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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

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 free 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 each box to download its article, or a hard copy can be purchased from the printer, New Hope Publications, which has added it to their catalogue.

 

Blessings!

 

Fr. Pat

Colors of Spirituality

Spirituality for Beginners

Today's Blog:

Thanks to everyone who prayed for me as I began my prostate cancer radiation treatments this afternoon.  The first dose was remarkably easy, and I am told that the subsequent doses will also be good.  Thereafter, I stopped by the tribunal to deliver a completed case for which I was Defender of the Bond and to get clarity for the next case on which I am working.  For about 33 years I’ve been doing this “in my spare time” and the tribunal considers it helpful.

 

Later that afternoon one of the wonderful folks from St. Stephen Martyr came over to help me hang pictures, and then enjoy a coupon at Arby’s that requires 2 people to eat it.  With only a few boxes left to open, the place is beginning to look settled and livable.  Contrasting this space to what many of the Traces of Magic characters lived in makes me guilty for complaining about the 23 steps or the poorly designed kitchen here.  I am learning to live with both those obstacles.

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I still feel guilty for having so much space (much of it unusable).  I had 320 sq ft when I lived in Springfield and 340 sq ft in Jamestown, and flourished in that space with furniture that others consider unfit for a basement.  For me it fits well, and I feel less guilt living with discarded barracks furniture.  After all, it’s better than a pup tent in the mud with bullets flying.  May you be settled honorably where you live and work, and may you live there guilt-free.  Mid-January Blessings!

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