Finally, A Response to Abuse

I have taken more than my fair share of attacks due to my choice of character ages in my books. The one that seems to get the most attention is when "Alba" is taken as a "Consort" at age thirteen. I'll admit that I was concerned when I added that into my book because of the taboo nature of someone that young being sexually active. I researched the time period extensively before I made my decision. I might have never even responded but the attacks became personal and directed toward the author and not just the material.

Here are some things that I found concerning young girls in the medieval times.

In medieval Europe, Gratian, the influential founder of Canon law in the twelfth century, accepted the traditional age of puberty for marriage (between 12 and 14) but he also said consent was "meaningful" if the children were older than seven. Some authorities said consent could take place earlier. It was this policy which was carried over into English common law. Similarly Gratian's ideas about age became part of European civil law.

Though Shakespeare set his Romeo and Juliet in Verona, the fact that Juliet was 13 probably reflects the reality in England. Her mother, who was 26 calls her almost an old maid.

The age of consent in one of the American States was just 7 years, just 120 years ago!

The above came from this site.

Since it seems as though a lot of the outrage comes from people that consider themselves good christian folks I thought that I'd mention this little tidbit. It does come from a bit earlier in history but would still be relevant to the point:

One very remarkable thing about Mary is that she would almost certainly have been 12-14 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. We know this because the common custom at that time was for girls to marry early, at that age. The Bible never gives Mary’s age when she got pregnant or gave birth to Jesus, and that is because when something happened that was common in the culture, nothing was said about it.

I guess the writers of the bible should be attacked too!

I just had to get that off my chest since I don't respond well to negativity. It makes me dislike people and I'm usually a friendly guy!

May the Stars guide you into having a loving spirit.

Promo Week!!

Promotions for my first three books are going to be going on all week. The first one for Another Typical Day starts today, whenever Amazon gets around to starting it. Then a new book will be put on discounted sale every other day until Friday when my newest book James, The Crown Prince will go live. It's been on pre-order and I have a score of orders for it already. James is already in paperback for the old-schoolers. Just thought I'd put the word out.

Oh, and for you critics... especially ones that call me a 'maggot'... remember that you're reading a book of the fantasy genre and get over it. And may you ride a shooting star to earth if you can't.

Be well and have a greeny, sunshiny day.

New Release Date for Davie

We're all having so much fun with the editing and art we've decided to keep it up. That will, however, put the release of "Davie" closer to Dec. than the end of Sept. I doubt that anyone will really notice. I'm not King or Rowling after all.


Til next time.
Everyone should know everything but let the stars guide  you!

Release Date set for James, The Crown Prince

And also for Davie the Mage.

Both books came back from the Editor at nearly the same time. I guess that happens when you make your editor wait for the last chapter of the book for three weeks.  James, The Crown Prince will be released on the 19th with Davie the Mage following on the 26th of September. Personally I think they are much better than the first three and I may have said that before.

Book sales are headed for the basement but that's fine. I'm still having fun and that's all that really matters.

From James the Crown Prince

Coming from an enormous family like that, it was easy to blend in and disappear.  That is, unless you were my father’s oldest son.  I knew he did the things he did because he loved me and wanted me to do well.  He had worked with me on my magic on almost a daily basis since I was five years old.  Since I was the first born, I was the first of a generation of children who were born with the ability to use psionic magic.  My brothers, sisters and I did magical things, which our parents had practiced hard and used spell words to do, with just a simple thought.

From Davie the Mage

Like my big brother before me, I wasn't ready to be tied to a desk! Even if the desk was in a luxurious castle with maids and servants at my beck and call, it didn't sound fun. When the time came for my brother James to be assigned to the Lordship of a castle, he took a trip to No Man’s Land and then across the ocean. Along the way he met a beautiful young lady and married her. He now has his castle, consorts, wife and children. I didn’t know if I wanted any of those things yet. I’d decided that Davie Stephenson, the son of David and Alba, was going on a trip of his own.

Until next time, Let the stars guide your path!