EXCERPTS FROM THE INCARNATIONS OF JOE: BOOK ONE
From Chapter 1
The snow that night was relentless and heavy. Our headlights illuminated the snowflakes, making it appear as though we drove through an endless ocean of white. Beyond the white of snow, darkness hid mountains which surrounded us and covered the river that sustained us. For me, it was peaceful that night. Our car was warm and its engine made just the faintest rumble as we passed through what might have felt like a fantasy world to some. I felt as safe as I ever had in my life. As I looked out the rear window, I could see that our tire tracks disappeared in mere seconds as we wound our way alongside the South Nahanni River, down the narrow road that lead to the mines and our house. To the north of our property, only the river separated us from the Mackenzie Mountains. To the south, east and the west lay endless rock, forest and ice. It was a natural prison of sorts. I see that now, but then, long ago on that night, this was the only place I had ever called my home.
From Chapter 3
That night Father Sinclair and his chosen few who controlled all things were worshiped as though they were Gods themselves. It was a night when false hope was served to men who had little left to lose and who might seek a trial of life in a different place. I had spent time in the mines alongside these men. Broken worn-down men whose bodies were twisted and bent by arthritis brought on by the years they had spent in the cold damp depths below the earth.Will felt it was necessary for me to learn to work and understand the mines and the men I would one day lead. I would have felt he wished me to die in those mines if he had a son of his own, but he had only me. The inability of Will and my mother to conceive a child was something that was often raised, even in my presence, when Will was drunk and filled with self-pity.As the evening passed, the alcohol mixed with each person’s true nature taking away what walls they had built before they came to this place. Hate, anger, and deceit took hold of the night, leaving dreams, love, and compassion lost within the minds of most people.
From Chapter 12
We think that darkness hides almost all that the light reveals. But the light only shows what eyes are there to see. Everyone was either in the mine, the shops, or their homes. I could have the Devil for tea on my front porch at noon, and no one would know. It’s not like people think. They think evil lies in the darkness. They think that it hides in the forest or in the swamp, a dark attic, or a dimly lit basement. Evil stands in the daylight and watches us each day. It holds a door for us, it looks us in the eyes and asks if it can help.