Reflections on Emily Kane

A few people have mentioned to me that the Emily Kane series has become much darker, and even depressing in Book 6 – especially Timothy Richley, who has sent me some insightful emails on this subject. He suggests that the darkness seems to have entered Emily’s heart right around the time she went to Nepal, and ever since she has been overwhelmed by remorse for all the dead bodies she leaves in her wake, and is even preoccupied by fantasies of her own death.

I think Timothy’s right about this, and I’ve also been feeling a need to turn Emily’s thoughts onto sunnier paths. [A side-note: I’m not entirely in control of this. Emily herself often dictates events as much as I do. If this makes no sense to you, try writing a book; then you’ll see.] In Book 7, I plan on accomplishing exactly this, first by turning the focus back to her little “family” and a reunion of Li Li with her uncle Jiang, but also by giving Hsu Qi’s positive influence a chance to have a greater impact on Emily. In particular, I’d like to have her help Emily find some reassurance from her ghosts.

I think Emily’s development follows an inevitable trajectory, if you consider a couple of recurring motifs in the series. I originally imagined Emily as a remorseful heroine, and wanted to trace the impact of her remorse (and not just her fists) on the people she encounters. Of course, she is saddened by the violence she can’t avoid perpetrating, but she also has an impact on the villains who confront her. In one way or another, she becomes the agent of their redemption. Connie is the most obvious of these, but also Li Li’s father, Tang, from Book 1. The West Virginia bikers are another case, and maybe even Colonel Park, from Book 2. Shinjo is a variant of this from Book 3. Kathy Gunderson plays this role in Book 5, and in Book 6, Lt. Yan and Tsukino, and to a lesser extent Gyoshin Heiji, function in this way.

Girl Rides The Wind, CH. 6 Sneak Preview

Chapter Six

Boarding the Bonhomme Richard

The ride over to Haneda Airport in two buses took just over an hour—luck of the draw, since the other company would leave too late to avoid rush hour traffic—and the charter flights to Nagasaki would occupy another two hours. From there, a short helo-ride would deposit them at the naval base at Sasebo. Seating on the plane sorted itself out in predictable ways, by rank and nation, though nothing required it.

“At least on the bus, we didn’t have to endure the gaijin,” Tsukino muttered, glowering across the aisle to where Emily sat with Durant and Oleschenko. The flight attendant offered him a water bottle and a bag of the orb-like, slightly sweetened cookies called hashimitsu.

“Are you still stewing over the drubbing she gave you?” Ishikawa snorted.

Tsukino growled and turned to Kano for moral support, but none was forthcoming. “You know it’s not right, Captain, not after what she did to us.”

Kano waved him off with an angry glance, and stalked down the aisle to look for an empty seat in the back.

“I could have told you he wouldn’t bite on that one,” Ishikawa said. “But you have definitely got to let it go. So you got your ass kicked… so what? It’s not like you didn’t totally deserve it.”

“Will you ever shut up, Dice?”

“I only wish someone had made a video of it.”

“I’m sure someone did,” Tsukino huffed.

Sneak Peek at the Cover for Book 6, Girl Rides The Wind

This is only a preliminary version, but my cover artist is ready to polish it up at any moment. I hope you like it!

Sneak Preview of Ch. 4 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Bk 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Four

A Distinguished Personage

In the hot and humid season, merely standing in formation while a party of dignitaries made speeches could be torture. Emily managed to peek over at Oleschenko and Durant, both of whom had begun to sweat through their fatigues. A bit further along the line, she caught a glimpse of Ishikawa in similar straits, but Tsukino and Kano managed to put a brave face on the whole situation, even as the beads formed on their faces. She felt one hanging from her own nose.

“Man, this is interminable,” she muttered. “Why can’t a breeze find us on this infernal base? Is that too much to ask?”

Durant couldn’t suppress a snort at her words, and Oleschenko glowered at the two of them. “Shut it, you two,” he hissed.

Eventually, the proceedings on the shaded podium drew to a close, and several well-dressed people made their way across the front of the formation, accompanied by Colonel Kamakura, commander of the first Airborne Brigade, and Admiral Crichton, Commander of Fleet Activities at the naval base in Sasebo, and the officer in charge of the US contingent of the operation. The command to stand “at ease” made its way around and Emily’s platoon assumed a slightly more comfortable posture, feet apart and hands behind their backs.

“The tall one is Mr. Saito,” Oleschenko whispered. “He’s the Deputy Minister of Defense.”

“Who are the other two?” Durant asked.

“I imagine we’ll find out in a moment,” Emily said. She could just make out what they said to Kano’s unit. Praise for their service in the recent evacuations after the typhoon up north, and encouragement for the tournament to be held later that day.

Sneak Preview Ch. 3 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Book 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Three

Camp Narashino

“Gaijin kusai,” said Sergeant Hiroki Tsukino, who the rest of the platoon knew as Moon. With a sneer and a snort, he looked across the table for moral support.

Takeishi Kano, who occasionally let his sergeants call him Tak, glanced at Emily sitting a few seats away, hoping she hadn’t heard, since he knew she’d understand. The third time club-hopping with their American guests in the Roppongi neighborhood of Tokyo had taken a toll on him, too. But he had other concerns.

“Shut it, Sergeant,” he growled in Japanese.

“C’mon, Captain. How many more hakujin bars do we have to take these guys to?”

“At least it’s not a karaoke bar this time,” Sgt Daisuke Ishikawa offered.

“Tenno, what are they going on about?” Captain Oleschenko asked.

“And do they have to call her that?” Moon said, loud enough to be heard the length of the table. “I mean, what the hell is she playing at with a name like that anyway?”

“Sergeant Tsukino thinks we smell bad, sir,” Emily said.

“We smell bad?” Sgt Durant chuckled. “What the hell does he think he smells like?”

“It’s an old prejudice, from the second world war,” she said. “Japanese didn’t eat much meat in those days, and they thought the GI’s smelled strange, you know, like old butter.”

Kano glowered at his men as she spoke. As irritating as he found her presence, having to guard against offending her made it so much worse. She wasn’t responsible for his father’s death, but she damn well reminded him of the infernal code of honor that propelled him to his end. His father had sacrificed himself to protect her, and he’d done it at the behest of the Crown Princess, even though it required accepting a pretended disgrace in order to go undercover… and even now, three years later, the Imperial Household still refused to acknowledge his sacrifice, or to restore his good name.

“Moon, you eat enough meat to smell like a slaughterhouse,” Sgt Ishikawa roared.

“What do you know about it, Dice?” Sgt Tsukino replied.

“Only what my nose tells me.”

Sneak Preview, Ch. 2 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Book 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Two

Treasonous Whisperings

A Few Weeks Earlier

The drive up from the gate of the Soga estate took a few minutes, giving Gyoshin Heiji time to reflect on the changing nature of fortune. More than a millennium had passed since her ancestors broke the power of Minoru Soga’s ancestors within the imperial court, and now the old man was willing to form an alliance with her family.

“How ironic,” she said, to no one in particular. “The Taika reforms undid them, and now they are much wealthier than us, who were only cheated of our influence during the Meiji reforms, barely yesterday.”

Of course, by that time scale, yesterday amounted to a century and a half. Exquisite gardens slipped by, tended by squads of men in pale green coveralls. The main house resembled a shrine from one point in the curving approach, but looked more like a castle as the car climbed the final slope. A man wearing gray gloves waited at the door, bowed from the waist, and ushered her into a lavishly furnished drawing room. Exquisitely carved wood panels decorated one wall, and a painted screen only partially concealed a small writing table in a far corner. She smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt, and wondered if her navy blue suit, the standard-issue business attire of a civil servant—albeit a relatively high-level one—really suited the occasion.

“Welcome, Heiji-san,” the old man called out from across the room, walking stiffly with a cane. His daughter trailed behind, flowing tall and elegant in a rather non-traditional silk kimono, which, without an obi sash to bind it all together, resembled more a dressing gown than formal attire.

“I am honored by your invitation, Soga-san,” Gyoshin said, with a little bow that extorted more confusion from her than she’d anticipated. Should she bow to a vanquished enemy of her family, and if so, how low? She supposed he affected the cane in order to excuse himself from bowing as low as his ancestors would have been obliged to do a thousand years earlier. With a shiver and a shake of the head, she tried to put her grandfather’s preoccupations out of her mind. The Soga clan now held a controlling interest in one of the largest defense contractors, and was among the wealthiest families in Japan, and in her capacity as Industry Liaison for the Deputy Minister of Defense, she worked closely with Minoru’s daughter, who had assumed the position of Vice President at the Takenouchi Corporation.

“Gyoshin-san,” Jin Soga said. “Thank you for coming. We have much to discuss.”

“I will leave you two to talk,” Minoru said. “You must forgive an old man his hobbies.” With that he turned and hobbled off into another room.

Sneak Preview: Ch. 1 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Bk #6 of the Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter One

How did it come to this?

With the inflatable safely stowed among the rocks, and under the storm-flotsam she’d collected to conceal them from any planes, or satellites, during the two days they were still out on the open ocean, Emily Kane hauled Sergeant Durant across the beach and into the cover of the trees.

“Damn, you’re heavy, Mick. What the hell have you been eating lately?”

He groaned back at her, semi-conscious, and only able to push off one leg. Blood oozed from his hip and shoulder, and a gash along one rib covered by an ill-fitting bandage, and he winced when she adjusted her grip. Once she’d found him a comfortable spot in some brush beneath a eucalyptus tree, she turned back toward the shore.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” she said over one shoulder, not expecting a response. “This may not be good enough shelter. I’m going back for the water and bandages, and then we can try to move again.”

It didn’t take long to gather what she needed, scowling at the horizon the whole time, and when the inflatable bobbed loose from its makeshift mooring, she hauled it higher up onto the rocks, trading concealment for security “A lot of trouble for a raft we may never need again,” she muttered.

“You should’ve left me back there,” he croaked as she came within earshot again. “I’m just slowing you down. We both know what they’re after.”

“Are you questioning my command judgment, Sergeant… again?”

Where to get the Emily Kane Adventures

 Wondering where you can get the Emily Kane Adventures? Here's some links to major retailers who carry them.

#1 Girl Fights Back 

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#2 Girl Punches Out

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#3 Girl Takes Up Her Sword

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#4 Girl Spins A Blade

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#5 Girl Takes The Oath, is available at the following outlets:

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

New Title and Cover for the 4th Emily Kane Adventure

The 4th book in the series has gotten a new title and cover. Girl Spins a Blade clarifies the relationship of this installment to the rest of the series.

It's been a crazy four months since The High Road to the Mountain Gods first hit it big, and in that time many folks have asked me if it's part of the Emily Kane Adventures. Of course, those of you who've read it know it's a vital link in the overall narrative of the series, telling of Emily's trip to Nepal, her encounter with the Tibetan Buddhists of Kathmandu, as well as the gangs of that area. She goes there on a quest for spiritual growth and fulfillment, but the spirit of violence follows her there as well. And she finds spiritual relief and release from the most unexpected of sources.

Find this title here, as well as the rest of The Emily Kane Adventures.

Update on Book of The Emily Kane Adventures

I'm working on Book 5 of the Emily Kane series right now. The working title is Girl Takes The Oath. In this installment, Emily has taken Perry and Theo's advice and enrolled in the US Naval Academy. In her third year, she becomes the target of a conspiracy involving an ultra-rightwing party in Japan and militant nationalists in China. She learns that Princess Toshi--who she met at the end of Book 3--is in danger, and the Crown Princess, Masako, sends one of her samurai retainers to watch Emily's back. 

Emily is in her third year, and of course the usual baddies within the Academy (think Tom Brown's School Days) have decided they don't like her. They think they can torment her, but are caught in the jaws of much nastier folks than themselves. She offers advice and instruction to the Academy karate team, but the fact that she refuses to compete in tournaments with them raises a few hackles, but what else can she do, having encountered the nasty side of fighting too often to treat it as a game.

I'll be previewing the cover soon.

Look for Book 5: Girl Takes The Oath this summer in bookstores online and everywhere. 

New Blurbs for the Emily Kane Series--Short and Sweet

Three new blurbs for the titles in the Emily Kane Adventures:

Girl With A Blade

Emily Kane studies martial arts, but she never thought she'd have to use them... until her home is destroyed in a night time attack.

When her family goes into hiding she stays behind, even if it means fighting off the black-ops team who attacked her home.

She's determined to finish high school, but also to find out what her family isn't telling her about why dangerous people are hunting her.

Girl Punches Out

Emily desperately wants to lead the normal life of a teenager. But events are conspiring against her. 

When foreign agents force her to fight it may not be possible to enjoy the innocent pleasures of childhood anymore.

"The angel of death can hardly have friends. And the prom, what about Danny? He can hardly have a Valkyrie for his date."

Girl Takes Up Her Sword

Defending herself against foreign agents is one thing... but when it's family, the violence rises to a new level.

A mysterious "uncle," her father's cousin, shows an interest in Emily and her friends, and it has her family worried.

But for Emily, he may be the only way to connect with the memory of her father. The cost of trusting him may be more than she can afford to pay.

The High Road To The Mountain Gods

With the help of her "Granny," Emily Kane had the strength to fight off the black-ops teams hunting her. 

Now she needs to find some relief from Granny, and to reconcile herself to the violence she had to unleash. 

She hopes to find spiritual renewal in the crowded pantheon of the Hindus and Buddhists of Nepal. But the spirit of violence is not far behind her.

New Short Story--Emily Kane in Nepal, in search of the Mountain Gods

The High Road to the Mountain Gods

I just published a new short story--about 13k words--as a new installment of the Emily Kane Series. It's available now for $0.99.

The story takes place in Kathmandu, where Emily travels after high school graduation. She's looking for some kind of spiritual renewal after the violence she experiences in her senior year. And she's also seeking some respite from the attentions of her "Granny,"Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun. Perhaps she can hide out from her in the crowded pantheon of the Hindu gods.

Things start to get sticky when a little orphan boy who idolizes her begins to attract the attention of some not so nice folks. Emily thinks she can protect him, at least for a little while, if it comes down to that. But can she also teach him how to avoid fighting with the bullies at school?

The High Road to the Mountain Gods is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Chapter 6, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 6

Popularity

It had been a mere two weeks since the tournament in Norfolk. Emily won the black belt kumite, fighting in the men’s division since there were no other women competing at her level. Her victory, her total mastery of her opponents, had been little short of amazing to everyone there. Of course there were videos of her matches, lots of them, circulating on the web. They would go viral soon enough. A few kids in school had already seen them. Eventually everyone would see them.

Chapter 5, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 5

Bows and Arrows

The ceiling of Emily’s studio was only partially finished. The area over the kitchen, bathroom, walk-in closet and dining table was overhung with standard acoustic tile under joists covered in turn by a rough plywood floor. It was just exposed rafters over the sofa, coffee table and the sleeping area. There were a few recessed lights here and there along the walls, but most of the floor above the ceiling was clear. She had often mused about moving the bed, or at least the mattress, to the attic and creating a sort of loft. The area under the peaked roof was barely high enough to stand up in near the center. But for a bedroom it would be high enough. On the downside, there was only one small window at one end which was shaded by a large magnolia tree. No direct light ever entered there, and very little air either. In the end, this reflection always ended with Emily deciding it wasn’t worth the trouble to move the bed, even if it would have added to her usable floor space.

Chapter 4, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 4

Tea in the Kitchen

She sat in her pickup truck in the driveway musing about the doctor. She was so nosy, so insistent on tests. What was she not saying? Maybe that’s just how doctors always behave. What would those tests show? Could they provide answers to her own questions? It probably hadn’t occurred to her beforehand that a routine doctor’s appointment might become an existential inquiry.

Ch. 3, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 3

The Doctor’s Office

Emily couldn’t remember ever seeing a doctor before. She had always been healthy as a child, so perhaps there was never a need. She telephoned her mother who couldn’t remember the name of the family doctor. The connection wasn’t very good. She thought about it for a moment, and then tried to change the subject.

“Are you not feeling well, Chi-chan?”

“I’m fine, mom. I just think I should have a checkup every once in a while. Don’t you?”

“Of course you should, sweetheart. But is this really the time?”

“Well, I’ll need to have a physical if I decide to go to the Academy.”

Ch. 2, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 2

Coming Home

“What’s the source?”

“The Aussie’s man in the Sixth Bureau. This is eyes only, understood?”

Don’t worry. I’ve got nothing in the works. Has Burzynski seen it?”

“No, and let’s keep it that way for as long as possible. If their contact gets burned it’ll come right back to us.”

“And Meacham?”

“He hasn’t seen it yet, but he will soon. We can’t keep it buried indefinitely.”

“Let me know when he finds it.” The line went dead.

Ch. 1 Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 1

Sparring

   

Billy Codrow peered over his gloves at Marty Gibson. He waited for the feint. He thought it would  come from his right hand. Marty’s left foot moved. Billy was all nervous energy. A front kick! He stepped back and blocked the kick across Marty’s body. He moved to follow through with a sweep of the right leg, but the kick was the feint. Marty used the energy of the block to start a spin. As he came around he swung the back of his fist into Billy’s right ear. The force of the blow crumpled him.

“What the hell was that,” Danny Rincon yelled in protest.

“What’s your problem, Marty,” Billy moaned from the floor.

“I want the next match,” Danny said in a vengeful tone. He was a bit bigger than Billy, stronger too. But Marty was much bigger than either of them. They were all on the football team, but he was on the defensive line and they were only backs.

Sensei stepped in and growled. “Sit down.”

Emily was watching from the side through the whole match. Marty and his buddy, Jeff Schenk, joined the dojo last week. It was a special promotion: first two weeks free. They seemed wrong, somehow insincere. They already had some skills, especially Marty. But they had roughed up everyone they were paired with, apologizing each time for their seeming lack of control. It was getting to be quite annoying. The monthly sparring party was supposed to be rather more convivial. But for Danny this was the last straw.

Yoga, Meditation and Christianity

Since I'm on the subject of meditation, a question has arisen recently in several places across the web, and even in broadcast media, about whether Christians can, in good faith, practice yoga. Obviously, how we answer depends on what we mean by "practice yoga" and especially on what we mean by "in good faith."

The most straightforward answer would be that to the extent that Yoga is directed at enlightenment independent of grace it is incompatible with Christian faith. This may seem like a particularly Catholic answer, and Christian sects that think about the role of grace differently may come up with a slightly different explanation. But I don't think that there are any sects that will find yoga acceptable as a form of spiritual aspiration.

One might still ask whether practicing yoga is acceptable to Christians simply as a form of exercise. Here it is tempting to imagine that a mere exercise (just stretching and breathing) could not be objectionable to Christian faith. But there are two reasons to think otherwise.

Bodhidharma and Kung Fu

There are lots of stories told about the relationship of the martial arts developed at the Shaolin temple (sometimes known as the "young forest temple") in Henan province and Bodhidharma. Many of them may be apocryphal, but that doesn't mean there isn't something to learn from them anyway.