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Read an Excerpt of Spero

"Spero is an imaginative fantasy that subtly instructs, entertains, and intellectually provokes the reader. It is fascinating reading. I'm definitely hooked on this series." Jean Heimann at Catholic Fire.

"...intelligent as well as inspiring..." Terry Barga at whattodoabout.com.

Please visit www.birthpangs.com/cart to buy Spero

(and Fidelis) from the author or to buy from Amazon.com

Fidelis, my first book, is Latin for faithfulness. The second book, Spero, is Latin for hope. Spero is an exploration of what hope is and why we need it. It is an exploration of what things are good to put our hope in and what things are bad to put our hope in. In the fictionalized America of the future portrayed in the Birth Pangs series, all of the things that people have traditionally put their hope in have been brought low. There are no government agencies, no schools, and not even churches. In the face of daily perils, people have to figure out how where they are going to place their hope.

It is interesting to me that the political candidate running on 'hope' is also running on 'change.' I think this illustrates the root of the problem. The best place to put your 'hope' is where it won't shift beneath your feet. Also, we need to be clear about what things we hope to overcome. Nearly all of our systems and institutions are geared to address certain day to day realities that are important but not, I'm afraid, ultimate. There is one problem that surpasses them all: death.

Spero is about people- even good people- putting their hope in lesser means to tackle lesser problems and being confronted with the consequences of that approach. Spero is about being confronted with our chief problem and challenged to consider what possible solutions there might be to that problem... and whether any of these are within our control, or obtainable by our own effort.

A Review: The Harry Potter Alternative

October 4, 2007 in Blog, General, Reviews | 2 comments

I was pleased to learn today that Jean Heimann at the Catholic Fire blog had reviewed my book, Fidelis and posted it to her site. Jean writes and reviews from a distinctly Christian point of view so it is no surprise that she caught onto many of the Christian themes in the book, as well as some that I thought I had reasonably well buried. :) That I am a Christian becomes obvious to anyone who knows me and that Fidelis has Christian overtones and undertones is clear to anyone that knows to look for them. And yet it pleases me that it can be read and enjoyed by non-Christians as well. As Jean says on her review, “Both Christians and non-Christians alike will find Fidelis enjoyable, as it focuses on man’s universal struggles of good vs. evil and truth vs. propaganda.” And a long time atheist friend of mine reviewed and enjoyed my book showing that Jean is right (to read his review, click here, but NOTE: there are SPOILERS).

I might ask my atheist friend how it comes that there are universal values that humans can mutually relate to… :)

This is the second reviewer that I’ve noted compared Fidelis to Harry Potter. Obviously, that makes me happy, because that puts me in good company. At least in Fidelis (what later books might be like, I won’t say) it seems to me that there are more affinities to the Lord of the Rings series than the Harry Potter ones, but one can certainly see both (Jean does).  The magic in Fidelis is of a different sort than that in Harry Potter, but certain themes certainly are shared: loyalty, courage, virtue, self-discipline, good is superior to evil- even if good ‘loses’ (which it never does!). It would be fair to say that Fidelis is not meant to be a knock off of Harry Potter, or the Lord of the Rings, or any other fantasy type series you might envision but that Fidelis is deeply inspired and influenced by such series is definitely true. In fact, the astute reader may see that the inspiration runs deeper then one might expect.

At any rate, for Christian readers out there who may have read my open letter to Christian Muggles, you can confident that when Ms. Heimann titles here review as an alternative to Harry Potter, she does so correctly. Feel free to buy my book instead of the Harry Potter books all you like. :)

In conclusion, Ms. Heimann makes this interesting comment: “There is a prophetic message presented in this first book of seven in the BirthPangs Series. …. Fidelis only hints at the possibilities, but it certainly poses a relevant concern for the future.”

Relevant, indeed. Boy, I can’t wait until I can talk freely about all of this!