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About James
From the Author:
I grew up on a small lake in the upper Midwest of the USA and explored the nature surrounding me, with miles of trails, rivers and creeks branching out from my family home on that lake. I could travel across my lake, slip into a tributary creek or river, and go up or down it for hours with my small boat and its little outboard motor. My trusted dog sometimes joined me, standing at the prow like a warrior sentinel. Other times, he would rather sleep in the comfort of his home.
He was often fickle like that,sometimes deciding he needed a “Canadian Walkabout” in the neighborhoods around the lake and getting into trouble. Our family is of a long line of Quebecers,where the women of our line applied such a euphemism to describe their men who would go roaming about the land in search of adventure. Anyway, I remember the little rascal fondly.
Like many at the time of my youth, I experimented with some forbidden things, things that quickly grew old. Esoteric matters caught my attention for a time, and I found a young lady whohad similar thoughts about reincarnation and karma. As I pursued college and tried my hand at fine arts, I found my left hand was not so good at the fine part. With that same lady, we married, and I fell into the technology sector to make a living. Then, I switched my major from Fine Arts to English - Creative Writing.
After a failed first attempt at writing a set of great fantasy novels, work, raising a family, and life took over my time. Writing faded as a priority. Yet it resurfaced years later with a Gaelic adventure based in Celtic Ireland that started as a dream - literally. We traveled across the pond to see that land, and their people captured my heart and imagination.
That was when I wrote the first edition of Stone of Destiny and self-published it. That version was frankly not very good. As we moved from the Upper Midwest to the Great Northwest for an opportunity to keep working in the tech sector, the Irish still held my heart. After twenty years, I took up the notion to rewrite that first effort, I realized not only was the prose not good, the story was rushed. Thus Destiny Cycle was born and one book became three books! And, now, most likely four books.
After getting the first two novels in the cycle copyedited, I launched them as the First Edition. Then with more feedback, I found a (fantasic) new content editor, and Blades of Destiny Revised Edition II has now been released, along with Stone of Destiny of Destiny Revised Edition I. Both novels were professionally edited by Holly Atkinsen and Bridget Wilde at Evil Eye Editing.
In the process of this rewriting and expanding the storyline, the Gaels seeped deep into my psyche. Being a quarter Scottish of Clan Ferguson (see the picture of me in my colors above), the Gaels became my people; their history, legends, and mythologies became mine; the Celts of Europe, where the Gaels originated, became mine; the druids and their gods became mine; and the injustices inflicted on my people be came a vision.
What if the Gaels of Ireland could change the history of the world by changing the Isle of Erin’s timeline? And Britain's, starting with Rome’s first-century invasion?
It would take a Hero and the Tuatha Gods who backed her to make that happen. Welcome to Dàn Cycle (aka Destiny Cycle)!
I hope you enjoy reading this adventure as much as I did writing it. It is where Gaels Rule!
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