“What’s that?” Philip asked.
“I’d like the council to reconsider its vote about not participating in the soup kitchen.”
“I can’t guarantee they’ll change their position,” Philip said. “But we can bring the issue up again.”
“That’s all I’m asking for. Tell Doris and the rest that I’ll be there next Sunday.”
Philip smiled. “Thank you, Caspar. And on behalf of the rest of the council, I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” I asked.
“For how you were treated. It wasn’t right.”
I nodded. “I appreciate that.”
Philip stood and extended his hand. I shook it firmly. “If you’d like to make your case to the council, we’ll be meeting Saturday evening at St. Matthew’s.”
“I’ll be there,” I said.
“Nice to meet you, Layla,” Philip said. He saw her ears. He couldn’t have missed them, but he didn’t say anything. No warnings about dating a cultist. No inquisitions about our living arrangements. Nothing. Just nice to meet you. It was a pleasant change from what I was used to.
I closed the door behind Philip as he left.
“I suppose you should head downstairs and give Donna your notice,” Layla said.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. The church isn’t a full-time gig. To be honest, I kind of enjoy the second job.”
Layla rolled her eyes. “You’re just afraid that if you don’t have to go to work, I’ll make you spend all your time in the gym.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Of course that’s what I’m trying to avoid. But we have a deal, remember?”
“Yes. I’ll watch Star Wars with you.”
“Believe it or not, it will be good training.”
Layla giggled. “I’m sure it will be.”
“No, seriously. The whole movie is about rebels who learn to wield a magic force to take down an evil empire that has stolen the Force and warped it for dark purposes.”
“All right,” Layla said, grinning from ear to ear. “I see the parallels. But this is going to help us defeat my father’s legions how, exactly?”
“Just watch,” I said. “You’ll see. The movie will show us how to do it.”
Layla laughed. Sure, I know that following the path of Luke Skywalker and the advice of Yoda might not be what I need to take on the elven legion, but the original film was later given the title A New Hope. The movie allowed me to think hopeful thoughts. After all, when we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen in life, even when we face what seems like insurmountable challenges, forces of darkness closing in on us from all sides, there’s nothing we need more than new hope. And a resolve to do the next right thing next.
The elven invasion has been delayed, but not prevented. Two seals of the elven prophecy remain unfulfilled. But once the elven legion attacks, how can Caspar and Layla possibly stand against it? Can this minister become the hero that the world needs? Find out in Old Dogma, New Tricks.
The Story Continues
The story continues with Old Dogma New Tricks, coming May 13, 2021 to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Pre-order now to have it delivered as soon as it publishes.
Author Notes - Theophilus Monroe
March 29, 2021
Thank you for reading this book! I realize a book with a magic-wielding minister as a protagonist is a bit unorthodox (see what I did there?). Most of Caspar’s experiences, however, were drawn from my previous vocation as a preacher. Many characters (Caspar, Matthias, Philipp) were named from historic persons in Christendom (mostly from the sixteenth century) whose stories, in some ways, (very) loosely parallel the characters we’ve created with their names’ sakes.
Caspar’s engagement with Agnus… well, I’ve never had a talking cat, per se. But if my cat, Indie, could have talked, Agnus is something what I imagine he’d be like. RIP, Indie. Love ya, buddy! And, thanks for the inspiration!
When Michael and I first started discussing a collaboration and this idea came up I have to confess he was a bit more enthusiastic about the idea at first than I was. I mean, I knew drawing from my own experiences as a minister in a not-to-be-named denomination might irk a few folks. Even more, a minister with some rough-edges, a history of alcoholism, and a bit of a foul mouth more than defies stereotypes.
From my experience, however, that are a lot of men and women in ministry a lot like Caspar. Regular folks, broken people, who struggle through life like all of us. Men and women who lack the support they need because they’re expected to fit a particular persona and mold. This book is, in part, a homage to them. It is also a salute to those who, despite the powers-that-be that make it difficult at times (not just in religion, but in any domain of life), just want to make the world a better place.
In the end, Michael convinced me to run with this idea and I hope you’ll agree with me that it’s a good thing he did. What we ended up with, I think, is a lot better than what I might have written otherwise. I wanted to write a book about vampires in space… I figured, innovative, right? Michael said it had been done. Who woulda thunk?
Jokes aside, thank you to Michael for all his support and encouragement, creative contributions to this project, and his constructive criticism along the way. Thank you to everyone at LMBPN for taking my initially “rough” manuscript and polishing it into what I hope was book you’ve enjoyed. And thank you to Ashley (my own Layla, my “hot elf”), and my three boys, for your support and for enduring my sometimes-obsessive writing schedule.
The title for this book started as a joke. But it was a joke that stuck! So, we ran with it. If seeing the title of this book leaves you with “Who Let the Dogs Out” stuck in your head, I sincerely apologize. Know this—I empathize with your plight. I’ve had the same experience while writing this book… So I’ll leave you with a profound and thought-provoking question: Who let the dogma out? Who, who, who, who, who?
Happy Reading!
-Theo
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
April 14, 2021
Thank you for not only reading this book but providing Theophilus and me the opportunity to mix a few concepts…
Concepts not normally mixed in a fantasy story.
I come from an odd background. I was born into a Catholic family, then my parents split. My dad married a Southern Baptist woman, and I found myself growing up in a Southern Baptist home.
The parents joined a Southern Baptist church which (only later in life) I realized had very charismatic leanings with a strong desire to sing a lot.
Singing bored me to tears. The charismatic part made sense to me.
So, I read a lot of the only book available in church and not heavily frowned upon while sitting in the pew…the Bible. If you have read my Kurtherian Gambit series, you will realize a LOT of the concepts in that series were inspired by aspects of what I’ve read in the past.
Like…Twelve tribes of Kurtherians—Twelve tribes of Judah… (I’ll not bore you with the details. They are in there should you care to read the series.)
Anyway, Theophilus and I share a personal passion that the gist of (many) religions is a core of proper teaching, often surrounded by a lot of dogma that doesn’t need to be involved. However, we are human, and it isn’t only good people involved in the leadership, it’s also bad people.
It isn’t only those who are perfect who care to lead others. It’s those who have failed and seek daily who continue to serve as well, often having to overcome attacks from their fellow believers.
This is the story of one of those people.
We hope you like it.
Regards,
Michael Anderle
P.S. – Don’t forget, Theophilus has written other stories. Go check out his personal Amazon page and find out if any of them are worth a chance;-) - M.
Books by Theophilus Monroe
Also by Theophilus Monroe
The Druid Legacy
Druid’s Dance
Bard’s Tale
Rise of the Morrigan
The Voodoo Legacy
Voodoo Academy
Grim Tidings
Death Rites
Watery Graves
Voodoo Queen
The Legacy of a Vampire Witch
Bloody Hell
Bloody Mad
Bloody Wicked
Bloody Devils
Bloody Gods
The Legend of Nyx
Scared Shiftless
Bat Shift Crazy
No Shift Sherlock
Shift For Brains
Shift Happens
Books By Michael Anderle
Sign up for the LMBPN email list to be notified of new releases and special deals!
https://lmbpn.com/email/
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
Connect with The Authors
Connect with Theophilus Monroe
Website: www.theophilusmonroe.com
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Author/Theophilus-Monroe-Urban-Fantasy-Author-101469961530864/
Connect with Michael Anderle
Website: http://lmbpn.com
Email List: http://lmbpn.com/email/
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/LMBPNPublishing
https://twitter.com/MichaelAnderle
https://www.instagram.com/lmbpn_publishing/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michael-anderle
Who Let the Dogma Out (The Elven Prophecy Book 1) Page 25
