Dylan Eaglegod is on the run from the monsters of his old life after spending years living closeted with homophobic friends in Manhattan. He escapes to the Jersey Shore for new adventures and the potential for romance but is confronted with dark secrets from his past after learning that Joshua, the ringleader of his old friend group, is after him and more dangerous than ever.

Dylan has to learn from Antonio and the other Immortal Philosophers as he embraces his powers to discover how to defeat Joshua before Joshua discovers them. Everyone has a part to play, but only Dylan can save them all.

For all the parts of us longing for new beginnings.

Author:

ALEXANDER CASILLAS, a gay Puerto Rican author, editor, and writing coach near the beach between Philadelphia and Manhattan, explores the experiences of gay characters in literary fiction and young adult fantasy through his short stories and novels. He holds degrees in literature, creative writing, and philosophy and religion from Stockton University.

THE IMMORTAL PHILOSOPHERS

Marcus Aurelius and the Immortal Philosophers are living among us. Follow Dylan Eaglegod in Sunset in the Valley of Now and Then to uncover the mystery behind the auric magic wielding group of ancients as they try to make amends for past failures and help Dylan out run the demons of his past in a summer down the Jersey Shore. Antonio, the local coffee shop owner and Immortal Philosopher gives him a lot to hope for from his summer of fun, but the fates of Dylan and the friendly group of immortals rest in Dylan’s hands. He has to learn new abilities, uncover the mystery of Joshua’s past, and take back the self he had let rest dormant for too long. 

In Sunset in the Valley of Now and Then also meet: 

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus: Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor. Founder of the Immortal Philosophers and leader of its members worldwide. Travels around the world as his immortals demand of him in an effort to save the innocent from predators lurking to steal, murder, and manipulate for the auric life force innate in all of us but powerful in the few of us. As an affront to, or at the bequest of his stoic philosophy, Aurelius, as he now goes by, is motivated to seek out the demented and corrupt and end their terror of mankind and immortals alike. For, “Life without living is not life at all.”

Antonio Aurelius Antoninus: Adopted son of Aurelius. Born and raised on his home island of Puerto Rico, Antonio grew up around his extended family and the protective eye of a fatherly Marcus Aurelius. Antonio takes a liking for Dylan from the moment he sees him, but worries that his coffee shop, charm, and big auric energy are not enough to keep Dylan impressed.

Ikkyu Sojun: Bastard son of an emperor, Ikkyu was sent to become a Zen Buddhist monk as a child. At a young age, he achieved enlightenment and unlocked abilities he was told were legend. After fooling and chastising everyone he met in his life for their hypocrisy and extravagance, Ikkyu took to training his body as well as his mind. Becoming a master of all fighting styles over his long lifetime, Ikkyu trains with his sister and wife while running a Japanese style restaurant in Ocean City, New Jersey. 

Zenda: The oldest of the Immortal Philosophers, and by far the most in tune with ancient energy. Zenda was a leader of a group of Spirit Warriors in South China, North Vietnam before time was recorded in any organized way. Her tribe was known far and wide as the people to turn to when nothing else worked or the danger was too mysterious. They kept centuries safe from demonic predators as far as the Indus Peninsula and to the plateau of Tibet. Wife of Ikkyu, Zenda organizes the American based Immortal Philosophers and spent much time raising and training Antonio.

Kana: Powerful sibling of Ikkyu and miracle in her own right. Kana was daughter of an emperor and is of the same mother as Ikkyu. However, with Kana, their mother outwitted the emperor by scheming with the imperial spiritual advisor to allow for the child to be raised in a mountain retreat away by her mother and the spiritual advisor himself. Kana was trained in Aurics by Okuninushi no Mikoto. Her younger years with her mother and stepfather were the foundation for the power her master saw in her. The power that was finally let loose after her stepbrother, and new emperor, sent assassins to snip the stray familial branches. She survived the attack, but the scars of loss from that night haunt her still.

TheImmortalPhilosophers.com

Shop Marcozo for Marcus Aurelius Pendants and Rings, and embrace immortality. USE LINK: https://www.marcozo.com/immortalphilosophers

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