





(Image Via, Judy Black Cloud)


Blessed be everyone






Misanthropic, hapless do-gooder Pan Blair works through various family and personal problems in her journey of self-discovery, along the way seeing herself not as the everyday stay-at-home mom she expects but Pandora of Greek mythology, with Zeus hot on her trail.

Pan is trapped in the last place she wants to be: a surprise party in her honor. The bash was her husband Sedryck’s idea—in reality, it’s a business schmoozing session. The story proceeds through a series of domestic issues. Her husband’s “sure thing” business deal, in which he has invested all their savings, turns out to be a scam, just as Pan suspected. She’s even scammed by a woman named Phobia and her son Damon, a duo that later returns as hostile deities. When her husband’s scheme fails, Pan gets a job managing a bookstore owned by a family of kindred souls who are actually gods and goddesses. Through them, Pan discovers both the frailty of her marriage and her once-and-future soul mate. During this self-discovery, author Fedelia makes use of Pan as an ignorant narrator: Though she tells the story, everyone knows what’s coming but her, which can be a bit frustrating. Regardless, from Pan’s unusual curses (“Crud muffins,” “Boogers”) to her innate distrust of nearly everyone but her three girls, Pan’s character is painted with charming strokes. Her transition from mom to semideity presents a difficult challenge, but Fedelia wisely avoids presenting the gods as intimidatingly godlike or turning the narrative into a mock-heroic farce. The author chooses instead to keep the deities’ language contemporary—a wise decision until Pan learns her true identity by watching memory discs, presumably recorded when the incidents occurred in mythical times. Here, the modern speech rings jarringly false: The centaur Chieron uses the word “wonky,” and the Titan god Chronos, lord of time, says, “you must be tripping.”

A captivating, largely successful attempt to meld everyday life, romance and fantasy.

When people ask me, “So what is that book you’re writing all about any way?” I like to tell them, in a nut shell it’s about witchcraft, karma and what was really in Pandora’s Box. At this point one of two things happens, either the person will smile painfully and change the subject, or they eagerly ask for more details. If you fall into the second group of people, then I graciously invite you to read on.  If you were in the first group, thank you for stopping by.

Most of you reading are no doubt familiar with the classical Greek version of Pandora’s myth, depicting her as a thoughtless troublemaker who’s careless and willful behavior cause plague pestilence and misery to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Sort of the Greek version of eve. Right? Nothing to controversial so far.

And I am sure there are a fare few of you out there who have the Pre-Olympian rendition in which Pandora is the giver of all gifts, literally the emissary of the Gods and Goddesses delivering their gifts to humanity. This older fable, from a more matriarchal time has been gaining positive recognition since I first heard it (we won’t go into how many years ago) but still in some circles will bring if not cries of dissent at the least raises a few disdainful brows.

In The Box I attempt to reconcile and explain how such extreme and disparate portrayals of First Woman could exists and how her true story like most truths probably lies somewhere in-between.

The Box picks up Pandora’s story in the modern day with our protagonist completely ignorant of her own infamy. Like all mythic tales heroic trials The Box is at its core a tale of self discovery. Pandora’s journey encompasses every aspect of the human experience from motherhood to love from defining oneself spiritually to examining the morality of doing the right thing.

I consider the telling of this story Pandora’s greatest gift to me and I am honored to be able to share it with you all. I have included here some of my favorite excerpts from the book to help you get to know our cast of charters and plan on adding some of Pandora’s adventures while on the run from Zeus, as well as some random short stories that have nothing to do with anything  in particular.

That you enjoy your visit here is my sincerest