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WELCOME

to Traces of Magic

by

Rev. Patrick Dolan

Traces of Magic
Books by Rev. Patrick Dolan
(Available in audiobook, paperback and e-book)

Rustic characters use good magic and prayers to help unicorns and other creatures stop an assassin's guild from inserting a weather control spell into a pre-colonial Kentucky valley.

A spell book from an assassin sorcerer causes fear in the city and its destruction lets in a major devil whose very touch kills by fear.  Plans to heal the rupture begin.

Trapping that devil requires all members of the community (clerics, magic users, holy knights, druids, barbarians and rangers) to trick the devil back into hell and reweave the protection net.

After the devil is gone, the Assassins still hold the weather control spell and the characters seek to remove it from their power without damaging the valley.  

Click on any book to find out more information and see a sample of each on Amazon.

Traces of Magic - 1 minute Video Trailer

​Excerpt from the Kirkus review, where they mislabeled these "folklore literature" stories as fantasy:  "This first book in Dolan’s fantasy series has an intriguing premise, which the author discusses in some detail in the foreword; in it, he intriguingly notes that the inspiration for this novel came from his own speculation on what a Celtic-Norse community might have been like if, in the 12th century, it had settled in an uninhabited region of what’s now Kentucky."

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"Each book in the Traces of Magic series is a riveting magical adventure story so blended with reality that it will make you wonder if it really could have happened."   

--Dr. David Overley, MD, Louisville Kentucky

 About the author

 

Father Patrick Dolan is a retired US Army Brigadier General chaplain who served more than 25 years (including 4 times in Iraq)--concluding his duties with the National Guard, where he mentored all the state chaplains in the Nation, and also gave spiritual guidance to all National Guard Generals.  His experience there, as well as a PhD chemist and as a Catholic priest, flavors all the characters.

Contact info: 

Our Mother of Sorrows parish

747 Harrison Ave

Louisville, KY 40217

or

MUCL@hotmail.com

The Facebook posts each day are now being put on the lower portion of this page.  May you enjoy them here or comment on them there.

From an Educator: “Traces of Magic” is a truly epic, ingenious, imaginary journey not only across the clearly identifiable landscape of Kentucky, but across another landscape that reveals the profound impact our choices have to promote good or evil, fear or courage, love or hate. As a Catholic school principal, it is refreshing to read a book for young readers that is both adventurous and suspenseful while highlighting the importance of knowing and living the truths of our faith in a way that is transferable to real world experiences. To get the full impact, however, you must read the entire series; it is a landscape you will not easily forget!

Kathy Fehder, 

Corpus Christi Catholic School Headmaster,

Simpsonville, KY

Book of Poems: 'Vigil Light Echoes' now available for download
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Folks have asked for the book of poems and prayers that has just been completed. We are uploading it for free, and it can be shared with anyone interested.

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Click Here to download, or a hard copy can be purchased from the printer, New Hope Publications, which has added it to their catalogue.

 

Blessings!

 

Fr. Pat

As we begin a new secular year (western calendar, as distinct from the Chinese New Year or the liturgical one that begins with Advent), it is appropriate to look at why we continue to exist, strive and rejoice in the time we have.  Animals (pets) have a desire to keep living, and to enjoy the food and affection we humans give them.  They will even sacrifice themselves to care for those they love:  their own offspring or mates, and even some of us.  We can do the same.

 

Humans have a reflection on life that allows us to do all that a bit more deliberately.  We live in three modes:  survival, worth living, and higher purpose.  Like animals, we will eat to survive, even scavenging things or dragging ourselves to a boring office job just to survive.  Similarly, we will seek things we enjoy:  food, affection, exciting activities, music and other entertainment; in short, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as the US Declaration of Independence states.

 

What distinguishes us from animals, even particularly intelligent and interactive ones like dogs, horses and dolphins and others, is our ability not only to subordinate earthly pleasures and desires to that “higher purpose” which underlies and overlies all our actions, but to realize how that higher purpose makes all these earthly joys even more worth living.  May your higher purpose (for many of us “serving God”) be something you can fulfill your way this new year—and bring you greater happiness in all your other activities.  New Year’s Blessings!

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