Topics for Discussion

Anyone who loves to read knows it's important for a book to reach out and touch a reader somehow. In my books, I use themes as a guide as I write.

The Secret of Shabaz:

Forgiveness and Redemption

In 'The Secret of Shabaz', the theme is redemption and forgiveness. Children and young adults have a hard time thinking of themselves as individuals. Since they haven't achieved anything by themselves yet, they identify with their family and friends. What if their family is so terrible they cannot bear to identify with them? What if everything they thought they knew about them was untrue? How can a young person cope with one or both of his parents in prison, for example? How can he find a portion of self-esteem? Is he or she responsible for his or her parent's actions, and how can an adolescent ever find it possible to forgive something as big as that? All those questions stayed with me as I wrote 'The Secret of Shabaz', and I tried to give Tania, the heroine, as many reasons to hate and fear her past as I could, because I wanted her to overcome all that and emerge a stronger and happier person.

In my book, the heroine, Tania, has to find it in her heart to understand why something happened, and why actions committed in the past can have such grave repercussions on the future.

I hope the book makes readers stop and think about the power of forgiveness, and the real meaning of redemption.

Horse Passages

Acceptance and Courage

I wrote Horse Passages with a definite thought in mind - that a person can be brought face to face with his worst enemy and still act with honor and courage - and sometimes the courage means doing something unimaginable - it means accepting the other as he is.

Horse Passages has a definite cowboy feel to it. First of all, it takes place mostly on horseback and the herders are surrounded by their horses. It's also set on dusty, uninhabited planets where danger is everywhere. The herders herd because they love to, it's their way of life; they were born into it. We don't ask the nomads of Mongolia why they travel and live in such inhospitable lands. The herders seek new planets, a new frontier, as much for the profit (they sell land they claim and often for a small fortune) as for the adventure and the sheer joy they have when they travel from one planet to another - something no one else can do - even the mighty Federation.

So courage is very much a part of life for a herder. It's so ingrained in them that I had to think hard to put them in a situation that called for a different kind of courage. The deadliest enemy the herders face are the Raiders. These aliens prey on herds of horses and herders, using them as their slaves when they capture them. Escaping from a Raider's mine takes courage. But my hero and heroine go one step further.

When Carl finds himself face to face with a Raider, his reactions will show what real courage is, and how terribly difficult it is to find the strength to carry out your true convictions. Often it means ostricizing yourself and your loved ones, but I think, and I hope my readers will think, that Carl made the right choice and showed his true courage.

Angels on Crusade

Responsibility, Duty, and Friendship

Sometimes the only thing keeping a person going is a sense of responsibility. When Isobel, my heroine, is sent back to the eleventh century, she is eaten with guilt and seeks redemption for her act. She believes her path to redemption lies in her mission. Her sense of duty toward that mission is what makes her successful in the end. It’s not the education the Time-Senders gave her, although that helped somewhat. Mostly, Isobel discovers, what they taught her is untrue. All her plans fall apart. The worst things she imagines happen. Nothing goes right. Everything is a disaster, including the harsh century she now is forced to live in. But she does not give up, and every time one plan falls through, she is resilient enough to adapt and make other plans. And it’s all because of her sense of duty and responsibility. She is not a particularly strong nor brilliant heroine. All she has is her determination to carry her mission to completion. After that, she knows she will be abandoned, left to die in a century she abhors, but she will not give up. Ever. Some readers may find Isobel a passive heroine. That would be a poor interpretation of her character. In fact, she has a strength that can move mountains, and it is called a sense of duty. If more people took their responsibilities as seriously as Isobel, the world would surely be a better place. Instead of brilliance, I chose to feature steadfastness, and instead of love, I wanted to show the power of friendship and how friendship can grow into love.