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Narmabooks

Digireads
2015
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Vol. 1, No. 2
March-April, 2015
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Inspirational
Reads

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off continues, the vast space of the Web

becomes the proper arena.
Unlike in purely fictional works where the
characters created therein merely resemble or
show similarity to actual persons, arising
solely on a coincidental basis, the individuals
and places described herein are real and the
events that transpire forming as backdrop of
the narration have actually happened.
Inclusion of aspects thereof has become
imperative to give flavor to the veracity of the
same.
Nostalgic memories of the occurrence and
the concomitant dilemma that arose in times
of the events recollected would find inclusion
in the given chapters of this book. Thus, a
deeper introspection towards a realization of
the role we should have played well in the
global arena we are in would ensue.

Inspirational Books
(E-books)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An inspirational e-book coming from
author N. Madera Aguilar entitled A Time to
Heal, is now available in outlets where his
other books may be found.
This book features the nostalgic memories
of certain times that the author had gone
through as he struggled to contend with the
challenging events that interceded as he went
on for an encounter with inspiration. In
unravelling the same, a deeper introspection
towards a realization that the gifts we have
been endowed with influence certain aspects
of our lives become inevitable.
This is the authors second self-published
inspirational book. Its content deals with
prayer empowerment and the influence on the
seekers of grace as well as on matters
concerning:
faith,
worship,
healing,
protection, refuge, recovery and various
aspects of inspiration. Like the authors
previously
published
book,
Finding
Pathways through the Community, it
presents a compilation of written testimonies
on the authors encounter with spirituality and
grace amid the difficult journey in the
previously uncertain itinerary. Likewise, as an
inspirational work, it unravels some of the
realities in life which the author met during
the pursuit of growth: from the day God gave
him life on earth to his current day-to-day
endeavors, particularly in being part of the
truth that God reveals to His people. It is a
quest in writing that seeks to analyze the
significant events in his life which are
interlaced with profiles of his faith. As the
struggle to establish a base from where the
pursuit of his mission in life will have to take

Recalling the fear

An excerpt from the book states:
In later years, I could not help but muse on
the after effects of the accident which I did
not expect to draw me into the realm of pain.
What I fell into was a quagmire of heat that
could have wrought me more harm were it
not for the timely rush of men to where I got
stuck, plucking me from the smoldering
hazard.
Those men had just come from a mass
which was celebrated in the village chapel.
The helping hands which they extended, I am
certain, were guided by no less than Gods
own hand.
The injuries I sustained reached up to my
knees and higher. A doctor opined that had I
stayed longer being mired, thus sinking
further in the ashen trap, the outcome would
be unthinkable.
Good that you did not become sterile as a
consequence, the physician added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Books: fiction (Print and E-books)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I asked, What am I to do, Lord? The Lord

said to me, Get up and go to Damascus;
there you will be told everything that has
been assigned to you to do. (Acts 22:10,
NRSV)

One
A New Novel

***

Thus says the Lord:

For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the
punishment;
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing-sledges of iron.
So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Benhadad.
I will break the gate-bars of Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley
of Aven,
and the one who holds the sceptre from Betheden;
and the people of Aram shall go into exile
to Kir,
says the Lord. (Amos 1:3-5 NRSV)

***
This book is a sequel to the novel
The Fall of Damascus

In Damascus the governor under

Aretas the king kept the city of the
Damascenes with a garrison,
desirous to apprehend me:
And through a window in a basket was I
let down by the wall, and escaped
his hands. (2 Corinthians 11:32-33 KJV)

Available in E-book format via:

www.smashwords.com
www.scribd.com/narmabooks
amazon.com thru kdp

Two
A Novel from the Preceding Year

For all the inequities and sins that we may

have committed, theres always forgiveness
that waits; and when it is invoked, its
outpouring will be profuse. Let us join those
who are forthright in their remorse, for their
contrition is the key towards unraveling a new
life we shall look forward to.
From: The Last Traces of Hope

Four
A Novella

See, Damascus will cease to be a

city, and will become a heap of
ruins. (Isaiah 17:1, NRSV)

Three
A Novel from the Previous Year

It's your lack of faith that makes it difficult

for us to succeed, that induced all the failures
since last night. You don't really have much
faith in the capacity of your father to make it.
Without such, there's nothing much I can do.
It is faith alone that determines our final
destiny. My bare hands are nothing, for it
must really come from you. I am but an
instrument of God's will, and that will comes
only upon the supplication of a perfect faith.
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From: Menace on the Face of the

Red Moon

Five
A Work of Fiction

The young lady in charge of the front desk

at that particular hour told him somebody was
looking for him.
From: Losing

Seven
A Narma Fiction
Your past is not the issue here. You
know, we believe in such a thing as
rehabilitation.
From: A Man and a Girl

Six
Another Work of Fiction

extended tour of various places, particularly

Europe. The main characters though are of
Asian descent.
This book is a work of fiction and represents
the dilemma that Mideast transients have to
contend with in living life in that land. The
characters created herein are purely fictional
and any similarity or resemblance to actual
persons is purely coincidental. The places
described, however, are real and the events
that transpire forming as backdrop of the
story may have actually happened. Inclusion
of aspects thereof is imperative to give flavor
to the story.

I HAVE been looking for you for some

time. Where have you been?
From: A Girls Awakening

What the Book Tells Us

This book is a work of fiction and is another
authors experimentation at DIY-POD (Do-ityourself/Publish or print-on-demand) option.
Self-publishing or independent publishing is
now a worldwide vogue and the indie author
in some places, more particularly the United
States, has gained prominence and avowed
acceptance. This recourse, however, appears
to be sparingly availed of in the Philippines. It
is upon this context that the author introduces
this novel under such mode of publication.
The author is motivated solely by a desire to
provide entertainment to the readers, and no
offence, if any, is intended to an individual or
group, be it as to their beliefs or well-being.

What he saw stunned him. Somebody was

lying in his bed.
From: Harvest of Sand

The Fall of Damascus

(A Narma Novel)
Available in Print Worldwide
May be added to cart online by clicking on:
www.createspace.com/4734005

Whom the Author Acknowledges

The author acknowledges the invaluable
help and assistance he obtained from various
sectors in the preparation of this book and his
other works previously published as well as
those still being prepared for publication.
His appreciation goes to those who shared
with him their full support and positive stance
as well as their kind indulgence as the author
gropes along the pathways to self-publication.
Such regard likewise extends to the
members of his family, peers and friends who

The Middle East is the focus of the

incidents in this novel. The drama unfolding
as the episodes progress highlights the events
in Syria, although the author has emphasized
that this is not a war story; rather, it is some
kind of a love story taking the reader into an
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early twenties, by the collar of his shirt as the latters

two hands were placed on his head. He was sporting
a long hair. When their eyes turned to the other room,
the bodies of their two comrades sprawled just a step
beyond the door and into the room met their sight. A
few steps further two bodies were also seen lying: a
Caucasian on top of a brown man. All four were
bloodied.
Before the three soldiers could do something to
rescue their fallen comrades, a huge explosion
occurred just outside the gate of the villa, prompting
them to leave the sprawled bodies and instead join
the rest of the soldiers in the compound.
It was a single explosion, though intense.
What was that? one of the three soldiers from
the interior of the villa asked those near the gate.

in one way or another have taken part in

making this venture a success.
The author is furthermore indebted to his
readers for their patronage of his works and
staying with him in the journey through pages
of the printed word.
Sampling the Book
As the pages of the book open, we are
treated with incidents which unravel in the
first chapter of the book. Thus:
As soon as the gate of the villa swung open, a
group of fatigue-uniformed soldiers entered, having
forcibly done away with the lock and barging through
the wires that buttressed the security of the entrance
portion of the compound. They were about a dozen
while another group, which was half of their number,
remained outside the gate to watch the surrounding
area. The five of them who were able to proceed to
the door of the villa fronting the gate rammed
through it and pushed themselves inside. Meanwhile,
dusk was beginning to hover over the area.
The place was located in the outskirts of Aleppo
City. It was an exclusive village comprising of
structures with divergent but exquisite designs
suggesting that the occupants thereof did not belong
to the lower strata of society. Large villas lined the
streets and were unmistakably drawing the
impression that they housed no less that the citys
elite.
In the last remaining days of June, 2012, there had
been a marked alteration of the atmosphere that
engulfed the village, characterized by eeriness
resulting from abandonment of the plush residences
that used to be kept alive by the residents.
Of the five soldiers who made a search in the
villas ground floor, three went up later to the second
floor and ransacked the rooms as the two who
remained at the foot of the stairway stayed on full
alert, their hands holding their respective rifles
tightlyindicating that they were ready to fire on
slightest provocation.
Nooo! As voices of men boomed, so did the
bursts from guns.
The two soldiers who stayed on the first floor
immediately run up the stairs but were met by one of
their comrades who apparently came from another
room where no gunshot was heard. He was holding a
dark-skinned unarmed young man, apparently in his

The Last Traces of Hope

(A Narma Novel)
Available in Print Worldwide
May be added to cart online by clicking on:
www.createspace.com/3621484
Available also in the Philippines via:
Centralbooks (927 Quezon Ave., Quezon
City)
Click on: www.central.com.ph/bookstoreplus/
- Also Available in E-book form at:
www.smashwords.com
- Or at kdp.amazon.com
This novel deals with the Middle East
turmoil which transpired with Iraq's incursion
into Kuwait on August 2, 1990. A ship with
Filipino seamen making up its complement
was docked at the Kuwaiti port on that date.
What took place before and after it sailed will
be revealed in this book.
A reading of the novels prologue may be
availed of hereinbelow:
Prologue: The Fear
The unsettling events that transpired during the
last few days of July, 1990 exacerbated the volatile
situation in the Mideast, particularly Kuwait, and it
sent Brian Rios, the Deputy Employment and
Welfare Attach assigned in that small nation,
7

worrying. He was working on a report to be

submitted to the Middle East Coordinators Office in
Manila but the vexation in his mind had affected his
writing. He simply could not finish the paper work.
The relations between Kuwait and its neighbor,
Iraq, had deteriorated and this drove Brian into fear.
Any further worsening of such relations could place
him in a precarious situation. As the Kuwait-based
DEWA of his country, he was watching over
thousands of Filipinos working in that country
alonetens of thousands, in fact. He was next in
rank to the Employment and Welfare Attach who
was based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in charge of
providing for and overseeing the employment and
welfare needs of all the overseas contract workers in
the Mideast. The latter carried the appellation of
EWA. Naturally, Brian was always referred to as the
DEWA by his countrymen in Kuwait.
The dispute between Iraq and Kuwait had been
escalating day after day. The most recent
developments pouring in from both countries did not
augur well for peace. Brian saw to it that he was kept
fully abreast of news updates from the two countries.
A bulletin furnished him by diplomatic sources
read in part: even the Organization of Islamic
Conference, made up of forty-eight members had
urged the two fellow member-states to resort to
peaceful means in resolving their differences. Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein, however, is hard on his
demands that Kuwait cut oil production, pay for oil
allegedly pumped from the border which Iraq claims
as part of its territory and write off billions of dollars
in loan.
And as he further leafed through the pages, Brian
arrived at the concluding statement: on the part
of Kuwait, its demands focus on the withdrawal of
Iraqs forces from the 160-kilometer border. It views
such massing of Iraqi forces as a threat. The
withdrawal is a pre-condition to the holding of any
negotiation. This, apparently, is Kuwaits position.
Brian could no longer conceal the fact that he was
on the verge of panic. He feared that the
consequences would be beyond estimation should the
talks between the two countries fail.

prompted by the confrontation. The woman

stares at the man with a subdued smile
bordering on being apprehensive as she is
unsure of how the former would take this
meeting which she had sought for. The man
doesnt allow a smile to flash on his face
which is not only an epitome of surprise but
also a portrait of disbelief. It is available as an
e-book on https://amazon.com.
A Girls Awakening is a short story and it is
paired with Losing to form a separate
publication in printed version at CreateSpace
labelled as two tales of lifes facets: one, of
young age; the other, aging. It is available at
www.createspace.com/3565490. A Girls
Awakening is a tale that brings us to the rural
life in the Philippines which a barrio lass,
Andrea leads. She is no longer a girl but not
yet a woman. In her status, and while basking
in the lure of natural beauty in her
surroundings, she is suddenly exposed to the
danger that lurks behind. It is also available as
e-book on the same outlet.
Harvest of Sand tells us of a turmoil in the
Middle East and how foreign lives were
affected. It is an account of events which
transpired in the Middle East in 1990
spawned by Iraqs incursion into Kuwait. On
August 2, 1990 in Kuwait City, it was getting
late but Brian Rios, a deputy employment and
welfare attach assigned at the Philippine
Embassy there, knew he was facing a
sleepless night. More people would be
arriving and would be joining the multitude of
those who were already jostled in the
embassy premises. The succeeding scenes
were unnerving.
The story is included in the authors
collection of his other works of fiction,
Fiction Assemblage, made up of a novella
and four short stories which are available
either in print or in e-book format.

Fiction Assemblage
The story Losing, brings the readers to a
scene where a meeting between a man and a
woman takes place. Their respective reactions
towards each other are spontaneous when
8

The collection may be procured online

through
https://www.createspace.com/3598890.
Menace on the Face of the Red Moon is
a novella that tells us what happens when
members of a family in bereavement cling to
a hope that their patriarch is still alive.
It also points to us the influence of
superstition and the nagging belief that there
is certain healing that lies somewhere even if
the way towards it is crooked and wearisome.
A conflict between the modern and the
traditional is inevitably tackled when the
protagonists tread the same path to a single
objective.
It may be added to cart online by clicking
on: www.createspace.com/3571177
In A Man and a Girl, a prisoners
travails and misgivings are featured and thus
becomes the focal point of the story. He is
one day released from jail and has regained
his freedom. But he worries about his wife
and daughter who never visited him during
his incarceration. He sets out to look for them
and what he eventually finds out shakes him
in disbelief

we cry in the dark but never laugh in the light

in our faces run tears forming rivers
that dissect the ever scorching desert

The Fall of Damascus

(The Verse Segment)

for we have sought utopia

although what we were looking for was
nirvana
we did ask for voices that were never heard
and faces that could not be seen

ours is a choleric existence

that even wily emotionalists fail to unravel
life to us is euphonic but evanescent
though love is life,
life isnt love
as it doesnt bloom in the desert
and if ever love flowered in the desert
it wouldnt be life
it wouldnt be a mirror of the affection
once created between Venus and Adonis
it would neither be physical nor celestial
it would simply be catasthropic
tattered hopes remain forming a rainbow
a source of rain that doesnt nurture life
if ever Zeus see us smile, he would lament
if ever Echo hear us sigh, she would
exhilarate
and if ever in the world a desert existed
other than the Syrian dryland
it would be farcical, nobody would notice it
no one would crave for it
utopia shall opt to disregard it

I
where the settlers shun, we seek shelter
we dont ourselves make fools nor dreamers
but are simply keepers of the hope
that the change we often visualize
shall be the fact of life we envision
though it remains a facet of dead music

we see strands of clouds curdling

their presence moves the bard to sing
although he doubts his own identity
each blade of grass rarely appearing
could have been extricated by teardrops
dripping with resilience
every dream could have been a vision
if it didnt turn elusive

frustration most of the time engulfs us

though our designs arent without merit
the eyes we unclose usually meet
dismissals of cold-blooded innocence
9

their indifference results into our irrelevance

never catching the languor of our plaintive
sighs
nor giving ear to our symphonies
suffusing with mellifluence
polyphonic but bland
and flowing like the shadow of the moon

Surely, there is an appointed time for

everything
and Damascus will fall

II
brother, oh, brother,
marked are the streets
with the ruddiness of our blood,
the sounds of truncheon bumping against our
napes
are but echoes of moans from fleeting
dreams,
the pillboxes dropping on our heads
rain like meteors in a cynical twilight,
brother, oh, brother,
the placards reign;
more and more pharaohs will come
so let Moses return,
this is not Cromwells time
nor do we have the Guillotine,
the hatchetmans face is uncovered
while the King doesnt stretch his hands,
the battleground is empty
but there are reddish spots on it
for it is the arena
where we have gambled our lives
to let Alpha and Omega meet
in this Armageddon of our generation,
and yet, we only see the daring Eagles
they dont drink Pepsi or Coke
but they are gulping our blood,
waiting for the dawn at Aleppo and
Damascus,
brother, oh, brother,
marked are the streets
with the ruddiness of our blood.

the desert prevails in the gloom

insouciant of the baffling swarthiness
negligent of the crotchety hue of their minds
mulish, with our thoughts foiled
its presence gives rise to an unending song
an incessant trill
throughout the centuries, shouts are heard
voices are hearkened and wailings deplored
we travel in the desert, sometimes losing men
oftentimes squandering our precious
comrades
forgetting whether we have lived, loved or
liked lilt
inexorably moving without circumspection
for perhaps if we did, we may have seen
differently
we might have been redeemed from a
beautiful folly
the desert may never be poetic at all
and no ocean may be created out of our tears
not even a crystal of limpid, maleficent
memories
that enveloped the desert
rather, a dimension of the eulogistic
imagination
a perspective of the panegyrical idealism
that only the best of us are for heaven
we must lament as we had lamented before
we might be heard

III
The distance between Alpha and Omega
stretches,
Will they ever meet?
I saw a dove soaring in the sky
But hawks are blocking the way,

if in the years the desert were gone

would the shadows be still cast?
wouldnt there be a panorama like Damascus?
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The route has not been easy

Since the Pharaohs reign
Through Hitlers time
To Vietnam and Iraq
And the modern ones.
I am sad and clueless
About the signs of the times,
When will daybreak come?
Will thunder ever cease
And lightning relent?
Will the clouds give way
And open up for a hint of light?
Ive seen iron-clad men
Burying skulls in Golgotha,
Draining the Euphrates
And dredging the Tigris;
Theyre flying steel kites too
Over the shifting sands near Negev
While pouring oil into the Nile;
In cutting, breaking the pipeline to peace
They set aflame the wells of hope;
Assurance isnt mine
As to how they will cease.

appropriate recipients, both in

entertainment and informative categories.
It is based in the Philippines.
Narma Books as an online content
provider displays through this site current
issues and authors shares, feeds, tweets,
as well as blogs, on such diverse topics as
ebooks, Pinoy OFWs, cyber/tech reads,
entertainment, PHL lifestyle/cultural
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IV
I have loved you once
With a love so true,
And until there is eternity
Ill still be loving you

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Narma Books Online

Read our inspirational shares and selections:

Click on

(Print and E-books)

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http://nrcsinspirational.wordpress.com
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are available through

Narma Books Online is a digital relay

medium for online content distribution of
works from Narma authorship imbued
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dissemination through selective output of
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www.central.com.ph/bookstoreplus/

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Images

(Venue for Faith)

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Narmabooks Digireads 2015 is an electronic periodical

distributed online by Narma Books imbued with a mission of
information dissemination through selective relay of significant
matters of concern to the appropriate recipients, both in
entertainment and informative categories.
Based in the Philippines.

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