Usually, I stick to fun topics in my newsletter: fantasy, fandoms, and free (or discounted) books. So if you want to skip ahead to the lighthearted stuff, I completely understand.
But I've been thinking a lot about Nagasaki these last two weeks.
When I went to Japan for the first time as an exchange student, I did so primarily to learn more about my heritage. My mother's side of the family emigrated from Japan but had lost much of their cultural roots over three generations. It was purely coincidence that my college had an exchange program with the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, so that's where I landed. Even more luck would have me stay with a Japanese family who lived around the corner from Nagasaki Peace Park. I first became familiar with the Nagasaki Peace Statue (see my personal photo below) as a place to walk the family's dog rather than the symbolic gestures he embodied: one hand raised to the sky to warn us of the dangers of nuclear weapons, the other hand extended outward in the fervent hope for world peace.
Nagasaki Peace Statue, 2004
Nagasaki does not try to hide its tragic history of being only one of two places in the world where a nuclear bomb has been detonated. Quite the opposite, they want us all to remember. A neighborhood church near my house only rang its bells once per day, always at 11:02 am, the same time as the bomb went off on August 9, 1945. I visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and saw firsthand collateral damage, along with photographs memorializing the human toll. Ghost-like silhouettes of shadows, burned into walls and sidewalks, were all that remained of some people as their bodies were vaporized on impact. The survivors struggled in the aftermath. A boy who lived through the original blast came to the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies to give a speech (then in his 80s) about his experience with radiation sickness.
As an American whose grandfather (of Japanese descent no less) had fought on the Allies' side of the war, I dealt with a lot of mixed emotions about that devastating day. But one thing that always stood out to me is that the people of Nagasaki weren't concerned about assigning guilt or blame. They simply wanted all of us to remember our shared human history, so that together we could create a future without the devastation of war in general, and nuclear weapons in particular.
I hope we always answer Nagasaki's call for peace.
The Lighthearted Stuff
Portal to Fantasy March Book Fair features over 180 fantasy books from epic fantasy with dragon battles to fairy tale retellings, many of them free or discounted. Both my Nature Wizard series and Llenwald portal fantasy books are featured here. If you're looking for a new book to kick off spring, you're bound to find something to get you through to warmer weather.
Awakening is available for free for a limited time (no signups required). Half-dwarf jeweler/weaponsmith Amethyst just wants to improve her dismal sales, but when her best friend gets kidnapped, she's dragged into a world of cults and dragons.
Gemma and I met as co-authors of the Summer Solstice Shenanigans urban fantasy anthology, and we have a ton in common. In addition to be fantasy writers, we love board games and have creative husbands who've supported us to pursue our passion. We chatted with each other live on Instagram last month if you're interested. (Apologies for the sideways video feed, but given our nerdball personalities, it seems oddly appropriate.)
Spectral Detective: A Three-Book Collection is on sale for 0.99 until March 25th. Jake Fletcher is an ex-exorcist. No, that wasn’t a stutter. Once upon a time he evicted ghosts for a living, at least until he got killed and became one. Now he works as a phantom detective, offering his services to lost souls trapped between this world and the next.
David Bussell, the author of this fantastic set, is an admin for an urban fantasy group that's helped me connect with other fantastic authors in the genre.
Until next time, happy adventuring!
-DM Fike
Stories by DM Fike
Available in Ebook, Paperback, and Kindle Unlimited
Magic of Nasci Nature Wizard series
A secret society of wizards live in our national forests, protecting nature against supernatural threats. Ina may command the four elements at her fingertips, but she can’t stop the savage creature leaving corpses along the Oregon coast. Will summoning forbidden lightning defeat her enemy, or will the storm destroy Ina first?
Legends of Llenwald Portal Fantasy Trilogy
As Avalon gets pulled toward a secret world where others covet her legendary powers, she must decide whom to trust—an amnesiac fairy, a shapeshifting trickster, or even her former doctor—all of whom may only be exploiting her for their own gain.
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