About Democracy!

Graphic & Definition provided by Michael Moore.

Democracy in the United States has been a work in progress since its inception, and right now it is in crisis. The current administration and their cronies have done everything in their power to take us backwards in their attempt to eliminate all three of these basic principles of democracy!

The upcoming midterm elections are critical, if we want to "keep" our democracy and start moving forward again towards a "more perfect union." As Benjamin Franklin reportedly said when asked at the end of the 1787 Constitutional Convention what kind of government had been created:

"A republic, if you can keep it."

To do that, we must be informed and engaged! We must vote, vote, vote as never before, if we are to end what is happening and restore our democracy and our country in our own eyes, as well as the eyes of the world!

A SEPTEMBER CELEBRATION!!

I just wanted to share something fun with you. More people from more countries read my blog, and it received more page views during September 2026 than in any other month since I began the blog in November 2014! The previous record for page views in a month was in June 2025 when there were 12,330 page views. But last month, there were more than twice that number:

25,821 page views!

Over the last two years in particular, more and more people from more countries have been reading my blog, and more people are reading my books than ever before!

IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME THAT YOU ARE ENJOYING MY BLOG, MUSIC, POETRY, COMMENTS, AND ESPECIALLY MY BOOKS!

THANK YOU!! 

My Books: Two Libraries & A Bookstore!

Progress!

The Port Townsend, Washington Public Library has included the complete Alban Saga Trilogy in their collection.

Here's an image of the third book of the Alban Saga, VORTEX, in the "New Books" section of the Port Townsend Public Library!

The Yachats, Oregon Public Library has included Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening and the complete Alban Saga Trilogy in their collection and may add more books as time goes by.

Here's an image of the first book of the Alban Saga, Beatrice, highlighted in the "Local Author" section of the Yachats Public Library.

Here's an image of the other 2 books of the Alban Saga: Black Grotto and Vortex in the collection at the Yachats Public Library. Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening is there as well but was checked out when this photo was taken.

The Cloud & Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita, Oregon has all six of my books on their shelves. 

In a post on 9 August, I mentioned a bit of the progress I've made getting my books into libraries and bookstores. I wanted to include more about that here and actually show you the books on the shelves. I was able to do that for the two libraries but not for the bookstore in Manzanita yet. I hope to do that when I take take my next trip there.

Reminder: Since 2013, when I started this journey as an author, readers from 18 different countries have purchased and read one or more of my books! So, for all of you who live ouside the United States: if you haven’t already, you can purchase my books online from any Amazon site in or near the country you live in. Just find the search window on that site and type in “Bob Stegner.” That’s the easiest way to locate all six of my fantasy/sci-fi books on the Amazon site you’re using.

Finally, and most importantly, I just want to say once again that I am very grateful to all of you for your support and interest in my blog and in the books that I write!

THANK YOU! 

Some Of My Favorite Songs from Solas!

SOLAS is a musical group from New York City that is heavily influenced by Irish music and culture. Being a musician myself, I have always been drawn to their music and performances. In this blog post, I would like to share four of their performances with you. Enjoy! :)

A New Reader's Comments About "Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening" & An Update About My Latest Book, "Ailionn!"

   

Below are some running comments I was sent from a new reader in Juneau, Alaska, about my sci-fi/fantasy book

Merlin & Arthur: The Awakening.

(I've left out a couple spoilers)

First Comment

“I'm enjoying your book. I'm just over half through and enjoying how the characters and storyline are developing. Arthur, Merlin, and their knights are reunited and..."

Second Comment

“Just finished your book and enjoyed it! I've never read a fantasy novel before. Loved the...ending!"

Update about my new fantasy book!

"Black Headed-Gull with Sky Background (2)" by Wildlife Boy1 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. 

I have been spending time almost everyday since moving into my new place in Seattle working on my new fantasy novel, Ailionn. It takes place long ago in southeastern Ireland, beginning in AD 1. The title is the name of the main character—an ancient Irish name pronounced AH-lin. I'm more than 6,000 words in and am having a great time writing it, as well as conducting the considerable research necessary for a book of this type.

Another Wonderful, Meaningful Mary Oliver Poem: "The Journey"

 

Love her poetry!

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice—

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do—

determined to save

the only life you could save.

Just Added the 147th Country Reading My Blog & Updated the "Other Countries" Category

                

Readers Around the World

  

I want to say hello to everyone around the world reading my blog! Readers from Congo - Kinshasa are the latest. They are the 147th country on the list! Welcome!

Great to have all of you along on the journey!

The OTHER category is for all countries not specifically listed in the database for this blog but still counted. I'm giving those a prominent spot at the top of the list with the number of pageviews as of the day I post this entry. I’ve also included them in the number of countries by using the plus sign: 147+.

Here's a complete list of the countries where my blog is being read:

• Other - not listed in the database by name
• 29,800 pageviews as of 9 September 2026
• United States
• Poland
• Ukraine
• France
• Turkey
• Germany
• Denmark
• China
• Russia
• United Kingdom
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Romania
• Taiwan
• Saudi Arabia
• Italy
• Canada
• Brazil
• Indonesia
• Mexico
• Vietnam
• Thailand
• Colombia
• Austria
• Macau
• Ireland
• India
• Singapore
• Moldova
• Pakistan
• Netherlands Antilles
• South Africa
• Philippines
• Czech Republic
• Finland
• Malaysia
• Kenya
• Australia
• Estonia
• Japan
• United Arab Emirates
• Greece
• Nepal
• Bangladesh
• Switzerland
• Hungary
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• Bulgaria
• Israel
• Mongolia
• Puerto Rico
• Iraq
• Latvia
• Serbia
• Sweden
• Georgia
• Azerbaijan
• Iceland
• Croatia
• Egypt
• Algeria
• Turkmenistan
• Cyprus
• South Korea
• Ecuador
• Kenya
• Ethiopia
• Kazakhstan
• Armenia
• Morocco
• Uzbekistan
• Madagascar
• Belarus
• Mozambique
• Albania
• Haiti
• Zimbabwe
• Uruguay
• Fiji
• Afghanistan
• Guinea
• Panama
• Hong Kong
• Venezuela
• Sweden
• Argentina
• Ecuador
• Chile
• Paraguay
• Dominican Republic
• Trininad & Tobago
• Botswana
• Algeria
• Peru
• Tunisia
• Kuwait
• Bahrain
• Costa Rica
• Kyrgyzstan
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Bolivia
• Angola
• Western Sahara
• Gabon
• Oman
• Côte ďlvoire
• Sri Lanka
• Guatemala
• Senegal
• Brunei
• Honduras
• St. Kitts & Nevis
• Congo - Brazzaville
• Côte ďlvoire
• Bhutan
• Jordan
• Guyana
• Palestine
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Barbados
• Jamaica
• Burkina Faso
• Mali
• Togo
• Cameroon
• Mayotte
• Nigeria
• Maldives
• Lithuania
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Eswatini
• Rwanda
• Mali
• Mauritius
• North Macedonia
• Grenada
• Benin
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Malawi
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• Congo - Kinshasa