Stewart F. Brennan - Blog

Coming Out of the Woods

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:17:36 GMT

I may come off as a crazy old man to some, but I’m really not.

All the things I’ve said and done; they’re all with me still,
here on my shoulders.

. . . I carry the path with me.

That long way through the woods, has taken me through some of the deepest darkest places of the jungle.

If not for that conscious little voice inside warning me . . .

Even though the journey felt, at times, like a thick weighty obsidian fog,
or that I couldn’t see what was coming at me from all the passing shadows, the voice inside was like a steady beacon reassuring me that I am not alone.

Until one day, you see, there was this light upon me when I came to the forest edge. Consciousness expanded then . . .

It warmed my face and went deep inside, like the sunshine greeting of old friends. It welcomed me home.

. . . And I could finally see what was in front of me for the first time in my life. I was no longer lost in the jungle but at the edge of the forest. The journey was near its end. I found my way out.

Not by any map of knowledge but by that little conscious voice inside that kept encouraging me to move forward.

My eyes opened . . .

The nurses descended on the room. They told me, “Don’t try to speak” as they removed the tubes from my throat.

The blips of the heart monitor were in monotoned rhythm and steadfast behind the three nurses and doctor attending me. The IV infusion held reality, and dripped away seconds of time as I drew my first deep breath, “I made it!”
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About this prose: I felt the need to write something today as it’s been one year to the day since I woke up after having open heart surgery (quadruple bypass operation August 1st, 2025).

I’m in great shape, one full year after the surgery. The weight scale at the gym said I’m now 189 lbs. (I like that scale!) I’m almost in peek shape through diet and exercise but also with a strong dose of determination.

But the present aside, there are moments that stay with you in life, and I do believe waking up after heart surgery is one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. For my vision has become clearer and more focused despite all the economic and personal setbacks that have accumulated over the year.

My mind is so much more focused, that my second novel, Secrets of the Emerald Tablet is now in the production layout phase after a proof read was completed. That means my book is on schedule to be released in September 2026. 😊

So, with a difficult year behind me . . . I’m happy to say that I’ve come out of the woods more determined than ever and I’m already writing the third book of the series. 😉

The goal for the third book is a 2027 release.

Secrets of the Emerald Tablet is Now Complete

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 22:29:24 GMT

Hi everyone!

It has been quite the bumpy road for me this past year, but along the way to a full recovery, I’ve managed to put my feet back on the ground and finish writing my second novel. 😊

Secrets of the Emerald Tablet, book two of the New Horizons series; the sequel to The Shard of Asclepius, is now complete and in process of becoming a reality. The book was submitted to Friesen Press at the end of April 2026 and has now completed the evaluation process and gone straight into the professional edit cue. I’ve already started the production stage of the book and completed the design for the initial front and back cover. So, I thought I’d share that with you in this post, including a little bit about the book.

Secrets of the Emerald Tablet

Secrets of the Emerald Tablet is a gripping supernatural action thriller and adventure through secret societies, ancient history, advanced technology, and the battle for humanity's future.

With the old alliance rekindled between the Order of Hermes and the Order of Thoth, they begin their plans to rebuild the foundations of a highly advanced lost civilization while also sending Montrealer, David Collins to Alexandria Egypt to help unravel the secrets of the ancient artifact he holds. However, a powerful nemesis to David emerges in Colonel Cedric Marshall who is relentless in his pursuit to acquire the ancient artifact for the Collective: a dystopian organization that runs the world. The chase is on and David once again finds himself plunged into a flight for his life while discovering his new abilities under the sands of Egypt.

An intriguing action-packed thriller in the New Horizons series; the sequel to The Shard of Asclepius.

The book will be in the following categories:

FIC030000     FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
FIC002000     FICTION / Action & Adventure
FIC024000     FICTION / Occult & Supernatural

The book is a Supernatural Mystery Thriller with Secret Societies, loaded with action and adventure. The story falls into the same genres as books by Dan Brown and James Rollins.

I have to say, in all honesty, that I’m quite ecstatic about this second book. So much so, that after completing, Secrets of the Emerald Tablet, I also corrected the internal errors missed in the first book, The Shard of Asclepius, and changed the back cover to better reflect the story and its early achievements. The new version will be available in about a month; just in time for the release of Secrets of the Emerald Tablet, which is planned for a September 2026 release. Here is what the new back cover of, The Shard of Asclepius, looks like with its revised blurb on the story.

Of course, I’ve already started planning the third book and have a series of side stories on characters planned for the future. It’s quite an exciting time for me, especially after recovering from the hurdles experienced after open heart surgery last August 2025. I have to say, that right now, I feel GREAT!

The Activist Poet Wins Bronze

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:49:19 GMT

Hello everyone! Just dropping a few lines to keep my mind sane as all the world leaders jump off the cliff of insanity.

Lines from songs and poems lace my thoughts today as I, “breathe deep the gathering gloom, and watch lights fade from every room,” <<<(Graeme Edge – Moody Blues)

I love those two lines, which are taken from the poem ‘Late Lament’, written by Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues (full poem embedded below taken from their album, ‘Days of Future Passed’)…The Moody Blues is one of my favorite bands by the way. 😉

Like everyone else in, my generation, <<<(The WHO now comes to mind), music captured my feelings and emotions and drove my imagination down common and uncommon roads. However, lyrics captured my essence, especially when I was, oh so very young <<<(Cat Stevens 😊) they flowed through me and pulled at my thoughts and feelings; lyrics wrapped in music by my favorite bands and artists such as The Beatles, John Lennon, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Al Stewart, Cat Stevens and of course, the Moody Blues…and there are many, many others of course.

However, it was a tenth grade English teacher from my high school that pointed out the bridge between lyrics in music and poetry. By playing the music of my favorite bands and artists in class and then analyzing the lyrics, a deep fascination and understanding pulled me closer to poetry. I soon began trying to express my deepest feelings and intuitions in poetry which I kept mostly to myself. (A teenage thing apparently. 😉)

I continued writing poetry for a few years after high school, but life’s patterned programs and conveyor belt have a way of pulling us in different directions than we want to go and away from the things we love and enjoy. So, for a number of years I fell away from writing for myself and fell into the technical fields that society’s patterned programs are meant to do, which is to steal one’s attention and energy.

Yet, over the years, even though I wasn’t writing my own script in life, poetry remained at the back of my mind like a flickering candle in the wind <<<(Yes, Elton John, you were one of my favorites as well) but my poetry only resurfaced after I had crashed off of the slave diggers superhighway of attention theft and burned…in those ashes of my burned out life (low battery), I began to see things around me which had been a blur on that highway. I began to see what life was really about and that humanity was travelling in the wrong direction…

I had experienced an intellectual and spiritual awakening, and began to write about the hard realities and injustices of this world in rhythm and rhyme and sometimes in the quatrain style of Nostradamus <<<(Al Stewart 😉).

I tried to condense, and capture my feelings and insights in poetry but of course, being up to date on geo-political and economic trends while being more mature from that teenage version of me, made me unafraid to express myself. However bold I felt I was, the darker forces that run the digital programmed online world, pushed back…It seems they don’t like free thinkers or people who question the establishments twisted narratives and so like many others speaking truth to power, the dark shadows of online censorship shadow banned my expressive writing.

Which brings me to the main reason why I dropped these lines.

Through all of the battles and censorship I’ve experienced over the past 13 years, I received word today that my book ‘The Activist Poet – Volume IV’ won the bronze medal in the 2025 Reviewer’s Choice Awards. (YAY! 😊)

I can’t tell you enough how important an achievement that is for me. It’s not about winning, it’s about being heard. I’m actually quite ecstatic for this recognition…recognition that sends life’s energy and inspiration through one’s soul to, carry on <<<(CSNY 😉)

Not only do I feel vindicated but it feels good to know that others read my book and enjoyed it so much as to give me an award…it means the world to me. A great big ‘Thank you!’ goes out to Reader Views and to the reviewers who basked in the light <<< (Led Zeppelin) of what I wrote and decided it was worthy of an award. 😊 Thank you ever so much!

And since I’m talking about books, I’m now finishing up the last two chapters of my second novel (72,000 + words to the good and counting) I can’t wait to share it with everyone. 😊

Thanks for listening, everyone. Have a great day! Oh, and here's the poem by Graeme Edge I Promised.

Late Lament
(By: Graeme Edge)

Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another day's useless energy spent
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one;
Lonely man cries for love and has none;
New mother picks up and suckles her son;
Senior citizens wish they were young

Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colours from our sight
Red is grey is yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion