What Casts a Shadow? by Seth Mullins
A troubled young rock musician, a mystic mentor, and a generation of lost souls longing for a new voice to emerge from thewilderness…
When an altercation outside of a performance venue nearly proves fatal, Brandon Chane begins to realize how far his life is spinning out of control.
His efforts to channel his pain, frustration and thwarted loves into his music may not suffice to save him. Then he meets Saul, a crisis counselor with the soul of an ancient medicine man, and a far-reaching journey of healing – one that may teach him how to steer away from the very edge of the abyss – begins.
Excerpt:
An Air of Pilgrimage
Now it was all deepening. We merged with a river born of magic, myth and the dreams of all those who’d gone before us. I turned to my right and saw some violets casting off glints of tiny light like flecks of stardust. All at once, everything in existence was being created in every moment.
“It’s the light that can’t be extinguished!” I shouted. “I understand now!”
It’s easy to say such things when you feel all of Creation communing with you; easy, too, to assume that the other people around you will understand your sense of euphoria. And yet in actual fact Tommy did shout “Yes!” from his place at the vanguard as if he knew exactly what I was talking about.
And just like that, our whole holy pilgrimage south flashed across my inner eyes: the distances, the pockets of heart warmth and of emptiness, the strangers met and the intimacy of the music that we’d ushered in to their stomping grounds. My imagination deified our trusty travelling van, transforming it into an ancient Egyptian Solar Boat that had borne us across the heavens of Vision so that we could spread our gospel of every human being’s Divinity.
Author Interview
Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
Not really. But I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Pacing from room to room while trying to listen for what an imaginary character is going to say next might strike some people as ‘weird’…
What is your favorite quote and why?
There are so many, but this is a simple one that I repeat to myself from time to time: “My life is mine, and I form it.” That’s from Jane Robert’s The Nature of Personal Reality. It’s a favorite of mine because I need constant reminders of this truth. So many of the messages our world gives us insist that the opposite is true.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
The maple creemies that they make at a local farm here in Vermont.
Which mythological creature are you most like?
One of the Faerie Folk. An imp: The kind that is irreverent and mischievous not out of malice but rather because he realizes life is a game and so he approaches everything with a sense of childlike play.
What are four things you can’t live without?
Close personal relationships, writing, music and the Muse
Seth Mullins draws upon the great sweep of human soul-journeying to weave his tales. He’s inspired by music, shamanism, dreams and the mysteries and miracles of our inner life. His greatest love as a writer is for fiction that depicts a journey towards self-awareness in the deepest sense.
“Probably the most valuable thing that I learned throughout my spiritual journey in this life is the importance of trusting in one’s self. Many of our cultural lessons encourage us to ignore or even fear our inner reality. And yet it is this realm that really does hold the answers to all of our questions, and can point the way towards the most fulfilling life experiences possible for us.”
Mr. Mullins has lived in Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.
Humanity’s Way Forward – my website
The Edge of the Known by Seth Mullins – my blog)
“What Casts the Shadow?” (The Edge of the Known) on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1rkhffS
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Thanks for hosting!
Good Morning 🙂 Thank you for hosting me!
Hey Seth! How are you doing? Did you have a good Halloween Weekend??
Hi Andra 🙂 You know, there’s a lot of trick-or-treat action that goes on here in Montpelier, but no one ever comes to my place! The complex is in a really beautiful but somewhat secluded area, near a small wood-bridge and with its back to the river. It somehow goes unnoticed. I did make a couple of cool Jack-O-Lanterns, though, which could easily go on the cover of some Metal album 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
Nice interview, I liked it.
Thank you, Serena. I enjoy the Q & A process because it somehow forces me to look at things, even my own inspirations, with fresh eyes. I guess it’s because I’m asked questions that I normally might not ask *myself*. Thanks for visiting.
Nice interview
Thank you. I probably could’ve gone on at great length about the “mythological creature” question. I restrained myself 🙂
Thank you once more for hosting me. Kind Regards 🙂
Interesting excerpt.
The author interview.
“Which mythological creature are you most like?
One of the Faerie Folk. An imp: The kind that is irreverent and mischievous not out of malice but rather because he realizes life is a game and so he approaches everything with a sense of childlike play.”
That Faerie is spelled right. 🙂
The book intrigues me the most with the counselor being like a medicine man.
Thank you, Dawn 🙂 I prefer that spelling because it has more of an Old World feel, for me. And yes, I think of Saul as performing the same function within modern society as ancient shamans did within their tribes.