work to pick up the pieces, repair what’s broken, and build a new life. As my Sunday School teacher said recently, people in “survival mode” rarely make good decisions, because they want what hurts the least right now and can’t see the big picture. Pain makes life wearisome, and the cybernetic aliens use Hailey and Jane’s pain as a tool for their own purpose. Hailey and Jane evolve as antagonists in The Earthside Trilogy simply because they’re tired of hurting, and they want it to stop. Does their choice to assist the cybernetic aliens in their takeover of Earth make them villains to humanity? Or does it make them villains of circumstance with the potential for redemption? Or is there a difference? I leave that to the readers to decide.
 
The anger theme also extends to others in the story. As Metamorphosis progresses, we see how the energy aliens and humanity (mostly in the form of government officials) react to this emerging threat. This, of course, leads to reactionary responses on their part, and force the energy aliens inhabiting humans to deal with this strange, powerful emotion that seems to be overriding logic. We see this struggle in particular through Kalea Kerner, one of the protagonists from Progenitor, as she struggles to balance this powerful emotion with the experiences and cool logic of her character and the alien within her. This struggle will continue into Emergence (Book Three) as the trilogy moves towards it’s final battle for the planet.
 
So reader, I leave it to you. As this tale moves through it’s midpoint, I invite you to consider who’s the true villain here? And what do you see in these themes of pain and anger? Let me know by leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads! You can get Progenitor and Metamorphosis for $0.99 at Amazon through April 10.
 
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.
 
Bye!

Surprise! Metamorphosis Is Published!

3/28/2017

 
Picture
​No, it’s not your imagination. Metamorphosis, Book Two of The Earthside Trilogy has been published. The beta/proofreads came back early yesterday with only minor changes, so I was able to get the manuscript finalized and decided to go ahead and publish – especially since I got word that our busy season at work is kicking off a week early this year. Talk about timing! That couldn’t have worked out better! Metamorphosis is available for $0.99 on Amazon now, so grab it before it goes back up to the normal $1.99 price next week.
 
It’s also excellent timing because Progenitor, Book One of The Earthside Trilogy, is scheduled for the Brain to Books promotion next week, so that will be great to lead readers to both books. Emergence, Book Three of The Earthside Trilogy is moving along on schedule and (Lord willing) should be ready for the beta/proofreader and cover artist in January. I already let them know to look for it after the start of the new year, so I’m hoping for a late February/early March 2018 release on the final installment of the trilogy.
 
Now it’s the work of getting the word out to reviewers and getting everything updated. One thing about self publishing is that 100% control also means 100% responsibility. I’ll be busy this week getting things out and updated, but it’s good, exciting work to do.
 
I’m so excited, happy, and thankful to have Metamorphosis out early! I ran behind doing major rewrites on it last year, but it wound out on track thanks to the grace of God, and the excellent work of a great beta/proofreader and cover artist!
 
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
 
Bye!

Fiction Journal Excerpt

3/23/2017

 
Today, I’d like to give you a peek at my personal journal. I found a suggestion on Pinterest about a month ago on keeping a “fiction journal.” The fiction journal is a personal journal, but instead of straight out writing what’s on your mind, the challenge is to create a fictional character and setting, and make it a short story instead. I usually write a couple of entries a week and while most of it is crap, there are a few stories that have the potential to be developed into something bigger.

I do enjoy this exercise. As a writer, I often have snippets of stories in my head that have no real context, and the fiction journal has given me a chance to get them out of my head without having to worry about further development or making it good. It’s also a great opportunity to work on writing short stories, which is an area that I’d like to improve in. I know; it’s completely backwards that I find writing novels easier than writing short stories. Usually people start small and work their way up, but here I am coming at it from the opposite end of the spectrum.  But short stories are a different form of writing, and the short space and simplicity doesn’t allow for the build up and complexity that a novel does. The fiction journal is giving me an opportunity to work on this regularly, which is what I need to be doing if I want to get any better at it.

This story is titled Five o’clock, and I just wrote it. I was listening to a lecture on writing this morning while getting dressed, and the professor said something that reminded me of my freshman year in college, when I got stuck in a class that met from 3:35-4:25 on Friday afternoons. I hated having a class that late in the day, especially on a Friday, but as a first semester freshman I got the last pick of classes and had to take what I could get. I decided to craft an adventure around a late Friday afternoon class about a graduate student that finds out that there really is a life that she doesn’t see happening on campus after everybody else has left for the weekend.

I hope you enjoy it. If you’re a writer, this will give you an idea of how to do this. And if you’re a reader, I couldn’t think of anything else to blog about this week, so here you go. Enjoy!

Five o’clock 3/23/17

Darn these late classes, especially on Fridays.


Talia sighed as she dropped the graded quizzes in Professor Heegan’s mailbox. Just her luck that she got stuck teaching the Friday afternoon lab, but then again she was a first year graduate student. The things you have to do to keep your scholarships and grants. “What’s going on in here?”

Bang!

Talia jumped at the noise, putting her hand over her racing heart. Who was still in the building at five thirty on a Friday afternoon? The campus was usually deserted when she left from teaching her last class of the week, and most of the staff had cleared out after teaching their final classes of the day.

“Who are you?” a voice shouted.

Talia turned to see Anna standing behind her. She relaxed a bit. Anna was the department’s business manger, so she rarely crossed path with the instructional staff. “It’s Talia, one of the grad assistants.“What was that shouting?”

“Nothing.”

“Ok, I thought I was alone in here. Good to know I’m not the only one rattling around on a Friday afternoon. Have a nice weekend –“ she stopped as she noticed a shadow approaching behind Anna. Professor Heegan stumbled out of his office, one hand plugging a bleeding hole in his shoulder and the other holding a gun.

“Professor Heegan!” Talia shouted.

The gun fired, blasting a hole in the center of Anna’s head. She slumped to the floor in slow motion.

Talia screamed. Professor Heegan stumbled to Talia, putting his hand over her mouth.

“Shh, it’s alright. I caught her breaking into my office and she shot me.” Professor Heegan dropped the gun to the floor.

Talia whimpered.

“Will you promise not to scream? I’ll let go of you if you promise not to scream.”

Talia nodded.

Professor Heegan slowly released Talia. “What are you doing here?”

“Grading quizzes.” She studied the bullet hold in his shoulder and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’ll call 911. We need to report this.”

He knocked the phone from her hand, sending it skittering down the hall. “You’ll do no such thing.”

Talia backed up. “Professor Heegan, what’s going on?”

He tilted his head. “What are we going to do with you now?”

“What are you talking about?”

Professor Heegan pulled another gun from his back, aiming it at her.

Talia screamed, turning to dash down the hall. A bullet whizzed by her head, causing her right ear to tingle. She stumbled against the wall and pulled the fire alarm. Sirens blared throughout the building.

“No! I won’t have you ruining my plans here at the end. Nothing will stop me!” Another bullet whizzed past her shoulder. Talia screamed and stumbled against the wall. Professor Heegan pressed his gun against her head.

“I’m sorry, Talia. You’re a great student and I’m sorry you stumbled into this. You had a bright future ahead of you.”

A crack mixed with the fire alarm. Professor Neegan slumped to the floor, his ear bleeding. The man who punched Professor Neegan gave Talia a shaky smile.

“Looks like you aren’t the only one working late,” he offered his hand. “I’m Jace, the lab manager.”

Talia shook Jace’s hand weakly. “What happened here?”

Jace motioned to Professor Heegan’s unconscious form on the floor. “This wasn’t Professor Heegan’s only job. He was laundering money through the department for his international friends. He was stealing from us to keep it running under costs, too. Supplies, money, you name it. He had a good thing going until the old business manager retired and I came in.”

“Other business?”

 “Did you ever notice how much time he spent in the lab after hours, and how adamant he was about keeping it overstocked?”

Talia forced her brain to focus despite the sirens. A memory of a news article she read that morning over breakfast came to her. “The new drug they’ve been finding on the streets that’s a combination of morphene and heroin. Hospitals are flooded with kids overdosing on small amounts of it.”

“That’s him,” Jace kicked Professor Heegan.

Talia gulped. “What about Anna?”

 “She was helping me. Campus police said they’d turn it over to the local authorities if I could get computer records proving the irregularities. I have the lab records, but I didn’t have access to the financial records. Anna agreed to help me with that. She suspected that Professor Heegan was behind the new drug all along.”

The sirens stopped. Firefighters crashed into the hallway. “What’s happening?”

“No fire, officers,” Jace pointed to Talia. “She pulled the alarm when Professor Heegan pulled a gun on her.”

They rushed in the building, followed by paramedics, campus security, and local police taping off the scene. Jace and Talia gave their statements, were checked by the paramedics,  and were soon walking into the cool spring evening. “Have you ever been to ‘It’s Five o’Clock Somewhere?’” Jace asked.  “It’s a new bar they opened three blocks away in that new apartment building.  I’m too shaken to spend the evening alone.”

“Me too,” Talia said. “I live in that apartment building and frankly, I was planning to stop there anyway. I’d love the company and to hear more of the story.” She paused.  “And I’ve definitely learned my lesson.”

Jace raised an eyebrow. “Which is?”

“Always leave early on Friday’s.”

​“Best to learn that early in your career!” Jace laughed as they crossed the street toward the bar.
 
 
 




Problems Of The Future

3/15/2017

 
​I got an interesting message through Goodreads yesterday regarding Kim Stanley Robinson’s latest release, New York 2140. Stanley said in a statement to readers that he wrote this book about the impact of rising sea levels because he believes that global warming is the major issue that humanity will face in our near future. Obviously, climatological changes are a concern for the future, but this statement also revealed something else about science fiction writers: we have our own visions of what the future will look like.
 
Obviously, science fiction is mostly about what it means to be human. That is, after all, the central question we wrestle with. But to have that vision, we also have to have a concept of how current events will play out in the future, and what issues we’ll face in generations beyond our own. Those are the things that challenge our humanity, after all – do we remain who we are, or do we evolve? It’s all in how we have our characters deal with the problems they face.
 
Like Robinson, I believe that climate change is an issue, but I think there’s a bigger issue that we need to address: population. Simply stated, it’s growing, it’s getting more diverse, it’s getting older, and longer life spans plus more people means the potential for reaching a critical point where the planet will struggle to sustain us. I see this issue around me every day: the population in the county where I live grew by over 47,000 people between 2000-2010. Development has been on a rampage since 2000, with new schools, businesses, and housing developments springing up in places where there were once woods. In 2015 alone, Lexington County issued 1,350 new housing, and nearly 500 permits in January – February 2016. What does this mean? Right now, it means that traffic is terrible and places are crowded. And this was considered the country when I was a kid!
 
Of course, there are bigger implications than standing in line and hitting the brakes more often on my afternoon commute. What’s happening here is reflective of the population as a whole, and when you zoom it out, you’ll see that the big picture is expanding in ways that I feel we’re unprepared for. The baby boomers are outnumbered by the Millennials, who have an entirely different worldview that will change everything, from economics to politics, in the years to come. Majorities are shrinking along with the middle class as the economy still struggles and the overall population ages (despite the Millennials, the over-50 population will continue to grow), meaning more economic and ecologic struggles to support a population rising at every stage of life. The U.S. Population may be in a slight decline, but it’s growing everywhere else. Increased diversity means no more mainstream, which means social development as we continue to deal with minority and religious issues outside of our Christian/Caucasian perspective. The world really is getting bigger, and the problem is that we can only expand so much before we reach critical breaking points. Psychology is simple: we’re people of habits, we don’t like changing our habits, and we will resist what we fear. We can only cooperate so much before that hunter/gatherer mentality comes into play because, sadly, our minds haven’t evolved from the agrarian age to the technological age yet. Evolution at the biological level is a lot slower than the social and technological  evolution we’re seeing, which means that conflict is inevitable. Eventually, people get desperate, and desperate people do strange, dangerous things.
 
It means more than psychological, economic, and immigration issues, folks. It means this planet is supporting more life than ever, even as it struggles with climate change and the ecological issues that Robinson fears will destroy the world we depend upon to sustain us. What’s worse is that the space programs have been radically underfunded. We have big visions, but when it comes down to showing us the money, it generally doesn’t happen. Nobody can tell me why nobody’s been to the moon since the early 70’s (before I was born), or why they think they can launch interplanetary travel when they don’t go to the rock right above us anymore. If the population is going to continue to grow, then we need a two prong approach: first, we need to get a grip on the problems we have, and second, we need to utilize NASA for more than cool Pinterest pictures, Tupperware, and “one day we’ll go to Mars and Europa” posts that get millions of likes, but that we all know are absolute nonsense because there’s no way we can leave orbit if we can’t even fix South Carolina roads. In short, we’re shortsighted. Robinson is right in his vision: we aren’t looking far enough ahead to get a grip on future issues that are developing right now. And if we don’t start soon, then the Millennials and those that come after them really will be living in dystopian nightmare disguised as a utopian paradise. Great talk, great tolerance, great tech, but completely incapable of saving us from our real problems.  Just like I propose in The Earthside Trilogy. As I put it in Progenitor, “the problem always come where we aren’t looking. Then we ask ‘why didn’t anybody see that coming?’”
 
So true. The world is full of problems, and who knows which ones will go critical first? Nobody can really tell the future, but I think scifi writers are visionary in one thing: it’s going to come from places we neglect, and there are plenty of those around that are ripe for the future.
 
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.
 
Bye!

Strange Advice That Actually Works

3/14/2017

 
First of all: if you came straight here by clicking a link on Twitter or Facebook, be sure to click the "Home" tab for a preview of Metamorphosis - Book Two of The Earthside Trilogy. Scroll below Progenitor to see the brand new, awesome cover, and a blurb of the continuation of the tale. 

Now on to the blog entry!

Every now and then, you come across advice that seems strange, but it actually works. Today, I’d like to share a few tidbits of wisdom that seemed odd at first hearing, but have paid off in spades. Ready for some wacky, wonderful tips and tricks? Here we go:
 
The magical power of socks. I still remember the day my senior year in high school when the heat went out in the auditorium during region band practice. The first weekend in February 1993 was NOT as mild as this past winter has been, and we felt the chill quickly. I remember the band director stopping rehearsal and putting down his baton. “I see that a lot of you ladies have on those cute ballet flats and sandals, so let me give you a tip: that’s your problem. If your feet are cold, you’ll never warm up the rest of you. Get some socks during our rehearsal break, and I guarantee you’ll be more comfortable for the rest of practice.” I wasn’t one of those fashionistas, but the ones who took his advice swore that it was worth it’s weight in gold. “I didn’t realize what a huge difference it made!” My sensation and perception class in college a few years later confirmed this fact: if your head or feet are cold, then you won’t warm up no matter how much you bundle up, due to how heat escapes the body. No, socks may not be pretty or fashionable on a cold day, but it beats freezing.
 
Dead sea salt scrub. I was pretty sure that the salesperson in Arizona that wanted to sell us Dead Sea Salt was selling us a line, but it turns out that they were on to something. This stuff is better on dry hands than any moisturizer I’ve ever tried! Best of all, you don’t have to spend a fortune on it. If you can’t find it at Ross or T.J. Maxx, then click here to get a jar of magic for dry hands. Trust me, it works. I’ve been using it for four years!
 
Saline irrigations. The concept of flushing out my sinuses with salt water was scary, and my first experience with it seemed to justify my fear: it was awkward and disgusting. But the results were phenomenal, and I kept doing it until I got used to it (which didn’t take long). Why does it work? Mucus forms at the back of your nose, so irrigating your nose flushes out the excess that usually stays stuck in your head, or drips down your throat and causes that irritating cough. If you do it regularly, it also helps your body keep that mucus production in check, so you don’t have excess clogging up your sinuses. Yes, it can be gross if you’ve been sick or are having allergy problems, but it’s totally worth it. It works so well that it’s part of my daily routine now.
 
Cutting back on soft drinks. The person who told me that you can lose five pounds if you quit drinking soft drinks had a casual relationship with the truth, so I wasn’t inclined to believe it. But when I heard it again from a physical trainer when embarking on my diet and exercise routine two years ago, I figured why not try it? It turns out that it’s true: soft drinks have a ton of sugar, and I really did lose five pounds within two weeks of quitting them. Sure, I have one every now and then, but I mainly get my caffeine fix from coffee and low-fat creamer now, and stick to water with meals. And ironically, I do feel better since cutting the soft drinks too. I don’t get bloated or have that caffeine “crash” after meals anymore.  
 
Fiction journal. This idea was introduced to me as “writing exercises.”  All writers have a number of stories flying through their heads at any point in time, but not all of them are good, or go anywhere. Too often, we let them go because we don’t have the time or patience to write something bad or pointless, because it seems a waste. The problem is, you occasionally have it come back to haunt you when working on a project where that tidbit might have actually worked. Enter, the “fiction journal.” The suggestion: if something happens or you have an idea rattling around that won’t leave you alone, create a fictional character and write it as a flash fiction or short story piece. I have to admit that it’s worked much better for me since I call it a “journal,” because I remember that it doesn’t have to be good, it just has to get this slice of life story out of my head, and it preserves it for possible future use. No, I don’t write every day. In fact, I didn’t do any entries at all last week, but that’s the beauty of journaling: you’re free to do it whenever inspiration hits, and it’s a great place to keep all those random characters and pieces for potential use. I already have two or three stories that I hope have potential for development in a future novel, and who knows where some of the others will go? 
 
Another plus to the fiction journal is that it’s less incriminating, because it’s clearly fiction stories. Sure, the stories reflect your internal state, but they don’t explicitly say it, so it can’t be used against you. You’re a writer, after all. To nosy Nelly peekers, this stuff is nothing but writing exercises.
 
Meditation. Everything I read on the power of positive thinking extolled the virtues of meditation to clear your mind and focus on proper things. I rejected this as New Age nonsense at first, until I started seeing this suggestion in Christian circles as well. It seems that quieting your mind doesn’t just solve your anxiety, but it clears your mind and opens your perception as well. I don’t do long periods and usually do it at bedtime, but I have to admit that I sleep better and have been more perceptive and creative since I started doing it. I think it’s because clearing your mind requires a higher level of focus and self discipline than most of us are used to employing on a day to day basis, so it opens you to being more mindful of your thoughts. It isn’t easy at first (like everything else in life), but it does work. 
 
Strange stuff? Maybe, but I’ve tried it and can attest to it’s effectiveness. Give these things a shot. You may be as amazed at the results as I am.
 
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
 
Bye!

Check Myself (So I Don't Wreck Myself)

3/10/2017

 
Or, perhaps I’m taking things too hard. It’s possible, especially when you have pollen-brain working against you. And from time to time, we all need to remember that everything isn’t all about us. In fact, most of the time, it isn’t. It’s like a quote I recently saw on Pinterest: people aren’t against you; they’re form themselves.
 
This is true, but we often forget it because we are the center of our own universe and (like everybody else) trying to make our way through the life the best we can. Keeping your proverbial crap together can be a challenge even in the best of times, and it’s easy to forget that everybody else is trying to do the same thing. One thing about minding your own business is that it can give you tunnel vision.
 
As they say on my workout videos, “sometimes, you’ve got to check yourself.”  So I’m trying. Yes, it’s been a frustrating week with obstacles, resistance, and disconnections, but a fair reflection shows that many things have gone right. I got to see a performance of Cinderella on Tuesday with Mom, everybody is healthy, the house is clean, and the cover for Metamorphosis should be ready early next week. Those alone are wins, despite unreturned calls, disconnects, miscommunications, and early morning power outages from forecasted thunderstorms.
 
Life is a balancing act, and it would do us all some good to pause and check that balance every now and then. I sometimes fall back into the old habit of focusing on the negative too much, and I have to check myself, despite my resolve to be positive. 
 
That’s all today. Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.
 
Bye!
 
 

Can You Agree to Disagree?

3/7/2017

 
​I think one of the biggest downfalls of society right now is the inability to agree to disagree. Just scroll through any social media and you’ll see enough political rants that you can clearly see that we’ve lost the ability to respect the opinions of others. We can’t even disagree reasonably. It all disintegrates into a bash-a-thon to force my logic, opinions, and worldview on you. If you don’t agree, you’re stupid, uninspired, and going straight to hell. I think this was best captured in some dialogue on Arrow a few weeks ago when two characters were talking about a disagreement over gun control: Once upon a time, we could express our opinions and still respect one another, but now even talking about things we don’t agree on is considered rude.
 
How did we get so insecure that we can’t accept that others see the world differently, and that it doesn’t make you a bad person?
 
It happened to me a few months ago, and here I’ll be specific to make a point. I was in a group having a discussion the book Love Wins, by Rob Bell. The discussion was on hell, and the proposition was that hell isn’t an eternal destination, and that God can redeem you from there. They even proposed a “peeping through the keyhole and requesting forgiveness” theory. I felt prompted to express that I didn’t agree with this theory. C.S. Lewis proposed that hell is an eternal destination for souls so ruined that there’s no humanity left to save, and it serves to protect us from evil permeating all of God’s creation. After all, letting that kind of ruin into Heaven would turn it into another Earth. Furthermore, every decision we make takes us closer to Heaven or hell, and it's all connected in ways we often don't realize. And this group of Christian friends cut me off. They loudly talked over me and dismissed the group. They refused to hear me.
 
We haven’t been back. Not only was it extremely rude, but I realized that they never really accepted us and had been dismissive on several other occasions. I can’t accept a lack of grace, rigidity, and disrespect in my personal life. There are boundaries, and this is one of mine. You don’t have to agree with me, but you do have to be respectful. I’m a writer and I am interested in how others see the world, but if you want me to care and respect your opinion, then you need to care and respect mine. I’ve had enough of toxic, unbalanced relationships, and I say “no” to that. It hurt, but I’ve reunited and strengthened other friendships that are more tolerant and gracious. It opened my eyes to the truth of where I belong, and for that I’m grateful. I’m sorry to learn that my horizons couldn’t expand in that direction, but not all things work out. That’s life. I gained wisdom and moved on.
 
My point is that we don’t always know what’s right. Reality depends on perception, and we all perceive the world around us differently. Who’s to say I’m right in thinking that somebody else is making a bad decision? Perhaps things have changed, or there are things I don’t see. We want others to grant us grace, but we aren’t good at granting it to others. Those darn blind spots. Those darn details that aren’t revealed to us. That darn reality that I only know my business, and really need to focus more on minding it and trusting others to mind theirs. That pesky issue of respecting others. What to do?
 
We’re uncomfortable with agreeing to disagree, because we have a problem with respect. And that’s something we really need to get over or this world is going straight to hell – and who knows if it can be redeemed from there?
 
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
 
Bye!

    Escape Reality

    By day, I'm a program assistant. By night, I'm an independent author. My fiction offers an escape from the reality of day-to-day life. See how my experiences lead to creating new worlds! 

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