A retired shaman is contacted by the NSA to find out who's coercing politicians into passing bills that they have fought up until now.
Dan Johnston: The NSA pulls Dan Johnston out of a comfortable, but boring, retirement to help them with a very unusual case where they believe politicians are being swayed through the internet and the use of totem animals. Dan has known for years that it's a strange world, but he's not exactly a technical geek, and has little knowledge of what it is the NSA wants him to do. As a shaman, he's used to going to other worlds, but not a machine world. So, he does what he knows how to do, he enters through the people being affected.
Terry Persun has studied engineering, conscious dreaming, shamanism, numerology, and many other subjects. He has a Bachelor’s of Science degree and a Master’s in Arts in Creative Writing. Besides writing nonfiction, Terry has been writing and publishing short stories and novels since the early 1970s. He has been the recipient of seven novel and poetry awards over the years, including the Star of Washington Award, a Silver IPPY for historical fiction, two Book of the Year finalist awards in the science fiction category, two finalist awards from the USABookNews International Book Awards (one in science fiction and one in historical fiction), two poetry chapbook awards, and a Jeanne Voge Poetry Award. Terry writes in a variety of genres including science fiction, thriller, mystery, and mainstream fiction. He is a respected keynoter and speaker at libraries, writers’ groups, writers’ conferences, and universities across the country.
I wrote this first chapter to get the reader into the focus of the shaman in the story. He's actively inside a drum journey, which means he's paying attention to things most of us might not pay attention to if we were awake. It was a fun chapter to write, and I hope it gets readers interested to know what's next.
Book Excerpt
The NSA Files
The rattlesnake hesitated in the path, bright sun glinting from its scaled surface. Before it moved on, its head turned and what appeared as a smile slid across its mouth before a quick flick of its tongue drew it back into movement. Daniel Johnston didn’t appreciate the attention, although he’d been in this situation many times before. He hoped to take a quick journey, to solve his client’s problem through a minor trade of some kind, and then get back to the physical world. The snake’s sly attention meant that it wasn’t going to be that easy. He turned to his guide—a squirrel of all things—but got nothing except an indication that he should follow the snake. He did, as the reptile slithered between some rocks and down a short embankment to a shallow sand pit where it disappeared next to an unusually shaped stone. “Shit.”
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