Published on
"Light" (a sneak peak of 1 of 2 renditions of the cover art for my next novel ICA'S TALE)
​Dear readers,

Without giving too much of the plot away, I want to reflect on a key theme in the Oaql Seed:--
the loss of the ability to speak.
​
You may have considered this at some point in your life:
A vow of silence about a particular subject, like a secret?
Maybe for a silent-meditation retreat?
And what if you lost your ability to speak due to a medical emergency like a stroke?
How would you adapt?

In this case, I’m specifically reflecting on expressive aphasia—a condition where comprehension and therefore intellectual capacity may be entirely intact in a person, but their faculty for speech is inhibited or even completely dismantled. For some, the situation is temporary, and they have the good fortune to be able to retrain their capacity for speech, but for others, this can be a lifelong change—a “new normal” so to speak.

A loved one, who is still a central figure in my family's life, has aphasia. His circumstances inspired one of the major plot elements in the Oaql Seed, as well as the plot device of telepathy, that you almost immediately learn is central to the Treeboat Series.
Published on
Picture
The ePUB version of the book has been made from scratch by the BookBaby distributer team, and they did a great job. User friendly in every way- from taking notes to highlighting, keyword search to formatting changes -all the things you love about Ebooks will apply to the Oaql Seed: Book One of the Treeboat Series Ebook version. We are looking at an early October release of the Oaql Seed in all formats and on all the platforms you can think of: including, but not limited to, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Goodreads, as well as print-on-demand physical copies!

"Mirrors of Nanai." Photo taken off the shores of Loreto, Iquitos in Peru.

The treeboat series

This post apocalyptic series, has formed out of years of life-changing, initiatory experiences with the traditional medicine practices of Peru.
Intentionally written as a departure from the traditional story arc of the hero, in an attempt to honor the collective journey of humanity and the partnerships it takes to influence its trajectory.