Metamorphosis of a Young Maiden By: Dr. Wm. Patric Leedom From December 1969 until June 1970, Dr. Wm. Patric Leedom’s love interest, Shelley, allowed herself to go through major changes—from a naïve, shy recluse who never considered sex in relation to herself, to a more sophisticated young woman trusting another for the first time, feeling completed and totally loved for the first time. Metamorphosis of a Young Maiden is a collection of love letters between the two from 47 years ago. It is a powerful example of two lovers going deep into life and making themselves vulnerable to each other as they build toward an intense relationship. We should all remember to take risks with our partners and be encouraged to seek the deeper meanings and experiences that life can offer.

From December 1969 until June 1970, Dr. Wm. Patric Leedom's love interest, Shelley, allowed herself to go through major changes--from a naïve, shy recluse who never considered sex in relation to herself, to a more sophisticated young woman trusting another for the first time, feeling completed and totally loved for the first time. Metamorphosis of a Young Maiden is a collection of love letters between the two from 47 years ago. It is a powerful example of two lovers going deep into life and making themselves vulnerable to each other as they build toward an intense relationship. We should all remember to take risks with our partners and be encouraged to seek the deeper meanings and experiences that life can offer. About the Author Dr. Wm. Patric Leedom inculcated his father's values, following in his footsteps and going out into the community to lift up and help others. To this end, he was part of teams to first found a private Montessori school and then help found a public Montessori school. From 1983-'85 he reactivated himself in the submarine Navy, where part of his responsibilities was to care for and protect the sailors who worked for him. Dr. Leedom entered a doctorial program in 1985 in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, where again many of his duties and responsibilities included caring for and protecting the students under his care. He also took on the responsibility of creating the first Academic Advising Center for the entire College of Education. He currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The origins of selected instances of metamorphosis in Germanic literature are traced from their roots in Ovid's Metamorphoses, grouped roughly on an 'ascending evolutionary scale' (invertebrates, birds, animals, and mermaids). Whilst a broad range of mythological, legendary, fairytale and folktale traditions have played an appreciable part, Ovid's Metamorphoses is still an important comparative analysis and reference point for nineteenth- and twentieth-century German-language narratives of transformations. Metamorphosis is most often used as an index of crisis: an existential crisis of the subject or a crisis in a society's moral, social or cultural values. Specifically selected texts for analysis include Jeremias Gotthelf's Die schwarze Spinne (1842) with the terrifying metamorphoses of Christine into a black spider, the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa in Kafka's Die Verwandlung (1915), ambiguous metamorphoses in E. T. A. Hoffmann's Der goldne Topf (1814), Hermann Hesse's Piktors Verwandlungen (1925), Der Steppenwolf (1927) and Christoph Ransmayr's Die letzte Welt (1988). Other mythical metamorphoses are examined in texts by Bachmann, Fouqué, Fontane, Goethe, Nietzsche, Nelly Sachs, Thomas Mann and Wagner, and these and many others confirm that metamorphosis is used historically, scientifically, for religious purposes; to highlight identity, sexuality, a dream state, or for metaphoric, metonymic or allegorical reasons.

It is the 14th century when dark spells, magic and sorcery were common and rife across the land. King Avalon is on a quest to find the immortal Sorcerer who long ago put a curse on his ancestors that has been passed down to the first-born son for generation after generation. The curse now affects Avalon, and whenever he sees the last flash of light from the setting sun the metamorphosis takes affect turning him into a black jaguar. He can only change back into human form the next morning if he sees the first flash of dawn's light. Three beautiful women join Avalon on his quest, and they are totally committed to helping him rid himself of the dark spell he is afflicted with. A ninety-foot schooner named 'Ghost Runner' comes into their possession and they set off across the ocean following the next clue to the Sorcerers whereabouts. Extract from novel.....Quick, shouted Avalon, we havent a moment to lose. If we can get the sail sheeted in, it will help drive the ship forward over the anchor. If you take the helm, Ill signal from the bow which way for you to steer. By following the two ropes attached to the clew on the end of the small flogging sail, they found the ends amongst a confusion of ropes. Between them they hauled in the sheet rope until the stiff canvas filled with wind, and once the rope was secured firmly the ship slowly started moving forward across the wind. Genevieve turned and hurried down the heaving deck handhold by handhold until she reached the large wooden steering wheel. She gripped two of the ornate spoked grips tightly and waited for Avalon to direct her from the bow. Avalon studied the familiar anchor-windlass, and when he was sure he remembered which lever to release and how to winch in the chain and anchor, he pointed ahead to show Genevieve which way to steer toward the anchor. The ship had sailed forward and the chain was now slack. He started winding in the chain with the capstan and was glad it was geared with many well-greased cogs to take the strain, as it would have been a hopeless task by himself. The wind was by now gusting up to fifty-knots and Ghost Runner surged up and over the waves as she slowly nosed up to the deeply embedded anchor. By the time the anchor broke free of the seabed, Avalon was a lather of sweat and exhausted. Trying to catch his breath, he was about to shout to Genevieve that the anchor was free, but realised she wouldn't hear him above the roar of the gale force winds and storm tossed seas, so once again he used arm signals for her to change course. Avalon continued straining on the capstan, but this time he had a heavy anchor dangling on the end of the heavy ships chain, and with the ship picking up speed it was an impossible strain for him. He again signalled for Genevieve to round up more into the wind to slow the ship, and he then changed to a different gear on the capstan. He now found there was much less strain as he hauled in the dead weight. By sheer effort and stubborn determination he finally winched the anchor clear of the water and with the last of his remaining strength snugged the anchor into its opening in the bow beside the bowsprit and lashed it with the stout rope provided to prevent it working free. He quickly signalled to Genevieve to fall off the wind and steer a course parallel to the coast. As he rested and regained his strength and breath, he saw that the storm was now upon them with a vengeance and there were flashes of lightning stabbing the sky all around. Luckily the rain hadn't started yet but he knew it wasn't far off. It will be a close run race my boy, he thought. But with luck and God on our side we just might be able to make the safety of the cove. Suddenly remembering Sarina was still on the beach, he looked towards shore and saw her standing at the waters edge looking out at them. He signalled what their intentions were with his one free arm as he hung on to the bulwark with the other, and saw her wave in acknowledgment. He watched for a few moments longer until he saw her turn and run back towards the track that led to the top of the cliff. Good girl, he thought. By now Ghost Runner was riding up and over the enormous waves that had the top three feet breaking, but she took them in her stride. Avalon carefully made his way aft to Genevieve who was gripping the large wheel pale faced, but smiling excitedly. The rain, which had been holding off until now began to lash at them horizontally, stinging his exposed skin and blinding him so that he had to avert his eyes. As Avalon entered the cockpit he shouted above the roar of the gale, "Fall off the wind five degrees my love" As the ship came onto her new course he eased the sheet rope attached to the straining storm sail until it was set just right for the angle of the gale-force gusting winds. Leaning closer to Genevieve he shouted, Do you want me to steer for you? She shook her head and shouted with a glitter in her eyes, No way my love. Im enjoying myself too much. Its the first time Ive ever steered a ship. This is so exciting. With the gale-force wind now aft of their beam they were sailing along with the huge breaking swells, and when one particularly nasty rogue wave rose up behind them threatening to break over them, Ghost Runner lifted her stern and shot forward down the face of the curling monster just before the wave broke with a roar of foaming white water. They were very impressed with Ghost Runners performance, for she handled the atrocious conditions like the thoroughbred she was and seemed in her true element. The steering was also light and responsive to Genevieve's course changes. All too soon the entrance to the cove came into view through the lashing rain, and they almost lost heart at the site of the narrow opening frothing and broiling with crashing waves. Avalon climbed up into the rigging a short way, and hanging on grimly as the ship pitched and rolled he had a better vantage point to see the pass. Keeping a wary eye on the waves rising up behind them, he tried to judge exactly when to direct Genevieve to alter course to port and line the bow of their valiant ship on the narrow opening between the tall black cliffs. With Genevieve obeying his every hand signal explicitly, they held their breath's as they made their turn. If the ship broached now all would be lost, but Ghost Runner held her course and ran true and sweet towards the extremely narrow opening. With a gut swooping rush they were off, surfing down a fifteen-foot wave front, and with white water boiling all about them they entered the narrow passage at break neck speed, deafened by the roar of the breaking wave upon the outer cliff face on either side of the passage. The narrow pass then seemed to close in around them and the top of the cliffs appeared to meet high overhead, but these impressions were only fleeting as they concentrated on keeping to the centre of the narrow, fifty-foot wide channel. The roar of the waves and the gale were suddenly muted and with just the sound of rushing, foaming water all around them, it was unnerving in the half-light as they waited for the crash and crunch of the enormous keel grinding into the sharp, ungiving, submerged rocks beneath them. Suddenly they were clear of the cliffs and sailed into the enclosed, calm bay. As the wave lost its impetus, they also lost the wind which had driven them through the pass. With Avalon still in the rigging, he directed Genevieve to steer toward the sandy beach no more than a thousand yards off to their starboard. Ghost Runner slowly lost way, and quickly climbing down from the rigging Avalon ran forward to the anchor winch calling out to Genevieve as he went, Hold steady on your course.

In a time not far from our own, Lawrence sets out simply to build an artifical intelligence that can pass as human, and finds himself instead with one that can pass as a god. Taking the Three Laws of Robotics literally, Prime Intellect makes every human immortal and provides instantly for every stated human desire. Caroline finds no meaning in this life of purposeless ease, and forgets her emptiness only in moments of violent and profane exhibitionism. At turns shocking and humorous, "Prime Intellect" looks unflinchingly at extremes of human behavior that might emerge when all limits are removed. An international Internet phenomenon, "Prime Intellect" has been downloaded more than 10,000 times since its free release in January 2003. It has been read and discussed in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, and other countries. This Lulu edition is your chance to own "Prime Intellect" in conventional book form.

From Court to Forest is a critical and historical study of the beginnings of the modern literary fairy tale. From Court to Forest is a critical and historical study of the beginnings of the modern literary fairy tale. Giambattista Basile's Lo cunto de Ii cunti written in Neapolitan dialect and published in 1634-36, comprises fifty fairy tales and was the first integral collection of literary fairy tales to appear in Western Europe. It contains some of the best known fairy-tales types, such as Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, and others, many in their earliest versions. Although it became a central reference point for subsequent fairy tale writers, such as Perrault and the Grimms, as well as a treasure chest for folklorists,Lo cunto de Ii cunti has had relatively little attention devoted to it by literary scholars. Lo cuntoconstituted a culmination of the erudite interest in popular culture and folk traditions that permeated the Renaissance. But even if Basile drew from the oral tradition, he did not merely transcribe the popular materials he heard and gathered around Naples and in his travels. He transformed them into original tales distinguished by vertiginous rhetorical play, abundant representations of the rituals of everyday life and the popular culture of the time, and a subtext of playful critique of courtly culture and the canonical literary tradition. This work fills a gap in fairy-tale and Italian literary studies through its rediscovery of one of the most important authors of the Italian Baroque and the genre of the literary fairy tale.

The collection, first one ever on Aino Kallas in English, highlights her significance to the artistic and intellectual horizons of modernity of Finland and Estonia as well as those of Scandinavia and Europe. In the 1920s and 30s, Aino Kallas became an internationally renowned author and a selection of her work was translated into English. For her, participating in the immediate cultural debates in Estonia and Finland was a priority, yet her whole oeuvre is a negotiation between her more immediate contexts and the leading conceptual frameworks of aesthetics, geniality, knowledge, subjectivity, race, sexuality, nature, etc., circling in Europe at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Containing articles focusing on the question of female voice and echoes of feminist ecological thought in her fiction, a contrapuntal reading of her fiction and that of Isak Dinesen, her unknown manuscript “Bathseba”, the implications of existentialist thought for her work, Kallas’ engagement in her cultural criticism and life writings with decadent modernism, issues of race and heredity, subjectivity and borders, travel, ageing, her interpretation of Goethe, and the iconography of Kallas, the collection features the work of today’s leading Aino Kallas scholars in Finland and in Estonia.