Dark Sings A Distant Herald is is the first novel in the Distant Herald series. Set in the not too distant future of the English Midlands, the story explores how youth, unable to accept an eroding British identity, defy their new leadership and head… — ***Dark Sings A Distant Herald*** is a novel set in the not too distant future of the English Midlands, the story explores how youth, unable to accept an eroding British identity, defy their new leadership and head off on a journey of discovery and adventure. (2014)

Dark Sings a Distant Herald: A Christmas Story on Holding Back the British Twilight

A Novel by Charles T. Mitchell, as C. Talmadge Mitchell

Britain, a number of years in the future, some time after Brexit, is on the verge of the sunset of empire feared since the chaos of the post-WWII years, to include within the very borders of the home isles. Disillusioned, politicians have allowed the English Midlands to be absorbed into an experimental opportunity zone with increasingly repressive, separate regulations and practices that gradually erode the relationship between the zone and Britain at large.

John, a former zone prodigy, and Elsa, a brilliant stepchild of the zone elite, lead a small group to challenge the status quo and strike out on a journey to regain lost traditions. Joined by close friends Henry, Tom, and Arman (until an incident takes Arman on a detour), they are pursued by zealous zone enforcers, threatened by ethereal and dangerous characters, captured by lost souls, and forced to endure obstacles of uncertainty, adversity, betrayal, and disappointment.

Dash with the group across the wintry English countryside in search of a secret celebration as they attempt to evade zone henchmen, with surprise help from a range of characters; Sam, son of the zone’s founders; Emma and her elite team of River Welland Guards; Giorgos, an amicable Greek transporter and smuggler; Naomi and Bogart, siblings in a colony of artsy dissenters; a Persian innkeeper and, Elika, his violinist daughter; holy men from various faiths; an anachronistic ferryman; latter-day assassins who slip in and out of the zone like ghosts; and other accidental allies.

Move with the group through the powerful imagery and poetic tragedy of the Great ‘Oundle Run, the sinister dissolution of the independent schools, the unending agony of an angelic farm girl longing to be with her lost love, the madness of an old Mercian aristocrat who holds onto the past, the lunacy of a school frozen in time, the hints of ghosts from other eras, and a number of other adventures and encounters.

Step through the wicket gate and let the storyteller in this first book of the Distant Herald series take you on a fast-paced journey in search of lost traditions, misplaced identity, new friendships, and alternatives to the gathering twilight in the green and pleasant land. (2014)

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About the Book

Dark Sings a Distant Herald is a literary Christmas novel by Charles T. Mitchell (as C. Talmadge Mitchell) exploring heritage, cultural conflict, and human connection during a season shaped by uncertainty and identity crisis.

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Details

Title: Hues of Seoul: Mystery and Suspense in Today’s Korea
Author: Charles T. Mitchell
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Genre: Short Stories / Literary Fiction
ISBN: 978-1733488129
Year: 2021

More Books by Charles T. Mitchell

Madylan of Manhattan
The God Song
Hues of Tokyo
Beach Time
Dark Sings a Distant Herald

Themes

Cultural identity crisis
Journey to discover one’s lost roots
Distance and reconnection
The emotional landscape of the Christmas season
Time, return, and personal history
Quiet moments of change

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Hues of Tokyo: Tales of Today's Japan (Short Stories)

Hues of Tokyo is a haunting collection of short stories with a backdrop of one of the world's most interesting cities. As you travel with visitors and natives through the streets of Tokyo, you will puzzle through the surreal encounter of a first time visitor to Tokyo, join a salary man who is looking for life beyond the company, or hold your breath as a young girl tries to find a way out of a traumatic abuse cycle. Additional tales speak to lost love, the blindness of greed and redemption of fair play, and the loss of an old friend to modern encroachment. Several provocative stories look to Japan's history for inspiration in today's fast-paced society. Hues of Tokyo can be read straight through, as a whole work with interlocking themes, or each story can be cherished individually as you enter the world of a complex city of intrigue and history. However you approach the network of stories, you will be entertained by whimsical tales that both amuse and provoke deep thought about the relationships among past, present, and future-in Tokyo, and beyond. (2003)

ASIN: B006SSKDDC(ebook)

ISBN: 978-0595289905(paperback)

GALLERY:

Photos from Appalachia and beyond, relevant to The God Song: An Artificial Intelligence Awakening Over Appalachia Way:

Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

March, 2019

Rhythm & Roots Festival (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Bristol, TN-VA, Sep 2019 (Huge crowds on the other side of camera…)

Carter Family Fold (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, VA, March 2019

A.P. Carter Home (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, VA, March 2019

South Fork of the Holston RIver (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

South Fork, Holston River, near Abingdon, Virginia, March 2019

Ruins of St. Andrews Castle, Scotland (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

St. Andrews, County Fife, Scotland, UK, September 2017

Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Volunteering during the Feb, 2019 snow at the Korean War Veterans Memorial. 한국 전쟁 참전 용사 기념관 (Photo: NPS)

The Gourmet Shop (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Columbia, S.C., Jan 2018

Distant Herald Series Related Photos

Historic locales (England and Germany) that are inspirational on a number of levels.

Spitfire Ale toast to past (and current) defenders of the realm, The Parrot Pub, Canterbury, Kent (September 2017)

Palace of Westminster, from inside, at Cromwell Green (September, 2017)

Peter Pan Statue, Kensington Gardens, London (Sept 2017) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Tower Bridge, from Tower of London, London, UK (Mar 2008) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Sherlock Holmes statue, Marylebone Rd., London, UK (2008) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Trafalgar Square, London, UK (2009) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Old Ferry Boat, Holywell, UK (2009) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Near All Saints Square, Stamford, UK (2010) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Crown Hotel, from All Saints, Stamford, UK (2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Footbridge over the River Welland, Stamford, UK (2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Stamford, UK (Jun 2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Stamford, UK, High Street St. Martin's

Oundle, UK (early evening, Feb 2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Chapel, Oundle, UK (Feb 2009) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Thatched cottage, in the Fens during the big snow, Cambridgeshire, UK (Feb 2009) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Big Snow, the Fens, Cambridgeshire, UK (Feb 2009) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Houghton Mill, Houghton, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Mill Pond, Houghton Mill, Houghton, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Cathedral Church of St. Andrew, Wells, UK (Jul 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Sunset (without the author ruining the view) at Wells Cathedral, UK (October 2010) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Cambridge, UK (2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

River Cam, Cambridge, UK (Jul 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Poppies with friends, Stonehenge (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Stonehenge, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Beach at the Cliffs, Hunstanton, UK (Jun 2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Cliffs, Hunstanton, UK (2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Westminster Abbey, London, UK, after the choral service (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Churchill War Rooms, King Charles St, London, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

St Ives Bridge, UK, looking west (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

St Ives Bridge, UK, looking east (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

St. Ives Bridge, River Great Ouse, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK (Jul 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

St Ives Bridge, UK (one of only a few in the UK with a chapel), (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Cromwell statue, St Ives, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

River Great Ouse, Hemingford Abbots, UK (July 2014) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Imperial War Museum, London, UK (Oct 2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

Old Bridge, Neckar River, with the Castle above, Heidelberg, Germany (Feb 2010) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

The Red Ox, Heidelberg, Germany (Jan 2011) (Copy) (Copy) (Copy)

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