Today, we are featuring Grandfather, one fo the main characters from Victorian Songlight: The Birthings Of Magic & Mystery by Dr. Kathy Martone, for our Character Interview feature.
About The Author
Kathy Martone
Dr. Kathy Martone is currently an author and artist living in a small Victorian town in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Before retiring, and moving from Denver, CO to Eureka Springs, AR in 2015, she was a Jungian psychologist in private practice specializing in dream work, women’s spirituality and shamanic journeys. The magical world of dreams has fascinated and intrigued Kathy for as long as she can remember. Inspired by a dream in 2005, she began making velvet tapestries imprinted with the image of one of her own dream figures and embellished with ribbons, rhinestones, feathers, glass beads, Swarovski crystals, antique jewelry and semi-precious stones. Dr. Martone’s work has been displayed in galleries in Denver, Colorado as well as in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
In 2006 Dr. Martone self-published her first book titled, Sacred Wounds: A Love Story. Essays and short stories written by Dr. Martone have been published in eMerge, an online magazine published by The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow. In addition, some of her writings have also appeared in two anthologies titled Dairy Hollow Echo and Not Dead Yet 2.
You can find author Kathy here:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Email
The Interview
Welcome to The Reading Bud! We are really excited to have you over. Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin.
Hello and thank you for having me. My name is Grandfather and I am proud to represent the author who wrote about me in her latest novel titled Victorian Songlight. I am not a human – at least not in my current incarnation. But of course, you would know that, from reading Kathy’s book :>) I live in the between realms, suspended between spirit and matter, and I am infused with golden light.
What is your age and what do you do for a living?
Gosh, it’s hard for me to pin down a specific age for you. I can tell you, though, that my first human birth occurred in the year 15o1. What do I do for a living? Well, mostly I hang out around humans who are seeking spiritual enlightenment, offering support and insight. Very gratifying work, indeed!
How you like to spend your free time?
Suspended as I am between two different worlds, time is not the same for me as it is for you humans who live on only one plane of existence. For example, there is no difference for me between “free” time and otherwise occupied productive time. I just sort of float along in space and allow myself to be pulled in whatever direction the spirit, so to speak, moves me. (Ha Ha, my little joke :>)
Please share some of your beliefs, principles, motivations and morals (can be social, religious or political or, etc. Anything that will help us get to know you better.)
Well, ahem, let me see… (fingers tapping my forehead)
Having lived for over 500 years, I have had lots of different beliefs but perhaps it would be easiest if I focused on my current principles, morals, and motivations. Primarily, I believe in the principles of love, kindness and compassion, for oneself as well as for all living beings. I have been a Buddhist practitioner for most of my lifetimes and I have strong moral convictions about the sanctity of all life and the importance of living in a constant state of heightened awareness. I am committed to the alleviation of all suffering.
Tell us something about your family and childhood.
In all but one of my lifetimes, I was fortunate enough to have very loving parents who took very good care of me. However, in the one instance where this was not the case, I was born into a family of wealth and power. My parents were far more concerned with their greed for money and influence than they were with me. Consequently, they assigned my care to their many attendants who mostly ignored me and abused me. This was the lifetime where I began my study of compassion.
Tell us something about your dreams and aspirations? Were you able to achieve them or are you planning to?
From the very beginning of my lives, I have dreamed of becoming an enlightened Master who would be blessed with humans to love and to nourish. It has been my utmost privilege to have known many talented and honorable humans, with Kate being one of them. It truly is a great honor to share ancient teachings with human beings and to watch them flourish as a result. So basically, I guess you could say that I have always aspired to be a great teacher. If Kate is any indication, I would have to say that my dreams have been a huge success.
What is your biggest fear in life?
Ah ha! I knew you were going to ask me about fear. Why is it that humans often struggle with that emotion? I can tell you that it is largely because your bodies are sculpted out of matter which has a very dense vibration which translates into the emotion of fear. But I digress. For one such as me, fear is what you humans like to call an oxymoron. It just doesn’t exist in the ghostly realms.
How would you describe your life in one sentence?
I was born and I died, both on the same day at the same time in the same womb of Divine Nurturance.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
In one of my early lives, I accidentally stepped on a caterpillar and I heard the poor creature screech in pain. This experience stayed with me for many moons, keeping me awake at night.
Did it change you for the better or the worse?
Definitely for the better. It taught me that all living beings experience pain and that I should strive to alleviate suffering for all sentient beings. This experience broadened my understanding of compassion and its importance for the evolution of consciousness.
What are your plans for the future?
Once again, spirits don’t experience time in a linear fashion. So I don’t think about “plans” like you do. The past, present, and future are all the same to me. There is no difference. For example, I am seated here visiting with you and I am also a little boy in the year 1504, while at the same time I am accompanying Kate as she reincarnates into her next life. I guess you could say that any plans I might have would be to continue my many journeys through time and space.
Victorian Songlight: The Birthings Of Magic & Mystery
The birth of a magical child at the time of the Devil Moon sets the stage for heartache and misery, magic and supernatural love. Beset by unrelenting obstacles and bestowed with remarkable psychic gifts, Kate is often accompanied by fantastical black ravens who carry her through time and space. A well known legend in the Ozark Mountain countryside where Kate lives, Grandfather is a ghost with large golden eyes who frequently rides on the back of Pegasus, another Ozarkian legend. Victorian Songlight is a tale of redemption and renewal, death and rebirth, triumph over darkness. But most importantly, it is a love story. Alone and utterly forsaken, adrift on treacherous waters, Kate meets Grandfather for the second time in her life and they become lovers fulfilling a prophecy at the moment of her birth.
You can find Victorian Songlight here:
Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Nobel
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