I’m proud to announce that my story “A Vanishing Past” featuring Captain Firebrandt and the crew of the Legacy has just been released in the anthology Disharmony of the Spheres published by Nomadic Delirium Press. 
Mental illness is very common in our society, but it’s also very misunderstood. Many view those with mental illnesses as being weak, but there is a great deal of strength in those that must battle their own minds on a regular basis.
Disharmony of the Spheres focuses on characters with mental illnesses that are still able to be successful. They may not completely overcome their illnesses, but they are able to beat them back and succeed.
In addition to my story, you will find the fiction of Ian Brazee Cannon, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, M.H. Bonham, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Kate Runnels, Michael Morgan, L.J. Bonham, Carol Hightshoe, Francis W. Alexander, and Terrie Leigh Relf.
This book is dedicated to all of the science fiction fans and writers that must battle their own personal demons every day, and half of all of the profits from this book will go to The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Organization, a group that battles teen suicide.
My story in this book was inspired by a trip I took with my mom to her hometown of Des Moines, New Mexico, while she battled dementia. The trip was at once challenging and amazing. It reminded me that our society finds it all too easy to hide seniors from sight and keep them out of the way.
Although my mom spent much of the time repeating sentences and phrases over and over, she also shared stories and wisdom with my daughter and I that she had never shared before. It was early springtime in New Mexico, which meant there was still snow on the ground up in the northeastern corner of the state and that presented challenges to her mobility, but with some help she still was able to get around and I feel the success of that trip added to the quality of her final years.
We visited Capulin Volcano National Monument and met a ranger who knew my grandfather and told us stories about him. It was like finding buried treasure because these were stories my mom either didn’t know or had forgotten. So in my story, Captain Firebrandt goes on a treasure hunt with his father who is suffering dementia. In the process they learn that his father still has much wisdom and a self-sufficiency that would be all too easy to dismiss.
You can buy Disharmony of the Spheres at:
- Amazon
- Smashwords
- Nomadic Delirium Press
