However, the second story in the series, Price of Service, turned out to be long enough to publish by itself. It was significantly longer than the first story, so I decided to go back and look at the first tale to make sure that it was up to my current writing standards and flowed smoothly from one story to another.
All I needed to do was to add three or four thousand words to the first story to make it approximately the same size as the second, and I figured this would not be a problem.
My subconscious cynically sucked me in and then frightened me out of my wits with a loud, “Beep! Thank you for playing!”
Channeling some of the world’s turmoil today and building off losses that I have dealt with and other men and women around me have, the book exploded into something far longer. The short story started out about 4000 words and grew… and grew.
The story had become a full arc, a letter perhaps to my younger self of the myriad ways that I have woven my losses into the woman I am today. I am positive that the brash, gangly young woman of that time would not have truly listened to someone preach. However, I like to think that my story would have helped her understand and perhaps be a little prepared for the joy and tears of her life to come.
My beloved grandmother, Vi, once told me that losses, whether they be beloved pets, treasured possessions, or people, help form the person we become. At the time, I could not see past my sorrow to make sense of her words. Only as I have weathered other losses have I understood what she meant.
My worldview has been built layer upon layer, almost like an archaeological dig where my life events could be mined to reveal the development of aspects of the person I am now. I know that my behavior changed in each of those cases. Whether it was the death of my fiancé in Vietnam, which deepened my appreciation for those who serve and defend us, or a traumatic divorce that helped me develop a fierce determination to stand up for myself, each milestone impacted who I am today.
There is no perfect way to avoid loss. Even cutting yourself off from interaction with others will not protect you. Not living does not mean not hurting. Instead, embracing the feelings allows us to decide how to weave the whole spectrum of those we lose into a memorial that lives on through us.
We can choose what we do with those memories, the grief and joys that occurred in the spectrum between you and the one you have lost. We can decide to avoid similar relationships, to never again get a pet or avoid marriage. Alternatively, we can celebrate the good parts and be thankful for them like the precious gifts that they were.
I have found that even the bad parts bring benefits. By being willing to embrace the pain and move through it, I have learned that I have more strengths than my younger self knew. I also found that by not trying to close off my sorrow the memories of joy are untainted.
Remembering those we have lost does not have to be something that we avoid. Sometimes you have tears, sometimes smiles when you think of those in our lives before. Retain the joy and acknowledge the grief. Weave them into your heart and soul.
Do not cheapen the price they paid. Those that love us enough to put themselves in harm’s way for us are more than just tears and grief. They are the validation of who we are as a people, and their commitment and sacrifice will always be with us in spirit.
Ego Memini Me Semper
Taki
Author Introduction – Taki Drake
The mixture of technology and magic is where my mind and heart live. In today’s world, it mixes engineering and creativity. In the worlds of my mind, technology and magic live intertwined. I hope that you will find my stories interesting enough to be frequent visitors to where my heart beats.
I am continuing to write my stories of intertwined technology and magic. The challenges of that are fertile grounds for many story lines and series. Several of those planned for the next few months have been listed below. I am happily writing each of them, discovering new worlds, new situations and new challenges. The wonder for me is the number of readers that are enjoying my visions and tales.
Enjoy the stories in the emerging genre of techmage!
Please feel free to contact me via email at taki@technologymage.com or visit my blog or my Amazon page.
Unfettered Mage
Magic and Technology in a SciFi Universe
We Are Not Prey
Fleet of the Mage
Mage and Mate (with Paul C. Middleton)
Traditions of Childhood
Social Combat
Social Conflict - Feb 2021
Social Warfare - Sept 2021
Elemental Connections - Oct 2021
Mate’s Gift - Nov 2021
Mage Emergent - 2022
Mage Ascendant – 2022
Mage’s Sword – 2022
Fleet Genesis – 2022
To Shield and Shelter
Defending Heart and Soul
Time of Gifting - Jan 2021
Price of Service - Jan 2021
Achy Broken Heart - Feb 2021
Life’s Garden
The Mechanic Prince [The Imp Prince]
Kuchen in the Kitchen [Let Them Eat Pie]
The Cottage Garden (compendium)
Knitted Stockings for Christmas
Rune Force
Denied - Feb 2021
Surf Diamonds - Apr 2021
Vorcian Imperial Chronicles
Pledged to Duty, Driven by Honor
Cadre Files
In the Cards
Power Nexus
Power Surge - Mar 2021
Burnished Blade - Oct 2021
No Money for Marriage - Dec 2021
Steel Harvest - 2022
Count Off - 2022
Deadly Mascot - 2022
An Attitude Adjustment
East Haven Chronicles (with Etienne LeFevre)
Seeking a new beginning? Welcome to your new home.
My Name is Lost
Predatory Behavior
Journey Toward Justice - mid-2021
Explosion of Skills - mid-2021
Purity of Balance - 2021
Pursuit and Cover - 2022
Ruins of Ambition - 2022
Test of the Guardian - 2022
East Haven Rebirth - TBD
BattleMage Investigates
Power of the Mage, Focus on Crime
Battle Cadre Arises - Mar 2021
The Case of the Frozen Hand - Oct 2021
No Accounting for Taste - 2022
The Case of the Missing Sniper - 2022
Sing a Song of Politics - TBD
The Case of Short Shots - TBD
Explosive Echoes - TBD
The Case of the Darkling Spear - TBD
Badger Hole Bar
Come for a Drink, Change Your Life
The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Thru the Badger Hole
Grand Opening
Fashion Forward (with Kris Endicott)
The Gift of Fashion (with Kris Endicott)
Badger Hole Bar (4 book series) [Thru the Badger Hole,
Grand Opening, Fashion Forward, The Gift of Fashion]
Wedding Fashions - May 2021
Treasured Knowledge - Oct 2021
Dirty Bucket Brewery - Oct 2021
Alastair and the Dungeon - late 2021
A Matter of Trust - late 2021
Kitten in Waiting - 2022
Death Walking - 2022
Clingon - 2022
Najeer - 2022
Echoes of Knowledge - 2022
Becoming Sephera
When Beauty is More than Skin Deep
A Learning Experience (book 6)
You Just Go On - 2021
Life Rebuilt - Late 2021
New Paths - TBD
Standard of Honor
Rediscovering Heritage, Forging New Traditions
Shade of Honor
Coven Codex
Floating in Time
Road to Honor
Bridge to Honor - Jan 2021
Carp EDM - Nov 2021
Familiar Magic
When Magic is a Team Effort
Familiar Shadows
Familiar Trials - Fledgling
Familiar Travels
Unfamiliar Pathways
Familiar Trials - Expert - Jan 2021
Familiar Trials - Master - 2021
Familiar Trials - Adept - 2021
Cookbooks
The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Marcella’s Garden Cookbook [Potluck Perils](with Kris Endicott)
Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook [Diet of Doom](with Kris Endicott)
Marcella’s Autumn Harvest [Sanctuary]
Tasting Sampler
A Food Palate - Holiday Heartwarmers
Taking it on the Road
Your Goose is Cooked [The Great Turkey Hunt]
Let Them Eat Pie [Kuchen in the Kitchen]
Baba’s Kitchen [Kitchen Helpers]
Anthologies
The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of the Science Fiction Genre [An Attitude Adjustment]
Against the Tide [Judgment and Despair]
Inanna’s Circle: Flight of Imagination - Thru the Darkness [We Are Not Prey]
Inanna’s Circle: The Game Begins [A Learning Experience]
Holiday Heartwarmers: An Anthology of Short Stories [Time of Gifting]
Mysterious Hearts [Heart of Stone]
Cyber War: Digital Battlefield [The Backup]
CyberWar: Black Ice [CyberCoda]
CyberWar: Byte Conflict [CyberSong]
Phoenix Fantasy [The Quiet Pool]
Phoenix Imagining [Deceptive Practices]
The Goblin and the Grocer [Balancing Costs]
Prime Peek I [Gazillipede]
Haunted Hearts I [Echoes of Past Love]
Silent Thanks [A Thousand Flowers]
Shadowed Light [Death Walking]
Traveling Man [Daytripping]
Powerhouse Punch [Mara’s Honor]
Sensorium I [Recharge]
King of Cats [Over the Garden Fence]
Footsteps in the Snow [Knit One Claw Two]
Spirit of Thanks [Cranberry Stuffing]
The Hand You Were Dealt [Destinations]
The Imp Prince [The Mechanic Prince]
Treated to Tricks [Everyone Loves Halloween]
Tricky Treats [Traditions of Childhood]
Special Kind of Love [Still Air and Soaring Wings]
Let Them Eat Pie [Kuchen in the Kitchen]
Your Goose is Cooked [The Great Turkey Hunt]
Janus Speaks [To Spin a Thread]
Fireside Tales [All I Want for Christmas]
Ticking of the Phoenix Clock [A Man’s Got to Do]
Weekend at Cupid’s [Misfire and Consequences, Keystone Concierge, Success and Challenge]
Keep Connected
Keeping connections is so important today in our digital world. Readers can always reach me at taki@technologymage.com, or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.technologymage.com. I promise that one of these days I will actually stop writing long enough to publish one!
My blog is at http://www.takidrake-author.com/.
If you would like to learn more about the Phoenix Prime program or authors, please visit pprcollective.com and look for her book-related merchandise here!
Thanks for joining me for this brief time.
Cheerfully, Taki