Author's Note

Blink.
In that split second of darkness nothing changed.
Blink.
A billion seconds equals 31.69 years. I'm 35. I'm over a billion seconds old. Great. Now, I feel old.
Blink.

*** *** *** 

What changed between those three blinks? Nothing. Everything. Depends on perspective. Genetic predispositions, cultural and personal experiences, and inherent being all contribute to create individual views of the world (a.k.a. perspectives). Nations have perspective, too. That is, nations have the combined perspectives of their history, bureaucracy, businesses, and citizens. Through time, even national perspectives change. 

In traditional old English works, writers begged apology for any offense caused by their work. A shrewd move, though pointless, as any sufficiently offensive work could still result in the writer's death. Knowing history makes me thankful to live in the 21st Century, that is, until I read news reports about bloggers being beheaded. Are not the deaths of fellow bloggers proof positive that the world needs unapologetic people to utilize their voices against the injustices and inequalities that run rampant across the globe? I'm thankful to be an American. My blogs are an exercise of my 1st Amendment right to free speech. What good is a right if it is not exercised? There shall be no apology for this work of fiction. Take offense, if you so choose.

Starting today, 31 October 2015, Terra Damnata will be blogged in weekly installments which will be available every Saturday.

*** *** ***

When I began writing, I thought I'd write a traditional manuscript, seek out traditional representation, and hope that my efforts made it to some publisher's reading desk and not their trash bin. The ease of publishing through internet platforms and years as a blogger changed my perspective. 

The Pu'Shing Bhu'Tons Series has been on my mind since the mid-90s when the first two characters were revealed. Those characters are Tokus Cassius and her grandmother, Venus Cassius. At the time, I thought to tell a story about a family of poets. In 2006, I wrote the first pages of a story about a servant boy turned king, Archel. The next year, Katja Nastya Jet was born from the fires of a conversation about hypothetical future archeologists finding detritus in a mountain cave. I began college in 2008; that's also when I learned that Archel, Tokus, and Katja are part of a much larger story about magic, technology, absolute power, dwindling resources, and failed infrastructure. Perspectives change as truths are revealed.

Welcome to the fray. A new perspective is right here waiting.

~Monique Finley

10/31/2015