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.

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.

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.