TO ALL READERS …
This work has a literary element—it is not solely commercial fiction. It invites the reader to a place of intellectual and emotional engagement. The work raises issues for your reflection if you so desire. At times, the invitation is to introspection: it is an invitation for the reader to accept or decline. The Reader’s Group section and Back Matter provides material with this objective in mind.
While the work has entertainment value—coupled with the rest and relaxation that Fiction provides—writing solely for entertainment is not my style, voice or intention. There are characters and scenes that can be quite humorous at times. I do hope you enjoy reading it for fun and entertainment.
The work will invite you to “think outside boxes” at times and then journey where you may.
GENRE
This work of Fiction is “magic realism”, “magical reality” or “magical realism.” This is a literary classification term denoting the intersection of “the visible world and reality” and elements that “do not naturally occur” in the world we live in. The “magic” aspect does not imply sleight-of-hand or what an illusionist might use.
Readers often see writings in this genre as either Science Fiction, Fantasy or even Paranormal due to Supernatural elements. This is often dependent on who is doing the classification.
Settings in this work take place, approximately, in the present time and in everyday locations and cities.
Characters, with creative license by the author, could be everyday people that we know in our circle of acquaintances, friends, family or people in the news.
However, supernatural abilities or happenings may occur in their lives. You may prefer to identify those supernatural aspects as fantastic, magical or simply “something spiritual.” Not all characters exhibit these supernatural traits within a given volume in the Series, nor are all abilities or happenings the same for each character. I don’t attempt to explain how this all happens other than “it just happens” or “there are other hidden players that somehow have something to do with it” (but I don’t explain those either).
To summarize: this Series is the natural world we live in plus other elements that operate in ways that we don’t expect or that we can predict from the normal laws of physics, the sciences, time or space.
A BRIEF NOTE TO GEN Z, MILLENNIAL AND OTHER READERS
Over the years, I have observed The System in diverse forms. Frankly, The System has been challenging at times. It is properly known by the acronym PITA in the context of texted or muttered discussions on The System. These observations, along with personal nonfiction writings, journaling, historical reading, and discussions with friends, became the impetus and raw material for my creative reflections surrounding this series.
I touch on The System in the marketing blurb (Home page on the website), and at depth in the story. It is mainly the Story itself, and the Characters, that unpackages examples and ways of The System. If these types of topics interest you, I think you will find something in the work that speaks to you. This Introduction, the website for the Series (www.when-seas-collide.com) and the story itself opens a treasure chest for discussions with your friends. I plan to grow the website over time—it will always have the most up-to-date information and links to what is important to know or other places of discussion.
I sincerely hope you will find any emerging discussions helpful in your own life journey, reflections on life, and your plans. It’s not all serious—several of the characters and scenes are a lot of fun, and laughter is a good antidote to help overcome The System’s challenges.