Dei Song

In an effort to appease my over-active imagination, I've created the Dei Song Series, an ever-expanding Christian SciFi project.  So, naturally, I would like to share it.  Eventually, it will likely include a series of novels, short stories, blogs, discussion forums, etc., and maybe even music, movies, and comics (as soon as I find Robin Williams to grant me my wishes).  The story line follows the last days of humanity leading up to Armageddon and the impact of a select few survivors on a comparably young alien race.  I have purposely left the description vague to avoid spoilers and contradictions in a constantly growing universe, but as I’ve already finished the first book in the series and sent it to publishers, I can safely share a variation of the query letter I sent out with it:

Dei Song: Those Last Days is a 70,000-word Christian Science Fiction novel focusing on what it means to find purpose in a dying world.  The story begins in Areli Adva’s San Angeles tower home on March 7, 2121, and follows him in his adventures across a raptured United States.  The world Areli knows is filled with awe-inspiring technology and human extravagance, but he soon finds the untamed truths of nature dwelling just beyond its borders.  It is there, in America’s timeless Heartland, that he finds God in the stillness of the night. 

Originally springing to life from Revelation’s accounts of the 144,000, Those Last Days is an honest fiction of what could be, blending allegory with thought-provoking adventure.  Though reinforced with apocalyptic themes and Biblical references, the story is closer to War of the Worlds or Walden than it is to the Left Behind series or C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy.  A strong desire for the freedom and truth of nature mixed with intimate relationships among friends and family make this SciFi adventure appealing to a large audience. 

  

The Dei Song blog consists of various first-person accounts leading up to the end of the world, which have been collected and presented by Elias, a member of the alien race known as the Oluchipala.  The accounts will stay consistent with the Dei Song universe and will occasionally contain elements of the book series, such as major characters or events, thus giving insight into current and future story lines.  

That's about all I have for now but I'm going to do my best to keep putting out new material (I'm working on the second novel already), so check back often for new developments in the Dei Song Universe!

Taking a risk

This was actually my first post on this blog…but then I chickened out and deleted it.  So, now that I’ve tested the waters, this will be my SECOND blog.  I probably won’t have another one for a while, since I’m going to try to get back to working on my Dei Song series, but you should click on the link on the left side of my page, just above that ridiculous picture of me, as it’s my other blog devoted entirely to said series and contains further ramblings by me (this sentence has run on long enough…time for it to end).  Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My muse in this poem was a 101 degree fever and a tumbler filled to the brim with Robitussin Cough & Cold.  I originally wrote it with the intent of reading it on a stage, in front of actual people, which I obviously never followed through with once my drug-induced courage wore off.  Instead, it will be debuted here for my millions of faithful readers.

Density

Forgive me for being grave when I talk about gravity,

But gravity’s the only thing keeping me down.

On the other hand, I’d rather talk with premature gravity than talk about a premature grave.

That’s it! The earth’s just one big grave, forcing us to act brave.

I mean, what’s scarier than being held in the one place you don’t want to be?

Stuck in a sea of our own illusion of fear.

It’s earth’s selfish way of keeping us here, covering our heads from something up there.

Boy, if it was gone, we’d rise above this pond, and I bet, it just might be clear.

So you see, we’re just stuck in one big rave, trippin’ on the delusions we desperately crave.

So if gravity’s such a downer, how’d I get way up here?

Up above the beer and your, ah, slightly skeptical stare.

Now I’m not talking about this stage.  I don’t need this to be above the mean.

How’d I fight my way out of the grave? Is anyone else feeling a little slow?

But lack of speed’s no reason to fret, and if you’re small, there’s still room to grow.

That’s it, you’re dense!  No, wait, I’m sure I don’t mean it like that.

It’s just that you’re dense and I’m not.  He he, is anyone feeling a little hot?

Let me start over.  If I’m less dense, than say, YOU,

I just might break through this gravitational milieu.

Gravity can’t pull on what isn’t there!

But what do you care?  I’m just one of a few.

I’ll tell you why.  If I’m less dense, that means I’m light!

Or was it bright?  Either way, I’m sure I’ve spoken with authority at some point tonight.

After all, you don’t grow tall by anything you do, only by Grace.

So stop trying to save face, we all have room to grow.

So next time you’re feeling low, and caught in the world’s cage,

Remember, all you need is love, until we can rise above this tragic affair.

Then density, gravity, quickness, sickness, fears, careers, race, and age

Won’t mean a thing in the air up There.

ℜ-₩inch

For my first trick...

     So, for my first post, I thought it best to put in as little effort as humanly possible while still presenting a general sense of commitment. To accomplish this, I'll share a piece I wrote in the throes of my collegiate angst.

The Flooded Cave 

     My mind is swimming from another day of lectures, standardized tests, and “intellectual conversations” about the latest moral issues. I can’t help thinking, "The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know."  With this frustration threatening to overcome me, I decide to call it a day. I put my computer to sleep, I tell my phone when to wake up, and I tuck in my ipod. Now it’s my turn. A candle burns contently on my nightstand, waiting for me to drain the last bit of electricity from my room. I flip the light switch, and a veil covers my eyes. The shadows in my room dance with the solitary flame, and the autumn breeze from a cracked window keeps the tempo. I strain to see the world outside the glass, but my own dark reflection glares back at me, guarding me from what could be. My ideas and questions are confined to this dim cave. I have been here before.
     The familiar surroundings force me to focus my thoughts inward, on everything I have learned that I don’t understand. But suddenly, and without any thought of me, a strong wind comes through the window and rips through my reality. My candle is betrayed; its will wavers, it dims, and then dies out forever. I stand in oblivion, devoid of sight. I am at first deeply distressed. My world is gone. Where before I had the comfort of a prison cell, I now have nothing, and I suddenly long for what I know. My mind tries to create a mental picture, but I have no point of reference: no pictures, no computer, no desk, no reflection of myself on the window. Do I still exist? Descartes rings in my head with a resounding ‘yes,’ but somehow that’s not good enough.
     Something changes. All at once, I am returned to the physical universe. First, I hear the wind howl again; only this time it seems deafening. This freight train grabs the smell of the smoking wick and pulls it toward me. I take it in. Within moments, I hear an orchestra of crickets, cars, dogs, creaks, and numerous other happenings in the vast world around me. I even see the outline of what I know to be a tree on the other side of my window. I am freed from my cage of certainty, but I am not afraid. My thoughts are allowed to drift and reshape with the wind. I am open to life’s suggestion, in all of its complexity; but somehow, it seems simpler than I thought it could be. I slip across my room using the objects I know are there. At my bed, I realize how soft and forgiving my mattress is, and how welcoming my blankets are. I wonder why, but not for long. The unknown fades, and what I do know seems so much richer. My mind stops swimming and decides to drift.