A question people often ask about a book is “where does the story take place?” In the case of the two novels in The Resistance, the answer is about as complicated as you might expect from an author who is also an anthropologist.
Both stories start off in Dallas, Texas, and they keep coming back there, too.
Jenda Swain’s story in Way of the Serpent takes her to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and somewhere in Costa Rica. There are also trips to Houston and San Antonio a remote village in New Mexico.
Malia Poole’s story in Shadow of the Hare spends a lot of time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Marfa, Texas, but she also travels to Lagos, Nigeria, and Jaipur in India’s Rajasthan.
If you’re yearning to “get away” without getting on an airplane or on the Interstate, why not read a book that takes you there while you sit in your favorite chair sipping your favorite beverage?
These two books belong together! Both Way of the Serpent and Shadow of the Hare open with the same scene: Two women (who may have known one another in the distant past?) cross paths unexpectedly in a greasy spoon down a side street in Dallas. The encounter has a profound impact on both women, but in very different ways. Way of the Serpent is Jenda Swain’s story. Shadow of the Hare is Malia Poole’s story.
Ten years ago today, I published my first novel—Way of the Serpent. I’ve just finished reading through it again, editing and re-formatting in preparation for publishing it as part of a compiled two-volume collection of the four books of the near-future science fiction Recall Chronicles.
Way of the Serpent is a very political novel, and I had thought I might need to revise it a bit in light of what has happened over the past ten years. Instead, I found it to be even more pertinent today than it was in 2015. A government dominated by plutocrats? Check. A worldwide pandemic? Check. Concern over altered images and manipulated social media? Check.
Way of the Serpent will be paired with Shadow of the Hare in a single volume titled The Resistance, which tells you a little about who the two main characters—Jenda Swain and Malia Poole—are. If you haven’t read the Recall Chronicles yet ( or not recently), get ready for a satisfying dive into a political world a hundred years hence that feels all too believable. Get ready for The Resistance!
In a fit of anti-oligarchy rancor a couple of months ago, I unpublished all three volumes of my Recall Chronicles from KDP (Amazon). Why? These were the first books I ever self-published, and in my naivety I eagerly took advantage of the “free ISBN” offered by CreateSpace (now KDP). I didn’t realize that this restricted me to distribution ONLY within the Amazon space. I plan to republish all three books shortly, but in a new format: Books 1 and 2 will come out as a single volume, with book 3 coming back a bit later paired with the as yet unpublished book 4. All of these will publish under my own ISBN numbers so that they can be ordered and stocked by bookstores. If you’re going to be an independent author, go all-in indy!
One of my current writing projects—the one that is pulling at my sleeve most insistently at the moment—is not science fiction. It’s historical fiction. Is that a weird change of direction for me? Somehow, it doesn’t feel like it.
This morning I searched out the following words from my writing hero, Ursula Le Guin. Her perspective gives me welcome insight into my writing transition. Le Guin begins her brief essay by acknowledging our conventional assumption that the future (the usual subject of science fiction) is what lies in front of us, while the past (the subject of historical fiction) lies behind us.
“It seems that the Quechua-speaking peoples of the Andes see all this rather differently. They figure that because the past is what you know, you can see it—it’s in front of you, under your nose. This is a mode of perception rather than action, of awareness rather than progress. Since they’re quite as logical as we are, they say that the future lies behind—behind your back, over your shoulder. The future is what you can’t see, unless you turn around and kind of snatch a glimpse. And then sometimes you wish you hadn’t, because you’ve glimpsed what’s sneaking up on you from behind….” (“Science Fiction and the Future” in Dancing at the Edge of the World, 1989)
As I continue reading and researching the history of the American South (especially Mississippi) and the history of Scotland, both entangled in my own family history, I begin to see our future more clearly. I hope my story can bring the same kind of clarity to my readers.
Le Guin, Ursula K.. Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places (p. 215). Grove Atlantic. Kindle Edition.
For the first time, this moment of thrusting a new book out into the world doesn’t make me feel celebratory. It’s the final book in the EarthCycles trilogy, and I’ve come to love the characters deeply and to treasure the world that they’re building far beyond our own failure.
I don’t want to leave.
The series started with Song of All Songs, which introduced Meridia, a woman denigrated for being half Melfar in a world dominated by Mundani. The story follows her growth as she faces challenges that eventually enable her to find joy in her Melfar identity while also claiming the Mundani identity she inherited from her mother. It’s a heroine’s journey and it continues in the second volume, Book of All Time, in which Meridia (somewhat unwillingly) rises to a position of leadership and responsibility.
In the new book—Beyond the Endless—Meridia faces identity-shattering conflict arising from her very human desire to be a good mother as well as the leader that both Melfar and Mundani need her to be. And all this in a world that is suddenly much bigger and far more dangerous than Meridia had ever imagined. The resolution of Meridia’s journey at the end of this book still brings tears to my eyes—tears of hope for our own human future.
I launched the first two EarthCycles stories in the depths of the pandemic and did my best to make their publication eventful. But it was all on Zoom and I don’t want to issue another book that way. I’m also not sure I’m ready to invite people to an in-person event. Not yet.
So this time—for now—I’m just letting a book enter the world like a flower blooming, gently and naturally. I’m hopeful that those who appreciate flowers will notice.
Maybe we’ll have a party come summer.
You can purchase a copy of Beyond the Endless through BookShop.org and credit your purchase to your favorite indie bookseller. My favorites are Reverie Books and Malvern Books and Bookwoman. Stay tuned to learn which of these might soon have signed paperbacks on hand for you to buy in their store. And if you favor ebooks over printed ones, you can buy that on Amazon.
Once you have a copy of the book in hand (or downloaded to your reader), send me a photo of yourself with the book and I’ll send you a personalized bookmark, adorned with what may be a tiny waif of the Ancient Carnelian, containing its Song of the Wide Path, the symbol of friendship between Melfar and Mundani or perhaps between any humans who are labelled differently. Email me at: donnadechen@donnadechenbirdwell.com
Book Three of the EarthCycles trilogy is nearing publication, and it’s time to show you the awesome cover! I’m hoping to have the book available for purchase before the end of March. Meanwhile, here’s the cover blurb:
They thought Melfar and Mundani were the only people left on Earth.
They were wrong.
The hopeful joy wrought by the dedication of the Book of All Time, with its heady celebration of Meridia as both Melfar Calumet and Mundani Prophet is shattered when a ship with expansive white wings drops anchor off Selbourne. The ship and its occupants depart as swiftly as they came, taking with them a mirror and two Melfar—including one of Meridia’s infant twins. They leave behind only mystery: Who are these people? And where did they come from?
Meridia and her partner Damon must fight through their personal grief to recover their missing daughter and her caregiver Yuli. But how to begin? They have no ships. Perhaps an answer lies in the nearly forgotten Melfar Song of the Sea or in deciphering the original purpose of the stolen mirror, discovered long ago in the perilous ruins of Swarthpol, where Meridia’s father was once imprisoned.
Perhaps there are ways of reaching Yuli and the baby that do not require ships.
One of the joys of being a self-published author is that you can price your books however you like and if the notion strikes you to offer your readers a bit of a gift, you can do it without consulting anyone.
So here you go, dear readers: For a limited time, the ebook of Book of All Time (EarthCycles Book Two) is only $2.99. A whole adventure for less than the price of a latte! And you know Book Three is coming soon..!
You’re spending a lot of time and money right now on other people (hooray for you!), so here’s a little gift for you from me! I’m making one of my favorite ebooks FREE for a limited time (5 days). I think you’ll like the story of Malia Pool, a woman who loves books and who rejects the corporate youthfulness project in favor of remembering who she really is. And remembering how things got to be in such a mess! Sometimes remembering is hard…
Book two of the award-winning EarthCycles series–Book of All Time–is now available for you to read and enjoy! You can purchase the paperback at Malvern Books (Austin) or Third Place Books (Seward Park, Seattle). Or ask your own local bookstore to order it! Also available (always) on Amazon.
I’ll be sharing passages and backstory with readers on Friday, August 13, via Zoom. Join us for what promises to be a fun event!
Donna Dechen Birdwell 