Ray St. Denis has taken on a series of books, called the Shakarri Series, with his first book available now - set in the Comox Valley. The first book in the series, Lethal Tattoos, follows the main character of Kelly who, while caving, finds himself in a new world. In this foreign place, Kelly finds a world that intertwines magic, prophecy, cybernetic technology and multiverse war. While Kelly doesn’t have much of a backstory, other than the fact that he lost his wife in an accident and found himself moving to the Comox Valley to explore caves that no human had been in before, we learn about his sense of adventure in the unknown. “He’s a bit insane, because he crawls through (caves) that nobody would go through. I set the tone of ‘what’s going to happen to this guy, how is he going to unwind,’ and eventually he gets to this new planet, kind of freaks out and then decides he better get (himself) together,” shared Ray St. Denis, the author. The book takes the reader through Kelly’s lack of will to survive and into his decision that he must survive to help the tigers he encounters upon landing on this new planet. “He’s almost trying to die, at least that’s the impression that we get and then on the other hand, he wants to survive. He’s looking for a reason to survive. He meets the tigers on his first day and he thinks ‘Oh my God, this is not going to end up very well,’ so he goes through the process of trying to survive.” This process of learning to survive with a war happening and to protect the tigers that have Kelly in awe is not an easy feat. “I try to unfold the story so that there is an understanding that everything is brand new for them, and they have to not only discover what it is, but they have to actually get good at making it work, make it happen. That they can do better if they can work together.” The reader is introduced to a family that Kelly becomes immersed in and feels the need to protect in this war, as he feels a connection to them. “After his experience with the massacre at the shores, when they went to their main encampment, he realized that there is no way to talk to (the enemy).” St. Denis did a deep dive to gather the knowledge to put together this book series. He had no experience as a caver and stuck his nose into one and had a look. He knew the experience wasn’t for him, but it was intriguing. He also wanted to be hands-on with the weaponry that the various groups would be using in his book. “I met a fellow at the Filberg Festival who was offering courses on how to make bows, so I made my bow. I took advantage of whatever was local to put in the book.” St. Denis is not originally from the Valley, having made the move in retirement after spending all his vacation time here since 1998 and falling in love with the area. He and his wife decided that the Valley was where they needed to be. Due to this, he felt it was important to have his book start in the Comox Valley with Kelly caving in Strathcona Park. While St. Denis had to learn about various topics, such as caving, for the book, he also drew on personal experience. “What I’ve discovered in writing is that you don’t really stray that far away from who you are. I’m an adventurous person, although… when it comes to caving, not that adventurous. But throughout my life, from the time I was 13, I have always been very active.” St. Denis has included a glossary of terms in the book so that the reader can understand the new terms that he uses to describe the world. For more information on the Shakarri Series, Lethal Tattoos and about St. Denis, visit: restdenis.ca [http://restdenis.ca].
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