I am a great fan of Joseph Campbell, perhaps because I am such a great fan of myth and legend. I thought of him often today as the keys flew and a new hero's journey began. I thought of Campbell first when I realized that never do my characters begin with ordinary lives. They are always extraordinary, larger than life, rarely conflicted with doubt and fearfulness, at least until the deepest shadows fall. I thought of him again as a new character took her first unsteady steps toward a tantalizing trickster, and wondered if Campbell would be correct in assuming this trickster would bring change. As this hero continues along her crooked and uneven path, I will hold firm the light of the collective consciousness and once again follow my muse as she leads a woman upon a hero's journey.

As I watched the emerging character fill the cup that would pour her words into my mind, I discovered that she has the greatest heart of any I have written. I do hope she will manage to pull herself up through the depths of darkness and despair to arrive in the stunning circle of brilliance that should await every struggling hero. Will she? As yet I do not know, she still has very far to travel.