Tiger sleuth

Lies & Deceptions in the Dream - May 1, 2026

Dear Reader,

I wanted to explore a bit of the colder and darker side of the dream. Not everything is sunshine and blue skies. In some places in the dream, the grass is not only not greener on the other side; it isn't green at all. In other places, it's too bright and airy, yet we all know that the brightest light casts the longest shadows.

Lies taint a soul.

In the dream, there exists a frozen level, the Netherworld, inhabited by denizens who believe that speaking lies taints them, makes them unclean. They are obsessed with remaining pure. It is a serious mark of pride for them. I still find it amusing that demons react with offense, occasionally leading to violence, if accused of lying. Other denizens of the Netherworld behave similarly, but that demons in the dream absolutely do not lie remains one of those points of hilarity that only make sense to those who have read the tales. When you meet the demon lord Asmodeus, you will see what I mean.

Deception is more dangerous than lies.

In the Ainglean, the bright light leaves little room for outright lies, but deception has a habit of existing in plain sight. Deception leads someone to believe something that is not true. Living a life, acting in good faith concerning mistaken knowledge, will never lead to a positive outcome. Not only will the party actively perpetrating the sin of omission suffer the consequences of that knowing betrayal, but the false believer will suffer the fallout as well. When you meet the archangel Phanuel, I think you will understand just how dangerous deception can be.

Hidden truths are the greatest threat.

Luke recognizes the power of knowledge. The men and women he collects around him, the ones the magic pulls to Draoithe to aid in balancing the magic of the dream, come to realize it as well. Many of the earlier books' backstories are chasing the pieces of the puzzle which would illuminate how the dream became so damaged, while later tales seek to discover what must happen for the Direwolf King to affect a meaningful change without mis-stepping and destroying things. Worse, he will never have all the pieces, merely some of the more important ones. He must erase the lies and deceptions of the Netherworld and the Ainglean if the Leaindeail is to survive.

And now a word from our sponsor, Ophelia Kee.

Shameless Self Promotion

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Unraveling chaos with each tattered thread

A thousand years ago, chaos escaped into the dream. By 2016, shadowy evil forces using madness were wreaking havoc on the balance of magic and erasing necessary parts of an ancient prophecy. In danger of losing its magic, the dream attempts to use broken pieces and replacement parts to weave a new tapestry. Choosing the right building blocks isn’t easy.

In this exhilarating prequel tale, meet Luke and Eli, two characters with fascinating pasts and complicated secrets, before they become the king and queen the dream needs them to be. Luke Mendez is a retired military man. Having anxiety, he spies the beautiful girl next door, but then struggles to introduce himself. Eli Miller, the high school history teacher, worked tirelessly for years to break free from a terrible relationship. She moved to Tyler to start over.

Thread is the story of a lonely direwolf shifter and a lone tiger shifter in a time before the two of them meet each other. It sets the stage for A Pack Forms, an enthralling urban fantasy with a paranormal romance tale in the epic Draoithe Saga by Ophelia Kee. If you enjoy the story before the story, Thread is your free introduction to a new series.

Welcome to the dream…

Behind the Scenes

a frazzled tiger with far too much work to do

Testing season has begun, and the stress is definitely weighing on the students. That, in turn, means it weighs on me as well. Once again, I'm behind in editing and publishing as the day job is sucking my energy. I learned I must increase my print book prices to meet Barnes & Noble standards, which means I must increase the price on all the retailers. I haven't ordered the print copy of Gryphon Knight Redeemed. Draft 2 Digital now charges annual maintenance fees, and I'm woefully behind in updating my universal book link.

The pile of administrative tasks is interfering with my storytelling efforts. I'm side-eyeing the book links and asking myself serious questions about how much I care about them. I suppose I should still update them. If for nothing else, I can use the retailers as a discovery mechanism, and I can reach libraries. Direct buy inks seem like a better option on Substack or social media. The stories are always in my store first. Some of them are nowhere else. And I can control the prices.

What I want is to write, post, and publish more stories. I want to craft more story videos and post more podcast episodes. Discoverability is always an issue. Sharing the Draoithe Saga is tough enough, but hoping the stories earn any money means a lot more effort than I ever have time for. It's the age-old issue. Write, publish, or market; all must be done. Writing is fun, publishing a necessity, but marketing looks like a ravenous monster slavering to eat the grains of sand in my hourglass.

Thank you for stepping into the dream once more. If you are listening on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe for more original stories and audio adventures! Special thanks to @OkMusicWriters for Enter The Dream. I need to get back to posting chapters of the serial. Leave your comments and questions. I'd love to hear from you. If you found this post worthy, please feel free to share it. I hope you have a lovely weekend and will discover a grand story. Please remember when you read, be kind and leave your reviews. Until my next post, welcome to the dream…

Be Careful!

Happy Reading,

Bye-Bye,

Ophelia Kee

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