Books

The Chiaroscuro

A blank canvas —— original, primitive, and rough
Upon it, I sketch Endurance
in light and shade

Young Jerome Baker seeks to reconcile his tragic past and aspirational future, as he grows to understand himself by way of his complex motivations, unknown origins, and obsessive, secretive passions.

Jerome’s edification is seeded in two basic principles. The first of these is an undeniable reality: just as yin’s concentrated dot manifests within yang’s spirit, yang’s fiery spark animates yin’s arcane darkness. The one is contained within the other. Their imperative duality is both actual and impossible, which is the sublime key.

The second tenet is truth; one must face one’s own, and affirm it —— or destiny becomes appallingly disfigured.

The Chiaroscuro chronicles a flawed hero’s quest for enlightenment via the raw romp that is his heart, as he discovers illumination often lurks hidden in the very shadows it casts.

Excerpt from The Chiaroscuro Volume 2

Volume I – The Chiaroscuro / The Weight – Paperback

Volume II – The Vessel – Paperback

Volume II – The Lode – Paperback

Volumes I–III – e-Book

NOVELS I watch the world, and I listen assiduously - then, I turn it all into symbols and write it down.

The Match

In my soul’s mirror
another one behind me
reflects endlessly

Jerome has often likened his own path to the tarot’s Five of Cups image: a dejected figure gazing mournfully at three spilled vessels of their life’s enterprises and dreams. The figure’s back is turned blindly toward the two still standing, as well as the distant bridge leading to a palatial abode.

In an unexpected new symbolism, a book of matches appears fully spent, and yet, a close inspection suggests that a few might remain. The one that has just been struck stands tall —— burning brightly enough, perhaps, to even light the way.

The Match is emblematic of the tarot card’s reversal. Through its mirror, the figure then beholds the pair of upright chalices; in these, the sustenance for the long journey home can be found.

For Jerome, that journey now traverses a forbidding, nonnative territory: the realm of Other. Where is his place within this new domain —— one so dauntingly distant from his insular past? The crossing is proving exceedingly challenging, but this hero is nothing if not gutsy.

For him, though, “To Trust” is the riskiest of wagers, for there is much more than a mere outside chance that he could dare this trek and lose everything.

Excerpt from The Match Volume 2

Volume I – The Wave – Paperback

Volume I – The Wave – e-Book

Volume II – The Wait – Paperback

Volume II – The Wait – e-Book

Volume III – COMING SOON