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<v Speaker 1>Seven I six at fifty five air c DE talk station,

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<v Speaker 1>A very happy Friday to you, please, Welcome to the

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<v Speaker 1>fifty five PERC Morning show. Author and local author, most

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<v Speaker 1>known for being the wife of Taya shue Ma. Because

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<v Speaker 1>she's awesome and she's a great homeschooler. What Joe, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>husband of Yeah, I had that backwards, Steve apologies. Steve

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<v Speaker 1>Shuemake is a local author of a trilogy, the Dark

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<v Speaker 1>World Saga Trilogy, which apparently began decades ago when he

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<v Speaker 1>was a teenager. He wrote one hundred pages or so

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<v Speaker 1>that ultimately become his first book, and at the prodding

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<v Speaker 1>of his better half, put pen to paper and actually

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<v Speaker 1>churned out these these books. Welcome to the program, Steve.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a pleasure having you on. How is your better

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<v Speaker 1>half doing? If I can ask that first, you sure can.

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<v Speaker 2>And I gotta say that my wife Taya absolutely loves

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<v Speaker 2>your show, Brian. She's on here, we are in Tennessee,

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<v Speaker 2>and she is still dialed in every single morning.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm still pleased to know that I think the world

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<v Speaker 1>of her and all the things that she's done on

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<v Speaker 1>behalf of homeschool and just a true advocate for true education.

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<v Speaker 1>Of our children. So she's one of the pioneers and

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<v Speaker 1>along those lines, and it's not easy to do, but

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<v Speaker 1>she certainly put everybody toget in touch with the resources

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<v Speaker 1>that allowed them to pursue what she had done and

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<v Speaker 1>what you had done. So God bless her, and good morning, Taya.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad to know that you're listening. I appreciate that, Steve.

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<v Speaker 1>These books are fantasy books, am I correct and categorize them?

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<v Speaker 1>It's not nonfiction, it's fiction, but within fiction there's multiple

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<v Speaker 1>different subgenres. So how would you characterize these books?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? Correct, it's epic fantasy in the same lineage, if

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<v Speaker 2>you will, as Lord of the Rings or Game of

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<v Speaker 2>Thrones or anything along those lines.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, I was just gonna I was gonna comment, I

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<v Speaker 1>think the Lord of the Rings trilogy there's the last

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<v Speaker 1>fantasy books I read. I honestly, I'll be honest with you,

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<v Speaker 1>the the genre has never compelled me. There's just so

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<v Speaker 1>much just classic literature that I love, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>all kinds of other like nonfiction, and just never gravitated

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<v Speaker 1>gravitated toward fantasy. I think that series I read when

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<v Speaker 1>I was in junior high school. But beyond my comments.

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<v Speaker 1>This is what you're here to do, is help us

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<v Speaker 1>through this. What was the purpose of the first book

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<v Speaker 1>is something beyond just telling a fantasy story. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I presume that there's messaging in there, as there usually

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<v Speaker 1>is in literature.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure. I sought out to set out to

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<v Speaker 2>create what I hoped was an interesting story. But the

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<v Speaker 2>way that I went about doing it was I took

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<v Speaker 2>for inspiration three attributes that most people around the world

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<v Speaker 2>ascribed to God. And so the first was about wisdom,

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<v Speaker 2>and Book one is called in Pursuit Wisdom, and the

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<v Speaker 2>second is security or protection, and so book two is

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<v Speaker 2>in Need of Protection. And then I got pretty busy

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<v Speaker 2>at my building a firm here in town, consulting firm,

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<v Speaker 2>and it took about an eight year hiatus, much to

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<v Speaker 2>the dismay of some of my readership. But finally book

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<v Speaker 2>three has come out, and I chose justice, which I

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<v Speaker 2>think is a fairly timely, fairly relevant to our culture

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<v Speaker 2>today attribute the people look for from a higher power.

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<v Speaker 2>And so the book three is called in Search of Justice,

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<v Speaker 2>and that is coming out in print on April seventh.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, congratulations on the new one. I'm pleased. Another that

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<v Speaker 1>you're still hard to work on. I guess you're a

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<v Speaker 1>fan of CS lewis work, then it sounds like it's

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<v Speaker 1>got shades of C. S. Lewis for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I took inspiration from a lot of different authors.

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<v Speaker 2>I think most authors would admit that, but CS. Lewis

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<v Speaker 2>is certainly high among them. Tolkien. I think everybody has

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<v Speaker 2>to tip their cat if they're going to write in

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<v Speaker 2>this genre to Tolkien. But even some of the more

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<v Speaker 2>recent works, like I love some of the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I love some of Stephen King's sudden plot twists in

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<v Speaker 2>his Horror. I hate his endings. I think a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people do. Yeah, and even some of the other authors,

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<v Speaker 2>like Susan Collins, they wrote pretty strong female characters without

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<v Speaker 2>turning the men in their stories into into Mellie mouthed whimps,

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<v Speaker 2>and so I like that aspect too. I mean, a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of my female characters are pretty strong, but not

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<v Speaker 2>at the expense of the male characters either. So I

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<v Speaker 2>just took inspiration from a lot of different areas.

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<v Speaker 1>Fair enough. Well, In Pursuit of Wisdom, the first book

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<v Speaker 1>in the series, you create this this realm, you have

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<v Speaker 1>this other world. It's not a place in the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not a place on our globe, for example, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's a different land, somewhere, a fiction land.

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<v Speaker 2>It is. Yeah, so the the indust think tidbit there.

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<v Speaker 2>For a lot of the Catholics in the Cincinnati community,

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<v Speaker 2>you may be familiar with a around around Easter or

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<v Speaker 2>not Easter, but though sometimes around Easter a tenebrae service,

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<v Speaker 2>which is a dark lights out service on Good Friday.

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<v Speaker 2>And Tenebra I took his inspiration as the name of

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<v Speaker 2>the world because it is the dark World saga and

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<v Speaker 2>Tenebray is Latin for darkness. And so that's actually the

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<v Speaker 2>whole theme of this book, these this this trilogy is

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<v Speaker 2>it's a world that has fallen away from the One

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<v Speaker 2>True God and and what that entails. And in part

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<v Speaker 2>it's it's a it's a quest to kind of rediscover

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit of the light.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was just going to ask you, this is

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<v Speaker 1>a quest book. It's like the quest. And I don't

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<v Speaker 1>mean to be loose with this. For the Holy Grail,

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<v Speaker 1>you have been issued a challenge. There's something that the

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<v Speaker 1>main character is after or in search of.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's a there's several main characters and and and

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<v Speaker 2>several main villains. But yes, there is a quest that

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<v Speaker 2>is part of the part of the motor that drives

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<v Speaker 2>the narrative forward. But I would say that it's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot more about the interactions and the and the character arcs,

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<v Speaker 2>if you will, of the various protagonists involved, for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>But yeah, there's definitely quests. For I took, for example,

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<v Speaker 2>each of those attributes of God and I embodied them

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<v Speaker 2>into an artifact, and so getting that artifact, the Staff

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<v Speaker 2>of Insight, the Shield of Life, and then in this

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<v Speaker 2>book the Blade of Righteousness are are just objects if

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<v Speaker 2>you will, that they compel the characters action moving forward.

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<v Speaker 1>Gotcha parallels though with the divine for sure? Okay? And

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<v Speaker 1>in need of protection, I note that the notes in

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<v Speaker 1>the cap when war comes, where do people turn for protection?

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<v Speaker 1>And I am going to anticipate that we should be

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<v Speaker 1>a little introspective and kind of learn to swim on

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<v Speaker 1>our own and maybe with the help of God. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to give too much away for us,

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<v Speaker 2>but yeah, there is you know, at the core of this.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that each book, uh you know, I think

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<v Speaker 2>provides a perspective and should force you to think. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>there's a little bit of philosophy. Hopefully it's an entertaining

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<v Speaker 2>story regardless of your religion, but it would be impossible

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<v Speaker 2>to read these and not pick up some threads of philosophy.

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<v Speaker 1>Good well, philosophy is another area of a literature that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm very very much a fan of, so I good

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<v Speaker 1>to get something out of this. Steve Shuemake, author of

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<v Speaker 1>the trilogy.

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<v Speaker 2>And finally, timeless questions, I mean, if they're you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the the hook for book one was if there is

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<v Speaker 2>a God, why do things happen to good people?

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<v Speaker 1>Ah, the eternal question.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a question that's been asked by people for thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of years.

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<v Speaker 1>Brian, you know, am I going to response to that?

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<v Speaker 1>Don't get out in dark passage here? But he doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>you know, God doesn't NeSSI, you know, not gonna let

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<v Speaker 1>you win the lottery or make you win the lottery.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the people who use prayer as a mechanism

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<v Speaker 1>to ask for stuff and things or on a bad

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<v Speaker 1>parallel or on a bad path. You're supposed to use prayer.

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<v Speaker 1>You're supposed to use prayer for introspection. You're talking to

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<v Speaker 1>it all seeing, all knowing power who can see through

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<v Speaker 1>your bs if I may be so bold, so you

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<v Speaker 1>can't lie to them. And it challenged you to find

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<v Speaker 1>out you know where you are in your life and

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<v Speaker 1>why things are going on in your life that sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>have a negative impact, and perhaps learn from them. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's the point I wanted to make. Bad things do

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<v Speaker 1>happen to good people, but maybe they provide a vehicle

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<v Speaker 1>for us to learn something like, for example, spend a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of time with the people you love because the

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<v Speaker 1>world's an imperfect place. They may get hit by a

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<v Speaker 1>train tomorrow. You know, that's just one little lesson. I

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<v Speaker 1>wish I had spent more time with them. So start

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<v Speaker 1>doing that. Call your mom up every day, you know

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<v Speaker 1>what I'm saying exactly, or don't do stupid stuff, Steve.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, but these are the these are the These are

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<v Speaker 2>the types of questions that I think make the book compelling,

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<v Speaker 2>whether you're a fan of this genre or not, because

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<v Speaker 2>it's they've been asked in there. Everybody goes through life

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<v Speaker 2>and they ask these types of questions.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, and the second one is fed by the where

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<v Speaker 1>do we find protection during perilous times? And again I

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<v Speaker 1>think people people quite often look to leaders, which of

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<v Speaker 1>course is part of your next, your third book that's

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<v Speaker 1>coming out, When leaders fail? Who administers Justice? But where

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<v Speaker 1>do we find protection during perilous times? What's the sort

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<v Speaker 1>of tease on that component of the second book?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, a great question. You you really need when when

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<v Speaker 2>times get tough. This is you know, my philosophy is,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we we all should seek virtue. But what

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<v Speaker 2>happens when the people in charge don't have virtue? What

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<v Speaker 2>happens when the leaders and the characters in my book,

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<v Speaker 2>in my world involved aren't always the most virtuous and

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<v Speaker 2>you uh, and and governments fall, kingdoms fall, and you're

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<v Speaker 2>left with chaos. You know. Hopefully what people take away

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<v Speaker 2>from that is that you know, you you look to God.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you should be looking towards something that is

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit more stable than what you know, who's

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<v Speaker 2>president today and who's gone tomorrow?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, well, also there's provided, there's there's his times

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<v Speaker 1>provide opportunities for us to reflect on not repeating the

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<v Speaker 1>mistakes of others. Another interesting lesson. We can learn from

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<v Speaker 1>the bad things that happen to good people. Don't do that.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course that the third book, When leaders fail,

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<v Speaker 1>who administers justice? There couldn't be a more timely book

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<v Speaker 1>for your third release, Steve, For.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure, everybody is. I think everybody has been. You just

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<v Speaker 2>look at the results of the last election. I think

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<v Speaker 2>every but he has been craving some semblance of justice

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<v Speaker 2>for you know what has been done to this country

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<v Speaker 2>over the last several years.

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<v Speaker 1>So certainly timely, amen, Steve. I hope you have a

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<v Speaker 1>wildly successful writing career, and I encourage my listeners to

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<v Speaker 1>head over to fifty five case dot com, where Joe

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<v Speaker 1>Strekker has updated my page. You include a link to

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<v Speaker 1>the Dark World saga. You've got your personal link, You've

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<v Speaker 1>got you on x per Se how people can follow you,

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<v Speaker 1>and then of course the links to the Amazon pages

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<v Speaker 1>where they can buy the books. Steve, it's been great

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<v Speaker 1>talking with you, and congratulations smart men Mary Smart and

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<v Speaker 1>you clearly did that with Taya. Love her and keep

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<v Speaker 1>up the great work when the other books come out.

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<v Speaker 1>You've got a place to talk about him.