top of page

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."

​

​

"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
​
​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

​

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

At midnight last night the Christmas season officially ended.  Only a few decorations, mainly living plants, still remain in churches and homes—particularly those plants which were of good stock and were well cared for.  When I pastored St. Theresa of Calcutta parish in Fairdale, we would try to keep all the white plants alive to use at the Easter season, as a foundation for other decorations (like lilies) and struggle 7 more weeks to keep the red ones decent for Pentecost. 

 

Those flowers, enduring through ordinary time, are a sign that the blessings of Christmas endure.  Christ’s birth was nice and very comforting, but His passion and resurrection are what give the depth of meaning to our lives.  Without that meaning, life is groundless.  Sometimes, however, we settle for comfort.  This is much like those who only see the decorations of Christmas and quickly flit to something else. 

 

There is an encore to the Christmas experience on February 2nd:  the feast of the Presentation or Candlemas.  Much like the Jewish celebration of Chanukah or the one tiny candle lit on the first Sunday of Advent, the tiny light guiding us may only bring a little comfort, but it is a spark of hope in a world that seems all-too-dark once the Christmas lights are gone.  May you carry that light of hope in you all through these darker and colder months of the year.  January Blessings!

© 2025 by Traces of Magic. Publishers. Powered and secured by Wix

bottom of page