Getting Rid of Debt - the Karmic Kind

New Cover!!

Yesterday we did a cover reveal for book 2 in my Twelve Kingdoms trilogy, The Tears of the Rose. It's cool because the castle in the background looks exactly as I imagine Windroven to be. Kind of amazing to SEE it.

This book, however, is a ways off and comes out in December. Book 1, The Mark of the Tala, is my next release and will hit shelves May 27. Whee!!! I have paper ARCs (advance reader's copies) if you'd like to read and review. Just ping me. 

The Mark of the Tala

The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.

Andi doesn’t mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she’d thought was no more than legend–until he claims her as its queen.

In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn’t know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.

For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come. . .

You can preorder at Amazon and Book Depository, should you be so inclined.

I almost said I would be in your debt, but that's not quite right, is it?

Yes, the word of the week is "debt" - a concept we throw around quite lightly in 2014 US culture. We talk about "debt load" like it's a standard measure of economy. We pretty much assume that everyone else has some debt. The question really is how much. Where in Jane Austen's society they might confidently convey that such and so has 10,000 pounds or is worth 20,000 a year, we talk to each other of younger relatives graduating with $200,000 of debt or whisper aghast of an acquaintance who's said to have $50K in credit card debt alone.

It's one of the funny things - someone who's living better than we are might very well be doing it on credit. Their secret to keep.

Unless is it all comes crashing down.

For that's the reality, isn't it? Debt undermines everything. Instead of a life built on a solid foundation, debt is the gaping hole we straddle, hoping to keep above and afloat. At any moment, we could lose our balance and fall in.

Not all cultures and eras have been like this, however. The Old Testament of the Bible (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Exodus, among others) expressly forbids usury, which is making interest off a loan. Can you imagine if the folks who want to forbid homosexuality based on the Bible were to follow this law as well? The worldwide economy would crash.

In Chinese culture, the advent of the new year is a time to clear out all debts. It's the traditional goal to clean both the house and debts from the old year and start the new one fresh.

So - hey - we've got 294 days left to get that handled!

Okay, not many of us could pull that off. But what we can do is try to eliminate the other kind of debt. The Karmic kind.

You know what I mean. Those favors we owe. The things we promised to do and never quite delivered on. The people we hurt - inadvertently or not - and need to make up to. While I'm not a Buddhist or Hindi, I do believe in the concept of Karma. What goes around, comes around. As ye sow, so also shall ye reap.

The best part is, building up that Karmic bank account doesn't take much. Just a little sincere effort to give without expecting return.

If only all debt could be discharged so easily.